Annette, Phil and Trevor are upsetting the balance in the Caucus.
Instead of making space for the newer generation to shape itself they are tying them all up with their apron strings.
The current mess owes much to Annette, Phil and Trevor meddling like ageing parents.
Their individual motives are irrelevant. The pattern is universal.
An early declaration that they will bow out in 2014 and retirement to the back benches in Shearer’s forthcoming re-shuffle will set the scene. These steps will significantly change the profile and dynamic of the Caucus.
If Shearer wants “to move on” he needs to cut the apron stings with Annette, Phil and Trevor.
Goff has already declared an intention to stand. Why am I not surprised?
Note the ironic headline. It’s getting to be old hat in the Crosby-textor PR world for protagonists to brazenly declare themselves to be particularly virtuous in regard to a glaring fault, and accuse their opponents of being particularly guilty of it. I can imagine Key, apparently sincerely, confiding in an audience that he is compassionate to a fault, and that he has to be careful to ensure that his kind heart doesn’t prevent him making essential tough decisions.
It seems the only way Goff can be stopped from doing whatever the hell he likes, is for his local LEC and party members to vote for a different candidate to represent them at the next election.
I’m thinking about lobbying the party (however one does this kind of thing) about mandatory limits on the time representatives are allowed spend in parliament. I’m thinking five terms in total (which can be served as a block or across time) and two terms leading the party.
An early announcement by that three would add another jolt of enthusiasm into the activist base.
The party is damaged by the perception that it has been stalled since 2008.
That is an aspect of the very vocal frustration expressed at the Conference, at branch and LEC meetings and in Email and blogs.
Annette things her advice to Sherer us helping. It is not. Last weekend was a mess created by the HO, the leadership and their confidants.
If anger-management-problem Hipkins and the PR machine keep blaming Cunliffe they will miss hearing the message from the members.
js
+1 To limitation of terms. But 5? (15 years). Say four – 12 years enough, and if we changed to a four-year parliamentary term then that would revert to three – 12 years. Getting politicians out of their seats seems to require a shoe horn, or in some cases a car jack. And there is a lovely sense of ownership and pride at being an electorate that has its own MP in the House.
Overseas they are having difficulties choosing or holding onto the leadership – France for instance. And if you let the military or religious get into politics (Israel, Egypt, Burma etc) – you are halfway or even 90% stuffed and car jacks against tanks and military personnel are laughable unless some desperate group turn the jack into an IED (Innovative/Improvised Explosive Device?)
Good result for redundant kiwi workers thanks to union activist Kymberley Inu. WINZ have finally accepted that redundancy pay should not extend the stand down before benefit payments start. Now all WINZ have to do is make sure that their call centre staff stop lying to redundant workers about their entitlements.
I thought that came in a few years back (after, of course, I was forced to spend all my redundancy at a rate equal to benefit payments before I could claim any entitlement)
Sounds like WINZ call centre is similar to the IRD, according to my accountant there is a huge difference in relation to the advice and service you receive depending on who’s on the other end of the line, mind you the same could be said of the places I’ve worked in over the years.
A lot of the difficulty at the WINZ (and ACC) call centre is the prevailing philosophy on openness. Best practice is to overprovide information, and point out to an applicant everything they may be entitled to, ensuring the correct benefit is paid from the start. However, under a bash the bennie philosophy, it appears that call centres are encouraged to be frugal in their information provision. Or just straight out lie.
The thing that I think is frustrating about government departments these is the seeming inability to simply use the local tradesman in the local communities.
The tendering process simply gives most work to the biggest firms and local small businesses miss out.
Over time the cost goes up cause someone has to pay the motel bills of the workers travelling to these towns and the small local business closes.
It’s just another step in the breakdown of government departments being part of local communities.
The days of government departments giving a local family the towel laundering to do to help them out financially are long gone but so are many small local electricians, builders, etc who did the local work.
The above type rort seems to reflect a type of commercial nepotism – look at how many things Jenny Shipley has been involved in – vetting CV’s that turned out to be fake, power company sales, train sales, earthquake recovery advice for example.
National contracts for everything from laundry to toilet paper to property leasing to planning work just seem to consolidate the power to give contracts in the hands of a few with plenty of cases of disaster e.g. backhanders for leases.
Part of any tendering should include considering local economies just as large national tenders should consider NZ contracts first e.g. building trains. biggest or cheapest should not be the only consideration.
National contracts for everything from laundry to toilet paper to property leasing to planning work just seem to consolidate the power to give contracts in the hands of a few with plenty of cases of disaster e.g. backhanders for leases.
That’s not just National but Labour and every local government since the 1980s. It’s simply easier to negotiate with a single company that can supply everything than it is to negotiate with many small companies. Prior to the 1980s and the Rogernomic trashing of the economy most of those would have been done in-house. If the government wanted a building then it went and bought the land, built the building on it and then hired the cleaners to keep it clean. Nowadays they look to see who can make the biggest profit from government funds for the same services which inevitably costs more.
Thanks for the heads up, Dr T. It’s here. Misa is watching from outside any LP faction, thinks Cunliffe has faults, saw no evidence of a coup, and thinks Shearer is not doing as well as Goff during last electoral cycle – hence, no wonder some LP members are not happy.
Besides, as far as I can tell, the smearing and whispering campaigns (so vague as to be impossible to defend) have all been targeted at that other David. ….
The rank and file is said to have favoured Cunliffe but Shearer narrowly won the caucus vote, led by the old guard, who, it’s now well known, deeply dislike Cunliffe (though why is not clear, even in a town not known for keeping secrets. One Labour MP who asked what Cunliffe had done to deserve such antipathy is still none the wiser). …
Those at the conference were certainly excited. I watched it on YouTube and was less smitten. Maybe you had to be there to feel the rapture.
However good, it was asking a lot of one speech. Especially when Shearer’s subsequent TV appearances show him bumbling his way through straightforward questions on Labour’s new housing policy and Cunliffe’s summary execution.
It’s nonsense to say this doesn’t matter. There is no “rightful leader” of the Labour Party. The position isn’t Shearer’s by right, nor Cunliffe’s for that matter. It ought to be threatened if enough people feel the incumbent hasn’t earned it.
Oh god. Please don’t start yet another conspiracy theory. Next thing it’ll be reported as straight news and you’ll have Patrick staring at you with an unblinking stare.
I have read all the comments here over the last week or so – and agree with many of them, but have had other more pressing matters to deal with following the death by choice of a long standing friend.
Tapu’s article says what I have been thinking but much more succinctly than I could have managed.
I am still deciding whether to join Labour as many have suggested. Leaning toward doing so but only to add my voice and vote to the further democratisation of their internal processes to allow members a far greater say.
EDIT – Now see that Karol provided the link as I was typing my comment. EDIT 2 – and js!
The existence of an extraordinary global network of sham company directors, most of them British, can be revealed.
The UK government claims such abuses were stamped out long ago, but a worldwide joint investigation by the Guardian, the BBC’s Panorama and the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has uncovered a booming offshore industry that leaves the way open for both tax avoidance and the concealment of assets.
More than 21,500 companies have been identified using this group of 28 so-called nominee directors. The nominees play a key role in keeping secret hundreds of thousands of commercial transactions. They do so by selling their names for use on official company documents, using addresses in obscure locations all over the world.
This is not illegal under UK law, and sometimes nominee directors have a legitimate role. But our evidence suggests this particular group of directors only pretend to control the companies they put their names to.
The companies themselves are often registered anonymously offshore in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), but also in Ireland, New Zealand, Belize and the UK itself. More than a score of UK agencies sell offshore companies, several of which also help supply sham directors….
Josie Pagani is on Radio New Zealand feeding Hooton with attack lines against Labour concerning Labour’s change to a more democratic policy formation process which binds MPs to an agreed platform.
Good question – certainly not on Labour’s side except perhaps the ABCs.
I noted that, for once both at the start of this section and at the end, Ryan did not introduce Hooten and Pagani as being Hooten from the right and Pagani from the left.
Interesting. Related to Shearer’s non-answer yesterday perhaps?
That’s exactly right. Kathryn carefully weighs up what has been said on The Nation and Q&A etc and then carefully changes the way she introduces people accordingly. It’s all part of the neoliberal conspiracy (in which Radio NZ is obviously involved).
“That’s exactly right. Kathryn carefully weighs up what has been said on The Nation and Q&A etc and then carefully changes the way she introduces people accordingly.”
Don’t be so flip, Matt. By your own standards, this deviation from Ms Ryan’s longstanding and well-known weekly routine is most likely clear evidence that she’s mounting a takeover of Radio New Zealand at this very moment.
ps my highly placed friends at RNZ confirm that this is the case.
What’s more, I understand the actual coup is going to take place on Xmas day, but nobody will know it’s happened until the second week of January when they return from their hols by which time Ms Ryan will have it all signed and sealed.
Honesty from Hooten – You will know full well that those in radio/tv/print MSM are only the representatives/mouthpieces of who the owners want to be peddling their version of “news”.
I just can not take anything Hooten says seriously as a political commentator. Dog whistling & bending the truth is about it from Matthew these days. Too much of a rabid extreme neo liberalist point of view, which we can do without. >>>face the corner like a naughty child.
and the answer to the meaning of life is 4:2, jumping jack flash to 5;
Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer
everyone.
(well, that was a colossus of a small book)
-The Killing Moon (Echo and The Bunneymen) hanging aroound Villiers Terrace.
Or get a convenient opinion about it and go with that rather than have to admit his favourite part was probably from LOTR.
The hollow men like their puppets shallow vto, makes them less likely to go off script if they lack the brains to go unscripted. Case in point the hard talk interview.
I get the impression he is pretending to sound typical of one of the majority who support him. A crowd pleaser. Another “populist politician”. Someone in the New Zealand National Party picked a winner !
Did anyone see that article on 3 news over the weekend about an American entertainment lawyer who has written a book about the negotiations between our govt and Warners regarding the ammendment of our employment law? The author appeared (justifiably) critical of the proceedings and consequences. Due to slight squiffiness at the time I missed most of the information. If anyone knows the author or the name of the book I’d be keen to know.
And i am hobbited out before it even begins – avoiding downtown Wellington for the next week or so.
[On a different subject, thanks for your earlier message. Been difficult but not unexpected. In the last few weeks, I’ve become something of an expert on estate management/executor as there is no money for lawyers etc but getting there. It has highlighted a great gap again between the situation for the have and the have nots. Don’t think that many people realise that the support for those less well off financially that used to be available in such matters through the Public Trust no longer exists – they now charge for everything at close to legal firm rates. Free wills are also a thing of the past. May write something up for Open Mike on this in the near future when I get some free time.]
Hi deuto, thanks for the link, thats much appreciated. Will see if the library will get this book in:-)
(Re Hobbit madness: My volunteer work day is a Wednesday and the worksite is just off Courtenay Place which means its going to be fun fun fun getting home! The bus stop at the Embassy theatre end of Courtenay Pl is being closed for the parade and moved to wakefield st. I checked it out with the bus co and they said “with all the chaos going on who knows if your bus will be there on time and what time you will reach your destination” 10 points for honesty!)
And separately:Your friend was lucky to have you as a friend. It is sad that even in death inequality lingers. I have heard of families being unable to cope financially with expected or unexpected loss. This adds a really unfair burden to those already coping with grief. When you do have time it would be good to read of your thoughts and experiences in managing the affairs of your friend’s estate. I think it would be helpful for those of us who are unfamiliar with these circumstances
I live in Levin so I don’t get battered by it. And I have never read any of the books or seen any of the movies. Also I gave up on Jackson movies after King Kong what a slow boring movie that was.
Earlier in the interview he says he believes that he should “play the ball and not the man” And that he’s not going to go back and “re-rehearse” his reasons for demoting Cunliffe. i.e he’s not going to explain that.
Blogger bit starts at 5.17 mins:
Then from about 5.37:
Ah yes, but at the end of the day, the bloggers are not the voters. In fact they’re a long, long way away from the voters, to be perfectly frank. When you go round the country and I talk to the people, I have a better sense, I believe, than bloggers sitting there in front of a computer, quite frankly. Especially when they are sort of blogging anonymously. i don’t have a. I don’t listen to them. i don’t read them. I do what I believe is right.
It seems being anonymous, particularly impairs one’s understanding of what voters think.
“It seems being anonymous particularly impairs one’s understanding of what voters think.”
Indeed. That whole anonymous voting thing must really grind his gears too. It totally devalues the opinions of the voters when they cast their ballot in secret.
As a blogger I, of course, cannot talk to people around the country, because I’m chained to my desk. I do not have friends, family, workmates, old school chums. I cannot have conversations around the water cooler either literally nor figuratively.
Whereas David Shearer, travelling from photo op to photo op to meet people who have chosen to show up to see him (and are thus totally unbiased), yeah, he’s the one with the unvarnished view of social reality for NZers.
If people like Shearer are so upset about anonymity then let’s see a law proposing that voting in the general election be made public instead of secret.
Do Shearer and all those others bleating about anonymity actually know why voting is secret?
and while at it – another bloody fail on his presentation on the tv3 news. For fucks sake sharpen up. What a dopey answer to the question about whether $50k sections are available in Auckland. Somebody get a PR Training Course for Shearer for a Christmas present.
Each opportunity stuffed up like that is another whack on a coffin nail for Labour. Imo.
2c from behind the curtains in front of the computer removed from reality.
It’s not like he just stumbles on difficult concepts or unusual syntax. In this soft student radio interview he actually says “these houses are… um… are…………. um built.” How the fuck is this guy going to cope standing on a highly lit stage with people attacking him and communicate even the simplest of economic ideas. The motherfucker can’t even remember that you “build” houses!!! What the fuck does his addled brain think you do with houses??? Roll them up and fucking smoke them??? It’s like he’s missing the elemental structures of language, like that part of his brain responsible for simple syntax isn’t functional.
And they say that anyone that points this out is part of a conspiracy??? That’s like saying the enlightenment was a smear campaign. Stupid fucking cunts.
He has revert back to form after a glorious 30 minutes 8 days ago, with his lack of confidence in knowing the subject (54sec in). I do not blame David for this, it is those who thought out the policy without thinking about the “how” aspect (A King and others). Even the artist impression (33 seconds in) does not enter reality to a 90m2 house on a 120m2 section. A good idea easily dismissed by poor planning Fail to plan or plan to fail?? http://www.3news.co.nz/Labour-dreaming-with-housing-plan–property-developer/tabid/370/articleID/278168/Default.aspx
Oh my fucking god. I know I’m biased, but for any politician that’s just fucking embarrassing. Couldn’t they even get an intern to go on Trademe and scope out the prices of sections before the Leader went out to look like an utter numpty on TV?
(Probably Cunliffe’s fault that Shearer didn’t have the numbers.)
And he lives in this city. Had it been Damien O’Connor, English, Parata, Dyson you could perhaps understanding not knowing the city.
Still would like to know the originators of the policy and why the nos. don’t balance, and why Shearers minders let him out without being well briefed especially for a photo opportunity (driving prices down by 25-30% bulk buying just as well there was not the obvious follow up question).So a $220-$250k house really costs for us today $275-$315k + land. Funny thing that sounds correct for development on a 650m2 on the extremities of Auckland ;-). Shearer fact check: Yes http://www.pokenovillageestate.co.nz
Many here under estimate how difficult it is to carry out a successful photo op is (Key is gifted here) given what just went down !!! http://tvnz.co.nz/one-news/video
Many here underestimate how difficult it is to carry out a successful photo op
If a politician creates a perception, the media (especially TV) will look for confirmation.
Shearer created the “er … um” perception during the leaders’ debate and then either (a) did not do anything about it, or (b) did, but hasn’t learned, perhaps cannot learn.
He is never going to shake that perception, and a speech is irrelevant (when only one person is allowed to talk).
It is hard to exaggerate the level of incompetence here. Think of all the UNPLANNED things that can go wrong (protestors turning up, gotcha questions off-topic, awkward member of public intrudes, pratfalls – the list is long). This was none of those things. It was a straightforward question on exactly what Shearer was there to promote. It doesn’t get any easier for a campaigning politician. It can get much tougher though.
(A) Roll eyes.
(B) Sigh
(C) Face/palm
(D) Nod with a weary implication of “Yep, I expected something like that”
(E) Make tea.
(F) Note to self, “Oh yeah, that reminds me of the GCSB tape thingy.”
quartz
Are you alleging that David Shearer, or some other politician, commits incest? This is a serious and sensitive term and not just a run of the mill swear word. You are throwing around sexist insults like a farmer with a muckspreader. Swear words are more effective when used sparingly.
Nice one David Bloggers are not voters huh? Well we all have a vote so you are one down there. But even if you are right and we are a minority of voters, a lot of us are the minions that help in the 1001 little jobs that are essential to the smooth running of the election campaign. Imagine NO envelope stuffers, No one to drive those that can’t get to the polling booth, No one to make the thousands and thousands of phone calls a lot to abusive people, NO one, to do that what you have forgotten to do, the tasks you don’t have the time to do. Yep as voters we may not matter. BUT do you really want to piss us off????
Ah yes, but at the end of the day, the bloggers are not the voters. In fact they’re a long, long way away from the voters, to be perfectly frank.
Jez. Did he ever read the comments on his own posts at Red Alert? I guess he must have because he even answered some of them. I wonder if he thought that because he was a blogger that his opinion was abnormal.
But the point is that mostly we work and deal with work mates, are involved with family (usually several families in my experience) and friends, etc etc and some of us have been doing this for decades that hopping on social media rather than watching TV for a few hours makes us “different”.
FFS: doesn’t he have any kids around? The problem is that as any parent of teens can tell you, this is pretty much the norm for a hell of a lot of people who are current and future voters and under the age of 40. If they aren’t talking on blogs then they’re on facebook, twitter, or their phones. Many do all of those at the same time. The group who read political blogs typically have rather large friend lists so they literally broadcast whatever they’re interested in off to hundreds of people…
About the only thing I have ever seen slow people down in their headlong rush towards digital communications is when they have very young kids. And that is mostly because kids adore the technology, especially touch screens and keyboards…
Where does he live – in some mythic present where it is still the 70’s or 80’s?
This information showed the successful CNR tender was $31.3 million and the Hillside tender was $37.7 million – a difference of only $6.4 million (Otago Daily Times, 21 November 2012).
Local National list MP Michael Woodhouse was quoted as saying the difference between tenders was about 40% (Otago Daily Times, 16 November 2012).
Ms Murray says the actual difference would appear to approximately 20%.
So, we have a National MP either talking in ignorance or lying. But what about the $6.4m, what was so important that they couldn’t afford that?
The number of employees earning over $100,000 a year reportedly increased from 405 in 2011 to 564 in 2012.
KiwiRail now employs four people who earn over $440,000 a year compared to one in the previous year, at a cost of at least $2.4 million between them.
Yep, apparently wages for the top executives.
Nor is the closure due to lack of work, she says.
According to the KiwiRail 2011/2012 annual report, it has 535 new wagons “and more to come”. KiwiRail has said on previous occasions at least 3000 are needed.
“If that is true there is plenty of work for Hillside Workshops.”
Plenty of work to do just no will at the top to do it. And, no, it’s not cheaper to get it all done by other countries. In real terms, it’s actually far more expensive.
DTB
Well doesn’t our economic policy follow Ricardos theory or something interpreted as – Each country should do (only) the things that it is particularly skilled at, and export that, and import other countries efficiently made items.
And that explains why we are retreating into 19th century economic trends, with a hole in the middle caused by the vanished industrial age sector, and now concentrating on the labour-poor technological age.
E&OE What do I know, I’m just a seeker after understanding.
Well doesn’t our economic policy follow Ricardos theory or something interpreted as – Each country should do (only) the things that it is particularly skilled at, and export that, and import other countries efficiently made items.
That’s the theory – it’s a load of bollocks as most of the free-market theory is. Transportation must make it far more expensive to produce what we use elsewhere. It’s only the capitalist paradigm and its profit drive, which the free-market theory is based upon, that can make it look cheaper.
Shearer on TV3 News … promoting the housing policy, asked a simple question about cost … and guess what? He does the goldfish – mouth open, nothing, mouth closed. For God’s sake.
HE CAN’T COPE.
Everybody knows this. And even you think David Cunliffe is the anti-christ, you know it. Shearer won’t survive an election campaign, and no amount of head-in-sand self-delusion will change that.
Cut the crap, have a contest between Robertson and Cunliffe and anyone else, but just …
Potatoes are unpretentious, firm and earthy. That will appeal to the heartland.
They are not elitist, like artichokes.
Potatoes do not talk much – this reflects the taciturn kiwi nature and shows that they understand the rule that “it is better be thought a fool and say nothing than open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
Potatoes are discrete and tactful. This gives them the appearance of a Buddha-like wisdom. “Apolitical” as Shearer’s promoters would have it. Really, what could seem less political than a potato?
Potatoes do not loose their composure under pressure. They do not stammer and insult anyone. They do not say, “citizens over eighteen who have access to the internet do not vote”.
They’re good for you.
Cut into small sections and deep fried, they are delicious.
Baked and with sour cream they are delicious.
Roasted they are delicious.
Even mashed they are good.
Face it: potatoes are great no matter how they are treated. They have resilience and composure under the most brutal of treatment and everyone likes them.
David Cunliffe is not a potato.
So let’s not beat about the bush here! A sack of potatoes is far better than David Shearer! You know it makes sense!
I’ve got a few sacks of horse shit and sawdust and I’ll put any one of them up against Shearer AND your spuds if you wanna make it a three-way contest.
My sacks are humming with life and energy, bursting with fresh and fertile ideas. This is the nourishment the grass roots are crying out for!
Potatoes smell better than horse shit, but I have to admit that sawdust, especially pine, has the advantage when it comes to fragrance. This is going to be a tough competition, but I submit that the nutritional value of potatoes is more appealing to the proles, I mean voters, and they will see through the facile appeal of your sawdust! Horse shit might appeal to rose bushes, but rose bushes aren’t voters!
Ha! Chickens make poor interview subjects. They wander about, making random clucking sounds and are notoriously prone to picking on those perceived to be weak, undermining the appearance of solidarity. On the other hand, a single potato will show calm and decorum under all circumstances and a whole sack of them will be likewise stoic and determined. This will indicate that the front bench is steady and unified, unlike the present state of affairs.
Put four tv channels on the telly… one of Shearer, one of a potato, one of a pile of horse shit (even with a sawdust garnish) and one of my three chickens…
Which one do you imagine the people would most watch? One must think of the media.
The camera is a fickle mistress. Horse Shit has been spending a lot of time on the ground around the country, meeting and listening to the Real People ™ , and the Real People ™ are saying that when you get up close enough, Horse Shit really shines.
Besides, any sack of shit can get media training but what can you teach a chook or a spud?
They also unfairly tarnish Michele Bachmann as a liar, when anybody who follows her already understands that many of her statements aren’t meant to be truthful in the first place — she simply says what she feels.
A political marketing expert says four of the country’s biggest newspapers were substantially biased in their coverage of last year’s election – mostly in favour of John Key.
Massey University Associate Professor Claire Robinson assessed all the election images run in The New Zealand Herald, the Herald on Sunday, the Dominion Post and Sunday Star Times.
She says Labour and Phil Goff have real grounds to feel they were unfairly treated . . .
Cue squawking from the MSM: “We’re not biased, we /just have a really, really big crush on John Key/ don’t accept those findings, we can find a different expert with another opinion/ Oh John, you’re so cheeky! Ooh! /we are nothing but fair, balanced and objective/ but John is just so *hot*/ and we maintain that we have the best political coverage in NZ/ especially if you want to find out what John had for breakfast/.
The poverty that is currently being inflicted on New Zealanders now will likely have long lasting effects including those not born yet.
On the other hand creating a more egalitarian distributed society with decent housing, sufficient food and heating and stable environments will likely have our future citizens coping more easily with problems such as climate change.
What we create today suddenly seems more important.
Former broadcasting minister Jonathan Coleman announced in February 2011 that TVNZ7 would be canned. Two months later, he justified his decision by saying it had a weekly audience of only 207,000.
He admitted in May this year that the figure, which he said was provided by officials, had been calculated wrongly.
Mr Thomas said the research indicated that, by January 2010, more than 500,000 people watched TVNZ7 at least once a week.
It showed TVNZ knew Dr Coleman’s figure was wrong, he said.
TVNZ spokeswoman Megan Richards said the research was carried out as part of its reporting back to the Government. “So the Government was fully aware of the contents of each survey.”
TVNZ believed the research was commercially sensitive “despite the non-commercial nature of the channel as a whole”.
Oh, I bet it was commercially sensitive – TVNZ1&2 would have been losing audience share to TVNZ7.
Of 13,950 peer reviewed articles 24 rejected global warming: In One Pie Chart
By my definition, 24 of the 13,950 articles, 0.17% or 1 in 581, clearly reject global warming or endorse a cause other than CO2 emissions for observed warming.
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 ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
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Annette, Phil and Trevor are upsetting the balance in the Caucus.
Instead of making space for the newer generation to shape itself they are tying them all up with their apron strings.
The current mess owes much to Annette, Phil and Trevor meddling like ageing parents.
Their individual motives are irrelevant. The pattern is universal.
An early declaration that they will bow out in 2014 and retirement to the back benches in Shearer’s forthcoming re-shuffle will set the scene. These steps will significantly change the profile and dynamic of the Caucus.
If Shearer wants “to move on” he needs to cut the apron stings with Annette, Phil and Trevor.
They should have gone when Helen went, But they won’t they will want to bludge off the Taxpayer for another 3 years.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10849776
Goff has already declared an intention to stand. Why am I not surprised?
Note the ironic headline. It’s getting to be old hat in the Crosby-textor PR world for protagonists to brazenly declare themselves to be particularly virtuous in regard to a glaring fault, and accuse their opponents of being particularly guilty of it. I can imagine Key, apparently sincerely, confiding in an audience that he is compassionate to a fault, and that he has to be careful to ensure that his kind heart doesn’t prevent him making essential tough decisions.
It seems the only way Goff can be stopped from doing whatever the hell he likes, is for his local LEC and party members to vote for a different candidate to represent them at the next election.
I’m thinking about lobbying the party (however one does this kind of thing) about mandatory limits on the time representatives are allowed spend in parliament. I’m thinking five terms in total (which can be served as a block or across time) and two terms leading the party.
Shame. There is a perfectly good replacement waiting in the wings. Michael Wood would bring some youth and vigor to the position.
An early announcement by that three would add another jolt of enthusiasm into the activist base.
The party is damaged by the perception that it has been stalled since 2008.
That is an aspect of the very vocal frustration expressed at the Conference, at branch and LEC meetings and in Email and blogs.
Annette things her advice to Sherer us helping. It is not. Last weekend was a mess created by the HO, the leadership and their confidants.
If anger-management-problem Hipkins and the PR machine keep blaming Cunliffe they will miss hearing the message from the members.
And thats the message that needs to be sent. Old guard out and lets please have some new blood!
“I’m thinking five terms in total (which can be served as a block or across time) and two terms leading the party.”
How long was Helen in parliament? Wasn’t she elected in the 80’s?
This is a bad idea.
js
+1 To limitation of terms. But 5? (15 years). Say four – 12 years enough, and if we changed to a four-year parliamentary term then that would revert to three – 12 years. Getting politicians out of their seats seems to require a shoe horn, or in some cases a car jack. And there is a lovely sense of ownership and pride at being an electorate that has its own MP in the House.
Overseas they are having difficulties choosing or holding onto the leadership – France for instance. And if you let the military or religious get into politics (Israel, Egypt, Burma etc) – you are halfway or even 90% stuffed and car jacks against tanks and military personnel are laughable unless some desperate group turn the jack into an IED (Innovative/Improvised Explosive Device?)
Good result for redundant kiwi workers thanks to union activist Kymberley Inu. WINZ have finally accepted that redundancy pay should not extend the stand down before benefit payments start. Now all WINZ have to do is make sure that their call centre staff stop lying to redundant workers about their entitlements.
A really important victory!
I thought that came in a few years back (after, of course, I was forced to spend all my redundancy at a rate equal to benefit payments before I could claim any entitlement)
Sounds like WINZ call centre is similar to the IRD, according to my accountant there is a huge difference in relation to the advice and service you receive depending on who’s on the other end of the line, mind you the same could be said of the places I’ve worked in over the years.
A lot of the difficulty at the WINZ (and ACC) call centre is the prevailing philosophy on openness. Best practice is to overprovide information, and point out to an applicant everything they may be entitled to, ensuring the correct benefit is paid from the start. However, under a bash the bennie philosophy, it appears that call centres are encouraged to be frugal in their information provision. Or just straight out lie.
Yeah but will they back pay or reimburse, ALL those that they have made to use said redundancy payment??
Tui Moment
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2012/11/rodney-hide-on-rorts-in-government-tendering/
So anybody on the left want to take out a National MP?
The thing that I think is frustrating about government departments these is the seeming inability to simply use the local tradesman in the local communities.
The tendering process simply gives most work to the biggest firms and local small businesses miss out.
Over time the cost goes up cause someone has to pay the motel bills of the workers travelling to these towns and the small local business closes.
It’s just another step in the breakdown of government departments being part of local communities.
The days of government departments giving a local family the towel laundering to do to help them out financially are long gone but so are many small local electricians, builders, etc who did the local work.
The above type rort seems to reflect a type of commercial nepotism – look at how many things Jenny Shipley has been involved in – vetting CV’s that turned out to be fake, power company sales, train sales, earthquake recovery advice for example.
National contracts for everything from laundry to toilet paper to property leasing to planning work just seem to consolidate the power to give contracts in the hands of a few with plenty of cases of disaster e.g. backhanders for leases.
Part of any tendering should include considering local economies just as large national tenders should consider NZ contracts first e.g. building trains. biggest or cheapest should not be the only consideration.
That’s not just National but Labour and every local government since the 1980s. It’s simply easier to negotiate with a single company that can supply everything than it is to negotiate with many small companies. Prior to the 1980s and the Rogernomic trashing of the economy most of those would have been done in-house. If the government wanted a building then it went and bought the land, built the building on it and then hired the cleaners to keep it clean. Nowadays they look to see who can make the biggest profit from government funds for the same services which inevitably costs more.
Not only does it cost more but the workers get less of it.
Profit comes out of the workers wages.
The overall effect being that our society is worse off.
“Catastrophe”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10849840 and
Chaos
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/syria/news/article.cfm?l_id=418&objectid=10849730
The Chaos one what an ad for Gaffa tape. “Even keeps a Rocket in one piece until it’s fired.”
androgeneity follows fashion dollar
http://www.guardian.co.uk/fashion/fashion-blog/2012/nov/25/androgynous-models-ignore-gender-rules
small “dome”inion
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-latest-war-with-hamas-over-gaza-proves-benjamin-netanyahu-is-leading-israel-into-isolation-8348298.html
assyrians can carry on with barter as usual
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/despite-the-sabrerattling-an-attack-on-iran-is-now-unlikely-8348299.html
Fleet Air Arm or The Midway Battle…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-says-it-has-successfully-landed-fighter-jet-on-its-first-aircraft-carrier/2012/11/24/7caea670-36ad-11e2-92f0-496af208bf23_story.html
mining for oil
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9700439/US-aircraft-carrier-strikeforce-readies-in-case-of-war-with-Iran.html
ahhh Grasshopper
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1090811/record-numbers-flock-take-civil-service-exam
crunchy noodles
http://www.worldcrunch.com/rss/world-affairs/as-us-power-declines-can-china-step-into-void-in-middle-east-/gaza-beijing-obama-foreign-policy/c1s10224/
China more helpful to the heart of the black man
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/121121/china-vs-us-who-s-better-africa
Blackheart Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackheart_Man
oops, Men
http://books.google.co.nz/books/about/Black_Heart_Man.html?id=_mNZAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y
(and if the brother who has my copy still could please return it by Post 😉
Great column (as usual) from Tapu Misa, today’s Herald.
Cheers for the tip Dr T.
Tapu Misa on Shearer – recommended:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10849903
Maybe the world hasn’t gone mad after all.
Thanks for the heads up, Dr T. It’s here. Misa is watching from outside any LP faction, thinks Cunliffe has faults, saw no evidence of a coup, and thinks Shearer is not doing as well as Goff during last electoral cycle – hence, no wonder some LP members are not happy.
Misa is watching from outside any LP faction
That’s just what you’re SUPPOSED to think. *shifty eyes*
Yep she is regular attendee at the Standard Cunliffe fan club meetings …
I’ve never been invited to these meetings! I’m outraged. But more than outraged, I’m hurt.
Ah yes – just after that little bit of scruff 🙂
Oh god. Please don’t start yet another conspiracy theory. Next thing it’ll be reported as straight news and you’ll have Patrick staring at you with an unblinking stare.
Opps sorry – that is fact the camera…
You bet me to it – a top notch summation in my opinion.
Here is the link.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10849903
I have read all the comments here over the last week or so – and agree with many of them, but have had other more pressing matters to deal with following the death by choice of a long standing friend.
Tapu’s article says what I have been thinking but much more succinctly than I could have managed.
I am still deciding whether to join Labour as many have suggested. Leaning toward doing so but only to add my voice and vote to the further democratisation of their internal processes to allow members a far greater say.
EDIT – Now see that Karol provided the link as I was typing my comment. EDIT 2 – and js!
Sorry for the loss of your friend deuto. Take care
Really sorry Deuto. There aren’t any words, so I won’t even try.
I hope you have all the love and support you need to get through.
Warmest wishes.
From The Guardian:
Further details from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
Feck
Josie Pagani is on Radio New Zealand feeding Hooton with attack lines against Labour concerning Labour’s change to a more democratic policy formation process which binds MPs to an agreed platform.
Which side is she on?
Good question – certainly not on Labour’s side except perhaps the ABCs.
I noted that, for once both at the start of this section and at the end, Ryan did not introduce Hooten and Pagani as being Hooten from the right and Pagani from the left.
Interesting. Related to Shearer’s non-answer yesterday perhaps?
That’s exactly right. Kathryn carefully weighs up what has been said on The Nation and Q&A etc and then carefully changes the way she introduces people accordingly. It’s all part of the neoliberal conspiracy (in which Radio NZ is obviously involved).
To give deuto, his/her due, that’s about half as unlikely as most of the batshit crazy stuff you come out with hooton.
Well it got a reaction from you!
While you are here – a question for you totally unrelated to the above.
Do you have a middle name – and does it start with the letter “R”?
Edit – comment and question are to Matthew Hooton.
Yes and no.
“That’s exactly right. Kathryn carefully weighs up what has been said on The Nation and Q&A etc and then carefully changes the way she introduces people accordingly.”
Don’t be so flip, Matt. By your own standards, this deviation from Ms Ryan’s longstanding and well-known weekly routine is most likely clear evidence that she’s mounting a takeover of Radio New Zealand at this very moment.
ps my highly placed friends at RNZ confirm that this is the case.
What’s more, I understand the actual coup is going to take place on Xmas day, but nobody will know it’s happened until the second week of January when they return from their hols by which time Ms Ryan will have it all signed and sealed.
Honesty from Hooten – You will know full well that those in radio/tv/print MSM are only the representatives/mouthpieces of who the owners want to be peddling their version of “news”.
Of course the whole thing is total BS!
Well said Hoots!
I just can not take anything Hooten says seriously as a political commentator. Dog whistling & bending the truth is about it from Matthew these days. Too much of a rabid extreme neo liberalist point of view, which we can do without. >>>face the corner like a naughty child.
SP, you are one of a dwindling number that listens to the 9 to 12 show in RNZ. It is as journalistically weak as the Jim Mora show in the afternoon.
KMan
So who do you listen to on radio if you’re dissing 9toNoon? And where is the daily best and fairest political discourse found in the land?
Checkpoint is very good. Morning Report is worthwhile when they interview someone important.
Otherwise not much else worth listening to. Kim Hill is good but she’s not daily.
and the answer to the meaning of life is 4:2, jumping jack flash to 5;
Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer
everyone.
(well, that was a colossus of a small book)
-The Killing Moon (Echo and The Bunneymen) hanging aroound Villiers Terrace.
Whatever you think of the Hobbit, the films, Jackson, or anything else; this article is %100 Pure John Key:
http://t.co/sp4yplKz
Love this part:
ha ha yep, this line is classic John Key “Will watch the movie, wont need to read the book”.
You see, John Key is one of the shallowest people to ever be Prime Minister. He has no depth and he shows no depth. There is nothing to him… shallow
Or get a convenient opinion about it and go with that rather than have to admit his favourite part was probably from LOTR.
The hollow men like their puppets shallow vto, makes them less likely to go off script if they lack the brains to go unscripted. Case in point the hard talk interview.
I get the impression he is pretending to sound typical of one of the majority who support him. A crowd pleaser. Another “populist politician”. Someone in the New Zealand National Party picked a winner !
Last line of the article says it all. What a despicable little interloper he is.
“In its own world, in its own way, it’s a franchise like a James Bond thing. Those people just love it.”
Tolkien would have been thrilled to hear this description and comparison. You are right PB – 100% pure neanderthal John Key.
But judging from everything he says, I thought he couldn’t read. 😉
If he did read, he can’t recall.
Did anyone see that article on 3 news over the weekend about an American entertainment lawyer who has written a book about the negotiations between our govt and Warners regarding the ammendment of our employment law? The author appeared (justifiably) critical of the proceedings and consequences. Due to slight squiffiness at the time I missed most of the information. If anyone knows the author or the name of the book I’d be keen to know.
Are you hobbited out? I am.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/dave-armstrong/7995832/Hobbit-fatigue-setting-in-already
All the Hobbit marketing around town at the moment does nothing except leave a bad taste in the mouth.
I think this might be what you were referring to, Rosie.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Book-slams-Govts-accommodating-position-to-Warners-with-The-Hobbit/tabid/1748/articleID/278037/Default.aspx
And i am hobbited out before it even begins – avoiding downtown Wellington for the next week or so.
[On a different subject, thanks for your earlier message. Been difficult but not unexpected. In the last few weeks, I’ve become something of an expert on estate management/executor as there is no money for lawyers etc but getting there. It has highlighted a great gap again between the situation for the have and the have nots. Don’t think that many people realise that the support for those less well off financially that used to be available in such matters through the Public Trust no longer exists – they now charge for everything at close to legal firm rates. Free wills are also a thing of the past. May write something up for Open Mike on this in the near future when I get some free time.]
Hi deuto, thanks for the link, thats much appreciated. Will see if the library will get this book in:-)
(Re Hobbit madness: My volunteer work day is a Wednesday and the worksite is just off Courtenay Place which means its going to be fun fun fun getting home! The bus stop at the Embassy theatre end of Courtenay Pl is being closed for the parade and moved to wakefield st. I checked it out with the bus co and they said “with all the chaos going on who knows if your bus will be there on time and what time you will reach your destination” 10 points for honesty!)
And separately:Your friend was lucky to have you as a friend. It is sad that even in death inequality lingers. I have heard of families being unable to cope financially with expected or unexpected loss. This adds a really unfair burden to those already coping with grief. When you do have time it would be good to read of your thoughts and experiences in managing the affairs of your friend’s estate. I think it would be helpful for those of us who are unfamiliar with these circumstances
PS: if anyone’s interested:
A bit more about “The New Zealand Hobbit Crisis” by Jonathan Handel
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1211/S00518/the-new-zealand-hobbit-crisis.htm
Thanks, Rosie. Yes I am interested, and will look out for the book.
I live in Levin so I don’t get battered by it. And I have never read any of the books or seen any of the movies. Also I gave up on Jackson movies after King Kong what a slow boring movie that was.
This Government needs to take greater responsibility in lifting productivity!
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/valuing-workers-and-increasing.html
David Shearer interview on BfM this morning:
http://95bfm.com/default,208812,labour-party-leader-david-shearer.sm
It’s not his worst interview … he even shows a bit of passion at the end. But it’s mostly waffle.
The funny part is him going on about Bloggers – he gets really tetchy!
“Bloggers aren’t voters”, he insists. Thanks, Dave.
Lots of “bottom lines”.
I thought he didn’t read them?
“Bloggers aren’t voters”, he insists. Thanks, Dave.
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot?
pogo and circle dancing
Well, the bloggers aren’t voters who will vote for Shearer anyway (not the way he keeps insisting on insulting them).
True- not now any way DTB
What Shearer actually says about
Earlier in the interview he says he believes that he should “play the ball and not the man” And that he’s not going to go back and “re-rehearse” his reasons for demoting Cunliffe. i.e he’s not going to explain that.
Blogger bit starts at 5.17 mins:
Then from about 5.37:
It seems being anonymous, particularly impairs one’s understanding of what voters think.
bloggers sitting there in front of a computer
As opposed to right-wing journalists who show their approval of Shearer, by using goose-feathers and parchment?
“It seems being anonymous particularly impairs one’s understanding of what voters think.”
Indeed. That whole anonymous voting thing must really grind his gears too. It totally devalues the opinions of the voters when they cast their ballot in secret.
As a blogger I, of course, cannot talk to people around the country, because I’m chained to my desk. I do not have friends, family, workmates, old school chums. I cannot have conversations around the water cooler either literally nor figuratively.
Whereas David Shearer, travelling from photo op to photo op to meet people who have chosen to show up to see him (and are thus totally unbiased), yeah, he’s the one with the unvarnished view of social reality for NZers.
+1
#somuchsnark 😈
If people like Shearer are so upset about anonymity then let’s see a law proposing that voting in the general election be made public instead of secret.
Do Shearer and all those others bleating about anonymity actually know why voting is secret?
and while at it – another bloody fail on his presentation on the tv3 news. For fucks sake sharpen up. What a dopey answer to the question about whether $50k sections are available in Auckland. Somebody get a PR Training Course for Shearer for a Christmas present.
Each opportunity stuffed up like that is another whack on a coffin nail for Labour. Imo.
2c from behind the curtains in front of the computer removed from reality.
Fuck he’s awful: http://95bfm.com/assets/sm/208812/3/shearernov26.mp3
He has revert back to form after a glorious 30 minutes 8 days ago, with his lack of confidence in knowing the subject (54sec in). I do not blame David for this, it is those who thought out the policy without thinking about the “how” aspect (A King and others). Even the artist impression (33 seconds in) does not enter reality to a 90m2 house on a 120m2 section. A good idea easily dismissed by poor planning Fail to plan or plan to fail??
http://www.3news.co.nz/Labour-dreaming-with-housing-plan–property-developer/tabid/370/articleID/278168/Default.aspx
Oh my fucking god. I know I’m biased, but for any politician that’s just fucking embarrassing. Couldn’t they even get an intern to go on Trademe and scope out the prices of sections before the Leader went out to look like an utter numpty on TV?
(Probably Cunliffe’s fault that Shearer didn’t have the numbers.)
And he lives in this city. Had it been Damien O’Connor, English, Parata, Dyson you could perhaps understanding not knowing the city.
Still would like to know the originators of the policy and why the nos. don’t balance, and why Shearers minders let him out without being well briefed especially for a photo opportunity (driving prices down by 25-30% bulk buying just as well there was not the obvious follow up question).So a $220-$250k house really costs for us today $275-$315k + land. Funny thing that sounds correct for development on a 650m2 on the extremities of Auckland ;-). Shearer fact check: Yes
http://www.pokenovillageestate.co.nz
Many here under estimate how difficult it is to carry out a successful photo op is (Key is gifted here) given what just went down !!!
http://tvnz.co.nz/one-news/video
Many here underestimate how difficult it is to carry out a successful photo op
If a politician creates a perception, the media (especially TV) will look for confirmation.
Shearer created the “er … um” perception during the leaders’ debate and then either (a) did not do anything about it, or (b) did, but hasn’t learned, perhaps cannot learn.
He is never going to shake that perception, and a speech is irrelevant (when only one person is allowed to talk).
It is hard to exaggerate the level of incompetence here. Think of all the UNPLANNED things that can go wrong (protestors turning up, gotcha questions off-topic, awkward member of public intrudes, pratfalls – the list is long). This was none of those things. It was a straightforward question on exactly what Shearer was there to promote. It doesn’t get any easier for a campaigning politician. It can get much tougher though.
(A) Roll eyes.
(B) Sigh
(C) Face/palm
(D) Nod with a weary implication of “Yep, I expected something like that”
(E) Make tea.
(F) Note to self, “Oh yeah, that reminds me of the GCSB tape thingy.”
Can I say “All of the above”?
Simpler questions and answers:
Q: Why did Wall Street fuck the global economy?
A: John Key.
Q: Why is the UN so ineffective?
A: David Shearer.
quartz
Are you alleging that David Shearer, or some other politician, commits incest? This is a serious and sensitive term and not just a run of the mill swear word. You are throwing around sexist insults like a farmer with a muckspreader. Swear words are more effective when used sparingly.
Nice one David Bloggers are not voters huh? Well we all have a vote so you are one down there. But even if you are right and we are a minority of voters, a lot of us are the minions that help in the 1001 little jobs that are essential to the smooth running of the election campaign. Imagine NO envelope stuffers, No one to drive those that can’t get to the polling booth, No one to make the thousands and thousands of phone calls a lot to abusive people, NO one, to do that what you have forgotten to do, the tasks you don’t have the time to do. Yep as voters we may not matter. BUT do you really want to piss us off????
Jez. Did he ever read the comments on his own posts at Red Alert? I guess he must have because he even answered some of them. I wonder if he thought that because he was a blogger that his opinion was abnormal.
But the point is that mostly we work and deal with work mates, are involved with family (usually several families in my experience) and friends, etc etc and some of us have been doing this for decades that hopping on social media rather than watching TV for a few hours makes us “different”.
FFS: doesn’t he have any kids around? The problem is that as any parent of teens can tell you, this is pretty much the norm for a hell of a lot of people who are current and future voters and under the age of 40. If they aren’t talking on blogs then they’re on facebook, twitter, or their phones. Many do all of those at the same time. The group who read political blogs typically have rather large friend lists so they literally broadcast whatever they’re interested in off to hundreds of people…
About the only thing I have ever seen slow people down in their headlong rush towards digital communications is when they have very young kids. And that is mostly because kids adore the technology, especially touch screens and keyboards…
Where does he live – in some mythic present where it is still the 70’s or 80’s?
well, at least people can learn something helpful along the way
This is interesting:
So, we have a National MP either talking in ignorance or lying. But what about the $6.4m, what was so important that they couldn’t afford that?
Yep, apparently wages for the top executives.
Plenty of work to do just no will at the top to do it. And, no, it’s not cheaper to get it all done by other countries. In real terms, it’s actually far more expensive.
DTB
Well doesn’t our economic policy follow Ricardos theory or something interpreted as – Each country should do (only) the things that it is particularly skilled at, and export that, and import other countries efficiently made items.
And that explains why we are retreating into 19th century economic trends, with a hole in the middle caused by the vanished industrial age sector, and now concentrating on the labour-poor technological age.
E&OE What do I know, I’m just a seeker after understanding.
That’s the theory – it’s a load of bollocks as most of the free-market theory is. Transportation must make it far more expensive to produce what we use elsewhere. It’s only the capitalist paradigm and its profit drive, which the free-market theory is based upon, that can make it look cheaper.
Please. Make. This. Stop.
Shearer on TV3 News … promoting the housing policy, asked a simple question about cost … and guess what? He does the goldfish – mouth open, nothing, mouth closed. For God’s sake.
HE CAN’T COPE.
Everybody knows this. And even you think David Cunliffe is the anti-christ, you know it. Shearer won’t survive an election campaign, and no amount of head-in-sand self-delusion will change that.
Cut the crap, have a contest between Robertson and Cunliffe and anyone else, but just …
Make. This. Stop.
May I suggest a sack of potatoes?
Potatoes are unpretentious, firm and earthy. That will appeal to the heartland.
They are not elitist, like artichokes.
Potatoes do not talk much – this reflects the taciturn kiwi nature and shows that they understand the rule that “it is better be thought a fool and say nothing than open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
Potatoes are discrete and tactful. This gives them the appearance of a Buddha-like wisdom. “Apolitical” as Shearer’s promoters would have it. Really, what could seem less political than a potato?
Potatoes do not loose their composure under pressure. They do not stammer and insult anyone. They do not say, “citizens over eighteen who have access to the internet do not vote”.
They’re good for you.
Cut into small sections and deep fried, they are delicious.
Baked and with sour cream they are delicious.
Roasted they are delicious.
Even mashed they are good.
Face it: potatoes are great no matter how they are treated. They have resilience and composure under the most brutal of treatment and everyone likes them.
David Cunliffe is not a potato.
So let’s not beat about the bush here! A sack of potatoes is far better than David Shearer! You know it makes sense!
Vote Spuds! Now!
Bolger didn’t do too badly…
Exactly! Why aren’t the Labour caucus thinking of this?!
I’ve got a few sacks of horse shit and sawdust and I’ll put any one of them up against Shearer AND your spuds if you wanna make it a three-way contest.
My sacks are humming with life and energy, bursting with fresh and fertile ideas. This is the nourishment the grass roots are crying out for!
Let’s grow a stronger party from the ground up!
Horse Shit for Labour!
Potatoes smell better than horse shit, but I have to admit that sawdust, especially pine, has the advantage when it comes to fragrance. This is going to be a tough competition, but I submit that the nutritional value of potatoes is more appealing to the proles, I mean voters, and they will see through the facile appeal of your sawdust! Horse shit might appeal to rose bushes, but rose bushes aren’t voters!
I’ll see your sacks of potatoes and horse shit and raise you three chickens.
Ha! Chickens make poor interview subjects. They wander about, making random clucking sounds and are notoriously prone to picking on those perceived to be weak, undermining the appearance of solidarity. On the other hand, a single potato will show calm and decorum under all circumstances and a whole sack of them will be likewise stoic and determined. This will indicate that the front bench is steady and unified, unlike the present state of affairs.
Put four tv channels on the telly… one of Shearer, one of a potato, one of a pile of horse shit (even with a sawdust garnish) and one of my three chickens…
Which one do you imagine the people would most watch? One must think of the media.
The camera is a fickle mistress. Horse Shit has been spending a lot of time on the ground around the country, meeting and listening to the Real People ™ , and the Real People ™ are saying that when you get up close enough, Horse Shit really shines.
Besides, any sack of shit can get media training but what can you teach a chook or a spud?
pretty b**** funny… horse shit gets my vote and what with the worms and compost it’s win win for the spuds and chooks
That is hilarious.
Please, please can this be the real thing.
Definitive Proof of Politifact’s Bias
They also unfairly tarnish Michele Bachmann as a liar, when anybody who follows her already understands that many of her statements aren’t meant to be truthful in the first place — she simply says what she feels.
joe90
Very amusing. The irony was great. A Standardista couldn’t have done it better.
.
Surprise, surprise . . .
The press release that the above article is based on.
Cue squawking from the MSM: “We’re not biased, we /just have a really, really big crush on John Key/ don’t accept those findings, we can find a different expert with another opinion/ Oh John, you’re so cheeky! Ooh! /we are nothing but fair, balanced and objective/ but John is just so *hot*/ and we maintain that we have the best political coverage in NZ/ especially if you want to find out what John had for breakfast/.
Interesting research on the genetic ( strictly speaking epigenetic) effects that aspects such as famine (poverty) have on future generations.
http://protomag.com/assets/the-new-heredity
Epigenetics as I understand is about the proteins that sit on top of the gene and that suppress or encourage the switching on and off of the gene.
http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/obesity-epigenetics-and-gene-regulation-927
The poverty that is currently being inflicted on New Zealanders now will likely have long lasting effects including those not born yet.
On the other hand creating a more egalitarian distributed society with decent housing, sufficient food and heating and stable environments will likely have our future citizens coping more easily with problems such as climate change.
What we create today suddenly seems more important.
http://laudafinem.com/2012/11/21/public-confidence-in-nz-courts-on-the-verge-of-collapse-rogue-jurors-out-of-control/
I’m sure people would have seen this sham by TVNZ last weekend, and I would advise the above link as must read!
NZ really is controllably out of control!
This “Macdonalds” thingy (is that how you spell that cardboard food place?) is a bit of gaff innit
simile without fries?
TVNZ7 survey results ‘concealed’
Oh, I bet it was commercially sensitive – TVNZ1&2 would have been losing audience share to TVNZ7.
So is that a case of misleading the house?
at least people may learn something along the way
Of 13,950 peer reviewed articles 24 rejected global warming: In One Pie Chart
By my definition, 24 of the 13,950 articles, 0.17% or 1 in 581, clearly reject global warming or endorse a cause other than CO2 emissions for observed warming.