The tikanga of mana is at stake. We will not stand idly by and allow the mana of the Minister of Education, the Honourable Hekia Parata, her people, our people to be manipulated and trampled on. We, Dr Apirana Mahuika, Sir Toby Curtis, Sir Mark Solomon, Raniera Tau, Willie Te Aho, Awanuiarangi Black, Tiwha Puketapu, Naida Glavish, Sir Tamati Reedy and Pem Bird caution NZEI that they are putting their hard earned excellent reputation earned over a sustained period of time on the line and for what purpose?
The International Summit is the most prestigious educational event on the world calendar, a huge coup for our Minister of Education, Hekia Parata…
“The event brings together education ministers and leaders of national teachers’ federations and teachers’ unions from jurisdictions that, according to the OECD’s 2012 PISA survey results, have high-performing or rapidly-improving school systems”
I hope National gets the answers to the three questions whic are the focus of the summit
“The three questions that this Summit will focus on are:
How can high quality teachers and leaders be attracted into and retained in schools of the greatest need?
What are the levers for achieving equity in increasingly devolved education systems?
How are learning environments created that meet the needs of all children and young people?"
I can’t work that one out, they haven’t really explained why they are upset, they have only said that they are upset…. and into such a vacuum goes ………
But whenever the word “honour” appears in the speech of someone uppity or otherwise then one should be very wary. “Honour” is but an empty tub which will hold whatever is tossed into it ..
Who they represent anyway? Not the ordinary Maori , surely. Aren’t they all Maori aristocracy? You know, those people who have done well for themselves from the settlements that were supposed to benefit many more people than they did in reality.
Every child deserves a chance in life, but more than one in four Kiwi kids live in poverty. That inequality is the biggest hurdle to educational success.
The Government is putting millions into highly paid “new roles” for some principals and teachers, but ignoring child poverty. It has rejected a living wage for low paid support staff such as teacher aides, who directly support students with the greatest needs.
If you agree that tackling inequality must be the #1 priority in New Zealand, and that there must be a Living Wage for Learning for kids and education workers, come and join us to show your support!
Will be nice if we can have a warm-up piece today on The Standard, alerting peeps to the nationwide TPPA demo tomorrow? Sorry, I haven’t got much time at the moment to draft a piece but I have lotsa suggestions and a big mouth.
Doesn’t have to be a long, original piece for now but just a general announcement or notice pointing people to the various places around the country tomorrow at 1pm:
“After four years, the corporate deal of the century – aka the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement – is still being negotiated in secret.
“The TPPA puts our sovereignty at risk, violates our democratic right to decide our own future, and wastes taxpayers’ money that should be spent on social, not corporate, welfare.
“It needs to stop. Now.”
As I thought I heard or read someone saying: make it big as it may be our last time to do this!
Done, but even something straight forward is not that quick. I think some of the links are not working that well – then I got an urgent personal email that needs attending to.
I’m speechless – very sad and disturbing. There are some excellent people in that group, including one of the authors of Te Whariki, the fabulous ece curriculum. I want to know where their voices have been as they’ve watched the systematic destruction of our education system under this government. No use talking about mana now, we’ve already shamed ourselves
And the eroding of the education system doesn’t stop at 16. Did you know for instance, that if you only give a party vote, but leave the electorate vote blank, that the ballot paper is void?
Te reo kupapa. They are probably looking at starting iwi charter schools. A few of them must still be going for knighthoods. Thank god that a new generation of leaders is growing, that has nothing in common with this sad lot.
The Carter Holt Harvey price-fixing case raises a question: what has happened to the proposal to make cartel behaviour a criminal offence? The company was fined $1.85 million by the High Court for price fixing in the Auckland commercial timber market, though its actions were described as being at the lower end of offending. The bill proposing criminal sanctions for serious cartel offending has been stuck in Parliament for almost a year and the Government has shown no interest in passing it. It seems unlikely anything will change before the election.”
from MBIE website
“The Minister of Commerce introduced the Commerce (Cartels and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2011 into Parliament on 13 October 2011.
One of the principle objectives of the amendment Bill is to introduce criminal sanctions for hard-core cartel behaviour.
Hard-core cartels are formed when rival firms agree to not compete with each other by fixing prices, restricting output, allocating markets or rigging bids. Cartels allow firms to raise their prices above the competitive level without fear of losing customers to rivals. This increases the profits of cartel participants but does not benefit consumers.”
Introduced by Simon Power… and then he left… and then it languished under… Steven Joyce and Craig Foss
” Commerce committee report
On 13 May 2013, the Commerce Committee tabled its report on the Commerce (Cartels and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. ”
Sanctions proposed
“The penalty regime
The bill introduces criminal sanctions for individuals and companies. For an individual, the maximum sanction would be seven years’ imprisonment. For a body corporate, the sanctions are the same as the current level of sanctions: a fine set at the greater of either $10 million or three times the value of the commercial gain, if it can be ascertained. If the gain cannot be ascertained, the sanction will be 10 per cent of annual turnover.”
”
Craig Foss
14 May, 2013
Select Committee reports back on Cartels Bill
Commerce Minister Craig Foss today welcomed the Commerce Select Committee report on a Bill to encourage pro-competitive collaboration.
The Commerce (Cartels and Other Matters) Amendment Bill promotes economic growth by enabling pro-competitive collaboration between firms, while also deterring hard-core cartel conduct.
“This Bill forms an important part of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda and our ambitious goal to increase the ratio of exports to GDP to 40 per cent by 2025,” says Mr Foss.
“It will enable collaborative arrangements that can help businesses innovate and tap into overseas markets. This will be a welcome change for New Zealand’s export industries.
“At the same time the Bill takes a strong stance against hard-core cartel conduct like price fixing and bid rigging and introduces criminal sanctions for egregious behaviour.
“These activities will not be tolerated and anyone engaging in them will be treated the same way as tax evaders, fraudsters and other white collar criminals,” says Mr Foss.”
“..will be treated the same way as tax evaders, fraudsters and other white collar criminals..”
generally ignored..?..unless un-ignorable..?
..and does anyone think we will ever see any words/actions of/on (from any party?) on the (depending who you talk to) $1.5 billion – $5 billion in criminally-evaded taxes..?
..each and every year..?
..can i offer a possible path to a solution..?
..a carrot-stick themed ‘solution’..?
..how about offering a three month amnesty..?
..wherein the guilty can come forward..and just have to pay the taxes owing..with no penalties..
..and after that amnesty-period lapses..
..promise task-forces/going gangbusters over all those caught..
..(with tandem ramping-up-penalties legislation..?..)
..i reckon that’d flush out quite a bit of that ‘criminally-avoided’ tax revenue..
..(and we do need the money..eh..?..so we can start to put things right/prepare for the future..)
..(and of course..those in this govt who we look to do this are foss-the-hapless..
..and the pompadoured-one..dunne…
..so..we’ll get s.f.a. action on this from these two clowns..
..that you can take to the bank..)
..(and just practising my psychic-abilities here..
..i’m gonna make the call that a majority..(and by quite a margin..)..
..wd be from the rich/elites..
..most of who vote in their wallet-interests..
..and tick national/act in the ballot-box..
..so for only this reason..foss-the-hapless/dunne will not offend their support-base..
..that is far more important..than trying to claw back all that nicked money..)
For some reason I haven’t been able to access the home page of The Standard for a few days, although I can go to subsidiary pages like this one. Is this happening to others and if so, does anyone know why?
Try pressing Shift+F5 to force a cache refresh on your browser. I saw that on my table this morning as well probably because I wasn’t able to load the page at the Pickering lecture yesterday.
‘National has developed a media network incorporating the Whale Oil website, Kiwiblog and commentators Matthew Hooton and Michelle Boag.
They have been feeding the media appetite for short, sharp crises to fill online news space.
It is Labour’s job to counter National’s influence over the news agenda. But it does not have many of its own partisans in the media; the left-leaning website The Daily Blog does not have an audience to compare with Whale Oil.’
His round-up also mentions the planned pay-wall at the herald, which I haven’t seen confirmed as definite (although I probably have just missed it) previously. It starts later this year.
Amusing. For some strange reason we never get mentioned in any of the mainstream media unless they absolutely have to. I guess it is because we don’t act like news media because of our focus on being a internet forum – ie comments.
BTW: does anyone else have problems getting any comments on the NZ Herald articles? As far as I can tell, none of mine since about 2012 have made it through. I guess they don’t like our ocassional posts on them 😈
Not mentioning The Standard was a major omission from Drinnan. The Daily Blog seems to have scant connections with Labour so was an odd inclusion in that context.
”The Daily Blog seems to have scant connections with Labour so was an odd inclusion in that context.”
While I agree the Standard should have been mentioned, it’s not just about Labour.
Unlike the largely homogeneous right, the left has developed a healthy pluralism of parties.
The issue is a lack of decent left-wing pundits in the media cycle.
Good point. But there are a number of authors over there who have Labour membership. Me for instance.
It could have been a simple editing mistake. After all both of the sites start with the word “The”. 😈
But I suspect that it is pretty deliberate. There are sites that the news media never likes to mention. For instance the Transport blog and this one. We’re somewhat harder to spin as being the clowns of the internet.
Bryce Edwards does like linking to your site a bit eh?
The Daily Blog attempts a popular appeal – Standard talks to itself IMO.
The Daily Blog comments are less nutty.
He was challenged on it by other journalists too. Odd and superficial. Some traditional journalists don’t give much weight to people using pseudonyms, I don’t know if that’s why he thinks TDB is more significant.
I don’t know how Bryce chooses his links but he seems to be including more and more sources for his links, he used to be more selective. I look for different angles on things. Writing blog posts is quite different to commenting on blogs – mickysavage is a good example of that here, his approach is quite different to what it used to be. He’s now someone I look out for.
gee..pg..imagine if you did something like commentaries on q-time..or something..
..edwards-the-younger would link to ya so much more than even he does now..eh..?
..he’d be all over you like a rsh..
..and with yr observational-powers/quick wit..
..i’m sure such a commentary from you wd b a treat..
(and cd u discount the persistant/ongoing rumours that the heavy/serial-linking to yer exercises in the fatuous/irrelevant/boring/bleeding-obvious..by edwards-the-younger..
..are down to full-body-massages..followed by a beard rubdown..?
..administered by yr (fill-blank) self..?
..and while we are at it..
..have you ever owned/touched/read a copy of mein kamp…?
..wot with yr own ‘struggle’..eh..?
..he too..was misunderstood/laughed at..in the early days..
..but he showed them..!
..eh pete..?..
..and do you currently have any plans/desires/aspirations..
… to annex invercargill..?
..(nb..the above is all ‘rumours’..unfounded-suppositions..
The Daily Blog attempts a popular appeal – Standard talks to itself IMO.
Not really. We talk between activists on the left and to the people interested in activists on the left – it is in the about. Obviously something John isn’t into. I guess his view of media is more about entertainment than effectiveness (at least that is what I see when I read many of his stories).
The Daily Blog comments are less nutty.
That is because they are extremely and silently censored (which is why they are so few). It conforms to the same ethos that NZ Herald follows in their comment policy so I can see why he’d feel more comfortable with it.
But he is right, we primarily exist to allow the left to talk amongst each other whereas The Daily Blog is designed to allow some people on the left to present a ethos to a wider public. Of course you’d have to ask yourself which is more effective at a political level.
That’s a good point on censorship at The Daily Blog. Discussion is obviously not a priority there.
We’ve had a few wee skirmishes here about moderation but I’ve said elsewhere a number of times at least it’s all out in the open, I’ve never been secretly censored here . It seems to be common practice at TDB and it’s happened to me. Martyn seems to be trying to be an alternative to MSM but he mimics their strict opinion and message control. Like anywhere that’s his call.
When the outcome is that one party is publicly humiliated and earns a reputation for banality that follows him to this day, that’s not a “skirmish”. It’s a rout.
Mine get published about 60% of the time, but take a couple of days to get through moderation even if I am posting within the hour after an article is published.
The reason The Standard is not mentioned is not “strange” at all. It is however quite stupid.
It’s purely because the authors here are pseudonymous. The MSM like to be hypocritical in having their own (completely) anonymous editorials, but won’t deign to mention TS because apparently you have to have a publicly identifiable name otherwise your opinion somehow doesn’t mean anything.
Makes no difference for legal liabilities but the journo’s are so in love with their late 20th century fetish for individual fame (spurred by TV) that they have forgotten the whole of the 19th/20th century journalistic ethos and why it was there. The only residual is the editorials.
Drinnan should have also included Rachel Glucina, the Herald’s gossip columnist – and friend of Slater’s who is also deep in with the smear campaign against KDC. But probably she is too close to home, being a fellow Herald columnist.
Yep. It seems to me that they must have sat down with the powers that be. Slater was told to stop being such a dick and tone things down and Glucina was told that she was going to get out of the socialite pap news and start breaking stories. She has further .com news in her latest column at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/personalities/news/article.cfm?c_id=72&objectid=11227811
Lolz more snide innuendo from the Herald(National Party disinformation service),shows just how much the Beehives 9th floor lives in fear of the bloke,(i have the sneaking suspicion that the 9th floor have a private investigator/SIS on the road sniffing out DotComs ‘back-story’,
Laughable is the pic of DotCom in the ‘Kraut lid’, who would have thunk it, a German lampooning a German,(i have been hanging out for DotCom to do a full on Sergeant Shultz while live on the TV news),
The pic down the bottom of Rachel Glaucoma’s column of the Kohanga Kids having fun with Trev is a total cutey…
well..that disempowering of a past demon by mocking..
…was part and parcel of that show..?..surely..?
..(the war was recent enough for most watchers..at most only one generation removed from the actual conflict..)
..(disclaimer:..i have ‘loved’ a german..and my son is half-german..
..and ..as an aside..i think he was speaking for his savvy-generation..when he instantly called ‘bullshit!’ on the false equivalence of the dotcom/mein kamp story/beat-up..)
..and surely..of far more prurient-interest wd be the off-stage lifestyle of the lead actor in hogans’ heroes..bob crane..?
Yes i have had the odd look on the Doktor’s(Edwards),daily roundup of politics via the Herald online and on most occasions, even when there are multiple posts running on a topic at the Standard Bryce chooses to not mention this instead directing readers to the branches of the sewer,
People are ‘lead’, often easily, the Doktor, dare i say with deliberation???, doesn’t mention the Standard too often, in my opinion, simply as a means of keeping people from reading the Standard, if His links consistently direct people to ‘wail-oil’ and ‘kiwi-smog’ then if they have no knowledge of the Standard they are likely to keep going to those sites if they are seeking further knowledge of ‘political happenings’ than that which is provided by the mainstream media,
To a certain extent, in a cutting off the nose to spite the face exercise, the political parties of the left spend no amount of energy mentioning the Standard, ala Slippery the Prime Ministers major ‘Slurp’ directed in Blubber boy and ‘wail oil’s’ direction recently choosing instead to promote their own web-sites which have far less debate and thus tend to be pretty party-centric and, again in my opinion,are a bit of a bore,
In an ideal world, in the interests of growing ‘the left’ we would see Labour/Green/Mana websites prominently displaying links to both the Standard and the Daily Blog,(having not looked for a while i do not know if any of them do this now)…
The Bryce Edwards round-up started as a chronicle of topical political stories and columns, including issues simmering away in the regions, and off-beat bloggers. It covered many different stories and issues in one edition. However, now Edwards is trying to capture/create the narrative, and each one is overly long, and too focused on beltway media/topics.
As Karol pointed out recently, Edwards even took to Twitter to commission pieces from bloggers on a set topic! This is media as echo chamber, rather than reflecting the actual confusion and complexity of life.
And Edwards focus is very much about politics as a game – party strategies, headline grabbers, polling issues, etc. – little about close examination of policies.
Amusing in the Herald’s online version this morning is the befor and after of Colon Craig said to have been dieting in preparation for the 2014 election,
The befor version,(much to my surprise), looks remarkably like a run of the mill picture of a normal human being,
The ‘after’ one tho gives me a picture that could be used as an example of Colon having been kidnapped by aliens at some point in time and whisked off for a quick ‘probing’, seems ‘the probe’ must have been set to ‘suction samples’ when the aliens ‘must watch’ favorite TV show came on inter-galactic TV and they left Colon on the ‘table’ for too long while they watched it,
The mad staring eyes remind me of ‘speed’ addicts strung out on what the medical profession used to prescribe to tired overweight Mums back in the 60’s,(but that’s another story)…
The Parliament is in recess until April 8th,(i think), so unless Labour are planning to release major policy there isn’t much happening to get them into the news,
David Cunliffe was in the far North on Monday or Tuesday and i should imagine that any number of MP’s will be out there in the electorate holding meetings with ‘interest groups’ something Helen Clark did with zeal befor becoming Prime Minister,
i should imagine that Labour release a flurry of ‘press releases’ on everything of interest, or not, on a regular basis, media apathy or bias would then account for such not seeing the light of day,
Hopefully either David Cunliffe and/or Grant Robertson are preparing a series of questions that skewer Slippery the Prime Minister, at question time to keep the PM’s ‘gifts’ to charity, the National Party, firmly in the headlines once the Parliament resumes…
I hope they don’t let collins and parata, oh and adams off the hook. What’s happened to bennett, is she keeping her powder dry? Just saw in comments in herald that ‘frannie’s columns were like love letters to shay key’. So sad, but so true. She needs to get out more.
Well, at least some MPs will be out here in the electorate. From today’s item:
‘The entire Labour Party caucus will descend on Wairarapa on March 31. All 34 Labour MPs will visit Wairarapa to meet with locals at afternoon venues to discuss development, jobs, health and housing.
Labour leader David Cunliffe describes the event as an “away caucus”, to hear the voice of the people first-hand.
“I believe government must act with the people, not for the people. That can only be achieved by getting out and about, not sitting behind a desk at Parliament.” ‘
I hope they are smarter than the Green Party were a few years ago. They held a conference in the Wairarapa. It was over the weekend and they went up from Wellington on Friday night.
Being publically enthusiastic about public transport they all went up on the evening train. They got there early and took most of the available seats. Thus when the people who travel on it every day after working in Wellington got there no seats were left and the regular passengers had to stand for the trip. The Green Party never thought to tell the Railways ahead of time so that more carriages might have been added.
I know two people who were on the trip, both of whom were, until that time, Green Party members. They resigned and as far as I know they never re-joined.
I can’t imagine that the Labour MPs will be travelling on the train of course. I hope they don’t take a taxi each and at least will share some.
Glen Innes had the highest capital gain on three-bedroom houses with an annualised 18.9 per cent, and Mount Wellington had the best gain on apartments at 16.2 per cent…
Is that the impact of the new mini fletchers town for the first home buyer with 650k? Or the sell off of state houses?
“An old, old Soviet story repeating itself,” Boris Akunin, a novelist who signed the opposition petition, wrote in an email when asked about the war of words.
“It’s just that under Stalin, if a prominent cultural figure dared to protest he’d be shot; under Brezhnev he’d be imprisoned; now he just risks losing state donations and having to travel economy class — but this often proves enough,” Mr. Akunin wrote. “It’s a fascinating sight to watch people make this moral choice.”
Auckland Mayor Len Brown has been accused of acting with a conflict of interest at a council committee meeting today.
Veteran anti-corruption campaigner Penny Bright was attempting to read out letters from the police in regard to a complaint against Mayor Brown, but he refused to let her speak and ordered security staff to remove Bright from the venue.
Speaking later from Auckland police station, Bright told InvestigateDaily that the mayor had taken direct action on a matter he was directly implicated in, and she believed he had a clear conflict of interest in trying to prevent members of the public from speaking about him.
Bright being removed. PHOTO: Cr Dick Quax
(Photo: Dick Quax)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM PENNY BRIGHT
(“The letter from Police that conflicted Auckland Mayor Len Brown tried to stop me reading at the Auckland Council Governing Body meeting Thursday 27 March 2014 “)
“I have discussed this matter with Graham McCready, and am considering taking a private prosecution for assault against the security guards, and Mayor Len Brown as a party to the assault,” says Penny Bright.
“If you think that I am going to put up with being censored and assaulted – now twice within 5 weeks – for attempting to expose corrupt conflicts of interest at Auckland Council – THINK AGAIN!”
“In my considered opinion, Auckland Council is rotten to the core with corrupt conflicts of interest, but I will NOT be silenced as an anti-corruption ‘whistle-blower’. ”
Still want to defend Auckland Mayor Len Brown ????????
I was merely pointing out the likely result of the battle you are choosing to fight.
I suspect that the len brown “conflict of interest” is a pile of bunk, and that your removal by security staff was done with proper legal authority and without striking or doing you bodily harm (crimes act s56 if I recall correctly from my security days). But most of all, I suspect that the rates reporting requirements you are choosing to lose your home over will not substantially change the practise or effectiveness of democracy (or lack thereof) in Auckland.
Not that I care too much, being at the other end of the country.
Okay kiddies.
Homework for the weekend is getting out your pens and papers and writing to your MP’s and asking why charter schools are getting taxpayer money.
If they dont reply then write letters to your local newspaper telling on them.
Its time to make the wonks start earning their money!
It seems that the upcoming rallies against the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) that will be happening all over NZ tomorrow are effectively being ignored by mainstream media?
FYI!
SAT 29 MARCH: JOIN THE NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION TO STOP THE TPPA
It’s not likely to have been much more than a minor factor in the year to February 2014 visitor arrival numbers, despite the speculative analysis in the article.
Also, the problem with these kinds of campaigns is that it’s difficult to establish if they create new arrivals or simply shift timing or, much less tangibly, just add yet another minor reason for visiting with a correspondingly limited marginal effect.
Let us not forget that the reason New Zealanders know so much about Dotcom is because he is the target of a major investigation by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Few other organisations on the planet possess the investigative capabilities of the FBI and even fewer are as sensitive when it comes to institutional failure and humiliation. But, failure and humiliation are precisely what lies in store for the FBI should Dotcom succeed in delaying the extradition procedures initiated against him by the US Attorney-General long enough to allow an electorally successful Internet Party to negotiate favourable political interventions on his behalf.
I would have thought that promoting this as a deliberate aim of the Internet Party will not help their current efforts to distance the party from Dotcom.
And Chris promoting deliberate political intervention in an extradition as a condition of supposed coalition support is quite astounding.
I’m confused. Which party do you think Trotter is speaking on behalf of? I thought Trotter saw himself more as a fairly independent leftie commentator and analyst – one that often provides critical views that often upset other lefties.
It looks to me like he is talking on behalf of a general left, but I don’t think promoting a party’s electoral aim as to politically intervene in an extradition will help the Internet Party nor the left.
The Internet Party are trying to establish a perception of independence from Dotcom, that is hard enough already without political/legal deals being promoted as a deliberate aim.
If I was Labour or Greens or Mana I’d be wanting to have nothing to do with any suggestion like this. Russel Norman is one of the more astute politicians on the left, and he saw the dangers Dotcom and his party posed to the chances of the left.
Best you stop now then Pete. That’s two comments from you in this thread in which you – by your own standard – promote the IP’s electoral aim as to politically intervene in an extradition.
The fungal algae called ‘Rock Snot’ is known to attach itself to many things as a means of travel and is thus able to move from place to place and pop up in places gaining a toehold only later to infect the whole area…
…. and in other matters ……
Does anyone else think (given NZ’s search and rescue capability, 6 x P3K2’s et al) that its contribution to MH370 is actually rather fuckin pathetic?
I’m of the belief that the NZ Defence Force’s future lays in peaceful contributions – such as search and rescue, responding to natural disasters, etc.
We seem to have given JUST enough to earn this miserly gubbamint some Browlee points (covered in shit as they inevitably are), and JUST enough to earn the Philistine itchim smetchim smoozim ideologically, parrot fashioned ‘learnings’, kaholic, commoditised principles-for-sale, red-dirt brown-eyed Jonkahism a few points on the ‘ta-neshnool- stage?’.
It is rather pathetic though …. I mean these fukwits run the gauntlet (due to PS cutbacks) with bio-diversity (think PSA, etc., etc., etc.) daily – and they do so with ‘Defense’ (which should actually JUST be devoted to CIVIL defense).
But this single Orion – with crews that appear to need close to 24hrs to change over is fucking pathetic.
It’s especially so, since of all the world’s capability ….. NZ (along with OZ – to actually a LESSER extent) are accustomed to the 40’s latitude that till now has been on the agenda.
But yeah, but nah, but yeah but nah – not worth it aye. wod ear va …. snot gunna make goldin boiii look sgoood es scccchhhhmoooxin in a fifrint hemsphere.
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More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...
A Statement on Abortion Law Reform by the Council of Disobedient Women On the eve of bringing an end to antiquated, anti-women abortion laws Green MP Jan Logie intends to write women out of the Bill. With a stroke of the pen, the woke are aiming for total erasure ...
Musings continue apace about “the experienced businessman!” soon to be taking up a National Party MP position. Or to be more accurate, being parachuted into a seat to shut down their former MP Jamie-Lee Ross, who despite his own shortcomings shed at least some more light on the inner workings ...
The Ugandan government wants to murder gay people:Uganda has announced plans to impose the death penalty on homosexuals. The bill, colloquially known as “Kill the Gays” in Uganda, was nullified five years ago on a technicality, but the government said on Thursday it plans to resurrect it within weeks. The ...
Freedom Of Speech? The Säuberung (cleansing by fire) was the work of the German Student Union which, on 10 May 1933, under the watchful eye of the Nazi Reichminister for Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, consigned 25,000 books to the flames in a ritual exorcism of “un-German thought”. According to the logic of the ...
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...
New Zealand’s media is doing its part in Japan, reassuring those in the path of the storm that they won’t miss any rugby while away from their flooded homes. New Zealand sports reporters stationed in Japan for the Rugby World Cup have had the rare and heartwarming opportunity to inform ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones is the only Cabinet member in favour of putting it all on green. As Finance Minister Grant Robertson finds himself with an enormous $7.5 billion surplus, the Government has begun intense, at times contentious conversations about whether to put the money on red or black at ...
by Susanne Kemp At the start of September close to 100,000 school teachers went on strike in Jordan. They demanded a 50% pay rise. A pay rise actually agreed to by the regime back in 2014. In early October, however, in the face of government repression and threats, the teachers’ ...
Back in 2011, journalist Nicky Hager published Other People's Wars, an expose on NZDF's activities over the previous decade of the "war on terror". NZDF didn't like this, and especially didn't like the fact that it was base don leaks from their own. So, they had the SIS investigate him ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is due back from select committee in two weeks, and will likely pass its final stages in November. So naturally, farmers are planning a hate-march against it. But they're not just demanding lower methane targets so they can keep on destroying the planet; they're also demanding ...
Last year, California burned. This year, to stop it happening again (or rather, to stop themselves from being found liable if it happens again), Pacific Gas and Electric is cutting power to half the state for a week:Schools are closed. Traffic lights down. Tunnels dark. Businesses unopened. Hospitals running on ...
The Best Way: Missing from the on-line voting debate is any reference to the voting system that produces turn-out figures ranging from 77 to 93 percent of registered voters. The voting system used to collect and count the votes cast in our parliamentary elections. The system that involves citizens making ...
Among the great new bunch of political friends we have been making recently is the excellent Australian-based Marxist gender-critical site, Freer Lives. So we asked the comrade who set up that blog to write something for Redline on the blog, himself, his analysis of the rise of gender politics and ...
by Don Franks The Auckland City Mission is struggling with a 40 percent increase in demand for food parcels this year. A total of 23,020 were needed by June. Last month Missioner Chris Farrelly told the Herald the “cupboards are bare” and without an emergency food drive, he can’t see ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Massey Wellington Student Association had a sit-in today. Imagine a sit-in. On a campus. Against a women’s rights meeting. Did the ’60s really happen or did we fucking dream it? They gathered in the student square, an echo chamber. Sitting on soft pillows ...
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...
First, almost a score of Labour MPs seem to have sent a letter to the EU basically begging them to accept a deal - any deal - just so Britain can get the Heck on with Brexiting instead of being trapped in limbo:
by Phil Duncan In 2016 the National-led government suspended the Parent Visa Category, through which migrants were able to bring their parents into New Zealand. Since then over 5,700 people have been in immigration limbo, stuck on the visa wait list. Labour is now bringing back the scheme. Well, sort ...
The following was released yesterday (Tues, October 8) by the women’s liberation organisation Speak Up for Women. On 23 September Speak Up For Women announced that we would be holding an event at the Massey University Theaterette in Wellington. The event is called Feminism 2020. The intention of the event ...
The government is currently consulting on plans to improve freshwater quality. So naturally, farmers oppose it:South Taranaki farmers are preparing to fight proposed national freshwater changes that some fear will bankrupt them. The Government's proposed National Environment Standard on Freshwater Management, released in September, rated the Waingongoro River as one ...
Yesterday was the last day for (reliably) posting your vote away in local body elections. Turnouts are mostly much lower than the equivalent time last year (Palmerston North is down 2.3%), and so naturally people are pushing their online-voting snake oil again. Because the online census worked so well, lets ...
This essay, on the political legacy of the eugenics movement, by Kenan Malik was originally published in the Observer on 6 October 2019, under the headline ‘The spirit of eugenics is still with us, as immigrants know to their cost’. Birth control. Intelligence tests. Town planning. Immigration controls. It’s striking how ...
Another year, and the government has announced another enormous government "surplus". And just like last year, its nothing of the sort. When we have people homeless and sick and hungry, when we have schools and hospitals still falling down, when we have underpaid public servants and infrastucture unmaintained or unbuilt, ...
James Forsyth at The Spectator (I know, I know) has tapped one of his contacts inside Number Ten for an insight into the Johnson administration's thinking and strategy.It is fascinating, unsettling and quite, quite mad. Some key points:Negotiations have stalled and the Johnson administration are keen to blame the EU: ...
Fatal Contact: With the arrival of captain James Cook in October 1769, the islands of what would become New Zealand ceased to be the preserve of Polynesian navigators and settlers and became a part of both the world’s map and the world’s history.THE MAORI NATIONALIST assault upon the historical meaning ...
Another round of tactical talks about forming a Government of National Unity have come to nothing with the Liberal Democrats still refusing countenance putting Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street:Opposition talks on Monday made little headway over when to try and vote down Boris Johnson's government and who might succeed him as ...
by Nick Rogers The debate around the meaning of sex and gender made an appearance at this year’s British Labour Party conference in Brighton. Women’s Place UK – an organisation that questions the demand that biological males who self-identify as woman should have access to women’s spaces, to all-women shortlists, ...
Yesterday I went down to Wellington to participate in the Extinction Rebellion protest. Its part of the latest global wave of XR actions, with actions happening all over the world. Some of those protests are massively disruptive: in Canada, XR is blocking major bridges, stopping people from getting to work. ...
The Workshop is a charitable trust for public good. The Workshop undertake research to find ways of communicating that will build support for the solutions that work to solve complex social and environmental problems. See their Report on Talking about Poverty and Welfare Reform below. ...
Being and Being Bought (Spinifex Press, 2013) by Kajsa Ekis Ekman A synopsis and commentary of Chapters 1-2 by Daphna Whitmore Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book She opens the discussion with a definition of ...
I make no claims to having much legal knowledge, so I defer to those trained in this area.I am very much enjoying this twitter stream from m'learned friend in Edinburgh, deciphering the legal arguments around the Scottish court challenge to Boris Johnson, based on the charmingly obscure principle of Nobile ...
Ivory Folly? The University of Auckland’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart McCutcheon, upheld the right of the radical nationalist group, Action Zealandia to exercise their freedom of speech – not matter how distasteful that speech might be. A wiser community of students and scholars would have nodded their agreement and moved on. ...
If you are not convinced terrorist Organisation ‘Extinction Rebellion’ is very, very dangerous – watch this video at one of their recent meetings. Not only is this obviously mentally ill Woman begging the other terrorists to promote killing and “eating” babies and children, if you watch carefully other members nod ...
The Ombudsman has been surveying people about their knowledge of the OIA and the right to information. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that widespread:The Chief Ombudsman says too many New Zealanders were in the dark over their right to access official information. Peter Boshier said an independent survey released yesterday on ...
In the wake of last Friday's climate strike, Peter McKenzie had an article in The Spinoff about protest strategies. The school strike movement is "polite" and cooperates with those in power because that's its kaupapa - its led by schoolkids who understandably don't want to risk arrest. But there's more ...
So, the latest ruminations on the gnews from Westminster (Again, sorry; I'll stop making that pun right now). This follows on from, and likely repeats bits of, my last post, on the suggestion that a Government of National Unity (GNU) should be set up and then oversee a referendum before ...
New Zealand likes to think of itself as not a racist country (despite being founded on the racist dispossession and subjugation of Maori). But for years, we've had a racist refugee policy, which basicly excludes refugees from Africa and the Middle East unless they already have relatives here. Now, the ...
Several people have asked me whether a particular repeat litigant could be declared a vexatious litigant, in light of their recent decision to appeal an adverse High Court ruling. My nascent tweet thread was getting ridiculously long, so it became this blog post instead.The short answer is: no. The particular ...
Appealing To The Past: Action Zealandia, like so many of the organisations springing up on the far-Right, across what they call the “Anglosphere”, is born out of the profound confusion over what a man is supposed to be in the twenty-first century and, more importantly, what he is supposed to do.THE STATUE OF ...
The attempts of anti-democratic transactivists to (often violently) disrupt women’s rights organising is largely ignored by those sections of the left most prone to misogyny and authoritarianism in New Zealand. In Britain, however, scores of trade union and left activists added their names to a letter in July, defending ...
The Justice Committee has reported back on the Criminal Cases Review Commission Bill. The Bill would establish an independent, quasi-judicial body to investigate and review potential miscarriages of justice, and refer them back to the Court of appeal if required. It would be a vital backstop to our judiciary, help ...
by The Spark On September 14, a total of 22 drones and cruise missiles struck two oil installations in Saudi Arabia, the Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais oil field. Abqaiq is the largest oil production facility in the world. For a few days afterwards, Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national ...
How much will NeoLiberal irregulation of the building sector and subsequent leaky homes crisis cost us? $47 billion, according to a new book:The total cost to fix all of New Zealand's leaky homes would be $47 billion, probably. The estimate comes from a new book, Rottenomics written by journalist Peter ...
Below is the start of another excellent article on the Freer Lives blog. Click onto the link at the end of this extract to read the full article. The punch-a-terf, kill-a-terf message pervades social media, always righteously delivered, chin held high. By contrast, the dehumanised “terfs” themselves, that is gender-critical ...
The Reserve Bank is currently planning tighter banking regulation, requiring banks to hold enough local capital to survive a 1-in-200 year financial crisis in order to protect consumers. The big Aussies banks, those foreign leeches who suck $5 billion in profit out of our economy every year, don't like that, ...
Its the usual story: a police officer beats a handcuffed suspect so hard they break one of their own fingers. The IPCA investigates and concludes that the use of force was unlawful. And the police refuse to do anything about it:A man punched repeatedly in the face by a police ...
From time to time we add links to our blogroll. The latest blog we have added is Freer Lives. This is a Marxist gender-critical blog, based in Melbourne, Australia. On it you will find a bunch of excellent articles which use the tools of Marxist analysis to critique the rise ...
Last Friday say the largest protest in a generation, as 170,000 people joined the school strike and marched to demand real action on climate change. The demands of the school strike were simple and clear: declare a climate emergency, set a climate target of net-zero by 2040, impose a total ...
Labour is a rather middle of the road capitalist party and earlier this year we discussed how far from being ‘transformative’, Ardern’s government is. An article published this week in the Guardian, by Bryce Edwards (political scientist and commentator at Victoria University), looks at Ardern’s business as usual performance. Where ...
In the hours since my last interminable wittering about the possibility of a Government of National Unity (GNU) in Britain, there has been a slight maybe development:A Corbyn-led caretaker government could then sit for several months while it enacted and delivered a referendum with the support of smaller parties and ...
Jeremy Clarkson says much like Greta Thunberg, Anne Frank “didn’t like what was going on”, but “she didn’t have a tantrum about it.” Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has offered praise to historical figure Anne Frank, comparing her favourably to 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, who he attacked in ...
Press release by Speak Up For Women Lesbians from women’s rights group Speak Up For Women are furious at reports that Rainbow Tick are threatening Massey University with the removal of their ‘tick’ if they let the group’s event go ahead. The group has been under attack from trans ...
By Duncan Garner Before you jump down my throat, nobody cares about the environment more than me. I have a garden, and since my wife and I broke up, I’ve let it grow wildly out of control, so please don’t tell me I’m not doing enough for plants. They’re ten ...
Local government elections are upon us again. It is a fair bet that, when they are over, we will have all the usual complaints that, despite their undoubted importance, the turnout was depressingly low. So, why do local elections attract so little attention and involvement from the general public? I ...
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...
Defence Minister Ron Mark has used his powers to overrule a noise complaint ruling against Whenuapai airbase on the grounds of "national security". The Environment Court last month released a ruling in favour of a private developer, declaring the Auckland airbase had to comply with noise restrictions when it performs ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has opened fire against "unreconstructed morons" after NZ First MP Shane Jones was photographed on holiday holding an AR-15 rifle. Mr Peters is defending Mr Jones, telling Magic Talk host Peter Williams that his MP was just having fun "like most people do". "The ...
New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau was in attendance during the morning blessing of the Rotorua Lakefront development project. Around 60 people gathered on the shores of Lake Rotorua, including city mayor Steve Chadwick and deputy Dave Donaldson. The Lakefront development is a ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...
Speaking to Radio NZ, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the tightening of the parental category visa is a direct result of the Party’s coalition negotiations with the Labour Party. He said the new changes switch the financial onus from the parent moving to New Zealand to the child ...
The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
Another busy week, from speaking with world leaders on the world stage about climate change, to equipping our school leavers with everything they need to get ahead in life. ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says Air New Zealand has "an obligation to look after Kiwis", and urged the national carrier not to hike up their prices after Jetstar airline announced their withdrawal from regional flights this week. The Provincial Champion also expressed his disappointment at Jetstar’s decision on ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) will help fund a new dredge for the Port of Greymouth to ensure the regional fishing fleet have a reliable and productive harbour, Parliamentary Undersecretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today “Last year the movements of ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed further details on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to New Zealand next month. Their Royal Highnesses will visit New Zealand from 17-23 November – their third joint visit to New Zealand and first in four years. They arrive in Auckland ...
Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, heads to Thailand today to attend the final Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting, as negotiations enter their final stages. “The RCEP Agreement would anchor New Zealand in a regional agreement that covers 16 countries, ...
Pacific young people living in the Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Otago regions will have access to support services that have proved successful in helping young people find new earning and learning opportunities. “Tupu Aotearoa is about changing Pacific young peoples’ lives. Our young people are talented, they are smart, they ...
Introduction As the Minister for ACC I thank you all for the work that you do supporting New Zealanders in their literally most vulnerable moments. From those who hold people’s lives in their hands, to the people who research technique, technology and trends, your work is highly valued. A special ...
Notes prepared for speeches in Christchurch – Wednesday 9 October 2019 Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There ...
Minister of Health Dr David Clark and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare say this year’s World Mental Health Day theme is a reminder of why the Government’s work on mental health is so important. “This year the World Federation for Mental Health has made suicide prevention the main theme ...
Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni will represent the government at Australia’s Meeting of Cultural Ministers in Adelaide this week. “This year’s meeting is special because New Zealand is expected to become an International Member of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers at this Australian forum,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “The meeting is an opportunity to ...
The Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service has resolved 608 insurance and EQC claims in its first year in operation, Minister Megan Woods has announced. The government service, which celebrates its first birthday today, provides a one stop shop to help Cantabrians still battling to get their homes repaired or rebuilt ...
Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There has been an increasing amount of attention paid to the outlook ...
The Government is acting swiftly to strengthen NZTA’s regulatory role following a review into the Transport Agency, and Ministry of Transport’s performance as its monitor, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. An independent review by Martin Jenkins has found NZTA failed to properly regulate the transport sector under the previous ...
The Netherlands and New Zealand have a long-standing and close relationship based on many shared interests and values. We value the rule of law, our democracies, and multilateralism. And we value our environment – at home and globally. Right now there are major global challenges in all of these areas – ...
The Government is putting right a decade’s worth of underpayment to nurses, doctors and other health workers, says Health Minister Dr David Clark. Initial sampling of District Health Boards payroll records has found that around $550-$650 million is owed to DHB staff to comply with the Holidays Act. It’s expected ...
A strong surplus and low debt show the economy is performing well, and means the Government is in a good position to meet the challenges of global economic uncertainty. “The surplus and low levels of debt show the economy is in good shape. This allows the Government to spend more ...
New applications from mining company OceanaGold to purchase land in Waihi for new tailings ponds associated with its gold mines have been approved. Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Associate Minister of Finance David Parker considered the applications under the Overseas Investment Act. Earlier this year, applications from OceanaGold to ...
New Zealanders in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay will witness Māori, Pākehā and Pacific voyaging traditions come together today as the Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla assembles for the first time, Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Minister Kelvin Davis says. “Tuia 250 is a national commemoration and an opportunity for honest conversations ...
Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker leaves tomorrow for Dubai, London and Berlin for a series of meetings to advance New Zealand’s trade interests. In Dubai he will visit New Zealand’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 where construction is underway. There he will meet Minister of State for International Cooperation, Her ...
Confirmation that PHARMAC will fund two new cancer drugs is further evidence of the good progress the Government is making to improve the treatment of New Zealand’s leading cause of death, Health Minister David Clark says. From 1 December PHARMAC will fund alectinib (Alecensa) for ALK positive advanced non-small cell ...
An additional $2.7 million has been announced for the Government Strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation on the first anniversary of the strategy’s launch. Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson gave the opening address to the first Sport NZ Women + Girls Summit in Wellington today, ...
As part of its work to ensure businesses can get the skilled workers they need, the Coalition Government is re-opening and re-setting the Parent Category visa programme, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. The move will: support skilled migrants who help fill New Zealand’s skills gaps by providing a pathway for ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has today announced Major General Evan Williams of the New Zealand Defence Force has been selected as the commander of a significant, longstanding peacekeeping mission in the Middle East. In December, Major General Williams takes over as Force Commander for the Multinational Force and Observers ...
A record number of nurses are now working to deliver health services to New Zealanders as the Government’s increased funding and new initiatives rebuild key workforces start to show results, Health Minister Dr David Clark says. • 1458 more DHB nurses since the Government took office • 106 more midwives ...
Farmer and former Nuffield scholar Mel Poulton has been appointed New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, Minister for Trade and Export Growth, David Parker, and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, announced today. The position supports key Government objectives, including raising the value of New Zealand agricultural goods and services. Mel is ...
New Zealand’s Pacific and Māori voyaging heritage is acknowledged and celebrated today as waka of the Tuia 250 voyage flotilla arrive in Tūranga / Gisborne. “Today we celebrate Tangata Whenua, the first people of Aotearoa, and the triumphs of the voyaging tradition that brought our ancestors here from Polynesia 1000 ...
“Fijian Language Week starts on Sunday and the theme reminds us how important it is that we each have something to anchor ourselves to, something that can help us pause and feel in control in a rapidly changing world,” says Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. “Family, culture, faith, ...
The Government is establishing an Airspace Integration Trials Programme to support the safe testing and development of advanced unmanned aircraft and accelerate their integration into the aviation system, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods announced today. The Government will work with leading, innovative aviation industry partners to test and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The last PM shock jock Alan Jones slapped down was Jacinda Ardern. His language was particularly offensive, advertisers deserted his program and he apologised to New Zealand’s leader. But at least Ardern didn’t have to ...
By Michael Andrew and Sri Krishnamurthi The true story of one of the Pacific’s great waka builders and sailor has been captured in a stirring and visually gripping documentary. Loimata: The Sweetest Tears follows the final years of Ema Siope, a Samoan born kiwi who endured a tumultuous past ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Cowie, Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity Around one-third of Australians living with hepatitis C have been cured in the last four years. Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C is ...
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Image AsiaPacificReport.nz/RNZ.Commentators across the political spectrum seem to agree – the Labour-led Government’s popularity is being damaged by its failure to deliver in Jacinda Ardern’s self-proclaimed “Year of Delivery”. Instead, the delivery of bad news to Labour and the Government has come in ...
Internet Service Providers have cautiously greeted the news that the Government is exploring an internet filter for violent extremist and terrorist content. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Polls Richard Harman (Politik): Ardern now dependent on Peters Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern still standing, but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Austin, Professor UNSW Canberra Cyber, UNSW This is part of a new series looking at the national security challenges facing Australia, how our leaders are responding to them and how these measures are impacting society. Read other stories in the series ...
Researchers from Lincoln University are investigating how to use nanotechnology in agriculture to increase productivity and reduce environmental impact. ...
The increased presence of anti-trans and white supremacist stickers around the University of Auckland campus is proof that inaction is enabling hate groups, write Anisha Sankar and Max Whitehurst.Anisha Sankar is a Chennai-born, Te Awakairangi-raised, South Indian Tamil studying at the University of Auckland. Max Whitehurst is a transgender Pākehā ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Following the Christchurch mosque shootings, the New Zealand government’s first response was to ban the firearms the alleged gunman had used to murder 51 people. Seven months later, the second tranche of this process ...
The nine members for the next three year term of the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) for Auckland have been appointed by the statutory Selection Body. Their appointments begin on 1 November 2019 and continue to 31 October 2022. Mana Whenua ...
“If we are truly to solve the challenge of poverty within the Te Ao Maori world we must lift our people from the low wage and low skills growth side of the economy. At the same time we must continue to ensure our people, no matter where they are, ...
Alex Casey asks Rose Stewart from Family Planning every single question she can think of about New Zealand’s new free IUDs. Listen up, womb-owners who love free shit and long-term contraceptive options: Pharmac announced that they will be fully funding two new long-lasting, reversible contraceptives in New Zealand from November 1, ...
Patients are increasingly being turned away for treatment and there can be no more excuses from the Government over properly funding district health boards to boost specialist numbers in public hospitals, says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the ...
Today’s Council of Trade Unions’ report, Fair Pay Agreements: A Framework for Fairness , provides a much-needed pathway to fair wages and conditions across several major industries, and the Government must deliver on its promise to introduce FPAs ...
The Speaker has limited the number of questions Simon Bridges can ask in the House as a punishment for the National Party defying Trevor Mallard by not pulling down their attack ads. ...
Sunshine capital? Check. Rich artisan tradition? Check. Incredible sausages? That’s a big check. We’ve put together a list of all you need to know before you explore the truly gorgeous Nelson region this summer. If you’ve got friends or relatives visiting Aotearoa, top of their list should be sorting out their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University In the four years since the Paris climate agreement was adopted, countries have debated the fine print of how emissions reduction should be tracked and ...
The flight drink company 1Above, partly-owned by the high profile, venture capital fund Movac and businessman Gareth Morgan, is in liquidation owing almost $10 million. ...
In recent weeks Responsible Campers Association Incorporated (RCAi) has become involved in some high level discussions about our right to camp. This began out of discussion about the disabled who which to participate in Sport and Recreation activities. ...
In their quest for a cashless society the Japanese have beaten New Zealand to its own next-gen shopping experience.New Zealanders are missing out to the Japanese on a Kiwi technology that is set to eliminate supermarket queues.The first store to implement the SmartCart cashierless shopping system will be in Osaka, ...
If you don’t like Shortland Street, or you’re unconvinced that Michael Galvin actually is a doctor, does that mean all New Zealand television is rubbish? Some say yes. Tara Ward says an emphatic no. The world is our TV oyster, but lately it seems not everyone in Godzone is feeling the ...
The National Party is accusing the Immigration Minister of a "Sroubek 2.0" after revelations he granted residence to a man with multiple drink-driving convictions. ...
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu urges the Crown to ensure that the Establishment Board of the newly formed Institute of Skills and Technology meets its Treaty obligations and addresses the statutory role of iwi as Treaty partners in redesigning the education ...
The top-selling food magazine in New Zealand is closing its print operation. Niki Bezzant, Healthy Food Guide‘s former editor, reflects on the challenges the title faced.The news that after 14 years and 176 issues Healthy Food Guide magazine is closing its print operation came as a shock to some. It ...
A unique deal saw Sky buy the rugby rights and sell some of itself to NZ Rugby. Trevor McKewen breaks down what it all means.The news came thick and fast over a remarkable five-day corporate slugfest, starting last Thursday. First, Spark Sport struck, gobbling up New Zealand Cricket’s domestic broadcasting ...
In what’s thought to be the last piece of writing Peter Wells completed before he died, he wonders about his great-grandfather, and the locket he wore all his life. ‘The Story of a Locket’ is published in part here, and features in the extraordinary collection of essays Queer Objects, released this ...
Relationship expert Holly Dixon explains why the entire Married at First Sight franchise is based on bunk science.As the third MAFS NZ season has come to an end, I thought it relevant to answer the question upon which the entire MAFS enterprise is built: Is it possible to predict attraction and ...
SkyCity Casino workers will be on strike and picketing today as Rob Campbell, the Chair of SkyCity Casino talks to other employers about making pay fair at a “Wellbeing at Work” conference today. ...
He was the prototypical high school nerd, hanging on Don Brash’s every word. Then the financial world turned upside down. This is the story of how Kiwibank’s Jarrod Kerr became a most unconventional economist.In 2008, Jarrod Kerr was working at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia when the global financial crisis ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabriela D’Souza, Affiliate, Monash department of business statistics and econometrics, Monash University For most people the second week in October probably doesn’t hold much promise. Longer days for some, perhaps. But for those is us in the economics profession, come the second ...
One of the important parameters of the agreement’s aims was to ensure there was no threat to food production from the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. ...
A monument to Winston Peters and Think Big projects would both boost the economy, but Argentina learned the hard way they can also impoverish a nation, writes Tony Burton.Everyone who loves New Zealand should visit Argentina. There are more similarities than you might think – large areas of wild natural ...
The Salvation Army foodbank in Waitakere ran out of food last week; an indication of the strain many New Zealand whanau are under as they struggle to afford the cost of living. Wednesday, October 16 is World Food Day, and as demand for services offered ...
Phil Goff was re-elected by a huge margin on Saturday. How will he put that mandate to use this term? Hayden Donnell asks the questions.Phil Goff is once again Auckland’s mayor. Preliminary local election results show him with a lead of nearly 100,000 votes over his nearest challenger, John Tamihere. ...
Catherine Bindon from Ban the Boom has created these colourful and positive posters for you to use to show you don't support the use of fireworks in your neighbourhood over the next few weeks distressing our animals and birds. ...
On Tuesday morning the Operation Burnham inquiry hearing resumed after it was suspended three weeks ago. The hearing is being held at Royal Society of New Zealand, 11 Turnbull St, Thorndon, Wellington on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Ellerton, Lecturer in Critical Thinking; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland It’s not uncommon for science and religion to be framed as two opposing forces. The Catholic church has famously struggled to accommodate scientific research in its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cat Pausé, Senior Lecturer in Human Development, Massey University The British Psychological Society is calling for changes for how we talk about fatness, suggesting we should no longer use the phrase “obese people”, but instead, “people with obesity” or “people living with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University The federal government’s much-vaunted Snowy Hydro expansion is supposed to smooth out the bumps in electricity supply as Australia transitions to renewables. But not only is the project a bad deal for taxpayers, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By María Yanotti, Lecturer of Economics and Finance Tasmanian School of Business & Economics, University of Tasmania The housing market is moving again. In the past month, national prices have climbed 0.9%. What matters most to buyers (and especially to investors), along with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Principal Fellow (Hon), Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, University of Melbourne It seems appropriate that a painting titled Feng Shui dominates the new exhibition of Guan Wei’s work ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Matthews, Lecturer in Digital Media and Popular Culture Researcher, Auckland University of Technology According to a recent study, the sixth leading cause of death for young men in the United States is the warranted and unwarranted use of police force. With ...
The Council of Trade Unions has today released its report - Fair Pay Agreements: A Framework for Fairness . The report details the six key principles needed for Fair Pay Agreements to deliver real change for working people, and democratic agreements ...
Too many New Zealanders endure poor working conditions in jobs that don’t pay enough and offer few opportunities for career progression, and the union movement is calling for change. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the latest polls which show a drop in support for Labour are not a concern when it comes to forming a government. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: A pair of polls put pressure on the Labour Party, a wild night of weather in the North Island, and Shane Jones snapped brandishing a semi-automatic.Parliament resumes today after a fortnight recess, and MPs were given a welcome-back present in ...
Mandy Hager, the newly elected head of the New Zealand Society of Authors, is lobbying the government to improve the lot of writers - to no avail, despite the Prime Minister's championing of the arts. ...
Given the vast impacts that poor diet have had on global health, a deficit in nutrition education in medicine represents a big problem, writes Dr Jennifer Crowley. ...
Any time Olympian Luuka Jones needs advice or encouragement in her pursuit of more canoe slalom success, she doesn’t have to look far. Jones’ coach, Campbell Walsh, is also her partner. ...
Competition for the rights to broadcast sports matches involving NZ’s top teams has produced a bonanza for the sporting bodies, forcing media companies to be a lot more innovative. ...
The Wellington suburb’s successful opposition to a proposed Bottle-O shows how the system is biased towards communities with the organisation, capacity and resources to protest effectively, says Jenesa Jeram.For those unfamiliar with Wellington geography, Khandallah is a Very Nice place to live (Aucklanders: think Remuera). So when it was reported ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Humphery-Jenner, Associate Professor of Finance, UNSW The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission conducted an inquiry into mortgage pricing as recently as last year. Now Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has asked it to do another, broader one, in order to ensure the banks’ ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsThe results of the local government elections appear to show that New Zealanders are generally supportive of a more diverse range of representatives, having voted in greater numbers for candidates from traditionally under-represented groups. The elections have therefore modernised our councils in a small but very significant ...
The Inquiry has today published Minute No 21. This Minute sets out how the Inquiry intends to proceed given that the Attorney-General the Hon David Parker has agreed to extend the Inquiry’s reporting date by three months to 31 March 2020. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grace Skrzypiec, Senior Lecturer, Flinders University Many Australian students don’t know the difference between banter and bullying, with some saying they joke about wishing their friend would “drown” or “die in a car crash”. More than 800 Australian students aged 11-16 took ...
But he did play a crucial role in helping journeyman Andy Foster knock over Justin Lester. Team Gone By Lunchtime size up the local elections, gaze plaintively at the dramas in the NZ First Party, and ask how bad the new poll is for Jacinda Ardern.Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and ...
In the fifth episode of Actually Interesting, The Spinoff’s monthly podcast exploring the effect Artificial Intelligence has on our lives, Russell Brown speaks to Ben Reid, executive director of the AI Forum, about the role of government in embracing and regulating AI.Subscribe to Actually Interesting via iTunes or listen on the player below.To ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Local government Henry Cooke (Stuff): How to lose an election: Over-promise or under-deliver Simon Collins ...
By RNZ Pacific A Solomon Islands province has agreed to lease a large island to a Chinese developer to develop into a special economic zone, weeks after the country opened diplomatic ties with China. But already cracks abound; there has been no official announcement and the provincial premier says the ...
Open mike 28/03/2014 
Open mike is your post.
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...10 hours ago
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...12 hours ago
For the past week, Extinction Rebellion has been peacefully protesting in London to demand action on climate change. The British government's response? Ban their protests:Police have banned Extinction Rebellion protests from continuing anywhere in London, as they moved in almost without warning to clear protesters who remained at the movement’s ...13 hours ago
The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...17 hours ago
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...4 days ago
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For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...6 days ago
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We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...12 hours ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The last PM shock jock Alan Jones slapped down was Jacinda Ardern. His language was particularly offensive, advertisers deserted his program and he apologised to New Zealand’s leader. But at least Ardern didn’t have to ...5 hours ago
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Researchers from Lincoln University are investigating how to use nanotechnology in agriculture to increase productivity and reduce environmental impact. ...10 hours ago
The increased presence of anti-trans and white supremacist stickers around the University of Auckland campus is proof that inaction is enabling hate groups, write Anisha Sankar and Max Whitehurst.Anisha Sankar is a Chennai-born, Te Awakairangi-raised, South Indian Tamil studying at the University of Auckland. Max Whitehurst is a transgender Pākehā ...11 hours ago
Information spread by the Coalition of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) and picked up by ACT’s David Seymour is incorrect. ...11 hours ago
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So now according to iwi leaders we teachers are supposed to shut up and say nothing even if we see the continual eroding of our education system.
http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/nzei-protest-action-tramples-honour-our-nation/5/185968
From the above:
The tikanga of mana is at stake. We will not stand idly by and allow the mana of the Minister of Education, the Honourable Hekia Parata, her people, our people to be manipulated and trampled on. We, Dr Apirana Mahuika, Sir Toby Curtis, Sir Mark Solomon, Raniera Tau, Willie Te Aho, Awanuiarangi Black, Tiwha Puketapu, Naida Glavish, Sir Tamati Reedy and Pem Bird caution NZEI that they are putting their hard earned excellent reputation earned over a sustained period of time on the line and for what purpose?
The International Summit is the most prestigious educational event on the world calendar, a huge coup for our Minister of Education, Hekia Parata…
Un-freaking-believable.
so much for the value of children…
is the summit not open to everyone?
“The event brings together education ministers and leaders of national teachers’ federations and teachers’ unions from jurisdictions that, according to the OECD’s 2012 PISA survey results, have high-performing or rapidly-improving school systems”
I hope National gets the answers to the three questions whic are the focus of the summit
“The three questions that this Summit will focus on are:
How can high quality teachers and leaders be attracted into and retained in schools of the greatest need?
What are the levers for achieving equity in increasingly devolved education systems?
How are learning environments created that meet the needs of all children and young people?"
I can’t work that one out, they haven’t really explained why they are upset, they have only said that they are upset…. and into such a vacuum goes ………
But whenever the word “honour” appears in the speech of someone uppity or otherwise then one should be very wary. “Honour” is but an empty tub which will hold whatever is tossed into it ..
Agree. It appears to demand respect on the basis of lineage rather than actions, of which I am wary.
I’m sure that you’ll find that the National Party is quite happy with this sort of arse licking from Maori leaders.
Who they represent anyway? Not the ordinary Maori , surely. Aren’t they all Maori aristocracy? You know, those people who have done well for themselves from the settlements that were supposed to benefit many more people than they did in reality.
The conference is in Wellington today and tomorrow.
It wasn’t that easy to find info on the NZEI protest – it’s for a living wage, and precedes the TPPA demo tomorrow in Auckland, and is at the same time as the TPPA demo in Wellington.
From the Daily Blog:
So the protest is looking out for the children and the iwi leaders are looking out for their status…….
I know where the respect goes ..
+1
+1
Will be nice if we can have a warm-up piece today on The Standard, alerting peeps to the nationwide TPPA demo tomorrow? Sorry, I haven’t got much time at the moment to draft a piece but I have lotsa suggestions and a big mouth.
I have kept thinking that this morning. But too much coding and too many comments for moderation for me to do it.
Doesn’t have to be a long, original piece for now but just a general announcement or notice pointing people to the various places around the country tomorrow at 1pm:
http://www.itsourfuture.org.nz/march-29-nationwide-day-of-action-against-the-tppa/
“After four years, the corporate deal of the century – aka the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement – is still being negotiated in secret.
“The TPPA puts our sovereignty at risk, violates our democratic right to decide our own future, and wastes taxpayers’ money that should be spent on social, not corporate, welfare.
“It needs to stop. Now.”
As I thought I heard or read someone saying: make it big as it may be our last time to do this!
Done, but even something straight forward is not that quick. I think some of the links are not working that well – then I got an urgent personal email that needs attending to.
Let me know if there’s any other errors.
It was great. Are you sure you and lprent are not machines? And you both helped sort out their links in the process too.
Yes, I was thinking about it, while trying to get on with some other things in my life that need attending to.
Ugh…how divorced from the people that they purport to represent can that list of iwi ‘leaders’ get?
Give them time and I’m sure that they’ll make their way to Planet key.
I’m speechless – very sad and disturbing. There are some excellent people in that group, including one of the authors of Te Whariki, the fabulous ece curriculum. I want to know where their voices have been as they’ve watched the systematic destruction of our education system under this government. No use talking about mana now, we’ve already shamed ourselves
And the eroding of the education system doesn’t stop at 16. Did you know for instance, that if you only give a party vote, but leave the electorate vote blank, that the ballot paper is void?
Not many people are educated to realise that.
Te reo kupapa. They are probably looking at starting iwi charter schools. A few of them must still be going for knighthoods. Thank god that a new generation of leaders is growing, that has nothing in common with this sad lot.
The Internet Party already has a burgeoning membership… and Jokyhen and his inner circle will no doubt have access to all the registrations as well.
Ooops. As Hagrid might say “I should na said that.”
From the NZ Herald this morning
“Cartel questions
The Carter Holt Harvey price-fixing case raises a question: what has happened to the proposal to make cartel behaviour a criminal offence? The company was fined $1.85 million by the High Court for price fixing in the Auckland commercial timber market, though its actions were described as being at the lower end of offending. The bill proposing criminal sanctions for serious cartel offending has been stuck in Parliament for almost a year and the Government has shown no interest in passing it. It seems unlikely anything will change before the election.”
from MBIE website
“The Minister of Commerce introduced the Commerce (Cartels and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2011 into Parliament on 13 October 2011.
One of the principle objectives of the amendment Bill is to introduce criminal sanctions for hard-core cartel behaviour.
Hard-core cartels are formed when rival firms agree to not compete with each other by fixing prices, restricting output, allocating markets or rigging bids. Cartels allow firms to raise their prices above the competitive level without fear of losing customers to rivals. This increases the profits of cartel participants but does not benefit consumers.”
Introduced by Simon Power… and then he left… and then it languished under… Steven Joyce and Craig Foss
” Commerce committee report
On 13 May 2013, the Commerce Committee tabled its report on the Commerce (Cartels and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. ”
Sanctions proposed
“The penalty regime
The bill introduces criminal sanctions for individuals and companies. For an individual, the maximum sanction would be seven years’ imprisonment. For a body corporate, the sanctions are the same as the current level of sanctions: a fine set at the greater of either $10 million or three times the value of the commercial gain, if it can be ascertained. If the gain cannot be ascertained, the sanction will be 10 per cent of annual turnover.”
”
Craig Foss
14 May, 2013
Select Committee reports back on Cartels Bill
Commerce Minister Craig Foss today welcomed the Commerce Select Committee report on a Bill to encourage pro-competitive collaboration.
The Commerce (Cartels and Other Matters) Amendment Bill promotes economic growth by enabling pro-competitive collaboration between firms, while also deterring hard-core cartel conduct.
“This Bill forms an important part of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda and our ambitious goal to increase the ratio of exports to GDP to 40 per cent by 2025,” says Mr Foss.
“It will enable collaborative arrangements that can help businesses innovate and tap into overseas markets. This will be a welcome change for New Zealand’s export industries.
“At the same time the Bill takes a strong stance against hard-core cartel conduct like price fixing and bid rigging and introduces criminal sanctions for egregious behaviour.
“These activities will not be tolerated and anyone engaging in them will be treated the same way as tax evaders, fraudsters and other white collar criminals,” says Mr Foss.”
“..will be treated the same way as tax evaders, fraudsters and other white collar criminals..”
generally ignored..?..unless un-ignorable..?
..and does anyone think we will ever see any words/actions of/on (from any party?) on the (depending who you talk to) $1.5 billion – $5 billion in criminally-evaded taxes..?
..each and every year..?
..can i offer a possible path to a solution..?
..a carrot-stick themed ‘solution’..?
..how about offering a three month amnesty..?
..wherein the guilty can come forward..and just have to pay the taxes owing..with no penalties..
..and after that amnesty-period lapses..
..promise task-forces/going gangbusters over all those caught..
..(with tandem ramping-up-penalties legislation..?..)
..i reckon that’d flush out quite a bit of that ‘criminally-avoided’ tax revenue..
..(and we do need the money..eh..?..so we can start to put things right/prepare for the future..)
..(and of course..those in this govt who we look to do this are foss-the-hapless..
..and the pompadoured-one..dunne…
..so..we’ll get s.f.a. action on this from these two clowns..
..that you can take to the bank..)
..(and just practising my psychic-abilities here..
..i’m gonna make the call that a majority..(and by quite a margin..)..
..wd be from the rich/elites..
..most of who vote in their wallet-interests..
..and tick national/act in the ballot-box..
..so for only this reason..foss-the-hapless/dunne will not offend their support-base..
..that is far more important..than trying to claw back all that nicked money..)
a 3 min animation..and i gave it a must-watch rating..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/27/everything-wrong-with-humanity-animation_n_5037496.html
For some reason I haven’t been able to access the home page of The Standard for a few days, although I can go to subsidiary pages like this one. Is this happening to others and if so, does anyone know why?
Try shift+ refresh
Try pressing Shift+F5 to force a cache refresh on your browser. I saw that on my table this morning as well probably because I wasn’t able to load the page at the Pickering lecture yesterday.
worked thanks!
Interesting John Drinnan piece in the Herald today on what Labour’s up against in the media:
‘National has developed a media network incorporating the Whale Oil website, Kiwiblog and commentators Matthew Hooton and Michelle Boag.
They have been feeding the media appetite for short, sharp crises to fill online news space.
It is Labour’s job to counter National’s influence over the news agenda. But it does not have many of its own partisans in the media; the left-leaning website The Daily Blog does not have an audience to compare with Whale Oil.’
His round-up also mentions the planned pay-wall at the herald, which I haven’t seen confirmed as definite (although I probably have just missed it) previously. It starts later this year.
Amusing. For some strange reason we never get mentioned in any of the mainstream media unless they absolutely have to. I guess it is because we don’t act like news media because of our focus on being a internet forum – ie comments.
BTW: does anyone else have problems getting any comments on the NZ Herald articles? As far as I can tell, none of mine since about 2012 have made it through. I guess they don’t like our ocassional posts on them 😈
Not mentioning The Standard was a major omission from Drinnan. The Daily Blog seems to have scant connections with Labour so was an odd inclusion in that context.
”The Daily Blog seems to have scant connections with Labour so was an odd inclusion in that context.”
While I agree the Standard should have been mentioned, it’s not just about Labour.
Unlike the largely homogeneous right, the left has developed a healthy pluralism of parties.
The issue is a lack of decent left-wing pundits in the media cycle.
Good point. But there are a number of authors over there who have Labour membership. Me for instance.
It could have been a simple editing mistake. After all both of the sites start with the word “The”. 😈
But I suspect that it is pretty deliberate. There are sites that the news media never likes to mention. For instance the Transport blog and this one. We’re somewhat harder to spin as being the clowns of the internet.
Bryce Edwards does like linking to your site a bit eh?
I asked John about it.
He was challenged on it by other journalists too. Odd and superficial. Some traditional journalists don’t give much weight to people using pseudonyms, I don’t know if that’s why he thinks TDB is more significant.
I don’t know how Bryce chooses his links but he seems to be including more and more sources for his links, he used to be more selective. I look for different angles on things. Writing blog posts is quite different to commenting on blogs – mickysavage is a good example of that here, his approach is quite different to what it used to be. He’s now someone I look out for.
gee..pg..imagine if you did something like commentaries on q-time..or something..
..edwards-the-younger would link to ya so much more than even he does now..eh..?
..he’d be all over you like a rsh..
..and with yr observational-powers/quick wit..
..i’m sure such a commentary from you wd b a treat..
(and cd u discount the persistant/ongoing rumours that the heavy/serial-linking to yer exercises in the fatuous/irrelevant/boring/bleeding-obvious..by edwards-the-younger..
..are down to full-body-massages..followed by a beard rubdown..?
..administered by yr (fill-blank) self..?
..and while we are at it..
..have you ever owned/touched/read a copy of mein kamp…?
..wot with yr own ‘struggle’..eh..?
..he too..was misunderstood/laughed at..in the early days..
..but he showed them..!
..eh pete..?..
..and do you currently have any plans/desires/aspirations..
… to annex invercargill..?
..(nb..the above is all ‘rumours’..unfounded-suppositions..
..not likely to be a ‘fact’ amongst it..eh..?..
..a total multi-orifice pluck..
..much like wot u always ‘pen’..eh..?
..wot edwards-the-younger serially links to..
..by you..
..eh..?..)
Not really. We talk between activists on the left and to the people interested in activists on the left – it is in the about. Obviously something John isn’t into. I guess his view of media is more about entertainment than effectiveness (at least that is what I see when I read many of his stories).
That is because they are extremely and silently censored (which is why they are so few). It conforms to the same ethos that NZ Herald follows in their comment policy so I can see why he’d feel more comfortable with it.
But he is right, we primarily exist to allow the left to talk amongst each other whereas The Daily Blog is designed to allow some people on the left to present a ethos to a wider public. Of course you’d have to ask yourself which is more effective at a political level.
That’s a good point on censorship at The Daily Blog. Discussion is obviously not a priority there.
We’ve had a few wee skirmishes here about moderation but I’ve said elsewhere a number of times at least it’s all out in the open, I’ve never been secretly censored here . It seems to be common practice at TDB and it’s happened to me. Martyn seems to be trying to be an alternative to MSM but he mimics their strict opinion and message control. Like anywhere that’s his call.
“Skirmishes”. 😆
When the outcome is that one party is publicly humiliated and earns a reputation for banality that follows him to this day, that’s not a “skirmish”. It’s a rout.
standard talks to itself…
and WO doesnt?
i guess mr drinnan can just relate more to the commenters at wo, which speaks volumes.
All of my comments to the NZHerald have been published.
I guess it must be personal then. My charming personality isn’t working? 🙂
Mine get published about 60% of the time, but take a couple of days to get through moderation even if I am posting within the hour after an article is published.
i don’t always check back..but none published to date..that i’ve seen..
..i think i’ll open a ‘comments not published by the herald’ category…@ whoar..
..cd b some humour to be milked from it..
..my latest was to trevett..having a long haw-haw..!..at her holding the death-rites over any mana/dotcom alliance-lite deal..
..i checked..that clearly failed whatever tests/guidelines are used..
(rule 3..comments must not mock columnists..(no matter how deserved such mocking may be..)
The reason The Standard is not mentioned is not “strange” at all. It is however quite stupid.
It’s purely because the authors here are pseudonymous. The MSM like to be hypocritical in having their own (completely) anonymous editorials, but won’t deign to mention TS because apparently you have to have a publicly identifiable name otherwise your opinion somehow doesn’t mean anything.
Ah that could be correct. That is silly.
Makes no difference for legal liabilities but the journo’s are so in love with their late 20th century fetish for individual fame (spurred by TV) that they have forgotten the whole of the 19th/20th century journalistic ethos and why it was there. The only residual is the editorials.
Drinnan should have also included Rachel Glucina, the Herald’s gossip columnist – and friend of Slater’s who is also deep in with the smear campaign against KDC. But probably she is too close to home, being a fellow Herald columnist.
Yep. It seems to me that they must have sat down with the powers that be. Slater was told to stop being such a dick and tone things down and Glucina was told that she was going to get out of the socialite pap news and start breaking stories. She has further .com news in her latest column at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/personalities/news/article.cfm?c_id=72&objectid=11227811
Lolz more snide innuendo from the Herald(National Party disinformation service),shows just how much the Beehives 9th floor lives in fear of the bloke,(i have the sneaking suspicion that the 9th floor have a private investigator/SIS on the road sniffing out DotComs ‘back-story’,
Laughable is the pic of DotCom in the ‘Kraut lid’, who would have thunk it, a German lampooning a German,(i have been hanging out for DotCom to do a full on Sergeant Shultz while live on the TV news),
The pic down the bottom of Rachel Glaucoma’s column of the Kohanga Kids having fun with Trev is a total cutey…
is hogans heroes ok cos we know its mocking germans????
well..that disempowering of a past demon by mocking..
…was part and parcel of that show..?..surely..?
..(the war was recent enough for most watchers..at most only one generation removed from the actual conflict..)
..(disclaimer:..i have ‘loved’ a german..and my son is half-german..
..and ..as an aside..i think he was speaking for his savvy-generation..when he instantly called ‘bullshit!’ on the false equivalence of the dotcom/mein kamp story/beat-up..)
..and surely..of far more prurient-interest wd be the off-stage lifestyle of the lead actor in hogans’ heroes..bob crane..?
..whoar..!
V interesting… doesnt mention herald editorial choice to put labours economic policy announcement on p21 does he?
He forgot to mention the herald!
Yes i have had the odd look on the Doktor’s(Edwards),daily roundup of politics via the Herald online and on most occasions, even when there are multiple posts running on a topic at the Standard Bryce chooses to not mention this instead directing readers to the branches of the sewer,
People are ‘lead’, often easily, the Doktor, dare i say with deliberation???, doesn’t mention the Standard too often, in my opinion, simply as a means of keeping people from reading the Standard, if His links consistently direct people to ‘wail-oil’ and ‘kiwi-smog’ then if they have no knowledge of the Standard they are likely to keep going to those sites if they are seeking further knowledge of ‘political happenings’ than that which is provided by the mainstream media,
To a certain extent, in a cutting off the nose to spite the face exercise, the political parties of the left spend no amount of energy mentioning the Standard, ala Slippery the Prime Ministers major ‘Slurp’ directed in Blubber boy and ‘wail oil’s’ direction recently choosing instead to promote their own web-sites which have far less debate and thus tend to be pretty party-centric and, again in my opinion,are a bit of a bore,
In an ideal world, in the interests of growing ‘the left’ we would see Labour/Green/Mana websites prominently displaying links to both the Standard and the Daily Blog,(having not looked for a while i do not know if any of them do this now)…
The Bryce Edwards round-up started as a chronicle of topical political stories and columns, including issues simmering away in the regions, and off-beat bloggers. It covered many different stories and issues in one edition. However, now Edwards is trying to capture/create the narrative, and each one is overly long, and too focused on beltway media/topics.
As Karol pointed out recently, Edwards even took to Twitter to commission pieces from bloggers on a set topic! This is media as echo chamber, rather than reflecting the actual confusion and complexity of life.
And Edwards focus is very much about politics as a game – party strategies, headline grabbers, polling issues, etc. – little about close examination of policies.
there is a bit of that about..eh..?
..the (seemingly) deliberate ignoring of some relevant publications – by some publications..
..funny that..
..eh..?
..sometimes ya really wonder ‘why?’..
Amusing in the Herald’s online version this morning is the befor and after of Colon Craig said to have been dieting in preparation for the 2014 election,
The befor version,(much to my surprise), looks remarkably like a run of the mill picture of a normal human being,
The ‘after’ one tho gives me a picture that could be used as an example of Colon having been kidnapped by aliens at some point in time and whisked off for a quick ‘probing’, seems ‘the probe’ must have been set to ‘suction samples’ when the aliens ‘must watch’ favorite TV show came on inter-galactic TV and they left Colon on the ‘table’ for too long while they watched it,
The mad staring eyes remind me of ‘speed’ addicts strung out on what the medical profession used to prescribe to tired overweight Mums back in the 60’s,(but that’s another story)…
Even more disturbing:
http://www.thecivilian.co.nz/nation-certain-this-picture-should-be-used-but-unsure-how/
😈
Puts me in mind of that old show
Land of the giants…
He does look like he’s in a Guillermo del Toro film.
Yes!
was that shot..late at nite..?
..in western springs park..?
..whoar..!
Nice!!! look at the two faces one side light the other dark…
Reminds me of this…
https://twitter.com/TerrifyingPosts/status/418486573546881025/photo/1/large
Doesn’t the new Colon bear a striking resemblance to Frank Spencer?
Ha ha ..colon……. snort.
and allusions to anal violation and drug abuse …. haha ha
well, if you add “by aliens” to the end of that, it does seem to have the necessary juxtaposition for comedic composition.
Surely not that funny requiring a series of Ha ha’s,a wry smile would have sufficed…
Is it just me or has Labour made absolutely no impact this week?
I was kinda waiting for some electrifying education policy given most of the worlds education leadership are in town.
Why are we leaving the field to Dotcom for a whole week? Come on Cunliffe the field is open.
Yes, but on the other hand, no major cock-ups from Labour this week, which is nice.
The Parliament is in recess until April 8th,(i think), so unless Labour are planning to release major policy there isn’t much happening to get them into the news,
David Cunliffe was in the far North on Monday or Tuesday and i should imagine that any number of MP’s will be out there in the electorate holding meetings with ‘interest groups’ something Helen Clark did with zeal befor becoming Prime Minister,
i should imagine that Labour release a flurry of ‘press releases’ on everything of interest, or not, on a regular basis, media apathy or bias would then account for such not seeing the light of day,
Hopefully either David Cunliffe and/or Grant Robertson are preparing a series of questions that skewer Slippery the Prime Minister, at question time to keep the PM’s ‘gifts’ to charity, the National Party, firmly in the headlines once the Parliament resumes…
I hope they don’t let collins and parata, oh and adams off the hook. What’s happened to bennett, is she keeping her powder dry? Just saw in comments in herald that ‘frannie’s columns were like love letters to shay key’. So sad, but so true. She needs to get out more.
Well, at least some MPs will be out here in the electorate. From today’s item:
‘The entire Labour Party caucus will descend on Wairarapa on March 31. All 34 Labour MPs will visit Wairarapa to meet with locals at afternoon venues to discuss development, jobs, health and housing.
Labour leader David Cunliffe describes the event as an “away caucus”, to hear the voice of the people first-hand.
“I believe government must act with the people, not for the people. That can only be achieved by getting out and about, not sitting behind a desk at Parliament.” ‘
Link: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wairarapa-times-age/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503414&objectid=11227278
I hope they are smarter than the Green Party were a few years ago. They held a conference in the Wairarapa. It was over the weekend and they went up from Wellington on Friday night.
Being publically enthusiastic about public transport they all went up on the evening train. They got there early and took most of the available seats. Thus when the people who travel on it every day after working in Wellington got there no seats were left and the regular passengers had to stand for the trip. The Green Party never thought to tell the Railways ahead of time so that more carriages might have been added.
I know two people who were on the trip, both of whom were, until that time, Green Party members. They resigned and as far as I know they never re-joined.
I can’t imagine that the Labour MPs will be travelling on the train of course. I hope they don’t take a taxi each and at least will share some.
Possibly cos all they wld be asked about is mein kampf
Glen Innes had the highest capital gain on three-bedroom houses with an annualised 18.9 per cent, and Mount Wellington had the best gain on apartments at 16.2 per cent…
Is that the impact of the new mini fletchers town for the first home buyer with 650k? Or the sell off of state houses?
Same as the old boss….
.
“An old, old Soviet story repeating itself,” Boris Akunin, a novelist who signed the opposition petition, wrote in an email when asked about the war of words.
“It’s just that under Stalin, if a prominent cultural figure dared to protest he’d be shot; under Brezhnev he’d be imprisoned; now he just risks losing state donations and having to travel economy class — but this often proves enough,” Mr. Akunin wrote. “It’s a fascinating sight to watch people make this moral choice.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/28/world/europe/soviet-echoes-in-call-for-artists-to-back-crimea-policy.html
You won’t read this on the Daily Blog – or Whaleoil!
(I’m banned from commenting on both – seems neither Cameron Slater nor Martyn Bradbury can ‘handle the truth’? 🙂
Kind regards,
Penny Bright
FYI
27 March 2014
http://www.investigatemagazine.co.nz/Investigate/4922/len-brown-faces-conflict-of-interest-allegation/
Len Brown faces conflict of interest allegation
Auckland Mayor Len Brown has been accused of acting with a conflict of interest at a council committee meeting today.
Veteran anti-corruption campaigner Penny Bright was attempting to read out letters from the police in regard to a complaint against Mayor Brown, but he refused to let her speak and ordered security staff to remove Bright from the venue.
Speaking later from Auckland police station, Bright told InvestigateDaily that the mayor had taken direct action on a matter he was directly implicated in, and she believed he had a clear conflict of interest in trying to prevent members of the public from speaking about him.
Bright being removed. PHOTO: Cr Dick Quax
(Photo: Dick Quax)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM PENNY BRIGHT
(“The letter from Police that conflicted Auckland Mayor Len Brown tried to stop me reading at the Auckland Council Governing Body meeting Thursday 27 March 2014 “)
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/nzppsltd%40gmail.com/144e2c8f108b7d12?projector=1
“I have discussed this matter with Graham McCready, and am considering taking a private prosecution for assault against the security guards, and Mayor Len Brown as a party to the assault,” says Penny Bright.
“If you think that I am going to put up with being censored and assaulted – now twice within 5 weeks – for attempting to expose corrupt conflicts of interest at Auckland Council – THINK AGAIN!”
“In my considered opinion, Auckland Council is rotten to the core with corrupt conflicts of interest, but I will NOT be silenced as an anti-corruption ‘whistle-blower’. ”
Still want to defend Auckland Mayor Len Brown ????????
If wishart giving you coverage doesn’t give you food for thought, I reckon nothing will.
Seriously, you are probably going to lose your house. And you’ll moan about it, but it’ll be your own damned fault.
So you don’t support citizens LAWFUL rights to ‘open, transparent and democratically-accountable local government’ McFlock?
Penny Bright
Well you certainly don’t: in fact your determination to waste Council time and money impedes, not enhances, citizens’ lawful rights.
I have no idea whether you have a point or not.
I was merely pointing out the likely result of the battle you are choosing to fight.
I suspect that the len brown “conflict of interest” is a pile of bunk, and that your removal by security staff was done with proper legal authority and without striking or doing you bodily harm (crimes act s56 if I recall correctly from my security days). But most of all, I suspect that the rates reporting requirements you are choosing to lose your home over will not substantially change the practise or effectiveness of democracy (or lack thereof) in Auckland.
Not that I care too much, being at the other end of the country.
Death-row-inmate-freed-after-nearly-50-years-in-prison.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Death-row-inmate-freed-after-nearly-50-years-in-prison/tabid/417/articleID/337737/Default.aspx#comment-1307208415
This example alone shows a very good reason why death penalty should be banned in the world.
Okay kiddies.
Homework for the weekend is getting out your pens and papers and writing to your MP’s and asking why charter schools are getting taxpayer money.
If they dont reply then write letters to your local newspaper telling on them.
Its time to make the wonks start earning their money!
It seems that the upcoming rallies against the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) that will be happening all over NZ tomorrow are effectively being ignored by mainstream media?
FYI!
SAT 29 MARCH: JOIN THE NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION TO STOP THE TPPA
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JOIN THE NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION TO STOP THE TPPA
Saturday 29 March, 1pm
Contact the organisers of your local event if you can help or
chris.zack if you want to start something where there is a gap.
Posters and leaflets, templates for placards, and other resources are
all on the website
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It would be great to have lots of colour and creativity – there will
be ideas from other international actions on the TPPA on the website
too.
Join the banner- and placard-making day in Auckland on Saturday 22nd.
Contact chris.zack
Protest Locations (from North to South)
Hokianga
Kohukohu at 1:00
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karo.hohaia
Whangarei
Clock Museum, Town Basin at 1:00
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banjamin
Auckland
1:00 pm Aotea Square
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ben.bungy
Hamilton
Garden Place at 1:00
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kellyk79
Taranaki
Puke Ariki Landing at 1:00
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Tauranga
Red Square at 1:00
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martins.3000
Whanganui
Silver Ball Sculpture on the Riverfront 1pm walk up to Majestic Square
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Palmerston North
The Square at 1:00
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sue
Wellington
Cuba Street, bucket fountain at 1:00
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koruconsulting
Nelson
venue TBD at 1:00
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gregfullmoon013
tomandgray
Christchurch
114 Cashel St at 1:00
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suthy2
Geraldine
South Canterbury on the T junction of Cox and Talbot Street at 1:00
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Invercargill
Wachner Place @ 1:00
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More places in process of being organised. Email us if you’d like to
be involved: chris zack
Queenstown
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Napier
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Timaru
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Dunedin
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some good news for the weekend 🙂
Are you one Puckish Rogue…
i wonder if the low end wages in tourism have gone up as a result… or in film in nz…
Well, here’s the TNZ report on the jan-March, 2013 effect of the campaign associated with the Hobbit trilogy.
It’s not likely to have been much more than a minor factor in the year to February 2014 visitor arrival numbers, despite the speculative analysis in the article.
Also, the problem with these kinds of campaigns is that it’s difficult to establish if they create new arrivals or simply shift timing or, much less tangibly, just add yet another minor reason for visiting with a correspondingly limited marginal effect.
Chris Trotter:
I would have thought that promoting this as a deliberate aim of the Internet Party will not help their current efforts to distance the party from Dotcom.
And Chris promoting deliberate political intervention in an extradition as a condition of supposed coalition support is quite astounding.
[Fixed your block quote – MS]
I’m confused. Which party do you think Trotter is speaking on behalf of? I thought Trotter saw himself more as a fairly independent leftie commentator and analyst – one that often provides critical views that often upset other lefties.
It looks to me like he is talking on behalf of a general left, but I don’t think promoting a party’s electoral aim as to politically intervene in an extradition will help the Internet Party nor the left.
The Internet Party are trying to establish a perception of independence from Dotcom, that is hard enough already without political/legal deals being promoted as a deliberate aim.
If I was Labour or Greens or Mana I’d be wanting to have nothing to do with any suggestion like this. Russel Norman is one of the more astute politicians on the left, and he saw the dangers Dotcom and his party posed to the chances of the left.
“Russel Norman is one of the more astute politicians on the left, and he saw the dangers Dotcom and his party posed to the chances of the left
My bold – is this a fact, PG – or is this your opinion? If a fact, please provide a link to verify this.
🙄
He’s speaking for himself.
He’s not “promoting” anyone.
And nobody cares what you’d do.
You have even less credibility than trotter.
PG has less credibility than a Coca Cola ad, hang on better add an ”in my opinion” or He will be demanding a link…
So writing about it = promoting it?
Best you stop now then Pete. That’s two comments from you in this thread in which you – by your own standard – promote the IP’s electoral aim as to politically intervene in an extradition.
Yes this thinking by PG is a revelation – speaking about a politician or party is promoting it.
“Chris promoting…”
🙄
Are there any depths to which this weasel asshole will not sink?
The fungal algae called ‘Rock Snot’ is known to attach itself to many things as a means of travel and is thus able to move from place to place and pop up in places gaining a toehold only later to infect the whole area…
…. and in other matters ……
Does anyone else think (given NZ’s search and rescue capability, 6 x P3K2’s et al) that its contribution to MH370 is actually rather fuckin pathetic?
I’m of the belief that the NZ Defence Force’s future lays in peaceful contributions – such as search and rescue, responding to natural disasters, etc.
We seem to have given JUST enough to earn this miserly gubbamint some Browlee points (covered in shit as they inevitably are), and JUST enough to earn the Philistine itchim smetchim smoozim ideologically, parrot fashioned ‘learnings’, kaholic, commoditised principles-for-sale, red-dirt brown-eyed Jonkahism a few points on the ‘ta-neshnool- stage?’.
It is rather pathetic though …. I mean these fukwits run the gauntlet (due to PS cutbacks) with bio-diversity (think PSA, etc., etc., etc.) daily – and they do so with ‘Defense’ (which should actually JUST be devoted to CIVIL defense).
But this single Orion – with crews that appear to need close to 24hrs to change over is fucking pathetic.
It’s especially so, since of all the world’s capability ….. NZ (along with OZ – to actually a LESSER extent) are accustomed to the 40’s latitude that till now has been on the agenda.
But yeah, but nah, but yeah but nah – not worth it aye. wod ear va …. snot gunna make goldin boiii look sgoood es scccchhhhmoooxin in a fifrint hemsphere.