“the Bill will reduce the Employment Relations Act to a farce and the result will be wages are driven down and employment agreements broken up, with some of the most significant impact being on workers in the public sector.”
And when that does not happen will we see an apology from the author of this post?
Today is a great day for the country.
[lprent: This looks more like diversion trolling than addressing the topic – moved to OpenMike.
Two week ban. One for diversion trolling. The second for wasting my time moving the comments. ]
The ironic thing is labour will get into power and leave most of the changes intact (like most of the changes Roger implemented) – they know its good for the economy
Then again labour is acting mighty strangely lately with all this NZ Power craziness!!!
In relation to ” ‘Cos-I’m-John-Key-can’t-remember-my-last-username”, this is defining. In the archaic meaning of “squire” he was a fellow who was the dependable runner or errand boy of the knight.
Well, no unkindness intended but that’s how the abovenamed strikes me.
And he will be vindicated.
There is no doubt that before that citizen of the Kingdom of Global Banker leaves these now less-lovely shores, he will bestow upon himself The Order Of This That the Other Thing.
The abovenamed will have a true knight to snivel around after !
crmlu
You’re right Labour did blend in NACT type policies. There was a subterranean movement and a lot of aspiring NACTs took over hearts and minds of the Labour faithful in spades. It’s time to forge new approaches which is what is being said each day.
I don’t mind you refusing to print any of my guest post requests. As a Centre Left website you have every right to do so. No website allows posts they disagree with, that’s understandable. And why should you be different? But Lynn, do you really have to bump down my posts on Open mike?
P.S. Saying that. If you did allow more controversial Left of Centre posts. Who knows? You might find you could possibly get more debate and more readership.
the site is unpredictable at times Jenny; comments I make often end up above comments that came before; don’t panic; I read most of your comments, most of the time anyway.
Coincidentally since I put up THIS post on open mike yesterday.
The Herald has published reviews of a new book which details all the pressures that David Lange was put under by the New Zealand state, the permanent heads of the Civil Service, military leaders, and foreign government leaders, to ignore his promise to the electorate. And the dismay these people felt, when Lange, under this onslaught of secret behind the scenes pressure, despite some early vacillation, eventually turned his back on them. That these undemocratic parasites on the body politic have now accused Lange of lying to them. Is just sour grapes. Politics is all about pressure and this time the pressure from below, was greater than the pressure from above.
If only Lange had had the courage and the wit to stand up to the enemy within: Douglas, Prebble, Bassett, Moore, De Cleene and their fanatical mentors in Treasury.
To Morrissey and Rhinocrates et al “If only Lange had had the courage and the wit to stand up to the enemy within: Douglas, Prebble, Bassett, Moore, De Cleene and …….”
He did ! Don’t you remember ? Some time late in 1987 Lange called for a “cup of tea” – meaning he wanted a pause in the ongoing rushed economic reforms to allow for proper consideration of them and their effects.
He was strongly vilified for that, a grouping led by Douglas, Prebble ,De Cleene etc set up the “Backbone Club” which went out publicly – with MSM support – to vilify Lange and his attempts to stop what was going on, when he had realised just how damaging it was. The vilification continued in house in the caucus as well. It was sickening to observe. Disgusting behaviour on the part of the leaders.
During an industrial dispute in Kawerau, provoked when Tasman cunningly appointed an unqualified woman to a machine operating position ahead of several qualified men, Lange came out on the side of the bosses. He said he would never stand with a union that was against employment for women, even when this patently was not the issue.
My view of Lange is that Kirk was the last half way decent Labour PM.
Agreed …. though I don’t judge him QUITE as harshly as the ‘careerists’ that followed and who STILL keep trying to push their barrow (or rather keep doing their best to push SHIT uphill).
At Least Lange had the decency to call for a cup of tea and a lay down – i.e. he recognised the programme was hollow.
Not so others – and unfortunately I now have to include that pathetic munter Robertson amongst that ilk (UNLESS of course he has an epiphany forthwith).
Hey……… btw….. whatever happened to that FanBoi or Fan Club fella?
Haven’t seen it screaching loudly lately in defense of the indefensible. (I guess he/she/it is too busy climbing the ranks and sucking as much rrrrrrrr’s as possible)
Gerald Hensley reinvents history to besmirch the memory of David Lange, and instead of being critical of that cowardly and disgusting behaviour, comments on The Standard concerning this matter are predominantly anti-Labour… Some even claiming Lange wasn’t courageous enough at a time he implemented legislation to ensure New Zealand became nuclear free in spite of huge international and domestic pressures.
You’d have to be seriously gullible to believe what Piggy Muldoon’s former chief adviser has made up to discredit a left wing Prime Minister. In fact you’d likely have to be as deluded as Hensley himself. Let’s instead ask the right wing hack what his advice was on the Springbok tour, the Think Big projects and increasing external debt by 1338% while Muldoon was Prime Minister. Where’s the book accepting that the third National Government was a complete economic, social and political failure for New Zealand?
Giving Hensley’s fabrications the credence they clearly don’t deserve by attacking Labour will only help to promote the idea of removing our Nuclear Free legislation (PDF)… Not that National presently abides by those laws anyway, that’s the end goal for Hensley and the current government. Let’s make something very clear… Like the vast majority of Kiwis, David Lange wanted New Zealand to be nuclear free… Hensley’s lies won’t change that fact one iota.
If only Lange had had the courage and the wit to stand up to the enemy within: Douglas, Prebble, Bassett, Moore, De Cleene and their fanatical mentors in Treasury.
Morrissey
No human being could stand up to that sort of pressure alone. Such pressure can be so intense that you can be ambushed into making decisions that can even go against your own better judgement. Despite it all, Lange did eventually call a halt. And probably wondered “Why on earth did I ever support any of that?” A question that I am sure many principled people finding themselves in similar isolated positions have asked themselves.
To his cost. For David Lange on his retirement, there was no plum sinecure as a director on a board of some well off company or bank, the usual reward for politicians of his stature who do what they’re told.
What was missing was a mass movement that would have supplied Lange with the counter pressure to the neo-liberal tidal wave.
Politics is all about pressure and who can bring it to bear.
“March 21 Novopay debacle solved by restarting computer
Novopay minister Steven Joyce: “We tried everything we could think of. We made sure the plug was in, we ran a virus scan. You know, pretty much everything. And then John walks in this morning munching on his breakfast bagel, and he says ‘Hey, Steve. Have you tried restarting the computer’?”
If in doubt – reboot! – Says it all really. Cure the immediate, though not the cause.
Very symbolic of a NAct agenda, and symbolic of the neo-Lib agenda too.
Keep it up is what I’m DESPERATELY hoping for but they should not be surprised when they disappear up their own arses (as fat and ugly as they may be).
Shades of Monty P/Greed/Sloth explosions in the nature of weapons of mass disgusting
from what I have read of this chap behind The Civilian (beyond a Nicholas Cage article) he appears very capable and creative; now a part of the media furniture for a while, with the hesitant support of his parents.
Here in H.B there is a young woman broadcasting her interesting life and personality to a YouTube audience of hundreds of thousands of people.”Jamies World”. great self-marketing for an aspirant dramatic arts performer or director. could be a few unforeseen consequences.
At least we can be a little pleased for the guy that runs The Civillian. He does help to make the day go with a smile. And as they say Any advertising is good advertising.
Indeed David H.Thank god (no religious inference intended) for Colin Craig being an arse. I hadn’t heard about that hilarious Civilian website until he threw a wee tanty.
The Comedy of Mortification
Kiwi version of The Office struggles along Back Benches, Prime TV, Wednesday 24 April 2013, 10:30 p.m.
Hosted by WALLACE CHAPMAN and DAMIAN CHRISTIE
Politicians: Gareth Hughes (Green), Aaron Gilmore (National), Chris Hipkins (Labour)
After suffering through TV3’s dire The Vote: Is New Zealand a Racist Country?, my big night of television continued with yet another New Zealand current affairs show fronted by a couple of clowns.
These two, although far less self-assured clowns than Espiner and Garner, are, nonetheless, impressive exponents of the comedy of embarrassment. Christie, in particular, came across very effectively as New Zealand television’s very own David Brent. The fact that this was entirely unintentional only made it all the more effective.
In case you haven’t seen Back Benches—and you probably haven’t—it consists of aforesaid clowns (Wallace Chapman and Damian Christie) talking to a panel of three politicians and then walking around the Back Benches tavern in Wellington asking people what they think about what the politicians have said. The politicians are usually pretty relaxed—it seems that ties are banned—and usually acquit themselves quite well. The members of the public, however, are a little more unpredictable. The following is a quick highlights reel of Wednesday night’s episode….
After the politicians have been interviewed, the first person on the roving mike is John Carnegie from Business New Zealand. Predictably, sadly, he vapours pompously about the Labour-Green electricity pricing policy: “We are sending an incredibly bad signal that New Zealand is no longer a safe place to invest.” The crowd reacts to this rant with skeptical murmuring and scattered laughter. Quite apart from his irrational, hysterical words, many people have no doubt noticed that Carnegie looks uncannily like the fat guy in The Office.
Back to the politicians, for their thoughts. This is where not only the intellectual, but the moral calibre of the politicians is often revealed. Chris Hipkins and Gareth Hughes both speak eloquently, but when Hipkins is speaking, Aaron Gilmore hoots and laughs. Such displays of loutish imbecility are, damningly, all that National is capable of; Gilmore’s antics are no different from the antics in Parliament of other National Party thugs, especially Gerry Brownlee. (Talking about people who look like Big Keith…)
Then it’s time for the most unpredictable part of the show: the vox pops. This consists of Damian Christie walking around the tables with his microphone and asking them what they think. This is a nerve-wracking exercise at the best of times, and it’s not helped by Christie’s patent awkwardness….
DAMIAN CHRISTIE: Have you been to Gallipoli for the dawn service? WOMAN: Yes. DAMIAN CHRISTIE: What were you doing over there? WOMAN: Going to the dawn service.
This is met by gales of laughter, some of it shading into outright derision of Christie. Undeterred, however, Christie ploughs on, like an ANZAC soldier struggling doggedly up a Turkish cliff…
CHRISTIE: You’re getting all choked up over it now, aren’t you! WOMAN: Not really.
Bravely, Christie continues to circulate around the room, wielding his enormous microphone, looking for vulnerable drinkers. It’s quite noticeable that people are drawing away as he approaches. He’d better watch himself, otherwise he’s going to make people as nervous as Brian Edwards did with his ambush vox pops in Auckland’s Victoria Park during his short-lived Saturday night horror show a decade ago.
Indeed – don’t encourage them.
I’ve only managed to watch one Backbenches since is commercial transition – just as I have Media3 (once was Media7).
One of the big problems with the commercialisation of these programmes (or should I now call them ‘shows’) is that the continuity is destroyed often by the NEED to ‘take a break’ at as close to set times as is possible – and regardless of interrupting participants trying to make a point.
You’ll notice it on FUX NEWS often – when the left are getting any sort of advantage in an argument….. “we gotta get a break”, etc.
That’s just ONE of the problems! The platform is insidious: whether intended or not – you’ll find Brown, Chapman, Christie et al become victims of the ‘stardom mentality’ that seems to be a necessity in operating on this commercially driven platform.
In both cases (Prime BB, and MW M3), the defense is – it’s better than no BB or M3. I’m afraid not for me.
We are sending an incredibly bad signal that New Zealand is no longer a safe place to invest
It would be followed by an lowering of our credit rating, and a devaluation in currency.
The oil prices being kept artificially high as a deterrant to flirting with currency devaluation, because the inflationary pressure threat would be rammed down everyones throat!
Interest rates would rise, and whats left of the NZ economy will fall out the backdoor. Even with more competitive exports, the current account deficit will keep widening, with a higer cost of borrowing to service the lesser credit rating, leading to higher taxes to service the gowing debt costs!
The NZ Power policy as no chance of getting off the ground,
Because the global banking cartel, has NZ, by the balls!
The effect of NZ Power on private shareholders dividends will be 3 to 4.5% (not accounting for revenue increasing, + 18.6% in 2012). You’re saying that because of a potential 3 to 4.5% reduction in value of dividends going to private shareholders the NZ economy will fall out the backdoor? Get off the grass muzza.
I have to agree with you there CV… After crunching a few numbers it appears NZ Power won’t have much if any affect on power companies profitability or the dividends they payout. However there are savings to be made through better management of current infrastructure, which I think is just as much a problem as the current bidding system that means consumers are paying far too much for electricity that’s relatively cheap to produce.
It appears that Labour and the Greens perhaps knew there would be howls of anger from the right wing regarding NZ Power and so devised a very moderate policy. It certainly isn’t far left “economic vandalism” that some have claimed. Let’s hope that when NZ Power gets up and running (mid to late 2016) they will push the envelope a bit on how much is actually able to be saved for consumers.
Actually Jackal, my intent was aimed at what would likely happen to the housing/retail markets, should interest rates rise from their current. *lows* ??? following a devaluation in our currency, via a ratings mark down!
My commentary was a high level overview of what would happen, as was pointed out, if *a signal that NZ was no longer a safe place to invest*, went out!
Which is what NZ Power will have to contend with, and its creators contend with, before it stands any chance to become airborne!
A wee bit surprised you didn’t zone in on the comment made by one of those ( I don’t know one from the other) aforementioned clowns Morrissey. Never mind. I’ll do it. Came after a quick fire question to the pollies relating to Boston.
Where were the alleged bombers from? Answer given was Chechnya. Answer queried on the grounds (I guess) that Kyrgyzstan had been mentioned in connection to them and their family. And the clown, not remembering the name ‘Kyrgyzstan’ deemed it an an opportunity to pop out the racially loaded ‘Wogistan’ alternate answer.
Not surprised you don’t know one clown from another. After all, they’re all make-uo (courtesy of whatever brand of face paint that’s in vogue these days).
I was just thinking though (after witnessing a hipkins on some Beck Benchas ‘show’ – constructed by a Chapman and a Christie – where the credits were at pains to tell us all who ‘dressed them’) – I was going to suggest he should ‘Moisturise!…. Moisturise!…. Moisturise”.
It may well be his greatest contribution to the Labouring Party
A wee bit surprised you didn’t zone in on the comment made by one of those ( I don’t know one from the other) aforementioned clowns Morrissey.
I heard it, but I didn’t write it down in my transcription notebook, so I’d forgotten it by the time I came to type it up. The clown that said it was (surprise, surprise) the National Party lout Aaron Gilmore.
Never mind. I’ll do it. Came after a quick fire question to the pollies relating to Boston.
Thanks, Bill. You’re a trooper—in the good sense.
Where were the alleged bombers from? Answer given was Chechnya. Answer queried on the grounds (I guess) that Kyrgyzstan had been mentioned in connection to them and their family. And the clown, not remembering the name ‘Kyrgyzstan’ deemed it an an opportunity to pop out the racially loaded ‘Wogistan’ alternate answer.
And no-one batted an eyelid.
It’s not that nobody noticed, or cared. The problem is the format of the show. To remonstrate with that halfwitted National Party thug would have been counter to this show’s enforced mood of frivolity. Earlier in the evening, over on TV3, the same determined dumbing down occurred when Prof. Damon Salesa tried to say something serious during the moronic laugh-fest The Vote.
It wasn’t Gilmore came out with that shit Morrissey. It was one of the presenters – the one who tended to do the wandering around eliciting opinion from attendees.
Gilmore answered with “Chechnya”. One of the presenters was a bit unsure of that as an answer and the other clown kind of dismissively (barely conceiled undertones of ‘they’re all the same and who the fuck cares anyway’) suggested “Wogistan”. Racially, ethnically and religiously fucked up as all hell imo.
John Armstrong is the Peter Dunne of the NZ Herald. Always trying to position himself in the vaccuous centre because he thinks that will may him look sensible, balanced and fair. In reality he’s just another self-serving journo.
Everyone should see the the film ‘Shadows of liberty’; it was on at documentary festival and hopefully will come back to cinemas once finished the festival cycle.
Here it trailer http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=_SAUborWbPw&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_SAUborWbPw
It does show what has happened to the media and examples can be found in New Zealand of all the same issues mentioned in the film.
“John Armstrong is the Peter Dunne of the NZ Herald.”
heh.
It’s a thing. “High Broderism” it’s called, after David Broder who dominated the Washington press corp for lo, many years.
The basic conceit is that some journalists develop a identity of being the caretakers of the discourse. The content of policy, the actual business of politics, becomes a side issue at best; the protection of order, and form, take over. Disputes are seen not as politics functioning as it ought, but as threats to be resolved. ‘Bold policy’ is just a move in a game. They are positioning statements aimed at voter blocks, rather than policies aimed at problems.
What that leads to, though it is never admitted, or even realised I suspect, is that much of the political analysis we see is not analysis of policy, or even of politicians, but of the polis.
The question “How will this policy play in the electorate in terms of votes” is not answered by looking at the effects of a policy, or the reasoning behind it. ie, it cannot be answered by reporting on policy or politicians. It is answered by discussing whose votes might shift, and what it might do in the polls.
The advantage for journalists here is that this is a non partisan endeavor; they aren’t pontificating about whether the policy is good/bad, or whether the politician is honest/mendacious.
Nice link, PB. I think Colin Espiner fits that description too. When many had pegged him as a friend of the left he let loose with the article on Green/Labour policy.
Armstrong’s piece is all about strategy – about The Game. And nothing about what is actually the right thing to do for the majority of Kiwis, and especially for those struggling on low incomes.
It’s a heartless piece. But that’s what “neoliberalism” has done to mainstream political commentary.
small question (and I understand folks are busy)
Why is there no banner/promotion on The Standard for the Day of Action ?
There is just yesterday’s reminder. Seems like a missed opportunity is all.
anyways . . .
You may have voted National, Maori Party, United Future or even Act. That does not deny you your right to voice opposition to their actions as a Government. In fact to succeed in their crimes, they count on your silence and your complicity. Today is your chance to let them know you matter.
If you are not working today, little has greater significance to the future of New Zealand than this simple walk down the street amongst friends.
The crowning of Maurice Williamson as a ‘gay icon’ (by the media at least) has left me somewhat bemused.
Nothing against Williamson. He voted yes for marriage equality and as a result I applaud him. Even more so, he is a member of a conservative party in a rather blue neighbourhood. I have no doubt the pressure on him from those opposing equality was fierce.
His speech was good. Great? That’s debatable. It was loud. It had a few amusing turns of phrase. But it wasn’t necessarily any better than any of the other pro-speeches. Mojo Mathers, for example, gave one of the most stirring speeches I’ve ever seen. So why isn’t she being lauded as a ‘gay icon’?
Perhaps because she isn’t male, white and heterosexual? She doesn’t possess that holy triumvirate that many in society ascribe as being ‘preferable’ or ‘powerful’ or even ‘acceptable’.
Williamson voted down Civil Unions. He says it’s because they didn’t go far enough. That doesn’t wash with me. By that same logic you would deny a starving person a hamburger because it wasn’t steak. Back then those of us who needed legal protection were happy to get it any way we could. We saw civil unions as a secondary class, but it was a class nonetheless. No Maurice, you don’t get a pass on that. You voted tactically there, not with your conscience. Be honest.
Maurice, you’re not an ‘icon’ to this ethnic gay man. You’re a straight white man who voted progressively. You’re not worthy of the kudos that the media is heaping on you for marriage equality. That belongs to those politicians who worked tirelessly for years, decades, to achieve this. Kevin Hague. Louisa Wall. Those are gay icons. Those are the people who should be invited on Ellen. Not you, Maurice.
Stop the interviews. Don’t go on Ellen. Get on with doing your job. Because feeding this ‘gay icon’ fire is just sad to those who know it’s all puffery. You did a good thing. A very good thing. But there’s nothing worse than someone taking credit that isn’t due.
But won’t Mr Key be livid. He had to boyishly grin as he gave approval for the Ellen visit.
But why wasn’t it him! John Key is the man for centre stage, the limelight, the adulation, the autograph hunters, and international spotlight. To have to step back for a lowly Maurice for heavens sake! Hell will blaze for a man back-benched!
My conspiracy theory is that Maurice nixed the trip (I seem to remember him saying he wouldn’t go at first) but that Key pushed him to promote NZ. His talk about the trip now has tourism speak all over it.
But we can assume Key is pissed someone else is getting the limelight…
Some people I know took it upon themselves to inform Ellen de Generes of Williamson’s history on the issue. He was pretty much promoted by the Herald etc because he’s a Tory – just hijacking kudos for NAct. I didn’t think his speech was anything great and the fact that it was lauded all round the world just goes to show oratory has died.
I can see how Ellen might think Williamson would help get the white male heterosexual conservatives in the US onside for the same sex marriage campaign in the US.
However, she totally ignores the impact within NZ.
I agree, Tigger. Mojo Mathers gave the best speech in the 3rd reading of the Bill, as far as I’m concerned – it was about an inclusive family and wider whanau.
From the US point of view, that so many National MPs voted for marriage reform basically identifies them as God-despising family hating bleeding heart liberals who are all going to hell.
hence the “database unavailable” shite a while back.
You should be commended lprent as I’m hoping you are from time to time.
The approach is obviously not the ‘suck it and see’ one found elsewhere.
The outages should have only been 10-20 seconds or so each time.
Upgraded and been through a good solid compacting including old versions of posts and comments. I have corrected all issues with orphaned comments (~200 all up). Deleted about 4 that were in a chain in 2010 where the original comment got deleted and the replies all referred to the original comment.
It is suck it and see some of the time. There are some issues that I can’t test on the development system because of loading differences.
To all marching today…thank you so very much. I can’t be there due to the on call nature of my work but I am with you in spirit and will be following the protests around the country with much interest. I marched up Queen Street with my 84yr old Dad last year and found it very helpful in so many ways. I trust you all will too. Once again, many thanks from those of us unable to be there in body, we are with you.
see, with these subsistence-labour factories like the one that collapsed in Bangladesh it is only the consumer, and their demand for price, that can make the difference; the consumer. A dilemma indeed.
They can be quite delayed and sensationalist these prime-time news bulletins; In context, the last bird-flu killed approximately 370 people world-wide, from memory. That is not to say that something unforeseen might happen if the current strain becomes transmitted human to human.
According to the agonising of the sheep and beef farmer, if they don’t find solutions “they may as well pack it in” according to one representativee.
So, the use of sarin is a “red-line”, a “game-changer” says Obama, yet the US and Co. are being a bit more cautious before rushing in this time it appears.
and according to a commentator on the Auckland transport bind; “cycling (if possible) really does blow all other forms of transport away”.
Doug Sellman is the man to go to concerning the addiction issues NZ faces.
“professional sports are just rife with mental health issues”-Karen Nimmo
“rugby administrators are inconsistent in their enforcement of ‘codes of conduct'”
Rob Nichol, an apologist for big-money sports investment effectively, nonetheless identifies the two big issues professional sports (and those who aspire to participation in the field) face;
-integrity
-mental health of athletes (just consider Susan Devoy; too many shuttles to the head).
I’d like to thank anyone who is marching today against the theft of our national assets. I am unable to be there, but am with you in spirit.
To the scum who wish to sell us out: Kaore e mau te rongo–ake, ake!
Swaps and detivatives rate fixing investigation hits Bank of America Merrill Lynch
After fining banks billions of dollars over the last year for distorting a key interest rate known as Libor, regulators in the U.S. are now investigating whether a more obscure rate in another huge market is also rigged.
The rate, known as ISDAfix, is a benchmark in the $379 trillion market for interest rate swaps, which corporations and governments use to fine-tune their borrowing costs. U.S. regulators have subpoenaed as many as 15 banks and about a dozen current and former brokers at ICAP (IAP), the company that collects the data submitted by banks to set ISDAfix prices, to determine if they’re colluding to manipulate quotes. ICAP said in a statement on April 9 that it had no knowledge of price manipulations by its brokers, and that it is conducting its own inquiry.
It should surprise no one that among the players implicated in this scheme to fix the prices of interest-rate swaps are the same megabanks – including Barclays, UBS, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and the Royal Bank of Scotland – that serve on the Libor panel that sets global interest rates.
Shoddy standards continue to erode the integrity of TVNZ news
Why would anyone trust this television station?
Television One News, Saturday 27 April 2013
Thousands of people turned out on the streets this afternoon to protest against the Government’s plan to flog off our national assets. But not according to one crusty old newsreader on Television One. I switched on my television just after 6:30 this evening to hear this…
Peter Williams: “HUNDREDS of people turned out in marches all over the country today…”
Given the fact that there were hundreds of protestors in Tauranga alone, it seems certain that there were several thousand marchers over the whole country.
Yet someone gave that silly old fool Peter Williams a script that said there were only “hundreds” of marchers nationwide. Or maybe Williams adjusted the figure himself; in light of his many nasty, smug little comments over the years, I would not put it past him to do such a thing.
After that came the preview of the sports news. This was equally abject, equally foolish, equally contrary to reality….
Jenny-May Coffin: “The Blues and Hurricanes have both lost to Aussie opposition. Both games were superb spectacles but the Australian teams were WAY TOO STRONG.”
Yet some genius wrote a script for Jenny-May Coffin to read out that claimed the Australians were “way too strong.” Perhaps it was the same person who claimed there were only “hundreds” of marchers nationwide today.
Are they testing the copy-writers at TVNZ for hallucinogenic drug use? And if not, why not?
I found it strange watching the news – no mention of the Stewart Island oil leaking fishing vessel country of origin – why it ended up on rocks. Just the name Sureste – and a seemingly relaxed Environment Southland – heavy weather had dispursed most of the oil away.
Is this the same Sur Este – one of the Korean-flagged fishing vessels recently in the news for abusing crew?
Here’s an odd thing – an application from the FBI to hack a computer which was denied on the basis that the target computer is outside the territorial limit. I guess it just a Texas judge, so presumably the hacking of Kim Dotcom’s computers must have been issued by someone from the World Court, right?
Dotcom’s house was raided by NZ authorities, not by American. (although the Americans instigated and supervised it). This is also why the NZ courts system has jurisdiction over the incident.
And here’s what we know so far: The CFTC has sent subpoenas to ICAP and to as many as 15 of those member banks, and plans to interview about a dozen ICAP employees from the company’s office in Jersey City, New Jersey. Moreover, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, or ISDA, which works together with ICAP (for U.S. dollar transactions) and Thomson Reuters to compute the ISDAfix benchmark, has hired the consulting firm Oliver Wyman to review the process by which ISDAfix is calculated. Oliver Wyman is the same company that the British Bankers’ Association hired to review the Libor submission process after that scandal broke last year. The upshot of all of this is that it looks very much like ISDAfix could be Libor all over again.
Remember that these private banks are empowered by the central banks, and that the top execs of both move freely between each others organisations at the highest levels.
What’s new? The whole 20th century was one of concentration of capital into giant industrial and banking trusts, combines and cartels.
Its called state monopoly capitalism.
Competition is for losers. You only survive by getting bigger. Once you are big enough you can corner any market, land, finance, oil etc and set up a cartel especially if you can buy the govt. Land is a natural monopoly, but in finance you buy the govt and get it to license you to print money, set interest rates, get bailed out blah blah.
Its not new, its not an aberration, its not corruption, its the way the capitalist system works by outgrowing its competitive origins and using state power to bully all and sundry to accept your monopoly as god’s gift.
The system has to run like this because that’s the only way it can continue to accumulate and concentrate private wealth at the top, i.e. by making sure that only those at the top can compete.
So competition is squeezed upward out of markets, out of national jurisdictions and into international trusts that use the power of their state machines to bully their rivals. Its also squeezed downwards into the surplus population to divide and rule the working class. The result is world wars. US vs China is the current world war in the making.
Even at the beginning of the 20th century such was the fusion of industrial capital and banking capital that Lenin coined the term ‘finance capital’ to express this fact.
Today the term ‘finance capital’ is used to mean ‘money’ or ‘banking’ capital, when in reality it is fused with industrial capital.
As I said none of this is new. The constant surprise expressed by these ‘players’ as to the depth of collusion in business and banking is evidence of their ignorance as to how the system really works.
This sort of learned stupidity is part of the process of legitimating capitalism.
Its not new, its not an aberration, its not corruption, its the way the capitalist system works…
It’s not new, it is how the capitalist system works and it is corrupt.
This sort of learned stupidity is part of the process of legitimating capitalism.
My latest thought on the matter is that the whole neo-liberal paradigm isn’t actually an economic theory (How can it be? It’s not even remotely explaining the reality) but is just a means to legitimate the continued accumulation of the communities wealth into fewer and fewer hands.
Agree DTB if you use a standard of ‘corruption’ external to capitalism. Capitalism is inherently corrupt compared to pre-capitalist standards of communal sharing of social resources, and compared to post-capitalist concepts of communal existence. It breaks what is a fundamental rule of social reproduction (i.e. survival) which is “from each according to their ability and to each according to their needs”. It’s transgression of this rule is what is driving it to destroy humanity and nature.
Laughing With The Poor Folks - Or At Them? Christopher Luxon took rapper LunchMoney Lewis’s lyrics at their face value. “Bills”, as heard by Luxon, is a cri-de-cœur from a hard-working man determined to pull himself and his family up by their own bootstraps. It simply wouldn’t occur to him ...
On the rare occasions when it ever gets asked, the public keeps rejecting tax cuts as such, as a policy priority. It keeps saying it wants tax levels to either stay the same or be increased, so that public services can be maintained, or even (perish the thought) improved. In ...
Europe has been baking in a heatwave, of course. Not so much this part of the world, which benefits by still being in Winter (though let’s just say I am not looking forward to January 2023). Not that it’s been a particularly cold Winter – we haven’t had one ...
The Wagner Group is a private military company – effectively mercenaries. It has been used for the military activity of the Russian Federation in various parts of the world. Currently, it is operating in Ukraine and apparently has a reputation as a very brave and effective force in the ...
I have said this in other forums, but here is the deal: PRC military exercises after Pelosi’s visit are akin to male gorillas who run around thrashing branches and beating their chests when annoyed, disturbed or seeking to show dominance. They are certainly dangerous and not to be ignored, but ...
From July 7 to 26 we tried something new on our Facebook page by sharing one Cranky Uncle cartoon each day for 20 days in a row. There were two reasons for doing this: firstly, we wanted to ensure that at least one post would get published each day while I was ...
Too many commentators on current price pressures have not understood that this time it is very different from the 1970s. Their prescriptions may accelerate inflation.The New Zealand economy is experiencing an external price shock arising from the Covid pandemic and the Ukrainian invasion compounded by related supply chain difficulties. It ...
During the years of the Key government one hardy perennial of political journalism was that whenever the Labour Opposition would suggest a policy alternative to the status quo, the hard bitten response from the Gallery realists would be “But how’re you gonna pay for it?” National in Opposition has been ...
In The Wizard’s Garden: George Dunlop Leslie, 1904IT ALL SEEMS so long ago now, and, to be fair, in human terms, 48 years is a long time. New Zealand was a different country in 1974. Someone unafraid of courting controversy might say it had achieved “Peak Pakeha”. Although the Labour Government of ...
Proximate Cause: Tellingly, it was Helen Clark who was seated close by when, earlier this week, Jacinda Ardern delivered a speech carefully crafted to keep New Zealand’s dairy exports heading China’s way. Photo by PolitikPURISTS WOULD ARGUE that New Zealand’s foreign policy should not be determined by who its Prime Minister ...
We have a new clip out of The Rings of Power. It sees Galadriel and the affectionately nicknamed Gigwit* venturing into dark places in search of evil. At fifty-odd seconds, it also constitutes the longest single piece of show dialogue we have seen thus far. *An acronym. “Galadriel Is ...
Rising To The Challenge: Te Pāti Māori is reassuring the angry and the alienated that in 2023 voting will make a difference. Aotearoa is changing. Pakeha – especially young Pakeha – are changing. The racism is still there, of course, heightened, it would seem, by the prospect of Labour, the ...
"CAGW." A thing? With its provocative title and remarks grounded in respected published research, the perspective Climate Endgame: Exploring catastrophic climate change scenarios just published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has caused a few ripples reaching into popular media. "Endgame" and "catastrophic" lean hard in the direction of "pay ...
In the past there's been a few interesting data points about the New Zealand Intelligence Community's desire to covertly manipulate public opinion through media and academic mouthpieces. In 2015 the Council for Civil Liberties revealed the existence of an NZIC "Strategic Communications Group" tasked with persuading the public that spying ...
Inflation is through the roof, and "coincidentally" so is oil company profiteering. UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls it what it is: grotesque: The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has described the record profits of oil and gas companies as immoral and urged governments to introduce a windfall tax, using ...
What on earth is going on with the main opposition parties at the moment? Both National and ACT have been making numerous flip-flops and miscommunications, clearly indicating that they aren’t a viable alternative to the current Labour led Government.Of particular note is the duplicitous reasoning given for why they support ...
A ballot for two member's bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Housing Infrastructure (GST-sharing) Bill (Brooke van Velden) Prohibition on Seabed Mining Legislation Amendment Bill (Debbie Ngarewa-Packer) Ngarewa-Packer's bill looks likely to start a shitfight with Labour, and not just because the ...
As you might have noticed, I have an on-going interest in working my way through old and intellectually influential reading material. Occasionally I even share my thoughts on it, which allows me to take a break from my generally-dominant Tolkien analysis. Well, today I thought I would take a ...
Golriz Ghahraman's Electoral (Strengthening Democracy) Amendment Bill will probably face its first reading today. And three months after it was introduced - pissing on the "as soon as practicable" requirement of Standing Order 269 - it has received a section 7 report from Attorney-General David Parker stating that its proposed ...
There's an interesting select committee report out today, from the Petitions Committee on the Petition of Conrad Petersen: The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA). The petitioner raises some concerns about the slowness of the IPCA process and its lack of oversight, and suggests some solutions. The committee doesn't seem keen ...
Today is a Member's Day, but likely to be a boring one. There's no general debate today, and instead the House will move right into the third reading of the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Bill, which will add unelected, inherently conflicted Ngai Tahu representatives to ECan. Then there's ...
That gormlessly glum picture of Christopher Luxon in Samoa graphically tells us what kind of image New Zealand would be projecting abroad if there’s a change of government next year. The glumness is understandable. For months, National and ACT had been dog whistling to the bigots who oppose the creation ...
There is no corruption in New Zealand. At least that’s what authorities want the public to believe. For decades now our system of political finance regulation has been portrayed as highly rigorous, ensuring our politicians cannot be bought. Unfortunately, that’s just not true. Although politicians and officials have claimed tight ...
Pundits have come out of the woodwork to defend the Greens co-leader, after he was stripped of his leadership last week by unhappy party members. The defences have all stuck to basically the same script: Shaw is a successful leader and minister who’s handed the party big victories in politics ...
Meghan Murphy talks with Batya Ungar-Sargon the author of Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy. The book charts the trajectory of journalism in the US as it shifted from being a blue collar occupation producing the penny press for the masses, to a profession for Ivy League university ...
Co-Leaders? The uncomfortable truth is: not the Army, not the Police, not the Spooks, and not even a combination of all three, could defeat the scale and violence of White Supremacist and Māori Nationalist resistance which the imposition of radical decolonisation – or its racism-inspired defeat – would unleash upon ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson and Jeff Masters Torrents of rain that began before dawn on Tuesday, July 26, gave St. Louis, Missouri, its highest calendar-day total since records began in 1873. And the deadly event is just the latest example of a well-established trend ...
Completed reads for July: The Prince, by Niccolo MachiavelliFaust, Part I, by Johann Wolfgang von GoetheFaust, Part II, by Johann Wolfgang von GoetheParadise Lost, by John MiltonParadise Regained, by John MiltonThe NibelungenliedAgricola, by TacitusGermania, by TacitusDialogue on Orators, by TacitusThe Gods of Pegana, by Lord DunsanyTime and the Gods, ...
A couple of weeks ago the High Court exposed a loophole in our electoral donations law, enabling corrupt parties to take in unlimited amounts of secret money and explicitly sell policy to the rich. Pretty obviously, this is unacceptable in a country which wants to call itself a democracy, and ...
This morning, National’s deputy leader Nicola Willis managed to get top of the bulletin news coverage by pointing out that some Kiwis living abroad might receive the government’s cost of living payment. Quelle horreur. What is the problem here? Inflation is a global problem, and Kiwis living abroad may be ...
Beyond Fixing? The critical question confronting New Zealanders is whether we any longer have the resources to repair our physical and human infrastructure?WHO WILL MAKE the New Zealand of the next 50 years? We had better hope that, whoever they are, they make a better job of it than those ...
Today’s speech by Jacinda Ardern to the China Business Summit in Auckland was full of soothing words for Beijing. The headline-grabber was Ardern’s comment that ‘a few plans are afoot’ for New Zealand ministers to return to China – and that the Prime Minister herself hopes to return to the ...
Rule-Breaker? It is easy to see why poor James Shaw found himself brutally deposed as the Greens’ co-leader. By seeking the responsibilities of leadership – and exercising them – he violated the first rule of Green Party governance. Then, by accepting the limitations of the Green Party’s electoral mandate (7.8 ...
After the incredibly sad story about the deaths of over 50 Ukrainian POWs in a Ukrainian missile attack on the prison they were housed in (see Over 50 POWs killed. A military accident or a cynical war crime?)I came across the heartwarming story about another Ukrainian POW. It’s about a ...
British mercenary Aiden Aslin, now a prisoner in the Donetsk People’s Republic, expressed real concern that he may die from the Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk. He has experienced many missile attacks that came close to the prison.Is he still alive? Understandably, we are always shocked about the losses ...
Politics is largely reported as theatre: tragedy and comedy, thriller and farce. Andrea Vance captures it all very successfully in Blue Blood. But it is the politics of personality, not of policy – of the impact of government on the people’s wellbeing. Even so, we can see from the book ...
This year the government finally got its clean car feebate scheme into place. But there's a problem: it's been too successful: Transport Minister Michael Wood will shortly review the cost of the fees and rebates in the Government's "feebate" scheme after the runaway success of the policy has meant ...
Given how the pandemic has disrupted the sporting calendar, no-one would begrudge our elite athletes their chance to compete at international level. What with the war in Ukraine and the cost of living, there are also not many ‘good news” stories out there. So… I suppose the strenuous efforts the ...
Everybody Having A Say: Democracy commands us to look outward; it demands our trust; it tells us what is expected of our humanity; it elevates the collective above the self; it celebrates the things we have in common; it defines our morals and values; it calculates what we owe one ...
Even right-wing commentators have, over recent days, and jusrifiably enough, been taking the National leader, Christopher Luxon, to task. They have lambasted him over his soft-shoe shuffle over abortion, for bad-mouthing New Zealand business while he was overseas, and for pretending to be in Te Puke while he was actually ...
So, now we know for sure. The “protesters” who defiled the grounds of parliament and who (according to their own account) intended to create in three of our major cities “maximum disruption and inconvenience” to other citizens, are not interested in democracy – indeed, quite the contrary. Their objective, quite ...
The issue with Christopher Luxon’s social media post talking about his day in Te Puke when he was in Hawaii is it’s fake news. He has since apologised for the mistake. But this doesn’t negate its impact. This mistake, misstep, gaffe or whatever you like to call it, is about ...
Over the last couple of years there has been a disturbing trend of new legislation containing secrecy clauses, which effectively make it illegal for affected government bodies to disclose information under the Official Information Act. Some of these are re-enacting old legislation from the pre- or early-OIA era (in which ...
Allegations of political corruption are once again at the heart of a new High Court trial this week. The trial follows straight on from the “not guilty” verdict for those running the New Zealand First Foundation. And this latest trial is once again about whether wealthy businesspeople and political parties ...
Ukrainian operation to steal Russian military aircraft exposed [English edit] Representatives of the Ukrainian special services offered up to $2 million for hijacking Russian military aircraft, as well as European passports for the pilots and their families. In order to gain trust, Ukrainians shared information they were not allowed ...
Struck Down: As James Shaw saved the pure Greens from themselves in 2017, they resented him. As he secured the Climate Change portfolio for his party, they suspected him. As he achieved cross-party support for crucial climate change legislation, they condemned him. And, as he was white, and male, and ...
If nothing else, some of the media treatment of the Luxon lu’au has reeked of a double standard. If Jacinda Ardern – or any of her Cabinet Ministers – had been holidaying in Hawaii while their social media imagery was depicting them working hard on the public’s behalf in Te ...
The Emissions Trading Scheme is broken. Stuffed with free allocations and rigged with a "cost containment reserve" which floods the market any time prices get "too high" (for a definition of "too high" set in a different world), its basicly served as a machanism to subsidise the production of the ...
Think Big: A democratic-socialist government could remove GST from basic food items. It could re-nationalise and centralise the generation and distribution of electric power, and then retail it to citizens at an affordable price. A democratic-socialist government could nationalise the public transportation system and make it free for everyone. A democratic-socialist government ...
Pure Poison: It is when the fetid atmosphere created by the Right’s toxic accusations and denunciations is at its thickest, that comparisons with the Woke Left spring most easily to mind. If the level of emotion on display, and the strength of the invective used, is inversely related to the ...
New Zealand companies are using their oligopolistic market power to gouge mega profits, driving up inflation. Overseas, such actions have resulted in windfall taxes, which have been used both to drive down inflation, and ameliorate its impacts (while driving down emissions). With New Zealand petrol companies pocketing record margins and ...
Poll Axed: What happened to James Shaw on Saturday, 23 July 2022 exposed the Greens’ minoritarian political culture for all to see. Once voters grasp the enormity of 30 percent of Green delegates to the Green AGM being constitutionally empowered to overrule the wishes of the 70 percent of delegates ...
Now, that was strange. That was very strange. Having dropped an initial July teaser for The Rings of Power, Amazon put out a full two-minute trailer in the middle of the month. That one, I liked. Now, however, we have an additional three-minute trailer, released a couple of days ...
I have prepared the following (draft) submission on the Electoral (Māori Electoral Option) Legislation Bill, which you all have until Saturday to submit on. Happy to consider comments, or to fix typos: have I used the word whakapapa incorrectly, etc? Please let me know :-)======The Justice CommitteeElectoral (Māori Electoral Option) ...
The big news over the weekend was that Green party delegates at their AGM voted to re-open nominations for James Shaw's co-leadership position, effectively toppling him as co-leader. I'm not a member of the Greens, so its not really my place to have an opinion on who should lead them ...
James Shaw has lost his co-leadership position in the Green Party, and there’s a good chance he won’t be able to get it back. And he shouldn’t – it won’t be good for either him or his party. When delegates at the Green Party AGM voted on his position as ...
Climate change has gone from being one of those allegedly wacky Green ideas to wide mainstream acceptance. In their own ways, leaders like Jeanette Fitzsimons, Russel Norman and James Shaw each added to the increased credibility the Greens’ now have among the voting public. The decision not to re-endorse Shaw ...
So, now we know for sure. The “protesters” who defiled the grounds of parliament and who (according to their own account) intended to create in three of our major cities “maximum disruption and inconvenience” to other citizens, are not interested in democracy – indeed, quite the contrary. Their objective, quite ...
Don Franks was interviewed by Dr Toby Boraman in December 2013 about his time working in the militant Ford car plant in the 1970s. This is the fifth and final installment of that interview. The first installment is here, the second installment here, the third here and fourth installment here. (The interview has ...
Politics in New Zealand isn’t in a very good place at the moment. Not only do we have the opposition once again undermining our response to the Covid-19 pandemic, right when the number of cases are exploding, we also have former MPs thumbing their noses at the law and claiming ...
Imagine being a Green Party activist at the moment. You joined the party because climate change is an existential threat and truly radical change needs to be undertaken immediately. You’re deeply upset by inequality. You think that conventional politicians are part of the problem. However, you begin to realise that ...
Chris Trotter has put out a piece, lamenting the myopic focus of modern student activism on, well, students, and the tendency of university-educated policy-makers to take care of their own: https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2022/07/poverty-is-indivisible-ms-swarbrick.html I think he raises some fair points, at least in the sense that assisting New Zealand’s university ...
The Green Party is once again calling on the Government to announce its support for a moratorium on deep sea mining, and to support a member’s bill going to select committee. ...
The Government must take steps to ensure that the way we build our homes is helping to meet New Zealand’s climate change targets, the Green Party said. ...
The Government’s employment initiatives led by the Ministry of Social Development must guarantee liveable incomes and fair working conditions, the Green Party says. ...
New Zealanders deserve a health system that works for everyone, no matter who you are or where you live. Our Government has a plan to make this a reality, and we’re taking the next steps. We now have thousands more health professionals, such as doctors and nurses, working in New ...
During her time as Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern has navigated New Zealand through unprecedented times. Through it all, she’s become known as someone who leads with kindness, compassion and strength, while keeping the wellbeing of Kiwis at the heart of her approach. To celebrate five years of Jacinda leading the ...
Since taking office in 2017, our Government has worked hard to lift wages and make life more affordable for New Zealanders, as we move forward with our plan to grow a secure economy for all. ...
The Government must use the opportunity of the Electoral Amendment Bill in Parliament to close the loophole in the political donations regime, the Green Party says. ...
Thanks to political pressure from the Green Party and the more than 900 personal stories of birth injury and trauma delivered to Minister Sepuloni, more injuries have been added to the ACC birth injuries bill. ...
Supporting New Zealanders is at the heart of our approach as a Government, and we’re working hard to tackle the big issues Kiwis are facing. While long term challenges like child poverty won’t be solved overnight, we’re putting in place policies that make a real difference for New Zealanders. Here ...
Delegates at the AGM of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand have voted to retain Marama Davidson as Green Party co-leader and to re-open nominations for the other co-leader position. ...
Every New Zealander deserves a healthy, affordable place to call home. We have a comprehensive plan to make it happen, and we’re making good progress. Here's the latest on how we're supporting Kiwis into homes: ...
The Government is allowing wealthy individuals to ‘purchase’ residency while entrenching a system that keeps low-waged workers on a precarious and temporary status, the Green Party says. ...
The Election Access Fund established by a Green Party members’ bill opened for submissions this week, showing positive progress towards more accessible elections. ...
With additional trains operating across the network, powered by the Government’s investment in rail, there is need for a renewed focus on rail safety, Transport Minister Michael Wood emphasised at the launch of Rail Safety Week 2022. “Over the last five years the Government has invested significantly to improve level ...
The Foreign Minister has wrapped up a series of meetings with Indo-Pacific partners in Cambodia which reinforced the need for the region to work collectively to deal with security and economic challenges. Nanaia Mahuta travelled to Phnom Penh for a bilateral meeting between ASEAN foreign ministers and Aotearoa New Zealand, ...
Extension of Aotearoa Touring Programme supporting domestic musicians The Programme has supported more than 1,700 shows and over 250 artists New Zealand Music Commission estimates that around 200,000 Kiwis have been able to attend shows as a result of the programme The Government is hitting a high note, with ...
Minister of Defence Peeni Henare will depart tomorrow for Solomon Islands to attend events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal. While in Solomon Islands, Minister Henare will also meet with Solomon Islands Minister of National Security, Correctional Services and Police Anthony Veke to continue cooperation on security ...
The Government is partnering with Ngāi Tahu Farming Limited and Ngāi Tūāhuriri on a whole-farm scale study in North Canterbury to validate the science of regenerative farming, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The programme aims to scientifically evaluate the financial, social and environmental differences between regenerative and conventional practices. ...
52.5% of people on public boards are women Greatest ever percentage of women Improved collection of ethnicity data “Women’s representation on public sector boards and committees is now 52.5 percent, the highest ever level. The facts prove that diverse boards bring a wider range of knowledge, expertise and skill. ...
I am honoured to support the 2022 Women in Governance Awards, celebrating governance leaders, directors, change-makers, and rising stars in the community, said Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. For the second consecutive year, MPP is proudly sponsoring the Pacific Governance Leader category, recognising Pacific women in governance and presented to ...
Today Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash turned the sod for the new Whakatāne Commercial Boat Harbour, cut the ribbon for the revitalised Whakatāne Wharf, and inspected work underway to develop the old Whakatāne Army Hall into a visitor centre, all of which are part of the $36.8 million ...
New Zealanders are not getting a fair deal on some key residential building supplies and while the Government has already driven improvements in the sector, a Commerce Commission review finds that changes are needed to make it more competitive. “New Zealand is facing the same global cost of living and ...
Mana in Mahi reaches a milestone surpassing 5,000 participants 75 per cent of participants who had been on a benefit for two or more years haven’t gone back onto a benefit 89 per cent who have a training pathway are working towards a qualification at NZQA level 3 or ...
The Government has invested $7.7 million in a research innovation hub which was officially opened today by Minister of Research, Science and Innovation Dr Ayesha Verrall. The new facility named Te Pā Harakeke Flexible Labs comprises 560 square metres of new laboratory space for research staff and is based at ...
Unemployment has remained near record lows thanks to the Government’s economic plan to support households and businesses through the challenging global environment, resulting in more people in work and wages rising. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in the June quarter, with 96,000 people classed out ...
Action to address the risks identified in the 2020 climate change risk assessment, protecting lives, livelihoods, homes, businesses and infrastructure A joined up approach that will support community-based adaptation with national policies and legislation Providing all New Zealanders with information about local climate risks via a new online data ...
Māori with mental health and addiction challenges have easier access to care thanks to twenty-nine Kaupapa Māori primary mental health and addiction services across Aotearoa, Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare says. “Labour is the first government to take mental health seriously for all New Zealanders. We know that Māori ...
A Bill which updates New Zealand’s statistics legislation for the 21st century has passed its third and final reading today, Minister of Statistics David Clark said. The Data and Statistics Act replaces the Statistics Act, which has been in effect since 1975. “In the last few decades, national data and ...
The Accessibility for New Zealanders Bill has passed its first reading in Parliament today, marking a significant milestone to improve the lives of disabled people. “The Bill aims to address accessibility barriers that prevent disabled people, tāngata whaikaha and their whānau, and others with accessibility needs from living independently,” said ...
Kia ora koutou, da jia hao It’s great to be back at this year’s China Business Summit. I would first like to acknowledge Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister Helen Clark, His Excellency Ambassador Wang Xiaolong, and parliamentary colleagues both current and former the Right Honourable Winston Peters, the ...
Narrowing the expenses considered by lenders Relaxing the assumptions that lenders were required to make about credit cards and buy-now pay-later schemes. Helping make debt refinancing or debt consolidation more accessible if appropriate for borrowers The Government is clarifying the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance (CCCFA) Regulations, to ensure ...
The Firearms Prohibition Order Legislation Bill will be passed through all remaining stages by the end of next week, Police Minister Chris Hipkins said. The Justice Select Committee has received public feedback and finalised its report more quickly than planned. It reported back to the House on Friday. “The Bill will ...
The Government has stepped up activity to protect kauri, with a National Pest Management Plan (NPMP) coming into effect today, Biosecurity Minister Damien O'Connor and Associate Environment Minister James Shaw said. “We have a duty to ensure this magnificent species endures for future generations and also for the health of ...
Prime Minister Ardern met with members of Samoa’s Cabinet in Apia, today, announcing the launch of a new climate change partnership and confirming support for the rebuild of the capital’s main market, on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship between Aotearoa New ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for the Indo-Pacific region today for talks on security and economic issues at meetings of ASEAN and the East Asia Summit in Cambodia, and during bilateral engagements in Malaysia. “Engaging in person with our regional partners is a key part of our reconnecting strategy as ...
United Nations Headquarters, New York City Thank you, Mr President. Ngā mihi ki a koutou. I extend my warm congratulations to you and assure you of the full cooperation of the New Zealand delegation. I will get right to it. In spite of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the nuclear ...
A major milestone of 10,037 additional public homes has been achieved since Labour came into office, the Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods confirmed today. “It’s extremely satisfying and a testament to our commitment to providing a safety net for people who need public housing, that we have delivered these warm, ...
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta has announced further sanctions on the armed forces and military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation. “President Putin and the Russian military are responsible for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, which is a grave breach of fundamental international law,” Nanaia Mahuta ...
Easing the process for overseas nurses and provision of up to $10,000 in financial support for international nurses for NZ registration costs. Provide for the costs of reregistration for New Zealand nurses who want to return to work. Covering international doctors’ salaries during their six-week clinical induction courses and ...
A new future between Pacific Aotearoa and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei is the essence of a Dawn Raids Apology anniversary event in Auckland this month, said Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. One year ago, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern formally apologised to Pacific communities impacted by the Dawn Raids in ...
Tēnā koutou katoa Tuia ngā waka, Tuia ngā wawata, Tuia ngā hou-kura Let us bind our connection, let us bind our vision, let us bind our shared aspiration for peace and prosperity. This year marks a significant milestone in the New Zealand – China relationship. Fifty years ago – 1972 – ...
It’s Cook Islands Language week and the Minister of Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio wants the community to focus on what it means to keep the language alive across the generations. “Our Cook Islands community in Aotearoa have decided to focus on the same theme as last years; ‘ Ātuitui’ia ...
From 1 August an estimated 2.1 million New Zealanders will be eligible to receive the first targeted Cost of Living Payment as part of the Government’s plan to help soften the impact of rising global inflationary pressures affecting New Zealanders, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. The payments will see eligible ...
· New Zealand’s international border opens to all visitors, including from non-visa waiver countries, and international students from 11:59PM, 31 July 2022. · Cruise ships and recreational yachts able to arrive at New Zealand ports. This evening marks the final step in the Government’s reconnecting plan, with visitors from non-visa ...
New Action Plan to eliminate HIV transmission released for consultation today $18 million Budget 2022 boost Key measures to achieve elimination include increasing prevention and testing, improving access to care and treatment and addressing stigma The Government has today released its plan to eliminate the transmission of HIV in ...
A report released today shows Government support has lifted incomes for Beneficiaries by 40 percent over and above inflation since 2018. “This is the first time this data set has been collected, and it clearly shows Government action is having an impact,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “This Government made a commitment ...
Thirty new warm, safe and affordable apartments to be delivered by Tauhara North No 2 Trust in Tāmaki Makaurau Delivered through Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga programme, jointly delivered by Te Puni Kōkiri and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Allocation of the apartments will be prioritised to support ...
Disarmament and Arms Control Minister Phil Twyford will lead Aotearoa New Zealand’s delegation to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference at the United Nations in New York next week. “Aotearoa New Zealand has a long history of advocating for a world free of nuclear weapons,” Phil Twyford said. “The NPT has ...
I am delighted to join you today for the launch of the Construction Sector Accord Transformation Plan 2022-2025. I would like to acknowledge my colleagues – the other Accord Ministers, the Accord governance and sector leadership, the CEOs of Government agencies, and leaders from the construction sector. The construction ...
Associate Minister of Transport Kieran McAnulty was joined this morning by the Mayors of Carterton and Masterton, local Iwi and members of the Wairarapa community to turn the first sod on a package of crucial safety improvements for State Highway 2 in Wairarapa. “The work to improve safety on this ...
The board to take the Milford Opportunities Project (MOP) forward has been announced by Minister of Conservation Poto Williams today. “The Milford Opportunities Project is a once in a generation chance to reshape the gateway to Milford Sound Piopiotahi and redesign our transport infrastructure to benefit locals, visitors, and our ...
A new three year plan to transform the construction industry into a high-performing sector with increased productivity, diversity and innovation has been unveiled by the Minister for Building and Construction Dr Megan Woods and Accord Steering group this morning. As lead minister for the Construction Sector Accord, Dr Woods told ...
For the first time counsellors will be able to become accredited to work in publicly funded clinical roles to support the mental wellbeing of New Zealanders. The Government and the board of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC) have developed a new opt-in accreditation pathway so NZCA members can ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Shaw, Honorary Senior Fellow in Urban Geography and Planning, The University of Melbourne Author provided Australian cities are good at growing – for decades their states have relied on it. The need to house more people is used to justify ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kirsten Stevens, Lecturer in Arts and Cultural Management, The University of Melbourne AP Photo/Laurent Rebours Australia, and the world, has lost a unique voice with the passing last week of acclaimed director and writer Shirley Barrett. Barrett gained international ...
We have published our submission to the Finance and Expenditure Committee on the Water Services Entities Bill. Because water services are critical to everyone, our focus is on how the public and Parliament are able to influence the performance of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Santosh Tadakamadla, Associate professor and Discipline Lead for Dentistry, La Trobe University Unsplash/Mieke Campbell, CC BY What is inside teeth? – Nicholas, age 5, Australian Capital Territory Great question, Nicholas. It is important for us to know ...
A gaping hole. That’s how the Federation of Primary Health Aotearoa New Zealand Executive Director is describing the lack of primary and community care funding in the current health reform programme. Angela Francis says the Federation board and ...
E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services are deeply concerned with recent policy announcements in regard to youth unemployment and benefits over the weekend. As an organisation that works with marginalised rangatahi every day, we are always concerned when we ...
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Be. announce an exciting new Leadership Development Programme to foster a community of disabled and access leaders equipped with the skills for 21st century governance, and to embed accessibility at a strategic level in the board agenda. Over the past ...
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New Zealand Defence Force personnel have remembered all those who served in Solomon Islands during World War II, as they attended commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal today. A group of personnel from the Royal New Zealand ...
Minister of Social Development Carmel Sepuloni says there's no evidence National's welfare plan will work, while the Greens say it shows a "depressingly familiar side of the National Party". ...
Minister of Social Development Carmel Sepuloni says there's no evidence National's welfare plan will work, while the Greens say it shows a "depressingly familiar side of the National Party". ...
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National's deputy Nicola Willis has sought to extinguish any doubt over her tax plan, telling members the party will deliver as much relief as it "responsibly can". ...
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“the Bill will reduce the Employment Relations Act to a farce and the result will be wages are driven down and employment agreements broken up, with some of the most significant impact being on workers in the public sector.”
And when that does not happen will we see an apology from the author of this post?
Today is a great day for the country.
[lprent: This looks more like diversion trolling than addressing the topic – moved to OpenMike.
Two week ban. One for diversion trolling. The second for wasting my time moving the comments. ]
The ironic thing is labour will get into power and leave most of the changes intact (like most of the changes Roger implemented) – they know its good for the economy
Then again labour is acting mighty strangely lately with all this NZ Power craziness!!!
It’s good for owners
Bad for workers
That’s a very simple ‘class war’ construct to think about the issue..you can do better than that
Exactly, this anti-labour legislation is a salvo in NZ’s ongoing class war.
Lol you like a walking slogan….
I suspect you’re a wannabee shogun.
You are talking an alien culture. Fuck Off !
No, he’s a wannabe squire.
Manservant
In relation to ” ‘Cos-I’m-John-Key-can’t-remember-my-last-username”, this is defining. In the archaic meaning of “squire” he was a fellow who was the dependable runner or errand boy of the knight.
Well, no unkindness intended but that’s how the abovenamed strikes me.
And he will be vindicated.
There is no doubt that before that citizen of the Kingdom of Global Banker leaves these now less-lovely shores, he will bestow upon himself The Order Of This That the Other Thing.
The abovenamed will have a true knight to snivel around after !
crmlu
You’re right Labour did blend in NACT type policies. There was a subterranean movement and a lot of aspiring NACTs took over hearts and minds of the Labour faithful in spades. It’s time to forge new approaches which is what is being said each day.
I don’t mind you refusing to print any of my guest post requests. As a Centre Left website you have every right to do so. No website allows posts they disagree with, that’s understandable. And why should you be different? But Lynn, do you really have to bump down my posts on Open mike?
P.S. Saying that. If you did allow more controversial Left of Centre posts. Who knows? You might find you could possibly get more debate and more readership.
the site is unpredictable at times Jenny; comments I make often end up above comments that came before; don’t panic; I read most of your comments, most of the time anyway.
You are right, of course. Thanks ghost, for your vote of support.
“Politics is all about pressure”
Coincidentally since I put up THIS post on open mike yesterday.
The Herald has published reviews of a new book which details all the pressures that David Lange was put under by the New Zealand state, the permanent heads of the Civil Service, military leaders, and foreign government leaders, to ignore his promise to the electorate. And the dismay these people felt, when Lange, under this onslaught of secret behind the scenes pressure, despite some early vacillation, eventually turned his back on them. That these undemocratic parasites on the body politic have now accused Lange of lying to them. Is just sour grapes. Politics is all about pressure and this time the pressure from below, was greater than the pressure from above.
“Lange lied over Anzus rift: author”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10879810
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10879996
P.S. All my best wishes to those attending rallies against asset sales today.
See you there.
Jenny
If only Lange had had the courage and the wit to stand up to the enemy within: Douglas, Prebble, Bassett, Moore, De Cleene and their fanatical mentors in Treasury.
You can add Goff and King, who are still there.
To Morrissey and Rhinocrates et al “If only Lange had had the courage and the wit to stand up to the enemy within: Douglas, Prebble, Bassett, Moore, De Cleene and …….”
He did ! Don’t you remember ? Some time late in 1987 Lange called for a “cup of tea” – meaning he wanted a pause in the ongoing rushed economic reforms to allow for proper consideration of them and their effects.
He was strongly vilified for that, a grouping led by Douglas, Prebble ,De Cleene etc set up the “Backbone Club” which went out publicly – with MSM support – to vilify Lange and his attempts to stop what was going on, when he had realised just how damaging it was. The vilification continued in house in the caucus as well. It was sickening to observe. Disgusting behaviour on the part of the leaders.
Indeed, sorry for any misunderstanding. Lange was a sincere person under enormous pressure.
Goff and King on the other hand…
Aye!
During an industrial dispute in Kawerau, provoked when Tasman cunningly appointed an unqualified woman to a machine operating position ahead of several qualified men, Lange came out on the side of the bosses. He said he would never stand with a union that was against employment for women, even when this patently was not the issue.
My view of Lange is that Kirk was the last half way decent Labour PM.
Agreed …. though I don’t judge him QUITE as harshly as the ‘careerists’ that followed and who STILL keep trying to push their barrow (or rather keep doing their best to push SHIT uphill).
At Least Lange had the decency to call for a cup of tea and a lay down – i.e. he recognised the programme was hollow.
Not so others – and unfortunately I now have to include that pathetic munter Robertson amongst that ilk (UNLESS of course he has an epiphany forthwith).
Hey……… btw….. whatever happened to that FanBoi or Fan Club fella?
Haven’t seen it screaching loudly lately in defense of the indefensible. (I guess he/she/it is too busy climbing the ranks and sucking as much rrrrrrrr’s as possible)
I ‘spose he/she/it’s content with that little media 15 secs of fame on Neshnool TV recently -though I doubt it.
Grant……where are you?
Shearer ……… where are you?
Bullyboy – what’s her name – ah yea – Mallard ……..where are you?
Clare! Darling! Where are you?
Maid Marion – where are you?
Oh…… I know – all in your little comfort zones destined to destroy the entire concept of the “Labour Party”.
Carry on what?
Gerald Hensley reinvents history to besmirch the memory of David Lange, and instead of being critical of that cowardly and disgusting behaviour, comments on The Standard concerning this matter are predominantly anti-Labour… Some even claiming Lange wasn’t courageous enough at a time he implemented legislation to ensure New Zealand became nuclear free in spite of huge international and domestic pressures.
You’d have to be seriously gullible to believe what Piggy Muldoon’s former chief adviser has made up to discredit a left wing Prime Minister. In fact you’d likely have to be as deluded as Hensley himself. Let’s instead ask the right wing hack what his advice was on the Springbok tour, the Think Big projects and increasing external debt by 1338% while Muldoon was Prime Minister. Where’s the book accepting that the third National Government was a complete economic, social and political failure for New Zealand?
Giving Hensley’s fabrications the credence they clearly don’t deserve by attacking Labour will only help to promote the idea of removing our Nuclear Free legislation (PDF)… Not that National presently abides by those laws anyway, that’s the end goal for Hensley and the current government. Let’s make something very clear… Like the vast majority of Kiwis, David Lange wanted New Zealand to be nuclear free… Hensley’s lies won’t change that fact one iota.
love ya work Jackal
Thanks ghostrider888.
don’t always agree with your analysis yet you appear a fairly astute and balanced commentator. *Bow* (wow)
No human being could stand up to that sort of pressure alone. Such pressure can be so intense that you can be ambushed into making decisions that can even go against your own better judgement. Despite it all, Lange did eventually call a halt. And probably wondered “Why on earth did I ever support any of that?” A question that I am sure many principled people finding themselves in similar isolated positions have asked themselves.
To his cost. For David Lange on his retirement, there was no plum sinecure as a director on a board of some well off company or bank, the usual reward for politicians of his stature who do what they’re told.
What was missing was a mass movement that would have supplied Lange with the counter pressure to the neo-liberal tidal wave.
Politics is all about pressure and who can bring it to bear.
The unions could have crippled the 4th Labour Government, had they chosen to.
Colin Craig: working tirelessly to help the unemployed! Well done, Craig! What’s next? Secure housing for the homeless?
“March 21
Novopay debacle solved by restarting computer
Novopay minister Steven Joyce: “We tried everything we could think of. We made sure the plug was in, we ran a virus scan. You know, pretty much everything. And then John walks in this morning munching on his breakfast bagel, and he says ‘Hey, Steve. Have you tried restarting the computer’?”
If in doubt – reboot! – Says it all really. Cure the immediate, though not the cause.
Very symbolic of a NAct agenda, and symbolic of the neo-Lib agenda too.
Keep it up is what I’m DESPERATELY hoping for but they should not be surprised when they disappear up their own arses (as fat and ugly as they may be).
Shades of Monty P/Greed/Sloth explosions in the nature of weapons of mass disgusting
from what I have read of this chap behind The Civilian (beyond a Nicholas Cage article) he appears very capable and creative; now a part of the media furniture for a while, with the hesitant support of his parents.
Here in H.B there is a young woman broadcasting her interesting life and personality to a YouTube audience of hundreds of thousands of people.”Jamies World”. great self-marketing for an aspirant dramatic arts performer or director. could be a few unforeseen consequences.
At least we can be a little pleased for the guy that runs The Civillian. He does help to make the day go with a smile. And as they say Any advertising is good advertising.
Indeed David H.Thank god (no religious inference intended) for Colin Craig being an arse. I hadn’t heard about that hilarious Civilian website until he threw a wee tanty.
Same and I am so pleased I found it. Maybe a thank you E-Mail to Colin, for telling us about this website. Just to say thanks you know 😉
The Comedy of Mortification
Kiwi version of The Office struggles along
Back Benches, Prime TV, Wednesday 24 April 2013, 10:30 p.m.
Hosted by WALLACE CHAPMAN and DAMIAN CHRISTIE
Politicians: Gareth Hughes (Green), Aaron Gilmore (National), Chris Hipkins (Labour)
After suffering through TV3’s dire The Vote: Is New Zealand a Racist Country?, my big night of television continued with yet another New Zealand current affairs show fronted by a couple of clowns.
These two, although far less self-assured clowns than Espiner and Garner, are, nonetheless, impressive exponents of the comedy of embarrassment. Christie, in particular, came across very effectively as New Zealand television’s very own David Brent. The fact that this was entirely unintentional only made it all the more effective.
In case you haven’t seen Back Benches—and you probably haven’t—it consists of aforesaid clowns (Wallace Chapman and Damian Christie) talking to a panel of three politicians and then walking around the Back Benches tavern in Wellington asking people what they think about what the politicians have said. The politicians are usually pretty relaxed—it seems that ties are banned—and usually acquit themselves quite well. The members of the public, however, are a little more unpredictable. The following is a quick highlights reel of Wednesday night’s episode….
After the politicians have been interviewed, the first person on the roving mike is John Carnegie from Business New Zealand. Predictably, sadly, he vapours pompously about the Labour-Green electricity pricing policy: “We are sending an incredibly bad signal that New Zealand is no longer a safe place to invest.” The crowd reacts to this rant with skeptical murmuring and scattered laughter. Quite apart from his irrational, hysterical words, many people have no doubt noticed that Carnegie looks uncannily like the fat guy in The Office.
http://www.pilkipedia.co.uk/wiki/images/thumb/4/4f/BigKeith.jpg/250px-BigKeith.jpg
http://www.businessnz.org.nz/images/upload/JohnCarnegie%20web.jpg
Back to the politicians, for their thoughts. This is where not only the intellectual, but the moral calibre of the politicians is often revealed. Chris Hipkins and Gareth Hughes both speak eloquently, but when Hipkins is speaking, Aaron Gilmore hoots and laughs. Such displays of loutish imbecility are, damningly, all that National is capable of; Gilmore’s antics are no different from the antics in Parliament of other National Party thugs, especially Gerry Brownlee. (Talking about people who look like Big Keith…)
Then it’s time for the most unpredictable part of the show: the vox pops. This consists of Damian Christie walking around the tables with his microphone and asking them what they think. This is a nerve-wracking exercise at the best of times, and it’s not helped by Christie’s patent awkwardness….
DAMIAN CHRISTIE: Have you been to Gallipoli for the dawn service?
WOMAN: Yes.
DAMIAN CHRISTIE: What were you doing over there?
WOMAN: Going to the dawn service.
This is met by gales of laughter, some of it shading into outright derision of Christie. Undeterred, however, Christie ploughs on, like an ANZAC soldier struggling doggedly up a Turkish cliff…
CHRISTIE: You’re getting all choked up over it now, aren’t you!
WOMAN: Not really.
Bravely, Christie continues to circulate around the room, wielding his enormous microphone, looking for vulnerable drinkers. It’s quite noticeable that people are drawing away as he approaches. He’d better watch himself, otherwise he’s going to make people as nervous as Brian Edwards did with his ambush vox pops in Auckland’s Victoria Park during his short-lived Saturday night horror show a decade ago.
Can you find this online?
You CAN get this online, but SkyTV makes you jump through hoops. I recommend you don’t encourage them in their bid to privatize this content….
http://www.isky.co.nz/product/481749.aspx
Indeed – don’t encourage them.
I’ve only managed to watch one Backbenches since is commercial transition – just as I have Media3 (once was Media7).
One of the big problems with the commercialisation of these programmes (or should I now call them ‘shows’) is that the continuity is destroyed often by the NEED to ‘take a break’ at as close to set times as is possible – and regardless of interrupting participants trying to make a point.
You’ll notice it on FUX NEWS often – when the left are getting any sort of advantage in an argument….. “we gotta get a break”, etc.
That’s just ONE of the problems! The platform is insidious: whether intended or not – you’ll find Brown, Chapman, Christie et al become victims of the ‘stardom mentality’ that seems to be a necessity in operating on this commercially driven platform.
In both cases (Prime BB, and MW M3), the defense is – it’s better than no BB or M3. I’m afraid not for me.
Probably more entertaining to read your take on the programme anyway!
It would be followed by an lowering of our credit rating, and a devaluation in currency.
The oil prices being kept artificially high as a deterrant to flirting with currency devaluation, because the inflationary pressure threat would be rammed down everyones throat!
Interest rates would rise, and whats left of the NZ economy will fall out the backdoor. Even with more competitive exports, the current account deficit will keep widening, with a higer cost of borrowing to service the lesser credit rating, leading to higher taxes to service the gowing debt costs!
The NZ Power policy as no chance of getting off the ground,
Because the global banking cartel, has NZ, by the balls!
Since 1961
The effect of NZ Power on private shareholders dividends will be 3 to 4.5% (not accounting for revenue increasing, + 18.6% in 2012). You’re saying that because of a potential 3 to 4.5% reduction in value of dividends going to private shareholders the NZ economy will fall out the backdoor? Get off the grass muzza.
If that’s all it reduces shareholder dividends by, NZ Power is only scratching the surface of what it should be doing.
I have to agree with you there CV… After crunching a few numbers it appears NZ Power won’t have much if any affect on power companies profitability or the dividends they payout. However there are savings to be made through better management of current infrastructure, which I think is just as much a problem as the current bidding system that means consumers are paying far too much for electricity that’s relatively cheap to produce.
It appears that Labour and the Greens perhaps knew there would be howls of anger from the right wing regarding NZ Power and so devised a very moderate policy. It certainly isn’t far left “economic vandalism” that some have claimed. Let’s hope that when NZ Power gets up and running (mid to late 2016) they will push the envelope a bit on how much is actually able to be saved for consumers.
Actually Jackal, my intent was aimed at what would likely happen to the housing/retail markets, should interest rates rise from their current. *lows* ??? following a devaluation in our currency, via a ratings mark down!
My commentary was a high level overview of what would happen, as was pointed out, if *a signal that NZ was no longer a safe place to invest*, went out!
Which is what NZ Power will have to contend with, and its creators contend with, before it stands any chance to become airborne!
A ratings downgrade because of a potential 3 to 4.5% decrease in dividend values for private shareholders… Are you out of your mind?
A wee bit surprised you didn’t zone in on the comment made by one of those ( I don’t know one from the other) aforementioned clowns Morrissey. Never mind. I’ll do it. Came after a quick fire question to the pollies relating to Boston.
Where were the alleged bombers from? Answer given was Chechnya. Answer queried on the grounds (I guess) that Kyrgyzstan had been mentioned in connection to them and their family. And the clown, not remembering the name ‘Kyrgyzstan’ deemed it an an opportunity to pop out the racially loaded ‘Wogistan’ alternate answer.
And no-one batted an eyelid.
Not surprised you don’t know one clown from another. After all, they’re all make-uo (courtesy of whatever brand of face paint that’s in vogue these days).
I was just thinking though (after witnessing a hipkins on some Beck Benchas ‘show’ – constructed by a Chapman and a Christie – where the credits were at pains to tell us all who ‘dressed them’) – I was going to suggest he should ‘Moisturise!…. Moisturise!…. Moisturise”.
It may well be his greatest contribution to the Labouring Party
A wee bit surprised you didn’t zone in on the comment made by one of those ( I don’t know one from the other) aforementioned clowns Morrissey.
I heard it, but I didn’t write it down in my transcription notebook, so I’d forgotten it by the time I came to type it up. The clown that said it was (surprise, surprise) the National Party lout Aaron Gilmore.
Never mind. I’ll do it. Came after a quick fire question to the pollies relating to Boston.
Thanks, Bill. You’re a trooper—in the good sense.
Where were the alleged bombers from? Answer given was Chechnya. Answer queried on the grounds (I guess) that Kyrgyzstan had been mentioned in connection to them and their family. And the clown, not remembering the name ‘Kyrgyzstan’ deemed it an an opportunity to pop out the racially loaded ‘Wogistan’ alternate answer.
And no-one batted an eyelid.
It’s not that nobody noticed, or cared. The problem is the format of the show. To remonstrate with that halfwitted National Party thug would have been counter to this show’s enforced mood of frivolity. Earlier in the evening, over on TV3, the same determined dumbing down occurred when Prof. Damon Salesa tried to say something serious during the moronic laugh-fest The Vote.
It wasn’t Gilmore came out with that shit Morrissey. It was one of the presenters – the one who tended to do the wandering around eliciting opinion from attendees.
Gilmore answered with “Chechnya”. One of the presenters was a bit unsure of that as an answer and the other clown kind of dismissively (barely conceiled undertones of ‘they’re all the same and who the fuck cares anyway’) suggested “Wogistan”. Racially, ethnically and religiously fucked up as all hell imo.
Really? Thanks for that, Bill.
Aaron Gilmore, sorry. Call off your lawyers now.
Damian Christie: you are so much better than that.
Even John Armstrong is taking not-so-much an anti Labour line this morning.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10880014
I’m not sure if this is a good thing.
John Armstrong is the Peter Dunne of the NZ Herald. Always trying to position himself in the vaccuous centre because he thinks that will may him look sensible, balanced and fair. In reality he’s just another self-serving journo.
Everyone should see the the film ‘Shadows of liberty’; it was on at documentary festival and hopefully will come back to cinemas once finished the festival cycle.
Here it trailer http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=_SAUborWbPw&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_SAUborWbPw
It does show what has happened to the media and examples can be found in New Zealand of all the same issues mentioned in the film.
“John Armstrong is the Peter Dunne of the NZ Herald.”
heh.
It’s a thing. “High Broderism” it’s called, after David Broder who dominated the Washington press corp for lo, many years.
The basic conceit is that some journalists develop a identity of being the caretakers of the discourse. The content of policy, the actual business of politics, becomes a side issue at best; the protection of order, and form, take over. Disputes are seen not as politics functioning as it ought, but as threats to be resolved. ‘Bold policy’ is just a move in a game. They are positioning statements aimed at voter blocks, rather than policies aimed at problems.
What that leads to, though it is never admitted, or even realised I suspect, is that much of the political analysis we see is not analysis of policy, or even of politicians, but of the polis.
The question “How will this policy play in the electorate in terms of votes” is not answered by looking at the effects of a policy, or the reasoning behind it. ie, it cannot be answered by reporting on policy or politicians. It is answered by discussing whose votes might shift, and what it might do in the polls.
The advantage for journalists here is that this is a non partisan endeavor; they aren’t pontificating about whether the policy is good/bad, or whether the politician is honest/mendacious.
The whole area gets a good working over here:
http://pressthink.org/2010/06/clowns-to-the-left-of-me-jokers-to-the-right-on-the-actual-ideology-of-the-american-press/
lovely article there.
interesting; well they are not very good at looking after the polis
having just re-read the Armstrong piece, conclude it is disgusting (and patronising as well).
Nice link, PB. I think Colin Espiner fits that description too. When many had pegged him as a friend of the left he let loose with the article on Green/Labour policy.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/blogs/bull-dust/8568124/Labours-crazy-new-energy-policy
These pretend journalist types are determined to make the news and be the news, not report and analyse it.
And like Peter Dunne, he’s prone to let the whole facade drop and throw a hissy fit when he thinks he’s not being given the obeisance he’s due.
Poor old Armstrong is still licking his wounds after being comprehensively humiliated by the superior Gordon Campbell last year.
Armstrong’s piece is all about strategy – about The Game. And nothing about what is actually the right thing to do for the majority of Kiwis, and especially for those struggling on low incomes.
It’s a heartless piece. But that’s what “neoliberalism” has done to mainstream political commentary.
The coldness of the writing comes from the coldness in the heart.
small question (and I understand folks are busy)
Why is there no banner/promotion on The Standard for the Day of Action ?
There is just yesterday’s reminder. Seems like a missed opportunity is all.
anyways . . .
You may have voted National, Maori Party, United Future or even Act. That does not deny you your right to voice opposition to their actions as a Government. In fact to succeed in their crimes, they count on your silence and your complicity. Today is your chance to let them know you matter.
If you are not working today, little has greater significance to the future of New Zealand than this simple walk down the street amongst friends.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10879994
The crowning of Maurice Williamson as a ‘gay icon’ (by the media at least) has left me somewhat bemused.
Nothing against Williamson. He voted yes for marriage equality and as a result I applaud him. Even more so, he is a member of a conservative party in a rather blue neighbourhood. I have no doubt the pressure on him from those opposing equality was fierce.
His speech was good. Great? That’s debatable. It was loud. It had a few amusing turns of phrase. But it wasn’t necessarily any better than any of the other pro-speeches. Mojo Mathers, for example, gave one of the most stirring speeches I’ve ever seen. So why isn’t she being lauded as a ‘gay icon’?
Perhaps because she isn’t male, white and heterosexual? She doesn’t possess that holy triumvirate that many in society ascribe as being ‘preferable’ or ‘powerful’ or even ‘acceptable’.
Williamson voted down Civil Unions. He says it’s because they didn’t go far enough. That doesn’t wash with me. By that same logic you would deny a starving person a hamburger because it wasn’t steak. Back then those of us who needed legal protection were happy to get it any way we could. We saw civil unions as a secondary class, but it was a class nonetheless. No Maurice, you don’t get a pass on that. You voted tactically there, not with your conscience. Be honest.
Maurice, you’re not an ‘icon’ to this ethnic gay man. You’re a straight white man who voted progressively. You’re not worthy of the kudos that the media is heaping on you for marriage equality. That belongs to those politicians who worked tirelessly for years, decades, to achieve this. Kevin Hague. Louisa Wall. Those are gay icons. Those are the people who should be invited on Ellen. Not you, Maurice.
Stop the interviews. Don’t go on Ellen. Get on with doing your job. Because feeding this ‘gay icon’ fire is just sad to those who know it’s all puffery. You did a good thing. A very good thing. But there’s nothing worse than someone taking credit that isn’t due.
But won’t Mr Key be livid. He had to boyishly grin as he gave approval for the Ellen visit.
But why wasn’t it him! John Key is the man for centre stage, the limelight, the adulation, the autograph hunters, and international spotlight. To have to step back for a lowly Maurice for heavens sake! Hell will blaze for a man back-benched!
My conspiracy theory is that Maurice nixed the trip (I seem to remember him saying he wouldn’t go at first) but that Key pushed him to promote NZ. His talk about the trip now has tourism speak all over it.
But we can assume Key is pissed someone else is getting the limelight…
+1
Boyfriend just yesterday was wondering why Louisa Wall didn’t get the invite, since she actually did the work.
Some people I know took it upon themselves to inform Ellen de Generes of Williamson’s history on the issue. He was pretty much promoted by the Herald etc because he’s a Tory – just hijacking kudos for NAct. I didn’t think his speech was anything great and the fact that it was lauded all round the world just goes to show oratory has died.
I can see how Ellen might think Williamson would help get the white male heterosexual conservatives in the US onside for the same sex marriage campaign in the US.
However, she totally ignores the impact within NZ.
I agree, Tigger. Mojo Mathers gave the best speech in the 3rd reading of the Bill, as far as I’m concerned – it was about an inclusive family and wider whanau.
By US political standards, Williamson is a card carrying communist. I don’t think he’ll help get their conservatives onside.
From the US point of view, that so many National MPs voted for marriage reform basically identifies them as God-despising family hating bleeding heart liberals who are all going to hell.
A few upgrades running. Site may be a bit slow for an period.
Oops – database just upgraded
hence the “database unavailable” shite a while back.
You should be commended lprent as I’m hoping you are from time to time.
The approach is obviously not the ‘suck it and see’ one found elsewhere.
The outages should have only been 10-20 seconds or so each time.
Upgraded and been through a good solid compacting including old versions of posts and comments. I have corrected all issues with orphaned comments (~200 all up). Deleted about 4 that were in a chain in 2010 where the original comment got deleted and the replies all referred to the original comment.
It is suck it and see some of the time. There are some issues that I can’t test on the development system because of loading differences.
To all marching today…thank you so very much. I can’t be there due to the on call nature of my work but I am with you in spirit and will be following the protests around the country with much interest. I marched up Queen Street with my 84yr old Dad last year and found it very helpful in so many ways. I trust you all will too. Once again, many thanks from those of us unable to be there in body, we are with you.
see, with these subsistence-labour factories like the one that collapsed in Bangladesh it is only the consumer, and their demand for price, that can make the difference; the consumer. A dilemma indeed.
They can be quite delayed and sensationalist these prime-time news bulletins; In context, the last bird-flu killed approximately 370 people world-wide, from memory. That is not to say that something unforeseen might happen if the current strain becomes transmitted human to human.
According to the agonising of the sheep and beef farmer, if they don’t find solutions “they may as well pack it in” according to one representativee.
So, the use of sarin is a “red-line”, a “game-changer” says Obama, yet the US and Co. are being a bit more cautious before rushing in this time it appears.
and according to a commentator on the Auckland transport bind; “cycling (if possible) really does blow all other forms of transport away”.
Latest spin from Rugby Union http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/8604494/Rugby-bad-boys-paying-the-penalty
No sympathy here. If psychological stress is a job issue then screen them for it before hiring them in the first place.
Doug Sellman is the man to go to concerning the addiction issues NZ faces.
“professional sports are just rife with mental health issues”-Karen Nimmo
“rugby administrators are inconsistent in their enforcement of ‘codes of conduct'”
Rob Nichol, an apologist for big-money sports investment effectively, nonetheless identifies the two big issues professional sports (and those who aspire to participation in the field) face;
-integrity
-mental health of athletes (just consider Susan Devoy; too many shuttles to the head).
I’d like to thank anyone who is marching today against the theft of our national assets. I am unable to be there, but am with you in spirit.
To the scum who wish to sell us out: Kaore e mau te rongo–ake, ake!
+100 Ditto, as above
Swaps and detivatives rate fixing investigation hits Bank of America Merrill Lynch
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-18/meet-isdafix-the-libor-scandals-sequel
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/everything-is-rigged-the-biggest-financial-scandal-yet-20130425
NB: Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch in 2009
Five questions about the CFTC’s Isdafix probe
The ISDA includes foreign exchange derivatives among its suite of products.
I read those links thanks Pete; too blown out to comment.
Zero Hedge does a brief out take from the story for those who want a summary.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-26/illuminati-were-amateurs-matt-taibbi-explains-how-everything-rigged
Another .5cent equivilant fine coming their way, and the system will remain unchanged!
Been caught stealing (the energy of the entire planet)
Shoddy standards continue to erode the integrity of TVNZ news
Why would anyone trust this television station?
Television One News, Saturday 27 April 2013
Thousands of people turned out on the streets this afternoon to protest against the Government’s plan to flog off our national assets. But not according to one crusty old newsreader on Television One. I switched on my television just after 6:30 this evening to hear this…
Peter Williams: “HUNDREDS of people turned out in marches all over the country today…”
Given the fact that there were hundreds of protestors in Tauranga alone, it seems certain that there were several thousand marchers over the whole country.
http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/42694-marching-against-asset-sales.html
Yet someone gave that silly old fool Peter Williams a script that said there were only “hundreds” of marchers nationwide. Or maybe Williams adjusted the figure himself; in light of his many nasty, smug little comments over the years, I would not put it past him to do such a thing.
After that came the preview of the sports news. This was equally abject, equally foolish, equally contrary to reality….
Jenny-May Coffin: “The Blues and Hurricanes have both lost to Aussie opposition. Both games were superb spectacles but the Australian teams were WAY TOO STRONG.”
THE FACTS…
The Auckland Blues lost to Queensland by one point in a closely fought away game, in Brisbane. The Blues scored the only try, a beauty by Jackson Willison. The Reds were extremely fortunate to win.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10880055
In Palmerston North, the Hurricanes lost 16-18 to the Cape Town Stormers. Both sides scored two tries, and the Hurricanes were unlucky not to win.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10880001
Yet some genius wrote a script for Jenny-May Coffin to read out that claimed the Australians were “way too strong.” Perhaps it was the same person who claimed there were only “hundreds” of marchers nationwide today.
Are they testing the copy-writers at TVNZ for hallucinogenic drug use? And if not, why not?
I found it strange watching the news – no mention of the Stewart Island oil leaking fishing vessel country of origin – why it ended up on rocks. Just the name Sureste – and a seemingly relaxed Environment Southland – heavy weather had dispursed most of the oil away.
Is this the same Sur Este – one of the Korean-flagged fishing vessels recently in the news for abusing crew?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/8266324/Fishing-crew-walk-off-ship-in-Timaru
mentioned on three news
Yes, it is
‘
Here’s an odd thing – an application from the FBI to hack a computer which was denied on the basis that the target computer is outside the territorial limit. I guess it just a Texas judge, so presumably the hacking of Kim Dotcom’s computers must have been issued by someone from the World Court, right?
http://cryptome.org/2013/04/tx-search.pdf
Dotcom’s house was raided by NZ authorities, not by American. (although the Americans instigated and supervised it). This is also why the NZ courts system has jurisdiction over the incident.
Too-big-to-fail banks implicated in $500 trillion fraud: biggest price-rigging scandal in history
Yeah, private banks – just so fucken trustworthy.
Remember that these private banks are empowered by the central banks, and that the top execs of both move freely between each others organisations at the highest levels.
A true “inside job”.
cheers, draco
Matt Taibbi of The Exile no less
What’s new? The whole 20th century was one of concentration of capital into giant industrial and banking trusts, combines and cartels.
Its called state monopoly capitalism.
Competition is for losers. You only survive by getting bigger. Once you are big enough you can corner any market, land, finance, oil etc and set up a cartel especially if you can buy the govt. Land is a natural monopoly, but in finance you buy the govt and get it to license you to print money, set interest rates, get bailed out blah blah.
Its not new, its not an aberration, its not corruption, its the way the capitalist system works by outgrowing its competitive origins and using state power to bully all and sundry to accept your monopoly as god’s gift.
The system has to run like this because that’s the only way it can continue to accumulate and concentrate private wealth at the top, i.e. by making sure that only those at the top can compete.
So competition is squeezed upward out of markets, out of national jurisdictions and into international trusts that use the power of their state machines to bully their rivals. Its also squeezed downwards into the surplus population to divide and rule the working class. The result is world wars. US vs China is the current world war in the making.
Even at the beginning of the 20th century such was the fusion of industrial capital and banking capital that Lenin coined the term ‘finance capital’ to express this fact.
Today the term ‘finance capital’ is used to mean ‘money’ or ‘banking’ capital, when in reality it is fused with industrial capital.
As I said none of this is new. The constant surprise expressed by these ‘players’ as to the depth of collusion in business and banking is evidence of their ignorance as to how the system really works.
This sort of learned stupidity is part of the process of legitimating capitalism.
It’s not new, it is how the capitalist system works and it is corrupt.
My latest thought on the matter is that the whole neo-liberal paradigm isn’t actually an economic theory (How can it be? It’s not even remotely explaining the reality) but is just a means to legitimate the continued accumulation of the communities wealth into fewer and fewer hands.
Agree DTB if you use a standard of ‘corruption’ external to capitalism. Capitalism is inherently corrupt compared to pre-capitalist standards of communal sharing of social resources, and compared to post-capitalist concepts of communal existence. It breaks what is a fundamental rule of social reproduction (i.e. survival) which is “from each according to their ability and to each according to their needs”. It’s transgression of this rule is what is driving it to destroy humanity and nature.