And next up… did you see the one about ‘voice risk analysis’ aka lie detectors being used over the phone to work out whether people are lying about their need for council benefits in Cornwall? It’s even too much for a Tory councillor who has resigned over it.
“It is clearly right that Cornwall council takes a strong line against people who deliberately mis-claim tax benefits but in this case I am more concerned about the impact on the vast majority of honest claimants.”…
Private outsourcing company Capita says on its website that VRA is “capable of identifying stress and emotion in a caller’s voice pattern”. The contract will cost the taxpayer about £50,000 but is intended to save many times that amount in preventing false claims, according to Cornwall council which states that research carried out in other areas of the country suggests 4%of single person benefit discounts could be false claims.
Trained assessors, specialist technology for calling 30,000 households? Yeah…right. Sounds like atos spin.
Research carries out in other parts of the country also show VRA, or lie detectors by phone, is not suitable in a ‘benefits environment’. But Cornwall is not letting that wee point stop it.
A year or two ago the WINZ call centre was trialling a system of voice recognition. I think you had a choice to register and then they recorded your voice and so whenever you phoned in after that they knew it was you. Needless to say, my response to that was fuck off, but it makes sense now why they were trialling it. I haven’t come across it for a while though so I’m guessing they dropped it.
It does sound more stupid than usual – especially when you look at the numbers it’s clear the people doing some kind of psychological assessment on the data are call centre operators.
If it’s anything like atos, it’ll be suspension until appeal rather than the other way around.
UK documentary maker and activist Harry Fear will be speaking in Auckland
Where: Lecture Room B28, Auckland University Library Alfred Street
Time: 7pm Thursday 7 February
Harry Fear and veteran Kiwi activist Roger Fowler were on a fact-finding mission in Gaza when the recent Israeli bombing raids took place. They will speak about their experiences.
*Legendary reggae band ‘Unity Pacific’ will be playing
Its called trying to gain a targets trust…this way the spin can be effective, if people realise its all poppy-cock that he speaks, he becomes less effective as a spin doctor. Sadly, I have witnessed some here starting to think Hooton is making sense, this is not good. He never does.
Lanth. We get this kind of response after his every speech. How much value must people continue to place upon rhetoric? (Look at Obama for example!) And so it goes on every time, with the obligatory IF IF IF . . .
4.30pm News with Jeff Bryant Tuesday 18 November 2012
A potential flashpoint is brewing between Labour and the Greens with David Shearer squashing Green plans for quantitative easing if the two go into coalition after the next election.
The Green’s want to drive down the value of the New Zealand dollar by getting the Reserve Bank to print more money which could be used to buy earthquake bonds and rebuild the EQC.
Mr Shearer told Radiolive’s Duncan Garner thats not an option;
“What we want to do is to say the Reserve Bank is in the best position to make those determinations. So what we we would do is give them the tools then let them make the decisions.”
David Shearer says there is a real issue when politicians get new idea’s and try to interfere with the economy.
Perhaps that is what Shearer was referring to when is the speech…..
Well I am committed to this future.
There is simply no other option.
That is why I have asked my colleagues to develop a clear plan to diversify our economy.
A plan we can put in front of New Zealanders, not airy fairy concepts.
All of these areas – jobs, education, housing and building a new economy – are critical to rebuilding our second largest city.
I am committed to rebuilding Christchurch from the grassroots up, not the Beehive down.
That’s why I’ll be talking to Cantabrians about how they see their future.
To ensure their voices are heard.
That’s what we’ll work on in the coming months.
These ideas will make a difference.
These are ideas National simply can’t see.
Airy Fairy ideas (traitor words) – DS confirms his loyalty to the continuation of the neo liberal agenda, he was, is, and will remain and agent of the establishment, its that simple!
“David Shearer says there is a real issue when politicians get new idea’s and try to interfere with the economy.”
That’s odd, considering that a couple of days ago in his State of the Nation speech Shearer said:
“We’ll make changes to monetary policy so that our job-creating businesses aren’t undermined by our exchange rate.”
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“David Shearer says there is a real issue when politicians get new idea’s and try to interfere with the economy.”
That suggests to me that Shearer believes “the economy” is some kind of discrete, independent entity which will somehow run itself perfectly well as long as its left alone – presumably shaped by some “invisible hand”. If he ever gets to be Prime Minister he will, on day one, be faced with “the economy” bequeathed to him by National which, according to him, he won’t ‘interfer with’ by trying any new ideas.
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“David Shearer says there is a real issue when politicians get new idea’s and try to interfere with the economy.”
A couple of days ago in his State of the Nation speech David Shearer said: “We are on the cusp of a new era – when new thinking and leadership is needed to build wealth we can all share in.”
By the sounds of it Labour have caught up with the idea that the RBA should be widened in scope beyond just inflation targets. I.e. you make unemployment and quality of life targets part of the objective, and the RB will do a bit of autonomous QE.
A few years old as an idea (they probably resisted it while in power), but at least they’re only 5 or 10 years out of date – not the 150 that Nact are 🙂
Not sure how much of the idea follows on from the monetary policy + noninterference statements – could just be teafleaf reading on my part.
A potential flashpoint is brewing between Labour and the Greens with David Shearer squashing Green plans for quantitative easing if the two go into coalition after the next election.
The Green’s want to drive down the value of the New Zealand dollar by getting the Reserve Bank to print more money which could be used to buy earthquake bonds and rebuild the EQC.
Mr Shearer told Radiolive’s Duncan Garner thats not an option;
Why are the Greens wasting their political capital on this sort of ephemera, when the future of humanity itself hangs in the balance, threatened by permanent climate change?
“What we want to do is to say the Reserve Bank is in the best position to make those determinations. So what we we would do is give them the tools then let them make the decisions.”
Placing decisions which belong properly to government beyond the reach of a government accountable to the people is undemocratic, and in fact represents the very essence of fascism.
I didn’t hear him this morning, but I noticed on Morning Report last week that Shearer is getting better with his communication. I think he must have been working on it over the summer and with some robust policy developed I think it would be easier for him to give firm answers than waffle to fill the air.
“What we want to do is to say the Reserve Bank is in the best position to make those determinations. So what we we would do is give them the tools then let them make the decisions.”
What David is saying, is that having the RBNZ/OoDM, as private, is the best solution, as thats what his masters are telling him to say. The tools government gets controlled with is Graeme Wheeler, ex World Banker, relaying messages. David will be given no tools to the RBNZ, which is why he has not mentioned them in the speech, he is talking bull shit!
David Shearer says there is a real issue when politicians get new idea’s and try to interfere with the economy.
Here David emphasises that market driven ideology will continue, and that he is owned, and speaking on behalf of *the market* controllers!
David will strickly adhere to the *best practice* frameworks, and there will be no *airy fairy ideas*, (such as what is right/best for NZ), coming from his mouth, or via Labour Party policy!
David Shearer, like John Key, and so many others pretending to be politicians (hence the continued atrocious performances), are TRAITORS!
LOLZ, Hooten, on today’s RadioNZ National Nine to Noon seems to have laughably lost the over-sized plum that has Him at times thinking He speaks with the voice of the Lord of the Manor,
Unfortunately for Hooten the ‘plum’ voice has had Him at times sounding more like a transvestite in training,
Wonder if Hooties had the offending ‘plum’ surgically removed or did the recent ‘pricking’ of that ones over-blown ego here at the Standard result in it’s shriveling…
I am sure that you have considered that for Labour to get into power they will actually need to appeal to the voters in the centre of the political spectrum (assuming a relatively equal number of voters on either side of the centre). Once having one the election they will be able implement nore left wing policies on the basis that their coalition partners are further to the left than they are and as always there will be some negotiation and collaboration in forming the new govt.
If they ignore the centre (which I don’t think they are) they will quite simply lose the election and their policies won’t really matter for another three years……..
You seem to be saying they should campaign on policies they don’t believe in in order to gain power, so that once in power they can implement policies they do believe in, even if it means breaking election promises.
Trevor hosted a media event in his Electorate football ground for his Leader at which a “Hands on” strategy was the theme.
Does Shearer have the right team around him to firstly detail such policies and secondly execute them when in power?
Trevor’s last job was to build a new sports stadium on Auckland’s waterfront. Truly great idea, appealingly executed.
Who in Shearer’s team jumps out of bed in the morning with a passion to undo and never repeat the mistakes of the past 30 years?
Who in Shearer’s team jumps out of bed in the morning with a plan that is relevant to those who don’t want to own a house? Don’t relate to third level education? Don’t see a future in NZ?
KV
Yesterday I found there was so much in Shearer’s speech that offended and appalled me that I was dumbstruck.
Far from tearing it down and nit-picking to find fault, I felt overwhelmed. I’d have to go through line by line and write a bloody dissertation on all the things that were wrong with that speech.
But of course it was the picture that was painted of what and who was and wasn’t important. Maybe outside of the context of the speech as a whole, the line about the “success” of a person being the first one in the family to graduate university, wouldn’t have grated like it did.
I felt like saying that my father has a couple of degrees yet for some reason we’re all pretty proud that my brother was the first member of the generations of my family to be able to build a house, and my sisters, the first to be able to teach young children how to read and write and do sums and feel confident learning to learn, and most of all that our severely disabled sister was able to learn to read against the odds and that for a few years, before all the wonderful Rogernomic reforms, was able to work in the community and earn a wage to pay the mortgage on her own home.
Pity they don’t have degrees. Their work is and was a kind of anti-success, a generational downward-mobility. It is in the subtext of that speech, – winners – yay, losers unmentionable, strive, aspire, compete, be the best and look after number one, (in the most narrow and conventional terms imaginable that is).
Beltway Labour, you’re only any good if you have a university education. Ever wonder why the Beltway can’t connect to ordinary people worth a damn? Seen the attitude in Young Labour as well. When they find out some kid is “just” a tradie or school leaver noses get turned up real quick. Pathetic and elitist.
A few years ago a former Labour candidate (I think the person has now walked from the Party) once approached a (now retired) senior Labour politician asking for advice on… how to go about becoming a candidate. The first question the prospective candidate was asked:
“ Do you have a university degree?” The candidate replied “yes”.
“Oh, that’s OK then” said the senior politician. “You really need a degree to become a Labour candidate nowadays“.
Pathetic and elitist you say. I would add to that… sad and astoundingly stupid!
That’s even more pathetic than you know, because the people I see starting at university come from all sorts of disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Do you have a university degree?” is really code for: “Are you an unthreateningly, comfortably middle class professional of the sort that clogs Public Address? You’ve never been a sex worker, a drug user, in prison, chronically ill, an artist, epileptic, suffering from a disorder, a sole parent, too dark a shade of brown… or actually gained a degree, but one that’s in boring science and not sexy law or commerce? Right?”
I’ve had a parade of students who tick several of those boxes pass before me and gain degrees, and they’re exactly the sort Labour needs (I can think of one in particular… and another… and another… and more) but I can imagine them saying “Yes” to that MP’s question and then seeing him squirm in his seat and vacillate “Weeeeeellll…. that’s good, that’s a good life story… you’re a battler for sure, but, well, your story’s a bit complicated and for all your… well, virtues… there are some people who won’t be able to understand… Well, for example, I wish you’d overcome… given up something less likely to make the wrong sort of headlines… people won’t understand… perhaps if you’d just quit smoking perhaps? Cigarettes! Cigarettes, I mean! Yes, yes, I know what you do – did – is legal now, and you did it to have money to raise your child… but that takes a long time to explain and you can’t do that in a soundbite and some people – not me of course – some people are going to be, um moralistic about it… they’ll call you a… well, I won’t say that word, but can you imagine it? It would be so hard for you to hear it every day. Oh you did? On talk radio, I mean… on TV, or Kiwiblog… And you have a degree too? Hmmm, yes, I have to say, we’ve many high quality candidates, so don’t feel that we think the less of you when we select this recent marketing graduate who’s been working on my staff for… weeks… now. They’re good, they’re really good and put the hard yards into the party…. um, yes… and they look good on television (yes, I know, I’m not so very slim now either – too many Bellamy’s meals, ha ha!)… and that counts when they’re being interviewed in front of a Ponsonby cafe where we think we can turn the vote around… though mind you, they’re serving an apprenticeship still, so we’ll put them in a nice safe seat or a high list position… Anyway, good luck and keep up the good work! You’re an inspiration!”
I’ve had a few professional-type job interviews with middle-class, university-educated academics that have gone pretty much along those lines and ended up with ‘so where would you fit?’ or ‘because you’re a solo-parent I can’t risk that you’ll take time off when the children are sick’.
Funnily enough for more manual jobs don’t care who I am, just whether I could do the job and stay… those employers think with a couple of degrees I’m over-qualified.
Im probably the only one in the world who finds the practise of celebrating the anniversary of geo-political entities (the Provinces) that were abolished in the mid-19th Century completely absurd. I cannot think of any other non-federallised country that has holidays in different parts of the country on different days.
Though the actual abolishment of the provincial anniversary and their replacement with a more relevant national holidays would be unlikely, due the the events that take place on these days. So carry on inhabitants of the former Auckland Province, enjoy your holiday. You might want to take the time to read up on the old Provinces.
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I dont think the changes to the WOF system is going to lead to the downfall of civilisation as the testing and mechanical barons say they will, but they will turn out to be a false economy. The inspections will end up being much more tougher, resulting in bigger financial hits for car owners (rather than costs being spread through the year).
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Captain mumblefuck is already backtracking on KiwiBuild, and the rednecks are pouring vitirol on the greens, forgetting about their generous familiy benefit capitalisation and State Advances loans. Labour should just focus on increasing the state house build, and give assistance to those who wish to buy their state houses (and chop the renewable tenancies — also perhaps extend the IRR to community provider?). This should in itself dampen the housing market.
“but they will turn out to be a false economy. The inspections will end up being much more tougher, resulting in bigger financial hits for car owners (rather than costs being spread through the year).”
A guy made the point this morning that arguable the 6 monthly WOF system had been acting as a crutch, because people only worried about the state of their car on those 2 days each year, instead of paying more attention to it throughout the year. I think this is likely to be true, but we probably won’t see any move back to owner-responsibility for a good 5-7 years I’d guess.
I’m concerned about lack of inspections of cars – how many people know nothing about what they’re meant to check. But what I’m really worried about is the self-regulated inspections of trucks. Reducing regulation in safety critical elements hasn’t worked in other industries and it won’t work in the transport industry either.
Perfect example of a poor policy launch, and dare I suggest typical of current inept back room management.
The big roll out policy, the press, the media attention, good voter vibes, then whoops, what I meant to say was…
I wish Shearer would spend as much time in Auckland as he does in the Hutt Valley. Funny how the three power-brokers in caucus are the MP for Wellington Central and the two MPs for the Hutt Valley – little wonder Shearer is hardly ever in Auckland.
NACTs degrading our society again. Cutting the wof system down. At present new vehicles only need a once a year, then go to six monthly after the first six years. There is talk about cars being built to be safer these days. Well air bags are for when there is an accident, and the whole purpose of wofs is to keep vital parts in good working order lessening accident possibility. That’s what I like for me, and to know that the other vehicles on the road have been vetted and in reasonable condition.
Instead we get deregulation, the Reno style of political decision making. Go fast towards your goal, don’t worry about possible obstacles – sounds like this new idea is just a rerun of the Roger Douglas thinking.
Novopay – Education is apparently the second ‘successful’ service manufactured by clever clogs in Australia for us, the first being for NZ Post which I heard is not a go’er either.
Charter Schools – discussion on radionz this morning with someone from academic circles called John, and principal from a middle school in Wanganui, the fortunate area to receive government monetary assistance to keep a private school viable, didn’t impress me with the need for the current legislation. Academic John pointed out that there is provision for alternative schools in a 1989 act, and that there has been changes made to the current legislation which seems to make it more radical. Alternative schools, under the state system, are needed for some students and there are some presently. Surely just changes to the enabling 1989 act were all that is necessary.
The government is into makework it seems to me. They don’t wish to support building a better future for us but need to appear to do something so they fiddle with things we already have and that broadly are successful. Result conditions further downgraded. What a shower.
So Key is now an expert on road safety and vehicle maintenance.
(Wonder if he has acshully ever looked under the bonnet of a car, let alone changed a wheel).
Surely vehicle testing is self financing.
So this is all about saving costs for the fleet owners.
For the average punter, this great saving over a ten year cycle will be about $40.00 dollars per year (on today’s testing rates).
As for me, my car is fairly new but I shall be continuing with a six monthly check-up thank you Johnny Boy and it will continue to be done independently of my regular service.
…and apparently the AA have said that their membership is unanimously in support of the new system. Not this member and would love to know when they commissioned that survey.
1)”So key is now an expert on road safety and vehicle maintenance”……exactly,.lol, he would have never had to ride in an unroadworthy car in his life. What would he know.
2)I was also baffled at the results of that AA survey, and no, they never asked this member either.
3)It’s beyond me that we would purposely reduce safety checking in cars. Our car is 20 years old so will still be getting a 6 monthly check under the changes to WOF requirements. Even if it fell into the post 2000 age we woulds still be getting it checked every 6 months, certainly not once a year. To leave it up to faith that your not brand new car is road safe in another year is just plain fool hardy. One thought I’m having is around the number of sales reps that are on our roads every day driving huge distances. Unless you work for a large company or a multi national you will be driving an older model car, one that fits into that post 2000 rego cut off point. Your car could be as old as 14 years and will now only require checking once a year. I know of companies who have laid off staff and reorganised their reps territories since the recession. The reps now have to cover much larger areas than previously. This is dangerous for two reasons: they are more fatigued when they are on the road and the wear and tear on the car is increasing. A deteriorating part that could have been picked up in at a 6 month check will now be left a year. Will that part make it the car unsafe for the driver and other road users.?Quite possibly!
4 and finally)betcha Peter Dunne had something do with voting for change. Don’t know if you saw Keith Webb, one of the directors of the MTA on 3 news last night, discussing the flaws of this change. As he’s my mechanic, we’ve had chats about these changes. Last year he took a bald tyre over to Peter Dunne’s office to demonstrate to him the difference between checking a tyre at 6 months and 12 months. The wear would have been picked up at 6 months, but depending on mileage could be at a point where its almost shredding in a further 6 months. Did PD care? No he did not. The only good outcome was that there will be one less person voting for PD in the Ohariu electorate vote next year. – the mechanic told me that he won’t be voting PD again. (Thats great but I hope the rest of the electorate wakes up before then)
So, now there will be more potentially unsound cars in our roads. Thanks National Govt for putting safety first. Not.
logie97
I thought that the AA guy sounded like a free market density. When he said stuff about individual responsibility the hairs on my neck prickled. I thought AA was supposed to be conservative in favour of safety and providing services for motorists and travellers.
He seemed to think that it was an unneeded expense to have these regular checks and it would save AA members money. If anyone didn’t get a service and repair done, well they ought to and make regular checks, or they were irresponsible. It can be easy to overlook stuff, that’s what we have the WOF for and everyone has been expected to have one when appropriate for the age of their car. So we all benefit from the universality with properly serviced cars.
I think the next reorganisation should happen in parliament. The MPs seats should be taken out and sold in the interests of ergonomics etc. It is supposed to be healthier to be standing instead of sitting for long periods. So just leaning shelves in front of each MP would be sufficient and some of the fat cats might start losing weight by just standing and therefore proving they are alive.
It would be wise for us to have a separate transport police force again. I’m going to lose all my respect for police if I have to put up with them doing more petty surveillance on cars and drivers for misdemeanours.
The people police used to be the government body who helped the non law breakers and citizens dealt with them occasionally and relatively happily. The government has turned them into a bunch who are in everybody’s face all the time, sirens and lights flashing multiple times a day and booze road blocks where they have a catch rate of about 5% so 95% stopped are being unnecessarily harrassed. And then they can pick you up for out-dated certificates and fine you. It’s not good to have these tax gatherers at you all the time. In the bible Jesus was the only friendly face to a tax gatherer. They might find that the people divide against them – the rich on one side and the majority on the other.
And then the government is so bloody careless about trying to improve any situation that impacts on ordinary people, they don’t even put the drunken bums through retraining programs. It seems they just like catching people out and punishing, fining them etc. Like in the Simpsons when annoyed by Homer Mr Burns answer is ‘I’ll loose the dogs”. I see that with such a laissez faire government that is likely to become a reality as people become angry and desperate.
I have no problem with the drink driving checks, but the issue I have is the use of traffic duties to boost the individual officers’ activity quotas.
The classic example I saw a few years ago was when a 2-cop car (how many of those are left) pulled someone over for a pretty blatant red light issue. Fair enough.
While one officer was dealing with the other car, his partner pulled over all the cars on a busy street and asked to see D/Ls – just “papers, please”, no fitness checks or anything.
Of course, each of those counted as traffic duty, so their stats were up – but really there was only one actual case of “traffic duty”, the rest were just pointless ID checks.
What problem did Shearer fix yesterday ?
The 1 million non voters were connected to labour?
Those who are moving to greens coming back?
The Caucus re-united?
Talent inspired to transform the country?
No, no.
The Wellington gaggle feel reassured??
Yes, yes
This is what the revolutionary Marxists in Aotearoa this will happen to the Labour Party.
The global capitalist crisis and NZs perilous economic situation has activated a class war inside the Labour Party such as not seen since the late 1980s over Rogernomics. The onset of crisis in 2007 and Labour’s defeat by a right-moving National -ACT-Maori Party Coalition in 2008 and 2011 has thrown the party into an internal crisis. The ‘old guard’ continue to ‘oppose’ the NACTs by competing for the same middle ground, while a ‘new guard’ has emerged dedicated to return Labour to its traditional parliamentary socialism. The scene is set for Labour to split between the ‘right’ and the ‘left’. We examine the significance of this impending split for the development of class struggle in Aotearoa/NZ…
Affordable housing $300,000 or less for everyone under kiwibuild…..as long as you want your house to be an apartment with only two bedrooms…otherwise it will be up to $550,000….was Bill English right when he said Labour were being dishonest with their $300,000 figure…i guess he was…
I can’t remember the ‘mechanical’ ins and outs of it, but the Northern Hemisphere can apparently expect to experience weather systems that ‘sit’ for far longer due to AGW. So heatwaves and droughts and rains last much longer than was previously considered normal.
And anyway, for some reason the weather forecast the other day ( I don’t usually listen in) struck me as odd insofar as it was very short because the same weather was expected over the entire country whereas there is usually quite a variation. And in todays ‘stuff’
Which has got me wondering whether the Southern Hemisphere can expect similar to the Northern Hemisphere and have periods of long ‘sameness’ as weather systems basically slow and stall due to the effects of AGW.
Don’t think so, because there is no massive continent ie euroasia in the South. Plus Antarctica is a continent so not warming nearly as fast as the Arcrtic.
The jet streams are the result of heat energy moving from the torrid equator to the freezing poles. Because the Arctic is warming ( faster than anywhere as predicted by modelling ) there is less differentiation between it and the equator = less heat energy transfer = slower jet stream.
A slower jet stream means slower weather patterns dragged along at lower levels. Plus like a slow moving river the northern jet stream is meandering more, channeling cold air from further north to further south ie snow in North Africa for the first time in decades or more , and vice versa sucking hot air up from further south to the north ie Russian drought worst in hundreds of years.
Is it possible to not like or believe in the leader of a political party but still support the objectives and ethos of a party – its kaupapa – and still vote for them.
For instance, Hone has alienated some with his remarks and some don’t like him personally or they spin it is the Hone Party – yet when Mana’s policies and objectives are looked at, even though Hone is a turn-off for an individual – the plans and policies may be a turn-on. And the other way around – I love the leader but not sure about the policies. I’m interested because of my discussions with mcflock on another thread. And because I want to increase the votes for Mana and the left whether people like Hone or not.
Hi marty mars. I wrote an epic length response to your question. When I clicked on submit comment I lost the site and my reply to you. I’m not going to repeat it all again but instead just abreviate what I said and refer to your example of the Mana Party and its leader Hone Harawira.
Brief reply to your question: It would depend on the individuals liklihood to be influenced by the persona of a party’s leader over the substance of their policy. What is more important to them?
Its not a perfect example but consider how Epsom voters strategically voted JB for their electorate to in order for National to still hold the sway of power. JB wasn’t well regarded as a whole by the voters but they saw him as a vehicle for upholding their own kaupapa. They got what they wanted despite not having much in the way of respect for their elected representative.
My two cents worth: Personally and historically my view of a leader has taken a back seat to the policy, objectives and ethos of the party. The next election will be my 10th as a voter. It will be my first, NOT party voting Labour. This is mainly because their direction isn’t enough to sustain me as a voter. However, this time I can’t deny that the persona of the leader was the triggering factor for my choice – for the many and varied reasons already discussed on The Standard.
I like Hone Harawira. I like the kaupapa and policies of Mana. It is the party that most closely aligns with my social and political view. Despite that my party vote is going to that rising star, The Greens, who in the past I’ve always given my electorate vote. I wish you luck with your efforts to increase their votes. It would be great if they picked up a few extra seats. Heres to a good left win in 2014 – even if it does seem like a distant future.
I don’t see much policy difference between the Greens, Mana, or the Alliance, and Labour aren’t too far behind.
So basically it comes down to nitpicking personalities, policy order, and what their actions say as well as their words.
For me, it’s not so much “not supporting” party A, as much as simply deciding at the toss that Party B of the bunch is better suited to my perspective.
Kathleen Wynne has won the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party and is set to become the province’s first female premier, after a closely fought race with Sandra Pupatello.
Wynne, the 59-year-old MPP for Don Valley West, is a long-time party member who has had several cabinet roles, including minister of transportation and minister of education.
She has vowed to bring back the legislature on Feb. 19, saying Ontarians are not looking for another election.
Wynne, who is openly gay, had earlier asked delegates in an opening speech: “Can a gay woman win?”
read an article in the Dom recently quoting “Race Against The Machine” and that works’ relevance to the rapidly increasing loss globally of “middle class” employment roles due to technological advances (bring it on you Far.side right wing capitalist commentary clowns)
Here’s another one: very skilled and very cheap Chinese and Indian labour taking over software development, routine legal/accounting/accounts work, administration roles, IT technicians etc
Corporations and shareholders which outsource local jobs get to make bigger and bigger profits even as local communities fail.
A relative was on the phone to Telstra/Vodafone needing help. Turns out the call was being taken in Manila! She was pissed off, told them that as a New Zealander she was disappointed about it and would be looking for a company that employed NZers. The Filipino girl on the other end was like “I help you! I help you!”
Yup, a lot of major big systems upgrades and customisations have been done in Indian code shops by oracle, SAP etc for years as its the only way they can take the work from local crowds.
Major utilities and others happily take advantage of this, it’s not like they care about quality anyway, being a monopoly does that.
interesting, i’m sans all two-way communication devices in my whare now (just sneaking on at PL, so can’t link) however, RNZ is very informative if one ignores most of what passes for opinion and concentrates on seasoned,comparitively objective,commentary on local and global issues; also there is “Press Display” at the PL and the dailys’; still not looking like a brighter future, unless one is an investor in the right commodities, and we shall see those see-saw as well this year.
btw :), a friend of mine relayed her experience of watching cs political commentary on the boob-tube and said she could not understand why the broadcasters give the likes of him and Farr-up-his-own the Time of day.(influential? like cholera is influential)
as an aside, just keep dumping chemical toxins on our pastures (and in our children) and everything will just be tickety-boo.
Yeah robotics are advancing rapidly and on the cheap – fully automated factories.
Remember that was the utopia promised by the technocrats and rationalists. Freed from the burden and drudgery of labour we would have time and energy to pursue our interest.
So will we all get to share in the wealth of this technological revolution or will it pan out more like Blade Runner?
Blade Runner (Do androids dream of electric sheep?) was fairly visionary imo.
as an aside, I was aware very early on that those who could ‘insert” into the MSM and it’s variants were baiting me, and muzza, what was with the “betrayal”? finding laudanum?
Whatever, it is encouraging to see examples of articles more challenging to the status quo appearing occasionally in our dailys’, and even some of the rw eunuchs getting a little more interested in their loss of genitalia (but thats’ those rational types for ya, it’s all about self and Interest) although a cynic Idealist might perceive the blonde bombshell, i meant, eggshell, as a political foil to J-A G…
I am thinking more along the lines of Running Man and the Robocop movies.
Far from being mindless action flicks, Robocop 1 and 2 are interesting commentaries on urban decay, privatisation, the malevolent use of technology and human experimentation by corporations, underfunding of police, outsourcing, and so on and so forth.
The Running Man, focuses on the use of reality TV to distract the masses….
Under the present socio-economic paradigm it will be more like Blade Runner (and/or what millsy said). Of course, we don’t have to keep the present socio-economic system.
The reasoning behind what some would see as the surprise sacking from the Slippery lead National Government’s Cabinet of Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson and un-HousingNZ Minister Phill ‘the mouse’ Heatley was escaping me until i listened to a RadioNZ National interview of Slippery the Prime Minister the other day,
Insisting that Heatley and Wilkinson were not given the bums rush out of the Cabinet,(Heatley with barely two hours notice), was not provoked by bad behavior the Prime Minister even gushingly described their contribution as great work which served to further bamboozle me until that is our Prime Minister uttered the words fresh young faces as part of the reasoning behind his demotion of Wilkinson and Heatley and the promotion of Nikki Kaye and Simon Bridges,
Immediately into my mind ‘flashed two simultaneous pictures, one of a group of balding old men gathered round a Cabinet table most having stapled to their various cranium the fur of one or other dead animal, mostly in numerous states of comatose rigidity and only stirring weekly at the sound of Social Development Minister Paula Benefits weekly enumeration of the numbers She has managed to drive off benefits and off-shore via the intensely effective use of Her minions creative use of the ‘new’ rules to deny people their rightful income support, heard amongst this awakening of the gathered Ministers the clashing of false teeth, the snorts as if emanating from a piggery and the odd shouted exhortation to kick the poor,
The other, pictures that flashed into my mind that is, a picture of both the Blond Nikki Kaye and Pretty Boy Simon Bridges being lead into the Cabinet room with signs round their necks which contained in bold blue lettering the words ”eye candy”, at which point transmission was lost as the sound of the sirens from a mass malfunction in at least 20 pace-makers broke my reverie,
We can well imagine Slippery the Prime Minister spending His summer holidays mulling over the problem of trying to energize a bunch of geriatric old codgers, the flotsam left over from National Governments from so long ago that no-one is sure what position they occupied or even if the aging coterie in the Cabinet room isn’t in fact a remnant left behind as the previous Labour Government decamped after their election defeat,
”Eye candy” was the chosen solution for the Prime Minister, some ”candy” for all tastes around the Cabinet table…
Lol, i know, gardening does it to me, first i am pulling weeds,then i am babbling at the plants ”no, no way” and soon after i am on my knees laughing like a loon,
Friggin dangerous places those gardens, the narrative did go on for quite some time about the bits of various dead animals that most of them have taken to stapling onto their various cranial caps, Maurice Williamson (Raccoon), Peter Dunne (Skunk), and, Slippery the Prime Minister( the soft hairs gently plucked from the anal crack of a blind donkey called Brucie),
I abridged it a bit to give my stubby little fingers a rest,(and my laptop which i have a habit of bashing instead of softly pashing), i might have to explore the issue of cranial covering further later on…
Good call. I’ve yet to see what Kate Wilkinson did wrong. She follows the neo-liberal (so hating that word right now) to the letter, and that’s not a compliment btw. If it was Pike River he would have sacked her long ago.
You're just too too obscure for meOh you don't really get through to meAnd there's no need for you to talk that wayIs there any less pessimistic things to say?Songwriters: Graeme DownesToday, I thought we’d take a look at some of the most cringe-inducing moments from last week, but don’t ...
Please note: I’ve delayed my “What can we do?” article for this video.The video above shows Destiny Church members assaulting staff and librarians as they pushed through to a room of terrified parents and young children.It was posted to social media last night.But if you read Sinead Boucher’s Stuff, you ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is sea level rise exaggerated? Sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, not stagnating or decreasing. Warming global temperatures cause land ice ...
Here is a scenario, but first a historical parallel. Hitler and the Nazis could well have accomplished everything that they wanted to do within German borders, including exterminating Jews, so long as they confined their ambitious to Germany itself. After all, the world pretty much sat and watched as the ...
I’ve spent the last couple of days in Hamilton covering Waikato University’s annual NZ Economics Forum, where (arguably) three of the most influential people in our political economy right now laid out their thinking in major speeches about the size and role of Government, their views on for spending, tax ...
Simeon Brown’s Ideology BentSimeon Brown once told Kiwis he tries to represent his deep sense of faith by interacting “with integrity”.“It’s important that there’s Christians in Parliament…and from my perspective, it’s great to be a Christian in Parliament and to bring that perspective to [laws, conversations and policies].”And with ...
Severe geological and financial earthquakes are inevitable. We just don’t know how soon and how they will play out. Are we putting the right effort into preparing for them?Every decade or so the international economy has a major financial crisis. We cannot predict exactly when or exactly how it will ...
Questions1. How did Old Mate Grabaseat describe his soon-to-be-Deputy-PM’s letter to police advocating for Philip Polkinghorne?a.Ill-advisedb.A perfect letterc.A letter that will live in infamyd.He had me at hello2. What did Seymour say in response?a.What’s ill-advised is commenting when you don’t know all the facts and ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has called on OJI Fibre Solutions to work with the government, unions, and the community before closing the Kinleith Paper Mill. “OJI has today announced 230 job losses in what will be a devastating blow for the community. OJI needs to work with ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is sounding the alarm about the latest attack on workers from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden, who is ignoring her own officials to pursue reckless changes that would completely undermine the personal grievance system. “Brooke van Velden’s changes will ...
Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
And if you said this life ain't good enoughI would give my world to lift you upI could change my life to better suit your moodBecause you're so smoothAnd it's just like the ocean under the moonOh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from youYou got the ...
Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
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Watch and weep.
The UK social security “reforms” and their devastating effects on citizens with disabilities.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Video-The-Secret-Governme-by-Mick-Meaney-130125-244.html
Soon to be enacted by a government near you.
And next up… did you see the one about ‘voice risk analysis’ aka lie detectors being used over the phone to work out whether people are lying about their need for council benefits in Cornwall? It’s even too much for a Tory councillor who has resigned over it.
Trained assessors, specialist technology for calling 30,000 households? Yeah…right. Sounds like atos spin.
Research carries out in other parts of the country also show VRA, or lie detectors by phone, is not suitable in a ‘benefits environment’. But Cornwall is not letting that wee point stop it.
A year or two ago the WINZ call centre was trialling a system of voice recognition. I think you had a choice to register and then they recorded your voice and so whenever you phoned in after that they knew it was you. Needless to say, my response to that was fuck off, but it makes sense now why they were trialling it. I haven’t come across it for a while though so I’m guessing they dropped it.
So they’re looking to see if people calling up about a benefit are stressed?
That sounds more stupid that usual.
I wonder – do people who fail the test get audited, or just automatically suspended?
It does sound more stupid than usual – especially when you look at the numbers it’s clear the people doing some kind of psychological assessment on the data are call centre operators.
If it’s anything like atos, it’ll be suspension until appeal rather than the other way around.
which would be why even a tory thinks it’s going a bit far…
‘GAZA REPORT’
UK documentary maker and activist Harry Fear will be speaking in Auckland
Where: Lecture Room B28, Auckland University Library Alfred Street
Time: 7pm Thursday 7 February
Harry Fear and veteran Kiwi activist Roger Fowler were on a fact-finding mission in Gaza when the recent Israeli bombing raids took place. They will speak about their experiences.
*Legendary reggae band ‘Unity Pacific’ will be playing
Hosted by; Auckland University Students for Justice in Palestine’
With: Kia Ora Gaza
Shearer performed better than Key on Morning Report on housing, I thought.
So Matthew did Trevor ask you to say this?
The Right’s love affair with Shearer deepens into commitment.
Its called trying to gain a targets trust…this way the spin can be effective, if people realise its all poppy-cock that he speaks, he becomes less effective as a spin doctor. Sadly, I have witnessed some here starting to think Hooton is making sense, this is not good. He never does.
Yes, good showing by Shearer this morning. IF he can keep it up, Labour might be out of the woods.
Lanth. We get this kind of response after his every speech. How much value must people continue to place upon rhetoric? (Look at Obama for example!) And so it goes on every time, with the obligatory IF IF IF . . .
Radiolive Duncan Garner – David Shearer interview
4.30pm News with Jeff Bryant Tuesday 18 November 2012
___________________________________________________________________________
Perhaps that is what Shearer was referring to when is the speech…..
Airy Fairy ideas (traitor words) – DS confirms his loyalty to the continuation of the neo liberal agenda, he was, is, and will remain and agent of the establishment, its that simple!
“David Shearer says there is a real issue when politicians get new idea’s and try to interfere with the economy.”
That’s odd, considering that a couple of days ago in his State of the Nation speech Shearer said:
“We’ll make changes to monetary policy so that our job-creating businesses aren’t undermined by our exchange rate.”
**************************
“David Shearer says there is a real issue when politicians get new idea’s and try to interfere with the economy.”
That suggests to me that Shearer believes “the economy” is some kind of discrete, independent entity which will somehow run itself perfectly well as long as its left alone – presumably shaped by some “invisible hand”. If he ever gets to be Prime Minister he will, on day one, be faced with “the economy” bequeathed to him by National which, according to him, he won’t ‘interfer with’ by trying any new ideas.
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“David Shearer says there is a real issue when politicians get new idea’s and try to interfere with the economy.”
A couple of days ago in his State of the Nation speech David Shearer said: “We are on the cusp of a new era – when new thinking and leadership is needed to build wealth we can all share in.”
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Jesus wept.
By the sounds of it Labour have caught up with the idea that the RBA should be widened in scope beyond just inflation targets. I.e. you make unemployment and quality of life targets part of the objective, and the RB will do a bit of autonomous QE.
A few years old as an idea (they probably resisted it while in power), but at least they’re only 5 or 10 years out of date – not the 150 that Nact are 🙂
Not sure how much of the idea follows on from the monetary policy + noninterference statements – could just be teafleaf reading on my part.
Why are the Greens wasting their political capital on this sort of ephemera, when the future of humanity itself hangs in the balance, threatened by permanent climate change?
“What we want to do is to say the Reserve Bank is in the best position to make those determinations. So what we we would do is give them the tools then let them make the decisions.”
Placing decisions which belong properly to government beyond the reach of a government accountable to the people is undemocratic, and in fact represents the very essence of fascism.
I didn’t hear him this morning, but I noticed on Morning Report last week that Shearer is getting better with his communication. I think he must have been working on it over the summer and with some robust policy developed I think it would be easier for him to give firm answers than waffle to fill the air.
He may be getting better but he has gone from being warmed up Shyte to barely adequate.
And giving the odd speech is not enough.
Shearer needs to repair relationships within caucus and the rank and file. Only if he can do that will he show leadership material.
I bet the Nats cannot wait until the first debate. I hope that Labour in selecting Shearer has not selected our own Sarah Palin.
Nah, Sarah Palin was a vacuous bimbo pretending she could do the job.
Shearer most likely can do the job, he just has trouble showing us.
But what exactly is the job that he’s been asked to do, that’s what continues to trouble me.
What David is saying, is that having the RBNZ/OoDM, as private, is the best solution, as thats what his masters are telling him to say. The tools government gets controlled with is Graeme Wheeler, ex World Banker, relaying messages. David will be given no tools to the RBNZ, which is why he has not mentioned them in the speech, he is talking bull shit!
Here David emphasises that market driven ideology will continue, and that he is owned, and speaking on behalf of *the market* controllers!
David will strickly adhere to the *best practice* frameworks, and there will be no *airy fairy ideas*, (such as what is right/best for NZ), coming from his mouth, or via Labour Party policy!
David Shearer, like John Key, and so many others pretending to be politicians (hence the continued atrocious performances), are TRAITORS!
The fogies do not want to be the fall guy. It’s as if the puppet masters (fogies) write the lines and Shearer does not deliver them verbatim.
I’d just like to take the opportunity to wish both Matthew Hooton and Mike Williams all the best for their marriage, they are perfect for one another.
Come back Josie Pagani, there is a spot for you now M. Williams has joined the National Party.
LOLZ, Hooten, on today’s RadioNZ National Nine to Noon seems to have laughably lost the over-sized plum that has Him at times thinking He speaks with the voice of the Lord of the Manor,
Unfortunately for Hooten the ‘plum’ voice has had Him at times sounding more like a transvestite in training,
Wonder if Hooties had the offending ‘plum’ surgically removed or did the recent ‘pricking’ of that ones over-blown ego here at the Standard result in it’s shriveling…
I am sure that you have considered that for Labour to get into power they will actually need to appeal to the voters in the centre of the political spectrum (assuming a relatively equal number of voters on either side of the centre). Once having one the election they will be able implement nore left wing policies on the basis that their coalition partners are further to the left than they are and as always there will be some negotiation and collaboration in forming the new govt.
If they ignore the centre (which I don’t think they are) they will quite simply lose the election and their policies won’t really matter for another three years……..
5%+ from current nonvoters
You seem to be saying they should campaign on policies they don’t believe in in order to gain power, so that once in power they can implement policies they do believe in, even if it means breaking election promises.
Oh look it’s Matthew “No Spin Here” Hooten. Wouldn’t you be more effective with a pseudonym? Ah you already do that. Carry on then.
Matthew “No Spin Here” Hooton
LOL very good Mike!
Yes Matthew, isn’t it great to be paid by both sides to assist towards the same outcome.
Just spin and repeat, easy money Matty eh.
Nonsense Matthew.
Stop confusing the kids here.
Trevor hosted a media event in his Electorate football ground for his Leader at which a “Hands on” strategy was the theme.
Does Shearer have the right team around him to firstly detail such policies and secondly execute them when in power?
Trevor’s last job was to build a new sports stadium on Auckland’s waterfront. Truly great idea, appealingly executed.
Who in Shearer’s team jumps out of bed in the morning with a passion to undo and never repeat the mistakes of the past 30 years?
Who in Shearer’s team jumps out of bed in the morning with a plan that is relevant to those who don’t want to own a house? Don’t relate to third level education? Don’t see a future in NZ?
KV
Yesterday I found there was so much in Shearer’s speech that offended and appalled me that I was dumbstruck.
Far from tearing it down and nit-picking to find fault, I felt overwhelmed. I’d have to go through line by line and write a bloody dissertation on all the things that were wrong with that speech.
But of course it was the picture that was painted of what and who was and wasn’t important. Maybe outside of the context of the speech as a whole, the line about the “success” of a person being the first one in the family to graduate university, wouldn’t have grated like it did.
I felt like saying that my father has a couple of degrees yet for some reason we’re all pretty proud that my brother was the first member of the generations of my family to be able to build a house, and my sisters, the first to be able to teach young children how to read and write and do sums and feel confident learning to learn, and most of all that our severely disabled sister was able to learn to read against the odds and that for a few years, before all the wonderful Rogernomic reforms, was able to work in the community and earn a wage to pay the mortgage on her own home.
Pity they don’t have degrees. Their work is and was a kind of anti-success, a generational downward-mobility. It is in the subtext of that speech, – winners – yay, losers unmentionable, strive, aspire, compete, be the best and look after number one, (in the most narrow and conventional terms imaginable that is).
Beltway Labour, you’re only any good if you have a university education. Ever wonder why the Beltway can’t connect to ordinary people worth a damn? Seen the attitude in Young Labour as well. When they find out some kid is “just” a tradie or school leaver noses get turned up real quick. Pathetic and elitist.
Interesting comment CV…
A few years ago a former Labour candidate (I think the person has now walked from the Party) once approached a (now retired) senior Labour politician asking for advice on… how to go about becoming a candidate. The first question the prospective candidate was asked:
“ Do you have a university degree?” The candidate replied “yes”.
“Oh, that’s OK then” said the senior politician. “You really need a degree to become a Labour candidate nowadays“.
Pathetic and elitist you say. I would add to that… sad and astoundingly stupid!
That’s even more pathetic than you know, because the people I see starting at university come from all sorts of disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Do you have a university degree?” is really code for: “Are you an unthreateningly, comfortably middle class professional of the sort that clogs Public Address? You’ve never been a sex worker, a drug user, in prison, chronically ill, an artist, epileptic, suffering from a disorder, a sole parent, too dark a shade of brown… or actually gained a degree, but one that’s in boring science and not sexy law or commerce? Right?”
I’ve had a parade of students who tick several of those boxes pass before me and gain degrees, and they’re exactly the sort Labour needs (I can think of one in particular… and another… and another… and more) but I can imagine them saying “Yes” to that MP’s question and then seeing him squirm in his seat and vacillate “Weeeeeellll…. that’s good, that’s a good life story… you’re a battler for sure, but, well, your story’s a bit complicated and for all your… well, virtues… there are some people who won’t be able to understand… Well, for example, I wish you’d overcome… given up something less likely to make the wrong sort of headlines… people won’t understand… perhaps if you’d just quit smoking perhaps? Cigarettes! Cigarettes, I mean! Yes, yes, I know what you do – did – is legal now, and you did it to have money to raise your child… but that takes a long time to explain and you can’t do that in a soundbite and some people – not me of course – some people are going to be, um moralistic about it… they’ll call you a… well, I won’t say that word, but can you imagine it? It would be so hard for you to hear it every day. Oh you did? On talk radio, I mean… on TV, or Kiwiblog… And you have a degree too? Hmmm, yes, I have to say, we’ve many high quality candidates, so don’t feel that we think the less of you when we select this recent marketing graduate who’s been working on my staff for… weeks… now. They’re good, they’re really good and put the hard yards into the party…. um, yes… and they look good on television (yes, I know, I’m not so very slim now either – too many Bellamy’s meals, ha ha!)… and that counts when they’re being interviewed in front of a Ponsonby cafe where we think we can turn the vote around… though mind you, they’re serving an apprenticeship still, so we’ll put them in a nice safe seat or a high list position… Anyway, good luck and keep up the good work! You’re an inspiration!”
😀
More ‘know your place’ moments.
I’ve had a few professional-type job interviews with middle-class, university-educated academics that have gone pretty much along those lines and ended up with ‘so where would you fit?’ or ‘because you’re a solo-parent I can’t risk that you’ll take time off when the children are sick’.
Funnily enough for more manual jobs don’t care who I am, just whether I could do the job and stay… those employers think with a couple of degrees I’m over-qualified.
Im probably the only one in the world who finds the practise of celebrating the anniversary of geo-political entities (the Provinces) that were abolished in the mid-19th Century completely absurd. I cannot think of any other non-federallised country that has holidays in different parts of the country on different days.
Though the actual abolishment of the provincial anniversary and their replacement with a more relevant national holidays would be unlikely, due the the events that take place on these days. So carry on inhabitants of the former Auckland Province, enjoy your holiday. You might want to take the time to read up on the old Provinces.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I dont think the changes to the WOF system is going to lead to the downfall of civilisation as the testing and mechanical barons say they will, but they will turn out to be a false economy. The inspections will end up being much more tougher, resulting in bigger financial hits for car owners (rather than costs being spread through the year).
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Captain mumblefuck is already backtracking on KiwiBuild, and the rednecks are pouring vitirol on the greens, forgetting about their generous familiy benefit capitalisation and State Advances loans. Labour should just focus on increasing the state house build, and give assistance to those who wish to buy their state houses (and chop the renewable tenancies — also perhaps extend the IRR to community provider?). This should in itself dampen the housing market.
“but they will turn out to be a false economy. The inspections will end up being much more tougher, resulting in bigger financial hits for car owners (rather than costs being spread through the year).”
A guy made the point this morning that arguable the 6 monthly WOF system had been acting as a crutch, because people only worried about the state of their car on those 2 days each year, instead of paying more attention to it throughout the year. I think this is likely to be true, but we probably won’t see any move back to owner-responsibility for a good 5-7 years I’d guess.
I’m concerned about lack of inspections of cars – how many people know nothing about what they’re meant to check. But what I’m really worried about is the self-regulated inspections of trucks. Reducing regulation in safety critical elements hasn’t worked in other industries and it won’t work in the transport industry either.
Shearer conceedes KiwiBuild $300K house price is only a national average, does not apply to Auckland
Standalone Auckland houses under KiwiBuild to be $550K. Smaller apartments or terraced accomodation may be $300K in some outlying areas of Auckland.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10861855
Indeed. That was clear in last night’s 3 News report. See my comment on the Good Coverage for Shearer thread.
Perfect example of a poor policy launch, and dare I suggest typical of current inept back room management.
The big roll out policy, the press, the media attention, good voter vibes, then whoops, what I meant to say was…
Really, who would do that?
I wish Shearer would spend as much time in Auckland as he does in the Hutt Valley. Funny how the three power-brokers in caucus are the MP for Wellington Central and the two MPs for the Hutt Valley – little wonder Shearer is hardly ever in Auckland.
NACTs degrading our society again. Cutting the wof system down. At present new vehicles only need a once a year, then go to six monthly after the first six years. There is talk about cars being built to be safer these days. Well air bags are for when there is an accident, and the whole purpose of wofs is to keep vital parts in good working order lessening accident possibility. That’s what I like for me, and to know that the other vehicles on the road have been vetted and in reasonable condition.
Instead we get deregulation, the Reno style of political decision making. Go fast towards your goal, don’t worry about possible obstacles – sounds like this new idea is just a rerun of the Roger Douglas thinking.
Novopay – Education is apparently the second ‘successful’ service manufactured by clever clogs in Australia for us, the first being for NZ Post which I heard is not a go’er either.
Charter Schools – discussion on radionz this morning with someone from academic circles called John, and principal from a middle school in Wanganui, the fortunate area to receive government monetary assistance to keep a private school viable, didn’t impress me with the need for the current legislation. Academic John pointed out that there is provision for alternative schools in a 1989 act, and that there has been changes made to the current legislation which seems to make it more radical. Alternative schools, under the state system, are needed for some students and there are some presently. Surely just changes to the enabling 1989 act were all that is necessary.
The government is into makework it seems to me. They don’t wish to support building a better future for us but need to appear to do something so they fiddle with things we already have and that broadly are successful. Result conditions further downgraded. What a shower.
So Key is now an expert on road safety and vehicle maintenance.
(Wonder if he has acshully ever looked under the bonnet of a car, let alone changed a wheel).
http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/8230081/PM-defends-WOF-changes
Surely vehicle testing is self financing.
So this is all about saving costs for the fleet owners.
For the average punter, this great saving over a ten year cycle will be about $40.00 dollars per year (on today’s testing rates).
As for me, my car is fairly new but I shall be continuing with a six monthly check-up thank you Johnny Boy and it will continue to be done independently of my regular service.
…and apparently the AA have said that their membership is unanimously in support of the new system. Not this member and would love to know when they commissioned that survey.
Hi logie97.
1)”So key is now an expert on road safety and vehicle maintenance”……exactly,.lol, he would have never had to ride in an unroadworthy car in his life. What would he know.
2)I was also baffled at the results of that AA survey, and no, they never asked this member either.
3)It’s beyond me that we would purposely reduce safety checking in cars. Our car is 20 years old so will still be getting a 6 monthly check under the changes to WOF requirements. Even if it fell into the post 2000 age we woulds still be getting it checked every 6 months, certainly not once a year. To leave it up to faith that your not brand new car is road safe in another year is just plain fool hardy. One thought I’m having is around the number of sales reps that are on our roads every day driving huge distances. Unless you work for a large company or a multi national you will be driving an older model car, one that fits into that post 2000 rego cut off point. Your car could be as old as 14 years and will now only require checking once a year. I know of companies who have laid off staff and reorganised their reps territories since the recession. The reps now have to cover much larger areas than previously. This is dangerous for two reasons: they are more fatigued when they are on the road and the wear and tear on the car is increasing. A deteriorating part that could have been picked up in at a 6 month check will now be left a year. Will that part make it the car unsafe for the driver and other road users.?Quite possibly!
4 and finally)betcha Peter Dunne had something do with voting for change. Don’t know if you saw Keith Webb, one of the directors of the MTA on 3 news last night, discussing the flaws of this change. As he’s my mechanic, we’ve had chats about these changes. Last year he took a bald tyre over to Peter Dunne’s office to demonstrate to him the difference between checking a tyre at 6 months and 12 months. The wear would have been picked up at 6 months, but depending on mileage could be at a point where its almost shredding in a further 6 months. Did PD care? No he did not. The only good outcome was that there will be one less person voting for PD in the Ohariu electorate vote next year. – the mechanic told me that he won’t be voting PD again. (Thats great but I hope the rest of the electorate wakes up before then)
So, now there will be more potentially unsound cars in our roads. Thanks National Govt for putting safety first. Not.
logie97
I thought that the AA guy sounded like a free market density. When he said stuff about individual responsibility the hairs on my neck prickled. I thought AA was supposed to be conservative in favour of safety and providing services for motorists and travellers.
He seemed to think that it was an unneeded expense to have these regular checks and it would save AA members money. If anyone didn’t get a service and repair done, well they ought to and make regular checks, or they were irresponsible. It can be easy to overlook stuff, that’s what we have the WOF for and everyone has been expected to have one when appropriate for the age of their car. So we all benefit from the universality with properly serviced cars.
I think the next reorganisation should happen in parliament. The MPs seats should be taken out and sold in the interests of ergonomics etc. It is supposed to be healthier to be standing instead of sitting for long periods. So just leaning shelves in front of each MP would be sufficient and some of the fat cats might start losing weight by just standing and therefore proving they are alive.
“So this is all about saving costs for the fleet owners”
Yes, more corporate welfare.
“For the average punter, this great saving over a ten year cycle will be about $40.00 dollars per year (on today’s testing rates).”
As Clashman suggested yesterday the cost will most likely double for checking of older cars.
Only fleet owners? I asked myself who benefits from these changes and wonder who else.
With the “more roadside checks” by police being touted I’d suggest the Govt. coffers will benefit i.e. more tickets issued.
It would be wise for us to have a separate transport police force again. I’m going to lose all my respect for police if I have to put up with them doing more petty surveillance on cars and drivers for misdemeanours.
The people police used to be the government body who helped the non law breakers and citizens dealt with them occasionally and relatively happily. The government has turned them into a bunch who are in everybody’s face all the time, sirens and lights flashing multiple times a day and booze road blocks where they have a catch rate of about 5% so 95% stopped are being unnecessarily harrassed. And then they can pick you up for out-dated certificates and fine you. It’s not good to have these tax gatherers at you all the time. In the bible Jesus was the only friendly face to a tax gatherer. They might find that the people divide against them – the rich on one side and the majority on the other.
And then the government is so bloody careless about trying to improve any situation that impacts on ordinary people, they don’t even put the drunken bums through retraining programs. It seems they just like catching people out and punishing, fining them etc. Like in the Simpsons when annoyed by Homer Mr Burns answer is ‘I’ll loose the dogs”. I see that with such a laissez faire government that is likely to become a reality as people become angry and desperate.
I have no problem with the drink driving checks, but the issue I have is the use of traffic duties to boost the individual officers’ activity quotas.
The classic example I saw a few years ago was when a 2-cop car (how many of those are left) pulled someone over for a pretty blatant red light issue. Fair enough.
While one officer was dealing with the other car, his partner pulled over all the cars on a busy street and asked to see D/Ls – just “papers, please”, no fitness checks or anything.
Of course, each of those counted as traffic duty, so their stats were up – but really there was only one actual case of “traffic duty”, the rest were just pointless ID checks.
What problem did Shearer fix yesterday ?
The 1 million non voters were connected to labour?
Those who are moving to greens coming back?
The Caucus re-united?
Talent inspired to transform the country?
No, no.
The Wellington gaggle feel reassured??
Yes, yes
“I’m in – for the future” is the future Elizabeth.
This is what the revolutionary Marxists in Aotearoa this will happen to the Labour Party.
The global capitalist crisis and NZs perilous economic situation has activated a class war inside the Labour Party such as not seen since the late 1980s over Rogernomics. The onset of crisis in 2007 and Labour’s defeat by a right-moving National -ACT-Maori Party Coalition in 2008 and 2011 has thrown the party into an internal crisis. The ‘old guard’ continue to ‘oppose’ the NACTs by competing for the same middle ground, while a ‘new guard’ has emerged dedicated to return Labour to its traditional parliamentary socialism. The scene is set for Labour to split between the ‘right’ and the ‘left’. We examine the significance of this impending split for the development of class struggle in Aotearoa/NZ…
http://redrave.blogspot.co.nz/2013/01/nz-labour-party-changing-guard.html
Affordable housing $300,000 or less for everyone under kiwibuild…..as long as you want your house to be an apartment with only two bedrooms…otherwise it will be up to $550,000….was Bill English right when he said Labour were being dishonest with their $300,000 figure…i guess he was…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10861855
I can’t remember the ‘mechanical’ ins and outs of it, but the Northern Hemisphere can apparently expect to experience weather systems that ‘sit’ for far longer due to AGW. So heatwaves and droughts and rains last much longer than was previously considered normal.
And anyway, for some reason the weather forecast the other day ( I don’t usually listen in) struck me as odd insofar as it was very short because the same weather was expected over the entire country whereas there is usually quite a variation. And in todays ‘stuff’
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8231629/End-predicted-to-capital-weather
Which has got me wondering whether the Southern Hemisphere can expect similar to the Northern Hemisphere and have periods of long ‘sameness’ as weather systems basically slow and stall due to the effects of AGW.
Don’t think so, because there is no massive continent ie euroasia in the South. Plus Antarctica is a continent so not warming nearly as fast as the Arcrtic.
The jet streams are the result of heat energy moving from the torrid equator to the freezing poles. Because the Arctic is warming ( faster than anywhere as predicted by modelling ) there is less differentiation between it and the equator = less heat energy transfer = slower jet stream.
A slower jet stream means slower weather patterns dragged along at lower levels. Plus like a slow moving river the northern jet stream is meandering more, channeling cold air from further north to further south ie snow in North Africa for the first time in decades or more , and vice versa sucking hot air up from further south to the north ie Russian drought worst in hundreds of years.
Is it possible to not like or believe in the leader of a political party but still support the objectives and ethos of a party – its kaupapa – and still vote for them.
For instance, Hone has alienated some with his remarks and some don’t like him personally or they spin it is the Hone Party – yet when Mana’s policies and objectives are looked at, even though Hone is a turn-off for an individual – the plans and policies may be a turn-on. And the other way around – I love the leader but not sure about the policies. I’m interested because of my discussions with mcflock on another thread. And because I want to increase the votes for Mana and the left whether people like Hone or not.
I’d possibly vote to get Annette Sykes into the House, and Sue Bradford.
Hi marty mars. I wrote an epic length response to your question. When I clicked on submit comment I lost the site and my reply to you. I’m not going to repeat it all again but instead just abreviate what I said and refer to your example of the Mana Party and its leader Hone Harawira.
Brief reply to your question: It would depend on the individuals liklihood to be influenced by the persona of a party’s leader over the substance of their policy. What is more important to them?
Its not a perfect example but consider how Epsom voters strategically voted JB for their electorate to in order for National to still hold the sway of power. JB wasn’t well regarded as a whole by the voters but they saw him as a vehicle for upholding their own kaupapa. They got what they wanted despite not having much in the way of respect for their elected representative.
My two cents worth: Personally and historically my view of a leader has taken a back seat to the policy, objectives and ethos of the party. The next election will be my 10th as a voter. It will be my first, NOT party voting Labour. This is mainly because their direction isn’t enough to sustain me as a voter. However, this time I can’t deny that the persona of the leader was the triggering factor for my choice – for the many and varied reasons already discussed on The Standard.
I like Hone Harawira. I like the kaupapa and policies of Mana. It is the party that most closely aligns with my social and political view. Despite that my party vote is going to that rising star, The Greens, who in the past I’ve always given my electorate vote. I wish you luck with your efforts to increase their votes. It would be great if they picked up a few extra seats. Heres to a good left win in 2014 – even if it does seem like a distant future.
I don’t see much policy difference between the Greens, Mana, or the Alliance, and Labour aren’t too far behind.
So basically it comes down to nitpicking personalities, policy order, and what their actions say as well as their words.
For me, it’s not so much “not supporting” party A, as much as simply deciding at the toss that Party B of the bunch is better suited to my perspective.
Well said!
http://nzagainstthecurrent.blogspot.co.nz/2013/01/plenty-of-nothing.html
Yes, she can win.
Kathleen Wynne has won the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party and is set to become the province’s first female premier, after a closely fought race with Sandra Pupatello.
Wynne, the 59-year-old MPP for Don Valley West, is a long-time party member who has had several cabinet roles, including minister of transportation and minister of education.
She has vowed to bring back the legislature on Feb. 19, saying Ontarians are not looking for another election.
Wynne, who is openly gay, had earlier asked delegates in an opening speech: “Can a gay woman win?”
read an article in the Dom recently quoting “Race Against The Machine” and that works’ relevance to the rapidly increasing loss globally of “middle class” employment roles due to technological advances (bring it on you Far.side right wing capitalist commentary clowns)
Here’s another one: very skilled and very cheap Chinese and Indian labour taking over software development, routine legal/accounting/accounts work, administration roles, IT technicians etc
Corporations and shareholders which outsource local jobs get to make bigger and bigger profits even as local communities fail.
http://www.smh.com.au/data-point/get-used-to-it-sending-jobs-overseas-is-the-way-of-the-future-20121009-27bfh.html
A relative was on the phone to Telstra/Vodafone needing help. Turns out the call was being taken in Manila! She was pissed off, told them that as a New Zealander she was disappointed about it and would be looking for a company that employed NZers. The Filipino girl on the other end was like “I help you! I help you!”
lol
Yep they helped/drove me to a kiwi company.
Yup, a lot of major big systems upgrades and customisations have been done in Indian code shops by oracle, SAP etc for years as its the only way they can take the work from local crowds.
Major utilities and others happily take advantage of this, it’s not like they care about quality anyway, being a monopoly does that.
interesting, i’m sans all two-way communication devices in my whare now (just sneaking on at PL, so can’t link) however, RNZ is very informative if one ignores most of what passes for opinion and concentrates on seasoned,comparitively objective,commentary on local and global issues; also there is “Press Display” at the PL and the dailys’; still not looking like a brighter future, unless one is an investor in the right commodities, and we shall see those see-saw as well this year.
btw :), a friend of mine relayed her experience of watching cs political commentary on the boob-tube and said she could not understand why the broadcasters give the likes of him and Farr-up-his-own the Time of day.(influential? like cholera is influential)
as an aside, just keep dumping chemical toxins on our pastures (and in our children) and everything will just be tickety-boo.
-Back In Black
Yeah robotics are advancing rapidly and on the cheap – fully automated factories.
Remember that was the utopia promised by the technocrats and rationalists. Freed from the burden and drudgery of labour we would have time and energy to pursue our interest.
So will we all get to share in the wealth of this technological revolution or will it pan out more like Blade Runner?
Blade Runner (Do androids dream of electric sheep?) was fairly visionary imo.
as an aside, I was aware very early on that those who could ‘insert” into the MSM and it’s variants were baiting me, and muzza, what was with the “betrayal”? finding laudanum?
Whatever, it is encouraging to see examples of articles more challenging to the status quo appearing occasionally in our dailys’, and even some of the rw eunuchs getting a little more interested in their loss of genitalia (but thats’ those rational types for ya, it’s all about self and Interest) although a cynic Idealist might perceive the blonde bombshell, i meant, eggshell, as a political foil to J-A G…
I am thinking more along the lines of Running Man and the Robocop movies.
Far from being mindless action flicks, Robocop 1 and 2 are interesting commentaries on urban decay, privatisation, the malevolent use of technology and human experimentation by corporations, underfunding of police, outsourcing, and so on and so forth.
The Running Man, focuses on the use of reality TV to distract the masses….
Under the present socio-economic paradigm it will be more like Blade Runner (and/or what millsy said). Of course, we don’t have to keep the present socio-economic system.
and / that 😉
The reasoning behind what some would see as the surprise sacking from the Slippery lead National Government’s Cabinet of Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson and un-HousingNZ Minister Phill ‘the mouse’ Heatley was escaping me until i listened to a RadioNZ National interview of Slippery the Prime Minister the other day,
Insisting that Heatley and Wilkinson were not given the bums rush out of the Cabinet,(Heatley with barely two hours notice), was not provoked by bad behavior the Prime Minister even gushingly described their contribution as great work which served to further bamboozle me until that is our Prime Minister uttered the words fresh young faces as part of the reasoning behind his demotion of Wilkinson and Heatley and the promotion of Nikki Kaye and Simon Bridges,
Immediately into my mind ‘flashed two simultaneous pictures, one of a group of balding old men gathered round a Cabinet table most having stapled to their various cranium the fur of one or other dead animal, mostly in numerous states of comatose rigidity and only stirring weekly at the sound of Social Development Minister Paula Benefits weekly enumeration of the numbers She has managed to drive off benefits and off-shore via the intensely effective use of Her minions creative use of the ‘new’ rules to deny people their rightful income support, heard amongst this awakening of the gathered Ministers the clashing of false teeth, the snorts as if emanating from a piggery and the odd shouted exhortation to kick the poor,
The other, pictures that flashed into my mind that is, a picture of both the Blond Nikki Kaye and Pretty Boy Simon Bridges being lead into the Cabinet room with signs round their necks which contained in bold blue lettering the words ”eye candy”, at which point transmission was lost as the sound of the sirens from a mass malfunction in at least 20 pace-makers broke my reverie,
We can well imagine Slippery the Prime Minister spending His summer holidays mulling over the problem of trying to energize a bunch of geriatric old codgers, the flotsam left over from National Governments from so long ago that no-one is sure what position they occupied or even if the aging coterie in the Cabinet room isn’t in fact a remnant left behind as the previous Labour Government decamped after their election defeat,
”Eye candy” was the chosen solution for the Prime Minister, some ”candy” for all tastes around the Cabinet table…
lol
Lol, i know, gardening does it to me, first i am pulling weeds,then i am babbling at the plants ”no, no way” and soon after i am on my knees laughing like a loon,
Friggin dangerous places those gardens, the narrative did go on for quite some time about the bits of various dead animals that most of them have taken to stapling onto their various cranial caps, Maurice Williamson (Raccoon), Peter Dunne (Skunk), and, Slippery the Prime Minister( the soft hairs gently plucked from the anal crack of a blind donkey called Brucie),
I abridged it a bit to give my stubby little fingers a rest,(and my laptop which i have a habit of bashing instead of softly pashing), i might have to explore the issue of cranial covering further later on…
Good call. I’ve yet to see what Kate Wilkinson did wrong. She follows the neo-liberal (so hating that word right now) to the letter, and that’s not a compliment btw. If it was Pike River he would have sacked her long ago.