I don't like the taxpayers union and sit at the other end of the political spectrum from them. But what I find refreshing is a lobby group calling the government to account, despite it being a government that they voted for.
It annoys me when people support or oppose simply based on what party has proposed it.
A perfect example is increasing the age of Super. Labour proposed increasing the age the last time it was in opposition, and Key opposed the age increasing. You just have to trawl through the Standard archives to see so many people on the left supporting that Labour position back then, simply because Labour proposed it and Key opposed it.
Then the parties flipped. National in opposition wanted to increase the age, and Labour under Jacinda opposed the increase. And guess what, all the respective supporters flipped their views too for no reason other than what their team was saying. Tribal politics at its worse.
So even though I disagree with the Taxpayers Union, it is refreshing seeing a group being consistent in their views. They stick to their vision and will tell their government that they oppose something.
We work to expose excessive and wasteful government spending. We want more transparency and accountability in how taxpayers’ money is spent and our politicians spending money as if they’d worked as hard as the taxpayers who earned it. We believe that new taxes should only be introduced when there are equal decreases in other taxes
I've always opposed the age increasing and would put it back to 60. All increasing the age did was make people who were unwell from 60 to 65 have to live off $140-00 a week less and use up their savings and get called bludgers.
Just tax more highly those who can still work and wish to do so. Give people choices. Isn't 40 years servitude to capitalism enough.
Retire, volunteer in the community or work as much as you like.
Because Maori women and men have significantly decreased life expencies compared with the majority of NZers, it is also racist.
"Life expectancy at birth was 73.4 years for Māori males in 2017–2019 (up 3.1 years from 2005–2007), and 77.1 years for Māori females (up 2.0 years from 2005–2007). In comparison, non-Māori males are expected to live to 80.9 years, while non-Māori females are expected to live to 84.4 years."
6-7 fewer years of drawing Super. Money saver for the govt.
A Guardian article last year on the UK increase in age limit for the pension (legislated 20 years ago and stepping up now), is also classist, as those with lower incomes over their lifetime and who have done physical labour also have decreased lifespans, compared with well-nourished middle classes. The actual lifespan stats for working class UK citizens was a bit horrifying, actually, from what I remembered.
I think of the NZ Taxpayer Union as being New Zealand's currently most successful Political Action Group. They have raised significant money and used that well to "foment mischief" for the parties of the left through media campaigns attributed to a variety of names, but economic policy has always been clear – they will push National and NZ First to accept their well thought through policies to move as much taxation to "user pays" as possible (including to local rates), to reduce services from government, and turn as many as possible service providers into "for profit" entities. The campaign against App fees was initially directed towards international organisations such as Facebook and Twitter, and there were links to charging them for use of New Zealand press material. This campaign highlights Air BnB, Book – a – Batch, Uber, Ola and Delivereasy – it is not clear to me whether these are international companies or local companies (possibly owned by an international company). Essentially ACT don't care about NZ Media – they want a compliant population delivering to their wealthy donors. Seymour has therefore tended to be more effective than Luxon or Peters – he has a narrower focus and just doesn't care about some issues. They are exploiting the loophole that money to them will not need to be declared – and they visibly support both National and ACT through paying for Curia Polling, and creating a series of other organisations to front campaigns. As far as taxes are concerned, if these companies are making sure they incur no profits in NZ, do we care of they pay some taxes that stay here and make it harder to compete with New Zealand companies in the areas of holiday homes and takeaway deliveries and taxis?
Nothing but shows they are full of shit, they were straight in for a taxpayer hand out when I can't see how covid affects them and even if it did affect them they should have sucked ot up.
Absolutely, they feel they've been green lighted by government ministers to put their assorted resentments into actions. Some dude wearing a baseball cap and a mask and driving a big SUV apparently smashed up a whole lot of electric charging points in Drury yesterday, these dumb fucks feel untouchable right now thanks to Seymour and Peters and our utterly useless PM.
I think Sanctuary may've been referring to Destiny's charitable status as a 'church', rather than any threat of physical violence. Certainly how I took it.
Destiny want to behave like gangsters, let them live by the consequences of that choice.
Theres also an absolutly massive new church almost complete in Wiri which is unconnected to Destiny although also evangelist and funded from the US. Biggesr church im NZ I reckon and prob the tallest steeple when finished.
During the sixties the old man built several houses at Temple View for church members. Unusual houses for the times, large, with particular requirements for symmetry, well insulated, with huge cellars and diesel-fired central heating. Working on Saturday mornings with the old man the home owners would turn up with glorious smoko spreads and, it seemed fucking weird to me at the time, two pots of tea. One was for their milo, of course.
No I was referring to the common and humorous meme of mafia gangsters.
Weka made the heroic leap to retaliatory arson against her favourite pastor all by herself.
The point is the old Bish and his flock are playing a dangerous game, it isn't like gay activists can't use Google maps and after all that re-decorating of their tasteful Ponsonby villas they are bound to have pails of Dulux ivory cream (semi-gloss of course) left over under the house. God's house in Wiri is a boring grey anyway. A literal splash of colour and some obscene epithets as to the sexual proclivities of Brian's flock would be a definite improvement IMHO.
All that "when they go low we go high" stuff is so 2015.
It doesn't work. What remains of the left worldwide is getting its ass kicked.
All the wins the right had during the last Labour government was when they militantly organised and gave it right into people's faces. Tractor drives, massive billionaire fundraising and mass advertising, rebellion from industry no matter what inducement, huge coordinated media attacks to kill off major infrastructure, steamrolling urgency of legislation with unprecedented power.
If you are still into the politesse of pamphlets, phone trees, little marches, and petitions, prepare to be consigned to political history.
I'm saying that if the response to Tamaki from the left is only to point a finger and say bigot, instead of pointing the finger and saying bigot and fighting hard and understanding what the fucking culture war actually is, then we will lose.
We are losing.
Atm the liberal left still seems to believe that we can force people to be progressive, despite being outnumbered. It's not about being nice to Tamaki, go hard against what they are doing. It's that if you want to retaliate in kind, you need to have a much better strategy than the left have. Putting our backs into fighting the current government as well as doing whatever identity politics is needed would be a start. Remember the 90s? We were on the streets en masse by this point in National's first term. So sure, fuck the politics of "politesse of pamphlets, phone trees, little marches, and petitions, prepare to be consigned to political history" but also fuck the politics of social media outrage.
It's not that rainbow activism is wrong. All power to the councils for acting quickly and repainting, that was awesome to see. It's the dearth of similar kind of energy and passion for climate/ecology and NACTF ripping the country's infrastructure apart. I know people are angry about those things, and there is plenty of commentary, but it's got little follow through.
It still fucks me off no end that it was the trucker/freedom crowd that occupied parliament grounds for three weeks. While the liberal left started talking about restricting right to protest. It should have been us, then on climate, now on austerity. In front of parliament and making a big fucking noise and really holding the government to account.
Middle NZ/swing voters have a choice, and atm they're fucked off with the left in multiple ways and we still think the solution is to mock them and tell them they are wrong. That's why we are losing the culture war.
Middle NZ/swing voters have a choice, and atm they're fucked off with the left in multiple ways and we still think the solution is to mock them and tell them they are wrong. That's why we are losing the culture war.
Wow, so close to home, but never was a truer word said.
Imho the response to covid in particular the reaction to people who refused vaccination or broke the 'rules' or turned up to protest really showed how many lefties here including rhose in parliment sit on the authortarian side of of the spectrum and tbh its a big reason that i'm not going to be voting anything other than a protest vote for a very long time.
Some might say i'm cutting off my nose to spite my face but if anything the whole shit show proved that you are bettee to find like minded people build a community and look after yourselves / each other.
National level politics are just fakes for the wealthy and power hungry.
Partly a case of how you do it, the restore rail people on wellington were effective at disruption but at the same time they hurt a bunch of people who were in precarious positions trying to get to work. If anything it alienates the very people you are trying to help.
If you were to look at Destiny they spend 15min defacing a crossing which achives more in turns of media coverage and it doesnt piss this the people in the meet grinder living day by day off so mouch.
There is plenty of pushback against Tamaki's behaviour, here and in the wider community that does not sink to their level. We do have that ability and we don't sink.
Why do you claim that there isn't and that we do? Because of one (possible) example here?
I guess that's the problem with one liners, the potential to not be understood
☺️😛
But fair call on asking for an explanation.
What I am pointing to here is the problem with the approach of the left to our current situation. Doesn't mean we aren't doing good things, as you point out there is rightly and actively push back against Destiny Church.
The inability I see is to grasping with what the culture war is and how to respond effectively. Tamaki knows what is, so does Peters and Seymour. They are all using the culture war to further their own ends. Both their political agenda, but also just as importantly, garnering and consolidating power.
The liberal left is struggling to know what to do, because imo it is often failing to grasp what is going on. Pushing back against the destruction of the rainbow crossing is necessary, it's not sufficient.
I think that DC have overplayed their hand here, but their interest isn't in winning the swing voters, so it's probably less of a mistake for them. The reaction from the left is part of what he wants. He's basically trolling liberals to get a reaction that he can use against liberal values.
That's why I reacted to Sanctuary's comment. I get that it was an offhand whatever on a small piece of SM. But it's useful to point out why it's a fail. Encouraging gay people to throw rainbow paint and obscenities over the church building in retaliation might make some lefties feel good, but what does it achieve?
We lack cohesive strategy imo (not that I think Sanctuary is responsible for that or the solution, it was just the thing in the moment).
We will never have a cohesive strategy, but in lieu of that, we need agile guides who can nudge the discussion in the progressive direction, without knee-capping the contributors to the discussion.
A Tamaki church, dripping with red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, blue, violet…
The reaction was to repaint the rainbows; Tamaki will use that somehow???
Yes, indeed. I've heard from multiple people the comment, along the lines of: Council can't repair potholes or deal with gang graffiti [substitute the grievance de jour for the individual concerned] – but they can repaint vandalized gay rainbows the next day.
If you don't think that this has cut through with the potential support base for the Destiny Church – you're living in a much-insulated world.
Destiny Church's "potential support base"; those who would support Tamaki's madness, are of little consequence to anyone. The rapid repainting reveals real passion in the community: priceless! Tamaki's efforts to"white-out" a vibrant community have resulted in a colourful response; joyous, vibrant and cheeky! Every warm-hearted person feels that joy 🙂
I'm watching the number of people who are ok with the action because they see GI as having gone to far, they will will ignore that it was DC. The GC people I see siding with LGB rights are much smaller in number.
Robert can write off the people who are concerned, but they're the ones that voted in a right wing government. The liberal left have some massive blind spots at times.
The more serious risk here is that people choosing to side with DC on this end up being more conservative generally. That's harder to turn back than a swing vote especially at this time with people being scared and stressed by the state of the world.
The liberal left have some massive blind spots at times.
Regular Standardistas would have to be blind not to see that some view gender ideology/theory as a massive (global) problem – TS has done a service to Kiwis by providing a forum for debating GI matters.
The more serious risk here is that people choosing to side with DC on this end up being more conservative generally. That's harder to turn back than a swing vote especially at this time with people being scared and stressed by the state of the world.
Yes, it's natural for people to be stressed by the state of civilisation, and spaceship Earth. We are in sustained overshoot – c'est la vie.
Otoh (or is it?), stress can be a killer. Given Freedoms NZ's election result (0.34% of the party vote), I'm pretty relaxed about Destiny Church's influence on NZ politics. Even if a few CoC MPs were closeted DC supporters, they couldn't be so stupid as to openly endorse Bishop Brian's regressive views – could they?
The legal freedoms of minorities have progressed considerably since Muldoon and Moyle – not far enough for some, too far for 'others'.
NZ…A Gay Haven for a Trans-Takeover [1 Oct 2023]
However, don’t get it twisted. I love all people, including those who have chosen to be LGBTQIA+.
But I fervently oppose the Rainbow community pushing their beliefs and ways onto the rest of society…
"Pushing their beliefs" Don't stress Brian – try taking a walk in Palmy. No rainbow crossings here, as far as I know – happy Easter.
Otoh (or is it?), stress can be a killer. Given Freedoms NZ’s election result (0.34% of the party vote), I’m pretty relaxed about Destiny Church’s influence on NZ politics. Even if a few CoC MPs were closeted DC supporters, they couldn’t be so stupid as to openly endorse Bishop Brian’s regressive views – could they?
I would suggest doing some reading about the progression of societies towards fascism. It’s not as Robert argues against that all these people are going to become part of the DC congregation. It’s that there are large numbers of people that don’t care that Tamaki thinks gay people cause earthquakes.
There have been whole wars fought over this on twitter, major schisms within the GC movements on working with the right.There are many people who are infact ok with working with conservatives, including former left wing people. We’ve seen this on TS, so I’m not sure why it’s not obvious.
And the centrists and apolitical ones are winning apart from in the UK, where it’s hard to know which will it will eventually fall.
In NZ the left and centre left GC feminists and other women are outnumbered by the reactionaries and the right. And those people are quite ok with throwing gay people under the bus because they perceive the rainbow flag as a symbol of oppression of women and children.
It’s just another case of the left being wholly unprepared for what is coming.
It appears to me that some on the left (cf Robert's comments on this issue) appear to have a blind spot when it come to conservative (with a small c) voters.
Often these people don't have particularly Conservative (with a capital c) voting alignment (e.g. they don't particularly support a right wing economic policy, or sell-offs of public assets or downsizing of social support (although they may want more targeting of support to those in need, and a social contract with those receiving support – the KO refusal to evict went down like a lead balloon).
However, when the left are hard-aligned with fairly extreme socially liberal policies – it leaves this group with no voting home. 'Christian' parties have failed (both through the leadership, and in getting across the bar into government) – leaving only the centre right (and whatever you call Winston) as the only parties they can support.
This group were significant in electing this current coalition.
If the left want to see the current government voted out at the next election, then they need to consider how to soften their policy stance, to accommodate a broader 'church'.
Or, resign themselves to another 2 terms in opposition – until the usual 'Buggins turn' mentality of the electorate – allows them another period in power.
I absolutely agree with you about the danger of policy drift. If people see DC as the 'only' place with agrees with them about X issue, it becomes easier for them to gradually adopt other DC philosophy over time.
this is pretty much how I see it. There are a whole lot of NZ that don’t fit neatly into the left/right analysis, and there is a difference between the small c and the big one.
It’s that there are large numbers of people that don’t care that Tamaki thinks gay people cause earthquakes.
"People that don't care", or don't even know. I disagree with what little I know of the gospel according to Eftpostle Brian, but he's not raising my stress levels at present. Am I disappointed about some of the choices Destiny Church members have made? Of course – but then I'm disappointed about so many choices made every day.
I would suggest doing some reading about the progression of societies towards fascism.
…
It’s just another case of the left being wholly unprepared for what is coming.
If "what is coming" is a drift towards fascism, abetted by The Bish, then no doubt that will be a topic for discussion here, and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, we can each champion progressive ideas/values/principles/concepts/ideologies, as we see them and in our own ways. Breaking bread with conservative MPs doesn’t appeal to me, but there are MPs I admire who have done just that in pursuit of lasting progress, and there must still be some decent NActNZF pollies.
I find this action to the crossing to be quite despicable.
But I think we are seeing the slippery slope in action. If it is OK to protest by defacing a display in our national museum to make a point, then we shouldn't be surprised when groups we don't like take similar action.
What is good for the goose is good for the gander. So, I think we either have to accept this sort of behaviour as legitimate protest even if we don't agree with it, or condemn it whenever it occurs whether we agree with the sentiment or not.
Turei and Shaw did that in 2016. It was a brilliant move, and Labour rose to the occasion thanks to Little. That was 8 years ago. We're a different country and the Greens have moved on to a new strategy. They will still work with Labour, but Labour's refusal to step far enough left means the Turei/Shaw deal was always going to be a time limited thing. I have a lot of respect for Ardern, but she also wasted this massive opportunity.
So yeah, Swarbrick and Davidson and Hipkins should talk and then act together. But will they? We can't afford to wait.
Chloe is confident that the Green Party can be the major party on the left. Without saying it, she is coming for Labour and their traditional supporters.
I don't expect there to be much co-ordination between the parties in the next 18 months. Labour has a wounded leader that is currently contradicting himself in his major speeches. He is there for the taking and Chloe sees that. She wants his support base.
They don't even need to campaign together with a common message in 2026. NZ First has found themselves at the cabinet table following 2 of the past 3 elections, without supporting the major party they went into coalition with.
That's my reading of the GP intention. I think that could change with a change of Labour leader and an overt support for wealth tax. But failing that, what would be the point?
Broadly agree with that. With a couple of cautions.
First, that if you have no principles, you can never be a hypocrite, but if you profess to have principles, you'll be called a hypocrite all the time.
Second, this aggression should stop short of endorsing violence. I don't think Sanctuary was doing that given what their history of commenting shows, but the bare words on the page could be interpreted that way.
Also (given the report on the dysfunction in civil defense during Gabrielle in Hawkes Bay) does anyone really think NZ's authorities would react with the spped and cool efficiency of the Baltimore Port Authority and police in the bridge strike there? It took FOUR MINUTES from the mayday to the port authority reacting immediately to the police closing the bridge.
At 1.30am in the morning, from port workers probably without an degree monitoring radios and screens, to police dispatchers to action. Incredible. The port maritime control responded immediately to the mayday, contacted police dispatch, who closed the bridge in four freaking minutes. That doesn't happen by accident. The training and trust chain was amazing. No "Are you sure? What do you mean?" they all acted immediately. Well done them, average Joes who earnt every dollar for the rest of their careers.
Unfortunately – this promptness did not extend to getting the road workers off the bridge in time. 6 of them are "missing" with at least 1 body found. It also looks like the vehicles that were identified by sonar belonged to the road workers.
Last March, a speeding car plowed between highway barriers on the same Baltimore highway and killed six workers, including Villatoro’s husband and brother-in-law. That crash along Interstate 695 was about 20 miles from the bridge. Now, a massive ship stacked with containers had crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing its collapse. Six workers, all native to Latin America, were lost in the Patapsco River and presumed dead.
NIWA's response in 2009 was typical of the arrogance amongst some Public Service leaders. The Met Service was no better back in the day. Whether it was confined to scientific agencies I don't know, but imo it was pretty much a case of professional jealousy. Management didn't like their 'underlings' taking the limelight away from them.
Good to hear. I knew Jim way back in the 70's/80's when we both lived in Silverstream and travelled on the train together to and from Wellington – GHG and AGW were frequent topics.
Our children were in the same class. His son was Joseph to my daughter's Mary in the school nativity play. 🙂 A nice bloke and a great travelling companion. He, of course, had his own meteorological observatory in his back garden and wrote a regular column for the gardening section of the local paper – the UH Leader. Excellent advice on when to plant.
Tuesday there were four “does the minister/PM stand by all their statement and actions” type questions from the opposition at question time. Yesterday five. Today another four.
These are such a free hit for the government to take the conversation where ever they want and lazy by the opposition. I can see why the leader of the opposition might want to do it, but seriously in almost every portfolio! The opposition is coming across as incredibly weak in question time.
it would depend on the questions. Because you haven't shared what the questions were about it's hard to know if you have a good point or are trolling again.
Let me guess, you were captain of the debating team at high school?
You asked for some arbitrary evidence (this is a blog site, not a depositions hearing since when does everything have to come with an army of footnotes?) then when they were provided you you had a flounce because it didn't come with a silver spoon for you to feed you with?
"You asked for some arbitrary evidence (this is a blog site, not a depositions hearing since when does everything have to come with an army of footnotes?)"
No – these are always 'set-up' questions. Get the "Yes" from the Minister to the broad question and follow with a supplementary question on a specific matter where the "Yes" is difficult to justify.
Of course the Minister almost always knows what topic the supplementary will target and already has bullshit talking points rehearsed in advance. So most of the time it's all a bit like formal jousting where no-one gets injured and the public is no wiser afterwards. To draw conclusions from this empty ritual that the opposition looks "weak" is just your wishful thinking.
On the contrary, it allows the minister to talk about whatever they want. It also does not serve the public well where question time seeks to hold the government to account by asking probing questions about government policy. It looks like a feeble fishing expedition using old socks as bait by an opposition spokesperson not on top of their portfolio. I’m sure the government will be more than happy with this line of questioning to continue.
Like her or not, Erica Stanford was particularly good at asking specific and probing question when opposition education spokesperson
I believe that subsequent questions ( supplementaries) must be related to the topic of the original question. If the original question topic is wide enough (i.e. all statements and actions) then supplementaries can be asked about anything. It all seems a bit silly to me.
Its only an advantage if you have a speaker that runs a level playing field… theyre like hens teeth Lockwood Smith was prob the closest to neutral in recent times.
Minister Jones' official killing of the Kermadec Sanctuary proposal signals that this is a government far, far more retrograde than anything PM John Key proposed. Key actually launched this proposal live and direct to the United Nations.
Iwi commercial fishing interests have killed this off from the moment it was announced, despite all sorts of inducements from the previous Labour government.
Jones, Brown and Bishop are setting a development benchmark for which you would have to go back to the days of Semple or Syd Holland.
To see how anti-nature they have become, an important Cabinet Minister under Syd Holland was Ernest Corbett, who was a lifelong member of Forest and Bird and added several major national parks to our state to the tune of 1.2 million acres square.
That pretty much benchmarks how deep a reversal this move by Jones is.
It also benchmarks in case it wasn't obvious that Maori business are no friend of liberal causes Green, Labour or TMP.
“The effect of the sticker is two-fold. In one respect (and the most important), it conceals the racist remarks so that others will not see it. And in another, it shames the person that was bold enough to post it while demonstrating that other people won’t tolerate their poor behavior. This particular instance came to light after the popular Twitter account Lorenzo The Cat first posted a picture of the placement. Throughout the tweet’s many replies, the overwhelming message was users applauding the use of the sticker.
You can get your own cat cover-up label from the online shop called Cracks Appearing Distro. The stickers are sold in singles as well as packs of 10 or 30. Printed on a white gloss paper, they should brave the elements and last outdoors for six months”
"Israel has chucked its toys and has withdrawn from peace talks with Hamas and cancelled meetings at the Whitehouse because the UN has finally called for a cease-fire."
Pat and Aaron Hawkins discuss the news clips around Israel"s response to the UN resolution.
Don't stress, but the climate crisis is affecting our brains – still, itsa not so bad.
‘Everybody has a breaking point’: how the climate crisis affects our brains
[27 March 2024]
More than a decade later, she [cognitive neuroscientist Nomura] has her answer. The conclusions reveal a startling disparity: children who were in utero during [2012 hurricane] Sandy bear an inordinately high risk of psychiatric conditions today. For example, girls who were exposed to Sandy prenatally experienced a 20-fold increase in anxiety and a 30-fold increase in depression later in life compared with girls who were not exposed. Boys had 60-fold and 20-fold increased risks of ADHD and conduct disorder, respectively. Children expressed symptoms of the conditions as early as preschool.
…
Yet Nomura and her colleagues’ research also offers a representative page in a new story of the climate crisis: a story that says a changing climate doesn’t just shape the environment in which we live. Rather, the climate crisis spurs visceral and tangible transformations in our very brains. As the world undergoes dramatic environmental shifts, so too does our neurological landscape. Fossil-fuel-induced changes – from rising temperatures to extreme weather to heightened levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide – are altering our brain health, influencing everything from memory and executive function to language, the formation of identity, and even the structure of the brain. The weight of nature is heavy, and it presses inward.
…
“That scares me,” she [Ikiz] says. “Because in 2050, we’ll be like: ‘Ah, this is awful. Let’s try to do something.’ But it will be too late for a lot of people.
Please note: I’ve delayed my “What can we do?” article for this video.The video above shows Destiny Church members assaulting staff and librarians as they pushed through to a room of terrified parents and young children.It was posted to social media last night.But if you read Sinead Boucher’s Stuff, you ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is sea level rise exaggerated? Sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, not stagnating or decreasing. Warming global temperatures cause land ice ...
Here is a scenario, but first a historical parallel. Hitler and the Nazis could well have accomplished everything that they wanted to do within German borders, including exterminating Jews, so long as they confined their ambitious to Germany itself. After all, the world pretty much sat and watched as the ...
I’ve spent the last couple of days in Hamilton covering Waikato University’s annual NZ Economics Forum, where (arguably) three of the most influential people in our political economy right now laid out their thinking in major speeches about the size and role of Government, their views on for spending, tax ...
Simeon Brown’s Ideology BentSimeon Brown once told Kiwis he tries to represent his deep sense of faith by interacting “with integrity”.“It’s important that there’s Christians in Parliament…and from my perspective, it’s great to be a Christian in Parliament and to bring that perspective to [laws, conversations and policies].”And with ...
Severe geological and financial earthquakes are inevitable. We just don’t know how soon and how they will play out. Are we putting the right effort into preparing for them?Every decade or so the international economy has a major financial crisis. We cannot predict exactly when or exactly how it will ...
Questions1. How did Old Mate Grabaseat describe his soon-to-be-Deputy-PM’s letter to police advocating for Philip Polkinghorne?a.Ill-advisedb.A perfect letterc.A letter that will live in infamyd.He had me at hello2. What did Seymour say in response?a.What’s ill-advised is commenting when you don’t know all the facts and ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has called on OJI Fibre Solutions to work with the government, unions, and the community before closing the Kinleith Paper Mill. “OJI has today announced 230 job losses in what will be a devastating blow for the community. OJI needs to work with ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is sounding the alarm about the latest attack on workers from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden, who is ignoring her own officials to pursue reckless changes that would completely undermine the personal grievance system. “Brooke van Velden’s changes will ...
Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
And if you said this life ain't good enoughI would give my world to lift you upI could change my life to better suit your moodBecause you're so smoothAnd it's just like the ocean under the moonOh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from youYou got the ...
Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown says the deal with China “complements, not replaces” the relationship with New Zealand after signing it yesterday. Brown said “The Action Plan for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) 2025-2030” provides a structured framework for engagement between the Cook Islands ...
The government should not set military style academies into youth justice law, the children's commissioner says, despite its first bootcamp getting a glowing report. ...
The infamous over-the-suit T-shirt worn by the PM at a Parliament barbecue has gone on sale to raise funds for children living in poverty, in a TradeMe auction. ...
MONDAYSheriff Seymour rode slowly down the main street of Dodge on his faithful white horse Atlas Network.He liked what he saw.Children were being fed free lunches prepared by kind people who collected the scraps from an offal rendering plant.“Very strongly flavoured liver, such as ox liver, can be soaked overnight ...
Once upon a time it was all about being an astronaut, a firefighter or doctor; but these days kids have their sights set on becoming vloggers or YouTubers.That’s according to a 2019 study by Lego that surveyed 3000 children between the ages of eight to 12 from the US, the ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. From the moment I started high school and realised almost every other girl in my year was at least partially interested in what the boys were up to, I realised that I would be single for life. The feeling wasn’t one of ...
The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Selina Alesana Alefosio.All photos by Geoffery Matautia.On a bright Sunday morning from her grandparent’s home in Pito-one, I spoke with ...
The White Lotus star reflects on her life in TV, including the local ad reference that doesn’t work in Australia, and her bananas co-star on Neighbours.Morgana O’Reilly was scrolling her phone next to her sleeping son on an idle Saturday morning when she got the call confirming that she ...
Claire Mabey explores the pros and cons of puff quotes on book covers.In January, Publishers Weekly put out an article by Sean Manning – publisher of Simon & Schuster’s flagship US imprint – in which he said he’d “no longer require authors to obtain blurbs for their books”.The ...
New Zealand’s Entomological Society is hosting its annual bug of the year contest. Here are some of the insects in the running. For some reason – perhaps humans’ inherent competitiveness, the idealisation of democracy, the need to demarcate winners and losers – one of the best ways to get people ...
A journey along the border, with words and illustrations by Bob Kerr.The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous support of our members.The Sunset Limited leaves Union Station New Orleans on time at nine in the morning. We ...
Neville Peat is the 2024 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in nonfiction. He’s written 56 books, mostly on natural history; this excerpt is from The Falcon and the Lark: A New Zealand High Country Journal, first published in 1992. The falcon wintering on the Rock and ...
It was a light-hearted gesture Greta Pilkington will be forever grateful for – thanks to an Aussie rival who jumped in when the Olympic sailor couldn’t be at her own graduation.Pilkington, then 20, had been leading a double life – while qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the ILCA ...
I was born in the back of my grandfather’s ute, by an overgrown windbreak in a remote place called Wahi-Rakauyou can’t find on a map. I was born a girl but given the man’s name Harvey, as my dad always wanted a violent-minded boy to one day help him ...
“We’re not here to interfere in people’s property rights,” Ngāi Tahu’s Te Maire Tau has told the High Court.Tau, a historian, Upoko (traditional leader) of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, and a university professor of history, is the lead witness in a case designed to force the Crown to recognise the tribe’s rangatiratanga ...
Pacific Media Watch Trump administration officials barred two Associated Press (AP) reporters from covering White House events this week because the US-based independent news agency did not change its style guide to align with the president’s political agenda. The AP is being punished for using the term “Gulf of Mexico,” ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific Presenter/Bulletin editor France’s top diplomat in the Pacific region says talks around the “unfreezing” of New Caledonia’s highly controversial electoral roll are back on the table. The French government intended to make a constitutional amendment that would lift restrictions prescribed under the Nouméa Accord, which ...
By bringing these global voices to the fight for free expression in New Zealand, we’ll continue to protect and expand our culture of free speech, says Nathan Seiuli, the Free Speech Union's Events Manager. ...
The issue is no longer a hypothetical one. US President Donald Trump will not explicitly suggest death camps, but he has already consented to Israel’s continuing a war that is not a war but rather a barbaric assault on a desolate stretch of land. From there, the road to annihilation is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cecelia Cmielewski, Research Fellow, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University To be selected as the artist and curator team to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale is considered the ultimate exhibition for an artistic team. To have your selection rescinded, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia is bearing down on the northwest coast of Australia and is likely to make landfall early Friday evening. It’s a monster storm of great concern to Western Australia. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Ireland-Piper, Associate Professor, ANU National Security College, Australian National University A Victorian government decision to allow dingo culling in the state’s east until 2028 has reignited debate over what has been dubbed Australia’s most controversial animal. Animals Australia, an animal welfare ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin University Overnight, Robert F. Kennedy Jr was confirmed as the secretary of the US Health and Human Services Department. Put simply, this makes him the most influential figure in overseeing the health and wellbeing of more ...
Everything you missed from day five of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard eight hours of submissions.Read our recaps of the previous hearings here.It was another work from home day for the Justice Committee, the only people in Room 3 being security guards, committee ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor & Principal Fellow in Urban Risk & Resilience, The University of Melbourne Juris Teivans/Shutterstock In Australia, fatal road crashes are climbing again, especially since the pandemic, and despite years of attempts to reduce road trauma, the numbers ...
In its eagerness to appease supporters of Israel, the media is happy to ride roughshod over due process and basic rights. It’s damaging Australia’s (and New Zealand’s?) democracy.COMMENTARY:By Bernard Keane Two moments stand out so far from the Federal Court hearings relating to Antoinette Lattouf’s sacking by the ...
“The reality is we’re getting poorer. The government this year is leaning heavy on chasing economic growth, which is absolutely the right thing to do.” ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 The Vegetarian by Han Kang (Granta, $28) Han Kang’s astounding novel was based on an ...
This new docuseries about two single comedians looking for love is also a joyful celebration of female friendship. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. “How many people do you think are boning right now?” Kura Forrester asks Brynley Stent as the bright ...
https://www.apptax.nz/
Taxpayers union, running an attack on national 🤣
Why is this funny? They are doing what their remit is. They are attacking areas of government taxation they think are harmful.
It's funny because they are eating their own.
I don't like the taxpayers union and sit at the other end of the political spectrum from them. But what I find refreshing is a lobby group calling the government to account, despite it being a government that they voted for.
It annoys me when people support or oppose simply based on what party has proposed it.
A perfect example is increasing the age of Super. Labour proposed increasing the age the last time it was in opposition, and Key opposed the age increasing. You just have to trawl through the Standard archives to see so many people on the left supporting that Labour position back then, simply because Labour proposed it and Key opposed it.
Then the parties flipped. National in opposition wanted to increase the age, and Labour under Jacinda opposed the increase. And guess what, all the respective supporters flipped their views too for no reason other than what their team was saying. Tribal politics at its worse.
So even though I disagree with the Taxpayers Union, it is refreshing seeing a group being consistent in their views. They stick to their vision and will tell their government that they oppose something.
I too detest this mindless tribalism. No one person or party has a monopoly on good ideas (or bad ones).
I've always opposed the age increasing and would put it back to 60. All increasing the age did was make people who were unwell from 60 to 65 have to live off $140-00 a week less and use up their savings and get called bludgers.
Just tax more highly those who can still work and wish to do so. Give people choices. Isn't 40 years servitude to capitalism enough.
Retire, volunteer in the community or work as much as you like.
I would pay super rate benefits to those unable to work 60 to 65.
I would also pay those with disability the super rate.
I would afford it by ending super for those over 65, with a mortgage free home and $100,000 + in work income. – circa $1B pa.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/money/350177826/50000-people-earn-over-100k-get-pension-commission
Because Maori women and men have significantly decreased life expencies compared with the majority of NZers, it is also racist.
"Life expectancy at birth was 73.4 years for Māori males in 2017–2019 (up 3.1 years from 2005–2007), and 77.1 years for Māori females (up 2.0 years from 2005–2007). In comparison, non-Māori males are expected to live to 80.9 years, while non-Māori females are expected to live to 84.4 years."
Stats NZ
6-7 fewer years of drawing Super. Money saver for the govt.
A Guardian article last year on the UK increase in age limit for the pension (legislated 20 years ago and stepping up now), is also classist, as those with lower incomes over their lifetime and who have done physical labour also have decreased lifespans, compared with well-nourished middle classes. The actual lifespan stats for working class UK citizens was a bit horrifying, actually, from what I remembered.
Most of the men in my family have not reached not reach NZS age. Even the fit ones. Dad got a couple of years.
I think of the NZ Taxpayer Union as being New Zealand's currently most successful Political Action Group. They have raised significant money and used that well to "foment mischief" for the parties of the left through media campaigns attributed to a variety of names, but economic policy has always been clear – they will push National and NZ First to accept their well thought through policies to move as much taxation to "user pays" as possible (including to local rates), to reduce services from government, and turn as many as possible service providers into "for profit" entities. The campaign against App fees was initially directed towards international organisations such as Facebook and Twitter, and there were links to charging them for use of New Zealand press material. This campaign highlights Air BnB, Book – a – Batch, Uber, Ola and Delivereasy – it is not clear to me whether these are international companies or local companies (possibly owned by an international company). Essentially ACT don't care about NZ Media – they want a compliant population delivering to their wealthy donors. Seymour has therefore tended to be more effective than Luxon or Peters – he has a narrower focus and just doesn't care about some issues. They are exploiting the loophole that money to them will not need to be declared – and they visibly support both National and ACT through paying for Curia Polling, and creating a series of other organisations to front campaigns. As far as taxes are concerned, if these companies are making sure they incur no profits in NZ, do we care of they pay some taxes that stay here and make it harder to compete with New Zealand companies in the areas of holiday homes and takeaway deliveries and taxis?
Just amuses me ,didn't they take covid rescue money ?
What does that have to do with attacking National?
Nothing but shows they are full of shit, they were straight in for a taxpayer hand out when I can't see how covid affects them and even if it did affect them they should have sucked ot up.
That's a lovely church you've got out there in Wiri Brian, it would be a pity if something bad happened to it.
IMO we are seeing what happens when bullying anti social behavior goes unchecked and gets oxygen from the MSM.
Absolutely, they feel they've been green lighted by government ministers to put their assorted resentments into actions. Some dude wearing a baseball cap and a mask and driving a big SUV apparently smashed up a whole lot of electric charging points in Drury yesterday, these dumb fucks feel untouchable right now thanks to Seymour and Peters and our utterly useless PM.
The big SUV would have a number plate, so the dude might find he's less untouchable than he thought.
Ah, but prove he was driving it at the time ….
I guess its more abrupt but no different to the council removing the chargers from the Museum caepark in the domain.
I agree. Like making a joke about burning down Destiny Church in retaliation.
What, no formal Mod Note for
Mr VercottiSanctuary's comment?Evidently not.
Nice one centurion, like it, like it. Oh and hail Caesar.
lol.
this is why the left is losing the culture war and doesn't understand why.
We should have the ability to push back against Tamaki's bullshit without sinking to their level. But for some reason we don't.
I think Sanctuary may've been referring to Destiny's charitable status as a 'church', rather than any threat of physical violence. Certainly how I took it.
Destiny want to behave like gangsters, let them live by the consequences of that choice.
Proceeds of Crime process anyone…
"in Wiri" suggests a physical location. But sure, he could have meant that and it would have been good if that's what he'd said explicitly.
Theres also an absolutly massive new church almost complete in Wiri which is unconnected to Destiny although also evangelist and funded from the US. Biggesr church im NZ I reckon and prob the tallest steeple when finished.
Tallest steeple wins!
All hail!!
The new Mormon temple?
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/auckland-new-zealand-temple/
Yep, its something to behold alright… some very interesring rules with the tender processes but they do pay the invoices on time every time.
Strange mob.
During the sixties the old man built several houses at Temple View for church members. Unusual houses for the times, large, with particular requirements for symmetry, well insulated, with huge cellars and diesel-fired central heating. Working on Saturday mornings with the old man the home owners would turn up with glorious smoko spreads and, it seemed fucking weird to me at the time, two pots of tea. One was for their milo, of course.
Lovely people, though.
Yeah, al I have regular dealings with Bretherens incl the exclusive side of things amd could say the same. But on balance the whole is um distastful…
According to Wikipedia, they lost their charitable status in 2022.
No I was referring to the common and humorous meme of mafia gangsters.
Weka made the heroic leap to retaliatory arson against her favourite pastor all by herself.
The point is the old Bish and his flock are playing a dangerous game, it isn't like gay activists can't use Google maps and after all that re-decorating of their tasteful Ponsonby villas they are bound to have pails of Dulux ivory cream (semi-gloss of course) left over under the house. God's house in Wiri is a boring grey anyway. A literal splash of colour and some obscene epithets as to the sexual proclivities of Brian's flock would be a definite improvement IMHO.
All that "when they go low we go high" stuff is so 2015.
It doesn't work. What remains of the left worldwide is getting its ass kicked.
All the wins the right had during the last Labour government was when they militantly organised and gave it right into people's faces. Tractor drives, massive billionaire fundraising and mass advertising, rebellion from industry no matter what inducement, huge coordinated media attacks to kill off major infrastructure, steamrolling urgency of legislation with unprecedented power.
If you are still into the politesse of pamphlets, phone trees, little marches, and petitions, prepare to be consigned to political history.
that's not what I meant.
I'm saying that if the response to Tamaki from the left is only to point a finger and say bigot, instead of pointing the finger and saying bigot and fighting hard and understanding what the fucking culture war actually is, then we will lose.
We are losing.
Atm the liberal left still seems to believe that we can force people to be progressive, despite being outnumbered. It's not about being nice to Tamaki, go hard against what they are doing. It's that if you want to retaliate in kind, you need to have a much better strategy than the left have. Putting our backs into fighting the current government as well as doing whatever identity politics is needed would be a start. Remember the 90s? We were on the streets en masse by this point in National's first term. So sure, fuck the politics of "politesse of pamphlets, phone trees, little marches, and petitions, prepare to be consigned to political history" but also fuck the politics of social media outrage.
It's not that rainbow activism is wrong. All power to the councils for acting quickly and repainting, that was awesome to see. It's the dearth of similar kind of energy and passion for climate/ecology and NACTF ripping the country's infrastructure apart. I know people are angry about those things, and there is plenty of commentary, but it's got little follow through.
It still fucks me off no end that it was the trucker/freedom crowd that occupied parliament grounds for three weeks. While the liberal left started talking about restricting right to protest. It should have been us, then on climate, now on austerity. In front of parliament and making a big fucking noise and really holding the government to account.
Middle NZ/swing voters have a choice, and atm they're fucked off with the left in multiple ways and we still think the solution is to mock them and tell them they are wrong. That's why we are losing the culture war.
Middle NZ/swing voters have a choice, and atm they're fucked off with the left in multiple ways and we still think the solution is to mock them and tell them they are wrong. That's why we are losing the culture war.
Wow, so close to home, but never was a truer word said.
TLDR.
Can you do all that as a tiktok?
I could but it would still go over your head apparently.
Imho the response to covid in particular the reaction to people who refused vaccination or broke the 'rules' or turned up to protest really showed how many lefties here including rhose in parliment sit on the authortarian side of of the spectrum and tbh its a big reason that i'm not going to be voting anything other than a protest vote for a very long time.
Some might say i'm cutting off my nose to spite my face but if anything the whole shit show proved that you are bettee to find like minded people build a community and look after yourselves / each other.
National level politics are just fakes for the wealthy and power hungry.
Partly a case of how you do it, the restore rail people on wellington were effective at disruption but at the same time they hurt a bunch of people who were in precarious positions trying to get to work. If anything it alienates the very people you are trying to help.
If you were to look at Destiny they spend 15min defacing a crossing which achives more in turns of media coverage and it doesnt piss this the people in the meet grinder living day by day off so mouch.
"
All that "when they go low we go high" stuff is so 2015.
It doesn't work. What remains of the left worldwide is getting its ass kicked."
Oh, yes!
There is plenty of pushback against Tamaki's behaviour, here and in the wider community that does not sink to their level. We do have that ability and we don't sink.
Why do you claim that there isn't and that we do? Because of one (possible) example here?
I guess that's the problem with one liners, the potential to not be understood
☺️😛
But fair call on asking for an explanation.
What I am pointing to here is the problem with the approach of the left to our current situation. Doesn't mean we aren't doing good things, as you point out there is rightly and actively push back against Destiny Church.
The inability I see is to grasping with what the culture war is and how to respond effectively. Tamaki knows what is, so does Peters and Seymour. They are all using the culture war to further their own ends. Both their political agenda, but also just as importantly, garnering and consolidating power.
The liberal left is struggling to know what to do, because imo it is often failing to grasp what is going on. Pushing back against the destruction of the rainbow crossing is necessary, it's not sufficient.
I think that DC have overplayed their hand here, but their interest isn't in winning the swing voters, so it's probably less of a mistake for them. The reaction from the left is part of what he wants. He's basically trolling liberals to get a reaction that he can use against liberal values.
That's why I reacted to Sanctuary's comment. I get that it was an offhand whatever on a small piece of SM. But it's useful to point out why it's a fail. Encouraging gay people to throw rainbow paint and obscenities over the church building in retaliation might make some lefties feel good, but what does it achieve?
We lack cohesive strategy imo (not that I think Sanctuary is responsible for that or the solution, it was just the thing in the moment).
You're advising against one-liners?
🙂
We will never have a cohesive strategy, but in lieu of that, we need agile guides who can nudge the discussion in the progressive direction, without knee-capping the contributors to the discussion.
A Tamaki church, dripping with red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, blue, violet…
The Lord be praised!!!!
I was connecting over one liners.
Thanks for ignoring my political analysis though.
You're welcome 🙂
"The reaction from the left is part of what he wants. He's basically trolling liberals to get a reaction that he can use against liberal values."
The reaction was to repaint the rainbows; Tamaki will use that somehow???
that wasn't the only reaction, and yes he will. But there's not much point in talking further if you value this side of the conversation so poorly.
Yes, indeed. I've heard from multiple people the comment, along the lines of: Council can't repair potholes or deal with gang graffiti [substitute the grievance de jour for the individual concerned] – but they can repaint vandalized gay rainbows the next day.
If you don't think that this has cut through with the potential support base for the Destiny Church – you're living in a much-insulated world.
Destiny Church's "potential support base"; those who would support Tamaki's madness, are of little consequence to anyone. The rapid repainting reveals real passion in the community: priceless! Tamaki's efforts to"white-out" a vibrant community have resulted in a colourful response; joyous, vibrant and cheeky! Every warm-hearted person feels that joy 🙂
Certainly of no consequence to me – praise the Lord, and feel the joy.
The Rev. Dollar never sleeps, but the Bish isn't getting any younger.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Tamaki#Views_and_controversies
I'm watching the number of people who are ok with the action because they see GI as having gone to far, they will will ignore that it was DC. The GC people I see siding with LGB rights are much smaller in number.
Robert can write off the people who are concerned, but they're the ones that voted in a right wing government. The liberal left have some massive blind spots at times.
The more serious risk here is that people choosing to side with DC on this end up being more conservative generally. That's harder to turn back than a swing vote especially at this time with people being scared and stressed by the state of the world.
"The more serious risk here is that people choosing to side with DC on this end up being more conservative generally."
And will have to come to terms with the very real possibility that the Christchurch earthquakes were God's punishment of queers, yes?
Regular Standardistas would have to be blind not to see that some view gender ideology/theory as a massive (global) problem – TS has done a service to Kiwis by providing a forum for debating GI matters.
Yes, it's natural for people to be stressed by the state of civilisation, and spaceship Earth. We are in sustained overshoot – c'est la vie.
Otoh (or is it?), stress can be a killer. Given Freedoms NZ's election result (0.34% of the party vote), I'm pretty relaxed about Destiny Church's influence on NZ politics. Even if a few CoC MPs were closeted DC supporters, they couldn't be so stupid as to openly endorse Bishop Brian's regressive views – could they?
The legal freedoms of minorities have progressed considerably since Muldoon and Moyle – not far enough for some, too far for 'others'.
"Pushing their beliefs"
Don't stress Brian – try taking a walk in Palmy. No rainbow crossings here, as far as I know – happy Easter.
I would suggest doing some reading about the progression of societies towards fascism. It’s not as Robert argues against that all these people are going to become part of the DC congregation. It’s that there are large numbers of people that don’t care that Tamaki thinks gay people cause earthquakes.
There have been whole wars fought over this on twitter, major schisms within the GC movements on working with the right.There are many people who are infact ok with working with conservatives, including former left wing people. We’ve seen this on TS, so I’m not sure why it’s not obvious.
And the centrists and apolitical ones are winning apart from in the UK, where it’s hard to know which will it will eventually fall.
In NZ the left and centre left GC feminists and other women are outnumbered by the reactionaries and the right. And those people are quite ok with throwing gay people under the bus because they perceive the rainbow flag as a symbol of oppression of women and children.
It’s just another case of the left being wholly unprepared for what is coming.
It appears to me that some on the left (cf Robert's comments on this issue) appear to have a blind spot when it come to conservative (with a small c) voters.
Often these people don't have particularly Conservative (with a capital c) voting alignment (e.g. they don't particularly support a right wing economic policy, or sell-offs of public assets or downsizing of social support (although they may want more targeting of support to those in need, and a social contract with those receiving support – the KO refusal to evict went down like a lead balloon).
However, when the left are hard-aligned with fairly extreme socially liberal policies – it leaves this group with no voting home. 'Christian' parties have failed (both through the leadership, and in getting across the bar into government) – leaving only the centre right (and whatever you call Winston) as the only parties they can support.
This group were significant in electing this current coalition.
If the left want to see the current government voted out at the next election, then they need to consider how to soften their policy stance, to accommodate a broader 'church'.
Or, resign themselves to another 2 terms in opposition – until the usual 'Buggins turn' mentality of the electorate – allows them another period in power.
I absolutely agree with you about the danger of policy drift. If people see DC as the 'only' place with agrees with them about X issue, it becomes easier for them to gradually adopt other DC philosophy over time.
this is pretty much how I see it. There are a whole lot of NZ that don’t fit neatly into the left/right analysis, and there is a difference between the small c and the big one.
The right know who they are though.
"People that don't care", or don't even know. I disagree with what little I know of the gospel according to Eftpostle Brian, but he's not raising my stress levels at present. Am I disappointed about some of the choices Destiny Church members have made? Of course – but then I'm disappointed about so many choices made every day.
In 2022, Brian's efforts finally paid off
If "what is coming" is a drift towards fascism, abetted by The Bish, then no doubt that will be a topic for discussion here, and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, we can each champion progressive ideas/values/principles/concepts/ideologies, as we see them and in our own ways. Breaking bread with conservative MPs doesn’t appeal to me, but there are MPs I admire who have done just that in pursuit of lasting progress, and there must still be some decent NActNZF pollies.
I find this action to the crossing to be quite despicable.
But I think we are seeing the slippery slope in action. If it is OK to protest by defacing a display in our national museum to make a point, then we shouldn't be surprised when groups we don't like take similar action.
What is good for the goose is good for the gander. So, I think we either have to accept this sort of behaviour as legitimate protest even if we don't agree with it, or condemn it whenever it occurs whether we agree with the sentiment or not.
No, we don't have to be principled at all.
The right aren't. The right are enjoying outrageous success.
This is no time to quibble about the equivalence of tactics.
This is the time for Chloe and Chris to call each other every Friday afternoon and coordinate attack lines.
Turei and Shaw did that in 2016. It was a brilliant move, and Labour rose to the occasion thanks to Little. That was 8 years ago. We're a different country and the Greens have moved on to a new strategy. They will still work with Labour, but Labour's refusal to step far enough left means the Turei/Shaw deal was always going to be a time limited thing. I have a lot of respect for Ardern, but she also wasted this massive opportunity.
So yeah, Swarbrick and Davidson and Hipkins should talk and then act together. But will they? We can't afford to wait.
Chloe is confident that the Green Party can be the major party on the left. Without saying it, she is coming for Labour and their traditional supporters.
I don't expect there to be much co-ordination between the parties in the next 18 months. Labour has a wounded leader that is currently contradicting himself in his major speeches. He is there for the taking and Chloe sees that. She wants his support base.
They don't even need to campaign together with a common message in 2026. NZ First has found themselves at the cabinet table following 2 of the past 3 elections, without supporting the major party they went into coalition with.
That's my reading of the GP intention. I think that could change with a change of Labour leader and an overt support for wealth tax. But failing that, what would be the point?
Broadly agree with that. With a couple of cautions.
First, that if you have no principles, you can never be a hypocrite, but if you profess to have principles, you'll be called a hypocrite all the time.
Second, this aggression should stop short of endorsing violence. I don't think Sanctuary was doing that given what their history of commenting shows, but the bare words on the page could be interpreted that way.
Sauce, tsmithfield, it's "sauce".
Those 2 actions are not equivalent, when you look at the intentions behind them and who is being targeted. Your claim is a nonsense, imo.
Also (given the report on the dysfunction in civil defense during Gabrielle in Hawkes Bay) does anyone really think NZ's authorities would react with the spped and cool efficiency of the Baltimore Port Authority and police in the bridge strike there? It took FOUR MINUTES from the mayday to the port authority reacting immediately to the police closing the bridge.
At 1.30am in the morning, from port workers probably without an degree monitoring radios and screens, to police dispatchers to action. Incredible. The port maritime control responded immediately to the mayday, contacted police dispatch, who closed the bridge in four freaking minutes. That doesn't happen by accident. The training and trust chain was amazing. No "Are you sure? What do you mean?" they all acted immediately. Well done them, average Joes who earnt every dollar for the rest of their careers.
Unfortunately – this promptness did not extend to getting the road workers off the bridge in time. 6 of them are "missing" with at least 1 body found. It also looks like the vehicles that were identified by sonar belonged to the road workers.
They don't count.
/
Last March, a speeding car plowed between highway barriers on the same Baltimore highway and killed six workers, including Villatoro’s husband and brother-in-law. That crash along Interstate 695 was about 20 miles from the bridge. Now, a massive ship stacked with containers had crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing its collapse. Six workers, all native to Latin America, were lost in the Patapsco River and presumed dead.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/03/27/migrant-workers-baltimore-bridge-collapse/
Shoutout to Dr Jim Salinger for getting New Zealander of the Year.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/03/28/climate-scientist-jim-salinger-named-new-zealander-of-the-year/
In your eye NIWA for firing him in 2009 for bullshit reasons.
#payback#longgame
NIWA's response in 2009 was typical of the arrogance amongst some Public Service leaders. The Met Service was no better back in the day. Whether it was confined to scientific agencies I don't know, but imo it was pretty much a case of professional jealousy. Management didn't like their 'underlings' taking the limelight away from them.
Good to hear. I knew Jim way back in the 70's/80's when we both lived in Silverstream and travelled on the train together to and from Wellington – GHG and AGW were frequent topics.
Our children were in the same class. His son was Joseph to my daughter's Mary in the school nativity play. 🙂 A nice bloke and a great travelling companion. He, of course, had his own meteorological observatory in his back garden and wrote a regular column for the gardening section of the local paper – the UH Leader. Excellent advice on when to plant.
Tuesday there were four “does the minister/PM stand by all their statement and actions” type questions from the opposition at question time. Yesterday five. Today another four.
These are such a free hit for the government to take the conversation where ever they want and lazy by the opposition. I can see why the leader of the opposition might want to do it, but seriously in almost every portfolio! The opposition is coming across as incredibly weak in question time.
it would depend on the questions. Because you haven't shared what the questions were about it's hard to know if you have a good point or are trolling again.
Oral questions are easily found. Here are yesterdays. Note 3,4, 6,8 and 9.
https://bills.parliament.nz/v/11/aca78f3d-dca7-4996-3cd3-08dc4dd01dd1
I'm not doing your work for you, I’m pointing out the problem with your approach in a left wing space.
Let me guess, you were captain of the debating team at high school?
You asked for some arbitrary evidence (this is a blog site, not a depositions hearing since when does everything have to come with an army of footnotes?) then when they were provided you you had a flounce because it didn't come with a silver spoon for you to feed you with?
"You asked for some arbitrary evidence (this is a blog site, not a depositions hearing since when does everything have to come with an army of footnotes?)"
QFT
Indeed. I’d understand if the reference was to something obscure. But FCOL oral questions with a specific date reference.
No – these are always 'set-up' questions. Get the "Yes" from the Minister to the broad question and follow with a supplementary question on a specific matter where the "Yes" is difficult to justify.
Of course the Minister almost always knows what topic the supplementary will target and already has bullshit talking points rehearsed in advance. So most of the time it's all a bit like formal jousting where no-one gets injured and the public is no wiser afterwards. To draw conclusions from this empty ritual that the opposition looks "weak" is just your wishful thinking.
The reason for the questions you complain about…is that they leave the gummint unable to know/be prepared for the follow up…
This is the advantage to the opposition..
On the contrary, it allows the minister to talk about whatever they want. It also does not serve the public well where question time seeks to hold the government to account by asking probing questions about government policy. It looks like a feeble fishing expedition using old socks as bait by an opposition spokesperson not on top of their portfolio. I’m sure the government will be more than happy with this line of questioning to continue.
Like her or not, Erica Stanford was particularly good at asking specific and probing question when opposition education spokesperson
I believe that subsequent questions ( supplementaries) must be related to the topic of the original question. If the original question topic is wide enough (i.e. all statements and actions) then supplementaries can be asked about anything. It all seems a bit silly to me.
Its only an advantage if you have a speaker that runs a level playing field… theyre like hens teeth Lockwood Smith was prob the closest to neutral in recent times.
Minister Jones' official killing of the Kermadec Sanctuary proposal signals that this is a government far, far more retrograde than anything PM John Key proposed. Key actually launched this proposal live and direct to the United Nations.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350223648/nz-politics-live-govt-axe-kermadec-ocean-sanctuary-plan
Iwi commercial fishing interests have killed this off from the moment it was announced, despite all sorts of inducements from the previous Labour government.
Jones, Brown and Bishop are setting a development benchmark for which you would have to go back to the days of Semple or Syd Holland.
To see how anti-nature they have become, an important Cabinet Minister under Syd Holland was Ernest Corbett, who was a lifelong member of Forest and Bird and added several major national parks to our state to the tune of 1.2 million acres square.
That pretty much benchmarks how deep a reversal this move by Jones is.
It also benchmarks in case it wasn't obvious that Maori business are no friend of liberal causes Green, Labour or TMP.
It also benchmarks in case it wasn't obvious that Maori business are no friend of liberal causes Green, Labour or TMP.
Those people are businessmen first and foremost, whose Maoriness is largely incidental.
Fuck off with that naive racist bullshit.
Fraud is a victimless crime if your one of the entitled. Its American but I'd say the sentiment is the same here.
https://youtu.be/EDMinX6t1Zk?si=hcsiBrkn2ZH3bLoT
Hope this becomes a thing here 🙂
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJte9BKXEAAK6b_?format=jpg&name=small
“The effect of the sticker is two-fold. In one respect (and the most important), it conceals the racist remarks so that others will not see it. And in another, it shames the person that was bold enough to post it while demonstrating that other people won’t tolerate their poor behavior. This particular instance came to light after the popular Twitter account Lorenzo The Cat first posted a picture of the placement. Throughout the tweet’s many replies, the overwhelming message was users applauding the use of the sticker.
You can get your own cat cover-up label from the online shop called Cracks Appearing Distro. The stickers are sold in singles as well as packs of 10 or 30. Printed on a white gloss paper, they should brave the elements and last outdoors for six months”
https://mymodernmet.com/racist-rubbish-cat-sticker/
Hope what becomes a thing?
Reducing rascist graffiti by covering it with cute cat pictures.
(Or dolphins, thank you PB)
Yes, a supply of Hectors Dolphin pictures would work for NZ
"Israel has chucked its toys and has withdrawn from peace talks with Hamas and cancelled meetings at the Whitehouse because the UN has finally called for a cease-fire."
Pat and Aaron Hawkins discuss the news clips around Israel"s response to the UN resolution.
Big Hairy News (facebook post 28/03/24 15:42)
Big Hairy News chew over the govt tax cuts. Between 10 min and 20 min.
Big Hairy News Facebook 28 mar 6:42
Don't stress, but the climate crisis is affecting our brains – still, itsa not so bad.