I see the Herald’s editorial writers are now spluttering about politicians actually running the country rather than leaving it to faceless technocrats in the reserve bank. There is a consistant anti-democratic theme in the Herald’s editorials – democracy can only be allowed if it doesn’t change the existing elite structures in NZ.
Finding it difficult to access this site. It states Reason: Exceeded the maximum global requests per minute for crawlers or humans. This is untrue – could it be Matthew Hooton or some other reason!!
[lprent: Thanks I’d left that at 3 per minute froma single source while I was diagnosing the outages yesterday. Reset back to 15 per minute. ]
Some nameless person at the New Zealand Herald thinks either Labour or the Greens are going to have to support National after the 2014 election. And that person gets a salary to write this sort of stuff!
I don’t normally read anonymous postings on the internet, but yesterday’s NZ Herald editorial about the prospect of a “coalition of the losers” government forming post 2014 has been brought to my attention. It’s a topic that both Tim Watkin and I have posted on before, but the Herald’s treatment of it is so annoying that I’m revisiting it in a cut-paste-and-comment format.
There is discussion about investing in NZ enterprise and the Americas Cup great effort is an example of what we can do. We didn’t win but we were only about 50 seconds behind and the boat didn’t split in half.
We should be doing more ground breaking innovative stuff. We might even get a winning boat – or better make one that is sea-breaking for transporting our produce and carrying passengers when the price goes up on present transport.
What about encouraging investors to put 10% of their investments into new development and rising stars. Fun, excitement, being close to the action with regular updates on what may be happening in their portfolios. Investors made to feel important, and knowing there are risks but that they are up there with the smart ones who actually are exploring new products and ideas with a commercial promise. Get togethers with nibbles and large screens about ground-breaking stuff that we are attempting, doing, and what is being done internationally. Know more than your average NZr.
Get that excitement that people have felt about yachting and insert it into the country’s development, draw up rational scenarios and pilot plans, and light the touchpaper.
Ten thoughts….
i.) Put an Australia, a Brit, some US and NZer’s up against Team NZ and they win, sure isn’t that always the way? The wider the pool of talent and money wins.
ii.) 8 straight wins with two highly competitive boats, okay no that can happen, sure, its not like team NZ almost capsized, money has been know to buy…
iii.) Relief, America’s cup not going to Littleton.
iv.) The history of the America Cup is the history of rich rule twisting,
v.) WTF, a two point advantage, what were they trying to do, scruple team NZ by given Team USA a man down, its well known in football that a man down spurs the team to victory.
vi.) Ooops, sorry Key no 3% bounce.
vii.) Wow, those boats were mostly built in NZ,
viii.) As an expat living in NZ, I’m proud of my country men, and NZ for building boats to win in.
ix.) What no women on board?
x.) Why are these boats so expensive, had they been cheaper, there could be catamaran races all over the world? Those boats rock, and the rules would be able to be altered to maximize their coolness.
+1 Greywarbler….Great racing and great sport.!…seems like American aeronautics stablising technology won in the end though
….and all the more important why we should putting more investment into R&D, ICT and protecting intellectual copyright…… and not allowing it to be traded away with the TTPA.
Here i was thinking that TeamNZ was slowed down by the weight of all that filthy lucre, i could of sworn i heard the sound of screeching brakes in one of the races as Dean and the crew overtook the opposition boat,
Looking at the specs tho shows that Aotearoa aint fitted with brakes so we will just have to take it as Dean said, that it was a ‘mistake’ to not continue with the overtaking instead tacking off into bad air…
@bad12….yes it was a weird mistake…but I guess hindsight is not foresight?….but it still seemed a weird tack when one is speeding ahead at terrific rate of knots and seems to be winning (to amateurs at least)
….the one good thing about all this is that John key and Joyce don’t get their mugshots taken with the cup!….smile
Considering all the other ‘mistakes’ and trying not to be too critical, it would appear that either Dean aint the sailor everyone thinks He is, or…
Was interesting to listen to the bloke that built the American boat, He said on TV3 News tonight that the aero-nautical foiling gear was on the boat from the time it was built, makes me wonder how after all those months of testing that boat suddenly grew wings for the 2nd half of the regatta,
i have to ask myself if i was paid a million to win that cup how much would it take to make me lose it…
@bad 12…now you are getting confusing……It was fun in the first half ….and ‘all at sea’ and lots of ‘silly mistakes’ in the second half …..plus a big aeroplane booster gidget came into play…the hidden technological wizardry brought out by the Oracle multi billionaire…..
…although I prefer yachting races to rugby…. I certainly wouldn’t gamble on this one ….however I know one mad coot who is kicking himself he didnt….but hindsight is all (unless of course one has foresight)
i blame myself, ,my guilt therefore knows no bounds,(snigger), i commented the other week that their boat was a lemon and they couldn’t sail it for s**t,
Auckland council is talking about ways to honour team nz. As a ratepayer can I just say NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
they lost. They gave it their best shot… or is the idea for ratepayers to fork out for it so crowds will spend money in queen st? If thats the reason alex swny can pay.
Just watched ‘the Hairdo’ speaking in the Parliament with a motion of praise for ‘TeamNZ$’, time to regroup and get together an even better team says wee Petey,
i take that as code for lets toss even more of the taxpayers cash into the abyss, meanwhile in South Auckland another family moved into the garage out the back of a cousins place because of the dire shortage of State Houses…
…..said that the event had not only brought New Zealanders closer together but also MPs: “Somewhere in a bar in San Francisco it’s even brought Steven Joyce and Trevor Mallard together singing Dave Dobbyn songs like ‘Loyal’.”
Maryan Street has withdrawn her voluntary Euthanasia bill. Understandable, because in the election year the Right would jump on it like rabid dogs, and we’d be hearing of Labour’s termination camps for the elderly and similar rubbish to no end.
Yes extremely divisive, Slippery the PM is actually a supporter of euthanasia, one ex Australian Head of State actually went so far as to state He supports it as those wanting to euthanize were at the end of their useful economic life…
Just saw a great comment on stuff about Climate Change and thought I would share it here: “Why do so many who believe the Science on Global Warming deny the Science on Nuclear power, Fracking and Genetic Engineering? All the arguments on Scientific consensus, peer review, weight of evidence and data cherry picking work both ways. Either show consistency or accept others rights to the freedom of enquiry.”
Well hardly anyone died in those accidents, while millions of people die of cold because we don’t have enough global warming and they can’t afford the increased power prices due to the carbon taxes! 🙂
NZ butter went funny about the time of the 3 Mile Island….i think the Yanks exported it here and we called it ‘2 Flags’….housewives were complaining all over the country that their cakes were turning out funny….even although they had been using the same recipes for years….meanwhile back at 3 Mile Island cows were lying down with their legs in the air….and a lot of people felt a wee bit sick and were queuing up at the hospitals
….the Russians refused the butter and said the Americans should eat their own butter
….there was a film festival doco on it at the time….and that was around about the time we switched to margarine….
There is overwhelming consistency on scientific review on Climate Change – the main discrepancy is in the reporting and media space…. and the constant repetition of that 3% by comments such as yours.
By “Science on Nuclear power, fracking and genetic engineering” I guess you mean scientific studies on the safety of those three. Given the lack of impartiality of most of those studies, and their limited scope it is of no surprise to me that independent scientists think their conclusions are misguided.
Your call for consistency is admirable, you need to apply it to your examples.
One of the people in that photo looks very, very happy to be seen with the other.
Only one, mind.
And the newspaper was merciless in its description of New Zealand’s 38th Prime Minister.
“He is totally chuffed to bits, glowing nuclear pink with pleasure, at being snapped with the Queen in her private sitting room.
“She, on the other hand, has her head bowed, deep in thought. Perhaps she is having second thoughts about letting this galloping colonial clot through the front door?” the Daily Mail reported.
…
The Daily Mail said Key sounded like he was filing a report for TripAdvisor when he wrote “They were extremely generous hosts and we had a fantastic weekend.”
Didn’t take long for the British press to get the measure of him. What’s taking our lot so long?
They stuff the corgis after they have finished with them???? Made my day.. Is this the fate of all their visitors when they reach the end of the line..
JAYMAN
>>Well hardly anyone died in those accidents
FUKISHIMA
news.discovery.com/…/fukushima-radioactive-plume-reach-us-130901.h…
Sep 1, 2013 – The known death toll came to 15,848 with 3,305 missing
They just don’t know how to decommission, how much it costs to decommission, how to fund decommission or how to safely store contaminants that remain deadly toxic for many thousands of years.
While waiting for ultra efficient green energy sources, the smartest money is on building shit loads of wind turbines in the meantime, which to some may look unsightly, but as nimby arguments go, much less tumour inducing and easily removed.
And they’re struggling with how to warn the future.
The panel roughly defined the intended message with the following:
This place is a message… and part of a system of messages… pay attention to it!Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful culture.
This place is not a place of honor…no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here… nothing valued is here.
What is here is dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.
The danger is in a particular location… it increases toward a center… the center of danger is here… of a particular size and shape, and below us.
The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours.
The danger is to the body, and it can kill.
The form of the danger is an emanation of energy.
The danger is unleashed only if you substantially disturb this place physically. This place is best shunned and left uninhabited.
You’d better find someone else to argue with. While I am trained in nuclear physics, I don’t like any of the current reactor designs. And nuclear is probably never an option for NZ. I like tidal and hydro and geothermal power. I’d like to go off the grid one day.
Because you can’t back up comments like “hardly anyone died in those accidents, while millions of people die of cold because we don’t have enough global warming”
“I am trained in nuclear physics”
And you can’t spell I’m a qualified fu*ktard and retarded climate change denier
You fool – you mised the 🙂 in message 12.1.1, where I was pretending to be a nuke proponent.
I did do nuclear physics for my science degree, and I have worked on a couple of nuclear accelerators and much engineering. I know how things can go wrong.
P.S. there are no climate change deniers. Nobody denies climate change.
If you say you were pretending to be a nuke proponent, and the 🙂 is an indicator of this, then I guess I have to take you at your word.
Next time I use the climate change denier tag I’ll be sure to preface it with ‘man made’ to avoid any misunderstanding, because we all know they exist.
What was that about the Yanks building them properly?
These designs date back to the start of the Vietnam War. And the Japanese operator has been cutting corners on operation and maintenance. Well, not so much cutting corners as simply lopping off whole limbs.
They all cut corners – the French have been caught falsifying fuel rod mesurements, the Brits shoot bits of plutonium on to their beaches and change the name of their nuke generator when it has an embarrassing accident.
I think a safe enough nuclear design will be invented in a few hundred years – around about the time fossil fuel starts getting expensive.
Probably because he agrees with what he chose to hear, or the spin the cetacean put on it. Just a guess, because I didn’t listen to it – I might have done were it not on the cetacean’s site.
I’m considering it possible that WJ would be intrigued by the supposed wider freedom that charter schools have, from a context of self determination (similar to Whanau Ora), rather than focusing strictly on how shit most of them are in practise.
Did they manage to address the issues around quality of education, I wonder.
nah mate, I prefer to minimise the tory crabs left in my cache. Saves them tracking me down via ip etc (no, I wouldn’t put that past the odious windbag).
If you have a non-propogandist link to the interview, I’d be intrigued to see how far off I am.
he’s claimed that he’s used his vast technical knowledge to access confidential information (the labour website, remember?). If he likes doing that, what more does he do – tracking cookies, maybe?
John Banks a mere scab on the rump of humanity, whats the betting like on the chances of Banks getting His second conviction in the district Court while a serving Minister of a Government, 50/50?, 75/25?…
Bolivia to sue United States for war crimes
Morales calls on Latin American nations to withdraw ambassadors
by ETHAN JURY, September 24, 2013
As the drive for “humanitarian” intervention in Syria has turned international attention towards the hypocrisy and violence of U.S. foreign policy, Bolivian president Evo Morales has announced his intent to file a lawsuit against the United States government for crimes against humanity.
The announcement came as a direct response to the denial of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro’s jet from entering U.S. airspace on his way to bi-lateral talks in China this week, and only two months after Morales’ own plane was forced to land in Vienna on suspicion that whistleblower Edward Snowden was on board.
“The U.S. cannot be allowed to continue with its policy of intimidation and blockading of presidential flights,” stressed Morales during a press conference in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz.
These latest transgressions come following the revelation of widespread spying on several Latin American countries by the National Security Association. Morales has called an emergency meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to address the issue of neo-colonial intimidation in the region, but his impending lawsuit is a wider condemnation of the impunity and violence of North American imperialism around the world.
“We are preparing a lawsuit against Barack Obama to condemn him for crimes against humanity,” said Morales. He has called for CELAC members to withdraw their ambassadors from the United States and for members of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas (ALBA) to boycott the next United Nations meeting.
The Obama administration has sent predator drones to kill hundreds of innocent civilians in Yemen and Pakistan, has defended the use of torture tactics on prisoners of war, and has continued to financially support the colonial state of Israel and other oppressive regimes. The administration’s recent drive for unilateral war on Syria highlights U.S. violations of international law in the interest of empire.
As the U.S. government continue to spread death and violence around the world, it will be crucially important for members of the world community to follow Bolivia’s example and stand in solidarity against the beast of imperialism.
Just got polled by Roy Morgan. Usual stuff – voting intentions for next year, NZ right track/wrong track. Most pressing issue facing the world. Where do I listen to the radio, etc. Took forever. One of us was doing the interview with english as a second language.
Colmar Brunton phoned me last week and asked for me by name. I was having dinner so I declined to answer their poll. I’m regretting that ever since. Damn damn damn. I usually decline only Curia. What was I thinking?
Team NZ Challenge cost- 110M Euro
Oracle US cost – that + 10%
-Source, Russel Coutts, RNZ Checkpoint.
was a learning experience; the crew that learnt the most, won. (limits on exchange parts etc), although it appears the parts sourced from NZ late in the piece contributed to the overall superiority of Oracle. Oh well… 😀
POS Tau Henare, your a real POS, Henare on 3 news tonight asked if He had any sympathy for the Parliaments cleaners who made submissions befor the select committee today on proposed labour law changes,
”If She doesn’t want the job She should give it to someone else”, hope your down the bottom of National’s list for the 2014 election Tau, that comment shows you for what you are, simply Scum…
Tua Henare is a sociopath who really has no place in NZ society – let alone Parliament.
He believes a toilet cleaner who broke down while giving evidence to a select committee because she’s fearful that a law change will put her job in jeopardy should “get another job”.
Angry, mean fwit. This man? is a disgrace.
P.S. This interview was in TV3 news but no link online as yet – will post if they put it up.
Promising free public transport has not been enough to win Auckland mayoral candidate John Minto a top score from youth organisation Generation Zero on that and issues such as climate change.
Mr Minto got a B grade, putting him above candidates John Palino (C+), Uesifili UNasa (C) and Penny Bright (E), but below Mayor Len Brown’s A-.
The group, which interviewed mayoral and council candidates focusing heavily on an alternative plan for a “congestion-free” network of public transport ahead of new roads, rated Mr Brown “a competent champion for getting Auckland’s transport moving in the right direction”.
But it found Mr Minto “overly focused on creating free public transport without showing a convincing understanding of implications.”
It marked Mr Palino down for weak support of its network plan, despite his showing enthusiasm for less reliance on more motorways.
Ms Bright’s E grade followed an alleged failure to answer most of the group’s 14 questions.”
____________________________________________________________________________
errrr….. I DID answer the Generation Zero questions, but I don’t think they liked my opposition to the corporate GREENWASH UN Agenda 21, which they apparently support?
How many people, and those in Generation Zero, in particular, actually understand that UN Agenda 21 is a massive corporate ‘GREENWASH’?
Sustainable Development in the 21st century (SD21)
Review of implementation of Agenda 21 and the Rio Principles
Agenda 21 did not address the interconnectedness of the various goals, because it was not “allowed” to examine the economic system itself.
Nor did it explore the fundamental drivers of sectoral and inter-country outcomes, which include:
• the role of corporations, and multi-national corporations (MNCs) in particular;
• the role and impacts of trade and globalisation;
• the role of international economic governance in helping steer the whole system;
_________________________________________________________
I may be many things but a ‘SHEEP’ is not one of them.
Like the global capitalist economic system is not controlled by multi-national companies?
DUH?
Like multi-national companies are not the main ones responsible for polluting and destroying the planet?
Through this corporate UN Agenda 21 ‘GREENWASH’ they try to spin it that the planet is a mess – that it’s we the peoples’ fault and it’s OUR job to clean up it up?
Wakey wakey folks!
Generation Zero supporters may like to ‘SEEK TRUTH FROM FACTS’ and check this out?
____________________________________________________________________________
If Generation Zero support UN Agenda 21 (which is my understanding) – then I am VERY proud of my ‘score’.
Also – how many Generation Zero supporters are aware that the root cause of corruption is privatisation?
That in 2010 – the global procurement market was $14 TRILLION – of which $2.5 TRILLION was estimated to be lost to bribery and corruption?
Don’t you think that $2,500 BILLION might help to feed, clothe, shelter and water a few poor people? (I got these figures from the 2010 Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference, which I attended, as an independent, anti-corruption ‘whistle-blower’ from New Zealand) .
It’s the wording that gets me – I shouldn’t have to figure out what they really mean…
Health Minister Tony Ryall said the Funded Family Care notice published today sets out the eligibility criteria and conditions for how disabled adults were to be allocated their share of $92 million in Government funding to employ family carers, who will be paid $13.75 an hour to look after them.
“The notice clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of the disabled person, the family member providing care, Needs Assessment and Service Coordination (NASC) organisations and the Ministry of Health,” Ryall said.
He said the Government had worked with representatives of the disability and carers’ community to develop the notice.
“If disabled people would like a family member to be their paid carer, they should read the notice and accompanying operational policy on the ministry website, and then contact their local NASC to be assessed.’’
If disabled people would ‘like’ to be cared for by a family member? (Actually, I reckon there are a whole heap of them who would ‘like’ to be able to care for themselves. I know I did when I had a long-term bout of disability).
All disabled people are fully aware of their responsibilities?
All disabled people can read a notice and operational policy?
All disabled people can contact pick up a phone / log on to the internet / get down the road to contact their local NASC?
So if disabled people can’t do one or more of these things they cannot be assessed. Why does Mr Ryall think they’re being cared for? Lifestyle choice?
Carers, who can help disabled people do some of these things, and do other of these things for them, are once again invisible to NAct in this press release.
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
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Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
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On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 28 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was “improper” ...
I see the Herald’s editorial writers are now spluttering about politicians actually running the country rather than leaving it to faceless technocrats in the reserve bank. There is a consistant anti-democratic theme in the Herald’s editorials – democracy can only be allowed if it doesn’t change the existing elite structures in NZ.
Today’s Open Mike popped up while I was busy below:
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-25092013/#comment-701714
Finding it difficult to access this site. It states Reason: Exceeded the maximum global requests per minute for crawlers or humans. This is untrue – could it be Matthew Hooton or some other reason!!
[lprent: Thanks I’d left that at 3 per minute froma single source while I was diagnosing the outages yesterday. Reset back to 15 per minute. ]
Thanks Lyn. Fixed now.
America’s Cup is half empty.
http://redrave.blogspot.co.nz/2013/09/americas-cup-is-half-empty.html
Hahahahah!
Very good post by Andrew Geddis on yesterday’s NZ Herald anonymous editorial. It begins:
some nameless person with a name starts with ‘John’ and ends up with an ‘an’ and has a ‘Rough’ in the middle would be my guess
Or Tim Murphy
There is discussion about investing in NZ enterprise and the Americas Cup great effort is an example of what we can do. We didn’t win but we were only about 50 seconds behind and the boat didn’t split in half.
We should be doing more ground breaking innovative stuff. We might even get a winning boat – or better make one that is sea-breaking for transporting our produce and carrying passengers when the price goes up on present transport.
What about encouraging investors to put 10% of their investments into new development and rising stars. Fun, excitement, being close to the action with regular updates on what may be happening in their portfolios. Investors made to feel important, and knowing there are risks but that they are up there with the smart ones who actually are exploring new products and ideas with a commercial promise. Get togethers with nibbles and large screens about ground-breaking stuff that we are attempting, doing, and what is being done internationally. Know more than your average NZr.
Get that excitement that people have felt about yachting and insert it into the country’s development, draw up rational scenarios and pilot plans, and light the touchpaper.
Ten thoughts….
i.) Put an Australia, a Brit, some US and NZer’s up against Team NZ and they win, sure isn’t that always the way? The wider the pool of talent and money wins.
ii.) 8 straight wins with two highly competitive boats, okay no that can happen, sure, its not like team NZ almost capsized, money has been know to buy…
iii.) Relief, America’s cup not going to Littleton.
iv.) The history of the America Cup is the history of rich rule twisting,
v.) WTF, a two point advantage, what were they trying to do, scruple team NZ by given Team USA a man down, its well known in football that a man down spurs the team to victory.
vi.) Ooops, sorry Key no 3% bounce.
vii.) Wow, those boats were mostly built in NZ,
viii.) As an expat living in NZ, I’m proud of my country men, and NZ for building boats to win in.
ix.) What no women on board?
x.) Why are these boats so expensive, had they been cheaper, there could be catamaran races all over the world? Those boats rock, and the rules would be able to be altered to maximize their coolness.
+1 Greywarbler….Great racing and great sport.!…seems like American aeronautics stablising technology won in the end though
….and all the more important why we should putting more investment into R&D, ICT and protecting intellectual copyright…… and not allowing it to be traded away with the TTPA.
Here i was thinking that TeamNZ was slowed down by the weight of all that filthy lucre, i could of sworn i heard the sound of screeching brakes in one of the races as Dean and the crew overtook the opposition boat,
Looking at the specs tho shows that Aotearoa aint fitted with brakes so we will just have to take it as Dean said, that it was a ‘mistake’ to not continue with the overtaking instead tacking off into bad air…
@bad12….yes it was a weird mistake…but I guess hindsight is not foresight?….but it still seemed a weird tack when one is speeding ahead at terrific rate of knots and seems to be winning (to amateurs at least)
….the one good thing about all this is that John key and Joyce don’t get their mugshots taken with the cup!….smile
Considering all the other ‘mistakes’ and trying not to be too critical, it would appear that either Dean aint the sailor everyone thinks He is, or…
Was interesting to listen to the bloke that built the American boat, He said on TV3 News tonight that the aero-nautical foiling gear was on the boat from the time it was built, makes me wonder how after all those months of testing that boat suddenly grew wings for the 2nd half of the regatta,
i have to ask myself if i was paid a million to win that cup how much would it take to make me lose it…
@bad 12…now you are getting confusing……It was fun in the first half ….and ‘all at sea’ and lots of ‘silly mistakes’ in the second half …..plus a big aeroplane booster gidget came into play…the hidden technological wizardry brought out by the Oracle multi billionaire…..
…although I prefer yachting races to rugby…. I certainly wouldn’t gamble on this one ….however I know one mad coot who is kicking himself he didnt….but hindsight is all (unless of course one has foresight)
i blame myself, ,my guilt therefore knows no bounds,(snigger), i commented the other week that their boat was a lemon and they couldn’t sail it for s**t,
After that they won all the races…
I wonder if John Key also goes by the name Darrell Read
Homegrown Fraudsters; we learn them well, and then they become bankers or Tory politicians.
Auckland council is talking about ways to honour team nz. As a ratepayer can I just say NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
they lost. They gave it their best shot… or is the idea for ratepayers to fork out for it so crowds will spend money in queen st? If thats the reason alex swny can pay.
+1 I mean, what the fuck? They lost, that’s it, go away.
Just watched ‘the Hairdo’ speaking in the Parliament with a motion of praise for ‘TeamNZ$’, time to regroup and get together an even better team says wee Petey,
i take that as code for lets toss even more of the taxpayers cash into the abyss, meanwhile in South Auckland another family moved into the garage out the back of a cousins place because of the dire shortage of State Houses…
…..said that the event had not only brought New Zealanders closer together but also MPs: “Somewhere in a bar in San Francisco it’s even brought Steven Joyce and Trevor Mallard together singing Dave Dobbyn songs like ‘Loyal’.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11130542
Give me strength …….
Time for Messiah-boy to rule out any contribution to ETNZ for another challenge.
Maryan Street has withdrawn her voluntary Euthanasia bill. Understandable, because in the election year the Right would jump on it like rabid dogs, and we’d be hearing of Labour’s termination camps for the elderly and similar rubbish to no end.
Yes extremely divisive, Slippery the PM is actually a supporter of euthanasia, one ex Australian Head of State actually went so far as to state He supports it as those wanting to euthanize were at the end of their useful economic life…
Just saw a great comment on stuff about Climate Change and thought I would share it here: “Why do so many who believe the Science on Global Warming deny the Science on Nuclear power, Fracking and Genetic Engineering? All the arguments on Scientific consensus, peer review, weight of evidence and data cherry picking work both ways. Either show consistency or accept others rights to the freedom of enquiry.”
Fukishima, Chernyobel, 3 Mile Island, safe as houses…
Well hardly anyone died in those accidents, while millions of people die of cold because we don’t have enough global warming and they can’t afford the increased power prices due to the carbon taxes! 🙂
@jayman….what about the cows?
@bad 12….re “safe as houses”
NZ butter went funny about the time of the 3 Mile Island….i think the Yanks exported it here and we called it ‘2 Flags’….housewives were complaining all over the country that their cakes were turning out funny….even although they had been using the same recipes for years….meanwhile back at 3 Mile Island cows were lying down with their legs in the air….and a lot of people felt a wee bit sick and were queuing up at the hospitals
….the Russians refused the butter and said the Americans should eat their own butter
….there was a film festival doco on it at the time….and that was around about the time we switched to margarine….
There is overwhelming consistency on scientific review on Climate Change – the main discrepancy is in the reporting and media space…. and the constant repetition of that 3% by comments such as yours.
By “Science on Nuclear power, fracking and genetic engineering” I guess you mean scientific studies on the safety of those three. Given the lack of impartiality of most of those studies, and their limited scope it is of no surprise to me that independent scientists think their conclusions are misguided.
Your call for consistency is admirable, you need to apply it to your examples.
Truly awful.
http://paulocanning.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/the-horrific-truth-of-kenya-terrorist.html?
Yes, they are.
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/09/muslims-denounce-nairobi-mall-terrorist-attack-fox-news
John Key has been ridiculed as a “galloping colonial clot” for his photo shoot with the royal family in Balmoral:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9213754/Keys-royal-snaps-ruffle-feathers
One of the people in that photo looks very, very happy to be seen with the other.
Only one, mind.
Didn’t take long for the British press to get the measure of him. What’s taking our lot so long?
Lolz, Parliaments question time will be a treat of questions about Galloping Colonial Clots when Slippery gets back from the gallivant,
Pity there’s a 2 week recess coming up…
Yeah well he’s going to need a bit of a rest after his holiday I suppose
They stuff the corgis after they have finished with them???? Made my day.. Is this the fate of all their visitors when they reach the end of the line..
JAYMAN
>>Well hardly anyone died in those accidents
FUKISHIMA
news.discovery.com/…/fukushima-radioactive-plume-reach-us-130901.h…
Sep 1, 2013 – The known death toll came to 15,848 with 3,305 missing
15,848 with 3,305 missing
CHERNOBYL
http://www.globalresearch.ca/new-book-concludes-chernobyl-death-toll-985-000-mostly-from-cancer/20908
985,000
Glad it was only a few Jayman
Well that’s the Russians for you. The Yanks and Brits know how to build them properly.
Any other strawmen you’d like me to put up for you?
They just don’t know how to decommission, how much it costs to decommission, how to fund decommission or how to safely store contaminants that remain deadly toxic for many thousands of years.
While waiting for ultra efficient green energy sources, the smartest money is on building shit loads of wind turbines in the meantime, which to some may look unsightly, but as nimby arguments go, much less tumour inducing and easily removed.
And they’re struggling with how to warn the future.
The panel roughly defined the intended message with the following:
http://www.damninteresting.com/this-place-is-not-a-place-of-honor/
Very Interesting joe
The makings of a nightmare, and that’s the stuff they know about.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/14/3038814/yucca-mountain-wipp-wasteland-battle-entomb-nuclear-waste
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-nuclear-needle-in-a-haystack-the-cold-war-s-missing-atom-bombs-a-590513.html
http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2012/Russia_reveals_dumps
Um – Fukushima reactors number 1,2 and 6 were supplied by General Electric.
What was that about the Yanks building them properly?
You’d better find someone else to argue with. While I am trained in nuclear physics, I don’t like any of the current reactor designs. And nuclear is probably never an option for NZ. I like tidal and hydro and geothermal power. I’d like to go off the grid one day.
just how “trained” exactly.
“You’d better find someone else to argue with”
Because you can’t back up comments like “hardly anyone died in those accidents, while millions of people die of cold because we don’t have enough global warming”
“I am trained in nuclear physics”
And you can’t spell I’m a qualified fu*ktard and retarded climate change denier
You fool – you mised the 🙂 in message 12.1.1, where I was pretending to be a nuke proponent.
I did do nuclear physics for my science degree, and I have worked on a couple of nuclear accelerators and much engineering. I know how things can go wrong.
P.S. there are no climate change deniers. Nobody denies climate change.
If you say you were pretending to be a nuke proponent, and the 🙂 is an indicator of this, then I guess I have to take you at your word.
Next time I use the climate change denier tag I’ll be sure to preface it with ‘man made’ to avoid any misunderstanding, because we all know they exist.
These designs date back to the start of the Vietnam War. And the Japanese operator has been cutting corners on operation and maintenance. Well, not so much cutting corners as simply lopping off whole limbs.
They all cut corners – the French have been caught falsifying fuel rod mesurements, the Brits shoot bits of plutonium on to their beaches and change the name of their nuke generator when it has an embarrassing accident.
I think a safe enough nuclear design will be invented in a few hundred years – around about the time fossil fuel starts getting expensive.
“and they can’t afford the increased power prices due to the carbon taxes!”
” in a few hundred years – around about the time fossil fuel starts getting expensive.”
Make your mind up 🙂
Affordable oil and gas disappears in 20-25 years, is my pick.
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2013/09/john-banks-talks-willie-jackon-partnership-schools/#axzz2fePyI63t
Willie Jackson (that well-known mouth piece of the right) interviews John Banks, you’ll should listen
Why?
Probably because he agrees with what he chose to hear, or the spin the cetacean put on it. Just a guess, because I didn’t listen to it – I might have done were it not on the cetacean’s site.
I’m considering it possible that WJ would be intrigued by the supposed wider freedom that charter schools have, from a context of self determination (similar to Whanau Ora), rather than focusing strictly on how shit most of them are in practise.
Did they manage to address the issues around quality of education, I wonder.
“Just a guess, because I didn’t listen to it”
– Of course I understand, you have your opinions and you don’t want to hear anything that might ackshully change your mind…well done
nah mate, I prefer to minimise the tory crabs left in my cache. Saves them tracking me down via ip etc (no, I wouldn’t put that past the odious windbag).
If you have a non-propogandist link to the interview, I’d be intrigued to see how far off I am.
Yeah I’m sure he does that….
And you’d know that because…
he’s claimed that he’s used his vast technical knowledge to access confidential information (the labour website, remember?). If he likes doing that, what more does he do – tracking cookies, maybe?
You miight learn something about John Banks motivations
John Banks a mere scab on the rump of humanity, whats the betting like on the chances of Banks getting His second conviction in the district Court while a serving Minister of a Government, 50/50?, 75/25?…
Banks should be in prison.
Indeed.
/
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/9/25/56-years-after-littlerockusschoolssegregatedbyraceandclass.html
How on earth would you learn anything about what John Banks thinks by listening to him speak?
It all seems to be about privatising education provision.
Bolivia to sue United States for war crimes
Morales calls on Latin American nations to withdraw ambassadors
by ETHAN JURY, September 24, 2013
As the drive for “humanitarian” intervention in Syria has turned international attention towards the hypocrisy and violence of U.S. foreign policy, Bolivian president Evo Morales has announced his intent to file a lawsuit against the United States government for crimes against humanity.
The announcement came as a direct response to the denial of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro’s jet from entering U.S. airspace on his way to bi-lateral talks in China this week, and only two months after Morales’ own plane was forced to land in Vienna on suspicion that whistleblower Edward Snowden was on board.
“The U.S. cannot be allowed to continue with its policy of intimidation and blockading of presidential flights,” stressed Morales during a press conference in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz.
These latest transgressions come following the revelation of widespread spying on several Latin American countries by the National Security Association. Morales has called an emergency meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to address the issue of neo-colonial intimidation in the region, but his impending lawsuit is a wider condemnation of the impunity and violence of North American imperialism around the world.
“We are preparing a lawsuit against Barack Obama to condemn him for crimes against humanity,” said Morales. He has called for CELAC members to withdraw their ambassadors from the United States and for members of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas (ALBA) to boycott the next United Nations meeting.
The Obama administration has sent predator drones to kill hundreds of innocent civilians in Yemen and Pakistan, has defended the use of torture tactics on prisoners of war, and has continued to financially support the colonial state of Israel and other oppressive regimes. The administration’s recent drive for unilateral war on Syria highlights U.S. violations of international law in the interest of empire.
As the U.S. government continue to spread death and violence around the world, it will be crucially important for members of the world community to follow Bolivia’s example and stand in solidarity against the beast of imperialism.
http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/news/bolivia-to-sue-united-states.html
Just got polled by Roy Morgan. Usual stuff – voting intentions for next year, NZ right track/wrong track. Most pressing issue facing the world. Where do I listen to the radio, etc. Took forever. One of us was doing the interview with english as a second language.
tell us, do please.
Colmar Brunton phoned me last week and asked for me by name. I was having dinner so I declined to answer their poll. I’m regretting that ever since. Damn damn damn. I usually decline only Curia. What was I thinking?
You were hungry.
😀
Team NZ Challenge cost- 110M Euro
Oracle US cost – that + 10%
-Source, Russel Coutts, RNZ Checkpoint.
was a learning experience; the crew that learnt the most, won. (limits on exchange parts etc), although it appears the parts sourced from NZ late in the piece contributed to the overall superiority of Oracle. Oh well… 😀
POS Tau Henare, your a real POS, Henare on 3 news tonight asked if He had any sympathy for the Parliaments cleaners who made submissions befor the select committee today on proposed labour law changes,
”If She doesn’t want the job She should give it to someone else”, hope your down the bottom of National’s list for the 2014 election Tau, that comment shows you for what you are, simply Scum…
always a shocker that Tau.
Classy. At least he phrased it nicer than “The dole queue’s that way b*tch.” I guess.
[deleted]
[lprent: see http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-26092013/#comment-702006 ]
http://memecrunch.com/meme/2LQU/oh-no-we-have-a-badass-over-here/image.png
Tua Henare is a sociopath who really has no place in NZ society – let alone Parliament.
He believes a toilet cleaner who broke down while giving evidence to a select committee because she’s fearful that a law change will put her job in jeopardy should “get another job”.
Angry, mean fwit. This man? is a disgrace.
P.S. This interview was in TV3 news but no link online as yet – will post if they put it up.
Story up now. Here’s the link
[deleted]
[lprent: Ban for 2 weeks for advocating violence (again) ]
was “friends’ with Mr Machete when some white-trash child abusers lived next door. Now I get frisked for ‘knives on record’ sigh. Husker Du. 😉
lol
one Jack is Master
What is the considered opinions of ‘The Standard’ folk, on UN Agenda 21?
Time for a bit more debate?
___________________________________________________________________________
Do ‘Generation Zero’ deserve an “E” (S) for “Environmental (Sheepishness)”?
For apparently supporting the corporate GREENWASH UN Agenda 21 – which I vigorously oppose?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11130105
Promising free public transport has not been enough to win Auckland mayoral candidate John Minto a top score from youth organisation Generation Zero on that and issues such as climate change.
Mr Minto got a B grade, putting him above candidates John Palino (C+), Uesifili UNasa (C) and Penny Bright (E), but below Mayor Len Brown’s A-.
The group, which interviewed mayoral and council candidates focusing heavily on an alternative plan for a “congestion-free” network of public transport ahead of new roads, rated Mr Brown “a competent champion for getting Auckland’s transport moving in the right direction”.
But it found Mr Minto “overly focused on creating free public transport without showing a convincing understanding of implications.”
It marked Mr Palino down for weak support of its network plan, despite his showing enthusiasm for less reliance on more motorways.
Ms Bright’s E grade followed an alleged failure to answer most of the group’s 14 questions.”
____________________________________________________________________________
http://localelections.generationzero.org.nz/…/penny-bright
errrr….. I DID answer the Generation Zero questions, but I don’t think they liked my opposition to the corporate GREENWASH UN Agenda 21, which they apparently support?
How many people, and those in Generation Zero, in particular, actually understand that UN Agenda 21 is a massive corporate ‘GREENWASH’?
http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/…
Sustainable Development in the 21st century (SD21)
Review of implementation of Agenda 21 and the Rio Principles
Agenda 21 did not address the interconnectedness of the various goals, because it was not “allowed” to examine the economic system itself.
Nor did it explore the fundamental drivers of sectoral and inter-country outcomes, which include:
• the role of corporations, and multi-national corporations (MNCs) in particular;
• the role and impacts of trade and globalisation;
• the role of international economic governance in helping steer the whole system;
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I may be many things but a ‘SHEEP’ is not one of them.
Like the global capitalist economic system is not controlled by multi-national companies?
DUH?
Like multi-national companies are not the main ones responsible for polluting and destroying the planet?
Through this corporate UN Agenda 21 ‘GREENWASH’ they try to spin it that the planet is a mess – that it’s we the peoples’ fault and it’s OUR job to clean up it up?
Wakey wakey folks!
Generation Zero supporters may like to ‘SEEK TRUTH FROM FACTS’ and check this out?
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If Generation Zero support UN Agenda 21 (which is my understanding) – then I am VERY proud of my ‘score’.
Also – how many Generation Zero supporters are aware that the root cause of corruption is privatisation?
That in 2010 – the global procurement market was $14 TRILLION – of which $2.5 TRILLION was estimated to be lost to bribery and corruption?
Don’t you think that $2,500 BILLION might help to feed, clothe, shelter and water a few poor people? (I got these figures from the 2010 Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference, which I attended, as an independent, anti-corruption ‘whistle-blower’ from New Zealand) .
‘Her Warship’
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption/ anti-privatisation campaigner’
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/9214236/Wankerish_Ryall doesn’t get what disabled means
It’s the wording that gets me – I shouldn’t have to figure out what they really mean…
If disabled people would ‘like’ to be cared for by a family member? (Actually, I reckon there are a whole heap of them who would ‘like’ to be able to care for themselves. I know I did when I had a long-term bout of disability).
All disabled people are fully aware of their responsibilities?
All disabled people can read a notice and operational policy?
All disabled people can contact pick up a phone / log on to the internet / get down the road to contact their local NASC?
So if disabled people can’t do one or more of these things they cannot be assessed. Why does Mr Ryall think they’re being cared for? Lifestyle choice?
Carers, who can help disabled people do some of these things, and do other of these things for them, are once again invisible to NAct in this press release.
Crass.