Marama Davidson is currently criticising herself for not doing her job and reducing the number of people requiring emergency housing. Well she is not so self aware as that but she is bemoaning how so many people are in unsafe emergency housing. Here's some free advice for you Ms Davidson. How about you come up with a plan to fix the situation?
Selective hearing and then selective reporting back here on TS without an appropriate link. One wonders whether you comment here in good faith at all.
The government was working to "rectify" the situation by creating more transitional housing, that is contracted by the government and provides individual support services, Davidson said.
She blamed "successive" governments for the housing affordability crisis, but acknowledged there was "not enough currently in the pipeline".
The previous National administration "gutted" the public housing stock, she said, and the current government was now "really, really stuck because of that massive, rapid increase in affordable housing that we've seen over the past year".
"And that just means we've got a slow sort of process to try and get the quantity up to what we actually need."
Apparently the problem is not in her “direct delegation”. Splitting the health and housing portfolios 600 ways is therefore the perfect excuse to do very little, given the problems are unlikely to fall to anyone’s “direct delegation”
Ain't that convenient for the Party that has a majority? Well to be fair, they ran on 'keep moving' not on fixing intergenerational homelessness. That is in the too hard basket, keep moving – even if it is to nowhere is much better.
The women got a job that the Labour government fucked up. Generally i have no use for her. But she is not going to manage to do anything for which a. gets no specified funding from the current majority holding Labour government, b. for which the Labour government would be giving the green light – again, majority holding Labour government, and c. about which the Labour party cares so little about that they put her into that position in the first place.
So you might want to flog dear Marama, but she is the wrong horse. The horse currently pulling NZ in deep entrenched, multi generational homelessness is this current Labour majority held government and before that it was the Labour coalition government and before that it was John 'Can i pull your ponytail' Keys with his handler Paula' Pigdog' Benefit.
Find a better person to complain about it, or at least complain about the silence of the Greens about this issue – until now. Not being able to do something is one thing, keeping mum about it is another altogether.
Just as well, Davidson did not keep mum about it. Have you got nothing better to do than spewing your negative bile and ranting? Have a Kit Kat, that’ll cheer you up.
You should read the whole comment and you would see that while i have not much use for the Green Party i do not fault Marama Davidson for the posioned pill that is homelessness and the losing position that she was put in by the current government.
And you really should eat better chocolate than that, and that includes snickers. They are not good for you at all. No chocolate, only fillers and palmoil, and such, you know, compound "chocolate'. You know, nice choclate, artisan chocolate made by someone in your local community.
I read the whole comment, and all your others. Trust me, it is my job as Moderator.
You wrote:
Generally i have no use for her.
Coming from you I guess that’s faint praise and an unfortunate choice of words; obviously, Davidson is not an object that may or may not be of use to you.
I personally don’t need chocolate, artisan or with fillers and palm oil, because I run on coffee. Luckily, NZ has come a long way making a decent coffee.
!!!??!? Why not? If ever there was a decent and admirable member of parliament, it's Marama Davidson. What leads you to claim you "have no use for her"?
Greens in Parliament are in the worst of all worlds; not in Cabinet, not opposition, no charisma to be noticed, such policy initiatives as they have quickly taken over, and about as close to power as Pluto.
They might want to take some notes from the German Greens who appear to be on a sweet trajectory into Ministerial positions.
My beef with the Green Party is that they want to be too ambitious to quickly. E.g they want entire benefit reform which the country cannot afford and they have a benefit specialist Menendez who could make a statement that TAS is a failure due to rent rises consuming the limit/cap. Or to increase the limit on TAS for rent.
Benefits are survival money. My concern is a roof above people's head, preferably not a motel roof.
Not capping TAS or replacing it with uncapped SB and comparing this to the cost of motel accommodation is what I want the answer to. It is not just about the cost of living in a motel, the negative social aspects are magnified.
Ummm they just won Auckland Central with no charisma?…..Shaw has been one of the best performing MP's over the last few years, he thinks and speaks calmly rather than shooting his mouth off and and blustering like others. Genter is excellent on transport.
They won Auckland central with split votes from labour supporters . Party vote Labour candidate Green. Wellington and Dunedin are rather more reliable for the Greens. Lots of party votes there.
The priority for talent from the Green Party I want to see is to fix homelessness, rising rents and the cost of housing for first home buyers. National and Act need to find some talent as well.
Expecting the government to cop the last 20 years of housing mismanagement is unfair.
Shipley market rents for state homes. Key selling off state homes and no brightline test.
Clark reversing market rents in state homes. Ardern a coalition with Peters, a pandemic and the other elephant in the room the health system.
Brightline test and tax changes will help but needed to have been done sooner. Less immigrants into the country will also help housing to stabilise. More homes need to be built and go back to the state housing system of placing people in state homes and managing the tenants. MSD is income related and not a housing provider. State homes used to have interim homes.
Personally I feel that what happened with fracturing of DHBs has happened to state housing. Just the cost to run each DHB is wasted money. So is public, emergency, transitional housing as fractured due to waiting for a home.
As well bring back overnight shelters until homes are built.
And aren't we all lucky now that Labour is in majority and has no one else to blame for their own fuck ups now? Cause that 'they had to content with NZ FIrst is getting tiresome, without NZfirst they would be sitting on the backbenches rendering their shirts in impotence or in the case of some leave politics altogether to make more money at some dumb think tank. Also the pandemic turned 1, not nearly 4 years old, and as we small business people were told so many times, did they not know to prepare for a pandemic? surely they should have known better, what with Sars 2003 outbreak which happened under Helen Clark. Heck, i am coming to think that they did not prepare for a win nor a pandemic. They are there because Winston Peters went into a coalition with them and the rest is history.
Individually and personally as people i agree with you. But as the Green Party – no use. When the Green Party grows up and realises that it does NOT need to be the handmaid to any ruling party, but could very well govern with gusto from the opposition bench and maybe even achieve more as a principled opposition bench party, i might consider them again. As for now, i have no use for the Green Party as a Party that I would vote for. I keep it with the socialists, they are more to my liking.
As to what i believe is that Labour has set up Marama Davidson as a scapegoat, and considering the funding she gets you will find it very hard to convince me to the contrary. I can see a few people be very happy about M.D. fail, so to speak, despite the fact that she was never set up to win.
MPs Sue Bradford (ex Auckland Peoples Centre, and Te Roupu) and Marama Davidson have been the exception for NZ MPs in recent decades, most of whom have little hands on experience with what people seeking assistance from MSD/WINZ have to endure. Riccardo is new so give him a few more months perhaps, but he was certainly active with AAAP–Auckland Action Against Poverty. AAAP runs clinics at WINZ branches for which people que in the dark, knowing that with an experienced advocate on their side, case managers will actually offer them what they are bloody entitled to in the legislation rather than branch “policy”. Marama has been to these clinics and offered her support.
Most MPs since the 80s have been of middle class or above socio economic status, without a clue of the WINZ sadism unemployed, disabled, and long term sick get from the state. So I am a Marama supporter.
20 years ago for 3 years 15 hours a week I was a benefit rights (BR) advocate. I knew how to fill out a special benefit form and accompany the client to the MSD office and get their entitlement. This was under 9 years of a National government.
I knew a person was better off when an advocate accompanied them. There are to few benefit rights services in the country. Every area requires one like a community law office.
No hospital pass to Menendez from Treetop.
Who is advising MSD on emergency accommodation and capping TAS for rent?
I would vote for Sue Bradford as PM any day of the week. And if only to see some heads explode. But the work that she does in beneficiary advocacy is phenomenal and so so badly needed.
I gave Turei a thought when I first looked at this thread. It has gone full circle for the Green Party re welfare short fall which has an extreme impact e.g. living in motels and transitional housing.
More Bradford's are needed on the front line of defence against poverty.
Fair point Git it was shameful the way so many turned on her for pointing out the obvious. Thousands of beneficiaries are now debtors because benefits are way too low.
Tactically Metiria made a mistake of outing herself via her own case then. Now that we have two tier benefits (COVID & non COVID), and a number of middle class people have encountered the sadism of MSD/WINZ I think she might get a different reaction.
In twenty odd years time when someone will look at rates of absue, sexual violence etc of minors/women/others suffered in tax payers funded emergency housing we should keep in mind that these people were forced to forgo 25% of their below the poverty line benefits for the pleasure of being not 'housed' but warehoused out of sight out of mind by simply another callous government.
Tiger Mountain – I don't know if women have pointed out how Metiria was following the feminist idea, that a solo woman with a family could get good education and/or training for a well-paid job, and earn sufficient money to bring up her family and work. It would always be difficult to do two jobs, but the idea was that a woman would be able to choose being a one-parent family and give the children a good home, education upbringing enough to match those of a couple, if she wanted to and worked hard. But she would need help particularly as the beginning, affording the education and managing her home and child responsibilities while doing so.
By keeping solo and single parents short of money, preventing them from achieving the required educational and parental standards, governments have thrown out the real upward mobility for all women that most feminists expected.
Also married women have had their pay gradually reduced in real terms. Originally the idea of women having workplace experience and having both parents working, was so that they could boost the man's basic wage, and the pair's finances could rise more quickly, so they could save to buy a house. Another stake in the heart that government has dealt to women.
Marama Davidson is one of the few people in parliament with real integrity and courage—in 2016 she actually went on the protest ship Zaytouna-Oliva, along with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan and many other activists, that broke the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza. She is a committed supporter of human rights campaigns both in Aotearoa and overseas.
For someone like you to dismiss her like that—"not so self aware" indeed!—is beyond ironic.
Lol, this is the Greens doing their job: raising awareness of the problems including the ones they don’t have the power to fix. They’re not even properly part of government, this is on Labour not the Greens. You’re not so stupid as to not understand how parliament and government works, so spare us the rw taking points and give us some actual rw political analysis.
Umm… She is the Minister of Homelessness. If she doesn't have the power to fix this issue she should be demanding she be given it or she should resign.
She is the Associate Minister of Homelessness….the sad fact that we actually have a ministry of that name seems to escape you. Thus she falls under the portfolio of Megan Woods (who surely at some stage will do something about the homelessnessness this country experiences, or well not. Its hard work. )
Housing
Hon Dr Megan Woods
Minister of Housing
Hon Poto Williams
Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing)
Hon Peeni Henare
Associate Minister of Housing (Māori Housing)
Hon Marama Davidson
Associate Minister of Housing (Homelessness)
But i agree with you: She should have lobbed that poisioned chalice back into J.A. open arms and said' Thanks dear, but no dear, this drink is all yours and that of your majority.
But dear Jacinda knows that on homelessness the Labour Party are as clueless, oblivious, and uninteressted and a guilty as was National under John Key, Helen Clark, Jenny Shipley and everyone before them since at least the late 80.s.
So Marama got the associate ministry and the Greens can pretend that they are again 'part of government' decision making. – or not depending of whom you ask.
But yeah, she got 4 million – 4 fucking million for something while we spend a million alone on emergency housing pretty much ever night. Which is not transitional housing, which is not public housing, which is not housing.
Associate Housing Minister Marama Davidson today announced funding support for new initiatives that will prevent and reduce homelessness in Whangarei, Auckland, Napier/Hastings, Rotorua and the Hutt Valley.
“Over $4 million has been allocated to projects that address homelessness in local communities,” Marama Davidson said.
“This is the first round of funding from the Government’s $16.6 million Local Innovation and Partnership Fund, which is a key part of our Homelessness Action Plan.
But but 16.6 Million local innovation and partnership fund, now that is as orwellian as it gets. Innovation and partnership fund to fix what? I don't think they know.
Fuck the poor and homeless in this country are so screwed. Intergenerational Poverty, Homelessness and th government has 16.6 million local innovation and partnership fund, and the hapless associate Minister of Homelessness MUST cheer this lest she gets nothing from dear Grant Robertson. This fucking government.
The 4 mil spent on homelessness projects I would have put that into benefit rights services (BRS) establishing new ones. Even if just for emergency housing BRS. I do think Davidson
is a sincere person.
Yes she was set up to fail. No money and no clout. Was she supposed to use the $4mill to persuade Maori entities to put up housing to relieve the state?
Meanwhile, Labour keep letting new people into the country. We've now had almost 18 months to train teachers, nurses and a lot of other occupations. Would it be so bad if we let the population decline a bit? Free's up housing for one.
Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable — the art of the next best.
– Otto von Bismarck
With some commenters here, nothing is possible yet everything is possible, nothing is attainable yet all is attainable, instantly, of course, and nothing is ever good enough. They are walking sacks of cells full of negativity and contradiction and mental wastelands where creativity and originality have died long ago in the winds of howling despair.
You don’t understand, and I don’t want sound like an ungrateful hua, but I read all comments here, at least I try to, but some are worse than stabbing my eyes with blunt tweezers.
The whole thing started when Key's government was in charge. They started shoving people into motels to save the embarassment of families sleeping in cars. Then complaints that motels were costing up to $2k a week, even though they were loans, caused the government to invent tranistional housing which is the government commandeering any hostel-style dwelling regardless of the condition, old motel units, RSE worker accommodation, whatever it can find. The government didn't want to run them so they statrted contracting incompetent community groups to do it. The whole mess has been the result of one knee-jerk reaction to another. No planning, just a series of silly decisions all aimed at staving off bad publicity.
The whole thing started well before John Key even was back in NZ.
he number of homeless people in New Zealand rose between the last two Census counts, a new study says.
The University of Otago study, which is based on Census data, said one in 100 were homeless in 2013, compared with one in 120 in 2006 and one in 130 in 2001.
The study used the Government's official definition of homeless, which is people living in severely crowded houses, in motels, boarding houses, on the street or in cars.
Between 2006 and 2013, the rise in homeless people outstripped population growth.
New Zealand's population grew by 4.8 per cent over this period, while the number of homeless grew by 25 per cent.
The total number of homeless in 2013 was 41,075, or 1 per cent of New Zealand's population. In 2006, the number of homeless was 33,295, or 0.8 per cent of the population.
People living in night shelters were excluded from the research.
"Homelessness is worsening in New Zealand in terms of both numbers and as a proportion of the population," researcher Kate Amore said.
"If the homeless population were a hundred people, 70 are staying with extended family or friends in severely crowded houses, 20 are in a motel, boarding house or camping ground, and 10 are living on the street, in cars, or in other improvised dwellings."
this is a bipartisan crisis that was foisted upon this countries population without mercy, be that by allowing migration in that cant' be managed, be that by selling everything not nailed to the floor, or be that by systematically underfunding the services that should help people who are homeless.
Btw. Oranga Tamariki also warehouses children in Motels.
Labour/National, both sides to the coin that we call homelessness.
Sabine, this is a battle of getting taxation from money and property owned by private corporations/ families. These are international and want to be treated like Google. Only expensive litigation will get the fair share.
As for the philosophy of the Labour party on this issue, well we might need to ask them as nothing that is happening on the ground looks like anywhere near resembling an association with that name. The party is a liberal conservative one by what can be observed by results. If reading the attached correctly, NZ is practically "owned" to 48% offshore and/or privately. Hence not much weight in what is happening on the domestic policy front comes to bear. Of cause the issue of Maori vs Pakeha would be the perfect divide and conquer platform to assist with stalling, distracting.
Maybe, and I hope so even if its wishful thinking, I am wrong.
MSD can resurrect the special benefit (SB) to enable many people to stay in a rental. Temporary additional support (TAS) has proven to be insufficient to enable people to afford the rent as it is capped. So the accommodation supplement (AS) is insufficient, plus TAS. Think old special benefit is not capped. Possibly $100 – $200 SB would be required per week. I would give AS plus SB. Some people still recieve the old SB not sure why.
Menendez could do special benefit costings due to his skills from working as a benefit rights advocate.
Sabine's suggestion to pay the entire weeks rent I would consider this short term.
Sorry for my reiterating as I feel the above is required immediately.
It was interesting how in the 1990s the numbers of people receiving a special benefit were slashed. The Labour opposition declared they'd make sure people who were entitled to the special benefit received it, which from 1999 they did a reasonable job of. Then they decided it cost too much so abolished it, replacing it with the temporary additional support. That's Labour for you.
Here is a quite amazing BBC interview where Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Environmental Advisor to the UN shuts down their anti China rhetoric in real time….
"Professor Jeffrey Sachs, a current serving Environmental Advisor to the UN, said that the broadcaster's framing of the debate was "not what [he had] expected" when he was asked to come on the show.
The climate change expert stated that he had initially been asked to discuss the environment, but claimed that the BBC's choice to instead debate China's human rights abuses – whilst completely ignoring human rights abuses of the West – was "absolutely bizarre".
Prior to the interview, the BBC had aired a segment (which was seen by Mr Sachs) detailing how the US's relationship with China was becoming strained due to the Asian nation's record on human rights.
The BBC segment then posed the question about whether the USA could really continue to work with China on climate change given their record on human rights."
The USA should disband immediately out of sheer embarrassment at the huge amounts of hypocrisy they generate on a daily basis right – its just outrageous how they parade around telling the whole planet how to live their lives ! . On the other hand of course Professor Sachs works at Colombia University , Lives in NYC and probably has a pretty good upper middle class life in the USA and can happily criticize his government all day long without any repercussions . I wonder how that level of public disagreement with his own government would go over if he lived in China do you think ?
The reason Professor Sachs was on the BBC programme was no doubt because of his qualifications and expertise on climate change.
"Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned professor of economics, leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor, bestselling author, and syndicated columnist whose monthly newspaper columns appear in more than 100 countries. He is the co-recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership, and has twice been named among Time Magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders." – Columbia University site.
The BBC, as it is want to do, blindsidedly changed the agenda from climate change to human rights abuses. As this is not the professor's area of expertise, he engaged the interviewer, without success, in an attempt to stop her derailing of the debate. The set-up became very obvious when it emerged that the other participant was a Chinese dissident. It does not appear he is qualified in any academic fields related to climatology – the topic of discussion.
The salient question might be, would a programme debating mutual approaches to climate change, if on Chinese media would have devolved into an interviewer's engineered slanging match on respective human rights abuses? One would hope not!
…. and can happily criticize his government all day long without any repercussions.
Abolitionists, union organizers, feminists, free speech advocates have been targeted by the U.S. state right from the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, and state laws against "sedition" down to the persecution of journalists and whistle-blowers like Ellsberg, Snowden, Manning and Assange. Thanks to the struggles of free speech advocates dating back to Patrick Henry and Ben Franklin, there is still freedom to speak out in the United States. It is, however, increasingly under threat.
Civil rights activists , Politicians and Activists in Hong Kong , Scientists , Artists , Businessmen , common farmers concerned about their lands being polluted or taken by corrupt officials – have all been punished , imprisoned and executed by the PRC and its security organizations right up to this very day with no sign at all of this kind of behavior by the Chinese regime showing any signs of slacking – just getting more extreme .
See how easy it is to pen a very broad/ sweeping paragraph about how poorly a particular National entity behaves towards its own citizens ?
I can probably write one about NZ too !
But of course you did not respond to my original point which was how long of a career do you think the fair Professor would have in the PRC .?
Why the scare quotes, Sacha? Actually I'm working on a transcript of that memorable piece of radio right now. Her putting straight of the notorious Prof. Patman*, as well as the complacent Wallace Chapman and the right wing ideologue David Farrar was too good to be lost forever in the ether.
Don’t bother posting it here on TS; we prefer original contributions.
So how come you tolerate the likes of Joe90 simply posting up Twitter messages every day?
Some things should be lost forever in the ether.
Fair comment. That applies to 99 per cent of Wallace Chapman's show. But not to sterling contributions by thoughtful and articulate commentators such as Laila Harré.
… Joe90 simply posting up Twitter messages every day?
I know it goes whoooosh over your head, but joe90 actually generally conveys more original thought and commentary in just a handful of well-chosen words accompanying those posts than is present in the screeds of repetitive stuff you continually re-post.
…. conveys more original thought and commentary in just a handful of well-chosen words accompanying those posts than is present in the screeds of repetitive stuff you continually re-post.
That's one of the funniest statements you've ever made. Far funnier than any of those daily jibes at President "Tweetyturd" to which you treated us over the last four years.
A decade or so ago, one Michael White made the outlandishly funny claim that the pompous Channel 4 autocue reader Jon Snow was a better journalist than, of all people, John Pilger.
I'd say he does more good for progressive attitudes than half a dozen Pilgers, wouldn't you?
You gotta love those amateur arm-chair ‘referees’ who think they know better, think they see more, but who don’t fully understand the rules of the game, don’t know how to tune their Smart TV or how to operate the remote and then when the game wasn’t to their liking they want their money back and blame the referee
I think you are actually polluting discourse and creating a suffocating atmosphere here. What’s worse, your attacks are setting a bad precedent for others. It seems you’re Hellbound to escalate this to a point of no return. Are you sure about this?
"So how come you tolerate the likes of Joe90 simply posting up Twitter messages every day?"…that is because Incognito mostly agrees with Joe 90 and never with you…as has become plainly obvious over the previous months the only debate incognito can generally handle are ones that take place within the walls of their own set political paradigm..or at least close to it.
BTW I and many others on TS really enjoy reading your transcripts..and I assume TS isn't here just to conform to Incognito's dubious aesthetic.
Many readers don’t mind at all scrolling and scrolling past these transcripts on their phones or past your own legendary exchanges that descend into conspiracy rabbit holes committed by Ruskies and Yankees and attacking just about every other commenter who needs to “turn [more/further] Left”, in your view.
Of course, your thinly veiled and indirect attack on me as Moderator ignores the fact that those transcripts not only are often long and tedious to read and/or scroll past, puerile, and often contain errors as noted by others here (e.g. https://thestandard.org.nz/brash-bassett-and-hide-take-up-blogging/#comment-1775697). You do seem to go about it in a sly way when attacking some (i.e. the usual) people on this site.
I’d be most obliged to you if you could find me a few examples where I unequivocally agree with joe90 given that you assert that I mostly (??) agree with joe90. I might reciprocate with a few examples where I do actually agree with Mossie even though you assert that I never (!) agree with him; I’m not that disagreeable by nature unless I’m hangry and need a Kit Kat.
I would also be highly appreciative if you could give a description of my “set political paradigm” and show how this is influencing my moderation here in a way that is unfair or unreasonable to you and/or Mossie and interferes with your desire to express yourself here as you wish without giving any consideration of how you come across to others. In fact, you always seem to be looking and thirsting for a ‘good [shit] fight’ here.
Lastly, I do try to encourage robust debate, which should be inclusive and without undue prescription as long as it adheres to this site’s Policy. Removing noise & dirt & nasty trolls have nothing to do my “dubious aesthetic” although I do admit that I prefer beautifully worded arguments and masterly crafted comments.
I prefer not to let this drag on for much longer, because the fun part is long gone for me and you constantly needling, criticizing, and attacking a Moderator might set a wrong example for others. I look forward to you backing up your accusations soon with rockhard watertight evidence or dropping this exercise in futility and surefire way to self-Martyrdom, so that we can move on.
The ball is now in your court, for the very last time, i.e. put up or shut up.
It was not a transcript, it was a satire. Everyone who commented underneath that little drama—ianmac, Drowsy M. Kram, and georgecom—got that it was a satire. Surely you don't think it was really a transcript?
Didn’t read the commentary, just picked the first ‘transcript’ that suited my comment. If you insist, I can pick one of your real transcripts from your oeuvre here; there are some real doozies among them.
I have to ask, was that intended as self-satire, if there even is such a thing? Pretty good effort, I have to admit; I fell for it, in my hurry to finish the comment on time.
I get that some people enjoy your transcripts and the suggestion has been made for you to post them on your own blog. I think that is an excellent suggestion, a win-win for all.
Siobhan, myself and few other lefties we know who started reading TS about the same time, were/are all big fans of your‘transcripts’ Morrissey and would get great enjoyment out of reading them and then recounting and laughing about our favourite bits when we got together.
Unfortunately most of those other Lefties no longer read TS, which is doubly sad because most of them where younger Lefties in their twenties. I would go into the reasons why they don’t bother reading TS any longer…but I think that is pretty clear.
This movement to not allow you to put those great pieces of truly original and funny satire on The Standard any longer is an indescribable loss for TS, one of main points of obvious humour cut out like this only illustrates what a humourless place it is being pushed into becoming.
BTW I and many others on TS really enjoy reading your transcripts..and I assume TS isn't here just to conform to Incognito's dubious aesthetic.
I can think of three moderators who have reached the end of their patience with the transcripts. For me it's the historical inaccuracy and simply not having time to check. That and him having a habit of slandering public figures and putting the site at legal risk is why there's an intolerance now.
Pretty good effort, I have to admit; I fell for it, in my hurry to finish the comment on time.I get that some people enjoy your transcripts
Thanks for that, Incognito. I appreciate that you acknowledge that fact.
and the suggestion has been made
By Sacha. Only by Sacha. Who has hardly ever said anything kind or even reasonably good-tempered to me.
for you to post them on your own blog. I think that is an excellent suggestion, a win-win for all.
No, I will not cease putting up transcripts of the vacuous and/or malicious things that politicians and broadcasters say. However, because I don't want to bore you or the other people on this site or overwhelm them with transcripts, I have hardly put any up at all for a long time, and I don't intend to for a while either. Except possibly just a bit of that Panel segment featuring Professor Robert Patman and Laila Harré.
Please, allow me to make a suggestion to you: don’t post your transcripts here on TS but post them on your own blog instead. Please never ever post transcripts from yesteryear here again.
If you must post new transcripts, I would strongly encourage you to go extremely lightly with them, so lightly that none of the pissed-off Moderators gets even more pissed off with them and/or you.
It’s just a suggestion, of course 😉
You could provide a link to the audio, with a bit of original commentary and personal analysis but without any ad homs and without any transcript. I know, it sounds radical, but most commenters are doing it this way here and I’m confident that you can too 😉
I've just told you, quite clearly, that I have not posted any transcripts for many, many months. If I do put any up, than I will keep them short and to the point.
I have spent a lot of time on the transcripts that I've done for this site. I take great pains to present them attractively, and with complete accuracy. I have transcribed things that politicians and broadcasters would rather were forgotten—for example, RNZ National Panel hosts and guests hooting in derision at the suffering of Julian Assange, or a National Party Cabinet minister telling Kathryn Ryan that there is "a variety of various variables", or Paul Henry ranting on breakfast television: "We have to be in there STRONG and HARD! We have to KILL THEM ALL! And in the course of this, bombs are going to bounce into tents where there are women and children! But we must not get up in arms about that! Kill them all!"
Why should I not put such things, awful and disgusting as they are, up on this site? I thought this was a forum for serious discussion and analysis.
[Ok, have it your way, you’re now being Moderated.
I’ve just told you, quite clearly, that I have not posted any transcripts for many, many months. If I do put any up, than I will keep them short and to the point.
I know transcribing is hard work, although software applications are becoming quite impressive and useful, and I know that some here lament the loss of your transcriptions here as the last remaining sense of humour and thus of human creativity and intelligence on this site. I sympathise with those losers.
However, a number of Moderators now have outlined why they have a wee problem with your transcripts. Given that transcripts are simply a written copy of audio, a link to the original source would and does suffice. If necessary, provide a time stamp pointing to the specific segment that you want to highlight. As such, (your) transcripts are no substitutes or surrogates for serious discussion and analysis. Unfortunately, you seem to put so much effort in the transcribing that you omit adding any decent analysis other than snide remarks about a wonderful interviewer/panel and the awful interviewee or vice versa. As weka mentioned, on occasion this has bordered on slander and putting this site at risk.
You insist that will continue putting up your transcripts (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27-04-2021/#comment-1790116). This could be a problem because you’ve demonstrated beyond any doubt that you cannot self-moderate your comments and commenting behaviour.
You can do whatever you like on your own blog and others can visit and read your transcripts to their heart’s content over there, but on this site, you must take heed of Moderators’ guidance. This is your warning – Incognito]
And right on cue, you produce a humourless transcript from yesteryear…
The humourlessness of that transcript is entirely due to the Australian prime minister and his moronic interlocutors. It's actually far worse than "humourless", of course: it's a brutal and nasty demonstration of contempt for both Pamela Anderson and the political prisoner she is speaking for.
As weka mentioned, on occasion this has bordered on slander and putting this site at risk.
That ONE occasion—I was unable to provide evidence of a politician alleging something nasty—has been well and truly put to bed. I apologized to both Mr Prent and the politician involved. You personally thanked me for that apology. Now, when else have I ever "bordered on slander" or put this site at risk? Was I slandering Scott Morrison by transcribing his malicious and humourless denigration of a political prisoner?
…. you’ve demonstrated beyond any doubt that you cannot self-moderate your comments and commenting behaviour.
That is an unfair and highly prejudiced accusation. Where have I ever personally denigrated anyone on this forum, or used foul language, or—apart from the one incident already mentioned and dealt with—made unfounded accusations about anyone?
You can do whatever you like on your own blog and others can visit and read your transcripts to their heart’s content over there, but on this site, you must take heed of Moderators’ guidance.
I do take heed of Moderators' guidance.
[Why are you wasting more Moderator when you’re already being Moderated?
Clearly, whether your transcripts are funny and contain humour is highly subjective but also irrelevant to this Moderation. This site is not an entertainment channel for people to express and enjoy their personal fetish. Nor is it aiming to compete with Comedy Central. There’s plenty of room and opportunity for sharp wit and satire, without your transcripts.
Yes, you apologised when you crossed the line, which was the right thing to do. I’ve no interest in trying to find other instances that might have occurred before I became Moderator here; I have a feeling the other Moderators could easily chip in here, but this is not necessary. Once is enough to make the point. Note that this is not the only reason for your Moderation.
There is a tediously long history of warning you in comments and Moderating you. You still don’t get it or still don’t want to get it; you dig in, you argue back, you resist, you litigate, you’re a recidivist offender who has wasted hours of Moderator time here over the years. I see this lack of adaptation and improvement as proof that you cannot self-moderate or don’t want to. Moreover, your comments regularly contain snide remarks and negativity/negative criticism aimed at others although perhaps not generally others on this forum (i.e. other commenters), which is synonymous with “denigrate” in my version of the English language. Criticism is ok, necessary even, but it needs to be fair and constructive and supported with analysis (which a transcript is not!). Taking potshots at people is the act of a small-minded wee soul. And it is not funny.
You assert you take heed of Moderators’ guidance. You forgot to qualify this conditional assertion; if you had taken heed in the past, we wouldn’t have that long history, or should I call it “precedence”, and if you had taken heed, I would not have to spend time writing this Moderation note either, which is yet another one added to the ever-growing list.
Don’t assume you can use this site as your personal playground and sandpit; you don’t pay a cent towards its running costs and you don’t spend any time & effort in managing it nor do you write any (Guest) Posts. You’re free to comment here as long as you follow instructions. You have your own blog where you can be in total control and do whatever you like within the boundaries of NZ Law.
This conversation is now closed! Take it or leave it – Incognito]
Do try a dose of your own medicine: “if you don’t like then don’t read read…there problem solved” [sic]. Up the dose when coming across any commenter or Moderator, comment or Moderation note, that might make your brain explode and trigger a verbiage of verbal diarrhoea from you.
She reads them all right, Adrian. She even had a minor supporting role in one, back in December 2013*, which is the reason for her unending anger and animosity.
She was supporting ….. (wait for it)…. Matthew Hooton.
Thanks for fixing the link. You're a real champion, I think.
"She" is our good friend Sacha. My first ever interaction with her came after the post "Mr Brown's Boys", which sent up the naïveté and gullibility of commentators on Russell Brown's site. She's had it in for me ever since. The old Breen charm routine fails to impress her, I'm afraid.
Side issue. Motels are not slums. Even cheap ones are infinitely better than living in a car. Since there are not enough houses to go around, isn't this a pretty good solution? Motel rates need to be brought under control though. And you can't choose your neighbours if the mob moves in next door, it can happen to anyone. Yes NZ needs more houses built but this will take a long time. Can't the Gov't just buy these Motels for 'the state' and let developers build more new ones?
you must not have seen some of the motels and the people housed there.
If you lived next to drug peddling gangsters with your family and you have no way of escape you might think twice about living in a van or car.
No the government 'can't just buy' these motels, they are private property -landbankers if you want so – and they are getting greased by the government beyond believe. Heck for 400 NZD a night (highest amount paid so far as per reports) they could pay rent fully. But then that would be a novel idea, and we only ever tried the known, tried and true and for the best profit for the motel lobby. Cause some industries are more deserving of receiving governments money then others. Never mind the all the unpleasantness about it.
Sabine as an ex rep I can claim to have stayed in more motels than most including low cost south Auckland motels many times. It's comes down to security if you want safe. It's no place for children though, which is what you are alluding too I suppose. OK for adults as long as your aware of your surroundings and live accordingly. It is still much better and much safer than a car. Maybe some people worry too much about the lower socioeconomic situation and let the media hype put unreasonable fear into conservative people.
As an ex rep you have no idea what you are talking about. Thanks.
Maybe you should have a good look at the motels that participate in this scheme, and you will find that most are motels that you as a rep would never have booked in, or say your company would have paid for.
Shoving a family of 4+ into a 25sqm 4 – 6 bed room is not the same as you coming as a rep, eating in a restaurant for dinner, coming in to sleep – maybe a cuppa and some Sky before going to bed before you travelled on to the next motel to stay for A night.
Apples and oranges are both fruit, both come from trees and that is literally where all 'sameness' then ends.
Nope. Still better than living in a car. BTW I have stayed in plenty of low end motels and had takeaways mostly. Dining by oneself is over rated. I'm not saying all motels are good. There are a lot of shitholes out their BUT they have more room, are warmer, have a bed, shower, kitchenete, etc etc etc. Your car have this?My bus does, but then it is not a car. I lived in my car at the Mount for 6 winter months when I was a bit younger. I have very low standards it would seem.
read this article and then weep. Homelessness is big business for motels tha twould have already died due to lack of tourists. Heck, so it seems that one part of the tourism industry does get help from the government.
With the election over, there's a renewed drive to lease or purchase hotels for transitional housing – but industry leaders warn it is simply subsidising the tourism industry without fixing the crisis in homelessness.
Government agencies want to buy up motels to house families who may otherwise spend Christmas on the streets, or crammed into sheds and garages.
The homelessness crisis was temporarily swept out of sight during the Covid lockdowns and, conveniently, the election campaign. It is now re-emerging ahead of Christmas.
Moteliers say Work and Income has been paying them enormous amounts to rent motels rooms for days and weeks at a time; as well as paying the full nightly tariff, Work and Income pays for security and up to $2500 for repairs to every room after they have been used.
they could have rented a standard bog property of trade me irrespective of the cost of that rental, housed a family longterm that way, and still have saved money.
yeah, and it is as cynical as that:
He welcomed the Government's renewed drive to purchase motels, saying they would be purchasing in lower socio-economic suburbs like Taradale, and by removing stock from the market would help the remaining moteliers.
"It's fantastic that they are starting to buy again," he said. "They're looking after the people who need accommodation and, for any current motel owner, it should increase our occupancy rates. It's a win-win."
Where are these mythical properties the Government could rent.? A potty mouth and a twisted view of the world does not help.. Some of your arguments are cogent, but most are thorough going rants.
Well this particular video of Wanganui is hardly selling it as a tourist destination…..think I would prefer to holiday in the Sunshine Coast (or virtually anywhere other than Gonville, Wanganui)!
Perhaps you could list a few of the tourist highlights and points of interest of Gonville for me, and maybe we will look at it as a possible holiday destination.
we are paying somewhere of 110 – 400 NZD a night, guaranteed occupancy. No way Tiny Dean in Rotorua is selling his Motels, this is the best money he ever made. And he don't even need to do anything else then say, yeah, i can squeeze another twenty into here for 150 buck a nigh per person.
What gets me is, that they can be build faster then houses – i have seen some Motels go up very fast here in Vegas, same as for oldfolks housing, – what the government should do is maybe build to that model and start with 1 – 2 bedrooms and make it permanent housing with a concierge, maybe an on site social worker/ advocate that can help navigate Winz and such.
That would be a much better use of money then what we are doing now.
Sabine you will burst a foo-foo valve if you don't take a break and stop fulminating. For every criticism and fault you find – see if you can find something good and positive. Otherwise you and we will be off to the mental health and they are already overcrosded. How about taking a break every half an hour for a cup of tea or something.
One of the nastier little changes the Nats made was to remove the requirement from house owners to eliminate noxious plants such as old mans beard. I don't know whether that can be done by regulation or whether an act is required, but there has now been long enough for that pest at least to regain a foothold in quite a few areas. This might be a ping pong issue (and landlords will complain about yet more regulation and costs pushing up rents), but I believe it worth doing as soon as possible.
yet here our council sprays the good plants so that the weeds prosper.
The best one that i saw a few years ago was a 'blackberry' weed eradication programme – never mind all of us who liked to go and pick these for jams and pies. The managed to kill most of the blackberry and now replaced it with kudzu and moth plant.
I am amazed too that old man's beard is not a hot issue, I see so much of it. And sneak into any controls one against bindweed – Convulvulus arvensis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convolvulus_arvensis
Bindweed actually has quite a pretty, white, trumpet-like flower but it is a brute of a plant. An invasive vine, once established it's extremely difficult to get rid of. … The Bindweed stems creep along the surface of the soil, climbing fences, other plants and whatever else they encounter, forming dense, tangled mats. https://www.henrystreet.co.uk/battling-bindweed-in-your-garden/
But that's a half-truth. Actually it grows roots like thin pipes underground whether you can see it above or not, quite often both. Morning glory (Calystegia) can also be called bindweed.
Under his leadership at Dunedin there was a fair few fine moves that occurred. The ones I noticed are:
– Turning the historic precinct from a run-down and derelict waterfront into a high-end innovation and commercial precinct.
– Wrinsing out the historical corruption within Dunedin City operations, and enabling a new generation of managers to rise through a good CE
– Getting a much stronger grip on Aurora Ltd and their horrific maintenance record. And a generally stronger grip on all the City companies
– Getting DCC's debt under control, post-stadium build
– Upgrading all of the central Dunedin water supply from E to A
– Enabling rail tourism to flourish
– Persuading NZTA to get cycleways all the way out to Port Chalmers on one side of the harbour, and out beyond Portobello on the other (though it took until this term to see it really rolling)
– Pushing successfully (both as Mayor and as Chair of Southern DHB) for a brand new hospital (which is still going through another Cabinet cycle)
I hope they fine this guy a decent amount, as it sounds like he travelled from Perth when he knew he shouldn't have, and basically puts everyone else at risk. If he ends up with a slap from the wet bus ticket it will be no disincentive.
Yep. Or just stuff him in special MIQ in Mt Eden for 2 weeks and charge him full price for it. But somehow, instead, they picked him up at the border and sent him home in Northland to self-isolate. Just encourages more irresponsible idiots.
Not sure who has control in a case like this, police, customs, MoH?
I have very little tolerance for people who knowingly put whole populations of people in potential jeopardy.
Concerns me that they trust him to self isolate in Northland, especially after the way he left Perth and changed flights etc. It doesn't sound like he is that trustworthy.
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
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The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish I’d writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
Marama Davidson is currently criticising herself for not doing her job and reducing the number of people requiring emergency housing. Well she is not so self aware as that but she is bemoaning how so many people are in unsafe emergency housing. Here's some free advice for you Ms Davidson. How about you come up with a plan to fix the situation?
Selective hearing and then selective reporting back here on TS without an appropriate link. One wonders whether you comment here in good faith at all.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/441256/inhumane-conditions-green-party-minister-condemns-some-emergency-housing
Ministerial delegations, for following comments: https://dpmc.govt.nz/our-business-units/cabinet-office/ministers-and-their-portfolios/delegations
Here is the link Gosman
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/04/green-party-minister-marama-davidson-labels-some-emergency-housing-as-inhumane.html
Apparently the problem is not in her “direct delegation”. Splitting the health and housing portfolios 600 ways is therefore the perfect excuse to do very little, given the problems are unlikely to fall to anyone’s “direct delegation”
Ain't that convenient for the Party that has a majority? Well to be fair, they ran on 'keep moving' not on fixing intergenerational homelessness. That is in the too hard basket, keep moving – even if it is to nowhere is much better.
The women got a job that the Labour government fucked up. Generally i have no use for her. But she is not going to manage to do anything for which a. gets no specified funding from the current majority holding Labour government, b. for which the Labour government would be giving the green light – again, majority holding Labour government, and c. about which the Labour party cares so little about that they put her into that position in the first place.
So you might want to flog dear Marama, but she is the wrong horse. The horse currently pulling NZ in deep entrenched, multi generational homelessness is this current Labour majority held government and before that it was the Labour coalition government and before that it was John 'Can i pull your ponytail' Keys with his handler Paula' Pigdog' Benefit.
Find a better person to complain about it, or at least complain about the silence of the Greens about this issue – until now. Not being able to do something is one thing, keeping mum about it is another altogether.
Just as well, Davidson did not keep mum about it. Have you got nothing better to do than spewing your negative bile and ranting? Have a Kit Kat, that’ll cheer you up.
You should read the whole comment and you would see that while i have not much use for the Green Party i do not fault Marama Davidson for the posioned pill that is homelessness and the losing position that she was put in by the current government.
And you really should eat better chocolate than that, and that includes snickers. They are not good for you at all. No chocolate, only fillers and palmoil, and such, you know, compound "chocolate'. You know, nice choclate, artisan chocolate made by someone in your local community.
Sabine-why would you have no time for the only party that takes poverty seriously?
see below to me answering Morrisey.
I read the whole comment, and all your others. Trust me, it is my job as Moderator.
You wrote:
Coming from you I guess that’s faint praise and an unfortunate choice of words; obviously, Davidson is not an object that may or may not be of use to you.
I personally don’t need chocolate, artisan or with fillers and palm oil, because I run on coffee. Luckily, NZ has come a long way making a decent coffee.
Generally i have no use for her.
!!!??!? Why not? If ever there was a decent and admirable member of parliament, it's Marama Davidson. What leads you to claim you "have no use for her"?
Greens in Parliament are in the worst of all worlds; not in Cabinet, not opposition, no charisma to be noticed, such policy initiatives as they have quickly taken over, and about as close to power as Pluto.
They might want to take some notes from the German Greens who appear to be on a sweet trajectory into Ministerial positions.
My beef with the Green Party is that they want to be too ambitious to quickly. E.g they want entire benefit reform which the country cannot afford and they have a benefit specialist Menendez who could make a statement that TAS is a failure due to rent rises consuming the limit/cap. Or to increase the limit on TAS for rent.
Benefits are survival money. My concern is a roof above people's head, preferably not a motel roof.
Not capping TAS or replacing it with uncapped SB and comparing this to the cost of motel accommodation is what I want the answer to. It is not just about the cost of living in a motel, the negative social aspects are magnified.
Ummm they just won Auckland Central with no charisma?…..Shaw has been one of the best performing MP's over the last few years, he thinks and speaks calmly rather than shooting his mouth off and and blustering like others. Genter is excellent on transport.
Plenty of talent among the other Green MP's.
Yeah, and before that Auckland Central was won by Nikki Kaye National and constantly lost by Jacinda Ardern Labour until she was gifted Mt. Albert.
So really winning an Electorate in NZ really means nothing much, consider that the woman who never won this particular electorate is now PM.
They won Auckland central with split votes from labour supporters . Party vote Labour candidate Green. Wellington and Dunedin are rather more reliable for the Greens. Lots of party votes there.
The priority for talent from the Green Party I want to see is to fix homelessness, rising rents and the cost of housing for first home buyers. National and Act need to find some talent as well.
Expecting the government to cop the last 20 years of housing mismanagement is unfair.
no it is not.
In the last 20 years we had
Shipley
Clark
Key
Ardern
the are part and parcel of what got us here in the first place.
Shipley market rents for state homes. Key selling off state homes and no brightline test.
Clark reversing market rents in state homes. Ardern a coalition with Peters, a pandemic and the other elephant in the room the health system.
Brightline test and tax changes will help but needed to have been done sooner. Less immigrants into the country will also help housing to stabilise. More homes need to be built and go back to the state housing system of placing people in state homes and managing the tenants. MSD is income related and not a housing provider. State homes used to have interim homes.
Personally I feel that what happened with fracturing of DHBs has happened to state housing. Just the cost to run each DHB is wasted money. So is public, emergency, transitional housing as fractured due to waiting for a home.
As well bring back overnight shelters until homes are built.
But people in Kainga Oranga do pay 'market rent'. Just not all of it. The pay what they can and Winz pays the rest even now.
See here in regards to Rotorua from a OIA request 2020.
https://www.hud.govt.nz/assets/News-and-Resources/Proactive-Releases/OIA-response-DOIA2021090472-Public-Housing-in-Rotorua.pdf
And aren't we all lucky now that Labour is in majority and has no one else to blame for their own fuck ups now? Cause that 'they had to content with NZ FIrst is getting tiresome, without NZfirst they would be sitting on the backbenches rendering their shirts in impotence or in the case of some leave politics altogether to make more money at some dumb think tank. Also the pandemic turned 1, not nearly 4 years old, and as we small business people were told so many times, did they not know to prepare for a pandemic? surely they should have known better, what with Sars 2003 outbreak which happened under Helen Clark. Heck, i am coming to think that they did not prepare for a win nor a pandemic. They are there because Winston Peters went into a coalition with them and the rest is history.
Market rent in public housing is subsidised, but only 25% of income is paid in rent.
Removing special benefit was under Clark 1 April 2006.
That is a brilliant suggestion, ceteris paribus.
Individually and personally as people i agree with you. But as the Green Party – no use. When the Green Party grows up and realises that it does NOT need to be the handmaid to any ruling party, but could very well govern with gusto from the opposition bench and maybe even achieve more as a principled opposition bench party, i might consider them again. As for now, i have no use for the Green Party as a Party that I would vote for. I keep it with the socialists, they are more to my liking.
As to what i believe is that Labour has set up Marama Davidson as a scapegoat, and considering the funding she gets you will find it very hard to convince me to the contrary. I can see a few people be very happy about M.D. fail, so to speak, despite the fact that she was never set up to win.
"I keep it with the socialists, they are more to my liking."
And they're more able to influence policy than the Greens?
the greens have influence?
Answer the question
Getting my
Kit Katsecond bag of popcorn.Fair enough. Thanks Sabine.
Remember when the Greens stood against GMO? Those where the days. No handmaidening going on back then.
MPs Sue Bradford (ex Auckland Peoples Centre, and Te Roupu) and Marama Davidson have been the exception for NZ MPs in recent decades, most of whom have little hands on experience with what people seeking assistance from MSD/WINZ have to endure. Riccardo is new so give him a few more months perhaps, but he was certainly active with AAAP–Auckland Action Against Poverty. AAAP runs clinics at WINZ branches for which people que in the dark, knowing that with an experienced advocate on their side, case managers will actually offer them what they are bloody entitled to in the legislation rather than branch “policy”. Marama has been to these clinics and offered her support.
Most MPs since the 80s have been of middle class or above socio economic status, without a clue of the WINZ sadism unemployed, disabled, and long term sick get from the state. So I am a Marama supporter.
20 years ago for 3 years 15 hours a week I was a benefit rights (BR) advocate. I knew how to fill out a special benefit form and accompany the client to the MSD office and get their entitlement. This was under 9 years of a National government.
I knew a person was better off when an advocate accompanied them. There are to few benefit rights services in the country. Every area requires one like a community law office.
No hospital pass to Menendez from Treetop.
Who is advising MSD on emergency accommodation and capping TAS for rent?
You need to be a special kind of person to be a beneficiary advocate–it is coming at you from all sides!
To be determined, non judgemental, work alongside the client, know the legislation, be honest and deliver results and to think outside the box.
[fixed typo in user name]
Think I need to watch the numbering to reply. In saying this I can have a strong view to a previous comment which I did not make.
I would vote for Sue Bradford as PM any day of the week. And if only to see some heads explode. But the work that she does in beneficiary advocacy is phenomenal and so so badly needed.
"I would vote for Sue Bradford as PM any day of the week"…+1.
Metiria Turei was excellent and would still be in parliament but for the rat pack.
she was the last Green Person i voted for, as i wrote her in as candidate for PM sadly we got whom we have now.
I gave Turei a thought when I first looked at this thread. It has gone full circle for the Green Party re welfare short fall which has an extreme impact e.g. living in motels and transitional housing.
More Bradford's are needed on the front line of defence against poverty.
Fair point Git it was shameful the way so many turned on her for pointing out the obvious. Thousands of beneficiaries are now debtors because benefits are way too low.
Tactically Metiria made a mistake of outing herself via her own case then. Now that we have two tier benefits (COVID & non COVID), and a number of middle class people have encountered the sadism of MSD/WINZ I think she might get a different reaction.
In twenty odd years time when someone will look at rates of absue, sexual violence etc of minors/women/others suffered in tax payers funded emergency housing we should keep in mind that these people were forced to forgo 25% of their below the poverty line benefits for the pleasure of being not 'housed' but warehoused out of sight out of mind by simply another callous government.
Thanks for that thoughtful and perceptive comment Tiger Mountain.
Tiger Mountain – I don't know if women have pointed out how Metiria was following the feminist idea, that a solo woman with a family could get good education and/or training for a well-paid job, and earn sufficient money to bring up her family and work. It would always be difficult to do two jobs, but the idea was that a woman would be able to choose being a one-parent family and give the children a good home, education upbringing enough to match those of a couple, if she wanted to and worked hard. But she would need help particularly as the beginning, affording the education and managing her home and child responsibilities while doing so.
By keeping solo and single parents short of money, preventing them from achieving the required educational and parental standards, governments have thrown out the real upward mobility for all women that most feminists expected.
Also married women have had their pay gradually reduced in real terms. Originally the idea of women having workplace experience and having both parents working, was so that they could boost the man's basic wage, and the pair's finances could rise more quickly, so they could save to buy a house. Another stake in the heart that government has dealt to women.
Agreed Tiger.
Well she is not so self aware as that…
Marama Davidson is one of the few people in parliament with real integrity and courage—in 2016 she actually went on the protest ship Zaytouna-Oliva, along with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan and many other activists, that broke the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza. She is a committed supporter of human rights campaigns both in Aotearoa and overseas.
For someone like you to dismiss her like that—"not so self aware" indeed!—is beyond ironic.
Lol, this is the Greens doing their job: raising awareness of the problems including the ones they don’t have the power to fix. They’re not even properly part of government, this is on Labour not the Greens. You’re not so stupid as to not understand how parliament and government works, so spare us the rw taking points and give us some actual rw political analysis.
Umm… She is the Minister of Homelessness. If she doesn't have the power to fix this issue she should be demanding she be given it or she should resign.
She is the Associate Minister of Homelessness….the sad fact that we actually have a ministry of that name seems to escape you. Thus she falls under the portfolio of Megan Woods (who surely at some stage will do something about the homelessnessness this country experiences, or well not. Its hard work. )
But i agree with you: She should have lobbed that poisioned chalice back into J.A. open arms and said' Thanks dear, but no dear, this drink is all yours and that of your majority.
But dear Jacinda knows that on homelessness the Labour Party are as clueless, oblivious, and uninteressted and a guilty as was National under John Key, Helen Clark, Jenny Shipley and everyone before them since at least the late 80.s.
So Marama got the associate ministry and the Greens can pretend that they are again 'part of government' decision making. – or not depending of whom you ask.
But yeah, she got 4 million – 4 fucking million for something while we spend a million alone on emergency housing pretty much ever night. Which is not transitional housing, which is not public housing, which is not housing.
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/4m-reduce-homelessness-five-locations
But but 16.6 Million local innovation and partnership fund, now that is as orwellian as it gets. Innovation and partnership fund to fix what? I don't think they know.
Fuck the poor and homeless in this country are so screwed. Intergenerational Poverty, Homelessness and th government has 16.6 million local innovation and partnership fund, and the hapless associate Minister of Homelessness MUST cheer this lest she gets nothing from dear Grant Robertson. This fucking government.
The 4 mil spent on homelessness projects I would have put that into benefit rights services (BRS) establishing new ones. Even if just for emergency housing BRS. I do think Davidson
is a sincere person.
I never said she is not sincere, i said she was and is set up to fail. That is not quite the same.
Yes she was set up to fail. No money and no clout. Was she supposed to use the $4mill to persuade Maori entities to put up housing to relieve the state?
Meanwhile, Labour keep letting new people into the country. We've now had almost 18 months to train teachers, nurses and a lot of other occupations. Would it be so bad if we let the population decline a bit? Free's up housing for one.
I agree on the set up to fail.
+1
So if she stamps her foot enough Labour will give her more power?
/end massive eye roll
– Otto von Bismarck
With some commenters here, nothing is possible yet everything is possible, nothing is attainable yet all is attainable, instantly, of course, and nothing is ever good enough. They are walking sacks of cells full of negativity and contradiction and mental wastelands where creativity and originality have died long ago in the winds of howling despair.
lol…welcome to the human race…and why ‘consensus democracy’ is not an option.
It's like bloody talk radio.
Nah, some of the commentary here is worse, much worse than bloody talkback radio and that’s setting a really low bar!
Is that really unexpected?…after all both open access blogs and talkback are vox populi.
pox populi
the alternative?
I was actually thinking of the oafish hosts when I wrote 'talk radio'.
vox populi, vox orificii
again…the alternative?
TINA
there is….but whether any of them have better outcomes is open to debate
True that, they tend to be variations on a theme. We tend to prefer the Devil we know, don’t we?
we do…and its worth reminding ourselves that those of us who frequently comment on here are not representative.
Yes, that’s a very good point, thank you!
You clearly have not listened to Peter Williams, Sean Plunket, or anything on NewstalkZB.
no…youre right, i havnt
You don’t understand, and I don’t want sound like an ungrateful hua, but I read all comments here, at least I try to, but some are worse than stabbing my eyes with blunt tweezers.
Always have been. But probably not as bad now as during some periods in the past.
I have – once for a few minutes each was enough to persuade me there would be no value in repeating the experience.
Yet still, there's truth in Incognito's comment.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/309530/auckland-house-prices-need-to-drop-50-percent-greens
5 years later its looking like prescience
The whole thing started when Key's government was in charge. They started shoving people into motels to save the embarassment of families sleeping in cars. Then complaints that motels were costing up to $2k a week, even though they were loans, caused the government to invent tranistional housing which is the government commandeering any hostel-style dwelling regardless of the condition, old motel units, RSE worker accommodation, whatever it can find. The government didn't want to run them so they statrted contracting incompetent community groups to do it. The whole mess has been the result of one knee-jerk reaction to another. No planning, just a series of silly decisions all aimed at staving off bad publicity.
Yes and add to house Oranga Tamariki, mental health and justice.
The whole thing started well before John Key even was back in NZ.
he number of homeless people in New Zealand rose between the last two Census counts, a new study says.
The University of Otago study, which is based on Census data, said one in 100 were homeless in 2013, compared with one in 120 in 2006 and one in 130 in 2001.
The study used the Government's official definition of homeless, which is people living in severely crowded houses, in motels, boarding houses, on the street or in cars.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/homelessness-rising-in-new-zealand/MOJKUZEF5KR6AALU7XLU5JQTXE/#:~:text=In%202006%2C%20the%20number%20of,%2C%22%20researcher%20Kate%20Amore%20said.
From here https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/research-papers/document/00PLEcoRP14021/homelessness-in-new-zealand#footnote_18
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0406/S00117/meeting-called-to-address-homeless-issue.htm from 2004 lol when John Banks was Mayor of Auckland and Helen Clark reigned supreme as PM.
this is a bipartisan crisis that was foisted upon this countries population without mercy, be that by allowing migration in that cant' be managed, be that by selling everything not nailed to the floor, or be that by systematically underfunding the services that should help people who are homeless.
Btw. Oranga Tamariki also warehouses children in Motels.
Labour/National, both sides to the coin that we call homelessness.
Sabine, this is a battle of getting taxation from money and property owned by private corporations/ families. These are international and want to be treated like Google. Only expensive litigation will get the fair share.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/116661441/new-zealands-biggest-50-landowners-revealed
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/400417/green-rush-foreign-forestry-companies-nz-s-biggest-landowners
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/101772/we-look-data-how-much-new-zealand-owned-foreigners-even-though-foreign-ownership
As for the philosophy of the Labour party on this issue, well we might need to ask them as nothing that is happening on the ground looks like anywhere near resembling an association with that name. The party is a liberal conservative one by what can be observed by results. If reading the attached correctly, NZ is practically "owned" to 48% offshore and/or privately. Hence not much weight in what is happening on the domestic policy front comes to bear. Of cause the issue of Maori vs Pakeha would be the perfect divide and conquer platform to assist with stalling, distracting.
Maybe, and I hope so even if its wishful thinking, I am wrong.
you are not, i believe.
The whole thing started with the deregulation of the financial system decades ago….Keys government were cheerleaders, but not solely responsible.
MSD can resurrect the special benefit (SB) to enable many people to stay in a rental. Temporary additional support (TAS) has proven to be insufficient to enable people to afford the rent as it is capped. So the accommodation supplement (AS) is insufficient, plus TAS. Think old special benefit is not capped. Possibly $100 – $200 SB would be required per week. I would give AS plus SB. Some people still recieve the old SB not sure why.
Menendez could do special benefit costings due to his skills from working as a benefit rights advocate.
Sabine's suggestion to pay the entire weeks rent I would consider this short term.
Sorry for my reiterating as I feel the above is required immediately.
It was interesting how in the 1990s the numbers of people receiving a special benefit were slashed. The Labour opposition declared they'd make sure people who were entitled to the special benefit received it, which from 1999 they did a reasonable job of. Then they decided it cost too much so abolished it, replacing it with the temporary additional support. That's Labour for you.
Here is a quite amazing BBC interview where Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Environmental Advisor to the UN shuts down their anti China rhetoric in real time….
"Professor Jeffrey Sachs, a current serving Environmental Advisor to the UN, said that the broadcaster's framing of the debate was "not what [he had] expected" when he was asked to come on the show.
The climate change expert stated that he had initially been asked to discuss the environment, but claimed that the BBC's choice to instead debate China's human rights abuses – whilst completely ignoring human rights abuses of the West – was "absolutely bizarre".
Prior to the interview, the BBC had aired a segment (which was seen by Mr Sachs) detailing how the US's relationship with China was becoming strained due to the Asian nation's record on human rights.
The BBC segment then posed the question about whether the USA could really continue to work with China on climate change given their record on human rights."
Jefferey Sachs comes on @ 6.30
The USA should disband immediately out of sheer embarrassment at the huge amounts of hypocrisy they generate on a daily basis right – its just outrageous how they parade around telling the whole planet how to live their lives ! . On the other hand of course Professor Sachs works at Colombia University , Lives in NYC and probably has a pretty good upper middle class life in the USA and can happily criticize his government all day long without any repercussions . I wonder how that level of public disagreement with his own government would go over if he lived in China do you think ?
The reason Professor Sachs was on the BBC programme was no doubt because of his qualifications and expertise on climate change.
"Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned professor of economics, leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor, bestselling author, and syndicated columnist whose monthly newspaper columns appear in more than 100 countries. He is the co-recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership, and has twice been named among Time Magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders." – Columbia University site.
The BBC, as it is want to do, blindsidedly changed the agenda from climate change to human rights abuses. As this is not the professor's area of expertise, he engaged the interviewer, without success, in an attempt to stop her derailing of the debate. The set-up became very obvious when it emerged that the other participant was a Chinese dissident. It does not appear he is qualified in any academic fields related to climatology – the topic of discussion.
The salient question might be, would a programme debating mutual approaches to climate change, if on Chinese media would have devolved into an interviewer's engineered slanging match on respective human rights abuses? One would hope not!
…. and can happily criticize his government all day long without any repercussions.
Abolitionists, union organizers, feminists, free speech advocates have been targeted by the U.S. state right from the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, and state laws against "sedition" down to the persecution of journalists and whistle-blowers like Ellsberg, Snowden, Manning and Assange. Thanks to the struggles of free speech advocates dating back to Patrick Henry and Ben Franklin, there is still freedom to speak out in the United States. It is, however, increasingly under threat.
Civil rights activists , Politicians and Activists in Hong Kong , Scientists , Artists , Businessmen , common farmers concerned about their lands being polluted or taken by corrupt officials – have all been punished , imprisoned and executed by the PRC and its security organizations right up to this very day with no sign at all of this kind of behavior by the Chinese regime showing any signs of slacking – just getting more extreme .
See how easy it is to pen a very broad/ sweeping paragraph about how poorly a particular National entity behaves towards its own citizens ?
I can probably write one about NZ too !
But of course you did not respond to my original point which was how long of a career do you think the fair Professor would have in the PRC .?
Laila Harré did pretty much the same thing last week, as she injected some rare seriousness and rationality to National Radio's light chat show. ….
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/thepanel/audio/2018792344/the-panel-with-laila-harre-and-david-farrar-part-2
Thank you for not offering a 'transcript'.
Why the scare quotes, Sacha? Actually I'm working on a transcript of that memorable piece of radio right now. Her putting straight of the notorious Prof. Patman*, as well as the complacent Wallace Chapman and the right wing ideologue David Farrar was too good to be lost forever in the ether.
* https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11092013/#comment-694967
vox Morrissey
Don’t bother posting it here on TS; we prefer original contributions.
Some things should be lost forever in the ether.
Don’t bother posting it here on TS; we prefer original contributions.
So how come you tolerate the likes of Joe90 simply posting up Twitter messages every day?
Some things should be lost forever in the ether.
Fair comment. That applies to 99 per cent of Wallace Chapman's show. But not to sterling contributions by thoughtful and articulate commentators such as Laila Harré.
… Joe90 simply posting up Twitter messages every day?
I know it goes whoooosh over your head, but joe90 actually generally conveys more original thought and commentary in just a handful of well-chosen words accompanying those posts than is present in the screeds of repetitive stuff you continually re-post.
…. conveys more original thought and commentary in just a handful of well-chosen words accompanying those posts than is present in the screeds of repetitive stuff you continually re-post.
That's one of the funniest statements you've ever made. Far funnier than any of those daily jibes at President "Tweetyturd" to which you treated us over the last four years.
A decade or so ago, one Michael White made the outlandishly funny claim that the pompous Channel 4 autocue reader Jon Snow was a better journalist than, of all people, John Pilger.
Congratulations. You're right up there with…. Michael White.
Even your ad homs are boring and stale. C’mon Mossie, go deep, aim high, and make’m fly, to the sky.
Hmmm, what is the difference between prefer and tolerate?
BTW, I cannot read tweets as I’m not on Twitter; my ‘department’ is transcripts.
PS Joe90 is a cool name!
Joe90 even has his own song.
"So how come you tolerate the likes of Joe90 simply posting up Twitter messages every day?"
You gotta love the double standards of a blow happy referee.
You gotta love those amateur arm-chair ‘referees’ who think they know better, think they see more, but who don’t fully understand the rules of the game, don’t know how to tune their Smart TV or how to operate the remote and then when the game wasn’t to their liking they want their money back and blame the referee
"You gotta love the double standards of a blow happy referee." +1…except I also think it is actually very damaging to the general atmosphere of TS.
I think you are actually polluting discourse and creating a suffocating atmosphere here. What’s worse, your attacks are setting a bad precedent for others. It seems you’re Hellbound to escalate this to a point of no return. Are you sure about this?
"So how come you tolerate the likes of Joe90 simply posting up Twitter messages every day?"…that is because Incognito mostly agrees with Joe 90 and never with you…as has become plainly obvious over the previous months the only debate incognito can generally handle are ones that take place within the walls of their own set political paradigm..or at least close to it.
BTW I and many others on TS really enjoy reading your transcripts..and I assume TS isn't here just to conform to Incognito's dubious aesthetic.
One transcript speaks (nearly) a thousand words: https://thestandard.org.nz/walkergate-mp-quits/#comment-1727532.
Many readers don’t mind at all scrolling and scrolling past these transcripts on their phones or past your own legendary exchanges that descend into conspiracy rabbit holes committed by Ruskies and Yankees and attacking just about every other commenter who needs to “turn [more/further] Left”, in your view.
Of course, your thinly veiled and indirect attack on me as Moderator ignores the fact that those transcripts not only are often long and tedious to read and/or scroll past, puerile, and often contain errors as noted by others here (e.g. https://thestandard.org.nz/brash-bassett-and-hide-take-up-blogging/#comment-1775697). You do seem to go about it in a sly way when attacking some (i.e. the usual) people on this site.
I’d be most obliged to you if you could find me a few examples where I unequivocally agree with joe90 given that you assert that I mostly (??) agree with joe90. I might reciprocate with a few examples where I do actually agree with Mossie even though you assert that I never (!) agree with him; I’m not that disagreeable by nature unless I’m hangry and need a Kit Kat.
I would also be highly appreciative if you could give a description of my “set political paradigm” and show how this is influencing my moderation here in a way that is unfair or unreasonable to you and/or Mossie and interferes with your desire to express yourself here as you wish without giving any consideration of how you come across to others. In fact, you always seem to be looking and thirsting for a ‘good [shit] fight’ here.
Lastly, I do try to encourage robust debate, which should be inclusive and without undue prescription as long as it adheres to this site’s Policy. Removing noise & dirt & nasty trolls have nothing to do my “dubious aesthetic” although I do admit that I prefer beautifully worded arguments and masterly crafted comments.
I prefer not to let this drag on for much longer, because the fun part is long gone for me and you constantly needling, criticizing, and attacking a Moderator might set a wrong example for others. I look forward to you backing up your accusations soon with rockhard watertight evidence or dropping this exercise in futility and surefire way to self-Martyrdom, so that we can move on.
The ball is now in your court, for the very last time, i.e. put up or shut up.
One transcript speaks (nearly) a thousand words:
https://thestandard.org.nz/walkergate-mp-quits/#comment-1727532.
MEMO Incognito:
It was not a transcript, it was a satire. Everyone who commented underneath that little drama—ianmac, Drowsy M. Kram, and georgecom—got that it was a satire. Surely you don't think it was really a transcript?
Didn’t read the commentary, just picked the first ‘transcript’ that suited my comment. If you insist, I can pick one of your real transcripts from your oeuvre here; there are some real doozies among them.
I have to ask, was that intended as self-satire, if there even is such a thing? Pretty good effort, I have to admit; I fell for it, in my hurry to finish the comment on time.
I get that some people enjoy your transcripts and the suggestion has been made for you to post them on your own blog. I think that is an excellent suggestion, a win-win for all.
Siobhan, myself and few other lefties we know who started reading TS about the same time, were/are all big fans of your‘transcripts’ Morrissey and would get great enjoyment out of reading them and then recounting and laughing about our favourite bits when we got together.
Unfortunately most of those other Lefties no longer read TS, which is doubly sad because most of them where younger Lefties in their twenties. I would go into the reasons why they don’t bother reading TS any longer…but I think that is pretty clear.
This movement to not allow you to put those great pieces of truly original and funny satire on The Standard any longer is an indescribable loss for TS, one of main points of obvious humour cut out like this only illustrates what a humourless place it is being pushed into becoming.
Thanks very much, Adrian. I'm ecstatic, yet humbled, to hear that.
You're welcome to stage National Party Emergency Caucus Meeting (© Daisycutter Sports, 2005) or Mrs Brown's Boys (© Daisycutter Sports, 2013) or The Clobbering Machine (© Daisycutter Sports, 2013) at any time. I'll even drive the Breenmobile down to the Heretaunga Plains to help you workshop it if you like.
I love good satire. We need more political satire in NZ although Don and Boris have killed it, I’m afraid. Just no transcripts.
I can think of three moderators who have reached the end of their patience with the transcripts. For me it's the historical inaccuracy and simply not having time to check. That and him having a habit of slandering public figures and putting the site at legal risk is why there's an intolerance now.
Pretty good effort, I have to admit; I fell for it, in my hurry to finish the comment on time. I get that some people enjoy your transcripts
Thanks for that, Incognito. I appreciate that you acknowledge that fact.
and the suggestion has been made
By Sacha. Only by Sacha. Who has hardly ever said anything kind or even reasonably good-tempered to me.
for you to post them on your own blog. I think that is an excellent suggestion, a win-win for all.
No, I will not cease putting up transcripts of the vacuous and/or malicious things that politicians and broadcasters say. However, because I don't want to bore you or the other people on this site or overwhelm them with transcripts, I have hardly put any up at all for a long time, and I don't intend to for a while either. Except possibly just a bit of that Panel segment featuring Professor Robert Patman and Laila Harré.
You know only boring people get bored easily..well that is what have observed of my life time anyway.
Yawn
Please, allow me to make a suggestion to you: don’t post your transcripts here on TS but post them on your own blog instead. Please never ever post transcripts from yesteryear here again.
If you must post new transcripts, I would strongly encourage you to go extremely lightly with them, so lightly that none of the pissed-off Moderators gets even more pissed off with them and/or you.
It’s just a suggestion, of course 😉
You could provide a link to the audio, with a bit of original commentary and personal analysis but without any ad homs and without any transcript. I know, it sounds radical, but most commenters are doing it this way here and I’m confident that you can too 😉
I've just told you, quite clearly, that I have not posted any transcripts for many, many months. If I do put any up, than I will keep them short and to the point.
I have spent a lot of time on the transcripts that I've done for this site. I take great pains to present them attractively, and with complete accuracy. I have transcribed things that politicians and broadcasters would rather were forgotten—for example, RNZ National Panel hosts and guests hooting in derision at the suffering of Julian Assange, or a National Party Cabinet minister telling Kathryn Ryan that there is "a variety of various variables", or Paul Henry ranting on breakfast television: "We have to be in there STRONG and HARD! We have to KILL THEM ALL! And in the course of this, bombs are going to bounce into tents where there are women and children! But we must not get up in arms about that! Kill them all!"
Why should I not put such things, awful and disgusting as they are, up on this site? I thought this was a forum for serious discussion and analysis.
[Ok, have it your way, you’re now being Moderated.
And right on cue, you produce a humourless transcript from yesteryear: https://thestandard.org.nz/australia-is-picking-a-fight-with-china/#comment-1790135.
It didn’t take me long to find a number of transcripts, or are they satires, over the last couple of months or so:
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11-04-2021/#comment-1787755
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11-04-2021/#comment-1787697
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10-04-2021/#comment-1787525
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09-03-2021/#comment-1782610
I’ve even asked you before in a Moderation note to start up your own blog: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10-04-2021/#comment-1787661.
I know transcribing is hard work, although software applications are becoming quite impressive and useful, and I know that some here lament the loss of your transcriptions here as the last remaining sense of humour and thus of human creativity and intelligence on this site. I sympathise with those losers.
However, a number of Moderators now have outlined why they have a wee problem with your transcripts. Given that transcripts are simply a written copy of audio, a link to the original source would and does suffice. If necessary, provide a time stamp pointing to the specific segment that you want to highlight. As such, (your) transcripts are no substitutes or surrogates for serious discussion and analysis. Unfortunately, you seem to put so much effort in the transcribing that you omit adding any decent analysis other than snide remarks about a wonderful interviewer/panel and the awful interviewee or vice versa. As weka mentioned, on occasion this has bordered on slander and putting this site at risk.
You insist that will continue putting up your transcripts (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27-04-2021/#comment-1790116). This could be a problem because you’ve demonstrated beyond any doubt that you cannot self-moderate your comments and commenting behaviour.
You can do whatever you like on your own blog and others can visit and read your transcripts to their heart’s content over there, but on this site, you must take heed of Moderators’ guidance. This is your warning – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 11:40 pm.
Hey, I was sincerely thanking you. Was about to agree with another comment of yours too.
Weka has explained concisely the problem for the site regardless of the opinion of me or anyone else. Please think broader.
And right on cue, you produce a humourless transcript from yesteryear…
The humourlessness of that transcript is entirely due to the Australian prime minister and his moronic interlocutors. It's actually far worse than "humourless", of course: it's a brutal and nasty demonstration of contempt for both Pamela Anderson and the political prisoner she is speaking for.
As weka mentioned, on occasion this has bordered on slander and putting this site at risk.
That ONE occasion—I was unable to provide evidence of a politician alleging something nasty—has been well and truly put to bed. I apologized to both Mr Prent and the politician involved. You personally thanked me for that apology. Now, when else have I ever "bordered on slander" or put this site at risk? Was I slandering Scott Morrison by transcribing his malicious and humourless denigration of a political prisoner?
…. you’ve demonstrated beyond any doubt that you cannot self-moderate your comments and commenting behaviour.
That is an unfair and highly prejudiced accusation. Where have I ever personally denigrated anyone on this forum, or used foul language, or—apart from the one incident already mentioned and dealt with—made unfounded accusations about anyone?
You can do whatever you like on your own blog and others can visit and read your transcripts to their heart’s content over there, but on this site, you must take heed of Moderators’ guidance.
I do take heed of Moderators' guidance.
[Why are you wasting more Moderator when you’re already being Moderated?
Clearly, whether your transcripts are funny and contain humour is highly subjective but also irrelevant to this Moderation. This site is not an entertainment channel for people to express and enjoy their personal fetish. Nor is it aiming to compete with Comedy Central. There’s plenty of room and opportunity for sharp wit and satire, without your transcripts.
Yes, you apologised when you crossed the line, which was the right thing to do. I’ve no interest in trying to find other instances that might have occurred before I became Moderator here; I have a feeling the other Moderators could easily chip in here, but this is not necessary. Once is enough to make the point. Note that this is not the only reason for your Moderation.
There is a tediously long history of warning you in comments and Moderating you. You still don’t get it or still don’t want to get it; you dig in, you argue back, you resist, you litigate, you’re a recidivist offender who has wasted hours of Moderator time here over the years. I see this lack of adaptation and improvement as proof that you cannot self-moderate or don’t want to. Moreover, your comments regularly contain snide remarks and negativity/negative criticism aimed at others although perhaps not generally others on this forum (i.e. other commenters), which is synonymous with “denigrate” in my version of the English language. Criticism is ok, necessary even, but it needs to be fair and constructive and supported with analysis (which a transcript is not!). Taking potshots at people is the act of a small-minded wee soul. And it is not funny.
You assert you take heed of Moderators’ guidance. You forgot to qualify this conditional assertion; if you had taken heed in the past, we wouldn’t have that long history, or should I call it “precedence”, and if you had taken heed, I would not have to spend time writing this Moderation note either, which is yet another one added to the ever-growing list.
Don’t assume you can use this site as your personal playground and sandpit; you don’t pay a cent towards its running costs and you don’t spend any time & effort in managing it nor do you write any (Guest) Posts. You’re free to comment here as long as you follow instructions. You have your own blog where you can be in total control and do whatever you like within the boundaries of NZ Law.
This conversation is now closed! Take it or leave it – Incognito]
See my final (!) Moderation note to you @ 3:08 pm.
Bound to be 'original' like most fiction is. 🙂
I'd love a transcript Morrissey!
Like you, I despair of the verbose, partisan and ineffectual Chapman.
Perfect! He can post it on his own blog and send you the link.
What the hell does it matter to you if he posts it on The Standard?…if you don't like then don't read read…there problem solved.
Do try a dose of your own medicine: “if you don’t like then don’t read read…there problem solved” [sic]. Up the dose when coming across any commenter or Moderator, comment or Moderation note, that might make your brain explode and trigger a verbiage of verbal diarrhoea from you.
signal to noise ratio.
and what the hell does it matter to you if he posts it on his own blog..
She reads them all right, Adrian. She even had a minor supporting role in one, back in December 2013*, which is the reason for her unending anger and animosity.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-30122013/#comment-750859
[link fixed]
Who is “she”? Michelle LeBoag?
BTW, I fixed your link. FYI, don’t paste (Ctrl + V) TS links but use the Link button (Ctrl + K) in the comment/text editor.
Thanks for fixing the link. You're a real champion, I think.
"She" is our good friend Sacha. My first ever interaction with her came after the post "Mr Brown's Boys", which sent up the naïveté and gullibility of commentators on Russell Brown's site. She's had it in for me ever since. The old Breen charm routine fails to impress her, I'm afraid.
Oh dear! You pay so little attention to other commenters and comments here because you’re too busy ad homming and ‘discussing’ people. https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10-04-2021/#comment-1787675.
Maybe Sacha doesn’t like to be insulted and who does? They can fill you in on their motives, if they wish 😀
The “old Breen charm routine”? You’re starting to sound like an old sleazebag wearing Old Spice.
Maybe Sacha doesn’t like to be insulted and who does? They can fill you in on their motives, if they wish
“They”? OMG, how many Sachas are there?
You’re starting to sound like an old sleazebag wearing Old Spice.
Tough assessment—but fair, methinks. And funny. That's a Kit-Kat for you, my friend.
Yeah, I know, astroturfing is becoming a problem and it is hard keeping them apart when they all use the same name, which can be very deceiving.
Oh yum! I’m gonna share it with my other friend here, Sabine.
I really thought he had paid more attention. 🙂
Robert, if you are around thought you might enjoy this. Others here too.
https://twitter.com/petemrcooper/status/1386776334790184961?s=21
Side issue. Motels are not slums. Even cheap ones are infinitely better than living in a car. Since there are not enough houses to go around, isn't this a pretty good solution? Motel rates need to be brought under control though. And you can't choose your neighbours if the mob moves in next door, it can happen to anyone. Yes NZ needs more houses built but this will take a long time. Can't the Gov't just buy these Motels for 'the state' and let developers build more new ones?
Test
Test 2 not logged in, safari
you must not have seen some of the motels and the people housed there.
If you lived next to drug peddling gangsters with your family and you have no way of escape you might think twice about living in a van or car.
No the government 'can't just buy' these motels, they are private property -landbankers if you want so – and they are getting greased by the government beyond believe. Heck for 400 NZD a night (highest amount paid so far as per reports) they could pay rent fully. But then that would be a novel idea, and we only ever tried the known, tried and true and for the best profit for the motel lobby. Cause some industries are more deserving of receiving governments money then others. Never mind the all the unpleasantness about it.
Sabine as an ex rep I can claim to have stayed in more motels than most including low cost south Auckland motels many times. It's comes down to security if you want safe. It's no place for children though, which is what you are alluding too I suppose. OK for adults as long as your aware of your surroundings and live accordingly. It is still much better and much safer than a car. Maybe some people worry too much about the lower socioeconomic situation and let the media hype put unreasonable fear into conservative people.
As an ex rep you have no idea what you are talking about. Thanks.
Maybe you should have a good look at the motels that participate in this scheme, and you will find that most are motels that you as a rep would never have booked in, or say your company would have paid for.
Shoving a family of 4+ into a 25sqm 4 – 6 bed room is not the same as you coming as a rep, eating in a restaurant for dinner, coming in to sleep – maybe a cuppa and some Sky before going to bed before you travelled on to the next motel to stay for A night.
Apples and oranges are both fruit, both come from trees and that is literally where all 'sameness' then ends.
Nope. Still better than living in a car. BTW I have stayed in plenty of low end motels and had takeaways mostly. Dining by oneself is over rated. I'm not saying all motels are good. There are a lot of shitholes out their BUT they have more room, are warmer, have a bed, shower, kitchenete, etc etc etc. Your car have this?My bus does, but then it is not a car. I lived in my car at the Mount for 6 winter months when I was a bit younger. I have very low standards it would seem.
This one was. And AFAIK, nothing's changed.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018647386/whanganui-emergency-housing-unhabitable-salvation-army-says
but but but – details details Joe.
also this 🙂
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/govt-to-buy-motels-for-christmas
read this article and then weep. Homelessness is big business for motels tha twould have already died due to lack of tourists. Heck, so it seems that one part of the tourism industry does get help from the government.
they could have rented a standard bog property of trade me irrespective of the cost of that rental, housed a family longterm that way, and still have saved money.
yeah, and it is as cynical as that:
this fucking government.
Where are these mythical properties the Government could rent.? A potty mouth and a twisted view of the world does not help.. Some of your arguments are cogent, but most are thorough going rants.
I have never been to Wanganui. After watching this, I never want to go to Wanganui.
Silly you, Wanganui is a lovely place.
Well this particular video of Wanganui is hardly selling it as a tourist destination…..think I would prefer to holiday in the Sunshine Coast (or virtually anywhere other than Gonville, Wanganui)!
So, Jimmy, you judge all Gonville and Whanganui by one little video of one little spot.
I and others will take this into account when assessing the intrinsic value of all your future comments – if we bother to read them.
Perhaps you could list a few of the tourist highlights and points of interest of Gonville for me, and maybe we will look at it as a possible holiday destination.
GreenBus, apparently they tried and word got round and sale prices went up.
we are paying somewhere of 110 – 400 NZD a night, guaranteed occupancy. No way Tiny Dean in Rotorua is selling his Motels, this is the best money he ever made. And he don't even need to do anything else then say, yeah, i can squeeze another twenty into here for 150 buck a nigh per person.
What gets me is, that they can be build faster then houses – i have seen some Motels go up very fast here in Vegas, same as for oldfolks housing, – what the government should do is maybe build to that model and start with 1 – 2 bedrooms and make it permanent housing with a concierge, maybe an on site social worker/ advocate that can help navigate Winz and such.
That would be a much better use of money then what we are doing now.
Sabine you will burst a foo-foo valve if you don't take a break and stop fulminating. For every criticism and fault you find – see if you can find something good and positive. Otherwise you and we will be off to the mental health and they are already overcrosded. How about taking a break every half an hour for a cup of tea or something.
Got nothing to say then dear?
How about a nice virtual cup of your tea with your special sweetner of ' cant' be bothered'.
As for me? Like with chocolate, i don't like the cheap crap, its too sweet, has no flavor and is essentially just a waste of money.
Just like hte current governments inaction on our homeless crisis.
bye now. 🙂
Erdogan's attitude to women-in-power being made plain for all to see (not that it really needs pointing out any further):
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/26/sofagate-snub-would-not-have-happened-to-a-man-von-der-leyen
I'll never be convinced it was any kind of oversight. And Charles Michel's "reaction" was little short of contemptible.
Old Man's Beard
One of the nastier little changes the Nats made was to remove the requirement from house owners to eliminate noxious plants such as old mans beard. I don't know whether that can be done by regulation or whether an act is required, but there has now been long enough for that pest at least to regain a foothold in quite a few areas. This might be a ping pong issue (and landlords will complain about yet more regulation and costs pushing up rents), but I believe it worth doing as soon as possible.
moth plant, kudzu, etc.
yet here our council sprays the good plants so that the weeds prosper.
The best one that i saw a few years ago was a 'blackberry' weed eradication programme – never mind all of us who liked to go and pick these for jams and pies. The managed to kill most of the blackberry and now replaced it with kudzu and moth plant.
Pests. ey?
I am amazed too that old man's beard is not a hot issue, I see so much of it. And sneak into any controls one against bindweed – Convulvulus arvensis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convolvulus_arvensis
Bindweed actually has quite a pretty, white, trumpet-like flower but it is a brute of a plant. An invasive vine, once established it's extremely difficult to get rid of. … The Bindweed stems creep along the surface of the soil, climbing fences, other plants and whatever else they encounter, forming dense, tangled mats. https://www.henrystreet.co.uk/battling-bindweed-in-your-garden/
But that's a half-truth. Actually it grows roots like thin pipes underground whether you can see it above or not, quite often both. Morning glory (Calystegia) can also be called bindweed.
A big shoutout to Dunedin's Mayor Dave Cull, who has died at 71.
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/former-dunedin-mayor-dave-cull-dies
Under his leadership at Dunedin there was a fair few fine moves that occurred. The ones I noticed are:
– Turning the historic precinct from a run-down and derelict waterfront into a high-end innovation and commercial precinct.
– Wrinsing out the historical corruption within Dunedin City operations, and enabling a new generation of managers to rise through a good CE
– Getting a much stronger grip on Aurora Ltd and their horrific maintenance record. And a generally stronger grip on all the City companies
– Getting DCC's debt under control, post-stadium build
– Upgrading all of the central Dunedin water supply from E to A
– Enabling rail tourism to flourish
– Persuading NZTA to get cycleways all the way out to Port Chalmers on one side of the harbour, and out beyond Portobello on the other (though it took until this term to see it really rolling)
– Pushing successfully (both as Mayor and as Chair of Southern DHB) for a brand new hospital (which is still going through another Cabinet cycle)
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/former-dunedin-mayor-dave-cull-dies-aged-71
And from all reports I got, being effective as a leader at the Council.
Sounds good Ad. RIP Mayor Cull.
Dave Cull did Dunedin Proud .
Hopefully no-one got affected by the disk change tonight. Upgraded the disk array for The Standard. Took about 25 minutes longer than it should have.
I hope they fine this guy a decent amount, as it sounds like he travelled from Perth when he knew he shouldn't have, and basically puts everyone else at risk. If he ends up with a slap from the wet bus ticket it will be no disincentive.
Man who flew from Perth 'knew he should not be travelling to NZ': Immigration boss | Stuff.co.nz
Yep. Or just stuff him in special MIQ in Mt Eden for 2 weeks and charge him full price for it. But somehow, instead, they picked him up at the border and sent him home in Northland to self-isolate. Just encourages more irresponsible idiots.
Not sure who has control in a case like this, police, customs, MoH?
I have very little tolerance for people who knowingly put whole populations of people in potential jeopardy.
Concerns me that they trust him to self isolate in Northland, especially after the way he left Perth and changed flights etc. It doesn't sound like he is that trustworthy.