Open mike 27/06/2014
Written By:
- Date published:
6:52 am, June 27th, 2014 - 348 comments
Categories: open mike -
Tags:
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
348 comments on “Open mike 27/06/2014 ”
- Comments are now closed
- Comments are now closed
Recent Comments
- Are We Nudging Enough?
Inside the Nudge Unit by David Halpern, provides new insights into behaviour which New Zealand public policy is steadily taking into consideration.Have you noticed that the defaults or first choices in the website of a commercial entity favour the business’s goal? Fill in their forms and, as like as not, the ...2 hours ago - Ending royal corruption in Scotland?
Earlier in the week, The Guardian reported that England's monarch had been secretly having laws amended to carve out exemptions for herself, using a procedure called "crown consent". Its a corrupt holdover from the days of absolute monarchy, and something which has no place in a modern democracy, or even ...4 hours ago - Government must ban synthetic fertilisers
8 hours ago - Ending conversion “therapy”The government has introduced a bill to outlaw homophobic conversion "therapy": Practices intended to change or suppress someone's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, also referred to as gay conversion therapy, will become a criminal offence under legislation announced today. Minister of Justice Kris Faafoi said today the ...8 hours ago
- The Sin Of Cheapness.
Commodities, Commodities, Everywhere - And None Of Them Are Cheap! No less an authority than the Commerce Commission has determined that New Zealanders are paying too much for their food and groceries. An apparent aversion to aggressive competition has led the dominant players to match one another’s’ prices rather than better ...9 hours ago - Should We Trust The Science – Or Ourselves?“Pure” Science: The lesson to be drawn from the history of science, however, is that knowledge is always and everywhere embedded in culture. That the one cannot be separated from the other. Culture can empower knowledge, or suppress it; advance it or divert it to the utmost wickedness. Knowledge goes where it’s told. “TRUST ...9 hours ago
- Kids set free to roam on their own feel more confident navigating in adulthood
Vanessa Vieites, Rutgers University The distance from home that kids are allowed to roam and play has shrunk significantly over the last 50 years. That’s largely due to parents’ concerns over safety, especially in cities. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has further restricted children’s independent activity. As a Ph.D. ...11 hours ago - Running into Trouble: COVID-19 in Japan during the Tokyo OlympicsDr Leah Grout, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Nick Wilson, Prof Michael Baker * The 2020 Olympic Games were originally postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The delayed event has now opened, with the opening ceremonies held on 23 July 2021 and competitions scheduled to take place through 9 August 2021. ...11 hours ago
- Simon Bridges cannot be trustedYou may recall former National Party leader Simon Bridges gaining a lot of public attention last month after claiming he was a witness to a gang fight. The former Crown Prosecutor made a huge song and dance about it all over Facebook and Twitter while also attacking the Government with ...13 hours ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30, 2021
88 articles Physical science of climate change, effects Energetics of surface melt in West Antarctica Ghiz et al. The Cryosphere Open Access pdf 10.5194/tc Quantifying the Mechanisms of Atmospheric Circulation Response to Greenhouse Gas Increases in a Forcing–Feedback Framework Zhang et al. Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli ...23 hours ago - Hate Speech law is unworkable
Make a submission to stop this mess being codified into law The Free Speech Union is urging people to make submissions to halt the proposal putforward by the Ministry of Justice for hate speech laws. The FSU state: “[T]he proposals put forward by the Ministry of Justice are dangerously vague ...1 day ago - Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – How the Government has fuelled rampant increases in wealth
Jacinda Ardern’s household wealth increased by an estimated $290,000 over the last year. Although she earnt nearly half a million dollars from her job, her windfall was solely due to the value of her Auckland house increasing. And by her own policy designs, it’s a capital gain which is untaxed. ...1 day ago - Climate Change: The other Tiwai scamNewsroom has a good piece this morning about the government's consultation on industrial free allocations, revealing that Fletcher Building is getting an extra $5 million a year ($7 million at today's prices) due to miscalculated carbon subsidies. That's bad, and it needs to be stopped by resetting emissions baselines to ...1 day ago
- End the Tiwai scamA little over a year ago, Rio Tinto was pleading povery, claiming its Tiwai Point aluminium smelter was unprofitable, and threatening to close it unless it got a government handout to keep it running. Their bluff worked, and we ended up paying the BluffGeld by giving them lower electricity prices ...1 day ago
- Holes in the Tundra: Why Burping Cows Are the Least of Our Worries.1 day ago
- Piers Morgan – Arsehole of the Week2 days ago
- Climate change and tornadoes: Any connection?This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson Climate change may be the existential threat of our lives, yet when it comes to in-your-face weather, tornadoes are in a class of their own. Fortunately, human-warmed climate isn’t making violent U.S. tornadoes any more frequent. However, climate change may ...2 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – Labour’s sacrificing of the poorJacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson like to think of themselves as leftwing politicians. So why aren’t they prioritising and championing the vulnerable at the bottom of society? Since Covid hit they have chosen economic policies that benefit the rich while pushing more into poverty. Increasing inequality was thrown into stark ...2 days ago
- Climate Change: Just predatory delay againAnother day, another story arguing that climate change is Just Too Hard for farmers, and that they should be given more time to wait for a magic technological solution which will cut emissions while allowing them to continue doing exactly what they're doing at the moment. Today, the magic Technological ...2 days ago
- A note on the “jihadi bride.”
I ruffled a few feathers by referring to Gerry Brownlee as a “buffoon” during a radio interview this week. The subject in question was the involuntary repatriation of Suharya Aden and her children to NZ after Australia cancelled her citizenship. Brownlee was blathering about her being a terrorist security threat, ...2 days ago - Militaries plunder science fiction for technology ideas, but turn a blind eye to the genre’s socia...Will Slocombe, University of Liverpool Military planning is a complicated endeavour, calling upon experts in logistics and infrastructure to predict resource availability and technological advancements. Long-range military planning, deciding what to invest in now to prepare armed forces for the world in thirty years’ time, is even more difficult. ...2 days ago
- Still the same questionThe Independent Police Conduct authority has found another case where police used excessive force in making an arrest: A police officer broke a woman’s arm with a baton before dragging her out of her car by the hair following a chase. The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found the ...2 days ago
- The Danger from the Extreme Right
Like other readers, no doubt, I recently experienced a “believe it or not” moment, when I read an account of a crowd at a recent Trump rally cheering the news that the US Women’s Football Team had been beaten at the Olympic Games. The reason for the cheering was, apparently, ...2 days ago - Why calling ordinary Kiwi cyclists ‘elitist’ just doesn’t add upTimothy Welch, University of Auckland Something strange has happened to the perception of cyclists and cycling in the more than 200 years they’ve been around. Once a novelty, bike riding has moved from being a critical transport mode to a children’s pastime to now being popularly perceived as an ...2 days ago
- Zebra Ethics: The Amazon Second Age Series and Lessons from Game of Thrones
Today I stumbled across a genuinely interesting reddit article, which looks at the (positive) influence Game of Thrones may have on the upcoming Amazon Tolkien series: https://www.reddit.com/r/LOTR_on_Prime/comments/oqvi81/amazons_the_lord_of_the_rings_show_going_got/ Essentially, the argument is that the framework of Tolkien’s Second Age material inherently lends itself to “Machiavellian Thriller” stories, rather than to ...3 days ago - The War over Sex and Gender: Kathleen Stock talks to the Free Speech UnionSpeakeasy #1: Free Speech and the War over Sex and Gender from Free Speech Union on Vimeo. ...3 days ago
- Why governments will have to consider the costs of long COVID when easing pandemic restrictionsRichard Meade, Auckland University of Technology With governments worldwide under pressure to ease pandemic restrictions as vaccination rates rise and impatience with border restrictions grows, new threats become clearer. One of the costliest, it is now feared, could be a tsunami of “long COVID” cases. Long COVID is a ...3 days ago
- Taxpayers' Union gets destroyedThe Taxpayers’ Union scored another own goal yesterday when they decided to have a go at well-known journalist David Farrier (not to be confused with David Farrar) over Government funding he’d received to make a documentary.While that slinging match isn’t really worth reporting on, being that it was mainly just ...3 days ago
- Gender-specific health programs address important issues, but risk creating new biasesMatthew Jenkins and Victoria Chinn, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Gone are the days when health programmes were designed to simply punish or reward people to encourage behaviour change. We now know lasting behaviour change is more complex and nuanced, and this has prompted a proliferation ...3 days ago
- Fossil tooth fractures and microscopic detail of enamel offer new clues about human diet and evolut...Ian Towle; Carolina Loch, and Thomas Loho, University of Auckland Teeth can tell us a lot about the evolution of prehistoric humans, and our latest study of one of our species’ close relatives may finally resolve a long-standing mystery. The genus Paranthropus is closely related to ours, Homo, ...3 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – “Year of the vaccine” at riskA consensus is emerging that the Government has generally managed the Covid crisis very well over the last 18 months, but they have dropped the ball when it comes to the crucial vaccine rollout. This was nicely encapsulated in opinion polling last week showing that while 69 per cent of ...4 days ago
- Profiteering politicians delegitimise parliamentWhy aren't politicians interested in actually solving the housing crisis? Because virtually the entire political class is making massive profits from it: MPs have pocketed $50 million in capital gains from their property interests in the last year amid a growing housing affordability crisis, a Stuff analysis has found. ...4 days ago
- Democracy wins in SamoaOver three months ago Samoa had an election, in which the people voted out the incumbent Human Rights Protection Party and voted in the opposition FAST Party. The incumbent Human Rights Protection Party ignored the results and clung to power, hoping to get their patsy head of state to call ...4 days ago
- Climate Change: The solution farmers don’t want us to talk aboutRNZ this morning has a piece asking Can NZ really meet its methane emissions targets?. Posing it as a question like this frames it as difficult, more of the "but its too hard!" whine from farmers. But its not hard at all. Pretty obviously, we can meet methane reduction targets ...4 days ago
- A Conversation That Never Happened.4 days ago
- Graham Adams: Parliament is in recess but Kris Faafoi is too busy to discuss proposals for hate-spee...The Minister of Justice appears to have gone into hiding. Graham Adams provides an update on how the public debate on hate speech regulation is going, especially in terms of whether political opinion should or shouldn’t receive an exemption from new laws. It fell to RNZ to break the ...4 days ago
- Engineering A Miracle: Can Judith Collins Reprise Rob Muldoon?Miracle Worker? But Judith Collins and National cannot regain power by simply hoping for the worst. Elections are won by politicians like Rob Muldoon, who persuade the voters that the incumbent government is the worst choice.WAITING FOR THE MIRACLE, as Leonard Cohen observed, is an agonising test. Especially if its ...4 days ago
- Hearing loss and social isolation – the silent burdenFeature image: this picture was chosen as it illustrates two elderly people in each other’s company. Tying in with the theme of hearing loss and social isolation, this depicts the importance of connection to each other and the world in which we live. Charlotte Gordon* Untreated hearing loss is a ...5 days ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #30Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 18, 2021 through Sat, July 24, 2021 The following articles sparked above average interest during the week: Extreme rainfall in China: over 25 inches falls in 24 hours, leaving 33 dead, As scientists have ...5 days ago
- Capitalists in Space
. . Billionaire Richard Branson did it. Also-billionaire, Jeff Bezos, did it. Both will be the first money-hoarders into space (or sub-orbital near-space, to be more specific). Also-also-billionaire, Elon Musk – not content with sub-orbital ‘jaunts’ – has expressed a desire to go Full Interplanetary and personally colonise Mars. Meanwhile, ...5 days ago - Elizabeth Rata: Responding to Andrew Geddis on Treaty PartnershipsMy recent article about the role that the concept of a Treaty ‘partnership’ has played in the development of ethno-nationalism provoked a critical response from Professor Andrew Geddis. We obviously have different opinions about the value of a Treaty partnership in New Zealand’s liberal democracy. My purpose here is to ...5 days ago
- When tough on crime goes wrongIf there’s one thing that you can safely rely on, it’s right-wing politicians grandstanding with tough on crime rhetoric. It's understandable being that such propaganda is usually a sure bet, obviously because a very large proportion of the public wants to see less crime and fewer criminals in their communities.However ...6 days ago
- Billionaire space race: the ultimate symbol of capitalism’s flawed obsession with growthTim Jackson, University of Surrey Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids, laments the Rocket Man in Elton John’s timeless classic. In fact, it’s cold as hell. But that doesn’t seem to worry a new generation of space entrepreneurs intent on colonising the “final frontier” as fast ...6 days ago
- Michael Cullen’s Policy Achievements
Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.Implicit in the title of the Michael Cullen’s memoir Labour Saving is his greatest policy achievement of improving the savings of the economy, as well as his saving the Labour Party from neoliberalism. But first, ...7 days ago - Call to ‘come home’ does not apply to our sleeper cells in Australia, says Government
A map of believed New Zealand sleeper cells in Australia, which the Australian Secret Intelligence Service has described as “painfully obvious” and believes is “pretty much comprehensive.” As the Covid-19 travel bubble with Australia closes once more, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins have made clear ...1 week ago - Cranky Uncle game now being translatedThe Cranky Uncle game is now being translated into multiple languages, paving the way to building public resilience against misinformation across the world. So far, we have had volunteers offer to help translate the game into Danish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, and Ukrainian. But we are always looking ...1 week ago
- Andrew Geddis: Responding to Elizabeth Rata on Treaty PartnershipsIn a recent post on this site, Prof Elizabeth Rata expressed her concerns at the growth of what she terms “ethno-nationalism” and the role that the concept of a “Treaty partnership” has played in this development. She does so by telling a story about how this idea of a Treaty ...1 week ago
- The Greatest Cyber-Weapon May Be The Truth.Who's Hacking Who? So, let’s be clear: the very same Western powers who were voicing their alarm at China’s alleged outsourcing of its cyber-attack capabilities to private actors, are the identical Western powers who, for years, have winked at their friends in Jerusalem outsourcing their intelligence gathering to a shadowy Tel ...1 week ago
- Morbid Symptoms: Why Are Māori Vaccination Rates Plummeting?Not Enough Shots In The Arm: The percentage of 8-month-old Māori babies in Counties Manukau receiving their primary course of immunisation on time has fallen from 85 percent in May 2020 to 68 percent in May 2021. A report prepared for the Counties Manukau DHB attributes this startling drop-off to: ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29, 202194 articles Physical science of climate change, effects Three flavors of radiative feedbacks and their implications for estimating Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity Rugenstein & Armour Geophysical Research Letters DOI: 10.1029/2021gl092983 Observations of climate change, effects Multi-decadal change in western US nighttime vapor pressure deficit DOI: 10.1029/2021gl092983 Recent changes in ...1 week ago
- Looking for more coal is indefensibleSiberia is burning. China is flooding. Westport flooded last weekend. And against this backdrop of climate breakdown, the Southland District Council thinks its a good time to approve new coal exploration. This is a terrible idea. But its also a waste of time. Any coal discovered can never be burned ...1 week ago
- An end to imprisoning refugees?Back in May, Amnesty International exposed New Zealand's repuslive system of refugee detention, and the ongoing human rights abuses it leads to. It clearly embarassed the government, because today they've announced a formal inquiry into the practice - the first step to ending it: But following the release in ...1 week ago
- Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – The Seriousness of the rural revoltIt’s nearly a week since the “Howl of a Protest” took place throughout the country, and we’re still talking about the rural revolt. What are the farmers’ concerns? Are they legitimate? Has the rural-urban divide has become too deep, and will any of this have an impact on politics in ...1 week ago
- Extreme heat warning: what the first-ever UK Met Office alert meansChloe Brimicombe, University of Reading Summer 2021 will mark a turning point in how heat is seen by the public and communicated by experts. For the first time in its 167-year history, the UK’s Met Office has issued an amber warning for extreme heat for much of Wales and parts ...1 week ago
- Hydrogen in Southland?New Zealand wants to move to more renewable electricity. But there's a barrier: the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. It sucks up 13% of our total electricity supply, but its continued threats to shut down create ongoing uncertainty about demand, which puts people off building the additional renewables we need. But ...1 week ago
- When an ancient volcanic ‘supereruption’ caused sudden cooling, early humans got luckyBen Black, Rutgers University and Anja Schmidt, University of Cambridge Around 74,000 years ago, a “supereruption” on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, blasted out an estimated 5,000 cubic kilometres of magma. This was the Toba eruption, the largest volcanic eruption of the past 2 million years. To put 5,000 ...1 week ago
- Talley’s Group Ltd – Arsehole of the Week1 week ago
- Climate Crisis Intensifies Dramatically in 2021
In 2007 an organisation chose its name based on the scientific consensus that 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was the uppermost level to avoid a climate tipping point. We are currently just short of 420pp of carbon and the last seven years have been the hottest ...1 week ago - Samoa’s women’s quota: Have I missed something?(Narrator voice: Yes, yes I did. See correction at the bottom) Another election petition was finalised in Samoa today, seeing the first finding of an illegal practice against a FAST candidate (a party roadshow made a customary gift - koha in NZ terms - during a period where these are ...1 week ago
- A promising startThe "rebate" half of the government's feebate scheme to lower transport emissions came into force three weeks ago. And it looks like its had an immediate effect, with two months worth of EVs registered in the first 19 days alone: More than 1300 electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles ...1 week ago
- Taking shortsighted penny-pinching to a whole new levelOver the weekend Westport was hit by devastating floods. Half the town had to be evacuated, 89 homes (so far) are uninhabitable, and another 400 (of ~1700) need serious repairs. The total cost hasn't come in yet, but its going to be well into the tens of millions of dollars. ...1 week ago
- TORN’s Spy Report on the Amazon LOTR/Second Age Series
It’s been a while since we got an update on the upcoming Amazon Second Age series. Not since the leaked Synopsis. The poor fandom twisted itself into knots speculating about supposed nudity in a Tolkien adaptation, and then… nothing. Well, that has suddenly changed. The One Ring.Net has ...1 week ago - Calling out China for cyberattacks is risky — but a lawless digital world is even riskierAlexander Gillespie, University of Waikato This week’s multi-country condemnation of cyber-attacks by Chinese state-sponsored agencies was a sign of increasing frustration at recent behaviour. But it also masks the real problem — international law isn’t strong or coherent enough to deal with this growing threat. The coordinated announcement by several ...1 week ago
- Could Britain be sued for reopening and putting the world at risk from new COVID variants?Kris Gledhill, Auckland University of Technology With most COVID-19 restrictions now lifted in England, the world is watching to see what this so-called “freedom day” will bring. Some scepticism is warranted, given Britain’s approach throughout the pandemic has hardly been a success. By July 19, there had been 128,985 deaths ...1 week ago
- As scientists have long predicted, warming is making heatwaves more deadlyThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections In its 2001 Third Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) foresaw that global warming would lead to increasingly deadly heatwaves. “More hot days and heatwaves are very likely over nearly all land areas,” the world’s top climate scientists warned. “These increases ...1 week ago
- Geoffrey Miller: NZ’s statement on China a shot across the bowA statement issued by the New Zealand Government alleging Chinese state involvement in hacking goes much further than a simple, pro forma endorsement of the views of New Zealand’s allies. Geoffrey Miller explains the significance. New Zealand joined Western allies on Monday by issuing a statement that called out ...1 week ago
- Climate Change: Calling time on “leakage”When New Zealand was trying to implement carbon pricing back in the early 2000s, polluters whined about "leakage", either threatening to take their production overseas so they could continue to pollute for free, or complaining that paying the full cost of their pollution would mean they would be out-competed by ...1 week ago
- Plague ships put elimination strategy at risk1 week ago
- Doping has become inevitable at the Olympics. And who wins gold in Tokyo might not be certain until...Jason Mazanov, UNSW Another Olympics is upon us, inexorable even in the face of COVID. With it comes the inevitable, salacious speculation around doping scandals. There have been doping scandals at every Olympics in my lifetime and a few before, reaching back to the middle of the 20th century. Now, ...1 week ago
- Baby talk 4: first transfer
Read the full Baby Talk series Content note: this one involves my vagina, like, a lot. Also blood. And that whole infertility/anxiety thing. Of our four fertilised eggs, two were deemed high-quality enough to proceed to the next stage, embryo transfer. The old days of putting multiple embryos back into ...1 week ago - Hate Speech Laws: The Polling
After the March 2019 Christchurch mosque attack, the New Zealand Government set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into matters surrounding the tragedy. The Commission came back with recommendations, including a tightening of laws regarding Hate Speech. The Ardern Government has indicated support for such proposals, but has yet ...2 weeks ago - Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin: can they be more than ‘space’ joyrides for millionaires?Ian Whittaker, Nottingham Trent University and Gareth Dorrian, University of Birmingham Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson and his team successfully flew to the “edge of space” on the Unity 22 mission aboard a Virgin Galactic plane on July 12. The event was hailed as the start of space tourism, narrowly beating ...2 weeks ago
- Exporting their social licenceOne of the slogans of Friday's ugly farmer protests was "no farms, no food". But the truth is that most of what farmers grow is exported, and kiwis are increasingly being priced out of eating it at all: If you feel like red meat is more expensive than it ...2 weeks ago
- Graham Adams: Ardern’s nightmarish weekendCriticism of the government funding gangs and the media followed hard on the heels of nationwide protests by farmers It should have been a weekend of media adulation to further burnish the Prime Minister’s international reputation as a consensus-builder. Late on Friday night, Jacinda Ardern hosted a virtual Asia-Pacific ...2 weeks ago
- Why climate change is forcing conservationists to be more ambitious: by moving threatened species to...Sarah Elizabeth Dalrymple, Liverpool John Moores University As climate change brings record droughts and floods, extended fire seasons continue to make headlines, and the role of humans in this terrible situation is now undisputed, institutional change has been slow and unsteady. In particular, conservationists have been wary of pointing to ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party welcomes conversion therapy prohibition bill
The Green Party welcomes the announcement by Minister of Justice Kris Faafoi to introduce a bill to prohibit conversion therapy used against Rainbow communities. ...9 hours ago - Green Party welcomes Commerce Commission’s draft findings, cautions against wait and hope solution...The Green Party welcomes the findings of the Commerce Commission’s report on competition in the retail grocery sector, which takes aim at the duopoly formed by Woolworths NZ and Foodstuffs. ...1 day ago
- Building back better
It’s a three-week recess in Parliament – so, no bills are going through the House and no select committees are meeting. But the hard work of our ministers continues, and many of our MPs are back in their electorates, taking the opportunity to meet with local communities and businesses about ...1 week ago - Greens call for a Warrant of Fitness for rental homesThe Green Party is launching a petition today calling on the Government’s Healthy Homes Standards to be backed up with a proper Warrant of Fitness (WoF) for rental homes. ...1 week ago
- Securing our recovery: By the numbersOur plan to secure New Zealand’s recovery from COVID-19 is working, with the past three months seeing the second-highest number of people moved off a main benefit into work since records began. ...2 weeks ago
- More Kiwis in work through recovery planThe latest statistics show the Government’s focus on jobs is working. The net number of people on a main benefit dropped by around 11,190 people during the past three months, with around 31,240 people moving off a benefit into work. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party appoints new Chief of StaffThe Green Party has appointed a new Parliamentary Chief of Staff, Robin Campbell. ...2 weeks ago
- New record number of homes consented
In the year ended June 2021, the actual number of new dwellings consented was 44,299, up 18 percent from the June 2020 year. In June 2021, the seasonally adjusted number of new dwellings consented rose 3.8 percent. In June 2021, 4,310 new dwellings were consented, an increase of 3.8 per ...8 hours ago - Communities backed to tackle wilding pinesTwelve community projects across New Zealand will receive a share of $2 million to carry out wilding pine control, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor announced as part of Biosecurity Week. “Wilding pines are a serious problem that threaten many of the unique landscapes that New Zealanders value. Community groups and trusts ...9 hours ago
- Health Minister Andrew Little responding to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation's rejection of ...I was advised last night that the result of the ballot of Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa New Zealand Nurses Organisation members have rejected the latest proposal to settle their collective agreement. Let me be clear: the proposal was one they put to the Government. The Nurses Organisation rejected their ...9 hours ago
- Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation introduced to ParliamentLegislation has been introduced to Parliament to protect against practices intended to change or suppress someone’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Introducing the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill, Minister of Justice, Kris Faafoi, said the measures proposed were aimed at ending conversion practices which don’t work, are widely ...9 hours ago
- New school site for booming West AucklandThe Government will build on a new school site in West Auckland to cope with rapid population growth in the area, Education Minister Chris Hipkins says. The Ministry is working with existing local schools to determine how the 1.5-hectare site at 279 Hobsonville Point Road will be used to support ...13 hours ago
- Trans-Tasman travel window to close at midnight tomorrowA further 500 MIQ rooms released for managed returnees from NSW Further Government actions announced today are balanced to provide more certainty for Kiwis wanting to return from Australia, while continuing to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, acting Minister for COVID-19 Response Ayesha Verrall says. The actions were foreshadowed last ...1 day ago
- Govt investing millions in Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti schoolsNapier Boys’ and Girls’ High Schools are among those set to benefit from a $16.5 million investment in the Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti region, Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash announced today. The Government has set aside money in Budget 2021 to accelerate five projects in Napier, Hastings, Havelock North ...1 day ago
- Game changing Jobs for Nature investment for NorthlandConservation Minister Kiri Allan has announced Jobs for Nature funding for a portfolio of projects that will create ‘game changing’ gains for nature and communities across Northland/Te Tai Tokerau as part of the Government’s acceleration of the economic recovery from COVID. “This portfolio of 12 projects will see over $20 ...1 day ago
- Third COVID-19 vaccine receives provisional approvalNew Zealand’s regulatory authority Medsafe has granted provisional approval of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 18 years of age and older, Acting Minister for COVID-19 Response Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. New Zealand secured 7.6 million doses (enough for 3.8 million people) of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine through an ...1 day ago
- Bowel-cancer screening programme is saving livesMore than 1000 New Zealanders have had bowel cancer – New Zealand’s second-most-common cause of death from cancer - detected under the Government’s National Bowel Screening Programme, Health Minister Andrew Little said today. More than 1200 New Zealanders died from bowel cancer in 2017. The screening programme aims to save ...1 day ago
- Govt welcomes draft report on the retail grocery sectorThe Commerce Commission’s draft report into the retail grocery sector is being welcomed by Government as a major milestone. “I asked the Commerce Commission to look at whether this sector is as competitive as it could be and today it has released its draft report for consultation,” Commerce and Consumer ...1 day ago
- Christchurch’s Youth Hub ‘set to go’ thanks to further Government fundingConstruction of New Zealand’s first, purpose-built centre for youth well-being is ready to get underway thanks to an extra $2.5 million of COVID-19 response funding, Housing Minister and Associate Minister of Finance, Megan Woods announced today. “The Christchurch Youth Hub is about bringing together all the things young people need ...1 day ago
- Next step to protect Milford Sound PiopiotahiExpert group lays out plan to better protect iconic UNESCO World Heritage site Milford Sound Piopiotahi and its surrounds Funding confirmed for dedicated unit and Establishment Board to assess the recommendations and provide oversight of the process from here Milford Opportunities Project a test case for transformational change in tourism ...2 days ago
- Funding for projects to reduce waste from construction and demolitionThe Government has announced funding for projects in Auckland and the lower North Island to help reduce construction and demolition waste. “Construction is the main source of waste sent to landfill, and much of this could be reduced, reused and recovered,” Environment Minister David Parker said. “The Government is funding ...2 days ago
- Speech at the launch of the National Hepatitis C Action PlanTēnā koutou katoa. Thank you Anglesea Pharmacy and Te Manawa Taki for hosting this event. As a doctor, I saw first hand the impact of hepatitis C. I met Moana in 2019; she came to the infectious diseases outpatient clinic at Wellington Hospital having tested positive for hepatitis C. Like ...2 days ago
- Plan to eliminate hepatitis C as a major health threat by 2030A plan to eliminate hepatitis C in New Zealand, reducing liver cancer and the need for liver transplants, has been released today by Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall. “Around 45,000 New Zealanders have hepatitis C, but only around half know they have it,” said Ayesha Verrall. “Symptoms often ...2 days ago
- School upgrades and new classrooms for West Coast, Tasman and CanterburyA funding injection from Budget 2021 to complete four shovel ready projects and new classrooms at six schools and kura will provide a real boost to local communities, Minister Dr Megan Woods announced today. “This Government has committed to providing quality fit for purpose learning environments and 100,000 new student ...2 days ago
- Warmer Kiwi Homes smashes annual targetThe Government's highly successful insulation and heating programme, Warmer Kiwi Homes, is celebrating a key milestone with the completion of more than 38,000 insulation and efficient heater installs in the year to the end of June, smashing its target of 25,000 installs for the year. “The Warmer Kiwi Homes scheme ...3 days ago
- Exemption granted for Wallabies to enter NZBledisloe Cup rugby will be played in New Zealand after the Australian rugby team received an economic exemption to enter New Zealand. Travel between Australia and New Zealand was suspended on Friday for at least eight weeks following the worsening of the COVID outbreak across the Tasman. New Zealanders have ...3 days ago
- Minister of Foreign Affairs makes three diplomatic appointmentsForeign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announced three New Zealand Head of Mission appointments. They are: Mike Walsh as Ambassador to Iran Michael Upton as Ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union Kevin Burnett as Ambassador to Indonesia Iran “Aotearoa New Zealand has a long-standing and constructive relationship with Iran, despite a ...3 days ago
- Enhanced Task Force Green Approved for West Coast and MarlboroughThe Government has activated Enhanced Task Force Green (ETFG) in response to the West Coast and Marlborough floods, Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced today. “To assist with the clean-up, up to $500,000 will be made available to support the recovery in Buller and Marlborough which has experienced ...3 days ago
- Govt support for upgrade of Eden Park players facilitiesMinister for Sport and Recreation Hon Grant Robertson has announced funding to upgrade the players facilities at Eden Park ahead of upcoming Women’s World Cup events. Eden Park is a confirmed venue for the Rugby World Cup 2021, the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022, and a proposed venue for matches of ...3 days ago
- More jobs and quicker public transport motoring towards West AucklandWork to improve public transport for West Aucklanders and support the region’s economic recovery by creating hundreds of jobs has officially kicked off, Transport Minister Michael Wood announced today. Michael Wood and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff this morning marked the start of construction on the Northwestern Bus Improvements project. It ...3 days ago
- Government backs critical health researchResearch into some of New Zealanders’ biggest health concerns including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease is getting crucial support in the latest round of health research funding, Health Minister Andrew Little announced today. The funding, awarded through the Health Research Council of New Zealand, covers 31 General Project grants ($36.64 ...3 days ago
- New Bay of Islands hospital facilities to bring services closer to homePrime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister Andrew Little have joined a ceremony to bless the site and workers for Phase Two of the redevelopment of the Bay of Islands Hospital in Kawakawa today. The new building will house outpatients and primary care facilities, as well as expanded renal care ...4 days ago
- Raukokore re-imagined with ‘smart’ relocatable rent to own housingIwi, Crown Partnership Relocatable, fully insulated housing, connected to a new solar plant Provides a pathway to home ownership New housing in the remote eastern Bay of Plenty community of Raukokore shows how iwi and Crown agencies can work together effectively to provide warm, dry, energy efficient homes in a ...4 days ago
- Cabinet accepts Turkish authorities’ request for the managed return of three NZ citizensCabinet has agreed to the managed return of a New Zealand citizen and her two young children from Turkey, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. The three have been in immigration detention in Turkey since crossing the border from Syria earlier this year. Turkey has requested that New Zealand repatriate ...4 days ago
- Govt delivers more classrooms so children can focus on learningExtra Government investment in classrooms and school building projects will enable students and teachers to focus on education rather than overcrowding as school rolls grow across the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis say. The pair visited Ruakākā School in Whangārei today to announce $100 ...4 days ago
- New station a platform for AirportLink to take offEvery Aucklander with access to the rail network will now have a quick and convenient trip to the airport, Transport Minister Michael Wood and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said during the official opening of the new Puhinui Interchange today. The new interchange links the rail platform with a new bus ...6 days ago
- 10 days sick leave for employees deliveredLegislation doubling employees’ minimum sick leave entitlement to 10 days comes into effect today, bringing benefits to both businesses and employees, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood announced today. “Our Government is delivering on a key manifesto commitment to help Kiwis and workplaces stay healthy,” Michael Wood said. “COVID-19 ...7 days ago
- Prime Minister congratulates Fiame Naomi Mata’afa on Election WinPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern tonight congratulated Prime Minister-elect Fiame Naomi Mata’afa on her victory in the Samoa’s general election. “New Zealand has a special relationship with Samoa, anchored in the Treaty of Friendship. We look forward to working with Samoa’s new government in the spirit of partnership that characterises this ...7 days ago
- Quarantine Free Travel with Australia suspendedQuarantine Free Travel from all Australian states and territories to New Zealand is being suspended as the Covid situation there worsens, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. From 11.59pm today Australians will no longer be able to enter New Zealand quarantine-free. This will be ...1 week ago
- Growing conservation efforts in GisborneA big injection of Jobs for Nature funding will create much-needed jobs and financial security for families in TeTairāwhiti, and has exciting prospects for conservation in the region, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “The projects target local communities most affected by the economic consequences of COVID 19 and are designed ...1 week ago
- Flood recovery given further assistanceThe Government is contributing a further $1 million to help the flood battered Buller community, Acting Emergency Management Minister Kris Faafoi announced today. “Buller is a small community which has found itself suddenly facing significant and ongoing welfare costs. While many emergency welfare costs are reimbursed by Government, this money ...1 week ago
- Funding for five projects to reduce food wasteThe Government is funding five projects to help address the growing problem of food waste, Environment Minister David Parker announced today. “New Zealand households throw away nearly 300,000 tonnes of food every year, half of which could still be eaten. By supporting these initiatives, we’re taking steps to reduce this ...1 week ago
- Temporary Accommodation Service activated for West Coast flooding eventThe Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) has been activated today - meaning residents on the West Coast of the South Island and in the Marlborough region hit by flooding over the weekend can now access help finding temporary accommodation, announced Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing) Poto Williams in Westport today. ...1 week ago
- Pause to Quarantine Free Travel from South Australia to New ZealandQuarantine Free Travel from South Australia to New Zealand will be paused from 11.59am (NZT) tonight, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. However, people currently in the state who ordinarily live in New Zealand will be able to return on “managed return” flights starting with the next available flight, ...1 week ago
- New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity by Chinese state-sponsored actorsNew Zealand has established links between Chinese state-sponsored actors known as Advanced Persistent Threat 40 (APT40) and malicious cyber activity in New Zealand. “The GCSB has worked through a robust technical attribution process in relation to this activity. New Zealand is today joining other countries in strongly condemning this malicious ...2 weeks ago
- Remarks to Diplomatic CorpsIt is a pleasure to be with you all this evening. Some of you may have been surprised when you received an invitation from the Minister of Disarmament and Arms Control, and I would forgive you if you were. New Zealand is unique in having established a Ministerial portfolio ...2 weeks ago
- Early Pfizer shipment boosts vaccine scheduleThe largest shipment of the Pfizer vaccine to date has arrived into New Zealand two days ahead of schedule, and doses are already being delivered to vaccination centres around the country, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. “The shipment of more than 370,000 doses reached New Zealand yesterday, following a ...2 weeks ago
- The Tokyo Lowdown: Day 7 glory
In one of NZ's great Olympic days - three medals on the rowing course - the fairytale of Emma Twigg stands out. LockerRoom's daily wrap of our Kiwi sportswomen continues. Performances of the day Emma Twigg can now finally believe. Many times during her 18-year Olympic journey, the single ...3 hours ago - Week in Politics: Return of Suhayra Aden stirs up debate
Analysis - Harsh words from Judith Collins as it is announced Suhayra Aden can return to New Zealand, another big vaccine delivery clears the way for the programme to ramp up. ...4 hours ago - India’s vaccine rollout is ignoring the many inequities in its society
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rajib Dasgupta, Chairperson, Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University Some 6 months after India began what is said to be the largest COVID-19 vaccination drive in the world, equitable distribution has been a challenge. A recent instance ...4 hours ago - We must include more women in physics — it would help the whole of humanitySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cathy Foley, Australia’s Chief Scientist, Office of the Chief Scientist Prajval Shastri, Author provided All around the world, there is an extreme gender imbalance in physics, in both academia and industry. Examples are all too easy to find. In Burkina ...4 hours ago
- No wonder people are confused. Most official COVID vaccine advice is way too complexSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Marie Muscat, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, University of Sydney from www.shutterstock.com As Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak continues to grow, the message has shifted to urgently “get the jab”. And people’s motivation to get vaccinated is increasing. But with ever-changing advice, many ...4 hours ago
- Curious Kids: do penguins fly underwater?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Belinda Cannell, Research fellow, Research Associate, The University of Western Australia Shutterstock Do penguins fly underwater? – Rhys, age 7, Perth. Indeed they do. They can’t fly through the air but they can fly underwater. In ...4 hours ago
- 3 things we need to get right to ensure online professional development worksSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Filia Garivaldis, Senior Lecturer, BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash University Shutterstock One thing the COVID-19 pandemic has not changed is the need for employee training and skills development. Although lockdowns have reduced access to offices and increased job insecurity, they have provided ...4 hours ago
- Vital Signs: Uber’s impact on traffic accidents is a lesson in calculating social benefitSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Twinsterphoto/Sutterstock Uber has been great for some people and bad for others. It has been good for its founders and investors. It has been good for riders who get a convenient and well-priced new ...4 hours ago
- VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on changes in opposition policySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Michelle Grattan discusses the week in politics with University of Canberra Associate Professor Caroline Fisher. This week the pair discuss the extension of the Sydney lockdown, and the anti-lockdown protests which took place over the ...5 hours ago
- HRC To Play A Role In Law Banning Conversion Practices
Te Kāhui Tika Tangata / The Human Rights Commission welcomes the Government’s introduction of the Conversion Practices Prohibition Bill. The proposed legislation would criminalise conversion practices . If passed, it would also create a civil ...5 hours ago - Gamblers bet more when in the dark: feedback can curb their online lossesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Newell, Professor of Cognitive Psychology, UNSW Online wagering is the fastest-growing segment of gambling in Australia. It’s a trend of particular concern because losing money through online brokering and betting apps is associated with higher rates of gambling-related harm than other ...5 hours ago
- Conversion therapy 'widely discredited by science' – FaafoiConversion therapy can cause serious harm, says Justice Minister Kris Faafoi, who is introducing the government's planned law to ban the practice. ...6 hours ago
- Not all the millions offered by the Ardern govt have been accepted – let’s see how it fares with...
Several million dollars have been dished out for projects to build schools, control wilding pine control and what-have-you. Nurses – on the other hand – have turned down the money they were offered. In their case, Health Minister Andrew Little is obviously bemused and frustrated. He was advised last ...6 hours ago - The power of no: Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka and Black women’s resistanceSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathomi Gatwiri, Senior lecturer, Southern Cross University Simone Biles, the US gymnast widely considered “the greatest of all time”, withdrew from the Olympic finals this week, saying: I have to focus on my mental health […] We have to protect our ...6 hours ago
- The discovery of Indigenous children’s bodies in Canada is horrific, but Australia has similar tra...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lilly Brown, Lecturer, The University of Melbourne Content warning: This article contains distressing information on Stolen Generations and residential schools. When I read that the bodies of 215 children had been found in unmarked graves on the grounds of the former Kamloops ...6 hours ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending July 30
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 In Our Own Backyard by Anne Kayes (Bateman, $22) From Kete Books: “It’s March 2020 and Liza, her ...6 hours ago - Rapid antigen testing isn’t perfect. But it could be a useful part of Australia’s COVID responseSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Williamson, Professor of Microbiology, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity Shutterstock Since the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 testing in Australia has been performed using highly sensitive PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests. But this conventional model of ...6 hours ago
- Muller takes more time away
Former National leader Todd Muller, forced to retire by leader Judith Collins and the party caucus, will remain on leave for three more weeks to care for his wife Outgoing National MP Todd Muller will not return to Parliament as planned on Tuesday after taking five weeks leave. The MP ...6 hours ago - Yesterdaze: A gold in synchronised snarking
James Elliott hands out red cards to runners in the reckons relay as he does his best not to put his hand into a power saw The sensation you get when you see that Mike Hosking is trending on Twitter is a lot like the feeling some people get when they ...6 hours ago - Demand at South Auckland mass vaccine event takes organisers by surpriseNew Zealand’s first mass vaccination event proved more popular than expected this morning, with many waiting up to an hour for their jab due to higher than anticipated demand. Justin Latif reports. Shortly after New Zealand’s first vaccination event commenced, reports began filtering in of long wait times for people ...6 hours ago
- The Friday Poem: To Get Here, by Lynn DavidsonA new poem by 2021 Randell Cottage Creative NZ Writer in Residence Lynn Davidson.To get hereI drove through the Kaimanawas (which is the old forest,survivor of brutal winters/ or the wild horses streaming over tussock/or the mountain range) And which translates as treasure or eat the wildor heart-eater or ...7 hours ago
- Everything we learned from Lorde’s recent publicity blitzShe’s Lorde of onion rings and chicken wings, but what else have we learned about the award-winning singer from her run of media appearances?With the impending release of a new album and an upcoming global tour, Lorde has climbed aboard the promotional train, destination everywhere. We watched her get day ...8 hours ago
- COVID has changed policing — but now policing needs to change to respond better to COVIDSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vicki Sentas, Senior Lecturer, UNSW Law, UNSW With rolling lockdowns now part of how Australians live in the pandemic age, important questions arise about corresponding changes in policing. Constantly changing public health orders bring not only confusion but expansive police authority to ...8 hours ago
- Conversion therapy law: Government reveals all the detailsThe government has revealed all the details of its ban on conversion therapy, with a penalty of up to five years in prison for serious harm caused by putting someone through it. ...8 hours ago
- Govt To Jail Parents For Affirming Daughter As Girl, Son As BoyFamily First NZ says that the proposed ‘conversion therapy’ ban will be yet another attack on parents’ rights, is fundamentally flawed and unfair, and has been opposed by the Ministry of Health, a government select committee, and by the ...8 hours ago
- There’s no escape from climate change – and NZ should brace for the tariffs imposed by our tradi...
When a magazine as authoritative as The Economist heads up its lead “No Safe Place” , even climate change deniers should sit up and take notice. The Economist” says the most terrible thing about the spectacular scenes of destruction that have played out around the world over recent weeks ...8 hours ago - All sports interviews should be like thisRuby Tui and Michaela Blyde aren’t just brilliant rugby sevens players: the pair look unassailable in the race for ‘best interview at the Tokyo Olympics’ gold.In a world of anodyne, cliche-replete sports interviews, Ruby Tui and Michaela Blyde of the Black Ferns sevens are a coruscating beam of light. Having ...8 hours ago
- Health Minister Andrew Little responds after nurses reject pay offerThe Health Minister is speaking to media after nurses rejected the government's latest pay offer, meaning planned strikes would go ahead. ...9 hours ago
- The Salvation Army Supports Proposed Conversion Practices Prohibition BillThe Salvation Army is supporting the proposed Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill, which will outlaw this unethical practice. The Salvation Army continues to oppose vilification of, or discrimination against, anyone on the grounds of sexuality ...10 hours ago
- New Home Consents Continue To Break RecordsA record 44,299 new homes were consented in the year ended June 2021, Stats NZ said today. “The annual number of new homes consented rose again in the June 2021 year, the fourth consecutive month of rises,” construction statistics manager Michael ...10 hours ago
- Te Tiriti O Waitangi And Māori Equity Front And Centre In New Te Pūkenga ReportBoosted outcomes for Māori and te whakatinanatanga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi in practice) are key outcomes of Te Pae Tawhiti Insights Report released today. Te Pae Tawhiti is the biggest piece of Te Tiriti o Waitangi self-reflective ...10 hours ago
- What the hell has happened to the McFlurry®?Emily Writes has had enough of the lies – an unflurried McFlurry® is no McFlurry® at all.This post was first published on Emily Writes Weekly.At some point it changed. And we just accepted it. We didn’t rise up in the streets and demand our McFlurrys be flurried. And now it’s too ...11 hours ago
- EnviroWaste Partners With NZ Food Network To Feed Hungry KiwisEnviroWaste has joined NZ Food Network (NZFN) to put more food on the table for the thousands of Kiwi households experiencing food insecurity. The new partnership will see EnviroWaste working with its large food production clients to ...11 hours ago
- Offshore And Returning Kiwi Remain Keen To Contribute To New Zealand’s Prosperity Says Kea ReportThe Kea Future Aspirations survey of offshore and recently returned community members, released today, shows that a significant number of our offshore Kiwi still hope to return to New Zealand despite growing post-covid momentum in key markets. This report ...12 hours ago
- The cutting-edge tech helping NZ athletes shave seconds from their timesWhen our Olympic athletes train for their events, it’s no longer enough to have a coach standing on the sidelines keeping an eye on what’s going on. These days, performance monitoring tech is now a staple in every top New Zealand athlete’s training regime. Mirjam Guesgen reports.With the powerful pull ...12 hours ago
- Community concern a ‘risk’ to dramatic expansion of school zones and buildings
Today, 6yo Gus Milne wants to talk to the PM about learning to cook in his new class kitchen; his dad would like to talk about the millions invested in school infrastructure ...12 hours ago - How a perfect storm of events is turning Myanmar into a ‘super-spreader’ COVID stateSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Simpson, Senior Lecturer, University of South Australia Myanmar is facing a catastrophic health crisis that could have ramifications not just for the country’s long-suffering people, but across the region as well. The country is experiencing a major spike in COVID cases ...13 hours ago
- If Australia is serious about fixing the culture at parliament, this is the code of conduct we needSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Blair Williams, Research Fellow, Global Institute for Women’s Leadership (GIWL), Australian National University Lukas Coch/AAP Australia has been rocked by serious allegations of sexual assault and harassment that have poured out of parliament house this year. In February, former ...13 hours ago
- Australia shouldn’t ‘open up’ before we vaccinate at least 80% of the population. Here’s whySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Director, Health Program, Grattan Institute Shutterstock Earlier this month National Cabinet released a four-phase COVID response plan. It wasn’t so much a plan – it had no dates and no thresholds – but more a back-of-the-napkin thought bubble. ...13 hours ago
- Pest plants and animals cost Australia around $25 billion a year – and it will get worseSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University AAP Shamefully, Australia has one of the highest extinction rates in the world. And ...13 hours ago
- Climate change is causing tuna to migrate, which could spell catastrophe for the small islands that ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Seto, Research Fellow, University of Wollongong Small Pacific Island states depend on their commercial fisheries for food supplies and economic health. But our new research shows climate change will dramatically alter tuna stocks in the tropical Pacific, with potentially severe consequences ...13 hours ago
- Should the University of Melbourne host the Menzies Institute? The answer hinges on academic freedomSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katharine Gelber, Professor of Politics and Public Policy, The University of Queensland The University of Melbourne will open the Robert Menzies Institute, in honour of Australia’s longest-serving prime minister, in September this year. The presence of board members with close ties to ...13 hours ago
- A COVID ‘ring of steel’ around Sydney would play havoc with Australia’s supply chainsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flavio Romero Macau, Associate dean, Edith Cowan University Claudio Divizia/Shutterstock If a “ring of steel” was actually placed around Sydney, as suggested by Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, the rest of Australia would suffer in ways that aren’t immediately apparent. Completely ...13 hours ago
- Friday essay: how ‘Afghan’ coats left Kabul for the fashion world and became a hippie must-haveSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Bonyhady, Emeritus professor, Australian National University Masking Afghan coats for sale in Herat, 1974. Shutterstock The London launch of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in May 1967 was a musical and fashion landmark. While the clothes worn by all ...13 hours ago
- Live updates, July 30: Nurses resume pay talks after rejecting latest government offerWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 30, bringing you the latest news updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz8.00am: Pay talks resume as nurses reject latest offerThe government’s latest pay offer to nurses has been rejected, with planned strikes in August and September once again on ...13 hours ago
- The incredible legacy of Merata Mita’s Patu!As part of an exhibition on the 1981 Springbok tour protest, Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision has restored and remastered Patu!, the masterwork of wahine Māori filmmaker Merata Mita and her artistic collaborators. Dan Taipua looks back at the legacy of this cinematic taonga.Patu! is a documentary from a different ...13 hours ago
- The Bulletin: Supermarket duopoly laid bare, faces forced competitionGood morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Supermarket duopoly laid bare, one industrial action ends while another restarts, and window closing for quarantine-free travel from Australia.A couple of years ago former Spinoff staffer Henry Oliver made a very astute observation about the NBR Rich List, and I want ...13 hours ago
- Conversion therapy legislation to cover religious groupsThe government's ban on conversion therapy will cover religious groups, but they will still be able to freely express their beliefs. ...15 hours ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 30 July
Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. ...15 hours ago - Newsroom daily crossword, Friday 30 July
...15 hours ago - This week's best-selling books
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias FICTION 1 Loop Tracks by Sue Orr (Victoria University Press, $35) "Secrets and shame, family and lovers, Loop Tracks scoops all this and more into its orbit, creating a ...15 hours ago - Bernard Hickey: A long white tunnel back to the futureOur provincial cities had thriving public transport systems until they were wrecked in the early 1990s. Bernard Hickey visits Whanganui’s extraordinary Durie Hill Elevator to find out how (and why) we should look to the past to get to carbon zero.Follow When the Facts Change on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or ...16 hours ago
- New Zealand’s best real estate agent ads, reviewed and rankedIn a hot and overcrowded housing market, real estate agents are having to get creative with their promotion to attract customers and beat their rivals. Michael Andrew ranked some of the most compelling and eccentric ads out there.They’re in every newspaper. They’re on every building. They’re on every bus, bus ...16 hours ago
- Faafoi reviews rights of youth stuck in residency visa queue
Immigrant youth trapped without the ability to work or study have been promised an imminent resolution ...16 hours ago - Govt forgos $6m with green buildings policy
The Government's decision to enact a less ambitious policy for reducing emissions from buildings could see it lose out on emissions reductions and energy savings, Marc Daalder reports A 2018 cost-benefit analysis of options to reduce emissions in buildings showed the most ambitious policies would have net benefits of $18.5 million ...16 hours ago - Commission calls out Pak'nSave's six-month 'specials'
The Commerce Commission's investigation of competition in the grocery market found many items at supermarkets are on sale for half or three quarters of the year. ...16 hours ago - Dom Harvey, music radio and the times they are a-Changin'
A top, controversial DJ hangs up his earphones as an industry struggles with how to limit offence, and his station's owner prepares to release a lawyer's inquiry into its culture and misconduct. MEDIAROOM: Dom Harvey and his repertoire of pranks, jokes, personal comments and controversies leave the airwaves Friday morning after 20 years ...16 hours ago - Photographer bridging the urban-rural divide
After travelling the country in search of sustainable and environmentally-friendly farms, a photographer is bringing her work to Auckland to show what it means to be stewards of the land Queen Street has been a bit of a Mecca for farmers lately. This month’s Groundswell protest saw a troupe of ...16 hours ago - First Kiwi Olympic gymnast still does the splits at 75
As Maddie Davidson becomes our first female Olympic trampolinist, Dido Götz recalls competing in NZ's first gymnastics team at an Olympics - also in Tokyo, but 57 years earlier Dido Götz puts on the elegant felt hat and black blazer with the silver fern, and hangs the well-worn travelling bag over ...16 hours ago - Opting out of employer responsibility – the case against Uber
Unions are heading to the Employment Court taking action over Uber's drivers - asking the question when a 'contractor' is really a 'worker', and should be offered worker benefits Earlier this year, the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision, affirming that Uber drivers were not, as previously ...16 hours ago - NZ's blindspot on dairy emissions
Big Dairy worldwide is contemplating faster cuts to its emissions but Fonterra, the Ministry of Primary Industries and the Government don't seem to want to discuss doing anything more ...16 hours ago - Outrage over Indonesian officers for stomping on disabled Papuan teen’s headWarning: Content may be distressing to some viewers. The video of the assault on the Papuan deaf teenager. Video: Benar News SPECIAL REPORT: By Yamin Kogoya Shocking video footage showing a brutal and inhumane assault on a deaf Papuan teenager named Steven has emerged from the Merauke region of Papua ...19 hours ago
- Grattan on Friday: Albanese lightens his boat, ahead of the battle of the ‘grey men’Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Anthony Albanese this week sent a clear message – he intends to use John Howard’s 1996 model as his strategic guide to the election. With this in mind, it was predictable the opposition leader would ...21 hours ago
- The Tokyo Lowdown: Day 6
Can the new Olympic champion rowing pair bring home a pair of golds from Tokyo? Are we about to see one of NZ's greatest Olympic days? LockerRoom's daily wrap of our Kiwi sportswomen continues. Performances of the day There’s no more rewarding way to overcome the disappointment of being ...1 day ago - Fiji’s other crisis – away from the covid emergency, political dissent can still get you arreste...ANALYSIS: By Dominic O’Sullivan, Charles Sturt University The arrest of nine Fijian opposition politicians, including party leaders and two former prime ministers, once again exposes Fijian democracy’s fragility. The intimidation doesn’t bode well for the parliamentary elections due next year (or early 2023). The political crisis has been overshadowed by ...1 day ago
- Fiji covid-19 patient being flown to NZ for treatment in about-turnRNZ Pacific A covid-19 positive patient is being flown to New Zealand from Fiji today despite an earlier decision by the Ministry of Health to decline the transfer. The infected patient from Fiji is being flown to Auckland for hospital treatment. It is reported the person involved is a high-profile ...1 day ago
- Fiji Olympic Gold … never to be missed even for Fiji’s youngest sevens fansCOMMENT: By Shailendra Singh in Suva This poignant photo by Max Vosailagi captures Fiji’s fixation with rugby sevens, with winning a second Olympic Gold last night by beating New Zealand 27-12 in the men’s final. Two young boys, glued to what is apparently a TV screen through a neighbourhood front ...1 day ago
- Fiji dedicates Olympic sevens win to struggling people back homeRNZ Pacific Fiji has dedicated its Olympic rugby sevens win to the people back home who are struggling amidst the country’s covid-19 health crisis. Fiji defeated New Zealand 27-12 in the men’s sevens final in Tokyo to defend the title they won in Rio five years ago. Captain Jerry Tuwai ...1 day ago
- PNG landowner group accused of ‘hijack’ over validation in PorgeraAsia Pacific Report newsdesk Allegations of “hijacking and manipulation” of a Papua New Guinea national government sanctioned validation exercise at the Porgera mine in Enga province have been raised, reports the PNG Post-Courier. Tieni Wuape clan leader from the Special Mining Lease (SML) Janet Yuwi told the Post-Courier that a ...1 day ago
- Māori Party calls for indigenous debate to address NZ racism, white privilegeAsia Pacific Report newsdesk The co-leader of New Zealand’s minority Māori Party has launched a blistering attack on white privilege and the opposition National Party which it accuses of “igniting racism” in the framing of a debate about radical political change. In a provocative introduction to her weekly column in ...1 day ago
- Should pregnant women have a COVID vaccine? The evidence says it’s safe and effectiveSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Dahlen, Professor of Midwifery, Associate Dean Research and HDR, Midwifery Discipline Leader, Western Sydney University Shutterstock Having a baby brings enough stress and uncertainty without having to deal with a pandemic. Added to that is the difficult decision to ...1 day ago
- Is the truth out there? How the Harvard-based Galileo Project will search the skies for alien techno...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ray Norris, Professor, School of Science, Western Sydney University ESO Can we find alien technology? That is the ambitious goal of the Galileo Project, launched this week by Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb with substantial private financial backing. The project ...1 day ago
- Business is Boring: How Tractor Ventures gives startups a new way to raise capitalJodie Imam and Lance Hodges of Tractor Ventures join Simon Pound to talk about the growing startup industry and how they’re helping fund it.Follow Business is Boring on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast provider.Startup founders have a few very well known ways to get funding, and most of ...1 day ago
- NZ supermarket giants warned: Change your ways or face break-upNew Zealand’s two grocery giants have been warned by the government’s guardian of free markets to allow significantly more competition into the sector – or parliament will be told to break you up. Justin Giovannetti reports.The conclusion that New Zealand’s grocery bills are among the world’s most expensive won’t come ...1 day ago
- NZ Bus Welcomes Agreement Of Driver DealNZ Bus has welcomed today’s approval of a new collective employment agreement with its Wellington bus drivers. The agreement secures a fair and equitable outcome for existing staff and gives NZ Bus greater ability to recruit more full-time drivers. ...1 day ago
Cry me a river/injured innocence dept:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11282539
“We regret having reported inflated and conflated dollar figures.”
Firstly. The NZ Herald screwed up in terms of basic journalism i.e. to “report” a story is to have fact checked its basis and your sources before running the story. The Herald didn’t do that, and its clear that just 3 months before a General Election the paper should have been more thorough than ever.
Secondly, its attempt in this rather terse and strained editorial to equate the seriousness of what Maurice Williamson did or the interference in our political system perpetrated by the Exclusive Brethren, to Cunliffe forgetting an old form letter, etc. is as ludicrous as trying to pass chalk off as cheese.
Bias is the claim, and bias is the appearance.
The Herald could claim that they were just reporting on a statement received.
I have written to the Herald asking if they would print a statement I could write claiming bad stuff about John Key. Would they print it before close checking or just go ahead and print it? What if I supplied a photo of John Key frowning? Would the reprint the content of the statement in spite of JK’s denial?
Doubt it.
Lprent has a great post up summing up the whole shambles.
Nope, that is neither reporting a story* nor is it journalism. Either would require fact checking of assertions and context, it would require independent assessment of multiple sources, it would have required giving Cunliffe 24 hrs to comment and reply. It would have required actual basic leg work and integrity to identify and convey the truth to the public, in other words.
Instead, what the Herald played at was “gotcha” style ambush-oriented tabloid gossip.
*Where reportING is the activity of a professional reportOR i.e. journalist or news correspondent around checking and relaying the truth of a matter. Not acting as a gossip columnist.
The fact that these concepts seem so odd now is that neither our TV news or our print news does much actual journalistic “reporting” nowadays, instead preferring to relay tabloid style “he said/she said/he agreed/she disagreed” gossip-mongering.
[deleted]
[lprent: I see you haven’t responded to my note on http://thestandard.org.nz/reverse-ferret-bites-pm-on-arse/#comment-838047. Bad idea. Banned 3 months. ]
[lprent: Apologies. OAB pointed to the comment that I missed. Ban rescinded. ]
oh fuck off grumpy you want close to home, someone get Pansy Wong Jenny Shipley and Judith Collins here.
In Grumpy’s defence:
“lprent is correct, my memory was clearly deficient.”
[lprent: Ok I missed that. Rescinding ban. I was bit grumpy this morning after reading the Herald’s editorial. ]
As much as I despise Grumpy; OAB defense is accurate, and LPrent’s ban might have been inappropriate in this instance. I don’t mind him being banned, but it should be for what he says rather than merely being an incompetent and incoherent commenter.
Of course, he could have returned to his old trick of passing of unsubstantiated conjecture as fact in the deleted comment above; which is what he was warned about. If so, then his previous admission of fault doesn’t amount to much.
If it please m’Lud, Grumpy’s ban was for an alleged failure to respond. If further charges are pending may we see the evidence? 😈
It was. He dropped off the site for a few days after I asked it. But as people are aware if I ask a question as moderator, especially about an assertion of fact, then I expect to get a reply.
Just at present my default action is to give anyone I have to ban, a 3 month ban. That is because my moderating workload goes up dramatically prior to an election, and I prefer to remove problem commenters while the workload is high.
Please see my comment at 1.2.2
‘In Grumpy’s defence:
“lprent is correct, my memory was clearly deficient.”’
dang, I always quite like mr grumpy. What did he say?
Check above the comment I linked to.
I believe it was in relation to this piece at Kiwiblog with a statement from Stephen Ching in relation to the ongoing Liu saga.
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2014/06/ching_says_now_me.html
Liu, the National Party donor with a limited understanding of what constitutes “The Labour Party”?
Liu the National and Labour party donor whose donations to each of those parties haven’t been worth the angst they have caused.
Still surprised we haven’t seen more of Winston during this ongoing saga – thought it would be mana from Heaven for him leading into an election.
No. Desperation over Maurice and Judith and John and Cabinet Club caused the angst.
The knowledge of what happens when you put Steven Joyce up against David Parker caused the angst.
Running away from legitimate questions like whiny cry-babies caused the angst.
Wow that Labour kool aid is good stuff !
More potent than Winston’s smile and latest hair style at a Grey Power meeting !
😆
I’m a Green voter.
But shilling for Labour……….. #Heyclint is that you ?
[lprent: No it isn’t. And as an advisory. Fishing for peoples identities is a really bad idea around here. ]
Is that what ‘shilling’ means to you: challenging your false assertion that Liu is the source of this angst, as opposed to the low types you’re cheerleading for?
That’s part of the smear: throw Liu under a bus because we don’t want the lying Prime Minister to look vicious as well as deceitful.
The market is flooded with unused personal responsibility.
oh I don’t think it’s the Nats throwing Liu under the bus maybe some ankle tapping after Labour propelled towards the wheels though.
And you don’t think Lui is a source of angst to both National and Labour ?
I think you’d better consult a thesaurus ASAP.
The sources of National’s angst are things National have done. The sources of Labour angst likewise.
Liu is reponsible for Liu. National is responsible for National. Labour is responsible for Labour.
Why does someone (like yourself) with a vaunted philosophical commitment to personal responsibility have to have that spelled out for them?
Desperation? Stupidity? Ignorance? Dishonesty?
Has to be one of those.
….not much, I like you too vto – but you were better before Stockholm syndrome took hold.
Saving Grumpy somehow lacks that winning feeling.
That is what happens when you’re a nice fair entity….
@ oan..
..heh..!
OAM, you will be pleased to know that grumpy is extremely grateful, not quite grateful enough to vote Labour just yet but grateful all the same.
Do not adjust your set.
Normal hostilities will be resumed in a moment.
Nevertheless………………………
Stop it you’re embarrassing me 🙂
…that is fine, Grumpy, Greens or Mana will do…. 🙂
Thought you must have seen it when you removed me from moderation…….
Well things just got worse for the left:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10205192/Key-wants-to-stick-around-for-fourth-term
Don’t worry though I reckon he only wants three terms
Christie
He will be gone when the right block loses in September, and things get tough for him again. But even if he does scrape together enough MPs to cobble together a coalition (including Labour defectors, with maybe Mallard as speaker); why would anyone take him at his word (refer to BliP list)?
“He will be gone when the right block loses in September, and things get tough for him again.”
Drum it into progressive voters and those who did not vote last time/are giving up voting that John Key is presenting the country with an opportunity to throw him out.
v.t. lying b.o.
the funny thing is that a while back some folks here were saying key looked disinterested and obviously bored with the job, and tories responded by saying it was wishful thinking.
And yet, in his bio-suck-advertisement, apparently he did consider quitting. And only hangs about because he doesn’t like to quit. So nah, he doesn’t even really want the job.
And by the end of that term, NZ will truly be a 3rd world country – with a wealthy comprador class, and a big bunch of the poor, the disenfranchised, and those who have given up all hope of a liveable life.
Glad you find that something to hope for and prematurely celebrate.
[deleted]
[lprent: I see that you are continuing to astroturf. And I’m before my first coffee and feeling intolerant after reading the herald ‘editorial’. How unfortunate for you. Banned 3 months. Bye – see you after the election. ]
Nats lead the negative campaigning with support of Herald.
Wow. The day just gets better. I am just picking myself off the floor, after laughing my head off – first grumpy, now chris.
lol…bye …see you after the election with Labour running the country in coalition…look forward to hearing what you have to say then!
Have you seen the polls? There is no hope for Labour. National are running away with it.
New Zealand will not be a third world country, I don’t know where you get that idea from. New Zealand is going well, the economy is booming.
[lprent: you are astroturfing. If I see a comment again like that that displays no intelligence and instead display slogans, I will ban you until after the election. This is your warning. ]
Not for those in the shithole camping ground in Ranui..
You can’t consider my comment (that NZ will not be a third world country after another national term and that the economy is going well) as astroturfing when you let people say – “NZ will truly be a 3rd world country – with a wealthy comprador class, and a big bunch of the poor, the disenfranchised, and those who have given up all hope of a liveable life.”
I don’t think that statement is true so I replied with my opinion..
[lprent: If that was a considered opinion, then I’d have to ask how shallowly you think. It looked like a couple of unthought out slogans bashed together. I look for people writing slogans in comments because I call them “trolls”. I’d suggest that if you want to use them, then add some intelligence to them.
Incidentally: If the economy is “booming” then why isn’t unemployment going down. The reality is that construction in ChCh is booming. Dairy exports have been booming. The rest of the economy is not booming and so jobs aren’t being created. ]
lprent – I think you need to check the figures.
Here’s what I see:
Unemployment Rate 6.0% lowest since Q4 2008
Employment Rate 65.1% highest since Q4 2008
Participation Rate 69.3% highest since at least 1999 (it did touch 69.2% in q4 2008 but that was a one off, the average since 2007 has been 68.4%
And just to help with definitions:
unemployment rate is #unemployed/#labour force
employment rate is #employed/# working age population
participation rate is (#employed+#unemployed)/#working age population.
When all three of those stats are trending in a positive manner I think it is a disingenuous to say that the employment situation is not improving.
http://www.stats.govt.nz/~/media/Statistics/Browse%20for%20stats/HouseholdLabourForceSurvey/HOTPMar14qtr/HouseholdLabourForceSurveyMar14qtrHOTP.pdf
Can you please explain more carefully “why isn’t unemployment going down” (when it is) and “jobs aren’t be created” (when they are)?
I tell you what,
a. Change the reference date to 2004. A decade ago prior to the GFC and the excessive exuberance preceding it.
b. Use the household survey for people un-employed and under-employed rather than the number of people on benefits.
c. Run it in units of fulltime jobs.
Basically what you have demonstrated it is that it is easily possible to easily lie with numbers.
Even you can do it.
Gosh Karol if that’s a considered opinion, then I’d have to ask how shallowly you think.
It looks like a couple of unthought out slogans bashed together.
Assuming National lead the next government not much will change we certainly won’t be anywhere near a third world country as we’ll still have a very sizeable safety net and publicly funded health and education and a myriad of other services. Agreed not much will change for those at the top or bottom of the heap but in my experience that’s the case regardless of whether National or Labour are running the show.
+1
And this is deep thinking?
we’ll still have a very sizeable safety net and publicly funded health and education and a myriad of other services.
Such services being continually cut back under Key’s watch.
“Third world” is a term that doesn’t have a clear cut definition.
I used it to denote NZ’s position as subservient to more powerful countries, with a ruling elite supporting those countries, and marked inequalities within NZ.
To me, people living in garages, camp sites, and on the streets is not what I expect of a country with a “rockstar economy”. It is more like a third world within an (allegedly) developed country. Actually NZ is generally inbetween being having a fully “developed” economy and an “underdeveloped” one. NZ has a strong primary sector, and less strong secondary
and tertiarysectors. That is something often found in so-called “third world” countries.The wages for the working poor are not livable, without some extra support from charities or state funding.
That is not what I would expect of a “developed” country.
Edit: actually, I recall hearing a lecture a few years back about how NZ’s economy is somewhere in between a third and first world economy. Compared with a first world economy, NZ had a weak tertiary sector and an inflated tertiary (service) sector.
With the way Key’s government is skewing and entrenching inequalities, cutting back on the public sector and failing to strengthen the manufacturing sector, I would expect NZ to move further towards being like a third world country.
Key only wants 4 terms to outdo Helen – part of his competitive nature. Besides, he’s got to wait around long enough to get a “Sir” in front of his name – as in Ssssjonkey. Aside from which he’s come to like that prostate tickling from the likes of Joyce, Jamie Lee-Ross, and Pants on Fire. (Going Forwid)
pictures on telly of the launch of roughans’ hagiography on key..
..and in the background/audience..
..a cavalcade of ‘the looters’..
..yoo-hoo..!..shipley..!
So… got a response from Tim Murphy. I’m going to publish this on the assumption that, despite what his email signature says, he has nothing to hide.
Dear Simon
Thank you for your letter which is similar to some others we have received quoting the unsourced Journalism Code of Ethics.
Your complaint might not have taken into account the nzherald.co.nz story published from midday on Wednesday June 25 which outlined Donghua Liu’s correction of his previous statement reported on June 22. This was run prominently and immediately to provide the latest and fullest facts on this matter. The story remains on the site and was also published in our print edition today. The Herald on Sunday will publish a clarification of Liu’s claims in its edition this weekend.
We have no interest in advancing any political party – and our reporting since March of donations to National from Donghua Liu before his citizenship was approved, the involvement of National minister Maurice Williamson in the Liu domestic violence case, and Labour’s donations from Liu, David Cunliffe’s hurry-up letter for his permanent residency, and MP Rick Barker’s close associations shows we are being rigorously exacting of all political hues.
Yours sincerely
Tim Murphy
Editor-in-chief, Herald titles
So, what happened to journalistic ethics eh? That deserves another question:
Hi Tim,
thanks for your email. I am surprised you are unaware of the Journalism Code of Ethics, although perhaps the Herald journalists do not have the union affiliation they used to. The Code of Ethics was developed by EPMU members, which many journalists used to belong to. Perhaps with the decline of union membership in your paper there has been a corresponding decline in journalistic ethics and standards also.
Can you confirm that The Herald no longer supports the Journalism Code of Ethics, as developed by journalists in conjunction with their union, or could you please direct me to the new list of ethical standards that have overtaken the original ones?
Dear Mr. Murphy,
How does telling the truth about the National Party justify telling lies about the Labour Party?
My god, they still can’t admit they have no proof of Liu donating to Labour and run his claims as facts.
And what’s amusing about these hacks is that they’re the first to advise politicians who fuck up – to just fess up and apologise. Masters of the double standard.
PLEASE Tim (and Jared – who appears to be in charge of the wheel barrow dumping the dirt) – keep digging that hole
And what’s amusing about these hacks is that they’re the first to advise politicians who fuck up – to just fess up and apologise. Masters of the double standard.
PLEASE Tim (and Jared – who appears to be in charge of the wheel barrow dumping the dirt) – keep digging that hole
The Herald online has an editorial on this subject today, More Songs About Absolute Bullshit should be its title,
Now the Herald claims have been deflated to Liu having donated to Labour $38,000, and, the Editor just cannot seem to grasp the point,
These are unfounded/unproven allegations and, in my opinion, everytime the Herald publishes such allegations as fact without adding the disclaimer that these are unproven allegations from Liu that sordid rag is in fact defaming the Labour Party,
Relying upon ”a statement” from Liu as ”fact” cannot in my opinion protect the Herald from such charges of defamation as the changing nature of Liu’s claims removes from the Herald any defence of ”honest opinion”
The Herald editor need answer to the question of where is a shred of ”proof” from Liu that any such donations were actually given, as has been repeatedly pointed out here anyone can make such a claim,
The sooner this Whore Voice of International Capital hides itself away behind a paywall will be in my opinion all the better and simply ensure that the scum that publish this rag are one large step closer to having it collapse in on its debt laden pile of bullshit of its own making…
“Hurry up letter” from Cunliffe. What bollocks. Polite enquiry maybe.
Time for a broad left, massive demo outside the Herald office, as a show of strength of all the positive things the left has to offer.
Any willing buyers?
LOL
Lolz, beaten to it, i have been waiting for the bloke from the DomPost to come around again whoring for subscriptions to that particular piece of trash,
Last time, after having given our Street a freebie for a week, sort of like training the dogs, His arrival was treated with great humor here at the Mansion as i gleefully pointed out that i didn’t need a hard copy newspaper as i had the Herald online up on the screen,
If the bloke had a skirt on i am pretty sure the ”flounce” of it as He departed would have created enough wind to blow me outta the chair,
My plan for His next visit is to tell Him to print the thing on toilet paper grade newsprint and i will happily buy it…
Unfortunately, the quality of the Herald is such that if it was a toilet paper your finger would go right through it when used.
Eastern Subs @ bad12? My ex wife had to suffer a similar visit.
His approach was somewhat mormon-like in manner apparently. Poor bastard! I hope he’s not on sole commission based on sales (shit – uphill – push). Actually I’d put my money on Mormons having greater success than I would Herald salespersonages.
BTW (anyone) – this Tim fella – is he the same Tim that was producer of “The Vote”? under the aegis of 3’s 3rd Degree?
It’d fit I guess if so.
Yep Tim, you have the ‘burb’ right, i had the sneaking suspicion that this particular head was actually from the DomPost itself,
He didn’t smack of the usual desperation that i sense from the likes of those who arrive at the Mansion touting for power or phone companies,
Most days here, unless the place is in the grip of a screaming Southerly, the door is open, and if i am on the computer i don’t even bother getting up to talk to the ‘sellers’ of this that or the other which has lead to some interesting conversations,
One which involved the direct selling clothing truck, which leaves the unsuspecting or desperate who purchase their rubbish in a permanent prison of ongoing repayments ended up much to my amusement involving the plods after the seller informed me i ”must” get up from the table and look at the glossy product portfolio He was lugging from door to door,
He then became offended when i told Him if His legs were no longer capable of carrying Him off of the property i would be more than willing to assist, even throwing in a generous offer of a free flight,
Such a simple word No, and its surprising to find many who have no knowledge of its simple connotations…
Funny (strange) state of affairs those Eastern burbs.
My preference of area for Wellington living – BUT for the fact(s) that
– Wellington Airport/Infratil’s hegemony
– Jackson the Peter’s hegemony and Divine Right to occupation whilst – well, effectively (even IF unintentionally) treating his peons like shit, and traditional residents even worse
– my ex-wife lives there, and whilst we share two common interests, the nature of her work would stress the staunchest of tough guys.
– There’s a bitter old queen living in the higher regions who currently seems to have more influence than he deserves (maybe when National finally wake up and dump her – I’m sure my ex will be at hand to rescue him from the devastation)
– The extremely high rates of cancer amongst residents that once lived in certain parts around an old paint factory
– One or two of Jonkey’s, and his security ‘team’s’ protectors have an interest there. I imagine one of his chauffeur’s Stone Street bathroom that fell of the back of a Hospital Board truck has long gone – but the sense of his entitlement and double standards still pervade.
Actually – there’s a few reasons when I think about it. Shame really – the sun shines over there more than anywhere in Wellington.
Revolution maybe @ Bad12? It wouldn’t actually take much to put the proverbial spanner in their adjustable bits
Lolz how did the conversation descend or ascend so quickly from the bad behavior of door to door people to a question of revolution,
i have been revolting in so many ways over such a long period such a question seems immaterial…
That’s probably not a bad idea for newspapers – find an additional use to warrant the cost.
Yep I’ll join in.
(this is funny..)
http://www.alternet.org/video/viral-video-if-black-people-said-kinds-things-white-people-do
‘i hear you’re going out with a white guy..does he have a small dick..?’
1200 nz’ers die each year from bowel cancer..
..imagine if bowel-cancer were a road..?..what would we do..?
http://whoar.co.nz/2014/bowel-cancer-scheme-faces-staff-shortages/
..and funny story..!
..the cancer most associated with a diet high in animal-flesh/dairy..?
..bowel-cancer..!
..’would you like some bacon and cheese with that burger.?..’
Mmmm, yummy, Bacon and Egg Burger, when i reach the ‘target weight”, with the loss of another 5-7 kilo’s i am going to celebrate with one,
The more of the fat,fat,fat i lose the greater the craving becomes,
News out today is that there is a new means of rating the ”health” content of food being rolled out which gives a star rating for all foods, the voluntary code gives five stars for the healthiest stuff and zilch stars for the unhealthiest,
It will be amusing to see how the manufacturers of stuff such as ”simmer sauces”, many of them loaded with enough sugar to blow the whole families daily sugar loading in one meal ”choose” to rate their products…
but then again..you do delight in being a contrarian..eh..?
..and yep..!..i am looking forward to the debate on how various cancer-causing/sugar/salt-laden-crap foods will be graded..
..and exactly who will be making those calls..?
A contrarian Phillip???if i were to be such a creature why would i not take delight in having such a nature,
Should i perhaps read ”the group-think” if any is apparent on a particular issue, and go along with it…
“..why would i not take delight in having such a nature..”
..but you do..
..i am a member of contrarians-anonymous..(motto:..’just nod along’..)
..i will send you the link..if you like..
fuck – here we go! Bad12 and PU. Ya love each other really eh! Just get a room (joke)
@PU Generally I go along with your politics and your commitment to commonsense and leftish belief. I just wish it didn’t come with all that US Southern State style preacher-man bullshit. It really doesn’t serve your own purpose very well – let alone getting everyone’s backs up.
(Hark at me tho’ for preaching – I’ve got a Greywarbler – and probably others – who I generally agree with telling me I shouldn’t be mean to the work-life/portfolio-balanced Rinny and her enterage of a cast of hundreds – well maybe 40 or 50). I’ve obviously got egregious isssyoos, I don’t have a luvly Chardonnay in the cellar, and I don’t dive (darling))
@Bad23 minus 11 (on account of fat fingers) – ya love winding him up yea?
Shame he’s (or you’re) the wrong sex – you could marry and live in eternal bliss (sort of – shacked up, arguing like fuck and making each other cups of tea till one of you karks it) :p
Still Big Huey Greg could provide counsel – he’s even got the establishment (including Polis Inspectors and other sages) on his ‘side’ these days (I mean really really really sociologically credible, and the ticket clipping could support the lot of us).
I wish you two would kiss and make up – even tho’ PU is a pain in the ring piece
You might enjoy this little bit of fill Phil
how about Bad goes the 3rd way Phil? A Bacon and Egg burger with a few lettuce leaves, and maybe an antichoke ( or whatever it’s called ) – he’ll shit it out soon enough
First thing I’ll do on pay day when I get a new job is go to burger king. I’m having everything on everything with everything, mega upgraded to include half a cow and the best part of a pig…. And a coke zero.
and yr a ‘green’..eh?
..fucken oxymoron on steroids..
..is the party still holding bb’s..?
Are you saying Green voters have to be vegetarian? Because that’s just silliness in action.
I don’t know what bb’s means, but I wouldn’t really know, not being in the party.
calling yrslf ‘green’..and celebrating the torture/killing/eating of animals..and the attendant fucking over of the environment/contribution to global-warming etc etc….as you do..
..makes you..and those ‘greens’ like you..like i said..
..’fucken oxymoron on steroids’..
..how can u not be..?
..it is like claiming to be a ‘labour’-person..
..and running a sweatshop on the side..
..or a mana-person..
..and running a white-power newsletter on the side..
..(and ‘bb’..should have been bbq..)
“calling yrslf ‘green’”
I would better describe myself as voting green in 2014.
“and celebrating the torture/killing/eating of animals” “as you do..”
Never celebrated torture of any one or any thing. So in the spirit of the standard, citation needed.
“..and the attendant fucking over of the environment/contribution to global-warming etc etc” “as you do..”
Aside from the fact I’ve propagated thousands of trees and plants in my time, that’s quite a silly point. Using your logic, every time you fart you’re contribute to global warming, so shame on you. But if you’re slagging me off for being anti environment for eating a burger, care to comment about KDC and his luxury car collection?
So upshot, are you saying Green voters can only be vegetarian?
In many cases an omnivorous diet is far “greener” than veganism.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/7219223/Becoming-vegetarian-can-harm-the-environment.html
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_green_lantern/2007/10/vegans_vs_vegetarians.html
hilarious..!
..an opinion piece from slate from a defensive/self-justifying carnivore..
..and a tofu-is-bad piece from 2010..(!)
..from that bastion of quality journalism..
..the fucken ‘telegraph’..(!)
..that was the best/all you cd find..?
..and it proves exactly what..?..in yr mind..?
..fill yer boots with some real ‘evidence’..eh..?..
http://whoar.co.nz/?s=vegan
“Are you saying Green voters can only be vegetarian?
If you’re slagging me off for being anti environment for eating a burger, care to comment about KDC and his luxury car collection?”
Yeah, thought not.
And that post above to Stephanie has got to be a wind up, surely.
Self justifying, bastion of quality journalism and you end up linking to your own site 😆
you seem to be equating a general ignoring of/boredom with yr mindless drivel as some sort of ‘victory’..?
..but then..you do seem to specialise in false-equivalences don’t you..?
..with that groin-stretching kdc/car reference..
..whoar..!
..and a resource with years of hard evidence vs..anti-tofu article in ‘telegraph’..?
..heh..!
..and emoticons…the shorthand of the illiterate…
You write “the attendant fucking over of the environment/contribution to global-warming etc etc….as you do” because I’d buy a burger, yet say “groin-stretching kdc/car reference” about a man with 18 performance gas guzzlers. How do you expect to retain credibility with such bs?
“and emoticons…the shorthand of the illiterate…”
And now a lecture about illiteracy from the bloke who can’t/won’t construct a proper sentence.
Rest assured, if there were a knob stroking emoticon, I’d use it to describe that effort, right about now.
Now if you will, answer the question. In your opinion, do you have to be a non burger eater to vote green?
just on kdc..
..which is a larger environmental footprint..?
..one person has 18 cars..able to drive only one at a time..
..or 18 people owning 18 cars..and driving them daily..?
..and i’ve never actually heard kdc claim to be a green’..
..unlike yrslf..
..yr false-equivalence is double-false..eh..?..heh..!
..and you do know the inventor of emoticons hates the fatuous little smiling faces they have become..?
http://whoar.co.nz/?s=emoticon
oh..!..and link has an emoticon for ‘turd’..
..that could increase yr limited-vocabulary..eh..?
🙄
Like I say, such bs equals limited credibility Philip, and that’s why your opinion means very little. What a pity.
and i will treat yr simplistic/linear/stoopid-vote-green question with more seriousness than it deserves..
..of course anyone can vote green..
..but to claim to be ‘a green’..(usually said in smug-self-congratulary-tones..)
..and to support/enable the wholesale torture/abuse/killings of animals..
..just so you can eat their flesh/fat/bye-products..wear their skins on yr body..
..and stil claim to be living a ‘green-life’..to being ‘a green’..
..is hypocrisy/denial of epic fucken proportions..
..and i haven’t even gone near the environment-footprint from that wholesale-torture of those animals..
..then there are those skins you like to wear..eh..?
..like a fucken barbarian/caveman..
..there is the real/true cost of them..
http://whoar.co.nz/2014/environmental-film-of-the-year-2014-the-toxic-price-of-leather-video/
..the above vid should be mandatory viewing for norman/turei..
..and any other animal-flesh eating/skin-wearing ‘green’..
“..of course anyone can vote green..”
Awesome.
“the rest of your post”
Just shows the nasty behind the caring mask, with a little peek of nuts.
Get a grip of yourself man.
Edit:
Is there a wackjob icon?
yeah..i can get ‘nasty’ when i think of what you do to defenceless animals..
..and that is the really ‘nasty’ stuff..eh..?
..what you do to them..
..i’m only hurling words..there are no screams/spurts of blood/killings from that..eh..?
..and more on emoticons for you..
..said better than i cd say it..
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/18/adults-emoji-grow-up-emoticons-teenagers
“..Adults who use emoji should grow up..
Not only do they lack the wit and imagination of memes-
..sound familiar..?
Go Phillip, all those trendies should be appearing in the Parliament dressed in suits made of sack-cloth, you tell em,
Fucking sack-cloth tho requires heavily polluting industrial production so that wont do will it,
Looks like acceptable wear in Phillips world is down to fig leaves, then again imagine the ecological damage to all those trees with large leaves that would have to provide the human race their foliage as clothing…
nah..!..just use the hemp u don’t smoke..
..close down the dairy-farms/cow-gulags..
..and start planting seeds..
And of course you are sitting there while you type Phillip, dressed from head to toe in clothing made form Hemp that you grew yourself right,
Of course the fact you type at all is down to industrial production which comes with its own production of CO2 right across the chain along with the extraction of petroleum products and at the end of its life the machine you type upon will probably be sent off to the Sub-continent to be deconstructed by child labour who will suffer the injuries of pollution from doing so while being paid a few cents a day,
Hypocrisy is all relative isn’t it Phillip, it’s as easy as hell to sit their in your Ware House fashion clothing produced from the sweatshops of Pakistan typing upon your industrially produced device decrying the actions of other’s whilst being supremely unaware of your own activity…
“what you do to them..”
I only eat them, though if I had to, I’d be quite capable of getting my hands bloody, if it were ultimately either me or them, I’d eat fluffy wuffy kittens and puppy tail stew if I had to.
I do respect farm animals, but they are my food. You getting all militant and vindictive won’t end that, but fair play to you for your commitment to the cause.
As for using a smiley every so often, I’m not worried about a perceived lack of wit and imagination of memes by you.
I expected more, so be better, not bitter 😉
i think i am pretty aware of the contradictions in my own life..vis a vis the environment..
..and yes..all those you listed..
..but i don’t have to be party to the wholesale abuse/torture/killings of animals..
..and nor should anyone else purporting to be ‘green’..
..it’s as simple as that..
And you did so well up to line four.
Right Phillip, you show your solidarity with the animal kingdom in all its glorious hypocrisy with little care for the human victims enslaved in the manufacture of your clothing of choice,
Your little diatribe against the leather wearing Greens is little better and probably worse in the vein that you should know better than the attacks upon Metiria for Her clothing and abode conducted recently by National Government Ministers,
Such personal attacks show us all how shallow your thinking really is and you should stick to attacks, if you must, on the Green Party over its politics or its political policy,
As soon as you delve into the shallow personal attack you are inviting as i have done a comparison with your own personal choices and are rightly then seen as a hypocrite…
meh..!
..see 32.1.2…
By the way Phillip, your hypocrisy also extends to your income which i assume comes directly from the Government and thus is largely funded directly through the taxation on all this animal slaughter/torture you rail against,
So while you sit there pretending to be all holier than thou you are in fact living in the middle of a delusion,
Everything you eat, from carrots to soy milk, not only require the pumping of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, your very existence, every dollar or cent you spend on being ”i am a holier than thou Green”, is in part derived from the killing/torture/extraction of farm animals,
That simply, in light of your idiotic attack on ”leather wearing Greens” doubles the hypocrisy inherent in such an attack
so..i take it you think it is ‘green’..to eat animals..?
..a ‘green’-lifestyle must include charred bits of animals..?
..and there must be no criticism of that..?
..and are you trying to take allens’ false-equivalence crown off him..?
so..to summarise:
..the animals are abused/tortured/killed..
..it fucks the environment..
..and it gives you cancer..
..i can see why you are so vehement in defending it..
..anyway..later..!
Laughable, Phillip removes himself from the guilt of dining out every night from the monies gained from the slaughter/torture/extraction of animals and their products by claiming that i have used a ”false equivalence”,
Fact Phillip, we are here dealing in Facts, the fact that you eschew the direct use of all animal products, and good on you we all should have choice, in no way removes from a factual discussion that every night you dine upon part of the profits derived from Government taxation of those you claim torture these animals,(and to a certain extent i agree with your prognosis thaat such animals are at times tortured),
However, you are no better than the shareholder of the meat works that slaughters such animals and derives an earning from that shareholding, you may not directly live off of the flesh of such animals but indirectly that’s exactly what you do,
So next time the milk tanker goes by, or the fucking god awful smell of one of the trucks off to the slaughterhouse offends your nostrils Phillip, know and admit to yourself that You live off of those animals despite choosing not to directly partake in their flesh,
You might then stop being such a fucking hypocrite…
Latest 3 News Reid Research Poll
If nothing else, the latest 3 News Reid Research Poll confirms what already seemed very likely – that the latest Fairfax/Stuff-Ipsos (with its extraordinary headline-grabbing plunge for Labour and the Left and its suggestion that National is “soaring”) was very much a rogue.
Now, I know this will upset our very close Tory chums but let me explain (albeit briefly)…The three polls conducted either immediately before the Fairfax (ie the Roy Morgan and Herald-Digipoll) or immediately after (3 News Reid Research) recorded very similar results to each other – the Nats around 49-50%, the broader Right Bloc 52-54%, Labour 27-30%, Lab+Green 40-41%, Left Bloc as a whole 42-43%.
In stark contrast, the Fairfax had Labour down on 23, Lab+Green on 35, the Left on 36, the Nats soaring on 57 (unprecedented since 2011) and the broader Right up on 59.
And yet, of course, it’s the rogue Fairfax that got all the headlines and has been shaping the narrative.
I’ve outlined it here at http://sub-z-p.blogspot.co.nz/ ….. although – as you can see – it’s still very much a work in progress.
Swordfish. Intriguing stats on your blog.
But very very hard to read. The black pages and especially purple text I cannot manage. Very off putting I am afraid.
But I get your point about the significance of the undecideds and that the National block has changed very little. I could not see/find anywhere on your blog to comment?
Cheers, Ian.
I do acknowledge the severe lack of legibility in a comment at the top of the blog. It’s just that – as far as I’m concerned – it looks so damn good ! Very Space-Age, very Futuristic, almost as if we’re living in the year 1999. Tragically, I’m gonna have to transform it into something easier to read with a white background. And, I mean, where’s the fun in that ?
How about just changing the darker text to lighter colours? It is only the dark colours that are problematic. Personally I think it is pretty good to have a different style to the bog standard white background.
Floating around 27% in this polls is solid and looks like the Left bloc are still on target. In reality Labour don’t need to lift much in the polls (3%) to pull off the win. There is 7% to 10 % to come in from previous non & new voters. I see why Key is happy to throw McCully under a bus in favour of Colin Craig.
It seems that National would loose 1/3 of its votes if John Key where to leave early after the election according to today’s vote on the stuff.co.nz site
Geez, that wasn’t too pleasant. I had to wade through various Stuff stories on the vile Jimmy Savile possibly having sexually abused dead bodies, serial killer sentenced to die again, something about ‘Raining Maggots in Dunedin Flat Shocker’ and, worst of all, a story on Sally Ridge and Best-Dressed Celebrities – all in order to find what turns out to be a thoroughly unscientific on-line poll.
heh..!
..that’s stuff for ya..!
..about the nearest we get to the trashiest british rags..
..i look at it early each morn to see if there is anything worth linking to..
..and more often than i should..i can’t even find one that makes the grade..
Evidently the FairFax ipsos poll had an additional question asking if people would vote for National if Key wasn’t the leader. 36% said no, ~24% said yes and the rest said it depends who the leader was. They then asked the same question in their online poll.
It’s unclear if they asked people who said they would vote national only, or everyone.
Yeah, I saw veutoviper’s comment on yesterday’s Open Mike (incidently, isn’t it endearing that some commenters still preserve that vestige of last year’s solidarity-with-CV campaign. I find it quite touching). But not sure I agree with veuto’s suggestion that the results show a high percentage would not vote National if Key wasn’t leader.
The Fairfax-Ipsos Question: “Would you vote for the National Party if John Key announced he would not serve for a third term as Prime Minister /”
No 38.9%
Yes 22.3%
Yes, but it would depend on who would replace him 35.5%
All depends, of course, on whether, as you say, the question was restricted to National supporters only. But I suspect it was either the entire sample or all except the Undecideds/likely non-voters. I find it hard to believe that as much as 39% of current National supporters would say No off-hand, without a moments hesitation. That 39% comes awfully close to the percentage currently telling pollsters they’ll be voting for one of the parties of the Left – 42% in most recent polls / 36% in the Fairfax-Ipsos in question.
National are on 57% (and the Right Bloc 59%) in this (as I’ve argued, rogue) Fairfax-Ipsos – that’s if you include only the Decided and Likely Voters OR it’s on 43% (and the Right – 45%) if you include the entire sample. That suggests somewhere between a little over a third and a little over a half of current National supporters answered “Yes” to the question (depending on whether or not the Undecideds/non-voters were excluded). Note that those saying either “Yes” or “Yes, but depends” = 58% (about the same as the Nats inflated poll rating (57%) – so probably exactly the same sample as for the Party Support stats – ie the entire Decided sample). In which case,, roughly 61% of Nats essentially answer “It Depends” and the other 39% – the hardcore Nats -give an unequivocal “Yes”.
All premised on the assumption, of course, that the question wasn’t restricted solely to our good chums and former sparring partners, the Nats.
Will there be a by-election in Mr Key’s electorate before the end of the year when he loses the election?
Like the Member for Karori, this Member for Merrill Lynched should also put himself as a list-only candidate.
When both bugger off, no by-election would be triggered to give the electorate an opportunity to signal their dissatisfaction with the Nats.
Btw, has the nuts list been released? Or are deals still going on behind the scenes?
They’re still dealing and sorting out exactly how they’re going to persuade East Coast Bays to vote for Craig.
Yes Lath …. sub-titled: “How To Insult and Lose Your Majority Constituents” must be workshop for this weekend’s conference.
Could there be anything more demeaning and insulting for a voter in this situation than to be told and inveigled in to how to vote? Chemtrails and creationism anyone ? I hope they fail Key. I hope they return the insult to him; sheet it home directly to him.
This is the most despicable prime minister we have ever known and one day, yes one day, the teflon will scratch and the toxins will leach out for all to see. May it be soon.
And the seagull minister is being readied by the Prime Assassinator to go on the list?
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/news/nbpol/1501412150-pm-says-mccully-would-forego-east-coast-bays-seat-if-asked
“The Prime Minister says Foreign Minister Murray McCully would step aside from his East Coast Bays seat if it was in the National Party’s best interests.”
Friday June 27 2014 16:02
No – the National Party list has yet to be announced.
I suspect that John Key will do a Bill English and stand only on the list.
Hopefully, I am wrong because I REALLY would like to give him a run for his money, when I stand as an Independent Anti-Corruption Public Watchdog in Helensville.
Imagine if supporters from ALL other parties standing in Helensville voted strategically –
Penny Bright for the Helensville electorate vote, and focused on their respective Party votes?
The decent ‘Public Watchdog’ vs the shonky ‘Wall St poodle’?
PM (Penelope Mary ) Bright vs PM John Key?
Given that the Helensville electorate boundaries are within the Auckland Supercity boundaries, I suspect that a number of the nearly 12,000 votes obtained in the 2013 Auckland Mayoral campaign, came from there?
Nothing like a bold and cheeky campaign!
What do you think folks?
Whether or not Key bails from Helensville – that’s where I’ll be standing, on this very clear and simple ‘ACTION PLAN against ‘white-collar crime, corruption and corporate welfare’:
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/ANTI-CORRUPTION-WHITE-COLLAR-CRIME-CORPORATE-WELFARE-ACTION-PLAN-Ak-Mayoral-campaign-19-July-2013-2.pdf
As Miranda’s mum would say – “such fun!”
PS: I’ve checked the information provided on the Parliamentary website on the current 121 MPs – seems that there is no one who has listed ‘Tradesperson’ on their ‘career’ background?
Time for the NZ House of Representatives to be a little more ‘representative’?
Cheers!
Penny Bright
Advanced Trade – Sheetmetal Engineering (http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz/qualifications/)
@swordfish
I thought the Editor’s Picks on stuff were revealing of the gravitas of journalism these days.
One item that is possibly informative – effluent – and the rest basically useful to that end.
Effluent checks stress linked to rural suicides
Dog derby on ice slippery challenge
Dozens hospitalised after some DJ show
Mensa match online dating for smart people
BDO something
Sport Refs
Sport? Maraotter
Sport NZ 3rd test
My entirely gut-feel prediction: he’ll be gone months after the election, win or lose. If they win, and that is no surety, then the angling for the leadership internally, and the public antagonism towards the government that follows their win, will make things really quite personally unpleasant for him. If they lose, he’ll step aside almost immediately, in Clark style.
Without his genuine charisma, the National party will devolve into a cannibalistic orgy, and a caretaker will oversee the wreckage. The next leader of a national government knows its a long time away, and won’t go for it immediately. I know he looks like a bit of a buffoon now, but Woodhouse is the man for dismantling the state health system – and big medicine have very very deep pockets.
OK. On that cheery thought, its time to back to work and undermine capitalism from within.
I can see how you would come to those conclusions, but you need look at the likely candidates for leadership before trying to predict a departure date (I would pick mid the election cycle).
Of the three names usually bandied around, two are suffering from self inflicted injuries – Collins and Bridges. So that leaves a clean run for Joyce if there was an early departure.
So if Key wants Joyce, then he leaves early. If he wants either of the other two, or some other unnamed outsider, then hes got to go 18 months to give them time to catch up on Joyce.
My pick is they will be looking for fresh meat who can get approval ratings like Key and that Collins and Bridges are toast, and that Joyce just isnt “the millionaire that you want to invite to a family BBQ”
i don’t mind if either collins or joyce are the next leaders of national..
..they are equally toxic/unelectable..
Wonderpup
Woodhouse is a piece of work alright. From his involvement in facilitating Lui’s citizenship processing, and subsequent involvement with that businessman, to his “mistaken” claiming of an ANZAC ancestor during his Gallipoli visit to get press coverage:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10065941/Minister-apologises-for-Gallipoli-relative-gaffe
You can’t be taught that level of sleaziness, it has to come naturally. So you may be right to say that Woodhouse has all the makings of a Nat PM, it’s not really a compliment though.
But at least he does David Clark look good by comparison (and I very rarely have a good word to say about Parker’s ex-treasury lackey). My own preference is for; Turei as Dunedin North electorate MP, but the Green campaign is too tightly focused on the party vote. All three should be high enough on their respective Party lists to get back in anyway. Rob Stewart of the Internet Party (no Mana candidate as per IMP agreement) will be interesting to watch, he won’t get in this time; but has access to the funds that the Greens lack, and may end up positioned well for 2017.
Hmm, drifting off topic here. Woodhouse is almost as much a self-serving sociopath as Key, so I imagine he’ll have a bright future with National. Unless of course he gets a better offer, in which case he’ll take the money and run.
I heard somewhere a couple of weeks ago that Woodhouse is tipped as a future leader .
that was that rightwing/reactionary beer-pimp neil (someone) on nat-rad-panel..a few weeks ago..
..he had me falling off my chair with the hilarious contention that ‘woody’ is a future national party leader..
..(i guess they know each other..what else cd excuse/explain such nonsense..?..)
Damn. Bridges needs to be their future leader.
Bridges showed a level of incompetence that was breath taking.
The Nats have it figured that the next leader needs to be a folksy millionaire bloke who can cook a BBQ.
All Bridges has cooked is his goose.
Key’s charisma is waning, more whining. He sounds harrassed really,only to be expected when there are so many lies to remember. He may be extraordinary at that but it is a telling pace he keeps, and very enervating. There probably feeding him vitamin pills and viagra to keep him going and upright.
I have a feeling Gerry Brownlee is going to take over after John Key slivers back to the States
not meaning to be picky here..
..but how does one ‘sliver’..?
..(it sounds painful..)
phillip … maybe it’s to do with word association .. like slivers prick and all that ? 🙂 completely understandable viewed that way imho !
Ha ha quite right *slither
Not much good at multi tasking on the hoof or spelling. Was in a cue at Boom Fuk Palmerston North airport. Great got an early flight the hell out of here back up North.
Looks like the TPP is still alive and well. Those wishing to help quash it can add there names here:
https://openmedia.org/facetoface?src=156425
Why the hell would a labour party oppose the logging?
is Matt McCarten a union man or a far left greenie
Possibly to stop the creeping destruction of our forest parks and DOC estate…
whatever, conspiracy eh?
If you see a conspiracy Dick, use your Head, and tell us all about it wont you…
You a the one suggesting conspiracy
Any other reason that you can come up with?
Are you suggesting that National caused the storm too?
Thanks Dick, now that’s really using your Head, i would bother asking you to point out where i have suggested ‘a conspiracy’ or that National created this particular storm,
But,
Playing tic tac toe with dullards isn’t anything i find amusing at this time of day, so, wont bother,
i would suggest that your time would be better spent in a 4 year old’s remedial writing class concentrating on comprehension and sentence structure…
PS, the site contains an ‘edit’ function for a reason, that being so as to allow contributors,if they so choose, to not look completely fucking dull by editing their ‘work’ even after the ‘submit’ icon has been pushed…
Hey heres your conspiracy comment 9.15am
Possibly to stop the creeping destruction of our forest parks and DOC estate…
Please respond if you can, although im sure all you would be capable of is using the word Dick.
Without knowing much of the background I tend to approve of the idea of logging some of those trees – however the ‘creeping destruction’ is a worthy concern. It is a bog standard approach to ‘get the foot in the door’ and then extend activities, no conspiracy, totally common method of pushing at boundaries, and therefore a solid concern worth addressing at the outset.
Both the Greens and Labour made some very good arguments re not logging – or having a cautious approach – not least the issue that this logging could undermine the market that already exists re Rimu – which is what O’Conner said is the majority of type of wood that would be recovered if I recall what he said correctly.
Calling that concern ‘conspiracy’ is simply a lame way of not addressing very real issue in relation to this idea. Cavalier attitudes are fine by people commenting here, but I seriously hope this isn’t the attitude that the government is going to take – these issues need addressing if it is going to be something that has good results.
But theres no evidence that this is going to creep anywhere. If that did start happening then raise all hell but dont go finding some way out reason of which there is no proof its going to happen to not vote for it.
Its poor politics as the general public see them as being for rotting trees and not jobs.
No evidence apart from the actual evidence, that is.
@ Martin.
No. Ensure the legislation protects from creep propensities and other negative consequences, such as collapsing the existing market and having the profits from the ‘windfall’ go directly offshore and then proceed. This is exactly the approach Labour are taking all that is required is some cooperation on National’s part.
Will National cooperate? Probably not.
Creating bad legislation and refusing to compromise with parties coming up with good suggestions on how to make the legislation better is bad governing and something that we have come to expect from this National government.
If only the general public would be informed of this behaviour of National – fat chance with the current disheveled and government-dictated state the media are in.
+1 OAB
Well, apparently there are no restrictions on the bulldozong roads, contaminating waterways, or ‘accidentally’ damaging live trees to get at the windfalls. Nor is there a transparent process for granting contracts.
In a national park. 🙄
Or were prosser’s concerns addressed in the bill?
McFlock i think the legislation says it cant happen in a national park, only on conservation land etc
You are correct, my mistake.
Amended:
There are no restrictions on the bulldozong roads, contaminating waterways, or ‘accidentally’ damaging live trees to get at the windfalls. Nor is there a transparent process for granting contracts.
In any conservation area and reserve within the West Coast region that is owned by the Crown and administered by the Department (other than an ecological area or Te Wāhipounamu (the South West New Zealand World Heritage Area) or Waitangiroto Nature Reserve or any national park). 🙄
McFlock yep i agree with you there.
The DG will be under pressure to make sure his consents dont create a mess.
Hard to get away with making a mess with todays covert survelliance technology
You’re missing the point there.
A decent piece of legislation wouldn’t leave it solely to the competence and goodwill of the DG.
It’s easy to get away with polluting waterways, bulldozing untouched bush and so on when you have a specific exemption from any responsibility or penalties.
And even if forest & bird snapped a contractor clearfelling live trees and damming waterways to make roads, nothing could be done to stop it and the damage would already have been done, anyway
Martin, you have failed (miserably) to offer any argument as to how Bad’s comment constitutes a conspiracy theory.
Creeping destruction is merely a statement of fact. Nibbling around the edges reduces the size of the biscuit. This is far beyond that, though, the provisions of the bill having been succinctly outlined by Richard Prosser, of all people.
If you are ignorant of the value of fallen timber to the forest ecology are you also ignorant of the meanings of the words “road” and “culvert” too?
Whether the wind damage can be described as “natural” is debatable, but this is disaster capitalism at its most grasping.
“Whether the wind damage can be described as “natural” is debatable, but this is disaster capitalism at its most grasping.”
If it wasnt natural what was it?
Please do tell me how all these downed trees add to the forestry ecology? Are you saying that a small percentage removed for logging is going to harm this system?
The way i see it is that all the downed trees are going to rot then spawn a lot of insects and thus a lot of rice and rats. Yes it will provide a lot of nutirents for new trees but only so many trees can grow in a certain area so why waste this wood to feed saplings which are never going to get mature anyway?
Id assume that Bad does not live on the West Coast and is unemployed as his/her risk reward analysis seems totally weighted towards a risk that does not have any evidence of actually going to happen.
So, now we’ve established that you are as ignorant of forest ecology as you are of the contents of the bill.
“The way you see it” is evidence of little else.
I said debatable because weather (in this case wind) is affected by climate (no shit Sherlock), and this is, after all, the Anthropocene.
So are you saying climate pulled them down?
hows it do that without wind?
yes im not a forest ecologist so please please explain how removing a small percentage of trees is going to lead to the creeping destruction of the forests and doc estate
I think you’ll find ‘creeping’ anything usually starts with ‘a small percentage’.
English comprehension problems too? You poor thing.
If you want to understand what I’m saying I can recommend a dictionary and some remedial tutelage, because you’re struggling on your own.
I doubt this will help, but perhaps it may be of some use to other readers.
Kevin E. Trenberth, senior scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research.
So is your point that since climate change has brought them down they shouldnt be harvested?
You may be more of an expert on climate change than me but doesnt rotting wood release carbon and make climate change worse?
No, that isn’t my point. For one thing you can’t “harvest” what you didn’t plant in the first place: those resources are “extracted”.
I note that your notion of a debate is where you feign misunderstanding to score points. Yawn.
“No, that isn’t my point. For one thing you can’t “harvest” what you didn’t plant in the first place: those resources are “extracted”.”
Really this comes down to you not liking the use of harvest instead of extracted.
Really you should take off to the Greens. Labour NZwas founded in the coal towns of the WestCoast
And i will assume Martin that you have never spent any amount of time in a real forest which has you here talking out of your asshole,
Downed trees in a forest do not ‘die’,
A fallen native tree, unlike pinus radiata,will grow a number of trees from its trunk, ie: from the side that is up to the sun, in 90% of natural forests a small branch will begin the long slow journey to becoming the main tree, using the rotting hulk of the fallen log as it rots over the years as the fertilizer for its growth,
In a natural forest there is an ongoing process of seeding from a mature tree which results in any given year to a dozen baby trees, all clones of the parent, growing on the forest floor radiating from the main body of the tree, this process will, while the parent plant survives and thrives, mean that these baby clones of the parent are an ongoing process of growth and die off, the baby trees become humus on the forest floor as they die off unable to out-compete the parent plant for sunlight this ongoing process will continue until such time as the parent tree is felled for what ever reason,
So while the claim is that these downed trees in the West Coast forests are dead, they are far from being so,
To log these downed trees from the forest floor will in turn damage the ecology of the forest, a downed tree, or downed trees en mass simply expose the smaller baby trees in the forest to the sunlight the parent trees growth denied to them thus allowing them to grow into the replacements for the downed parents as nature intended them to do,
The process of removing the large downed trees will involve heavy machinery and humans across the whole of the forest floor with roads being cut altering water runoff and the dragging of trees across and from the forest floor damaging irreversibly the baby trees surrounded by their fallen parents,
Once the initial damage has been accomplished, removing the parent trees which would have still produced in most cases other viable trees along with destroying much of the already present cohort of other young trees which inevitably occurs during a mechanical logging process areas of high rainfall,(in this case the West Coast which measures its rainfall per year in meters) are then subject through lack of ground cover to soil erosion and run off of water altered by the intrusion of loggng roads,
As has been shown by the intense logging of Wellington Tararua Forest Park in previous decades such erosion simply destroys the ecology removing from large areas the humus from the forest floor built up over centuries and once that humus is removed the soil itself soon follows severely handicapping the ability of any remaining vegetation to survive,
Once the ability of the natural forest is severely handicapped in this way, invasive species unable to survive in a mature forest move into the severely compromised ecology where their presence has been lacking, Gorse and Manuka/Kanuka being able to thrive in severely depleted ecologies being the front runners in this country to colonize heavily compromised ecologies,
There you go Martin, a couple of reasons why logging of out natural forests whether they are standing or not is not a good idea,
(excuse me fellow Standard readers and writers for the length of this particular explanation which is why i left it to this time of day)…
Labour wanted an amendment to say the logging contracts and jobs would go only to companies on the west coast. National refused.
Seems like a pretty reasonable Labour amendment IMO.
There are not many large logging firms on the west coast due to the past removal of logging rights there, if they got the contract there would of course be hardly any competitive tendering and they would not probably be able to scale up in time to log the woods. The wood need to be gone by spring remember. So Labours policy would just mean less jobs would be made.
At the end of the day its going to hire labourers, isnt that what labour was once about? With the CHCH rebuild they are of course going to be using West Coast labour any way as it makes sense from a business decision.
By spring? Why don’t you show some personal responsibility and educate yourself about the things you’re pontificating on rather than expecting us to do it?
Please note, this is not a comment about the merits of the bill – it is a comment about your ignorance of its contents.
What’s your excuse? Are you similarly ignorant of other policy matters?
Well you tell me what the merits of the bill are?
I cant see how removing a few of the multiple fallen trees in a forest is going to lead to its destruction.
If you have any proof that it would then let me know.
I dont give a toss if theres a few less insects, there is going to be plenty for them to eat anyway
Dude, there is ample discussion on this on the standard in the past few days, including back up links. Start educating yourself.
I have no concerns for the long term survival of the forest from having some of these downed trees removed.
I care much more for the jobs on the Coast then for any concerns into the future which can be addressed then if anything untoward does occur.
Educate me how having a few trees in an area removed will result in significant demise of the forest and i will totally agree with you
Start by reading (and comprehending) the material on that very subject you’ve already been provided with.
Do I need to rub your face in it?
When you come up with an excuse for your behaviour and complete lack of personal responsibility I’ll think about providing you with a link to the text of the bill.
Whats my behaviour that you make mention of?
Whats my complete lack of personal responsibilty too?
All im hearing here is that people want a lot of downed trees left behind. The press release from Labour doesnt state that as being the problem. Perhaps you are actually more suited to The Greens than Labour
Scrolling up, like reading, is a skill.
Why don’t you show some personal responsibility and educate yourself about the things you’re pontificating on rather than expecting us to do it?
Please elaborate on the implicit assumption in your “more suited” remark. I need to make up for saving Grumpy.
if thats me can you tell me what time the “more suited” remark was?
🙄
What? Can’t you bare to read through your own comments to find it yourself, Martin?
I guess I don’t blame you on that score… 🙂
I cant see it, can you? if so what time?
It is in the comment directly above the one that OAB makes reference to it.
Perhaps you can’t see it for looking 😆
thanks yes ive seen it now, of course………..
Ok il elaborate, you are talking like a Green, real labour people put jobs ahead of voting for rotting trees. Yes the legislation isnt perfect but near enough that i can make out with a quick read so instead of having an impression of being anti forestry jobs send a signal to the people that jobs are important.
The Green Party promote job creation. What problem do you have with their policies on this?
It’s not that the legislation isn’t perfect, it’s that it has been written to allow for greedy people to exploit the conservation estate. I’m not talking about West Coasters needing work, I’m talking about people higher up the food chain. As the legislation is written now, bugger all benefit might go to the West Coast people.
You really should read the debate, esp the bit by NZFirst MP Prosser.
Well anyone can put in a contract tender to go and get these trees and do what they want with them, and all the while they have to pay commissions to DOC.
Unless there is corruption and the contracts go deliberately to some awful vindictive business entity then i dont see how it can be said that lots of the profits are going to go to those who dont deserve any of it.
But i will look into Mr Prozzers comments soon.
Also my problems with the Greens on it is they went on the news and said they are against the logging of the conservation estate full stop. If they were against it for heavy equipment damage and weeds then thats fair enough but its not limited to that, they say they arent into boom and bust industrys such as this
Martin, now you’ve found the comment and regurgitated it, please elaborate on your notion that you are among “real Labour” people.
The thing I find disturbing about the bill, is why did National want a window of 5 years to extract the logs. Surly the logical thing to do would be to send in a ‘team’ first, mark those logs that are profitable to remove, then send in experienced loggers to do the job. Remember all the extraction will be by helicopter so some logs just won’t be viable. Obviously there would need to be a number of teams doing this, and those logs would need to be stock piled.
Ideally though, the West Coast should have priority. None of the logs should be exported. We need to stop this export of New Zealand jobs. Russia and Canada have reduced the amount of logs they export to China – they export more timber to there, and earn a greater return. So who are the fools? Dumbass Key & co who lead us down the garden path with their bullsh!t.
Labour wasnt opposed to the logging.
Its just that they didnt want to give the logging companies carte blache to take the logs and leave bugger all behind.
Looking at the state of our forestry industry, I cannot trust this to happen without something fucking up.
Its a pity Timberlands West Coast was wound up. Having an SOE overseeing the wood extraction would ensure that standards are high, and we dont get some kind of free for all gold rush.
Nothing ive read says that bugger all will be left behind.
I heard on the news only a tiny portion of trees are going to be taken.I assume thats because most wouldnt of being able to of being extracted before rot sets in in spring
Just rimu would be extracted. My favourite native tree.
Yeah it is a nice tree although not my favourite.
I like the cabbage tree
Cabbage trees are great in a paddock by a creek. We planted some for the Para Wetlands recovery. Cabbage Trees are rubbish in the suburbs.
There is a nice cabbage tree or lookalike with red leaves. And has that cloudy smoke bush look flower.
im going to look for that now, thanks
i think i might have found it- cordyline burgundy spire.
Fanatstic tip thanks, its next on my purchase list but not many at $20 each
Good one. Martin They are not as easily found as regular cabbage trees, and I think there is a dwarf variety, don’t know if all red’s are.
Thanks for name I’ll file that away.
Theres also red sensation and red fountain to add to that list too.
Im not sure which ones are the dwarfs either yet
On our family farm at Hari Hari, there are a huge number of Rimu trees down but also Totara, Matai and Kahikatea. Most of the South Westland forest is Rata- Kamahi, the beech damage is further North.
I agree that West Coast businesses should have sole use of the resource, both the logging and the value added industries. The only thing leaving the Coast should be finished product, such as furniture.
Ah, Hari Hari! Nothing beats a short walk up the river, a soak in the Amethyst and a beer in the pub. My favourite place on the coast.
What pub? Hari Hari or Pukekura?
Both are great, but I meant the one in Hari Hari township. The Hotel Hari Hari? I’ve parked up there for a day most winters in the last ten years, and walked up the river to the either the amethyst or the one on the other bank a few km up. The latter only if I was feeling particularly fit, coz it’s quite a knackering tramp.
highest concentration of sandflies in the entire country, almost … agreed lovely jubbly though … like the entire coast imo
I reckon St Arnaud gets the prize for sandlies – and Jackson’s bay.
Yep, it’s a long way, your almost at the Lambert by then.
Puke been closed for a while aint it?
and grumpy don’t fret about the stockholme syndrome thingy you mentioned above, the cycles swing around and around …. bit of blue, bit of red ….
Dunno, I think it’s still there, just turned into a cafe thing I think? I remember when the old sawmill was out the back. The bar was a keg on a trestle and the floor covered in sawdust! I was 10.
“I agree that West Coast businesses should have sole use of the resource, both the logging and the value added industries.”
+100 there grumpy – if its going to come out the west coast should get all the benefit
its telling that a move like this, that is such obvious PR for a political party leading into an election, was rejected
“I agree that West Coast businesses should have sole use of the resource, both the logging and the value added industries. The only thing leaving the Coast should be finished product, such as furniture.”
Problem with that is, you can’t set up the infrastructure to do that without ensuring long term supply of material (ie native timbers). If this were being done alongside native forestry (as opposed to cherry-picking conservation estate) I would completely agree.
If the timber available is milled, dried, machined and stored properly, it could last indefinately. Just imagine what could be done with that fallen timer. Not just Rimu.
Every coaster knows that once that fallen timber is cleared and light let in, the regrowth is amazing. It has to be cleared to regrow.
It has to be cleared to regrow?
Is that true?
No, it isn’t.
Let’s change the law next time there’s a storm. And every time after that. There’s money to be made (for loggers, while everyone else puts up with the brand damage).
Needs sunlight – like most things 🙂
Needs sunlight, like most things 🙂
They have that on the West Coast?
I’m sure you mean well, but your comment is in direct contradiction of information provided by NickS on the subject, and I have to say he sounds more credible than you, especially with your partisan bias ‘n’ all that.
Dunno who NickS is but the authority on all this is a guy called Ian (Sid) James, who last I heard lived at Okarito?
A bloody good forestry scientist who I worked with at F&RES. If he says it’s so, then it is! Someone should ask him.
grumpy, are you suggesting that we convert conservation estate to farm forestry?
Nope, forest service tried that, just look around Seddonville or Lake Ianthe. Some of the podocarp forest is in pretty bad nick though (including around Hari Hari before the storms). I don’t know if it’s a cyclical thing or possum damage.
Ok, it’s just that you appeared to be replying to my comment about how setting up infrastructure to deal with the windfall timber this time round was not sustainable. What was your point?
oh – hadnt thought of that – good point
I built a yacht using mostly kahikatea for framing. Marvellous wood to work. And pinus radiata also great. Though undervalued.
The biggest use for Kahikatea was for concrete boxing. Tons of it used in the Upper Waitaki scheme. All dozed up and burnt.
“Nothing ive read says that bugger all will be left behind.”
Try this then, esp Prosser’s speech,
http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/drafts/50HansY_20140626/draft-transcript-thursday-26-june-2014
Then Eugenie Sage,
“Past Governments have progressively wound back the logging of our magnificent rimu and beech forests on public lands, in response to the public demand for their protection. We finally stopped logging on public land on the West Coast in 1999, as one of the first acts of a new Labour Government to stop Timberlands destructive West Coast beech scheme.
That scheme involved helicopter logging. It was not the gentle extraction of single logs from the forest. It was pockmarking the forest with an ugly series of 2 to 3 hectare clear cuts. That is what we will get with this bill.”
Even if you agree that taking logs is ok, there are serious problems with this legislation.
Im not sure what a clear cut is, but from what i can see these areas are all felled clear by the storm already.
Whoever allowed for clear cuts to happen in that pockmarking fashion needs to be fined heavily
“I don’t know what they are, but whatever they are, someone’s going to pay!”
Ignorance is a condition we all share, and the stupid is strong in this one.
Id be really interested if you can tell me why its stupid wondering how it was allowed to be pockmarked when it was meant to be individual logs?
So since im stupid and you are so bright tell me was that due to a govt official not supervising properly, corruption bad law or what?
Im awaiting your answer you genius
Because there are people in politics and people in the industry who don’t value native forests. Why would they protect them when they can make money from them?
If you want to understand this read the parliamentary debate. It’s very clear that this legislation is being written to serve the needs to greedy people who don’t give a fuck about conservation.
You can make money from harvesting downed trees and still value the forests.
I think its much better to provide jobs from them rather than let them lie there rotting as i dont give a fig about a few less insects in what will be an already ample abundance of them.
Sure, that just means that you don’t value conservation estate or intact native ecosystems. Good you are honest about it.
The stupidity is inherent in proposing that someone be punished (fined) for something when you don’t know what it is. Like calling for a ban on dihydrogen oxide.
I’m awaiting your excuse for your behaviour you hypocrite.
i know what single log harvesting is and what pockmarking an area is so settle down.
I know that if it was contracted to be single logs and it wasnt then someone needs to be hit up for that.
If you dont understand that let me know
🙄
Another red herring presented in bad faith.
Can you please point to where in the legislation it says only single log harvesting is allowed?
“Can you please point to where in the legislation it says only single log harvesting is allowed?”
That was in regards to a prior comment from someone who said timberlands was only allowed to do single logging but ended up doing pockmarking areas. That made me angry that whoever was in charge of regulating it didnt stop it
So you are ok with clearcutting this time round?
weka, no,
its downed trees, there is no clear felling of live trees. Unless you are saying they are going to remove a whole lot of upright standing trees in the area- that would be totally against what Nick Smith is saying.
I quote him directly here
Dr Smith replied he was all for saving live trees, but couldn’t justify leaving so much valuable timber to rot.
They’re allowed to take roots, stumps, tree ferns, logs. Show me where it says in the legislation that they can only take single trees, and not clear an area.
I didnt say they cant clear an area of wind felled trees, what i said is that they cant clear an area if any trees there have not being wind felled.
I agree some felled stuff should be left behind.
I suppose it will all come down to what happens in the expressions of interest that DOC is now calling for. If it is showing that these areas are being cleared right now then its going to put Nick Smith into a bad position for him and National
I will be watching to see what happens.
The legislation is written to allow for clearcutting, there will be no fining. If the govt intended only select trees to be removed, in the way is being discussed in the public (ie a tree here and there), then why have they not written the legislation to ensure that?
If you don’t understand what a clear cut is, I suggest you stop commenting and stop promoting policy until you do.
A clear cut is a area of trees all cut down and removed.
The only trees allowed to be removed by this legislation are those all ready down from the storm so therefore no clear cutting is going to happen.
What part of written to allow for clearcutting are you having trouble with?
Weka tells you that the bill allows for more than the wind-felled timber to be taken. You respond by saying the opposite. When did you read the bill? Certainly not since the last time you demonstrated ignorance of its contents.
We need better wingnuts.
Show me one quote from any politican, green, red or blue that there is going to be felling of living upright trees in these west coast forests?
All the contracts which are having expressions of interests put in are for felled trees.
You are scaremongering.
How would you know?
“Show me one quote from any politican, green, red or blue that there is going to be felling of living upright trees in these west coast forests?”
Ahem.
Clause 10 provides that the Director-General may grant an authorisation
to a person to remove wind-blown timber and to carry out other activities that are reasonably necessary to allow for the safe and efficient removal of the timber.
Nope, the legislation allows for felling of upright trees to get access to the fallen trees. And who’s going to monitor what’s taken anyway? You?
wheres the legislation?
No, not me, too many insects around there for me.
Whos the director general?
There will surely be OIA paperwork trail showing what they permit
The current director general is Lou Sanson. The previous one was Al Morrison, who thought that putting a tunnel through a mountain range, and a private road, in a National Park was a good idea. That’s right, a private road in a National Park for big business to use.
You can see in the legislation that much power for the log removal is vested with the GC of Conservation. Instead of protections being written into the legislation they will be in the hands of whoever the govt of the day has appointed.
Yes i do see that and yes i did not agree with those roads too.
It would be concerning to me if The DG is seen to permit the felling of live trees. If felled live trees do make it out of the forest then i will be very pissed off. However from reading this legislation only wind blown trees can be harvested(extracted…) so someone would have to be deliberately breaking the law to do that…
I note this legislation bans this logging from happening in National Parks.
Did you read the parliamentary debate yet?
where can i read that?
Here, in the comment I made earlier that you replied to,
Draft legislation (it’s an easier read as the PDF)
http://legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2014/0223/latest/versions.aspx
oh ffs 🙄
So you’re arguing that the law change is fine when you don’t even know what it is?
He appears to think that what he reads in the paper or hears on talk back is reliable.
Thanks am reading the legislation now.
Not talkback but i do expect the media and the greens and labour to say that they think this will lead to widespread logging if they think that will happen.
All i have heard from the greens on tv3 party is that no one should be allowed into these forests to log full stop.
And from Labour that it should go to West Coast companies. Which i think is impractical as the wood will rot soon and so the sooner its out i think is the better.
I think that would be unethical to make some kind of trade barrier within NZ.
What im seeing here is just further poor political work from Labour. The impression is that they prefer wood to rot than go to the company best able to harvest them and provide a return to the taxpayer as they want to put some highly restrictive barrier up to who can complete for the work.
Hows this affect the working mans impression of Labour? Well I think it makes them look impractical and Greenie
TV3 and other media have vested interests. Better to go to source. Try the GP website for press releases if you want to know what they really think.
There is usually analysis on the left wing blogs as well, which gives a much more rounded picture of issues than you will get from TV news.
weka
ok thanks
il have a read of that next
No unfortunately as ive had a few work emails to get to, am looking at GP website at present
Dont you get it? its not cutting at all……. the trees have fallen over and are dead/dying!!!!!!!
Section 10(1) says that Martin is full of shit.
Section 10 (1): Martin is full of shit.
That’s what it says. Look it up if you don’t believe me.
Show me some photos of the area.
They are fucking morons. Enough said.
Doubt helicopter logging was used for beech, not really worth it. Relatives of mine used helicopters to log Rimu and other podocarps.
@millsy
I thought Damien O’Connor spoke well this morning on radionz – he is an asset to Labour. A good guy from the older group.
He made a comment that he was trying to get the wood to the exclusive destination of the two mills on the West Coast that can cope with the log size. Apparently that could not be ensured, but he felt it was wise to go ahead. and agree with NACTs Bill. I hope that there can be enough pressure put on the organisers to ensure that it is all dealt with on the West Coast using Coasters for workers and as Damien said, giving some employment after the closing of various mine operations.
I talked to an environmentalist at one time who said that what Timberlands was planning in selectively milling some of the Coast was sustainable and also advantageous to the forest because it would open up areas allowing seed already in the ground the opportunity to start growth.
Good bloke, Damian. Increasingly seems to be in the wrong party.
yes, but not the greens, not national, not nzfirst so just where should he be as id probably go there too
The Conservatives with the rest of the Bigots would suit him perfectly grumpy.
But thats the impression that has being made by them voting against it.
They have being played well and truly again by the torries. They are seemingly become useless at politics; people wont vote forn a party thats giving an incompetent impression.
The two Mps crossing the floor shows that somethings wrong with how Labour dealt with this
Why? They were both allowed to and encouraged to do so. They are electorate MPs. It wasn’t like their vote was going to make a difference between winning and losing.
Because it strongly suggests that Labour decision was not in the best interests of those electorate MPs constituents
Please……. Millsy, Timberlands West Coast? You have got to be fuckin joking, these lot, ‘TWC’, set the coast back decades, they’re still chanting ‘save a whale harpoon a Greenie’ on the coast, due to hundreds of thousands of Tax payers dollars being spent by this rouge Government owned SOE on a propaganda campaign in the late 1990’s .
Give the Tories an inch they will clean out the whole national park!
Are the Greens getting too cute?
http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2014/06/cute-kids-and-other-enemies-of-democracy.html
Anyone wonder why the worlds MSM ins such crap. Take a look at this:
http://rt.com/usa/168704-russell-brand-fox-news/
Now back to work….
Will the NATS declare the cost of the book launch in their donations return?
Make a trip to the bookshops, grab several copies and discretely re-shelve them at the appropriate sections, eg
– Fiction
– Fantasy
– Crime
@kiwiri lol
And if your local public libraries spend your precious rates on the rubbish by roughan, then re-shelve it to a more appropriate and deserving section, as suggested above.
Let the piss taking begin:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/746833501#qna
Excellent, thanks for the link TRP, love it! 🙂
I thought Armstrong could dedicate his book to Key in the following manner:
Love letters straight from my heart
Keep us so near while apart
I’m not alone in the night
When I can have all the love I write
I memorize every line
And I kiss the name that you sign
And darling, then I read again right from the start
Love letters straight from my heart
Heyman/Young’s song with slight adjustments (@ line 1,4 & 8)
Yesterday Sean Plunkett’s call-in topic was “why does everyone like John Key?”
Today, for balance, it was “why does no-one like Labour?”
🙄
Our media are a pack of trolls.
+1 Felix
well cunliffe does sit at below 10% as preferred PM
well labour is going down quick.
what about all loggers that need work that labour doesnt want to give work too.
WHo do they represent now? the breaurecrats? and thus is that why Robertsons next in line
Non-random sampling of 1000 people doesn’t reflect all of NZ.
Beyond that, journalists are supposed to investigate and report the news, not lead public opinion because they think they’re being clever dicks.
yeah they do think they are the cats pyjamas
Martin, neutral questions would be something like:
What do you think of Key? What do you think of Labour?
Plunkett asked:
Why does everyone like Key? Why does no-one like Labour?
Do you see the difference?
There have to be a lot of warnings advising people of the danger of letting the present political system jerk on. I was thinking about Cassandra and warnings and looked up wikipedia – for those who don’t know all about her.
also known as Alexandra or Kassandra, was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. A common version of her story is that Apollo gave her the power of prophecy in order to seduce her, but when she refused him, he gave her the curse of never being believed.
I hope like hell we don’t end up in her shoes or it will be hell to pay.
Compare and contrast:
“The Pike River Mine tragedy of 19 November 2010 happened on my watch as Minister of Labour,”
“While reports from the former Department of Labour did not advise me of concerns about their ability to administer the health and safety legislation, 29 men lost their lives in this tragedy.
“I feel it is the right and honourable thing to do.”
Kate Wilkinson, announcing her resignation.
He’s arguably applied the same principles to his politics, revealing in the biography he fired former Ministers Kate Wilkinson and Phil Heatley, for “nothing much in particular”.
Of Wilkinson’s exit interview, Key said: “[I said] ‘Look, you’ve done a great job as a minister, but it’s over.’ She said, ‘What have I done wrong?’ I said, ‘Nothing. You have done four years and I want to refresh.’ I said the same thing to Phil.”
John Key quoted in John Roughan’s hackiography.
So, who’s lying? Was it a resignation or a firing? Was it for Pike River or for nothing much in particular?
Was Key’s mouth moving ? There’s the answer.
where is blip these days ?? thx.
dear john.
how I hate to write…
dear john.
I am leaving you tonight…
I remember that ad. It won an ward for creativity for NZ. (Using an old popular song.)
TV1 poll on Sunday. Don’t worry. All the other polls are wrong. The Cunliffe promised he would take Labour to over 40% You can trust him. He has a not so secret trust. He is popular with at least 9% ie 1 in 11.
fis-31+11+7=49=Cunliffe. IMP have 1.8% and they haven’t even started yet. Key knows he is staring down the barrel…..
21 + 10+ 4 = 35% I can do arithmetic.
46+0+0+0+0 < 50%
Your confidence is a bit desperate, which is why you resort to just outright lies these days.
Where did Cunliffe promise that? That’s twice you’ve made that claim, so no doubt you’ll be able to substantiate it.
…there should be a poll on whether people believe in polls…even the National Party seems to be unbelieving in the accuracy of the recent polls…..judging from National Party comments recently on radionz….
….eg do people answer polls honestly?( many people I suspect deliberately lie)
…sampling?….how many people refuse to answer polls ( i am one)
…poll bias? …( seems like the Herald polls are biased consistently in favour of Nact)
…seems like Winnie and NZF often do not register in pre-election polls…yet on the day , romp in!
Bugger the Polls!
what does that mean?
speak english.
Good to see this result. It was appalling hearing the school’s board of trustees’ spokesperson cast it all in terms of this boy’s defiance of the “rules”. Like the rule he defied wasn’t fucking stupid or anything in terms of the measure of his transgression. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/10207087/Lucan-Battison-wins-long-hair-court-battle
@North
I just looked up the images for the hair-do or rather don’t. What is the school moaning about. Every now and then I express doubts that the sort of schools that NZ politicians go to are in some sort of constipated British time warp and here is proof.
The spokespersons made the point that in school rules hair had to be off the collar and tied back, and Lucan’s was and looked fine. The poor little scaredy conformists running the school can’t cope with a break in their corset of time, such as long hair on a male tied back neatly. Can you believe it in the 21st century?
So John Key will also be giving a keynote address this Sunday, on the same day as David Cunliffe?
Source – from THAT rag:
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/key-signals-tax-cut-election-pledge-6013521
And John Key will be announcing a tax cut in coming weeks?
I thought Cunliffe was a week later?
You are correct.
I have got my weeks mixed up!
I need to step away from the keyboard. Will drop by a few bookshops to check out a particular printed trash …..
I think the Warehouse has got it for $34. You can’t miss the Key visage, with its come hither and vote for me, me me me me me stare, hypnotic………….
“And John Key will be announcing a tax cut in coming weeks?”
He said today it will be announced later in the election campaign. What he won’t say aloud, it’s that he’ll raise GST again to pay for the tax cuts.
Without the left wing bloggers this entire cauldron of conspiracy would have become a last supper for NZ. Thank you to every single author and commenter and contributor of research who did what they could to allow reality to drop some roots of truth into the stone soup being thrown at our begging bowls.
The Standard, No Right Turn, Imperatorfish, Polity, Andrew Geddis, TDB, Frankly Speaking, (and apologies to all those I missed) but you all, piece by piece, motivated the authors and their readers to speak up.
Let’s keep that voice shouting loud and proud for the next few months shall we!
hear hear!
Too right freedom.
Well said Freedom. Agree 100%
so mccully steps down/out and let’s CrayCray through ( maybe) .. so what would happen if Winston were to stand in ECB after National withdraws ?? Could he win it do you think ?
Winston Vs CC. Now that’s a contest I would pay to see….
me too Harry … would love to see it happen.
United future promises to make getting an education even harder:
Unite Future must know that:
So the only conclusion is that they want less educated people – Just like National.
Oh Ye of little faith. Invest $100 on ipredict on Cunliffe as PM and turn it into $1000 on September 20th. If you can do the arithmetic and come up with neck and neck then you must agree this is a golden opportunity to increase your investment 10 fold.
Hey, fisi, you may have missed the bit where I asked you to substantiate your repeated claim that Cunliffe promised Labour would get over 40%. I’d really hate to think you’re just bullshitting, so cite, please.
just keep calling the lying bastard out on that one..
..he comes here and spouts lie after lie..
..i will volunteer to help with fisi-watch..
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2014/06/labours-flight-from-reality.html
Read it carefully he alludes to Cunliffes whacky optimism of 40%+
“Read it carefully he alludes to Cunliffes whacky optimism of 40%+”
Can you point out where Trotter says this? And can I point out that Trotter isn’t Cunliffe?
Alternatively, you could just withdraw your claim and apologise for making shit up.
I knew you couldn’t read
I am concentrating on Labour’s putative numbers because they form the basis for David Cunliffe’s increasingly wacky optimism.
Now Read the section above talking about 40%+
How does Trotter extrapolating from a 30-year old coincidence between party membership and electoral outcome relate to your explicit claim:
It doesn’t. You’re lying AGAIN, fisi haw-haw
I am quoting Trotter commenting on a pledge by The Cunliffe to get Labour over 40%. You can call Trotter whatever you want but I am always truthful.
Nah, you’re a liar.
In that article you linked to, Trotter never said anything close to suggesting that Cunliffe promised 40+%.
You’re just a low-down dirty wank-merchant.
I was also right saying that Cunliffe has a 10c chance of winning on ipredict. Some optimists have ploughed in and the price is now 17c. Mugs , I can now short for 83c rather than have to fork out 90c.
your use of the word “also” is misleading, given that you lied about 40%
Are you blind? Go back and read Trotter’s blog. Join the dots….
Or are you saying that Cunliffe has never thought or said that Labour would reach 40%?
read it three times.
Perhaps you could paste the sentence trotter wrote that you think reflects your extremely clear and specific claim?
Well, you could if you weren’t lying from word one.
So to recap:
His original claim “Cunliffe promised he would take Labour to over 40%” has now become “Join the dots…”
and yet he still has not resiled from his claim.
I’m sure I’ve seen people banned for this shit before.
Cunliffe has cracked under the pressure.
Don’t be surprised if he turns up to parliament in the buff.
Labour on 40% the next day.
nah, it’s fisi who’s finally gone around the bend.
Poor BM – we have driven him mad with our incessant requests for facts and figures- Now he is so confused he is thinking of figures as bodies and talking about being in the buff. They will probably be coming in white coats for him soon.
Nick Hanauer – I see pitchforks.
.
But let’s speak frankly to each other. I’m not the smartest guy you’ve ever met, or the hardest-working. I was a mediocre student. I’m not technical at all—I can’t write a word of code. What sets me apart, I think, is a tolerance for risk and an intuition about what will happen in the future. Seeing where things are headed is the essence of entrepreneurship. And what do I see in our future now?
I see pitchforks.
At the same time that people like you and me are thriving beyond the dreams of any plutocrats in history, the rest of the country—the 99.99 percent—is lagging far behind. The divide between the haves and have-nots is getting worse really, really fast. In 1980, the top 1 percent controlled about 8 percent of U.S. national income. The bottom 50 percent shared about 18 percent. Today the top 1 percent share about 20 percent; the bottom 50 percent, just 12 percent.
But the problem isn’t that we have inequality. Some inequality is intrinsic to any high-functioning capitalist economy. The problem is that inequality is at historically high levels and getting worse every day. Our country is rapidly becoming less a capitalist society and more a feudal society. Unless our policies change dramatically, the middle class will disappear, and we will be back to late 18th-century France. Before the revolution.
And so I have a message for my fellow filthy rich, for all of us who live in our gated bubble worlds: Wake up, people. It won’t last.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014.htm
Thanks for something joe90
He is succinct. How can I keep ignoring such a strong message? Eventually it is going to seep through. Uncomfortable.
This is a great article which deserves to be widely read.
In the trade unions, the Communists, of course, submit to the discipline of the party, no matter what posts they occupy. This does not exclude but presupposes their submission to trade union discipline. In other words, the party does not impose upon them any line of conduct that contradicts the state of mind or the opinions of the majority of the members of trade unions.
Ah my guru returns, i have been hanging out for the next installment…
The Onion nails it:
Onion good. Thoughtful end of piece about who should be our leaders –
When pressed for further comment, however, every member of humanity agreed that the current system, though deeply flawed, remains far better than one in which they actually have to make decisions for themselves
and an apparent piece of real whimsy –
‘Beard husks on sidewalk indicate start of Hipster Moulting Season.’
After the Liu fiasco of the last couple of weeks, I feel like listening to some rousing protest songs.
Thanks Xtasy for this morning’s offering
Any ideas out there?
bob dylan..doing masters of war..live..@ carnegie hall in 1963..
(his intro is priceless/potent..)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvr72uTd7kc
..and we should dedicate it to that killer.. obama..
..and his ever-eager wingman/satrap..key…
Thanks, Phillip. I hadn’t seen it before and it inspired me to email JK and send him the RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORT OF THE TASK FORCE ON
US DRONE POLICY
http://www.stimson.org/images/uploads/task_force_report_final_web_062414.pdf
There was an interesting post on Common Dreams titled
“Military Experts: Killer Drones Will Trigger ‘Slippery Slope’ into Endless War
The use of drones as a ‘pillar’ of military policy raises significant strategic, legal and ethical questions, warns a high-level panel of military and foreign policy experts.” https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/06/26-3
This post was written as a result of the report that I forwarded to JK.
I hate the fact that our country is being associated with those disgusting weapons because JK wants to be close buddies with Obama. I pointed out that being a drone buddy is not going to be a good look on our UN council CV.
so..all those drone-killings targeted from waihopai..
..means the blood of all those innocent-of-anything civilians/men/women/children is on keys’ hands..
..(i hope he has strong soap/disinfectant/dream-suppressors..he won’t get away with that one..)
..and he is doing it all..in our name..as our ‘leader’..
..will cunnliffe do any different..?
..or will he still allow the americans to use waihopai to help target their drone-strikes..?
..and will green-ministers be in cabinet-solidarity with that..?
..whoar..!
..eh..?
..what price that bmw..?
LOL @ Campbell Live.
“Come on down, Mr Liu”
I have emailed John Campbell some details since he was looking for Mr Liu.
See my post over on “The people respond to the Herald Editorial on Donghua Liu” @15.
I like this graphic of what enrolled voters actually did at the last election, including those that didn’t vote. Puts things in perspective.
https://twitter.com/kimi_collins/status/482310318870102016/photo/1
Nice pie chart, what does it tell us?
Well, so far it’s told us that you’re incapable of understanding pie charts.
Knock me out with your big brain there boyo, and explain to me what this pie graph is telling us.
I get it that 34% of people who enrolled didn’t get around to voting, that’s fairly obvious, but what else are we supposed to glean from this pie chart?
I genuinely, honestly would not expect that you would glean anything from it.
Why you don’t have an awesome microwve aka, patents stopping innovation again.
From the Forbidden Bookshelf, “Lords of Creation” written in 1930s.
It’s worth reading the intro to the latest publication of this book on google books – it compares the similarities with and differences from the US in the late 20th – early 21st century.
Two, and now possibly three, Australian Prime Ministers under pressure from the fossil fuel lobby, have promised to repeal the carbon tax failed to do so. Gillard and Rudd failed to live up to their promise to fossil fuel lobby. I predicted some time ago that Tony Abbot would also not find it so easy to give them what they want.
So is it Tony’ Abbot’s turn to disappoint the polluters?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11283466