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
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Douglas, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation., UNSW Sydney The history of budget jet airlines in Australia is a long road littered with broken dreams. New entrants have consistently struggled to get a foothold. Low-cost carrier Bonza has just become the industry’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosalind Dixon, Director, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW Sydney Australia is finally having a sustained conversation about violence against women and what we can do about it. It is more than time. Australian women and girls continue to experience ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne stockfour/Shutterstock Preliminary bulk billing data released this week shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Schulz, Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide Australia is once again grappling with how we can stop gendered violence in our country. Protests over the weekend show there is enormous community anger over the number of women who are dying and National ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University AnastasiaDudka/Shutterstock What if the government was doing everything it could to stop thieves making off with our money, except the one thing that could really work? That’s how it ...
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Winston Peters has been keen to dismiss speculation on our involvement in Aukus but will give a speech tonight on the direction of our foreign policy, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Usmar, Lecturer in Critical Media Literacies, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images With the coalition government’s ban of student mobile phones in New Zealand schools coming into effect this week, reaction has ranged from the sceptical (kids will just get ...
A new report on protecting journalism and democracy in New Zealand recommends a levy be charged on global platforms like Facebook and Google to fund media firms undertaking public interest reporting. It also calls for the reinstatement of a powerful Broadcasting Commission to distribute public funding for journalism and other ...
On International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi and the wider union movement are celebrating the proud history of the labour movement during a tough time for working people. ...
From bills to beards, a walk through the former Green co-leader’s time in politics. After close to a decade in politics, James Shaw is preparing to bid farewell to parliament. Tonight will see the former minister deliver his valedictory address, certain to be a speech filled with Shaw’s trademark wit ...
Two months ago, MPs unanimously voted to give themselves a week off in Efeso Collins’ honour. On Tuesday, most were too busy to give even an hour of their time. The day Fa’anānā Efeso Collins died, parliament felt different. In a building that operates at a breakneck pace, everyone stopped ...
India’s election involves hundreds of millions of people and is a months-long affair. Here’s how voting works and what’s at stake.The biggest-ever election in world history started on April 19, with more than 10% of the world’s population eligible to vote. Elections in India, the world’s most populous country ...
After the Christchurch earthquake, the then-national civil defence boss compared his experience to “putting a team on the rugby field who have never ever played together before”. Now, eight years later – and following a damning inquiry into the emergency response of cyclones Gabrielle, Hale and the Auckland anniversary weekend floods – ...
“I had just come off the end of a major robbery case which I had been working on for six months when I got a call on the afternoon of September 1, 1992, that some remains had been found at a building site in Devonport, so I drove over with ...
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Comment: Journalists are very good at telling other people’s stories, but they fall well short when writing about their own profession. Perhaps that is why it is so undervalued. Every successive poll on the public’s attitude toward journalism is more alarming than the last. In the last month we have ...
Opinion: A young Māori woman and her Pacific partner arrive at their local hospital by ambulance. She has gone into labour at just under 24 weeks, but the couple haven’t recognised the symptoms – and don’t know the risks of premature birth for their baby. By the time they arrive, ...
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Koi Tū New Zealand cannot sit back and see the collapse of its Fourth Estate, the director of Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures, Sir Peter Gluckman, says in the foreword of a paper published today. The paper, “If not journalists, then who?” paints a picture of an industry ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Foreign investment proposals with implications for Australia’s strategic or economic security will face tougher scrutiny, under a policy overhaul to be announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday. At the same time, the government ...
A Waitangi Tribunal inquiry report has warned government that a repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act could cause harm to children in care. ...
The Treasury has published today three new papers covering government consumption multipliers, automatic stabilisers and the impacts of global shocks on New Zealand’s economy. ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Ferrie, A/Prof, UTS Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research and ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Technology Sydney PsiQuantum The Australian government has announced a pledge of approximately A$940 million (US$617 million) to PsiQuantum, a quantum computing start-up company based in Silicon Valley. Half ...
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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