I think it is worth letting this through to see the poorly types who still inhabit our fair lands, so they can be identified and winkled out…
… which is slowly happening. Unfortunately, these are generational changes and take time. Remember, if I have it right, when you born (early 1960’s?) WWII had only just finished, so for our elders of that time the world was an entirely different place than it is today with respect to respect for diversity and the like. The poorly types of this generation will pass shortly.
Whats this topic about? Being surprised or, being shocked or, being sad or, being abusive or, world war 2, or is it to do with some other kind of brain damage?
And here they are again today, on display. hung up on the line for another airing. Could the issue have been discussed without flapping the offending articles about, or, heaven forbid, let go to blow away on the breezes of time?
So you’re saying MM shouldn’t be asking for moderation for someone whose repeatedly using hate speech on here, and that he should just let it go and forget about it?
That sort of attitude blew away on the breezes of time a long time ago. Now days we call out our racists and homophobes.
The Al1en – “So you’re saying…”
Nope. I’m saying re-presenting the offensive article is unnecessary and multiplies the effect of it’s original use. By all means call out the behaviour, though the mods are good at dealing with such without provocation, when they have the time.
TA
Empty talk concocting iterations of something to continually be scandalised by – like the looped vids of kittens jumping at an image of themselves in a mirror. Try to do better and stick to schtum when you have something worthless in mind. We try to entertain but really are thinking about politics for the future, if we have one.
Funk the videos of kittens, if you think racism and homophobia is something you do for entertainment, and a left wing forum is the place to express it while expecting no one to be rightfully offended, then it really is a problem you have to be owning up to and seeking assistance to overcome.
Being nice all day is super difficult because there’s so much misery in the world. Let a bit in, it will consume you. Best to just pay the taxes and be done with it.
Jimmy, you need to address the size of your underwear. I suspect they are a quite a few sizes on the small side. Over tight elastic in that region can cause all sorts of physical and mental stress. One known symptom is RWS (repetitive whinging syndrome)
And a quick message to those bleating that it wasn’t moderated at the time: this is a volunteer run site. The few of us that do moderation cannot be expected to read every comment, let alone do so live as they come in. Particularly so late at night.
So, if comments like these get missed, members of the TS community can raise it as marty has done (preferably without copying the offensive comment in full, because that makes it worse*) or email the site and the offending behaviour will be addressed.
*Just a link to the original comment and a request for a mod to have a look should be enough.
“(preferably without copying the offensive comment in full, because that makes it worse*) ”
That’s the aspect I support. James uses this as a weapon; writing an offending word, repeatedly, and railing against its use. That’s so low brow it’s a moustache (could’ve said something else, didn’t).
Perhaps is people had issue with the original comment then people wouldn’t make comments like that in the first place – then there is nothing to repeat.
Better than just walking on past and ignoring it.
Also read the thread last night and see how few people called him out on it.
For some, walking on past is the best option. For some, picking up the offensive goop, running around poking it under other people’s noses, is their preferred option. You choose the latter, failing to realise you’re a poop-spreader.
Walking past is not accepting, James, especially when you can see that others are attending to the issue. You seem always to jump in, even when the pool is full and delight in waving the offending article around with seeming glee. In some instances, you repeat the upsetting term or word over and over and over, rolling it around on your tongue, as if it gives you pleasure. Just saying’.
James’ racism and homophobia concerns do him credit. Has he also been working on his misogyny?
Some context – on 1 December 2018, in Open Mike @11.1.1, ourJames made this observation about Anna Rose, Australian Geographic Conservationist of the Year (2014):
“She sounds boring as all fuck. I wouldn’t have her at one of my bbqs.”
“Better than just walking on past and ignoring it.” – James; look to your sins.
James, if you had simply said that you found Anna Rose to be boring, then IMO that would have been OK; your problem, but OK.
Do you have a comprehension problem? Do you genuinely not understand why I found your comment offensive? You’re able to identify and document the offensive comments made by some others on this site, so why the blindspot?
James, I think what you said about Anna Rose indicates that you are indeed a very sad person. And I’m sad about that.
James, I asked you three questions. You failed to answer any of them, and you are 100% responsible for that failure.
James, if you keep this up, I may be inclined to remind you of some more of your self-incriminating smears on this site. But I’d rather not, unless you insist/persist.
I’m a snowflake!?? James, you are literallyunreal! And rather fond of using ‘snowflake’ to dodge simple questions.
I’m not equating misogyny with racism or homophobia, I’m simply saying that I found your casual comment about Anna Rose offensive. Surely even you can see that your comment is consistent with a misogynistic mindset. Only a misogynist wouldn’t get that.
James, no-one is perfect. Policing racist and homophobic comments on The Standard might be one route to self-improvement, but I respectfully suggest that you consider alternatives – each of us has only so much time.
Tamati is a good man who cares about his country. His comments reflect some of the feeling of the white, heterosexual, working class male. These are human feelings and I don’t think we can tell humans that they are not allowed to feel like this, because that won’t work in the end anyway.
The deeper issue at the heart of Thomas’s comment is that globalism, high immigration and the ensuing lower wages has failed the country. No wonder Trump got traction.
Abusing whole groups of people is not the same as having feelings. Get off the grass. And Chump was elected by culturally insecure tradies, not poor workers.
A fast count for No.1s amounts to 50. Started off by the complaint about language. Talk about stirring the muddy bottom of the pond. All the weeds rise to the top (myself among them). Meanwhile the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Perhaps draw attention to bad behaviour with Nos. and speak in tongues so the hoi polloi won’t understand. Marty mars – there must be a rude word in Maori – we could say ‘Mod – ‘rude word in Maori’ No. …. Name of thread date time.
And save fifty comments like dead leaves that need composting.
“Police have charged almost five people a day with strangling or suffocating their partners since a new family violence law came into force criminalising such acts in December.”
John Mark Tanner and Paul Pounamu Tainui; two good reasons for why we should consider never releasing men who murder their intimate partners.
.
For two weeks he fronted up to police, the media and the public to deny any knowledge of his girlfriend’s whereabouts.
John Tanner, with his long hair and pimples, played the concerned boyfriend and insisted that he last saw girlfriend Rachel McLean at the railway station in Oxford, where the 19-year-old was a student.
But behind the elaborate stories he concocted for Police was a sinister truth – Tanner, 22, had strangled Rachel and hidden her body under the floorboards of her flat.
[…]
Tanner, now 49, had violently assaulted his partner over a period of six months last year.
In the first incident, the couple were staying at a motel in Whanganui central when Tanner became upset with the woman and they argued. She was brushing her teeth and he walked up behind her, dragged her out of the bathroom and threw her on the bed.
He jumped on her and put his hands across her neck, restricting her breathing.
In another incident, when the woman told Tanner she was leaving him he threatened to kill her.
The worst of the violence happened when they argued at Tanner’s home in rural Pauri Road on the outskirts of Whanganui.
Tanner held his partner down by the wrists and straddled her. He yelled at her to tell him about her ex-partner and then punched her in the head. She suffered a graze and bruising.
The woman left the house and went to a motel. She sent Tanner a text that the relationship was over but he showed up and they argued. She cowered on the bed and he pulled her clothes off saying he wanted sex.
The Crown says the woman was trying to get away and fell to the ground, where Tanner punched her several times around the head.
She started to cry and Tanner said, “look what you made me do’”.
This describes the reason NZ keeps a portion of the available workforce unemployed at all times (which in turn helps create a low wage sector). When it gets serious this will be one of the main ways the Green New Deal proposals are undermined in the US.
A shallow one would be where you get lambos and get to party every day.
A deep one would be where you solve some currently intractable problem affecting the entire world.
The longer it takes to make a deal, the longer it takes to recover, the greater the required stimulus.
Except we have a lower unemployment rate that most other countries and certainly lower than nations who have far more left wing economic policies than we do (e.g. France).
Just depends what is being stimulated. If it’s for productive purposes then prices will adjust. But if it’s just for importing skilled labour then duh.
You are missing the point. Most European nations have a far less ‘neoliberal’ economic policy setting than we do. Nations such as France and Spain and Italy all have massive State intervention either directly (Through State ownership of industry) or indirectly through subsidies and regulation. This is the opposite of Neoliberal policy. It is these nations that have the higher rates of unemployment than we do. If neoliberal economic ideas need a minimum level of unemployment to maintain low inflation how come countries that don’t have as neoliberal policies as us have higher unemployment?
Sometimes I think you are on a different planet. What does that got to do with Nic the NZer’s view that Neoliberalism requires a level of unemployment ?
Marco economics can take a life time to learn. It’s the Reserve Banks full time job to manage, the Reserve Bank Govenor has probably forgotten more than I know about macro stuff.
So, my personal opinion, based on just enough economics training to be dangerous, is “it depends.” You need to look at everything, do econometric studies, make carful observations and basically stay on your toes when making any free hand inflation calculation. And you’ll need the Reserve Bank. There are times for low inflation, sometimes higher inflation, times where you should flirt with deflation, and there is no simple rule for which is which. Each with its own iterations and byproducts, people who try to tell the Reserve Bank what to do without understanding the issues or research into the topic are dumbasses who do not know what they do not know.
Do you mean Macroeconomics? If so, then it is not the Reserve Banks full time job to manage. The RBNZ manages monetary policy which is just one element of Macroeconomics. The RBNZ also manages the regulation of financial institutions which is almost microeconomics so it isn’t just involved in the macro side.
Do you have comprehension issues? You just tried to argue that the Reserve bank full time job is managing Marco economics (sic). I pointed out that is a massive over simplification.
Sure, if you’re objective is to make people take out risky loans the reserve bank could just be a number for low investment IQ individuals to borrow against. I mean what ever.
The only reason for the Reserve Bank to influence micro economic settings is for their effects on the macro economy. This is very obvious and should hardly need to be explained.
Though its not accepted by mainstream modeling (which chooses to believe the economy is in equilibrium or rapidly approaching such a state), unless the state actively suppliments deficient demand then the unemployment rate will be higher than necessary at most times. This happens regardless of most economic policy settings.
As i suggested a large part of the impact of this on inflation is fictional.
Stick to the topic. The reserve bank today estimates the NAIRU is higher than the unemployment rate. The implication of this is that they will suggest contractionary economic policy in NZ while the unemployment rate could still be reduced. This policy advice is apparently based completely on fiction.
That is not correct, the reserve bank controls interest rates for money but does not do the spending (which adds income) that treasury does. Monetary policy is relatively very weak at increasing circulation as to take effect it requires an investor.
Yes, via lending. Just as the reserve bank does. Prof Randy Ray once summed it up for me with a brilliantly terse comment (in the US context), the Fed lends, treasury spends.
Also note, commercial banks lending processes create bank deposit money (but not the reserve money they make final payments in) in the process.
Most people spend according to their income, not the interest rate on their credit. You may be an exception. Businesses tend to invest based on the anticipated income from sales on the same basis.
Here is a very good interview with Larry Wilkerson on the situation Venezuela for anyone who cares…
“Trump promises “democracy and freedom” to Venezuela, delivered by Elliott Abrams who brought you illegal wars, coups, and support for dictatorships; and Mike Pompeo and VP Pence, both with deep ties to the Koch brothers who need Venezuelan heavy crude to feed their Texas refinery – Col. Larry Wilkerson joins TRNN’s Paul Jay”
If they NEED the Venezuelan oil why have they made it harder for them to actually get it? that makes no sense. It would have been much better for them to continue to buy oil (40% of the total oil exports of Venezuela) from the country. You aren’t thinking this through really.
Sorry to just put up links, but I gotta get some work done, any way here is a really excellent piece that is well worth the time to read on propaganda and democracy from the ever reliable Media Lens….
I think the comments by a number of people in the Daily Review yesterday evening should put paid to any derision at the comments on other blogs being “The sewer” in comparison to here.
At the very time New Zealand wage earners have been told by Sir John Key and Sir Billy English that they will never be able to afford a home again, Simon Bridges is promising Tax Cuts to Wealthy people at the next Election.
This is National trampling mercilessly on the people of New Zealand ! This is so cruel !. So wicked ! so Pagan!. So Rotten ! So God Dam Evil!
It is the most Monstrous activity of the Nationals ever undertaken in this Country or in any other Democracy. Only done by Roger Douglas, John Key, Billy English, and in future by Simon Bridges.
Not only that, the Wage earners of New Zealand can barely afford Rentals; or Food.
They certainly cannot afford Heating. It is as organised by National Corruption: J.Key, B.English, Mrs P.Bennett, Simon Bridges.
Therefore, Wage Earners must find ways to mercilessly Trample on National. John Key, Billy English and Simon Bridges. Wage Earners must trample on the Wealth of the Wealthy who have raped them so savagely and mercilessly. Their families, their assets, their future – turned into poverty as they have turned workers.
Further, the wage earners must mercilessly Trample on the Media – TV and Press. To stop the low IQ splash around.
The Present Government must keep an Eagle Eye on the Crime of National and the Wealthy.
The Banks, Police and the Military must be advised by Government that all their energies must be exercised in favour of the wage earners and the Poor.
National has made no attempt to run a Democracy or Equality.
Reading about the terrible and needles negligence that took the lives of Haki Hiha, David Eparaima and Soul Raroa has elevated today’s misanthropy levels.
A very sad situation for the families and other members of their work place.
So sorry for your plight, and hoping you have love and support at this sad time.
Stuff hamilton, extend the rail to Huntley, there is already a go bus from hamilton, the base, to Huntley. no need for massive investment, build a viable route with actual passengers and then extend it. And why the base, I mean shopping center are designed to slow up people, make it hard to get in and out,just look at the current infrastructure for buses it’s a maze. Stop the northern connector on the te rapa, in fact all the buses, and then if they want rail, demand they create a striaght path from said buses to the rail station, or better just move it further out and wire up the buses without their input.
If you want a service to Auckland then don’t vote for any who talks about it, its really easy, connect the 21 bus to a rail connection at Huntley, and cut out the base, its slows the all buses down.
It is the Government that wants the rail service to Hamilton. If they want it they should pay for it. Compared to the Regional Council the Government has heaps of money.
The Central Government has heaps of $$$ from the road tax for “roads.” Double emphases on “roads.” Any self respecting National MP past or present would have even a cursory knowledge of Nationals Roads of Bling and Significance.
Hey join the Sunlight club (Sunlight Soap that is). We didn’t need physical punishment in those days eh. Just a picture of a piece of Sunlight and it was yes miss, no miss.
3.4 How are costs distributed by vehicle type?
The costs generated by vehicles differ according to size, type of fuel used etc. because of
the wear and tear they inflict on the network and the pollution they cause.
When the total charges (excluding rates) paid by users are allocated across the vehicle
fleet according to type we find that:
• cars directly pay 64% of their costs,
• trucks directly pay 56% of their costs
• buses directly pay 68% of their costs.
Although trucks were sub-divided into four categories in the STCC, data limitations
prevented the full average cost analysis from further disagreggating the allocation for
trucks according to specific truck weights and/or types.
So we won’t know if the logging trucks and behemoths that flit around the country are paying their rightful amount. But then do they calculate payment according to each set of wheels- that would go somewhere to accurately meeting real costs.
I’ve been reading about the author Gerald Kersh. He had a strange life apparently and being pronounced dead at four and sitting up in his coffin at the funeral made a spectre-cular start.
A quote – “In proper men there is hidden a light which darkness makes visible. I believe that the hope of mankind is in this buried glory; the spirit which makes true men hang on to the throats of their enemies at the very rim of the grave.”
― Gerald Kersh, Brain and Ten Fingers (GoodReads)
In his life he became a war correspondent and was buried alive during bombing raids on three separate occasions. I think he was exaggerating a bit. Perhaps two!
He wrote more than a thousand magazine pieces and more than a thousand short stories. He died at 57 in 1968. There are no books listed under his name on TradeMe – which to tell the truth is now dominated by dumps of new remaindered books from NZ sites, Australia and the UK. Thank goodness the USA haven’t bothered with us. A lifetime of hard graft – he deserves to be remembered.
I hope that can be said about us on The Standard. We have much to do. As they said on Mission Impossible – Your mission; should you decide to accept it.
Yeah, look out, it’s coming. We’re 10 years out from the last bust which is a very long run in the New Zealand, or really any context except maybe modern China or post war Japan. We’re usually lucky to get 7 years between ooops.
When I look around Queenstown it sends shivers down the spine looking at the big jobs coming along that depend on buyers settling on the due date or the principal having the cash left to pay the subbies at completion. There’s a lot of contenders.
It’s not going to be pretty when the dominos start tipping over.
But will free up heaps of capacity for a massive house building programme.
Getting someone to do something is getting really hard, everyone is over-committed and just not interested in under-resourced, and productivity has gone out the window because of the above.
I’m expecting a very different picture in 12 months, but the opportunities will be in buying rather than building as most of the builders will have gone broke. If you can find a solvent builder, or can do it yourself, there could be good times. We built a house in Frankton in 1988 for $54K, including land.
Past experience, I’ve seen enough of our economic cycles from within the construction industry to know that construction is a mugs game. The small finance the larger on up the chain, so when one goes the whole industry comes down like a pack of dominos.
What I’m seeing around here gives me the shivers. I’m glad I’ve got sod all debt, heaps of equity, and what exposure I’ve got to the industry is in a cashed up position.
Are most builders working for companies? going by the amount of ridiculously oversized expensive new utes I see everywhere I got the feeling everyone’s their own boss?
And therein lies the problem. The self employed financing the larger players. Tradies (probably sub sub tradies in reality) with million dollar mortgages on a mcmansion in Shotover Country doing work for someone who pays on contract milestones until they run out of cash. Then oh fuck.
Building state houses or flooding the market with cheap new builds?
Can’t really see the government doing the cheap new builds thing anymore, I get the feeling the penny may have dropped that it would be political suicide to push 1000’s upon 1000’s of taxpayer payer subsidised homes into a softening market.
KIwibuild is going to be wound down and put on the shelf.
In the 70’s there was a similar situation with housing affordability. The private sector (Neil, Keith Hay and Universal, and others) developed products that were quick and cheap and fitted the formula. Same thing is happening with KB, builders are coming on board. What got the thing going then was State Advances loans and capitalising the Family Benefit to assist the deposit at the bottom end. Got an awful lot of families out of hovels and garages into their own new home. Maybe there’s some opportunities for the government to do similar things with the finance / deposit.
KB is about getting the capacity in place to do something about providing decent, affordable housing for everyone, rather than “assets” for a few, once there’s some slack in the industry, which is coming very soon.
If the tourist business goes down then what? The report is that AirNz is down 34% on first half profit. However it is holding out crumbs to the regions to look as if it cares about servicing the country.
(I don’t think anyone has got them to reveal the baseline for profit on each regional airport though.) https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12207937
This firm started in 1984 and has become insolvent and had to stop and try and gather the pieces. The ambitious Queenstown air-tunnel project would have been a beggar to price. It seems that many construction firms have bitten off more than they can chew. Firms undercutting with tenders and trying to corner the market for new jobs has no doubt destabilised the industry, plus trying to access cheaper steel etc with faulty documentation as to its real quality!
Last week Foster told the NZ Herald the business had an issue with one Auckland job but was resolving that and altering its business model.
“We’re trying to wind down the amount of tender work we do and doing more negotiated work,” Foster said on Friday.
Arrow, one of this country’s larger builders with a national spread, works on retail, commercial, Government, tourism, education, retirement sports and recreation and residential work….
Nick Hamlin, Arrow’s southern general manager, said today the business had been “downsizing” for the last year in his region.
He had worked for Arrow for 19 years but said he left in the last week by mutual agreement. The Queenstown-based boss said the firm had bid and won jobs which some other firms refused to take on.
“The southern area was running well and there were about 15 staff,” he said, telling how Arrow subcontracted work out to other firms. Construction of facilities for tourism, events, leisure and adventure were the firm’s speciality in Queenstown, he said.
The iFly indoor skydiving building was one example in the sports and recreation field, he said. An 8m deep basement and wind turbines sit on top of the building. The turbines blow air around the building, into the basement and then project it up through the centre to create a flight chamber so clients can float on a column of air rising 5m.
Tourism’s woes are the result of going into high volume, low yield markets that really can’t afford to come to New Zealand. The industry is dominated by the bums on seats brigade where the only metric is volume. AIA makes just as much from someone at the back of the plane as from the front, and with a lot of airlines there’s no difference anyway. Air New Zealand has been a repeat offender in this regard, their Korean adventures nearly took them, and a lot of the industry, out in 90’s
And tourism cycles are really lucky to last 7 years. Post GFC tourism was really hard work (we’d just had to relocate our gallery so we did it hard) but was starting to get going again in 2010 / 11 when the Christchurch earthquakes hit and that was that for tourism in the South Island. It took a couple of years for new products to develop that didn’t include Christchurch and those have only just started to bed in over the last year or so wiht Wellington supplanting Christchurch as the second city on the tourist trail after Auckland. There’s about twice the airline capacity between Queenstown and Wellington as to Christchurch now, pre 2010 there wasn’t a direct flight.
But now it’s just about done it’s dash, punters have lost interest, discovered they can get better value at lower cost destinations that are more in their price range, and operators can’t get the add-ons (commissions) that provide the profit. So the wheel goes ’round again.
The higher yielding markets stay more constant, but are much smaller and more affected by external factors than what NZ tourism does, which carries most of the industry through. And the domestic market, which is around 50% of the industry depending on where in the cycle we are.
As I went on with this I got sourer and sourer. Sorry. But that’s how I feel about things as they are. I did a tourism course in my past and was impressed at how little the NZ tourist was considered or courted.
I learned that a lot of the Australian industry was long weekends and family centred, low spenders per day. The Japanese and US markets were longer stayers and bigger spenders.
The bums on seats attitude is just like the coarse bulk dried milk industry – a commodities market without much refinement or specialty effort.
Really NZ finds its satisfactions at a low level. Puffing their chests out these businessmen strut. If they make a success of something they want to sell it to some foreign buyer. As far as i can see we prostitute ourselves, and don’t even aim at the highest price.
And nothing in the country is fully planned. With the government being given the bums rush by business ‘We know what we are doing’, everything fragmented, poorly regulated or poorly monitored, we are a bunch of frauds trading on our scenic amenities. But when you look at the rest of the world, they have beaut places. And she’ll be right as ever we are busy killing off all the good things we have had with pollution, blame it on the freedom campers; unswimable rivers, blame it on the drought.
Nobody is reliable except the firemen, their test is in how they do their job while everyone watches. You can see their excellence, or not. But all these pissy little businessmen full of alcohol and self-importance; I’ll never forget that little shit that went down with about six of our good scientists. Their partners should have sued the Department for lacking their duty of care in putting them on this third-rate charter. There are too many like him. I think he died along with the others near Christchurch. But others, if they fail they can always go into real estate they think.
That caught my eye, tourism’s volume driven adventure was well and truly planned by the then government, with total buyin from major industry players. I would love to know how much the individual government members made on their AIA and Air NZ shares, along with other tourism related stocks. The volume strategy was the way it was going to be done and anyone who thought otherwise was destroyed. Smaller and value orientated players quickly learnt to keep their heads down.
But quality and excellence isn’t our thing, or it’s been beaten out of us by the mediocre knuckle draggers. Toby Morris did an excellent piece on that subject today, ” In defence of giving a shit”
I thought that Toby Harris was very good. Totally agree. I have been pushed to the outer for not doing the groupthink. I think that is part of what he is saying.
I liked this bit about people commenting with new ideas.
You see it in the comments about articles on Capital Gains Tax, or about trans rights.
You see it in the comments on Chloe Swarbrick’s posts, or on articles by Mad Chapman.
They don’t attack the argument, they attack that the argument is being made at all.
Simon Bridges will no doubt be saying, “I fully support Jenny Shipley. She is a great example of how a great Kiwi battler works hard to better her life and bring all those around her along for the ride.
She represents the full aim of a National Government to support Kiwi battlers instead of those other losers who whine and complain about their bad commercial decisions.
I say to those petty complaining subcontractors who lost millions of dollars, Get some guts! Vote National because we have the expertise to make money without fear or messing about with wishy washy morality.”
Do remember to put /sarc at the bottom. We have RW here who don’t know or want to know what satire is. They will quote you verbatim and say that you said
‘this’ quite truthfully. They will hoist you by your own petard. You have to watch out for the devious ones who have the answers pat in their mind to advance their points.
Good luck with that ianmac. But with your tongue in your cheek all the time they would think you had a tumour there. Anyway where is PR? He’s holding the ermine train of some lord or lady isn’t he? Perhaps he is guarding the Bridge of Sighs.
In the link it is looking rather like a grey old bird – we are told it connects two prisons, and with Simon he connects two Parties. It has been up since 1600 and that is a terrific example of longevity for Simon. Just keep holding in there. https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/bridge_of_sighs.htm
Good electric Railways will be the best investment for Aotearoa or any country in the long run it is much cheaper stable prices and a very low carbon footprint to fright our WORLD class foods to the rest of the world its not good having good,s stuck in a traffic jam.
To Eco Maori it looks like most westen countrys are following the ilogical road into big carbon prouducting highways WHY .The oil barron,s are using there MONEY to lead us down the wrong road that will give them billions of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and in the long run turn the westen societys into 3 world nations you see what is best for TE billionass,s is not good for the Enviroment or the 99.90 % of people .
This road of letting the billionasss make our policys will lead us into extinction
Govt forced KiwiRail to backtrack on locomotives decision, documents show
According to the Treasury, it’s the first time a state-owned enterprise has been directed by a minister to make a decision that didn’t stack up commercially.
The State-Owned Enterprises Act said an entity’s principle objective was to be a successful business.
In 2016, KiwiRail’s board decided to replace its 15 electric locomotives with diesel, arguing it would make the company more efficient and better able to take freight, and with less freight going by road, there’d be a positive environmental impact.
On 30 October last year the government put a stop to the plan instead promising a $35 million cash injection to refurbish the electric locomotives.
In a letter to Transport Minister Phil Twyford two weeks before the decision was announced, acting chief executive Todd Moyle made it clear KiwiRail didn’t have the money to refurbish the locomotives.
“KiwiRail has no funding for these additional costs and is unable to recoup the investment and there is no uplift in revenue associated with this decision,” he wrote.
But a Cabinet minute written the day before the government’s announcement, showed Cabinet agreed to use its powers under the State Owned Enterprises Act to direct the company to provide a non-commercial service.
Mr Twyford said being a successful SOE was more than just about profit and loss for a particular year, and this government wanted to grow rail.
He said previous governments had left KiwiRail on financial life support with no future vision.
“That’s not how our government sees it, we’re committed to bringing rail into the heart of the transport system, instead of treating it as the poor cousin and drip-feeding it a little bit of money year after year and barely keeping it alive,” he said.
KiwiRail uses electric locomotives on the main trunk line between Hamilton and Palmerston North.
When it said it was going to switch to diesel, the Rail and Maritime Transport Union accused it of “environmental terrorism”.
Mr Butson said that decision failed to consider the needs of a modern railway, which must have some level of variation in the types of locomotives and wagons it uses.
Engineer Roger Blakeley said the decision to scrap the electrics was at odds with the Labour government’s target of getting to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and leader Jacinda Ardern’s claim that climate change was her generation’s “nuclear free moment”.
“With the diesel locomotives, if KiwiRail went ahead with them, it would burn an extra 8 million litres of diesel fuel per year and add around 12,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year. That’s what would have been the implications of a switch back to diesels,” he said.
The Palmerston North to Hamilton route was electrified in the 1980s and the plan then was to carry on and electrify the whole main trunk line from Wellington to Auckland. Ka kite ano P.S Eco Maori tau toko,s our FUTURE,S
It’s estimated completing the project now would cost around a billion dollars.
Elon Mus is one billionaire that is leading the world down the correct ROAD .
Video below P.S Eco Maori say that youtube should pull the ad that implies that only WAHINE carry STD and everyone knows both sex carry and transmite STD not just WAHINE ANA TO KAI.
Kia ora Newshub the seaplane crash in Auckland would have been exciting for some exhilarating for the pilot he was in the seaplane by himself when it crashed on landing in the harbour.
Lime E scooters getting cleared to be back on the streets in Auckland.
Eco Maori says that the company system is a big fail if company’s like Arrow and Mainzeal construction companies can go bankrupt owing millions to subcontractors maybe they should be legerslated to pay subbies a deposit in a government account so if they go bankrupt the small tangata don’t get ripped off because that’s what it looks like to ECO Maori common people getting ripped off and that move would protect the common people.
The big picture is the principle are not Cooperating with the government to solve the problems of a teacher shortages if they really need teachers they would work with them they are all national supporters. I can see my future and it includes good grass-fed Aotearoa meat and milk and eggs I have been eating more vegetables and cut back on the protein but I will not give it up totally.
Another country’s leader being charged with fraud WTF.
Celia the movies will be good she highlighted the plight on Wahine the justice system and poverty is it a coincidence that all the humane leaders die of CANCER.
Ka kite ano P.S condolences to Celias whanau
Kia ora Wairangi & Storm
Nice hairdo Wai Te Matatini was amazingly awesome and impressive as usual. Te whole Papatuanukue was treaded to OUR Tangata Whenua Cultures Haka Waiata with it being steamed live on the Internet . There is another awesome Waiata act in town but I will wait for the correct time before I dedicate him some Eco Maori words.
Christin Cullen you are as gray as me I mite try some blond hair dye YEA NAR. lol green would suit Eco Maori better no offence Storm just one of my dumb jokes .
Extreem Skying for a paraplegic is that correct good on them not much snow on Hukurangi
for a East Coastie tangata whenua to practice skiing.
Ka kite ano
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
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how come this shit still stands?
metaphorically speaking of course cos I know everyone’s busy. This is the latest in a long line of these type of comments over months.
“Tamati Tautuhi 2.1.1.1
27 February 2019 at 8:27 pm
Korean m8 all the gooks look the same anyway.
You aren’t allowed to bash Chinese on this RWNJ’s will go AWOL.”
“Tamati Tautuhi 2.1.1.1.1.1
27 February 2019 at 9:51 pm
James you whinging again like that other faggot Gosman, harden up you poof.”
Is this our Standard community?
That is a sorry state marty mars I agree …
I think it is worth letting this through to see the poorly types who still inhabit our fair lands, so they can be identified and winkled out…
… which is slowly happening. Unfortunately, these are generational changes and take time. Remember, if I have it right, when you born (early 1960’s?) WWII had only just finished, so for our elders of that time the world was an entirely different place than it is today with respect to respect for diversity and the like. The poorly types of this generation will pass shortly.
If codgers want to swap abusive rubbish, they can find a table at the nearest RSA or something. Don’t need it here.
sadly it doesn’t take much poison to poison a well.
Yes, and we are well past needing these people to ‘identify themselves’ more than once.
Yep, that was disgusting to stumble across last night. Abusive comments like those stop other people being here.
Moderators need to be prompt and consistent about making clear it is not ok. The standards we set are what we walk past.
It is indeed a shock to come across vile comments like that.
Pfft, at the Burswood casino 6 white guys was getting bashed by 4 islander security. How about that.
try to keep on topic dim perhaps start another thread
Whats this topic about? Being surprised or, being shocked or, being sad or, being abusive or, world war 2, or is it to do with some other kind of brain damage?
Stay away from the casinos sammy. They just suck you dry.
And here they are again today, on display. hung up on the line for another airing. Could the issue have been discussed without flapping the offending articles about, or, heaven forbid, let go to blow away on the breezes of time?
No point hiding it. Bit like outing naughty MPs eh.
And of course you are correct Robert. Im sorry for adding to the yuck factor on such a beautiful day. I didn’t think enough – sorry.
So you’re saying MM shouldn’t be asking for moderation for someone whose repeatedly using hate speech on here, and that he should just let it go and forget about it?
That sort of attitude blew away on the breezes of time a long time ago. Now days we call out our racists and homophobes.
Well done MM for fronting this on all our behalf.
“Now days we call out our racists and homophobes.”
Indeed we should.
I pointed this out to muttonbird who was quite happy to ignore it because it was pointed at me
His reply “meh”
Ignoring it make them enablers of racism and homophobia at best and supporters at worse.
Meh.
At least you own your racism and homophobia.
It’s not nice – but at least you seem ok with it.
The Al1en – “So you’re saying…”
Nope. I’m saying re-presenting the offensive article is unnecessary and multiplies the effect of it’s original use. By all means call out the behaviour, though the mods are good at dealing with such without provocation, when they have the time.
That’s okay, then, makes sense, just as long as I’m not expected to “heaven forbid, let go to blow away on the breezes of time”.
“Heaven forbid”?
That’s an extreme measure.
No need to bring in a ban from above, TA.
Just quoting your reply to MM, but if you’re walking back from it, or floating upon the ether, then I’m down with it.
You’re not tamtam then Al0on?
More tim tam, Gobby 😉
Yes well done MM
TA
Empty talk concocting iterations of something to continually be scandalised by – like the looped vids of kittens jumping at an image of themselves in a mirror. Try to do better and stick to schtum when you have something worthless in mind. We try to entertain but really are thinking about politics for the future, if we have one.
Funk the videos of kittens, if you think racism and homophobia is something you do for entertainment, and a left wing forum is the place to express it while expecting no one to be rightfully offended, then it really is a problem you have to be owning up to and seeking assistance to overcome.
Talk about not being able to read the room.
I think it’s something kiwibuggers do to lob a grenade into the works Al0on.
Would you just walk on by if someone was abusing someone like that in the street ?
People like this need to be called out.
Being nice all day is super difficult because there’s so much misery in the world. Let a bit in, it will consume you. Best to just pay the taxes and be done with it.
James I agree. People need to be called out. Well said
Yeh and Ed get a life time ban…go figure.
[Disputing moderation. Banned for the rest of the month. TRP]
Adrian Thornton’s been banned “for the rest of the month“. Does that mean he’ll be allowed back tomorrow?
Thinking of taking a holiday.
Just found Adrian in the staff room muttering away…sounded like ” Flip you melon farmer” or something. Pretty sure he was talking about ‘TRP’.
Now he’s accusing me of not wanting to get banned.
I can get banned if I want to.
Flip him.
Siobhan
Go for it you devil you.
You missed him calling farrar a “faggot” as well.
Also interesting how people like muttonbird are fine with abuse like that if it’s pointed at someone they don’t like.
I know that the mods are busy – but this is the kind of thing that needs to be addressed.
Jimmy, you need to address the size of your underwear. I suspect they are a quite a few sizes on the small side. Over tight elastic in that region can cause all sorts of physical and mental stress. One known symptom is RWS (repetitive whinging syndrome)
ffs
Righties in thier tighty whities.
Thanks, Marty. I’ll sort it out.
And a quick message to those bleating that it wasn’t moderated at the time: this is a volunteer run site. The few of us that do moderation cannot be expected to read every comment, let alone do so live as they come in. Particularly so late at night.
So, if comments like these get missed, members of the TS community can raise it as marty has done (preferably without copying the offensive comment in full, because that makes it worse*) or email the site and the offending behaviour will be addressed.
*Just a link to the original comment and a request for a mod to have a look should be enough.
Not sure if people were bleeting as such. Just trying to make sure it got looked at when you were back in here.
I hope we all appreciate that you have lives outside of the standard.
Anyway – thank you for addressing.
“(preferably without copying the offensive comment in full, because that makes it worse*) ”
That’s the aspect I support. James uses this as a weapon; writing an offending word, repeatedly, and railing against its use. That’s so low brow it’s a moustache (could’ve said something else, didn’t).
Perhaps is people had issue with the original comment then people wouldn’t make comments like that in the first place – then there is nothing to repeat.
Better than just walking on past and ignoring it.
Also read the thread last night and see how few people called him out on it.
That’s says a lot.
For some, walking on past is the best option. For some, picking up the offensive goop, running around poking it under other people’s noses, is their preferred option. You choose the latter, failing to realise you’re a poop-spreader.
And you fail to understand that by walking pass you are accepting and enabling racist and homophobic comments.
You are setting that that is an acceptable standard.
It might be ok in your home – but it’s not in mine.
Walking past is not accepting, James, especially when you can see that others are attending to the issue. You seem always to jump in, even when the pool is full and delight in waving the offending article around with seeming glee. In some instances, you repeat the upsetting term or word over and over and over, rolling it around on your tongue, as if it gives you pleasure. Just saying’.
Oh so truth-telling Robert.
James’ racism and homophobia concerns do him credit. Has he also been working on his misogyny?
Some context – on 1 December 2018, in Open Mike @11.1.1, our James made this observation about Anna Rose, Australian Geographic Conservationist of the Year (2014):
“Better than just walking on past and ignoring it.” – James; look to your sins.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01-12-2018/#comment-1556806
I call someone boring and you find that as offensive as racist and homophobic abuse?
How snowflakish
James, if you had simply said that you found Anna Rose to be boring, then IMO that would have been OK; your problem, but OK.
Do you have a comprehension problem? Do you genuinely not understand why I found your comment offensive? You’re able to identify and document the offensive comments made by some others on this site, so why the blindspot?
Hey. If you think this is the same as calling people faggots, poofs and gooks then you are a very sad person.
Oh look, it’s the boy who cried wolf.
And his stalker the racist homophobic
I’m lost – who is James calling ‘racist’ and ‘homophobic’ now?
No one. James is the one flinging accusations around.
James does fit the racist, sexist, homophobe demographic though. Old, white, immigrant male.
But he pretends not to be.
James, I think what you said about Anna Rose indicates that you are indeed a very sad person. And I’m sad about that.
James, I asked you three questions. You failed to answer any of them, and you are 100% responsible for that failure.
James, if you keep this up, I may be inclined to remind you of some more of your self-incriminating smears on this site. But I’d rather not, unless you insist/persist.
You’re not worth answering snowflake.
Says the stale pale male who screamed and screamed because someone said old white man.
I’m a snowflake!?? James, you are literally unreal! And rather fond of using ‘snowflake’ to dodge simple questions.
I’m not equating misogyny with racism or homophobia, I’m simply saying that I found your casual comment about Anna Rose offensive. Surely even you can see that your comment is consistent with a misogynistic mindset. Only a misogynist wouldn’t get that.
James, no-one is perfect. Policing racist and homophobic comments on The Standard might be one route to self-improvement, but I respectfully suggest that you consider alternatives – each of us has only so much time.
Thanks. Sorry for reproducing – feel free to adjust my original comment.
Tamati is a good man who cares about his country. His comments reflect some of the feeling of the white, heterosexual, working class male. These are human feelings and I don’t think we can tell humans that they are not allowed to feel like this, because that won’t work in the end anyway.
The deeper issue at the heart of Thomas’s comment is that globalism, high immigration and the ensuing lower wages has failed the country. No wonder Trump got traction.
Abusing whole groups of people is not the same as having feelings. Get off the grass. And Chump was elected by culturally insecure tradies, not poor workers.
Shit there must be alot of tradies in the us.
Ran out of time. Contractors, managers, owners, etc – not the working poor. Thatmyth has been debunked many times since their election.
I hope things get better for you.
A fast count for No.1s amounts to 50. Started off by the complaint about language. Talk about stirring the muddy bottom of the pond. All the weeds rise to the top (myself among them). Meanwhile the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Perhaps draw attention to bad behaviour with Nos. and speak in tongues so the hoi polloi won’t understand. Marty mars – there must be a rude word in Maori – we could say ‘Mod – ‘rude word in Maori’ No. …. Name of thread date time.
And save fifty comments like dead leaves that need composting.
His feelings represent his views only – don’t place his hate speech onto others.
For anyone who doubted why this offence needed to be recognised separately: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12207929
“Police have charged almost five people a day with strangling or suffocating their partners since a new family violence law came into force criminalising such acts in December.”
John Mark Tanner and Paul Pounamu Tainui; two good reasons for why we should consider never releasing men who murder their intimate partners.
.
For two weeks he fronted up to police, the media and the public to deny any knowledge of his girlfriend’s whereabouts.
John Tanner, with his long hair and pimples, played the concerned boyfriend and insisted that he last saw girlfriend Rachel McLean at the railway station in Oxford, where the 19-year-old was a student.
But behind the elaborate stories he concocted for Police was a sinister truth – Tanner, 22, had strangled Rachel and hidden her body under the floorboards of her flat.
[…]
Tanner, now 49, had violently assaulted his partner over a period of six months last year.
In the first incident, the couple were staying at a motel in Whanganui central when Tanner became upset with the woman and they argued. She was brushing her teeth and he walked up behind her, dragged her out of the bathroom and threw her on the bed.
He jumped on her and put his hands across her neck, restricting her breathing.
In another incident, when the woman told Tanner she was leaving him he threatened to kill her.
The worst of the violence happened when they argued at Tanner’s home in rural Pauri Road on the outskirts of Whanganui.
Tanner held his partner down by the wrists and straddled her. He yelled at her to tell him about her ex-partner and then punched her in the head. She suffered a graze and bruising.
The woman left the house and went to a motel. She sent Tanner a text that the relationship was over but he showed up and they argued. She cowered on the bed and he pulled her clothes off saying he wanted sex.
The Crown says the woman was trying to get away and fell to the ground, where Tanner punched her several times around the head.
She started to cry and Tanner said, “look what you made me do’”.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/sunday-feature-kiwi-murdered-girlfriend-in-uk-now-nz-jail-after-new-assaults-v1?variant=tb_v_1
What a nightmare
This isn’t applicable but an indication of a desire to start looking at murder judgments by types so the ‘punisment fits the crime’ better.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/379949/criminal-legislation-not-always-reflective-of-degree-of-moral-blame-lecturer
Two detailed posts on the ongoing scam at the core of neo-liberal economic policy.
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=41690
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=41671
This describes the reason NZ keeps a portion of the available workforce unemployed at all times (which in turn helps create a low wage sector). When it gets serious this will be one of the main ways the Green New Deal proposals are undermined in the US.
How deep is your vision or purpose?
A shallow one would be where you get lambos and get to party every day.
A deep one would be where you solve some currently intractable problem affecting the entire world.
The longer it takes to make a deal, the longer it takes to recover, the greater the required stimulus.
Except we have a lower unemployment rate that most other countries and certainly lower than nations who have far more left wing economic policies than we do (e.g. France).
Just depends what is being stimulated. If it’s for productive purposes then prices will adjust. But if it’s just for importing skilled labour then duh.
You are missing the point. Most European nations have a far less ‘neoliberal’ economic policy setting than we do. Nations such as France and Spain and Italy all have massive State intervention either directly (Through State ownership of industry) or indirectly through subsidies and regulation. This is the opposite of Neoliberal policy. It is these nations that have the higher rates of unemployment than we do. If neoliberal economic ideas need a minimum level of unemployment to maintain low inflation how come countries that don’t have as neoliberal policies as us have higher unemployment?
Meh. When you don’t have a price on pollution and you start paying polluters you know you’re on the wrong tram.
What???
Sometimes I think you are on a different planet. What does that got to do with Nic the NZer’s view that Neoliberalism requires a level of unemployment ?
Marco economics can take a life time to learn. It’s the Reserve Banks full time job to manage, the Reserve Bank Govenor has probably forgotten more than I know about macro stuff.
So, my personal opinion, based on just enough economics training to be dangerous, is “it depends.” You need to look at everything, do econometric studies, make carful observations and basically stay on your toes when making any free hand inflation calculation. And you’ll need the Reserve Bank. There are times for low inflation, sometimes higher inflation, times where you should flirt with deflation, and there is no simple rule for which is which. Each with its own iterations and byproducts, people who try to tell the Reserve Bank what to do without understanding the issues or research into the topic are dumbasses who do not know what they do not know.
Wtf is Marco economics???
Do you mean Macroeconomics? If so, then it is not the Reserve Banks full time job to manage. The RBNZ manages monetary policy which is just one element of Macroeconomics. The RBNZ also manages the regulation of financial institutions which is almost microeconomics so it isn’t just involved in the macro side.
If you want to be an ass about it. What’s micro economics got to do with most of fucken Europe. You nutter.
Do you have comprehension issues? You just tried to argue that the Reserve bank full time job is managing Marco economics (sic). I pointed out that is a massive over simplification.
Sure, if you’re objective is to make people take out risky loans the reserve bank could just be a number for low investment IQ individuals to borrow against. I mean what ever.
The only reason for the Reserve Bank to influence micro economic settings is for their effects on the macro economy. This is very obvious and should hardly need to be explained.
Though its not accepted by mainstream modeling (which chooses to believe the economy is in equilibrium or rapidly approaching such a state), unless the state actively suppliments deficient demand then the unemployment rate will be higher than necessary at most times. This happens regardless of most economic policy settings.
As i suggested a large part of the impact of this on inflation is fictional.
Stick to the topic. The reserve bank today estimates the NAIRU is higher than the unemployment rate. The implication of this is that they will suggest contractionary economic policy in NZ while the unemployment rate could still be reduced. This policy advice is apparently based completely on fiction.
Yeah sure they will.
Government runs a surplus, takes money out of circulation. Reserve bank pumps money back in. How difficult is that to understand?
That is not correct, the reserve bank controls interest rates for money but does not do the spending (which adds income) that treasury does. Monetary policy is relatively very weak at increasing circulation as to take effect it requires an investor.
What about commercial banks? They got to get there money from some where at a certain rate then pass it on to customers at a higher rate, surley.
Yes, via lending. Just as the reserve bank does. Prof Randy Ray once summed it up for me with a brilliantly terse comment (in the US context), the Fed lends, treasury spends.
Also note, commercial banks lending processes create bank deposit money (but not the reserve money they make final payments in) in the process.
My wallet doesn’t have notes in it which is PROVE.
Proof of what?
Retail bows to reserve bank
Most people spend according to their income, not the interest rate on their credit. You may be an exception. Businesses tend to invest based on the anticipated income from sales on the same basis.
Monetary policy does have some effect however.
Pretty sure Adrian Orr is a little iffy about more long term bond buying while the NZX and wider economy is under reconstruction.
Trouble is that in NZ drugs are now available everywhere.
So many are under ‘drug induced anger and rage now.’
I see this on our roads when driving now, as no-one has any patience or consideration any more.
Police must take control out there.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/02/watch-horrifying-footage-of-reckless-near-miss-involving-three-large-trucks.html
It may well be the reason for some of the rabid ranting of some on here.
Here is a very good interview with Larry Wilkerson on the situation Venezuela for anyone who cares…
“Trump promises “democracy and freedom” to Venezuela, delivered by Elliott Abrams who brought you illegal wars, coups, and support for dictatorships; and Mike Pompeo and VP Pence, both with deep ties to the Koch brothers who need Venezuelan heavy crude to feed their Texas refinery – Col. Larry Wilkerson joins TRNN’s Paul Jay”
If they NEED the Venezuelan oil why have they made it harder for them to actually get it? that makes no sense. It would have been much better for them to continue to buy oil (40% of the total oil exports of Venezuela) from the country. You aren’t thinking this through really.
Venezualan oil sanctions is just incentivising the BRICS
Venezuelan oil sanctions really haven’t had enough time to do anything yet.
Most of the pressure is coming from Saudi Arabian attempts to manipulate the oil price. They don’t like compitition as much as America.
Sorry to just put up links, but I gotta get some work done, any way here is a really excellent piece that is well worth the time to read on propaganda and democracy from the ever reliable Media Lens….
‘We Don’t Do Propaganda’
Media Lens
27February2019
http://medialens.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=896:we-don-t-do-propaganda&catid=57:alerts-2019&Itemid=252
I think the comments by a number of people in the Daily Review yesterday evening should put paid to any derision at the comments on other blogs being “The sewer” in comparison to here.
Bullshit. This incident is the exception, rather than the rule, as you well know. So pull your head in, OK?
Was he banned?
Edit: Just noticed he was. Good stuff.
Was it mention of Roger Douglas’ name that made your nostrils flare, Gosman?
I too found that distasteful.
More the abuse spewing around it Robert. You must have found that distasteful as well didn’t you?
So that’s the point of it is it gozzer.
I reckon tamtam’s a kiwibugger.
The National Cruelty
At the very time New Zealand wage earners have been told by Sir John Key and Sir Billy English that they will never be able to afford a home again, Simon Bridges is promising Tax Cuts to Wealthy people at the next Election.
This is National trampling mercilessly on the people of New Zealand ! This is so cruel !. So wicked ! so Pagan!. So Rotten ! So God Dam Evil!
It is the most Monstrous activity of the Nationals ever undertaken in this Country or in any other Democracy. Only done by Roger Douglas, John Key, Billy English, and in future by Simon Bridges.
Not only that, the Wage earners of New Zealand can barely afford Rentals; or Food.
They certainly cannot afford Heating. It is as organised by National Corruption: J.Key, B.English, Mrs P.Bennett, Simon Bridges.
Therefore, Wage Earners must find ways to mercilessly Trample on National. John Key, Billy English and Simon Bridges. Wage Earners must trample on the Wealth of the Wealthy who have raped them so savagely and mercilessly. Their families, their assets, their future – turned into poverty as they have turned workers.
Further, the wage earners must mercilessly Trample on the Media – TV and Press. To stop the low IQ splash around.
The Present Government must keep an Eagle Eye on the Crime of National and the Wealthy.
The Banks, Police and the Military must be advised by Government that all their energies must be exercised in favour of the wage earners and the Poor.
National has made no attempt to run a Democracy or Equality.
Well ok, trample etc, or you know raise their taxes a bit maybe.
This must be the ‘kiwi way of life’ he was wanking on about the other day.
Reading about the terrible and needles negligence that took the lives of Haki Hiha, David Eparaima and Soul Raroa has elevated today’s misanthropy levels.
Love and sympathy to their families and friends.
Kia kaha.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12207842
A very sad situation for the families and other members of their work place.
So sorry for your plight, and hoping you have love and support at this sad time.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/110897710/funding-shortfall-threatens-hamilton-to-auckland-passenger-rail-service
Stuff hamilton, extend the rail to Huntley, there is already a go bus from hamilton, the base, to Huntley. no need for massive investment, build a viable route with actual passengers and then extend it. And why the base, I mean shopping center are designed to slow up people, make it hard to get in and out,just look at the current infrastructure for buses it’s a maze. Stop the northern connector on the te rapa, in fact all the buses, and then if they want rail, demand they create a striaght path from said buses to the rail station, or better just move it further out and wire up the buses without their input.
If you want a service to Auckland then don’t vote for any who talks about it, its really easy, connect the 21 bus to a rail connection at Huntley, and cut out the base, its slows the all buses down.
Waikato Regional Council have failed to put any significant money towards passenger rail for decades.
They are fully rentier Nats looking for anything to stick it to Twyford.
If passenger rail is something that the people of the Waikato area really want, then local government elections are up in a few months.
If not, Twyford has to smack NZTA around the head until it does what the government policy wants.
It is the Government that wants the rail service to Hamilton. If they want it they should pay for it. Compared to the Regional Council the Government has heaps of money.
The Central Government has heaps of $$$ from the road tax for “roads.” Double emphases on “roads.” Any self respecting National MP past or present would have even a cursory knowledge of Nationals Roads of Bling and Significance.
They should listen to Bill Birch.
He’s currently preparing to build a small town next to the Papakura-Pukekohe rail line, which is about to get electrified.
Bill Birch knew how to deal with an impending energy crisis.
The Nats used to know how to plan at scale.
They’re just lost.
just saying. ignore hamilton for now. extend to Huntley, then local express bus 21 at peak hours.
Yuk, when i was a kid I said a rude word and was made to clean my mouth out with soap. Double yuk.
Anyone making up this stuff needs to swallow a whole bar. Watching it would leave a mark on the soul I think, the picture is bad enough.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/383584/momo-character-popping-up-in-youtube-videos-encouraging-kids-to-self-harm
greywarshark, well said there;
yes the carbolic soup tasted the worst when the teacher shoved “sunlight soap’ into my mouth after swearing at 7yrs old.
Hey join the Sunlight club (Sunlight Soap that is). We didn’t need physical punishment in those days eh. Just a picture of a piece of Sunlight and it was yes miss, no miss.
So much for trucks paying “their fair share of road damages eh?
http://www.sef.org.nz/papers/STCC%20overview.pdf
3.4 How are costs distributed by vehicle type?
The costs generated by vehicles differ according to size, type of fuel used etc. because of
the wear and tear they inflict on the network and the pollution they cause.
When the total charges (excluding rates) paid by users are allocated across the vehicle
fleet according to type we find that:
• cars directly pay 64% of their costs,
• trucks directly pay 56% of their costs
• buses directly pay 68% of their costs.
Although trucks were sub-divided into four categories in the STCC, data limitations
prevented the full average cost analysis from further disagreggating the allocation for
trucks according to specific truck weights and/or types.
So we won’t know if the logging trucks and behemoths that flit around the country are paying their rightful amount. But then do they calculate payment according to each set of wheels- that would go somewhere to accurately meeting real costs.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/383581/auckland-council-votes-to-ask-govt-to-ban-fireworks-sales
I’d welcome a complete ban on private sales.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ModISbNyQ8I
Being in UK Labour sounds as if it was a lot more fun then than now the way that Julie Walters tells it.
I’ve been reading about the author Gerald Kersh. He had a strange life apparently and being pronounced dead at four and sitting up in his coffin at the funeral made a spectre-cular start.
A quote –
“In proper men there is hidden a light which darkness makes visible. I believe that the hope of mankind is in this buried glory; the spirit which makes true men hang on to the throats of their enemies at the very rim of the grave.”
― Gerald Kersh, Brain and Ten Fingers (GoodReads)
In his life he became a war correspondent and was buried alive during bombing raids on three separate occasions. I think he was exaggerating a bit. Perhaps two!
He wrote more than a thousand magazine pieces and more than a thousand short stories. He died at 57 in 1968. There are no books listed under his name on TradeMe – which to tell the truth is now dominated by dumps of new remaindered books from NZ sites, Australia and the UK. Thank goodness the USA haven’t bothered with us. A lifetime of hard graft – he deserves to be remembered.
I hope that can be said about us on The Standard. We have much to do. As they said on Mission Impossible – Your mission; should you decide to accept it.
another large building company folds,
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/property/110925407/subcontractors-packing-up-amid-concerns-about-arrow-international-nz
substantive problems with the model?
Yes!
Public sector work pipeline damaged. multiple factors.
Private sector destabilising through bank credit constraints + public policy instability + really late in market cycle.
More big failures to come.
Tens of thousands affected in the industry.
“+ really late in market cycle.
More big failures to come.”
Yeah, look out, it’s coming. We’re 10 years out from the last bust which is a very long run in the New Zealand, or really any context except maybe modern China or post war Japan. We’re usually lucky to get 7 years between ooops.
When I look around Queenstown it sends shivers down the spine looking at the big jobs coming along that depend on buyers settling on the due date or the principal having the cash left to pay the subbies at completion. There’s a lot of contenders.
It’s not going to be pretty when the dominos start tipping over.
But will free up heaps of capacity for a massive house building programme.
Sure hope so.
We held off constructing in Wanaka last yeat because the qs was just stupid.
Getting someone to do something is getting really hard, everyone is over-committed and just not interested in under-resourced, and productivity has gone out the window because of the above.
I’m expecting a very different picture in 12 months, but the opportunities will be in buying rather than building as most of the builders will have gone broke. If you can find a solvent builder, or can do it yourself, there could be good times. We built a house in Frankton in 1988 for $54K, including land.
Why do you reckon so many builders are going to tip over?
Past experience, I’ve seen enough of our economic cycles from within the construction industry to know that construction is a mugs game. The small finance the larger on up the chain, so when one goes the whole industry comes down like a pack of dominos.
What I’m seeing around here gives me the shivers. I’m glad I’ve got sod all debt, heaps of equity, and what exposure I’ve got to the industry is in a cashed up position.
Are most builders working for companies? going by the amount of ridiculously oversized expensive new utes I see everywhere I got the feeling everyone’s their own boss?
And therein lies the problem. The self employed financing the larger players. Tradies (probably sub sub tradies in reality) with million dollar mortgages on a mcmansion in Shotover Country doing work for someone who pays on contract milestones until they run out of cash. Then oh fuck.
Building state houses or flooding the market with cheap new builds?
Can’t really see the government doing the cheap new builds thing anymore, I get the feeling the penny may have dropped that it would be political suicide to push 1000’s upon 1000’s of taxpayer payer subsidised homes into a softening market.
KIwibuild is going to be wound down and put on the shelf.
In the 70’s there was a similar situation with housing affordability. The private sector (Neil, Keith Hay and Universal, and others) developed products that were quick and cheap and fitted the formula. Same thing is happening with KB, builders are coming on board. What got the thing going then was State Advances loans and capitalising the Family Benefit to assist the deposit at the bottom end. Got an awful lot of families out of hovels and garages into their own new home. Maybe there’s some opportunities for the government to do similar things with the finance / deposit.
KB is about getting the capacity in place to do something about providing decent, affordable housing for everyone, rather than “assets” for a few, once there’s some slack in the industry, which is coming very soon.
If the tourist business goes down then what? The report is that AirNz is down 34% on first half profit. However it is holding out crumbs to the regions to look as if it cares about servicing the country.
(I don’t think anyone has got them to reveal the baseline for profit on each regional airport though.)
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12207937
This firm started in 1984 and has become insolvent and had to stop and try and gather the pieces. The ambitious Queenstown air-tunnel project would have been a beggar to price. It seems that many construction firms have bitten off more than they can chew. Firms undercutting with tenders and trying to corner the market for new jobs has no doubt destabilised the industry, plus trying to access cheaper steel etc with faulty documentation as to its real quality!
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12208271
Construction business Arrow International has gone into voluntary administration after a contractual dispute left it with insufficient cashflow to meet operating costs…
Last week Foster told the NZ Herald the business had an issue with one Auckland job but was resolving that and altering its business model.
“We’re trying to wind down the amount of tender work we do and doing more negotiated work,” Foster said on Friday.
Arrow, one of this country’s larger builders with a national spread, works on retail, commercial, Government, tourism, education, retirement sports and recreation and residential work….
Nick Hamlin, Arrow’s southern general manager, said today the business had been “downsizing” for the last year in his region.
He had worked for Arrow for 19 years but said he left in the last week by mutual agreement. The Queenstown-based boss said the firm had bid and won jobs which some other firms refused to take on.
“The southern area was running well and there were about 15 staff,” he said, telling how Arrow subcontracted work out to other firms. Construction of facilities for tourism, events, leisure and adventure were the firm’s speciality in Queenstown, he said.
The iFly indoor skydiving building was one example in the sports and recreation field, he said. An 8m deep basement and wind turbines sit on top of the building. The turbines blow air around the building, into the basement and then project it up through the centre to create a flight chamber so clients can float on a column of air rising 5m.
Tourism’s woes are the result of going into high volume, low yield markets that really can’t afford to come to New Zealand. The industry is dominated by the bums on seats brigade where the only metric is volume. AIA makes just as much from someone at the back of the plane as from the front, and with a lot of airlines there’s no difference anyway. Air New Zealand has been a repeat offender in this regard, their Korean adventures nearly took them, and a lot of the industry, out in 90’s
And tourism cycles are really lucky to last 7 years. Post GFC tourism was really hard work (we’d just had to relocate our gallery so we did it hard) but was starting to get going again in 2010 / 11 when the Christchurch earthquakes hit and that was that for tourism in the South Island. It took a couple of years for new products to develop that didn’t include Christchurch and those have only just started to bed in over the last year or so wiht Wellington supplanting Christchurch as the second city on the tourist trail after Auckland. There’s about twice the airline capacity between Queenstown and Wellington as to Christchurch now, pre 2010 there wasn’t a direct flight.
But now it’s just about done it’s dash, punters have lost interest, discovered they can get better value at lower cost destinations that are more in their price range, and operators can’t get the add-ons (commissions) that provide the profit. So the wheel goes ’round again.
The higher yielding markets stay more constant, but are much smaller and more affected by external factors than what NZ tourism does, which carries most of the industry through. And the domestic market, which is around 50% of the industry depending on where in the cycle we are.
As I went on with this I got sourer and sourer. Sorry. But that’s how I feel about things as they are. I did a tourism course in my past and was impressed at how little the NZ tourist was considered or courted.
I learned that a lot of the Australian industry was long weekends and family centred, low spenders per day. The Japanese and US markets were longer stayers and bigger spenders.
The bums on seats attitude is just like the coarse bulk dried milk industry – a commodities market without much refinement or specialty effort.
Really NZ finds its satisfactions at a low level. Puffing their chests out these businessmen strut. If they make a success of something they want to sell it to some foreign buyer. As far as i can see we prostitute ourselves, and don’t even aim at the highest price.
And nothing in the country is fully planned. With the government being given the bums rush by business ‘We know what we are doing’, everything fragmented, poorly regulated or poorly monitored, we are a bunch of frauds trading on our scenic amenities. But when you look at the rest of the world, they have beaut places. And she’ll be right as ever we are busy killing off all the good things we have had with pollution, blame it on the freedom campers; unswimable rivers, blame it on the drought.
Nobody is reliable except the firemen, their test is in how they do their job while everyone watches. You can see their excellence, or not. But all these pissy little businessmen full of alcohol and self-importance; I’ll never forget that little shit that went down with about six of our good scientists. Their partners should have sued the Department for lacking their duty of care in putting them on this third-rate charter. There are too many like him. I think he died along with the others near Christchurch. But others, if they fail they can always go into real estate they think.
Business will be soon, if it isn’t now, like the scarifying Glengarry, Glen Ross.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVQPY4LlbJ4
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wezj1ctBVc0
“And nothing in the country is fully planned”
That caught my eye, tourism’s volume driven adventure was well and truly planned by the then government, with total buyin from major industry players. I would love to know how much the individual government members made on their AIA and Air NZ shares, along with other tourism related stocks. The volume strategy was the way it was going to be done and anyone who thought otherwise was destroyed. Smaller and value orientated players quickly learnt to keep their heads down.
But quality and excellence isn’t our thing, or it’s been beaten out of us by the mediocre knuckle draggers. Toby Morris did an excellent piece on that subject today, ” In defence of giving a shit”
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/the-side-eye/28-02-2019/the-side-eye-six-out-of-ten/
I thought that Toby Harris was very good. Totally agree. I have been pushed to the outer for not doing the groupthink. I think that is part of what he is saying.
I liked this bit about people commenting with new ideas.
You see it in the comments about articles on Capital Gains Tax, or about trans rights.
You see it in the comments on Chloe Swarbrick’s posts, or on articles by Mad Chapman.
They don’t attack the argument, they attack that the argument is being made at all.
By th way who is Mad Chapman?
Simon Bridges will no doubt be saying, “I fully support Jenny Shipley. She is a great example of how a great Kiwi battler works hard to better her life and bring all those around her along for the ride.
She represents the full aim of a National Government to support Kiwi battlers instead of those other losers who whine and complain about their bad commercial decisions.
I say to those petty complaining subcontractors who lost millions of dollars, Get some guts! Vote National because we have the expertise to make money without fear or messing about with wishy washy morality.”
Do remember to put /sarc at the bottom. We have RW here who don’t know or want to know what satire is. They will quote you verbatim and say that you said
‘this’ quite truthfully. They will hoist you by your own petard. You have to watch out for the devious ones who have the answers pat in their mind to advance their points.
Oh I thought I should apply for a job as spin-doctor for Simon. Predictible you see.
Good luck with that ianmac. But with your tongue in your cheek all the time they would think you had a tumour there. Anyway where is PR? He’s holding the ermine train of some lord or lady isn’t he? Perhaps he is guarding the Bridge of Sighs.
In the link it is looking rather like a grey old bird – we are told it connects two prisons, and with Simon he connects two Parties. It has been up since 1600 and that is a terrific example of longevity for Simon. Just keep holding in there.
https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/bridge_of_sighs.htm
Good electric Railways will be the best investment for Aotearoa or any country in the long run it is much cheaper stable prices and a very low carbon footprint to fright our WORLD class foods to the rest of the world its not good having good,s stuck in a traffic jam.
To Eco Maori it looks like most westen countrys are following the ilogical road into big carbon prouducting highways WHY .The oil barron,s are using there MONEY to lead us down the wrong road that will give them billions of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and in the long run turn the westen societys into 3 world nations you see what is best for TE billionass,s is not good for the Enviroment or the 99.90 % of people .
This road of letting the billionasss make our policys will lead us into extinction
Govt forced KiwiRail to backtrack on locomotives decision, documents show
According to the Treasury, it’s the first time a state-owned enterprise has been directed by a minister to make a decision that didn’t stack up commercially.
The State-Owned Enterprises Act said an entity’s principle objective was to be a successful business.
In 2016, KiwiRail’s board decided to replace its 15 electric locomotives with diesel, arguing it would make the company more efficient and better able to take freight, and with less freight going by road, there’d be a positive environmental impact.
On 30 October last year the government put a stop to the plan instead promising a $35 million cash injection to refurbish the electric locomotives.
In a letter to Transport Minister Phil Twyford two weeks before the decision was announced, acting chief executive Todd Moyle made it clear KiwiRail didn’t have the money to refurbish the locomotives.
“KiwiRail has no funding for these additional costs and is unable to recoup the investment and there is no uplift in revenue associated with this decision,” he wrote.
But a Cabinet minute written the day before the government’s announcement, showed Cabinet agreed to use its powers under the State Owned Enterprises Act to direct the company to provide a non-commercial service.
Mr Twyford said being a successful SOE was more than just about profit and loss for a particular year, and this government wanted to grow rail.
He said previous governments had left KiwiRail on financial life support with no future vision.
“That’s not how our government sees it, we’re committed to bringing rail into the heart of the transport system, instead of treating it as the poor cousin and drip-feeding it a little bit of money year after year and barely keeping it alive,” he said.
KiwiRail uses electric locomotives on the main trunk line between Hamilton and Palmerston North.
When it said it was going to switch to diesel, the Rail and Maritime Transport Union accused it of “environmental terrorism”.
Mr Butson said that decision failed to consider the needs of a modern railway, which must have some level of variation in the types of locomotives and wagons it uses.
Engineer Roger Blakeley said the decision to scrap the electrics was at odds with the Labour government’s target of getting to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and leader Jacinda Ardern’s claim that climate change was her generation’s “nuclear free moment”.
“With the diesel locomotives, if KiwiRail went ahead with them, it would burn an extra 8 million litres of diesel fuel per year and add around 12,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year. That’s what would have been the implications of a switch back to diesels,” he said.
The Palmerston North to Hamilton route was electrified in the 1980s and the plan then was to carry on and electrify the whole main trunk line from Wellington to Auckland. Ka kite ano P.S Eco Maori tau toko,s our FUTURE,S
It’s estimated completing the project now would cost around a billion dollars.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/383578/govt-forced-kiwirail-to-backtrack-on-locomotives-decision-documents-show.
Elon Mus is one billionaire that is leading the world down the correct ROAD .
Video below P.S Eco Maori say that youtube should pull the ad that implies that only WAHINE carry STD and everyone knows both sex carry and transmite STD not just WAHINE ANA TO KAI.
Kia ora Newshub the seaplane crash in Auckland would have been exciting for some exhilarating for the pilot he was in the seaplane by himself when it crashed on landing in the harbour.
Lime E scooters getting cleared to be back on the streets in Auckland.
Eco Maori says that the company system is a big fail if company’s like Arrow and Mainzeal construction companies can go bankrupt owing millions to subcontractors maybe they should be legerslated to pay subbies a deposit in a government account so if they go bankrupt the small tangata don’t get ripped off because that’s what it looks like to ECO Maori common people getting ripped off and that move would protect the common people.
The big picture is the principle are not Cooperating with the government to solve the problems of a teacher shortages if they really need teachers they would work with them they are all national supporters. I can see my future and it includes good grass-fed Aotearoa meat and milk and eggs I have been eating more vegetables and cut back on the protein but I will not give it up totally.
Another country’s leader being charged with fraud WTF.
Celia the movies will be good she highlighted the plight on Wahine the justice system and poverty is it a coincidence that all the humane leaders die of CANCER.
Ka kite ano P.S condolences to Celias whanau
Kia ora Wairangi & Storm
Nice hairdo Wai Te Matatini was amazingly awesome and impressive as usual. Te whole Papatuanukue was treaded to OUR Tangata Whenua Cultures Haka Waiata with it being steamed live on the Internet . There is another awesome Waiata act in town but I will wait for the correct time before I dedicate him some Eco Maori words.
Christin Cullen you are as gray as me I mite try some blond hair dye YEA NAR. lol green would suit Eco Maori better no offence Storm just one of my dumb jokes .
Extreem Skying for a paraplegic is that correct good on them not much snow on Hukurangi
for a East Coastie tangata whenua to practice skiing.
Ka kite ano