More saber rattling by the official Kremlin mouthpiece, RT
RT, repeats and reinforces Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons if the Russian Federation faces military defeat on the battlefield.
Claiming that a Russian defeat in Ukraine is an existential threat to the Russian Federation, a defeat that that must be reversed with nuclear weapons, if all other options for achieving victory in Ukraine have fails.
In a contorted act of logical jujitsu, RT turns the responsibility for Russia using nuclear weapons onto the US.
…..So many of Russia’s so-called red lines being breached without consequence from the start of the Ukraine war have created an impression that Moscow is bluffing, so that when President Vladimir Putin recently issued another warning to Washington, saying that “it is not a bluff,” some people concluded that it was precisely that. Yet, as recent experience demonstrates, Putin’s words deserve to be taken more seriously.
I guess RT were referring to this Cuban missile crisis…
“The planners therefore faced a serious dilemma: they had in hand two somewhat different proposals from Khrushchev to end the threat of catastrophic war, and each would seem to any "rational man" to be a fair trade. How then to react?”
“One possibility would have been to breathe a sigh of relief that civilization could survive, to eagerly accept both offers and to announce that the US would adhere to international law and remove any threat to invade Cuba; and to carry forward the withdrawal of the obsolete missiles in Turkey and to carry forward the withdrawal of the obsolete missiles in Turkey, proceeding as planned to upgrade the nuclear threat against the Soviet Union to a far greater one, of course, only part of the global encirclement of Russia. But that was unthinkable.”
“…of course, the idea that the US should be restrained by international law was too ridiculous to merit consideration. As explained recently by the respected liberal commentator Matthew Yglesias, "one of the main functions of the international institutional order is precisely to legitimate the use of deadly military force by western powers"
But instead of decrying this state of international affairs, Whataboutists are all about using the example of the deadly military force exercised by the western powers, in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Guatemala etc. as an excuse for Russia and its allies to do the same. Even if it means supporting the use of nuclear weapons, even if it leads to genocide.
Putin’s war in Ukraine breaks the rules, but powerful states always do. Far from dying, a just global order remains to be built…
In announcing that Russia would intensify its eight of years aggression against Ukraine in the interests of “denazification” and protecting oppressed Russian speakers…..
…..the official position of the United States is that Russia is undermining a rule-based global order that supposedly has prevailed since the close of World War II.
….It is indisputable that, in practice, the rule-based global order evoked both by Russia’s critics and by Russians calling out the United States does not exist. Where was it in 2003? Where was it when NATO bombed Yugoslavia in 1999? When the United States bombed Libya in 1986? When the United States supported a coup in Honduras in 2009, or the coup in Iran in 1953? Where, for that matter, was it when Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, to muffled grumbling abroad? Russia has repeatedly targeted civilians in Syria while the rest of humanity yawns.
Whataboutists don't want a just global order, they want an unjust global order shared more equally between the rival imperialist powers, even if it takes world war to achieve it.
The defeat of Russian imperialism by the people of Ukraine and the people of Russia will be a victory for people everywhere and a defeat for imperialism everywhere.
Weapons of war, like all tools, need someone to wield them.
Weapons don't win wars, people do.
If people weren't fighting to free themselves from Russian imperialism, the Western imperialists would have no where to send their weapons.
With or without foreign military aid, the people of Algeria, the people of Vietnam, the people of Syria, the people of Ukraine will fight for their freedom regardless. Western supplied weapons have shortened the war in Ukraine that is all.
"The long arc of history bends towards justice"
Martin Luther King.
Western supplied weapons have shortened the long arc of history.
'Weapons don't win wars, people do'-tell that to the Nth American indians when they first encountered the Gatling gun…and to Maori when they first come across …muskets!
'Weapons don't win wars, people do'-tell that to the Nth American indians when they first encountered the Gatling gun…and to Maori when they first come across …muskets!
Blazer
You still need people willing to wield them, if they could get their hands on them, of course.
If the Maori and native Americans were happy with having their lands stolen and taken over, and didn't want to fight the invaders, it wouldn't matter how much weapons you gave them.
Because they couldn't get their hands on these weapons they were slaughtered and displaced by the invading British imperialists and colonialists
Now if the Maori and the Native Americans had been supplied with these weapons by a rival imperialist power opposed to the British Empire….
It would have been a different story.
Sort of dismantles your argument that Ukraine shouldn't be supplied weapons from the West.
Weapons are an important factor in war, but not the decisive factor; it is people, not things, that are decisive. The contest of strength is not only a contest of military and economic power, but also a contest of human power and morale. Military and economic power is necessarily wielded by people.
One of those rare UN speech that isn’t just hollow hyperbole and empty rhetoric….the Global South is once again showing the way forward for Leftists around the world.
Also check out the UN speech of Honduras’ new left-wing President Xiomara Castro. She denounced colonialism, “neoliberal injustice,” and corporate exploitation while calling for multipolarity….“Never again will we carry the stereotype of a banana republic.”
An unbelievably stupid reactionary economic policy…and in the face of a brutal winter that many millions of British citizens will probably never forget…it is hard to imagine any sane person enacting trickle down economics at this point, she has gone completely rouge.
Europe is looking more and more shaky as the weeks go by…Tuss (an actual nutter) a week or two ago, an actual Fascist just elected in Italy, disaster and suffering for everyone involved in the Ukraine…the extreme Right emboldened throughout Europe like it hasn’t been since the 1930’s…we are probably going to be watching one country after the next fall to the Right…things are starting to look extremely dangerous
The United Kingdom is really one long, sad tale of gross economic and political mismanagement by it's ruling class stretching back to the 1880s.
Britain being the first country to have a political revolution in the 17th century gave it the political institutions that were the basis that allowed it to be the first country to harness the industrial revolution and gain a great empire and huge wealth. It's failure to have a second political revolution of any sort post the Great War condemned it to a continuation of the muddling rule of an incompetent and increasingly ossified ruling class when radical political reforms was still possible.
Nowadays, the UK is rapidly decling into the status of an emerging market economy, and Kwasi Kwarteng has delivered the sort of budget you tend to get from emerging market economies – a looting of the public coffers in favour of an entrenched economic Latifundia built on rent taking and speculation buttressed by increasingly harsh and repressive policing and a sympathetic right wing popular media to maintain social order and justified by a fig leaf of naive, wishful-thinking, supply-side economics.
Some institutions decay faster or slower than others, so you've now got a situation where a completely decayed Conservative government of supply side fanatics is trying to do one thing, but as fast as they do it the less decayed Bank of England is doing the opposite. And all the while, the pound is crashing and British standards of living are going down the gurgler with it.
Oil product basket falls overall,due to demand destruction (volume decreases) as discretionary spend decreases.Diesel prices will remain high due to substitution for gas ( standby generators and oil fired power stations etc).
Freight rates fallen (container) and going back to pre pandemic levels ( us china 20k down to 3k) balanced by shipping slowing (speed reductions to reduce fuel cost).
Fert costs high,where imported,some building product decreases (extrusions etc) as demand reduction in Australia and asia.
China in big problems with debt issues (exposure to emerging markets) and debt to US banks,as US$ removes any doubt on Yuan being a reserve currency.
The big risks are with Super investments in growth products as opposed to value, here to attract investment interest rates need to be higher.
"As a result, the cost of everything – from oil to food to consumer goods to the technology we need to grow the economy – is going to skyrocket. Luckily, the prospect of a global slowdown is already pushing down the price of oil on world markets – but our fading currency will mean that none of the benefits will flow on through to Kiwi motorists. Finally, the rising price of imports will fuel inflation, thus posing a tricky decision for the Reserve Bank – should it keep on raising interest rates to curb inflation, or will the relentless hiking of the cost of investment succeed only in stopping economic growth in its tracks?"
This together with interest rates over 7% sounds like change of New Zealand government all by itself, and not much it can do about it.
The days of easy money are over,and will be for some time,as is spending into the unproductive sector as we need to rebalance the twin risks of a high current account deficit with a high rate of government debt.
Orr said productivity increases are needed,a better use of resources also.Information is poor with cpi being quarterly,fiscal updates sparse ,if large economies can impart the information monthly,so can NZ, this reduces shocks and can induce better redistribution.
NZ business also need to understand that cost plus pricing is costly for their business,and look to reduce debt rather then dividend or share buy backs etc.
On the other side of the coin,we are also coming into spring fully,with good growths and decreasing fresh food prices,the winter electricity maintenance is mostly over and there are no tight generation windows for 200 days.The busy manufacturing season for NZ with is primary focus sees more available electricity with solar,decreased residential use,and very large hydro storage at around 140% of historical vol.This will keep pricing low outside of high load windows.
Poisson-while the fall of the NZ$ versus the US dollar will push up some prices, most other countries currencies are also falling against the greenback, so this will not necessarily increase inflation significantly.
In any event, interest rates are not raised to protect currency values, they are raised to dampen inflation.
Interest rates and currency are entwined,Yesterday the flash crash in sterling was when markets in Asia opened,the only mechanism for reducing risk was currency depreciation,when the Uk debt markets opened,the flash crash was in the Gilts,and the pound appreciated.
here with the NZ$ we were closed so only currency valuations available as a risk relief valve,as interest rates increase on the secondary markets the kiwi should stabilise.
As stated earlier the NZ$ has appreciated with the NZ debt markets now open.and a .63% rise in currency with a 13b rise in the 2 yr bond and a 19b rise in the 10 yr bond.
As global demand drops, local storage capacity runs out and US allies respond to prodding from Washington and increase supply, India has stopped buying Russian oil. This REALLY turns the screws on Putin's war economy, as India had been one of the biggest customers for post-sanction Russian oil.
India is skipping this month because of freight costs.Its an entirely economic decision and does not mean it has ditched its neutrality.Meanwhile Sri Lanka ups its Russian imports, along with Myanmar, and of course China .I don't think skipping a few shipments is going to bring the Russian economy crashing to its knees.
And those Indian imports were also helping to keep other countries solvent
Indian sentiment began to turn away from Russia after the way they were basically stiffed by a chaotic extortion racket over the purchase of the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya – Russia simply became a country it wasn't worth trying to do business with. Indian loss of faith in Russia as a reliable supplier of high quality weapons is why they decided to buy the French Rafale fighter.
The biggest catalyst for change though was the confrontation with China a couple of years ago and the jolting realisation that the Indian armed forces had little to no chance of winning a war of any kind with China. Since then they've shaken up an army locked into a regimental tradition that still includes much of the protocols and pomp of the Raj and they've looked at the reduction of Russia to a Chinese vassal and decided that buying not very good weapons from a dysfunctional gangster state that is completely beholden to their most likely enemy isn't a good idea.
As far as the Indian ruling elites are concerned the west has got the best weapons and the shopping is much better too, so why not go with the west?
I sympathise with your disappointment.I remember though when Pete Hodgson was in charge of climate change issues , back in the early 2000s, he was quietly begging grass roots climate activists to kick up a ruckus, so as to give him traction within his own party who were dragging their heels .Its up to us to really make climate change response an electoral issue, shaming all parties to act
Disappointment is not the word. Disdain is closer.
Attitude towards those that are adversely affected by their proposals or policies. Failure to spark public interest or discussions. Supporting knee-jerk National Policy Statements on productive soils, but not strongly advocating for one on climate change – which will have immediate effect on all local government planning documents, sending emails celebrating divisive policies or implying credit for other's achievement, performative political posturing, throwing feminists out of the party…etc.
As I said, disappointment is not the word.
I will not be persuaded by any form of: "…better than the alternative".
As a small party, they have some leeway to take risks, and represent people – not chase elections. They don't.
I would like to know the carbon footprint of puberty blockers, sex re-assignment surgery, sexual assaults in unisex changing rooms including filming under the stalls revisions of sexual re-assignment surgeries gone wrong, health issues due to wrong sex hormones and the likes.
Like seriously how much is that worth in carbon credits?
And how can those that no longer can be defined make a difference when they no longer exist in law and language?
I honestly would just like to see this question answered by someone.
Anyone. Really.
But i don't think the purple clad genderbread fairy of the Green Party would approve of such a question. Nor would the person from the Green Party who thinks that the 'c' word is empowering. Or the persons in the G and L Party who think sex work is work, and surrogacy is a money making venture for poor persons with child bearing abilities and who pretend that both are empowering to persons who have nothing else to sell other then their bodily orifices for sexual use by customers or the use of their reproductive organs and the selling of the children they birth.
I will totally never vote for any parties that have no issues with these things and / or promote these things as progressive.
Nor would I be keen to vote for a party whose leader stood up at a memorial for those who lost their lives in the Chch atrocity and acuse NZders of racism (when the murderer happened to be an Australian). I mean WTF. Terrible judgement. If we are all so racist, how come so many turned out in support of the muslim community
Interesting points Sabine. Not to mention the carbon foot print on those massive prothetic breasts………
The Greens and Labour lost my vote over the gender ideology stuff. What that did is open my eyes to all the non delivery that is the Labour Govt.
The increase of the PMC and their salaries and the disdain they treat health professionals with are just further nails in the coffin.
Having watched submissions on the gender self id bill, I cannot bring myself to vote for a party that believe mad things such as sex is on a spectrum. And your transphobic if you don't want a male person in your change room
Sometimes we cast votes to be on record that we support a person or party. And i did that in 2016 were i voted for the green party in support of Metiria Turei.
In 2020 i voted for a third party as my questions of 'where too' when confronted wit the slogan of 'lets keep moving' was not answered.
And sometimes we cast votes to be on record that this is not happening in my name. And this will happen this time around.
This shit is not happening with my support. And anyone who votes for any party that does support that shit must then live with the fact that that too was something they supported with their voice/vote.
Never mind all the shit that has happened in Rotorua in the last three years. 11% local unemployment. LOL, and i am to vote for this? Lol. So it might be different for you in Dunedin, maybe you are actually having a sane person running, but some of us are not so lucky. It is shite, shite or shite, only dif the color of the shite.
I agree. Also voted in support of Metiria Turei, even while thinking to myself, it looks like the Green Party supported the policy behind the public statement, and then collectively all took several steps back, when the pushback was immediate and negative.
Leaving her isolated, undefended and ultimately, ejected.
Looking back, I should've taken more note of this incident. The integrity of the organisation was shown here. Good political strategy no doubt, but not appealing to me.
Yes, that was a watershed moment for the Green Party, but they dropped her faster then they would have dropped a hot potato. It was an interesting time, and in hindsight, an innocent time. I still thought that voting actually matters. The last few years have made it quite clear that no, voting matters very little, and just because it shines does not mean it ain't cat – gold. Buyer beware.
Humpty Dumpty would be a perfect candidate for any party.
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master – that's all."
The Māori Party are talking about how to live/adapt to the coming environmental changes coming.
They seem to be the only one with some sensible ideas on how to cope with the shit storm which is on our door step. We 'ant reversing the temperature any time soon, and the facts are we a locked into 2 degrees, possibly more.
I am not aware of what the Maori Party are saying on CC.
I am really unsure about them as I watched them interviewed and one of the things the said was that they would abolished prisons. This seems naive to me.
Ok, well I think I understand why the radicalisation away from the left is so pervasive. If you won't vote to stop a Nact government, then what is the point? Please don't tell me that Nact and L/G/Mp are the same.
Please tell us where anyone here said that N / A are the same?
And please tell me why you think that Legalize Aotearoa and Social Credit are not on the left.
If the L party looses, if the G party loses anymore support from the public, it is up to L and G to do some soulsearching (if they still have such a thing) and act accordingly. Personally i think neither party is able to do that, ego is all they have, and thus chances are they will eat humble pie at election night because they are so full of themselves that they can not read the room.
But the fear of it will be worse? I live in a town that is dead, full of homeless people with no where to go and no jobs to be had, 11% unemployment and mixed sex going to be everywhere. Worse? Define worse.
Please tell us where anyone here said that N / A are the same?
It's a common position on the left Sabine. I was pre-empting someone running that superficial argument.
And please tell me why you think that Legalize Aotearoa and Social Credit are not on the left.
No idea if LA is left or not. SC are. I didn't say they're not. I haven't made any comment about LA or SC.
I am however starting to wonder if someone can call themselves lw if they won't vote to stop a Nact government.
if the L party looses, if the G party loses anymore support from the public, it is up to L and G to do some soulsearching (if they still have such a thing) and act accordingly. Personally i think neither party is able to do that, ego is all they have, and thus chances are they will eat humble pie at election night because they are so full of themselves that they can not read the room.
Elections in NZ are won by the middle. Swing voters. This is how Labour got the majority in 2020. That is very unlikely to happen again. Polling is showing that the middle has shifted to Nat a bit (L/R blocs are neck and neck).
Labour are a centre left neoliberal party, and they act accordingly. They have to deal with the pragmatics of that swing vote.
The GP are largely dependent on liberal voters, those that swing between GP and Lab.
So please tell me what soul searching you want them to do, and what actions you think they can/should take. Details please, because that was the point of the opening tweet, to have a discussion about the various ways in which radical change could play out.
I'm asking this because it's easy to throw out a bunch of rhetoric about what L/G should do (we all do it), but I want to see deeper thinking of those ideas grounded in real politik and how parliament, government and elections function.
Sounds like you would rather have a NACT govt upholding self-ID than a L/G/Mp one.
Just for the record, i never voted to keep someone out of government. I vote to get someone into government.
That's nice. Meanwhile, outside of your principles, voting for SC or ALCP is a defacto vote for Nact. I don't make the rules, that's just how it works. If you're ok with Nact, then vote however you like. If you value things like beneficiaries, housing, climate, ecology, vote on the left for parties that will be in parliament.
Molly-the Greens are not in government and so have little power over the CC policies of this government.
If people vote Green at the next election such that a coalition something like Lab 34/Gr 10/MP 4 takes power then the Greens will be able to greatly influence CC policies.
It follows that you should continue to vote Green. (Unless your hatred of the Greens gender policies over-rides you climate concerns, which frankly would be silly)
"It follows that you should continue to vote Green. (Unless your hatred of the Greens gender policies over-rides you climate concerns, which frankly would be silly)"
The Green Party approach does not alleviate my climate concerns. It heightens them. They are ineffective, timid – often don't spook the horses – simplistic proposals that ignore impacts, and assume a lot. Their housing policies and inequality proposals are similar. Their policies extend the problem, they don’t resolve them. Even worse, they often give the impression that something is being done to solve, allowing focus to move on.
Oh, yes. Wanting coherent, effective proposals on what I consider important is "silly".
I will refrain from telling you what I believe your political priorities to be and who to vote for. Because, quite frankly, I'm not that arrogant.
Vote for parties that soothe your concerns and make you feel good if that is your priority.
If, for even a moment, you think that the Natz and Act will come up with better climate change policies and so deserve your vote – well, I've got a bridge for sale!
"The attempts to shame voters into casting votes for particular parties – by use of terms such as racist, bigot, silly can provoke resistance and have a negative effect on many. I try to avoid an emotive response to such shenanigans, and stick to process."
Tony, I don't know whether it's my personality, or the fact that over the years I have dealt with children I love, attempting this technique at various times, but my reaction to this approach is that it is juvenile, and has demonstrably failed in many elections in various countries in recent years.
If a party with clear policies on my priorities is available, it is likely that party is the one that will receive my party vote. Attempts to shame elicit a 'meh', if I can at all be bothered to respond. So, meh.
You get to make your own vote depending on your stated sole priority: ie. Natz and Act will NOT come up with better climate change policies, and regardless of what I think of your selection process, that is your right.
I was suggesting you are naive to reject a party because ALL their policies do not jell with your wishes/hopes.
To my way of thinking, a vote for a very minor party with no hope a getting into parliament is a wasted vote – though I do accept that is the nature of our representative system.
To me, that only leaves the 5 'big' parties and much as I think Labour has fallen far short of my expectations (and I suspect most on the left would agree), when I glance across at the Natz and Act, Labour and the Greens are my only viable alternatives. I have party voted Green for the last three elections, though I live in ChCh Central and vote Labour.
To miss use Margaret Thatcher’s (I think) phrase – there is no alternative! TINA.
Sometimes a wasted vote is good for the consience of the voter. Some of us have not voted for the current government ever, not once and not twice. So those of us can not make this current government fail. They never had 'our' vote.
Last, there are more parties then L/N/A/G and people can and should vote for them if they believe that they are representive of them and their ideas, and fwiw, if people don't vote for the small parties i.e. The Greens 🙂 or TPM 🙂 then they have no reason to exist and we could go back to a FPP system. And where is the fun in that. And would L win on its own again in 2023 without support from some of the 'vote wasting ' small parties?
Believe me, the last thing I would like to see is a sole Labour govt. We need the Green and Te Pati Maori in coalition with Labour to drag the party left!
Perhaps you might refrain from telling me what I meant. After all, I'm not responsible for how you react to what I say. I certainly can't help it if you feel defensive!
"Perhaps you might refrain from telling me what I meant. After all, I'm not responsible for how you react to what I say. I certainly can't help it if you feel defensive!"
Sure, Tony. I guess you come from the school of DoAsISay, not DoAsIDo.
Unless you have something persuasive to add about any of the parties policies… let's call this vote drive unsuccessful… and leave it there.
I'll do what I usually do. I'll bring to mind all the work and comments of political parties during the last term (and more) and then I'll visit their policy pages, as they near the election. By that time, those policies should be as good as they can get them. I'll ignore the polls, and vote for those whose policies align (with the proviso that policies are clear) and who are the most trustworthy.
The pool of options is getter smaller every election.
Agree also with Sabine’s comment above, to not support any parties whose policies cause active harm. And to the use of my vote to signal protest.
Currently my vote sits with Legalize Aotearoa. For all the good reasons that L and G ignore. Business creation. Tax income. Removing the plant from the crimes act into the agricultural act ( a bit like abortion was moved from crime to health), make use a health issue, free up Police time to go after bigger fish, take pressure of Justice, remove people from Home D or Prison if they are in it for growing/selling/using.
L/G/N/A can all do the same, in fact i am surprised that ACT is not running with legal/tolerated weed. I would have thought it would be part of the ueber liberal / libertarian crowd.
I can't actually see a more reasonable way of allocating a vote, to be honest.
The attempts to shame voters into casting votes for particular parties – by use of terms such as racist, bigot, silly can provoke resistance and have a negative effect on many. I try to avoid an emotive response to such shenanigans, and stick to process.
By the by, did I recall you mentioning that you were on Twitter?
Damn, I've only been active in the last few months. Surprisingly, not yet on the block. But apparently shadow banned or deboosted according to a couple of messages I've received.
Seems to be the only place to get information and have discussions about certain topics, so it took me a while to get over my social media aversion.
the tweet wasn't about who people vote for. It was about the idea that the Greens could usefully go full Turei. I'm interesting in your thoughts on that.
Turei herself went full Turei on poverty and inequality. She correctly said that the benefit cuts of the 90's were inhuman and as a solo parent she found a way of getting round them to secure some extra income. This triggered 'respectable' commentators into denunciation of her as a benefit cheat. So-called benefit cheats (aka extra-legal rational self-maximisers) are a fantastic wedge issue for the right. No issue could be better for turning parts of the working class and natural left voters against each other. So strategically, it was a bad issue to go full-Turei on.
Would going full Turei on climate change be any different? Probably not. Remember Izzy Cook from a few days ago and remember XR in the UK getting criticism for disrupting working class people from getting to work and earning a crust. They would be pilloried for hypocrisy – with Taxpayers Union goons going through their rubbish looking for -plastic packaging or evidence of excessive food miles, or whatever. If you are going to demand that the rich live a bit more like the poor, expect the full wrath of their economic, political and media power. Keeping the activists at arms length is more likely to be successful in the long run – even though the odds are low and declining.
"So strategically, it was a bad issue to go full-Turei on."
Depends what the strategy was. If the strategy was to purge all the older Green politicians whose focus was on environment and poverty, then the strategy was successful.
If the strategy was about poverty, then the decision to make Turei's public announcement, should have anticipated the obvious pushback and have had strategies and stories ready to counteract that push. They didn't. They instead murmured "How sad, how terrible…" and used her as a signal that they were not ALL benefit bludgers.
"Probably not. Remember Izzy Cook from a few days ago and remember XR in the UK getting criticism for disrupting working class people from getting to work and earning a crust. "
This is not about raising the issue. The SS4C incident was about non-preparation, and the XR targets are sometimes off the mark. Disruption (and possible harm) to random members of the public, is smug at best, alienating at worst. There are multiple targets of those in power, that are ignored.
Acknowledge those mistakes, learn from them and move on.
As co-leader James Shaw represents and speaks for the party. "firmed up 'their strategy' to back Labour in 2023…the Greens can improve Ms Ardern's government' That is a stated intent to be in coalition government with Labour.
"Can improve" is by no means the same as "will commit to joining coalition"
Shaw is on record from your own link about how his own members distrust being in government. Hes also on record acknowledging he hasn’t taken key activists with him. That is why the confirmation of ‘go into government’ is a long way from ‘can improve’.
"Some old-school activists want the Greens to rip up the deal and campaign in opposition" However..
"There's absolutely no appetite amongst our voters for change of government"
"There are (Greens) who are concerned at the compromises associated with being in government … and that you could, from a place of opposition, be more effective by shifting public opinion and putting pressure on the political system.
"I sit at the other end of the spectrum. And I think the majority of members do. As a political party, our job is to get into government and to make change that way."
Julie Anne Genter backs Shaw saying "If we were polling four per cent and climate change wasn't an issue people were concerned about, I would be like, 'This is not working, we need to walk away from the agreement'…"Things are looking pretty good. It's looking like the plan is working"
They need to state not just which of Labour or National they'd prefer, or just "confidence and supply" from the crossbenches.
They need to be all in. That would tell me they are prepared.
Prepared for what?
Every election the Greens reiterate that they won't form govt with National. It's a decision made at the membership level, not something the caucus can change (technically I think there is some way they could but it would be suicide). Afaik it would be something that went through and AGM.
So it's a given that the only government formation option is Labour.
As for the cross-benches, unless there is some unforseen turn of events, as I said above, I think it's highly unlikely that the Greens would go into an election doing anything other than affirming they want to be in government with Labour.
That's not a free ride for Labour mind, it's an intention that if the numbers are there this is the GP preference. They will want to be a part of the government with Ministers and shit, and that stuff gets worked out post-election.
Don't give me your bullshit about "free ride". The Greens have done nothing but free ride off Labour for years.
your regular reactionary antipathy towards the Greens aside, you were asking for commitment, and I was pointing out that the Greens aren't going to guarantee support for Labour. It will depend on numbers and what happens in the election. Just like with any other party.
But, for the third time: GP won't go with Nat, they will support a Lab govt, they're already committed to this. It's a long play from the Greens and it started before Labour were on board. It's not a guarantee, because the GP will have to see what's on the table. Just like any other party.
And, the Green Party (ie members) has a lot of say in what happens. Shaw can't decide how things go.
One of the strengths of the Greens used to be that they were not addicted to the sinecures of power, which let them maintain the coherence of their policies without compromise. I associate that stance more with Jeanette than with Metiria, for all that I approved of her initiative.
I stopped supporting the Greens as they abandoned environmental issues for social stances probably better left to Labour: migration & gender activism that negatively impact ordinary New Zealanders.
The entitlement is strong in these thieving pricks.
The British royal family has given broadcasters in the UK a deadline of today to pick just one hour of footage they would like to keep for future use from the Queen’s funeral and the King’s proclamation ceremony, despite the fact that millions of people already saw it all livestreamed on several platforms, according to a new report from the Guardian.
[…]
Where does that leave online coverage, something you’d assume could live on the web forever? The royal family already had at least five short clips from the Queen’s memorial and funeral services at Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle purged from UK media websites, according to the Guardian, though longer streams still survive for those who know where to look.
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No, the royal family would like to make sure you don’t see things like King Charles III impatiently making one of his servants take away a pen holder at the desk where he proclaimed himself king. In the video, which went viral on social media, Charles looks like an entitled prick, which is precisely the kind of video the royal family doesn’t want circulating after losing the queen—a woman often compared to a neighborly grandmother and a much softer image for a group of people who are hoarding immense stolen wealth.
So this happened in Italy, whilst Poland has already gone their, Spain looks next, then probably Sweden. So these guys are on our side? Then who the hell are we? As far right and post fascist as them?
It's a fascist love in, on one side this mob, on the other the Russians.
Really want to ignore South America and central Africa their Ad? Left wing governments all over the place, looks like even Brazil may go back to the hard left.
Seems like no one has posted this in the Open Mike for the last few days – a piece by Al Jazeera about the Corbyn-era anti-Semitism crisis in the UK's Labour party:
I have listened to/watched two and a half hours of this so far. It is crystal clear that Corbyn (who has fought racism all of his political life) was ousted by shady and ruthless pro-Israel people and groups, and that this has the blessing of Starmer.
If I was back living in the UK Starmer's Labour would never get my vote.
“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.”
Corbyn only ever had one chance – to catch everyone by surprise in 2017. Having got close in 2017, he was never going to get another opportunity. The vilification ramped up after that. If he'd won in 2017, it would have been riveting to see how far the establishment went to remove him and whether they would have disgraced themselves by botching it somehow. Though the metronomic precision of the Queen's funeral suggests that the execution would have been near-flawless.
"People should flood their gardens and create bogs in order to stop the effects of drought and reverse biodiversity loss, according to the head of Natural England.
Tony Juniper, who leads the government quango, said that concreted-over front gardens, and backyards which do not hold much water, could contribute to sewage spills into waterways as surface water runs off the hard or dry surfaces.
Japan’s government on Monday banned the export of materials that may be used for chemical weapons to 21 Russian organizations, including science laboratories. The measure was approved by the Cabinet following a decision by Group of Seven foreign ministers last week.
I expect our Police to act within the law – rather than illegally gaining access to surveillance cameras in an attempt to track people by reporting a non-existent crime.
Police have confirmed that by inventing a crime and falsely listing the vehicles as "stolen" it allowed access to the powerful tracking capabilities of the privately owned systems.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said the situation concerns him, saying he expects police to act inside the law at all times.
I'm 100% with Roberson on this one.
While I recognized the desire of the police, at the time, to track people they believed were breaching the quarantine regulations – there are legal avenues for them to follow to achieve this goal.
Its a bad look alright but to be fair to the police, it was the beginning of the pandemic which was a time of uncertainty and fear because nobody knew at that point what the outcome was going to be. The police were on the front line and it must have been a stressful time. That’s when mistakes are made.
My guess is, they believed the situation warranted an immediate response regardless of other considerations because of that uncertainty.
As it turned out the whole emotively charged drama was unnecessary because the young women had been given permission to enter Northland – albeit as it turned out erroneously. I have some compassion for the person who made the mistake in the first place. They must have felt terrible and probably hid under a rock for a few weeks. 😯
It's a bridge too far for me, Anne.
If the police can choose not to abide by the law, then how can we condemn the criminals for doing the same thing?
They had legal alternatives – to achieve the same goal (tracking the people they believed at the time were illegal quarantine evaders) – and chose not to use them.
We can be kind, and put that down to the stress of the pandemic. But when the first reaction is to break the law, rather than find a way to achieve your goals within the law, you have to wonder at the culture.
Costco is really not a premium venue. It is a discounter, offering (hopefully) cheaper alternatives. To the extent that it weakens the supermarket duopoly, that may be a good thing – but Costcos success is emblematic of the failure of neoliberalism to be the rising tide that lifts all boats. Kiwis need discounters because of the gross and sustained failure of Rogergnomics. It has utterly failed.
Yes – the same way that so many people need the cheap imported stuff at The Warehouse because they no longer work in well-paying jobs in local manufacturing or the like, but instead in minimum wage hospitality and retail jobs in places like The Warehouse. i.e. we need what it provides only because it exists in the first place.
"Research shows that club store prices can be 22.5% lower than traditional supermarkets.
Already, Costco’s store-adjacent petrol station in Auckland, which opened in April, has had a significant impact on fuel prices in the neighbouring community.
As the world’s third largest retailer, Costco has significant buying power to support its everyday low pricing strategy.
Costco buys in bulk, allowing the store to achieve economies of scale creating savings which can then be passed on to members. The company limits the mark-up on merchandise to between 14 and 15% above costs. "
You also have to be afford to buy (and be able to store and use within the product lifespan) quite large batches of goods.
It might make financial sense for large families and/or people clubbing together to group purchase (as some currently do for Gilmores, etc.).
It's also possible that small retail (dairies, etc.) might be able to shop there, rather than at supermarkets (I know that there's discussion about wholesale access for retail shops – but I remain deeply cynical that it will ever eventuate).
I find our local 'Reduced to Clear' good – nice round trip walk of ~90 minutes earlier today. Not a substitute for supermarket shopping, but an inexpensive supplement.
I shop at one as well – though not within walking distance – about 20 minutes drive away. I bundle a trip there every month or so, with other necessary road trips in that direction.
It's a bit like op-shopping – you never know what is going to turn up on sale.
I think having Costco here is a good thing for many reasons.
If we're to let corporations take over we could do a lot worse, like Amazon.
"Costco is often cited as one of the world’s most ethical companies. It has been called a “testimony to ethical capitalism” in large part due to its company practices and treatment of employees."
"Our research highlights many ethical issues for Amazon, including climate change, environmental reporting, habitats & resources, pollutions and toxics, arms & military supply, human rights, worker's rights, supply chain management, irresponsible marketing, animal rights, animal testing, factory farming, use of controverial technologies, political activies, and anti-social finance."
Yeah I get that. Some people love being first in though. And the promise of reduced prices in these trying times, pretty attractive…
Or (Satire) a damning indictment of DOC's park upkeep, that people would rather go camping in shop doorways.
Costco already sells NZ goods in their stores offshore, and now they're here, will be checking out what else we've got. That's good for our producers and manufacturers. Meanwhile providing good jobs with good prospects and good money.
Whereas Amazon is good for NZ like a boa constrictor is good for rodents.
The Fast-Track Approvals Bill enables cabinet ministers to circumvent key environmental planning and protection processes for infrastructure projects. Its difficulties have been well canvassed. This column suggests a different way of thinking about the proposal. I am going to explore the Bill from the perspective of its proponents with their ...
New Zealand First Cabinet Minister Shane Jones has become the best advertisement against the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill. In selling the radical new resource consenting processes, in which ministers can green light any mine, dam, or other major development, Jones seems to be shooting the proposal in the foot. ...
Buzz from the Beehive Associate Education Minister David Seymour is urging the PostPrimary Teachers Association to put learning ahead of ideology. He wants the union leaders to call off their teachers meetings around the country where they hope to muster the strength to undo the government’s plans to establish several ...
What are police for? "Fighting crime" is the obvious answer. If there's a burglary, they should show up and investigate. Ditto if there's a murder or sexual assault. Speeding or drunk or dangerous driving is a crime, so obviously they should respond to that. And obviously, they should respond to ...
Michael Reddell writes – I got curious yesterday about how the Australia/New Zealand real exchange rate had changed over the last decade, and so dug out the data on the changes in the two countries’ CPIs. Over the 10 years from March 2014 to March 2024, New Zealand’s ...
Graham Adams writes that 20 years after the land march, judges are quietly awarding a swathe of coastal rights to iwi. Early this month, an hour-long documentary was released by TVNZ to mark the 20th anniversary of the land-rights march to oppose Helen Clark’s Foreshore and Seabed Act. The account ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: Suspended Green MP Darleen Tana has passed an unpleasant milestone: she has now been absent for as many parliamentary sitting days as she has been present for this year. Tana is on full pay while she is suspended, and will benefit from a ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is no coincidence that two Labour should-have-been MPs are making the most noise about public sector cuts. As assistant general secretary of the Public Service Association, Fleur Fitzsimons has been at the forefront of revealing where the next round of state sector job ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a ...
This is one of the (extra) weekly columns on music or movies. Plenty of solid analyses of Possession exist online and most of them – inevitably – contain spoilers. This column is more in the way of a first-timer’s aid to getting your initial bearings. You don’t need to have ...
I am painting in oil, a portrait of a manWho has taken all the heart aches,And all the pain he can stand.I am using all the colors of blue,I have here on my stand.I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man.This has been an interesting week for me. ...
Helen Clark joins the Hoon as a special guest talking whether Aotearoa should join Aukus II, and her views on the fast track legislation and how Luxon and the new Government are performing. File Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts ...
With an election due in less than nine months, Britain’s embattled PM, Rishi Sunak, gave a useful speech earlier this week. He made a substantial case for his government, perhaps as compelling as is possible in the current environment. Quite an achievement. His overall theme was security, first pulling ...
Open access notablesPublicly expressed climate scepticism is greatest in regions with high CO2 emissions, Pearson et al., Climatic Change:We analysed a recently released corpus of climate-related tweets to examine the macro-level factors associated with public declarations of climate change scepticism. Analyses of over 2 million geo-located tweets in the U.S. showed that climate ...
You can be all negative about these charter schools if you want, but I’m here to accentuate the positive. You can get all worked up, if you want to, by the contradiction of Luxon saying We’re going to make sure that every school in the country is teaching exactly the same ...
Losing The Room: One can only speculate about what has persuaded the Coalition Government that it will pay no electoral price for unreasonably pushing ahead with policies that are so clearly against the national interest. They seem quite oblivious to the risk that by doing so they will convince an increasing ...
Name suppression decisions can be tough sometimes. No matter your views on free speech, you have to be hard-hearted not to be torn by the tug of the competing arguments. I think you can feel the Supreme Court wrestling with that in M v The King. The case for ...
The Merchants of Menace: The Coalition Government has convinced itself that the “Brahmins’” emollient functions have become much too irksome and expensive. Those who see themselves as the best hope of rebuilding New Zealand’s ailing capitalist system, appear to have convinced themselves that a little bit of blunt trauma is what their mollycoddled ...
When National first proposed its Muldoonist "fast-track" law, they were warned that it would inevitably lead to corruption. And that is exactly what has happened, with Resources Minister Shane Jones taking secret meetings with potential applicants:On Tuesday, in a Newsroom story, questions were raised about a dinner Jones ...
Buzz from the Beehive One day – hopefully – we will push that Russian rascal, Vladimir Putin, beyond breaking point. Perhaps it will happen today, when he learns that Foreign Minister Winston Peters is again tightening the thumbscrews. Peters announced further sanctions, this time on 28 individuals and 14 entities ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought New Zealand to the brink of economic and cultural chaos.TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition Government’s failure to retain, and build upon, the public ...
“Members of Parliament don’t work for us, they represent us, an entirely different thing. As with so much that has turned out badly, the re-organising of MPs’ responsibilities began with the Fourth Labour Government. That’s when they began to be treated like employees – public servants – whose diaries had ...
It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a third medical school in New Zealand, ...
Time To Choose: Like it or not, the Kiwis are either going into AUKUS’s “Pillar 2” – or they are going to China.HAD ZHENG HE’S FLEET sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks ...
Henry Ergas writes – When in Randall Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution, a college president is accused of being a hypocrite, the novel’s narrator retorts that the description is grossly unfair. After all, the man is still far from the stage of moral development at which the charge ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ reports: The Education Review Office says too many new teachers feel poorly prepared for their jobs. In a report published on Monday, the review office said 60 percent of the principals it interviewed said their new teachers were not ready. ...
New Zealand’s economic performance and the PM’s vision Michael Reddell writes – When I wrote yesterday morning’s post, highlighting how poorly both New Zealand and its Anglo peer countries have been doing in respect of productivity in recent times (ie, in the case of New ...
Hi all,Firstly - thank you! You guys are awesome. The response I’ve received to last night’s mail has been quite overwhelming. It’s a ghastly day outside, but there are no clouds in here.In case you didn’t read my email and are wondering what on earth I’m talking about you can ...
If there was still any doubt as to who is actually running this government – and it isn’t the buffoon from Botany – then this week’s announcement of a huge spend up on charter schools has settled the matter. While jobs and public services continue to be cut in the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gaye Taylor As widespread drought raises expectations for a repeat of last year’s ferocious wildfire season, response teams across Canada are grappling with the rapidly changing face of fire in a warming climate. No longer quenched by winter, nor quelled by the ...
Half of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd’s directors and its chair resigned en masse last night in protest at Christchurch City Council’s demand to front-load dividends File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The chair of Christchurch City Council’s investment company and four of its independent directors resigned in protest last ...
The University of Waikato has reworded an advertisement that begins the tender process for its new $300 million-plus medical school even though the Government still needs to approve it. However, even the reworded ad contains an architect’s visualisations of what the school might look like. ACT leader David Seymour told ...
As a follow-up to the Rings of Power trailer discussion, I thought I needed to add something. There has been some online mockery about the use of the same actor for both the Halbrand and Annatar incarnations of Sauron. The reasoning is that Halbrand with a shave and a new ...
This isn’t quite as dramatic as the title might suggest. I’m not going anywhere, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about.Let’s start with a typical day.Most days I send out a newsletter in the morning. If I’ve written a lot the previous evening it might be ...
Buzz from the Beehive The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the ...
Yesterday de facto Prime Minister David Seymour announced that his glove puppet government would be re-introducing charter schools, throwing $150 million at his pet quacks, donors and cronies and introducing an entire new government agency to oversee them (the existing Education Review Office, which actually knows how to review schools, ...
Seeing that, in order to discredit the figures and achieve moral superiority while attempting to deflect attention away from the military assault on Rafa, Israel supporters in NZ have seized on reports that casualty numbers in Gaza may be inflated … Continue reading → ...
David Farrar writes – Newstalk ZB report: The man responsible for a horror hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked police, “Did I kill someone?” Jason Tuitama injured two women when he ran a red ...
Muriel Newman writes – Former US President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.” The fight for ...
Why Courts should have said Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Karen Chhour Gary Judd writes – In the High Court, Justice Isacs declined to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal to compel Minister for Children, Karen Chhour, to appear before it to be ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the proposed legislation. Twenty-seven thousand submissions have been made to Parliament ...
An average of 166 New Zealand citizens left the country every day during the March quarter, up 54% from a year ago.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy and housing market is sinking into a longer recession through the winter after a slump in business and consumer confidence in ...
The government has made it abundantly clear they’re addicted to the smell of new asphalt. On Tuesday they introduced a new term to the country’s roading lexicon, the Roads of Regional Significance (RoRS), a little brother for the Roads of National (Party) Significance (RoNS). Driving ahead with Roads of Regional ...
School is outAnd I walk the empty hallwaysI walk aloneAlone as alwaysThere's so many lucky penniesLying on the floorBut where the hell are all the lucky peopleI can't see them any moreYesterday morning, I’d just sent out my newsletter on Tama Potaka, and I was struggling to make the coffee. ...
Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
“The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
Buzz from the Beehive It’s been a momentous few days for Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
In 2014 former Australian army lawyer David McBride leaked classified military documents about Australian war crimes to the ABC. Dubbed "The Afghan Files", the documents led to an explosive report on Australian war crimes, the disbanding of an entire SAS unit, and multiple ongoing prosecutions. The journalist who wrote the ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – According to the respected Pew Research Centre, “In seven of eight [European] countries surveyed, the most trusted news outlet asked about is the public news organization in each country”. For example, “in Sweden, an overwhelming majority (90%) say they trust the public broadcaster SVT”. ...
David Farrar writes – Kata MacNamara reports: Details of Tony Blakely’s involvement in the New Zealand Government’s response to the pandemic raise serious questions about the work of the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry over which he presides. It has long been clear that Blakely, a ...
Chris Trotter writes – Are you a Brahmin or a Merchant? Or, are you merely one of those whose lives are profoundly influenced by the decisions of Brahmins and Merchants? Those are the questions that are currently shaping the politics of New Zealand and the entire West. ...
RNZ reports – It’s supposed to be a haven of healing and spiritual awakening but residents of the Kawai Purapura community say they’ve been hurt and deceived. It’s the successor to the former Centrepoint commune, and has been on the bush block opposite Albany shopping centre since 2008. It ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. Usually we have a video chat to go with this wrap, but were unable to do one this week. We’ll be back next week.Several reports ...
The Transport Minister has set a hard 'fiscal envelope' of $6.54 billion for transport capital spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy is settling into a state of suspended animation as the Government’s funding freezes and job cuts chill confidence and combine with stubbornly high interest rates to ...
To be precise, the term “anti- Zionism” refers to (a) criticism of the political movement that created a modern Jewish state on the historical land of Israel, and to (b)the subjugation of Palestinians by the Israeli state. By contrast, the term “anti-Semitism” means bigotry and racism directed at Jewish people, ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Because hurricanes are one of the big-ticket weather disasters that humanity has to face, climate misinformers spend a lot of effort muddying the waters on whether climate change is making hurricanes more damaging. With the official start to the hurricane ...
Yesterday the Mayor released what he calls his “plan to save public transport” which is part of his final proposal for the Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP). This comes following consultation on the draft version that occurred in March which showed, once again, that people want more done on transport, especially ...
And it's a pleasure that I have knownAnd it's a treasure that I have gainedAotearoa’s coalition government is fragile. It’s held together by the obsequious sycophancy of Christopher Luxon, who willingly contorts his party into the fringe positions of his junior coalition partners and is unwilling to contradict them. The ...
The Select Committee hearing submissions on the fast-track consenting legislation is starting to become a beat-up of regional councils. The inflexibility and slow workings of the Councils were prominent in two submissions yesterday. One, from the Coromandel Marine Farmers Association, simply said that the Waikato Regional Council’s planning decisions were ...
Back in April, the High Court surprised everyone by ruling that Ministers are above the law, at least as far as the Waitangi Tribunal is concerned. The reason for this ruling was "comity" - the idea that the different branches of government shouldn't interfere with each other's functions. Which makes ...
Buzz from the BeehiveTolling was mentioned when Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the government was re-introducing the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme, with 15 “crucial” projects to support economic growth and regional development across New Zealand. All RoNS would be four-laned, grade-separated highways, and all funding, financing, and ...
or the past 14 years, ever since the Spanish government cheated on an autonomy deal, Catalonia has reliably given pro-independence parties a majority of seats in their regional parliament. But now that seems to be over. Catalans went to the polls yesterday, and stripped the Catalan parties of their majority. ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ report: Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said the Electoral Commission should make sure the system ran smoothly and “taking away the right of thousands of people to vote” was not the answer. “Thousands of people enroled and voted on the day. If ...
Don Brash writes – There was a rather revealing headline in the Herald on Sunday today (12 May). It read “One in 8 Auckland homes on market were bought during boom, may now sell for loss”. The first line of text noted that “New data shows one in ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – At a time when universities are understandably nervous regarding the establishment of the University Advisory Group (UAG) and the Science System Advisory Group (SSAG) it may seem strange – or even fool-hardy – to state that there are long-standing issues in the tertiary sector ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – A lack of perspective can make something quite large or important seem small or irrelevant. Against a backdrop of high-profile, negative statistics it is easy to overlook the positive. For instance, the fact that 64 percent of Maori are employed is rarely reported. For ...
Earlier this year, the Herald ran a series of articles amounting to a sustained campaign against raised pedestrian crossings, by reporter Bernard Orsman. A key part of that campaign concerned the raised crossings being installed as part of the Pt Chevalier to Westmere project, with at least 10 articles over ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 19 include:PM Christopher Luxon is expected to hold his weekly post-cabinet news conference at 4:00pm on Monday.Parliament is not sitting this week. It resumes next week for a two-week sitting session up to and ...
Hi,Thanks to all the beautiful Worms who came to the LA Webworm popup on Saturday.It was a way to celebrate the online store we launched last week — and it was super special.As I talk about a lot, I really value our community here — and it was a BLAST ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 5, 2024 thru Sat, May 11, 2024. (Unfortunate) Story of the week "Grief that stops at despair is an ending that I and many others, most notably ...
The Government’s introduction of legislation that would enable landlords to end tenancies with no reason marks a dark day for the 1.4 million people who rent their home in Aotearoa. ...
The Minister for Mental Health has found the Suicide Prevention Office and mental health support for 111 calls slipping through his fingers, says Labour spokesperson for Mental Health Ingrid Leary. ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
"On the 27th of March, I sought assurances from the Chief Executive, Department of Internal Affairs, that the Department’s correct processes and policies had been followed in regards to a passport application which received media attention,” says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden. “I raised my concerns after being ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges, to replace Judges who have recently retired. Peter James Davey of Auckland has been appointed a District Court Judge with a jury jurisdiction to be based at Whangarei. Mr Davey initially started work as a law clerk/solicitor with ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour is calling on the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put ideology to the side and focus on students’ learning, in reaction to the union holding paid teacher meetings across New Zealand about charter schools. “The PPTA is disrupting schools up and down the ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly today announced the appointment of Craig Stobo as the new chair of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Mr Stobo takes over from Mark Todd, whose term expired at the end of April. Mr Stobo’s appointment is for a five-year term. “The FMA plays ...
Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand will continue to be able to keep people safe in, on, and around the water following a funding boost of $63.644 million over four years, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “Heading to the beach for ...
New Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019. “It is my pleasure ...
New Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...
A year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here in the lead up to my Government’s first Budget. Before I get started can I acknowledge: Simon Bridges – Auckland Business Chamber CEO. Steve Jurkovich – Kiwibank CEO. Kids born ...
New Zealand and Vanuatu will enhance collaboration on issues of mutual interest, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “It is important to return to Port Vila this week with a broad, high-level political delegation which demonstrates our deep commitment to New Zealand’s relationship with Vanuatu,” Mr Peters says. “This ...
Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk will travel to Peru this week to represent New Zealand at a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region on behalf of Trade Minister Todd McClay. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting will be held on 17-18 May ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford will head to the United Kingdom this week to participate in the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the 2024 Education World Forum (EWF). “I am looking forward to sharing this Government’s education priorities, such as introducing a knowledge-rich curriculum, implementing an evidence-based ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford has today thanked outgoing New Zealand Qualifications Authority Chair, Hon Tracey Martin. “Tracey Martin tendered her resignation late last month in order to take up a new role,” Ms Stanford says. Ms Martin will relinquish the role of Chair on 10 May and current Deputy ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...
The coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...
A high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office. “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roger Benjamin, Professor in Art History, University of Sydney “She’s no oil painting”. Those were the unkind words of a colleague commenting on the subject of Vincent Namatjira’s acrylic painting, Gina. Every one of the prominent Australians and cultural heroes in Namatjira’s ...
Government plans to require local councils hold a referendum on whether to have Māori wards breaches the Treaty of Waitangi, a Waitangi Tribunal report has found. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney This year the National Rugby League (NRL) opened its season in Las Vegas. It was an audacious move by the league’s ambitious head honcho Peter V’Landys to showcase the game in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Strong, Associate Professor, Music Industry, RMIT University Leading music organisations have praised the federal budget for its investment in the live music sector. The budget includes A$8.6 million for a program called Revive Live: to provide essential support to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marnee Shay, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, The University of Queensland The 2024 federal budget contains A$110 million for Indigenous education. This includes funding for various different organisations to represent and help Indigenous people as well as scholarships in a bid to ...
Air New Zealand has confirmed Nouméa’s Tontouta International airport in New Caledonia is closed until Tuesday. The airline earlier told RNZ it would update customers as soon as it could. Earlier today, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters told RNZ Morning Report government officials had been working on an “hourly basis” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grant Linley, PhD Candidate in Ecology, Charles Sturt University Grant Linley Australia’s unprecedented Black Summer bushfires in 2019–20 created ideal conditions for misinformation to spread, from the insidious to the absurd. It was within this context that a bizarre story ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marcel Scharth, Lecturer in Business Analytics, University of Sydney OpenAI executive Mira Murati launching GPT-4o.OpenAI Earlier this week OpenAI launched GPT-4o (“o” for “omni”), a new version of the artificial intelligence (AI) system powering the popular ChatGPT chatbot. GPT-4o is promoted ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Treasure McGuire, Assistant Director of Pharmacy, Mater Health SEQ in conjoint appointment as Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Bond University and as Associate Professor (Clinical), The University of Queensland Speedkingz/Shutterstock Menopause is a natural biological process that marks the end of a ...
A new poem by Hannah Patterson. Xiāng There’s a pear tree in our backyard And Xiāng tells me She can’t eat them anymore Not after some things that have happened in her life. She tells me, in Mandarin The word for pear sounds the same as the word for disassociation ...
‘Cycling Works’ aims to show business support for citywide cycle infrastructure. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, supermarket giant Foodstuffs lost its attempt to block the construction of a cycle lane outside Thorndon New World in Wellington. The Spinoff’s Wellington editor ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Slow Productivity by Cal Newport (Penguin, $40)Taking out the top spot in Auckland this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University For decades, Australia has exported uranium – but not used it, other than in the Lucas Heights research reactor. But change is coming. We now face a rapidly deepening commitment to ...
"In future I should walk away," Green MP Julie Anne Genter says after complaints over an exchange in Parliament and from two members of the public. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Graffam, PhD Candidate in Theatre, Monash University Gianna Rizzo/Malthouse Music pumps; lights pulsate; two sweaty bodies sway together, touching, breathing in each other’s scent. A male body framed by downlight restlessly shifts between stances and gestures. He undresses. The intensity ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sandra van der Laan, Professor of Accounting, University of Sydney Mtaya/Shutterstock At some point, you or someone else will need to make a decision about your “send-off”. Most Australians die in an institution, such as a hospital or aged care facility. ...
Asia Pacific Report Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai — who is also Chairman of the Melanesian Spearhead Group — has reaffirmed MSG’s support of the pro-independence umbrella group Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) stance opposing the French government’s constitutional bill “unfreezing” the New Caledonia Electoral Roll. It is ...
Producer Susan Leonard remembers her father Ernie, a pioneer of Māori television, and how his legacy lives on in Pathfinders.My father was a fabulous man. His name was Ernie Leonard and he started in TV in the 1970s when it was still glamorous – when TVNZ made behind the ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk, and Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist The suspected ringleaders of the unrest in New Caledonia have been placed in home detention and the social network TikTok has been banned as French security forces struggle to restore law and order. The French ...
Multi-year appropriations - which give the government authority to spend money without reapplying annually - are loosening Parliament's control of the public purse, auditor-general says. ...
Dr. Eric Chuah who stood for a centrist NZ political party in the October 2023 NZ Elections for Maungakiekie Auckland will stand as a candidate for Tauranga City Council Ward of Matua-=Otumoetai and Mayor of Tauranga. ...
If you can’t get to the comedy fest, let us bring the comedy fest to you. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. The New Zealand International Comedy Festival is in full swing at the moment, with a veritable smorgasboard of comedy treats ...
A new poll commissioned by Unions Wellington shows an overwhelming majority of Wellingtonians oppose the Council’s plan to sell the 34% public stake in Wellington Airport. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aruna Sathanapally, Chief Executive, Grattan Institute, Grattan Institute A central focus of this week’s budget is the treasury’s forecast for inflation. By this time next year, inflation is projected to be back within the Reserve Bank’s 2-3% target range. Inflation has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yolanda van Heezik, Professor of Ecology, University of Otago Getty Images Cities across Aotearoa New Zealand are trying to solve a housing crisis, with increasing residential density a key solution. But not everyone is happy about the resulting loss of natural ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Reeve, Deputy Program Director, Energy and Climate Change, Grattan Institute WDG Photo/Shutterstock For years, the electricity sector has been the poster child for emissions cuts in Australia. The sector achieved a stunning 26% drop in emissions over the past 15 ...
It’s often the last thing people want to do, but asking someone if they’re having suicidal thoughts is a critical first step to helping them. Content warning: this story discusses suicide and suicidal ideation. For a list of resources that can help if you or someone you know is feeling ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy J. Ralph, Associate Professor, Macquarie University The pyramids at Giza, like dozens of others, are located several kilometres west of the current path of the Nile.Alex Cimbal / Shutterstock The largest field of pyramids in Egypt – consisting of 31 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute ABO PHOTOGRAPHY/Shutterstock Receiving a cancer diagnosis is life-changing and can cause a range of concerns about ongoing health. Fear of cancer returning is one ...
Winston Peters has been on tour around the Pacific while two unrelated crises unfolded, explains Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Two separate ...
This is the Mount Everest of artificial meatcraft.Ah, bacon. Pig’s gold. Toast’s consolation. Dawn’s savoury embrace. If meat was a currency, bacon would be the Benjamin Franklin. Or if you’re feeling patriotic, the Lord Rutherford. When it comes to fake bacon, the obvious question is: why bother? In the ...
From illegal milk to sprinkler bans and airplane ticket scams, Tyrone Barugh is on a one-man mission through New Zealand’s most obscure legal loopholes. I’m deep undercover, investigating Wellington’s criminal underworld. Inside this store, I’ve been told there is a million-dollar trade in illicit substances. A man dressed in black ...
It’s been a recess week at Parliament, which might indicate slim pickings for conversation topics for the Raw Politics team. But things are never dull in politics, especially with a new Government keen to follow through on its law and order promises, and a NZ First minister who wants to ...
Dear Hon Judith Collins, Minister of Defence, and Hon Christopher Penk, Associate Minister of Defence I have written to you, to attempt to give you an insight into the incredible hardship of being an NZDF family. Whilst I cannot speak on behalf of serving personnel, I can speak from my ...
Analysis: What a difference a year makes. In mid 2023, Wayne Brown the Auckland Mayor was a politician diminished by a calamitous response to the region’s Anniversary Weekend storm emergency and later forced against his preference into a half sale only of the city’s airport shares. His demeanour among his ...
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New Zealand’s drug legislation hasn’t been overhauled in nearly 50 years, in spite of a recommendation from the Law Commission in 2011 to do so. Our Misuse of Drugs Act was passed in 1975 and is based on a United Nations framework set in 1961. Now a new organisation, Harm ...
NONFICTION 1 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, $37.99) A free copy of this amazing story of a woman who operated behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied France was up for grabs this past fortnight. Readers were asked to share a story of wartime bravery, ...
Asia Pacific Report An open letter to The New Zealand Herald has challenged a full page Zionist advertisement this week for failing to acknowledge the “terrible injustices” suffered by the Palestinian people in Israel’s seven-month genocidal war on Gaza. In the latest of several international reports that have condemned genocide ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When he was opposition leader, Bill Shorten faced Coalition criticism for attacking “the top end of town”, a phrase he used in his 2019 budget reply. Now Peter Dutton is finding the line “billions of ...
By Adam Burns, RNZ News reporter Worried New Caledonian expats in Aotearoa admit they are “terrified” for friends and family amid ongoing violence and civil unrest in the French Pacific territory. The death toll remained at four tonight, and hundreds have been injured after electoral changes sparked widespread rioting by ...
French President Emmanuel Macron has declared a state of emergency in New Caledonia after several days of civil unrest in the capital. Four people are dead due to the unrest and violence in the capital, Nouméa. France TV reports that a 22-year-old gendarme who had been seriously wounded has become ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland This week’s budget was Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ third and – for practical purposes – final for the current parliamentary term. Even if the 2025 election is delayed long enough to give ...
They held a noisy but peaceful demonstration against the ongoing genocide being carried out by the State of Israel, condemning the Israeli ambassador who was hosting an invitation-only event to celebrate the establishment of the State of Israel. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bridget Haire, Senior lecturer, public health ethics, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Bowonpat Sakaew/Shutterstock HIV prevention was allocated A$43.9 million over three years in this week’s federal budget. Some $26m of this is for “PrEP” for people without access to ...
Karen Chhour wants Oranga Tamiriki to establish more partnerships with Māori, despite introducing a bill to Parliament removing their obligation to do so. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bridget Haire, Senior lecturer, public health ethics, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Bowonpat Sakaew/Shutterstock HIV prevention was allocated A$43.9 million over three years in this week’s federal budget. Some $26m of this is for “PrEP” for people without access to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole George, Associate Professor in Peace and Conflict Studies, The University of Queensland New Caledonia’s capital city, Noumea, has endured widespread violent rioting over the past 48 hours. This crisis intensified rapidly, taking local authorities by surprise. Peaceful protests had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brad Elphinstone, Lecturer in psychology., Swinburne University of Technology A DNA sequence.Gio.tto/Shutterstock Should you be denied life insurance or have to pay extra if you have a genetic risk for certain diseases? Should insurance companies even have access to your genetic ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Nicholls, Senior research associate, University of Sydney Barely a day has gone by this month without politicians or commentators talking about online harms. There have been multiple high-profile examples spurring on the conversation. There was the circulation of videos of Bishop ...
With less than six months to go, it’s time to start paying attention to what could be the most consequential election of our lifetimes. It’s less than half a year until election day in the United States, which makes this a good opportunity to review what’s happened thus far in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ryan Storr, Research fellow, Swinburne University of Technology The topic of homophobia in sport has recently made headlines in Australia, with a series of homophobic incidents involving men’s AFL players. These homophobic incidents are usually well-reported in news media, but research ...
The latest Jonathon Pie rant!
He could quite easily be talking about Luxon and the Natz – they (the Tories and the Natz) share so many values (Luxon said so in a tweet!)
https://twitter.com/ArrestJK/status/1574374319475433472
More saber rattling by the official Kremlin mouthpiece, RT
RT, repeats and reinforces Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons if the Russian Federation faces military defeat on the battlefield.
Claiming that a Russian defeat in Ukraine is an existential threat to the Russian Federation, a defeat that that must be reversed with nuclear weapons, if all other options for achieving victory in Ukraine have fails.
In a contorted act of logical jujitsu, RT turns the responsibility for Russia using nuclear weapons onto the US.
I guess RT were referring to this Cuban missile crisis…
“The planners therefore faced a serious dilemma: they had in hand two somewhat different proposals from Khrushchev to end the threat of catastrophic war, and each would seem to any "rational man" to be a fair trade. How then to react?”
“One possibility would have been to breathe a sigh of relief that civilization could survive, to eagerly accept both offers and to announce that the US would adhere to international law and remove any threat to invade Cuba; and to carry forward the withdrawal of the obsolete missiles in Turkey and to carry forward the withdrawal of the obsolete missiles in Turkey, proceeding as planned to upgrade the nuclear threat against the Soviet Union to a far greater one, of course, only part of the global encirclement of Russia. But that was unthinkable.”
“…of course, the idea that the US should be restrained by international law was too ridiculous to merit consideration. As explained recently by the respected liberal commentator Matthew Yglesias, "one of the main functions of the international institutional order is precisely to legitimate the use of deadly military force by western powers"
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/15/cuban-missile-crisis-russian-roulette
‘
What is it, about whataboutists?
“one of the main functions of the international institutional order is precisely to legitimate the use of deadly military force by western powers”
Matthew Yglesias
I wouldn't disagree with that.
But instead of decrying this state of international affairs, Whataboutists are all about using the example of the deadly military force exercised by the western powers, in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Guatemala etc. as an excuse for Russia and its allies to do the same. Even if it means supporting the use of nuclear weapons, even if it leads to genocide.
"…..a just global order remains to be built."
Whataboutists don't want a just global order, they want an unjust global order shared more equally between the rival imperialist powers, even if it takes world war to achieve it.
The defeat of Russian imperialism by the people of Ukraine and the people of Russia will be a victory for people everywhere and a defeat for imperialism everywhere.
5 Russian Enlistment Offices Hit By Arson Attacks – Reports
Down with all imperialists and colonialists.
Slava Ukraine
RT turns the responsibility for Russia using nuclear weapons onto the US.
It is US weaponry that is winning in Ukraine. Ukrainians, as far as the US is concerned, are just cannon fodder.
‘
"It is US weaponry that is winning in Ukraine."
mikesh
What a load of rubbish.
Weapons of war, like all tools, need someone to wield them.
Weapons don't win wars, people do.
If people weren't fighting to free themselves from Russian imperialism, the Western imperialists would have no where to send their weapons.
With or without foreign military aid, the people of Algeria, the people of Vietnam, the people of Syria, the people of Ukraine will fight for their freedom regardless. Western supplied weapons have shortened the war in Ukraine that is all.
"The long arc of history bends towards justice"
Martin Luther King.
Western supplied weapons have shortened the long arc of history.
'Weapons don't win wars, people do'-tell that to the Nth American indians when they first encountered the Gatling gun…and to Maori when they first come across …muskets!
'Weapons don't win wars, people do'-tell that to the Nth American indians when they first encountered the Gatling gun…and to Maori when they first come across …muskets!
Blazer
You still need people willing to wield them, if they could get their hands on them, of course.
If the Maori and native Americans were happy with having their lands stolen and taken over, and didn't want to fight the invaders, it wouldn't matter how much weapons you gave them.
Because they couldn't get their hands on these weapons they were slaughtered and displaced by the invading British imperialists and colonialists
Now if the Maori and the Native Americans had been supplied with these weapons by a rival imperialist power opposed to the British Empire….
It would have been a different story.
Sort of dismantles your argument that Ukraine shouldn't be supplied weapons from the West.
Don't you think?
No I don't Jenny.
It's obvious that people need to utilise weapons….
It's a bit like you turning up to a gunfight with…a knife.
"It is US weaponry that is winning in Ukraine."
mikesh
What a load of rubbish
He aha te mea nui o te ao?
One of those rare UN speech that isn’t just hollow hyperbole and empty rhetoric….the Global South is once again showing the way forward for Leftists around the world.
Also check out the UN speech of Honduras’ new left-wing President Xiomara Castro. She denounced colonialism, “neoliberal injustice,” and corporate exploitation while calling for multipolarity….“Never again will we carry the stereotype of a banana republic.”
https://multipolarista.com/2022/09/22/un-speech-honduras-xiomara-castro/
Will lower taxes lead to a stronger economy in the UK?
Why is the value of the British pound falling and what is a mini budget? (openaccessgovernment.org)
Let's see what this economy looks like after 6 months.
Signs aren't good.
An unbelievably stupid reactionary economic policy…and in the face of a brutal winter that many millions of British citizens will probably never forget…it is hard to imagine any sane person enacting trickle down economics at this point, she has gone completely rouge.
Europe is looking more and more shaky as the weeks go by…Tuss (an actual nutter) a week or two ago, an actual Fascist just elected in Italy, disaster and suffering for everyone involved in the Ukraine…the extreme Right emboldened throughout Europe like it hasn’t been since the 1930’s…we are probably going to be watching one country after the next fall to the Right…things are starting to look extremely dangerous
The United Kingdom is really one long, sad tale of gross economic and political mismanagement by it's ruling class stretching back to the 1880s.
Britain being the first country to have a political revolution in the 17th century gave it the political institutions that were the basis that allowed it to be the first country to harness the industrial revolution and gain a great empire and huge wealth. It's failure to have a second political revolution of any sort post the Great War condemned it to a continuation of the muddling rule of an incompetent and increasingly ossified ruling class when radical political reforms was still possible.
Nowadays, the UK is rapidly decling into the status of an emerging market economy, and Kwasi Kwarteng has delivered the sort of budget you tend to get from emerging market economies – a looting of the public coffers in favour of an entrenched economic Latifundia built on rent taking and speculation buttressed by increasingly harsh and repressive policing and a sympathetic right wing popular media to maintain social order and justified by a fig leaf of naive, wishful-thinking, supply-side economics.
Some institutions decay faster or slower than others, so you've now got a situation where a completely decayed Conservative government of supply side fanatics is trying to do one thing, but as fast as they do it the less decayed Bank of England is doing the opposite. And all the while, the pound is crashing and British standards of living are going down the gurgler with it.
NZ$ fell 2% overnight,now trading at .5628,interest rates will rise accordingly.
The flash crashes in the UK,and globally will have left some hedge funds with big losses on long positions.
Here 9% mortgages by new year are real possibilities.as bank margins on lending are at record lows ( .4% in 2 yr).
What are you observing in price trades our key commodities like:
– Oil, diesel, and petrol
– Fertiliser, PKE
– Basket of imports
I am just guessing that if our $$ fall is that bad and likely to stay that way, we are in for one scream of a Christmas.
Oil product basket falls overall,due to demand destruction (volume decreases) as discretionary spend decreases.Diesel prices will remain high due to substitution for gas ( standby generators and oil fired power stations etc).
Freight rates fallen (container) and going back to pre pandemic levels ( us china 20k down to 3k) balanced by shipping slowing (speed reductions to reduce fuel cost).
Fert costs high,where imported,some building product decreases (extrusions etc) as demand reduction in Australia and asia.
China in big problems with debt issues (exposure to emerging markets) and debt to US banks,as US$ removes any doubt on Yuan being a reserve currency.
The big risks are with Super investments in growth products as opposed to value, here to attract investment interest rates need to be higher.
Plenty of Kiwisavers pretty unhappy already.
Gordon Campbell will not be the last to comment on the British shock impact for us:
Gordon Campbell on what Britain’s tax cutting spree means for us – werewolf
"As a result, the cost of everything – from oil to food to consumer goods to the technology we need to grow the economy – is going to skyrocket. Luckily, the prospect of a global slowdown is already pushing down the price of oil on world markets – but our fading currency will mean that none of the benefits will flow on through to Kiwi motorists. Finally, the rising price of imports will fuel inflation, thus posing a tricky decision for the Reserve Bank – should it keep on raising interest rates to curb inflation, or will the relentless hiking of the cost of investment succeed only in stopping economic growth in its tracks?"
This together with interest rates over 7% sounds like change of New Zealand government all by itself, and not much it can do about it.
The days of easy money are over,and will be for some time,as is spending into the unproductive sector as we need to rebalance the twin risks of a high current account deficit with a high rate of government debt.
Orr said productivity increases are needed,a better use of resources also.Information is poor with cpi being quarterly,fiscal updates sparse ,if large economies can impart the information monthly,so can NZ, this reduces shocks and can induce better redistribution.
NZ business also need to understand that cost plus pricing is costly for their business,and look to reduce debt rather then dividend or share buy backs etc.
On the other side of the coin,we are also coming into spring fully,with good growths and decreasing fresh food prices,the winter electricity maintenance is mostly over and there are no tight generation windows for 200 days.The busy manufacturing season for NZ with is primary focus sees more available electricity with solar,decreased residential use,and very large hydro storage at around 140% of historical vol.This will keep pricing low outside of high load windows.
Poisson-while the fall of the NZ$ versus the US dollar will push up some prices, most other countries currencies are also falling against the greenback, so this will not necessarily increase inflation significantly.
In any event, interest rates are not raised to protect currency values, they are raised to dampen inflation.
Interest rates and currency are entwined,Yesterday the flash crash in sterling was when markets in Asia opened,the only mechanism for reducing risk was currency depreciation,when the Uk debt markets opened,the flash crash was in the Gilts,and the pound appreciated.
here with the NZ$ we were closed so only currency valuations available as a risk relief valve,as interest rates increase on the secondary markets the kiwi should stabilise.
The other part of the currency exchange is it makes trips overseas more expensive for activists,and makes NZ cheap for tourists from the US or AUS.
As stated earlier the NZ$ has appreciated with the NZ debt markets now open.and a .63% rise in currency with a 13b rise in the 2 yr bond and a 19b rise in the 10 yr bond.
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/series/exchange-and-interest-rates/wholesale-interest-rates
Unfortunately the USD is what everyone wants/needs so it will…and likely disproportionately
A nighmare in the making for home owners.
https://twitter.com/EdConwaySky/status/1574329155138818051
https://twitter.com/EdConwaySky/status/1574430982907871233
As global demand drops, local storage capacity runs out and US allies respond to prodding from Washington and increase supply, India has stopped buying Russian oil. This REALLY turns the screws on Putin's war economy, as India had been one of the biggest customers for post-sanction Russian oil.
It is going to hurt Russia to no end to not sell their oil to countries who have no oil. Ditto for Gas.
India is skipping this month because of freight costs.Its an entirely economic decision and does not mean it has ditched its neutrality.Meanwhile Sri Lanka ups its Russian imports, along with Myanmar, and of course China .I don't think skipping a few shipments is going to bring the Russian economy crashing to its knees.
And those Indian imports were also helping to keep other countries solvent
https://www.asiafinancial.com/india-is-likely-reselling-russian-oil-to-west-claims-study
"….Its an entirely economic decision and does not mean it has ditched its neutrality…"
The wider picture is India is ditching Russia as an ally and moving closer to the West.
Also, “freight costs” might not entirely be the result of the invisible hand…
Paraphrasing Bill Maher "Wake me up when they leave SCO"
Indian sentiment began to turn away from Russia after the way they were basically stiffed by a chaotic extortion racket over the purchase of the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya – Russia simply became a country it wasn't worth trying to do business with. Indian loss of faith in Russia as a reliable supplier of high quality weapons is why they decided to buy the French Rafale fighter.
The biggest catalyst for change though was the confrontation with China a couple of years ago and the jolting realisation that the Indian armed forces had little to no chance of winning a war of any kind with China. Since then they've shaken up an army locked into a regimental tradition that still includes much of the protocols and pomp of the Raj and they've looked at the reduction of Russia to a Chinese vassal and decided that buying not very good weapons from a dysfunctional gangster state that is completely beholden to their most likely enemy isn't a good idea.
As far as the Indian ruling elites are concerned the west has got the best weapons and the shopping is much better too, so why not go with the west?
Standardistas might want to hash this one out, because it comes up here too. Six tweets, starting below. Comment here or on twitter.
https://twitter.com/wekatweets/status/1574505732543680512
On the grounds of my sex. Nope.
Greens have lost all four eligible voters in this household.
Not just because of their promotion of gender ideology, but their inadequate analysis and proposals on climate change, housing and inequality.
I sympathise with your disappointment.I remember though when Pete Hodgson was in charge of climate change issues , back in the early 2000s, he was quietly begging grass roots climate activists to kick up a ruckus, so as to give him traction within his own party who were dragging their heels .Its up to us to really make climate change response an electoral issue, shaming all parties to act
Disappointment is not the word. Disdain is closer.
Attitude towards those that are adversely affected by their proposals or policies. Failure to spark public interest or discussions. Supporting knee-jerk National Policy Statements on productive soils, but not strongly advocating for one on climate change – which will have immediate effect on all local government planning documents, sending emails celebrating divisive policies or implying credit for other's achievement, performative political posturing, throwing feminists out of the party…etc.
As I said, disappointment is not the word.
I will not be persuaded by any form of: "…better than the alternative".
As a small party, they have some leeway to take risks, and represent people – not chase elections. They don't.
I would like to know the carbon footprint of puberty blockers, sex re-assignment surgery, sexual assaults in unisex changing rooms including filming under the stalls revisions of sexual re-assignment surgeries gone wrong, health issues due to wrong sex hormones and the likes.
Like seriously how much is that worth in carbon credits?
And how can those that no longer can be defined make a difference when they no longer exist in law and language?
I just can't see the appeal of the Green Party in it's current form.
I honestly would just like to see this question answered by someone.
Anyone. Really.
But i don't think the purple clad genderbread fairy of the Green Party would approve of such a question. Nor would the person from the Green Party who thinks that the 'c' word is empowering. Or the persons in the G and L Party who think sex work is work, and surrogacy is a money making venture for poor persons with child bearing abilities and who pretend that both are empowering to persons who have nothing else to sell other then their bodily orifices for sexual use by customers or the use of their reproductive organs and the selling of the children they birth.
I will totally never vote for any parties that have no issues with these things and / or promote these things as progressive.
Hear, hear Sabine. Couldn't agree more.
Nor would I be keen to vote for a party whose leader stood up at a memorial for those who lost their lives in the Chch atrocity and acuse NZders of racism (when the murderer happened to be an Australian). I mean WTF. Terrible judgement. If we are all so racist, how come so many turned out in support of the muslim community
Interesting points Sabine. Not to mention the carbon foot print on those massive prothetic breasts………
The Greens and Labour lost my vote over the gender ideology stuff. What that did is open my eyes to all the non delivery that is the Labour Govt.
The increase of the PMC and their salaries and the disdain they treat health professionals with are just further nails in the coffin.
Having watched submissions on the gender self id bill, I cannot bring myself to vote for a party that believe mad things such as sex is on a spectrum. And your transphobic if you don't want a male person in your change room
who will you vote for? Do you think any other party doesn't support self ID?
Legalise Aotearoa
Social Credit
humpty dumpty
my dog
my cat
Sometimes we cast votes to be on record that we support a person or party. And i did that in 2016 were i voted for the green party in support of Metiria Turei.
In 2020 i voted for a third party as my questions of 'where too' when confronted wit the slogan of 'lets keep moving' was not answered.
And sometimes we cast votes to be on record that this is not happening in my name. And this will happen this time around.
This shit is not happening with my support. And anyone who votes for any party that does support that shit must then live with the fact that that too was something they supported with their voice/vote.
Never mind all the shit that has happened in Rotorua in the last three years. 11% local unemployment. LOL, and i am to vote for this? Lol. So it might be different for you in Dunedin, maybe you are actually having a sane person running, but some of us are not so lucky. It is shite, shite or shite, only dif the color of the shite.
I agree. Also voted in support of Metiria Turei, even while thinking to myself, it looks like the Green Party supported the policy behind the public statement, and then collectively all took several steps back, when the pushback was immediate and negative.
Leaving her isolated, undefended and ultimately, ejected.
Looking back, I should've taken more note of this incident. The integrity of the organisation was shown here. Good political strategy no doubt, but not appealing to me.
Yes, that was a watershed moment for the Green Party, but they dropped her faster then they would have dropped a hot potato. It was an interesting time, and in hindsight, an innocent time. I still thought that voting actually matters. The last few years have made it quite clear that no, voting matters very little, and just because it shines does not mean it ain't cat – gold. Buyer beware.
I have not decided who I will vote for yet.
(Humpty Dumpty sounds like an interesting choice though Sabine).
If I don't vote, it will be a deliberate choice.
I am struggling to decide who to vote for in my local body elections.
Humpty Dumpty would be a perfect candidate for any party.
The Māori Party are talking about how to live/adapt to the coming environmental changes coming.
They seem to be the only one with some sensible ideas on how to cope with the shit storm which is on our door step. We 'ant reversing the temperature any time soon, and the facts are we a locked into 2 degrees, possibly more.
I am not aware of what the Maori Party are saying on CC.
I am really unsure about them as I watched them interviewed and one of the things the said was that they would abolished prisons. This seems naive to me.
Ok, well I think I understand why the radicalisation away from the left is so pervasive. If you won't vote to stop a Nact government, then what is the point? Please don't tell me that Nact and L/G/Mp are the same.
Please tell us where anyone here said that N / A are the same?
And please tell me why you think that Legalize Aotearoa and Social Credit are not on the left.
If the L party looses, if the G party loses anymore support from the public, it is up to L and G to do some soulsearching (if they still have such a thing) and act accordingly. Personally i think neither party is able to do that, ego is all they have, and thus chances are they will eat humble pie at election night because they are so full of themselves that they can not read the room.
But the fear of it will be worse? I live in a town that is dead, full of homeless people with no where to go and no jobs to be had, 11% unemployment and mixed sex going to be everywhere. Worse? Define worse.
It's a common position on the left Sabine. I was pre-empting someone running that superficial argument.
No idea if LA is left or not. SC are. I didn't say they're not. I haven't made any comment about LA or SC.
I am however starting to wonder if someone can call themselves lw if they won't vote to stop a Nact government.
Elections in NZ are won by the middle. Swing voters. This is how Labour got the majority in 2020. That is very unlikely to happen again. Polling is showing that the middle has shifted to Nat a bit (L/R blocs are neck and neck).
Labour are a centre left neoliberal party, and they act accordingly. They have to deal with the pragmatics of that swing vote.
The GP are largely dependent on liberal voters, those that swing between GP and Lab.
So please tell me what soul searching you want them to do, and what actions you think they can/should take. Details please, because that was the point of the opening tweet, to have a discussion about the various ways in which radical change could play out.
I'm asking this because it's easy to throw out a bunch of rhetoric about what L/G should do (we all do it), but I want to see deeper thinking of those ideas grounded in real politik and how parliament, government and elections function.
remove self id.
that is one thing they could do. But they will not.
Just for the record, i never voted to keep someone out of government. I vote to get someone into government.
Sounds like you would rather have a NACT govt upholding self-ID than a L/G/Mp one.
That's nice. Meanwhile, outside of your principles, voting for SC or ALCP is a defacto vote for Nact. I don't make the rules, that's just how it works. If you're ok with Nact, then vote however you like. If you value things like beneficiaries, housing, climate, ecology, vote on the left for parties that will be in parliament.
Molly-the Greens are not in government and so have little power over the CC policies of this government.
If people vote Green at the next election such that a coalition something like Lab 34/Gr 10/MP 4 takes power then the Greens will be able to greatly influence CC policies.
It follows that you should continue to vote Green. (Unless your hatred of the Greens gender policies over-rides you climate concerns, which frankly would be silly)
Read above.
"It follows that you should continue to vote Green. (Unless your hatred of the Greens gender policies over-rides you climate concerns, which frankly would be silly)"
The Green Party approach does not alleviate my climate concerns. It heightens them. They are ineffective, timid – often don't spook the horses – simplistic proposals that ignore impacts, and assume a lot. Their housing policies and inequality proposals are similar. Their policies extend the problem, they don’t resolve them. Even worse, they often give the impression that something is being done to solve, allowing focus to move on.
Oh, yes. Wanting coherent, effective proposals on what I consider important is "silly".
I will refrain from telling you what I believe your political priorities to be and who to vote for. Because, quite frankly, I'm not that arrogant.
Vote for parties that soothe your concerns and make you feel good if that is your priority.
If, for even a moment, you think that the Natz and Act will come up with better climate change policies and so deserve your vote – well, I've got a bridge for sale!
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27-09-2022/#comment-1912547
"The attempts to shame voters into casting votes for particular parties – by use of terms such as racist, bigot, silly can provoke resistance and have a negative effect on many. I try to avoid an emotive response to such shenanigans, and stick to process."
Tony, I don't know whether it's my personality, or the fact that over the years I have dealt with children I love, attempting this technique at various times, but my reaction to this approach is that it is juvenile, and has demonstrably failed in many elections in various countries in recent years.
If a party with clear policies on my priorities is available, it is likely that party is the one that will receive my party vote. Attempts to shame elicit a 'meh', if I can at all be bothered to respond. So, meh.
You get to make your own vote depending on your stated sole priority: ie. Natz and Act will NOT come up with better climate change policies, and regardless of what I think of your selection process, that is your right.
I was suggesting you are naive to reject a party because ALL their policies do not jell with your wishes/hopes.
To my way of thinking, a vote for a very minor party with no hope a getting into parliament is a wasted vote – though I do accept that is the nature of our representative system.
To me, that only leaves the 5 'big' parties and much as I think Labour has fallen far short of my expectations (and I suspect most on the left would agree), when I glance across at the Natz and Act, Labour and the Greens are my only viable alternatives. I have party voted Green for the last three elections, though I live in ChCh Central and vote Labour.
To miss use Margaret Thatcher’s (I think) phrase – there is no alternative! TINA.
Sometimes a wasted vote is good for the consience of the voter. Some of us have not voted for the current government ever, not once and not twice. So those of us can not make this current government fail. They never had 'our' vote.
Last, there are more parties then L/N/A/G and people can and should vote for them if they believe that they are representive of them and their ideas, and fwiw, if people don't vote for the small parties i.e. The Greens 🙂 or TPM 🙂 then they have no reason to exist and we could go back to a FPP system. And where is the fun in that. And would L win on its own again in 2023 without support from some of the 'vote wasting ' small parties?
Believe me, the last thing I would like to see is a sole Labour govt. We need the Green and Te Pati Maori in coalition with Labour to drag the party left!
Ah so you agree some votes for third parties are not wasted. That is good.
"I was suggesting you are naive to reject a party because ALL their policies do not jell with your wishes/hopes."
No, you weren't. But I'll let you keep that, without making the honest comment you deserve.
You have absolutely no idea of my wishes and hopes, nor how I have analysed policy.
So, can you refrain from telling me who to vote for according to you, and I will refrain from having to find acceptable written words in response.
Perhaps you might refrain from telling me what I meant. After all, I'm not responsible for how you react to what I say. I certainly can't help it if you feel defensive!
"Perhaps you might refrain from telling me what I meant. After all, I'm not responsible for how you react to what I say. I certainly can't help it if you feel defensive!"
Sure, Tony. I guess you come from the school of DoAsISay, not DoAsIDo.
Unless you have something persuasive to add about any of the parties policies… let's call this vote drive unsuccessful… and leave it there.
??? and ?
Who will you vote for?
I'll do what I usually do. I'll bring to mind all the work and comments of political parties during the last term (and more) and then I'll visit their policy pages, as they near the election. By that time, those policies should be as good as they can get them. I'll ignore the polls, and vote for those whose policies align (with the proviso that policies are clear) and who are the most trustworthy.
The pool of options is getter smaller every election.
Agree also with Sabine’s comment above, to not support any parties whose policies cause active harm. And to the use of my vote to signal protest.
(If Sabine’s dog does stand for election, that may be where my vote ends up.)
this generally is my process.
read up,
listen to talks, go to meetings
and then vote for the least evil among them.
Currently my vote sits with Legalize Aotearoa. For all the good reasons that L and G ignore. Business creation. Tax income. Removing the plant from the crimes act into the agricultural act ( a bit like abortion was moved from crime to health), make use a health issue, free up Police time to go after bigger fish, take pressure of Justice, remove people from Home D or Prison if they are in it for growing/selling/using.
L/G/N/A can all do the same, in fact i am surprised that ACT is not running with legal/tolerated weed. I would have thought it would be part of the ueber liberal / libertarian crowd.
I can't actually see a more reasonable way of allocating a vote, to be honest.
The attempts to shame voters into casting votes for particular parties – by use of terms such as racist, bigot, silly can provoke resistance and have a negative effect on many. I try to avoid an emotive response to such shenanigans, and stick to process.
By the by, did I recall you mentioning that you were on Twitter?
I am in the twitter poo box cause i am not deleting my tweets. 🙂
I can live with that.
Damn, I've only been active in the last few months. Surprisingly, not yet on the block. But apparently shadow banned or deboosted according to a couple of messages I've received.
Seems to be the only place to get information and have discussions about certain topics, so it took me a while to get over my social media aversion.
based on what is currently known about policy, who would you vote for?
the tweet wasn't about who people vote for. It was about the idea that the Greens could usefully go full Turei. I'm interesting in your thoughts on that.
they had since 2016 to do that.
Turei herself went full Turei on poverty and inequality. She correctly said that the benefit cuts of the 90's were inhuman and as a solo parent she found a way of getting round them to secure some extra income. This triggered 'respectable' commentators into denunciation of her as a benefit cheat. So-called benefit cheats (aka extra-legal rational self-maximisers) are a fantastic wedge issue for the right. No issue could be better for turning parts of the working class and natural left voters against each other. So strategically, it was a bad issue to go full-Turei on.
Would going full Turei on climate change be any different? Probably not. Remember Izzy Cook from a few days ago and remember XR in the UK getting criticism for disrupting working class people from getting to work and earning a crust. They would be pilloried for hypocrisy – with Taxpayers Union goons going through their rubbish looking for -plastic packaging or evidence of excessive food miles, or whatever. If you are going to demand that the rich live a bit more like the poor, expect the full wrath of their economic, political and media power. Keeping the activists at arms length is more likely to be successful in the long run – even though the odds are low and declining.
"So strategically, it was a bad issue to go full-Turei on."
Depends what the strategy was. If the strategy was to purge all the older Green politicians whose focus was on environment and poverty, then the strategy was successful.
If the strategy was about poverty, then the decision to make Turei's public announcement, should have anticipated the obvious pushback and have had strategies and stories ready to counteract that push. They didn't. They instead murmured "How sad, how terrible…" and used her as a signal that they were not ALL benefit bludgers.
"Probably not. Remember Izzy Cook from a few days ago and remember XR in the UK getting criticism for disrupting working class people from getting to work and earning a crust. "
This is not about raising the issue. The SS4C incident was about non-preparation, and the XR targets are sometimes off the mark. Disruption (and possible harm) to random members of the public, is smug at best, alienating at worst. There are multiple targets of those in power, that are ignored.
Acknowledge those mistakes, learn from them and move on.
We're pretty keen on Shaw in our network. There isn't a Labour equivalent.
In 2023 Greens should state whether they are going to be part of government. That would show the commitment we'd need.
I'd be very surprised if that wasn't their position, and if they didn't make it very clear. It's what they do in election year.
They need to state not just which of Labour or National they'd prefer, or just "confidence and supply" from the crossbenches.
They need to be all in. That would tell me they are prepared.
Then they are prepared. See 7.3.3
No that is James Shaw is prepared. Pretty big difference.
I'm looking for a stated intent to be in coalition government.
Linking to the Greens at their flakiest is a bad idea if you want Labour people to come over.
As co-leader James Shaw represents and speaks for the party. "firmed up 'their strategy' to back Labour in 2023…the Greens can improve Ms Ardern's government' That is a stated intent to be in coalition government with Labour.
"Can improve" is by no means the same as "will commit to joining coalition"
Shaw is on record from your own link about how his own members distrust being in government. Hes also on record acknowledging he hasn’t taken key activists with him. That is why the confirmation of ‘go into government’ is a long way from ‘can improve’.
I’d say he’s learnt that the hard way.
"Some old-school activists want the Greens to rip up the deal and campaign in opposition" However..
"There's absolutely no appetite amongst our voters for change of government"
"There are (Greens) who are concerned at the compromises associated with being in government … and that you could, from a place of opposition, be more effective by shifting public opinion and putting pressure on the political system.
"I sit at the other end of the spectrum. And I think the majority of members do. As a political party, our job is to get into government and to make change that way."
Julie Anne Genter backs Shaw saying "If we were polling four per cent and climate change wasn't an issue people were concerned about, I would be like, 'This is not working, we need to walk away from the agreement'…"Things are looking pretty good. It's looking like the plan is working"
Prepared for what?
Every election the Greens reiterate that they won't form govt with National. It's a decision made at the membership level, not something the caucus can change (technically I think there is some way they could but it would be suicide). Afaik it would be something that went through and AGM.
So it's a given that the only government formation option is Labour.
As for the cross-benches, unless there is some unforseen turn of events, as I said above, I think it's highly unlikely that the Greens would go into an election doing anything other than affirming they want to be in government with Labour.
That's not a free ride for Labour mind, it's an intention that if the numbers are there this is the GP preference. They will want to be a part of the government with Ministers and shit, and that stuff gets worked out post-election.
Prepared to commit.
Don't give me your bullshit about "free ride". The Greens have done nothing but free ride off Labour for years.
If the Greens want to attract Labour voters, they have most of next year how to do it.
your regular reactionary antipathy towards the Greens aside, you were asking for commitment, and I was pointing out that the Greens aren't going to guarantee support for Labour. It will depend on numbers and what happens in the election. Just like with any other party.
But, for the third time: GP won't go with Nat, they will support a Lab govt, they're already committed to this. It's a long play from the Greens and it started before Labour were on board. It's not a guarantee, because the GP will have to see what's on the table. Just like any other party.
And, the Green Party (ie members) has a lot of say in what happens. Shaw can't decide how things go.
Weka
'Mr Shaw said the leadership debate firmed up their strategy to back Labour in 2023, arguing the Greens can improve Ms Ardern's government'.
https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7905703/nz-greens-back-ardern-labour-at-2023-poll/
Not likely to get an actual intent to be in government with Labour until close to election day.
'firmed up their strategy to back Labour in 2023' is pretty clear.
Good for left or right alignment, nothing more.
If Shaw wants to bring Labour voters over the fence he knows he'll need to be more convincing. Let alone more convincing to his own Delegates.
I thought winning 97% of the vote was convincing.
'Mr Shaw is taking his return to the co-leadership less as a personal victory, and more as a show of support for his approach to politics'.
One of the strengths of the Greens used to be that they were not addicted to the sinecures of power, which let them maintain the coherence of their policies without compromise. I associate that stance more with Jeanette than with Metiria, for all that I approved of her initiative.
I stopped supporting the Greens as they abandoned environmental issues for social stances probably better left to Labour: migration & gender activism that negatively impact ordinary New Zealanders.
who will you vote for then if not the Greens?
I may not vote at all.
I require better options than these.
Can you please explain that further?
The entitlement is strong in these thieving pricks.
The British royal family has given broadcasters in the UK a deadline of today to pick just one hour of footage they would like to keep for future use from the Queen’s funeral and the King’s proclamation ceremony, despite the fact that millions of people already saw it all livestreamed on several platforms, according to a new report from the Guardian.
[…]
Where does that leave online coverage, something you’d assume could live on the web forever? The royal family already had at least five short clips from the Queen’s memorial and funeral services at Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle purged from UK media websites, according to the Guardian, though longer streams still survive for those who know where to look.
[…]
No, the royal family would like to make sure you don’t see things like King Charles III impatiently making one of his servants take away a pen holder at the desk where he proclaimed himself king. In the video, which went viral on social media, Charles looks like an entitled prick, which is precisely the kind of video the royal family doesn’t want circulating after losing the queen—a woman often compared to a neighborly grandmother and a much softer image for a group of people who are hoarding immense stolen wealth.
https://gizmodo.com/uk-bbc-censor-weird-royals-king-charles-queen-elizabeth-1849579697
So this happened in Italy, whilst Poland has already gone their, Spain looks next, then probably Sweden. So these guys are on our side? Then who the hell are we? As far right and post fascist as them?
It's a fascist love in, on one side this mob, on the other the Russians.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/brothers-of-italy-neo-fascist-group-wins-big-in-italy/BWVZTQLAB3Q5ESYPNELOBO4RUU/
We're going to have to engage with all remaining democracies, while they are still democracies.
It's not like there's a global expansion in the left or in democracy itself.
Really want to ignore South America and central Africa their Ad? Left wing governments all over the place, looks like even Brazil may go back to the hard left.
Left+Democratic that's the trouble.
Neither stable in South America, certainly unstable in combo.
Meloni is connected to Bannon. They were interviewed together by The Guardian in 2018.
Seems like no one has posted this in the Open Mike for the last few days – a piece by Al Jazeera about the Corbyn-era anti-Semitism crisis in the UK's Labour party:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/25/what-really-happened-during-labours-anti-semitism-crisis
I have listened to/watched two and a half hours of this so far. It is crystal clear that Corbyn (who has fought racism all of his political life) was ousted by shady and ruthless pro-Israel people and groups, and that this has the blessing of Starmer.
If I was back living in the UK Starmer's Labour would never get my vote.
Brilliant work by aljazeera.
What did Malcolm X say again…
“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.”
Malcolm X was spot on with that.
Yes – it shows two things – Israel has no problem with stymying democratic representation in other countries.
And Starmer is a treacherous pos with about as many redeeming features as Roger Douglas.
Corbyn only ever had one chance – to catch everyone by surprise in 2017. Having got close in 2017, he was never going to get another opportunity. The vilification ramped up after that. If he'd won in 2017, it would have been riveting to see how far the establishment went to remove him and whether they would have disgraced themselves by botching it somehow. Though the metronomic precision of the Queen's funeral suggests that the execution would have been near-flawless.
On the same page..there..
"Experts say ditching concrete and creating mini wetlands could help water systems cope better with effects of extreme weather"
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/25/flood-gardens-to-combat-drought-and-biodiversity-loss-says-natural-england
"People should flood their gardens and create bogs in order to stop the effects of drought and reverse biodiversity loss, according to the head of Natural England.
Tony Juniper, who leads the government quango, said that concreted-over front gardens, and backyards which do not hold much water, could contribute to sewage spills into waterways as surface water runs off the hard or dry surfaces.
He recommended that people turn their gardens into wetlands, which can hold water and prevent run-off. This would also create habitats for many creatures."
I doubt spying was the issue.
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1574423072400375809
Japan’s government on Monday banned the export of materials that may be used for chemical weapons to 21 Russian organizations, including science laboratories. The measure was approved by the Cabinet following a decision by Group of Seven foreign ministers last week.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-japan-global-trade-nuclear-weapons-81f3a7fdd121028852ec58f0ca5fd2af
I suppose they will edit and correct eventually, but this is the level of accuracy you get from the NZ Herald online:
Another political opinion poll is due out tonight, the 1 News Kantar poll, which in August had National on 48 per cent and Labour on 44 per cent.
Wrong and wrong. Hopeless.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/pm-jacinda-ardern-speaks-to-media-after-cabinet-meets/EKYW5Z47CPCXMU5CHW2XYC7PB4/
Ha – the NZ Herald, typing one Key to the right, as per usual.
If this is as reported (and I have no good reason to doubt it), I find it absolutely shocking
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/crime/police-used-false-information-to-access-powerful-network-of-surveillance-cameras/BEVYOQHF3N5VAED3CD7LXSPTAU/?c_id=1&objectid=12554548&ref=rss
I expect our Police to act within the law – rather than illegally gaining access to surveillance cameras in an attempt to track people by reporting a non-existent crime.
I'm 100% with Roberson on this one.
While I recognized the desire of the police, at the time, to track people they believed were breaching the quarantine regulations – there are legal avenues for them to follow to achieve this goal.
Its a bad look alright but to be fair to the police, it was the beginning of the pandemic which was a time of uncertainty and fear because nobody knew at that point what the outcome was going to be. The police were on the front line and it must have been a stressful time. That’s when mistakes are made.
My guess is, they believed the situation warranted an immediate response regardless of other considerations because of that uncertainty.
As it turned out the whole emotively charged drama was unnecessary because the young women had been given permission to enter Northland – albeit as it turned out erroneously. I have some compassion for the person who made the mistake in the first place. They must have felt terrible and probably hid under a rock for a few weeks. 😯
It's a bridge too far for me, Anne.
If the police can choose not to abide by the law, then how can we condemn the criminals for doing the same thing?
They had legal alternatives – to achieve the same goal (tracking the people they believed at the time were illegal quarantine evaders) – and chose not to use them.
We can be kind, and put that down to the stress of the pandemic. But when the first reaction is to break the law, rather than find a way to achieve your goals within the law, you have to wonder at the culture.
Fair enough. Don't think it will happen again.
In London they camped out for the Funeral, here we camp out to be first into Costco
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/camping-out-at-costco-fans-plan-to-get-to-west-auckland-early-ahead-of-opening-day/WBQEEKWRYWLJKAJQKN6QNUL2WY/?c_id=1&objectid=12554833&ref=rss
The insanity of consumerism…..
Costco is really not a premium venue. It is a discounter, offering (hopefully) cheaper alternatives. To the extent that it weakens the supermarket duopoly, that may be a good thing – but Costcos success is emblematic of the failure of neoliberalism to be the rising tide that lifts all boats. Kiwis need discounters because of the gross and sustained failure of Rogergnomics. It has utterly failed.
Yes – the same way that so many people need the cheap imported stuff at The Warehouse because they no longer work in well-paying jobs in local manufacturing or the like, but instead in minimum wage hospitality and retail jobs in places like The Warehouse. i.e. we need what it provides only because it exists in the first place.
How much is the member ship fee?
$60/yr.- Membership
Random recent NZ article about benefits:
https://www.thehits.co.nz/the-latest/here-are-four-expert-tips-for-getting-your-moneys-worth-from-costco-in-new-zealand/
Oh boy. a membership fee to get access to discount food distribution center. We have out progressed us. Aldi on steroids.
You also have to be afford to buy (and be able to store and use within the product lifespan) quite large batches of goods.
It might make financial sense for large families and/or people clubbing together to group purchase (as some currently do for Gilmores, etc.).
It's also possible that small retail (dairies, etc.) might be able to shop there, rather than at supermarkets (I know that there's discussion about wholesale access for retail shops – but I remain deeply cynical that it will ever eventuate).
I find our local 'Reduced to Clear' good – nice round trip walk of ~90 minutes earlier today. Not a substitute for supermarket shopping, but an inexpensive supplement.
I shop at one as well – though not within walking distance – about 20 minutes drive away. I bundle a trip there every month or so, with other necessary road trips in that direction.
It's a bit like op-shopping – you never know what is going to turn up on sale.
I think having Costco here is a good thing for many reasons.
If we're to let corporations take over we could do a lot worse, like Amazon.
"Costco is often cited as one of the world’s most ethical companies. It has been called a “testimony to ethical capitalism” in large part due to its company practices and treatment of employees."
https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/case-study/the-costco-model
"Our research highlights many ethical issues for Amazon, including climate change, environmental reporting, habitats & resources, pollutions and toxics, arms & military supply, human rights, worker's rights, supply chain management, irresponsible marketing, animal rights, animal testing, factory farming, use of controverial technologies, political activies, and anti-social finance."
https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/company-profile/amazoncom-inc
I haven't done any research into Costco and/or whether or not it's a good thing for our economic environment.
I suspect there are arguments both ways.
It was the idea of people queueing to be first through the doors which struck me as bizarre. Perhaps I'm just not queue minded 😉
Yeah I get that. Some people love being first in though. And the promise of reduced prices in these trying times, pretty attractive…
Or (Satire) a damning indictment of DOC's park upkeep, that people would rather go camping in shop doorways.
Costco already sells NZ goods in their stores offshore, and now they're here, will be checking out what else we've got. That's good for our producers and manufacturers. Meanwhile providing good jobs with good prospects and good money.
Whereas Amazon is good for NZ like a boa constrictor is good for rodents.