“So the key things that the current government has to tackle are strategic – to look as though they are in charge at the time of the 2020 election and not just battling the rising pressures. Here is what I would do immediately.
First, there is a need for a strategic policy group, probably in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and separate from the already existent policy advisory group which deals with the short-term crises. Given the daily turmoil, I have no problems with the Prime Minister having such a short-term group. But within government there is no overarching medium and long term policy thinking”
The one area of this government that does have strong plans is the urban spatial frameworks, through transport and housing. The main question is whether they will be in long enough to confirm them.
and I made the same point myself days ago….the transport and housing plans i would suggest are in themselves incomplete but importantly are not part of a comprehensive plan….employment, taxation, inequality, immigration. trade, population even…..if we are going to transform our economy (and society) its a wee bit more than some tram tracks and prefab housing.
The Coalition have the ideal person in Jacinda Adern to take people with them but she needs a plan to sell.
Great just what we need. Yet another little group of nodding heads, drawing six figure salaries and preparing another ‘report’ on how to tell citizens to live their lives.
Like every other trough established by this government, it will have no power or relevance.
The only committee that has any power is the committee of 2 – Ardern and Peters.
you said “First, there is a need for a strategic policy group”
Yes a ‘summit between the three coalition Parties’ – would be a very strong issue to first do here so the Government can then clearly set about honouring all their promises made pre-election such as;
1/ Tackling the Climate change effects.
We still see the trucking lobby increasing truck use and no real regional rail being used as we in the provinces need trucks off our second class narrow winding roads as tjhey are now so dangerous and being destroyed by constant heavier trucks wrecking them as they increase the transport CO2 emmissions where rail would be lowering the CO2 levels.
2/ Secondly; – need the Government to restore the “free to air TV channel for Public affairs investigative jouralism as we Nationnal Party media is sending negative meessages about the new Labour co-alition Government andn that will harm our cause to get the issues aired on TV in a open and free from bias manner and those two issues are among the urgently needed issues to deal with right now.
you will note the quotation marks….the point I believe Brian Easton is making is that its all very well for the Coalition to address the problems (of which there are many) as they arise, but like previous administrations there is no overarching strategy (other than vague feel good slogans) ….if anything of substance is to be achieved, including reelection then this Gov needs to devote some energy (and PDQ) to strategic planning rather than wasting it all on firefighting….i’d suggest that its best opportunity to achieve this is with the Carbon Neutral 2050 policy due to be released early next year….but that is being led by a Minister outside Cabinet and support party member and is only a few months away so is it likely to provide such?
“Should I say something about the quality of people in the strategic policy group? Is it necessary to say that while they need to be sympathetic to a transformative government, the emphasis has to be on competence rather than political correctness? Perhaps I have to, for the government’s record thus far has to scatter an awful lot of politically correct incompetents through its advisory committees (but no more than predecessor governments).”
The last bit deserves repeating.
“….for the government’s record thus far has to scatter an awful lot of politically correct incompetents through its advisory committees (but no more than predecessor governments).”
We spoke at length to the Climate change “zero carbon” committee ‘team”‘ when they came to Napier and held their ‘road show’ last month.
We used another emission problem that the comittee had not yet considered yet.
That was about the ‘elephant in the room’ about the other large freight road transport emissions that were so badly affecting our climate and that was the “yyre dust emissions of small plastic particles that are shedding from truck tyres at an alarming rate that is now found on the ice caps and that black dust is now exellerating the melting of the ice caps.
The whole panel was shunned like a mullet, and said they never throught of that as being a problem and now said they do so we hope they will now curtail road freight in favour of regional rail freight as trains dont use tyres and only steel wheels.
Subject ; Tyre dust is another form of plastic so use rail it has steel wheels non-polluting. – ‘ Carbon emissions.’
When you drive your car don’t forget that tyres are made from plastic too!!!
So tyre dust is being spread all around the roads and into our water as we drive. https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2017-002.pdf
quote;
3. Tyres: abrasion while driving Tyres get eroded when used. The particles are formed from the outer parts of the tyre and consist of a matrix of synthetic polymers, namely Styrene Butadiene Rubber (approximately 60%), in a mix with natural rubber and many other additives (Sundt et al., 2014). Tyre dust will then either be spread by the wind or washed off the road by rain. In this study, losses of synthetic rubber are considered but losses of natural rubber are not.
There is no reliable information on the transfer of microplastics from tyres to the world’s oceans. Both Norwegian and Swedish researchers have pointed out that a large fraction of particles found in the sea seem to originate from car tyres (Essel et al., 2015; Sundt et al., 2014).
End.
Finally, the long term best solution is to use far more rail freight and passenger services to give funding to upgrade the rail network in all our regions to expand rail freight/passenger services.
Rail and reducing pollution are key areas of any strategy IMO. I’d like to think that the electrification and expansion (at least of use) of the entire rail network could form part of an interconnected strategy….but one that is detailed, at least broadly costed and which has a timeline not deferred to some indeterminate future.
We need to use solar panel backup power on wagons of freight trains and ‘reserve generation power systems’ (direct drive generators on the rail drive system) to also complete partical or total electricifation of rail use to caputure the way forward for even the most ardent opposers of rail use.
Electric EV vehicles use these systems now so should trains use them.
The new BMW EV models now have solar panels on the roof of their new EV models.
yes sorry and thanks for that here read this explosive Auckland infrustructure report commioned for that region shows that tyre dust with brake and cluth dust are very high air pollution emitters so trucks with 34 tyres on each track and use braking and clutch use very often in our own “residential zones ” are damaging the health and wellbeing of many of us all.
Trucks are industrial activities that should be kept far away from our residental zones where high populations reside. No to any industrial activities near our residential zones please NZTA government here our call.
The post you replied to may not be the most clearly articulated of all time, but it would nonetheless take some pretty rank stupidity to get out of it what you did.
Idiot number 2, step on up!
Did you miss the part where the original idiot talked about he national party media? Then demanded a free to air tv channel that is free from bias but only presented views the original idiot agrees with?
My problem with your suggestions is that a government funded tv channel should only air views you approve of. Hardly bias free as you seem to imagine it would be. It would only be right wing bias free. Which
One of the failures of the current Labour-led government, is the lack of urgency and limited expertise they have provided for revitalising public service media. It should have had high priority.
Maybe Robertson has has got more contacts in the corporate media who he can feed lines/info to, and that he doesn’t have any similar contacts in RNZ?
Public service media, at arms length from government, free from bias, and that holds all political parties and MPs to account, is absolutely necessary to democracy. Some non public service media journos also do that.
However, corporate media puts much more focus on cheerleading private enterprise, and capitalist values, and pollies who support those things.
I think I have to disagree with a free to air TV channel even though I would like one myself. I have two children in there twenties and thirties and both do not even have TV Aerials and none of their friends watch free to air TV, its really the older generation who watch it and they are unlikely to change the way they vote.
Have a look at what TVNZ is doing – massive expansive of free to view online TV programmes and movies.
That is what a public service TV channel can do – freeview plus ondemand viewing online.
Clare Curran has totally ignored what can be done with TVNZ. It’s not just about current affairs. TVNZ ondemand has an LGBT stream, it has Scanadanavian TV programmes, it has documentaries, it has express shows available ondemand the same week as in the US, and I suspect it is pulling in some younger viewers.
Yes, the imaginary leader as portrayed in the first testament is indeed cruel and tyrannical. Perhaps this goes part of the way to explaining the Zionists’ behaviour.
If the state of Israel isn’t a Jewish state, as it’s not anti-Semitic to criticise it, then how can any logical person support theocracy over democracy?
Non- sequitur. Firstly, the state of Israel does not represent all Jews, and secondly, Israel has pretty well made itself a theocracy by giving privilege to only those who believe in the God of the first testament. Are there any Jewish atheists who are Israeli citizens? This puts the religion pretty well in control, regardless of whether the politicians are church officials.
I’ll stick with the first non-sequitur, then. Although it intrigues me that Christians who are atheists tend not to regard themselves as Christians. (Apart from the few like Loyd Geering..) I must study your link to see how atheism links with the Jewish religion.
Well, what a nicey-nicey read. lots of concerns like ours about whether religion should be taught in schools, etc, but not one mention of how atheistic, secular Israelis justify their occupation of Palestinian territory.
It seems to me that atheistic, secular Jews can no longer maintain the argument that God Almighty Himself awarded the land to the Jews as the first testament claims. So upon what is their claim based? Sheer racism and ‘might is right’?
Or the even more tenuous one that they are not a theocracy? Are the Palestinians a theocracy?
1/ “White Helmets and the their families….” sort of gives the lie to the Assad regime claim that these are all foreign jihadists, don’t you think?
2/ With reports that White Helmet personal are being detained at government checkpoints. Taking the option of passing through regime lines to rebel held areas is not an option for members of the White Helmets because this is what awaits them.
1. So, Israel….as a humanitarian gesture upon request…spontaneously and within a handful of hours time window….rounded up some 800 White Helmets and their families….
Israel, being the humanitarians that they are, shooting children, women, men, medics, animals etc in Palestine…do a 180 and ‘rescue’ … who exactly…so what does Israels hypocrisy point likely point to…
That Israel have been operating inside Syria an extended period of time, Jenny…that is what it points to…
Then the humanitatians they are…do not take one single ‘rescued’ person…not a single one…
Instead, the ‘rescued’ are being distributed like isis/al nusra cells openly to western nations…
The alleged events to not pass the weakest sniff test…
#2. Someone is lying…rescuers or sponsored moderate terror agents…
As well as all their victims killed and maimed also feel sorry for the jews who have the zionist regime aggressively “representing them” constantly in the media, against their will.
As Jews, we reject the myth that it’s antisemitic to call Israel racist
by Rebecca Vilkomerson, The Independent, 23 July 2018
A worldwide coalition of Jewish groups has issued a joint statement condemning attempts to stifle criticism of Israel with false accusations of antisemitism….
“In recent days members of the Dáil, the main law-making body in the Irish parliament, have passed a bill which will mean no more money goes into exploiting and using the coal, oil and gas which are among the principal drivers of global climate change.”
Pity NZ Government are having some upset about their meek movements to cut oil eploration. Perhaps they should cut all funding to the petroleum industry that National set up.
The rain it raineth every day upon the just and unjust fella,
But more upon the just because
The unjust took the just’s umbrella!
Go, Labour Coalition, the new unjust. And keep the umbrella up rain or shine to
protect against bird droppings from the just – this time a kookaburra (a laughing jackass).
Howard yabbering here is another example of us co-ordinating with Australia as if we are on equal terms while they cherry-pick out criminals who have learned their habits in Australia. Bet most of them are Maori or brownies not whities. It’s an affront to our free country which aims for equality.
But equality with Australia is an uneasy see saw. They sent their army into native land to organise or control Aborigines. This country had the police militarised and went after Tuhoe.)
(Some of our egregious fraudsters live in Oz. But they committed their crimes in NZ so that mightn’t count there.) Thdugj h they were so worried by\\about an ordinary crim that he wasn’t allowed over the Ditch to saw farewell to his dying mother.(
Two petty (on my part, I admit) things about John Howard:
1. He shares his birthday date (26 July) with Jacinda Ardern. He turned 79 on Thursday; she turned 38 – a difference of 41 years (= Simon Bridges’ age.)
2. The last listing in his very long Wikipedia bio – In 2017, Howard endorsed a “No” vote in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey and joined the campaign against same-sex marriage.
During the negotiations somebody (most likely Winston) held a ‘gun’ to their heads and threatened to ‘sue’ them if they made NZF a better offer than Labour. They caved in and the rest is history, as they say. Yeah, ‘forced’ they were 😉
John Howard still has questions to answer about his role in the overthrow of Gough Whitlam.
He was deputy prime minister under Malcolm Fraser in the ensuing government.
Is Max DJ-ing at the National Annual Conference and playing that winning tune Lose Yourself again and again? Where is Max? And Jason??
Are Sir John and Barack in the country to play a round of golf?
It is the same old (mostly white) faces from the past in the same old place, the Sky City Convention Centre for National.
All so disappointingly predictable; so sad to see the once mighty self-entitled born-to-rule politicians wallowing in self-pity and withering away in the Hellish pit that is known as Opposition.
What an ass old Rat Eyes is becoming in his old age just as well that Tracey Watkins didn’t ask the Mad Monk for his two shillings worth on last years election.
Interestingly the only policy bridges mentions is reinstating charter schools. But that was an ACT policy was it not? It’s almost as if National have been using ACT as a front to intoduce policy at arms length…
As an aside I see Paul goldsmith has been getting a lot of airtime (for someone who has preferred invisibility) lately, perhaps they’re getting ready to shove Seymour under the bus in epsom.
Hooch It’s almost as if National have been using ACT as a front to intoduce policy at arms length…
I think you have hit the nail here. In one blow too without hitting your thumb!
At long last the global media are crawling out from their hidey-holes and acknowledging the disastrous effects of Climate Change. It should have happened years ago but better late than never:
They’ve finally stopped hedging their bets on the basis that the CC Deniers of yesteryear were worthy of equal attention. Since they weren’t sure which side was going to win the argument (as if it was a political or ideological issue) they erred on the side of caution and avoided using the term. The same can be said of most governments.
Heads should roll based on gross stupidity and neglect.
Tragically and criminally, they have started writing too late for us to mitigate many of the impacts of industrial capitalism.
The deaths of millions lie at the hands of the corporate media.
No doubt the right wingers will still bury their arses in the sand until the water level surprasses their ability to breath under water or sand and either they snuff their lives out or they get on board with us and get serious about curtailing the carbon emissions of trucks and use rail.
cleangreen
I am suprised that you underrate the actions of the entitled wealthy to climate change spread and rise, you are usually more direct. I hope you will get your local transport issues and climate change and lost opportunities to mitigate proverty dealt to quickly and intelligently.
To escape climate change (cc) effects the comfortable will attempt to save themselves; they will climb on other’s bodies like desperate people escaping a cellar fire or a stadium stampede, or they will divest others of their resources and leave them with no defences or way of exiting. This is not hyperbole, it is observable from past events, and can be forecast from the tone and behaviour of those in positions of power today. Where there is leadership it often is puny and lacking in determination and practicality and psychology of human behaviour.
True but we can change that if we work to do so. Just started reading The Case for a maximum wage. Which is actually a misnomer as he’s actually talking about a maximum income set as a multiple of the minimum wage:
A far simpler and much bolder approach – and the approach that these pages advocate – would be to set a new income maximum as a multiple of the existing minimum wage. Any income above that multiple would face a tax set at 100 percent.
He thinks that such a system gets buy in from everyone and thus the rich won’t be able to get rid of it the same way that they got rid of high tax rates.
EDIT:
I like the point he makes here:
What could we do? We could narrow our initial focus, from societies writ large to a pivotal single element within our societies: the corporate enterprise. These enterprises largely determine who gets what in our modern nations. Down through the years, progressive tax rates have traditionally sought to redistribute the income that corporations have so unequally predistributed. But, egalitarians are now asking, why give this inequality a head start? We need to do more, they argue, than redistribute income. We need to much more equally predistribute it.
The path to a “maximum wage” begins with this predistribution.
I have come to the conclusion that there is a no default setting in humans that wuill be happy to say enough at any advanced wage structure. Happiness is a warm gun? (Beatles)
I think it is only poor people that appreciate the advantage of each $ of wage rise. In business studies they used to talk about ‘hygiene’ as somethingto do finding ways to reward and incentivise high earners when they became ‘ blase’ types who already had everything.
Getting buy-in from people with Affluenza for capping their wages could be like stopping elephants drunk on excesses of fermented fruit. You can imagine!
It’s not going to be easy but it does need to be done.
As the author points out we had much better distribution and equality when top tax rates were high because it got to the point that having a higher income made no difference because of the high tax rates and so more was given to the workers.
This way also gets buy in from the rich as when the minimum income goes up so does their maximum income.
It’s just going to be difficult putting such a system in place.
DTB
Yes. Well I did note that business studies were aware of the problem of satiation with top execs. So perhaps some sort of sideways promotion so they feel they have progressed even though the increase is income is foregone because it has gone into tax.
What if their top tax percentages go into an investment fund that helps to finance small, progressive, innovative businesses that advance the country’s sustainable industry or something. I think there is a crowd now called No. 8 Wire that does something like that. If the top bananas regard investing in the infrastructure and services that help with welfare a waste going into a bottomless pit, perhaps they could be satisfied to see the top percentage/s being used for development of small ‘fireflies’.
The business-mania that sweeps over everyone and rains leaflets emblazoned with gold dollars onto every gathering of Commerce enables the fish farm industry to keep harping on about their exponential growth prospects even though they know that fish farms lead to pollution and disease of both the farmed and wild fish.
But, but the world is crying out for our fish. And will pay big money for it.
Oh well all right then. Go ahead and don't worry, we will have some technology to clean up after you. We will breed bigger fish that like it or grow seaweed that will process it and magically make all clean and clear again. And don't forget to talk about employment to be offered, Which needs to be over 50 at least I should think, to sound attractive enough and kill off support for informed protest,
/sarc, but not very.
More private industry taking over public resources and not paying anything to the public for the risk as well as getting corporate welfare of $3 million plus from government to boot. When it all goes wrong, don’t worry the public and environment will suffer to pay for it.
Lots of bad press about these salmon farms and the food they feed them which is often from aggressively taking from ocean ecosystems which is a turn off.
I used to eat this salmon but for some reason as well as the above concerns, the quality has got worse and worse, not sure if it is the salmon, what they are eating, where they are processing it, or how old it is or some other process like freezing it and defrosting it incorrectly. The texture is wrong.
Am wondering if Arctic salmon often cheaper and processed in Denmark is a better bet as at least have the EU regulations on quality?
Interesting saenz. From personal point of view, I want to eat a bit more salmon in my diet as part of thinning my blood intelligently, trying. Will look up references mentioned.
Re the quality of “farmed” salmon. It’s to do with reduced muscle tone from having the pens in still water, the fish don’t have to work for a living.
Early on the farms were located where there was a reasonable tidal flow to disperse the waste, but this got expensive because the pens would break free or get damaged, so they moved to stiller water. Hence quality went down and effects went up. There’s also big variations in quality of what they are fed.
If you get down South, compare the quality of product from the different operations in the McKenzie. Some are in the flowing canals, some are in calm backwaters.
Graeme
I will have to look at this to understand it properly. But I glanced at the
report from Radionz and they were talking about getting into faster flowing deeper sea water so wouln’t they get the same problem they had before with cages breaking away. I think they are havering. (Old Scottish word that has stayed in my brain., sort of means ‘having people on, talking to confuse.)
Graeme
I would like to make an ethical choice to die when I choose but am not allowed to do that by supposedly well-meaning individuals and groups.
That is something useful that I would do, but am prevented from doing it.
Giving up animal flesh – fish, chicken, red or white meat is not something that I can concentrate at present, it is the possibility of losing my vision that is concentrating my mind at present. Also I want to keep my health so I can continue having ability to work for a better future than the very bad scenario we are sinking into and that takes up all my energy and fills my thoughts.
I am old and haven’t many years of intelligent life left. I don’t know if or when dementia will strike me. I think and write here and in the community trying to help the young needy, and promote understanding and assist others demonstrate to the wider public their ways of coping with the disaster that is underlying NZs complacent rock star economy.
So don’t toss simplistic single ideas at me that don’t help me in my efforts to manage my way through the confusing set of barriers erected to prevent good management by our government, central and local.
The single line comment that derails the comment being replied to is common on this blog. It s actually derisory about the problem that a commenter has raised and doesn’t attempt to discuss the matter. If something comes up that isn’t just a tendentious rerun of a continuing disagreement, it deserves more than a throwaway line.
Sorry Graeme
I got your comment mixed with that from Grey Area. Excuse is having eyesight problems at moment. And didn’t check to see whose moniker was on the relevant comment. Sorry again.
And Grey Area thank you, not, for your flip reply. How grey are you?
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Facebook Inc (FB.O) and its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg were sued on Friday in what could be the first of many lawsuits over a disappointing earnings announcement by the social media company that wiped out about $120 billion of shareholder wealth.
Of course $120 billion wasn’t really wiped out – it didn’t exist in the first place and is part of the bludging aspect of capitalism that’s destroying society.
Interesting that your comment came just after earlier discussion on fishfarming problems.
It has been said that the stock exchange behaves like a school of fish turning and twisting in a slick, fast moving mass as predators loom. They are full of hot air anyway in the SX as you mention. And our employment hangs on their feelings of confidence – or flatulence! Makes you larf really don’t it. In a dismal sort of way.
Of course $120 billion wasn’t really wiped out – it didn’t exist in the first place and is part of the bludging aspect of capitalism that’s destroying society.
The same applies to QV; the whole FIRE economy vitally depends on it – it is their raison d’être.
If not invented by capitalists, paper value (profit & loss) surely is one of their most loved and abused instruments.
To grasp what is going on in the world right now, we need to reflect on two things. One is that we are in a phase of trial runs. The other is that what is being trialled is fascism – a word that should be used carefully but not shirked when it is so clearly on the horizon. Forget “post-fascist” – what we are living with is pre-fascism.
[…]
To see, as most commentary has done, the deliberate traumatisation of migrant children as a “mistake” by Trump is culpable naivety. It is a trial run – and the trial has been a huge success. Trump’s claim last week that immigrants “infest” the US is a test-marketing of whether his fans are ready for the next step-up in language, which is of course “vermin”. And the generation of images of toddlers being dragged from their parents is a test of whether those words can be turned into sounds and pictures. It was always an experiment – it ended (but only in part) because the results were in.
‘Devious’ infants
And the results are quite satisfactory. There is good news on two fronts. First, Rupert Murdoch is happy with it – his Fox News mouthpieces outdid themselves in barbaric crassness: making animal noises at the mention of a Down syndrome child, describing crying children as actors. They went the whole swinish hog: even the brown babies are liars. Those sobs of anguish are typical of the manipulative behaviour of the strangers coming to infest us – should we not fear a race whose very infants can be so devious? Second, the hardcore fans loved it: 58 per cent of Republicans are in favour of this brutality. Trump’s overall approval ratings are up to 42.5 per cent.
What a tasteless, crass but totally predictable comment by the president of the National Party at their conference to the gathered faithful to slaver over.
‘National Party President Peter Goodfellow has mounted an attack on Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters, saying National had “dodged a whisky-swilling, cigarette-smoking, double-breasted and irrational bullet”.’ Of course no National MPs ever frequent Bellamys to have a tipple or two or sneak out for a fag or two either. I’m no N Z First voter or supporter, but for better or worse they are part of the present coalition so be it. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12097023
It just goes to show they haven’t learned a damned thing.
Come the next election there’s a good chance that they will once again have to negotiate with Winston or someone who likes him. But not, the nats will call him names and bitch about how unfair democracy is.
I give them as much sympathy as they give people who need benefits to live: none at all. Just contempt, scorn, and low regard. Goodfellow may be, but bad politician.
Fanatics fuck things up in Vino the majority of every religion want peace love and prosperity the minority want to rule and cause division uncivilised fools.
The national party displayed there true values when they had that fallout with Winston Peters all those years ago and they showed it on there election campaign with the word lazy don’t want to work don’t want to work those words of bill’s were directed at tangata whenua . And there next move was to try and throw Winston under the bus.
Then the aggressors switch hats and act as a victim when they lost the seemingly un lose able election .I see this behavior all the time the aggressor switch hats at the blink of the eye and cry foul.
The big picture is one cannot go around displaying arrogance and think that your culture and thoughts are the only ones that counts why . because you end up with no m8. Well here you go national The Maori Language and culture is get a revival not just in Aotearoa but right around Papatuanuku Kia kaha tangata whenua this fact gives me a sore face Ka kite ano link below.
The big picture is the sandflys are upset that there national m8 are warming the back benches. This is the party that gave them laws to do what ever they want and not be held accountable for there actions they change the bail laws so one can be locked up with out a crime been proven that’s room for deception I say how well they say plead guilt and you will get a lesser charger they don’t care that the charge will stuff up the person life just so long as they get more credit for a promotion. national also made it harder to get a fair trial by making legal aid harder to get what.s the consequences Its a breach of human rights to a fair trial that’s one of the consequence of those changes.The other is they get more leverage to get a guilty plee more cridits for a pay rise.
The sandflys won’t like it that there prison muster has lowered by 500 because to ECO MAORI the law changes the sandflys lobbied for were designed to make it easier for them to lock up people full stop. Ana to kai Ka kite ano
If the sandflys try anything against my offspring I will appel it to the highest court of te whenua to get justice that’s the law of te whenua. Ka kite ano
I just read a story in North and South mag on Matt Robertson he was a Alince mp the year is 2001 this will seam like last century to some but to ECO Maori its just yesterday. Here are some of the truth full statement he made it’s only the poor common people who go to jail.
We have the second recorded for the most people’s locked up in jail the most was USA half the people in prison are Maori the highest group of people are male 15 to 24 age groups. He also states that to some they are just numbers but to him there’s are OUR babys that we are locking up someone’s son And I totally agree with that statement the young are easily lead to make mistake. It cost $50.000 to lock up someone in those days 18 years later its dubble $100.000.
He has figures that show if we invest in early intervention it’s is %50 more likely to change the Mokopunas future for the better than waiting till the are being changed with a crime so 70 % for early intervention to 15% when they are in the system. So what’s the big picture equality shear the putea that Aotearoa gives us more equaly and all the bad stats will go down Its not Rocket science people it’s common sense to do this and this is what our Coalition Government is doing at the minute. Ka kite ano
Kia kaha Joseph Parker you did us proud.
It stinks that the opperstion did not get more points taken of for a head but I didn’t realise that was part of boxing rules makes a mockery of the sport.
Just like the systems in Atoearoa.
Ka kite ano
Here we go the European Union is going to stamp out demarcat elections voter beening minupulate by there computers IE being sold lies by target ad verts the kumara never tells how sweet it is Ka pai. Eco Maori could see that happening tangata being sold lies like the one we’re the people are coned into believing a billion are has their best interests at heart come on Ana to kai
Ka kite ano link below PS all government should do the same most common tangata are so trust worthy they trust what’s being feed to them because they would not deceive anyone on that scale
A wahine Maori politician links Kellie-Jay Keen, or Posie Parker, and the Labor Party’s upset victory in an Australian by-election. No, not Marama Davidson. We speak of Moira Deeming, who is mentioned in – An article which Posie Parker has written for The Spectator; and Media analyses of the ...
by Mark White Reprinted from the left free speech site Plebity Speech is not violence One of the hallmarks of today’s woke left is to conflate speech with violence. Fearful of the ‘harm’ that might be experienced from hearing certain words, the woke left has become widely confused about the issue of ...
Let’s say it’s the 18th century and let’s say you’re a pirate, and let’s say you’re about to set sail. How do you prepare? Repair to a tavern with many barrels of ale? Find a comely wench? Get on your knees and pray? Maybe all those things. But also there will be ...
On a clear autumn afternoon, at the monolithic MediaWorks office overlooking the city, people are showing their invitations and entering. Finding places to sit at long tables with refreshments, loudly moving chairs across the polished concrete floor.The Minister for Broadcasting, Willie Jackson, a collection of marginal celebrities, and news media, ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 26, 2023 thru Sat, Apr 1, 2023. Story of the Week AI Can Spread Climate Misinformation ‘Much Cheaper and Faster,’ Study WarnsA new study suggests developers of artificial intelligence are failing ...
New Zealand has its general election scheduled this October. This means the various parties are currently selecting their candidates, and as of yesterday, we now know the two major party candidates for the seat where I live (Taieri) – Ingrid Leary (Labour) and Stephen Jack (National). Leary’s ...
..By now, Kelly-Jay Keen-Minshull (aka, Posie Parker) has come and gone. Her mission - to amplify a particularly pernicious form of transphobia (under the cloak of “women’s rights”) - an abject failure. As a marketing exercise to peddle her wares, it went well.A self-style "woman’s rights activist" Keen-Minshull/Parker has strident ...
Buzz from the Beehive We haven’t exhaustively put this proposition to the test, but we suspect there’s just one thing Nanaia Mahuta has mentioned more often than “sanctions” in her press statements. That would be “three waters”. Mahuta has popped up in the latest batch of Beehive press statements to ...
The UK activist has changed the election-year dynamic. Graham Adams writes – Chris Hipkins’ initial success as Labour’s fresh Messiah after Jacinda Ardern’s resignation in January has largely rested on the promise that his party’s focus henceforth would be on “bread-and-butter” issues such as the cost of ...
As the Stuart Nash email brouhaha has unfolded this week, and we’ve learnt more about how an email to donors was withheld from public view, I’ve kept being reminded of the classic example of faulty logic. You know the one: "All dogs have four legs, all dogs are animals, therefore ...
This week Simplicity CEO Sam Stubbs joined us to talk about Simplicity Living’s big house building plans, starting in Auckland, and banks receiving billions of subsidies from the Government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and Aotearoa’s political economy covered on The Kākā for paying ...
The NZ Herald reports: Leaked emails between senior officials at Auckland Light Rail, Waka Kotahi and Auckland Transport have revealed a surprising twist in the long-running saga of the Auckland Light Rail project. A stack of emails between Auckland Light Rail and an unnamed senior official at Waka Kotahi, who ...
Hi,I go between excitement about AI — and absolute terror. I’m terrified it will take our jobs — and also kill us. Not kill us on purpose… more in a gray-goo kinda way.And as I wrote about over two years ago, I’m excited it might be the only thing to ...
Completed reads for March: The Monk, by Matthew Lewis Till We Have Faces, by C.S. Lewis The Golden Ass, by Lucius Apuleius The Castle, by Franz Kafka A Slip of the Tongue in Salutation, by Lucian of Samosata The Necrophiliac, by Gabrielle Wittkop The Song of Hiawatha (poem), ...
Photo by Aziz Acharki on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with special guests: from ...
Image Credit: Nord Stream operator decries ‘unprecedented’ damage to three pipelines The recent vote on the draft Security Council resolution seeking to establish an independent UN inquiry into the sabotage of the Russian-European-owned natural gas line, Nord Stream I and II, disappointed many observers. ...
Buzz from the Beehive The big bread-and-butter issue of pay packets and weekly incomes was at the core of three ministerial statements since Point of Order’s previous monitoring of the Beehive website. Andrew Little was earning his keep, meanwhile, by delivering a speech in which he discussed co-governance. He was ...
After yesterday's news that Stuart Nash deliberately and knowingly breached the OIA to cover up his corrupt disclosure of Cabinet information to his donors, the media now is focusing on the wider point: Nash's behaviour isn't isolated, but a symptom of the rot which has eaten away at transparency under ...
There was great disappointment following the just released poverty figures for the year ended to June 2022. Whatever your take, we are not facing up to the real child poverty problems.Some say the poverty figures show no significant change, some say there was a small improvement. Some say that the ...
Quiz1. Which is the most pleasing comment so far regarding this man’s indictment?a. He finally won a popular vote! b. “You can’t indicate me, I quit”c. Is this joy? It’s been so long since I’ve felt anything.2. “The boxset scandal that is Stuart Nash.”Who wrote this fine description? a. ...
It’s truly astonishing the way that the Government has been able to suppress evidence of business donors gaining special access to Cabinet information. Now that Stuart Nash has been fired from Cabinet for leaking sensitive information to individuals who funded his election campaign, the focus has shifted to why this ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Have you noticed the media’s propensity to label people and groups in a way that shows negative bias? People speaking up for women’s right to their own spaces and fairness in sport aren’t feminists or women’s rights activists, they’re anti-trans or transphobic. The Taxpayers’ Union is often prefaced with the label right ...
Photo by Magdalena Kula Manchee on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for an hour (I’ll be online for an hour from 12.30 so pile them up), including:The Government’s latest climate back-tracks on diesel cars and ...
All of the Government’s five options for improving Auckland’s links include or prioritise tunnels and bridges for cars, double-cab utes and trucks ahead of walking, cycling and rail. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Labour Government has brought forward plans to start building and/or drilling a second Waitematā harbour ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes: Green’s co-leader Marama Davidson just keeps digging the hole she is in deeper. First she showed her bitter antipathy towards white CIS (same gender as birth) men. Then she walked it back to all men. On Tuesday night on TV1 News she said, “…overwhelmingly it ...
as Auckland’s cantankerous mayor stumbles from one crisis to the next, the hope is not that Wayne Brown will learn on the job – that’s almost certainly a lost cause – but that Aucklanders will manage to come together and limit the damage that he threatens to inflict on the ...
Wow, it’s the end of March already. Here are a few of the smaller items that caught our attention over the last week. We need better trucks Newsroom reported on a Ministry of Transport report showing just how dirty our current truck fleet is. A heavy diesel truck costs ...
Listening to RNZ yesterday, I heard that the government was making a major announcement about a second crossing of the Waitematā. I was fairly surprised.I’d have thought with it being election year the last thing the government would want to be talking about was a massive Auckland transport project. Especially ...
I cracked open a fortune cookie with a family group after dinner. My loved ones got warm, inspiring messages such as my son’s: ‘You will be successful in business and society’. Nice. I got this one: “Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate.” By coincidence, I had already drafted a ...
THOMAS CRANWELL: When ideology turns violent – the political and media backing behind the Posie Parker mob Thomas Cranwell writes – ——————————– Similar to other countries, the transgender movement in New Zealand is not a grassroots organisation but instead is an increasingly ...
It is a lovely autumn morning.The sun is shining. The birds in Kōwhai park are twittering.There is music playing on Today FM.You can hardly tell that the children at Kia Kaha primary school are being greenhouse gassed.It is not just happening at Kia Kaha Primary School.It is happening to all ...
Poor old Mike Hosking! In today’s Herald, such is his visceral antipathy to our current government, that he is reduced to wrestling with himself in trying to understand how it is that despite its many failings – in his eyes at least – the Labour government is somehow ahead in ...
Air pollution kills, and dirty diesel vehicles are a major source of it. Cleaning them up has enormous social benefits in avoided deaths and hospitalisations. How much? Billions of dollars: A report quietly released by the Ministry of Transport in July shows tighter regulation of vehicle imports for air ...
Via one of my lovely Twitter sources, the sardonic and interesting @johubris … the following ‘poll question’ has been recently distributed: “Thinking about your life and your country now, what is the most important issue that you want to see the New Zealand Government addressing?” This qualifies as push-polling, which ...
On Tuesday night, former Forestry Minister Stuart Nash was sacked for corruption, after the Prime Minister discovered he had disclosed confidential cabinet discussions to his donors. Its since emerged that Jacinda Ardern's office knew of this disclosure, but didn't act on the obvious breach of the Cabinet manual, and didn't ...
Buzz from the Beehive Whoa, there – we can’t keep up! Suddenly, the PM’s ministerial team has unleashed a slew of press statements. Sixteen announcements have been posted on the Beehive website since our last check. This burst of activity (we wondered) might be the result of them responding positively ...
Big transport news today with the government beginning public engagement on options for the Waitemata Harbour Connections project. This project has had an incredibly long history, with previous versions somehow managing to be incredibly expensive, detrimental to most of the transport outcomes we are trying to achieve in Auckland, and ...
If ever there was an example of complacency about corruption and integrity in New Zealand politics it’s the fact that the Prime Minister’s Office knew back in 2021 that Cabinet Minister Stuart Nash was feeding privileged Cabinet information to business donors but did nothing about it. This is one of ...
Open access notables "Despite the potential for positive methane–climate feedbacks from global wetlands, most Earth System Models (ESMs) and Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) that informed the last Assessment Report of the IPCC do not directly incorporate this process."Publishing in Nature Climate Change, Zheng et al. unpack the implications of this ...
Among its ‘go slow’ on climate measures, the Government chose to delay tighter regulation of vehicle imports for air pollution for six years because it would have increased vehicle purchase costs. Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government continues to backtrack on moves to reduce emissions, with three news items ...
Stuart Nash’s downfall appears to have had its beginnings with one of the players from the “Dirty Politics” scandals of 2014. Simon Lusk, a close associate of Cameron “Whaleoil” Slater, one of the key figures in Nicky Hagar’s “Dirty Politics” expose, has been associated with Stuart Nash. Lusk has ...
Worried if this election will be shellacked by “the culture war”? That arrived ages ago. And, one side is definitely in panic mode, even if that’s not being admitted right now. Because of that, they’re reverting yet again to straight up… culture wars. Yes, fellow traveler, the Party who ...
All About Climate is a Youtube channel dedicated to communicating climate science and combating misinformation about global warming. It is run by Roshan Salgado D'Arcy - or 'Rosh' for short. He is a geology graduate with an MSc in climate change and is currently reading for a PhD in the communication of ...
ChatGPT is an interesting little beastie. I have only really started experimenting with it recently – not because I have any interest in using it for my own writing projects, but because I enjoy pushing and prodding the AI in strange directions. I have spent an inordinate amount of ...
The science of climate change is clear: we need to stop burning fossil fuels as quickly as possible, and we cannot burn even a fraction of those already discovered. So naturally, Labour is offering oil companies more exploration permits: The Government is offering companies another opportunity to search for ...
There are two keyboards in my office. I hammer at one a lot more than the other.But some days — today, for instance, after a few days of steeping myself in toxicity —that other keyboard can really come into its own.I learned to play the piano as a kid, went ...
Is the government imploding? Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has had to sack one of his more effective (and likeable) ministers, while another (from the Green Party) has insulted many of the adult population. For his part, Hipkins had appeared to be shaping up well since he took over the ...
Mobbed! As Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s (Posie Parker’s) opponents surged forward, her only protecters were a handful of burly security guards who surrounded their client and began forcing a path through what was now a howling mob. At least one video recording shows the diminutive Keen-Minshull, a terrified rag-doll, eyes dulled by ...
Buzz from the Beehive It looks like Marama Davidson must revile white sis males – or some other group of our population – three more times before she gets the heave-ho as one of Chris Hipkins’ ministers. That’s the conclusion to be drawn from the PM’s treatment of Stuart Nash, ...
For a serial offender like Stuart Nash, it was inevitable that another skeleton would emerge from his closet, and end his ministerial career. This one though, was a whopper. Previously, Nash had tried to tell the Police how to do their job. He had also tried to tell the courts ...
Cabinet Minister Stuart Nash was sacked last night for violating Cabinet Collective Responsibility rules, when it was revealed he disclosed sensitive Government information to business supporters who had donated money to him. The breach of the Cabinet Manual was enough to land him in trouble, but the fact that it ...
Some good news last week with the Council confirming that Te Hā Noa – Victoria St Linear Park will go ahead and with construction starting on 11 April – though with a few fishhooks. Te Hā Noa, a renewed Victoria Street, is the next big project in Auckland Council’s Midtown ...
Stuart Nash’s assurances to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins that there were no further examples of him breaching the Cabinet Manual became meaningless with the release of emails from Nash sharing Cabinet discussions with business people. The Prime Minister had no choice but to sack Nash as a Minister with immediate ...
Hi,Just a quick online-only update after yesterday’s newsletter, How Michael Organ Weaponised the Family Court... and Sean Plunket. First up — wow. Thanks for all the support, and to all those who shared their own personal stories in the comments. And welcome to any new Webworm readers.I just wanted ...
Let that sink in for a moment - Christopher Luxon, who has spent the last year demonising Māori, wants Marama Davidson to apologise to white men.You will likely have seen the video, or read about it. Marama Davidson rushing along Princes St on Saturday evening, the road that runs between ...
Stuart Nash, the great-grandson of former Prime Minister Sir Walter Nash, has lost his political career. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Stuart Nash was sacked for telling donors what happened in Cabinet. Wellington’s City and Regional Councils are going cold on light rail plans. Wayne Brown is under ...
NZ First Leader Winston Peters is sympathising with Stuart Nash and defending him but dodging questions on whether he would be welcome in New Zealand First. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins last night sacked Nash from the Cabinet after an email he had sent to two of his campaign donors ...
So, after interfering with the police, and then interfering with immigration decisions, Stuart Nash has finally been sacked: Stuart Nash has been sacked as a minister, after Stuff revealed he had emailed business figures, including donors, detailing private Cabinet discussions. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed the people Nash emailed ...
Nearly 25% of mortgages in Auckland are deemed at risk in a 1-in-100 year flood event. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Once a year, every year, from now on, in our not-so-slow-cooking climate crisis, there will be a moment when the most important number in Aotearoa’s own personal, national ...
Item One: About a confected crisis Please bear with me for a moment, readers outside Auckland, I wish to sound the klaxon. Auckland, we have until 11pm today to have our say. About what? About this, as copied and pasted from Pippa Coom’s Facebook page:The "austerity" budget is built on ...
Buzz from the Beehive Yet again, the statement we were looking for could not be found on the Beehive website. Nor was it on the Scoop or Green Party websites. But – come to think of it – we are probably wasting our time by searching. Our quest is for the ...
The following is from a speech given by Arundhati Roy at the Swedish Academy on March 22, 2023, at a conference called Thought and Truth Under Pressure and reprinted from Literary Hub. I thank the Swedish Academy for inviting me to speak at this conference and for affording me the privilege ...
After almost two decades of racism, Australia is finally getting off its "stop the boats" bullshit. But don't worry, racists - Michael Wood has your back!The Government wants to increase the time it can detain without a warrant people seeking asylum en masse from four days to 28 ...
Last year, the Education and Workforce Committee recommended that the government legislate for pay transparency to prevent employers from secretly discriminating. This ought to be a bread and butter issue for Labour - discrimination sees women (and particularly Māori and Pasifika women) paid significantly less than men. But since then ...
Thomas Cranmer writes – ———— An unruly mob in Albert Park has catapulted New Zealand into the global headlines with ugly images that may become iconic in the debate about the dangers of transgenderism. ———— Bravo Kellie-Jay Keen. She did the job that needed to be done. For all the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global warming is melting the Arctic ice cap, and that’s having unforeseen effects on the world’s weather — even thousands of miles away from the North Pole. Some climate scientists have begun to link increasingly common heat waves in Europe to what is ...
Hot on the heels of the demotion of former police Minister Stuart Nash for breaching the Cabinet Manual, Radio New Zealand has revealed the close links between lobbyists and politicians- an area of New Zealand politics that is completely unregulated. The evidence in Guyon Espiner’s series Mate, Comrade, Brother, the ...
Over a million New Zealanders will receive a little extra to help with the cost of living as a result of our 1 April changes. Around the world, inflation is causing costs to rise and we’re feeling it here at home. In tough times, we need to support those who ...
With benefit changes coming into effect tomorrow, the Green Party is calling on the Government to lift benefits to liveable levels to make sure everyone has what they need to thrive. ...
Following decades of work by the Green Party alongside the organics sector, people will finally be able to be confident that products labelled organic have met standards. ...
The Green Party supports immediate Government action to close the pay gap as called for in an open letter released today by the Human Rights Commission and 50 other organisations. ...
The Green Party is today welcoming the release of the Government’s waste strategy, but says it has a big gap without action on the container return scheme for beverage containers. ...
The Government’s decision to introduce ‘mass arrivals’ legislation goes against the values we all share of Aotearoa as a place where all people are treated fairly, the Green Party says. ...
MINISTER DAVIDSON MUST RESIGN AFTER 'VIOLENCE' COMMENTS Marama Davidson should stand down as ‘Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence’ for the clear and outrageous statement she made at the Posie Parker protest that ‘white straight men’ are the cause of violence. Her offensive, racist, and sexist remarks ...
In response to Newshub and Amelia Wade’s obvious and ham-fisted attempt at a typical and predicted political hit job. As any politically aware reporter would know, any Cabinet subcommittee has a duty and obligation as a part of any government to respond to any UN declaration, in this case ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for the invitation to speak with you today and in your busy lives turning up to this meeting. Forty five years ago, in Howick, often described as racist, and where few Maori lived because it had been a ‘Fencible’ settlement at the time of the Anglo-Maori ...
The Green Party has marked the National Party’s new education policy and given it a fail, especially for its failure to address the underlying drivers of school performance. ...
“This is it; 2023 will be the last opportunity New Zealand has to get a government that will confront the climate emergency with the urgency it demands,” says the Green Party’s co-leader and climate change spokesperson, James Shaw. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised in their State of the Planet speech today. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party after the election must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised today. ...
You will never truly understand, from the pictures you’ve seen in the newspapers or on the six o-clock news, the sheer scale of the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle. ...
We’re boosting incomes and helping ease cost of living pressures on Kiwis through a range of bread and butter support measures that will see pensioners, students, families, and those on main benefits better off from the start of next month. ...
The error Labour Ministers made by stopping work on a beverage container return scheme will be reversed by the Greens at the earliest opportunity as part of the next Government. ...
“Cabinet needs to do better - and today has shown exactly why we need Green Ministers in cabinet, so we can prioritise action to cut climate pollution and support people to make ends meet,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nanaia Mahuta, departs for Europe today, where she will attend a session of the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Brussels and make a short bilateral visit to Sweden. “NATO is a long-standing and likeminded partner for Aotearoa New Zealand. It is valuable to join a session of ...
A secure facility that will house protected information for a broad range of government agencies is being constructed at RNZAF Base Auckland (Whenuapai), Public Service, Defence and GCSB Minister Andrew Little says. The facility will consolidate and expand the government’s current secure storage capacity and capability for at least another ...
From today, 1.8 million flu vaccines are available to help protect New Zealanders from winter illness, Minister of Health Ayesha Verrall has announced. “Vaccination against flu is safe and will be a first line of defence against severe illness this winter,” Dr Verrall said. “We can all play a part ...
Associate Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage Willow-Jean Prime has congratulated Professor Rangi Mātāmua (Ngāi Tūhoe) who was last night named the prestigious Te Pou Whakarae o Aotearoa New Zealander of the Year. Professor Mātāmua, who is the government's Chief Adviser Mātauranga Matariki, was the winner of the New Zealander ...
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta has announced further sanctions on political and military figures from Russia and Belarus as part of the ongoing response to the war in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Alekseevna Lvova-Belova ...
A new public housing development planned for Whangārei will provide 95 warm and dry, modern homes for people in need, Housing Minister Megan Woods says. The Kauika Road development will replace a motel complex in the Avenues with 89 three-level walk up apartments, alongside six homes. “Whangārei has a rapidly ...
New Zealand welcomes the substantial conclusion of negotiations on the United Kingdom’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. “Continuing to grow our export returns is a priority for the Government and part of our plan to ...
Ngā Iwi o Taranaki and the Crown initial Taranaki Maunga collective redress deed Ngā Iwi o Taranaki and the Crown have today initialled the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Deed, named Te Ruruku Pūtakerongo, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little says. “I am pleased to be here for this ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Barbara Edmonds has announced the 2023 Pacific Language week series, highlighting the need to revitalise and sustain languages for future generations. “Pacific languages are a cornerstone of our health, wellbeing and identity as Pacific peoples. When our languages are spoken, heard and celebrated, our communities thrive,” ...
880,000 pensioners to get a boost to Super, including 5000 veterans 52,000 students to see a bump in allowance or loan living costs Approximately 223,000 workers to receive a wage rise as a result of the minimum wage increasing to $22.70 8,000 community nurses to receive pay increase of up ...
Over 8000 community nurses will start receiving well-deserved pay rises of up to 15 percent over the next month as a Government initiative worth $200 million a year kicks in, says Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall. “The Government is committed to ensuring nurses are paid fairly and will receive ...
Tākiri mai ana te ata Ki runga o ngākau mārohirohi Kōrihi ana te manu kaupapa Ka ao, ka ao, ka awatea Tihei mauri ora Let the dawn break On the hearts and minds of those who stand resolute As the bird of action sings, it welcomes the dawn of a ...
The Government is introducing a scheme which will lift incomes for artists, support them beyond the current spike in cost of living and ensure they are properly recognised for their contribution to New Zealand’s economy and culture. “In line with New Zealand’s Free Trade Agreement with the UK, last ...
New Zealand is welcoming a decision by the United Nations General Assembly to ask the International Court of Justice to consider countries’ international legal obligations on climate change. The United Nations has voted unanimously to adopt a resolution led by Vanuatu to ask the ICJ for an advisory opinion on ...
More Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 59 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. “The graduation for recruit wing 364 was my first since becoming Police Minister last week,” Ginny Andersen said. “It was a real honour. I want to ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta met with Vanuatu Foreign Minister Jotham Napat in Port Vila, today, signing a new Statement of Partnership — Aotearoa New Zealand’s first with Vanuatu. “The Mauri Statement of Partnership is a joint expression of the values, priorities and principles that will guide the Aotearoa New Zealand–Vanuatu relationship into ...
The Government has passed new legislation amending the Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) levy regime, ensuring the best balance between a fair and cost effective funding model. The Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Levy) Amendment Bill makes changes to the existing law to: charge the levy on contracts of ...
The Government has passed the Organic Products and Production Bill through its third reading today in Parliament helping New Zealand’s organic sector to grow and lift export revenue. “The Organic Products and Production Bill will introduce robust and practical regulation to give businesses the certainty they need to continue to ...
The Digital Identity Services Trust Framework Bill, which will make it easier for New Zealanders to safely prove who they are digitally has passed its third and final reading today. “We know New Zealanders want control over their identity information and how it’s used by the companies and services they ...
The full Cyclone Gabrielle Recovery Taskforce has met formally for the first time as work continues to help the regions recover and rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle. The Taskforce, which includes representatives from business, local government, iwi and unions, covers all regions affected by the January and February floods and cyclone. ...
Changes have been made to legislation to give subcontractors the confidence they will be paid the retention money they are owed should the head contractor’s business fail, Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods announced today. “These changes passed in the Construction Contracts (Retention Money) Amendment Act safeguard subcontractors who ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood has unveiled five scenarios for one of the most significant city-shaping projects for Tāmaki Makaurau in coming decades, the additional Waitematā Harbour crossing. “Aucklanders and businesses have made it clear that the biggest barriers to the success of Auckland is persistent congestion and after years of ...
The Government has passed new legislation that ensures New Zealand’s civil aviation rules are fit for purpose in the 21st century, Associate Transport Minister Kiri Allan says. The Civil Aviation Bill repeals and replaces the Civil Aviation Act 1990 and the Airport Authorities Act 1966 with a single modern law ...
A Bill aimed at helping to reduce delays in the coronial jurisdiction passed its third reading today. The Coroners Amendment Bill, amongst other things, will establish new coronial positions, known as Associate Coroners, who will be able to perform most of the functions, powers, and duties of Coroners. The new ...
The Prime Minister has asked the Cabinet Secretary to conduct a review into communications between Stuart Nash and his donors. The review will take place over the next two months. The review will look at whether there have been any other breaches of cabinet collective responsibility or confidentiality, or whether ...
The new Recovery Visa to help bring in additional migrant workers to support cyclone and flooding recovery has attracted over 600 successful applicants within its first month. “The Government is moving quickly to support businesses bring in the workers needed to recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods,” Michael ...
Bills to ensure non-teaching employees and contractors at schools, and unlicensed childcare services like mall crèches are vetted by police, and provide safeguards for school board appointments have passed their first reading today. The Education and Training Amendment Bill (No. 3) and the Regulatory Systems (Education) Amendment Bill have now ...
Wānanga will gain increased flexibility and autonomy that recognises the unique role they fill in the tertiary education sector, Associate Minister of Education Kelvin Davis has announced. The Education and Training Amendment Bill (No.3), that had its first reading today, proposes a new Wānanga enabling framework for the three current ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta will travel to Vanuatu today, announcing that Aotearoa New Zealand will provide further relief and recovery assistance there, following the recent destruction caused by Cyclones Judy and Kevin. While in Vanuatu, Minister Mahuta will meet with Vanuatu Acting Prime Minister Sato Kilman, Foreign Minister Jotham ...
The Government is backing Police and making communities safer with the roll-out of state-of-the-art tools and training to frontline staff, Police Minister Ginny Andersen said today. “Frontline staff face high-risk situations daily as they increasingly respond to sophisticated organised crime, gang-violence and the availability of illegal firearms,” Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government has provided Police with more tools to crack down on gang offending with the passing of new legislation today which will further improve public safety, Justice Minister Kiri Allan says. The Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Bill amends existing law to: create new targeted warrant and additional search powers ...
The Government today announced far-reaching changes to the way we make, use, recycle and dispose of waste, ushering in a new era for New Zealand’s waste system. The changes will ensure that where waste is recycled, for instance by households at the kerbside, it is less likely to be contaminated ...
New legislation passed by the Government today will make it harder for gangs and their leaders to benefit financially from crime that causes considerable harm in our communities, Minister of Justice Kiri Allan says. Since the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 came into effect police have been highly successful in ...
This evening I have advised the Governor-General to dismiss Stuart Nash from all his ministerial portfolios. Late this afternoon I was made aware by a news outlet of an email Stuart Nash sent in March 2020 to two contacts regarding a commercial rent relief package that Cabinet had considered. In ...
Legislation to enable more build-to-rent developments has passed its third reading in Parliament, so this type of rental will be able to claim interest deductibility in perpetuity where it meets the requirements. Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods, says the changes will help unlock the potential of the build-to-rent sector and ...
A law passed by Parliament today exempts employers from paying fringe benefit tax on certain low emission commuting options they provide or subsidise for their staff. “Many employers already subsidise the commuting costs of their staff, for instance by providing car parks,” Environment Minister David Parker said. “This move supports ...
Today marks the 40th anniversary of Closer Economic Relations (CER), our gold standard free trade agreement between New Zealand and Australia. “CER was a world-leading agreement in 1983, is still world-renowned today and is emblematic of both our countries’ commitment to free trade. The WTO has called it the world’s ...
The Government is making procedural changes to the Immigration Act to ensure that 2013 amendments operate as Parliament intended. The Government is also introducing a new community management approach for asylum seekers. “While it’s unlikely we’ll experience a mass arrival due to our remote positioning, there is no doubt New ...
The Government welcomes progress on public sector pay adjustment (PSPA) agreements, and the release of the updated public service pay guidance by the Public Service Commission today, Minister for the Public Service Andrew Little says. “More than a dozen collective agreements are now settled in the public service, Crown Agents, ...
The Government has introduced the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Bill to further support the recovery and rebuild from the recent severe weather events in the North Island. “We know from our experiences following the Canterbury and Kaikōura earthquakes that it will take some time before we completely understand the ...
Tea drinkers of Aotearoa, your new favourite dunking bikkie is here. There are several things I love about this recipe. The first is that they make a delicious dunking biscuit, the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea shared with friends. The second is that the recipe is ...
Part two of writer Marty Smith’s reporting from her flood-damaged home.Read part one here. Sunday 12 March, 21 days after the floods.Google Maps shows a pale blue line for the flat-lined bridge between Taradale and Waiohiki and sends you instead over the Expressway to Merge Like A Zip, ...
Bard Billot on the booted out broadcasterSpartans, prepare for glory! The hardy army of Today FM Spartans Camps out on the harsh lands of talk radio. The long months of the campaign Have worn down their resolve, For though they have loyally broadcast Their snappy banter and hot ...
The danger of National's policy is that it undoes much of an informal pact with Labour to depoliticise education at a time of real struggleOpinion: The National Party’s recently released education policy narrowly channels nearly every tired and cliched right-wing approach to schooling. If you have been in education for ...
A refurbished, expanded and more earthquake-proof building is a still few years away. Can it live up to the impeccable postmodernist vibes of its predecessor?A long time ago, my non-Wellington then-boyfriend was visiting the windy city and asked the barber what he recommended in town. “Dunno mate,” the barber ...
Doing the cryptic crossword isn’t simply a hobby. It’s a way of life, a love affair – even a full-blown obsession. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Illustrations by Asia Martusia King. Clue: Mafia boss consumed first dish free of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The rout of the Liberals in Aston is a disaster for Peter Dutton. The party has defied history – in the worst possible way. This is the first time in more than a century ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Morgan Hancock/AAP With 44% of enrolled voters counted in today’s Aston federal byelection, the ABC has Labor expected to win ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Morgan Hancock/AAP With 44% of enrolled voters counted in today’s Aston federal byelection, the ABC has Labor expected to win ...
Analysis - When is a cabinet minister not a cabinet minister? The faulty logic of Stuart Nash has landed him and Labour in a heap of trouble but opened the door to serious reform of the Official Information Act, Tim Watkin writes. ...
Jubi News in Jayapura Indonesia’s Papua police chief Inspector-General Mathius D Fakhiri has called for action to ensure that “security disturbances” in the Puncak Jaya highlands do not widen in the face of escalating attacks by pro-independence militants. “For Puncak, we will take immediate action,” he said. According to General ...
What are you going to be watching this month? We round up everything coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ+. The biggies Party Down (all seasons on TVNZ+ from April 1) Thirteen years is a long time between drinks and ...
Ginny Andersen has landed a hot-potato portfolio and has been in Cabinet less than two months - the opposition will be eager to test her mettle this election year. ...
The executive producer of Modern Family has issued an incendiary claim about New Zealanders cheering and clapping in public. Hayden Donnell gets to the bottom of things.The sitcom Modern Family is remembered as a “warm-hearted story about the unbreakable bonds of family”; a tale of radically different people overcoming ...
As rain kept falling across January, February and into March, all band members cold do was sit at home cancelling festivals and posting sad Facebook messages to fans. The first post landed on January 3. As wild weather began hitting the country, campers around Northland packed up their tents ...
Because pro-social behaviour emerges so often after disaster, community empowerment should be central to disaster mitigation and recoveryOpinion: Cyclone Gabrielle caused major damage across the North Island. This unprecedented climate event created great uncertainty. People are wondering if, or when, they can return to their homes, the extent to ...
"We, women, loving you; you, men, finding new women to love": a Francophile love story in NZ Louis woke up and found out Marine was not lying next to him in bed. He checked his phone – 5:30am. The aurora shone a bright gold on the windows of the detached ...
Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, we looked at how co-governance really works, Labour's record on climate action, what the new AUKUS nuclear submarine deal means for New Zealand, Posie Parker's visit to Auckland and the free speech debate, and the damage processed foods are ...
The radio workers were caught by the unexpected speed of the decline of NZ's consumer economy, since Christmas – and they won't be the last. Jonathan Milne reports. When broadcaster Tova O’Brien uttered the resounding words, "they’ve f***ed us", they resonated beyond the 1 percent audience share of a small talk radio operation ...
A New Zealand Battery Project centred on Lake Onslow in Central Otago is up against a cheaper North Island alternative Studies into whether a massive pumped-hydro scheme at Lake Onslow is New Zealand’s best bet for a secure energy future may have only four more months to run. While the ...
This is The Detail's Long Read - one in-depth story read by us every weekend. This week, it's Jungle Warfare, written by Ellen Rykers and published in New Zealand Geographic's March/April 2023 edition. You can find the full article, with photos by Adrian Malloch, here. Hundreds of pest plant species—many of them garden escapees—run rampant in ...
The Red, White & Brass star talks spectacle, honouring family sacrifices and his debut lead role over a Tongan lunch in Otāhuhu.Name a creative pursuit and 28-year-old Tongan New Zealander John-Paul Foliaki will give it a go. That is, if he hasn’t already. Foliaki plays the lead role, Maka, ...
To mark 100 years since the great short story writer’s death, books editor Claire Mabey marathonned her collected works – these are the top 20.Reader, I did it. I read all of Katherine Mansfield’s short stories. Confession: I haven’t always been a fan. I have tedious memories of ...
In her first season as an ANZ Premiership captain, Ameliaranne Ekenasio was nervous about filling the shoes of the legendary Magic captains before her. But, as Merryn Anderson writes, the quiet leader has the full respect of the side who voted her in. When the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic created history ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Ordway, Associate Professor Sport Management and Sport Integrity Lead, University of Canberra Lawyers for Australian 800-metre star Peter Bol say allegations the runner engaged in doping should be dropped after two independent labs found no evidence he used a banned substance. ...
Vanuatu’s Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Trading Post Ltd, the owner of the VanuatuDaily Post newspaper, BUZZ FM96 and other media outlets, in a case against the government’s refusal to renew the company’s former media director’s work permit. Dan McGarry, who served as a director of the ...
Balclutha-based farmer Stephen Jack has been selected by local party members as National’s candidate in Taieri for the 2023 General Election. “Taieri is my home and I’m incredibly excited to have the opportunity to campaign for a National Government ...
Analysis - The Stuart Nash scandal has the potential to damage Labour's election chances, Marama Davidson creates controversy and Auckland's second harbour crossing to be built earlier than expected. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare JM Burns, Assistant Professor and Non-executive Director, Bond University Shutterstock The story of the Aboriginal Community Benefit Fund, whose name and marketing misled thousands of customers into believing it was Indigenous owned and run, is a stark example of ...
It’s the biannual reminder to tamper with that pesky analogue clock you still have in your kitchen for some reason (or at the least your microwave/car stereo). This Sunday at 3am, we will all gain an hour of sleep as the clocks roll back ahead of winter. Get ready for ...
The chief ombudsman has elected to reopen his investigation into an email from former minister Stuart Nash to a pair of donors back in 2020. The email, which only came to light this week, quickly triggered Nash’s dismissal from cabinet. But in bad news for the prime minister Chris Hipkins, ...
Last week we celebrated The Bulletin’s fifth birthday with Spinoff members and staff at The Spinoff’s offices in Auckland. The Bulletin launched in March 2018 seeking to curate news and great journalism and email that to people for free each weekday morning. That hasn’t changed and it’s still going strong. ...
The biggest increase in the history of the minimum wage will have a huge impact for workers on low wages, says the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions. From tomorrow, the minimum wage will rise to $22.70, up from $21.20. This increase will benefit ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By George Siemens, Co-Director, Professor, Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning, University of South Australia agsandrew/Shutterstock Recent public interest in tools like ChatGPT has raised an old question in the artificial intelligence community: is artificial general intelligence (in this case, ...
Auckland’s wet summer is delivering one final blow just in time for the weekend. The Synthony festival, due to be held on Saturday at Auckland Domain and featuring performances by Shapeshifter, Dave Dobbyn and Kimbra, has been postponed following predictions of heavy rainfall across the day. More than 20,000 people ...
We would like to see a temporary by-pass of the major slip on State Highway 25A built to alleviate the concerns of the residents of the Eastern Side of Coromandel. Cyclone Gabrielle inflicted substantial damage to roading on the Coromandel Peninsula. ...
Alex Casey watches Wellmania, the new Netflix comedy starring Instagram sensation Celeste Barber. The lowdownBased on the book by journalist Brigid Delaney, Netflix comedy Wellmania follows successful yet shambolic Australian food writer Liv Bealey (Celeste Barber) as she embarks on a quest to get well as quickly as possible. ...
The Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier says he has reopened his investigation into an Official Information Act complaint about a decision by former Minister Stuart Nash. "The original enquiry was discontinued in May last year in discussion with the ...
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) has welcomed this morning’s Government announcement to address pay disparities in the nursing and kaiāwhina workforces from 1 April. NZNO Chief Executive Paul ...
Don’t let broccoli’s virtuous goody two-shoes reputation put you off – these verdant and versatile florets make the perfect addition to tray bakes, salads, soups and more.I reckon broccoli’s “superfood” status has given it a bit of a bad reputation. Because it’s so healthy (and reasonably inoffensive), its nutrients ...
A poem from Michele Leggott’s forthcoming book Face to the Sky. escher x nendo I hear you Eddie Woo coming clear across the galleries of intercochlear space you have the measure of these galaxies earthmeasure you have the measure of their difference earthmisia you translate one world artemisia and here ...
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.AUCKLAND1Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Doubleday, $26) The new, smaller format of Bonnie Garmus’ ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Blunden, Professor and Head of Paediatric Sleep Research, CQUniversity Australia ShutterstockWhat would happen to a person if they didn’t get the sleep they needed? Hedya, age 11, Australia This is a really good question Heyda, because it ...
Within hours of Duncan Garner telling listeners ‘It looks like the end of us’, the station’s website, social media and archives had been scrubbed from the internet.Right now across Auckland you can still see ads for Leo Molloy’s doomed mayoral campaign and electorate offices adorned with a smiling Jacinda ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has spoken more about the Stuart Nash email scandal at a media conference at the Manurewa RSA today, saying Nash has been "ultimately held accountable". ...
By Barbara Dreaver in Port Vila Vanuatu is in celebration mode after winning a significant battle on the world stage over climate change. In a United Nations resolution spearheaded by Vanuatu, the world’s top court will now advise on countries’ legal obligations to fight climate change. It also means the ...
By Jan Kohout, RNZ Pacific journalist New Caledonia’s Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) say they will tell the French Prime Minister of the Kanak people’s “sense of humiliation” over the last independence referendum. The pro-independence alliance is set to talk to the French state from April 7-15. The ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is visiting the Manurewa RSA meeting veterans who are among hundreds of thousands to receive higher payments from tomorrow. ...
This is an excerpt from The Spinoff’s pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up to have it delivered to your inbox every Friday here. If you want a middle-aged white man to play a disappointed-with-the-state-of-their-life middle-aged-white-man, you have two options: Jason Segel or Chris O’Dowd. Clearly, Segel was already busy ...
Over four million people have returned their Individual Forms for the 2023 Census, Stats NZ said today. “This is a great milestone. We didn’t hit this milestone until 30 April in the 2018 Census. I would like to thank everybody who has been counted ...
The government's recent announcement of five high carbon options for the next harbour crossing has disappointed those concerned about climate change. TRAC, a rail advocacy collective, opposes the short-sighted decision, citing the urgent need to reduce ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Guzyal Hill, Senior Lecturer, Charles Darwin University Shutterstock Sunday will mark the end of the Daylight Saving Time (DST) in eastern Australia, but there are many who would like to see it last longer or permanently. Twice a year, New ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has launched a call for evidence to support its work on Aotearoa New Zealand’s emissions reduction targets and emissions budgets. This call for evidence is an opportunity for anyone to share information, data and ...
As the move to digital commerce continues, fraudsters are counting on consumers to let their guard down and to supply personal information. And according to new research released today by global payments technology company Visa (NYSE: V), which ...
On the other side to Sir Ed is the scene of one of our greatest conservation triumphs. Allison Hess explains.Stuffed into your wallet or passed across the till, the New Zealand $5 note circulates largely unobserved. But if you were to take a closer look at the ubiquitous burnt ...
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is asking for views on which overseas regulators it will draw on for some hazardous substance assessments and reassessments. The recognised international regulators must regulate hazardous substances in a similar ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Shortis, Lecturer, RMIT University Alex Brandon/AP Events often seem inevitable in hindsight. The indictment of former US President Donald Trump on criminal charges has been a possibility since the start of his presidency – arguably, since close to the ...
Te Hautū Kahurangi | Tertiary Education Union is ready to fight for every job at Te Pūkenga, as members digest a series of shocking statements from their Chief Executive on RNZ’s Nine To Noon programme today. Peter Winder stated, amongst other things, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology Media Whale Stock/Shutterstock What would you do to get more likes or shares on your favourite social media platform this April Fool’s Day? Would you blast an airhorn ...
New Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. Today’s contentSTUART NASH, OIA Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Stuart Nash scandal boils down to cock-up vs ‘conspiracy’ (paywalled) Marc Daalder (Newsroom): The opaque transparency of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tara McAllister, Research Fellow, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Shutterstock/Guy Hasler As global environmental challenges grow, people and societies are increasingly looking to Indigenous knowledge for solutions. Indigenous knowledge is particularly appealing for addressing climate change because ...
Tommy de Silva explains an interesting new legal shift:Māori can now switch between the Māori and general electoral rolls more easily thanks to a law change. These new rules allow anyone of Māori descent to switch between the rolls whenever they please until three months before an election. That ...
The rules for overseas voting are changing from today for this year’s General Election to recognise the effect the pandemic has had on international travel. ‘This is a temporary change made by Parliament for New Zealanders living overseas who have ...
It’s a headline I never quite expected to write but in recent days have been wondering if I would have to. Former US president Donald Trump will be arrested after a New York grand jury voted to indict him over alleged hush money paid to former adult film star Stormy ...
Everything you need to know about the ticketing agency’s ongoing debacles.So Ticketmaster’s back in the news. Why is the company that should be spitting out concert tickets calmly and quietly sparking so many headlines? Where do you want to start? The lawsuits, the NFTs or the super-mad Swifties? It’s ...
Auckland Council has proposed significant budget cuts without assessing the potential impacts on the region’s environment and climate change efforts, an official response reveals. No assessment was made as Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown never asked for one, ...
Greenpeace is welcoming the National Party’s new renewable energy policy - ‘Electrify NZ’ - with its focus on increasing renewable electricity generation to replace coal, gas and petrol-fuelled transport. But the organisation is calling on National ...
The National Party has pledged to “cut red tape” in the electricity sector through a new policy that it claims will double New Zealand’s supply of renewable energy. Dubbed “Electrify NZ”, the policy was unveiled this morning by party leader Christopher Luxon. “National wants a future where buses and trains ...
By Tom Peters, Socialist Equality Group 30 March 2023 Original url: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/03/30/jspf-m30.html About 20,000 secondary teachers at public schools in New Zealand held a nationwide strike on March 29. It followed a much larger one-day strike on March 16 involving ...
In his first two months as Prime Minister Chris Hipkins impressed for his directness, clarity and determination, and the assured way in which he transitioned into his new role. His everyman style, from the hoodie to the more than occasional meat pie, ...
“So the key things that the current government has to tackle are strategic – to look as though they are in charge at the time of the 2020 election and not just battling the rising pressures. Here is what I would do immediately.
First, there is a need for a strategic policy group, probably in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and separate from the already existent policy advisory group which deals with the short-term crises. Given the daily turmoil, I have no problems with the Prime Minister having such a short-term group. But within government there is no overarching medium and long term policy thinking”
https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/what-should-the-government-be-doing
At last a commentator points out the obvious….whats the plan?
I did a post on the same thing on July 22nd.
The one area of this government that does have strong plans is the urban spatial frameworks, through transport and housing. The main question is whether they will be in long enough to confirm them.
and I made the same point myself days ago….the transport and housing plans i would suggest are in themselves incomplete but importantly are not part of a comprehensive plan….employment, taxation, inequality, immigration. trade, population even…..if we are going to transform our economy (and society) its a wee bit more than some tram tracks and prefab housing.
The Coalition have the ideal person in Jacinda Adern to take people with them but she needs a plan to sell.
Great just what we need. Yet another little group of nodding heads, drawing six figure salaries and preparing another ‘report’ on how to tell citizens to live their lives.
Like every other trough established by this government, it will have no power or relevance.
The only committee that has any power is the committee of 2 – Ardern and Peters.
Nothing else means anything.
We can take it then that you dont think strategic planning is necessary or desirable?
You can take it that the right wing thinks consideration of evidence, consultation and deliberation, are superfluous.
As Wayne Mapp said once. “This is not how we do policy in New Zealand”.
Pat
you said “First, there is a need for a strategic policy group”
Yes a ‘summit between the three coalition Parties’ – would be a very strong issue to first do here so the Government can then clearly set about honouring all their promises made pre-election such as;
1/ Tackling the Climate change effects.
We still see the trucking lobby increasing truck use and no real regional rail being used as we in the provinces need trucks off our second class narrow winding roads as tjhey are now so dangerous and being destroyed by constant heavier trucks wrecking them as they increase the transport CO2 emmissions where rail would be lowering the CO2 levels.
2/ Secondly; – need the Government to restore the “free to air TV channel for Public affairs investigative jouralism as we Nationnal Party media is sending negative meessages about the new Labour co-alition Government andn that will harm our cause to get the issues aired on TV in a open and free from bias manner and those two issues are among the urgently needed issues to deal with right now.
you will note the quotation marks….the point I believe Brian Easton is making is that its all very well for the Coalition to address the problems (of which there are many) as they arise, but like previous administrations there is no overarching strategy (other than vague feel good slogans) ….if anything of substance is to be achieved, including reelection then this Gov needs to devote some energy (and PDQ) to strategic planning rather than wasting it all on firefighting….i’d suggest that its best opportunity to achieve this is with the Carbon Neutral 2050 policy due to be released early next year….but that is being led by a Minister outside Cabinet and support party member and is only a few months away so is it likely to provide such?
In any government, the first year is their ideologically strongest.
Both in beliefs and in polls it goes down from here.
If that is true then it dosnt bode well does it?
No.
“Should I say something about the quality of people in the strategic policy group? Is it necessary to say that while they need to be sympathetic to a transformative government, the emphasis has to be on competence rather than political correctness? Perhaps I have to, for the government’s record thus far has to scatter an awful lot of politically correct incompetents through its advisory committees (but no more than predecessor governments).”
The last bit deserves repeating.
“….for the government’s record thus far has to scatter an awful lot of politically correct incompetents through its advisory committees (but no more than predecessor governments).”
Brian Easton…
Pat,
We spoke at length to the Climate change “zero carbon” committee ‘team”‘ when they came to Napier and held their ‘road show’ last month.
We used another emission problem that the comittee had not yet considered yet.
That was about the ‘elephant in the room’ about the other large freight road transport emissions that were so badly affecting our climate and that was the “yyre dust emissions of small plastic particles that are shedding from truck tyres at an alarming rate that is now found on the ice caps and that black dust is now exellerating the melting of the ice caps.
The whole panel was shunned like a mullet, and said they never throught of that as being a problem and now said they do so we hope they will now curtail road freight in favour of regional rail freight as trains dont use tyres and only steel wheels.
Subject ; Tyre dust is another form of plastic so use rail it has steel wheels non-polluting. – ‘ Carbon emissions.’
When you drive your car don’t forget that tyres are made from plastic too!!!
So tyre dust is being spread all around the roads and into our water as we drive.
https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2017-002.pdf
quote;
3. Tyres: abrasion while driving Tyres get eroded when used. The particles are formed from the outer parts of the tyre and consist of a matrix of synthetic polymers, namely Styrene Butadiene Rubber (approximately 60%), in a mix with natural rubber and many other additives (Sundt et al., 2014). Tyre dust will then either be spread by the wind or washed off the road by rain. In this study, losses of synthetic rubber are considered but losses of natural rubber are not.
There is no reliable information on the transfer of microplastics from tyres to the world’s oceans. Both Norwegian and Swedish researchers have pointed out that a large fraction of particles found in the sea seem to originate from car tyres (Essel et al., 2015; Sundt et al., 2014).
End.
Finally, the long term best solution is to use far more rail freight and passenger services to give funding to upgrade the rail network in all our regions to expand rail freight/passenger services.
Rail and reducing pollution are key areas of any strategy IMO. I’d like to think that the electrification and expansion (at least of use) of the entire rail network could form part of an interconnected strategy….but one that is detailed, at least broadly costed and which has a timeline not deferred to some indeterminate future.
Pat very good analogy of the way forward.
We need to use solar panel backup power on wagons of freight trains and ‘reserve generation power systems’ (direct drive generators on the rail drive system) to also complete partical or total electricifation of rail use to caputure the way forward for even the most ardent opposers of rail use.
Electric EV vehicles use these systems now so should trains use them.
The new BMW EV models now have solar panels on the roof of their new EV models.
Yes
Not withstanding the health impacts to human beings and other life, from the toxic dust ge generated by break pads as well as tyres…
One two,
yes sorry and thanks for that here read this explosive Auckland infrustructure report commioned for that region shows that tyre dust with brake and cluth dust are very high air pollution emitters so trucks with 34 tyres on each track and use braking and clutch use very often in our own “residential zones ” are damaging the health and wellbeing of many of us all.
Trucks are industrial activities that should be kept far away from our residental zones where high populations reside. No to any industrial activities near our residential zones please NZTA government here our call.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paul_Kennedy4/publication/259756890_Kennedy_PC_Gadd_J_Moncrieff_I_2002_Emission_Factors_for_Contaminants_Released_by_Motor_Vehicles_in_New_Zealand_Report_prepared_by_Kingett_Mitchell_Ltd_and_Fuels_Energy_Management_Group_Ltd_for_Ministr/links/00b4952da26a69dc47000000/Kennedy-PC-Gadd-J-Moncrieff-I-2002-Emission-Factors-for-Contaminants-Released-by-Motor-Vehicles-in-New-Zealand-Report-prepared-by-Kingett-Mitchell-Ltd-and-Fuels-Energy-Management-Group-Ltd-for-Min.pdf
http://www.moh.govt.nz/notebook/nbbooks.nsf/0/B0D63B72C7235954CC257F800004BBD5/$file/health-impact-transport-phac.pdf
A free to air, government funded tv station, free from bias but doesn’t criticise the government?
The stupidity of left leaning voters astounds me. How’s your subscription to that bastion of free press, pravda?
The post you replied to may not be the most clearly articulated of all time, but it would nonetheless take some pretty rank stupidity to get out of it what you did.
Idiot number 2, step on up!
Did you miss the part where the original idiot talked about he national party media? Then demanded a free to air tv channel that is free from bias but only presented views the original idiot agrees with?
I can only suggest you read it again.
three cent biscuit….. aka tuppence shrewsbury….. do you really think calling people idiots is helping you? Good luck with that.
Tuppence Shrewsbury is a right wing advocate are you not.
So the corporate owned media dont critisise the government?
That is a lie as the ‘commecial media do what their paymasters tell them to do so your theory is bunk.
They do. And what’s wrong wth that?
My problem with your suggestions is that a government funded tv channel should only air views you approve of. Hardly bias free as you seem to imagine it would be. It would only be right wing bias free. Which
One of the failures of the current Labour-led government, is the lack of urgency and limited expertise they have provided for revitalising public service media. It should have had high priority.
Maybe Robertson has has got more contacts in the corporate media who he can feed lines/info to, and that he doesn’t have any similar contacts in RNZ?
Public service media, at arms length from government, free from bias, and that holds all political parties and MPs to account, is absolutely necessary to democracy. Some non public service media journos also do that.
However, corporate media puts much more focus on cheerleading private enterprise, and capitalist values, and pollies who support those things.
I think I have to disagree with a free to air TV channel even though I would like one myself. I have two children in there twenties and thirties and both do not even have TV Aerials and none of their friends watch free to air TV, its really the older generation who watch it and they are unlikely to change the way they vote.
Have a look at what TVNZ is doing – massive expansive of free to view online TV programmes and movies.
That is what a public service TV channel can do – freeview plus ondemand viewing online.
Clare Curran has totally ignored what can be done with TVNZ. It’s not just about current affairs. TVNZ ondemand has an LGBT stream, it has Scanadanavian TV programmes, it has documentaries, it has express shows available ondemand the same week as in the US, and I suspect it is pulling in some younger viewers.
This is one major act of terrorism that won’t get any coverage in the Western media.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180727-breaking-israel-storms-al-aqsa-compound-during-friday-prayers-shots-fired/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXgwRfjK1ug
Add it to the list of Israeli agression and the continued 2 fingers to the world over occupied territories.
Netanyahu is a war monger with USA backing….this only goes one way.
More like the last bastion of freedom against the tyrannical demands of the followers of an imaginary leader
Yes, the imaginary leader as portrayed in the first testament is indeed cruel and tyrannical. Perhaps this goes part of the way to explaining the Zionists’ behaviour.
If the state of Israel isn’t a Jewish state, as it’s not anti-Semitic to criticise it, then how can any logical person support theocracy over democracy?
Non- sequitur. Firstly, the state of Israel does not represent all Jews, and secondly, Israel has pretty well made itself a theocracy by giving privilege to only those who believe in the God of the first testament. Are there any Jewish atheists who are Israeli citizens? This puts the religion pretty well in control, regardless of whether the politicians are church officials.
Many Israelis consider themselves to be secular or atheists. Not exactly a theocracy.
https://www.quora.com/What-is-it-like-to-live-in-Israel-and-be-an-atheist
I’ll stick with the first non-sequitur, then. Although it intrigues me that Christians who are atheists tend not to regard themselves as Christians. (Apart from the few like Loyd Geering..) I must study your link to see how atheism links with the Jewish religion.
Well, what a nicey-nicey read. lots of concerns like ours about whether religion should be taught in schools, etc, but not one mention of how atheistic, secular Israelis justify their occupation of Palestinian territory.
It seems to me that atheistic, secular Jews can no longer maintain the argument that God Almighty Himself awarded the land to the Jews as the first testament claims. So upon what is their claim based? Sheer racism and ‘might is right’?
Or the even more tenuous one that they are not a theocracy? Are the Palestinians a theocracy?
Global coverage of the Israeli lead ‘humanitarian rescue’ of the emmy award winning White Helmets was given…
Somewhat inconsistent and selective coverage eh…
What were your thoughs about the spontaneous and daring rescue of the assets known as the White Helmets, Jenny ?
2 thoughts;
1/ “White Helmets and the their families….” sort of gives the lie to the Assad regime claim that these are all foreign jihadists, don’t you think?
2/ With reports that White Helmet personal are being detained at government checkpoints. Taking the option of passing through regime lines to rebel held areas is not an option for members of the White Helmets because this is what awaits them.
1. So, Israel….as a humanitarian gesture upon request…spontaneously and within a handful of hours time window….rounded up some 800 White Helmets and their families….
Israel, being the humanitarians that they are, shooting children, women, men, medics, animals etc in Palestine…do a 180 and ‘rescue’ … who exactly…so what does Israels hypocrisy point likely point to…
That Israel have been operating inside Syria an extended period of time, Jenny…that is what it points to…
Then the humanitatians they are…do not take one single ‘rescued’ person…not a single one…
Instead, the ‘rescued’ are being distributed like isis/al nusra cells openly to western nations…
The alleged events to not pass the weakest sniff test…
#2. Someone is lying…rescuers or sponsored moderate terror agents…
There is a growing wave of repulsion around the world to the actions of the imperialist apartheid Zionist regime.
+1 Jenny, TC, One Two, Ed
As well as all their victims killed and maimed also feel sorry for the jews who have the zionist regime aggressively “representing them” constantly in the media, against their will.
As Jews, we reject the myth that it’s antisemitic to call Israel racist
by Rebecca Vilkomerson, The Independent, 23 July 2018
A worldwide coalition of Jewish groups has issued a joint statement condemning attempts to stifle criticism of Israel with false accusations of antisemitism….
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/antisemitisim-jews-israel-labour-party-bds-jewish-coalition-palestine-a8458601.html
yup they’ll be getting up to a fair bit of that.
They got plenty of allies in the MSM. The playbooks been refined since Glenn Becks incursions.
Probably some of the finest work about in this field given the resources.
Ireland spurns fossil fuel investments.
“In recent days members of the Dáil, the main law-making body in the Irish parliament, have passed a bill which will mean no more money goes into exploiting and using the coal, oil and gas which are among the principal drivers of global climate change.”
https://www.resilience.org/stories/2018-07-26/ireland-spurns-fossil-fuel-investments/
Pity NZ Government are having some upset about their meek movements to cut oil eploration. Perhaps they should cut all funding to the petroleum industry that National set up.
+1 cleangreen, Paaparakauta
National win the 2017 election for the 47th time 😆
https://stuff.co.nz/national/politics/105828141/nationals-loss-unfair-unjust–former-australian-pm
“Howard got *rapturous applause when he labelled the election result “disappointing and unjust and unfair”.”
* when raptors clap their wings
The rain it raineth every day upon the just and unjust fella,
But more upon the just because
The unjust took the just’s umbrella!
Go, Labour Coalition, the new unjust. And keep the umbrella up rain or shine to
protect against bird droppings from the just – this time a kookaburra (a laughing jackass).
Yes and Kookaburras laugh before rain!!
Howard yabbering here is another example of us co-ordinating with Australia as if we are on equal terms while they cherry-pick out criminals who have learned their habits in Australia. Bet most of them are Maori or brownies not whities. It’s an affront to our free country which aims for equality.
But equality with Australia is an uneasy see saw. They sent their army into native land to organise or control Aborigines. This country had the police militarised and went after Tuhoe.)
(Some of our egregious fraudsters live in Oz. But they committed their crimes in NZ so that mightn’t count there.) Thdugj h they were so worried by\\about an ordinary crim that he wasn’t allowed over the Ditch to saw farewell to his dying mother.(
Howard’s yet another moron to thick to understand mmp it would appear.
Two petty (on my part, I admit) things about John Howard:
1. He shares his birthday date (26 July) with Jacinda Ardern. He turned 79 on Thursday; she turned 38 – a difference of 41 years (= Simon Bridges’ age.)
2. The last listing in his very long Wikipedia bio – In 2017, Howard endorsed a “No” vote in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey and joined the campaign against same-sex marriage.
Says it all to me.
I quite enjoyed this by-line:
*Tracy Watkins: After being forced into opposition, National is rolling out the big guns [my bold]
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/105807472/tracy-watkins-after-the-pain-of-last-years-defeat-national-is-rolling-out-the-big-guns
During the negotiations somebody (most likely Winston) held a ‘gun’ to their heads and threatened to ‘sue’ them if they made NZF a better offer than Labour. They caved in and the rest is history, as they say. Yeah, ‘forced’ they were 😉
John Howard still has questions to answer about his role in the overthrow of Gough Whitlam.
He was deputy prime minister under Malcolm Fraser in the ensuing government.
John Howard – so knowledgeable about how democracy works with MMP. He should do, under Aussie fPtP, he was part of a Coalition Government.
Could either the Liberal or National parties ever have been able to form a government on their own?
Aus Labor must be seething after decades of unfairness!
Howard is getting doddery….in Australia labour is the largest party- were they robbed?
Coalition Government is :
Liberal Party
National party
Liberal national party (qld)
Country Liberals ( NT)
WA Nationals
Is Max DJ-ing at the National Annual Conference and playing that winning tune Lose Yourself again and again? Where is Max? And Jason??
Are Sir John and Barack in the country to play a round of golf?
It is the same old (mostly white) faces from the past in the same old place, the Sky City Convention Centre for National.
All so disappointingly predictable; so sad to see the once mighty self-entitled born-to-rule politicians wallowing in self-pity and withering away in the Hellish pit that is known as Opposition.
100% The right wing are a sorry lot.
Not sorry enough by a long chalk.
What an ass old Rat Eyes is becoming in his old age just as well that Tracey Watkins didn’t ask the Mad Monk for his two shillings worth on last years election.
Interestingly the only policy bridges mentions is reinstating charter schools. But that was an ACT policy was it not? It’s almost as if National have been using ACT as a front to intoduce policy at arms length…
As an aside I see Paul goldsmith has been getting a lot of airtime (for someone who has preferred invisibility) lately, perhaps they’re getting ready to shove Seymour under the bus in epsom.
Hooch
It’s almost as if National have been using ACT as a front to intoduce policy at arms length…
I think you have hit the nail here. In one blow too without hitting your thumb!
And there DP driven electoral wins were all totally above board.
At long last the global media are crawling out from their hidey-holes and acknowledging the disastrous effects of Climate Change. It should have happened years ago but better late than never:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/27/extreme-global-weather-climate-change-michael-mann
Yes. At last.
Even the words cc appeared in the Herald.
“Climate change is supercharging a hot and dangerous Northern Hemisphere summer.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12096744
They’ve finally stopped hedging their bets on the basis that the CC Deniers of yesteryear were worthy of equal attention. Since they weren’t sure which side was going to win the argument (as if it was a political or ideological issue) they erred on the side of caution and avoided using the term. The same can be said of most governments.
Heads should roll based on gross stupidity and neglect.
Tragically and criminally, they have started writing too late for us to mitigate many of the impacts of industrial capitalism.
The deaths of millions lie at the hands of the corporate media.
Anne,
No doubt the right wingers will still bury their arses in the sand until the water level surprasses their ability to breath under water or sand and either they snuff their lives out or they get on board with us and get serious about curtailing the carbon emissions of trucks and use rail.
cleangreen
I am suprised that you underrate the actions of the entitled wealthy to climate change spread and rise, you are usually more direct. I hope you will get your local transport issues and climate change and lost opportunities to mitigate proverty dealt to quickly and intelligently.
To escape climate change (cc) effects the comfortable will attempt to save themselves; they will climb on other’s bodies like desperate people escaping a cellar fire or a stadium stampede, or they will divest others of their resources and leave them with no defences or way of exiting. This is not hyperbole, it is observable from past events, and can be forecast from the tone and behaviour of those in positions of power today. Where there is leadership it often is puny and lacking in determination and practicality and psychology of human behaviour.
Missed this one back in March:
That’s around three times the average wage of ~$50,000
If that is the optimal point then we should probably cap incomes just above that.
NZ equals = a low wage economy. equals = slave labour economy. equals a unhappy place.
True but we can change that if we work to do so. Just started reading The Case for a maximum wage. Which is actually a misnomer as he’s actually talking about a maximum income set as a multiple of the minimum wage:
He thinks that such a system gets buy in from everyone and thus the rich won’t be able to get rid of it the same way that they got rid of high tax rates.
EDIT:
I like the point he makes here:
My bold.
I have come to the conclusion that there is a no default setting in humans that wuill be happy to say enough at any advanced wage structure. Happiness is a warm gun? (Beatles)
I think it is only poor people that appreciate the advantage of each $ of wage rise. In business studies they used to talk about ‘hygiene’ as somethingto do finding ways to reward and incentivise high earners when they became ‘ blase’ types who already had everything.
Getting buy-in from people with Affluenza for capping their wages could be like stopping elephants drunk on excesses of fermented fruit. You can imagine!
It’s not going to be easy but it does need to be done.
As the author points out we had much better distribution and equality when top tax rates were high because it got to the point that having a higher income made no difference because of the high tax rates and so more was given to the workers.
This way also gets buy in from the rich as when the minimum income goes up so does their maximum income.
It’s just going to be difficult putting such a system in place.
DTB
Yes. Well I did note that business studies were aware of the problem of satiation with top execs. So perhaps some sort of sideways promotion so they feel they have progressed even though the increase is income is foregone because it has gone into tax.
What if their top tax percentages go into an investment fund that helps to finance small, progressive, innovative businesses that advance the country’s sustainable industry or something. I think there is a crowd now called No. 8 Wire that does something like that. If the top bananas regard investing in the infrastructure and services that help with welfare a waste going into a bottomless pit, perhaps they could be satisfied to see the top percentage/s being used for development of small ‘fireflies’.
The mean household income in NZ in 2017 was $107000…lots of unhappy people out there.
The business-mania that sweeps over everyone and rains leaflets emblazoned with gold dollars onto every gathering of Commerce enables the fish farm industry to keep harping on about their exponential growth prospects even though they know that fish farms lead to pollution and disease of both the farmed and wild fish.
But, but the world is crying out for our fish. And will pay big money for it.
Oh well all right then. Go ahead and don't worry, we will have some technology to clean up after you. We will breed bigger fish that like it or grow seaweed that will process it and magically make all clean and clear again. And don't forget to talk about employment to be offered, Which needs to be over 50 at least I should think, to sound attractive enough and kill off support for informed protest,
/sarc, but not very.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018655326/could-salmon-farming-become-the-new-dairy
More private industry taking over public resources and not paying anything to the public for the risk as well as getting corporate welfare of $3 million plus from government to boot. When it all goes wrong, don’t worry the public and environment will suffer to pay for it.
Lots of bad press about these salmon farms and the food they feed them which is often from aggressively taking from ocean ecosystems which is a turn off.
I used to eat this salmon but for some reason as well as the above concerns, the quality has got worse and worse, not sure if it is the salmon, what they are eating, where they are processing it, or how old it is or some other process like freezing it and defrosting it incorrectly. The texture is wrong.
Am wondering if Arctic salmon often cheaper and processed in Denmark is a better bet as at least have the EU regulations on quality?
Interesting saenz. From personal point of view, I want to eat a bit more salmon in my diet as part of thinning my blood intelligently, trying. Will look up references mentioned.
Re the quality of “farmed” salmon. It’s to do with reduced muscle tone from having the pens in still water, the fish don’t have to work for a living.
Early on the farms were located where there was a reasonable tidal flow to disperse the waste, but this got expensive because the pens would break free or get damaged, so they moved to stiller water. Hence quality went down and effects went up. There’s also big variations in quality of what they are fed.
If you get down South, compare the quality of product from the different operations in the McKenzie. Some are in the flowing canals, some are in calm backwaters.
Graeme
I will have to look at this to understand it properly. But I glanced at the
report from Radionz and they were talking about getting into faster flowing deeper sea water so wouln’t they get the same problem they had before with cages breaking away. I think they are havering. (Old Scottish word that has stayed in my brain., sort of means ‘having people on, talking to confuse.)
You could of course make an ethical choice to not eat animal flesh at all.
Graeme
I would like to make an ethical choice to die when I choose but am not allowed to do that by supposedly well-meaning individuals and groups.
That is something useful that I would do, but am prevented from doing it.
Giving up animal flesh – fish, chicken, red or white meat is not something that I can concentrate at present, it is the possibility of losing my vision that is concentrating my mind at present. Also I want to keep my health so I can continue having ability to work for a better future than the very bad scenario we are sinking into and that takes up all my energy and fills my thoughts.
I am old and haven’t many years of intelligent life left. I don’t know if or when dementia will strike me. I think and write here and in the community trying to help the young needy, and promote understanding and assist others demonstrate to the wider public their ways of coping with the disaster that is underlying NZs complacent rock star economy.
So don’t toss simplistic single ideas at me that don’t help me in my efforts to manage my way through the confusing set of barriers erected to prevent good management by our government, central and local.
The single line comment that derails the comment being replied to is common on this blog. It s actually derisory about the problem that a commenter has raised and doesn’t attempt to discuss the matter. If something comes up that isn’t just a tendentious rerun of a continuing disagreement, it deserves more than a throwaway line.
Sorry Graeme
I got your comment mixed with that from Grey Area. Excuse is having eyesight problems at moment. And didn’t check to see whose moniker was on the relevant comment. Sorry again.
And Grey Area thank you, not, for your flip reply. How grey are you?
Facebook is sued after stock plunge ‘shocked’ market
Of course $120 billion wasn’t really wiped out – it didn’t exist in the first place and is part of the bludging aspect of capitalism that’s destroying society.
Interesting that your comment came just after earlier discussion on fishfarming problems.
It has been said that the stock exchange behaves like a school of fish turning and twisting in a slick, fast moving mass as predators loom. They are full of hot air anyway in the SX as you mention. And our employment hangs on their feelings of confidence – or flatulence! Makes you larf really don’t it. In a dismal sort of way.
The same applies to QV; the whole FIRE economy vitally depends on it – it is their raison d’être.
If not invented by capitalists, paper value (profit & loss) surely is one of their most loved and abused instruments.
Why are there no black Koch brothers?
That is an interesting question put forward by Center for Public Integrity.
What do people think, why is that?
Why are not rich Maori here funding far right groups?
The yanks fear black kochs most of all.
There are some in the Maori Moneyocracy, supporting right wing economics.
Annette Sykes has written about them.
Yeah, but not far right hate groups.
Damn sad.
http://thehill.com/homenews/398727-feminist-protest-movement-founder-found-dead-in-apartment
Lol Winnie skewering Bennett – ‘they go for the smallest and weakest one …’ lol classic.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/105828141/fresh-hostilities-erupt-between-winston-peters-and-national
Did you set the alarm clock?
No, I thought you set the alarm clock.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2018/07/ancient-worms-being-brought-back-to-life-by-russians.html
Well, this is a fucking scary read.
To grasp what is going on in the world right now, we need to reflect on two things. One is that we are in a phase of trial runs. The other is that what is being trialled is fascism – a word that should be used carefully but not shirked when it is so clearly on the horizon. Forget “post-fascist” – what we are living with is pre-fascism.
[…]
To see, as most commentary has done, the deliberate traumatisation of migrant children as a “mistake” by Trump is culpable naivety. It is a trial run – and the trial has been a huge success. Trump’s claim last week that immigrants “infest” the US is a test-marketing of whether his fans are ready for the next step-up in language, which is of course “vermin”. And the generation of images of toddlers being dragged from their parents is a test of whether those words can be turned into sounds and pictures. It was always an experiment – it ended (but only in part) because the results were in.
‘Devious’ infants
And the results are quite satisfactory. There is good news on two fronts. First, Rupert Murdoch is happy with it – his Fox News mouthpieces outdid themselves in barbaric crassness: making animal noises at the mention of a Down syndrome child, describing crying children as actors. They went the whole swinish hog: even the brown babies are liars. Those sobs of anguish are typical of the manipulative behaviour of the strangers coming to infest us – should we not fear a race whose very infants can be so devious? Second, the hardcore fans loved it: 58 per cent of Republicans are in favour of this brutality. Trump’s overall approval ratings are up to 42.5 per cent.
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fintan-o-toole-trial-runs-for-fascism-are-in-full-flow-1.3543375
Watching TV1 News, was that Sir Les Patterson at the National Party Conference? Has anyone seen him and John Howard in the same room at the same time?
Came across this singer (below) watching “The Spinoff TV”
What a tasteless, crass but totally predictable comment by the president of the National Party at their conference to the gathered faithful to slaver over.
‘National Party President Peter Goodfellow has mounted an attack on Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters, saying National had “dodged a whisky-swilling, cigarette-smoking, double-breasted and irrational bullet”.’ Of course no National MPs ever frequent Bellamys to have a tipple or two or sneak out for a fag or two either. I’m no N Z First voter or supporter, but for better or worse they are part of the present coalition so be it.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12097023
It just goes to show they haven’t learned a damned thing.
Come the next election there’s a good chance that they will once again have to negotiate with Winston or someone who likes him. But not, the nats will call him names and bitch about how unfair democracy is.
I give them as much sympathy as they give people who need benefits to live: none at all. Just contempt, scorn, and low regard. Goodfellow may be, but bad politician.
Fanatics fuck things up in Vino the majority of every religion want peace love and prosperity the minority want to rule and cause division uncivilised fools.
The shame of the National Party – coming home to roost:
Warm Hearts: All Kiwi kids deserve a fair go – NZ Herald
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid…
The national party displayed there true values when they had that fallout with Winston Peters all those years ago and they showed it on there election campaign with the word lazy don’t want to work don’t want to work those words of bill’s were directed at tangata whenua . And there next move was to try and throw Winston under the bus.
Then the aggressors switch hats and act as a victim when they lost the seemingly un lose able election .I see this behavior all the time the aggressor switch hats at the blink of the eye and cry foul.
The big picture is one cannot go around displaying arrogance and think that your culture and thoughts are the only ones that counts why . because you end up with no m8. Well here you go national The Maori Language and culture is get a revival not just in Aotearoa but right around Papatuanuku Kia kaha tangata whenua this fact gives me a sore face Ka kite ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/28/google-disney-maori-new-zealand
The big picture is the sandflys are upset that there national m8 are warming the back benches. This is the party that gave them laws to do what ever they want and not be held accountable for there actions they change the bail laws so one can be locked up with out a crime been proven that’s room for deception I say how well they say plead guilt and you will get a lesser charger they don’t care that the charge will stuff up the person life just so long as they get more credit for a promotion. national also made it harder to get a fair trial by making legal aid harder to get what.s the consequences Its a breach of human rights to a fair trial that’s one of the consequence of those changes.The other is they get more leverage to get a guilty plee more cridits for a pay rise.
The sandflys won’t like it that there prison muster has lowered by 500 because to ECO MAORI the law changes the sandflys lobbied for were designed to make it easier for them to lock up people full stop. Ana to kai Ka kite ano
If the sandflys try anything against my offspring I will appel it to the highest court of te whenua to get justice that’s the law of te whenua. Ka kite ano
I just read a story in North and South mag on Matt Robertson he was a Alince mp the year is 2001 this will seam like last century to some but to ECO Maori its just yesterday. Here are some of the truth full statement he made it’s only the poor common people who go to jail.
We have the second recorded for the most people’s locked up in jail the most was USA half the people in prison are Maori the highest group of people are male 15 to 24 age groups. He also states that to some they are just numbers but to him there’s are OUR babys that we are locking up someone’s son And I totally agree with that statement the young are easily lead to make mistake. It cost $50.000 to lock up someone in those days 18 years later its dubble $100.000.
He has figures that show if we invest in early intervention it’s is %50 more likely to change the Mokopunas future for the better than waiting till the are being changed with a crime so 70 % for early intervention to 15% when they are in the system. So what’s the big picture equality shear the putea that Aotearoa gives us more equaly and all the bad stats will go down Its not Rocket science people it’s common sense to do this and this is what our Coalition Government is doing at the minute. Ka kite ano
Kia kaha Joseph Parker you did us proud.
It stinks that the opperstion did not get more points taken of for a head but I didn’t realise that was part of boxing rules makes a mockery of the sport.
Just like the systems in Atoearoa.
Ka kite ano
Here we go the European Union is going to stamp out demarcat elections voter beening minupulate by there computers IE being sold lies by target ad verts the kumara never tells how sweet it is Ka pai. Eco Maori could see that happening tangata being sold lies like the one we’re the people are coned into believing a billion are has their best interests at heart come on Ana to kai
Ka kite ano link below PS all government should do the same most common tangata are so trust worthy they trust what’s being feed to them because they would not deceive anyone on that scale
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/28/democracy-threatened-malicious-technology-eu-fighting-back
And what do you know the person who set up Cambridge analytical is a friend of the national party. Cheats like two peas in a pod Ka kite ano
As I walk around Atoearoa and read MSM I can see the ECO MAORI effect all I can say is that its positive for the common tangata. Kia kaha Ka kite ano