She'll only be attacking because that's her default mode. It's what her gang want and expect.
Some not in her gang will need to be persuaded she's lovely and cuddly. That puts doing something 'dramatic' in a perspective.
The poll? She won't be worried about that because she and Gerry know they are doing so, so much better. The big message from the poll is those who want National to have September voting matching this poll need to galvanise themselves, encourage others and get out and vote. And have no Labour MPs, candidates or members do anything dumb.
Looks like Gerry has been given the job of responding. Keeps the easily influenced from joining the dots. Expect to see Collins everywhere when the inevitably better numbers come from tvnz's poll on Thursday.
The numbers might be "rogue", but having grumpy Gerry all over the media in response will help to make them less rogue. Collins alienates people but can appeal to the base, but Brownlee just alienates.
Listening to Hosking is unusual for me but I tuned in at the beginning this morning to see if my predictions about what he'd say were right. I was partly wrong.
By and large he said the poll was a rogue one, the results were wrong and polls don't mean anything.
So having worked out it meant nothing, was irrelevant and was wrong he ignored it? Or made a one sentence comment? Hell no! Every sentence was the knife being turned and another bitter pill. And every further word and sentence he uttered made me feel good? Hell yes!
Never forget 84's real support is a disgusting 45 % and it will return as soon as a finger-click. Make hay while the sun shines for the greater good. Of course, Labour doesn't have 't'Cause' in their heart. Which is to say, anyone furious and with the words that follow that. Any soapbox socialist in the 30s. We need to persuade now again and all we have is orderly progressions to high office rather than righteous anger.
I wondered if that's what's happening too, that people have had a guts full. Covid changed a lot of things including NZ values I suspect. Maybe we're less inclined to tolerate the shady patriarch bullshit now that we've directly experienced what a compassionate govt will do when we are in trouble.
Peters has been pronounced politically dead so many times that I suspect his literal death will be followed by half the medical profession witholding judgement for two electoral terms, just to be sure.
Quizzed about Swarbrick's higher profile and name recognition, White told RNZ: "I'd ask them whether they're looking for a celebrity or someone to do this job very seriously." Today, Swarbrick returned fire with a pointed tweet. "Before I fought my way into @NZParliament with @NZGreens, I was dismissed as having no life experience," she wrote. "Now I've put my head down & done the work to huge results, & a candidate preferring themselves the front runner is using the same attacks against me that misogynists do our PM?"
Helen is just demonstrating how serious she is. Has she also demonstrated that she's serious about decriminalising cannabis? If not, time for her to pull finger. Serious lawyers can add value to parliament if they are credible…
It's White's lack of respect for Swarbrick that's the issue here. It's one thing to say that you believe you'd serve the electorate better than another candidate, but to say what White said, particularly about a candidate from a party that's kind of on your side, says more about the kind of person White is than anything else.
The Epsom sheep are so used to being mustered into the polling booth to vote for ACT that if the NP withdraws support for ACT, Goldsmith will have to fight really hard to get the seat back and return to parliament.
No I did not confuse the difference, I am very aware of how MMP works and don't need patronising. What I was implying was that the Epsom sheep would go into the polling booth on automatic and habitually put a tick by Act, and again automatically put a tick by party vote National.
I’m sorry to hear that you feel patronised. What I meant was that others may be confused when reading your comment, not that you don’t know the difference. You’d be surprised how many others still don’t seem to fully understand MMP. To be clear, Epsom voted for Seymour on the Candidate List and for National on the Party List.
The media are calling Nationals disater polls crushing ironically.
Collins released her massive infrastructure spend after saying we will be spending less than Labour but no costings other than a wild guess which was much higher than Labours spending.
Goldsmith contradicted Collins saying the are going to cut $8 billion in spending ,yet in Australia their liberal govt,Nationals equivalent Party is spending more than our Labour govt on Covid recovery.Goldsmith hasn't put a foot right yet.He is well out of his depth in how modern economics work.
Even Boris Johnsto has a better understanding if the polls are right it will do National a favour and he will be gone along with much other of the dead wood (house) of Dirty politics.
National need to get rid of the Farrers and Slaters Jordan William's etc and get some honest farmers and business people if they want to be taken seriously.Ditch the Carpet baggers associated with the tobacco alcohol and monopolists lobbyists.
Bridges said he didn't vote for Collins.
Then Falloon and Collins Dirty retaliation over a Moral lapse as opposed to Sexual Harrassment.
National have no one to blame except the pollsters.
JLR one of their ex MP's is going to release more damming info on National .
Crushed Collins sounds like it should be a cocktail. Something bloody with a sour after taste that leaves you wondering why this reminds you of an unpleasant experience you had decades ago: one you hoped never to have to experience again.
The structure of representative democracy forces participants into idiocy nowadays. Because of the binary oppositional political psychology it induces. Example:
government announced it was abolishing some of the country’s most nonsensical and restrictive planning rules. Phil Twyford and Julie Anne Genter’s new national policy statement on urban development stops councils imposing minimum parking requirements for new developments, and ensures they can’t restrict building heights to fewer than six storeys in town centres of major cities.
Clever of the coalition to defuse the Nat's primary weapon, eh? Bureaucratic throttling of kiwis is a long-standing problem, and National's declared intent to gut the RMA was likely to be a pseudo-solution.
But look at how binary framing makes their spokesperson come across as wacky instead of sensible. The system of representative democracy is inexorable in dumbing everyone down. We need psychologists in the media pointing this out, using examples such as the above.
Yeah and she soon changed her tune once she was overruled by her party’s Transport Spokesperson. Having an MP from one of the sprawling, thinly populated rural electorates in the South Island as your Urban Development Spokesperson kinda sums up how lost National is as far as the 21st century challenges facing us.
For ages now I have been wanting the team in red to do this kind of politicking, negate the opposition's barking points by doing a simpler, small example of what the Tories propose.
Jamie-Lee Ross coalesces with the Public Party and has to support their conspiracy theories. It sounds like the Red/Yellow Peril has raised its head again.
Funny how foreign enemies arise when things are not going well at home.
But, the real learning from this is the fact that Ross was National's chief whip and as such was very powerful in the party, and in sync with its MPs.
Now he allies with conspiracy theorists.
Where does National get these thirty something aged men with their loopy ideas and behaviour? National needs a time in the political wilderness to find and recover its soul, review its selection practices, rediscover decency and balance.
It looks like it will get it. Been saying this for a time, but National has further to travel down yet. When it hits bottom, then it might acknowledge its need for reform.
As working class boomer balancing on the poverty line, I've observed many elections, disappointed by most, but have had a reasonable personal record of predicting the outcomes. This time I have a shocker that will see the final death throes of the Nats, and not before time. Two main factors sway this for me.
1. The Covid 19 shock influence.
2. The Jacinda example.
Covid has impacted greatly on the politcal awareness for the young vote, the vote that has been predicted in the past, but had not transpired.
Young people have now awoken and they love to love, and they Love Jacinda, thus my shock prediction. Firstly not a big shock, but Auckland Central goes green. The big two shocks though, is Northland and Epsom go Labour along with marginal Country seats. Bye bye Act, NZFirst and National floundering in the doldrums. Ah Bliss.
Labour might come through the middle and take the party vote in the Epsom seat, but I don’t see the electorate vote for MP changing. That will probably stay with ACT.
Crushed Collins sounds like it should be a cocktail. Something bloody with a sour after taste that leaves you wondering why this reminds you of an unpleasant experience you had decades ago: one you hoped never to have to experience again.
They are remarkably similar, not just in consisting of pious waffle bereft of any new policy, but also in that the rhetoric is almost identical.
That's because marketing to mainstreamers only succeeds on the basis of the lowest common denominator of intelligence, and Labour & National compete by copying each other most of the time. Binary politics.
Bizarrely the fifth plank of Labour’s five-point plan is predicated on the assertion that it will be an export-led recovery, even though in the same speech Ardern acknowledged that the International Monetary Fund expects global output to fall by nearly 5% this year.
Yes, but Labour must cling to the neoliberal myth. Reality can be postponed for a while yet – until after the election. Why get real too soon? Myth-promotion is how elections get won. Even if the mana of the PM looks like winning this one, better safe than sorry.
The reality is, however, that the ebb tide already running on globalisation pre-Covid has only intensified. Trade Minister David Parker was scathing about the leaked initial offer from the European Union under that negotiation, while observers of US trade policy warn not to expect a return to the status quo
Will we see National campaigning on economic growth while faced with a global recession? Probably. Rethinking is just too hard.
Ah, yes, the government always goes back to mercantalism. That's what an 'export led recovery' is. Export more, import less and we'll have more money is the implication. They always imply such and then it never really materialises.
The poor keep getting poorer while the rich get richer.
What we really need is a development led recovery where we develop the capability to get by without imports. Then we'll likely see a decrease in poverty.
Korea had an interesting take on exporting – develop products in the local market to an international standard – that way locals don't get neglected the way NZ does. A customer base, any customer base, is a valuable tool for innovation, not just short term profit taking.
Concerning customer base, you are correct, especially your locals.
I learnt this as a publican in a small rural town. Look after the locals. They will see you through the winters and when the dairy pay-out hits the floor.
Perhaps a global solution of working towards "Commonism" the principle of pursuing the common good. ( No, not communism).
What if we stopped upholding the myth by continually tagging the political system as "neoliberalism " ; a concept long surpassed while we are distracted looking at a box hoping for Schrödinger’s cat to come out alive?
What if we opened the lid and saw the dirtier, greedier system that has mutated as the norm we truly let reign?
How do you pose correct solutions if we are fighting a misnomer? If we shift our gaze and name what really exists and that is an accepted creeping of neocapitalism ( eg. save AMI, South Canterbury Finance, Tiwai ?) and onto a global rise of necrocapitilism both overt and covert – dispossess then kill them off !
"Sometimes this manifests itself as a certain fixation of the gaze, even bedazzlement, and then there are attempts to restore the imaginary, untrue, and above all, impossible past, a style of politics and management… called retrotopia. Leaders, managers, and politicians act as if they wanted to turn back time, which is, in itself, an absurd strategy. The past they refer to is a sentimental, nostalgic image that has more to do with the world of fairy tales than real history: " https://biennalewarszawa.pl/en/zarzadzanie-w-swiecie-schrodingera/
Still, we have yet to see a tax policy from Labour, despite the need to service the rapidly mounting public debt it is piling up. Interest rates will not stay this low indefinitely, or it will be a very bad sign if they do.
Dammit, the government needs to stop borrowing and start simply creating the money that it needs.
Yes, put some rules around how much can be created in relation to the economy but a government should never, ever borrow as that just gives the rich a government guaranteed income.
Its cut-price recovery will be achieved by focusing on the quality of public spending, as if that had not occurred to any Government before.
National's cut price recovery will, of course, cost us a lot more but will make their funders a lot richer.
Those splinters are from the shells cracked to let the nuts out. Did COVID-19 crack the shells and accelerate the 'nutterisation' of the right? Smarter people than me will opine.
Ive been driving around lower middle NZ. one thing I have noticed, compared to three yrs ago, way less nat billboards out in the country. dont know whether its less volunteers to put them up and down, less money to spend(dont forget ,they would have spent $$$ on toddler billboards),or less cockies willing to look like tools.
Governments operate economic policy in accord with advice on prevalent influential economic theories. Sometimes the winds of intellectual fashion blow these theories away. Austerity theory, for instance.
In the middle of the last recession, the GFC, the Europeans were very worried about debt. Many took on a policy called austerity, which involved cutting spending. It caused economic growth to fall further, and the result was completely paradoxical in some cases.
They harmed their economic growth so much that it became harder to manage debt, rather than easier. Reducing government spending is like closing down factories. It costs jobs and hurts people.
The theory that austerity was the best policy was based on a lot of academic work, including a very famous academic paper by two Harvard economists called Reinhart and Rogoff. The paper came out in 2010 and it said debt was bad because it caused growth to be lower.
One person bothered to check their working, a young man in his 20s called Thomas Herndon. What he found is they made a mistake in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that totally undermined their conclusion. It took a while for people to pay attention to what young Mr Herndon was saying, but eventually they did. We can now move forward knowing that research is flawed: debt is not necessarily a problem.
The writer explains why the govt in Oz will steer through the pandemic-induced recession via cheap govt debt. Bernard Hickey was in the media here advising the same a couple of months back. The economics paradigm has shifted.
The fallacy is that constant economic growth is sustainable. It is not and hence we see the up and downs, the growth the recessions and worst still depression when too much money is printed with no value behind. Oh, is this not what the fed and other countries as well as NZ do?
At the moment we have National supporting charging for the quarantining of returning Kiwis, while the government is going through the process of examination of such a regime.
For mine, there should be no retrospective charging at all – thus any charging only occurs for those who leave New Zealand after it is introduced.
Perhaps those NZs should just regard it as part of the cost of exciting overseas travel. At least they can return to Paradise like the Prodigal Son (and Daughter). They have been able to get away and have some OE and should be helped when they get back. But like education these days, their trip overseas will cost; perhaps it should come under the heading of Overseas Education and it can be put down as a Student Loan. There is no reason why they shouldn't be expected to pay towards this extra cost that is caused by the pandemic.
Costs should be known before a decision is taken not afterwards.
Many have come back in already and faced no costs, why a change?
PS An option is having two streams – one for those not charged and another for those who are prepared to pay for the cost (we already require non Kiwis to pay charges for coming in – businesses meet the cost).
Uh, because us already here have already bitten the bullet and paid the price to achieve the COVID-eliminated status the new arrivals wish to benefit from, so it's only fair for them to contribute to the cost of maintaining that status?
The new arrivals do not have any choice whether to 'benefit' or not. The whole conversation is underpinned by long-cultivated neoliberal notions of 'user pays' but it seems to be more of an emotional rather than logical attachment.
It might not be a viewpoint that's appealing (and personally I'm somewhat closer to to the view that returning is a right that should be able to be freely exercised without incurring a huge cost), but it's neither illogical nor emotional. It's simply one of those things on a continuum where reasonable minds may differ.
Sacha
No, it is underpinned by the rights of taxpayers who are basically being blackmailed to fork out the money for expats to resettle and god only knows for how long. Once all is clear, most will bugger off again and kiwis living here have to pay their millions. Lets say, like the education loan that many never paid back?
Since when is the tax paid by those who have contributed their share to maintain NZ health, education and infrastructure a free meal ticket with no accountability? Really, seriously?
Taxpayers are the people who are working here in NZ, many on minimum wage. My point is that their rights to a fair return is far greater than expats wanting to go home, many to get a benefit that is not available to them in the country of their choosing. At what point is the payers benefit a user pay to those who have not contributed?
A lot of people I know are out of pocket a shitload more than $3000 from the lockdown, even after government assistance. As well as all the other less tangible costs. So I find it quite easy to see where people are coming from when they think arrivals should be expected to cover their costs. Even if I think the counterargument has more merit.
Many have paid with their job or reduced hours, part time instead of full time. And we only saw the beginning. Just wait until end of September. We will see double digit unemployment figures.
Yep. And imagine being charged $3,000 on top of that. There seems to be a perception that people overseas wanting to return home are well off and have jobs. I'd like to see some analysis of who is coming home and their situation.
Weka, I meant the Kiwis here in NZ.
Expats have been overseas for years and coming home because of job losses and not getting any benefit in the country they have earned and paid taxes. On the suspicion of sounding cruel, NZ is in debt by billions of dollars, many people who have been living here, paying their fair share into the Government coffers and are entitled to assistance are now being asked to pay for those who could not be bothered to contribute. Not only are we now being "asked" to pay 3 k for each returnee, no no no that is not the end of it, we now will have to pay a benefit too. Maybe that comes on top of the unpaid education loan from years back? Sorry, but it is fair to ask of those "coming home" to pay their isolation cost. You will be surprised how many people are actually quite aback with the audacity to "sue" the government because they don't cough up the money. I have my own thoughts on that…
overall, it's a pissy little cost to bother with, in my opinion. And even if it were substantial, I don't have a problem with the govt paying it for a couple of years until we have a clear picture of things like vaccines and effective treatments coming online.
It's the humane thing to do, and it's also a good way to keep the economy and hotels operating. A multi-thousand-dollar fee is a barrier to entry more than the isolation itself. And govt iso at least figures out pretty quickly when someone's done a bunk (and keeps the rate low).
I know. I was pointing out that Kiwis overseas who lost their job because of covid might have to pay $3,000 on top of that. Why them and not the Kiwis at home that lost their jobs? I don't get why they are being judged differently.
Or we could head down the aussie route. I'm sure I saw a story where the inwards numbers allowed were so small the airlines sold only business and first class seats. Maybe charges pro rata to the airfare?
Why did you use a dehumanising label, just one of those " Eco Maori " is he ? In recent rhetoric about Billy Te Kahika has also been other tags as one type of tactic to blank and cancel out a right in a democracy to have a voice. Rebel, radical, extreme… a joke guy that Billy T James would've mocked. Truly?
Yes, it is more than Te Tai Tokerau. It's millions globally asking for justice, self-determination and the return of their stolen assets.
Is Gutteres, Secretary-General UN one of those Eco radicals too when he points out that just 26 of the richest people in the world hold as much wealth as half the global population of 8 billion people?
Ouch! What is 'disunify'ing in calling out on tags that subversively nullify others, even if it's inadvertent? Applying a blanket name with a peg on your nose, to dismiss others such as those "____________" over there, is an underlying factor creating inequality.
Calling " jerk " ( same tactic ) doesn't make entrenched prejudices go away.
Calling for my demise to go underground is ironical in that the same maggots that will eat me once dead won't be discriminating and will feast on you too.
That depends on how you view being told how to avoid repeating an error, yet using it as outlined above, removes misunderstandings and subsequent retaliatory tit for tat posts.
I'm not the greatest with grammar and punctuation, and I welcome all thoughtful, well intended correction.
A little gentle jesting is something that regular commenters can add for spice to tease or joust, I think. It's all a matter of striking the right balance. And wouldn't it be good if we all mainly looked outwards at the wide issues and left the fine unpicking to those who want to pick oakum.*
I have been reading Anne Perry and the punishments and jobs for the unemployed they dished out in old Victorian times, which may be revived in some highly developed countries! Now that's a mighty leap – from the downward direction of contentious people's comments, to the downward gaze of a workhouse resident earning their daily meal.
* Oakum–picking was the teasing out of fibres from old ropes and was very hard on the fingers. The loose fibres were often sold to ship-builders for mixing with tar to seal the lining of wooden craft. They could also be used to make matting or bandaging.
I agree but some comments are so hard to parse that we either have to make assumptions or take them through the gobbledygook reverse-translator. None of this makes for good debate.
To be fair…I thought GreyWS was asking the question to a regular TS commentor called Eco Maori.
I tried to listen to an interview of Billy on talkback, but sean plunket was talking too much.
My take on it….. people who are against the system often don't vote, we've seen it before with the internet party. Part of the reason is a reluctance to share their personal details.
What a fascinating election it's turning into, jlr and Billy hooking up, what the actual? Talk about polar opposites, keep your eyes wide open Billy.
I'd probably have all sorts of problems with what Billy Te Kahika is saying if I looked more closely, but I know people that are into what he is talking about, and it's a big mistake for the left/progressives to ridicule them, call them nutters, and think they will just somehow disappear as a part of the culture rather than growing.
Is she going to ask the PM if he paid for his ‘managed isolation’ on Manus Island and if not, why not? I’m sure this is the burning question that’s on the mind of Kiwis and keeps them awake at night. What other reason could Mushy Collins have for asking patsypesky questions during QT in Parliament?
Been thinking about that Op leader going on about crushing Fairy/star dust.Instead of being a blow hard,she needs a vaccum because all she will manage is the spreading of good will to more of the people,truely short sighted an most deffinitely not PM material.
Best part of the article is media continuing to use the photo of Judith wearing her MAGA hat ( albeit a blue one) then her Trumpism comes out, "He seems to me to have come here on a very dodgy idea of some sort of author's visa or something. Well I'm an author too, and I can tell you I don't think anyone's going to give me a special visa."
A mind like lightning. One quick flash of light and then darkness.
“They all eat, they all love me, they all kiss my ass,” Trump reportedly told journalist Timothy O’Brien, author of TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald. “And then they all leave and say, ‘Isn’t he horrible.’ But I’m the king.”
I'd like to see Collins write a book using a smuggled smart phone. She has such poor insight into why a person in detention on Manus Island for years would want to return there after writing a book about the harsh conditions.
Maybe some of the conditions in Collin's recent book were of her own making and her choice to write about her parliamentary life.
And hopefully the government will take the opportunity to remind us all that the government Collins was part of gave Peter Thiel full citizenship in about 12 days, no questions asked.
Hopefully there won't have to be further episodes – by now I'm hopefully that 'nice' guys' outwardly, aren't necessarily nice people – be they politicians, senior public servants or anyone else pushing their own agendas above all else.
Hypocrisy and double standards that have become the Normal Normal it seems. Things like moralising, judging and conflating the concepts of arranged marriages and forced marriages on the one hand whilst all the while getting ones rocks off over a conference call to the woifey and whanau with a bit on the side on the other.
Thankfully Labour have a few more 'decent blokes and blokessess' to hold it all together, and there's always the Greens to fall back on. Let's hope it doesn't take any more episodes because they'd be liable to get very seedy. It might be time for the senior ranks of the public service to have a bit of a hydroxycloroclean – even if it needs to trickle down
I found that article a bit under researched and some what over emotional.
It added together the student visa's which were just an income earning scam for dodgy private education providers and have only existed since National brought them in, the young under 30 visa's for international travel which have never really been seen as a residency pathway, the RSE visas which are seasonal (and there has been help & repatriation on offer here) plus the other visa's and only around 10,000 of these have been here for over 5 years usually on a motley collection of short term visa's.
Frankly the ire would be better directed at the employer sponsored visa's who used them for cheap labour or some level of scam then walked away from them, the national party who decided to use visa's to bid down employment wages and conditions for all or the businesses who can't be bothered to train and educate available youth.
Our Neets unemployment is huge, in part because visa workers mean that the labour force in the early entry years of employment is swollen by half as much (50,000 becomes 75000) .
Lastly if most of the central Auckland electorate is not native born that is colonisation rather than immigration and services are clearly not being provided to the wider community at any level.
"I found that article a bit under researched and some what over emotional."
Unfortunately if Mr Fonseka were to begin to describe his research, it'd require a book, and I'll excuse the emotion considering the damage some immigrants have suffered due to NZ's oh-so-suphusticated best practice policies. And it's not as if people haven't been warning the government of the complete bugger's muddle of things for over the lifetime of the current government.
Hopefully Faafoi is merely a placeholder as well, even if he is a damn site more ethical and less sleazy
I do realise that some individuals have suffered damage but conflating all the various visa types into one "wrong" doesn't help his story. The student who got stuck here while in holiday transit, could go home but now wants a work visa is a long way from the 10,000 who have been here a considerable time. But plenty of the non migrant population are suffering too.
And I do agree NZ has had dreadful settings (pretty much under all the right wing governments since 1990 who just wanted to bid down the employment market). Prior to covid, Labour was gradually deflating the visa market, putting an income limit in was one, plus moving up the course and study limits and providing training for Neets. Then there are the employer sponsored – who should sort out their own mess not dump it on others.
Labour didn't have the margin in the polls to move faster but now everything has hit at once and they are having to deal with a 20-30 year backlog of poor policy and decisions balancing fairness and local jobs and welfare payments plus employer (& scam) situations.
The only other comment I found odd was the one "doing us a favour". Err if it's for our benefit then umm why the desperation to stay.
And for the record I have seen several arranged marriages. Female autonomy in the decision was varied – from basically none to a lot- but I wonder if this point of view occurs to the males who benefit from the process.
This morning, Collins told Magic Talk she would not have sacked Iain Lees-Galloway for having an affair.
"That's between him and his spouse".
She added that when she passed on the information to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, she did not know herself he was accused of an affair – but she accused the PM of knowing prior to their conversation.
"I didn't know anything about it, I think she probably did."
But when asked this afternoon if she thought Ardern had lied, she said: "No I'm saying that I did not know. I simply said to her that I've had a message from someone, an email, saying that they had some information that is even worse than what has come out about our then-MP and I passed it to her and she asked me who it was about and I said, 'Ian Lees-Galloway'.
"I did not have the detail and I said I didn't want to receive the detail and I asked them to contact her office.
"And when I said 'It's Iain Lees-Galloway', she said 'Oh yes, right'."
When asked if the implication was that Ardern had "joined the dots because she already knew about the affair", Collins said: "I didn't know about the affair and I'm not interested in all the grubby details. It's not my business. She needs to front up with what she meant by 'an abuse of office' and frankly that's for her to answer. I'm not her minder and if I was, she would be much better at her job."
Pressed again, she said again: "She said to me 'Who is it?' And I said 'It's about Iain Lees-Galloway' and she said, 'Oh yes' and then she walked off. So we arranged for me to make sure that everything went to her.
This is truly baffling stuff from Judith and raises many questions about her version of events:
1) Why did she bail up the Prime Minister on the floor of parliament to tell her about a vague allegation against ILG of which she had no knowledge of the substance?
2) Who is this informant that she trusted enough to warrant telling the Prime Minister about such a vague allegation that ILG had done something "even worse" than what Falloon had done?
3) Does she accept her informant is a liar or at least has a very skewed moral compass given that she is now saying that she would not have fired ILG for doing something which the informant had said supposed to be "much worse" than what Falloon had done?
4) Is she not used to people replying "Oh yes, right" and walking away for the sake of ending the conversation and getting away from her? Not because they have the faintest idea of what she is talking about.
5) How did they arrange for the informant to go directly to the Prime Minister (as he must have if Judith did not know the content of the allegation until it was publicly released) if the full extent of the conversation was the Prime Minister saying "Oh yes, right" and walking off? Unless the reference to “we” is her office.
6) Is she really suggesting that the Prime Minister was dumb enough to go and fire ILG without bothering to wait for the informant to contact her with the details of the allegation, and then deny she knew about it until the informant contacted her? Or did the Prime Minister just go and tell ILG about her vague conversation with Judith and ILG, knowing that the game was up based on absolutely nothing, immediately spilled his guts about the affair and handed in his resignation?
Simple. Collins is trying to justify that she is not the CAUSE of ILG being drawn and quartered by her FILTHY politics.
The problem with the ILG resignation is that it was done to take responsibility for the high standard the PM sets for her ministers. ILG would not have resigned were there not an election in 8 weeks.
Rowling did not stand up to Muldoon over what was done to Moyle 5 November 1975.
Ardern needs to put ILG on the party list and tell Collins that Ardern is holding an inquiry into Collins emailer.
Collins is trying to prove she is so righteous when she needs to front up about what her true intention was, to improve her ratings by damaging a Labour minister.
Never mind the family of ILG. Being a teenager is not easy when your parent is a minister or a leader.
Haha. Yeah, Gerry has been pretty much off the rails today. I’d be amazed if he managed to claw back even one vote from Labour. And another day goes by where the Nats are really just talking about themselves (what ring road in Palmy?).
I think we're so used to saying "Why are they doing this? There must be a devious plan, what is it, what are they up to?". Especially after years of National discipline and message control.
But sometimes it's just a mess. This is one of those times. Like when it's your last day in a job, and you might as well get drunk and photocopy your butt.
The PM can’t win. One moment she has too much airtime, the next she’s a part-time PM.
I don’t mind giving Judith and Gerry more airtime but could they please keep their mouths shut when they’re on air or camera. It will be an improvement for them as well as for the public AKA a win-win. Thanks in advance.
Plastic are a problem that needs to be sorted start by charging the prouduce of plastic a fee and recycle and remanufacture the stuff ourselves creating jobs in Aotearoa.
Congratulations. Paris
Not just twins it's better to treat all your offspring equally.
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
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 ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 29 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 28 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was “improper” ...
How will Judith respond to last night's poll? She can't just let it go, she will have to attack.
Bound to be dramatic…
She'll only be attacking because that's her default mode. It's what her gang want and expect.
Some not in her gang will need to be persuaded she's lovely and cuddly. That puts doing something 'dramatic' in a perspective.
The poll? She won't be worried about that because she and Gerry know they are doing so, so much better. The big message from the poll is those who want National to have September voting matching this poll need to galvanise themselves, encourage others and get out and vote. And have no Labour MPs, candidates or members do anything dumb.
Looks like Gerry has been given the job of responding. Keeps the easily influenced from joining the dots. Expect to see Collins everywhere when the inevitably better numbers come from tvnz's poll on Thursday.
The numbers might be "rogue", but having grumpy Gerry all over the media in response will help to make them less rogue. Collins alienates people but can appeal to the base, but Brownlee just alienates.
Wonder if they have anyone else they trust enough to wheel out instead?
They've still got one Todd left, 3rd time lucky?
'Rogue' maybe. "Rouge' definitely.
There's always one. Lets hope we've seen it happen already and there will no more.
As the ILG brouhaha showed, Labour MPs can't have done anything wrong in the short to medium distance past, let alone in the next few weeks.
Interesting how the MSM will behave. Do they allow her bluster or question her ability and judgement over the non bounce in polling.
They're claiming that their polls have a 10% swing from Labour to National, so around 50% to 35% instead of 60% to 25%.
Pretty dire if that's all they can claim
It's the only performance metric that counts for their caucus – how many of them have to find a new job after the election.
I wonder if Duncan Garner will be declaring his own network’s poll a rogue this morning on behalf of Judith?
Radio silence possibly from Dunky–our local Nat patsy question champ, “Happy Days” to Hosking too!
Listening to Hosking is unusual for me but I tuned in at the beginning this morning to see if my predictions about what he'd say were right. I was partly wrong.
By and large he said the poll was a rogue one, the results were wrong and polls don't mean anything.
So having worked out it meant nothing, was irrelevant and was wrong he ignored it? Or made a one sentence comment? Hell no! Every sentence was the knife being turned and another bitter pill. And every further word and sentence he uttered made me feel good? Hell yes!
Never forget 84's real support is a disgusting 45 % and it will return as soon as a finger-click. Make hay while the sun shines for the greater good. Of course, Labour doesn't have 't'Cause' in their heart. Which is to say, anyone furious and with the words that follow that. Any soapbox socialist in the 30s. We need to persuade now again and all we have is orderly progressions to high office rather than righteous anger.
Winston's grandstanding NZ has had a guts full and are not taking anymore of him. Shane Jones has turned supporters off every time he opens his mouth.
I wondered if that's what's happening too, that people have had a guts full. Covid changed a lot of things including NZ values I suspect. Maybe we're less inclined to tolerate the shady patriarch bullshit now that we've directly experienced what a compassionate govt will do when we are in trouble.
otoh, Peters is the master of the bounce back, so let's wait and see. Otooh, it's not the first time he's misjudged the electorate.
Peters has been pronounced politically dead so many times that I suspect his literal death will be followed by half the medical profession witholding judgement for two electoral terms, just to be sure.
😆
Helen the lawyer vs Chloe the celeb: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12351075
Helen is just demonstrating how serious she is. Has she also demonstrated that she's serious about decriminalising cannabis? If not, time for her to pull finger. Serious lawyers can add value to parliament if they are credible…
Why would a lawyer want to decriminalise anything?
because it's the right thing to do.
Fair enough, that's a hallmark of lawyers.
maybe that's a reflection of the lawyers you know?
Lawyers are fine – it's only the 99% that give the rest a bad name you need to watch out for.
[most lawyers I’ve mentioned this joke to think it’s hilarious for some reason!]
It's White's lack of respect for Swarbrick that's the issue here. It's one thing to say that you believe you'd serve the electorate better than another candidate, but to say what White said, particularly about a candidate from a party that's kind of on your side, says more about the kind of person White is than anything else.
The Epsom sheep are so used to being mustered into the polling booth to vote for ACT that if the NP withdraws support for ACT, Goldsmith will have to fight really hard to get the seat back and return to parliament.
Nope. The party vote in Epsom went to National and only 696 voted for ACT. You confuse it with the candidate vote.
https://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2017/electorate-details-12.html
No I did not confuse the difference, I am very aware of how MMP works and don't need patronising. What I was implying was that the Epsom sheep would go into the polling booth on automatic and habitually put a tick by Act, and again automatically put a tick by party vote National.
I’m sorry to hear that you feel patronised. What I meant was that others may be confused when reading your comment, not that you don’t know the difference. You’d be surprised how many others still don’t seem to fully understand MMP. To be clear, Epsom voted for Seymour on the Candidate List and for National on the Party List.
HTH and have a nice day.
national naked
For all their Wealth, their grandeur, their extraordinary strange behaviours, national has entirely ruined it's persona and standing.
At what point do nicknames change?
Are we at the point when the Crusher becomes the Crushed?
The media are calling Nationals disater polls crushing ironically.
Collins released her massive infrastructure spend after saying we will be spending less than Labour but no costings other than a wild guess which was much higher than Labours spending.
Goldsmith contradicted Collins saying the are going to cut $8 billion in spending ,yet in Australia their liberal govt,Nationals equivalent Party is spending more than our Labour govt on Covid recovery.Goldsmith hasn't put a foot right yet.He is well out of his depth in how modern economics work.
Even Boris Johnsto has a better understanding if the polls are right it will do National a favour and he will be gone along with much other of the dead wood (house) of Dirty politics.
National need to get rid of the Farrers and Slaters Jordan William's etc and get some honest farmers and business people if they want to be taken seriously.Ditch the Carpet baggers associated with the tobacco alcohol and monopolists lobbyists.
Bridges said he didn't vote for Collins.
Then Falloon and Collins Dirty retaliation over a Moral lapse as opposed to Sexual Harrassment.
National have no one to blame except the pollsters.
JLR one of their ex MP's is going to release more damming info on National .
Crushed Collins sounds like it should be a cocktail. Something bloody with a sour after taste that leaves you wondering why this reminds you of an unpleasant experience you had decades ago: one you hoped never to have to experience again.
Sorry, but NZ's all out.
The structure of representative democracy forces participants into idiocy nowadays. Because of the binary oppositional political psychology it induces. Example:
Clever of the coalition to defuse the Nat's primary weapon, eh? Bureaucratic throttling of kiwis is a long-standing problem, and National's declared intent to gut the RMA was likely to be a pseudo-solution.
But look at how binary framing makes their spokesperson come across as wacky instead of sensible. The system of representative democracy is inexorable in dumbing everyone down. We need psychologists in the media pointing this out, using examples such as the above.
You seem to be building a rather large thing out of one provincial dunce out of her depth. Sometimes a fool is just a fool.
Yeah and she soon changed her tune once she was overruled by her party’s Transport Spokesperson. Having an MP from one of the sprawling, thinly populated rural electorates in the South Island as your Urban Development Spokesperson kinda sums up how lost National is as far as the 21st century challenges facing us.
I heard the cost of putting in a car park to a build was 50 k.
If it’s in an underground parking basement the cost can get up to 70k per car park.
They hate public transport, cycle lanes and car free urban spaces beloved by the modern cities of the world.
The love of cars, extending to car parks – is making this party the dinosaurs of the age.
Great example Dennis, thanks.
For ages now I have been wanting the team in red to do this kind of politicking, negate the opposition's barking points by doing a simpler, small example of what the Tories propose.
1. With the dissolution of parliament on 12 August does this mean that a caucus will no longer have their weekly meeting?
2. If so, then how does a political party mobilise and tweak their strategy and manifesto?
3. Do the MPs who are resigning work from their electorate office right up until the election?
I do realise there are election debates and press releases.
12 August will probably be a day of relief for some in the National Party.
Jamie-Lee Ross coalesces with the Public Party and has to support their conspiracy theories. It sounds like the Red/Yellow Peril has raised its head again.
Funny how foreign enemies arise when things are not going well at home.
But, the real learning from this is the fact that Ross was National's chief whip and as such was very powerful in the party, and in sync with its MPs.
Now he allies with conspiracy theorists.
Where does National get these thirty something aged men with their loopy ideas and behaviour? National needs a time in the political wilderness to find and recover its soul, review its selection practices, rediscover decency and balance.
It looks like it will get it. Been saying this for a time, but National has further to travel down yet. When it hits bottom, then it might acknowledge its need for reform.
As working class boomer balancing on the poverty line, I've observed many elections, disappointed by most, but have had a reasonable personal record of predicting the outcomes. This time I have a shocker that will see the final death throes of the Nats, and not before time. Two main factors sway this for me.
1. The Covid 19 shock influence.
2. The Jacinda example.
Covid has impacted greatly on the politcal awareness for the young vote, the vote that has been predicted in the past, but had not transpired.
Young people have now awoken and they love to love, and they Love Jacinda, thus my shock prediction. Firstly not a big shock, but Auckland Central goes green. The big two shocks though, is Northland and Epsom go Labour along with marginal Country seats. Bye bye Act, NZFirst and National floundering in the doldrums. Ah Bliss.
Labour might come through the middle and take the party vote in the Epsom seat, but I don’t see the electorate vote for MP changing. That will probably stay with ACT.
Nice one, good to see some thinking outside the box.
I've been wondering if National will drop below 20%. How far can the go?
18% my low for them.
32% my high for them.
Crushed Collins sounds like it should be a cocktail. Something bloody with a sour after taste that leaves you wondering why this reminds you of an unpleasant experience you had decades ago: one you hoped never to have to experience again.
A Tom Collins, hold the sweetening, add bitters.
Two weeks ago Brian Fallow (ex-economics editor, NZH) published this appraisal comparing the economic recovery plans of National & Labour: https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/106021/brian-fallow-examines-economic-priorities-outlined-so-far-leaders-two-main-political
That's because marketing to mainstreamers only succeeds on the basis of the lowest common denominator of intelligence, and Labour & National compete by copying each other most of the time. Binary politics.
Yes, but Labour must cling to the neoliberal myth. Reality can be postponed for a while yet – until after the election. Why get real too soon? Myth-promotion is how elections get won. Even if the mana of the PM looks like winning this one, better safe than sorry.
Will we see National campaigning on economic growth while faced with a global recession? Probably. Rethinking is just too hard.
Well if we're importing even less than we're exporting, that'll work in praxis, eh.
Ah, yes, the government always goes back to mercantalism. That's what an 'export led recovery' is. Export more, import less and we'll have more money is the implication. They always imply such and then it never really materialises.
The poor keep getting poorer while the rich get richer.
What we really need is a development led recovery where we develop the capability to get by without imports. Then we'll likely see a decrease in poverty.
Korea had an interesting take on exporting – develop products in the local market to an international standard – that way locals don't get neglected the way NZ does. A customer base, any customer base, is a valuable tool for innovation, not just short term profit taking.
Concerning customer base, you are correct, especially your locals.
I learnt this as a publican in a small rural town. Look after the locals. They will see you through the winters and when the dairy pay-out hits the floor.
Perhaps a global solution of working towards "Commonism" the principle of pursuing the common good. ( No, not communism).
What if we stopped upholding the myth by continually tagging the political system as "neoliberalism " ; a concept long surpassed while we are distracted looking at a box hoping for Schrödinger’s cat to come out alive?
What if we opened the lid and saw the dirtier, greedier system that has mutated as the norm we truly let reign?
How do you pose correct solutions if we are fighting a misnomer? If we shift our gaze and name what really exists and that is an accepted creeping of neocapitalism ( eg. save AMI, South Canterbury Finance, Tiwai ?) and onto a global rise of necrocapitilism both overt and covert – dispossess then kill them off !
From neoliberalism to necrocapitalism in 20 years
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/neoliberalism-necrocapitalism-20-years-200715082702159.html
"Sometimes this manifests itself as a certain fixation of the gaze, even bedazzlement, and then there are attempts to restore the imaginary, untrue, and above all, impossible past, a style of politics and management… called retrotopia. Leaders, managers, and politicians act as if they wanted to turn back time, which is, in itself, an absurd strategy. The past they refer to is a sentimental, nostalgic image that has more to do with the world of fairy tales than real history: "
https://biennalewarszawa.pl/en/zarzadzanie-w-swiecie-schrodingera/
Dammit, the government needs to stop borrowing and start simply creating the money that it needs.
Yes, put some rules around how much can be created in relation to the economy but a government should never, ever borrow as that just gives the rich a government guaranteed income.
National's cut price recovery will, of course, cost us a lot more but will make their funders a lot richer.
driving around in middle nuzillind
lots of hanna tamaki billboards – homes and jobs
lots of new conservatie billboards – free speech, right to guns, all lives matter (yes)
some maori party billboards – vote for me / trust me
some nz first party billboards – drove by to fast to see the message underneath
lots of national/candidate billboards – vote national
and a fair consistent labour /candidate billboards – keep moving
will be interesting to see how this will work out with all the new splinter groups on the right
"with all the new splinter groups on the right"
Those splinters are from the shells cracked to let the nuts out. Did COVID-19 crack the shells and accelerate the 'nutterisation' of the right? Smarter people than me will opine.
comment of the day.AB
Ive been driving around lower middle NZ. one thing I have noticed, compared to three yrs ago, way less nat billboards out in the country. dont know whether its less volunteers to put them up and down, less money to spend(dont forget ,they would have spent $$$ on toddler billboards),or less cockies willing to look like tools.
Governments operate economic policy in accord with advice on prevalent influential economic theories. Sometimes the winds of intellectual fashion blow these theories away. Austerity theory, for instance.
The writer explains why the govt in Oz will steer through the pandemic-induced recession via cheap govt debt. Bernard Hickey was in the media here advising the same a couple of months back. The economics paradigm has shifted.
The fallacy is that constant economic growth is sustainable. It is not and hence we see the up and downs, the growth the recessions and worst still depression when too much money is printed with no value behind. Oh, is this not what the fed and other countries as well as NZ do?
As expected, Duncan Garner's Newshub whinge is sour and sulky.
A vegan lifestyle change for a year will sort him out!
At the moment we have National supporting charging for the quarantining of returning Kiwis, while the government is going through the process of examination of such a regime.
For mine, there should be no retrospective charging at all – thus any charging only occurs for those who leave New Zealand after it is introduced.
Perhaps those NZs should just regard it as part of the cost of exciting overseas travel. At least they can return to Paradise like the Prodigal Son (and Daughter). They have been able to get away and have some OE and should be helped when they get back. But like education these days, their trip overseas will cost; perhaps it should come under the heading of Overseas Education and it can be put down as a Student Loan. There is no reason why they shouldn't be expected to pay towards this extra cost that is caused by the pandemic.
Costs should be known before a decision is taken not afterwards.
Many have come back in already and faced no costs, why a change?
PS An option is having two streams – one for those not charged and another for those who are prepared to pay for the cost (we already require non Kiwis to pay charges for coming in – businesses meet the cost).
Quarantine is for the benefit of us already here, not the traveller. How does it make sense to charge them for it?
Uh, because us already here have already bitten the bullet and paid the price to achieve the COVID-eliminated status the new arrivals wish to benefit from, so it's only fair for them to contribute to the cost of maintaining that status?
The new arrivals do not have any choice whether to 'benefit' or not. The whole conversation is underpinned by long-cultivated neoliberal notions of 'user pays' but it seems to be more of an emotional rather than logical attachment.
It might not be a viewpoint that's appealing (and personally I'm somewhat closer to to the view that returning is a right that should be able to be freely exercised without incurring a huge cost), but it's neither illogical nor emotional. It's simply one of those things on a continuum where reasonable minds may differ.
What's logical about mis-identifying the 'user' if promoting user-pays?
Not gonna be baited into your framing.
What, that asking returnees to pay quarantine costs is about user-pays? How is that controversial?
Sacha
No, it is underpinned by the rights of taxpayers who are basically being blackmailed to fork out the money for expats to resettle and god only knows for how long. Once all is clear, most will bugger off again and kiwis living here have to pay their millions. Lets say, like the education loan that many never paid back?
Since when is the tax paid by those who have contributed their share to maintain NZ health, education and infrastructure a free meal ticket with no accountability? Really, seriously?
Taxpayers' rights? I believe you are making my point.
Taxpayers are the people who are working here in NZ, many on minimum wage. My point is that their rights to a fair return is far greater than expats wanting to go home, many to get a benefit that is not available to them in the country of their choosing. At what point is the payers benefit a user pay to those who have not contributed?
We didn't have to pay $3,000 to go into lock down though, so the cost of that was spread amongst everyone.
A lot of people I know are out of pocket a shitload more than $3000 from the lockdown, even after government assistance. As well as all the other less tangible costs. So I find it quite easy to see where people are coming from when they think arrivals should be expected to cover their costs. Even if I think the counterargument has more merit.
I agree with you, just noting the larger resonance of any conversation in NZ about user pays.
And if they are coming home for a holiday,ie short term travellers.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU2007/S00227/international-arrivals-in-may-lowest-in-61-years.htm
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/122184704/coronavirus-isolation-experience-at-hamilton-hotel-leaves-guest-impressed
Weka
Many have paid with their job or reduced hours, part time instead of full time. And we only saw the beginning. Just wait until end of September. We will see double digit unemployment figures.
Yep. And imagine being charged $3,000 on top of that. There seems to be a perception that people overseas wanting to return home are well off and have jobs. I'd like to see some analysis of who is coming home and their situation.
Weka, I meant the Kiwis here in NZ.
Expats have been overseas for years and coming home because of job losses and not getting any benefit in the country they have earned and paid taxes. On the suspicion of sounding cruel, NZ is in debt by billions of dollars, many people who have been living here, paying their fair share into the Government coffers and are entitled to assistance are now being asked to pay for those who could not be bothered to contribute. Not only are we now being "asked" to pay 3 k for each returnee, no no no that is not the end of it, we now will have to pay a benefit too. Maybe that comes on top of the unpaid education loan from years back? Sorry, but it is fair to ask of those "coming home" to pay their isolation cost. You will be surprised how many people are actually quite aback with the audacity to "sue" the government because they don't cough up the money. I have my own thoughts on that…
overall, it's a pissy little cost to bother with, in my opinion. And even if it were substantial, I don't have a problem with the govt paying it for a couple of years until we have a clear picture of things like vaccines and effective treatments coming online.
It's the humane thing to do, and it's also a good way to keep the economy and hotels operating. A multi-thousand-dollar fee is a barrier to entry more than the isolation itself. And govt iso at least figures out pretty quickly when someone's done a bunk (and keeps the rate low).
"Weka, I meant the Kiwis here in NZ."
I know. I was pointing out that Kiwis overseas who lost their job because of covid might have to pay $3,000 on top of that. Why them and not the Kiwis at home that lost their jobs? I don't get why they are being judged differently.
Or we could head down the aussie route. I'm sure I saw a story where the inwards numbers allowed were so small the airlines sold only business and first class seats. Maybe charges pro rata to the airfare?
What do you think of this Eco Maori? It is more than just Tai Tokerau isn't it?
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/07/27/billy-te-kahika-takes-democracy-fight-to-the-heart-of-government-advance-new-zealand/
Billy T James would build a new character, Uncle Te Kookiha more English than the Northland National Party …
Why did you use a dehumanising label, just one of those " Eco Maori " is he ? In recent rhetoric about Billy Te Kahika has also been other tags as one type of tactic to blank and cancel out a right in a democracy to have a voice. Rebel, radical, extreme… a joke guy that Billy T James would've mocked. Truly?
Yes, it is more than Te Tai Tokerau. It's millions globally asking for justice, self-determination and the return of their stolen assets.
Is Gutteres, Secretary-General UN one of those Eco radicals too when he points out that just 26 of the richest people in the world hold as much wealth as half the global population of 8 billion people?
Why don't you stick your head in the ground you jerk Paddy OT. Looking for something to moan about and create disunity.
Ouch! What is 'disunify'ing in calling out on tags that subversively nullify others, even if it's inadvertent? Applying a blanket name with a peg on your nose, to dismiss others such as those "____________" over there, is an underlying factor creating inequality.
Calling " jerk " ( same tactic ) doesn't make entrenched prejudices go away.
Calling for my demise to go underground is ironical in that the same maggots that will eat me once dead won't be discriminating and will feast on you too.
Eco maori is a contributor here,
https://thestandard.org.nz/search/eco+maori/?search_comments=true&search_posts=true&search_sortby=date
though it may have saved your pearls from a hard fist clutching, if the 'offending' sentence was written
What do you think of this, Eco Maori?
Great minds 🙂 and all that Allen 🙂
Pointing our proper punctuation is pedantic and patronising.
That depends on how you view being told how to avoid repeating an error, yet using it as outlined above, removes misunderstandings and subsequent retaliatory tit for tat posts.
I'm not the greatest with grammar and punctuation, and I welcome all thoughtful, well intended correction.
One comma made all the difference!
BTW, I should have included an emoticon to indicate that I was joking.
The smiley would have helped but I stand by both comm
asents. 😆I commend you on your comment.
How abour spelling?
F7
A little gentle jesting is something that regular commenters can add for spice to tease or joust, I think. It's all a matter of striking the right balance. And wouldn't it be good if we all mainly looked outwards at the wide issues and left the fine unpicking to those who want to pick oakum.*
I have been reading Anne Perry and the punishments and jobs for the unemployed they dished out in old Victorian times, which may be revived in some highly developed countries! Now that's a mighty leap – from the downward direction of contentious people's comments, to the downward gaze of a workhouse resident earning their daily meal.
* Oakum–picking was the teasing out of fibres from old ropes and was very hard on the fingers. The loose fibres were often sold to ship-builders for mixing with tar to seal the lining of wooden craft. They could also be used to make matting or bandaging.
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/tour/oakum.shtml
I agree but some comments are so hard to parse that we either have to make assumptions or take them through the gobbledygook reverse-translator. None of this makes for good debate.
My first questions to Uncle Billy would be
1. do you subscribe to the David Icke You Tube channel?
2. does the Chinese money bag man have a plan to reduce inequality, and if not, why partner up with him?
To be fair…I thought GreyWS was asking the question to a regular TS commentor called Eco Maori.
I tried to listen to an interview of Billy on talkback, but sean plunket was talking too much.
My take on it….. people who are against the system often don't vote, we've seen it before with the internet party. Part of the reason is a reluctance to share their personal details.
What a fascinating election it's turning into, jlr and Billy hooking up, what the actual? Talk about polar opposites, keep your eyes wide open Billy.
I'd probably have all sorts of problems with what Billy Te Kahika is saying if I looked more closely, but I know people that are into what he is talking about, and it's a big mistake for the left/progressives to ridicule them, call them nutters, and think they will just somehow disappear as a part of the culture rather than growing.
Collins gets ever more desperate:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/07/judith-collins-plans-to-grill-jacinda-ardern-on-behrouz-boochani-s-refugee-status.html
Presumably targeting the vast pool of voters from New Conservatives, Advance and NZ First.
“She plans to raise it when she goes up against the Prime Minister in Parliament. … “I’m sick to death of this stuff.”
She has only 4 more sittings to tackle Ardern, and this is how she wants to use them?
Is she going to ask the PM if he paid for his ‘managed isolation’ on Manus Island and if not, why not? I’m sure this is the burning question that’s on the mind of Kiwis and keeps them awake at night. What other reason could Mushy Collins have for asking
patsypesky questions during QT in Parliament?Been thinking about that Op leader going on about crushing Fairy/star dust.Instead of being a blow hard,she needs a vaccum because all she will manage is the spreading of good will to more of the people,truely short sighted an most deffinitely not PM material.
Edit,,spell check please.a wee note to weka.
Hey pile these awkward points on – she is 'sick to death' of them. So…..
Best part of the article is media continuing to use the photo of Judith wearing her MAGA hat ( albeit a blue one) then her Trumpism comes out, "He seems to me to have come here on a very dodgy idea of some sort of author's visa or something. Well I'm an author too, and I can tell you I don't think anyone's going to give me a special visa."
A mind like lightning. One quick flash of light and then darkness.
“They all eat, they all love me, they all kiss my ass,” Trump reportedly told journalist Timothy O’Brien, author of TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald. “And then they all leave and say, ‘Isn’t he horrible.’ But I’m the king.”
I'd like to see Collins write a book using a smuggled smart phone. She has such poor insight into why a person in detention on Manus Island for years would want to return there after writing a book about the harsh conditions.
Maybe some of the conditions in Collin's recent book were of her own making and her choice to write about her parliamentary life.
+1. Anyone who writes a 350 book on a phone gets automatic entry as far as I'm concerned.
And what's this rubbish the Nats were spouting the other day that we should have consulted Australia first. Australia can get f**ked.
Was he not seeking asylum from Strollya?
And hopefully the government will take the opportunity to remind us all that the government Collins was part of gave Peter Thiel full citizenship in about 12 days, no questions asked.
Exactly. Give me Boochani any day.
Frankly, with that long tousled hair and dreamboat eyes he can stay as long as he likes 🙂
What impact will the new party Heartland have on nats? Seen boards in Waikato.
Episode 5: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/a-useless-handbrake-is-released
Hopefully there won't have to be further episodes – by now I'm hopefully that 'nice' guys' outwardly, aren't necessarily nice people – be they politicians, senior public servants or anyone else pushing their own agendas above all else.
Hypocrisy and double standards that have become the Normal Normal it seems. Things like moralising, judging and conflating the concepts of arranged marriages and forced marriages on the one hand whilst all the while getting ones rocks off over a conference call to the woifey and whanau with a bit on the side on the other.
Thankfully Labour have a few more 'decent blokes and blokessess' to hold it all together, and there's always the Greens to fall back on. Let's hope it doesn't take any more episodes because they'd be liable to get very seedy. It might be time for the senior ranks of the public service to have a bit of a hydroxycloroclean – even if it needs to trickle down
Well at least there's a new visa coming that lets employees change jobs.
I found that article a bit under researched and some what over emotional.
It added together the student visa's which were just an income earning scam for dodgy private education providers and have only existed since National brought them in, the young under 30 visa's for international travel which have never really been seen as a residency pathway, the RSE visas which are seasonal (and there has been help & repatriation on offer here) plus the other visa's and only around 10,000 of these have been here for over 5 years usually on a motley collection of short term visa's.
Frankly the ire would be better directed at the employer sponsored visa's who used them for cheap labour or some level of scam then walked away from them, the national party who decided to use visa's to bid down employment wages and conditions for all or the businesses who can't be bothered to train and educate available youth.
Our Neets unemployment is huge, in part because visa workers mean that the labour force in the early entry years of employment is swollen by half as much (50,000 becomes 75000) .
Lastly if most of the central Auckland electorate is not native born that is colonisation rather than immigration and services are clearly not being provided to the wider community at any level.
"I found that article a bit under researched and some what over emotional."
Unfortunately if Mr Fonseka were to begin to describe his research, it'd require a book, and I'll excuse the emotion considering the damage some immigrants have suffered due to NZ's oh-so-suphusticated best practice policies. And it's not as if people haven't been warning the government of the complete bugger's muddle of things for over the lifetime of the current government.
Hopefully Faafoi is merely a placeholder as well, even if he is a damn site more ethical and less sleazy
.
I do realise that some individuals have suffered damage but conflating all the various visa types into one "wrong" doesn't help his story. The student who got stuck here while in holiday transit, could go home but now wants a work visa is a long way from the 10,000 who have been here a considerable time. But plenty of the non migrant population are suffering too.
And I do agree NZ has had dreadful settings (pretty much under all the right wing governments since 1990 who just wanted to bid down the employment market). Prior to covid, Labour was gradually deflating the visa market, putting an income limit in was one, plus moving up the course and study limits and providing training for Neets. Then there are the employer sponsored – who should sort out their own mess not dump it on others.
Labour didn't have the margin in the polls to move faster but now everything has hit at once and they are having to deal with a 20-30 year backlog of poor policy and decisions balancing fairness and local jobs and welfare payments plus employer (& scam) situations.
The only other comment I found odd was the one "doing us a favour". Err if it's for our benefit then umm why the desperation to stay.
And for the record I have seen several arranged marriages. Female autonomy in the decision was varied – from basically none to a lot- but I wonder if this point of view occurs to the males who benefit from the process.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12351277
This is truly baffling stuff from Judith and raises many questions about her version of events:
1) Why did she bail up the Prime Minister on the floor of parliament to tell her about a vague allegation against ILG of which she had no knowledge of the substance?
2) Who is this informant that she trusted enough to warrant telling the Prime Minister about such a vague allegation that ILG had done something "even worse" than what Falloon had done?
3) Does she accept her informant is a liar or at least has a very skewed moral compass given that she is now saying that she would not have fired ILG for doing something which the informant had said supposed to be "much worse" than what Falloon had done?
4) Is she not used to people replying "Oh yes, right" and walking away for the sake of ending the conversation and getting away from her? Not because they have the faintest idea of what she is talking about.
5) How did they arrange for the informant to go directly to the Prime Minister (as he must have if Judith did not know the content of the allegation until it was publicly released) if the full extent of the conversation was the Prime Minister saying "Oh yes, right" and walking off? Unless the reference to “we” is her office.
6) Is she really suggesting that the Prime Minister was dumb enough to go and fire ILG without bothering to wait for the informant to contact her with the details of the allegation, and then deny she knew about it until the informant contacted her? Or did the Prime Minister just go and tell ILG about her vague conversation with Judith and ILG, knowing that the game was up based on absolutely nothing, immediately spilled his guts about the affair and handed in his resignation?
She's seeding the media again. Feeding them their lines so she can lie about the PM.
Simple. Collins is trying to justify that she is not the CAUSE of ILG being drawn and quartered by her FILTHY politics.
The problem with the ILG resignation is that it was done to take responsibility for the high standard the PM sets for her ministers. ILG would not have resigned were there not an election in 8 weeks.
Rowling did not stand up to Muldoon over what was done to Moyle 5 November 1975.
Ardern needs to put ILG on the party list and tell Collins that Ardern is holding an inquiry into Collins emailer.
Correction
5 November 1976.
Is Mushy Collins trying to convince NZ that she feels sorry for what
shethe PM has done to ILG???Collins is trying to prove she is so righteous when she needs to front up about what her true intention was, to improve her ratings by damaging a Labour minister.
Never mind the family of ILG. Being a teenager is not easy when your parent is a minister or a leader.
If it's true that the last lot of absconders popped into a retirement village one has to question their judgment. To say the least.
In a single day, Collins and Brownlee have done more dopey than you'd expect in a month from any coherent political leadership.
The latest:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/07/newshub-poll-jacinda-ardern-getting-the-benefit-of-so-much-airtime-during-covid-19-gerry-brownlee.html
Ardern enjoying so much airtime? I can't recall National ever having as much wall-to-wall media coverage as they've had over the last few weeks.
Sure, it's been self-destructive airtime, but whose fault is that?
Haha. Yeah, Gerry has been pretty much off the rails today. I’d be amazed if he managed to claw back even one vote from Labour. And another day goes by where the Nats are really just talking about themselves (what ring road in Palmy?).
They are obsessed with Palmerston North, aren't they? Perhaps the plan is so get William Wood into parliament then straight on to the leadership.
I think we're so used to saying "Why are they doing this? There must be a devious plan, what is it, what are they up to?". Especially after years of National discipline and message control.
But sometimes it's just a mess. This is one of those times. Like when it's your last day in a job, and you might as well get drunk and photocopy your butt.
gerry's spent the day doing a trump.
The PM can’t win. One moment she has too much airtime, the next she’s a part-time PM.
I don’t mind giving Judith and Gerry more airtime but could they please keep their mouths shut when they’re on air or camera. It will be an improvement for them as well as for the public AKA a win-win. Thanks in advance.
Kia Ora
Newshub.
The weather has been warm and local environment is awesome at the minute Ingrid.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora
Te Ao Maori Marama.
That's the way Te Mokopuna are very important.
Its great to see local Iwi and council working together to provide whare for their Tangata.
That's good researching the effects rongo have on diabetes.
That's is what it's all about what the people want not just the few in power in Te Tairawhiti a Maori ward is needed.
I think lowering the voting age is a good topic.
Ka kite Ano.
🖕To you know who for using the landlord against me muppets.
Kia Ora
Newshub.
That's looks good it might help solve our housing short age.
I don't think it's bright too invest ones Kiwisaver into a business do you know how many fail in the first 5 years.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora
Te Ao Maori Marama.
It would be logical to help people who are living on there own whenua in sheds to build a whare.
That's is cool teaching tamariki about old Maori knowledge on their environment.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora
The Am Show.
Plastic are a problem that needs to be sorted start by charging the prouduce of plastic a fee and recycle and remanufacture the stuff ourselves creating jobs in Aotearoa.
Congratulations. Paris
Not just twins it's better to treat all your offspring equally.
Ka kite Ano.