So Europe+UK have energy bill spikes, long term drought and food production collapse, refugee floods, war, inflation, export decreases through power shortages, looming deep recession into the remainder of 2020s …
Umm. Wasn't this the industry that picked tetraethyl lead technology in petrol, leading to millions of premature deaths and human illness?
……putting lead, a deadly heavy-metal neurotoxin, into gasoline; releasing ozone-destroying Freon into the stratosphere; and unleashing the scourge of chlorofluorocarbons, implicated in aerosols and just about every piece of foamed plastic choking the world’s landfills and waterways. Once upon a time—with the aid of an aggressive and sustained public-relations program funded by a trio of mighty corporations…
Come to think of it Elected governments should be a toothless advisory bodies to leave business alone to run the country and decide the future, isn't this how all right thinking, right wing, vested interest groups think?
Oh No! governments spoil the party with regulations. How can this be? Governments shouldn't be choosing the technology. Why didn't they just give us targets?
Countries Ban Leaded Gasoline
In August 2021, Algeria was officially the last country to ban leaded gasoline. There has been a long-lasting humanitarian struggle to ban leaded gasoline throughout different countries. The first country to ban leaded gasoline was Japan in the 1980s. Then, other developed countries had followed, including Austria, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and the United States. During the 2000s until the 2020s, 117 more countries, developed and developing, pushed to ban leaded gasoline.
Bribes, Finance and the Holdouts for Ban on Leaded Gasoline
Some countries, such as Indonesia, were guilty of receiving bribes from leaded gasoline oil industries. However, Indonesia finally banned leaded gasoline.
“By 2016 only Algeria, Yemen, and Iraq were holdouts," said National Geographic.
…..Leaded gasoline companies were reportedly sending bribes to countries to encourage them to continue using leaded gasoline. It is clear to see why some countries took much longer to ban leaded gasoline than other countries.
Ban of Leaded Gasoline Everywhere is a Huge Win
There are an estimated 1.2 million people who die from leaded gasoline each year. The hospital rates are even higher. Now that there is a ban on leaded fuel, “The fuel’s elimination will save $2.45 trillion a year, UNEP estimates, reflecting the economic side of lives and nature saved,” said Geneva Solutions Inger Andersen,
So says climate change minister James Shaw, telling Stuff he’d recommend the policy to new transport minister Michael Wood as an “anti-dumping measure” as well as for environmental reasons.
Shaw earlier outlined the Green Party’s proposed ban but has brought it forward for consideration with the UK aiming to ban all new ICE cars by 2030.
However, Shaw isn’t certain a ban on ICE imports will get Cabinet’s OK…..
Shaw isn’t certain a ban on ICE imports will get Cabinet’s OK.
Of course it won't.
Daring to suggest regulation of industry inside cabinet is blasphemy to neo-liberal economic theory. Climate change has no Minister in cabinet to keep out any blasphemous talk of regulating industry.
God forbid. Where would we be if government started interfering in business?
"Trevor Mallard is widely regarded as the worst Speaker of Parliament the country has ever had."
He goes on to show that he is one of those people who subscribe to what I believe is an erroneous view. I have watched a good deal of the Speaker's work in the House and found Trevor Mallard to be a very good Speaker, unafraid to do what he could to rein-in unimpressive behaviour by MPs during Question Time.
Apologies if this has already been covered here on TS.
David Carter – words fail me. I attended an event at which he spoke. I thought, "Is this a set-up? Should we applaud his clever performance? – Spoof, right??"
I had known that he had signalled his wish very early on that this term would be his last and then formalised his resignation, possibly when the Ireland posting came up.
The violent end to the protest was writ in stone much before the sprinklers etc. In my view from the moment the group refused to on and put up the tents. And who can forget the frightening snarling face of the protester Brett Power as he was led away. When you have groups espousing the overthrow of Parliament/lynching/killing of many public figures, a refusal to move on, it more or less called out for the Police response to move them on, just as the similar protest in Ottawa did.
Tolerance? In fact an attempt was made by elements of the protest to invade parliament on the 7th of February (day 2). That was the basis for the trespass notices, basically recognising that allowing the protest to camp out on the lawn made it very difficult for parliament to function. On the 10th Police already attempted to remove the encampment and arrested people who had been camped there illegally (since the 7th).
The sprinklers were left on on the 11th by which time the protest was clearly entrenched and had well prior made its first attempt at January 6th storming.
…..an attempt was made by elements of the protest to invade parliament on the 7th of February (day 2)….
Do you have a confirmation of that assertion Nic?
Unfortunately I have tried googling this, but couldn't find anything to back it up.
I have tried several versions of 'Anti mandate protesters attempt to invade 'parliament 7/02/2022' with and without quotations and could find nothing.
I have tried using the date as you have written it '7th of February' I have replaced anti-mandate with 'anti-vaxxer'.
Of course I also remember it being reported at the time as well.
Accuracy is important.
What you remember and what was reported are two different things.
Especially when emotions are running high.
I can understand your hatred. The antivaxxers views and behaviour are/were despicable, appalling. And though there was an attempt, "to push through a fence outside Parliament" There is no report of an actual attempt made to invade parliament, at least not in this wikipedia entry.
Nic, the wikipedia entry you supplied, confirmed my recollection of the events, which was that police forcibly attempted to remove the antivaxxer protesters from the grounds of parliament. (a public space).
On the order of Trevor Mallard.
I argued at time that this heavy handed approach was counter productive, and that this confrontation is just what the far right element among the protesters wanted.
Trevor Mallard is a hothead with a history of violent assault, inside the parliament building.
Bryce Edwards is a Left academic with a coherent Left world outlook.
Trevor Mallard, an alumnus of the Neo liberal Lange/Douglas administration, is an impulsive hothead and bully with no coherent recorded Left outlook.
I stand by my statement that Trevor Mallard was the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Some could argue he always has been.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
……protesters attempted to push through a fence outside Parliament but were stopped by Police, who formed a ring around the entrance to the Parliament Buildings. Three men were arrested and issued with trespass notices. One of those arrested was the conspiracy theorist Brett Powers, who unsuccessfully attempted to arrest Minister of Health Andrew Little for alleged culpability in vaccine deaths.[68][69] Police also issued orders for protesters to remove their tents and marquees from Parliament grounds. The attempt to breach the police line outside Parliament may have sparked tensions between the original organisers (who advocated calm) and Counterspin (who pushed for the storming of Parliament).[68] [65]
Police attempted to forcibly remove the protesters from Parliament grounds on the 10th February…..
"What you remember and what was reported are two different things."
Actually they are not two different things, I wasn't there so all I am remembering is what was reported. All I'm saying here is that what is written in that wiki entry basically describes the same events which I also saw reported. It appears your building some sophistic argument based off your fallacy interpreting my comment. If that is to be your mode of discussion you can fuck right off! You also appear to agree that the description via wiki is basically a reasonable description of events.
"I can understand your hatred."
What hatred is that? All I've attempted to do is described what is known about what individuals involved did at the time. If there is any hatred which might need to be reviewed it appears to be emanating from your comments.
Now back to the point. You challenged the statement "an attempt was made by elements of the protest to invade parliament on the 7th of February (day 2)" and claimed that this didn't occur.
So far you have conceded that attempts were made to push through a barrier (which was in front of parliament) and 3 people were arrested (many more than 3 were participating in the push) and one of those arrested was Brett Powers who was attempting to 'arrest' Andrew Little in their attempt. Andrew Little was inside parliament.
Given the demands from the protest camp that politicians be arrested and tried (and the posts on social media describing kidnapping politicians, or other parliamentary staff) it seems entirely reasonable that after breaching the barriers these elements would further try to enter parliament.
So I submit this confirmation of just what I said in my statement.
As far as Trevor Mallards actions (on day 5) go this is clearly irrelevant. The protesters were clearly camped out from day 1 and the police were needed in numbers from day 2 already, trespass (on the grounds of the camping, which is against parliaments rules) was discussed from day 2 and any other speaker would have done the same in similar circumstances.
The anti-mandate protesters, (whether it is true or not), maintain that only a tiny minority were violent and Far Right extremists.
A bull in a china shop.
When we needed a deft hand, instead we had, an impulsive and intolerant authoritarian with a proven history of violence used to having his own way. Who instead of exercising restraint in a tense situation. From the very outset appeared intent on escalating and inflaming the situation.
In effect driving the moderate protesters into the arms of extremists.
Just what the extremists wanted.
This giant egotist has set a precedent for how protesters blockading polluters or union pickets against scabbing will be treated by the police force.
All I can say is thank goodness Trevor Mallard wasn't calling the shots at Rugby Park Hamilton in 1981.
Since those days and since the Urewera police raids, the police have taken a more softly softly approach to protesters.
This doesn't challenge what I said. I only claimed elements attempted to invade parliament. It was day-2 and this attempt caused a major split in approach between protest organisers.
But considering your knowledge that Brett Powers was tackled behind the barricades and your insight that he was not attempting to cross the line (and enter parliament). Have you considered replacing Ian Foster as ABs coach?
This giant egotist has set a precedent for how protesters blockading polluters or union pickets against scabbing will be treated by the police force.
That’s another long bow by you, but I dread the use of awful music and sprinklers instead of water cannons as future crowd dispersion tactics by NZ Police inspired by Mallard; it will be a new textbook entry.
All I can say is thank goodness Trevor Mallard wasn't calling the shots at Rugby Park Hamilton in 1981.
All I can say is, here’s a challenge for your cognitive ability to reconcile fact with your prejudice and confirmation bias:
The guinea-pigs put Mr Mallard, a protest veteran himself, in mind of his own days as an activist, which included being hauled out of the public galleries of Parliament during an anti-SIS bill demonstration and being arrested during the 1981 Springbok tour.
Bryce Edwards is a Left academic with a coherent Left world outlook.
He has consistently been a perfect adherent to one party, New Labour. It was dissolved 21 years ago.
The gum that his political viewpoint was created with has lodged with appears to have become yellow and quite stiffened with age. The only consistent message I have heard from him over the decades is that he doesn’t like the New Zealand Labour party. At various phrases he has been enthusiastic about other parties like Mana and other unsuccessful and usually now dissolved parties.
In my view the only thing that I am sure about with his coherence is that he is a consistent picker of parties, people, and policy that haven’t had any electoral support either here or worldwide. Consequently none of things that in his “coherent Left world outlook” have come to pass.
I tend to view him as a negative prophet. An incompetent critic who is happy to criticise but fails to actually suggest anything that is viable because his criticism lacks suggestions about alternatives. basically a Mrs Grundy too concerned about what the neighbours are being active about to ever do any work himself about how to change what he complains about.
If you want to see how useful criticism should be done, then read Gordon Campbell at Werewolf or No Right Turn. They not only point what they perceive to be to the problems with the NZLP, but also to specific solutions and policy changes some of which might actually work.
That is a grossly unfair claim from Edwards. As speaker, I thought he was surprisingly adept, and uncommonly balanced. The previous speaker, Carter, was pathetic in getting ministers to "address" questions.
OTOH, Trev as a guy is a complete boofhead, but that's by the by.
I watched so much of Speaker Carter and was appalled knowing that at the end of his stint, after his dismal performance he would be knighted.
Every time Mallard peed off the National and ACT supporters I relished the thought of him too being knighted and how that would rile them more.
It was especially funny seeing dumbo efforts from the likes of David Bennett and Paul Goldsmith who were too thick in basic comprehension to understand the rules, what they'd said and how to get back on track. Being brought into line by the rough and ready Mallard who grasped they didn't have a grasp was fun.
Edwards: "Trevor Mallard is widely regarded as the worst Speaker of Parliament the country has ever had."
Me: "Donald Trump is widely regarded as a brilliant man, the best person to be President of the United States and in fact the best President the country has ever had."
Well because the NZRFU are collectively insane we may well have Ian Foster as coach for the World Cup – for the sake of New Zealand, Labour must have the next election before the World Cup quarter finals as being bundled out early in a humiliating manner will result in countrywide need to punish someone and you don't want to be the incumbent in an election after that!
"Real change would mean decentralisation of decision-making, progressive taxation, wealth tax, significantly higher levels of investment in free access to education, health, social housing and other key public services, dealing with the impact of colonisation on Maori, working with other governments to regulate international flows of capital, power-sharing in business enterprises, building an economy that is international in outlook while producing more onshore and on and on"
Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick, who submitted the Alcohol Harm Minimisation member's bill, told Morning Report she was frustrated by the political inaction shown by the government.
"I am frustrated and I think that this is indicative of why the New Zealand public get frustrated at politics, we have health agencies, we have overwhelming evidence.
"We even have two reports that the government commissioned in the last term of Parliament which said get on with these recommendations from 2014 and from 2010 and 2011, which have subsequently been ignored by the bogey man of the alcohol industry."
The proposed bill had received the most widespread support out of any members bills ever that had yet to reach its first reading, she said.
South Auckland's top public health expert "crossed the line of political neutrality" by supporting a Green MP's alcohol harm reduction bill, Health Minister Andrew Little says.
…
Director of Population Health in Counties Manukau Dr Gary Jackson wrote to a number of MPs in July, using a Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand letterhead.
He expressed concern about children's exposure to alcohol advertising and urged MPs to support Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick's alcohol harm minimisation bill.
Dr Jackson has since retracted the letter but in it said the legislation would give communities the power to decide alcohol availability in their local areas and protect children who watch broadcast sport.
"Children in New Zealand see alcohol advertising everywhere, especially promoted by their sporting heroes. The Bill proposes to take action on alcohol harm by restricting alcohol sports sponsorship and advertising," the letter said.
"We have a vision of unborn peepi, tamariki and rangatahi growing up free from the harms of alcohol. People should be able to live, work, play and socialise in communities free from the harms of alcohol. With your help, we can make real progress towards achieving this vision."
Yep. The carnage and collateral damage this completely legal drug causes NZ…shocking. Of course the alcohol drug pushers/lobbyists….have great power.. and will fight hard to retain it.
About a third of the people seen by Dr Peter Jones at Auckland City Hospital are there because of alcohol.
The emergency medicine specialist says alcohol is largely ignored by medical staff as a reason people turn up at hospital because it is so common. The same attitude is seen in the media and the general public.
"Everyone is really hot on P, a year ago it was Fantasy. All of these drugs are minuscule in cost compared to alcohol," Dr Jones says.
Economist Brian Easton, in a report last year, estimated that $655 million was spent each year on public health as a result of alcohol misuse.
In its annual report for 2002, the Alcohol Advisory Council says the estimated cost of alcohol-related deaths is $5.5 billion a year, while alcohol-related injury and illness is estimated to cost $6.6 billion. Productivity losses, including absenteeism, is estimated at $1.8 billion a year.
One of the last acts of the Dirty Politics saga came to a dramatic end in court on Wednesday with lobbyist Carrick Graham apologising to three public health advocates for his actions in spreading defamatory statements about them.
That dr jones must be delusional, p has caused chaos in my family, and it's only got a grip on 3 of them , most of my mob drink regularly,and at times excessively. Yet still function .
A proposed member’s bill that addresses a power imbalance preventing communities taking steps to develop public health measures around alcohol use could potentially bypass the ballot process.
That would be if 61 non-executive members of parliament agreed to it, but going on past form – in which New Zealand MPs have been reluctant to legislate against the burgeoning promotion and provision of alcohol in his country – there’s no guarantee.
Our drinking landscape has changed considerably over the last 30 years. We have seen dramatic increases in the number of places selling alcohol, the affordability and types of alcoholic products available, and use of innovative marketing strategies to advertise them.
Today, there are over 11,000 places that sell alcohol:
Go on, actually watch all the valid points she makes to the Health Select Committee (theres a link within the article) speaking as a doctor of 34 years specializing in public health, rather than the snippets of propaganda you've got from stuff.
Haven’t looked at the details, but firstly youth crime is down, and surely there isn’t room in the National caucus for all those who can’t be reformed?
“Foreign Secretary Truss, for example, with her promise of a growth boom and tax cuts across the board, doesn’t seem to realize — or simply doesn’t care — that these policies will probably lead to a massive inflationary spiral over and above the double-digit price hikes the U.K. is already suffering from. Former Conservative Chancellor Nigel Lawson warned this could be the case earlier this month, stating that former Prime Minister Edward Heath’s similar policies in the 1970s crippled the British economy and put millions out of work. “
Liz Truss as PM looks like a disaster in the making. Apart from her problems with the cost of living issue, which may well make the poll tax riots look like a tea party, she is threatening to trigger article 16 of the Brexit agreement within days of becoming PM. The EU will them counter trigger article 16 and who knows where that will end.
A "hard" border between NI and Ireland? A return to the "Troubles"?
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The StrategistBy Sandy Juda Pratama, Curie Maharani and Gautama Adi Kusuma
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Donald Trump, who has called the Chair of the Federal Reserve “a major loser”. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories shortest from our political economy on Tuesday, April 22:US markets slump after Donald Trump threatens the Fed’s independence. China warns its trading partners not to side with the US. Trump says some ...
Last night, the news came through that Pope Francis had passed away at 7:35 am in Rome on Monday, the 21st of April, following a reported stroke and heart failure. Pope Francis. Photo: AP.Despite his obvious ill health, it still came as a shock, following so soon after the Easter ...
The 2024 Independent Intelligence Review found the NIC to be highly capable and performing well. So, it is not a surprise that most of the 67 recommendations are incremental adjustments and small but nevertheless important ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkThe world has made real progress toward tacking climate change in recent years, with spending on clean energy technologies skyrocketing from hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars globally over the past decade, and global CO2 emissions plateauing.This has contributed to a reassessment of ...
Hi,I’ve been having a peaceful month of what I’d call “existential dread”, even more aware than usual that — at some point — this all ends.It was very specifically triggered by watching Pantheon, an animated sci-fi show that I’m filing away with all-time greats like Six Feet Under, Watchmen and ...
Once the formalities of honouring the late Pope wrap up in two to three weeks time, the conclave of Cardinals will go into seclusion. Some 253 of the current College of Cardinals can take part in the debate over choosing the next Pope, but only 138 of them are below ...
The National Party government is doubling down on a grim, regressive vision for the future: more prisons, more prisoners, and a society fractured by policies that punish rather than heal. This isn’t just a misstep; it’s a deliberate lurch toward a dystopian future where incarceration is the answer to every ...
The audacity of Don Brash never ceases to amaze. The former National Party and Hobson’s Pledge mouthpiece has now sunk his claws into NZME, the media giant behind the New Zealand Herald and half of our commercial radio stations. Don Brash has snapped up shares in NZME, aligning himself with ...
A listing of 28 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 13, 2025 thru Sat, April 19, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. The formatting is a ...
“What I’d say to you is…” our Prime Minister might typically begin a sentence, when he’s about to obfuscate and attempt to derail the question you really, really want him to answer properly (even once would be okay, Christopher). Questions such as “Why is a literal election promise over ...
Ruth IrwinExponential Economic growth is the driver of Ecological degradation. It is driven by CO2 greenhouse gas emissions through fossil fuel extraction and burning for the plethora of polluting industries. Extreme weather disasters and Climate change will continue to get worse because governments subscribe to the current global economic system, ...
A man on telly tries to tell me what is realBut it's alright, I like the way that feelsAnd everybody singsWe are evolving from night to morningAnd I wanna believe in somethingWriter: Adam Duritz.The world is changing rapidly, over the last year or so, it has been out with the ...
MFB Co-Founder Cecilia Robinson runs Tend HealthcareSummary:Kieran McAnulty calls out National on healthcare lies and says Health Minister Simeon Brown is “dishonest and disingenuous”(video below)McAnulty says negotiation with doctors is standard practice, but this level of disrespect is not, especially when we need and want our valued doctors.National’s $20bn ...
Chris Luxon’s tenure as New Zealand’s Prime Minister has been a masterclass in incompetence, marked by coalition chaos, economic lethargy, verbal gaffes, and a moral compass that seems to point wherever political expediency lies. The former Air New Zealand CEO (how could we forget?) was sold as a steady hand, ...
Has anybody else noticed Cameron Slater still obsessing over Jacinda Ardern? The disgraced Whale Oil blogger seems to have made it his life’s mission to shadow the former Prime Minister of New Zealand like some unhinged stalker lurking in the digital bushes.The man’s obsession with Ardern isn't just unhealthy...it’s downright ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is climate change a net benefit for society? Human-caused climate change has been a net detriment to society as measured by loss of ...
Te Pāti Māori are appalled by Cabinet's decision to agree to 15 recommendations to the Early Childhood Education (ECE) sector following the regulatory review by the Ministry of Regulation. We emphasise the need to prioritise tamariki Māori in Early Childhood Education, conducted by education experts- not economists. “Our mokopuna deserve ...
The Government must support Northland hapū who have resorted to rakes and buckets to try to control a devastating invasive seaweed that threatens the local economy and environment. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill that would ensure the biological definition of a woman and man are defined in law. “This is not about being anti-anyone or anti-anything. This is about ensuring we as a country focus on the facts of biology and protect the ...
After stonewalling requests for information on boot camps, the Government has now offered up a blog post right before Easter weekend rather than provide clarity on the pilot. ...
More people could be harmed if Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey does not guarantee to protect patients and workers as the Police withdraw from supporting mental health call outs. ...
The Green Party recognises the extension of visa allowances for our Pacific whānau as a step in the right direction but continues to call for a Pacific Visa Waiver. ...
The Government yesterday released its annual child poverty statistics, and by its own admission, more tamariki across Aotearoa are now living in material hardship. ...
Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting ...
The Green Party is proud to have voted down the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, an archaic piece of legislation that sought to attack the nation’s founding agreement. ...
A Member’s Bill in the name of Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter which aims to stop coal mining, the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill, has been pulled from Parliament’s ‘biscuit tin’ today. ...
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Members Bill to make the law simpler and fairer for businesses operating on Easter, Anzac and Christmas Days has passed its first reading after a conscience vote in Parliament. ...
Nicola Willis continues to sit on her hands amid a global economic crisis, leaving the Reserve Bank to act for New Zealanders who are worried about their jobs, mortgages, and KiwiSaver. ...
As New Zealanders marked Anzac Day, Italians commemorated 80 years since the country was liberated from fascism. Have celebrations changed in the shadow of Italy’s first postwar far-right government? Nina Hall writes from Bologna. For Italians, April 25 is very different to New Zealand’s Anzac Day. It’s the day to ...
As Shortland Street’s mysterious new ‘Back in Black’ season starts tonight, Tara Ward explains exactly what’s going on in Ferndale. What’s all this then? Back in Black is the name of Shortland Street’s new mini-season, which begins tonight. In 2025, the long-running soap is dividing the year into four “mini-seasons”, ...
Approved building firms, plumbers, and drainlayers will now be able to sign off their own work, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced. ...
From 1 July, teachers will save up to $550 when applying for registration or renewing their practising certificate, Education Minister Erica Stanford announced. ...
Silicosis is a debilitating disease that cannot be cured. The evidence is clear that the only solution is to stop workers from being required to process engineered stone, which exposes them to the dangerous silica dust. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Hoyer, Senior Researcher, Historian and Complexity Scientist, University of Toronto Canada is, by nearly any measure, a large, advanced, prosperous nation. A founding member of the G7, Canada is one of the world’s most “advanced economies,” ranking fourth in the Organization ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Lakin, Lecturer, Clark University Memory and politics are inherently intertwined and can never be fully separated in post-atrocity and post-genocidal contexts. They are also dynamic and ever-changing. The interplay between memory and politics is, therefore, prone to manipulation, exaggeration or misuse ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jeffrey Fields, Professor of the Practice of International Relations, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences A mural on the outer walls of the former US embassy in Tehran depicts two men in negotiation.Majid Saeedi/Getty Images Negotiators from Iran and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cora Fox, Associate Professor of English and Health Humanities, Arizona State University Joanna Vanderham as Desdemona and Hugh Quarshie as the title character in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of ‘Othello.’Robbie Jack/Corbis via Getty Images What is “happiness” – and who ...
What if you’re not bad with money, you’re just working with outdated software? If you’ve ever thought, “why can’t I just stick to a budget?”, congratulations. You’re just like the other 90% of us.Our brains were wired for survival in a hunter-gatherer world, which means they start throwing up ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Chung, PhD Candidate, National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland Stenko Vlad/Shutterstock E-cigarettes or vapes were originally designed to deliver nicotine in a smokeless form. But in recent years, vapes have been used to deliver other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryoush Habibi, Professor and Head, Centre for Green and Smart Energy Systems, Edith Cowan University EV batteries are made of hundreds of smaller cells.IM Imagery/Shutterstock Around the world, more and more electric vehicles are hitting the road. Last year, more than ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ehsan Noroozinejad, Senior Researcher and Sustainable Future Lead, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Australia is running out of affordable, safe places to live. Rents and mortgages are climbing faster than wages, and young people fear they may never own a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kristian Ramsden, PhD Candidate, University of Adelaide Apple TV In the second episode of Apple TV’s The Studio (2025–) – a sharp satirical take on contemporary Hollywood – newly-appointed studio head Matt Remick (Seth Rogen) visits the set of one of ...
David Taylor, head of English at Northcote College, outlines why he will refuse to teach the latest draft of the English curriculum. “I’ll look no more, / Lest my brain turn, and the deficient sight / Topple down headlong.” (King Lear, Act 4, Scene 6)Since 2007, New Zealand schools ...
The Ministry of Social Development said in a report this was because it could not cope with workloads, which included work relating to changes to the Jobseeker benefit. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paulomi (Polly) Burey, Professor in Food Science, University of Southern Queensland We’ve all been there – trying to peel a boiled egg, but mangling it beyond all recognition as the hard shell stubbornly sticks to the egg white. Worse, the egg ends ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior Lecturer, International Migration and Refugee Law, University of Technology Sydney The year is 1972. The Whitlam Labor government has just been swept into power and major changes to Australia’s immigration system are underway. Many people remember this time for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Visitor, School of History, Australian National University Major parties used to easily dismiss the rare politician who stood alone in parliament. These MPs could be written off as isolated idealists, and the press could condescend to them as noble, naïve ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In searching for the “real” Peter Dutton, it is possible to end up frustrated because you have looked too hard. Politically, Dutton is not complicated. There is a consistent line in his beliefs through ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Strangio, Emeritus Professor of Politics, Monash University Barring a rogue result, this Saturday Anthony Albanese will achieve what no major party leader has done since John Howard’s prime-ministerial era – win consecutive elections. Admittedly, in those two decades he is only ...
Another holiday season, another outcry over the national carrier’s soaring ticket prices – and now calls for action are getting louder, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.A Bulletin tradition returns to the runway If it feels ...
Our parents were the glitterati, the élite of Wellington society: elegant, educated, progressive, politically liberal. In the 1950s, they were at the centre of Wellington’s cultural revolution. Pa was exploring the possibilities of a theatre rooted in New Zealand’s communities, expressing our own sense of nationhood, and was writing to ...
Inland Revenue and Treasury told the government there was no proper evidence that yearly subsidies to some of the country's biggest carbon polluters were needed. ...
The Ministry of Social Development said in a report this was because it could not cope with workloads, which included work relating to changes to the Jobseeker benefit. ...
Staff at Kokomo said the artworks came from a specific website. The site’s owners deny it. So where did the portraits come from – and what are the cultural consequences of displaying them? Nestled on a side street near Christchurch’s central city is Kokomo, a restaurant with industrial flair and ...
Pole fitness has seen a surge in popularity in recent years, with hobbyists saying they find empowerment through the art form. But is dancing pole outside the club an appropriation of sex work? “To feel myself getting stronger in a super-inclusive, very female space was just genuinely a revelation,” says ...
The Black Ferns’ defence of the Rugby World Cup in the biggest year in the history of the sport is officially underway with the announcement of a 49-strong training squad ahead of the Pacific Four series in May. The training squad provides the first clues as to what the Black Ferns ...
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So Europe+UK have energy bill spikes, long term drought and food production collapse, refugee floods, war, inflation, export decreases through power shortages, looming deep recession into the remainder of 2020s …
… but no current changes in policy direction.
That's going to take a lot of riot Police.
Something will really have to change.
Debacle after debacle. The Tories should be gone for a generation.
https://twitter.com/LBC/status/1563118241483931654
https://twitter.com/MartinSLewis/status/1563106544669315072
There is a very big message here for NZ.
Do not import the narrative from Europe,in how to manage change to systems and infrastructure,transport or the rewriting of the Thesaurus.
https://twitter.com/chigrl/status/1563624187037728770?cxt=HHwWhIC-6bz6jbMrAAAA
why do the English hate Labour so much though.
Murdoch+ press. Propaganda is effective. Easy to tap into the auld feelings of imperial superiority?
Generations of forelock tugging.
Why can’t we cut our greenhouse gas emissions?
“Governments should pick targets, not technologies.
In one sentence vested interest polluters define the farcical Zero Carbon by 2050 act, and why emissions keep going up.
Zero enforcement.
Just how the polluters like it
Party, party, party.
Umm. Wasn't this the industry that picked tetraethyl lead technology in petrol, leading to millions of premature deaths and human illness?
Come to think of it Elected governments should be a toothless advisory bodies to leave business alone to run the country and decide the future, isn't this how all right thinking, right wing, vested interest groups think?
Oh No! governments spoil the party with regulations. How can this be? Governments shouldn't be choosing the technology. Why didn't they just give us targets?
The Prime Minister has said that climate change is this generation's nuclear free moment.
Yeah right. Maybe David Lange instead of banning nuclear ship visits should just have set targets and politely informed the nuclear powers of them.
Shaw isn’t certain a ban on ICE imports will get Cabinet’s OK.
Of course it won't.
Daring to suggest regulation of industry inside cabinet is blasphemy to neo-liberal economic theory. Climate change has no Minister in cabinet to keep out any blasphemous talk of regulating industry.
God forbid. Where would we be if government started interfering in business?
Bryce Edwards writes:
"Trevor Mallard is widely regarded as the worst Speaker of Parliament the country has ever had."
He goes on to show that he is one of those people who subscribe to what I believe is an erroneous view. I have watched a good deal of the Speaker's work in the House and found Trevor Mallard to be a very good Speaker, unafraid to do what he could to rein-in unimpressive behaviour by MPs during Question Time.
Apologies if this has already been covered here on TS.
https://democracyproject.nz/2022/08/26/bryce-edwards-mallards-diplomatic-appointment-lacks-integrity/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bryce-edwards-mallards-diplomatic-appointment-lacks-integrity
For Bryce Edwards to be balanced in his writing he would to became blind in his one remaining eye.
Perhaps he is impartial – and just recently had a significant brain injury which has robbed him of all memory of David Carter.
David Carter – words fail me. I attended an event at which he spoke. I thought, "Is this a set-up? Should we applaud his clever performance? – Spoof, right??"
Nope. He was what he was.
Agreed Barfly on Edwards and Carter. Both atrocious.
Sir David Carter (!!) was the worst speaker I have seen in terms of bias.
Trevor Mallard has never been noted for his tolerance.
In my opinion the violent scenes at Parliament could possibly have been avoided, if Trevor Mallard had taken a less belligerent approach.
Mallard was the wrong man, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and lost his job, because of it.
Bad behaviour shouldn't be tolerated.
Trevor's not responsible for the violent scenes on Parliament's lawn.
I wasn't aware that he had lost his job?
I had known that he had signalled his wish very early on that this term would be his last and then formalised his resignation, possibly when the Ireland posting came up.
The violent end to the protest was writ in stone much before the sprinklers etc. In my view from the moment the group refused to on and put up the tents. And who can forget the frightening snarling face of the protester Brett Power as he was led away. When you have groups espousing the overthrow of Parliament/lynching/killing of many public figures, a refusal to move on, it more or less called out for the Police response to move them on, just as the similar protest in Ottawa did.
To lay this on one man is naive in my view.
Or biased …
He wasn't biffed out (subtle joke).
Many of us knew last Xmas that Trev was off to Dublin. Nothing at all to do with the February mob attack.
Tolerance? In fact an attempt was made by elements of the protest to invade parliament on the 7th of February (day 2). That was the basis for the trespass notices, basically recognising that allowing the protest to camp out on the lawn made it very difficult for parliament to function. On the 10th Police already attempted to remove the encampment and arrested people who had been camped there illegally (since the 7th).
The sprinklers were left on on the 11th by which time the protest was clearly entrenched and had well prior made its first attempt at January 6th storming.
Do you have a confirmation of that assertion Nic?
Unfortunately I have tried googling this, but couldn't find anything to back it up.
I have tried several versions of 'Anti mandate protesters attempt to invade 'parliament 7/02/2022' with and without quotations and could find nothing.
I have tried using the date as you have written it '7th of February' I have replaced anti-mandate with 'anti-vaxxer'.
A little help here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Wellington_protest#First_week
Of course I also remember it being reported at the time as well.
Accuracy is important.
What you remember and what was reported are two different things.
Especially when emotions are running high.
I can understand your hatred. The antivaxxers views and behaviour are/were despicable, appalling. And though there was an attempt, "to push through a fence outside Parliament" There is no report of an actual attempt made to invade parliament, at least not in this wikipedia entry.
Nic, the wikipedia entry you supplied, confirmed my recollection of the events, which was that police forcibly attempted to remove the antivaxxer protesters from the grounds of parliament. (a public space).
On the order of Trevor Mallard.
I argued at time that this heavy handed approach was counter productive, and that this confrontation is just what the far right element among the protesters wanted.
Trevor Mallard is a hothead with a history of violent assault, inside the parliament building.
Bryce Edwards is a Left academic with a coherent Left world outlook.
Trevor Mallard, an alumnus of the Neo liberal Lange/Douglas administration, is an impulsive hothead and bully with no coherent recorded Left outlook.
I stand by my statement that Trevor Mallard was the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Some could argue he always has been.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
"What you remember and what was reported are two different things."
Actually they are not two different things, I wasn't there so all I am remembering is what was reported. All I'm saying here is that what is written in that wiki entry basically describes the same events which I also saw reported. It appears your building some sophistic argument based off your fallacy interpreting my comment. If that is to be your mode of discussion you can fuck right off! You also appear to agree that the description via wiki is basically a reasonable description of events.
"I can understand your hatred."
What hatred is that? All I've attempted to do is described what is known about what individuals involved did at the time. If there is any hatred which might need to be reviewed it appears to be emanating from your comments.
Now back to the point. You challenged the statement "an attempt was made by elements of the protest to invade parliament on the 7th of February (day 2)" and claimed that this didn't occur.
So far you have conceded that attempts were made to push through a barrier (which was in front of parliament) and 3 people were arrested (many more than 3 were participating in the push) and one of those arrested was Brett Powers who was attempting to 'arrest' Andrew Little in their attempt. Andrew Little was inside parliament.
Given the demands from the protest camp that politicians be arrested and tried (and the posts on social media describing kidnapping politicians, or other parliamentary staff) it seems entirely reasonable that after breaching the barriers these elements would further try to enter parliament.
So I submit this confirmation of just what I said in my statement.
As far as Trevor Mallards actions (on day 5) go this is clearly irrelevant. The protesters were clearly camped out from day 1 and the police were needed in numbers from day 2 already, trespass (on the grounds of the camping, which is against parliaments rules) was discussed from day 2 and any other speaker would have done the same in similar circumstances.
Nic no matter how you twist things to fit your pro-authoritarian narrative.
That no attempt was made to invade parliament is a fact. Some barriers erected on parliament grounds were knocked down. So what?
It wasn't the first time.
This doesn't challenge what I said. I only claimed elements attempted to invade parliament. It was day-2 and this attempt caused a major split in approach between protest organisers.
But considering your knowledge that Brett Powers was tackled behind the barricades and your insight that he was not attempting to cross the line (and enter parliament). Have you considered replacing Ian Foster as ABs coach?
That’s another long bow by you, but I dread the use of awful music and sprinklers instead of water cannons as future crowd dispersion tactics by NZ Police inspired by Mallard; it will be a new textbook entry.
All I can say is, here’s a challenge for your cognitive ability to reconcile fact with your prejudice and confirmation bias:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/fond-memories-of-a-trouble-maker/ITQDV6HPMKMCK4DXHNCXBU6A5E/
You mean sprinklers and ‘earworm’ music instead of water cannons and tear gas? You seem prone to exaggeration and hyperbole.
He has consistently been a perfect adherent to one party, New Labour. It was dissolved 21 years ago.
The gum that his political viewpoint was created with has lodged with appears to have become yellow and quite stiffened with age. The only consistent message I have heard from him over the decades is that he doesn’t like the New Zealand Labour party. At various phrases he has been enthusiastic about other parties like Mana and other unsuccessful and usually now dissolved parties.
In my view the only thing that I am sure about with his coherence is that he is a consistent picker of parties, people, and policy that haven’t had any electoral support either here or worldwide. Consequently none of things that in his “coherent Left world outlook” have come to pass.
I tend to view him as a negative prophet. An incompetent critic who is happy to criticise but fails to actually suggest anything that is viable because his criticism lacks suggestions about alternatives. basically a Mrs Grundy too concerned about what the neighbours are being active about to ever do any work himself about how to change what he complains about.
If you want to see how useful criticism should be done, then read Gordon Campbell at Werewolf or No Right Turn. They not only point what they perceive to be to the problems with the NZLP, but also to specific solutions and policy changes some of which might actually work.
That is a grossly unfair claim from Edwards. As speaker, I thought he was surprisingly adept, and uncommonly balanced. The previous speaker, Carter, was pathetic in getting ministers to "address" questions.
OTOH, Trev as a guy is a complete boofhead, but that's by the by.
I'm with you, Roy.
Mallard though, did destroy Whaleoil (on a bicycle).
That's epic/mythologic.
I watched so much of Speaker Carter and was appalled knowing that at the end of his stint, after his dismal performance he would be knighted.
Every time Mallard peed off the National and ACT supporters I relished the thought of him too being knighted and how that would rile them more.
It was especially funny seeing dumbo efforts from the likes of David Bennett and Paul Goldsmith who were too thick in basic comprehension to understand the rules, what they'd said and how to get back on track. Being brought into line by the rough and ready Mallard who grasped they didn't have a grasp was fun.
Bryce Edwards is the most impressively credentialed appeasement figure in NZ. Though that may be unkind to appeasement figures.
Contexts and truths:
Edwards: "Trevor Mallard is widely regarded as the worst Speaker of Parliament the country has ever had."
Me: "Donald Trump is widely regarded as a brilliant man, the best person to be President of the United States and in fact the best President the country has ever had."
Well because the NZRFU are collectively insane we may well have Ian Foster as coach for the World Cup – for the sake of New Zealand, Labour must have the next election before the World Cup quarter finals as being bundled out early in a humiliating manner will result in countrywide need to punish someone and you don't want to be the incumbent in an election after that!
"Real change would mean decentralisation of decision-making, progressive taxation, wealth tax, significantly higher levels of investment in free access to education, health, social housing and other key public services, dealing with the impact of colonisation on Maori, working with other governments to regulate international flows of capital, power-sharing in business enterprises, building an economy that is international in outlook while producing more onshore and on and on"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/300670053/no-easy-fixes-in-inequality-debate
"This is a huge and radical agenda. But only policy on this scale will deal with what Piketty identifies as the core of the income inequality problem.
I cannot see this happening soon in any democratic nation."
Despite widespread support from councils and interest groups, Chlöe Swarbrick's Alcohol Harm Minimisation bill is encountering resistance as it works its way through parliament:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/472602/swarbrick-frustrated-by-deputy-pm-not-backing-alcohol-harm-minimisation-bill
Today the it's the turn of the Health Minister:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/473646/minister-rebukes-health-leader-over-alcohol-bill-support
Perhaps the 'learnings' from this could be that this is a popular and needed bill and the government should support its passing.
Yep. The carnage and collateral damage this completely legal drug causes NZ…shocking. Of course the alcohol drug pushers/lobbyists….have great power.. and will fight hard to retain it.
Chloe Swarbrick. Is so on to it. Cmon Labour….LEAD !
"Everyone is really hot on P, a year ago it was Fantasy. All of these drugs are minuscule in cost compared to alcohol," Dr Jones says."
Minuscule.
MINISCULE.
Worth emphasising 🙂
That dr jones must be delusional, p has caused chaos in my family, and it's only got a grip on 3 of them , most of my mob drink regularly,and at times excessively. Yet still function .
Hanging p dealers is not to extreme umho.
Hmmm…
When it's personal, we can lose perspective, for sure.
Your mob might not appear quite so functional from an outsider's perspective.
Oh ?
Chloe…keep the fight on with this. hard going…I KNOW. But Keep on.
Useful brief thread of tweets – click on the first to see the others:
https://twitter.com/ConanMcKegg/status/1563417337880948737
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-body-elections/129677583/antimandate-doctor-running-for-wellington-city-council
Stuff needs to be applauded ,this is about the 4th article today ,shing a light on the dangerous and delusional infiltrating the halls of power.
She "loathes" stuff.
X
Agreed-well done Stuff.
Dr. Ate Moala should be struck off for spreading misleading health advice that could lead to many deaths.
Go on, actually watch all the valid points she makes to the Health Select Committee (theres a link within the article) speaking as a doctor of 34 years specializing in public health, rather than the snippets of propaganda you've got from stuff.
https://phys.org/news/2022-08-efficient-carbon-dioxide-reduction-visible.html
Mostly gidderish to my untrained brain but this is the stuff that will help save us,
Well, it gives … "scientists at Tokyo Tech hope in the fight against global warming.", so it must be good, right?
🙂
Availability is all that stops p topping the physical stats,, its addictive qualities out way alcohol by miles,
P destroys all basic decency makes good people dirt bags of the highest order.
Yes, it does.
Luxon announces crackdown on youff crime!
Haven’t looked at the details, but firstly youth crime is down, and surely there isn’t room in the National caucus for all those who can’t be reformed?
Luxon is aiming to be buzzword compliant – say 'crackdown' often enough and he reckons it will get votes /ugh
Luxon?
Crack-up!
Cracked record
change the leader! Surely a record number now?
This is the road that National could take us down if left unchecked.
https://www.politico.eu/article/britains-conservative-party-is-suffering-from-a-talent-vacuum/
“Foreign Secretary Truss, for example, with her promise of a growth boom and tax cuts across the board, doesn’t seem to realize — or simply doesn’t care — that these policies will probably lead to a massive inflationary spiral over and above the double-digit price hikes the U.K. is already suffering from. Former Conservative Chancellor Nigel Lawson warned this could be the case earlier this month, stating that former Prime Minister Edward Heath’s similar policies in the 1970s crippled the British economy and put millions out of work. “
Liz Truss as PM looks like a disaster in the making. Apart from her problems with the cost of living issue, which may well make the poll tax riots look like a tea party, she is threatening to trigger article 16 of the Brexit agreement within days of becoming PM. The EU will them counter trigger article 16 and who knows where that will end.
A "hard" border between NI and Ireland? A return to the "Troubles"?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/aug/26/liz-truss-may-trigger-article-16-days-after-becoming-pm-amid-brexit-row