$ 22 a week
‘Poverty, illness and living on less than the minimum wage.
The last time there was fresh produce on the table was more than two years ago.
After covering her basic expenses, Lynlie Beazley survives on just $22 per week and sometimes she sleeps on an empty stomach.
The west Auckland resident described herself as the “face of poverty” in the country.’
I read through Marie Brady’s paper on Chinese influence in NZ. Without being xenophobic, I’d be surprised if Winston went with National seeing how deeply they are funded by Chinese government front entities. But also how would he go with Labour, as there are some questionable involvements there too? I’m also surprised that there hasn’t been more journalistic enquiry, or maybe I’m not surprised.
“Denmark’s Housing for All policy is built on the belief that affordable, decent, quality housing for people from all income levels is the foundation of a healthy family and harmonious community.
We want that too. There’s a clamour for change, for breaking out of our traditional approach, to look fresh. Let’s become a nation of home makers who collaborate on devising a made in New Zealand housing accord that respects the dream for everyone here to have a decent place to call home and to participate on an even footing as a valued member of a living, nurturing democracy.”
Would have been nice to have said that two weeks ago Michael, or did granny hold on to it for a while.
But still, it’s the way forward. We’ve got a housing trust in Queenstown which is working, so far. Would be nice if it could have kept it’s charitable status but that’s a call for a new government to sort out to encourage more housing options.
I had a most disturbing conversation just now with a new immigrant (as in arrived since 2008) Fillipino guy I work with who basically is almost literally violently opposed to ANYONE but National being the government. He hates the idea of a coalition (coalitions are “a fucking weak clown show”) and as far as he is concerned Labour is unsetting the apple cart of of his carefully cultivated connections via church to National party people in his electorate. Now, this guy is a voting resident. It reinforced to me that a) only citizens should be able to vote, and b) citizenship shouldn’t just be a matter of timeserving then swearing an oath to the Queen, but should involve some sort of compulsory civics course – especially if you have come here from a third world shit hole run by a lunatic like the Phillipines is.
I am still taken aback at how angry this guy is at the idea Labour might form the next government, he just didn’t seem to grasp the point of democracy.
Not at all surprising – but as you know already, you are opening yourself up to the xenophobic label.
There’s been a couple of interesting MSM articles in the past about the numbers of people coming and being granted PR by country – eg UK US Aus China etc.
What there hasn’t been is the number of applications DECLINED (by country) – i.e. even as a percentage of the number of applications received by country.
That would show what a complete farce the points system is. It’d also be interesting to see it by year (for the past nine years).
A very good signal that National has successfully captured yet another immigrant sector away from Labour. They had no other home, and National selected Filipinos – the one in New Lynn came within 1800 votes of taking a seat that Labour had held since the seat was formed after World War 2.
After 9 years of Natz I think it would be very revealing to know the voting behaviour of all our “hand picked” immigrants. 90% of the ones I know are greedy me-me’s.
The Electoral Commission has NO WAY of knowing whether enrolled voters are even eligible to vote.
There is no data matching with Department of Internal Affairs, nor Immigration NZ.
There is no requirement to declare yourself a citizen or a permanent resident on the enrolment forms.
There are NO checks and balances to ascertain whether people who are enrolled to vote, are even eligible to do so.
There are specific concrete examples I am aware of, where immigrants, on student visa, work visa, and tourist visas, have enrolled to vote and have done so.
They have done this because they are aware that there is no ability for their vote to be discarded. All that is required is their name, and an address. They provide the address of a long term friend / family member and they get away with it.
I think we should restrict voting to just citizens only. Failing that, restricting it to citizens only, and permanent residents who have been here since 1973.
Voting is a privilege. Not a right. The fact we allow every Tom, Wing and Patel to vote without checking their credentials makes a complete mockery and a farce of our democratic rights.
If 500,000 immigrants over the last 9 years have registered to vote, and have done so, imaging the skewing effect that would have on our proportional representation.
There is a lack of understanding in the nuances of our political history by immigrants. The example of the filipino above, who clearly hasn’t lived in NZ under a Labour government, would have NO idea how good they actually are for NZ as a whole.
The whole system as it is right now, is far too open for abuse. NZ is only of only FIVE countries that allow non-citizens to vote. We share this ridiculous situation with:
Is it fair to say to someone in the Far North “Don’t bitch about there being no employment up there, uproot yourself from your whanau, go to Christchurch, you’ll get a job there”. Is it just as fair to say to the person described should Labour form a government, “Don’t bitch, go somewhere else”? Without being called racist or xenophobic?
Re- the Filipino guy. Think I might be able to help you there.
Here’s what I understand has been going on:
Paulo Garcia – the former Filipino Consul General and National’s candidate in New Lynn – spent the past few weeks/months travelling around the country bad mouthing Labour big time. He used his connections to the Filipino Catholic Church groups to facilitate his campaigning. Our candidate on the Shore, Romy Udanga also travelled the country trying to reassure the Filipino communities they had nothing to fear from Labour. I don’t know the outcome, but I gather things turned nasty presumably when Garcia discovered Romy was also talking to the communities.
Born to rule authoritarian types again. Btw, Romy Uganda’s academic qualifications far outstripped the Nat. man so that wouldn’t have helped.
From your post he did not see to be against democracy, only against coalitions. It is a position that people can take, even if it is a bit unrealistic.
Obviously he prefers National. So do 46% of the voters who voted. He might hold those views strongly. But you only have to read this site to see that many people do, at least on the internet.
Maybe we generally expect people to be more circumspect when face to face in person.
Personally I would like to see less invective on the internet. Just because someone has a different view does not make them evil or criminal, and there is no need to make such accusations.
Not actually aimed at you, but I am sure you have read such posts on this and other political sites.
He preferred National because he was brainwashed into believing National good… everybody else bad. He has no knowledge or understanding of the NZ political system and its history. Naturally the Nat government would like to keep it that way.
If we are to have all these immigrants coming into the country then it is incumbent on the government of the day to introduce a civics course they must attend before being granted NZ citizenship. Of course we know that’s the last thing National will agree to because the more ignorant they remain the better for National eh?
We can’t have these immigrants ‘getting learned’ can we. They might get uppity and start voting for the Labour Party. (sarc)
Anne – you don’t need to be a citizen to vote. Hell, you don’t even need to be a resident given the lack of checks and balances in place to determine a voters eligibility.
It is wrong that many thousands of individuals in this country are given the same voting rights as NZ citizens when half of them can’t even speak the language let alone have any idea what they’re voting for. They are screwing and skewering out election outcomes and that is not acceptable.They should have to attend a civics course at the least before being allowed on the electoral roll. Once they understand our political system they become eligible to vote in our elections.
On this matter alone it is essential NZ First go with Labour so that the issue will be dealt with once and for all. National might pay lip service to doing something about it, but they never will because it is not in their interest to do anything.
To be honest, I don’t think many politicians are even aware that this rort is taking place.
Like I said, there is nothing in place for the Electoral Commission to ascertain an enrolled voters eligibility. It’s why there are foreign students enrolling to vote (and are voting) despite not being eligible to do so.
It’s because they know that the Electoral Commission don’t have any way of knowing whether they are enrolling correctly eligible people.
We run an honesty system when it comes to voting rights in this country.
At least for citizenship applications there is a kind of civics course that covers the democracy and the rule of law. However, it is a reasonable point that it should also apply to permanent residency, given that permanent residents can vote after 12 months.
Which on international terms is very generous. Maybe 3 year PR would be better to qualify for the vote.
I agree with you John Anderson @4.6.1.2.1
The 12 month period before becoming eligible to vote goes back many decades to a time when 90% of our immigrants came from English speaking nations with democratically elected governments similar to our own.
However, the scenario has dramatically changed in the past 10 years and it is imperative the law applying to voting rights is accordingly amended. Your suggestion they be required to have gained eligibility for citizenship before they can vote in NZ is the obvious answer.
The point is, Wayne, is that people who are here since 2008, and come from foreign cultures, generally have a mindset that the “governing power” is what let them into the country, and so they “reward” them for doing so.
No thought is given to the actual realities of the effect that governing power has on the long term. In the case of National, it is bereft of long term ideas. Muldoon was the last National MP that was able to think long term. We didn’t get a long term government after him, until 2000 when Labour set up Kiwibank, Kiwisaver and the NZ superannuation fund
I haven’t seen any long term policies enacted by National. All their policies and laws since 2008 have been short termist, insular, and never focused on the long term.
Businesses can get away with 2 – 5 year short term thinking. Governments should be focused on 20 years out, with minor meddling when required on short term policy settings.
As for the 46% – given that the Electoral Commission allows anyone to register, without any checks and balances in place to determine said eligbility, are you surprised we have foreign students registering to vote? Nothing is stopping them as they know the Electoral Commission have no way of knowing the visa status of people who enrol. It’s all done on an honesty basis, and to be honest, honesty seems to be in short supply when it comes to people who are “backing bill”
Most countries reserve voting as a privilege, not a right.
I agree with the franchise. Just not to every man and his bastard dog.
If you want to vote, become a citizen. Prove your allegiance.
Permanent residency is not allegiance. Nor is being able to rort the electoral system knowing that the Electoral Commission have no way of knowing whether people who are registering to vote even have the right to.
They don’t even ask if you’re a permanent resident or a citizen ffs.
I registered a fake person last night. Signed it, sent it through. I have no doubt that new person will end up on the electoral roll.
I think Winston knows this all too well.
I don’t agree with him on simplistic solutions regarding immigration, but the situation – especially during the Gnat’s reign has caused real problems for all to see.
Bollocks to residents having to prove allegience. Get the lazy bum stay at home citizen voters to prove it first by participating in their own democracy.
As a permanent resident for nigh on 20 years I’m no more a kiwi now than I was when I got off the plane, but as a law abiding tax payer ever since, it would be a travesty to remove my voting rights.
The travesty was giving you voting rights without requiring you become a citizen first. As I’m fairly sure whatever other countries you’re a citizen of require. I was permanent resident here for around 15 years and voted in two elections before becoming a citizen and it certainly felt weird to me.
Given the right, that’s correct.
It may be the case for new residents in the future, or the eligibility period increased, but it would I’m sure it’s never going to be taken away from me, so moot.
But let us not get all xenophobic just because of national’s imported blue dragons. That’s a different argument altogether.
Just out of curiosity if it came down to it, would there be a downside to you of becoming an NZ citizen? Such as having to give up your citizenship of another country or worldwide tax or pension implications? There weren’t any in my case since my other nationality is US and I would never have any interest in taking any kind of position where that dual nationality might raise eyebrows.
Labour /greens should stay away from anything more than c and f from nzf , at only a 1 to at best 3 seat majority the risk is too high of one of the loons in nzf bring down the house , and labour will be the one blamed ,
Not so sure about that. Waka jumpers are not well regarded in NZ. If the coalition collapsed because NZF as a party pulled out, maybe. But a couple of MPs jumping to National? I think they’re be scorned, not Labour.
Perhaps you can explain how you are going to bring this scenario about.
Who is going to be able to persuade Winston to provide C & S to a Labour Green Government when he gets nothing at all from them? Even the Green Party who have prostituted themselves to Labour aren’t willing to do such a thing.
Even if Winston was willing to do so his party members will not be at all happy.
They are far more likely to jump- ship and support National than they are to stay with Winston First.
i’m of the fuck im the nats can have him mindset ,in saying that winston may want it as he could back policy he likes from both sides that way while insureing stable gov .
a three way is too unstable , when they only just get enough seats, of course a lab nzf with greens in c and s is the other mix and would surely be on more than one parties mind .
Well…another typical Waikato spring morning. There was a bit of rain overnight, not that its needed as there’s green, green, green as far as the eye can see. Grass is growing faster than the cows could possibly eat it so why the fuck has the neighbouring dairy farmer (~1000 cows) got his irrigation boom going full blast????
They had the chopper in last week spreading some kind of fertiliser, so I guess they’re making sure that all of it is properly sluiced off and into the Waipa River, just over the fence from the boom.
When you think about it…no surprise that these people are stupid enough to think the CEO of their company is worth paying $4000 per hour.
Think about that next time some whining dairy farmer gets on the radio claiming poverty.
“Today, agriculture in New Zealand is bankrupt, as it was in 1985. Then it was an economic failure, particularly in the sheep industry. The sector was propped up by $1.2 billion of taxpayer funding under the Supplementary Minimum Price regime, most of it paid out in just two years to 1984. Adjusted for inflation, that would be $4b today.
No…its water. Not even a hint of shit. Besides, the farm has a newish pond for the cowshed waste and I’m pretty sure the regs wouldn’t allow discharge in any fashion so close to the river.
However, this is the Waikato, where the regulations are loosely enforced.
beatie….thanks for the link and thank goodness the fb page is open so those of us who don’t do facebook can read the story.
i have no doubt at all that this happened the way described.
I have encountered the exact same response from farmers and farm workers (I have a theory about required IQ levels for farm workers), albeit not over contamination of waterways.
A brave stand, and wise to take photos…but consider perhaps a go pro set up, discretely mounted, so you can record visual and sound.
I too got the line from the Regional Council and CAA that photos must be taken to properly identify the offender and any vehicle being used in commission of the offense. Back 7 years ago I’d have to trespass on the cocky’s land to photgraph identification marks….noticed just last week that these craft now have the ID numbers prominently displayed on the side of the aircraft. Makes my job much easier and marks a small but significant advance for us.
I know the Mokihinui, have caught fish at the river mouth and have relatives in the area.
Unfortunately down here the Regional Council are a big part of the problem. Comprised of farmers and gold miners who police themselves and their cronies by way of wet bus-ticket fines and penalties (if any)
When you live long enouh you see it all. I’ve seen political parties born grow and die like the MP . I’ve heard every political excuse out.
For me the greens dropped the ball. I don’t agree that MT outing herself was some massive thing. She wanted out she is out. The greens have lost support – no great win there. The green supporters underminned their only hope labour – not smart imo. The greens will never go into talks with the gnats – must keep the purity pure. Over it. Some will say you weren’t a proper green anyway and that is true. I’m sick of bullshit for sure.
New Zealand is well overdue for a new political party to form.
The Greens have a chance to recover, but also the chance to die at .9% away from parliamentary death. A coalition with either government coalition will probably kill them because their membership tends to wilt at the first sign of compromise.
Labour has lost much of its base within the immigrant community and among core urban seats in Auckland. They have lost the massive Chinese community which is over 25% of some electorates and over 20% in others.
United is dead.
The Maori Party: weeping at its tangi.
Act: put a fork in it.
Mana: splat.
Democrats: couldn’t fill a phonebox.
Conservative Party: unressurectable
That’s a reasonable-scale sized democratic wreckage for one election.
National stand astride our political world – renewed, refreshed, well funded, achieving little, delivering the small state.
TOP may well be the one that makes it – the y have all the Green policies and more, but they have the willingness to coalition with whomever will get the most of those policies in.
That doesn’t mean some evil will beset us like the Alternative for Germany people.
It means New Zealand is well overdue for a new political party to form that will guide that rag-tag battlefleet of waifs and strays and turn it into something new and strong.
That kind of arrogance in the face of a really poor result will see the Greens go the same was as the other parties listed. No political party is immortal, and like companies, they either grow safely, or they stagnate and die.
We collectively voted for change. I did. You did.
So how come we deride the ideas espoused by TOP?
We should be a fertile ground for ideas to improve our lot rather than become National-like in a stolid hanging on to the status quo.
(I have it on good authority that the Labour tax working group have Guaranteed Universal Income on their consideration list.)
Some of Morgan’s ideas are harmful. When I see pro TOP people engaging meaningfully on that I’ll be more willing to talk about the good ideas that have.
Btw would you be ok with TOP supporting National over L/G if they’d got 5%?
Leave the Green movement alone all you nay sayers. It is a far stronger movement than you can write off just like that. Look to our founding principles and realize there will always be support if there is no betrayal.
We will not become centrists, we will not go into coalition with hard line free market Capitalists.
“Some of Morgan’s ideas are harmful.” That is like saying that the ideas of any or all parties are “harmful.” That is no way to start a discussion.
I did not vote for TOP but I see the future as being vitally in need of some very different ways of managing society. But those new ideas will not get a hearing if we deny them before they are uttered. Some see the outspoken Morganisms as denial of any reasoned ideas. Not so.
Morgan was quoted yesterday as saying he’d be in negotiating with national already had they got 5%. Hope that isn’t lost on the idiot fringe on the left who were seduced by his moustache and fake left policies.
When AD says a new party needs to form, the by product of his apparent on going sustained attack on the greens, is to create a new coalition partner for the nasty party.
He never fooled me, zero sincerity and his past actions on Property speculation, selling businesses etc is all you needed to extrapolate where he would end up.
I’m not talking about ideas so much, as organisational structures. They are difficult to build, and will not be easily wiped away with one election – look at NZF – sat one term out, but kept working away from the main arena.
The Greens have a well-organised system, strong membership…. and they are still in the House. They they are not going anywhere soon.
There is strong support among some Maori for the Mp. It’s not going to die that quickly.
ACT has been slowly dying.
There is room for new parties, but they require a significant operating group, a well worked out philosophy, and a sense of relevance.
We are in a time of change. All 4 main parties in the current mix will be undergoing some change. People are done with the neoliberal philosophy, especially many of the young.
TOP belongs to the neoliberal wave when guys with money have tried to be a dominant force in politics. Change is coming.
To me green left is the way forward for the future.
But time will tell – my feeling is TOP, and the Internet Party (and Mana) will slowly die – they do not have the organisational or community involvement.
The Mp and the GP will continue, but may be somewhat reshaped. As will Labour and the Nats.
There is room for a strong left wing party, and a strong right wing one. They may develop over the next few years – but they will be reformations of some remnants of past parties – Alliance, Conservatives, maybe blue-environmentalists (lets not call them blue-greens as political greens are about more than just the environment).
The maori party can come back as a proper socialist party, nobody else is and it’s a natural fit to overall benefit all of Maoridom.
IMO nothing less than that will appease their base who punished them over state house sales, supporting the gutting of NZ by voting with nact and having arrogant leaders like Flavell/Fox.
Yep divide and conquer. Possibly they may have found their Mana again. But labour had some sorting out to do and they did it. Tough times ahead for many of us.
I have pretty mixed feelings about Labour getting all the Maori seats.
Few of Labour’s Maori MPs are strong politicians with the capacity to bang the table and get great dividends for Maori.
I have no idea if TOP will rise of fail, but your instinct about a capitalist environmental party is a possibility.
II think the National capture of the Chinese vote will become more powerful than the Labour capture of the Maori vote. But therein is also the potential for more ethnically-based splinter parties to emerge out of Auckland.
Ad
It appears that we need a dynamic leader that sounds rather like Hitler? Looking at the old but not totally out-dated Marien’s Guide to Public Policy Proposers you appear to be a Primitive Populist with the view that we are dominated by pointy-headed pseudo-intellectuals with proposal is to throw out briefcases and restore common sense.
But your solution is totally pragmatic based on what will win government power, which is in parallel with National. Is there no other way that you can conceive that would serve the half of NZ that wants thoughtful change that would better most of the people and the environment?
Charisma should not be mistaken for a sad slippery-slope argument towards totalitarianism. It’s a necessary element for any successful movement, full stop.
I am not currently in the mood for idealism while the coalition is formed, because that is precisely the time where really tough compromises are formed into deals to run an actual country. We campaign in poetry, we govern in prose.
For TOP to make it there’s a few things that will need to change.
Morgan needs to understand that gratuitous offensiveness as a political strategy only has a chance if it’s pandering to some base impulses, and the audience you’re seeking is strongly driven by those base impulses. Being gratuitously offensive about murdering moggies or “lipstick on a pig” comments aren’t going to attract the audience he’s seeking.
TOP needs to have a serious think about their CCT and whether that’s a policy that’s important enough to them that they’re willing to die in a ditch for it. It never really got publicity or critiqued, outside of “they want to tax people to live in their own homes”. But it’s got many other serious flaws that never got examined at all. If TOP ever really looks like it might break 5%, it will be torn to shreds over the CCT. It will certainly instantly put off any blue-green that takes a close look at it and starts thinking through the implications.
If anyone wants to emulate Winston Peters they need only start a “Renters and Home Buyers Party”. The nation has become divided on housing and there’s a big gap in the market for a party that puts renters and first home buyers first. You could count on at least 15% of the vote.
The newish Chinese immigrants by and large I imagine do not want immigration curbs, that’s why all the Chinese Commmunist Government money is going to the Nats.
If you think all those big donations from Chinese Government part owned ” NZ” companies are coming out of individuals own pockets you are dreaming.
And it is not racism when you are at war. We should be fighting for our survival as an independent country, but only one country knows we are in a war.
Guns have been replaced by money and influence.
I speculate that the current ‘take a knee’ actions in US nfl could catch on and be a clarion call across the nation.
As a protest against: institutional racism, growing inequality, the president….
On my OE, I went to a rodeo in Phoenix, Arizona.
This was at the time of Bush War One, early ’90’s.
A white stallion entered the arena with the rider bearing the stars and stripes.
After a short propaganda monologue lauding American might, the national anthem started (akin to the scene in borat).
We were young, idealistic and refused to stand.
Our host was mortified, and we left early.
On the way out he essentially said ‘I appreciate your right to protest, but a rodeo isn’t the place to express it’.
I remember the intense fury of my young civilian contractor colleagues at a US Army base at the news that Aussie soldiers by the pool had remained seated when the bugle for the flag ceremony was blowing, instead of standing to attention. They looked on me as a near-enough Australian so wanted me to tell them what was up wtih those guys who were lucky they didn’t get physically assaulted. It wasn’t really possible to explain the general disdain for nationalistic bullshit felt in our part of the world without giving offence, so I just pointed out I wouldn’t stand to attention for my own country’s flag, let alone someone else’s. They were horrified, but did accept from that point that antipodeans are unpatriotic barbarians who don’t stand to attention if they have a choice about it, so all’s well that ends well…
I remember a few builder mates of mine telling me of the time they went over to the states to watch the indie 500 and a bit of the Nascar series.
The anthem came on, everyone stood except the kiwis, not because they had a political agenda but because they weren’t American.
It was soon made clear that you better be standing and singing with pride otherwise you will be shot.
It’s a different world over there and it pays to be aware of the cultural differences.
One of the guys got arrested as a vagrant in one of the small towns because he was wearing work shorts and jandals, the Sheriff was all
“I don’t care where you’re from boy, you’re in America now, don’t dress like a god damn hobo!”
It’s a different world over there and it pays to be aware of the cultural differences.
Oh, sure – same as how you don’t want to be wearing a tank top and shorts showing off your tattoos and body piercings in Kuwait. You don’t pretend to be a conservative out of politeness, but because the locals are likely to get violent if you don’t. For all its self-proclaimed love of individual freedom, American culture is little different from other countries where the population consists of religious conservatives – authoritarian to a high degree.
USA has been indoctrinating and glamorising the military into sports and public events via their national anthem etc for a very long time. Thrilled we don’t do that here.
Well it is a hard one for a border post, more for the government to handle and I see that she is going to go to government.
I also see that Harvard University has cancelled a fellowship because she is classed as a felon. They would not want to harm their brand. And they seem to be the leader in teaching the pure theories of neo lib economics and the free market to politicians and aspiring leaders. Wouldn’t want to besmirch the image.
Wow interesting juxtaposition of weka and Anthony R posts.
Also interesting is this Standford University course on how to hone your mind and know what you really want to do and get a feeling of achievement. Obviously for most of us we don’t have a feeling of achievement. A new way of working and thinking and visualising the possible and the desirable is needed.
The Weiner gets 21 months in the slammer for sexting a minor. Can we add on 50 years for his contribution to delivering us T. Rump (officially known as Tyrannosaurus Arse)? Please?
I suspect that Hoskings is increasingly deranged. Seriously. His outpourings are getting hysterical. The Media no doubt need his style but that says more about the desperation of the Media.
Would there be any advantage in the Greens and Labour respectively asking their supporters to give their party vote to their party but their electoral vote to one specified candidate from one of the two parties. E.g. In Nelson Labour voters give their party vote to Labour but their candidate vote to the Green candidate.
There’s only a benefit if there’s a specific candidate you want to keep out (that isn’t certain to get in on a list) and a split left vote might let that candidate win. Such as the hairdo from Ohariu. Or Paulo Garcia in New Lynn.
In addition to the niche pro Andre mentioned, the con is that it gets portrayed as a hypocritical dirty deal that ends up doing more damage to the overall party vote than the advantage of beating candidate T.
E.g. you stop ACT getting an orphan MP, but lose 2% between greens and lab, which equals 2 or 3 labgrn list mps. Not much point to it.
Are we still talking about electorate MPs in rotten boroughs?
The best way is to beat the national patsy hands down.
the second best way is to make the number of patsies irrelevant to the outcome of the election, such as this time (apparently). The nats will knife their patsies themselves.
The absolute worst way is to horse-trade electorate fights between parties – nobody likes being treated like a bargaining chip, and it looks as corrupt as the nats are.
I believe the Green Party had a bequest that was conditional on them standing a candidate that took a serious tilt at unseating Nick Smith, and that candidate was Matt Lawrey.
Go figure, the only two left National thinks it could work with. No wonder Boag, Hooten think only the one party, with the largest vote should rule, all others bow down. Media Q&A PANEL backed up this myth, largest party must rule.
Welcome to one party MMP NATION. Wholely supported by the supine NZ MEDIA.
BTW: I guess that most people around here values your opinion about as much as I do. I deleted 8 comments before I found one that anyone had actually commented on. ]
Now let’s not be to hard on Theo of fonterra because I’m sure he’s not a neo liberal first point is milk in schools next there factory staff get good money and it’s a 20 billion dollar any were else and he would be on 50 million and the fonterra setup makes it a price maker and not a price taker nuff said
Points taken. But whether Fonterra is a price maker or taker and does some good things to be well regarded, it is excessive money for the CEO and this trend is an international one as you say. And further the criticism of putting most of our biccies in one churn is that Fonterra is in the commodity market with its skim milk, and we definitely are not price makers in that market.
I like Gordon Campbell’s whimsical observations about Joyce over on Scoop.
This is how he starts. Amusing.
Gordon Campbell: PPPs are Steven Joyce’s new imaginary friend
Like the kid in that Bruce Willis movie who could see dead people, Finance Minister Steven Joyce can see stuff (like holes in Labour budgets) that no-one else can see. So maybe it shouldn’t be all that surprising that Joyce can also see ‘efficiencies’ …More»
The problem to solve is how does one process millions of ltr of milk at peak production before it turns to yogurt one can not accurately forecast the weather so one can not accurately forecast peak production so during peak production some milk gets turned into milk powder.
Because we have a seasonal based Dairy system which is timed for peak grass production we have times when we have a shit load of milk .
Unlike other countries that feed all there cows rations in a feed bin. So they have a flat line milk supply which is easy to plan for.
But those systems are more vulnerable to price fluctuations I.E they go tits up when the milk price drops to much .
Our grass based system are more resilient to price fluctuations and the grass based milk is better nutritional and that is the reason why the REST of the World is envious of our Dairy industry Ka Pai
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
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The two faces of inequality in New Zealand.
$160 000 a week
‘Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings earned a total of $8.32 million in 2017, a 57 per cent jump from last year. ‘
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/97212718/fonterra-ceo-theo-spierings-paid-832m-this-year
$ 22 a week
‘Poverty, illness and living on less than the minimum wage.
The last time there was fresh produce on the table was more than two years ago.
After covering her basic expenses, Lynlie Beazley survives on just $22 per week and sometimes she sleeps on an empty stomach.
The west Auckland resident described herself as the “face of poverty” in the country.’
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/western-leader/96992301/poverty-illness-and-living-on-less-than-the-minimum-wage
And 46% of New Zealanders voted to maintain the status quo.
There are words for people like that.
although I wonder how many of the 46% believed the promises of hospitals and halved poverty this time?
46%? Where did you get that figure?
That’s right Brigid, Nowhere near 46% when you count the non voters and spoiled votes.
I read through Marie Brady’s paper on Chinese influence in NZ. Without being xenophobic, I’d be surprised if Winston went with National seeing how deeply they are funded by Chinese government front entities. But also how would he go with Labour, as there are some questionable involvements there too? I’m also surprised that there hasn’t been more journalistic enquiry, or maybe I’m not surprised.
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/for_website_magicweaponsanne-mariesbradyseptember2017.pdf
Yes good point that dailey, well thought out.
Strange days indeed. Michael Barnett is chief executive of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce seems to have had an epiphany on housing.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11926368
“Denmark’s Housing for All policy is built on the belief that affordable, decent, quality housing for people from all income levels is the foundation of a healthy family and harmonious community.
We want that too. There’s a clamour for change, for breaking out of our traditional approach, to look fresh. Let’s become a nation of home makers who collaborate on devising a made in New Zealand housing accord that respects the dream for everyone here to have a decent place to call home and to participate on an even footing as a valued member of a living, nurturing democracy.”
Would have been nice to have said that two weeks ago Michael, or did granny hold on to it for a while.
But still, it’s the way forward. We’ve got a housing trust in Queenstown which is working, so far. Would be nice if it could have kept it’s charitable status but that’s a call for a new government to sort out to encourage more housing options.
Pity Michael Barnett didn’t bark about his wishes for more ‘affordable’ housing before the election!!
But that may have damaged national even further then.
I had a most disturbing conversation just now with a new immigrant (as in arrived since 2008) Fillipino guy I work with who basically is almost literally violently opposed to ANYONE but National being the government. He hates the idea of a coalition (coalitions are “a fucking weak clown show”) and as far as he is concerned Labour is unsetting the apple cart of of his carefully cultivated connections via church to National party people in his electorate. Now, this guy is a voting resident. It reinforced to me that a) only citizens should be able to vote, and b) citizenship shouldn’t just be a matter of timeserving then swearing an oath to the Queen, but should involve some sort of compulsory civics course – especially if you have come here from a third world shit hole run by a lunatic like the Phillipines is.
I am still taken aback at how angry this guy is at the idea Labour might form the next government, he just didn’t seem to grasp the point of democracy.
Not at all surprising – but as you know already, you are opening yourself up to the xenophobic label.
There’s been a couple of interesting MSM articles in the past about the numbers of people coming and being granted PR by country – eg UK US Aus China etc.
What there hasn’t been is the number of applications DECLINED (by country) – i.e. even as a percentage of the number of applications received by country.
That would show what a complete farce the points system is. It’d also be interesting to see it by year (for the past nine years).
A very good signal that National has successfully captured yet another immigrant sector away from Labour. They had no other home, and National selected Filipinos – the one in New Lynn came within 1800 votes of taking a seat that Labour had held since the seat was formed after World War 2.
After 9 years of Natz I think it would be very revealing to know the voting behaviour of all our “hand picked” immigrants. 90% of the ones I know are greedy me-me’s.
There’s something even more insidious to this
The Electoral Commission has NO WAY of knowing whether enrolled voters are even eligible to vote.
There is no data matching with Department of Internal Affairs, nor Immigration NZ.
There is no requirement to declare yourself a citizen or a permanent resident on the enrolment forms.
There are NO checks and balances to ascertain whether people who are enrolled to vote, are even eligible to do so.
There are specific concrete examples I am aware of, where immigrants, on student visa, work visa, and tourist visas, have enrolled to vote and have done so.
They have done this because they are aware that there is no ability for their vote to be discarded. All that is required is their name, and an address. They provide the address of a long term friend / family member and they get away with it.
I think we should restrict voting to just citizens only. Failing that, restricting it to citizens only, and permanent residents who have been here since 1973.
Voting is a privilege. Not a right. The fact we allow every Tom, Wing and Patel to vote without checking their credentials makes a complete mockery and a farce of our democratic rights.
If 500,000 immigrants over the last 9 years have registered to vote, and have done so, imaging the skewing effect that would have on our proportional representation.
There is a lack of understanding in the nuances of our political history by immigrants. The example of the filipino above, who clearly hasn’t lived in NZ under a Labour government, would have NO idea how good they actually are for NZ as a whole.
The whole system as it is right now, is far too open for abuse. NZ is only of only FIVE countries that allow non-citizens to vote. We share this ridiculous situation with:
Malawi
Ecuador
Paraguay and;
Chile.
Such illustrious company we keep.
wow!! I seem to remember an article where Winston talked about this voting factor and the pensions. How it could easily be rorted.
Is it fair to say to someone in the Far North “Don’t bitch about there being no employment up there, uproot yourself from your whanau, go to Christchurch, you’ll get a job there”. Is it just as fair to say to the person described should Labour form a government, “Don’t bitch, go somewhere else”? Without being called racist or xenophobic?
Re- the Filipino guy. Think I might be able to help you there.
Here’s what I understand has been going on:
Paulo Garcia – the former Filipino Consul General and National’s candidate in New Lynn – spent the past few weeks/months travelling around the country bad mouthing Labour big time. He used his connections to the Filipino Catholic Church groups to facilitate his campaigning. Our candidate on the Shore, Romy Udanga also travelled the country trying to reassure the Filipino communities they had nothing to fear from Labour. I don’t know the outcome, but I gather things turned nasty presumably when Garcia discovered Romy was also talking to the communities.
Born to rule authoritarian types again. Btw, Romy Uganda’s academic qualifications far outstripped the Nat. man so that wouldn’t have helped.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/95869217/abortion-goes-against-his-conscience-says-nationals-new-lynn-candidate
Sanctuary,
From your post he did not see to be against democracy, only against coalitions. It is a position that people can take, even if it is a bit unrealistic.
Obviously he prefers National. So do 46% of the voters who voted. He might hold those views strongly. But you only have to read this site to see that many people do, at least on the internet.
Maybe we generally expect people to be more circumspect when face to face in person.
Personally I would like to see less invective on the internet. Just because someone has a different view does not make them evil or criminal, and there is no need to make such accusations.
Not actually aimed at you, but I am sure you have read such posts on this and other political sites.
Obviously he prefers National.
He preferred National because he was brainwashed into believing National good… everybody else bad. He has no knowledge or understanding of the NZ political system and its history. Naturally the Nat government would like to keep it that way.
If we are to have all these immigrants coming into the country then it is incumbent on the government of the day to introduce a civics course they must attend before being granted NZ citizenship. Of course we know that’s the last thing National will agree to because the more ignorant they remain the better for National eh?
We can’t have these immigrants ‘getting learned’ can we. They might get uppity and start voting for the Labour Party. (sarc)
Anne – you don’t need to be a citizen to vote. Hell, you don’t even need to be a resident given the lack of checks and balances in place to determine a voters eligibility.
Thanks for the correction. You’re right.
It is wrong that many thousands of individuals in this country are given the same voting rights as NZ citizens when half of them can’t even speak the language let alone have any idea what they’re voting for. They are screwing and skewering out election outcomes and that is not acceptable.They should have to attend a civics course at the least before being allowed on the electoral roll. Once they understand our political system they become eligible to vote in our elections.
On this matter alone it is essential NZ First go with Labour so that the issue will be dealt with once and for all. National might pay lip service to doing something about it, but they never will because it is not in their interest to do anything.
To be honest, I don’t think many politicians are even aware that this rort is taking place.
Like I said, there is nothing in place for the Electoral Commission to ascertain an enrolled voters eligibility. It’s why there are foreign students enrolling to vote (and are voting) despite not being eligible to do so.
It’s because they know that the Electoral Commission don’t have any way of knowing whether they are enrolling correctly eligible people.
We run an honesty system when it comes to voting rights in this country.
It’s completely bizarre.
Anne,
At least for citizenship applications there is a kind of civics course that covers the democracy and the rule of law. However, it is a reasonable point that it should also apply to permanent residency, given that permanent residents can vote after 12 months.
Which on international terms is very generous. Maybe 3 year PR would be better to qualify for the vote.
The question is, why should permanent residents get the right to vote after 12 months?
Surely an equivalent length of time to that required to live in NZ before applying for citizenship should be apropos?
I agree with you John Anderson @4.6.1.2.1
The 12 month period before becoming eligible to vote goes back many decades to a time when 90% of our immigrants came from English speaking nations with democratically elected governments similar to our own.
However, the scenario has dramatically changed in the past 10 years and it is imperative the law applying to voting rights is accordingly amended. Your suggestion they be required to have gained eligibility for citizenship before they can vote in NZ is the obvious answer.
The point is, Wayne, is that people who are here since 2008, and come from foreign cultures, generally have a mindset that the “governing power” is what let them into the country, and so they “reward” them for doing so.
No thought is given to the actual realities of the effect that governing power has on the long term. In the case of National, it is bereft of long term ideas. Muldoon was the last National MP that was able to think long term. We didn’t get a long term government after him, until 2000 when Labour set up Kiwibank, Kiwisaver and the NZ superannuation fund
I haven’t seen any long term policies enacted by National. All their policies and laws since 2008 have been short termist, insular, and never focused on the long term.
Businesses can get away with 2 – 5 year short term thinking. Governments should be focused on 20 years out, with minor meddling when required on short term policy settings.
As for the 46% – given that the Electoral Commission allows anyone to register, without any checks and balances in place to determine said eligbility, are you surprised we have foreign students registering to vote? Nothing is stopping them as they know the Electoral Commission have no way of knowing the visa status of people who enrol. It’s all done on an honesty basis, and to be honest, honesty seems to be in short supply when it comes to people who are “backing bill”
Which is why National opened the gates and let every Tom, Wing and Patel in.
Just wondered who Peter Theil voted for. 🙂
Be fair. At least Thiel took out citizenship, even though he’s barely even visited us for a few brief moments.
Just wondered who Peter Theil voted for.
Yep. I wondered that too. Guess he was the voter which give ACT their 0.1 % average – he and Seymour, Prebble and a handful of underlings.
Sanc, how does it feel to be singing from the same page as David Farrar?
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2017/07/nz_unusual_in_allowing_non_citizens_to_vote.html
It fucks with my head big time, that’s for sure.
Farrar isn’t wrong.
Most countries reserve voting as a privilege, not a right.
I agree with the franchise. Just not to every man and his bastard dog.
If you want to vote, become a citizen. Prove your allegiance.
Permanent residency is not allegiance. Nor is being able to rort the electoral system knowing that the Electoral Commission have no way of knowing whether people who are registering to vote even have the right to.
They don’t even ask if you’re a permanent resident or a citizen ffs.
I registered a fake person last night. Signed it, sent it through. I have no doubt that new person will end up on the electoral roll.
Does Winston know this???
You’d think he’d be all over it like the proverbial…
I think Winston knows this all too well.
I don’t agree with him on simplistic solutions regarding immigration, but the situation – especially during the Gnat’s reign has caused real problems for all to see.
Bollocks to residents having to prove allegience. Get the lazy bum stay at home citizen voters to prove it first by participating in their own democracy.
As a permanent resident for nigh on 20 years I’m no more a kiwi now than I was when I got off the plane, but as a law abiding tax payer ever since, it would be a travesty to remove my voting rights.
The travesty was giving you voting rights without requiring you become a citizen first. As I’m fairly sure whatever other countries you’re a citizen of require. I was permanent resident here for around 15 years and voted in two elections before becoming a citizen and it certainly felt weird to me.
Given the right, that’s correct.
It may be the case for new residents in the future, or the eligibility period increased, but it would I’m sure it’s never going to be taken away from me, so moot.
But let us not get all xenophobic just because of national’s imported blue dragons. That’s a different argument altogether.
Just out of curiosity if it came down to it, would there be a downside to you of becoming an NZ citizen? Such as having to give up your citizenship of another country or worldwide tax or pension implications? There weren’t any in my case since my other nationality is US and I would never have any interest in taking any kind of position where that dual nationality might raise eyebrows.
I’ve no real desire to be citizen, even though I meet the current criteria as set out by immigration, but sure the cost of applying is a barrier.
Perhaps it should be automatic, or at least the option given, after a set period of law abiding spent time .
Even David can’t be wrong all the time, just 95% of it.
A broken clock is right two times a day.
unless it’s digital 🙂
Thanks for sharing this at post 4 with us sanctuary much appreciated.
So it appears that these immigrants are schooled in immigration matters by this government before?
When I immigrated to canada many years ago we were sent to an ‘induction’ course’ as we arrived there.
Labour /greens should stay away from anything more than c and f from nzf , at only a 1 to at best 3 seat majority the risk is too high of one of the loons in nzf bring down the house , and labour will be the one blamed ,
Why would Labour be blamed for NZF waka jumpers?
if coalition collapsed most would blame the biggest party imho
Not so sure about that. Waka jumpers are not well regarded in NZ. If the coalition collapsed because NZF as a party pulled out, maybe. But a couple of MPs jumping to National? I think they’re be scorned, not Labour.
Perhaps you can explain how you are going to bring this scenario about.
Who is going to be able to persuade Winston to provide C & S to a Labour Green Government when he gets nothing at all from them? Even the Green Party who have prostituted themselves to Labour aren’t willing to do such a thing.
Even if Winston was willing to do so his party members will not be at all happy.
They are far more likely to jump- ship and support National than they are to stay with Winston First.
i’m of the fuck im the nats can have him mindset ,in saying that winston may want it as he could back policy he likes from both sides that way while insureing stable gov .
a three way is too unstable , when they only just get enough seats, of course a lab nzf with greens in c and s is the other mix and would surely be on more than one parties mind .
“of course a lab nzf with greens in c and s is the other mix and would surely be on more than one parties mind .”
That might be true but I don’t think that the Greens are one of the parties considering it. From a James Shaw interview.
“The Green Party would be unlikely to sign up to that kind of deal,” he told The AM Show on Monday. “We are in politics in order to make change.”
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/09/greens-unlikely-to-back-labour-nz-first-from-outside-the-tent.html
He sounded a little more obliging a couple of days ago but I think he realised what a hole he was digging and what it would enable Winston to demand.
Well…another typical Waikato spring morning. There was a bit of rain overnight, not that its needed as there’s green, green, green as far as the eye can see. Grass is growing faster than the cows could possibly eat it so why the fuck has the neighbouring dairy farmer (~1000 cows) got his irrigation boom going full blast????
They had the chopper in last week spreading some kind of fertiliser, so I guess they’re making sure that all of it is properly sluiced off and into the Waipa River, just over the fence from the boom.
When you think about it…no surprise that these people are stupid enough to think the CEO of their company is worth paying $4000 per hour.
Think about that next time some whining dairy farmer gets on the radio claiming poverty.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/country/340179/farmers-batten-down-their-hatches-post-election
The only reason they are crying poverty is their debt levels are so high ?
Could very well be.
But whose fault is that?
We’re talking about a group who flag wave for the right…the parties of personal responsibility and all that.
And Bankrupt!
“Today, agriculture in New Zealand is bankrupt, as it was in 1985. Then it was an economic failure, particularly in the sheep industry. The sector was propped up by $1.2 billion of taxpayer funding under the Supplementary Minimum Price regime, most of it paid out in just two years to 1984. Adjusted for inflation, that would be $4b today.
Rod Oram explains why here:
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/09/25/49857/rod-oram-farmings-bankrupt-time-for-natural-capital
is it a big one or a little one . if it’s little ish it’s most likely spreading the cowshed waste , which has pretty strict regs you will find .
No…its water. Not even a hint of shit. Besides, the farm has a newish pond for the cowshed waste and I’m pretty sure the regs wouldn’t allow discharge in any fashion so close to the river.
However, this is the Waikato, where the regulations are loosely enforced.
Meanwhile down here on the West Coast this shit is happening,
https://www.facebook.com/CleanupOurWaterways/posts/1439821476101015?pnref=story
beatie….thanks for the link and thank goodness the fb page is open so those of us who don’t do facebook can read the story.
i have no doubt at all that this happened the way described.
I have encountered the exact same response from farmers and farm workers (I have a theory about required IQ levels for farm workers), albeit not over contamination of waterways.
A brave stand, and wise to take photos…but consider perhaps a go pro set up, discretely mounted, so you can record visual and sound.
I too got the line from the Regional Council and CAA that photos must be taken to properly identify the offender and any vehicle being used in commission of the offense. Back 7 years ago I’d have to trespass on the cocky’s land to photgraph identification marks….noticed just last week that these craft now have the ID numbers prominently displayed on the side of the aircraft. Makes my job much easier and marks a small but significant advance for us.
I know the Mokihinui, have caught fish at the river mouth and have relatives in the area.
Thanks to CleanUpOurWaterways for the commitment.
kia kaha.
Unfortunately down here the Regional Council are a big part of the problem. Comprised of farmers and gold miners who police themselves and their cronies by way of wet bus-ticket fines and penalties (if any)
When you live long enouh you see it all. I’ve seen political parties born grow and die like the MP . I’ve heard every political excuse out.
For me the greens dropped the ball. I don’t agree that MT outing herself was some massive thing. She wanted out she is out. The greens have lost support – no great win there. The green supporters underminned their only hope labour – not smart imo. The greens will never go into talks with the gnats – must keep the purity pure. Over it. Some will say you weren’t a proper green anyway and that is true. I’m sick of bullshit for sure.
New Zealand is well overdue for a new political party to form.
The Greens have a chance to recover, but also the chance to die at .9% away from parliamentary death. A coalition with either government coalition will probably kill them because their membership tends to wilt at the first sign of compromise.
Labour has lost much of its base within the immigrant community and among core urban seats in Auckland. They have lost the massive Chinese community which is over 25% of some electorates and over 20% in others.
United is dead.
The Maori Party: weeping at its tangi.
Act: put a fork in it.
Mana: splat.
Democrats: couldn’t fill a phonebox.
Conservative Party: unressurectable
That’s a reasonable-scale sized democratic wreckage for one election.
National stand astride our political world – renewed, refreshed, well funded, achieving little, delivering the small state.
TOP may well be the one that makes it – the y have all the Green policies and more, but they have the willingness to coalition with whomever will get the most of those policies in.
That doesn’t mean some evil will beset us like the Alternative for Germany people.
It means New Zealand is well overdue for a new political party to form that will guide that rag-tag battlefleet of waifs and strays and turn it into something new and strong.
Hahahaha – TOP makes it over the Greens? Way to let your bias get in the way of logic.
The GP is a well organised party – with a philosophy of process and substance, and world wide connections.
TOP is a one man’s vanity project.
That kind of arrogance in the face of a really poor result will see the Greens go the same was as the other parties listed. No political party is immortal, and like companies, they either grow safely, or they stagnate and die.
We collectively voted for change. I did. You did.
So how come we deride the ideas espoused by TOP?
We should be a fertile ground for ideas to improve our lot rather than become National-like in a stolid hanging on to the status quo.
(I have it on good authority that the Labour tax working group have Guaranteed Universal Income on their consideration list.)
Some of Morgan’s ideas are harmful. When I see pro TOP people engaging meaningfully on that I’ll be more willing to talk about the good ideas that have.
Btw would you be ok with TOP supporting National over L/G if they’d got 5%?
Leave the Green movement alone all you nay sayers. It is a far stronger movement than you can write off just like that. Look to our founding principles and realize there will always be support if there is no betrayal.
We will not become centrists, we will not go into coalition with hard line free market Capitalists.
“Look to our founding principles and realize there will always be support if there is no betrayal.”
This.
Agreed
“Some of Morgan’s ideas are harmful.” That is like saying that the ideas of any or all parties are “harmful.” That is no way to start a discussion.
I did not vote for TOP but I see the future as being vitally in need of some very different ways of managing society. But those new ideas will not get a hearing if we deny them before they are uttered. Some see the outspoken Morganisms as denial of any reasoned ideas. Not so.
Morgan was quoted yesterday as saying he’d be in negotiating with national already had they got 5%. Hope that isn’t lost on the idiot fringe on the left who were seduced by his moustache and fake left policies.
When AD says a new party needs to form, the by product of his apparent on going sustained attack on the greens, is to create a new coalition partner for the nasty party.
Nice try, but no thanks, comrade Plastic.
He never fooled me, zero sincerity and his past actions on Property speculation, selling businesses etc is all you needed to extrapolate where he would end up.
Two ticks to that
Heh.
I suspect the Maori Party will reform.
I’m not talking about ideas so much, as organisational structures. They are difficult to build, and will not be easily wiped away with one election – look at NZF – sat one term out, but kept working away from the main arena.
The Greens have a well-organised system, strong membership…. and they are still in the House. They they are not going anywhere soon.
There is strong support among some Maori for the Mp. It’s not going to die that quickly.
ACT has been slowly dying.
There is room for new parties, but they require a significant operating group, a well worked out philosophy, and a sense of relevance.
We are in a time of change. All 4 main parties in the current mix will be undergoing some change. People are done with the neoliberal philosophy, especially many of the young.
TOP belongs to the neoliberal wave when guys with money have tried to be a dominant force in politics. Change is coming.
There may be a place for a capitalist environmental party – by the way, Green politics does lean left. It includes environmentalism (sometimes called ecological wisdom), social justice, anti-violence, and grass roots democracy.
That is not the more narrow, caring capitalist environmentalism of TOP. It does lean to the right in it’s MO and underlying principles.
Green parties around the world embrace social democracy and lean left.
To me green left is the way forward for the future.
But time will tell – my feeling is TOP, and the Internet Party (and Mana) will slowly die – they do not have the organisational or community involvement.
The Mp and the GP will continue, but may be somewhat reshaped. As will Labour and the Nats.
There is room for a strong left wing party, and a strong right wing one. They may develop over the next few years – but they will be reformations of some remnants of past parties – Alliance, Conservatives, maybe blue-environmentalists (lets not call them blue-greens as political greens are about more than just the environment).
The maori party can come back as a proper socialist party, nobody else is and it’s a natural fit to overall benefit all of Maoridom.
IMO nothing less than that will appease their base who punished them over state house sales, supporting the gutting of NZ by voting with nact and having arrogant leaders like Flavell/Fox.
Yep divide and conquer. Possibly they may have found their Mana again. But labour had some sorting out to do and they did it. Tough times ahead for many of us.
I have pretty mixed feelings about Labour getting all the Maori seats.
Few of Labour’s Maori MPs are strong politicians with the capacity to bang the table and get great dividends for Maori.
I have no idea if TOP will rise of fail, but your instinct about a capitalist environmental party is a possibility.
II think the National capture of the Chinese vote will become more powerful than the Labour capture of the Maori vote. But therein is also the potential for more ethnically-based splinter parties to emerge out of Auckland.
A new political party? ffs this fantasy is popular. Seems to be the go to strategy for everyone without any actual ideas.
And Māori. Does make sense for us and so that is what will happen.
Ad
It appears that we need a dynamic leader that sounds rather like Hitler? Looking at the old but not totally out-dated Marien’s Guide to Public Policy Proposers you appear to be a Primitive Populist with the view that we are dominated by pointy-headed pseudo-intellectuals with proposal is to throw out briefcases and restore common sense.
But your solution is totally pragmatic based on what will win government power, which is in parallel with National. Is there no other way that you can conceive that would serve the half of NZ that wants thoughtful change that would better most of the people and the environment?
Charisma should not be mistaken for a sad slippery-slope argument towards totalitarianism. It’s a necessary element for any successful movement, full stop.
I am not currently in the mood for idealism while the coalition is formed, because that is precisely the time where really tough compromises are formed into deals to run an actual country. We campaign in poetry, we govern in prose.
We campaign in poetry, we govern in broken English.
Well said Ad, TOP are a likely winner if they stick around and as politics as we know it changes.
For TOP to make it there’s a few things that will need to change.
Morgan needs to understand that gratuitous offensiveness as a political strategy only has a chance if it’s pandering to some base impulses, and the audience you’re seeking is strongly driven by those base impulses. Being gratuitously offensive about murdering moggies or “lipstick on a pig” comments aren’t going to attract the audience he’s seeking.
TOP needs to have a serious think about their CCT and whether that’s a policy that’s important enough to them that they’re willing to die in a ditch for it. It never really got publicity or critiqued, outside of “they want to tax people to live in their own homes”. But it’s got many other serious flaws that never got examined at all. If TOP ever really looks like it might break 5%, it will be torn to shreds over the CCT. It will certainly instantly put off any blue-green that takes a close look at it and starts thinking through the implications.
Agree. Anything that smells anti-female will die fast and hard in this media environment.
Its still quite possible that TOP will fold since it depends on the funding of one person.
If anyone wants to emulate Winston Peters they need only start a “Renters and Home Buyers Party”. The nation has become divided on housing and there’s a big gap in the market for a party that puts renters and first home buyers first. You could count on at least 15% of the vote.
The newish Chinese immigrants by and large I imagine do not want immigration curbs, that’s why all the Chinese Commmunist Government money is going to the Nats.
If you think all those big donations from Chinese Government part owned ” NZ” companies are coming out of individuals own pockets you are dreaming.
And it is not racism when you are at war. We should be fighting for our survival as an independent country, but only one country knows we are in a war.
Guns have been replaced by money and influence.
I speculate that the current ‘take a knee’ actions in US nfl could catch on and be a clarion call across the nation.
As a protest against: institutional racism, growing inequality, the president….
On my OE, I went to a rodeo in Phoenix, Arizona.
This was at the time of Bush War One, early ’90’s.
A white stallion entered the arena with the rider bearing the stars and stripes.
After a short propaganda monologue lauding American might, the national anthem started (akin to the scene in borat).
We were young, idealistic and refused to stand.
Our host was mortified, and we left early.
On the way out he essentially said ‘I appreciate your right to protest, but a rodeo isn’t the place to express it’.
How embarrassing for your host.
Typical left winger though, absolutely no situational awareness and the social graces of an angry drunk who’s shit themselves.
You were lucky you weren’t beaten within an inch of your life, hopefully, you’ve matured and have a bit more nous.
I remember the intense fury of my young civilian contractor colleagues at a US Army base at the news that Aussie soldiers by the pool had remained seated when the bugle for the flag ceremony was blowing, instead of standing to attention. They looked on me as a near-enough Australian so wanted me to tell them what was up wtih those guys who were lucky they didn’t get physically assaulted. It wasn’t really possible to explain the general disdain for nationalistic bullshit felt in our part of the world without giving offence, so I just pointed out I wouldn’t stand to attention for my own country’s flag, let alone someone else’s. They were horrified, but did accept from that point that antipodeans are unpatriotic barbarians who don’t stand to attention if they have a choice about it, so all’s well that ends well…
I remember a few builder mates of mine telling me of the time they went over to the states to watch the indie 500 and a bit of the Nascar series.
The anthem came on, everyone stood except the kiwis, not because they had a political agenda but because they weren’t American.
It was soon made clear that you better be standing and singing with pride otherwise you will be shot.
It’s a different world over there and it pays to be aware of the cultural differences.
One of the guys got arrested as a vagrant in one of the small towns because he was wearing work shorts and jandals, the Sheriff was all
“I don’t care where you’re from boy, you’re in America now, don’t dress like a god damn hobo!”
It’s a different world over there and it pays to be aware of the cultural differences.
Oh, sure – same as how you don’t want to be wearing a tank top and shorts showing off your tattoos and body piercings in Kuwait. You don’t pretend to be a conservative out of politeness, but because the locals are likely to get violent if you don’t. For all its self-proclaimed love of individual freedom, American culture is little different from other countries where the population consists of religious conservatives – authoritarian to a high degree.
So BM are you quite happy for this Country to keep going the American way ? Of course you are, you vote National.
“beaten within an inch of your life”
By whom, typical right wingers?
For not standing up?
BM, your thinking is rotten.
USA has been indoctrinating and glamorising the military into sports and public events via their national anthem etc for a very long time. Thrilled we don’t do that here.
In times of conflict, when the mainstream news media already tend to pound the drums of war, having sports audiences repeatedly exposed to pro-military messaging tilts the playing field further still.
For anyone who still thinks Canada is a shining example of the liberal left:
https://www.rt.com/news/404570-chelsea-manning-canada-ban/
Well it is a hard one for a border post, more for the government to handle and I see that she is going to go to government.
I also see that Harvard University has cancelled a fellowship because she is classed as a felon. They would not want to harm their brand. And they seem to be the leader in teaching the pure theories of neo lib economics and the free market to politicians and aspiring leaders. Wouldn’t want to besmirch the image.
Wow interesting juxtaposition of weka and Anthony R posts.
Also interesting is this Standford University course on how to hone your mind and know what you really want to do and get a feeling of achievement. Obviously for most of us we don’t have a feeling of achievement. A new way of working and thinking and visualising the possible and the desirable is needed.
It’s a long read, perhaps to break up into available time spots. If you find something good that applies to you and helps tell us all about it.
I would like to know and learn from anyone else. And I think many of us are gagging for ideas of how to be, feel more effective.
https://www.fastcompany.com/3044043/stanfords-most-popular-class-isnt-computer-science-its-something-much-m
I don’t see it happening. Politics in NZ are far too extreme and polarised.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Polarised between people who are duped by the National Party’s lies, and people who aren’t.
The Weiner gets 21 months in the slammer for sexting a minor. Can we add on 50 years for his contribution to delivering us T. Rump (officially known as Tyrannosaurus Arse)? Please?
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/25/politics/anthony-weiner-sentencing/index.html
Going out to mow the lawn. Might have to remove dog crap.So I practised first by reading this:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11926482
I suspect that Hoskings is increasingly deranged. Seriously. His outpourings are getting hysterical. The Media no doubt need his style but that says more about the desperation of the Media.
Ha Ha fucking Ha, I really really like that. Excellent.
Strategic Voting – serious question.
Would there be any advantage in the Greens and Labour respectively asking their supporters to give their party vote to their party but their electoral vote to one specified candidate from one of the two parties. E.g. In Nelson Labour voters give their party vote to Labour but their candidate vote to the Green candidate.
What are the pros and cons?
There’s only a benefit if there’s a specific candidate you want to keep out (that isn’t certain to get in on a list) and a split left vote might let that candidate win. Such as the hairdo from Ohariu. Or Paulo Garcia in New Lynn.
In Nelson another pro would be the greens getting an electorate and all the money and resources and profile that go with it.
I have been wondering why an ‘accommodation’ wasn’t made in Nelson.
In addition to the niche pro Andre mentioned, the con is that it gets portrayed as a hypocritical dirty deal that ends up doing more damage to the overall party vote than the advantage of beating candidate T.
E.g. you stop ACT getting an orphan MP, but lose 2% between greens and lab, which equals 2 or 3 labgrn list mps. Not much point to it.
OK, so if you accept that the left vote gets split amongst Green and Labour the best way forward is to get National voters to change sides?
Are we still talking about electorate MPs in rotten boroughs?
The best way is to beat the national patsy hands down.
the second best way is to make the number of patsies irrelevant to the outcome of the election, such as this time (apparently). The nats will knife their patsies themselves.
The absolute worst way is to horse-trade electorate fights between parties – nobody likes being treated like a bargaining chip, and it looks as corrupt as the nats are.
I believe the Green Party had a bequest that was conditional on them standing a candidate that took a serious tilt at unseating Nick Smith, and that candidate was Matt Lawrey.
Survivor island. Key gone, Turei, Dunne, Farvel, Little. Whose left? Peters and Shaw.
Go figure, the only two left National thinks it could work with. No wonder Boag, Hooten think only the one party, with the largest vote should rule, all others bow down. Media Q&A PANEL backed up this myth, largest party must rule.
Welcome to one party MMP NATION. Wholely supported by the supine NZ MEDIA.
[lprent: Answer https://thestandard.org.nz/metiria-tureis-legacy/#comment-1392256
BTW: I guess that most people around here values your opinion about as much as I do. I deleted 8 comments before I found one that anyone had actually commented on. ]
Little isn’t gone!!!
Now let’s not be to hard on Theo of fonterra because I’m sure he’s not a neo liberal first point is milk in schools next there factory staff get good money and it’s a 20 billion dollar any were else and he would be on 50 million and the fonterra setup makes it a price maker and not a price taker nuff said
Points taken. But whether Fonterra is a price maker or taker and does some good things to be well regarded, it is excessive money for the CEO and this trend is an international one as you say. And further the criticism of putting most of our biccies in one churn is that Fonterra is in the commodity market with its skim milk, and we definitely are not price makers in that market.
I like Gordon Campbell’s whimsical observations about Joyce over on Scoop.
This is how he starts. Amusing.
Gordon Campbell: PPPs are Steven Joyce’s new imaginary friend
Like the kid in that Bruce Willis movie who could see dead people, Finance Minister Steven Joyce can see stuff (like holes in Labour budgets) that no-one else can see. So maybe it shouldn’t be all that surprising that Joyce can also see ‘efficiencies’ …More»
The problem to solve is how does one process millions of ltr of milk at peak production before it turns to yogurt one can not accurately forecast the weather so one can not accurately forecast peak production so during peak production some milk gets turned into milk powder.
Because we have a seasonal based Dairy system which is timed for peak grass production we have times when we have a shit load of milk .
Unlike other countries that feed all there cows rations in a feed bin. So they have a flat line milk supply which is easy to plan for.
But those systems are more vulnerable to price fluctuations I.E they go tits up when the milk price drops to much .
Our grass based system are more resilient to price fluctuations and the grass based milk is better nutritional and that is the reason why the REST of the World is envious of our Dairy industry Ka Pai