The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.
The only union the Herald ever publishes.
Surprise surprise.
Their economist says a sugar tax won’t work.
Their economist is only just out of University.
The purpose of the sugar tax is ambitious – to reduce obesity – yet campaigners for New Zealand’s version of a sugar tax only want to tax soft drinks.
from article in NZH
Obesity is not the only reason. There is a link between gout In men and sugar In soft drinks. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/96164.php
There is dental decay particularly in children attributed to soft drinks plus fruit juice.
The article in the Herald written by the economist representing the Tax Payers’ Union has this as the last paragraph:
There is an abundance of health advocacy and information on what we should and should not be eating and drinking. If people still choose to consume “unhealthy” products in spite of these health warnings then what right does the Government have telling people they are making the wrong choice. I certainly do not want government bureaucrats making health decisions on my behalf.
“what right does the Government have telling people they are making the wrong choice?” The government, which should represents the people, has the right because we, the tax payers, pick up the tab for the consequences, just as we have to treat those who have smoking related illnesses.
We also have a duty of care to prevent as far as possible the child’s rotting teeth, the gout, etc just as we have rules about smoke alarms, high viz vests, hard hats, etc.
The Tax Payer’s Union (Championing Value For Money From Every Tax Dollar) should be SUPPORTING A TAX ON FIZZY DRINKS.
”The Tax Payer’s Union (Championing Value For Money From Every Tax Dollar) should be SUPPORTING A TAX ON FIZZY DRINKS.”
for that to be true would have to believe the tax payers union is about helping tax payers , and not the spotty buck toothed illegitimate child of the nats and big business
So true. In fact the Herald article is such that if it was not credited to the economist from the TPU, it could have been paid content on behalf of the soft- drink companies.
“what right does the Government have telling people they are making the wrong choice?”
In Transactional Analysis, which shows you how to understand the points of view governing your mind and those you are talking to, that would be a comment coming from the Child self and particularly the rebellious Child, which is in all of us.
It’s definitely not a reasoned argument. After all who presents the different products that constitute the choice, why these types of products in this form, and who gains; if they are not wholly advantageous and healthy?
A battered car, blue paintwork chipped and faded, rattles its way aimlessly through a gloomy Deep South, swerving laboriously to avoid the deep and hidden potholes in the road. The driver’s window rolls down. The pallid light from the Southland dawn barely illuminates the sallow face of the man behind the wheel. He sets his jaw, squints into the gloom of an oncoming squall and tosses an expired cigarette butt out of the open window. The thin light of the car’s headlights picks out a finger-sign on a drunkenly-leaning lamppost ahead, “Dipton”.
Robert Guyton
That reads like a laconic tale of a PI in New York or in deepest USA rurality rather. The gumshoe type. Have you written any other short stories? I have a few of the great old Argosy periodicals where there was a market for these. When it is cold and wet perhaps you could pen a few for publication in NZ.
Ha! It’s not my genre really but Bill’s got the face for it. I’m more flippant and chirpy, by nature. I used to, btw, read Argosy, whenever I was staying at a friends bach at Kaiteriteri, back in the day. They had bookshelves stuffed with them and whenever it rained or it was too hot to go outside, I’d read’m.
While the MSM and the business commentators will continue having multiple orgasms about how winning the Americas Cup is a superior business leadership model and will save us all, back in the actual economy it just gets worse.
The export economy is simply not paying our way.
Imports of petroleum products and motor vehicles pushed our imports way up, far higher than 2016.
And we still generate roughly the same products that we did around World War One: dairy commodities in the form of milk powder, butter, and cheese. Plus other agricultural commodities: beef and lamb, forestry, fruit, and wine. What we make is great, it’s just not enough to raise the tax to run a society with the kind of services we deserve.
I would love to have business and government leadership in this country that can tell us we will get rich without screwing the land, or buying houses to rent, or just worshipping tiny teams of sportspeople as if means anything.
I would love to have business and government leadership in this country that can tell us we will get rich without screwing the land, or buying houses to rent, or just worshipping tiny teams of sportspeople as if means anything.
So would I but it can’t happen in a capitalist society which means that we’re on the path to complete collapse but probably only after we’ve seriously altered the balance of the environment.
Draco, how many New Zealanders will accept the idea ‘The state is going to cancel all property rights. The government will own all land and buildings?’
I think I could count them up without removing my shoes and socks.
Who said anything about cancelling all property rights?
BTW, the government already owns all the land and everything in it. That’s not going to change.
How many already pay rent? For a large number of people it would just be a change in landlords and for many of those it would be an improvement.
Is there anything inherently wrong with the government owning all buildings?
Is there anything inherently right about property rights that put a few people above everyone else, that then allows those few to become massive bludgers?
I don’t think we need to trial the State owning all buildings and land to see how it goes. We need only look to every other regime that has gone down that path. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong places but I see an equality of misery and hardship every time.
Our current regime is so far from a revolution we can’t prompt a million people to go and tick a page one September morning.
Maybe I’m looking in the wrong places but I see an equality of misery and hardship every time.
And I see the same thing when looking at capitalism. And even more I see the destruction of society brought about by the greed of the capitalists.
Are you thinking that those 30% of children living in poverty and their parents are living bright, happy and fulfilled lives?
In fact, when you look at those couple of 20th century examples what you really see is state capitalism so it’s really not surprising, once you look at the true history of capitalism, that it failed.
Do you see an equality of misery and hardship all about you? Where do you live? I’m in NZ’s poorest region and I don’t. A million of us can’t be bothered voting.
I watched Simon Reeve walking around Cuba on the TV recently, a 2012 doco. I found the tentacles of capitalism rising in the streets fascinating. Obviously he could of skewed his show with bias but he seems like an upright sort of rooster. He found few upset to see capitalism rising.
Yes household poverty is a concern, the government taking control of all houses and distributing them via a show of hands is not a solution. It’s a path to bigger problems.
Do you see an equality of misery and hardship all about you?
No, I see a massive increase in poverty while a few bludgers get richer. Was about the same in the USSR, the DPRK and China as well. A few very well off while many aren’t.
Yes household poverty is a concern, the government taking control of all houses and distributing them via a show of hands is not a solution.
Why would the government be distributing them?
And isn’t that what ‘the market’ does?
Massive inequality is what capitalism does and it’s what eventually destroys a society. That bit hasn’t gone away as the rise in inequality and poverty prove. We’re still destroying ourselves to make a few greedy bludgers richer.
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Time for reassessment, back to the drawing board, with pencils and paper. Let’s get away from the heady field of computers. put the ideas, thoughts and suggestions down where everyone can look at a permanent physical list and plan.
Also look at the number of government departments and agencies. Gather a group of interested learners and experts to each one and make a plan that all agree would take us into the future in an affordable way. Then look at what government or their creatures are doing and the direction. Set up a think tank to push them in the right direction. Give monthly reports of what is being achieved. Get an enthusiastic following that likes the result or comments as to where it can be improved.
Get the people of NZ behind the roll-out watching and wanting NZ to do well as a total country not just an enclave of the self-anointed.
Time for reassessment, back to the drawing board, with pencils and paper. Let’s get away from the heady field of computers. put the ideas, thoughts and suggestions down where everyone can look at a permanent physical list and plan.
far easier and less costly to do all of that over the internet.
Also look at the number of government departments and agencies. Gather a group of interested learners and experts to each one and make a plan that all agree would take us into the future in an affordable way. Then look at what government or their creatures are doing and the direction. Set up a think tank to push them in the right direction. Give monthly reports of what is being achieved. Get an enthusiastic following that likes the result or comments as to where it can be improved.
Or we could all talk together, discuss what we all want and then hire people to bring that about.
ATM we have it backwards in that we hire people to tell us what to do.
DTB
Telling us what to do, instead of us taking the design and thought into our own hands. That’s what we are doing.
There are many free and fanciful thoughts though. That is why I think it would be good to put pen or pencil to paper and then face to face discuss the matters worked out at first individually. It would be a whole new experience for all the key tappers.
Considering that technology and smart alecing has got us so far up ourselves that we meet ourselves coming back again, quantum like, I think we should revert back to the styles used where our present policies are taking us, somewhere about the 1930’s (with huge human malpractices going on carefully unnoticed by the general public in an organised fashion.)
That is why I think it would be good to put pen or pencil to paper and then face to face discuss the matters worked out at first individually.
And how do you get face to face with three million people?
Considering that technology and smart alecing has got us so far up ourselves that we meet ourselves coming back again…
It wasn’t technology that did that but lack of being able to talk with each other because of lack of technology. Instead we ended up with a hierarchical system.
It’s technology that can bring about what you want. Trying to go back to the 1930s will prevent that.
DTB
You are overlooking the findings of numerous thinkers (who I can’t recall exactly) that most ideas and changes come from a very few people.
The three or so million that you refer to are those who are given the chance to vote for some idea in elections, and many of them hardly bother to think and just trot off along their well-oiled railroad track to the usual tick. Some don’t bother at all.
Poof to your 3 million. We need people who care to think, and then think right through to the end and understand and assess the pros and cons considering known facts, possibilities, past failures and successes and human nature’s ability to skew legislation and methods, and then we would get some good stuff. And I want to look at people’s demeanour to check out their plausability, even with skype people lack the ability to observe and judge, which is important in deciding who has depth and trustworthiness, reliability etc
You are overlooking the findings of numerous thinkers (who I can’t recall exactly) that most ideas and changes come from a very few people.
Not really. IMO, it’s wrong. All people have ideas all the time. The problem is that most of them aren’t heard.
The three or so million that you refer to are those who are given the chance to vote for some idea in elections, and many of them hardly bother to think and just trot off along their well-oiled railroad track to the usual tick. Some don’t bother at all.
That’s a matter of culture. Change the culture and we change society. Keeping it the same as is or taking it back to the 1930s isn’t going to bring about the changes that we need.
The solutions to the problems of the Now aren’t to be found in the Past.
We need people who care to think
We need to get everybody to care and to think. Then we’ll have the mass of ideas that will realise a solution.
And I want to look at people’s demeanour to check out their plausability, even with skype people lack the ability to observe and judge, which is important in deciding who has depth and trustworthiness, reliability etc
We already have personality cults – they don’t work.
What we need is people reading the scientific findings and then making sure that policy meets those findings.
DTB
Too much wishful thinking there. The world can’t wait for ideal situations to arise and I don’t trust the average person to turn into a research oriented decision maker.
Hi Draco, I’ve run out of reply buttons, I’m responding to this comment.
“Do you see an equality of misery and hardship all about you?
No, I see a massive increase in poverty while a few bludgers get richer. Was about the same in the USSR, the DPRK and China as well. A few very well off while many aren’t.
Yes household poverty is a concern, the government taking control of all houses and distributing them via a show of hands is not a solution.
Why would the government be distributing them?
And isn’t that what ‘the market’ does?
Massive inequality is what capitalism does and it’s what eventually destroys a society. That bit hasn’t gone away as the rise in inequality and poverty prove. We’re still destroying ourselves to make a few greedy bludgers richer.”
.
.
.
.
New Zealanders don’t want the Government owning everything Draco. I fear the good ideas you have are overshadowed by your extreme core solutions. Capitalism isn’t the culprit, we’re just doing it wrong. Your efforts should benefit my life and mine yours. We need to re-jig what we’ve got, not chuck it all out.
At the moment too much of the wealth we create and circulate leaves our country. We need to get better at using it to enhance each other’s lives.
I hear in the news today that Google got fined 3.7 billion dollars for directing searchers to retail websites they have an interest in. How much have they got away with? That’s where capitalism sux.
Me selling you a loaf of bread I made and you making sandwiches to sell to office workers…it’s not evil brother.
There are only 3 ways to grow any business, whether that business be a lawn-mowing round or a nation.
Get more customers.
Get more from the customers you’ve got.
Cut overheads.
I think we need to focus on the rate we gobble through our resources. Rather than giant slabs of 20,000 year old kauri being shipped to China. The ship’s hold should be filled with presentation boxes of 20,000 year old chop-sticks. Much of the appeal of this wood in China is due to it’s age. Chinese civilization dates back about 20,000 years too. There’s a great marketing story to tell.
Well done molly a very uninformed comment, let’s just stop human enterprise and improvement, business come and go if they stop providing value to me, you and everybody ie not productive or some one does it better , it’s not a zero sum game, think a little bit deeper
If that were true then the government and business wouldn’t be so concerned with increasing the number of people here or increasing the amount we export.
Having read more than a few economics books and studied economics and worked using economic theories and tools, I would suggest that as a starting point the definition of economic growth has little to do with innovation. As a method of increasing the rate of economic growth, innovation has a medium term to long term impact. A short term to medium term methods are as stated above:
Get more customers.
Get more from the customers you’ve got.
Cut overheads.
Human enterprise and improvement is independent of growth.
Both can be used to reduce use and impact. Growth is a ridiculous indicator to use for both improvement and enterprise, particularly if it is the only one.
Or use my consumer dollars to support those who already do? Unnecessary duplication often leads to unsustainability and more waste.
Setting up a business in a climate that rewards businesses that engage in paying non-livable wages, and have bad environmental practices does not appeal to me.
I prefer the utilising and participating in the volunteer and sharing sector. I am lucky in that I don’t “need” much more than what I already have.
Your response shows the limits to your perception of success and values alignment. Mine includes but is not limited to: owning a business.
I’m with you molly on this.
The mantra that “growth” is the only answer (whatever the question !) is just bullshit.
There are many paths to a better quality of life, exponential growth of consumption is not one .
I don’t think we should be shipping ancient or old wood, water or other resources to anyone. It just seems wrong. Those resources should only be able to be used by locals in the area who understand their value. There’s no reason why a local community can’t produce much of what it needs in terms of food, housing and clothing. This may sound foreign to our heavily financialised world, but one thing it is, is sustainable.
We’ve become heavily dependent on trade and the produce of other countries. We like electrical cable, Japanese cars and Spanish tomatoes in winter.
I don’t have a problem with trade and utilising our resources I just think we need to get much smarter with it and add more value.
Polar bears stay warm because their fur fibres are hollow. Their body warmth travels out through the fibre and creates a fabulous warm jacket for them. A jumper made of polar bear fur would be a natural garment with astounding natural body warming qualities. Scandinavians would pay about the equivalent of NZ$1000 for such a garment.
Polar bears share this near unique quality with one other creature: Possums.
“or just worshipping tiny teams of sportspeople as if [it] means anything”
Yes – I really do pity all those people who over the next few years will be required to attend ‘leadership workshops’ and be divided into groups and asked to come up with ideas on what it is about Team NZ that makes them ‘winners’, and then be asked to ‘present’ back to all the attendees on their findings and how they could be applied.
And there will be a well-dressed (and well-paid) external ‘facilitator’ and numerous post-it notes will be written and stuck around the walls.
And it will all mean absolutely f***ing nothing, and nothing will change and the few people with any originality will hate every minute of it and maybe stay sane by humming Tom Waits songs in their heads, or trying to remember a poem by Yeats about things falling apart.
Really I think that our sclerotic, conformist, hierarchical workplaces hold us back.
Well said Red and of course AB, I think we all have had experience of those over the years, though I thought it was a disease of the 80/90’s only, did not realise that crap is still going on.
Really I think that our sclerotic, conformist, hierarchical workplaces hold us back.
QFT
Went to one of those self-help things that tertiary institutions put on. It was supposedly all about making us stand out to employers but the reality was that it was all about getting people to conform and that conformity was dictated by those in power.
Capitalism is about conforming to the greedy and it really does hold us back.
Technically our product base has regressed massively when you consider the heavy industry capabilities we had until the 70s/80s. We built our own whiteware and textiles and even locomotives during the time you mention. Economically rather than diversifying NZ has pretty much shrunk the actual productive economy to barely beyond what pre-industrial societies were producing as their mainstay.
Bruce Plested ripping into National here. Plenty of soft National voters (i.e. those with a conscience and a vision beyond their own wallets) will hang off every word someone like Bruce Plested says.
Bruce says, “The problems could not be fixed by the market but were like law and order issues politicians should deal with.”
But Joyce/English/Key et al, all swear by Market Forces. They must be right.
Aren’t they?
The recipe for economic riches from laissez faire and muscular business individuality has apparently been wanting something. Rising powder?
Perhaps the ingredients have passed their use-by date and have lost their freshness and spark of energy after being bled and bleached for years, many just left sitting at dockside waiting for someone to pay the costs of importation.
It seems that young National Party MP’s are too hungover after a night’s partying to show up for work the next day. They may have to use migrant MP’s instead 🙂
we need indeed some migrant MP’s to fill the slots for which we can’t find qualified applicants with a clean police record and or at the very least an applicant who can hold his liquor and show up for work the next day.
Dam that’s inconvenient as reported by stuff.co.nz Labour also uses leadership budget to satisfy internal employment issues and ensure confidentiality I assume to avoid public scrutiny of a private matter (fair enough barring sanctimonious comments of many labour supporters here ) ) by avoiding going to court
[you want to make assertions of fact in this political climate, then put up a link and quote the relevant piece that supports your assertion (no, I’m not going to trawl an article to try and see what you mean). Otherwise I will considering you to be trolling and ban you. Consider this a warning. I’d also suggest using punctuation because once I get my moderator hat on if I have to read your comment 3 times in order to understand it, I consider that wasting my moderator time. – weka]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
That would have been 2001 ish, and the prediction is still running. But WTF if people want to gamble then go for it
7.3 billion or 9 billion people, it don’t matter to the planet we are all gone burger
I haven’t got kids so I don’t give a fuck, just like pointing out the obvious, you know stacking the ‘I told you so’s’
Quite simply the king has no clothes, but 99.4 ish of the pesants can see the brown eye the TPTB are shoving in your faces, the joke is on us all.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Maori Party makes another move to squeeze Winston out – Politik
The Maori Party are today unveiling another strategic alliance which National are quietly hoping will get the party enough votes, so National doesn’t need Winston Peters to form the next Government.
Today’s alliance will be with the One Pacific; a South Auckland-based Pacific Islands political movement
The goal is to make inroads in Labour’s fortress South Auckland seats and Pacific Island candidates will stand under the Maori Party banner.
The Maori Party leadership believe the partnership could make inroads into the 50,000 votes that Labour got in Mangere, Manukau East and Manurewa last election.
Dear oh dear – this The South Auckland Pasifikas are about to defect en masse meme gets trotted out almost each and every Election (also in the 2010 Mana By-Election in terms of Porirua East Pasifika voters) and always gets dutifully regurgitated by the MSM.
Yet strangely enough these highly excitable predictions Never Ever seem to come true.
All us nobreeders (currently about 3 billion of us) are victims of our parents egos
I didn’t ask to be born, and have done my best not to add to this clusterfuck
Parents are a major part of the problem ….. thanks mum
And before a dickhead suggests I kill myself … it is not my fault.
But yes sucide is very much in my future, as it will be for most people
See 22After.Com warning don’t watch this alone 😉
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
One of the reasons I find greenpeace easy to resist: a friend of mine signed a petition, then got cold-called in the middle of a meeting by someone shilling for gp donations. I’m amenable to some of their causes, but their marketing techniques are corporate mercenary through and through.
It was used as a incendiary munition. An important distinction.
Now folks this is being led by NZ, and they are killing civilians. If this is what Key meant by getting some guts. Then God help us all. This is what the rabbit hole looks like.
Oh, and here is the piece where they admit they are using it in civilian areas.
I admire Michelle Boag’s ability to do impersonations. I particularly like the fine nuances she can bring to them.
She’s just been doing an impersonation of a slime-ball on RNZ and was bloody brilliant. What really took it to a higher level was the way she finished it off wth the touches of ‘arrogant hag.’ Bravo Michelle.
Sorry, I don’t know how to select part of a video – or even if this is possible – but listen to the first 13 minutes of Thom Hartman and Dr. Richard Wolff discuss the American health care system.
I thought, this man (Wolff) is talking about New Zealand – especially in relation to the Employment Contracts Act!
Just watched John Campbell visit the Marae where the students are staying. Looks pretty good to me. The students were not allowed to speak during the visit but a small group will be on air after 6pm.
Gives a balance after the political storm created by Government sources.
(Mr Phillips points out that most groups are there for just a few days so communal living is a bit harder for longer stays.)
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Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
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The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.
The only union the Herald ever publishes.
Surprise surprise.
Their economist says a sugar tax won’t work.
Their economist is only just out of University.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11882517
https://nz.linkedin.com/in/macmckenna
from article in NZH
Obesity is not the only reason. There is a link between gout In men and sugar In soft drinks. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/96164.php
There is dental decay particularly in children attributed to soft drinks plus fruit juice.
The article in the Herald written by the economist representing the Tax Payers’ Union has this as the last paragraph:
“what right does the Government have telling people they are making the wrong choice?” The government, which should represents the people, has the right because we, the tax payers, pick up the tab for the consequences, just as we have to treat those who have smoking related illnesses.
We also have a duty of care to prevent as far as possible the child’s rotting teeth, the gout, etc just as we have rules about smoke alarms, high viz vests, hard hats, etc.
The Tax Payer’s Union (Championing Value For Money From Every Tax Dollar) should be SUPPORTING A TAX ON FIZZY DRINKS.
”The Tax Payer’s Union (Championing Value For Money From Every Tax Dollar) should be SUPPORTING A TAX ON FIZZY DRINKS.”
for that to be true would have to believe the tax payers union is about helping tax payers , and not the spotty buck toothed illegitimate child of the nats and big business
So true. In fact the Herald article is such that if it was not credited to the economist from the TPU, it could have been paid content on behalf of the soft- drink companies.
“what right does the Government have telling people they are making the wrong choice?”
In Transactional Analysis, which shows you how to understand the points of view governing your mind and those you are talking to, that would be a comment coming from the Child self and particularly the rebellious Child, which is in all of us.
It’s definitely not a reasoned argument. After all who presents the different products that constitute the choice, why these types of products in this form, and who gains; if they are not wholly advantageous and healthy?
Strange because economists have been saying such things work for ages.
Given that I suspect that it’s just lies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot8LNlN-PGI
A battered car, blue paintwork chipped and faded, rattles its way aimlessly through a gloomy Deep South, swerving laboriously to avoid the deep and hidden potholes in the road. The driver’s window rolls down. The pallid light from the Southland dawn barely illuminates the sallow face of the man behind the wheel. He sets his jaw, squints into the gloom of an oncoming squall and tosses an expired cigarette butt out of the open window. The thin light of the car’s headlights picks out a finger-sign on a drunkenly-leaning lamppost ahead, “Dipton”.
Dipton–pop 0.
Haunting. Enjoyed that, thanks.
Me too. I assume it was the aftermath of a dark and stormy night…
You mean a stormy and dark night don’t you…
Tempestuous and tenebrous… ?
Robert Guyton
That reads like a laconic tale of a PI in New York or in deepest USA rurality rather. The gumshoe type. Have you written any other short stories? I have a few of the great old Argosy periodicals where there was a market for these. When it is cold and wet perhaps you could pen a few for publication in NZ.
Ha! It’s not my genre really but Bill’s got the face for it. I’m more flippant and chirpy, by nature. I used to, btw, read Argosy, whenever I was staying at a friends bach at Kaiteriteri, back in the day. They had bookshelves stuffed with them and whenever it rained or it was too hot to go outside, I’d read’m.
While the MSM and the business commentators will continue having multiple orgasms about how winning the Americas Cup is a superior business leadership model and will save us all, back in the actual economy it just gets worse.
The export economy is simply not paying our way.
Imports of petroleum products and motor vehicles pushed our imports way up, far higher than 2016.
And we still generate roughly the same products that we did around World War One: dairy commodities in the form of milk powder, butter, and cheese. Plus other agricultural commodities: beef and lamb, forestry, fruit, and wine. What we make is great, it’s just not enough to raise the tax to run a society with the kind of services we deserve.
I would love to have business and government leadership in this country that can tell us we will get rich without screwing the land, or buying houses to rent, or just worshipping tiny teams of sportspeople as if means anything.
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/imports_and_exports/OverseasMerchandiseTrade_HOTPMay17.aspx
Media release:
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/imports_and_exports/OverseasMerchandiseTrade_MRMay17.aspx
Anyone with a plan, now’s your time.
So would I but it can’t happen in a capitalist society which means that we’re on the path to complete collapse but probably only after we’ve seriously altered the balance of the environment.
Draco, how many New Zealanders will accept the idea ‘The state is going to cancel all property rights. The government will own all land and buildings?’
I think I could count them up without removing my shoes and socks.
Who said anything about cancelling all property rights?
BTW, the government already owns all the land and everything in it. That’s not going to change.
How many already pay rent? For a large number of people it would just be a change in landlords and for many of those it would be an improvement.
Is there anything inherently wrong with the government owning all buildings?
Is there anything inherently right about property rights that put a few people above everyone else, that then allows those few to become massive bludgers?
What percentage of New Zealanders do you think would go for the State controlling all land, buildings?
Don’t know but I suspect that it would be more than expected. It may even be a majority as it is.
A good explanation as to why it’s necessary would probably change that.
BTW, do you have any intention of answering the questions I asked?
I don’t think we need to trial the State owning all buildings and land to see how it goes. We need only look to every other regime that has gone down that path. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong places but I see an equality of misery and hardship every time.
Our current regime is so far from a revolution we can’t prompt a million people to go and tick a page one September morning.
In Draco(nian) dream land the state would own everything, even all the underpants.
Guess who owns all the world now?
And have a look at all the poverty and restriction that it produces.
And I see the same thing when looking at capitalism. And even more I see the destruction of society brought about by the greed of the capitalists.
Are you thinking that those 30% of children living in poverty and their parents are living bright, happy and fulfilled lives?
In fact, when you look at those couple of 20th century examples what you really see is state capitalism so it’s really not surprising, once you look at the true history of capitalism, that it failed.
Do you see an equality of misery and hardship all about you? Where do you live? I’m in NZ’s poorest region and I don’t. A million of us can’t be bothered voting.
I watched Simon Reeve walking around Cuba on the TV recently, a 2012 doco. I found the tentacles of capitalism rising in the streets fascinating. Obviously he could of skewed his show with bias but he seems like an upright sort of rooster. He found few upset to see capitalism rising.
Yes household poverty is a concern, the government taking control of all houses and distributing them via a show of hands is not a solution. It’s a path to bigger problems.
No, I see a massive increase in poverty while a few bludgers get richer. Was about the same in the USSR, the DPRK and China as well. A few very well off while many aren’t.
Why would the government be distributing them?
And isn’t that what ‘the market’ does?
Massive inequality is what capitalism does and it’s what eventually destroys a society. That bit hasn’t gone away as the rise in inequality and poverty prove. We’re still destroying ourselves to make a few greedy bludgers richer.
Ad
Time for reassessment, back to the drawing board, with pencils and paper. Let’s get away from the heady field of computers. put the ideas, thoughts and suggestions down where everyone can look at a permanent physical list and plan.
Also look at the number of government departments and agencies. Gather a group of interested learners and experts to each one and make a plan that all agree would take us into the future in an affordable way. Then look at what government or their creatures are doing and the direction. Set up a think tank to push them in the right direction. Give monthly reports of what is being achieved. Get an enthusiastic following that likes the result or comments as to where it can be improved.
Get the people of NZ behind the roll-out watching and wanting NZ to do well as a total country not just an enclave of the self-anointed.
far easier and less costly to do all of that over the internet.
Or we could all talk together, discuss what we all want and then hire people to bring that about.
ATM we have it backwards in that we hire people to tell us what to do.
DTB
Telling us what to do, instead of us taking the design and thought into our own hands. That’s what we are doing.
There are many free and fanciful thoughts though. That is why I think it would be good to put pen or pencil to paper and then face to face discuss the matters worked out at first individually. It would be a whole new experience for all the key tappers.
Considering that technology and smart alecing has got us so far up ourselves that we meet ourselves coming back again, quantum like, I think we should revert back to the styles used where our present policies are taking us, somewhere about the 1930’s (with huge human malpractices going on carefully unnoticed by the general public in an organised fashion.)
And how do you get face to face with three million people?
It wasn’t technology that did that but lack of being able to talk with each other because of lack of technology. Instead we ended up with a hierarchical system.
It’s technology that can bring about what you want. Trying to go back to the 1930s will prevent that.
DTB
You are overlooking the findings of numerous thinkers (who I can’t recall exactly) that most ideas and changes come from a very few people.
The three or so million that you refer to are those who are given the chance to vote for some idea in elections, and many of them hardly bother to think and just trot off along their well-oiled railroad track to the usual tick. Some don’t bother at all.
Poof to your 3 million. We need people who care to think, and then think right through to the end and understand and assess the pros and cons considering known facts, possibilities, past failures and successes and human nature’s ability to skew legislation and methods, and then we would get some good stuff. And I want to look at people’s demeanour to check out their plausability, even with skype people lack the ability to observe and judge, which is important in deciding who has depth and trustworthiness, reliability etc
Not really. IMO, it’s wrong. All people have ideas all the time. The problem is that most of them aren’t heard.
That’s a matter of culture. Change the culture and we change society. Keeping it the same as is or taking it back to the 1930s isn’t going to bring about the changes that we need.
The solutions to the problems of the Now aren’t to be found in the Past.
We need to get everybody to care and to think. Then we’ll have the mass of ideas that will realise a solution.
We already have personality cults – they don’t work.
What we need is people reading the scientific findings and then making sure that policy meets those findings.
DTB
Too much wishful thinking there. The world can’t wait for ideal situations to arise and I don’t trust the average person to turn into a research oriented decision maker.
Hi Draco, I’ve run out of reply buttons, I’m responding to this comment.
“Do you see an equality of misery and hardship all about you?
No, I see a massive increase in poverty while a few bludgers get richer. Was about the same in the USSR, the DPRK and China as well. A few very well off while many aren’t.
Yes household poverty is a concern, the government taking control of all houses and distributing them via a show of hands is not a solution.
Why would the government be distributing them?
And isn’t that what ‘the market’ does?
Massive inequality is what capitalism does and it’s what eventually destroys a society. That bit hasn’t gone away as the rise in inequality and poverty prove. We’re still destroying ourselves to make a few greedy bludgers richer.”
.
.
.
.
New Zealanders don’t want the Government owning everything Draco. I fear the good ideas you have are overshadowed by your extreme core solutions. Capitalism isn’t the culprit, we’re just doing it wrong. Your efforts should benefit my life and mine yours. We need to re-jig what we’ve got, not chuck it all out.
At the moment too much of the wealth we create and circulate leaves our country. We need to get better at using it to enhance each other’s lives.
I hear in the news today that Google got fined 3.7 billion dollars for directing searchers to retail websites they have an interest in. How much have they got away with? That’s where capitalism sux.
Me selling you a loaf of bread I made and you making sandwiches to sell to office workers…it’s not evil brother.
There are only 3 ways to grow any business, whether that business be a lawn-mowing round or a nation.
Get more customers.
Get more from the customers you’ve got.
Cut overheads.
I think we need to focus on the rate we gobble through our resources. Rather than giant slabs of 20,000 year old kauri being shipped to China. The ship’s hold should be filled with presentation boxes of 20,000 year old chop-sticks. Much of the appeal of this wood in China is due to it’s age. Chinese civilization dates back about 20,000 years too. There’s a great marketing story to tell.
Or consider not growing business at all.
Well done molly a very uninformed comment, let’s just stop human enterprise and improvement, business come and go if they stop providing value to me, you and everybody ie not productive or some one does it better , it’s not a zero sum game, think a little bit deeper
Molly didn’t say anything about stopping enterprise or improvement. Just to stop growing business.
Reality is a zero sum game. Believing otherwise is delusional.
When we stop growing we ripen, when we ripen we rot.
We’d continue developing – we’d stop getting bigger.
Except the definition of economic growth is more to do with innovation than in using more of something.
If that were true then the government and business wouldn’t be so concerned with increasing the number of people here or increasing the amount we export.
Having read more than a few economics books and studied economics and worked using economic theories and tools, I would suggest that as a starting point the definition of economic growth has little to do with innovation. As a method of increasing the rate of economic growth, innovation has a medium term to long term impact. A short term to medium term methods are as stated above:
Human enterprise and improvement is independent of growth.
Both can be used to reduce use and impact. Growth is a ridiculous indicator to use for both improvement and enterprise, particularly if it is the only one.
Excellent idea. Why don’t YOU set up a business to do just that?
Or use my consumer dollars to support those who already do? Unnecessary duplication often leads to unsustainability and more waste.
Setting up a business in a climate that rewards businesses that engage in paying non-livable wages, and have bad environmental practices does not appeal to me.
I prefer the utilising and participating in the volunteer and sharing sector. I am lucky in that I don’t “need” much more than what I already have.
Your response shows the limits to your perception of success and values alignment. Mine includes but is not limited to: owning a business.
I’m with you molly on this.
The mantra that “growth” is the only answer (whatever the question !) is just bullshit.
There are many paths to a better quality of life, exponential growth of consumption is not one .
I’ve got all the business I want in my chosen field Gosman. So why don’t YOU do it.
I don’t think we should be shipping ancient or old wood, water or other resources to anyone. It just seems wrong. Those resources should only be able to be used by locals in the area who understand their value. There’s no reason why a local community can’t produce much of what it needs in terms of food, housing and clothing. This may sound foreign to our heavily financialised world, but one thing it is, is sustainable.
We’ve become heavily dependent on trade and the produce of other countries. We like electrical cable, Japanese cars and Spanish tomatoes in winter.
I don’t have a problem with trade and utilising our resources I just think we need to get much smarter with it and add more value.
Polar bears stay warm because their fur fibres are hollow. Their body warmth travels out through the fibre and creates a fabulous warm jacket for them. A jumper made of polar bear fur would be a natural garment with astounding natural body warming qualities. Scandinavians would pay about the equivalent of NZ$1000 for such a garment.
Polar bears share this near unique quality with one other creature: Possums.
“or just worshipping tiny teams of sportspeople as if [it] means anything”
Yes – I really do pity all those people who over the next few years will be required to attend ‘leadership workshops’ and be divided into groups and asked to come up with ideas on what it is about Team NZ that makes them ‘winners’, and then be asked to ‘present’ back to all the attendees on their findings and how they could be applied.
And there will be a well-dressed (and well-paid) external ‘facilitator’ and numerous post-it notes will be written and stuck around the walls.
And it will all mean absolutely f***ing nothing, and nothing will change and the few people with any originality will hate every minute of it and maybe stay sane by humming Tom Waits songs in their heads, or trying to remember a poem by Yeats about things falling apart.
Really I think that our sclerotic, conformist, hierarchical workplaces hold us back.
I sympathise and share your view on leadership conferences AB
Well said Red and of course AB, I think we all have had experience of those over the years, though I thought it was a disease of the 80/90’s only, did not realise that crap is still going on.
QFT
Went to one of those self-help things that tertiary institutions put on. It was supposedly all about making us stand out to employers but the reality was that it was all about getting people to conform and that conformity was dictated by those in power.
Capitalism is about conforming to the greedy and it really does hold us back.
Technically our product base has regressed massively when you consider the heavy industry capabilities we had until the 70s/80s. We built our own whiteware and textiles and even locomotives during the time you mention. Economically rather than diversifying NZ has pretty much shrunk the actual productive economy to barely beyond what pre-industrial societies were producing as their mainstay.
Bruce Plested ripping into National here. Plenty of soft National voters (i.e. those with a conscience and a vision beyond their own wallets) will hang off every word someone like Bruce Plested says.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/94132260/mainfreight-founder-turns-eye-to-social-and-environmental-issues
Pleated and Braid have been sane voices in an insane economy.
Ahem. Plested.
This is the self same Mr Plested who is on record as a large donor to the National Party.
And braids minfreight doing very nicely out of the ‘anti rail’ policies national have, heavier trucks, lower real wages etc
Bet they both fall into line with the old ‘they listened and we’re backing them now’ bs these shills switch to on the GE run in.
Bruce says, “The problems could not be fixed by the market but were like law and order issues politicians should deal with.”
But Joyce/English/Key et al, all swear by Market Forces. They must be right.
Aren’t they?
The recipe for economic riches from laissez faire and muscular business individuality has apparently been wanting something. Rising powder?
Perhaps the ingredients have passed their use-by date and have lost their freshness and spark of energy after being bled and bleached for years, many just left sitting at dockside waiting for someone to pay the costs of importation.
RE: Todd Barclay.
It seems that young National Party MP’s are too hungover after a night’s partying to show up for work the next day. They may have to use migrant MP’s instead 🙂
No they will leave that to the Labour party as they have experience of doing that.
We are all immigrants here, some just arrived later then others. Where’s your cut off point on becoming tangata whenua, 1/5/10/100+ years?
it’s as the double dipper said
Kiwi blokes are useless…….
we need indeed some migrant MP’s to fill the slots for which we can’t find qualified applicants with a clean police record and or at the very least an applicant who can hold his liquor and show up for work the next day.
Yes and they would probably come cheaper. All around NZpollies don’t shape up well on the political olympics.
Dam that’s inconvenient as reported by stuff.co.nz Labour also uses leadership budget to satisfy internal employment issues and ensure confidentiality I assume to avoid public scrutiny of a private matter (fair enough barring sanctimonious comments of many labour supporters here ) ) by avoiding going to court
[you want to make assertions of fact in this political climate, then put up a link and quote the relevant piece that supports your assertion (no, I’m not going to trawl an article to try and see what you mean). Otherwise I will considering you to be trolling and ban you. Consider this a warning. I’d also suggest using punctuation because once I get my moderator hat on if I have to read your comment 3 times in order to understand it, I consider that wasting my moderator time. – weka]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
For people they don’t employ?
got a link? It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that I don’t trust your grip on reality.
I don’t trust them or their grip on reality.
CNN gets caught out pushing the unbelievable bullshit “It’s all Russia’s fault” line. Not that this should be surprising.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-27/cnn-exposed-undercover-sting-producer-admits-russia-story-fake-news-pushed-ratings-0
That would have been 2001 ish, and the prediction is still running. But WTF if people want to gamble then go for it
7.3 billion or 9 billion people, it don’t matter to the planet we are all gone burger
I haven’t got kids so I don’t give a fuck, just like pointing out the obvious, you know stacking the ‘I told you so’s’
Quite simply the king has no clothes, but 99.4 ish of the pesants can see the brown eye the TPTB are shoving in your faces, the joke is on us all.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
This is interesting, just before the election as well.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/333995/nz-officials-told-to-release-info-on-us-billionaire
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/326696/thiel's-nz-citizenship-one-of-a-kind
From young Ricky Harman at Politik
Maori Party makes another move to squeeze Winston out – Politik
Dear oh dear – this The South Auckland Pasifikas are about to defect en masse meme gets trotted out almost each and every Election (also in the 2010 Mana By-Election in terms of Porirua East Pasifika voters) and always gets dutifully regurgitated by the MSM.
Yet strangely enough these highly excitable predictions Never Ever seem to come true.
I think ordinary families can see it for what it is – National elites and Maori elites and Pacific elites all lining their own pockets.
All us nobreeders (currently about 3 billion of us) are victims of our parents egos
I didn’t ask to be born, and have done my best not to add to this clusterfuck
Parents are a major part of the problem ….. thanks mum
And before a dickhead suggests I kill myself … it is not my fault.
But yes sucide is very much in my future, as it will be for most people
See 22After.Com warning don’t watch this alone 😉
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Anyone know how to make Greenpeace’s URLs into ordinary ones instead of the client ID tracking ones?
Click on one of these campaigns to see what I mean
http://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/en/
One of the reasons I find greenpeace easy to resist: a friend of mine signed a petition, then got cold-called in the middle of a meeting by someone shilling for gp donations. I’m amenable to some of their causes, but their marketing techniques are corporate mercenary through and through.
They could have at least use a URL that could be edited. Don’t know what their thinking is, maybe they care if people link them.
*don’t care.
Not sure if this is the right site anymore for a topic like this.
Brig. Gen. Hugh McAslan (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11824303) has said that we are using white phosphorus on civilian targets.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/wp.htm
It was used as a incendiary munition. An important distinction.
Now folks this is being led by NZ, and they are killing civilians. If this is what Key meant by getting some guts. Then God help us all. This is what the rabbit hole looks like.
Oh, and here is the piece where they admit they are using it in civilian areas.
http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/06/13/532809626/u-s-led-coalition-has-used-white-phosphorous-in-fight-for-mosul-general-says
seems an appropriate topic for here.
Sobering, saddening.. Technology and (false) news dissemination improve, but if anything human behaviour seems to flatline at bottom.
I admire Michelle Boag’s ability to do impersonations. I particularly like the fine nuances she can bring to them.
She’s just been doing an impersonation of a slime-ball on RNZ and was bloody brilliant. What really took it to a higher level was the way she finished it off wth the touches of ‘arrogant hag.’ Bravo Michelle.
Just heard the Miserable Michelle Boag on RNZ twisting the “facts” against Nigel Haworth. Spiteful I think?
Can’t imagine why Mora has her on the panel
Sorry, I don’t know how to select part of a video – or even if this is possible – but listen to the first 13 minutes of Thom Hartman and Dr. Richard Wolff discuss the American health care system.
I thought, this man (Wolff) is talking about New Zealand – especially in relation to the Employment Contracts Act!
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBigPictureRT
Just watched John Campbell visit the Marae where the students are staying. Looks pretty good to me. The students were not allowed to speak during the visit but a small group will be on air after 6pm.
Gives a balance after the political storm created by Government sources.
(Mr Phillips points out that most groups are there for just a few days so communal living is a bit harder for longer stays.)
So a small group of “pIcked” students were allowed to talk and shin horror stayed on the prescribed message.
If it was balanced they would have allowed access to any of them. Gutless.