Yesterday I lifted a broken path out with a spade and a wheelbarrow. It took just over an hour.
Friday I met a Government contractor who, when I suggested a spade instead of a 3 ton digger looked horrified and said “But, that’s manual labor”.
Herein lies a very large problem. So called grown men, so called working men, who are in fact: babies. Where did they learn to be so shit?
Where I come from hard work is its own reward with fitness and pride coming as well as cash and camaraderie – it’s all good. Who is teaching people to be so shit?
Something seriously wrong when people are afraid of real work, then half of them go to the gym. Mentally ill?
It’s a class thing. Modern men drive machines, get out of their cars to exercise and keep strong, and get on an expensive mountain or touring bike, pedal or fancy Harley Davidson. They don’t pick up a yard broom to sweep leaves, you
point a mechanised blower at them. Manual work is for losers.
It’s the attitude that grew the turncoat treasonable Labour defectors, Douglas et al. That is how they convinced themselves they were being progressive.
Fuck I’ve grafted all my days but id take a digger over a spade any day . I work for an old falla who insists I drag sheep over the board instead of use the sheep handler .
Maybe you should live in a cave and walk every where as you obviously long for the good old days
Say that worker damages his back on the spade to the point he can’t do his job . His boss will have to let him go at some point ,80% of his wages is all acc will pay and it’s possible a chunk of his wages will be in nontaxable allowances so he may actually be down to 60% of his take home wage .
Now as he s not an all black or rich he’ll only get the minimum of medical help at it will take ages to get it .
I am with bwaghown in this debate, as I aklso was all my life a ‘graffter’ and now at 73 have a broken back shoulders, knees and hands.
I suffered from a hernia when I worked at manapouri as a electrician and got a type of hernia lifting a very large battery out of a tunnel drilling platform that no other machine nor digger could extract out of the craddle it was siiting in under the engine all while , the drillking platform was kept in oeration.
Later when I was in pain, at the surgeons clinic afterwards he said in Winton,
– “sir this is an injury that is so risky to operate on and I advise you learn to live with it, and not lift heavy objects any more” – I was 22 yrs old then.
Do not engage in heavy work or dangerous activities when you rely a ‘trade or activity’ – for income is my advice as you will be ruined by it.
Balance in everything. That ole’ farmer is no doubt the sort that is behind the determination of a significant group of farmers to not follow the sensible rules set by government with obvious negative outcomes and further does not treat his workers or his animals with respect.
Illustrative?….yes ,it appears overkill to use machinery for a job that is relatively easy to do by hand and yes there is risk of injury and worn bodies from manual labour….and then theres the ongoing complaints of the skill levels and costs of having work done.
Its a grey old world, perception is reality and theres always decisions to be made.
Excellent. It is good to get the perspective of others on this. I’ve grafted a few decades but I also switched it up a lot to keep myself interested and to rest some muscles while thrashing others. While due care and attention is required, there’s also an element of luck to not being knackered after hard graft. I put my back out under load one time, only twisted the slightest bit and that was me gone for months. Another time I’m hauling some gib and the wind caught it and twisted for me. Not good…
I loved getting in the trucks loading out rock concerts banging out 10, 20, 30 containers of gear and breaking tour records. Some of those boys I met died on the road. There’s an element of risk to anything really. But it’s a matter of pride being good at what you do. Those boys know how to graft. Graft hard at whatever you do what’s the point in being fucking mediocre.
Safety I get, these guys, nope.
This issue is also about grift, as well as graft. One contractor with the (3 1/2 ton, ~ $100 per hour) digger, and the truck to transport it. Another contractor, with a helper, to do the boxing. I’m hoping he’ll also lay the concrete… Maybe it is someone else I’m sure they’ll need to use a wheelbarrow at some stage the truck won’t fit down there so there’s that quandary (manual labor) for him. Maybe even a separate gravel contractor, then the pour. The concrete pour will be followed by an inspector and more than likely an inspector inspector. I am not kidding one bit.
When they painted (eaves, windows, under eaves): One lot put up the scaffold. Another lot trimmed (pulled out, while contracted not to) the plants. Another lot painted – Lack of basic cutting in, etc. Then an inspector. Then an inspectors inspector. Then they always try to bring the painter back to do something again to justify the inspectors inspector bullshit role. So you see a small job turns into a massive clusterfuck of nonsense – and billing.
When lifting concrete it’s actually easier than other heavy stuff that you can’t hit with a hammer when it’s too big. This was just over an hours work for one, there was two of them.
There’s certainly the risk of wrist injuries when trying to increase your pecs haha. But I’ve worked in a gym (cleaner, but got gym tickets and loads of time with trainers cos go hard when you’re there you know). I’ve done a shit ton of stuff…
I do agree with comments that life on the tools is harsh on bodies, and improvements in that direction can only be good.
Am I a dinosaur? Maybe. For the most part I’ve been able to call the shots on laboring where I’d do a stint get the cheque and go do something different once I’d had enough (styled after Barry Crump’s Sam Cash). So labor (mostly) kept me in great shape instead of taxed me. Perhaps I could exhibit the art of humping rocks at MOTAT.
A lot of work used to have decent contract rates, so you could go like the clappers to do x amount, then stop. Today, boss owns you for the hours, not the work. And the hours are long just to make ends meet. That’ll break a body. Rest is a crucial part of exercise.
Just not ALL day. Balance. I’m not totally against progress, just…
That’s right – no benefit. It could be done by machine without causing serious damage to the person doing it and be done faster.
Money, good relations, health, getting fit as.
Taking longer to get more money isn’t particularly efficient.
I’m pretty sure that the people who turn up to do the job will get on reasonably well.
It damages peoples health which is my point and the point of the articles I linked to. You’re just spouting belief that is wrong.
And what the fuck good is a worker who won’t work.
They do work – just not in the way you expect because things have moved on in the last several decades.
It is not a life threatening situation and requires no high tech. Just a bit of common sense and effort saved considerable wreckage of my gardens as well as time and money. This should be a contractors concern, not to unnecessarily trash the place.
However, ethically, I cannot deny that it needs to be people over property.
Ironic that.
I cede that saving backs is commendable practice.
I still think they’re a pack of shiftless mongrels, this job is to repair damage from 2 years back when the last lot were let in with a digger. No compensation for considerable property loss at the time, and now they tried to dig up a perfectly good driveway as well as the broken path. That’s when I’d had enough. Moved the concrete myself, enough, is enough.
I suspect many of us have acquaintances that are over 50 and have been building for most of their lives. Of the half dozen I know they all have 1 thing in common: Buggered backs. More than should wrestle with skin cancer issues. There seem to be many peripheral advantages to pre-fab house building.
Foul weather costs everyone money on a building site. Painters rained off etc. Health and Safety is much easier to manage when we’re keeping an eye on a factory rather than a suburb. Building outside in the depth of winter….yuck…warm factory, Nice! Neighbours don’t need to put up with the noise, mess, somebody else’s musical taste etc for 2-3 months. Can be built around the clock, 3 x 8 hour shifts every day, 7 days a week. Economy of scale, all costs come down when you’re buying building materials by the tonne and kilometre.
Your points about mechanization are important particularly if they are in a tight space or section as you describe. Sometimes hand-work is safest and most accurate.
If there were a machine that could do tie-ins for rebar and foundation/slab work we would definitely use them on our sites (construction of rail, motorways, water and wastewater plants, heavy marine etc). But right now there isn’t, even with using as much prefab offsite as we can.
But if I need jobs done on my section here in Titirangi I tend to specify as little machinery as possible – I would rather confine the impact as much as possible just as you are proposing.
Nothing like the good old days of work, so long as we also do the basics that decrease injury;
– make sure everyone is clear about their methodology and tasks
– set out the steps to take in a ‘toolbox talk’ at the beginning of each day
– Get them decent lunch so they don’t forget you
– Make sure everyone is wearing gloves and steel capped boots and strong pants and shirts (you know the drill)
– But still stay on the phone to the business and make your specifications and your cost control rigidly clear. It’s your show after all.
I’d say the real reason is the amount of money they can rip taxpayers off by getting in a digger at $150 an hour plus disposal plus this plus that. Money is more desirable than hard physical work.
I’ve had problems logging into and commenting on TS for a few months. Usually on the browser I use most (Firefox), but eventually it hits every browser.
Firefox on one or 2 laptops now regularly get bad request notices no matter how many times I clear the cache and history.
I logged in for this comment using the Vivaldi browser. But, I have pretty much given up commenting on TS. It’s just too much hassle.
Since the last break-down about a week ago I lost my details and have to insert them each time I comment. Some comments have also disappeared into spam bin. Mentioned it the other day and a few commenters confirmed they were having the same problem. I use Google Chrome.
Anne
You may already know about this. But for anyone who doesn’t, I too lost my embedded details and was entering each time. Then realised I could get in easier with the dropdown option so just put the first letter, it drops down and I click on appropriate info.
I found nothing that was helpful and you can believe when I say that I would have shared it here if I had 😉
I have to type in my details for each & every comment but I’ve also lost the ability to see who replied to my comments; the Replies option on the RH side is gone and only Comments and Opinions are available!?
I’ve tried different browsers with different settings (on a laptop) but so far no luck 🙁
It’s like digging a (small) hole manually each time 😉
Hi lprent
When you have time could you advise what you think is leading to our problems here. Jenny is wanting to talk about the latest political stuff and is getting paranoid that she can’t get through.
I have felt the same about things that I have written.
GCSB must have a lot of stuff that they want to trial.
I’m with Vodafone and using the very latest Firefox web browser.
I have to enter my details in the name and mail fields again every time I hit reply and no longer get to see that useful tab that would show me when someone has replied to one of my comments.
All the problems seemed to start after the website was unavailable for a day or two to me.
No problems Jenny I have had it as well. Clearing my browser history helped for a while.
It is strange though. I find if I tether to Vodafone or use some wireless networks it plays up but then when I use my work or home wireless networks it is fine.
The broadcasting/communication minister should be fired for this!!!!
We sufferd some similar inter-ruption also and what is happening over our internet services as in the last two days our service provider was called by us for disruption of services, several times.
We saw the stupid stuff over Clare Curran screwing up our plans for a new media channel so this is just a coontinuatiioon of these problems faced by us all because of failing communicatiion systems.
The big question on broacasting/communications right now is this;
Why did the PM Jacinda Ardern ‘eagerly’ dismiss the Minister of transport from his Air Transport portfolio when she didn’t fire Clare Curran as Minister of Broadcasting when she ‘communicated’ with those she was legally prevented not to communicate with with??????
Jacinda needs to fix this now because Clare Curran was the most destructive MP for the Labour coalition Government cause to allow them to setup a new public broadcasting channel that the new Government urgently needs most of all right to counter the negative tone of all the media coverage, as media is right now accusing all the issues around what the new government it doing???
Request Timeout
Server timeout waiting for the HTTP request from the client.
Apache/2.4.33 (Ubuntu) Server at thestandard.org.nz Port 443
What I am trying to show you, is that Greenpeace has had to cancel all protests against deep sea oil and gas drilling in New Zealand waters under threat of $200,000 fines.
This is being done under the Anadarko Amendment, the legislation brought in at the behest of the oil companies by the last National Government.
Why hasn’t Jacinda “the priness of our world climate change” cancelled the former national Government agreementn with this highly aggessive oil company Anadarko?
Are they afraid of showing us what faces us all under ISDS under TPP?
Jenny, I’ve found I can’t cut and paste anything more than http:// addies into the comment box, or I’ll get the whole time out as well. I’ve also noticed that I need to space out any links, with me writing stuff in between. And as a last kicker don’t have any text too close to a hyperlink.
See if that helps. I know the frustration, you are not alone.
No. It has nothing to do with links. I now seem to be permanetly getting
Bad Request
Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
Size of a request header field exceeds server limit.
Apache/2.4.33 (Ubuntu) Server at thestandard.nz Port 443
I just tried to type a couple of sentences reply to you on Firefox, without logging in, and got the above.
It used to help clearing the cache and history (for a while), but after a while that didn’t seem to work either.
I get that response when I try to log in to TS on firefox.
I have logged in OK today and commenting here via Vivaldi
But continually trying to find work arounds becomes too tiresome.
PS: just cleared cache and history, closed firefox then reopened it and got the above message again just trying to access TS.
“What I am trying to show you, is that Greenpeace has had to cancel all protests against deep sea oil and gas drilling in New Zealand waters under threat of $200,000 fines.”
So all they have to do now is not break the law and they won’t get fined. Easy really.
Who was the young woman on today’s Q&A panel? When asked what her “miss of the week was” she said it was Phil Twyford and his behaviour on the aeroplane. “Not a good look” she said. If she thinks that is the most serious ‘miss’ of the week’ then she is uninformed and politically very naive. What was she doing there?
I think your wrong twyford was the biggest miss of the week . The nats are doing what opposition parties do (Just they a better at dirty than the others) but twyford was just plain dumb .
Spot on Robert. I noticed the usual suspects weren’t here today and conversations were passing back and forth and then James popped up and contributed … nothing. Except his usual negative, sniping trolling of course.
What the hell are you talking about? What’s “holier than thou” about critiquing a person who came across to me as a bit of a twit – or twat of you prefer. Apart from that, listen to who is talking. You spend your whole time critiquing and running down people on this site!
Could be one of those religious righties who believe national are god’s gift. The type who excuse homelessness and decaying infrastructure that kills New Zealanders because national are born again “winners” and are conservative like them. They just block out the continual lies that are preached to them I spose.
Some good stuff from Radionz Wallace Chapman this am.
life and society author interview
11:04 am today
Jeremy Heimans: the power of new power
From Sunday Morning, 11:04 am today
Listen duration 32′ :04″ http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018646695/jeremy-heimans-the-power-of-new-power
Jeremy Heimans is the co-author, with Henry Timms, of a book called “New Power” . He says Harvey Weinstein is a typical example of old power and the #metoo movement is an example of new power. Heimans says there’s been a fundamental shift in the balance of power in the world and we have major structural problems that could benefit from the kinds of mass participation and peer coordination that “new power” players know how to generate. He says “the facts just aren’t enough”.
****************************
Civil Defence environment
10:04 am today
Ann Brower: critical conscience
From Sunday Morning, 10:04 am today
Listen duration 32′ :18″ http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018646691/ann-brower-critical-conscience
On 31 May, Dr Ann Brower will deliver a lecture at the University of Canterbury, titled: A Little Guy’s Guide to Making a Difference after receiving the Critic and Conscience of Society Award earlier this month. Dr Brower is probably best known for her advocacy for more stringent regulation of earthquake-prone buildings, a campaign informed by her experience of being on a bus crushed by falling masonry in Christchurch’s 2011 earthquake. Twelve passengers died on or beside the bus. She’s also been prominent in highlighting high country land being transferred from Crown to private ownership.
Fucked if I know don’t watch much rugby .
Hadn’t noticed the rfu forcing Maori to play for them as the word taking implies. As for the haka didn’t the sort something out with Te Raprahas tribe a few years ago . ( wouldn’t bother me if they dropped the haka as once you’ve watched it for 40 odd years it’s lost it’s thrill )
ACC is undertaking a secretive review into the conduct of its chief executive and the organisation’s culture…
ACC chair Dame Paula Rebstock refused to discuss the investigation beyond a short statement, saying the allegations were “without merit”.
…
The allegations also asserted a flagship project to overhaul ACC was delivering only a fraction of the benefits originally claimed.
I had a quick look at Heidrick & Struggles’ website. The ‘about us’ section is showing “404 not found”, so obviously they didn’t spend our $100k on that.
I saw the National Media Party rorting is so bad, it has put in question New Zealand being kicked out of the 5 eyes for being a communist liability.
The change the flag, no record on land sales, flogging off the water, record immigration, spies in cabinet ‘elite’ network etc is clearly the culprit here.
NZ society needs honest lobbying via local custom driving govt. oversight & policy, formal employee firms as part of specialised product chains where necessary, and self-regulating business associations bound by autonomous democratic control in designating levels of conduct.
Capitalism has a place for lesser practises, but they should be a niche, not state run (or overrun as the case may be) monopolies.
Any truth to the rumour this government is going to open the doors wide to overseas buyers as long as they plant trees . I was told mp mcelvie addressed a fed farmers meeting and that was one of his talking points.
Last Friday it was 40 years since Day 507 when Bastion Point got stormed and the Ngati whatua protesters were arrested and their makeshift whare wrecked.
” The stand at Bastion Point is a prevailing benchmark for protest in Aotearoa, which led to the first successful retrospective claim hearing at the Waitangi Tribunal. It is a move that Joe Hawke, leader of the 1977 protest, has never regretted. “I went onto the Point, not to invite an arrest, but to arrest a wrong, and 40 years on, all of Ngāti Whātua are benefiting from that stand”, he said. ”
You can still see the ‘Not One More Acre!’ photographic exhibition at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
This clip from Te Karere a few years ago gives a sense of what this was like.
Also here, and there was the army on standby, air force helicopters in the air, and a navy ship close by just to intimidate:
Ngati Whatua are now one of the largest landowners in downtown Auckland, so good on them.
If you ever find it, check out the documentary by Merata Mita: Takaparawha Day 507. It’s chilling. Anyone says racism was long gone in the 1950s, take a look at that one and weep.
I think their action, together with the Motonui Plant coastal decisions, were the things that really started the reconciliation process as we now know it. Helluva day, just watching Philip Sherry front that on the news.
You’re saying Bridges is toast. Thanks for that but we knew it already.
What’s more alarming for the Nats is the upcoming rapid turnover of leaders and the blood-letting which is about to commence in the impending series of power vacuums.
Your only faint hope is Nicola Willis as far as I can see and she’s only been in the game for a few short weeks. Several leader changes before she gets the nod I would think.
I’m not saying Bridges is toast. I simply made the point that it’s very difficult to predict elections based on a single poll two to two and a half years before the election.
I’m not impressed with Bridges, but it’s early days for him. National support holding up with give him a while to step up, but I haven’t seen that he has what it takes yet.
I don’t have any hopes, faint or otherwise, about future leaders of any party, nor of future elections.
I do hope the current Government does a good job generrally. There are some promising signs, and some concerning signs, and a lot yet unknown.
“Bridges is struggling be be seen or liked.” – Pete George
“I’m not saying Bridges is toast. I simply made the point that it’s very difficult to predict elections based on a single poll two to two and a half years before the election.” – Pete George
I don’t know what point you’re trying to make Robert.
Collins hasn’t had any success standing for leader so far and may or may not have any chance in the future. She may have decided to settle in as a support MP, or may still have ambitions. I have no idea, and i don’t know what her chances are.
It’s far too soon to know how Willis will go. Most MPs never get anywhere near being party leader, and almost all don’t make it to PM.
There’s as much certainty (none) of knowing whether Marama Davidson will help grow the Green Party, or deter vital support if they are to survive next election.
Sooo much uncertainty, Pete! Could be this or it could be that, might be up, might be down, maybe good, maybe bad – the only reasonable thing we can do is stay balanced, give everyone an equal chance, look at both sides, weigh up the arguments for as long as it takes to see they are the same underneath it all.
Aye.
Robert Guyton. I was halfway through a very similar comment on how many times Pete had equivocated;
“not impressed, but early days”
“has a while to step up, but (hasn’t got) what it takes yet”
“I don’t have any hopes”, then “I do hope”
“There are promising signs, and concerning signs”
“may or may not”
“may have decided to settle”, yet “may still have ambitions”
“It’s far too soon”
“There’s (no) certainty”
In fact Pete said the word ‘may’ 4 times in one short, beige paragraph.
I was going to post a comment like this but then suddenly became crushed by the weight of tan, and lost interest 🙂
PS. You might like this from the wiki page on beige:
Beige is notoriously difficult to produce in traditional offset CMYK printing due to the low levels of inks used on each plate; often it will print in purple or green and vary within a print run.
With NZ First below the threshold, it makes the Greens the king/Queen-maker. This is a shift from the situation where NZF was always shown as a PM-Maker during the last term of government.
I think Muttonbird’s point though, was, that barring a massive change of heart the Greens aren’t planning on installing any National Party leader PM anytime soon, especially Collins! So this poll, like all the polls since the election just continues to confirm National’s hapless position and puts Ardern fully in the drivers seat.
That’s right it’s dishonest reporting, the Greens aren’t a NZ First or Māori Party ‘kingmaker’ party that could go either way. They’re apparently our version of hard left. So only an idiot media would classify them as a potential coalition partner of the right wing nats.
Yes. There is zero chance of the Greens being king-maker because there is zero chance of them forming a government with National no matter how hard National party proxies try to make it so.
You can see why they are so very very desperate to sow the seeds of this narrative because the Labour/Greens bloc is now quite powerful.
For New Shub to pretend a National Green government is possible is further evidence the right wing media is attempting to invent this impossibility.
I wouldn’t necessarily blame the Greens if they didn’t immediately come out and destroy the idea but Marama Davidson must be seething it is even in print.
The other error is that they gift a seat to poor people hater, David Seymour. Surely at just 0% of the party vote even the many many bigots of Epsom will start to choke on what they are fed.
While they won’t go with the nats, the greens might be tempted to make Labour work as a minority government and look at things on an issue-by-issue basis. Threatening a snap election at any time.
If Labour want security, they need to work to keep the greens onside
The people of Epsom will continue to gift a seat to a poor-people hater until they are told not to by someone wearing a blue rosette. Even at 0.2% of the vote, it’s in their interest to deliver an overhang seat that will reliably support the Nats.
Being that Twyford doesn’t seem to want to take advice from anyone not on the opposite side of his mirror it won’t be long before he has to fall on his own sword
Collins is out there. She can’t be bargained with. She can’t be reasoned with. She doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And she absolutely will not stop, ever, until she becomes leader.
Statement by UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl, the Gaza Strip
Good morning,
Thank you for joining us for this press briefing.
My current visit took place in the aftermath of the weeks of protests and marches here in the Gaza Strip and the appalling impact of the events that followed.
Yesterday, I visited an UNRWA health centre in Khan Younis, a partner rehabilitation centre in Deir El-Balah and the Al-Shifa hospital. These were shocking and deeply disturbing visits.
Allow me to describe this is some detail, focusing on three main dimensions.
First, I truly believe that much of the world completely underestimates the extent of the disaster in human terms that occurred in the Gaza Strip since the marches began on 30 March.
117 people were killed by Israeli forces – of which 13 were children – and over 13,000 people were injured, of which an estimated 3,500 by live ammunition. Let me put this in context.
During the 51 days of the military assault in Gaza in 2014, approximately 12,000 people were injured. In other words, as many people or even slightly more were injured during a total of 7 days of protests than were injured during the full duration of the 2014 conflict. That is truly staggering.
During the visits, I was also struck not only by the number of injured but also by the nature of the injuries. The demonstrators had been systematically shot either in the lower limbs (shattering femurs, knees and ankles), in the abdomen, the back, or the head.
The pattern of small entry wounds and large exit wounds, indicates ammunition used caused severe damage to internal organs, muscle tissue and bones.
Both the staff or the MoPH hospitals, NGOs, and UNRWA clinics are struggling to deal with extremely complex wounds and care.
Second, the direct consequence of the number of injured and nature of wounds has brought the health-care system in Gaza to a breaking point. It is a health system already plagued by the multiple health pressures and severe medical stock limitations under regular circumstances.
What is the fair price for an item? So it can be made in NZ using NZ labour?
The charities selling second hand clothes complain at the rubbish that is put out to them to dispose of, so poorly looked after that they can’t sell them on. If we bought one thing and wore it for three seasons instead of three times, we could afford to pay more.
This shoe maker has been in business for 25 years. She has to sell up and carries on the remnant of her business with manufacturing done in China in a factory that seems ethically run. On line buying has also made an impact on her business she thinks. She sadly sold one machine that she imported for $1000’s to a tryer in another city for $100.
We need people in jobs, we need to support our own people, our country, if we want to have one that is. And we may need to save up for items instead of having instant cheap gratification. What do you think?
business
25 May 2018
Fast fashion kills Auckland shoemaker Minnie Cooper
From Checkpoint, 5:37 pm on 25 May 2018
Zac Fleming, Checkpoint Producer
zacflemng zac.fleming@radionz.co.nz
The usual cries will be heard about offshore exploitation, entrepreneur greed and supporting local production…..until they hear the price, then it all goes out the window.
Her parting comment in the interview is on the mark…..make do with less (and demand quality and long lived products)
My household has at least 20 pairs of Minnie Coopers. She had a good run.
But any clothing manufacturer still going in New Zealand is in a spiral as the skills aren’t being replaced. Zulu can’t even find them. Icebreaker’s long gone. Even Nom’d. And of course World can’t even lie straight let alone hem straight.
It’s ridiculous to try to hold more than the designers and owners in this country, because they are the only jobs that are rewarded properly by the global industry. We’ve long since lost any clustering effect apropos Porter that could have sustained comparative advantage.
I find that so depressing. We can’t lie down and let the world roll over us.
There are some good things being tried. We have to trial things from the grass roots up I think. We are just going round in ever-decreasing circles. And to join the competition from vast runs from overseas, plus low wages and conditions, we have the image of robots moving forward, slightly smiling and as dangerous as triffids.
I think we will have to turn NZ made stuff into a club that people join as core buyers saying they will buy one thing a year from certain manufacturers so they can get the loyalty effect and the buyers and manufacturers be alongside with a definite level of demand. Would you have agreed to this as customer of Minnie Cooper?
greywarshark. Never, in a million years, can most of us ever afford over three hundred bucks for a pair of shoes. Nice for you if you can…but most of us, no. If those who have been paying those eye watering sums for slippers are no longer doing so…take it up with them…but you’re probably not going to find many of those sort here on TS.
It is not about ‘instant cheap gratification’, its about limited incomes and kids to feed and clothe and school fees and power bills, and if there’s any savings they’ll go to the ‘coax the old car through the next warrant’ fund. Poncy boots are so far down the list…
I was a loyal member of a ‘buy NZ Club’ for foot wear. Commandos. Remember them? Bought one particular model for nearly three decades when it was first marketed as the quintessential roofers’ shoe. Comfortable, stable and truly non slip. Retailing at $39.95, they were at the upper limit of my budget, but I did save because having safe footing is vital when you’re having to move another fully grown human from bed to wheelchair etc two or three times a day.
Anyway..the buggers have doubled the price, and the quality it just not the same.
So its down to K-Mart and their $10 canvas throwaways.
Rosemary
There may have been cheaper footwear sold by Minnie Cooper. And I am not wealthy and have been quite poor so I’m not ignoring the issues of affordability. But the quite poor (above the level of being homeless, addicted or mentally sick and unemployable) are not the only people in NZ, and never will be. We are going through a slow Depression, and in the last one there were people who were not badly affected. So because something doesn’t apply to you or the people you know, doesn’t mean that the idea has no credibility.
Why are we so poor and destitute in NZ? Because our whole economy
has been sliced and diced by overseas cheap stuff and the direction that RW neolibs have taken us with determination, that is to low wages, ‘flexible-to-none’ hours, voluntary unionism and anti unionism by businesses. We have to think of how we are going to improve things for ourselves, and not just be charity cases patronised by self-centred, arrogant, callous people who are in the better-off category. And unfortunately these are the very same people who once were poor. The book Affluenza talks about the lure of continually wanting more, the driven psychology of aiming ‘to be the best you can be’ and and feeling superior and entitled once success is achieved, and finding fault with those who haven’t.
Nothing will change unless we apply our minds and do things differently from now, and also not try to return to what seems to have been a better time and way. What if the people who want good non-slip shoes find someone, perhaps retired and on superannuation and with time from pressing home or care duties, to run a Facebook page that keeps people in touch who have particular interests and wants. In your case you would say that you need certain shoes at about a certain price, others who know where these can be obtained would advise the group.
We are going to have to show some mettle or lose all the way in this country. I have tried to help particular groups and found they will hardly help themselves, they can’t make the effort, allow the present to swamp them and want a miracle to happen that will solve the situation. If we think of how few people come to this blog and talk over the problems and then come up with a project to improve things, not just with protest to various government agencies but with direct activity, do-it-yourself stuff,
the biggest task is to get people to set aside some time and whatever money they can afford and put their hands to the wheel. But that’s physical labour! And sitting on the fence chewing over the problems, or lining up with the outrage in-group is about where most of NZ is at I am afraid.
It is not impossible …indeed it wasnt so long ago that we did …however the culture change required from both (esp) consumers and manufacturers is such that it is highly unlikely…the easy option is exactly that.
Woman asks judge for $15M condo after deadbeat hubby skips town with mistress.
Great heading on that piece fender.
Everything has a label so it can be dismissed easily – one in the USA is deadbeat dad. She has been rich, married to a man with lots of money and now it is slipping away and she wants to ensure she stays rich, calling on the legal services and the law to assist her to have her rights for herself and children.
The label for so many of us in NZ is worthless, lazy, unproductive, unworthy and expressed as single parent, druggie, Maori, unemployable. Oh if only we poor people could claim our entitlement from the wealthy who have managed to screw us and disappear our jobs, our living wages, our affordable houses, our public services both affordable and accessible, our opportunity to have an enjoyable secure life, to hold our heads up and be pleased and proud with ourselves and our achievements.
The elite in NZ, the robber barons and their groupies, have ‘skipped town’ with our entitlement to share in the rockstar economy enabling us to have our rights for ourselves and children.
Good morning The Am Show Mark it was national that ran a circus and the way shonky ran the show was shocking his trick was to take putea from the poor and give it to the rich another trick of shonkys was he could tell a lie and everyone believed his lie even thought the truth was stearing them in the face.
Eco Maori is still assessing Bryce Edwards something keeps changing his view ?????????.
Duncan the meat from cows with that Bovine virus will be fine we use to eat the cows culled for TB back in the day .
I could survive 3 days in the wild but I learnt how to harvest the kai from te whenua in the Waiapu Vally my whano don’t realize how important the Waiapu Vally is to Maori tupuna history I have learnt these facts.
The abortion debate in Ireland is also about Whine rights Mana Whine ka pai.
You are right M8 hypocrisy runs rife in OUR society you just have a look at ———– and it pokes one in the eyes.
Ka kite ano
The Am Show Mark Sainsbury gambling on those pokie machines is a big scam the house always wins thats the way it all ways works with gambling if the house lost all the time they would go broke and be gone.
The poor people you see gambling are trying to win there way into a more prosperous life and odds are very low on one achieving that feat.
ka kite ano
When I read a artificial I scroll down and read the comments made by other people on the given topic The welfare overhaul panel of 11 they look like they have the credentials for the task this is a win for Te Green Party.
I can see the national trolls easy as trolls paid to stir up peoples emotions they start with a line saying they were or did vote for Labour but have changed there view so easy to read you trolls.
Its that bad at winz that people have to get a advocate just to get a benefit which should be guaranteed in a wealthy country like NZ NO.
Whats wrong with everyone having a healthy happy life style trolls tell me why yous don’t think other people have the right to be treated humanly .
If the story is true if someone is on a sickness benefit for seven years than that person is sick they are probable sick of being put down by employers put down by the system these people are not fortunate like me to have a thick skin and a strong mind as well I have this site and my tipunas genetics to help keep me off a benefit the sandflys are trying there hardest to push me onto one but I won’t give up.
So national trolls know this Eco Maori is watching you . Ka kite ano link is below.
Rodger I did not have the time to watch Dancing I have been to busy m8 now you have done good you know that saying if the horse bucks you off one just has to get back on m8 . I ;v been thrown off a horse many times I would catch my breath because most times one gets the wind knocked out of them when thrown off a horse and get back on it . Kia Kaha Rodger Ka kite ano
National has a problem. And it’s time they said it out loud. It can’t be dismissed as a one-off anymore or excused because ‘everyone does it’. No, it cuts deeper than that. National has an ethics problem. Especially when it comes to privacy and using ordinary people as pawns in ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 5 through Sat, July 11, 2020Editor's ChoiceThink Covid-19 Disrupted the Food Chain? Wait and See What Climate Change Will DoThe pandemic has revealed deep flaws in the ...
The Council of Disobedient Women There is a regular segment in the Speak Up For Women podcasts called “Absolutely Blasted Mad Moment of the Week”. Each podcast the speaker and the host discuss a recent event that is the most insane thing they have seen in the gender critical space ...
Todd Muller - Dishonest National Party leaderIt seems that dishonest Todd Muller is, like many right-wing politicians, entirely morally bankrupt. I mean just look at the National Party’s leaking omni-shambles over the last week or so. They’ve imploded in a spectacular display of backfiring dirty politics, the likes of which ...
MONDAY JULY 13Bodyguard (TVNZ 1, 8.30pm). It's the final; if you haven't seen this already on Netflix, get ready, the ending is batshit.Unforgotten (Vibe, Sky 006, 8.30pm). I wonder if Sanjeev Bhasksar's character has got rid of that damn backpack in the third season of this cold case drama? Although, come ...
TUESDAY JULY 14Yorkshire Airport (Prime, 7.30pm). Bloomin’ ’eck, behind the scenes at Leeds Bradford Airport. Apparently, there is plenty of “northern charm”, although reaction in the UK ranged from “brilliant” to “patronising”. It is narrated by Hugh Dennis, whose middle name might be “Arch”.WEDNESDAY JULY 15Queen: Live at Wembley (Prime, ...
Simon Bridges must be the unluckiest person in New Zealand politics. When he was elected as leader of the National party, he also became Leader of the Opposition – a position, he was entitled to assume, that would require him to “oppose”. But the government he set out to oppose ...
This is a re-post from The Guardian by Damian Carrington Spreading rock dust on farmland could suck billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air every year, according to the first detailed global analysis of the technique. The chemical reactions that degrade the rock particles lock the greenhouse gas into ...
Check out Speak Up For Women’s new podcasts: Episode 3 In this episode Speak Up For Women spokeswoman Ani O’Brien (@aniobrien) is joined by Beth Johnson (@beth_nosnhoj) to discuss the proposal from Statistics NZ to change standard data collection policy to “gender by default” rather than sex. They discuss why the ...
During a recent public consultation on the future of Archives New Zealand, a key report was suppressed. The Ombudsman has ruled that the refusal was unjustified. Sadly, the consultation was over by the time of the the decision has been made. However, the law on the use of the ...
National MP - Michael WoodhouseUnbelievable! Michelle Boag also sent National’s Michael Woodhouse confidential emails about COVD-19 patients, and he continued to publicly attack the Government over these very same breaches of privacy.This is the biggest political self-own since the Act Party’s David Garrett admitted in Parliament that he used a ...
Transcript: National Party policy announcement on roads – 8 July, 2020 Muller: Good afternoon everybody. Thank you for coming. Reporter 1: Is Hamish Walker a racist? Muller: Hang on… you haven’t even said good afternoon to me yet. Reporter 1: Good afternoon Mr Muller. Is Hamish Walker a racist? ...
Back in April, I wrote about trials in Iran of a fixed-dose combination of two existing anti-viral drugs used to treat hepatitis C – sofosbuvir and daclatasvir – that could point to an effective treatment for Covid-19 symptoms.At the time, data from those trials was not available outside the hospitals ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Anja Mizdrak, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael BakerThe pandemic-related lockdown is possibly the most dramatic public health intervention in NZ history. It helped achieve the elimination of community transmission of the COVID-19 virus in NZ. But it was also associated with 548 fewer total ...
Reprehensible: There is much that could be said about Michael Woodhouse, but what would be the point? Any man who willingly involves himself in a situation as reprehensible as the one depicted in the above photograph has already vouchsafed all that decent people need to know about his character. That there have ...
As the debate over assisted dying rages in the run-up to the referendum at the election on September 19, a persistent problem continues to dog the discussions. That is to say, a prominent spokesperson for a particular group takes a strong public stand in opposition without acknowledging that they don’t ...
No Other Suspects? The mainstream news media was willing to print and broadcast harsh Opposition criticism of the Government, even though they knew that the source of the leaked information was a National Party MP. Even though, by pushing the story up towards the top of every news bulletin they were ...
Sacrificial Lamb: If the stories about Mr Taogaga and the unauthorised release of confidential medical data had been deliberately orchestrated by Labour’s political opponents, their deflection of the news media’s attention away from the Prime Minister’s address to the Labour Party Congress could hardly have been more successful.THE LABOUR PARTY ...
The East is Rent: The consequences of unleashing the young against the old; of elevating ideological rigor above reasoned debate; and of setting the present against the past; was a decade of unprecedented social stress and tension, interspersed with explosions of murderous mob violence and tragic material destruction. More than ...
The Green Party of Aotearoa-New Zealand could go from helping Jacinda Ardern run the country, to being turfed out of Parliament altogether in ten weeks. And that could see the end of Labour in government. Without them, Labour would likely have to do what no party has done since the ...
Remember the government's tyrannicalTerrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill? Remember how it was rammed through Parliament, with a four-day submission period and a select committee process that was a democratic fraud? At the time, the government gave the impression that there was an urgent need for this legislation, that a ...
Attack journalist - Tova O'BrienWe all know that much of the mainstream media in New Zealand is terribly biased. They are in effect another branch of the National Party, and can often be even more prejudiced than their right wing bosses.In fact many right wing politicians moonlight as journalists and ...
Former National Party President - Michelle BoagAfter the complete botch job Hamish Walker made of leaking the private details of COVID-19 patients to the mainstream media last week, the best-case scenario for Todd Muller and the National Party would be if the news cycle went quiet about their involvement.But unfortunately ...
One of the challenges of working on illegal wildlife markets, is you don’t really have scope to talk about your research into illegal wildlife markets. There is some stuff though that willbe coming out on Asiatic black bears in China, and before Covid19, I was delving more into rhinos. Which ...
Some are surprised at this sudden brain implosion on the part of both Michelle Boag, former National Party President, and the National Party in general, in exposing the private, confidential details of COVID patients. Others…? Let’s be blunt: not so much. Too many of that Party have long operated with ...
Michelle Boag - Former National Party PresidentWhen Todd Muller decided not to discipline Hamish Walker for his horribly racist press release last week, you had to wonder if his lack of proper leadership had something to do with a shared belief system? After all, the whiteness of the blue “team” ...
On Twitter today, lawyer Felix Geiringer asked a good question: why are MP's exempt from the Privacy Act? The Act imposes its obligations on "agencies", and s8 of the 2020 Act states that this term does not include... a member of Parliament in their official capacity The 1993 Act, ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzWhat was the climate and sea level like at times ...
So now we know, beyond all doubt. The National party has no interest in joining the “team of five million” in our fight against the pandemic but its priority is to take every opportunity it can to damage the government. The cynicism is breathtaking. It was prepared to leak the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters The massive dust storm that formed over the Sahara Desert in mid-June invaded the southeastern U.S. June 25-28, bringing dangerous levels of air pollution, low visibility, and colorful sunsets. The air pollution event over parts of Texas and the Gulf ...
In 1987, as a British Labour MP, I was elected to the Shadow Cabinet by my colleagues and was asked by the party leader to direct Labour’s campaign in the general election of that year. The election was to take place at the height of Mrs Thatcher’s dominance and we ...
National MP Nicola WillisHousing, which I would argue is a fundamental human right, has long been a problem in New Zealand. Not only do we have some of the most overpriced houses in the entire world, much of the housing stock is substandard and therefore affects not just people’s health ...
If the government has not lined up behind a "Yes" vote in this year's cannabis referendum the way some reformers would have liked, one entirely laudable thing it did do was commission some science around the public's choice.That science landed today, in the form of the report from an expert ...
Associate Professor Sara WaltonAt the heart of the discussion on opening up our borders is the dichotomy of health and the economy – both of which are actually intertwined, like many things with our economy, as this epidemic has shown.If we think about our country as a system, ...
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Josh Gabbatiss This year will see the largest ever drop globally in both investment and consumer spending on energy as the coronavirus pandemic hits every major sector, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The crisis is accelerating the shutdown of older fossil-fuelled ...
A short opinion piece – Friday 26th June 2020 Whilst our Government has treated many financial victims of the current Covid-19 virus with appropriate generosity, the same cannot be said for those of the two earlier “epidemics” in NZ. The “Covid-84” virus (also called “Rogernomics”) spread systemic greed, with the ...
Everyone deserves a a decent life. We know this is possible with a fairer approach to income support and tax Read the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Poverty Action Plan here ...
After a long break, the government is back inserting secrecy clauses in legislation. This time its the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill (No 3), which in its clause allowing Ministers to exempt purchasers of farm land from the usual rules also allows them to exempt an exemption from the publication requirement: ...
Over the past two years the government has repeatedly delayed a scheme to put cameras on boats to monitor Mew Zealand's pervasively criminal fishing industry. But it turns out that the industry actually wants cameras: Three of the country's biggest seafood companies have broken ranks with the rest of the ...
Louise Delany (public health lawyer)Health and emergency laws have played a critical role in this country’s successful elimination of community transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic. This blog details key aspects of the legislation and comments on issues around testing, payments by incoming travellers for quarantine costs, and mask use. ...
I like Andrew Curry’s succinct and insightful futures blog The Next Wave. His most recent post is about social change. In particular, the decadal-long periods usually required for changes in values. He highlights a 2016 paper by Inglehart and Norris, who examined whether economic insecurity or a “cultural backlash” ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Stop making sense: why it's time to get emotional about climate changeThe science has been settled to the highest degree, so now ...
MONDAY JULY 6Washington (History, Sky 073, 7.30pm). The brilliant Doris Kearns Goodwin is the executive producer of this six-part series about America's first president. It combines interviews with live action and is narrated by Jeff Daniels. It's engaging, said Salon.TUESDAY JULY 7The ABC Murders (Prime, 8.30pm). Sarah Phelps has done incredible things with ...
I think we can all agree that the mainstream media in New Zealand has a very different set of rules for the right wing compared to the left. While Labour and Green Party politicians don’t seem to be able to fart without it becoming a sackable offence, National and Act ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, June 28 through Sat, July 4, 2020Editor's Choice'2040': A funny, entertaining, upbeat climate documentaryA timely Australian documentary takes a 'solutions' approach, with the filmmaker inspired by visions of ...
Racist National MP Hamish WalkerEven before Todd Muller's coup ousted Simon Bridges by a single vote, it was patently obvious that the National Party promotes and stands for white privilege. In fact they’ve always worked to ensure the discriminatory status quo in New Zealand doesn’t change.So it’s no surprise that ...
Dave HeatleyZero community transmission. Just a handful of active cases, all in quarantine. New Zealand is in an attractive situation, at least compared to much of the world. The situation could be robust and enduring – or it might be fragile, just one border incursion away from a “second ...
Is the consequence of the Simpson Report proposals for restructuring the health system poorer accountability to people? When in doubt, centralise‘ has been a persistent theme in New Zealand public policy throughout our history. The current government is no exception. Here are some examples. - The regional polytechs have been ...
I wrote earlier in the week about the Scientology front organisations Drug Free World and Drug Free Ambassadors and their quite prominent role in anti-cannabis reform "coalition" assembled by Family First and a newloca branch of the American prohibitionist organisation SAM.It turns out Family First aren't the only ones helping ...
Nik GreenMuch of the public debate about the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has focused on the extent to which government regulations have restricted personal and business activity.Oxford University Blavatnik School of Government Here in New Zealand, the question of when to change Alert Levels dominated the ...
James Higham, University of OtagoUnprecedented border closures and the domestic lockdown have paralysed New Zealand’s $40.9 billion a year tourism industry. In the process, the vulnerability of the sector to external shocks and the tenuous nature of tourism employment have been exposed. While New Zealand’s handling of the pandemic ...
Raising The Bar: Would that the Prime Minister and her colleagues would listen as intently to what the people – as opposed to the power elites – are saying as the Greens. Were they so disposed, the popular clamour for a transformational post-Covid reset would be loud in their ears. ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzDo you think the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown will slow or ...
A bit like a letter home. I have now been full-time at the University of Melbourne since 2019. Before that, I was 20 years at the University of Otago, Wellington. Indeed, I set up this very Public Health Expert Blog with Nick Wilson ten years ago. Now I am your ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections House Democrats have released a comprehensive report showing how – if they control the White House and both the Senate and the House of Representatives – they might move forward on climate change. Their “Climate Crisis Action Plan,” released June 30 by the ...
A ballot for three Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Electoral (Integrity Repeal) Amendment Bill (David Carter) Harmful Digital Communications (Unauthorised Posting of Intimate Visual Recording) Amendment Bill (Louisa wall) Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Bill (Judith ...
Not Ready: Todd Muller’s lack-lustre and self-contradictory performances offer conclusive proof that a political leader cannot be managed into competence. National’s new boss has Janet Wilson handling his media and Matthew Hooton writing his speeches. Both are highly professional political and public relations specialists, and Muller is lucky to have ...
Unfortunately, due to a medical emergency, I have landed in hospital so am not able to do a current update on the NZ blog statistics. Let’s hope I can get back to this in good time. ...
It started as a family story, about a step-father who went out one night to break into an embassy in Wadestown, Wellington. John Daniell wanted to understand what his family had been part of when his mother and then step-father work for New Zealand’s Security Intelligence. He wanted to know ...
The Greens have shaken up the election campaign with the announcement of their radical poverty and action plan to reform welfare provision and introduce a new wealth tax for millionaires. It’s a big-thinking, controversial policy and has generated a lot of disagreement over how radical it is, whether it could ...
The Green Party is today unveiling part one of its plan for a fossil-fuel free Aotearoa, including an immediate ban on new industrial coal boilers. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industry New Zealand First is supporting calls by hunters and the New Zealand Tahr Foundation (NZTF) to halt a large scale cull of Himalayan Tahr by the Department of Conservation in National Parks. The calls are supported by a 40,000 strong petition and the ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First leader Winston Peters today scoffed at suggestions that a team of six political operatives have been dispatched to New Zealand to assist his campaign. ‘As President Ronald Reagan once said, ‘there they go again.’ ‘The clickbait journos can’t ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce Jenny Marcroft as the party’s election 2020 candidate for the Auckland Central electorate. Jenny spent years working in Auckland Central, having spent a vast proportion of her broadcasting career there. She says she, "knows the place and knows the people." Ms Marcroft says ...
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...
This week we moved into the second half of 2020 - and our Government delivered another week of big changes and major progress for New Zealanders. Read below for a wrap of the key things moments from the week - from extending paid parental leave, to making major investments in ...
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...
There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
The Green Party is thrilled to see changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that mean consents for large projects can be declined if they will have significant climate change implications that are inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Act and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations. ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence The Royal New Zealand Navy’s new ship, Aotearoa, set sail for New Zealand on 10 June from the Republic of Korea, and is due to arrive in Auckland tomorrow, announced Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “Aotearoa is the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new fleet ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Racing Racing Minister Winston Peters has today welcomed the Racing Industry Bill passing its third reading, creating the legislative framework for revitalising the racing industry while limiting the need for future government intervention. “For too long our domestic racing industry has ...
The Green Party has today put forward an amendment to the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill to ensure all people in prisons can vote in general elections. ...
The Green Party welcomes the decision to not proceed with Public Public Investment (PPI) delivery of Auckland’s light rail project and to instead run the process through the public service. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First List MP Hon Ron Mark welcomes the announcement of Provincial Growth Funding investment of $1.4 million to help secure the Wairarapa’s water supply. The funding boost will allow the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), and ...
New Zealand First list MP Mark Patterson has been selected to represent the party in the newly formed Taieri electorate at the upcoming election. Mr Patterson, his wife Jude and two daughters farm sheep and beef at Lawrence and Waitahuna. He previously stood in the Clutha-Southland electorate however boundary changes ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio is pleased to announce the inaugural launch of Kiribati Language Week as part of the 2020 Pacific language Weeks programme. “I am so pleased that this year we are able to provide resourcing support to the Kiribati community in Aotearoa which will ...
Wildlife institutions affected by a loss of visitor revenue during the COVID-19 lockdown are set to receive government support with nearly $15 million of funding available announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. “Eco-sanctuaries, zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks, and wildlife rescue, hospital and rehabilitation facilities provide crucial support for the recovery ...
The Government is expanding and accelerating frontline mental health and wellbeing services at tertiary education institutes (TEI) to help students manage ongoing stresses related to COVID-19. “The lockdown has been hugely disruptive for students. Many of them have had to relocate and move to online learning, isolating them from their ...
The Minister of Police says a major operation against the Mongrel Mob in Waikato will make a big dent in drug harm and violent offending linked to organised crime networks. “Senior leadership of the Waikato Mongrel Mob has been taken out as a result of Operation Kingsville, which resulted in ...
The Government is extending the border exception criteria to enable some offshore victims and support people of the Christchurch mosque attacks to attend the sentencing of the accused beginning on 24 August2020, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. “We want to support our valued Muslim brothers and sisters who were directly ...
A project to support volunteer efforts to look after streams and rivers is getting a boost thanks to support from DOC’s Community Conservation Fund announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “The government is backing efforts to look after waterways with $199,400 for the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust from ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter today announced that funding for the COVID-19 Community Fund for women and girls will be doubled, as the first successful funding applications for the initial $1million were revealed. “Women and girls across the country have suffered because of the effects of COVID-19, and I ...
The Government’s books were better than forecast with a higher GST take as the economy got moving again after lockdown, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Crown Accounts for the 11 months to the end of May indicate the year end results for tax revenue will be stronger than forecast. ...
A plan to revitalise New Zealand’s strong wool sector and set it on a new, more sustainable and profitable path was unveiled today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The newly-released report - Vision and Action for New Zealand’s Wool Sector - was developed by the Wool Industry Project Action Group ...
Community efforts to create a Predator Free Whangārei will receive a $6 million boost, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced today. The new funding, through Government company Predator Free 2050 Ltd, will create around 12 jobs while enabling the complete removal of possums over ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced that the New Zealand Government is reviewing the settings of its relationship with Hong Kong. “China’s decision to pass a new national security law for Hong Kong has fundamentally changed the environment for international engagement there,” Mr Peters said. “New Zealand remains deeply ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced details of a multimillion-dollar investment in Whangārei for infrastructure projects that will help it recover from the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 200 jobs are expected to be created through the $26 million investment from the Government’s rejuvenation package ...
Following a second incident in which a person escaped from a managed isolation facility, security is being enhanced, including more police presence onsite, Minister Megan Woods said. “The actions of some individuals who choose to break the very clear rules to stay within the facilities means that more resourcing is ...
Waste reduction and recycling programmes in Kaipara are set to get a boost with Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage today announcing a $361,447 grant from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) Sustainable Kaipara. “The new funding will allow Sustainable Kaipara to partner with local schools, kura, community ...
The Government will support the Southland economy in the wake of multinational mining company Rio Tinto’s decision to follow through with its long signalled closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. “This day has unfortunately been on the cards for some time now, but nevertheless the final decision is a ...
New tools being developed to help boost Aotearoa’s Predator Free 2050 effort were unveiled today by Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau. A new rat poison, a camera with predator recognition software to detect and report predators, a new predator lure and a ...
The Coalition Government has approved the purchase of a fleet of Bushmaster vehicles to replace the New Zealand Army’s armoured Pinzgauers, Defence Minister Ron Mark has announced today. The new fleet of 43 Australian-designed and built Bushmaster NZ5.5 will provide better protection for personnel and improved carrying capacity. “The age ...
The Government’s three prevention frameworks to reduce family violence in Aotearoa were launched this week by Associate Minister for Social Development Poto Williams. The frameworks were developed in partnership with communities around New Zealand, and build on the work the Government has already begun with its new family violence prevention ...
The Government is pleased to confirm funding for improvements to radiology and surgical services at Hawke's Bay DHB, Health Minister Chris Hipkins says. "The Minister of Finance the Hon Grant Robertson and former Health Minister Dr David Clark approved funding for Hawke's Bay DHB’s redevelopment of their radiology facilities ...
• New funding for four beds at Napier’s Springhill Residential Addiction Centre • A new managed withdrawal home and community service, and peer support before and after residential care at Tairāwhiti DHB • A co-ordinated network of withdrawal management services throughout the South Island • Peer support in Rotorua and ...
Introduction, seafarers and POAL Good morning everyone, I am delighted to be online with you all today. Before I begin, I have to acknowledge that COVID-19 has disrupted the maritime sector on an unprecedented scale. The work of seafarers and the maritime industry is keeping many economies around the world ...
A $13 million investment from Government will create jobs and improve the resilience of the rail connection between Christchurch and the West Coast, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones and Regional Economic Development Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau say. The funding comes from the tagged contingency set aside in Budget 2020 for infrastructure projects ...
The Government is investing $761 million to assist local government upgrade under-pressure water services across the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The announcement was made at the site of the water bore that was found to be the source of the fatal ...
Recognised Seasonal Employers and migrant seasonal workers stranded in New Zealand will be able to continue working and supporting themselves with more flexible hours and roles, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. The time-limited visa changes are: Stranded RSE workers will be able to work part-time (a minimum of 15 hours ...
The Government is making immediate short-term changes to visa settings to support temporary migrants already onshore in New Zealand and their employers, while also ensuring New Zealanders needing work are prioritised, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. We are: Extending temporary work visas due to expire by the end of 2020 ...
Professor Peter Skelton CNZM has been appointed as Chief Freshwater Commissioner and Alternate Environment Court Judge Craig James Thompson as Deputy Chief Freshwater Commissioner for the newly established Freshwater Planning Process (FPP). Environment Minister David Parker today also announced the appointment of Chief Environment Court Judge Laurie Newhook as the ...
Auckland Queen’s Counsel Neil Campbell has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Campbell graduated with a BCom and LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1992. He spent two years with Bell Gully Buddle Weir in Auckland before travelling to the United ...
The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal to better enable the development and operation of commercial film and video facilities in Christchurch. The Proposal, developed by Regenerate Christchurch in response to a request from Christchurch City Council, asks that powers under section ...
The Government has launched a bold plan to boost primary sector export earnings by $44 billion over the next decade, while protecting the environment and growing jobs. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today released Fit for a Better World – Accelerating our Economic Potential, a 10-year roadmap to unlock greater value ...
A new approach to prevent family harm that encourages greater collaboration across government and community groups is being celebrated at the opening of a new facility in Auckland. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today opened the Multi-Disciplinary Family Harm Prevention Hub Te Taanga Manawa in Lambie Road in Manukau. The facility ...
The Government has released a major new report on the options for relocating the Port of Auckland’s freight operations while deferring any decision on the issue. “That decision needs to be informed by policy analysis that is still to be completed. As a result it will be up to a ...
The history of Rāpaki is being restored through the inclusion of te reo in thirteen official place names on Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū / Banks Peninsula and around Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō, the Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage, announced today. “I am pleased to approve the proposals from Te Hapū o Ngāti ...
Bookings for seats on Air New Zealand flights into New Zealand will be managed in the short term to ensure the Government is able to safely place New Zealanders arriving home into a managed isolation or quarantine facility, says Housing Minister Megan Woods. “Last week Air Commodore Darryn Webb and I ...
Grant Robertson has today announced the first major release of funding from the $265 million Sport Recovery Package announced at Budget 2020. “Today we’re setting out how $80 million will be invested, with $54 million of that over the 2020/2021 financial year for organisations from community level through to elite ...
The Government is maintaining current levy rates for the next 2 years, as part of a set of changes to help ease the financial pressures of COVID-19 providing certainty for businesses and New Zealanders, ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “New Zealanders and businesses are facing unprecedented financial pressures as a ...
Small businesses are getting greater certainty about access to finance with an extension to the interest-free cashflow loan scheme to the end of the year. The Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme has already been extended once, to 24 July. Revenue and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says it will be ...
A package of 23 projects across the country will clean up waterways and deliver over 2000 jobs Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Environment Minister David Parker announced today. The $162 million dollar package will see 22 water clean-up projects put forward by local councils receiving $62 million and the Kaipara ...
Tena koutou katoa Nga tangata whenua o tenei rohe o Pōneke, tena koutou Nau mai, haere mai ki te hui a tau mo te roopu reipa Ko tatou! Ko to tatou mana! Ko to tatou kaupapa kei te kokiri whakamua Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa Welcome. I ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $1.5 million to ensure QE Health in Rotorua can proceed with its world class health service and save 75 existing jobs, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development, Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. The PGF funding announced today is in addition to the $8 million ...
A new programme, which sets a firm course for the Building and Construction sector to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has been announced by the Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa. “A significant amount of New Zealand’s carbon emissions come from the building and construction sector. If we’re serious ...
The Tahr Foundation has released a short video that shows just what Himalayan tahr mean to Kiwis and why so many people are fighting so hard to maintain them in New Zealand. The video is a powerful reminder of the extent that tahr are now woven into ...
Introduction Thank you very much. Elections in New Zealand – like everywhere - are a very special tradition, because they are driven by you. They’re an opportunity to change your future. If you think about it, the Government doesn’t do much. It ...
“This election and Covid-19 present New Zealanders with an opportunity to change their future and create a fair, modern employment insurance scheme,” says ACT’s Employment Spokesperson, and third-ranked candidate, Nicole McKee. “Covid-19 has ...
“A new approach to mental health and addiction will reduce bureaucracy, improve patient choice, and empower New Zealanders,” says ACT’s Deputy Leader and Health Spokesperson Brooke van Velden. “Each year, the government spends about $2 billion ...
"Working people have signaled their commitment to do more to address the most pressing issue of our time; climate change. The energy policies that the Green Party have launched today provide a meaningful contribution to addressing climate change," ...
Climate justice organisation 350 Aotearoa welcomes the Greens' plan to transform Aotearoa’s energy system and set Aotearoa on course towards a fossil-fuel free future in which workers are supported into new jobs, and communities have the power ...
The Old Guard, new to Netflix, is a resounding success because it doesn’t focus on what makes these heroes great, it focuses on what makes them human, writes Sam Brooks.The climax of Netflix’s new movie The Old Guard shouldn’t be anything new, but it feels exhilarating. The titular old guard, ...
A new Green Party announcement heralds a fast-exit out of fossil fuels through a massive state housing solar panel installation programme, a ban on new coal boilers, and the shifting of a target for renewable energy Solar panels and batteries would be installed in 30,000 State homes to create a "virtual power plant" if ...
As yet more male-led festival lineups are announced, Shaquille Wasasala, aka halfqueen, writes an open letter to the industry.To those whose career it is booking talent for music festivals, punters, and people who listen to music.As a DJ and artist who exists at many intersections that directly inform my lens ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this ...
Dunedin writer Victor Billot pens topical verse every Sunday. This week: disgraced MP Hamish Walker.Showing promise The MP for Clutha-Southland did, it is true, post on Facebook that he had been door knocking in Mataura when he hadn’t. He lied. The MP for Clutha-Southland did, it is ...
It’s one of the most commonly used weedkillers in the world, but pressure to phase out use of the herbicide glyphosate could force us to come up with alternatives quickly. Listen to the full episode of Two Cents Worth below. Subscribe to Two Cents' Worth for free on Apple ...
The Covid-19 crisis has exposed gaps in the funding of early education that we should be bold in responding to, writes Sue Cherrington of Victoria University of Wellington Early childhood education has been in the media a great deal over recent weeks, initially with positive but increasingly with negative news reports. ...
It’s an economic theory that advocates tout as a solution to governments’ debt crises, but critics warn is a recipe for hyperinflation. Either way, modern monetary theory is getting a lot more attention in the era of Covid-19.Two big economic ideas have captured the popular imagination during the Covid-19 pandemic: ...
For one hour a week the supermarket lights are dimmed and the music stops. And it’s a kind of triumph, writes Michelle Langstone.I thought there’d been a power cut. The lights were out at the entrance, so you arrived into a kind of gloom. There was no music, and no ...
It’s no secret that New Zealand’s Covid-19 response was one of the world’s most effective. But to get an idea of how eagerly parts of our economy have rebounded post lockdown, take a look at our electricity demand data.Despite an impending wave of unemployment and looming fiscal challenges down the ...
In the second in the Spnioff’s Last on the list series, Dave King explains what inspired him to stand for the Act Party in Manurewa. At 20th spot on the list, if David Seymour’s party can win around 16% of the party vote, King is parliament bound.It wasn’t that long ...
Basketball is growing massively in popularity around the country, led by thousands of youngsters picking up the game every day. To The Line looks at what it’s like for New Zealand high school kids with hoop dreams.If there’s been a narrative rumbling away in the sports pages, it’s that of ...
Unbelievable. A first-rank world leader picks a needless fight with blameless allies, thus imperiling their unity. But that’s General de Gaulle for you.Impressive work, even by his standards. In 1967, Canada was to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge (their Gallipoli – except that they ...
From RNZ Saturday Morning Described by a Guardian reviewer as “superb hate-reading”, writer and columnist Anand Giridharadas‘s latest book Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World investigates the hypocrisy of billionaire “do-gooders”. He questions how and why we have become reliant on the philanthropy of the super-rich ...
The Professional Hunting Guides Association is welcoming the High Court decision on DoC’s controversial tahr campaign. The High Court in Wellington was asked on Wednesday by the Tahr Foundation for a judicial review of DoC’s plan to kill thousands ...
With the 2020 general election nearly three months away, a new campaign is asking voters to vote in line with the future. Vote Climate 2020 aims to highlight the opportunity to build momentum behind climate change, ensuring climate justice is a key election ...
“ACT will target the gangs by hitting them where it hurts – their pockets,” according to ACT Leader David Seymour and Firearms Spokesperson Nicole McKee. “New Zealanders deserve to be safe and secure, but violent gangs are a scourge on our ...
Waffles don’t need to be sweet – these cheese and onion numbers make an excellent savoury breakfast with an egg, or an equally tasty dinner with leftover mince.It’s easy to default to sweet breakfasts without thinking. At least that’s the case in our household, as porridge or bircher muesli is ...
The government is revitalising the wool sector, splashing out on freshwater restoration projects, relieving student stress and showing kindness to Muslims by extending the border exception criteria. It is also increasing its support (in announcements from two separate Green Party Ministers) for women and for wildlife institutions. And it is ...
People have called it for it be pulled from the service, but the escapist fantasy of 365 Days is nothing new, writes Alie Benge.To every generation, a bullish alpha-male psychopath is born, and is for someone reason considered a romantic hero. We’ve been through a lot this year, and instead ...
As Aucklanders reluctantly adjust to the inconvenient practice of water conservation, a drought-savvy Northlander shares the tips and temperament needed to get through the dry times.Auckland’s water shortage was recently reported on The Project, and viewers were earnestly exhorted to fill their dishwashers completely before turning them on. My husband ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk A request by the Philippines’ biggest radio and TV network for a new franchise has been rejected by a congressional committee in a vote that will go down in history as a flagrant violation of the country’s constitution, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The Paris-based media ...
Hamish Walker's privacy leak debacle dominated the news this week, but it's not the first time a southern MP has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, writes Daisy Hudson. ...
Let’s not allow the focus on big-budget infrastructure projects to detract from the vital role public transport will play in revitalising our cities in a post-Covid world, says Greg Pollock.The recent match between the Blues and the Hurricanes was one of the world’s first major post-lockdown sporting fixtures. It was ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this ...
In the heart of Christchurch is a Designated Character high school. What makes it unique? And should there be more like it? Frank Film visits Hagley College Paddy Grant was a 27-year-old truck driver when he rocked up to Christchurch’s Hagley High School, as it was then known. It was ...
"After he calms down we share the pie and talk about how hard the years since the show have been for him": a short story by Wellington writer Jordan Hamel. Every morning it’s the same. Cling wrap on the toilet seat, a pop up snake in my can of breakfast ...
Childcare centre closures have left families and staff out in the cold. In some cases, they were given just three days’ notice, Laura Walters reports Staff and families of Auckland’s Discoveries Educare branches feel blindsided by the sudden closure of the early childhood education centres. The Ministry of Education has ...
Controversy and the America's Cup go hand-in-hand and the latest edition is no different with Emirates Team New Zealand at the centre of financial mismanagement allegations. Extra Time unpicks the debate and ponders what does the latest Cup drama mean? And should we care? A study has revealed racial bias ...
Over the decades, Mike Fox has witnessed the housing market progressively tilt towards larger, more expensive homes. Without a major overhaul of the current regulatory processes, he says, things will never change.It’s one of the biggest problems our country faces – we cannot produce the affordable housing that’s so desperately ...
So-called dirty deals have been roundly denounced over the years. Hayden Donnell argues that they need to be normalised, and even embraced, in September’s election.Just before the 2011 general election, Patrick Gower was confronted with a political act so stomach-churning, it forced him to abandon his trademark reserve. John Key ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics, University of South Australia Victoria has recorded 288 new COVID-19 cases since yesterday, the largest daily increase we’ve seen so far. This big jump must have the Victorian government and health authorities very concerned, especially since nearly ...
The controversial 101 East episode Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown on 3 July 2020. Video: Al JazeeraPacific Media Watch Newsdesk Malaysian police summoned six Al Jazeera media workers today for questioning relating to an investigation for defamation and violation of Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA), reports IFJ Asia-Pacific. ...
Analysis - A National MP destroys his career, the government explains how someone with Covid-19 could walk around a supermarket and the closure of Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is announced. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Abrar Ahmad Chughtai, Epidemiologist, UNSW Australia’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly today recommended people in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire wear masks when leaving the house: […] If people have symptoms and they need to go for a test, for example, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rochelle Wynne, Director, Western Sydney Nursing & Midwifery Research Centre, Western Sydney University Over the past week, we’ve seen a spike in the number of COVID-19 infections among health-care workers in Victoria. This includes a doctor at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, one ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Paddy Nixon and Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics including the return to lockdown in Victoria, National Cabinet setting to slow the flow of Australian’s ...
We prefer our heroes untarnished. And few match the heroism of Winston Churchill. But a recent report in the Times reminds us of the inevitability of human frailty and the consequences of keeping it under wraps.During the second world war, Britain’s greatest single loss of life at sea was the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ou Yang, Research Fellow, University of Melbourne Donald Trump has ordered US federal agencies to bypass environmental protection laws and fast-track pipeline, highway and other infrastructure projects. Signing the executive order last month, the US president declared regulatory delays would hinder “our ...
SAFE CEO Debra Ashton says "The NZDIA has done the right thing, and we’re glad to see Bertram has been held to account over his actions. He should take this as an opportunity to right his wrongs and show that he takes animal welfare seriously." ...
Takuta Ferris, Te Tai Tonga candidate for the Māori Party, is urging government to place whānau first in the wake of announcements around Tiwai Point. “The declaration that one of the region's major employers the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is closing ...
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re joined by The Spinoff’s managing editor, mall rat and self-confessed food philistine Duncan Greive.On this month’s Dietary Requirements, the gang’s back in the studio, and ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Chart 1: United States and Australia rising. Chart by Keith Rankin. These charts look at Covid19 incidence in China (the most important first-wave country, with a limited second wave), Italy (the lead second-wave country), and USA and Australia (second-wave countries – drawing their caseload from Europe ...
The Government must listen to the Muslim community to rectify its failure to act in the past, says the Human Rights Commission. The Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand (IWCNZ) submission to the Royal Commission of Inquiry was released this week. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, President, Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics. Senior Research Fellow, Moral philosophy, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Law Futures Centre., Griffith University Earlier this week, 150 high-profile authors, commentators and scholars signed an open letter in Harper’s magazine ...
You can’t keep a good woman down and Helen Clark is no exception. Her new appointment, as co-chair of a review of how the World Health Organisation handled the coronavirus pandemic, will test her formidable political skills. Sitting with her is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Liberian president, who handled the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Connor, Lecturer, James Cook University While many people may enjoy a game of backyard cricket, only a few go on to become elite professional batsmen in Australia. Cricket batting is example of what human skills can achieve. The fastest bowling delivery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee Baumgartner, Professor of Fisheries and River Management, Institute for Land, Water, and Society, Charles Sturt University This article is a preview of Flora, Fauna, Fire, a multimedia project launching on Monday July 13. The project tracks the recovery of Australia’s native ...
CEAC review of pre-election National’s “outline plan” just sent to us by Todd Muller 9/7/20 was actually his speech about his plan and was described as ‘an outline’. So in our review of National Party response to A Greener, Smarter Future; climate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Podger, Honorary Professor of Public Policy, Australian National University In Hidden Hand, China scholars Clive Hamilton and Marieke Ohlberg examine the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in Europe and North America in a similar way to how Hamilton dissected the CCP’s influence ...
“I can see why people are fed up, many are wondering how to clothe and feed their kids, or how they are going to pay their rent next week and still others are wondering what has happened to our beautiful Kiwi Way of Life. Well no party in parliament ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Sixty press freedom groups and civil society organisations, journalism institutions, filmmakers, and other supporters have formed a coalition in support of Maria Ressa and independent media in the Philippines, united around the call to #HoldTheLine. Today the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Center for ...
National MP Michael Woodhouse also received Covid-19 patient emails from Michelle Boag, and deleted them when he realised she was implicated in a separate email scandal. National Party leader Todd Muller says no further MPs in his party received confidential information from Michelle Boag, after revelations today that Michael Woodhouse also ...
The government is extending border exceptions to allow overseas victims of the Christchurch mosque attacks and their support people to attend the shooter's sentencing. ...
Ever wanted to be Iron Man? Sam Brooks prefers Pepper Potts, but he had a great time stepping into the iron suit anyway.The first few moments of Iron Man VR are where it plays its hand, confidently and assuredly. You hold your palms out in front of you, and Iron ...
SAP has released to the public a policy paper, “Helping Kiwis get back to work: How data and technology can drive a bigger, better, faster economic recovery.” ...
A new poem by Jordan Hamel.Mermaids When you lose grip and start to drift.The first thing you’re supposed to do issteer into it or steer away? Not all mermaids are royaltysomeone needs to audit the oceanprovide cashflow projectionssome mermaids are actuallymiddle-aged accountants named Stephendreaming of a land-view holiday home. I saw a ...
Want to work for The Spinoff? We’re looking for someone to fill an exciting new role based in our Auckland office. We’re looking for a video and podcast content manager: an experienced writer or sub-editor with a strong understanding of social media to manage our video and podcast content across various channels. ...
National Party leader Todd Muller says no further MPs in his party received confidential information from Michelle Boag, after revelations today that Michael Woodhouse also received four unsolicited emails. ...
By RNZ News Opposition National list MP Dr Jian Yang has announced his retirement from New Zealand politics and says he will not stand in the 2020 general election after three terms in the party caucus. He said politics was “demanding” and he wanted to spend more time with his ...
Open Mike 27/05/2018 
National has a problem. And it’s time they said it out loud. It can’t be dismissed as a one-off anymore or excused because ‘everyone does it’. No, it cuts deeper than that. National has an ethics problem. Especially when it comes to privacy and using ordinary people as pawns in ...2 hours ago
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 5 through Sat, July 11, 2020 Editor's Choice Think Covid-19 Disrupted the Food Chain? Wait and See What Climate Change Will Do The pandemic has revealed deep flaws in the ...10 hours ago
The Council of Disobedient Women There is a regular segment in the Speak Up For Women podcasts called “Absolutely Blasted Mad Moment of the Week”. Each podcast the speaker and the host discuss a recent event that is the most insane thing they have seen in the gender critical space ...1 day ago
Todd Muller - Dishonest National Party leaderIt seems that dishonest Todd Muller is, like many right-wing politicians, entirely morally bankrupt. I mean just look at the National Party’s leaking omni-shambles over the last week or so. They’ve imploded in a spectacular display of backfiring dirty politics, the likes of which ...1 day ago
MONDAY JULY 13Bodyguard (TVNZ 1, 8.30pm). It's the final; if you haven't seen this already on Netflix, get ready, the ending is batshit.Unforgotten (Vibe, Sky 006, 8.30pm). I wonder if Sanjeev Bhasksar's character has got rid of that damn backpack in the third season of this cold case drama? Although, come ...1 day ago
Simon Bridges must be the unluckiest person in New Zealand politics. When he was elected as leader of the National party, he also became Leader of the Opposition – a position, he was entitled to assume, that would require him to “oppose”. But the government he set out to oppose ...1 day ago
Check out Speak Up For Women’s new podcasts: Episode 3 In this episode Speak Up For Women spokeswoman Ani O’Brien (@aniobrien) is joined by Beth Johnson (@beth_nosnhoj) to discuss the proposal from Statistics NZ to change standard data collection policy to “gender by default” rather than sex. They discuss why the ...2 days ago
Everyone is paying attention today to the Supreme Court ruling that the President is not above the law and that Trump's tax returns can be given to a New York grand jury investigating him. But the Supreme Court decided another, far more important case yesterday, and effectively restored Native American ...2 days ago
Transcript: National Party policy announcement on roads – 8 July, 2020 Muller: Good afternoon everybody. Thank you for coming. Reporter 1: Is Hamish Walker a racist? Muller: Hang on… you haven’t even said good afternoon to me yet. Reporter 1: Good afternoon Mr Muller. Is Hamish Walker a racist? ...2 days ago
Today’s content Tiwai Point to close Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Government subsidising practically everything plays hardball with Rio Tinto (paywalled) Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Sudden closure of aluminium smelter worst outcome for jobs, consumers and the environment Brian Fallow (Herald): Tiwai closure sad news – and an opportunity for the environment (paywalled) Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Rio ...2 days ago
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Anja Mizdrak, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael Baker The pandemic-related lockdown is possibly the most dramatic public health intervention in NZ history. It helped achieve the elimination of community transmission of the COVID-19 virus in NZ. But it was also associated with 548 fewer total ...2 days ago
Reprehensible: There is much that could be said about Michael Woodhouse, but what would be the point? Any man who willingly involves himself in a situation as reprehensible as the one depicted in the above photograph has already vouchsafed all that decent people need to know about his character. That there have ...2 days ago
Some are surprised at this sudden brain implosion on the part of both Michelle Boag, former National Party President, and the National Party in general, in exposing the private, confidential details of COVID patients. Others…? Let’s be blunt: not so much. Too many of that Party have long operated with ...4 days ago
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Unfortunately, due to a medical emergency, I have landed in hospital so am not able to do a current update on the NZ blog statistics. Let’s hope I can get back to this in good time. ...1 week ago
The Green Party is today unveiling part one of its plan for a fossil-fuel free Aotearoa, including an immediate ban on new industrial coal boilers. ...7 hours ago
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industry New Zealand First is supporting calls by hunters and the New Zealand Tahr Foundation (NZTF) to halt a large scale cull of Himalayan Tahr by the Department of Conservation in National Parks. The calls are supported by a 40,000 strong petition and the ...5 days ago
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...1 week ago
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio is pleased to announce the inaugural launch of Kiribati Language Week as part of the 2020 Pacific language Weeks programme. “I am so pleased that this year we are able to provide resourcing support to the Kiribati community in Aotearoa which will ...1 day ago
The ACT Party is promising its biggest campaign in 15 years, as it fights for more seats in Parliament after September's election. ...1 hour ago
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The Old Guard, new to Netflix, is a resounding success because it doesn’t focus on what makes these heroes great, it focuses on what makes them human, writes Sam Brooks.The climax of Netflix’s new movie The Old Guard shouldn’t be anything new, but it feels exhilarating. The titular old guard, ...4 hours ago
A new Green Party announcement heralds a fast-exit out of fossil fuels through a massive state housing solar panel installation programme, a ban on new coal boilers, and the shifting of a target for renewable energy Solar panels and batteries would be installed in 30,000 State homes to create a "virtual power plant" if ...7 hours ago
Dunedin writer Victor Billot pens topical verse every Sunday. This week: disgraced MP Hamish Walker. Showing promise The MP for Clutha-Southland did, it is true, post on Facebook that he had been door knocking in Mataura when he hadn’t. He lied. The MP for Clutha-Southland did, it is ...12 hours ago
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Yesterday I lifted a broken path out with a spade and a wheelbarrow. It took just over an hour.
Friday I met a Government contractor who, when I suggested a spade instead of a 3 ton digger looked horrified and said “But, that’s manual labor”.
Herein lies a very large problem. So called grown men, so called working men, who are in fact: babies. Where did they learn to be so shit?
Where I come from hard work is its own reward with fitness and pride coming as well as cash and camaraderie – it’s all good. Who is teaching people to be so shit?
Something seriously wrong when people are afraid of real work, then half of them go to the gym. Mentally ill?
Mental ill… no….. lazy maybe, or possibly the lack of an audience, unlike the gym.
It’s a class thing. Modern men drive machines, get out of their cars to exercise and keep strong, and get on an expensive mountain or touring bike, pedal or fancy Harley Davidson. They don’t pick up a yard broom to sweep leaves, you
point a mechanised blower at them. Manual work is for losers.
It’s the attitude that grew the turncoat treasonable Labour defectors, Douglas et al. That is how they convinced themselves they were being progressive.
Thanks, Grey for explaining, appreciate that 🙂
Was thinking later on that if I had a digger/access to one, or money was no issue then absolutely I would use it/hire a digger over a spade.
Depends on the tools available.
Fuck I’ve grafted all my days but id take a digger over a spade any day . I work for an old falla who insists I drag sheep over the board instead of use the sheep handler .
Maybe you should live in a cave and walk every where as you obviously long for the good old days
That’s why the work costs so much and takes so long waggy. Compliance issues with a spade would take up little smootharse time.
Say that worker damages his back on the spade to the point he can’t do his job . His boss will have to let him go at some point ,80% of his wages is all acc will pay and it’s possible a chunk of his wages will be in nontaxable allowances so he may actually be down to 60% of his take home wage .
Now as he s not an all black or rich he’ll only get the minimum of medical help at it will take ages to get it .
Say that worker drives the digger into overhead lines waggy. Or tips it into the ditch. Or backs out into traffic. Or ruptures a gas line.
I am with bwaghown in this debate, as I aklso was all my life a ‘graffter’ and now at 73 have a broken back shoulders, knees and hands.
I suffered from a hernia when I worked at manapouri as a electrician and got a type of hernia lifting a very large battery out of a tunnel drilling platform that no other machine nor digger could extract out of the craddle it was siiting in under the engine all while , the drillking platform was kept in oeration.
Later when I was in pain, at the surgeons clinic afterwards he said in Winton,
– “sir this is an injury that is so risky to operate on and I advise you learn to live with it, and not lift heavy objects any more” – I was 22 yrs old then.
Do not engage in heavy work or dangerous activities when you rely a ‘trade or activity’ – for income is my advice as you will be ruined by it.
Balance in everything. That ole’ farmer is no doubt the sort that is behind the determination of a significant group of farmers to not follow the sensible rules set by government with obvious negative outcomes and further does not treat his workers or his animals with respect.
Illustrative?….yes ,it appears overkill to use machinery for a job that is relatively easy to do by hand and yes there is risk of injury and worn bodies from manual labour….and then theres the ongoing complaints of the skill levels and costs of having work done.
Its a grey old world, perception is reality and theres always decisions to be made.
Excellent. It is good to get the perspective of others on this. I’ve grafted a few decades but I also switched it up a lot to keep myself interested and to rest some muscles while thrashing others. While due care and attention is required, there’s also an element of luck to not being knackered after hard graft. I put my back out under load one time, only twisted the slightest bit and that was me gone for months. Another time I’m hauling some gib and the wind caught it and twisted for me. Not good…
I loved getting in the trucks loading out rock concerts banging out 10, 20, 30 containers of gear and breaking tour records. Some of those boys I met died on the road. There’s an element of risk to anything really. But it’s a matter of pride being good at what you do. Those boys know how to graft. Graft hard at whatever you do what’s the point in being fucking mediocre.
Safety I get, these guys, nope.
This issue is also about grift, as well as graft. One contractor with the (3 1/2 ton, ~ $100 per hour) digger, and the truck to transport it. Another contractor, with a helper, to do the boxing. I’m hoping he’ll also lay the concrete… Maybe it is someone else I’m sure they’ll need to use a wheelbarrow at some stage the truck won’t fit down there so there’s that quandary (manual labor) for him. Maybe even a separate gravel contractor, then the pour. The concrete pour will be followed by an inspector and more than likely an inspector inspector. I am not kidding one bit.
When they painted (eaves, windows, under eaves): One lot put up the scaffold. Another lot trimmed (pulled out, while contracted not to) the plants. Another lot painted – Lack of basic cutting in, etc. Then an inspector. Then an inspectors inspector. Then they always try to bring the painter back to do something again to justify the inspectors inspector bullshit role. So you see a small job turns into a massive clusterfuck of nonsense – and billing.
When lifting concrete it’s actually easier than other heavy stuff that you can’t hit with a hammer when it’s too big. This was just over an hours work for one, there was two of them.
Not safety, softies.
“This issue is also about grift, as well as graft.”
Theres that…..and corporate advantage…and greywarshark’s point of manual work being for losers has its place as well.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions (and unintended(?) consequences)
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11766950
oh the irony
There’s certainly the risk of wrist injuries when trying to increase your pecs haha. But I’ve worked in a gym (cleaner, but got gym tickets and loads of time with trainers cos go hard when you’re there you know). I’ve done a shit ton of stuff…
I do agree with comments that life on the tools is harsh on bodies, and improvements in that direction can only be good.
Am I a dinosaur? Maybe. For the most part I’ve been able to call the shots on laboring where I’d do a stint get the cheque and go do something different once I’d had enough (styled after Barry Crump’s Sam Cash). So labor (mostly) kept me in great shape instead of taxed me. Perhaps I could exhibit the art of humping rocks at MOTAT.
A lot of work used to have decent contract rates, so you could go like the clappers to do x amount, then stop. Today, boss owns you for the hours, not the work. And the hours are long just to make ends meet. That’ll break a body. Rest is a crucial part of exercise.
Just not ALL day. Balance. I’m not totally against progress, just…
YOU KIDS NEED TO GET OUT OF MY DAMN YARD!
DB
You would enjoy George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London if you haven’t read it.
It’s available on Gutenberg for Australia but don’t know if NZ allows it.
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100171h.html
This is Chapter 14. I found it good if I put it into Page preview for printing, and then easily adjust size of font and good for reading.
http://www.telelib.com/authors/O/OrwellGeorge/prose/DownandOut/downandout_14.html
“Whenever one pays more than, say, ten francs for a dish of meat in Paris, one may be certain that it has been fingered in this manner.”
So many amazing quotes. That is gold, thank you.
And I can see the first link too. Excellent.
And in the real world manual labour destroys people’s bodies and shortens their life:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2092511/
http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/19/physically-demanding-jobs-are-linked-to-higher-risk-of-heart-disease/
Why are you demanding that people sacrifice themselves for no benefit?
Sacrificing themselves for no benefit?
You also quoted me. Do you need a paraphrase?
Money, good relations, health, getting fit as. Exercise is also linked to many health benefits, there’s always a spectrum.
I aint asking them to go down the mines.
And what the fuck good is a worker who won’t work. Really?
That’s right – no benefit. It could be done by machine without causing serious damage to the person doing it and be done faster.
Taking longer to get more money isn’t particularly efficient.
I’m pretty sure that the people who turn up to do the job will get on reasonably well.
It damages peoples health which is my point and the point of the articles I linked to. You’re just spouting belief that is wrong.
They do work – just not in the way you expect because things have moved on in the last several decades.
It is not a life threatening situation and requires no high tech. Just a bit of common sense and effort saved considerable wreckage of my gardens as well as time and money. This should be a contractors concern, not to unnecessarily trash the place.
However, ethically, I cannot deny that it needs to be people over property.
Ironic that.
I cede that saving backs is commendable practice.
I still think they’re a pack of shiftless mongrels, this job is to repair damage from 2 years back when the last lot were let in with a digger. No compensation for considerable property loss at the time, and now they tried to dig up a perfectly good driveway as well as the broken path. That’s when I’d had enough. Moved the concrete myself, enough, is enough.
Common Sense is neither common nor sense.
To some degree yes.
And that is a concern. Someone is milking it which needs a proper investigation. But how to get one started and properly done?
I suspect many of us have acquaintances that are over 50 and have been building for most of their lives. Of the half dozen I know they all have 1 thing in common: Buggered backs. More than should wrestle with skin cancer issues. There seem to be many peripheral advantages to pre-fab house building.
Foul weather costs everyone money on a building site. Painters rained off etc. Health and Safety is much easier to manage when we’re keeping an eye on a factory rather than a suburb. Building outside in the depth of winter….yuck…warm factory, Nice! Neighbours don’t need to put up with the noise, mess, somebody else’s musical taste etc for 2-3 months. Can be built around the clock, 3 x 8 hour shifts every day, 7 days a week. Economy of scale, all costs come down when you’re buying building materials by the tonne and kilometre.
Lot of good points David.
I think I am pining for the ‘good old days’. Prefab building makes a lot of sense in the light of production and preservation of people.
And preservation of people is where my rant falls over.
There’s a line though – a nanny state if you will. I’ll throw blocks if I wanna!
Your points about mechanization are important particularly if they are in a tight space or section as you describe. Sometimes hand-work is safest and most accurate.
If there were a machine that could do tie-ins for rebar and foundation/slab work we would definitely use them on our sites (construction of rail, motorways, water and wastewater plants, heavy marine etc). But right now there isn’t, even with using as much prefab offsite as we can.
But if I need jobs done on my section here in Titirangi I tend to specify as little machinery as possible – I would rather confine the impact as much as possible just as you are proposing.
Nothing like the good old days of work, so long as we also do the basics that decrease injury;
– make sure everyone is clear about their methodology and tasks
– set out the steps to take in a ‘toolbox talk’ at the beginning of each day
– Get them decent lunch so they don’t forget you
– Make sure everyone is wearing gloves and steel capped boots and strong pants and shirts (you know the drill)
– But still stay on the phone to the business and make your specifications and your cost control rigidly clear. It’s your show after all.
And. Yet another skilled independent tradesman gets turned into a minimum wage factory worker.
Yay!
Done properly no persons would be involved in the construction.
Will need highly intelligent, well trained and well paid people to keep the factory going though.
I’d say the real reason is the amount of money they can rip taxpayers off by getting in a digger at $150 an hour plus disposal plus this plus that. Money is more desirable than hard physical work.
This fault preventing me making a comment about the New Zealand campaign against climate change and offshore oil and gas prospecting.
Will try again
Nope.
It seems that comments about Syria as well as deep sea oil protests are being captured by this fault.
Will try again.
Nope. No luck this time either.
Maybe I should take the hint and restrict myself to making comments about the Royal wedding.
Related comments:
I will not agree to self censorship
Request Timeout
Server timeout waiting for the HTTP request from the client.
Apache/2.4.33 (Ubuntu) Server at thestandard.org.nz Port 443
Related comments:
Dead Whales, Continued deep sea oil and gas exploration, Climate Change.
Which network do you use for your internet feed Jenny?
Telecom’s Spark email.
No change there.
This is the server I have always used.
I’ve had problems logging into and commenting on TS for a few months. Usually on the browser I use most (Firefox), but eventually it hits every browser.
Firefox on one or 2 laptops now regularly get bad request notices no matter how many times I clear the cache and history.
I logged in for this comment using the Vivaldi browser. But, I have pretty much given up commenting on TS. It’s just too much hassle.
And re your question to Jenny, micky. Spark IP.
Since the last break-down about a week ago I lost my details and have to insert them each time I comment. Some comments have also disappeared into spam bin. Mentioned it the other day and a few commenters confirmed they were having the same problem. I use Google Chrome.
I’m also Spark IP.
Anne
You may already know about this. But for anyone who doesn’t, I too lost my embedded details and was entering each time. Then realised I could get in easier with the dropdown option so just put the first letter, it drops down and I click on appropriate info.
@ greywarshark 27 May 2018 at 12:24 pm:
I suspect this is something to do with your browser settings and I’ll use this comment to test it out.
Edit: Nope, it didn’t work 🙁
Incognito
Unfortunately i have to learn my computer program management
on the run. So what do you find through your browser settings
check?
I struggle with damn technology. I can’t use my cellphone easily apparently because my little finger hasn’t enough area to
drive the system etc.
Hi greywarshark,
I found nothing that was helpful and you can believe when I say that I would have shared it here if I had 😉
I have to type in my details for each & every comment but I’ve also lost the ability to see who replied to my comments; the Replies option on the RH side is gone and only Comments and Opinions are available!?
I’ve tried different browsers with different settings (on a laptop) but so far no luck 🙁
It’s like digging a (small) hole manually each time 😉
Hi lprent
When you have time could you advise what you think is leading to our problems here. Jenny is wanting to talk about the latest political stuff and is getting paranoid that she can’t get through.
I have felt the same about things that I have written.
GCSB must have a lot of stuff that they want to trial.
I’m with Vodafone and using the very latest Firefox web browser.
I have to enter my details in the name and mail fields again every time I hit reply and no longer get to see that useful tab that would show me when someone has replied to one of my comments.
All the problems seemed to start after the website was unavailable for a day or two to me.
Thank you for your concern at all my travails MS.
You are an angel.
Lucifer?
Better the devil you know, aye.
No problems Jenny I have had it as well. Clearing my browser history helped for a while.
It is strange though. I find if I tether to Vodafone or use some wireless networks it plays up but then when I use my work or home wireless networks it is fine.
Will try again.
The broadcasting/communication minister should be fired for this!!!!
We sufferd some similar inter-ruption also and what is happening over our internet services as in the last two days our service provider was called by us for disruption of services, several times.
We saw the stupid stuff over Clare Curran screwing up our plans for a new media channel so this is just a coontinuatiioon of these problems faced by us all because of failing communicatiion systems.
The big question on broacasting/communications right now is this;
Why did the PM Jacinda Ardern ‘eagerly’ dismiss the Minister of transport from his Air Transport portfolio when she didn’t fire Clare Curran as Minister of Broadcasting when she ‘communicated’ with those she was legally prevented not to communicate with with??????
Jacinda needs to fix this now because Clare Curran was the most destructive MP for the Labour coalition Government cause to allow them to setup a new public broadcasting channel that the new Government urgently needs most of all right to counter the negative tone of all the media coverage, as media is right now accusing all the issues around what the new government it doing???
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018619322/new-government-new-plans-for-broadcasting
Nope no luck.
What I am trying to show you, is that Greenpeace has had to cancel all protests against deep sea oil and gas drilling in New Zealand waters under threat of $200,000 fines.
This is being done under the Anadarko Amendment, the legislation brought in at the behest of the oil companies by the last National Government.
Why hasn’t Jacinda “the priness of our world climate change” cancelled the former national Government agreementn with this highly aggessive oil company Anadarko?
Are they afraid of showing us what faces us all under ISDS under TPP?
Jenny, I’ve found I can’t cut and paste anything more than http:// addies into the comment box, or I’ll get the whole time out as well. I’ve also noticed that I need to space out any links, with me writing stuff in between. And as a last kicker don’t have any text too close to a hyperlink.
See if that helps. I know the frustration, you are not alone.
No. It has nothing to do with links.
Typing this without attempting to login
[k. For info, that one was sitting in pending. I’ve left a note for Lynn in the back end and referred him to this sub-thread.] – Bill
Thanks, Bill. yes. that’s what I typed on Firefox, without logging in, and got a bad request notice.
No. It has nothing to do with links. I now seem to be permanetly getting
I just tried to type a couple of sentences reply to you on Firefox, without logging in, and got the above.
It used to help clearing the cache and history (for a while), but after a while that didn’t seem to work either.
I get that response when I try to log in to TS on firefox.
I have logged in OK today and commenting here via Vivaldi
But continually trying to find work arounds becomes too tiresome.
PS: just cleared cache and history, closed firefox then reopened it and got the above message again just trying to access TS.
That error doesnt sound like a block from TS
Try chrome or IE
Or try to make sure you are only pasting the url and not other stuff
Has this gone on to Facebook set for public – world Jenny? It needs to be known by others.
“What I am trying to show you, is that Greenpeace has had to cancel all protests against deep sea oil and gas drilling in New Zealand waters under threat of $200,000 fines.”
So all they have to do now is not break the law and they won’t get fined. Easy really.
No answer eh?
I will fight for our freedom as our solders did for us as these greedy assholes like Anadarko will kill land rape a country to extract what they want.
Then leave it spoiled and polluted, – I dont want that for our children as I want to protect the planet for future generations.
Do you?
No answer eh?
I will fight for our freedom as our solders did for us as these greedy assholes like Anadarko will kill land rape a country to extract what they want.
Then leave it spoiled and polluted, – I dont want that for our children as I want to protect the planet for future generations.
Do you?
Who was the young woman on today’s Q&A panel? When asked what her “miss of the week was” she said it was Phil Twyford and his behaviour on the aeroplane. “Not a good look” she said. If she thinks that is the most serious ‘miss’ of the week’ then she is uninformed and politically very naive. What was she doing there?
What she was brought in to do by the sounds of things – misdirect from the major issues of the day.
I think your wrong twyford was the biggest miss of the week . The nats are doing what opposition parties do (Just they a better at dirty than the others) but twyford was just plain dumb .
So her opinion was wrong according to you. Therefore she is uninformed and niave.
Gee you sure got a case of “self importance” and holier than tho going on today Anne.
So Anne’s opinion is wrong according to you, James …
I reckon, 3 – 0.
You need to work on your trolling Robert.
At least put some effort in.
You joined the TS discussion today, James, just to tell Anne that she’s “got a case of self importance”?
Good effort.
Spot on Robert. I noticed the usual suspects weren’t here today and conversations were passing back and forth and then James popped up and contributed … nothing. Except his usual negative, sniping trolling of course.
Nope popped in here for a quick read – just happened that Anne’s self righteous comment stood out so I commented.
Oarsome!
What the hell are you talking about? What’s “holier than thou” about critiquing a person who came across to me as a bit of a twit – or twat of you prefer. Apart from that, listen to who is talking. You spend your whole time critiquing and running down people on this site!
Could be one of those religious righties who believe national are god’s gift. The type who excuse homelessness and decaying infrastructure that kills New Zealanders because national are born again “winners” and are conservative like them. They just block out the continual lies that are preached to them I spose.
Some good stuff from Radionz Wallace Chapman this am.
life and society author interview
11:04 am today
Jeremy Heimans: the power of new power
From Sunday Morning, 11:04 am today
Listen duration 32′ :04″
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018646695/jeremy-heimans-the-power-of-new-power
Jeremy Heimans is the co-author, with Henry Timms, of a book called “New Power” . He says Harvey Weinstein is a typical example of old power and the #metoo movement is an example of new power. Heimans says there’s been a fundamental shift in the balance of power in the world and we have major structural problems that could benefit from the kinds of mass participation and peer coordination that “new power” players know how to generate. He says “the facts just aren’t enough”.
****************************
Civil Defence environment
10:04 am today
Ann Brower: critical conscience
From Sunday Morning, 10:04 am today
Listen duration 32′ :18″
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018646691/ann-brower-critical-conscience
On 31 May, Dr Ann Brower will deliver a lecture at the University of Canterbury, titled: A Little Guy’s Guide to Making a Difference after receiving the Critic and Conscience of Society Award earlier this month. Dr Brower is probably best known for her advocacy for more stringent regulation of earthquake-prone buildings, a campaign informed by her experience of being on a bus crushed by falling masonry in Christchurch’s 2011 earthquake. Twelve passengers died on or beside the bus. She’s also been prominent in highlighting high country land being transferred from Crown to private ownership.
Begs the question, why is New Zealand Rugby so backwards in support of our indigenous culture?
Big ups to the AFL and all the families, artist and players involved in this.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-05-27/art-footy-and-indigenous-culture-collide
Hmmmm the Maori all blacks ? A race based team isn’t enough for you
And how much coverage do they get? We’ll take your haka and your best players thanks very much.
Fucked if I know don’t watch much rugby .
Hadn’t noticed the rfu forcing Maori to play for them as the word taking implies. As for the haka didn’t the sort something out with Te Raprahas tribe a few years ago . ( wouldn’t bother me if they dropped the haka as once you’ve watched it for 40 odd years it’s lost it’s thrill )
So how is “New Zealand Rugby so backwards in support of our indigenous culture? “?
What kind of shallow empty gesture did you have in mind addy? Bearing in mind the perils of cultural misappropriation.
Rebstock.
I had a quick look at Heidrick & Struggles’ website. The ‘about us’ section is showing “404 not found”, so obviously they didn’t spend our $100k on that.
Rebstock = hired gun
Results of fully anonymised staff surveys get pretty bracing.
Management won’t come out of this unscathed.
I saw the National Media Party rorting is so bad, it has put in question New Zealand being kicked out of the 5 eyes for being a communist liability.
The change the flag, no record on land sales, flogging off the water, record immigration, spies in cabinet ‘elite’ network etc is clearly the culprit here.
NZ society needs honest lobbying via local custom driving govt. oversight & policy, formal employee firms as part of specialised product chains where necessary, and self-regulating business associations bound by autonomous democratic control in designating levels of conduct.
Capitalism has a place for lesser practises, but they should be a niche, not state run (or overrun as the case may be) monopolies.
Any truth to the rumour this government is going to open the doors wide to overseas buyers as long as they plant trees . I was told mp mcelvie addressed a fed farmers meeting and that was one of his talking points.
Do you mean Ian McKelvie, National MP?
Yip sorry for the miss spell
No answer eh?
I will fight for our freedom as our solders did for us as these greedy assholes like Anadarko will kill land rape a country to extract what they want.
Then leave it spoiled and polluted, – I dont want that for our children as I want to protect the planet for future generations.
Do you?
Last Friday it was 40 years since Day 507 when Bastion Point got stormed and the Ngati whatua protesters were arrested and their makeshift whare wrecked.
” The stand at Bastion Point is a prevailing benchmark for protest in Aotearoa, which led to the first successful retrospective claim hearing at the Waitangi Tribunal. It is a move that Joe Hawke, leader of the 1977 protest, has never regretted. “I went onto the Point, not to invite an arrest, but to arrest a wrong, and 40 years on, all of Ngāti Whātua are benefiting from that stand”, he said. ”
http://ngatiwhatuaorakei.com/bastion-point-40-years
You can still see the ‘Not One More Acre!’ photographic exhibition at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
This clip from Te Karere a few years ago gives a sense of what this was like.
Also here, and there was the army on standby, air force helicopters in the air, and a navy ship close by just to intimidate:
Ngati Whatua are now one of the largest landowners in downtown Auckland, so good on them.
If you ever find it, check out the documentary by Merata Mita: Takaparawha Day 507. It’s chilling. Anyone says racism was long gone in the 1950s, take a look at that one and weep.
I think their action, together with the Motonui Plant coastal decisions, were the things that really started the reconciliation process as we now know it. Helluva day, just watching Philip Sherry front that on the news.
The first poll since the budget, from Newshub/Reid Research:
– National 45.1% (up 0.6%)
– Labour 42.6% (up 0.3%)
– Greens 5.7% (down 0.3%)
– NZ First 2.4% (down 1.2%)
ACT, Maori Party and The Opportunities Party were not mentioned.
Preferred Prime Minister:
– Jacinda Ardern 40.2%
– Simon Bridges 9.0%
– Winston Peters 4.6%
– Judith Collins 3.7%
39% said Peters would do ok in the top job.
Boy, how matey are Judith Collins and Tova 0’Brien?
Preferred Prime Minister:
Jacinda Ardern 40.2%
Simon Bridges 9.0%
Go Simon you superstar!
I remember the days, just one year ago, when Andrew Little was hounded as a complete loser when on 7%.
Remember when Labour was written off two months before the election?
Remember when Greens were written off one month before the election?
It’s over two years until the next election.
You’re saying Bridges is toast. Thanks for that but we knew it already.
What’s more alarming for the Nats is the upcoming rapid turnover of leaders and the blood-letting which is about to commence in the impending series of power vacuums.
Your only faint hope is Nicola Willis as far as I can see and she’s only been in the game for a few short weeks. Several leader changes before she gets the nod I would think.
I’m not saying Bridges is toast. I simply made the point that it’s very difficult to predict elections based on a single poll two to two and a half years before the election.
I’m not impressed with Bridges, but it’s early days for him. National support holding up with give him a while to step up, but I haven’t seen that he has what it takes yet.
I don’t have any hopes, faint or otherwise, about future leaders of any party, nor of future elections.
I do hope the current Government does a good job generrally. There are some promising signs, and some concerning signs, and a lot yet unknown.
“Bridges is struggling be be seen or liked.” – Pete George
“I’m not saying Bridges is toast. I simply made the point that it’s very difficult to predict elections based on a single poll two to two and a half years before the election.” – Pete George
“Your only faint hope is Nicola Willis” – Muttonbird
“Judith Collins makes her debut – she has been the most prominent and effective Opposition MP, and liked by some in the National Party.” – Pete George
I don’t know what point you’re trying to make Robert.
Collins hasn’t had any success standing for leader so far and may or may not have any chance in the future. She may have decided to settle in as a support MP, or may still have ambitions. I have no idea, and i don’t know what her chances are.
It’s far too soon to know how Willis will go. Most MPs never get anywhere near being party leader, and almost all don’t make it to PM.
There’s as much certainty (none) of knowing whether Marama Davidson will help grow the Green Party, or deter vital support if they are to survive next election.
Sooo much uncertainty, Pete! Could be this or it could be that, might be up, might be down, maybe good, maybe bad – the only reasonable thing we can do is stay balanced, give everyone an equal chance, look at both sides, weigh up the arguments for as long as it takes to see they are the same underneath it all.
Aye.
Robert Guyton. I was halfway through a very similar comment on how many times Pete had equivocated;
“not impressed, but early days”
“has a while to step up, but (hasn’t got) what it takes yet”
“I don’t have any hopes”, then “I do hope”
“There are promising signs, and concerning signs”
“may or may not”
“may have decided to settle”, yet “may still have ambitions”
“It’s far too soon”
“There’s (no) certainty”
In fact Pete said the word ‘may’ 4 times in one short, beige paragraph.
I was going to post a comment like this but then suddenly became crushed by the weight of tan, and lost interest 🙂
PS. You might like this from the wiki page on beige:
Substitute inks with convictions.
“I was halfway through…”
🙂
Check out this graphic!
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/05/simon-bridges-failing-to-connect-with-voters-newshub-poll/_jcr_content/par/image_640870606.dynimg.full.q75.jpg/v1527401762952/D-POLL-GFX-SEATS-IN-THE-HOUSE-TOB-27-05.jpg
A couple of assumptions so wrong that you have to wonder if whoever did it is just trolling with the best of them.
They had to make the facts fit the preferred narrative somehow Muttonbird?
They’re not trolling, this is snubbery’s goal in life to invent support for national to make them look like they’re in the driver’s seat at all times.
As Ed said so aptly the other day, “the media is scum”.
With NZ First below the threshold, it makes the Greens the king/Queen-maker. This is a shift from the situation where NZF was always shown as a PM-Maker during the last term of government.
I think Muttonbird’s point though, was, that barring a massive change of heart the Greens aren’t planning on installing any National Party leader PM anytime soon, especially Collins! So this poll, like all the polls since the election just continues to confirm National’s hapless position and puts Ardern fully in the drivers seat.
That’s right it’s dishonest reporting, the Greens aren’t a NZ First or Māori Party ‘kingmaker’ party that could go either way. They’re apparently our version of hard left. So only an idiot media would classify them as a potential coalition partner of the right wing nats.
Yes. There is zero chance of the Greens being king-maker because there is zero chance of them forming a government with National no matter how hard National party proxies try to make it so.
You can see why they are so very very desperate to sow the seeds of this narrative because the Labour/Greens bloc is now quite powerful.
For New Shub to pretend a National Green government is possible is further evidence the right wing media is attempting to invent this impossibility.
I wouldn’t necessarily blame the Greens if they didn’t immediately come out and destroy the idea but Marama Davidson must be seething it is even in print.
The other error is that they gift a seat to poor people hater, David Seymour. Surely at just 0% of the party vote even the many many bigots of Epsom will start to choke on what they are fed.
While they won’t go with the nats, the greens might be tempted to make Labour work as a minority government and look at things on an issue-by-issue basis. Threatening a snap election at any time.
If Labour want security, they need to work to keep the greens onside
Agreed. However, there was only ever about a 5% chance NZF would go with National in the last few years, IMO.
It is interesting that the GP is becoming more indispensable to Labour than previously. And NZF seems to be on a slide.
The people of Epsom will continue to gift a seat to a poor-people hater until they are told not to by someone wearing a blue rosette. Even at 0.2% of the vote, it’s in their interest to deliver an overhang seat that will reliably support the Nats.
And I see that Jo Moir is already up with a piece on Stuff.
The Collins gang are getting ready to roll…
What the hell.
This country has issues.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/104238587/real-estate-agency-harcourts-staff-filmed-in-blackface-at-national-conference
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/104248900/judith-collins-joins-preferred-pm-rankings–labour-greens-still-ahead
Yes!
First she’ll take out Twyford, second will be Bridges and last but not least Ardern, Collins coming for the crown!
Rotten swamp kauri or finished table top? When she knifes shouty, the electorate will judge.
But she’ll need more than a phone call and an overhead locker to knife Twyford.
Being that Twyford doesn’t seem to want to take advice from anyone not on the opposite side of his mirror it won’t be long before he has to fall on his own sword
lol we’ll see
With those words, Chris 73, you have formed the perfect basis of a greatly comedic irony.
Collins is out there. She can’t be bargained with. She can’t be reasoned with. She doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And she absolutely will not stop, ever, until she becomes leader.
Yup. She’s like a cancer in the nat caucus.
Chris she has hardly taken out Twyford. He’s just lost a relatively minor part of his workload and is probably quite grateful for that.
On an on-line poll the majority of people didn’t think Twyford should have lost his portfolio. It’s not that big
Something very unusual happened in the Occupied West Bank last week…
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2018/05/27/im-so-shattered-im-so-shaken-i-might-be-up-all-night-partying/
Statement by UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl, the Gaza Strip
Good morning,
Thank you for joining us for this press briefing.
My current visit took place in the aftermath of the weeks of protests and marches here in the Gaza Strip and the appalling impact of the events that followed.
Yesterday, I visited an UNRWA health centre in Khan Younis, a partner rehabilitation centre in Deir El-Balah and the Al-Shifa hospital. These were shocking and deeply disturbing visits.
Allow me to describe this is some detail, focusing on three main dimensions.
First, I truly believe that much of the world completely underestimates the extent of the disaster in human terms that occurred in the Gaza Strip since the marches began on 30 March.
117 people were killed by Israeli forces – of which 13 were children – and over 13,000 people were injured, of which an estimated 3,500 by live ammunition. Let me put this in context.
During the 51 days of the military assault in Gaza in 2014, approximately 12,000 people were injured. In other words, as many people or even slightly more were injured during a total of 7 days of protests than were injured during the full duration of the 2014 conflict. That is truly staggering.
During the visits, I was also struck not only by the number of injured but also by the nature of the injuries. The demonstrators had been systematically shot either in the lower limbs (shattering femurs, knees and ankles), in the abdomen, the back, or the head.
The pattern of small entry wounds and large exit wounds, indicates ammunition used caused severe damage to internal organs, muscle tissue and bones.
Both the staff or the MoPH hospitals, NGOs, and UNRWA clinics are struggling to deal with extremely complex wounds and care.
Second, the direct consequence of the number of injured and nature of wounds has brought the health-care system in Gaza to a breaking point. It is a health system already plagued by the multiple health pressures and severe medical stock limitations under regular circumstances.
……….
https://www.unrwausa.org/unrwa-usa-press-releases/2018/5/22/dehumanizing-an-entire-community-will-bring-no-peace
What is the fair price for an item? So it can be made in NZ using NZ labour?
The charities selling second hand clothes complain at the rubbish that is put out to them to dispose of, so poorly looked after that they can’t sell them on. If we bought one thing and wore it for three seasons instead of three times, we could afford to pay more.
This shoe maker has been in business for 25 years. She has to sell up and carries on the remnant of her business with manufacturing done in China in a factory that seems ethically run. On line buying has also made an impact on her business she thinks. She sadly sold one machine that she imported for $1000’s to a tryer in another city for $100.
We need people in jobs, we need to support our own people, our country, if we want to have one that is. And we may need to save up for items instead of having instant cheap gratification. What do you think?
business
25 May 2018
Fast fashion kills Auckland shoemaker Minnie Cooper
From Checkpoint, 5:37 pm on 25 May 2018
Zac Fleming, Checkpoint Producer
zacflemng zac.fleming@radionz.co.nz
After nearly 30 years, Auckland women’s shoe label Minnie Cooper has closed for good, citing fast fashion and no GST on online purchases as the final nails in its coffin.
Checkpoint visited Ms Cooper at Minnie Cooper’s former workshop today. Watch here:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018646562/fast-fashion-kills-auckland-shoemaker-minnie-cooper
The usual cries will be heard about offshore exploitation, entrepreneur greed and supporting local production…..until they hear the price, then it all goes out the window.
Her parting comment in the interview is on the mark…..make do with less (and demand quality and long lived products)
IT IS BECAUSE THERE IS NO SHARED LOCAL LOOP FRAMEWORK IN THE VALUE (IDENTITY) SYSTEMS OF SIGNIFICANCE. !!!
My household has at least 20 pairs of Minnie Coopers. She had a good run.
But any clothing manufacturer still going in New Zealand is in a spiral as the skills aren’t being replaced. Zulu can’t even find them. Icebreaker’s long gone. Even Nom’d. And of course World can’t even lie straight let alone hem straight.
It’s ridiculous to try to hold more than the designers and owners in this country, because they are the only jobs that are rewarded properly by the global industry. We’ve long since lost any clustering effect apropos Porter that could have sustained comparative advantage.
I find that so depressing. We can’t lie down and let the world roll over us.
There are some good things being tried. We have to trial things from the grass roots up I think. We are just going round in ever-decreasing circles. And to join the competition from vast runs from overseas, plus low wages and conditions, we have the image of robots moving forward, slightly smiling and as dangerous as triffids.
I think we will have to turn NZ made stuff into a club that people join as core buyers saying they will buy one thing a year from certain manufacturers so they can get the loyalty effect and the buyers and manufacturers be alongside with a definite level of demand. Would you have agreed to this as customer of Minnie Cooper?
greywarshark. Never, in a million years, can most of us ever afford over three hundred bucks for a pair of shoes. Nice for you if you can…but most of us, no. If those who have been paying those eye watering sums for slippers are no longer doing so…take it up with them…but you’re probably not going to find many of those sort here on TS.
It is not about ‘instant cheap gratification’, its about limited incomes and kids to feed and clothe and school fees and power bills, and if there’s any savings they’ll go to the ‘coax the old car through the next warrant’ fund. Poncy boots are so far down the list…
I was a loyal member of a ‘buy NZ Club’ for foot wear. Commandos. Remember them? Bought one particular model for nearly three decades when it was first marketed as the quintessential roofers’ shoe. Comfortable, stable and truly non slip. Retailing at $39.95, they were at the upper limit of my budget, but I did save because having safe footing is vital when you’re having to move another fully grown human from bed to wheelchair etc two or three times a day.
Anyway..the buggers have doubled the price, and the quality it just not the same.
So its down to K-Mart and their $10 canvas throwaways.
Rosemary
There may have been cheaper footwear sold by Minnie Cooper. And I am not wealthy and have been quite poor so I’m not ignoring the issues of affordability. But the quite poor (above the level of being homeless, addicted or mentally sick and unemployable) are not the only people in NZ, and never will be. We are going through a slow Depression, and in the last one there were people who were not badly affected. So because something doesn’t apply to you or the people you know, doesn’t mean that the idea has no credibility.
Why are we so poor and destitute in NZ? Because our whole economy
has been sliced and diced by overseas cheap stuff and the direction that RW neolibs have taken us with determination, that is to low wages, ‘flexible-to-none’ hours, voluntary unionism and anti unionism by businesses. We have to think of how we are going to improve things for ourselves, and not just be charity cases patronised by self-centred, arrogant, callous people who are in the better-off category. And unfortunately these are the very same people who once were poor. The book Affluenza talks about the lure of continually wanting more, the driven psychology of aiming ‘to be the best you can be’ and and feeling superior and entitled once success is achieved, and finding fault with those who haven’t.
Nothing will change unless we apply our minds and do things differently from now, and also not try to return to what seems to have been a better time and way. What if the people who want good non-slip shoes find someone, perhaps retired and on superannuation and with time from pressing home or care duties, to run a Facebook page that keeps people in touch who have particular interests and wants. In your case you would say that you need certain shoes at about a certain price, others who know where these can be obtained would advise the group.
We are going to have to show some mettle or lose all the way in this country. I have tried to help particular groups and found they will hardly help themselves, they can’t make the effort, allow the present to swamp them and want a miracle to happen that will solve the situation. If we think of how few people come to this blog and talk over the problems and then come up with a project to improve things, not just with protest to various government agencies but with direct activity, do-it-yourself stuff,
the biggest task is to get people to set aside some time and whatever money they can afford and put their hands to the wheel. But that’s physical labour! And sitting on the fence chewing over the problems, or lining up with the outrage in-group is about where most of NZ is at I am afraid.
It is not impossible …indeed it wasnt so long ago that we did …however the culture change required from both (esp) consumers and manufacturers is such that it is highly unlikely…the easy option is exactly that.
How did this Venezuelan couple get so rich so fast – they must have been overcharging for their insurance.?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/104246642/us-husband-and-wife-do-battle-over-fortune-stashed-away-in-new-zealand
He’s described as a banking and insurance magnate in this unflattering piece .
Woman asks judge for $15M condo after deadbeat hubby skips town with mistress.
Great heading on that piece fender.
Everything has a label so it can be dismissed easily – one in the USA is deadbeat dad. She has been rich, married to a man with lots of money and now it is slipping away and she wants to ensure she stays rich, calling on the legal services and the law to assist her to have her rights for herself and children.
The label for so many of us in NZ is worthless, lazy, unproductive, unworthy and expressed as single parent, druggie, Maori, unemployable. Oh if only we poor people could claim our entitlement from the wealthy who have managed to screw us and disappear our jobs, our living wages, our affordable houses, our public services both affordable and accessible, our opportunity to have an enjoyable secure life, to hold our heads up and be pleased and proud with ourselves and our achievements.
The elite in NZ, the robber barons and their groupies, have ‘skipped town’ with our entitlement to share in the rockstar economy enabling us to have our rights for ourselves and children.
I read “Collins made her first ever appearance as preferred prime minister with 3.7 per cent support, Newshub reported.”
And here and there I read thaty means she’s the next big thing, she’s going to lead National to victory in the next election.
What d’ya reckon, she’ll put Cameron Slater in as Human Rights Commissioner?
Good morning The Am Show Mark it was national that ran a circus and the way shonky ran the show was shocking his trick was to take putea from the poor and give it to the rich another trick of shonkys was he could tell a lie and everyone believed his lie even thought the truth was stearing them in the face.
Eco Maori is still assessing Bryce Edwards something keeps changing his view ?????????.
Duncan the meat from cows with that Bovine virus will be fine we use to eat the cows culled for TB back in the day .
I could survive 3 days in the wild but I learnt how to harvest the kai from te whenua in the Waiapu Vally my whano don’t realize how important the Waiapu Vally is to Maori tupuna history I have learnt these facts.
The abortion debate in Ireland is also about Whine rights Mana Whine ka pai.
You are right M8 hypocrisy runs rife in OUR society you just have a look at ———– and it pokes one in the eyes.
Ka kite ano
The Am Show Mark Sainsbury gambling on those pokie machines is a big scam the house always wins thats the way it all ways works with gambling if the house lost all the time they would go broke and be gone.
The poor people you see gambling are trying to win there way into a more prosperous life and odds are very low on one achieving that feat.
ka kite ano
When I read a artificial I scroll down and read the comments made by other people on the given topic The welfare overhaul panel of 11 they look like they have the credentials for the task this is a win for Te Green Party.
I can see the national trolls easy as trolls paid to stir up peoples emotions they start with a line saying they were or did vote for Labour but have changed there view so easy to read you trolls.
Its that bad at winz that people have to get a advocate just to get a benefit which should be guaranteed in a wealthy country like NZ NO.
Whats wrong with everyone having a healthy happy life style trolls tell me why yous don’t think other people have the right to be treated humanly .
If the story is true if someone is on a sickness benefit for seven years than that person is sick they are probable sick of being put down by employers put down by the system these people are not fortunate like me to have a thick skin and a strong mind as well I have this site and my tipunas genetics to help keep me off a benefit the sandflys are trying there hardest to push me onto one but I won’t give up.
So national trolls know this Eco Maori is watching you . Ka kite ano link is below.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/104255326/government-appoints-11strong-advisory-panel-to-overhaul-welfare-system P.S Whats wrong with the wealty having a bit less to help all these people on the streets I see them everywere in Auckland enough said
Rodger I did not have the time to watch Dancing I have been to busy m8 now you have done good you know that saying if the horse bucks you off one just has to get back on m8 . I ;v been thrown off a horse many times I would catch my breath because most times one gets the wind knocked out of them when thrown off a horse and get back on it . Kia Kaha Rodger Ka kite ano