1MDB… one of the largest worldwide theft and corruption cases ….involving Malaysian politicians and their relatives … with core involvement from enablers like New Zealand lawyers … and other dodgy hanger ons.
although it involves some of the same players,… it is not to be confused with the corrupt malaysian timber companies operating here in NZ.
1MDB — $7 Billion US raised by Goldman sachs with a high over the top commission …. Malaysian people on the hook and obliged to repay this $7Billion
$3.5 Billion siphoned from fund. NZ involvement.
A Malaysian State prosecutor investigating this fraud murdered and found in a barrel …. encased in concrete
The thefts have resulted in The largest seizure in US history … $1 Billion …
The Swiss Govt has prosecuted their involved banks.
Back in Malaysia .. their attorny general cleared their PM
In Nz high court judge Justice Togood …. …. cited Cayman island case law … wtf? … and allowed a NZ rearguard action on behalf of the real owners … the crooks … of a NZ vehicle …
..
Our media ran Dirty politics cover and silence when John key set NZ up as a tax haven ,,, leaving the public confused when Key was personally named by the panama papers whistle-blower
Now they keep the volume down quiet as the consequences get exposed….
1MDB is just one compartment in a very long NZ train wreck
Judith Collins bullshits and bluffs on the behalf of the biggest criminals in the world … more than willing to keep running Keys laundromat legacy.
The dishonest side of Judith has been called out by a reporter I much admire …Clare Rewcastle Brown … Her decency seems to magnify the ugliness which Collins represents. -http://www.sarawakreport.org/2017/07/australia-and-new-zealand-slide-from-their-responsibilities-over-mass-corruption-and-malaysia/
“The government minister responsible appears to believe the whole episode provides a grand excuse for New Zealand’s regulators to pat themselves on the back rather than hang their heads in shame over years of harbouring thousands of crooked accounts:
“Revenue Minister Judith Collins said the drop in trust numbers was not surprising and it shouldn’t be assumed that was because many had been handling the proceeds of illegitimate activities. “There is a much heavier compliance burden under the new regime with more disclosure required than ever before.”.. she said, adding New Zealand now had a “world class regime”.[Stuff NZ]
Who believes that – after all, how burndensome is it to write down your own name?
Nor is this system yet ‘world class’. The New Zealand Government have notably refused to extend to the full transparency that would actually be expected of a benchmark regime i.e. an open register where journalists and others could cross reference potentially illegal activity.
This means that, for example, Sarawak Report is unable to inform Malaysians whether Jho Low and his family are one of the few to have re-registered their trust in New Zealand. They may have done so. After all, in the end they got what they wanted from the courts despite being fully exposed in the process.”
She also has good reporting on Malaysian timber companies …. another criminal can of worms with NZ involvement .
Thanks Reason. That’s a day’s reading and thinking – it’s big. This is our world though, the lure of unlimited spending money through the injudicious exchange of papers or communications is a wealth virus that has addled many brains.
The pollies, players and super-wealthy should have their brains investigated as capital accretion seems to be like ‘concretion’ in the brain. It seems a new form of dementia, and so much more dangerous than the mix of paranoia, suspicion and negativity that seems to afflict many dementia victims. They don’t seem to have their happy buttons pushed and go round smiling at everyone and wishing them well. The wealth ones don’t care if others die. Is it super-psychopathy?
Malasian crooks now own a part of the timber trade in the Gisborne district.
They have ow musseled in on the large company that was a public forest there and now is screwing the locals to extract all the timber out of the region and have blocked supply to a new local producer trying to stop the company from getting logs to mill at their plant so they are real crooks.
The world should be paying countries with rainforests to preserve them and an income for the climate credits. Not the screwed up system we seem to have that is rewarding polluters and letting government criminals destroy not only their own citizens lives but also the climate and environment, while the rest of the world watches and does nothing or contributes by buying palm oil products and rainforest logs.
Even worse these deforesters are predators to their own people and the countries like NZ and Canada that allow them to launder the money through wink wink property or gambling for example are just as much to blame.
Don’t see the lengths that NZ government has gone to, to try to get Dotcom for money laundering being made to more deserving causes like corrupt government officials, instead NZ seems to be saying, “yes please, we love foreign investment and give zero percent tax havens to non residents or gambling $500 million here is no problem”.
Good to see NZ and Malaysia maintaining close business relations. Friendly military relations too, good for both lands.
Big deals in Malaysians during the Astrom Energy acquisitions by General Electric. Enough money to pay for those two planes to crash. GE ‘n’ friends controlling tech.
Our military and police also enjoy training and special relationships with Indonesia … part of our natural partnership no doubt …. are they TPPA buddies like Malaysia is ???
.
…. ” New Zealand has a formal agreement with Indonesian police that allows better cooperation between our police forces in combating transnational crime.”
Oppenheimer : The women workers desperately needed a union. This Belgian multinational spray of herbicide was dissolving their livers and killing them in their 40s, but they were afraid to organize a union that they so desperately needed because their parents and grandparents had been in a strong plantation workers union and had been killed for it, so they were accused of being communist sympathizers.”
NZ Govt === “Indonesia is one of the most populous countries in the world and has gone through rapid economic growth since democracy was restored in 1998. There are many opportunities for New Zealand exporters in Indonesia that are supported by AANZFTA – our free trade agreement with the ASEAN countries. ”
Oppenheimer “Could you go and find out if my mother was killed? She disappeared 40 years ago, but we never knew what happened.” I would go on these terrible missions on behalf of the survivors, and find out that not only could I get information on how people died, but I could find out in general how the killings had happened, which is something no one had known about before. The perpetrators were boastful. I didn’t have to lure them to open up. I simply asked these men, “What did you do for a living?” In minutes, they would open up and boast about what they had done. It dawned on me that I had walked into Germany 40 years after the Holocaust, and found the Nazis still in power. I realized this was a horrible, but not extraordinary situation, in the sense that everything we buy is made in places like this.”
Interesting (frightening) to see the hard-line leaders getting back in, and looking as if they want to go Back to the Future. Philippines looking back to Marcos and dodgy nuclear. Brazil has an ardent follower of the past dictatorship standing for election. Trump in America. British Conservatives willing to go ahead with Brexit and munt the country, dividing it from Europe which it had joined in the uneasy but working relationship which is a prevention of WW2 rerun. They are withdrawing towards Dickensian conditions. Hungary and another European country hard-line, getting towards fascism.
As times get tougher the people in many countries who think no harder than those who voted in Trump (or Clinton perhaps, neither of them being what was required – in a country with a huge population!).
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/05/brazil_bring_back_the_generals_or_something_like_that.html Brazil: Bring back the generals, or something like that
By Silvio Canto, Jr.
Not long ago, Brazil was run by a military junta. Then came a democracy, the expansion of the central government, crony capitalism, and corruption. All of a sudden, one of the largest-GDP nations in the world looks as dysfunctional as any other.
So what do you do when elected leaders can’t keep the streets safe or give you economic growth?
Some Brazilians are yearning for law and order or “el hombre fuerte,” which is a syndrome all over the pages of Latin American history.
“Without understanding offshore, we will never understand the history of the modern world.
Poverty in Africa? Offshore is at the heart of the matter. Industrial-scale corruption and the wholesale subversion of governments by criminalised interests, across the developing world? Offshore is central to the story, every time. The systematic looting of the former Soviet Union and the merging of the nuclear-armed country’s intelligence apparatus with organized crime, is a story that unfolds substantially in London and its offshore satellites. Saddam Hussein used tax havens to buttress his power, as does North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il today. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s strange hold over Italian politics is very much an offshore tale. The Elf Affair, Europe’s biggest ever corruption scandal, had secrecy jurisdictions at its core. Arms smuggling to terrorist organisations? The growth of mafia empires? Offshore. You can only fit about $1 million into a briefcase: without offshore, the illegal drugs trade would be a fraction of its size.”
When watching this doco on the bankrupting and exploitation of Argentina …. it was revealed their rich kleptocracy / oligarchs had $400 Billion stashed offshore ….
I’m sure NZ will be helping the rich crooks of Argentina keep their country poor.
John key worked hard on nationals laundry legacy … Judith Collins and others are it’s present day staunch defenders …. she should be finished in Politics …. if we had a decent or balanced media.
Hi reason, good post. I haven’t had a chance to read in depth as yet but have bookmarked this for this evening.
Re trade etc with Malaysia and Indonesia, Indonesia is not part of the CP-TPP but NZ has considerable trade arrangements with them through other agreements in place and others under negotiation currently.
MFAT have a very good website on all of this worth checking – regardless of whether or not you agree with CPTPP, etc as it is full of information. (And no . I don’t work for them etc. LOL. Just have some interest/past background in this area.)
There are two parts of particular use re trade etc. One is the actual Trade section; and the other is the Countries and Regions section which gives a wider overview of NZ’s relationships with each country.
Well, it was doubtful, but the real worry peaked when Little left.
Key knew that the nats were on an all or nothing deal, and “all” couldn’t be relied on. And he really wanted to be called a “sir” – an insecurity common in the shallower tories.
Fuck if I know. The name doesn’t ring any immediate bells, I’ve given up wondering why some people say any damned thing whatsoever, and I’m primarily trying to fix SQL code at the moment.
To clarify – when I next bump into bill in the supermarket, I should ask him about a rumour about why key ditched the job? It’s not something I’ll lose sleep over, thanks.
Key quit because he new the nats needed nzf to get in and he knew that wasn’t going to happen as Winstons hates him for 9 years of dirty politics against him from team key .
I agree marty mars, key is all about key, and he’s cupidity is out of hand. That said, do you have any Ngāti Porou whanau marty mars? If so, you might want to ask them about why John left.
You don’t unner stand the old boys club or the right wing way do you .
” John old boy we think you need to step aside , what and how many directorships would you like to slide into as our way of saying thanks . ‘
Putting all that aside the three way handshake happened when Richard went to shake Johns hand and that other knob gobbler stuck his hand out and got in the way
It was actually McCaw who screwed the pooch on that one: basic protocol is that if someone gives you an award, especially in manlyman activities, you take the item in your left hand and shake hands with the person who gave it to you with the right.
You don’t take the award and immediately go to shake someone else’s hand. Can’t blame the other guy – Key was behind him.
Yes but if there’s some numpty in your direct line of sight who’s trying to talk to you as someone else is presenting you with the trophy then you’re likely to be distracted. After successfully distracting, if said numpty thrusts his hand out like he is the one who has just presented the trophy…
“Are you still banging on about the cost of dumping rubbish? “
Dead right I am. It will be inflationary, thus hurt the poor the hardest.
Most businesses generate waste and as usual, additional costs incurred tend to be passed on.
As I’ve previously explained (several days ago) we are about to embark on a major transition, which the Greens will be largely leading (as Shaw is climate minister). And as such, are championing new environmental related charges. Such as significantly increasing tip fees and the proposed feebate scheme to incentivise the uptake of low emissions vehicles, which the cost of both will hit the poor the hardest.
These are merely two of a suite of changes that collectively will be as big as the reforms of the 80’s and 90’s that created a lot of pain and hardship, which we’ve yet to overcome. And like the reforms of the 80’s and 90’s, there is going to be a cost transitioning to a greener economy. Without protection, the poor will disproportionately carry the burden.
NZIER modelling on behalf of the Ministry for the Environment shows the impact of domestic climate action would be felt more strongly (more than twice as affected, on a relative basis, than those households with an average income) by lower income households.
The dilemma the Greens now face is they’ve made environmental wins but failed to get through their policies (such as tax and welfare) that would have protected the poor from the full cost of these environmental wins. Fueling the divide within the party.
So while the leadership are gleefully trumpeting their environmental wins it seems they are oblivious to salt they themselves are pouring onto the wound.
The Greens are more than just an environmental party. Therefore, instead of trumpeting their wins (further pouring salt onto the wound of those that feel the poor have been overlooked) I’d rather hear how they plan to restore the balance in what they stand for.
Perhaps Shaw can find a way to provide protection via his climate budget? Especially seeing as many of the additional costs the poor are about to face are going to be environmentally related and delivered by the Greens.
She wasn’t sitting there in the changing room, legs spread, necking a Heini and telling Keiran about when she did the accounts for the First XV when at high school, like Key did.
It doesn’t matter that Key was shorter than most of those footballers. Many great men, as well as lesser ones like Key, have been short in stature. The problem with Key was that he was a moral pygmy.
Compounded by his being an intellectual pigmy, but with an ego the size of bus and glands that secreted enough slime for his entire enterage of worshippers to slip along for the ride.
Is anyone going to comment on the important issue that The Chairman being anti-left so always ready to shaft the government has managed to fit into this long winded discussion about another slippery politician. I wish when I put up an idea that people would read it and made a comment on how it would be viable for our problems or not. Trouble is they tend to be long and go into explanations so are trying on those with 20 second attention spans.
So The Chairman poses at 3.3…..: But they still aren’t doing enough to help the poor, while dumping additional costs upon them.
I think he means Labour. Or perhaps Greens. Never let a chance go by to bite their tales eh terrible terrier.
Although I was having a snipe at the Greens for not doing enough for the poor while dumping additional costs upon them, how does standing up for the poor make me anti-left?
And why did you have a snipe at me and not the Greens for dumping additional costs upon the poor?
The left I belong to stand up for the poor, what kind of lefty are you?
“All Blacks coach Steve Hansen lauds his ‘special’ team to Jacinda Ardern ”
“”When you think about the All Blacks and the brand it’s important we represent New Zealand really well, she leads our country, we respect her immensely, and it’s important she gets to know the people representing the country in the black shirt.”
Although politicians politicizing sport is shit behavior from either side, imo …..I doubt she’d be telling the players how to stick their money in creative vehicles …. so they can skip out on paying tax in NZ …
I suspect Key probably did that… especially when he got pissed. and wanted to show off.
Shame the All Black’s success isn’t reflected in our national success. And having a PM in the changing room won’t improve our standing. Although, it did give the All Black’s coach an opportunity to hit the Government up for money.
The All Blacks success is based on a game stuff all countries take seriously …. ie they have thin or pathetic domestic competitions … we have have a rugby union players factory
And if the Aussies had one code of football to concentrate on …. ie if their best players were not playing league and Aussie rules …. their team would have a similar win loss record against us as their cricket team.
Rugby union is a failed international sport…..that is the context for the greatness of the all-blacks.
The All Blacks success is based on a game stuff all countries take seriously
More countries take rugby seriously than any other sport, except soccer.
…. ie they have thin or pathetic domestic competitions…
You obviously haven’t watched English, Welsh or French domestic rugby.
… we have have a rugby union players factory
So does France. So does England.
And if the Aussies had one code of football to concentrate on …. ie if their best players were not playing league and Aussie rules …. their team would have a similar win loss record against us as their cricket team.
Their “best” players? There is no one in either Aussie Rules or in Rugby League that is as good as Will Genia or David Pocock. There is no substance to this bizarre “theory” (if that’s the word for something to which so little thought has been applied) that there is a vast pool of untapped talent that would sweep away all opposition. In 2002 New Zealand finished ahead of the United States in the Basketball World Championship; all of America’s overwhelming talent didn’t mean it could put a decent team on the court.
Rugby union is a failed international sport
Au contraire, it is immensely popular. Only its sibling sport, soccer, is more popular and draws bigger crowds.
…..that is the context for the greatness of the all-blacks.
Sorry, but that’s nonsense. Of course there is much wrong with rugby, and it suffers from some of the most ridiculous over-hyping in sports or indeed any other endeavour—-especially that God-awful “World in Union” dirge. But your comments are unfair and horribly disrespectful, and show a very limited knowledge of the sport.
Rugby is a game of organized violence …. re-known for spinal injuries, knee reconstructions and concussions …. dwarfed by soccer in england, france and most other places .
It has a long history of association with apartheid … the national party … and New Zealand breweries ….
I’m well over it.
…. having played the game ….. I’ve found far more pleasure and satisfaction engaging in music and dancing….
I know which culture would be for better for NZ …. and it aint rugby culture.
Rugby is a game of organized violence …. re-known [sic] for spinal injuries, knee reconstructions and concussions ….
True. Very exaggerated, but true to a point. It’s also, of course, renowned for its speed, excitement, and beauty, and because it is often such a wonderful spectacle—which is why it is so popular.
dwarfed by soccer in england, france and most other places .
Now your lack of knowledge is really doing you, and us, a disservice. Rugby internationals in England consistently outdraw all other sports events. When the Millennium Stadium was being built in Cardiff, Wales had to relocate; the Welsh team played at Wembley at the same time England played at another London venue, Twickenham. Both stadia were simultaneously packed out. And in France, Rugby has always been known as the beautiful game, and it’s been immensely popular since the 1950s.
It has a long history of association with apartheid … the national party … and New Zealand breweries ….
All true, sadly. It also has a long history of association with working people, the Labour Party (as we saw on Saturday night) and many other vices besides alcohol.
I’m well over it.
Oh, so that explains the sourness. I’ve felt the same way about a few girls at odd times in my life. Passion can take many forms, including disillusionment and anger.
…. having played the game ….. I’ve found far more pleasure and satisfaction engaging in music and dancing….
Not sure about music, but surely you were able to appreciate the affinities that rugby football has with dancing?
I know which culture would be for better for NZ …. and it aint rugby culture.
If by getting rid of “rugby culture”, you mean getting rid of cheats like Richie McCaw, arrogant bastards like Steve Hansen and Grant Fox, and morons like those untermenschen who attacked John Hart’s horse at Addington in 1999, I agree with you. But what exactly do you mean by “rugby culture”?
It’s the elevation of a non-important game elevated into national significance … to the point idiots compare it to the achievements of our nation.
It overlaps with police culture and national party culture.
.. its male dominated and ran amuck on Hamilton streets, when the last apartheid team from south africa toured here … to help National / rob muldoon win another election. … ‘We won, you lost, eat that’- Cec Blazey
..if your a player its ‘smash em’ make them feel it and steamroll them into the mud ‘ .. after playing you support the club by drinking piss over their bar.
If your a non player but a fan ….its ‘come around lets get pissed and watch the game’.
Its also wet bus ticket treatment for all the bar assaults, drunk driving and domestic violence and general poor treatment of females that some rugby players get up to … because their special and we can’t hurt their rugby careers.
Dance culture is nothing like the underlying violence in rugby culture … perhaps because more females dance than males ?….. and you don’t try to smash em.
Music is creative ……….
Do you think rugby culture perhaps has something to do with NZ winning the world cup in domestic violence Morrissey ?…. or just a coincindence.
A google search of ‘the beautiful game’ brings up a page about soccor / football…. rugby does not make googles front page cut …silly french.
A google search of rugby tv ratings in austrailia brings up this from 2017 … “Rugby’s woes in Australia have been further emphasised by poor TV ratings for last weekend’s Bledisloe Cup test.
The All Blacks win over the Wallabies in Sydney was watched by just 371,000 metro free-to-air viewers across the Tasman.” …. ” It rated just ninth in free-to-air programmes, being beaten by three news bulletins, two AFL games, and episodes of Father Brown, Shetland and Gardening Australia.”
Finally test matches aside …. club rugby is dwarfed in england by soccor / football …. reflected in the payment salerys of players.
G’day, Moz. We had a discussion about the strength of rugger in France a couple of years ago. At the time, I provided attendance stats that showed that rugby crowds were, on average, smaller than those for second division football games.
This isn’t surprising because rugby is not followed nation wide. There are significant pockets of support in the south (both coasts and in the rural heartland) but the game has never taken off in the major urban areas.
Pre-war, rugby league dominated French egg chasing, but the right wing Vichy government banned the 13 man game in favour of the more elitist union. Hopefully, with the Catalan Dragons winning the Challenge Cup a few days ago, the balance may tip back toward the workers’ code.
Oh you’re such an old sour puss PR……you’re forgiven though. I remember puking at the cringeworthy three hand scrum from Jonty ‘Regular Joker’ Key and indeed shitting malodorously when the great wanker donned ‘The Jersey’ for the cover of a rugby mag’. Which embarrassing ridiculousness wasn’t missed by Jerome Kaino and one or two others in the background…..taking the piss hard they were.
No wonder NZ is developing so many problems like housing, transport and health and problems with trafficking in the Hawkes Bay! Immigration can’t even afford to deport people. As for wanting up to 3 people to accompany deportations, that is crazy from the airlines and just a money making venture as well as more people are coming from further afar.
Maybe the NZ government having better arrival criteria like we used to, aka people having to prove they have the means to stay here and stopping people coming in, in the first place is the way to go.
From the emails.
“Should we locate [redacted target] as Shandy suggested we will have a whip around and run a couple of raffles,” investigator David Yandall joked in an email about the orders.”
“No one was to be deported unless they were named on a list created by Immigration management when the funding shortfall was discovered in January.
On the list were 22 inmates due to be released from prison, 48 alleged criminals and 14 individuals whose refugee claims had been rejected.
It would cost $564,883 to deport all of them.”
“The impact we have been having particularly in the Bay of Plenty with the unlawful Indian population will quickly revert once we reduce our activity.”
Instead of finding and deporting illegal migrants, compliance staff were told to focus on “voluntary departures” – where overstayers are asked to leave at their own expense – debt recovery, and serving deportation papers.
Immigration New Zealand budget blowout kept overstayers in NZ
“No wonder NZ is developing so many problems like housing, transport and health and problems with trafficking in the Hawkes Bay! Immigration can’t even afford to deport people. As for wanting up to 3 people to accompany deportations, that is crazy from the airlines and just a money making venture as well as more people are coming from further afar.”
It’s a situation they brought on themselves @ SaveNZ.
Until quite recently, they were encouraging all and sundry to become immigration consultants/agents – even promoted on their own website.
Education agents could become immigration advisors, Labour Hire companies could become advisors. One-man-band Security companies could become agents.
Depending on the supposed ‘skill shortages’ on the current list, nothing to stop bloody hair-dressing/beauty firms to become agents who could advertise their wares offshore, all in the knowledge that there was fuck all oversight (from the likes of IAA and others).
Now (well actually for the now past several years), we see the results of shady PTEs; Filipino construction workers earning less than minimum wage; the cheapening of standards across the board.
It was all supposedly ‘best practice’ based on lessons that should have be learned by offshore jurisdictions, and in some cases were, but that were copied here anyway in the great ‘business of immigration’.
So once the entire fuckup has been allowed to fester for a decade, what’s the solution? Blame the victims of exploitation – most of whom only want to recoup the money they’ve been ripped, and deport – but try and get them to pay for it.
And who are these geniuses?
They’d be the ones that thought it OK to completely under-resource the likes of NZQA, and IAA, INZ and the Labour Inspectorate. (Close down offices and automate – for example.)
It’s a situation that NZ’s past policy has caused, and one that the geniuses now continues to try and shift the blame onto its victims.
No amount of inexperienced, short term contract staff, labour inspectors getting around in stab-proof vests, ministerial spin-meisters, demographic spreadsheets, targeting and unconscious bias et al is going to fix.
IT may improve when responsible ministers in the new coalition government begin to realise they’ve been led up the garden path
It is good that academics are there to help state the obvous and show that there are different ways of getting to the goal.
But businesses that collaborate can form a cabal which is not regarded as good.
They can become a monopoly which is not regarded as good.l
That is why government doing a lot is not regarded as good.
Yet the new word in the business world is ‘disruption’ which quickly makes products redundant and that is regarded as good.
People have to constantly replace stuff that has become redundant and this is regarded as good.
This produces a lot of waste and businesses even regard that as good, because then a business can do the job of moving the waste, to a poor country for a free which helps that poor country in some way, so that is regarded as good.
We have hospitality entities needing staff who are trained in Queenstown and up north. They can’t get them because the training of young people to work in industry was to be done by the Industry Training Oorganisation or such – ITO.
And that was regarded as good. However it hasn’t worked has it..
Making a number of industries centred on houses which are a needed resource by all, and upping the demand through increased immigration was regarded as good.
The by-product of rocketing house prices because of lower supply than demand was for people, even with families, not being able to find somewhere to live.
But that was assisted with government filling the gap with accommodation subsidies which helped to inflate the whole housing market. Not at all good.
Now industries and services can’t give employment to workers who are trained, or want to be, because there is no affordable accommodation. Not good.
So industry has to follow its own new idea and bring disruption to this problem.
They provide buses for workers from nearby towns who have accommodation but no jobs nearby, and they can include accommodation for workers in their business plan. That’s good. Business thinking for itself, not expecting all aspects needed to fall from the sky. Cargo cult thinking.
If thoughtful, trained, experienced professionals and academics can keep feeding usefukl ideas with anecdotes and examples maybe something will trickle through to the concrete-conservatives in business and government. Also to business commentators with a brain not soaked with alcohol and/or promises of delightful holidays with the in-group ful of hubris about their own notoriety or position, many of whom just may be up for shares in new money-making concerns. Insider knowledge goes with the territory.
With any luck, more new ideas of how to manage business sustainably will enter NZs heads and may filter down to pollies and those political advisors who have a large investment in their continuing salaries in keeping the present disastrous system, plugged, repaired, covered up and generally growing like bindweed above and below ground. So hard to eradicate, and so smothering of needed land and crops resource.
So I’m trawling through youtube this weekend and I found some things that might appeal to posters on here.
This is pretty funny, its a conservative (conservative not alt-right, he’s pretty clear on that) youtuber confronting a keyboard warrior and it goes pretty much how you think it’ll go:
This next one is quite chilling, he talks with a journalist and posints out all the inaccuracies and the framing in her story and her response is telling and also makes you question what else the MSM get up to:
My own experience of news articles, where I have personal knowledge, is that “journalists” have only nodding acquaintance with fact.
Right wing ones, like most on TV, being the worst.
Well this journalist is very left wing but Steven goes through point by point the inaccuracies and her biases in her article and her response is quite telling
Yes. Unfortunately, confirmation bias, lack of background research, sloppy logic, and taking opinions as facts, seems to be an acceptable part of “journalism” these days, on all sides.
The wheels of the bus go round and round
Round and round, round and round
The wheels of the bus go round and round
All day long.
The passengers on the bus go grumble, grumble, grumble
Grumble, grumble, grumble, grumble, grumble, grumble
The passengers on the bus go grumble, grumble, grumble
All day long.
The drivers of the bus go mutter, mutter, mutter,
Mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter
The drivers of the bus go mutter, mutter, mutter
All day long.
The owners of the bus go suck it up
Suck it up, suck it up
The owners of the bus go suck it up
All day long
The Regional Council goes don’t blame us
Don’t blame us, don’t blame us
The Regional Council goes don’t blame us
All day long
The voters on the bus go just you wait
Just you wait, just you wait
The voters on the bus go just you wait
All day long
Putting my tourist retailer hat on I can see where they are comming from.
We’re not anywhere near that footcount, so the crowding isn’t an issue, but we’ve lost a bit of stock through selfies, so once that starts they get close personal service.
In a pre social media age we had a very eclectic shop in Arrowtown that would have been interesting in today’s world. Retail in tourist areas is now a free “experience” to be recorded for all. Unfortunately this doesn’t bring much return for the retailer. Good to see someone finding a solution.
This scum farmer should have his farm confiscated.
“A $34,000 fine handed down to a North Canterbury farmer… Scott Rutherford also faces additional costs of remediating land after he cleared about 70 hectares of the braided Waiau River, which despite being on his property title, was not permitted under the Resource Management Act. He did so despite knowing he did not have a resource consent in place.”
He has 2 full years to remediate, with the works requiring to be complete in the middle of Winter !!
I imagine he will also have to apply for a Resource Consent for the works ?
To protect the council should not a caveat or some other notification be placed on the title, to ensure that the works are performed ?
His past actions display some contempt to me of what Jan Scott Rutherford thinks of the system, so we need to protect the council from non performance.
@Veutoviper re your off-topic question in the leaky Natz thread.
I did make it to the Kilbirnie bus meeting yesterday but only lasted about 20 minutes.I’m having problems with sensory overload right now and it was a bit much to handle, so can’t provide a full report sorry.
But it was good to see what I estimated to be over 200 people there (media says 300). I left just after Chris Laidlaw began speaking, and the jeering had pretty much begun as soon as it was obvious he was just repeating the same old talking points we’ve already heard ad nauseum and the token apology. Said extreme jeering & heckling seemed to be just a few individuals initially but it was pretty obvious even from what I was there for that most people aren’t prepared to hear out an organisation (GRWC) that continues to show nothing but contempt and definitely no desire to fix the situation. Personally, I’m not at all surprised that on the subject of Wellington buses even normally nice polite people have given up being nice and polite when it’s become painfully obvious that all our pre-change consultations were ignored outright and thousands of complaints since July 15th have been effectively ignored.
I was standing outside the hall for a while having a chat with a very interesting chap about the situation and we were both listening to the noise from inside getting louder and louder so I can only imagine what was going down in there. About the same time a group of about 20 people walked out, not seeming very impressed with the way things were going but I can only speculate.
I said in a previous comment about this that for once, politicians have managed to unite the entire citizenry. It will be very interesting to see whose names show up on the ballot papers next year…
Thanks so much, Kay. And no need for apologies. I would not have been able to cope with that either for the same reason (sensory overload). So good on you for at least getting there. Well done. I really could not face it, which is quite the opposite to a few years ago.
I am actually making slow ‘bit by bit’ progress on the issues of a group I am representing through working with a couple of Metlink contacts I have managed to contact, working with them on a cooperative rather than a combative basis so will continue with that.
I actually found it interesting that Paul Eagle now Rongotai MP rather than Southern Ward WCC Councillor organised the meeting rather than either the Regional Council councillors or the WCC councillors. Good on him. As you say it will be interesting to see whose names are on the local government ballot papers next year! LOL.
It is possible that Regional Councils are getting too far back from the people in the large area they have governance over.
In the inner city the City Council has just introduced parking fares for weekends but i can’t see any map showing a circle route for the CBD. There used to be one that was really cheap and frequent but now there is only mention off a Hop on-off guided tour which takes away the low cost and convenience for no advantage at all to the independent visitor.
Google:
Home – Hop on Hop off | Guided Tours Wellington https://hoponhopoff.co.nz/
A great guided tour and Wellington’s 11 best hop-off stops … Tours depart and finish from the city i-SITE Visitor Centre bus stop at 101 Wakefield St, starting at,, …
The Mayor I think was making much of the extra $30-40 per annum? for ratepayers as a result of stopping free parking in the city. What a clot, and surrounded by similar. Wellington needs to bring people into the city. It is always promoting itself; it doesn’t want its centre to diminish. The hotels offer low rates in the weekends when the pollies and staff are off home to encourage people to come in.
And this petty, small-minded geek is giving a small gift to ratepayers and businesses that used to pay a levy to cover parking. It will be a poisoned chalice. Any business that moaned about costs is one of the free-riders that won’t support their area. There are a lot of those in NZ, who won’t pay levies to ensure promotion and advertising for the locality and region, keeping them all in the public consciousness.
The neo lib scheme of retendering for services every few years seeking to save money (and using the old cliche’, ‘cut out the fat’) and accepting low tenders has led to the sacrifice of Wellington (and others) bus drivers conditions and wages. To make a profit, drivers’ wages and conditions must be sliced and diced.
Lefties will want to support Wellington bus drivers in their efforts to prevent being shafted by the Wellington Regional Authority with a petition against their miserly methods and lack of respect for bus drivers in their part of the bus service.
Thank You Driver
On a bus anywhere in the Wellington region, you hear it all the time – “thank you, driver” – as passengers get off at their stop. We say it because we appreciate our bus service – a good bus network and great drivers make a huge contribution to the life of our cities.
But, for something that is so important, we’re treating the people who drive us poorly.
Greater Wellington Regional Council has re-contracted many of the region’s routes to a new provider – Tranzit. Most drivers on these routes have lost their jobs, those who have got work with Tranzit are facing much worse terms and conditions. And Tranzit are refusing to negotiate with their union. Meanwhile Wellington’s bus service is in chaos because of this, and the regional council is pretending it’s not their problem.
Let’s hold the regional council to account and make them fix the damage they’ve done. Please sign and say thank you driver!
There is a very informative post on TS now about Wellington public transport and a faithful union member Chris Morley, who has just died of cancer. https://thestandard.org.nz/remembering-chris-morley/
And the sign up for the petition is there.
I have just today watched the film Celia about Celia Lashlie who died early. These twosacrificial people working for a better way and smaintaining or improving sandards of life both die of cancer. I think this tells us a story that we need to acknowledge.. Honour them in death, support and stand with them in life.
A group representing property investors says renters like letting fees, because paying them gives them an advantage over other potential tenants.
Property investors, the speculative scum, most responsible for unaffordable housing. Claim renters are like them, in that they also enjoy getting an advantage over others worse off than themselves.
These people should be ashamed to show their faces in public, that they do, astonishes me for their lack of self knowledge.
Max Keiser interviews Frankie Boyle (well worth watching!)
This is from 2013, but it’s still highly relevant, as well as entertaining. Some thoughtful comments about Scottish independence, tame comedians (the English equivalents of our own Jeremy Elwood, Mike King and Andrew Clay) and racist politicians….
FRANKIE BOYLE: Does Boris Johnson look like he’s capable of leading a country? He couldn’t lead anyone through a revolving door. He’s a bouncy castle with Alzheimer’s.
At about the 7:30 mark, Max Keiser says: “Now, you have a visitor in Scotland. Donald Trump has shown up….”
Good evening the Am Show There you go Duncan the price of food will rise because of Global Warming it is the poor that will suffer because of this phenomenon that is happening in Britain now .
I’m a grandparent so when my mokopuna need money I give it .It was different for the tamariki I let the wife handle that I made them all pay board when they started full time work this teaches them to pay bill’s .
We can not keep burning carbon if we want to leave te mokopuna’s a healthy Papatuanuku environment the way I see it we are guardians of Papatuanuku our main focus should be to leave the world in a better state for the Mokopunas its logical.
The word’s of Senator John McCain are very good words I thank him for his vision to have them told at this time ka pai .
The business in Aotearoa will be fine Aotearoa is one of the easy country’s in the world to set up a run a business and the government making a goal of becoming carbon neutral will help Exporters get a premium for there products by making OUR clean and green story true .
Paddy the Pike River mine out come will please the whano of the people who were lost in that tragedy good work Paddy.
Ka kite ano
Other country’s have to hold these people in Myanmar’s accountable for there action’s this a religious raciest extermination that is not acceptable in the year 2018 The power’s that Be need to step up and make a stand against this it can not be ignored OR it becomes the new norm of Papatuanuku Many thanks to the United Nations for voicing the disgust at the way these people are being treated link below Ka kite ano
In the last six month I have seen six move and music Star’s having problem’s with alcohol once one turn’s into a alcoholic it is a hard drug for some people to control the habit they are always grumpy till they have a drink I can see these people easy as it is better to educate mokopunas about the bad affects of alcohol so they will learn to be moderate drinkers and don’t leave drinks unattended don’t go drinking with people you don’t trust your drinks could get spiked you could end up in the—— Kia kaha ka kite ano link below
Good evening Newshub Its been a long road for Bernie Monk to get to were he’s at now Paddy kia kaha .
Well I’m not getting into that debate of Chelse Manning visit .
I say that the cat ban in Omaui is a ka pai move look at all the beautiful bird’s there cat’s won’t go extinct but a lot of our bird’s are on that list.
It.s awsome that people are able to be placed in a safe house instead of sleeping on the street ka pai .
Ka kite ano P.S Jane Fonda is a good lefty socialist leader
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...
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The Ōtautahi musician shares the 10 tracks he loves to spin, including the folk classic that cured him of a ‘case of the give-ups’. When singer-songwriter Adam McGrath returns to Kumeu’s Auckland Folk Festival from January 24-27, he’s not planning on simply idling his way through – he wants the late ...
Alex Casey spends an afternoon on the job with River, the rescue dog on a mission to spread joy to Ōtautahi rest homes.Almost everyone says it is never enough time. But River the rescue dog, a jet black huntaway border collie cross, has to keep a tight pace to ...
Asia Pacific Report Fiji activists have recreated the nativity scene at a solidarity for Palestine gathering in Fiji’s capital Suva just days before Christmas. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network recreated the scene at the FWCC compound — a baby Jesus figurine lies amidst the ...
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The House - On Parliament's last day of the year, there was the rare occurrence of a personal (conscience) vote on selling booze over the Easter weekend. While it didn't have the numbers to pass, it was a chance to get a rare glimpse of the fact ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flora Hui, Research Fellow, Centre for Eye Research Australia and Honorary Fellow, Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne Versta/Shutterstock Australians are exposed to some of the highest levels of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the world. While we ...
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If something big is going to happen in Ferndale, it’s going to happen at Christmas. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If there’s one episode of Shortland Street you should watch each year, it’s the annual Christmas cliffhanger. The final episode of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William A. Stoltz, Lecturer and expert Associate, National Security College, Australian National University US President-elect Donald Trump has named most of the members of his proposed cabinet. However, he’s yet to reveal key appointees to America’s powerful cyber warfare and intelligence institutions. ...
Announcing the top 10 books of the the year at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (Faber & Faber, $37) The phenomenal Irish writer is the unsurprising chart topper for 2024 with her fourth novel that, much like her first ...
The government has confirmed its plan to break up Te Pūkenga / New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology and re-establish independent polytechnics. ...
1MDB… one of the largest worldwide theft and corruption cases ….involving Malaysian politicians and their relatives … with core involvement from enablers like New Zealand lawyers … and other dodgy hanger ons.
although it involves some of the same players,… it is not to be confused with the corrupt malaysian timber companies operating here in NZ.
1MDB — $7 Billion US raised by Goldman sachs with a high over the top commission …. Malaysian people on the hook and obliged to repay this $7Billion
$3.5 Billion siphoned from fund. NZ involvement.
A Malaysian State prosecutor investigating this fraud murdered and found in a barrel …. encased in concrete
The thefts have resulted in The largest seizure in US history … $1 Billion …
The Swiss Govt has prosecuted their involved banks.
Back in Malaysia .. their attorny general cleared their PM
In Nz high court judge Justice Togood …. …. cited Cayman island case law … wtf? … and allowed a NZ rearguard action on behalf of the real owners … the crooks … of a NZ vehicle …
..
Our media ran Dirty politics cover and silence when John key set NZ up as a tax haven ,,, leaving the public confused when Key was personally named by the panama papers whistle-blower
Now they keep the volume down quiet as the consequences get exposed….
1MDB is just one compartment in a very long NZ train wreck
Judith Collins bullshits and bluffs on the behalf of the biggest criminals in the world … more than willing to keep running Keys laundromat legacy.
The dishonest side of Judith has been called out by a reporter I much admire …Clare Rewcastle Brown … Her decency seems to magnify the ugliness which Collins represents. -http://www.sarawakreport.org/2017/07/australia-and-new-zealand-slide-from-their-responsibilities-over-mass-corruption-and-malaysia/
“The government minister responsible appears to believe the whole episode provides a grand excuse for New Zealand’s regulators to pat themselves on the back rather than hang their heads in shame over years of harbouring thousands of crooked accounts:
“Revenue Minister Judith Collins said the drop in trust numbers was not surprising and it shouldn’t be assumed that was because many had been handling the proceeds of illegitimate activities. “There is a much heavier compliance burden under the new regime with more disclosure required than ever before.”.. she said, adding New Zealand now had a “world class regime”.[Stuff NZ]
Who believes that – after all, how burndensome is it to write down your own name?
Nor is this system yet ‘world class’. The New Zealand Government have notably refused to extend to the full transparency that would actually be expected of a benchmark regime i.e. an open register where journalists and others could cross reference potentially illegal activity.
This means that, for example, Sarawak Report is unable to inform Malaysians whether Jho Low and his family are one of the few to have re-registered their trust in New Zealand. They may have done so. After all, in the end they got what they wanted from the courts despite being fully exposed in the process.”
She also has good reporting on Malaysian timber companies …. another criminal can of worms with NZ involvement .
Thanks Reason. That’s a day’s reading and thinking – it’s big. This is our world though, the lure of unlimited spending money through the injudicious exchange of papers or communications is a wealth virus that has addled many brains.
The pollies, players and super-wealthy should have their brains investigated as capital accretion seems to be like ‘concretion’ in the brain. It seems a new form of dementia, and so much more dangerous than the mix of paranoia, suspicion and negativity that seems to afflict many dementia victims. They don’t seem to have their happy buttons pushed and go round smiling at everyone and wishing them well. The wealth ones don’t care if others die. Is it super-psychopathy?
Great stuff Reason.
Malasian crooks now own a part of the timber trade in the Gisborne district.
They have ow musseled in on the large company that was a public forest there and now is screwing the locals to extract all the timber out of the region and have blocked supply to a new local producer trying to stop the company from getting logs to mill at their plant so they are real crooks.
Excellent video link to watch.
The world should be paying countries with rainforests to preserve them and an income for the climate credits. Not the screwed up system we seem to have that is rewarding polluters and letting government criminals destroy not only their own citizens lives but also the climate and environment, while the rest of the world watches and does nothing or contributes by buying palm oil products and rainforest logs.
Even worse these deforesters are predators to their own people and the countries like NZ and Canada that allow them to launder the money through wink wink property or gambling for example are just as much to blame.
Don’t see the lengths that NZ government has gone to, to try to get Dotcom for money laundering being made to more deserving causes like corrupt government officials, instead NZ seems to be saying, “yes please, we love foreign investment and give zero percent tax havens to non residents or gambling $500 million here is no problem”.
This is a very arresting image from Bowalley Road.
Climbing climate change
From – https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2018/08/this-is-your-green-captain-we-are-going.html
Good to see NZ and Malaysia maintaining close business relations. Friendly military relations too, good for both lands.
Big deals in Malaysians during the Astrom Energy acquisitions by General Electric. Enough money to pay for those two planes to crash. GE ‘n’ friends controlling tech.
Our military and police also enjoy training and special relationships with Indonesia … part of our natural partnership no doubt …. are they TPPA buddies like Malaysia is ???
.
…. ” New Zealand has a formal agreement with Indonesian police that allows better cooperation between our police forces in combating transnational crime.”
Oppenheimer : The women workers desperately needed a union. This Belgian multinational spray of herbicide was dissolving their livers and killing them in their 40s, but they were afraid to organize a union that they so desperately needed because their parents and grandparents had been in a strong plantation workers union and had been killed for it, so they were accused of being communist sympathizers.”
NZ Govt === “Indonesia is one of the most populous countries in the world and has gone through rapid economic growth since democracy was restored in 1998. There are many opportunities for New Zealand exporters in Indonesia that are supported by AANZFTA – our free trade agreement with the ASEAN countries. ”
Oppenheimer “Could you go and find out if my mother was killed? She disappeared 40 years ago, but we never knew what happened.” I would go on these terrible missions on behalf of the survivors, and find out that not only could I get information on how people died, but I could find out in general how the killings had happened, which is something no one had known about before. The perpetrators were boastful. I didn’t have to lure them to open up. I simply asked these men, “What did you do for a living?” In minutes, they would open up and boast about what they had done. It dawned on me that I had walked into Germany 40 years after the Holocaust, and found the Nazis still in power. I realized this was a horrible, but not extraordinary situation, in the sense that everything we buy is made in places like this.”
GE …. Fukushima
Westinghouse …. Bataan Nuclear Power Plant … which sits atop a geological fault-line https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataan_Nuclear_Power_Plant
https://aecnewstoday.com/2016/resurrecting-another-marcos-era-ghost-a-bad-idea-bataan-nuclear-power-plant/
Interesting (frightening) to see the hard-line leaders getting back in, and looking as if they want to go Back to the Future. Philippines looking back to Marcos and dodgy nuclear. Brazil has an ardent follower of the past dictatorship standing for election. Trump in America. British Conservatives willing to go ahead with Brexit and munt the country, dividing it from Europe which it had joined in the uneasy but working relationship which is a prevention of WW2 rerun. They are withdrawing towards Dickensian conditions. Hungary and another European country hard-line, getting towards fascism.
As times get tougher the people in many countries who think no harder than those who voted in Trump (or Clinton perhaps, neither of them being what was required – in a country with a huge population!).
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/05/brazil_bring_back_the_generals_or_something_like_that.html
Brazil: Bring back the generals, or something like that
By Silvio Canto, Jr.
Not long ago, Brazil was run by a military junta. Then came a democracy, the expansion of the central government, crony capitalism, and corruption. All of a sudden, one of the largest-GDP nations in the world looks as dysfunctional as any other.
So what do you do when elected leaders can’t keep the streets safe or give you economic growth?
Some Brazilians are yearning for law and order or “el hombre fuerte,” which is a syndrome all over the pages of Latin American history.
Thanks for the comments greywarshark, SaveNZ, corodale …. there was a surge of criminality in the 1980’s …. coincidentally around the time john key was setting up multiple Deutsche vehicles in NZ…. https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/individual/search?q=john+key&advancedPanel=false&mode=advanced
“Without understanding offshore, we will never understand the history of the modern world.
Poverty in Africa? Offshore is at the heart of the matter. Industrial-scale corruption and the wholesale subversion of governments by criminalised interests, across the developing world? Offshore is central to the story, every time. The systematic looting of the former Soviet Union and the merging of the nuclear-armed country’s intelligence apparatus with organized crime, is a story that unfolds substantially in London and its offshore satellites. Saddam Hussein used tax havens to buttress his power, as does North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il today. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s strange hold over Italian politics is very much an offshore tale. The Elf Affair, Europe’s biggest ever corruption scandal, had secrecy jurisdictions at its core. Arms smuggling to terrorist organisations? The growth of mafia empires? Offshore. You can only fit about $1 million into a briefcase: without offshore, the illegal drugs trade would be a fraction of its size.”
When watching this doco on the bankrupting and exploitation of Argentina …. it was revealed their rich kleptocracy / oligarchs had $400 Billion stashed offshore ….
I’m sure NZ will be helping the rich crooks of Argentina keep their country poor.
John key worked hard on nationals laundry legacy … Judith Collins and others are it’s present day staunch defenders …. she should be finished in Politics …. if we had a decent or balanced media.
Hi reason, good post. I haven’t had a chance to read in depth as yet but have bookmarked this for this evening.
Re trade etc with Malaysia and Indonesia, Indonesia is not part of the CP-TPP but NZ has considerable trade arrangements with them through other agreements in place and others under negotiation currently.
MFAT have a very good website on all of this worth checking – regardless of whether or not you agree with CPTPP, etc as it is full of information. (And no . I don’t work for them etc. LOL. Just have some interest/past background in this area.)
There are two parts of particular use re trade etc. One is the actual Trade section; and the other is the Countries and Regions section which gives a wider overview of NZ’s relationships with each country.
Some links:
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/our-work-with-apec/
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/nz-inc-strategies/
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/south-east-asia/malaysia/
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/south-east-asia/indonesia/
A recent addition to the Trade section is the following detailed link as a result of the recent Trade for All initiative announced by the Govt to provide greater input from the public etc into our trade policy etc
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/nz-trade-policy/how-do-we-consult-on-free-trade-agreements/
Cheers
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/106570255/All-Blacks-coach-Steve-Hansen-lauds-his-special-team-to-Jacinda-Ardern
Typical politician, always trying to get some reflected glory 🙂
Jacinda and The All Blacks.
Both at the top of their game – with the opposition left grasping in their dust.
I can’t remember who said it but it someone once said something along the lines of once someone is elected its a countdown to when they’re defeated
Unless they go out on top like Sir John Key did, Jacinda has followed a lot of what Sir John did, will she also go out on her own terms as well?
John Key bailed because he knew the election was lost and he wasn’t sure that Labour would give him a feudal-era title.
He had foresight whereas Helen Clark tried to hold on for one election, got dumped and then flew the coop
Better to go out on your own terms than someone elses
That’s not really the attitude one should have in a democracy. Public office isn’t private enterprise, it’s a public service.
Hang around until the public no longer want your service.
Bit of a stretch
He was going against Little
Up until the end of last year and Ardern rocking up Labour thought they would lose the election
Well, it was doubtful, but the real worry peaked when Little left.
Key knew that the nats were on an all or nothing deal, and “all” couldn’t be relied on. And he really wanted to be called a “sir” – an insecurity common in the shallower tories.
McFlock you’re a wee bit off the mark, you might want to ask Wiri…
I’ll start by asking “who’s Wiri?”
Wiri in NZ tory politics. How many are there, and why would I say it in connection with key?
Fuck if I know. The name doesn’t ring any immediate bells, I’ve given up wondering why some people say any damned thing whatsoever, and I’m primarily trying to fix SQL code at the moment.
You’re welcome to make an explicit statement.
No I’m not. Hink – look at my response to marty mars just below.
Dude, I’m in Dunedin. What the fuck would I know about Ngāti Porou gossip?
Maybe, if you can’t be explicit, then keep it to yourself. Life would be easier for everyone else.
If your in Dunedin, ask Bill when you see him next.
🙄
To clarify – when I next bump into bill in the supermarket, I should ask him about a rumour about why key ditched the job? It’s not something I’ll lose sleep over, thanks.
invite him round for dinner 🙂
very few people are game enough to come to my place for dinner. I live in filth. But… some people like that.
100% Mc Flock, ++++++
Key quit because he new the nats needed nzf to get in and he knew that wasn’t going to happen as Winstons hates him for 9 years of dirty politics against him from team key .
Key left to make money. End. Of. Story. He’s the least team player there is. It’s all about John.
I agree marty mars, key is all about key, and he’s cupidity is out of hand. That said, do you have any Ngāti Porou whanau marty mars? If so, you might want to ask them about why John left.
I don’t care about any details. He’s gone – that’s all I care about thanks.
Yes Marty mars, 100%
John Key = “Good riddance to bad rubbish”.
You don’t unner stand the old boys club or the right wing way do you .
” John old boy we think you need to step aside , what and how many directorships would you like to slide into as our way of saying thanks . ‘
yes he left to make money which is what you said too in agreement with me isn’t it?
There are those who are respectful and humble, and then there’s Key.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/features/26-10-2015/picture-special-when-john-key-met-the-all-blacks/
Putting all that aside the three way handshake happened when Richard went to shake Johns hand and that other knob gobbler stuck his hand out and got in the way
and that other knob gobbler
Who are you inferring is a knob gobbler? Sir John or Richie?
Whoever that other guy was, some neville no one
Neville Chamberlain – that’s what they used to call John Key over on Kiwiblog; Neville Chamberlain…was that him?
Chamberpot maybe…
Sorry – but you used the word “other” in your comment
“and that other knob gobbler” –
doesn’t that imply more than one?
So who is the other one?
Poor writing on my part, there was only one attention seeking glory hound in that particular threesome and it wasn’t Sir John or Sir Richard
Having re-read what i posted can everyone please substitute attention seeking glory hound for knob gobbler
Theres nothing negative about knob gobbling and it shouldn’t be used as an insult
Cheers
The dude who just handed McCaw the rugby world cup, you mean?
It was actually McCaw who screwed the pooch on that one: basic protocol is that if someone gives you an award, especially in manlyman activities, you take the item in your left hand and shake hands with the person who gave it to you with the right.
You don’t take the award and immediately go to shake someone else’s hand. Can’t blame the other guy – Key was behind him.
While I agree, in principle, with what you say, he’s Richard and therefore above reproach
Yes but if there’s some numpty in your direct line of sight who’s trying to talk to you as someone else is presenting you with the trophy then you’re likely to be distracted. After successfully distracting, if said numpty thrusts his hand out like he is the one who has just presented the trophy…
I think the difference between key and a real statesman is in how he decided on the threeway after a bit of flapping.
https://youtu.be/BCNJGGLg_78
“Typical politician, always trying to get some reflected glory”
I used to cringe when Key did it and it’s just as sickening when Jacinda does it.
Attempting to extend ones popularity by being seen associating with high profile athletes and entertainers reeks of desperation.
“sickening”?
Those All Blacks, reflecting in Jacinda’s glory; I don’t find that sickening; it’s quite understandable really.
No surprises a cheerleader such as yourself would see it that way, Robert.
No, cheerleading from the Greens towards the AB’s though. Waiting for your effusive praise lol.
Indeed, maui. And for that, they have it (my praise). So there you go.
But they still aren’t doing enough to help the poor, while dumping additional costs upon them.
What are these costs? Are you still banging on about the cost of dumping rubbish?
Any other examples of the Greens waging war on the poor?
“Are you still banging on about the cost of dumping rubbish? “
Dead right I am. It will be inflationary, thus hurt the poor the hardest.
Most businesses generate waste and as usual, additional costs incurred tend to be passed on.
As I’ve previously explained (several days ago) we are about to embark on a major transition, which the Greens will be largely leading (as Shaw is climate minister). And as such, are championing new environmental related charges. Such as significantly increasing tip fees and the proposed feebate scheme to incentivise the uptake of low emissions vehicles, which the cost of both will hit the poor the hardest.
These are merely two of a suite of changes that collectively will be as big as the reforms of the 80’s and 90’s that created a lot of pain and hardship, which we’ve yet to overcome. And like the reforms of the 80’s and 90’s, there is going to be a cost transitioning to a greener economy. Without protection, the poor will disproportionately carry the burden.
NZIER modelling on behalf of the Ministry for the Environment shows the impact of domestic climate action would be felt more strongly (more than twice as affected, on a relative basis, than those households with an average income) by lower income households.
The dilemma the Greens now face is they’ve made environmental wins but failed to get through their policies (such as tax and welfare) that would have protected the poor from the full cost of these environmental wins. Fueling the divide within the party.
So while the leadership are gleefully trumpeting their environmental wins it seems they are oblivious to salt they themselves are pouring onto the wound.
The Greens are more than just an environmental party. Therefore, instead of trumpeting their wins (further pouring salt onto the wound of those that feel the poor have been overlooked) I’d rather hear how they plan to restore the balance in what they stand for.
Perhaps Shaw can find a way to provide protection via his climate budget? Especially seeing as many of the additional costs the poor are about to face are going to be environmentally related and delivered by the Greens.
At least it was done in better taste.
She wasn’t sitting there in the changing room, legs spread, necking a Heini and telling Keiran about when she did the accounts for the First XV when at high school, like Key did.
Agreed, Kevin and I didn’t know, till then, that Key was a dwarf !!!
Felt a bit of compassion, I have to say…
It doesn’t matter that Key was shorter than most of those footballers. Many great men, as well as lesser ones like Key, have been short in stature. The problem with Key was that he was a moral pygmy.
Compounded by his being an intellectual pigmy, but with an ego the size of bus and glands that secreted enough slime for his entire enterage of worshippers to slip along for the ride.
Is anyone going to comment on the important issue that The Chairman being anti-left so always ready to shaft the government has managed to fit into this long winded discussion about another slippery politician. I wish when I put up an idea that people would read it and made a comment on how it would be viable for our problems or not. Trouble is they tend to be long and go into explanations so are trying on those with 20 second attention spans.
So The Chairman poses at 3.3…..:
But they still aren’t doing enough to help the poor, while dumping additional costs upon them.
I think he means Labour. Or perhaps Greens. Never let a chance go by to bite their tales eh terrible terrier.
Although I was having a snipe at the Greens for not doing enough for the poor while dumping additional costs upon them, how does standing up for the poor make me anti-left?
And why did you have a snipe at me and not the Greens for dumping additional costs upon the poor?
The left I belong to stand up for the poor, what kind of lefty are you?
I’d also be interested in hearing your thoughts on this (link below) grey.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27-08-2018/#comment-1518530
Shame, she could have added it to her CV 🙂
Its actually what the headline suggests TC
“All Blacks coach Steve Hansen lauds his ‘special’ team to Jacinda Ardern ”
“”When you think about the All Blacks and the brand it’s important we represent New Zealand really well, she leads our country, we respect her immensely, and it’s important she gets to know the people representing the country in the black shirt.”
Although politicians politicizing sport is shit behavior from either side, imo …..I doubt she’d be telling the players how to stick their money in creative vehicles …. so they can skip out on paying tax in NZ …
I suspect Key probably did that… especially when he got pissed. and wanted to show off.
“I suspect Key probably did that… especially when he got pissed. and wanted to show off.”
Well being a close and personal friend of Sir John I can confirm he didn’t, so there 🙂
… ” Well being a close and personal friend of Sir John I can confirm he didn’t, so there ”
Drunk on Tui’s ….Pucksucker ?
You just posted a Tui movement …. not a moment 😉
Steinlagers the official drink … try that … see if it makes you more truthful :0
Not while I’m work 🙂
“Not while I’m work” ….
that never stopped key 🙂
Shame the All Black’s success isn’t reflected in our national success. And having a PM in the changing room won’t improve our standing. Although, it did give the All Black’s coach an opportunity to hit the Government up for money.
The All Blacks success is based on a game stuff all countries take seriously …. ie they have thin or pathetic domestic competitions … we have have a rugby union players factory
And if the Aussies had one code of football to concentrate on …. ie if their best players were not playing league and Aussie rules …. their team would have a similar win loss record against us as their cricket team.
Rugby union is a failed international sport…..that is the context for the greatness of the all-blacks.
The All Blacks success is based on a game stuff all countries take seriously
More countries take rugby seriously than any other sport, except soccer.
…. ie they have thin or pathetic domestic competitions…
You obviously haven’t watched English, Welsh or French domestic rugby.
… we have have a rugby union players factory
So does France. So does England.
And if the Aussies had one code of football to concentrate on …. ie if their best players were not playing league and Aussie rules …. their team would have a similar win loss record against us as their cricket team.
Their “best” players? There is no one in either Aussie Rules or in Rugby League that is as good as Will Genia or David Pocock. There is no substance to this bizarre “theory” (if that’s the word for something to which so little thought has been applied) that there is a vast pool of untapped talent that would sweep away all opposition. In 2002 New Zealand finished ahead of the United States in the Basketball World Championship; all of America’s overwhelming talent didn’t mean it could put a decent team on the court.
Rugby union is a failed international sport
Au contraire, it is immensely popular. Only its sibling sport, soccer, is more popular and draws bigger crowds.
…..that is the context for the greatness of the all-blacks.
Sorry, but that’s nonsense. Of course there is much wrong with rugby, and it suffers from some of the most ridiculous over-hyping in sports or indeed any other endeavour—-especially that God-awful “World in Union” dirge. But your comments are unfair and horribly disrespectful, and show a very limited knowledge of the sport.
Rugby is a game of organized violence …. re-known for spinal injuries, knee reconstructions and concussions …. dwarfed by soccer in england, france and most other places .
It has a long history of association with apartheid … the national party … and New Zealand breweries ….
I’m well over it.
…. having played the game ….. I’ve found far more pleasure and satisfaction engaging in music and dancing….
I know which culture would be for better for NZ …. and it aint rugby culture.
Rugby is a game of organized violence …. re-known [sic] for spinal injuries, knee reconstructions and concussions ….
True. Very exaggerated, but true to a point. It’s also, of course, renowned for its speed, excitement, and beauty, and because it is often such a wonderful spectacle—which is why it is so popular.
dwarfed by soccer in england, france and most other places .
Now your lack of knowledge is really doing you, and us, a disservice. Rugby internationals in England consistently outdraw all other sports events. When the Millennium Stadium was being built in Cardiff, Wales had to relocate; the Welsh team played at Wembley at the same time England played at another London venue, Twickenham. Both stadia were simultaneously packed out. And in France, Rugby has always been known as the beautiful game, and it’s been immensely popular since the 1950s.
It has a long history of association with apartheid … the national party … and New Zealand breweries ….
All true, sadly. It also has a long history of association with working people, the Labour Party (as we saw on Saturday night) and many other vices besides alcohol.
I’m well over it.
Oh, so that explains the sourness. I’ve felt the same way about a few girls at odd times in my life. Passion can take many forms, including disillusionment and anger.
…. having played the game ….. I’ve found far more pleasure and satisfaction engaging in music and dancing….
Not sure about music, but surely you were able to appreciate the affinities that rugby football has with dancing?
I know which culture would be for better for NZ …. and it aint rugby culture.
If by getting rid of “rugby culture”, you mean getting rid of cheats like Richie McCaw, arrogant bastards like Steve Hansen and Grant Fox, and morons like those untermenschen who attacked John Hart’s horse at Addington in 1999, I agree with you. But what exactly do you mean by “rugby culture”?
What is rugby culture ??,..
It’s the elevation of a non-important game elevated into national significance … to the point idiots compare it to the achievements of our nation.
It overlaps with police culture and national party culture.
.. its male dominated and ran amuck on Hamilton streets, when the last apartheid team from south africa toured here … to help National / rob muldoon win another election. … ‘We won, you lost, eat that’- Cec Blazey
..if your a player its ‘smash em’ make them feel it and steamroll them into the mud ‘ .. after playing you support the club by drinking piss over their bar.
If your a non player but a fan ….its ‘come around lets get pissed and watch the game’.
Its also wet bus ticket treatment for all the bar assaults, drunk driving and domestic violence and general poor treatment of females that some rugby players get up to … because their special and we can’t hurt their rugby careers.
Dance culture is nothing like the underlying violence in rugby culture … perhaps because more females dance than males ?….. and you don’t try to smash em.
Music is creative ……….
Do you think rugby culture perhaps has something to do with NZ winning the world cup in domestic violence Morrissey ?…. or just a coincindence.
A google search of ‘the beautiful game’ brings up a page about soccor / football…. rugby does not make googles front page cut …silly french.
A google search of rugby tv ratings in austrailia brings up this from 2017 … “Rugby’s woes in Australia have been further emphasised by poor TV ratings for last weekend’s Bledisloe Cup test.
The All Blacks win over the Wallabies in Sydney was watched by just 371,000 metro free-to-air viewers across the Tasman.” …. ” It rated just ninth in free-to-air programmes, being beaten by three news bulletins, two AFL games, and episodes of Father Brown, Shetland and Gardening Australia.”
Finally test matches aside …. club rugby is dwarfed in england by soccor / football …. reflected in the payment salerys of players.
G’day, Moz. We had a discussion about the strength of rugger in France a couple of years ago. At the time, I provided attendance stats that showed that rugby crowds were, on average, smaller than those for second division football games.
This isn’t surprising because rugby is not followed nation wide. There are significant pockets of support in the south (both coasts and in the rural heartland) but the game has never taken off in the major urban areas.
Pre-war, rugby league dominated French egg chasing, but the right wing Vichy government banned the 13 man game in favour of the more elitist union. Hopefully, with the Catalan Dragons winning the Challenge Cup a few days ago, the balance may tip back toward the workers’ code.
Be fair reasy, Rules is for males who would otherwise play netball, they’re all knees and elbows.
Actually, Aussie Rules and Rugby are similar in many ways. Let’s not stereotype, Gabby!
All right, you can stereotype National Party politicians if you want….
As is netball, obviously.
As always, Gabby, …..
Oh you’re such an old sour puss PR……you’re forgiven though. I remember puking at the cringeworthy three hand scrum from Jonty ‘Regular Joker’ Key and indeed shitting malodorously when the great wanker donned ‘The Jersey’ for the cover of a rugby mag’. Which embarrassing ridiculousness wasn’t missed by Jerome Kaino and one or two others in the background…..taking the piss hard they were.
No wonder NZ is developing so many problems like housing, transport and health and problems with trafficking in the Hawkes Bay! Immigration can’t even afford to deport people. As for wanting up to 3 people to accompany deportations, that is crazy from the airlines and just a money making venture as well as more people are coming from further afar.
Maybe the NZ government having better arrival criteria like we used to, aka people having to prove they have the means to stay here and stopping people coming in, in the first place is the way to go.
From the emails.
“Should we locate [redacted target] as Shandy suggested we will have a whip around and run a couple of raffles,” investigator David Yandall joked in an email about the orders.”
“No one was to be deported unless they were named on a list created by Immigration management when the funding shortfall was discovered in January.
On the list were 22 inmates due to be released from prison, 48 alleged criminals and 14 individuals whose refugee claims had been rejected.
It would cost $564,883 to deport all of them.”
“The impact we have been having particularly in the Bay of Plenty with the unlawful Indian population will quickly revert once we reduce our activity.”
Instead of finding and deporting illegal migrants, compliance staff were told to focus on “voluntary departures” – where overstayers are asked to leave at their own expense – debt recovery, and serving deportation papers.
Immigration New Zealand budget blowout kept overstayers in NZ
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12111595
“No wonder NZ is developing so many problems like housing, transport and health and problems with trafficking in the Hawkes Bay! Immigration can’t even afford to deport people. As for wanting up to 3 people to accompany deportations, that is crazy from the airlines and just a money making venture as well as more people are coming from further afar.”
It’s a situation they brought on themselves @ SaveNZ.
Until quite recently, they were encouraging all and sundry to become immigration consultants/agents – even promoted on their own website.
Education agents could become immigration advisors, Labour Hire companies could become advisors. One-man-band Security companies could become agents.
Depending on the supposed ‘skill shortages’ on the current list, nothing to stop bloody hair-dressing/beauty firms to become agents who could advertise their wares offshore, all in the knowledge that there was fuck all oversight (from the likes of IAA and others).
Now (well actually for the now past several years), we see the results of shady PTEs; Filipino construction workers earning less than minimum wage; the cheapening of standards across the board.
It was all supposedly ‘best practice’ based on lessons that should have be learned by offshore jurisdictions, and in some cases were, but that were copied here anyway in the great ‘business of immigration’.
So once the entire fuckup has been allowed to fester for a decade, what’s the solution? Blame the victims of exploitation – most of whom only want to recoup the money they’ve been ripped, and deport – but try and get them to pay for it.
And who are these geniuses?
They’d be the ones that thought it OK to completely under-resource the likes of NZQA, and IAA, INZ and the Labour Inspectorate. (Close down offices and automate – for example.)
It’s a situation that NZ’s past policy has caused, and one that the geniuses now continues to try and shift the blame onto its victims.
No amount of inexperienced, short term contract staff, labour inspectors getting around in stab-proof vests, ministerial spin-meisters, demographic spreadsheets, targeting and unconscious bias et al is going to fix.
IT may improve when responsible ministers in the new coalition government begin to realise they’ve been led up the garden path
Wise advice.
NZ companies “too competitive”
New Zealand businesses are being urged to put competition aside and look to collaboration to help “weather the storm” of global economic disruption.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/university-of-auckland/news/article.cfm?c_id=1504296&objectid=12112982
It is good that academics are there to help state the obvous and show that there are different ways of getting to the goal.
But businesses that collaborate can form a cabal which is not regarded as good.
They can become a monopoly which is not regarded as good.l
That is why government doing a lot is not regarded as good.
Yet the new word in the business world is ‘disruption’ which quickly makes products redundant and that is regarded as good.
People have to constantly replace stuff that has become redundant and this is regarded as good.
This produces a lot of waste and businesses even regard that as good, because then a business can do the job of moving the waste, to a poor country for a free which helps that poor country in some way, so that is regarded as good.
We have hospitality entities needing staff who are trained in Queenstown and up north. They can’t get them because the training of young people to work in industry was to be done by the Industry Training Oorganisation or such – ITO.
And that was regarded as good. However it hasn’t worked has it..
Making a number of industries centred on houses which are a needed resource by all, and upping the demand through increased immigration was regarded as good.
The by-product of rocketing house prices because of lower supply than demand was for people, even with families, not being able to find somewhere to live.
But that was assisted with government filling the gap with accommodation subsidies which helped to inflate the whole housing market. Not at all good.
Now industries and services can’t give employment to workers who are trained, or want to be, because there is no affordable accommodation. Not good.
So industry has to follow its own new idea and bring disruption to this problem.
They provide buses for workers from nearby towns who have accommodation but no jobs nearby, and they can include accommodation for workers in their business plan. That’s good. Business thinking for itself, not expecting all aspects needed to fall from the sky. Cargo cult thinking.
If thoughtful, trained, experienced professionals and academics can keep feeding usefukl ideas with anecdotes and examples maybe something will trickle through to the concrete-conservatives in business and government. Also to business commentators with a brain not soaked with alcohol and/or promises of delightful holidays with the in-group ful of hubris about their own notoriety or position, many of whom just may be up for shares in new money-making concerns. Insider knowledge goes with the territory.
With any luck, more new ideas of how to manage business sustainably will enter NZs heads and may filter down to pollies and those political advisors who have a large investment in their continuing salaries in keeping the present disastrous system, plugged, repaired, covered up and generally growing like bindweed above and below ground. So hard to eradicate, and so smothering of needed land and crops resource.
100% ++++ SaveNZ.
Labour need to ‘wean themselves’ off the old tired National policies now, and think there own real origional policies.
So I’m trawling through youtube this weekend and I found some things that might appeal to posters on here.
This is pretty funny, its a conservative (conservative not alt-right, he’s pretty clear on that) youtuber confronting a keyboard warrior and it goes pretty much how you think it’ll go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTnb03ZHdkY
This next one is quite chilling, he talks with a journalist and posints out all the inaccuracies and the framing in her story and her response is telling and also makes you question what else the MSM get up to:
My own experience of news articles, where I have personal knowledge, is that “journalists” have only nodding acquaintance with fact.
Right wing ones, like most on TV, being the worst.
Well this journalist is very left wing but Steven goes through point by point the inaccuracies and her biases in her article and her response is quite telling
The keyboard warrior one is just plain funny
I’ll have to have a look at that later as i’m at work
They’re a podcast so it’s just for listening. But worth checking out.
Yes. Unfortunately, confirmation bias, lack of background research, sloppy logic, and taking opinions as facts, seems to be an acceptable part of “journalism” these days, on all sides.
The Wheels on the Bus (Wellington version, 2018)
The wheels of the bus go round and round
Round and round, round and round
The wheels of the bus go round and round
All day long.
The passengers on the bus go grumble, grumble, grumble
Grumble, grumble, grumble, grumble, grumble, grumble
The passengers on the bus go grumble, grumble, grumble
All day long.
The drivers of the bus go mutter, mutter, mutter,
Mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter
The drivers of the bus go mutter, mutter, mutter
All day long.
The owners of the bus go suck it up
Suck it up, suck it up
The owners of the bus go suck it up
All day long
The Regional Council goes don’t blame us
Don’t blame us, don’t blame us
The Regional Council goes don’t blame us
All day long
The voters on the bus go just you wait
Just you wait, just you wait
The voters on the bus go just you wait
All day long
BRAVO, superb! LOOOOOL
And what a pretty avatar too!
A bookshop that charges 5 euro to enter.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/livraria-lello-bookstore-photos-best-time-to-travel-to-portugal-2018-8
Putting my tourist retailer hat on I can see where they are comming from.
We’re not anywhere near that footcount, so the crowding isn’t an issue, but we’ve lost a bit of stock through selfies, so once that starts they get close personal service.
In a pre social media age we had a very eclectic shop in Arrowtown that would have been interesting in today’s world. Retail in tourist areas is now a free “experience” to be recorded for all. Unfortunately this doesn’t bring much return for the retailer. Good to see someone finding a solution.
This scum farmer should have his farm confiscated.
“A $34,000 fine handed down to a North Canterbury farmer… Scott Rutherford also faces additional costs of remediating land after he cleared about 70 hectares of the braided Waiau River, which despite being on his property title, was not permitted under the Resource Management Act. He did so despite knowing he did not have a resource consent in place.”
https://i.stuff.co.nz/the-press/106553853/fine-for-north-canterbury-farmer-who-cleared-70ha-of-braided-riverbed-for-commercial-gain
Those fines need to be increased. Prick was making a commercial decision.
Jail time.
Agreed, follow the rules or pay the price
He has 2 full years to remediate, with the works requiring to be complete in the middle of Winter !!
I imagine he will also have to apply for a Resource Consent for the works ?
To protect the council should not a caveat or some other notification be placed on the title, to ensure that the works are performed ?
His past actions display some contempt to me of what Jan Scott Rutherford thinks of the system, so we need to protect the council from non performance.
$34,000 is a piss-arse fine in the Resource Management Act scheme of things. Judge down Queenstown way on circuit ?
@Veutoviper re your off-topic question in the leaky Natz thread.
I did make it to the Kilbirnie bus meeting yesterday but only lasted about 20 minutes.I’m having problems with sensory overload right now and it was a bit much to handle, so can’t provide a full report sorry.
But it was good to see what I estimated to be over 200 people there (media says 300). I left just after Chris Laidlaw began speaking, and the jeering had pretty much begun as soon as it was obvious he was just repeating the same old talking points we’ve already heard ad nauseum and the token apology. Said extreme jeering & heckling seemed to be just a few individuals initially but it was pretty obvious even from what I was there for that most people aren’t prepared to hear out an organisation (GRWC) that continues to show nothing but contempt and definitely no desire to fix the situation. Personally, I’m not at all surprised that on the subject of Wellington buses even normally nice polite people have given up being nice and polite when it’s become painfully obvious that all our pre-change consultations were ignored outright and thousands of complaints since July 15th have been effectively ignored.
I was standing outside the hall for a while having a chat with a very interesting chap about the situation and we were both listening to the noise from inside getting louder and louder so I can only imagine what was going down in there. About the same time a group of about 20 people walked out, not seeming very impressed with the way things were going but I can only speculate.
I said in a previous comment about this that for once, politicians have managed to unite the entire citizenry. It will be very interesting to see whose names show up on the ballot papers next year…
Thanks so much, Kay. And no need for apologies. I would not have been able to cope with that either for the same reason (sensory overload). So good on you for at least getting there. Well done. I really could not face it, which is quite the opposite to a few years ago.
I am actually making slow ‘bit by bit’ progress on the issues of a group I am representing through working with a couple of Metlink contacts I have managed to contact, working with them on a cooperative rather than a combative basis so will continue with that.
I actually found it interesting that Paul Eagle now Rongotai MP rather than Southern Ward WCC Councillor organised the meeting rather than either the Regional Council councillors or the WCC councillors. Good on him. As you say it will be interesting to see whose names are on the local government ballot papers next year! LOL.
Kia kaha
It is possible that Regional Councils are getting too far back from the people in the large area they have governance over.
In the inner city the City Council has just introduced parking fares for weekends but i can’t see any map showing a circle route for the CBD. There used to be one that was really cheap and frequent but now there is only mention off a Hop on-off guided tour which takes away the low cost and convenience for no advantage at all to the independent visitor.
Google:
Home – Hop on Hop off | Guided Tours Wellington
https://hoponhopoff.co.nz/
A great guided tour and Wellington’s 11 best hop-off stops … Tours depart and finish from the city i-SITE Visitor Centre bus stop at 101 Wakefield St, starting at,, …
The Mayor I think was making much of the extra $30-40 per annum? for ratepayers as a result of stopping free parking in the city. What a clot, and surrounded by similar. Wellington needs to bring people into the city. It is always promoting itself; it doesn’t want its centre to diminish. The hotels offer low rates in the weekends when the pollies and staff are off home to encourage people to come in.
And this petty, small-minded geek is giving a small gift to ratepayers and businesses that used to pay a levy to cover parking. It will be a poisoned chalice. Any business that moaned about costs is one of the free-riders that won’t support their area. There are a lot of those in NZ, who won’t pay levies to ensure promotion and advertising for the locality and region, keeping them all in the public consciousness.
The neo lib scheme of retendering for services every few years seeking to save money (and using the old cliche’, ‘cut out the fat’) and accepting low tenders has led to the sacrifice of Wellington (and others) bus drivers conditions and wages. To make a profit, drivers’ wages and conditions must be sliced and diced.
Lefties will want to support Wellington bus drivers in their efforts to prevent being shafted by the Wellington Regional Authority with a petition against their miserly methods and lack of respect for bus drivers in their part of the bus service.
Thank You Driver
On a bus anywhere in the Wellington region, you hear it all the time – “thank you, driver” – as passengers get off at their stop. We say it because we appreciate our bus service – a good bus network and great drivers make a huge contribution to the life of our cities.
But, for something that is so important, we’re treating the people who drive us poorly.
Greater Wellington Regional Council has re-contracted many of the region’s routes to a new provider – Tranzit. Most drivers on these routes have lost their jobs, those who have got work with Tranzit are facing much worse terms and conditions. And Tranzit are refusing to negotiate with their union. Meanwhile Wellington’s bus service is in chaos because of this, and the regional council is pretending it’s not their problem.
Let’s hold the regional council to account and make them fix the damage they’ve done. Please sign and say thank you driver!
There is a very informative post on TS now about Wellington public transport and a faithful union member Chris Morley, who has just died of cancer.
https://thestandard.org.nz/remembering-chris-morley/
And the sign up for the petition is there.
I have just today watched the film Celia about Celia Lashlie who died early. These twosacrificial people working for a better way and smaintaining or improving sandards of life both die of cancer. I think this tells us a story that we need to acknowledge.. Honour them in death, support and stand with them in life.
Kay,
PS – did you see The Wheels of the Bus (wellington Version, 2018) above at 7?
Brilliant! ROFL.
VV, I did- the laugh was appreciated !!
Now the ‘concrete trucks’ are going on strike;
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1808/S00842/concrete-truck-drivers-strike-in-auckland.htm
Good!!!! – that means less trucks cramming our narrow single lane roads with danger.
The dirtiest of dirty politics. As practiced by the dirtiest lowlifes.
Tenants ‘ironically’ like letting fees – landlords
Property investors, the speculative scum, most responsible for unaffordable housing. Claim renters are like them, in that they also enjoy getting an advantage over others worse off than themselves.
These people should be ashamed to show their faces in public, that they do, astonishes me for their lack of self knowledge.
Max Keiser interviews Frankie Boyle (well worth watching!)
This is from 2013, but it’s still highly relevant, as well as entertaining. Some thoughtful comments about Scottish independence, tame comedians (the English equivalents of our own Jeremy Elwood, Mike King and Andrew Clay) and racist politicians….
FRANKIE BOYLE: Does Boris Johnson look like he’s capable of leading a country? He couldn’t lead anyone through a revolving door. He’s a bouncy castle with Alzheimer’s.
At about the 7:30 mark, Max Keiser says: “Now, you have a visitor in Scotland. Donald Trump has shown up….”
Good evening the Am Show There you go Duncan the price of food will rise because of Global Warming it is the poor that will suffer because of this phenomenon that is happening in Britain now .
I’m a grandparent so when my mokopuna need money I give it .It was different for the tamariki I let the wife handle that I made them all pay board when they started full time work this teaches them to pay bill’s .
We can not keep burning carbon if we want to leave te mokopuna’s a healthy Papatuanuku environment the way I see it we are guardians of Papatuanuku our main focus should be to leave the world in a better state for the Mokopunas its logical.
The word’s of Senator John McCain are very good words I thank him for his vision to have them told at this time ka pai .
The business in Aotearoa will be fine Aotearoa is one of the easy country’s in the world to set up a run a business and the government making a goal of becoming carbon neutral will help Exporters get a premium for there products by making OUR clean and green story true .
Paddy the Pike River mine out come will please the whano of the people who were lost in that tragedy good work Paddy.
Ka kite ano
Other country’s have to hold these people in Myanmar’s accountable for there action’s this a religious raciest extermination that is not acceptable in the year 2018 The power’s that Be need to step up and make a stand against this it can not be ignored OR it becomes the new norm of Papatuanuku Many thanks to the United Nations for voicing the disgust at the way these people are being treated link below Ka kite ano
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/27/myanmars-military-accused-of-genocide-by-damning-un-report
https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/27/technology/myanmar-army-facebook/index.html
In the last six month I have seen six move and music Star’s having problem’s with alcohol once one turn’s into a alcoholic it is a hard drug for some people to control the habit they are always grumpy till they have a drink I can see these people easy as it is better to educate mokopunas about the bad affects of alcohol so they will learn to be moderate drinkers and don’t leave drinks unattended don’t go drinking with people you don’t trust your drinks could get spiked you could end up in the—— Kia kaha ka kite ano link below
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12114816
Good evening Newshub Its been a long road for Bernie Monk to get to were he’s at now Paddy kia kaha .
Well I’m not getting into that debate of Chelse Manning visit .
I say that the cat ban in Omaui is a ka pai move look at all the beautiful bird’s there cat’s won’t go extinct but a lot of our bird’s are on that list.
It.s awsome that people are able to be placed in a safe house instead of sleeping on the street ka pai .
Ka kite ano P.S Jane Fonda is a good lefty socialist leader