Voters delivered the Left their election victory based on their rediscovery of the power of government to aid society; and to stay in power, they’ll need to continue wielding it. It will be up to all of us to make sure they do it well.
I’m also not a psephologist, but I’m happy to suggest that some (but not many) ardent National voters voted Labour strategically. I’m happy to suggest some (but not many) voters across the entire country voted for a person or a party they profoundly disliked for an elaborate reason, in various combinations. But even waiting on the NZES, I’m willing to say that a lot of communities voted Labour, and for Jacinda Ardern, because they genuinely wanted to do so.
'Westland Mayor Bruce Smith said the Greens' hard-line stance on conservation issues had impacted negatively on the West Coast, or were about to, including the proposed closure of whitebaiting rivers, a general negativity towards mining and the push to protect stewardship land.
He said he believed a lot of Coasters had voted Labour to kick the Greens out.
"If the Government brings in Greens just to keep them handy for next time, there'll be pushback all right." '
'Greymouth mayor Tania Gibson agreed.
"A lot of people voted Labour this time to keep the Greens out and the Government should take note," Mrs Gibson said.'
And needless to say…also maga hat owner Alan Birchfield…included
The preliminary election result for West Coast-Tasman (my electorate too) is consistent with the national result. With twelve!! electorate candidates this election, WCT has more than its fair share of 'alternative' views.
He said he believed a lot of Coasters had voted Labour to kick the Greens out.
That's the trouble with false narratives being seeded so fast – others like him can repeat them without any challenge, including from media who should know better.
Agreed Sacha….the media will find any way it can to attack the Greens. Many on the Right must be livid that the Greens did so wonderfully well despite being written-off, invented scandals levelled at them, attacks on their Wealth Tax etc
More worrying is that just now on RNZ Morning Report the political correspondent seemed sure that only Marama Davidson and James Shaw will be offered ministerial posts outside cabinet.
No places for Genter or Sage. It's almost as though Labour believes the complete rubbish the media is spouting about people voting Labour to keep the Greens out.
Yeah – clever strategy from the Nats and the media. It prompted some tribal Labour voters like myself to party vote Green. We played a role in bouncing the Greens back from political oblivion. We might not have done so if they had played a straight ball. Dickheads.
Genter and Sage are generally recognised as having been competent associate ministers so I think hope they will be allowed to continue in their roles.
He said he believed a lot of Coasters had voted Labour to kick the Greens out.
Everyone's free to believe whatever they like. For example, I believe a lot of Coasters voted Labour because they like that Jacinda Ardern dresses in clothes from NZ fashion designers. That's the great thing about beliefs – no evidence required.
Indeed. I party voted Green, so lots of Nat voters would vote Labour to keep the Greens out, so National would look weak, so they would lose the gun lobby to ACT which would amplify their pro-gun message. Sometimes I have to hug myself at how cunning I am – voting Green in order to support ACT, a cunning plan worthy of Baldrick himself.
I think most voted Labour as a safe haven. The common refrain "They have done well" the unspoken part of that "In spite of…." take your choice of any number of things or people.
National are never going to say, "they voted for Labour because they didn't trust us".
They're never going to say :"they voted for Labour because they trust them" either. Hence the irrational meme highlighted by Hamish Keith's satirical tweet.
I will participate in any such review and try to bring attention onto the misconduct of many media outlets and the misuse of the opposition led covid response committee.
So why was the PM lying to us about border testing before the election?
After all this isnt even disputed as it is in the official records.
[lprent: What she reported according to my recollection was what she (and Bloomfield) had been told and she expressed it exactly that way. That is part of the “official record”. Your statement is maliciously incorrect in that you are stating that she stated something that was incorrect. After all PMs do not physically go around and personally run border testing themselves. They make policy and others then implement and report back to them.
So you are lying through your teeth in your statement. You are also claiming an authority (‘official records’)in bad faith. You didn’t provide a link or any support for your statement. I’d say that you are a simpleminded moronic liar peddling false facts – and quite unsuited to this forum (see the policy).
I’d suggest you try the sewer aka kiwiblog where this kind of stupid lying is not only tolerated, but also encouraged. Come back when you increase in your ability to discriminate between what are substantiated facts and what are merely your opinions – plus being able to clearly express to others which is which. ]
One National grief point has now been laid to rest.
No more will we hear from them that they were gypped as the largest single party being prevented from forming a government.
In the immortal words of Mike Cullen that he never uttered, "We won. You lost. Eat that."
Now the meme is it was an intentional loss to prevent the Greens from forcing their way into power.
If that was the message, how come Collins was saying to two vote National to keep out the Greens eight days out from election day? Don't they listen? Did they mishear Blue for Red?
Well, one thing about the National voter is that they are finely tuned to the nuances of meaning in the words Blue and Red, and not likely to be that stupid as to confuse Collins' message.
Were they instead giving the electoral finger to Collins and National by voting Red? The socialist bogeyman doesn’t work any more. The Greens aren’t that terrifying, either. Fear is a poor substitute for true insight.
Were they saying that we are cool with Labour; they can be trusted; they are in control; they know what they are doing; give me substance over slogans, action over abuse, compassion over greed?
IMO many were simply turned off by Punch N Judy who appeared hell bent on a crusade towards Blinglish's 2002 result. 6 elections later the demographics aren't the same.
Collins couldn't hide her contempt, Gez's conspiracy corner, Woody and Boags DP smear (the whitewash fooled nobody) then cap it all by insulting overweight people.
They got the result their car crash of a campaign merited. Bipartisanship had votes in it but crusher knows best.
In the immortal words of Mike Cullen that he never uttered, "We won. You lost. Eat that."
I'm not really surprised to be told he didn't say that. I didn't think that he was the sort to come out with such honesty, more of a behind-the-scenes wrecking ball on lower income people and the jobs that were there bread-and-butter.
edit
Points I note in this are that Cullen didn't understand the life and limits that ordinary people are constrained by. And also Labour has skated round the edges of committing to the low income people that are their raison d'etre.
The light bulb matters that irritated:
The fact that Europe and America and Australia had either done it already or decided to carry out the policy seemed to assure Labour that we should adopt the same without thought.
The government was sensitive to the charge that it was Nannyish, he says, but the rage over the light-bulb ban seemed "highly irrational". The new bulbs were more efficient, less expensive and more environmentally desirable.
First I have great distaste for us following automatically what other countries are doing, usually western.
Second the reason for many in NZ not wanting all new tech bulbs was because they were more expensive. He is highly irrational saying otherwise. The cost per year for the bulb, and the lower electricity cost its different type produced, show cheapness on an amortised basis. But the cost to buy the bulb at the shop rose about 300% on average. Three bulbs needed (incandescent) @ $1.10 = $3.30 | three new type @ $4.10 each (possibly more) = $12.30.
And he says that he had to accept Sue Bradford's Bill as if they did not have the ability to amend with more effective legislation: The anti-smacking bill was another strange case: even though National ended up voting for it, Labour got all the flak. Cullen says Labour could not have avoided the issue posed by green Sue Bradford's bill. Section 59 of the Crimes Act had led to the acquittal of people who had made quite serious attacks on children. And it fitted Labour policy, so opposing the measure would make people say it had no principles.
Cullen says that Labour needed to deal with the 'acquittal of people who had made quite serious attacks on children'. What's this 'quite' – they were serious attacks even murderous. An Anti-Smacking Bill was not going to stop such attacks. I remember Craig Manukau aged 11 kicked to death by the male in his life for going to a school event, also a list of others*.
Briefly re Craig: …the horrifying truth was that Craig Manukau's father went to a school disco, removed his son, took him home and kicked him to death while his mother turned up the radio to drown out the noise.
Bringing in non-smacking legislation was a statement about the state deploring this and being able to punish it – no biblical buts. But it did not try hard to conquer and overcome the actual violence in people being passed on to children, the vulnerable, and the violent parent syndrome.
…1992, the year District Court Judge Ken Mason released a report saying the Children and Young Persons Service (CYPS) was "dizzied and demoralised".
It found widespread incompetence with staff lacking adequate training. CYPS general manager Robin Wilson said Mason "got it badly wrong", but no one from the department contacted Mason to discuss the report's contents….
If violence meant a period of jail isolation and then a period of workshopping and personal thought; some determined and focussed action one on one with the instigator with jail for the recalcitrants that would have been a good Labour thing to do; instead it is just the neo-lib punitive approach.
What Cullen said. "The fact that Europe and America and Australia had either done it already or decided to do it seemed to be completely irrelevant."
What you extrapolated from what Cullen said. "The fact that Europe and America and Australia had either done it already or decided to carry out the policy seemed to assure Labour that we should adopt the same without thought.
Where's the 'without thought'? Not what he said, greywarshark, not what he said.
Well I have changed the wording slightly as indicated by my 'edit'. And i have seen that adopting overseas policy is a default position in a number of governments. We find policies used overseas and install them here without apparent thought for how they will work here – if there is thought then it is fleeting and dismisses unintended consequences.
You said 'without thought'. Cullen is saying we did as several other countries did, which would have meant he had considered that and the actual actions taken. He is also saying that opponents of what he had done need to consider that his policy had also been considered and enacted by other countries, using that evidence as support for his having done the same.
And a frenzied stabbing from a male incensed that his partner was able to make a life with a job, and so he had to cut her down to size literally. Meanwhile their poor child had to endure this foul stuff, and whatever culture, we have this sour attitude that rises like bile and man becomes vengeful God.
Thirdly, the Government is determined to pass this bill. It was an election commitment. Nine years ago, when Helen Clark was absent on overseas leave, I rose in this House on the second reading of the Employment Contracts Bill and committed the Labour Party to repealing the Employment Contracts Act. And we will repeal the Employment Contracts Act. Eat that! You lost, we won, it goes! It is as simple as that. Therefore, on Monday morning we will—
Maeve Binchy in her wisdom of maturity – good to listen to about how we are and what we can think about the world. Good v Bad and What's the Meaning of Life?
Fox spews Laura Inghram reckons Jacinda Aderns forcing people who don't take compulsory test's in isolation facilities is removing freedoms and is fascist.
Suzanne Evans, a former journalist who hopped from the Conservative Party to the UK Independence Party before ditching politics, regularly shares posts critical of using lockdowns to tackle Covid-19. Yesterday Evans said that "New Zealand now has a fascist government under @jacindaardern. Are you going to act, @amnesty?".
The comment came above a retweet from fellow lockdown-sceptic Bernie Spofforth, who had shared an edited video containing messages from Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Jacinda Ardern about the policy of moving all positive cases to quarantine facilities and enforcing testing.
The video spliced together a press briefing from Bloomfield and a Facebook live video from Ardern and added graphics and memes.
Also, if we live in a fascist state we don't realise it as we have just had an election where 60%+of the people approved of what we have done by voting Green, Labour and even NZF.
This of course makes a stupidity of a claim that the non-fascist National voters, in order to keep out the Greens, voted for a fascist Labour party…….. as preferable.
Since June, lending to investors has tripled and last month banks lent out more than $7.3 billion to house buyers – which is an all-time record.
Sorry Robertson you will have to upset all your mates in financial circles, the tight, closed ones) and set up special rates for just young families and older single people who are wanting a secure home. And it may be that you will need a State Mortgages system, set up through Kiwibank and other NZ owned banks that report to NZ financial entities. Get some steel and show that you're the Right Stuff.
On Te Karere this afternoon I had my first glimpse of ACT Party MP Nicole McKee with her talking.
The item was about the shooting up north, the hi-jacking, kidnapping and whatever else went on.
McKee was described by Newsroom as a 'prominent gun advocate' in a piece 'ACT Party Nicole McKee wants 'commonsense and practicalities' brought back into Government."
So what did she have? Commonsense and practicalities? No, just a redneck.
Her answer is to 'sort the gangs out.' Okay Nicole McKee we've got plenty of land up here, how about building us another couple of prisons and we can sort the gangs out by picking them up and locking them away? How about 'moving the economy,' generating economic activity by importing personnel from overseas to staff those jails?
We need ambulances at the bottom of cliffs as much as we need another useless MP who cannot see what the real problem is and cannot show what leadership and hope look like.
Full marks to her at least I suppose for not suggesting that miscreants and gangs be shot on sight.
How many NZs see this as an insult to their intelligence, and an indication of her blinkered outlook? Fancy standing for a place in our political entity saying the same things that have been trotted out for decades and been shown to be worse than useless!
This is a sign that we need a better political system. Each candidate will have to sit and pass a special set of papers that give an overview when finished, of all the things that will need to be understood by newbies, mostly at the 101/201 level.
There will be explanation of hard science and how it is being utilised in NZ. And a lot of 'soft' science, sociology, study of the importance of early training and secure loving care to build confident little people, who grow right. Understanding statistics, planning, common building materials and tendering and how to get round that. Also entrepreneurship and the importance of paid work in a community.
I will work out a set of uni papers that I think all should study when I get round to it. How do we contain our irritation, and our disgust at the waste of time and low standards in the choices for representatives in the present system? We have not reacted back to the 'change agents' foisted on us and their ploys that suit sharp financial types good both at calculation with all sorts of figures, and also at how to get power.
How about a 4 day working week it's long over due.
With AI robots and more mechanization there won't be enough work for everyone.
20% less gridlock on motorways less stress more productive work places.
The last time we had a major move forward was at the end of the depression 1936 it helped reduce unemployment and gave people a better work life balance.
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In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the country’s next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
Headline: The moment of friction. – 36th Parallel Assessments In strategic studies “friction” is a term that it is used to describe the moment when military action encounters adversary resistance. “Friction” is one of four (along with an unofficial fifth) “F’s” in military strategy, which includes force (kinetic mass), ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
The simplest answer can be the right one. https://publicaddress.net/speaker/rewarding-competence/
The Joe Nunweek article linked from Drummond's one is in the same vein. https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/25-10-2020/expecting-less-or-more-of-labours-new-voters/
And on a satirical note..
https://twitter.com/hamish_keith/status/1320896061091631106
I’ve deleted this comment … outside chance it could be considered borderline as far as putting the site in some sort of legal jeopardy.
Now I'm curious..
Be quick … this post will self-destruct in the not-too-distant future 🙂
https://sub-zero-politics.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-offending-comment-ill-just.html
I missed the window. Thank you for trying.
I wonder if it's ever crossed Labour's mind that there are more tenants of voting age than landlords.
But do they vote?
and do they donate?
'Westland Mayor Bruce Smith said the Greens' hard-line stance on conservation issues had impacted negatively on the West Coast, or were about to, including the proposed closure of whitebaiting rivers, a general negativity towards mining and the push to protect stewardship land.
He said he believed a lot of Coasters had voted Labour to kick the Greens out.
"If the Government brings in Greens just to keep them handy for next time, there'll be pushback all right." '
'Greymouth mayor Tania Gibson agreed.
"A lot of people voted Labour this time to keep the Greens out and the Government should take note," Mrs Gibson said.'
And needless to say…also maga hat owner Alan Birchfield…included
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/west-coast/coasters-divided-over-conservation-direction
The preliminary election result for West Coast-Tasman (my electorate too) is consistent with the national result. With twelve!! electorate candidates this election, WCT has more than its fair share of 'alternative' views.
Labour 46.6%
National 26%
2017 election – Labour 39.9% National 37%
That's the trouble with false narratives being seeded so fast – others like him can repeat them without any challenge, including from media who should know better.
I can believe that a few voters went that way at the end, but the polls were pretty clear for months that mostly it was just that people liked Labour.
Agreed Sacha….the media will find any way it can to attack the Greens. Many on the Right must be livid that the Greens did so wonderfully well despite being written-off, invented scandals levelled at them, attacks on their Wealth Tax etc
More worrying is that just now on RNZ Morning Report the political correspondent seemed sure that only Marama Davidson and James Shaw will be offered ministerial posts outside cabinet.
No places for Genter or Sage. It's almost as though Labour believes the complete rubbish the media is spouting about people voting Labour to keep the Greens out.
Yeah – clever strategy from the Nats and the media. It prompted some tribal Labour voters like myself to party vote Green. We played a role in bouncing the Greens back from political oblivion. We might not have done so if they had played a straight ball. Dickheads.
Genter and Sage are generally recognised as having been competent associate ministers so I
thinkhope they will be allowed to continue in their roles.He said he believed a lot of Coasters had voted Labour to kick the Greens out.
Everyone's free to believe whatever they like. For example, I believe a lot of Coasters voted Labour because they like that Jacinda Ardern dresses in clothes from NZ fashion designers. That's the great thing about beliefs – no evidence required.
Indeed. I party voted Green, so lots of Nat voters would vote Labour to keep the Greens out, so National would look weak, so they would lose the gun lobby to ACT which would amplify their pro-gun message. Sometimes I have to hug myself at how cunning I am – voting Green in order to support ACT, a cunning plan worthy of Baldrick himself.
Reads more like Blackadder the first.
I think most voted Labour as a safe haven. The common refrain "They have done well" the unspoken part of that "In spite of…." take your choice of any number of things or people.
National are never going to say, "they voted for Labour because they didn't trust us".
The MSM are also never going to say, "they voted for Labour because they didn't trust us".
…most voted Labour as a safe haven.
And some didn't because they know that for the most vulnerable in our community Labour offer no more of a safe haven than National.
They're never going to say :"they voted for Labour because they trust them" either. Hence the irrational meme highlighted by Hamish Keith's satirical tweet.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/formal-review-into-governments-covid-19-response-would-distraction-chris-hipkins-says
I will participate in any such review and try to bring attention onto the misconduct of many media outlets and the misuse of the opposition led covid response committee.
So why was the PM lying to us about border testing before the election?
After all this isnt even disputed as it is in the official records.
[lprent: What she reported according to my recollection was what she (and Bloomfield) had been told and she expressed it exactly that way. That is part of the “official record”. Your statement is maliciously incorrect in that you are stating that she stated something that was incorrect. After all PMs do not physically go around and personally run border testing themselves. They make policy and others then implement and report back to them.
So you are lying through your teeth in your statement. You are also claiming an authority (‘official records’)in bad faith. You didn’t provide a link or any support for your statement. I’d say that you are a simpleminded moronic liar peddling false facts – and quite unsuited to this forum (see the policy).
I’d suggest you try the sewer aka kiwiblog where this kind of stupid lying is not only tolerated, but also encouraged. Come back when you increase in your ability to discriminate between what are substantiated facts and what are merely your opinions – plus being able to clearly express to others which is which. ]
One National grief point has now been laid to rest.
No more will we hear from them that they were gypped as the largest single party being prevented from forming a government.
In the immortal words of Mike Cullen that he never uttered, "We won. You lost. Eat that."
Now the meme is it was an intentional loss to prevent the Greens from forcing their way into power.
If that was the message, how come Collins was saying to two vote National to keep out the Greens eight days out from election day? Don't they listen? Did they mishear Blue for Red?
Well, one thing about the National voter is that they are finely tuned to the nuances of meaning in the words Blue and Red, and not likely to be that stupid as to confuse Collins' message.
Were they instead giving the electoral finger to Collins and National by voting Red? The socialist bogeyman doesn’t work any more. The Greens aren’t that terrifying, either. Fear is a poor substitute for true insight.
Were they saying that we are cool with Labour; they can be trusted; they are in control; they know what they are doing; give me substance over slogans, action over abuse, compassion over greed?
IMO many were simply turned off by Punch N Judy who appeared hell bent on a crusade towards Blinglish's 2002 result. 6 elections later the demographics aren't the same.
Collins couldn't hide her contempt, Gez's conspiracy corner, Woody and Boags DP smear (the whitewash fooled nobody) then cap it all by insulting overweight people.
They got the result their car crash of a campaign merited. Bipartisanship had votes in it but crusher knows best.
I'm not really surprised to be told he didn't say that. I didn't think that he was the sort to come out with such honesty, more of a behind-the-scenes wrecking ball on lower income people and the jobs that were there bread-and-butter.
Some of what Cullen did say, including a sub voce description of Key. Read here…….
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/features/2329749/Regrets-I-ve-had-a-few-Michael-Cullen-reflects
edit
Points I note in this are that Cullen didn't understand the life and limits that ordinary people are constrained by. And also Labour has skated round the edges of committing to the low income people that are their raison d'etre.
The light bulb matters that irritated:
First I have great distaste for us following automatically what other countries are doing, usually western.
Second the reason for many in NZ not wanting all new tech bulbs was because they were more expensive. He is highly irrational saying otherwise. The cost per year for the bulb, and the lower electricity cost its different type produced, show cheapness on an amortised basis. But the cost to buy the bulb at the shop rose about 300% on average. Three bulbs needed (incandescent) @ $1.10 = $3.30 | three new type @ $4.10 each (possibly more) = $12.30.
And he says that he had to accept Sue Bradford's Bill as if they did not have the ability to amend with more effective legislation:
The anti-smacking bill was another strange case: even though National ended up voting for it, Labour got all the flak. Cullen says Labour could not have avoided the issue posed by green Sue Bradford's bill. Section 59 of the Crimes Act had led to the acquittal of people who had made quite serious attacks on children. And it fitted Labour policy, so opposing the measure would make people say it had no principles.
Cullen says that Labour needed to deal with the 'acquittal of people who had made quite serious attacks on children'. What's this 'quite' – they were serious attacks even murderous. An Anti-Smacking Bill was not going to stop such attacks. I remember Craig Manukau aged 11 kicked to death by the male in his life for going to a school event, also a list of others*.
Craig's sad story from 1992: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/faces-of-innocents/81267814/faces-of-innocents-craig-manukau
Briefly re Craig: …the horrifying truth was that Craig Manukau's father went to a school disco, removed his son, took him home and kicked him to death while his mother turned up the radio to drown out the noise.
And one person's response – to become a social worker. But Judge Mason's verbal comment below says that the social work system was badly run and ineffective which is really wilful neglect in my opinion. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/linda-hall-protecting-our-children-is-vital/IJEGGC5RFRDJ3VFMO5P4EQXANE/
Bringing in non-smacking legislation was a statement about the state deploring this and being able to punish it – no biblical buts. But it did not try hard to conquer and overcome the actual violence in people being passed on to children, the vulnerable, and the violent parent syndrome.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/73681718/a-trail-of-broken-promises-1992-2015
There was a report on CYPS and this is a great video and comment – listen to this. 'Former judge Ken Mason discusses his historical review of CYFS':
If violence meant a period of jail isolation and then a period of workshopping and personal thought; some determined and focussed action one on one with the instigator with jail for the recalcitrants that would have been a good Labour thing to do; instead it is just the neo-lib punitive approach.
*https://childabuseinnz.wordpress.com/my-memorial/
What Cullen said. "The fact that Europe and America and Australia had either done it already or decided to do it seemed to be completely irrelevant."
What you extrapolated from what Cullen said. "The fact that Europe and America and Australia had either done it already or decided to carry out the policy seemed to assure Labour that we should adopt the same without thought.
Where's the 'without thought'? Not what he said, greywarshark, not what he said.
Well I have changed the wording slightly as indicated by my 'edit'. And i have seen that adopting overseas policy is a default position in a number of governments. We find policies used overseas and install them here without apparent thought for how they will work here – if there is thought then it is fleeting and dismisses unintended consequences.
Sorry, mate, it's not 'slightly'.
You said 'without thought'. Cullen is saying we did as several other countries did, which would have meant he had considered that and the actual actions taken. He is also saying that opponents of what he had done need to consider that his policy had also been considered and enacted by other countries, using that evidence as support for his having done the same.
And a frenzied stabbing from a male incensed that his partner was able to make a life with a job, and so he had to cut her down to size literally. Meanwhile their poor child had to endure this foul stuff, and whatever culture, we have this sour attitude that rises like bile and man becomes vengeful God.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/massey-stabbing-victim-came-to-nz-for-a-better-life-ex-partner-was-fixated-with-it/M73SFFPFNTZIKNCSUODPZ7B3SQ/
In the interests of accuracy one must agree that he didn't say precisely what you quote.
What he did say, on 9 September 2000 was.
"Eat that. You lost, we won" Same words but a slightly different order. Hansard for that date is not on-line I'm afraid.
In 2009 Farrar wrote, "
The quote, according to Farrar, referred to the disappearance of the ECA in September 2000, not the election result of 1999, the context I gave it. https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2009/04/cullen_did_say_it_after_all.html
And I seem to remember that Cullen was heard to mutter that in relation to the 2002 National loss. "You lost. We won. Eat that!" Not in a speech.
Maybe it was an echo of Farrar's 1999 quote though I do not recall his one.
It was 9 August 2000:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Iwfzv-Mt3CRG1Sa2QxTlBVQ2M/view
Now that the election is over I just want Labour to start governing from next week being a fresh election cycle.
Those who did not win need to remember that they are there to serve the voters and not theirselves.
testing
Looks like a pass.
Maeve Binchy in her wisdom of maturity – good to listen to about how we are and what we can think about the world. Good v Bad and What's the Meaning of Life?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eKBMlu8o30
With Shaw coming out of talks with nothing, its ha4d to see them putting something together by Friday to put to their members.
Bad omen.
Bad Omen(s)? You Never Know…
Living under a black cloud Ad? Where is your hope?
Fox spews Laura Inghram reckons Jacinda Aderns forcing people who don't take compulsory test's in isolation facilities is removing freedoms and is fascist.
Did they realise we are covid free.
What a fool Inghram is.
What about the rights of those people who get infected and die?
She doesn't care.
She's a Haw-Haw for the worst aspects of the current administration.
Interesting there is a parallel line from the UK. Nasty and busily crafted, not just a random putdown.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-kiwis-fight-back-after-nz-compared-to-nazi-germany/N5RCKEXHQACFT4RW3R7QNIDQKI/ A right-wing British politician has outraged Kiwis online after likening New Zealand to Nazi Germany in a series of tweets taking aim at Jacinda Ardern and the Government's Covid response.
Suzanne Evans, a former journalist who hopped from the Conservative Party to the UK Independence Party before ditching politics, regularly shares posts critical of using lockdowns to tackle Covid-19. Yesterday Evans said that "New Zealand now has a fascist government under @jacindaardern. Are you going to act, @amnesty?".
The comment came above a retweet from fellow lockdown-sceptic Bernie Spofforth, who had shared an edited video containing messages from Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Jacinda Ardern about the policy of moving all positive cases to quarantine facilities and enforcing testing.
The video spliced together a press briefing from Bloomfield and a Facebook live video from Ardern and added graphics and memes.
Thank god she and her fellow fuxxers are a long way away.
With a bit of luck Evans won't come here because she will need to be tested or do 21 days in isolation.
Evans needs to focus on Covid in the UK and not in NZ.
Also, if we live in a fascist state we don't realise it as we have just had an election where 60%+of the people approved of what we have done by voting Green, Labour and even NZF.
This of course makes a stupidity of a claim that the non-fascist National voters, in order to keep out the Greens, voted for a fascist Labour party…….. as preferable.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/429289/housing-boom-could-get-worse-economist-warns
Economists are calling on the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to reinstate lending restrictions, warning the housing market is spiralling out of control.
In May, the Reserve Bank temporarily removed loan to value ratio (LVR) restrictions, freeing banks to sell mortgages to buyers with small deposits.
Since June, lending to investors has tripled and last month banks lent out more than $7.3 billion to house buyers – which is an all-time record.
Sorry Robertson you will have to upset all your mates in financial circles, the tight, closed ones) and set up special rates for just young families and older single people who are wanting a secure home. And it may be that you will need a State Mortgages system, set up through Kiwibank and other NZ owned banks that report to NZ financial entities. Get some steel and show that you're the Right Stuff.
Is New Zealand well served by having the dense shit Duncan Garner in a news/entertainment position?
He is a very, very slow learner:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/10/duncan-garner-i-can-now-see-why-jacinda-ardern-got-your-vote-and-your-support.html
Typically, this tone deaf spanner makes it all about him and his privileged social life. He also outs himself as a National Party voter.
In the nicest possible way, trickortreaters might like to far cry toff. Thanks.
On Te Karere this afternoon I had my first glimpse of ACT Party MP Nicole McKee with her talking.
The item was about the shooting up north, the hi-jacking, kidnapping and whatever else went on.
McKee was described by Newsroom as a 'prominent gun advocate' in a piece 'ACT Party Nicole McKee wants 'commonsense and practicalities' brought back into Government."
So what did she have? Commonsense and practicalities? No, just a redneck.
Her answer is to 'sort the gangs out.' Okay Nicole McKee we've got plenty of land up here, how about building us another couple of prisons and we can sort the gangs out by picking them up and locking them away? How about 'moving the economy,' generating economic activity by importing personnel from overseas to staff those jails?
We need ambulances at the bottom of cliffs as much as we need another useless MP who cannot see what the real problem is and cannot show what leadership and hope look like.
Full marks to her at least I suppose for not suggesting that miscreants and gangs be shot on sight.
How many NZs see this as an insult to their intelligence, and an indication of her blinkered outlook? Fancy standing for a place in our political entity saying the same things that have been trotted out for decades and been shown to be worse than useless!
This is a sign that we need a better political system. Each candidate will have to sit and pass a special set of papers that give an overview when finished, of all the things that will need to be understood by newbies, mostly at the 101/201 level.
There will be explanation of hard science and how it is being utilised in NZ. And a lot of 'soft' science, sociology, study of the importance of early training and secure loving care to build confident little people, who grow right. Understanding statistics, planning, common building materials and tendering and how to get round that. Also entrepreneurship and the importance of paid work in a community.
I will work out a set of uni papers that I think all should study when I get round to it. How do we contain our irritation, and our disgust at the waste of time and low standards in the choices for representatives in the present system? We have not reacted back to the 'change agents' foisted on us and their ploys that suit sharp financial types good both at calculation with all sorts of figures, and also at how to get power.
Livestreaming from cawthron inst Nelson now. Souxie Wiles Sereen Adams from the Cawthron on the planet and things….
http://www.cawthron.live
How about a 4 day working week it's long over due.
With AI robots and more mechanization there won't be enough work for everyone.
20% less gridlock on motorways less stress more productive work places.
The last time we had a major move forward was at the end of the depression 1936 it helped reduce unemployment and gave people a better work life balance.
Now is the time to push this idea forward.