Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
It was 4 degrees in Christchurch last night.
Not very warm to be sleeping in a car.
Not very warm to be sleeping in a container.
Not very warm to be sleeping in a garage.
Not very warm to be sleeping on the street.
The mainstream media may think the Zac Guilford, Lydia Ko and Mark Todd are all important news items, but they are not.
The majority of the media is doing everything they can to support Paula Bennett and move homelessness off the headlines.
“Try walking in my shoes, it’s not actually that easy.”
This was the challenge TA set to Prime Minister John Key. But really it’s a challenge for us all.
@Paul – Granny’s main focus is to warn the business owners and shareholders and the public against workers! Don’t trust them, they steal! Don’t trust anyone for that matter! The world is a scary place that only ‘The bachelor’ and ‘cops 4’ can lighten your day.
White collar criminals do little to not jail time, and pay back none of the money, as compared to the full conviction rate and claw back of any benefit fraud.
Should we be worried after Brexit?
Rachel Stewart thinks so…
What do you think?
OBR policy a scary bank secret
Let’s talk about the Reserve Bank’s open bank resolution policy.
The what? The open bank resolution (OBR) is an extremely important piece of policy that most New Zealanders have never heard of. Trust me, I have asked around and they haven’t.
If you have debt, it will likely not concern you in the slightest. If you have savings, then, like me, you will possibly endure sleepless nights.
It is not entirely hushed up but you do need to go looking to find it.
James Shaw has been doing work on this too in the past few weeks. I think the concerns were there even without Brexit but I’m not sure why it’s come up now.
Yeah and this after seeing year after year after year these arsoles paying themselves massive bonuses after the BIG bailout in 2008.
As I have said on many occasions I would not trust this incompetent Double Dipping Dickhead from Dipton with the local Boy Scouts Jamboree money.
I find it amusing that the likes of Prat Henry thinks he’s so Wonderful. Not surprised the international elite like the IMF thinks he’s first class as he’s of the same ilk and is borrowing heaps to keep us in hock for ever.
The other thing is, In Australia all the major trading banks have to have a deposit guarantee for the customer deposits.
As the major banks in NZ are Australian owned we now have a situation that if the major banks fail and they bring in the OBR New Zealanders will be financing Australians
How about that for a fucking MIckey Mouse set up. As I have said on many occasion, This shower of shit as a government could not organise a piss up in a brewery.
“Every other country in the OECD protects savers’ deposits with deposit insurance. Australians saving with the parent banks of ANZ, BNZ, ASB, or Westpac all have their deposits guaranteed up to $250,000. Kiwis saving with these same banks get no protection whatsoever.”
heh – I thought it was Cullen who had legislated for using customer deposits to bail the banks at the tail end of the last Labour led government. Guess I was a wee bit off the mark.
The Double Dipping Dickhead from Dipton (National) introduced that very quietly (not reported on TV or in Granny) in 2011.
The banks don’t make their customers aware of it either
I believe that these changes were mandated by the international central banking authority, the BIS (Bank of International Settlements). Another key institution of the power elite that most have not heard of.
Right, so we’re now witnessing a long-planned coup against Corbyn that was always scheduled to happen at some point in the immediate wake of the EU Referendum result, regardless of outcome.
Naturally enough, the PLP plotters needed to fabricate some sort of plausible-sounding pretexts and seed them in the MSM.
What I find interesting, though, is just how internally incoherent these pretexts are.
Despite the most authoritative polls taken on Referendum Day all suggesting Labour voters went heavily for Remain … 63/37 (Lord Ashcroft), 65/35 (YouGov), 60/32 (with 8% not voting) (Survation) … and the likelihood (based on the detail of the figures) that even Labour’s working and lower middle class C2DE voters (as a whole) either mildly favoured Remain or were relatively evenly split … Corbyn’s critics have pushed the notion that he has to go because “millions of Labour voters” defied his authority by ignoring his advice to support Remain. He clearly can’t command Labour voters’ respect, the argument goes.
At the same time, however, they’re also pushing the rather contradictory idea that he didn’t campaign hard enough for Remain, indeed appeared to be lukewarm and somewhat sceptical of the EU at best (in which case, the minority of Labour supporters who chose Leave did not, in fact, defy him !)
Utterly incoherent.
I mean, you could mount a reasonable argument that Corbyn got it pretty much right by keeping both types of Labour voter happy – going through the paces of formally supporting Remain while making it clear the EU needed significant reform.
It’s also a fact that Tory voters were rather more divided than Labour ones (42/58 in favour of Brexit – Lord Ashcroft Poll), (39/61 Brexit – YouGov). Does that mean Boris Johnson shouldn’t stand because he failed to exercise authority over a large-ish minority of Tory voters ?
And what about Nicola Sturgeon ? According to the Lord Ashcroft Poll, as many SNP supporters in Scotland voted Brexit (36%) as Labour supporters throughout the UK (37%). Should she also resign given that her Party is pro-Remain ?
The other implausible pretext comes courtesy of The Guardian:
It’s supposed to be some sort of Shock !, Horror ! King-Hit:
“Leaked internal Labour Party polling of people who voted for Labour in 2015 reveals that nearly a third (29%) would support a different party if a general election was held today … It shows that just 71% of those who voted for Ed Miliband’s party in May last year say they would vote Labour now.”
And, in another article from The Guardian: “Leaked internal Labour party polling suggested that Labour would attract nearly 3 million fewer votes than it did in the 2015 general election if one were called today.”
On Kiwiblog, David Farrar approvingly quotes the article, commenting that: “Labour MPs know they’ll do even worse than in 2015.”
The Guardian, I suspect has read far too much into the figures, smuggling some highly questionable assumptions into their analysis.
For starters, they fail to realise just how much churn there always is in public opinion. 71% loyalty to a Party is pretty typical in the UK. Take, for example, the latest Survation Poll conducted just a few days ago, immediately following the Referendum (and almost certainly after Labour’s Internal Poll):
2015 Labour voters = 73% Loyal, 15% Other party, 12% Don’t Know
2015 Tory voters = 71% Loyal, 13% Other party, 16% Don’t Know
In this Poll, Lib Dem loyalty was just 60% and, among people who had either voted for Other parties in 2015 or Not Voted, there were significant swings to Labour (far greater than movement to the Tories). Which is why Labour and the Tories were neck-and-neck on 32% each.
And I can cite plenty of other polls over the last year that say the same. There’s nothing at all shocking about 71% loyalty.
That’s why this idea of Labour being 3 million voters down is such utter rubbish. Not only will a reasonable chunk of their currently “disloyal” 2015 voters be in the Don’t Know category (many of whom will end up choosing Labour again) but also the usual degree of churn means that Labour will be largely compensated (or, as the latest Survation suggests) more than compensated by significant swings from people who voted for other Parties in 2015.
@BM – I think the screams are from the Labour supporters as their preferred leader is knifed in the back by his own party, at a time where the instability of the Conservatives could be utilised by looking like Labour is the stable safe haven. Apparently Labour’s personal careerists politicians and hungry warmongers are more interested in their own dramas and career climbing and appeasing their lobbyists to actually do something like shutting up, 9months in about their leader and actually helping win the next election.
Funny enough voters can easily work it out and learn politics in not worth it, and not vote.
swordfish
Thanks for that, I was wondering percentage of that alleged (cherry-picked?) 29% had gone to undecided rather than another party. This seems to me to be the coup that was scheduled for after the local body elections earlier in the year, which then had to be rainchecked when Labour’s vote heldup (except in Scotland). This line seems to neatly sum up the antidemocratic mindset of the Labour traitors:
Corbyn’s critics have pushed the notion that he has to go because “millions of Labour voters” defied his authority
They’ve had so much practice at it. They have no credibility with the electorate, imo. But meanwhile the Tory’s are managing the Brexit fallout (they’ve had a lot of practice at that!) and are looking composed (relatively speaking).
All over for Labour thanks to the Blairites. Shouda held off… but then they have July 6th to worry about…
Jeremy Corbyn is being blamed for sins principally committed by others. It is remarkable, when you think about it. The left is accustomed to being savaged by the Conservatives for promoting policies that would cause economic chaos and threaten the future of the country. That’s what they claimed against the modest social democratic proposals of Ed Miliband at the last general election. Look at what these people have now done to Britain. History may judge the Tory Brexiteers to be the architects of the most radical, and ruinous, proposition to be offered and (presumably) implemented in Britain since the war.
Launching a coup in the Labour Party at this moment has diverted attention away from those responsible for this national crisis — not least by staggering resignations to ensure Labour’s woes dominate the news cycle for as long as possible. The opposition has a crucial role right now in filling the vacuum and offering leadership and a plan for dealing with the coming turmoil. The nation’s crisis has been deepened as a consequence of this political paralysis. It will now be harder to define the coming crisis as a Tory-created crisis…
This in Politico is hardly unbiased (being based on a leak from an MP who has obviously chosen their side already), but I found this interesting:
The Labour Party now faces an internal constitutional crisis, unable to remove a leader his MPs will not serve.
MPs emerged shell-shocked from the meeting, and told POLITICO they were contemplating the very real possibility that it will have to split. The Parliamentary Labour Party is now considering electing its own leader in a move which would essentially create a separate party. This nuclear option is being referred to by MPs as a “universal declaration of independence.”
It seems incredible that the revolting Labour MPs would sacrifice their careers in this fashion. Given the UK’s FPP system, two Labour parties splitting the vote would be electoral suicide. Perhaps they’ve got lucrative “consultancy” positions lined up for when they are turfed out of parliament?
Speaking of breakups, this is interesting in light of the Plaid Cymru suggestion of Welsh independence (though that’s generally their answer to anything). Perhaps a Celtic confederation is on the cards? You could could argue that Scotland and Northern Island have more in common than the Republic of Eire and NI (though you’d have a lot of argument from catholic Ulstermen).
former Labour lord chancellor and justice secretary Charlie Falconer is consulting constitutional lawyers on whether a new federal relationship would be a legally sound alternative route to a full divorce between the EU and all parts of the UK… a possible federal deal where each devolved region could negotiate their own membership of the EU, while staying in the UK.
Although the UK as a whole voted by 52% to 48% to leave the EU last Thursday, Scotland voted 62% to 38% to remain and Northern Ireland voted by 56% to 44% to stay…
Those involved admit the “associative status” proposal is theoretical and based in part on two previous decisions by the EU to modify its normal membership rules. Diplomatic sources in Brussels said the only realistic route for Scotland to stay in the EU after Brexit would be to apply as an independent country.
With regard to what is going on in Labour, I think that the results of 2008 are coming to a head in the UK, triggered by the Brexit. I was interested in this comment by RedLogix on last night’s daily Review: http://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-27062016/#comment-1195717
It is a comment on Labour’s right wingers, dated 1981, and it occurred to me that prior to Thatcher, etc. Labour right wingers did actually a have a devil’s advocate role to play, and they also helped to keep Labour policy from jeopardising the fortunes of the country as a whole, as well as protecting the party from accusations of communism. The third way period placed this lot in ascendancy, but since 2008 the right have held such economic sway that not rocking the boat has come to mean supporting austerity and not doing a single meaningful thing that a Labour Party exists to do. Now I see an unholy panic in UK Labour at the thought that the actual left might get mileage out of the Brexit. But the thing is, there is actually nothing attractive now for a market-centred Labour to convincingly pitch to the voters. If they cannot represent their abandoned constituents they have no further purpose.
“It seems incredible that the revolting Labour MPs would sacrifice their careers in this fashion. Given the UK’s FPP system, two Labour parties splitting the vote would be electoral suicide
Yes. This is a very high stakes play from the Blairite wing. The UK (un-united kingdom) really does need to convert to to proportional representation. The limits of FPP are glaring with this break-up on the left. The trouble is, the Conservatives are comfortable with the status quo. Meanwhile, citizens with the most difficult living conditions are unrepresented (again!) if Corbyn is ousted.
The opposition has a crucial role right now in filling the vacuum and offering leadership and a plan for dealing with the coming turmoil.
This vacuum is rapidly & easily filled by the far-right, which is all too keen to offer leadership and obviously has strong views on how to deal with present and future turmoil.
Here in New Zealand we worry and complain about the lack of a strong opposition but it ain’t nothing compared to what goes on and has been going on for some time in Europe.
If the UK or the World indeed goes into recession (again) all Hell could break loose (again).
Key is getting a lot of publicity with so called wonderful opportunities in a FTA with England/Britain, its like wow, its two years away, and they cant even negotiate a deal as of yet.
Constant claims by National claim more trade will raise wages and improve our living costs is unproven.
Its a fiction because the complete opposite happens.
Has employment costs increased for apple growers, since the Aussie market was opened up,
Prices for apples have tripled in the supermarket for low quality fruit.
Is there any evidence any primary producers have increased their employment costs on the back higher export volumes
FYI, I grew up on an a 3 acre apple orchard in the Tron.
Exactly – it is pretty clear that so called ‘trade deals’ do not work for consumers or workers.
In the UK supermarkets own everything, so that when you get an apple it has been picked before it is ripe so tastes horrible and has hundreds of food miles.
Most get put into cold storage here before being shipped.
I am waiting for anyone to post some proof how increases in trade volumes have added to employment costs,
which would happen if wages increase, wouldnt it?
Free market seems to work only theoretically. Most of it’s admirers do all their work paper pushing and making a killing on ‘the markets’ rather than growing or producing real stuff. Now we have the GFC because some banks got some maths whizzes to make up some new products with debt to ‘produce’ something theoretical. No lessons learnt there by the look of it.
Given that the petition to keep Mike Hosking has just over 2,700 signatures, as against the approximately 21,700 signed up to get rid of him, and given that the pace at which the latter is gathering supporters still far outstrips the former, the question must be asked as to whether getting rid of him is really enough, or whether the only appropriate option might not be to sack him, proclaim his sacking in a special announcement across all channels to the musical backdrop of What a Wonderful World, revoke his passport, prohibit his dining at any restaurant or public bar, or purchasing any edible produce fresher than twenty-one weeks old, and legislate to replace the overnight programme of all free-to-air channels with uninterrupted repeats of his least flattering moments in broadcasting, mostly drowned out by pre-recorded flatulence.
A big thank you to all of the right-leaning Standard readers who advocated increasing the merriment of the rest of us by creating a counter-petition for keping him. Your contributions are always appreciated.
Without Hosking where else would I get my daily reminder of what a dismal, desperate, callous, corrupt, hateful, heartless and truly horrible place New Zealand will become if the national party and it’s cronies remain in power ?
^That’s one of the top comments on the Keep Mike Hosking petition. I think its really a taking the piss petition.
The lazy buggers don’t turn up to vote and then blame Corbyn.
In fact 3.5 million people aged under 35 were not registered to vote in the UK. If most of these people had got their act together and voted 70% Remain, Remain would have won.
There is an inherent contradiction with those in their 20’s at the moment; on one hand they say F%^& It I’m not going to vote, the whole system is rigged/crap; on the other hand they whinge when old people vote and so get what they want. My niece in England is a classic example.
Yes, because it was artists who attacked workers’ rights and refused to ensure that wages kept pace with inflation, and failed to build enough state housing.
These false dichotomies (we can have housing or art and not both) are the very stuff of witless populism that made such a dog’s breakfast of the Brexit debate.
A lesson for political parties here. Don’t take the game seriously, underestimate the opposition, lose focus with distractions, and finally, blame the manager and not the players themselves.
1 hours ago:
“Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to dig in as Labour leader despite the resignations of 46 members of his front bench and an expected vote of no-confidence from the vast majority of his MPs.
Mr Corbyn is facing the biggest rebellion against a party leader in modern UK history, brutal in its scale and determination, yet he has refused to budge. Propped up by a hard core of loyal MPs and by the unions, he said on Monday that he would not leave until he was defeated in a leadership contest. ” http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/568a85c0-3c87-11e6-8716-a4a71e8140b0.html#axzz4Cox2Qvki
it’s the only thing they have, but it seems to work for them, like a panza unit.Unfortunately, Labour being a democratic party, allowing for debate, gets interpreted as being rudderless, rather than respectful of others opinions
There’s democratic and then there is stupid which uk labour seems to be.
They had the option of shutting up looking united and pushing for a snap election instead they go for the nuclear option that will likely end in a drawn out bitter leadership challenge.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the tories shuffle in a new leader and call an election while labour is in disarray in the midst of a leadership election.
There is definitely something wrong with the climate. Apart from being the warmest winter so far, my Garlic which I plant on the shortest day and pick on the longest, normally would not show it’s head until mid/end of July, and that would only be poking just above the surface.
It is now the 28Th June 7 days after the shortest day and it is about 30 mm in growth out of the ground. Worrying times, not for the Garlic but for the planet.
That suggests your soil temp this year has been 1 deg to 2 deg warmer than normal over this period. Which is utterly massive. And it’s 15 deg C down here at the moment. Which for Dunedin is warm spring time weather.
Oh boy! An hour ago:
“Britain should have a second referendum on the terms of leaving the European Union if it can secure a deal to control its borders, a Cabinet minister says.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, becomes the first minister to suggest Britain could hold another vote on Brexit, despite the Leave victory last week.
The Electricity Authority is investigating claims New Zealand’s largest electricity generating company manipulated the electricity market to maximise its own profits.
The case concerns an electricity price spike early this month, during which wholesale prices shot up for two short periods from a norm of $60 to $70 a megawatt hour to an average of $230.
A small power retailer, Electric Kiwi, said Meridian Energy withheld cheap electricity from the South Island to drive up the price.
When will we learn that privatisation always costs us more and thus stop voting for the psychopaths hell bent on selling our stuff?
“Captain Cook Highway”, I dunno if someone has it in for Foster-Bell but he’s pretty good at sticking his head above the parapet. How about Kupe Highway?
“The first the PM knew about Paul Foster-Bell’s idea to rename SH1 ‘Captain Cook Highway’ was today. He’s not keen.” – Newshub
Astounding isn’t it ianmac, so why vote National when you get the same as Labour, so much dissonance & white noise. When shown a problem Key just shrugs his shoulders & sings “It wasn’t me”.
Foreign Minister McCulley fronts up on Checkpoint tonight to explain at length the story of a lowly Embassy staffer was wanted for discussion with S Korean police over a minor matter.
What! You might find that odd given McCulley’s total absence over very serious issues like sheep and Ombudsman reports. Mmmm!
Tomorrow afternoon, if things go really really badly, I may find myself down to one eye. People who used to sneer at me on Twitter will no doubt say So what's changed? Nothing, that's what, you one-eyed lefty.I don’t mean to be dramatic, it’s just a routine bit of cataract ...
A few weeks ago an invitation dropped into my email inbox to attend a joint Treasury/Motu seminar on recent, rather major, changes that had apparently been made to the discount rates used by The Treasury to evaluate proposals from government agencies. It was all news to me, but when ...
All your life is Time magazineI read it tooWhat does it mean?PressureI'm sure you'll have some cosmic rationaleBut here you are with your faithAnd your Peter Pan adviceYou have no scars on your faceAnd you cannot handle pressureSongwriter: Billy Joel.Christopher Luxon is under pressure from all sides. The reviews are ...
After seeing yet-more-months of political debate and policy decisions to ‘go for growth’ by pulling the same old cheap migration and cheap tourism levers without nearly-enough infrastructure, or any attempt to address the same old lack of globally conventional tax incentives for investment, I thought it would be worth issuing ...
The plans for the buildings that will replace the downtown carpark have been publicly notified giving us the first detailed glance at what is proposed for one of the biggest and best development sites in the city centre. The council agreed to sell the site to Precinct Properties for $122 ...
With the Reserve Bank expected today to return the Official Cash Rate to where it was in mid-2022 comes a measure of how much of a psychological impact the rate has. Federated Farmers has published its latest six-monthly farm confidence survey, which shows that profit expectations have fallen and risen ...
Kiwis Disallowed From Waiting Lists Based on Arbitrary MeasuresWellington hospital are now rejecting patients from specialist waiting lists due to BMI (body mass index).This article from Rachel Thomas for The Post says it all (emphasis mine):A group of Porirua GPs are sounding alarm bells after patients with body mass indexes ...
The Prime Minister says he's really comfortable with us not knowing the reoffending rate for his boot camp programme.They asked him for it at yesterday’s press conference, and he said, nah, not telling, have to respect people's privacy.Okay I'll bite. Let's say they release this information to us:The rate of ...
Warning 1: There is a Nazi theme at the end of this article related to the disabled community. Warning 2: This article could be boring!One day, last year, I excitedly opened up a Substack post that was about how to fight back, and the answer at the end was disappointing ...
This may be rhetorical but here goes: did any of you invest in the $Libra memecoin endorsed and backed by Argentine president and darling of the global Right Javier Milei (who admitted to being paid a fee for his promotion of the token)? You know, the one that soared above ...
Last week various of the great and good of New Zealand economics and public policy trooped off to Hamilton (of all places) for the annual Waikato Economics Forum, one of the successful marketing drives of university’s Vice-Chancellor. My interest was in the speeches delivered by the Minister of Finance and ...
The Prime Minister says the Government would be open to sending peacekeepers to Ukraine if a ceasefire was reached. The government has announced a $30 million spend on tourism infrastructure and biodiversity projects, including $11m spent to improve popular visitor sites and further $19m towards biodiversity efforts. A New Zealand-born ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler “But what about when the sun doesn't shine?!” Ah yes, the energy debate’s equivalent of “The Earth is flat!” Every time someone mentions solar or wind power, some self-proclaimed energy expert emerges from the woodwork to drop this supposedly devastating truth bomb: ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission.In this article I look into data on how well the rail network serve New Zealanders, and how many people might be able to travel by train… if we ran more than a ...
Hi,Before we get into Hayden Donnell’s new column about how yes, Donald Trump is definitely the Antichrist, I wanted to touch on something feral that happened in New Zealand last week.Members of Destiny Church pushed and punched their way into an Auckland library, apparently angry it was part of Pride ...
Despite delays, logjams and overcrowding in our emergency departments, funding constraints are limiting the numbers of nurses and doctors being trained. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, February 18 are:A NZ Herald investigation ...
Now that the US has ripped up the Atlantic alliance, Europe is more vulnerable now than at any time since the mid-1930s. Apparently, Europe and Ukraine itself will not have a seat at the table in the talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin that will ...
Olivia and Noah and Hana are going to the library!It is fun to go to the library. It has books and songs and mat time and people who smile at you and say, Hello Olivia, what have you been doing this morning?The library is more fun than the mall. At ...
New World Orders: The challenge facing Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins is how to keep their small and vulnerable nation safe and stable in a world whose economic and political climate the forty-seventh American president is changing so profoundly.IT IS, SURELY, the ultimate Millennial revenge fantasy. Calling senior Baby-Boomer and Gen-X ...
“This might surprise you, Laurie, but I reckon Trump’s putting on a bloody impressive performance.”“GOODNESS ME, HANNAH, just look at all those Valentine’s Day cards!”“Occupational hazard, Laurie, the more beer I serve, the more my customers declare their undying love!”“Crikey! I had no idea business was so good.” Laurie squinted ...
In 2005, Labour repealed the long-standing principle of birthright citizenship in Aotearoa. Why? As with everything else Labour does, it all came down to austerity: "foreign mothers" were supposedly "coming to this country to give birth", and this was "put[ting] pressure on hospitals". Then-Immigration Minister George Hawkins explicitly gave this ...
And I just hope that you can forgive usBut everything must goAnd if you need an explanation, nationThen everything must goSongwriters: James Dean Bradfield / Sean Anthony Moore / Nicholas Allen Jones.Today, I’d like to talk about a couple of things that happened over the weekend:Brian Tamaki’s Library Invasion and ...
New reporting highlights how Brooke van Velden refuses to meet with the CTU but is happy to meet with fringe Australian-based unions. Van Velden is pursuing reckless changes to undermine the personal grievance system against the advice of her own officials. Engineering New Zealand are saying that hundreds of engineers ...
The NZCTU strongly supports the Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill. This Bill represents a positive step towards addressing serious issues around unlawful disparities in pay by protecting workers’ rights to discuss their pay and conditions. This Bill also provides welcome support for helping tackle the prevalent gender and ...
Years of hard work finally paid off last week as the country’s biggest and most important transport project, the City Rail Link reached a major milestone with the first test train making its way slowly though the tunnels for the first time. This is a fantastic achievement and it is ...
Engineers are pleading for the Government to free up funds to restart stalled projects. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, February 17 are:Engineering New Zealand CEO Richard Templer said yesterday hundreds of ...
It’s one of New Zealand’s great sustaining myths: the spirit of ANZAC, our mates across the ditch, the spirit of Earl’s Court, Antipodeans united against the world. It is also a myth; it is not reality. That much was clear from a series of speakers, including a former Australian Prime ...
Many people have been unsatisfied for years that things have not improved for them, some as individuals, many more however because their families are clearly putting in more work, for less money – and certainly far less purchase on society. This general discontent has grown exponentially since the GFC. ...
A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 9, 2025 thru Sat, February 15, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report shows worsening food poverty and housing shortages mean more than 400,000 people now need welfare support, the highest level since the 1990s. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and ...
You're just too too obscure for meOh you don't really get through to meAnd there's no need for you to talk that wayIs there any less pessimistic things to say?Songwriters: Graeme DownesToday, I thought we’d take a look at some of the most cringe-inducing moments from last week, but don’t ...
Please note: I’ve delayed my “What can we do?” article for this video.The video above shows Destiny Church members assaulting staff and librarians as they pushed through to a room of terrified parents and young children.It was posted to social media last night.But if you read Sinead Boucher’s Stuff, you ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is sea level rise exaggerated? Sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, not stagnating or decreasing. Warming global temperatures cause land ice ...
Here is a scenario, but first a historical parallel. Hitler and the Nazis could well have accomplished everything that they wanted to do within German borders, including exterminating Jews, so long as they confined their ambitious to Germany itself. After all, the world pretty much sat and watched as the ...
I’ve spent the last couple of days in Hamilton covering Waikato University’s annual NZ Economics Forum, where (arguably) three of the most influential people in our political economy right now laid out their thinking in major speeches about the size and role of Government, their views on for spending, tax ...
Simeon Brown’s Ideology BentSimeon Brown once told Kiwis he tries to represent his deep sense of faith by interacting “with integrity”.“It’s important that there’s Christians in Parliament…and from my perspective, it’s great to be a Christian in Parliament and to bring that perspective to [laws, conversations and policies].”And with ...
Severe geological and financial earthquakes are inevitable. We just don’t know how soon and how they will play out. Are we putting the right effort into preparing for them?Every decade or so the international economy has a major financial crisis. We cannot predict exactly when or exactly how it will ...
Questions1. How did Old Mate Grabaseat describe his soon-to-be-Deputy-PM’s letter to police advocating for Philip Polkinghorne?a.Ill-advisedb.A perfect letterc.A letter that will live in infamyd.He had me at hello2. What did Seymour say in response?a.What’s ill-advised is commenting when you don’t know all the facts and ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has called on OJI Fibre Solutions to work with the government, unions, and the community before closing the Kinleith Paper Mill. “OJI has today announced 230 job losses in what will be a devastating blow for the community. OJI needs to work with ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is sounding the alarm about the latest attack on workers from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden, who is ignoring her own officials to pursue reckless changes that would completely undermine the personal grievance system. “Brooke van Velden’s changes will ...
Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
And if you said this life ain't good enoughI would give my world to lift you upI could change my life to better suit your moodBecause you're so smoothAnd it's just like the ocean under the moonOh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from youYou got the ...
Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
A ballot for a single member's bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Employment Relations (Collective Agreements in Triangular Relationships) Amendment Bill (Adrian Rurawhe) The bill would extend union rights to employees in triangular relationships, where they are (nominally) employed by one party, but ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
“The ACT Party can’t be bothered putting an MP on one of the Justice subcommittees hearing submissions on their own Treaty Principles Bill,” Labour Justice Spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Housing supply in Australia will be a key battleground in the election campaign. With home ownership more and more out of reach for young and not so young Australians, red tape and low productivity are ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Korolev, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, UNSW Sydney The United States and Russia agreed to work on a plan to end the war in Ukraine at high-level talks in Saudi Arabia this week. Ukrainian and European representatives were pointedly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karleen Gribble, Adjunct Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University BaLL LunLa/Shutterstock Sleep is the holy grail for new parents. So no wonder many tired parents are looking for something to help their babies sleep. A TikTok trend claims ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ranjana Gupta, Senior Lecturer, Accounting Department, Auckland University of Technology Jirsak/Shutterstock The profit made on every breakfast bowl of weet-bix is tax exempt, giving Sanitarium Health Food Company, owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, an advantage over other breakfast food companies. ...
A closer look at some of the homegrown talent currently commanding television screens around the globe. The new season of The White Lotus hit our screens this week, and with it a familiar face in New Zealand actor Morgana O’Reilly. To secure a role in one of the world’s most ...
"This is a crisis of the Government’s own making and the unit is another sign of desperation," said PSA acting national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francesca Perugia, Senior Lecturer, School of Design and the Built Environment, Curtin University Australia’s housing crisis has created a push for fast-tracked construction. Federal, state and territory governments have set a target of 1.2 million new homes over five years. Increasing housing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ash Watson, Scientia Fellow and Senior Lecturer, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock When we’re uncomfortable we say the “vibe is off”. When we’re having a good time we’re “vibing”. To assess the mood we do a “vibe check”. And when the atmosphere in ...
What’s up with the man from Epsom? The leader of the Act Party has been in plenty of headlines in the last two weeks, ranging from a controversial letter to police on behalf of constituent Philip Polkinghorne (written before David Seymour was a minister) to an attempt to drive ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Stephenson, Deputy Director, Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, Australian National University Newly published research has found clear evidence that openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and queer+ (LGBTIQ+) Australian politicians were disproportionately targeted with personal abuse on social media at the ...
Gilmore Girls, Schitt’s Creek, even The Vampire Diaries – they’re all set in tight-knit neighbourhoods where everyone knows everyone. So what is it like to actually know your neighbours? My favourite television shows are set in tight-knit neighbourhoods where everyone knows everyone. Characters attend town meetings where they debate local ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yanyan Hong, PhD Candidate in Communication and Media Studies, University of Adelaide IMDB On the surface, Ne Zha 2: The Sea’s Fury (2025), the sequel to the 2019 Chinese blockbuster Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child, is a high-octane, action-packed and ...
Wellington travellers say their buses are so hot they’re often forced to get off early and walk. Shanti Mathias explores the impact of non-functioning air conditioning on public transport. When Bella, a young professional living in Wellington, thinks about taking the bus, her first thought is “Ugh”. The bus might ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Annette Kroen, Research Fellow Planning and Transport, RMIT University The cleanup is underway in northern Queensland following the latest flooding catastrophe to hit the state. More than 7,000 insurance claims have already been lodged, most of them for inundated homes and other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Subha Parida, Lecturer in Property, University of South Australia Carl Oberg/Shutterstock Houses and fire do not mix. The firestorm which hit Los Angeles in January destroyed nearly 2,000 buildings and forced 130,000 people to evacuate. The 2019–20 Australian megafires destroyed ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania Tasmania has been burning for more than two weeks, with no end in sight. Almost 100,000 hectares of bushland in the northwest has burned to date. This includes the Tarkine rainforest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Loosemore, Professor of Construction Management, University of Technology Sydney This week, the Productivity Commission released its much-awaited report into productivity growth in Australia’s housing construction sector. It wasn’t a glowing appraisal. The commission found physical productivity – the total number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pascale Lubbe, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Molecular Ecology, University of Otago Royal spoonbills are among several new species that have crossed the Tasman and naturalised in New Zealand. JJ Harrison/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA When people arrived on the shores of Aotearoa ...
Stats NZ’s head is stepping down over the agency’s failure to safeguard census data, and more officials may soon be in the firing line, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. An ‘absolutely unacceptable’ failure Stats NZ chief ...
Health NZ is under greater government scrutiny, with the new health minister setting up a unit he says will "drive greater accountability and performance". ...
Manurewa Marae acknowledges should have done better at handling completed census forms, following an inquiry into steps government agencies took to protect data. ...
Police failed to protect people from protesters at a high-profile rally and made unlawful arrests at another, the Independent Police Conduct Authority says. ...
Comment: Crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are making it easier for people to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum without having to handle digital wallets or private keys. These allow investors to buy and sell cryptocurrency through their regular brokerage accounts.This has opened the door for billions of dollars ...
Two long-awaited reports into alleged personal data misuse, centred on census collection and Covid-19 vaccination efforts at Manurewa Marae, were released yesterday. Here’s what you need to know.“Very sobering reading” was how public service commissioner Sir Brian Roche described his organisation’s long-awaited report into the alleged misuse of census ...
Backbench MPs reached new levels of patsy questions in an extraordinarily dull question time on Tuesday. Echo Chamber is The Spinoff’s dispatch from the press gallery, recapping sessions in the House. Columns are written by politics reporter Lyric Waiwiri-Smith and Wellington editor Joel MacManus. “MPs ask questions to explore key issues ...
The New Zealand Government says the Cook Islands must share more information about the deals it has signed with China, following the release of an ‘action plan’ in the face of protests in the Pacific nation’s capital.The Cook Islands government has also revealed plans to spend $3 million on a ...
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
It was 4 degrees in Christchurch last night.
Not very warm to be sleeping in a car.
Not very warm to be sleeping in a container.
Not very warm to be sleeping in a garage.
Not very warm to be sleeping on the street.
The mainstream media may think the Zac Guilford, Lydia Ko and Mark Todd are all important news items, but they are not.
The majority of the media is doing everything they can to support Paula Bennett and move homelessness off the headlines.
“Try walking in my shoes, it’s not actually that easy.”
This was the challenge TA set to Prime Minister John Key. But really it’s a challenge for us all.
Don’t forget Millie has found love in Greece.
This is the Herald’s lead story online…’Manager who stole $730k from Wanaka health centre had stolen before’
not Brexit
not homelessness.
What a joke!
You could write that headline any day and substitute minister for manager and abuse/disregard process for stolen.
But hey that would be journalism which has no place in granny’s celebrity, fear mongering, distraction agenda.
@Paul – Granny’s main focus is to warn the business owners and shareholders and the public against workers! Don’t trust them, they steal! Don’t trust anyone for that matter! The world is a scary place that only ‘The bachelor’ and ‘cops 4’ can lighten your day.
White collar criminals do little to not jail time, and pay back none of the money, as compared to the full conviction rate and claw back of any benefit fraud.
Zac Guildford, an overrated sports jock with issues. Did he have his pants on this time ?
Used to be one of the Herald’s favourite soap operas.
Looks like they’re hoping for a sequel.
Pity they don’t tackle the issue of alcohol in New Zealand seriously and instead do celebrity tittle tattle.
Should we be worried after Brexit?
Rachel Stewart thinks so…
What do you think?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/opinion/9988749/OBR-policy-a-scary-bank-secret
James Shaw has been doing work on this too in the past few weeks. I think the concerns were there even without Brexit but I’m not sure why it’s come up now.
https://blog.greens.org.nz/2016/06/21/national-leaves-kiwi-savers-the-most-vulnerable-in-oecd/
Kiwi Saver, as an entire scheme, puts Kiwi wages into feeding the Wall St growth seeking investment animal. Thanks Labour, thanks Greens.
Feel free to post some alternatives including plans CV.
Yeah and this after seeing year after year after year these arsoles paying themselves massive bonuses after the BIG bailout in 2008.
As I have said on many occasions I would not trust this incompetent Double Dipping Dickhead from Dipton with the local Boy Scouts Jamboree money.
I find it amusing that the likes of Prat Henry thinks he’s so Wonderful. Not surprised the international elite like the IMF thinks he’s first class as he’s of the same ilk and is borrowing heaps to keep us in hock for ever.
The other thing is, In Australia all the major trading banks have to have a deposit guarantee for the customer deposits.
As the major banks in NZ are Australian owned we now have a situation that if the major banks fail and they bring in the OBR New Zealanders will be financing Australians
How about that for a fucking MIckey Mouse set up. As I have said on many occasion, This shower of shit as a government could not organise a piss up in a brewery.
“Every other country in the OECD protects savers’ deposits with deposit insurance. Australians saving with the parent banks of ANZ, BNZ, ASB, or Westpac all have their deposits guaranteed up to $250,000. Kiwis saving with these same banks get no protection whatsoever.”
blog.greens.org.nz/2016/06/21/national-leaves-kiwi-savers-the-most-vulnerable-in-oecd/
heh – I thought it was Cullen who had legislated for using customer deposits to bail the banks at the tail end of the last Labour led government. Guess I was a wee bit off the mark.
The Double Dipping Dickhead from Dipton (National) introduced that very quietly (not reported on TV or in Granny) in 2011.
The banks don’t make their customers aware of it either
I believe that these changes were mandated by the international central banking authority, the BIS (Bank of International Settlements). Another key institution of the power elite that most have not heard of.
Right, so we’re now witnessing a long-planned coup against Corbyn that was always scheduled to happen at some point in the immediate wake of the EU Referendum result, regardless of outcome.
Naturally enough, the PLP plotters needed to fabricate some sort of plausible-sounding pretexts and seed them in the MSM.
What I find interesting, though, is just how internally incoherent these pretexts are.
Despite the most authoritative polls taken on Referendum Day all suggesting Labour voters went heavily for Remain … 63/37 (Lord Ashcroft), 65/35 (YouGov), 60/32 (with 8% not voting) (Survation) … and the likelihood (based on the detail of the figures) that even Labour’s working and lower middle class C2DE voters (as a whole) either mildly favoured Remain or were relatively evenly split … Corbyn’s critics have pushed the notion that he has to go because “millions of Labour voters” defied his authority by ignoring his advice to support Remain. He clearly can’t command Labour voters’ respect, the argument goes.
At the same time, however, they’re also pushing the rather contradictory idea that he didn’t campaign hard enough for Remain, indeed appeared to be lukewarm and somewhat sceptical of the EU at best (in which case, the minority of Labour supporters who chose Leave did not, in fact, defy him !)
Utterly incoherent.
I mean, you could mount a reasonable argument that Corbyn got it pretty much right by keeping both types of Labour voter happy – going through the paces of formally supporting Remain while making it clear the EU needed significant reform.
It’s also a fact that Tory voters were rather more divided than Labour ones (42/58 in favour of Brexit – Lord Ashcroft Poll), (39/61 Brexit – YouGov). Does that mean Boris Johnson shouldn’t stand because he failed to exercise authority over a large-ish minority of Tory voters ?
And what about Nicola Sturgeon ? According to the Lord Ashcroft Poll, as many SNP supporters in Scotland voted Brexit (36%) as Labour supporters throughout the UK (37%). Should she also resign given that her Party is pro-Remain ?
The other implausible pretext comes courtesy of The Guardian:
It’s supposed to be some sort of Shock !, Horror ! King-Hit:
“Leaked internal Labour Party polling of people who voted for Labour in 2015 reveals that nearly a third (29%) would support a different party if a general election was held today … It shows that just 71% of those who voted for Ed Miliband’s party in May last year say they would vote Labour now.”
And, in another article from The Guardian:
“Leaked internal Labour party polling suggested that Labour would attract nearly 3 million fewer votes than it did in the 2015 general election if one were called today.”
On Kiwiblog, David Farrar approvingly quotes the article, commenting that: “Labour MPs know they’ll do even worse than in 2015.”
The Guardian, I suspect has read far too much into the figures, smuggling some highly questionable assumptions into their analysis.
For starters, they fail to realise just how much churn there always is in public opinion. 71% loyalty to a Party is pretty typical in the UK. Take, for example, the latest Survation Poll conducted just a few days ago, immediately following the Referendum (and almost certainly after Labour’s Internal Poll):
2015 Labour voters = 73% Loyal, 15% Other party, 12% Don’t Know
2015 Tory voters = 71% Loyal, 13% Other party, 16% Don’t Know
In this Poll, Lib Dem loyalty was just 60% and, among people who had either voted for Other parties in 2015 or Not Voted, there were significant swings to Labour (far greater than movement to the Tories). Which is why Labour and the Tories were neck-and-neck on 32% each.
And I can cite plenty of other polls over the last year that say the same. There’s nothing at all shocking about 71% loyalty.
That’s why this idea of Labour being 3 million voters down is such utter rubbish. Not only will a reasonable chunk of their currently “disloyal” 2015 voters be in the Don’t Know category (many of whom will end up choosing Labour again) but also the usual degree of churn means that Labour will be largely compensated (or, as the latest Survation suggests) more than compensated by significant swings from people who voted for other Parties in 2015.
Corbyn’s critics are selling a lie.
And his Preferred PM stats are still better than Little’s.
Rolling Corbyn is like Brexit itself: revolution always sounds good while you plot get everyone emotional and even while you do it.
Then you wake up and reach for the plan. And there isn’t one.
Corbyn screams instability, which is the last thing you want while the country is about to go through a period of instability.
I don’t think the UK economy would survive Brexit and Corbyn as PM, so he’s out the door.
@BM – I think the screams are from the Labour supporters as their preferred leader is knifed in the back by his own party, at a time where the instability of the Conservatives could be utilised by looking like Labour is the stable safe haven. Apparently Labour’s personal careerists politicians and hungry warmongers are more interested in their own dramas and career climbing and appeasing their lobbyists to actually do something like shutting up, 9months in about their leader and actually helping win the next election.
Funny enough voters can easily work it out and learn politics in not worth it, and not vote.
At a time where the instability of the Conservatives could be utilised by looking like Labour is the stable safe haven.
Never happen while Corbyn is at the wheel, which is why he has to go.
If Corbyn stays, the Labour party won’t be able to capitalise on the disarray within the conservatives.
The man is voter poison.
When was the last time you were in the UK BM?
Talking from your arse or from living there?.
“The man is voter poison.”
This is a big Fat complete lie and the opposite of actual reality.
London is not the whole UK BM.
It’s mostly London MP’s too who resigned, good riddance to champagne socialists IMHO
As for the people who live in the UK and vote labour, the majority want Corbyn the stupid posh soft southern part of Labour thinks it knows better
Corbyn screams of the end of the neo-liberal accomodation. The voters love him.
name me one other time in recent history when a potential party leader got queues out the door at a meeting
Smart choices on his new Shadow Cabinet, heavy on Northerners and a few Scots.
Is this the beginnings of the Blairite/Mandelson purge?
Bryan Gould made some surprising comments in the NZ Herald today, but perhaps not all that surprising if you know the man, which I don’t:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11664386
Yes he got that completely wrong Incognito-see my comment below the article.
swordfish
Thanks for that, I was wondering percentage of that alleged (cherry-picked?) 29% had gone to undecided rather than another party. This seems to me to be the coup that was scheduled for after the local body elections earlier in the year, which then had to be rainchecked when Labour’s vote heldup (except in Scotland). This line seems to neatly sum up the antidemocratic mindset of the Labour traitors:
The Guardian have always hated Corbyn, favouring the Blairlite candidates from the start
“Corbyn’s critics are selling a lie.”
They’ve had so much practice at it. They have no credibility with the electorate, imo. But meanwhile the Tory’s are managing the Brexit fallout (they’ve had a lot of practice at that!) and are looking composed (relatively speaking).
All over for Labour thanks to the Blairites. Shouda held off… but then they have July 6th to worry about…
Owen Jones on the plight of UK Labour
The conclusion provides food for thought.
This in Politico is hardly unbiased (being based on a leak from an MP who has obviously chosen their side already), but I found this interesting:
http://www.politico.eu/article/inside-account-of-labour-mps-attacks-on-jeremy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet-resignations-brexit/
It seems incredible that the revolting Labour MPs would sacrifice their careers in this fashion. Given the UK’s FPP system, two Labour parties splitting the vote would be electoral suicide. Perhaps they’ve got lucrative “consultancy” positions lined up for when they are turfed out of parliament?
Speaking of breakups, this is interesting in light of the Plaid Cymru suggestion of Welsh independence (though that’s generally their answer to anything). Perhaps a Celtic confederation is on the cards? You could could argue that Scotland and Northern Island have more in common than the Republic of Eire and NI (though you’d have a lot of argument from catholic Ulstermen).
With regard to what is going on in Labour, I think that the results of 2008 are coming to a head in the UK, triggered by the Brexit. I was interested in this comment by RedLogix on last night’s daily Review: http://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-27062016/#comment-1195717
It is a comment on Labour’s right wingers, dated 1981, and it occurred to me that prior to Thatcher, etc. Labour right wingers did actually a have a devil’s advocate role to play, and they also helped to keep Labour policy from jeopardising the fortunes of the country as a whole, as well as protecting the party from accusations of communism. The third way period placed this lot in ascendancy, but since 2008 the right have held such economic sway that not rocking the boat has come to mean supporting austerity and not doing a single meaningful thing that a Labour Party exists to do. Now I see an unholy panic in UK Labour at the thought that the actual left might get mileage out of the Brexit. But the thing is, there is actually nothing attractive now for a market-centred Labour to convincingly pitch to the voters. If they cannot represent their abandoned constituents they have no further purpose.
“It seems incredible that the revolting Labour MPs would sacrifice their careers in this fashion. Given the UK’s FPP system, two Labour parties splitting the vote would be electoral suicide
Yes. This is a very high stakes play from the Blairite wing. The UK (un-united kingdom) really does need to convert to to proportional representation. The limits of FPP are glaring with this break-up on the left. The trouble is, the Conservatives are comfortable with the status quo. Meanwhile, citizens with the most difficult living conditions are unrepresented (again!) if Corbyn is ousted.
On a lighter note – a celtic confederation has been sorted! … 🙂
https://twitter.com/hashtag/UnionOfCraic?s=04
This vacuum is rapidly & easily filled by the far-right, which is all too keen to offer leadership and obviously has strong views on how to deal with present and future turmoil.
Here in New Zealand we worry and complain about the lack of a strong opposition but it ain’t nothing compared to what goes on and has been going on for some time in Europe.
If the UK or the World indeed goes into recession (again) all Hell could break loose (again).
Key is getting a lot of publicity with so called wonderful opportunities in a FTA with England/Britain, its like wow, its two years away, and they cant even negotiate a deal as of yet.
Constant claims by National claim more trade will raise wages and improve our living costs is unproven.
Its a fiction because the complete opposite happens.
Has employment costs increased for apple growers, since the Aussie market was opened up,
Prices for apples have tripled in the supermarket for low quality fruit.
Is there any evidence any primary producers have increased their employment costs on the back higher export volumes
FYI, I grew up on an a 3 acre apple orchard in the Tron.
Exactly – it is pretty clear that so called ‘trade deals’ do not work for consumers or workers.
In the UK supermarkets own everything, so that when you get an apple it has been picked before it is ripe so tastes horrible and has hundreds of food miles.
Most get put into cold storage here before being shipped.
I am waiting for anyone to post some proof how increases in trade volumes have added to employment costs,
which would happen if wages increase, wouldnt it?
Free market seems to work only theoretically. Most of it’s admirers do all their work paper pushing and making a killing on ‘the markets’ rather than growing or producing real stuff. Now we have the GFC because some banks got some maths whizzes to make up some new products with debt to ‘produce’ something theoretical. No lessons learnt there by the look of it.
Given that the petition to keep Mike Hosking has just over 2,700 signatures, as against the approximately 21,700 signed up to get rid of him, and given that the pace at which the latter is gathering supporters still far outstrips the former, the question must be asked as to whether getting rid of him is really enough, or whether the only appropriate option might not be to sack him, proclaim his sacking in a special announcement across all channels to the musical backdrop of What a Wonderful World, revoke his passport, prohibit his dining at any restaurant or public bar, or purchasing any edible produce fresher than twenty-one weeks old, and legislate to replace the overnight programme of all free-to-air channels with uninterrupted repeats of his least flattering moments in broadcasting, mostly drowned out by pre-recorded flatulence.
A big thank you to all of the right-leaning Standard readers who advocated increasing the merriment of the rest of us by creating a counter-petition for keping him. Your contributions are always appreciated.
its really just stroking his ego, either which way, he will be loving it.
Of course he will:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11663786
Without Hosking where else would I get my daily reminder of what a dismal, desperate, callous, corrupt, hateful, heartless and truly horrible place New Zealand will become if the national party and it’s cronies remain in power ?
^That’s one of the top comments on the Keep Mike Hosking petition. I think its really a taking the piss petition.
I would have added , deserving of at least two of the three strike rule?
Dam-ning article on the Ruataniwha dam. Exposes, yet again, Nick Smith’s deliberate negligence and incompetence. An interesting read. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/news/article.cfm?c_id=16&objectid=11664300
Another National ideological driven gambit to make the taxpayers pay for it,
while privatizing the profit, so who will own the water rights?
oh the irony…
London Young Labour have just blamed Corbyn for not mobilising more Labour voters to vote against Brexit
– with only 30% of young voters turning up to vote, you’ve got to wonder whether LYL are just spoilt kids of Blairite era dinosaurs
http://www.politico.eu/article/inside-account-of-labour-mps-attacks-on-jeremy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet-resignations-brexit/
The lazy buggers don’t turn up to vote and then blame Corbyn.
In fact 3.5 million people aged under 35 were not registered to vote in the UK. If most of these people had got their act together and voted 70% Remain, Remain would have won.
There is an inherent contradiction with those in their 20’s at the moment; on one hand they say F%^& It I’m not going to vote, the whole system is rigged/crap; on the other hand they whinge when old people vote and so get what they want. My niece in England is a classic example.
Priorities ? People raising 16 million, 11 already found thank you generous NZ, for some Art Centre while people are homeless.
Yes, because it was artists who attacked workers’ rights and refused to ensure that wages kept pace with inflation, and failed to build enough state housing.
These false dichotomies (we can have housing or art and not both) are the very stuff of witless populism that made such a dog’s breakfast of the Brexit debate.
Bravo.
Just checked this comment at KB ” Vote: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 11″ 🙂
Perhaps the art centre donors could run a bake sale and give the poor people cake
CV 🙂
AND England got beat by ICELAND in the soccer euro cup.
A lesson for political parties here. Don’t take the game seriously, underestimate the opposition, lose focus with distractions, and finally, blame the manager and not the players themselves.
And lose.
as Monty Python said…..”and Iceland are bringing their spin-dryer on to bowl”
Papa Crimblecheeks FTW!.
Brian Bilston
@brian_bilston
If you ever wondered why the Icelanders are so tough, it’s because they are raised on lullabies like this.
https://twitter.com/brian_bilston/status/747522413043322880
https://brianbilston.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/papa-crimblecheeks.jpg?w=620
Iceland beat England!
Iceland, same population as Wellington!
Leeeeeeeewserrrrrrrs!
Stand by as Jeremy Corbyn gets the blame …
I thought it was john Keys fault…
no, he has no responsibility for anything, how could he be blamed?
He’s claiming not to have even read the Shewan Report in the House & he commissioned it!
Calling my mum a lewsser eh?
Iceland.. lol She got up to watch it, huddled in her blanky, poor thing.
Big mistake widening the competition to 24 teams to let in the lesser football nations like England.
1 hours ago:
“Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to dig in as Labour leader despite the resignations of 46 members of his front bench and an expected vote of no-confidence from the vast majority of his MPs.
Mr Corbyn is facing the biggest rebellion against a party leader in modern UK history, brutal in its scale and determination, yet he has refused to budge. Propped up by a hard core of loyal MPs and by the unions, he said on Monday that he would not leave until he was defeated in a leadership contest. ”
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/568a85c0-3c87-11e6-8716-a4a71e8140b0.html#axzz4Cox2Qvki
If he doesn’t go the Labour party will split.
A Lexit could be on the cards.
Or emerge stronger and more focussed. The pseudo Labour Blarites will be gone.
Aye to that
Lexit – sounds like a trade name for a laxative – you know, getting rid of all the shit.
Good riddance to the Blairites.
There is another excellent but extremely depressing post from Owen Jones on the current state of the Labour Party in the UK.
https://medium.com/@OwenJones84/my-thoughts-on-the-plight-of-labour-38413229f88#.rjpdpzeuw
You’re right Karen. Depressing.
MMP would allow the different factions of the Left to participate.
Wonder if the Conservative Party will splinter?
Nah, if there’s one things that tories the world over know it’s how to swallow dead rats to stay in power.
it’s the only thing they have, but it seems to work for them, like a panza unit.Unfortunately, Labour being a democratic party, allowing for debate, gets interpreted as being rudderless, rather than respectful of others opinions
There’s democratic and then there is stupid which uk labour seems to be.
They had the option of shutting up looking united and pushing for a snap election instead they go for the nuclear option that will likely end in a drawn out bitter leadership challenge.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the tories shuffle in a new leader and call an election while labour is in disarray in the midst of a leadership election.
I agree, self serving Blairites could be the ruin of Labour
There is definitely something wrong with the climate. Apart from being the warmest winter so far, my Garlic which I plant on the shortest day and pick on the longest, normally would not show it’s head until mid/end of July, and that would only be poking just above the surface.
It is now the 28Th June 7 days after the shortest day and it is about 30 mm in growth out of the ground. Worrying times, not for the Garlic but for the planet.
Interesting +1
That suggests your soil temp this year has been 1 deg to 2 deg warmer than normal over this period. Which is utterly massive. And it’s 15 deg C down here at the moment. Which for Dunedin is warm spring time weather.
WTF is wrong with people.
//
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/06/sanders-staffers-tried-to-rig-the-game-in-nevada.html
Oh boy! An hour ago:
“Britain should have a second referendum on the terms of leaving the European Union if it can secure a deal to control its borders, a Cabinet minister says.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, becomes the first minister to suggest Britain could hold another vote on Brexit, despite the Leave victory last week.
He says the new prime minister must be allowed to “negotiate a deal” with Brussels and “put it to the British people” either by calling a general election or having another referendum…..”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11664894
Privatisation and profiteering strike again:
When will we learn that privatisation always costs us more and thus stop voting for the psychopaths hell bent on selling our stuff?
“Captain Cook Highway”, I dunno if someone has it in for Foster-Bell but he’s pretty good at sticking his head above the parapet. How about Kupe Highway?
“The first the PM knew about Paul Foster-Bell’s idea to rename SH1 ‘Captain Cook Highway’ was today. He’s not keen.” – Newshub
They really needed Paul to hit the news a few weeks ago when either Panama came out or the homeless hit the news. Useful distraction.
10% of NZrs own more than 60% of the wealth, 40% of NZrs own less than 4%. Though Foster-Bell hardly going to distract us from that surely?
It’s OK though, John Key said it was the same under Labour, yup Labour did it too.
Key says it is OK because he reckons it was about the same as when Labour was in power. So it is Labour’s fault.
OOps. gangman snap.
Astounding isn’t it ianmac, so why vote National when you get the same as Labour, so much dissonance & white noise. When shown a problem Key just shrugs his shoulders & sings “It wasn’t me”.
Foreign Minister McCulley fronts up on Checkpoint tonight to explain at length the story of a lowly Embassy staffer was wanted for discussion with S Korean police over a minor matter.
What! You might find that odd given McCulley’s total absence over very serious issues like sheep and Ombudsman reports. Mmmm!
Mmmm alright.
I asked yesterday if… anyone knows what Murray McCully has been up to lately?
I have a suspicion it might be something to do with an Ombudsman, and some minor ‘Kiwi businessman’ in Korea is a convenient distraction?
Yes my point Anne. Very visible on the miniscule. Missing on the big stuff. Typical of them all.