New Zealand Cricket public affairs manager Richard Boock said 10-20 patrons were ejected from the Basin Reserve for a number of reasons, including “offensive language or behaviour, intoxication, and bringing contraband into the venue.
I think the solution to the man problem starts with trespass notices. We can already prosecute the assaults they commit, and that hasn’t worked. So, on top of proecutions for assault, ban them from all sporting venues, whether public or private, by court order, for say, twenty years. If they want to go and see their children play, perhaps the Police can issue special licenses for good behaviour.
Not really fair blaming the security guard for “losing control” where no control existed in the first place. At least they weren’t selling glitter /sarc.
“The 39-year-old was sitting on the Wellington venue’s grassy bank with her girlfriend, among a group of 100 or so men, who were mostly drunk and aged in their 30s and 40s. She said the men were chanting obscenities, skolling beer and harassing the Pakistani cricketers.”
Mostly in their 30s and 40s.
Racist
Sexist
Drunk
“ a pack of dogs.”
Now let’s look at our sports broadcasters and the message they convey, the laddish, sexist message they put out.
You didn’t blame the music industry when the man problem occurred at Rhythm and Vines. It also happens on the streets. Do you blame NZTA for that? How about when it happens in homes?
The point is the man problem has one thing in common and it isn’t the venue.
No, I think they’re a symptom of the problem. Someone has to employ them, and continue their employment (I note this is now a moot point in Veitch’s case). People have to buy advertising on their effluent, consumers have to buy the stuff in the adverts.
We reward their behaviour. No wonder they feel little incentive to change.
Yes, I do, inasmuch as they help to reinforce the problem; they may not be the root cause of it though, if that’s what you’re asking, and indeed be symptomatic.
Drunk people do what’s acceptable to their peer group. The only contribution of “drunk” is to make public what’s acceptable to that peer group. So the problem here isn’t that these guys drink, the problem is the shit that’s considered normal in their peer group.
Peer pressure or influence is not the only contribution of alcohol consumption to ‘misbehaving’. Drunks misread and misinterpret social cues (e.g. micro-expressions and body language) and even become almost completely unresponsive to any communications from others and the outside world. For example, they misinterpret certain cues (e.g. the simple fact of accidentally making eye contact or just looking in their direction) as disgust or aggression or they think that other cues signal acceptance, encouragement, or invitation even. All this can and does happen without any peer group being present and not always in a ‘social situation’ either. Let the mess start …
If people are being assaulted and the organisers can’t stop that then yes, public cricket in that ground should be discouraged. Just as well we have some other options, like limiting the amount of alcohol people consume.
I agree with the toxic masculinity argument, but before the revolution comes how about we put in some easier to access solutions as well.
If people are being assaulted and the organisers aren’t bothering to stop that then something needs to be done about the organisers, not people who drink alcohol.
Alcohol restrictions are an easy go-to for people who don’t drink, or are anti-alcohol activists to start with, like Ed. I’m not interested in sport, so my immediate knee-jerk response is that this is what sports fans are like so there should be restrictions on sporting events. Ed’s response is no different. Figuring out what problem we’re trying to solve here is a better process than leaping straight to prejudice-based solutions.
before the revolution comes how about we put in some easier to access solutions as well.
Cut off the abusers’ access to public events. Half the problem is that they drag impressionable dupes into their orbit: a visceral illustration of the way right wing political beliefs enthral generation after generation.
Remove the role models from the situation: let them fester at home during the game/gig/Cabinet Club foodfight.
The culture has to change: in the meantime lets put the needs of the victims (to be free from assault) first.
It basically comes down to having enough security staff and giving them clear rules on what is unacceptable behaviour.
Promotoers want as little security as possible (to save money) before it starts to impact on profits (event cancellation/license issues/pirate recordings). If they don’t have enough staff so everyone is in a zone of control, the staff can’t see what’s going on or aren’t in a position to do anything about it.
Security staff often just work along the lines of which box a punter should be slotted into: ignore, direct to bogs etc, start ejection process. That covers most of it.
Frankly in my opinion the way to knobble them is make it an OSH issue. If promoters aren’t providing a safe environment for members of the public, the promoters should be charged. Then you’ll see a complete sea-change in how events are run.
That scenario sounds ok for large venues. Smaller venues, small-scale promoters, utilising small town security staff, all will be disadvantaged – far better for them to be able to access a register of known problem customers.
..and I don’t much care for the idea of entertainment/hospitality workers maintaining that sort of database.
Oh, everyone has their own list of barred patrons, and some areas have “blanket bans” where trespassed from one pub means trespassed from them all. Yes, knowing jerks works to some extent, but then there’s always a first offender. And then it comes down to which box you put them in – clear guidance is often needed. I worked a few places back in the day, and they always gave the same security briefing: “hands-off, polite, use your words, it’s a good place and a good crowd, be low key”. Only one place really meant it. Others thought choke holds (not a come-along, an actual throttle) were hands off and low key.
But small scale venues are the same as gigs for several thousand people. Actually easier, because you probably have glassies or other staff on the floor as well as security, and they can give you a heads-up (or you can play their role just to let likely lads know you’ve got your eye on them). I’ve worked events and venues from sole-security up to a security team of 30 or 40. So big venue size, but not full stadium level.
Some gigs you really couldn’t control anything more than a couple of feet in front of you because of the crowd density, sound and lighting. Basically it was up to the roving folk (or if there was a mezzanine to spot it from a different angle), wade through the punters, grab the nearest static worker for backup and sort it.
Calculating the safe number of security staff comes down to access points, then a function of crowd number as what I call the radius of influence shrinks (so crowd number also as in density in venue floor area, not just crowd size).
They wouldn’t, because most punters at R&V would be from out of town.
In that case they’d be relying on alcohol service enforcement and roving security, mostly.
For bigger events, you’re normally exceeding the locally-available supply of regular security staff. Back in my day I worked a cricket match at the ‘brook (just to give the idea of the time lapse) and they had the main contractors for the tour who hired local security staff who also picked up likely locals/folks they knew.
At another gig the regular security team was supplemented by a rugby club whom we put on static/numpty positions that needed to be filled but weren’t big on nuance.
Regarding R&V, I was surprised the promoter had apparently declined anti-harrassment posters. Those would be an easy way to start the process of gently reminding people there are rules and they are being watched. Additionally, if there was drinking there then there would be empties and litter. And easy thing to do is wander around with a wheelie bin and clean up – speaking with people as you go. It’s relaxed, laid back, but still takes the edge off the “I’m wiv me mates” feedback loop that happens. It’s not an overt “I’ve got my eye on you”, it just reminds folk that other people are around.
Of course, normally it’s cheaper just to have the bare minimum security, throw some bins around, and clean up with brooms and shovels after everyone has left.
When some of my former peer group were sozzled, pretty much anything could be acceptable to them at that time. Hard to predict/control what they might do and the behaviour they might sanction in the moment; a few of them were pretty good at post-booze justifications too.
People tell themselves that, but it’s not actually true. If your peer group doesn’t have any problems with you taking a piss in a shop doorway or picking a fight with someone, you might well do those things when you’re drunk. If your peer group would be horrified by those things and would likely shun you and certainly never drink with you again if you were to do them, you just don’t do stuff like that when drunk. Or, you do and eventually you’re a drunk with no friends. Very few people end up in the latter category.
You can figure it out for yourself via a handy thought experiment: how drunk would I have to be to shout homophobic abuse at someone, grope a woman, take a shit in a shop doorway or king-hit someone for no reason? The answer should be “There is no level of drunkenness at which I’d do any of those.” If your answer identifies a level of drunkenness at which you’d do any of those things, the problem isn’t alcohol, it’s you.
I’m not against the use of alcohol and other mood-altering recreational drugs (knock yourself out!), but your peers clearly manage(d) the effects of alcohol on their behaviours and personalities better than the peers of my youth.
I see behaviour and personality as ‘products’ of the brain, a bioelectrical organ of remarkable complexity nevertheless subject to physicochemical processes. IMO it is magical thinking to contend that alcohol cannot temporarily alter what individuals ‘consider’ to be acceptable behaviour.
There are very few individuals who can, by training and/or sheer force of will, consciously (ha ha) resist general anaesthesia. Similarly, the mood-altering properties of ethanol are typically quite reliable, contributing to the popularity of the drug.
We have different experiences regarding the ability of ethanol to temporarily alter a persons judgement and behaviour – I’m happy to agree to disagree about the extent of those effects.
“As the evidence of alcohol harms accumulates, especially harm to others, we must continue to urge our elected representatives in government to enact effective legislation in order to help reduce these harms, rather than use outdated neoliberal economic models, which result in doing little more than watch from the sidelines.”
…or what you said. Plus ban ALL alcohol from the venue. (yeah, as if.)
If nothing else…at the end of the match, I’d lock the gates and not let anyone out until they picked up the bloody rubbish.
Yes, I know, local junior teams often do the grounds clean up for fundraising, but ffs, its as if the basic rules of decent behaviour completely disappear.
And its been well over a decade since I went to a cricket match…same as it ever was.
Sport is big in NZ’s dominant culture. And the way it’s dominated by implicit assumptions about masculine superiority is indicative, plus sends messages that can have all kinds of repercussions in the behaviour of men at events.
This is what the embankment at the Basin has been like for decades. It starts off with chants targeting businessmen walking past with their ties on – “Get your tie off.. “, then moves onto cat calls and “get your gear off..”
It’s more an environment thing, 1 against the rest. People walking below a crowd by themselves are easy targets and have no defence, and you only need a couple of instigators and the group will follow along.
The issue goes way beyond sport.
New Zealand is a very sexist country.
I thought this was a very well written article.
An excerpt.
“In the United Nations Report on the Status of Women published in 2011, Aotearoa New Zealand was ranked worst of all OECD countries in rates of sexual violence.
Yet we – our media, our police, our guts – instinctively sympathise with the rapists, especially if they’re rugby players, because routine sexual violence is an integral part of rugby culture.
It is a Kiwi tradition for young men to have sex with drunken, underage girls. When the Roast Busters made headlines, they did so because they talked about their alleged exploits online, which meant that people outside our culture became aware of it.”
In the same way actors in a movie who appear to get beaten up aren’t actually beaten up.
If you arrange for someone to come and ‘grope’ you in order to capture this on video this is a form of implied consent.
A question for you:
If this indeed was a case of genuine Indecent Assault (which carries a punishment of 7 years in jail) why has the ‘victim’ not made a complaint to Police?
She has perfect evidence and it would be a strike of the sisterhood against pawing neanderthals.
However if it were all fakery then her statement to Police would be false and she might end up in trouble herself but fakery is fine for generating social media publicity.
Beware, not all that glitters is gold. (Pun intended)
If this indeed was a case of genuine Indecent Assault (which carries a punishment of 7 years in jail) why has the ‘victim’ not made a complaint to Police?
I take it this is your first time reading a left-wing or feminist blog if you can ask that question without putting a /sarc on the end.
UPDATE: The woman who has become the public face of “A Glittery March for Consent”, which aims to raise awareness of issues of consent, sexual harassment and assault, now says a British news agency is only providing her with “advice” on the march.
Corporations and their predatory capitalists will do what they do anytime, anywhere, without a moral compass. The Wireless article ends:
Attempts by companies to profit from the #MeToo movement, which has been used online to help show how widespread sexual assault and harassment is, are not unheard of.
Two weeks after the New York Times first published allegations that led to the Harvey Weinstein scandal, cosmetic company Hard Candy applied to trademark#METOO.
The company’s CEO told TMZ that it was “not a straight cash grab,” but was intended to be used to “give back to women worldwide”.
Another company, Fuzzy Logic, has tried to trademark #metoo for use on silicone wristbands.
Yesterday was was first journey up the so-called “holiday highway”, with toll road, early in a holiday period, since it’s been opened. A real eye-opener. I thought at least t was going to make for an easy journey for people in cars during their hols.
I went for work, as I was working on a workplace stall at an outdoor event. Foolishly, I assumed leaving Auckland at 8.30am would mean I would get there in 45-50 minutes. But then the electronic signs started appearing saying “queues before the tunnel”. And so it was… before and for a long while after it. Crawling along – stop star, crawl, stop…..
So this magic tunnel, on a busy 2-3 lane motorway, has one lane in each direction – so of course, a major bottle neck.
These motorway designers really have some weird logic!
I would like more mass transit options – and that would alleviate the amount of cars on the motorway.
I travel up to the northern reaches of Auckland often for work. Our work policy is to use mass/public transport where possible. If that’s not possible, then take one of the work fleet cars.
At the moment the fleet cars are the only option for work to get there and back in a timely manner.
We desperately need a rail system, plus better local bus services in the north of Auckland.
Careful, much more talk like that and you’ll become a convert to the MoRONS cult! I assume you’re talking about the Johnstone’s Hill tunnels just south of Puhoi.
The logic of narrowing it down to one lane northbound before the tunnel is to ensure the bottleneck and merging happens outside the tunnel. That way the cars are moving a bit more freely through the tunnel, in theory*, and it’s less likely there will be an incident inside the tunnel. Southbound there’s two lanes through the tunnel since it’s continuous two lanes going south beyond the tunnel and it’s much less likely to be queued up through the tunnel.
*In practice, the tightest bottleneck is at Warkworth, so the slow queue usually starts there and grows southwards until it backs up traffic through the tunnel. But even so, cars are moving through the tunnel twice as fast with only one lane than they would if there were two, so there’s less time spent in the confined space with concentrated exhausts, and there’s more room for emergency access if needed.
What bunches my undies about the Puhoi-Warkworth motorway being built is there was an alternative that would deliver almost all the benefits for around a third the cost. Bevan Woodward had been pushing it for years, and my contacts in civil engineering consultancy all thought it was a better option, even just looking at it from a cars/trucks view rather than a wider whole transport system view.
Yes, Warkworth is a bottleneck, even at moderate traffic times. So a bypass there looks justified, so may as well build a new bypass to motorway standard to give a good long passing lane each way. Schedewy’s hill really is a hazard, so eliminate the corners with a cutting or tunnels under the hill. The narrow Pohuehue viaduct is a minor bottleneck, so double it up for a continuous passing lane up the hill.
Do those three upgrades, and the rest of SH1 Puhoi-Warkworth is easily upgradeable if traffic volumes ever grow enough to justify it. Meanwhile, just doing upgrades rather than a whole new motorway would free up resources to tackle problems further north like Dome Valley, a bypass around Wellsford, the Brynderwyns etc.
Warkworth needs a more comprehensive public/mass transport system. It is becoming a commuter suburb to Auckland city (ditto Wellsford), with the increasing development of greenfields development in these areas.
I know one or two long time Warkworth residents who, now given limited work choices, need to commute daily, or fairly regularly, to Auckland CBD. This means a long commute, and very early start and late end times to the day.
The biggest traffic congestion is between Albany and the CDB.
Warkworth town centre gets clogged with cars on weekdays because, for most people, currently the best way to travel around the area is by car.
That, plus eliminating the awful intersection with SHI and the Matakana, Snells Beach roads, would reduce the bottleneck.
And getting more trucks off the roads by an increase in the amount of freight travelling to the north by rail.
I don’t now the locations of places by the names you mention, though can make a guess.
Dome Valley is a major problem. It’s not so bad in good weather. However, I had to travel back from Wellsford one time during a big storm. With limited visibility, slippery conditions, and all those “high crash area” signs in the Dome Valley, it was a very stressful journey.
And there are way too many trucks travelling through the Dome Valley.
That Hill St intersection that’s such a nightmare for Matakana and Snell’s Beach residents shouldn’t be anywhere near as bad when the main road there is no longer SH1. Because it will be able to allocate much more more of the traffic light time to other users, whereas now it has to prioritise SH1 traffic.
Nevertheless, AT has a proposed Matakana Link Road. Which is of no use to Snell’s Beach residents. But surprise, it makes it very convenient for people getting off the new motorway to go to Matakana and Omaha.
Going south not far from Warkworth, there’s the long straight passing lane going up a hill, that narrows down to a two-lane bridge, then has a short passing lane after the bridge. That bridge is the Pohuehue viaduct. Then you have the straightish bit along the top of Windy Ridge, before going down the hill with some tight corners (where there’s a couple of stretches of passing lane for northbound traffic). That downhill windy bit is Schedewy’s Hill.
We regularly travel between Waikato and the Far North in our 5 ton housebus. If we opt to go down SH1 and the Pukeko Tunnel (our name for the Johnstone’s Hill ) it is that two lane/one lane each way/two lane thing happening at Pohuehue that will literally give me nightmares.
I’m not sure what can be misconstrued by the old Bus in the left lane indicating left so vehicles behind know I’m aware and its safe to for them to pass in the passing lane…then, when the passing lane is running out I do the right indicator thing to let following cars know that the passing lane is fast disappearing and I need to move right so I can cross the bridge.
And yes…I’m probably, optimistically, rocketing up the hill at 60 kph… but still no excuse for the fifth car in line behind me thinking…OH! It’s my turn to risk a head on collision on the Pohuehue Bridge today!!! Yay!!! And proceeds to floor it and pass the other four patient cars plus moi.
Result…I have to slow down/stop to let suicidal maniac pass…thereby losing my precious revs and now a steady 20kph is all I can manage from a standing start.
No amount of road building will fix the problem of the impatient psychopath behind the wheel. 🙂
I suggest adopting a somewhat more bullying attitude at the end of the passing lane.
As soon as the dashed line ends, start drifting over to the right while maintaining speed. The idiot attempting a too-late pass can slow down to your 60kph in a very short distance if need be on a fairly steep hill like that. There’s plenty of sealed road to the left if the idiot doesn’t get the message and keeps coming anyway and you need to make emergency room so there isn’t a head-on.
That’s the technique I eventually arrived at when I was regularly towing a large trailer up there at about the same speed.
Thanks. Yes, I pretty much guessed the places you were talking about.
The SH1 move will relieve the congestion around the Hill Street intersection. However, it will do nothing to relieve the road congestion, and parking issues in the town centre.
More buses in the area would be useful.
I’m told some of the residents around the Snells Beach area are from Pacific communities, attracted to the area for work. One of the main factories that employs them is some way down Woodcocks Rd – so why not better bus services through those areas? Especially with the planned increase in residential housing around the outskirts of Warkworth.
And a better bus service for retirees living out around the Matakana Road would maybe also relieve some of the congestion.
I would not call neoliberalism a 30 year old disaster.
It is a living disaster for millions of New Zealanders.
Pretending neoliberal economics doesn’t exist is one of Labour’s blind spots.
You only solve problems by confronting them.
[Same as below. Picked a point. Cut/shifted the sub-thread.] – Bill
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I call bulshit @Indiana.
I’m in a place with a billion people (not too disimilar to your handle),
Trickling down and rising tides …. like hell.
Like elswhere the wealth transfer is to the few at the expense of the many
I have in fact been banned with some frequency for sledging the Gnats. But Labour’s original defection remains relevant, because the poor require political representation whether their original party chooses to represent them or not.
Labour have said a number of things in respect of immigration changes, but although Indian student numbers have dropped significantly the expectation in rural industries remains that they have access to ‘skilled’ foreign workers. We will be able recognize material change by the volume of rightwing angst, should it materialize.
Corrupt AF right winger loots the state to finance his campaign, overrides the courts and then sez, we must sit down for dialogue openly and without barriers. ..
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — President Juan Orlando Hernandez was sworn in for a new term in the Honduran capital Saturday, while across town tear gas drifted across flaming barricades in clashes between police and protesters angry over an election the say was marred by fraud.
[…]
The inauguration came after soldiers and riot police fired tear gas to block thousands of demonstrators from marching to the National Stadium to protest. Masked protesters shot rocks from slingshots and kicked canisters back toward security forces as barricades burned and gas billowed on the streets.
“This is how the dictator oppresses his people,” said opposition presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla, who says the election was stolen and he was the true winner of the vote.
“We remain in the struggle to rescue the country from dictatorship and without recognizing Hernandez as president,” Nasralla told The Associated Press.
Hernandez, a 49-year-old lawyer, is Honduras’ first president to be re-elected — a key point in the protests against him.
The 1982 constitution bars presidents from seeking a new term and conservative politicians deposed a leftist president in 2009 for allegedly even considering re-election. But Hernandez won a Supreme Court ruling in 2015 to get around that prohibition.
Martin Bradbury has written a superb piece over at the Daily Blog .
It is a blunt reminder, despite the Jacindamania, that neoliberalism still has New Zealand in a vice like grip.
An excerpt.
“ We cheer Team NZ and sneer at those homeless in cars.
We property speculate ourselves to false illusions of wealth and decry public spending on state housing.
We lose ourselves in the labyrinth of neoliberal identity politics while the richest 1% own almost 30% of everything.
We cheer Lord of the Rings while trashing worker rights.
We shoot a bloody business card into the sky and tell ourselves this individual success of a medium sized enterprise is actually a metaphorical Plato-esk intellectual lantern to light the future of humanity!
The vanity of modern neoliberal NZ is Trump-like in its delusion.”
So how does that sneering remark about losing ourselves “in the labyrinth of neoliberal identity politics” square with your earlier comments about toxic masculinity (an “identity politics” issue), Ed?
Martyn Bradbury relies too much on easy (and lazy) hyperbole and sweeping generalisations for my taste.
Relying too much on easy lazy hyperbole isn’t “speaking truth to power”. Power loves easy lazy hyperbole because it’s completely nonthreatening and steals oxygen from more informed, more cogent critique.
yes Martyn did well also today on another article regarding how our political system which mirrors the US election style also now and that we need to take stock of what our Labour coalition also may face in 2020.
Warning signs are there for us to be aware of going forward.
Rereading Merchants of Doubt by Orestes and Conway.
Worth the time when you hear New Zealand scientists like Rowarth and Edmeades and journalists like Smith, and Mora deliberately muddying the waters here..
To Ed. Obviously a matter of opinion, but I think this is worth repeating.
“This is the first round of employment law changes that this government plans to make. It is the first steps towards reversing 30 years of working people having their rights diminished and losing their fair share of a growing economy”
Changes will occur in steps, over time. It was never going to be an all or nothing in one big swoop. It’s a coalition government. There’s an element of compromise. Patience is required. I’m just thankful and grateful that change has begun.
[Had to pick “somewhere” as the place to shift that huge drift off into Labour Party stuff. The post was specifically about “the standard”] – Bill
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
The time for incrementalism by a progressive party is past. That’s a late 20th century third way approach, when what we need right now is a significant change with strongly articulated left values and policies.
The time was ripe for a change, but the dominant people in the LP caucus chose to go to the electorate timidly, with cap in hand. (I’m looking at Parker and Robertson, particularly).
It always seemed to me the message I was getting, was that the Labour caucus leaders would prefer an alliance with NZ First to one with the Greens. I thought this before Ardern became leader, but it was reinforced by some of her early responses on becoming leader. I said so at the time.
So, in a way, they set up the conditions to weaken the vote for the Greens – that and the way they worked to adopt and weaken some of the GP policies on climate and social and economic justice.
To me, refraining from being critical of Labour is a lost cause. They have set the left in NZ back by about a decade or two. [Damn right I am angry about it!]
The only hopes are a revival of strong left wing values through a movement at the flax roots, plus a re-strengthened Green Party (with Maramar Davidson as co-leader outside cabinet or a ministry shackle), or a new left wing party.
You may think its past, but change will happen in steps. That’s what we are seeing. What we’ve got, is what we’ve got, working against that achieves what exactly? and I disagree that “they set up the conditions to weaken the vote for the Greens.” It’s not about refraining from criticism, but we should at least be constructive about it.
Julie Anne Genter is very good in all areas of the Green 3 planks. But her main focus is on the environment, much like James Shaw, and transport.
Davidson has always been for the strong and equal integration of the 3 planks, even before joining the Greens. But she puts a stronger focus on participating in community engagement at the flax roots – and does this in the crucial low income areas of South Auckland. where she has experienced first hand the struggles of brown renters, and low income people.
Davidson also engages directly with Māori and Pacific communities.
As Labour and the Greens compete for the same voter pool (in the main) they cannibalize each other’s vote. Just look at the swings before the election.
NZF was the only way to power for Labour (and the Greens). Hence Winston was always in the box seat.
For the Green Party to re-strengthen will require Labour to lose support. Unless you can convince some of the 45% or so of center – center-right voters they should swing left (a lot) it will just be the status quo.
The last thing you need is another leftwing party!
You need the Labour party to be strong while trying to also grow the Green voter base.
The first 10 minutes are hilarious. The US military are awesome at killing everyone! The US military are the world’s biggest polluter. Over all, video 32 minutes long.
You come in with punches against the new Government. As if you were wishing to floor them the first opportunity you can get.
You want them to ban 1080. Full stop.
But you do not succinctly state what you will replace 1080 with.
You go on against the Government for not having a full anti immigration policy. Again you want to floor the Government in its first days. It is a great pity that the green party had not skilled all jobless Nnew Zealanders – so that no immigrants would be required.
But they didn’t – did they.
Can you see why I The Standard gets let down Stuart.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[Take a week off. The post isn’t about anything you wrote in either of the two comments you made that I had to shift over here. And I can’t be arsed to check future comments to see if you’re still wasting space/threads and attacking Stuart Munro. Come back next Sunday.] – Bill
In light of what's going on with #Dreamers, it's time to talk about Japanese internment. Because the #DACA showdown is Japanese internment 2.0.— Sarah Taber (@SarahTaber_bww) January 20, 2018
Japanese immigrants in the 19th & early 20th centuries came to the US in large part for manual farm labor in California. Sound familiar?— Sarah Taber (@SarahTaber_bww) January 20, 2018
“The Racing Minister Winston Peters made the announcement at the official opening of the annual bloodstock sales in Karaka in South Auckland today.
Several races around the country have recently been called off due to rain.
Mr Peters said the track would be funded by both taxpayers and the industry.
“The idea is a very sound idea and it will stop the huge losses that are happening because events that are clearly going to be cancelled have no alternative.””
Horse racing, second only to rodeo in the animal abuse stakes.
And we, the taxpayers, are going to be coughing up mega millions so there can be even more of it.
38% of NZ roads are unsealed. We have a rickety old single lane bridge over the Hurunui River on SH1. We have parents being driven into the arms of loan sharks to buy school uniforms and stationery. Kids go to school hungry and without adequate clothing. People live with chronic pain because of hospital waiting lists. And, and, and….. Winston’s idea of what NZ needs as a priority is an all weather racing track so he and his buddies can bet and booze – because let’s not pretend otherwise – that’s what horse racing is all about.
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
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The man problem.
I think the solution to the man problem starts with trespass notices. We can already prosecute the assaults they commit, and that hasn’t worked. So, on top of proecutions for assault, ban them from all sporting venues, whether public or private, by court order, for say, twenty years. If they want to go and see their children play, perhaps the Police can issue special licenses for good behaviour.
Not really fair blaming the security guard for “losing control” where no control existed in the first place. At least they weren’t selling glitter /sarc.
From the article
“The 39-year-old was sitting on the Wellington venue’s grassy bank with her girlfriend, among a group of 100 or so men, who were mostly drunk and aged in their 30s and 40s. She said the men were chanting obscenities, skolling beer and harassing the Pakistani cricketers.”
Mostly in their 30s and 40s.
Racist
Sexist
Drunk
“ a pack of dogs.”
Now let’s look at our sports broadcasters and the message they convey, the laddish, sexist message they put out.
Veitch
Devlin
All two of them?
You didn’t blame the music industry when the man problem occurred at Rhythm and Vines. It also happens on the streets. Do you blame NZTA for that? How about when it happens in homes?
The point is the man problem has one thing in common and it isn’t the venue.
I agree there are more than two.
Two of the most notorious just came to mind.
Yes and the music industry has issues.
And sport plays to male stereotypes in its marketing thereby making sport a particularly bad place to see this underbelly of NZ culture.
*headdesk*
Toxic masculinity is a problem. It exists no matter the venue. But hey, try and turn this into one of your pet hate hobbyhorses by all means 🙄
I am not trying to do that.
You think sports celebs who exhibit and promote toxic masculinity aren’t part of the problem?
No, I think they’re a symptom of the problem. Someone has to employ them, and continue their employment (I note this is now a moot point in Veitch’s case). People have to buy advertising on their effluent, consumers have to buy the stuff in the adverts.
We reward their behaviour. No wonder they feel little incentive to change.
Yes, I do, inasmuch as they help to reinforce the problem; they may not be the root cause of it though, if that’s what you’re asking, and indeed be symptomatic.
Drunk people do what’s acceptable to their peer group. The only contribution of “drunk” is to make public what’s acceptable to that peer group. So the problem here isn’t that these guys drink, the problem is the shit that’s considered normal in their peer group.
+1
Peer pressure or influence is not the only contribution of alcohol consumption to ‘misbehaving’. Drunks misread and misinterpret social cues (e.g. micro-expressions and body language) and even become almost completely unresponsive to any communications from others and the outside world. For example, they misinterpret certain cues (e.g. the simple fact of accidentally making eye contact or just looking in their direction) as disgust or aggression or they think that other cues signal acceptance, encouragement, or invitation even. All this can and does happen without any peer group being present and not always in a ‘social situation’ either. Let the mess start …
I agree.
And excessive drinking is part of the problem.
Public intoxication should be discouraged.
Providing a cricket ground is also part of the problem. Should public cricket be discouraged?
I think alcohol exarcebates the sexist behaviour not cricket.
But it’s too nice a day to argue.
If people are being assaulted and the organisers can’t stop that then yes, public cricket in that ground should be discouraged. Just as well we have some other options, like limiting the amount of alcohol people consume.
I agree with the toxic masculinity argument, but before the revolution comes how about we put in some easier to access solutions as well.
If people are being assaulted and the organisers aren’t bothering to stop that then something needs to be done about the organisers, not people who drink alcohol.
Alcohol restrictions are an easy go-to for people who don’t drink, or are anti-alcohol activists to start with, like Ed. I’m not interested in sport, so my immediate knee-jerk response is that this is what sports fans are like so there should be restrictions on sporting events. Ed’s response is no different. Figuring out what problem we’re trying to solve here is a better process than leaping straight to prejudice-based solutions.
Cut off the abusers’ access to public events. Half the problem is that they drag impressionable dupes into their orbit: a visceral illustration of the way right wing political beliefs enthral generation after generation.
Remove the role models from the situation: let them fester at home during the game/gig/Cabinet Club foodfight.
The culture has to change: in the meantime lets put the needs of the victims (to be free from assault) first.
It basically comes down to having enough security staff and giving them clear rules on what is unacceptable behaviour.
Promotoers want as little security as possible (to save money) before it starts to impact on profits (event cancellation/license issues/pirate recordings). If they don’t have enough staff so everyone is in a zone of control, the staff can’t see what’s going on or aren’t in a position to do anything about it.
Security staff often just work along the lines of which box a punter should be slotted into: ignore, direct to bogs etc, start ejection process. That covers most of it.
Frankly in my opinion the way to knobble them is make it an OSH issue. If promoters aren’t providing a safe environment for members of the public, the promoters should be charged. Then you’ll see a complete sea-change in how events are run.
That scenario sounds ok for large venues. Smaller venues, small-scale promoters, utilising small town security staff, all will be disadvantaged – far better for them to be able to access a register of known problem customers.
..and I don’t much care for the idea of entertainment/hospitality workers maintaining that sort of database.
Oh, everyone has their own list of barred patrons, and some areas have “blanket bans” where trespassed from one pub means trespassed from them all. Yes, knowing jerks works to some extent, but then there’s always a first offender. And then it comes down to which box you put them in – clear guidance is often needed. I worked a few places back in the day, and they always gave the same security briefing: “hands-off, polite, use your words, it’s a good place and a good crowd, be low key”. Only one place really meant it. Others thought choke holds (not a come-along, an actual throttle) were hands off and low key.
But small scale venues are the same as gigs for several thousand people. Actually easier, because you probably have glassies or other staff on the floor as well as security, and they can give you a heads-up (or you can play their role just to let likely lads know you’ve got your eye on them). I’ve worked events and venues from sole-security up to a security team of 30 or 40. So big venue size, but not full stadium level.
Some gigs you really couldn’t control anything more than a couple of feet in front of you because of the crowd density, sound and lighting. Basically it was up to the roving folk (or if there was a mezzanine to spot it from a different angle), wade through the punters, grab the nearest static worker for backup and sort it.
Calculating the safe number of security staff comes down to access points, then a function of crowd number as what I call the radius of influence shrinks (so crowd number also as in density in venue floor area, not just crowd size).
How do local lists of banned patrons make it to organisers of eg: Rhythm & Vines or NZ Cricket? Maybe if they use the same security crew…
They wouldn’t, because most punters at R&V would be from out of town.
In that case they’d be relying on alcohol service enforcement and roving security, mostly.
For bigger events, you’re normally exceeding the locally-available supply of regular security staff. Back in my day I worked a cricket match at the ‘brook (just to give the idea of the time lapse) and they had the main contractors for the tour who hired local security staff who also picked up likely locals/folks they knew.
At another gig the regular security team was supplemented by a rugby club whom we put on static/numpty positions that needed to be filled but weren’t big on nuance.
Regarding R&V, I was surprised the promoter had apparently declined anti-harrassment posters. Those would be an easy way to start the process of gently reminding people there are rules and they are being watched. Additionally, if there was drinking there then there would be empties and litter. And easy thing to do is wander around with a wheelie bin and clean up – speaking with people as you go. It’s relaxed, laid back, but still takes the edge off the “I’m wiv me mates” feedback loop that happens. It’s not an overt “I’ve got my eye on you”, it just reminds folk that other people are around.
Of course, normally it’s cheaper just to have the bare minimum security, throw some bins around, and clean up with brooms and shovels after everyone has left.
When some of my former peer group were sozzled, pretty much anything could be acceptable to them at that time. Hard to predict/control what they might do and the behaviour they might sanction in the moment; a few of them were pretty good at post-booze justifications too.
People tell themselves that, but it’s not actually true. If your peer group doesn’t have any problems with you taking a piss in a shop doorway or picking a fight with someone, you might well do those things when you’re drunk. If your peer group would be horrified by those things and would likely shun you and certainly never drink with you again if you were to do them, you just don’t do stuff like that when drunk. Or, you do and eventually you’re a drunk with no friends. Very few people end up in the latter category.
You can figure it out for yourself via a handy thought experiment: how drunk would I have to be to shout homophobic abuse at someone, grope a woman, take a shit in a shop doorway or king-hit someone for no reason? The answer should be “There is no level of drunkenness at which I’d do any of those.” If your answer identifies a level of drunkenness at which you’d do any of those things, the problem isn’t alcohol, it’s you.
Totally agree
Alexei Sayle.
Or, don’t be drunk…
Alcohol is a masking agent
What are you masking?
What are ‘they’ masking?
Root cause…
I’m not against the use of alcohol and other mood-altering recreational drugs (knock yourself out!), but your peers clearly manage(d) the effects of alcohol on their behaviours and personalities better than the peers of my youth.
I see behaviour and personality as ‘products’ of the brain, a bioelectrical organ of remarkable complexity nevertheless subject to physicochemical processes. IMO it is magical thinking to contend that alcohol cannot temporarily alter what individuals ‘consider’ to be acceptable behaviour.
There are very few individuals who can, by training and/or sheer force of will, consciously (ha ha) resist general anaesthesia. Similarly, the mood-altering properties of ethanol are typically quite reliable, contributing to the popularity of the drug.
We have different experiences regarding the ability of ethanol to temporarily alter a persons judgement and behaviour – I’m happy to agree to disagree about the extent of those effects.
“I think the solution to the man problem….”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_castration
…or what you said. Plus ban ALL alcohol from the venue. (yeah, as if.)
If nothing else…at the end of the match, I’d lock the gates and not let anyone out until they picked up the bloody rubbish.
Yes, I know, local junior teams often do the grounds clean up for fundraising, but ffs, its as if the basic rules of decent behaviour completely disappear.
And its been well over a decade since I went to a cricket match…same as it ever was.
seriously? eugenics for anti-social behaviour? settle down mengele
The “man problem” goes right to the top in NZ sporting culture.
So, NZ women’s sevens rugby team are into the final in the tournament in Sydney this arvo. The women’s sevens runs parallel to the men’s.
Meanwhile, in the upcoming sevens tournament in Hamilton, there will only be a men’s competition.
As RNZ reports, Natalie Portman does have a point.
Sport is big in NZ’s dominant culture. And the way it’s dominated by implicit assumptions about masculine superiority is indicative, plus sends messages that can have all kinds of repercussions in the behaviour of men at events.
In your first sentence, the word “sporting” is superfluous.
This is what the embankment at the Basin has been like for decades. It starts off with chants targeting businessmen walking past with their ties on – “Get your tie off.. “, then moves onto cat calls and “get your gear off..”
It’s more an environment thing, 1 against the rest. People walking below a crowd by themselves are easy targets and have no defence, and you only need a couple of instigators and the group will follow along.
…so sexual assault is a time-honoured tradition and there’s nothing that can be done about it?
How would you deal with it OAB?
I have suggested alcohol is a key problem and been abused by you for that?
What then would you do?
I refer you to comment 1 on open mike, and please attempt to learn to distinguish between criticism of your behaviour and abuse.
As a guide to what constitutes “abuse”, see the comments I aimed at Chuck yesterday.
The issue goes way beyond sport.
New Zealand is a very sexist country.
I thought this was a very well written article.
An excerpt.
“In the United Nations Report on the Status of Women published in 2011, Aotearoa New Zealand was ranked worst of all OECD countries in rates of sexual violence.
Yet we – our media, our police, our guts – instinctively sympathise with the rapists, especially if they’re rugby players, because routine sexual violence is an integral part of rugby culture.
It is a Kiwi tradition for young men to have sex with drunken, underage girls. When the Roast Busters made headlines, they did so because they talked about their alleged exploits online, which meant that people outside our culture became aware of it.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/84167679/new-zealand-is-no-paradise-is-it-the-most-sexist-place-on-earth
Exactly.
Culture can be changed.
Specialist subject.
Why the aggro?
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/01/glittery-march-report-a-misunderstanding-organiser-says.html
Something isnt adding up here – esp when looking at the original quotes.
Looks like it might be set up to sell photos to tabloids from the original quotes that she now denies.
Are you thinking the charity to be suggested will something like Children Adult Support Helpline?
It was pretty obvious from the start that it was a set up.
More fool the msm and various commentators who were frothing at the mouth at the video captured misogyny.
This sort of fake ‘reality news’ happens for 2 reasons:
To help assist the maker’s philosophical beliefs or
To generate publicity and money for the makers.
In this case I believe the 2nd reason applies.
It is a shame as it denigrates the cases of genuine abuse which occur and the culprits of which deserve public ridicule.
So the woman who was groped by the vile prick wasn’t genuinely abused?
In the same way actors in a movie who appear to get beaten up aren’t actually beaten up.
If you arrange for someone to come and ‘grope’ you in order to capture this on video this is a form of implied consent.
A question for you:
If this indeed was a case of genuine Indecent Assault (which carries a punishment of 7 years in jail) why has the ‘victim’ not made a complaint to Police?
She has perfect evidence and it would be a strike of the sisterhood against pawing neanderthals.
However if it were all fakery then her statement to Police would be false and she might end up in trouble herself but fakery is fine for generating social media publicity.
Beware, not all that glitters is gold. (Pun intended)
Oh, so she arranged someone to come and ‘grope’ her?.
It is one posibility…and still valid at the present time…
Cartesian doubt creating rape culture…
If this indeed was a case of genuine Indecent Assault (which carries a punishment of 7 years in jail) why has the ‘victim’ not made a complaint to Police?
I take it this is your first time reading a left-wing or feminist blog if you can ask that question without putting a /sarc on the end.
Here is the version updated yesterday on the Wireless. Doesn’t make it any more clear, but suggests lawyers were involved to restrict what is being said.
Corporations and their predatory capitalists will do what they do anytime, anywhere, without a moral compass. The Wireless article ends:
Holiday highways.
Yesterday was was first journey up the so-called “holiday highway”, with toll road, early in a holiday period, since it’s been opened. A real eye-opener. I thought at least t was going to make for an easy journey for people in cars during their hols.
I went for work, as I was working on a workplace stall at an outdoor event. Foolishly, I assumed leaving Auckland at 8.30am would mean I would get there in 45-50 minutes. But then the electronic signs started appearing saying “queues before the tunnel”. And so it was… before and for a long while after it. Crawling along – stop star, crawl, stop…..
So this magic tunnel, on a busy 2-3 lane motorway, has one lane in each direction – so of course, a major bottle neck.
These motorway designers really have some weird logic!
We were caught in the same jam and I had the same thought.
I think the problem is the highway narrows back to a 2 way road directly after the tunnel and so the 2 into 1 has to occur somewhere.
With the amount of traffic heading north you would think an expressway expansion would be a priority.
I would like more mass transit options – and that would alleviate the amount of cars on the motorway.
I travel up to the northern reaches of Auckland often for work. Our work policy is to use mass/public transport where possible. If that’s not possible, then take one of the work fleet cars.
At the moment the fleet cars are the only option for work to get there and back in a timely manner.
We desperately need a rail system, plus better local bus services in the north of Auckland.
Careful, much more talk like that and you’ll become a convert to the MoRONS cult! I assume you’re talking about the Johnstone’s Hill tunnels just south of Puhoi.
The logic of narrowing it down to one lane northbound before the tunnel is to ensure the bottleneck and merging happens outside the tunnel. That way the cars are moving a bit more freely through the tunnel, in theory*, and it’s less likely there will be an incident inside the tunnel. Southbound there’s two lanes through the tunnel since it’s continuous two lanes going south beyond the tunnel and it’s much less likely to be queued up through the tunnel.
*In practice, the tightest bottleneck is at Warkworth, so the slow queue usually starts there and grows southwards until it backs up traffic through the tunnel. But even so, cars are moving through the tunnel twice as fast with only one lane than they would if there were two, so there’s less time spent in the confined space with concentrated exhausts, and there’s more room for emergency access if needed.
Yes, it is too easy to get caught up in some dodgy logic when we don’t have travel options.
I get frustrated when my only choice is to use a car, and it turns out to be a pretty poor means of travel.
What bunches my undies about the Puhoi-Warkworth motorway being built is there was an alternative that would deliver almost all the benefits for around a third the cost. Bevan Woodward had been pushing it for years, and my contacts in civil engineering consultancy all thought it was a better option, even just looking at it from a cars/trucks view rather than a wider whole transport system view.
Yes, Warkworth is a bottleneck, even at moderate traffic times. So a bypass there looks justified, so may as well build a new bypass to motorway standard to give a good long passing lane each way. Schedewy’s hill really is a hazard, so eliminate the corners with a cutting or tunnels under the hill. The narrow Pohuehue viaduct is a minor bottleneck, so double it up for a continuous passing lane up the hill.
Do those three upgrades, and the rest of SH1 Puhoi-Warkworth is easily upgradeable if traffic volumes ever grow enough to justify it. Meanwhile, just doing upgrades rather than a whole new motorway would free up resources to tackle problems further north like Dome Valley, a bypass around Wellsford, the Brynderwyns etc.
Warkworth needs a more comprehensive public/mass transport system. It is becoming a commuter suburb to Auckland city (ditto Wellsford), with the increasing development of greenfields development in these areas.
I know one or two long time Warkworth residents who, now given limited work choices, need to commute daily, or fairly regularly, to Auckland CBD. This means a long commute, and very early start and late end times to the day.
The biggest traffic congestion is between Albany and the CDB.
Warkworth town centre gets clogged with cars on weekdays because, for most people, currently the best way to travel around the area is by car.
That, plus eliminating the awful intersection with SHI and the Matakana, Snells Beach roads, would reduce the bottleneck.
And getting more trucks off the roads by an increase in the amount of freight travelling to the north by rail.
I don’t now the locations of places by the names you mention, though can make a guess.
Dome Valley is a major problem. It’s not so bad in good weather. However, I had to travel back from Wellsford one time during a big storm. With limited visibility, slippery conditions, and all those “high crash area” signs in the Dome Valley, it was a very stressful journey.
And there are way too many trucks travelling through the Dome Valley.
That Hill St intersection that’s such a nightmare for Matakana and Snell’s Beach residents shouldn’t be anywhere near as bad when the main road there is no longer SH1. Because it will be able to allocate much more more of the traffic light time to other users, whereas now it has to prioritise SH1 traffic.
Nevertheless, AT has a proposed Matakana Link Road. Which is of no use to Snell’s Beach residents. But surprise, it makes it very convenient for people getting off the new motorway to go to Matakana and Omaha.
https://at.govt.nz/projects-roadworks/matakana-link-road/
Going south not far from Warkworth, there’s the long straight passing lane going up a hill, that narrows down to a two-lane bridge, then has a short passing lane after the bridge. That bridge is the Pohuehue viaduct. Then you have the straightish bit along the top of Windy Ridge, before going down the hill with some tight corners (where there’s a couple of stretches of passing lane for northbound traffic). That downhill windy bit is Schedewy’s Hill.
“That bridge is the Pohuehue viaduct.”
We regularly travel between Waikato and the Far North in our 5 ton housebus. If we opt to go down SH1 and the Pukeko Tunnel (our name for the Johnstone’s Hill ) it is that two lane/one lane each way/two lane thing happening at Pohuehue that will literally give me nightmares.
I’m not sure what can be misconstrued by the old Bus in the left lane indicating left so vehicles behind know I’m aware and its safe to for them to pass in the passing lane…then, when the passing lane is running out I do the right indicator thing to let following cars know that the passing lane is fast disappearing and I need to move right so I can cross the bridge.
And yes…I’m probably, optimistically, rocketing up the hill at 60 kph… but still no excuse for the fifth car in line behind me thinking…OH! It’s my turn to risk a head on collision on the Pohuehue Bridge today!!! Yay!!! And proceeds to floor it and pass the other four patient cars plus moi.
Result…I have to slow down/stop to let suicidal maniac pass…thereby losing my precious revs and now a steady 20kph is all I can manage from a standing start.
No amount of road building will fix the problem of the impatient psychopath behind the wheel. 🙂
I suggest adopting a somewhat more bullying attitude at the end of the passing lane.
As soon as the dashed line ends, start drifting over to the right while maintaining speed. The idiot attempting a too-late pass can slow down to your 60kph in a very short distance if need be on a fairly steep hill like that. There’s plenty of sealed road to the left if the idiot doesn’t get the message and keeps coming anyway and you need to make emergency room so there isn’t a head-on.
That’s the technique I eventually arrived at when I was regularly towing a large trailer up there at about the same speed.
Thanks. Yes, I pretty much guessed the places you were talking about.
The SH1 move will relieve the congestion around the Hill Street intersection. However, it will do nothing to relieve the road congestion, and parking issues in the town centre.
More buses in the area would be useful.
I’m told some of the residents around the Snells Beach area are from Pacific communities, attracted to the area for work. One of the main factories that employs them is some way down Woodcocks Rd – so why not better bus services through those areas? Especially with the planned increase in residential housing around the outskirts of Warkworth.
And a better bus service for retirees living out around the Matakana Road would maybe also relieve some of the congestion.
I would not call neoliberalism a 30 year old disaster.
It is a living disaster for millions of New Zealanders.
Pretending neoliberal economics doesn’t exist is one of Labour’s blind spots.
You only solve problems by confronting them.
[Same as below. Picked a point. Cut/shifted the sub-thread.] – Bill
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Was it a disaster for the billion people lifted out of poverty?
I do not debate issues with trolls.
Yeah, but you could get one of your sock puppets to chime in.
Yes Ed there are to many snide bad remarks from the right here now that they re turning folks away now.
Indiana yours is exactly the sort of comment that is part of the unfortunate detritus that The Standard could do without.
The ‘billion people lifted out of poverty’ claim is simply neo liberal rhetoric, not fact.
I call bulshit @Indiana.
I’m in a place with a billion people (not too disimilar to your handle),
Trickling down and rising tides …. like hell.
Like elswhere the wealth transfer is to the few at the expense of the many
A billion peoples, Average dollar, income going up.
Does not equal lifting out of poverty, except in right wing fantasies.
Especially when the income lift goes to 1%, of them.
Meanwhile local farmers and suppliers have lost what little income they had.
Forcing them into city slums, work for Foxcon, and across borders, to survive.
So 42 individuals own more personally that the bottom 50%. Yeah this economic system is working so well.
Just a short piece.
https://leecamp.com/new-billionaire-created-every-2-days-millions-go-hungry/?mc_cid=731a89d5aa&mc_eid=524e48683c
Hi Stuart Munro
So why didn’t you demand all your demands from your friends the Capitalists?. You have had many years to do it. And you did nothing.
As predicted – the same old rants are pouring out.
You clearly have not even read a word of what has been written in the first 100 days of the new Government. Immigration for instance.
Really Stuart. whats wrong with you Labour Haters. ?
In the meantime, The Standard stays as the laughing stock of NZ thought and activity.
Well done Stuart.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
So what is your view about the Labour Party signing the TPP?
I have in fact been banned with some frequency for sledging the Gnats. But Labour’s original defection remains relevant, because the poor require political representation whether their original party chooses to represent them or not.
Labour have said a number of things in respect of immigration changes, but although Indian student numbers have dropped significantly the expectation in rural industries remains that they have access to ‘skilled’ foreign workers. We will be able recognize material change by the volume of rightwing angst, should it materialize.
Corrupt AF right winger loots the state to finance his campaign, overrides the courts and then sez, we must sit down for dialogue openly and without barriers. ..
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — President Juan Orlando Hernandez was sworn in for a new term in the Honduran capital Saturday, while across town tear gas drifted across flaming barricades in clashes between police and protesters angry over an election the say was marred by fraud.
[…]
The inauguration came after soldiers and riot police fired tear gas to block thousands of demonstrators from marching to the National Stadium to protest. Masked protesters shot rocks from slingshots and kicked canisters back toward security forces as barricades burned and gas billowed on the streets.
“This is how the dictator oppresses his people,” said opposition presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla, who says the election was stolen and he was the true winner of the vote.
“We remain in the struggle to rescue the country from dictatorship and without recognizing Hernandez as president,” Nasralla told The Associated Press.
Hernandez, a 49-year-old lawyer, is Honduras’ first president to be re-elected — a key point in the protests against him.
The 1982 constitution bars presidents from seeking a new term and conservative politicians deposed a leftist president in 2009 for allegedly even considering re-election. But Hernandez won a Supreme Court ruling in 2015 to get around that prohibition.
https://www.apnews.com/fcc1e19345464dc6a5fed11a8aeb04ba/Honduran-president-starts-new-term-as-fiery-protests-erupt
Martin Bradbury has written a superb piece over at the Daily Blog .
It is a blunt reminder, despite the Jacindamania, that neoliberalism still has New Zealand in a vice like grip.
An excerpt.
“ We cheer Team NZ and sneer at those homeless in cars.
We property speculate ourselves to false illusions of wealth and decry public spending on state housing.
We lose ourselves in the labyrinth of neoliberal identity politics while the richest 1% own almost 30% of everything.
We cheer Lord of the Rings while trashing worker rights.
We shoot a bloody business card into the sky and tell ourselves this individual success of a medium sized enterprise is actually a metaphorical Plato-esk intellectual lantern to light the future of humanity!
The vanity of modern neoliberal NZ is Trump-like in its delusion.”
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/01/28/why-the-vacant-optimism-of-the-humanity-star-perfectly-sums-up-the-vanity-of-modern-neoliberal-nz/
So how does that sneering remark about losing ourselves “in the labyrinth of neoliberal identity politics” square with your earlier comments about toxic masculinity (an “identity politics” issue), Ed?
Martyn Bradbury relies too much on easy (and lazy) hyperbole and sweeping generalisations for my taste.
Fair point.
I like the fact Martin speaks truth to power.
Relying too much on easy lazy hyperbole isn’t “speaking truth to power”. Power loves easy lazy hyperbole because it’s completely nonthreatening and steals oxygen from more informed, more cogent critique.
100% Ed,
yes Martyn did well also today on another article regarding how our political system which mirrors the US election style also now and that we need to take stock of what our Labour coalition also may face in 2020.
Warning signs are there for us to be aware of going forward.
“To be forewarned is to be forearmed.”
Rereading Merchants of Doubt by Orestes and Conway.
Worth the time when you hear New Zealand scientists like Rowarth and Edmeades and journalists like Smith, and Mora deliberately muddying the waters here..
To Ed. Obviously a matter of opinion, but I think this is worth repeating.
“This is the first round of employment law changes that this government plans to make. It is the first steps towards reversing 30 years of working people having their rights diminished and losing their fair share of a growing economy”
Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11981946
Bottom line.
Changes will occur in steps, over time. It was never going to be an all or nothing in one big swoop. It’s a coalition government. There’s an element of compromise. Patience is required. I’m just thankful and grateful that change has begun.
[Had to pick “somewhere” as the place to shift that huge drift off into Labour Party stuff. The post was specifically about “the standard”] – Bill
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
The time for incrementalism by a progressive party is past. That’s a late 20th century third way approach, when what we need right now is a significant change with strongly articulated left values and policies.
The time was ripe for a change, but the dominant people in the LP caucus chose to go to the electorate timidly, with cap in hand. (I’m looking at Parker and Robertson, particularly).
It always seemed to me the message I was getting, was that the Labour caucus leaders would prefer an alliance with NZ First to one with the Greens. I thought this before Ardern became leader, but it was reinforced by some of her early responses on becoming leader. I said so at the time.
So, in a way, they set up the conditions to weaken the vote for the Greens – that and the way they worked to adopt and weaken some of the GP policies on climate and social and economic justice.
To me, refraining from being critical of Labour is a lost cause. They have set the left in NZ back by about a decade or two. [Damn right I am angry about it!]
The only hopes are a revival of strong left wing values through a movement at the flax roots, plus a re-strengthened Green Party (with Maramar Davidson as co-leader outside cabinet or a ministry shackle), or a new left wing party.
I think a Marama Davidson led Green Party would provide the changes needed
Ed, she’s my pick. I think she would be an excellent co leader
My fear is that the media will attack her like they mauled Turei
That wasn’t the media’s fault that was all on Turei.
I think the media and its witch hunt is indeed at fault.
As Turei’s story started to fall apart and the father of her child and his family were thrown under the bus by Turei her fate was sealed.
Turei’s story didn’t fall apart, her points were clear, the media imo have a lot to answer for.
Turei exposed the hypocrisy, misogyny, racism and bad faith of the NZ establishment, and media.
For that, she will never be forgiven.
Much of what you say is myth and the telling by biased media. The reality is quite different.
You may think its past, but change will happen in steps. That’s what we are seeing. What we’ve got, is what we’ve got, working against that achieves what exactly? and I disagree that “they set up the conditions to weaken the vote for the Greens.” It’s not about refraining from criticism, but we should at least be constructive about it.
Whole-heartedly agree on the NZ Labour/Green/NZF dynamic.
Curious (neutrally so) as to why Maramar Davidson over Julie Ann Genter though.
Julie Anne Genter is very good in all areas of the Green 3 planks. But her main focus is on the environment, much like James Shaw, and transport.
Davidson has always been for the strong and equal integration of the 3 planks, even before joining the Greens. But she puts a stronger focus on participating in community engagement at the flax roots – and does this in the crucial low income areas of South Auckland. where she has experienced first hand the struggles of brown renters, and low income people.
Davidson also engages directly with Māori and Pacific communities.
That is it exactly Carolyn. Also Maramar is inspirational – a born leader.
Marama.
yeah! My bad I saw it too late to edit my poor spelling and hoped no one would notice.
Gotcha. 🙂
As Labour and the Greens compete for the same voter pool (in the main) they cannibalize each other’s vote. Just look at the swings before the election.
NZF was the only way to power for Labour (and the Greens). Hence Winston was always in the box seat.
For the Green Party to re-strengthen will require Labour to lose support. Unless you can convince some of the 45% or so of center – center-right voters they should swing left (a lot) it will just be the status quo.
The last thing you need is another leftwing party!
You need the Labour party to be strong while trying to also grow the Green voter base.
I agree.
I am also happy we have got rid of Key, English, Joyce, Collins….
Me too, Ed.
It was in response to Ed’s comment.
The first 10 minutes are hilarious. The US military are awesome at killing everyone! The US military are the world’s biggest polluter. Over all, video 32 minutes long.
To: Stuart Munro
You come in with punches against the new Government. As if you were wishing to floor them the first opportunity you can get.
You want them to ban 1080. Full stop.
But you do not succinctly state what you will replace 1080 with.
You go on against the Government for not having a full anti immigration policy. Again you want to floor the Government in its first days. It is a great pity that the green party had not skilled all jobless Nnew Zealanders – so that no immigrants would be required.
But they didn’t – did they.
Can you see why I The Standard gets let down Stuart.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[Take a week off. The post isn’t about anything you wrote in either of the two comments you made that I had to shift over here. And I can’t be arsed to check future comments to see if you’re still wasting space/threads and attacking Stuart Munro. Come back next Sunday.] – Bill
C’mon Federer.
I’m not too familiar with Halsey, but her poetry, oh boy,….
(careful, detailed description of sexual abuse)
And if you want to read the poem entire…http://www.popbuzz.com/music/artists/halsey/features/halsey-womens-march-poem-transcript/
And like, seriously…… trigger warning.
My old man always sneered at the notion of scouts.
He wasn’t wrong.
https://books.google.co.nz/books?redir_esc=y&id=MJJOl7SMWIoC&q=boy+scouts#v=snippet&q=boy%20scouts&f=false
It gets worse.
(1&2/30)
https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/954774752970801152
Unrolled.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/954774752970801152.html
Nonononononono…..
The price of Winston’s handshake…
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/349096/nz-to-get-new-all-weather-horse-racing-track
I can’t bloody believe it.
“The Racing Minister Winston Peters made the announcement at the official opening of the annual bloodstock sales in Karaka in South Auckland today.
Several races around the country have recently been called off due to rain.
Mr Peters said the track would be funded by both taxpayers and the industry.
“The idea is a very sound idea and it will stop the huge losses that are happening because events that are clearly going to be cancelled have no alternative.””
Horse racing, second only to rodeo in the animal abuse stakes.
And we, the taxpayers, are going to be coughing up mega millions so there can be even more of it.
Jesus wept.
38% of NZ roads are unsealed. We have a rickety old single lane bridge over the Hurunui River on SH1. We have parents being driven into the arms of loan sharks to buy school uniforms and stationery. Kids go to school hungry and without adequate clothing. People live with chronic pain because of hospital waiting lists. And, and, and….. Winston’s idea of what NZ needs as a priority is an all weather racing track so he and his buddies can bet and booze – because let’s not pretend otherwise – that’s what horse racing is all about.