1. Labour to to take utilities back into public ownership and change the way the economy runs.
2. The public sector pay cap must end.
3. A Labour government will bring in rent controls and ensure tenants are rehoused locally when estates are regenerated.
4. Labour wants more workplace democracy.
5. Corbyn attacks the traditional media and its tax exile owners who “trash Labour at every turn”, especially the Daily Mail.
6. Tuition fees would be abolished for both university and further education students.
7. Businesses will have to pay a bit more tax.
I thought this speech from the UK Labour conference was also something that would sound like beautiful music coming from NZ Labour, but I guess with old third way crusaders like Robinson, Clarke and Mike Williams being the ideological back bone of NZ Labour now…all we will hear is the unpleasant sounds of NZ Labour digging further into it’s own grave….
Paul Mason ‘We Will Change the World’ Labour Party Conference
Ed, this is similar to Winstons policy to take back utilities companies again along with any ‘errant manufacturing companies that get public taxpyer bailouts and then leave NZ’ and we have several of those dont we just.
All around Corbyn is a hero I see there and a new dawn to take back our countries from the ‘rogue elites’ ( we call carpetbaggers invited here by John Key & mow accomodated by Bill English.)
Hopefully we will get a Labour/NZ First/Greens coalition to save our country.
An excellent platform for a Labour-NZ First-Greens coalition for the next 3 years. Each of those points has been championed by one of these three parties at some stage… except no.2… but pretty sure Green and NZ First would support it.
Leaky homes: ‘If you can’t afford to pay for it, then tough luck’
The son of one elderly Auckland owner said authorities needed to urgently step in because open-ended repair bills put all the risk on the owners.
“There is no protection. It will cost what it will cost and if you can’t afford to pay for it, then tough luck,” Iain Swan said.
His 86-year-old father has moved out of his leaky Bay Palms apartment in Browns Bay, on the North Shore, but Mr Swan said payment demands from the body corporate remained.
“Under the Unit Titles Act the body corp committee are quite able to forcibly sell your apartment.”
I wonder who the son has been voting for the last 20 years? I worked in the leaky home area and it became a gravy train for so-called building experts and lawyers. The Council (Auckland in particular) got so fixated on its own liability it has forced many properties into full reclad when Building Code repairs were possible.
Building experts cream money for being a project manager of a rebuild. On a multi-unit, we are talking no change from 50k and often far higher.
WHY would they recommend repairs? Why would they fight for repairs?
Many Body Corps run by professional Body Corps have been treated negligently but suing your Body Corp is the same as suing yourself.
IF National wanted to deal with this for future generations (and that would include Christchurch rebuild) they would have made developers personally liable, along with Designers and Builders. The Cowboys would have disappeared and the good ones would dominate. Instead
Developer starts a company – does build – removes profits – shuts down company – = escapes any legal liability for wrongdoing.
Sadly too many people dismiss such issues until it happens to them (or their loved one).
Developer starts a company – does build – removes profits – shuts down company – = escapes any legal liability for wrongdoing.
And it’s not just developers who do that.
IIRC, there was a tech shop a few years ago who got into trouble for not paying his employees enough. Went to court, was found guilty and ordered to pay. Next day the business was shut down and a new one in its place owned by the same person and selling the same stuff. The liability disappeared overnight as the business that had been charged no longer existed.
When shit like this can happen then the law needs to change to hold the people that own the business liable. After all, it’s not the business that’s breaking the law as that’s an inanimate object. It’s the people that own it.
I agree on both counts but developers decided to buy the cheap mediterranean suited cladding.
Note how quickly BRANZ was changed into a company jyst in time to escape liability. I have seen documentation which shows BRANZ never tested Harditex before put their mark on it they just accepted JH testing… which it turns out they didnt do
Acceptance of inequality at heart of CEO pay – researcher
‘Chief executives are paid more in societies that are more tolerant of inequality, a researcher says.
Researcher Max Rashbrooke specialises in salary trends.
He told Morning Report research showed that New Zealand chief executives received large salaries whether their companies did well or not.
“They’ve kind of got a bit of a bet each way.”
Mr Rashbrooke said chief executives earned far more than their predecessors a generation ago but there was no evidence they were more effective.
“They are paid more because they’re in a society that’s much more tolerant of inequality.
“Whereas conversely, if you look at a country like Japan where you have people running huge multinational companies, most Japanese chief executives would be paid less than $1m New Zealand.
“Because in Japan it’s still, to a large extent, culturally unacceptable to have those very large salaries which people don’t regard as deserved.”‘
Poverty, illness and living on less than the minimum wage.
‘The last time there was fresh produce on the table was more than two years ago.
After covering her basic expenses, Lynlie Beazley survives on just $22 per week and sometimes she sleeps on an empty stomach. The west Auckland resident described herself as the “face of poverty” in the country. “I don’t know how I live each day.”
Beazley said she would not be able to survive without food parcels from The Salvation Army. She is one of a growing number of people knocking on the charity’s door for help. Her weekly benefit was about $236, but she only had $22 after rent, expenses, and hire purchase payments. Beazley, a Housing NZ tenant, said this was enough for two bottles of milk, three loaves of bread and a tray of eggs.
Salvation Army welfare national Practice Manager Jono Bell said they helped 10,555 individuals and families around the country with food parcels between April and June – an 8 per cent increase on the same period last year
“For many people we see food parcels are a temporary measure to help them out in a crisis, such as losing their job, but we do have a number of clients who rely on food parcels for survival, because their income is not enough to meet their needs.
“The rising cost of food on top of the increasing rents we’ve seen in the past few years have been a major factor in this.” ….’
Don’t be so mean.
Bringing facts into the debate is totally unfair.
That is like asking Metira to tell the truth about the amount of support she got from her child’s fathers family.
Why doesn’t RNZ release the material they received about that? They have no problem with releasing anything provided to them if it denigrates a National MP’s character.
Of course she shouldn’t.
On the other hand I do think she should have fulfilled her obligations to the taxpayer and done such minor little things as naming the father.
She should also, when she justified her fraud, have told the truth about her situation instead of leaving the impression that the father had basically abandoned her and left her, and her daughter to go hungry.
She also had an obligation, at least in my view, to have looked for a part time job instead of spending her time running for Parliament on the ticket of idiot parties. It is called “taking responsibility” and even toward the end she never seemed to have grown up enough to do that.
I do apologise. The numbers on the indents don’t show up very clearly and I did think I was one of the two people you were referring to.
I can assure you I have no obsession with Turei. I dislike in equal measure all corrupt politicians.
On the other hand, having read your last sentence I withdraw the words of apology. The rest stands though.
Yup. Rewards those who show no personal responsibility or accountability for their lawbreaking (from positions of power) but preaches personal responsibility and accountability for others
Alwyn, just maybe the father did not want to be named ? If fathers are not married to the mothers of their children then they have to specifically front up to the registry office and sign on the dotted line. Many men won’t take that final step. Mother can name the father to WINZ but without the signature the mother is deemed to have “not named the father”.
Ms Beazley has been to prison and has completed her sentence.
Also to the point – in the article I read she has been searching for work. She clearly wasn’t coached as to the sheer amount of effort it would take to pick up an entry level job.
It’s silly in the extreme to expect someone from a hard background, with prison sentences, to know how to operate in the mainstream.
Why aren’t ex-prisoners being set up with work when they leave prison? And a mentor-buddy to help them past the rocky parts?
Or do we choose to keep on punishing them?
I didn’t see the piece on ‘$1000 of damage’. I have no idea whether it was accidental or deliberate. I do know that the amount she has to cover her overheads and living costs is far too low.
Remember – she’s done her time. Don’t let the punishment continue.
But the demonising and stigmatising (can these be used together, I wonder) must go on. You know, once a thief, always a thief. This applies to Beazley, Turei, as well as to Bill English. How on Earth can these be ‘fundamentally decent’ people once they’ve erred in their ways, I ask you … Let those we have never committed sin stand tall be counted and they shall be knighted for their good deeds and unblemished record. Yeah, nah!
“The Electoral Commission is looking into a social media post on election day by former broadcaster Sean Plunket that used a play on words to endorse the political party he worked for.
The commission confirmed it has received complaints about the tweet, which read: “Hope everyone remembers to put a top on before going out to vote, when it’s cold, two tops.”
I hope the complaint is upheld. I noticed a bit of this sort of thing going on on election day at Kiwiblog but it’s a whole new level when someone (formerly) in the media is doing it.
So in other words Alwyn…….you just don’t give a fuck about people being bone poor in New Zealand. That disregard necessarily includes bone poor children. To the contrary you militate for a small proportion of the population to earn, and enhance their earnings way, way, way beyond need. There seems to be no other conclusion.
You are therefore one of those self-perceived ‘fine’, repugnant, subversive extremists worthy of nothing less than contempt. In my more than 4 decades of active engagement with NZ criminal law I am yet to find the penalty of starvation prescribed in any New Zealand criminal legislation. A word to the ignorant…….it is extremely dishonest to muddy the waters by invoking a conviction without at the same time providing full detail of the circumstances of the offending. The offence of aggravated robbery covers a wide range of unlawful behaviour. Not that that would worry a darkly ignorant blowhard.
Even if this woman’s offence fell at the very serious end of the scale of such offending, where imprisonment is more or less mandatory, starvation was never part of that sentence. Or are you saying that if one has a serious conviction you’ll not be left to starve while serving your prison sentence but that’s all good once you’re released ? Karma will take you Alwyn.
Did anyone else hear the item on Morning Report (I just heard it on the 7 am news) where there was some discussion talked about in which Tuariki John Delamere is said to have stated that “if Jacinda offers Winston the shared PM” she will probably get a deal – there was then some suggestion that “Bill wouldn’t and shouldn’t”.
Maybe I’m just being sensitive before my morning coffee, but it reeked sexism to me.
I heard it but I didn’t hear it as sexist… I heard it as Jacinda having less of an ego than Bill, making such an arrangement possible. Given that time is on Jacinda’s side and not on Winnie’s… why not make that offer? They could do 18 months each.
Ha! Hell… why not throw in James as well and they can have 12 months each… 🙂
@SpaceMonkey – ok, must have been the lack of coffee then 😉
I just hope it’s the lack of ego factor driving people to make such comments, rather than any insinuation about her gender, age or relative lack of experience – those things push my sensitive wee buttons!!
Sounds like a bitter member of the old boys club grasping at straws and living in the dark ages.
A bit like all the speculation that is rife in the media again today.
Bitter ex MP’s facing irrelevance like Dunne giving his opinion and speculations while preparing his CV after withdrawing from the election due to a lack of popularity that was waging a war against his ego.
Hey there Frida 😀 I’m finding it super amusing, how media are asking opinions of all these people, because their opinions will have absolutely no bearing on any decision making.
Winston click bait for the masses, it’s sooooo funny.
Tualeki the two faced .
Former National/NZfirst MP.
Traitorous meddler.
Bill English is finished washed up if he doesn’t get over the line.
Now at least that’s up the anti how trustable are National in holding their coalition deal given this Rant from the Tuafaced Delamare.
NOne of my favorite programs on TV IS Gold Rush Its a good program that shows that the small guy can win and beat big money with a bit of learning and some good intelligence . I remember one day and Mitch Parkers mechanic had a water leak in one of
There machine and Mitch said that a tip that Jean Cheesman was to have heaps of black pepper and they put that in the radiatior and it stops the water leaks so six months ago when I found that my radiator cap had been loosened and had a slight crack in the head I remember that episode and poured black pepper into my trucks cooling system and what do you no it works so DON’T by any of that shit they sell in the shop just put black pepper in your cooling system and top the water up if you are losing water and you will be able to get home it was a temporary fix
That gave me six months .Now the grass is growing and my other job has started well I will be able to pay my loan off piece o piss and also the big picture is were are the small COUNTRY so don’t go shooting our own foot off and attacking fonterra One old say if I like is if it ain’t broke DON’T fix it yes there need to be some environment issues sorted but fonterra business structures are fine.
“…poured black pepper into my trucks cooling system and what do you no it works so DON’T by any of that shit they sell in the shop.”
Would get us home as long as we had black pepper on board. Great ide Eco maori.
Don’t you get it our largest trading nation has a controlled economy and they can fuck WITH our exports at the drop of a hat By the way someone direct credit $30 into my bank account and reference it with KEEP GROWING IN TAURANGA.
Now that can be interpreted in many ways so DON’T DO that because it’s not helping me.
Sweden and Norway, for example, both experienced a major power shift in the 1930s after prolonged nonviolent struggle. They “fired” the top 1 percent of people who set the direction for society and created the basis for something different.
Both countries had a history of horrendous poverty. When the 1 percent was in charge, hundreds of thousands of people emigrated to avoid starvation. Under the leadership of the working class, however, both countries built robust and successful economies that nearly eliminated poverty, expanded free university education, abolished slums, provided excellent health care available to all as a matter of right and created a system of full employment. Unlike the Norwegians, the Swedes didn’t find oil, but that didn’t stop them from building what the latest CIA World Factbook calls “an enviable standard of living.”
I know schadenfreude is not a particularly noble emotion. But should Winston go with a progressive government, the shit fight within the National Party will be a joy to behold.
Because they were in Government when he got his citizenship. It’s not a secret Chairman. But National, they are the ones who elevated him to parliamentarian.
[lprent: Quite inadequate. If you want people to click into links, then provide some summary information about why they should click into it rather than your effective statement of “I am a pretentious wanker”. As you can see it just causes stupid flames which I don’t like reading or dealing with and have a tendency to deal with by making sure that don’t happen again. ]
no you didn’t provide clarification. You merely linked to something you claim provides clarification.
And if you don’t provide a clear description of your point in a sentence or two of your own construction, then you’re either incapable of doing so (in which case discussing the topic with you is pointless, as you cannot comprehend it), or you’re to lazy to do so (in which case there’s no point in discussing the topic with you), or you used the request for clarification as an excuse to insert irrelevant information into the discussion alongside whatever “clarification” your link might provide (in which case there’s no point in discussing the topic with you because you’re discusssing things in bad faith).
Are there allegations that any Labour MPs worked for schools that taught agents of foreign intelligence services?
No?
Probably just what Tracey said, then.
Did national do due diligence when making him a candidate?
“Are there allegations that any Labour MPs worked for schools that taught agents of foreign intelligence services?”
No, not that I’m aware of at this stage. But there are questions about donations and their connection to the CCP. As I pointed out to Tracey, it is thought (by the author of the report) both National and Labour were being similarly influenced by the Chinese.
And we need to know how influential that influence is. In both parties.
As for Nationals due diligence, it’s another thing the inquiry will need to discover. The same goes for Labour and their MPs.
And by the way, I did warn about this, but as usual, I was largely brushed off as a concern troll.
When Labour face the same allegations as the nats, go consider your “questions”.
And by the way, I did warn about this
Hey, seeing as it’s about you now, did you have any concerns about, say, US involvement with the nats? Like sharing the data from the KDC search with the FBI? What about rewriting NZ labour laws after meetings with Hollywood folk?
Oh, wait, the yanks aren’t Chinese, so…. no, you probably didn’t.
“When Labour face the same allegations as the nats…”
They largely are.
However, I’m not to clear on the point you’re trying to make re go consider my questions?
And as for the US (and any other nation for that matter) of course I have concerns about what influence they have on our nation. One of the reasons why I opposed the TPP.
No. A nat mp has allegations, your wider wank merely has questions.
marty was pretty clear, and my point is that I agree with him: I think you’re a racist. But with the addition that you also give national a pass on genuine issues and beat up bullshit about labour and the greens.
It’s not just my “wank” as you put it. As highlighted above, the author of the study believes both National and Labour are being similarly influenced by the Chinese.
If it were only my “wider wank” (again, as you put it) Labour would have little to worry about, but as it happens, it’s not.
This study was largely drowned out by the election, but once that is done and dusted (and especially if Labour become the new Government) don’t be surprised if the media refocuses on this.
And while at this stage it may be only questions being raised, don’t you think it would be prudent to duly investigate before any potential damage is done and ensure the line hasn’t already been crossed?
Marty is a pinhead who can stay on the sidelines (having fun) hurling his insults for all I care. Sticks and stones. But every now and then I may give him a clip (verbally of course) and have some fun of my own.
Resorting to the race card is often done as a means of diminishing the concern (as in, don’t listen to him he’s a racist) and shutting down these types of discussions.
Like Marty and a number of others (regardless of the topic at hand) you jump at the opportunity to make it about me. It may appeal to the ignorant and pinheads like Marty, but I’m hoping more readers are above that and will see through all this racist, concern troll, undercover righty crap that continually gets thrown at me.
But I’m sure, going forward, you and Marty will be there to hurl your abuse, distract the discussion and do your best to make it about me. Knock yourself out. You won’t deter me.
Dude, even when I addressed the topic without discussing you, you made it about you. But if someone else does it, you get all twee and self-effacing.
The fact is that allegations with serious ramifications have been made about a specific individual, and wider “questions” are raised about donations overwhelmingly directed at one party in particular. Your article mentions fifteen donations to national, probably totalling well over a million bucks. But you give equal time to the one 40k donation to Labour before one donor switched allegiance. Your fixation is on China and Labour. This bias affects your comments.
I know you won’t be deterred – like most bigots you think that your opinions are normal and reasonable.
As usual the self absorbed its not about me chair gets all cut up cos hes misunderstood.
As a troll you are quite funny but your wee mask is slipping and your bed of rancor is exposed too often now. Zero cred usually means you’ll up your comments. Ho hum lets do this…
Whether or not someone wants to make themselves the topic is their prerogative. Evidently, you don’t respect that.
Moreover, the instance I take it you are referring too was a side note, merely stating I forewarned about this and I was largely brushed off as a concern troll. It was inline with the topic, hence wasn’t a means to distract. And again, it’s ones prerogative and you should respect that. It’s not a green light for you to go piling it on.
The fact is there is more than allegations with serious ramifications being made. You’re overlooking there are also questions with potentially serious ramifications requiring answers.
Moreover, I’m not taking a one sided approach to this. As shown from my call for a wide-ranging inquiry.
Hence, that’s just you resorting to lies again in an attempt to score a point and discredit my approach.
The reason Labour has gotten a little more attention in this discussion relates to some being oblivious to (and some attempting to diminish) Labour’s role in this. Pointing at you.
As my comments will overwhelmingly show. I don’t come here to talk about me. I come here to talk politics and that which relates to it. Unlike you, that clearly wants to continue making it about me. As shown in this and most of your other replies too me.
So thanks again for providing readers with another example.
Labour’s “role” in this is at worst a bit part, with the nats centre stage. Your emphasis on Labour raises the question as to why your attention dwells well away from the major players. Like your emphasis on China yet nothing about the yanks.
The main issue is that the nats put NZ on sale to the highest bidder. Chinese millionaires, yank billionaires, limited raw materials at low low prices, everything must go! Even earning an honourable mention from Mossack Fonseca. A cynic would argue that this is why National got so many “questioned” donations and Labour got only one – the donors got no return on their “investment” to one party, maybe? Which one?
The author of the study believes both National and Labour are being similarly influenced by the Chinese, suggesting their role is far larger than a bit part.
But, without a thorough investigation, you’re clearly speculating at best.
My emphasis on Labour in this particular discussion relates to some being oblivious to (and some attempting to diminish) Labour’s role in this. As I already explained.
So your assertion can only be seen as another attempt to discredit and make this discussion about me.
Thanks again for another example of you playing the man and not the ball. The more you do it, the more I’ll highlight it.
And as I told Marty, the more you play up like this, the more chance you’ll be caught out.
Moreover, each time your play the man and not the ball your veil is further lifted, exposing readers to your troll like behaviour.
But as I mentioned above, knock yourself out.
It will be interesting to see how long you’ll get away with it.
As for National obtaining larger donations, perhaps it’s due to them being in Government and (until recently) being perceived as more likely to maintain hold of that power. It’s rather pointless donating large sums of money to a party that won’t achieve power, thus produce a return.
Or maybe with Labour having two Chinese MPs to potentially apply influence, the large fiscal incentive isn’t as necessary. And with Labour having set up the free trade deal with China, perhaps they’ve already won over the support of a number within the party?
you’re the one making the claim, doofus. You allege Labour is being influenced by the Chinese government. All you have is that Labour received one donation from people who gave repeatedly to the national party, and someone you agree with wrote an article.
If China is controlling the Labour party as much as it is the nats, why were Labour opposing foreign involvement in the housing market, while the nats have refused to do a damned thing?
You know why people usually demand (or conduct) investigations when there is no evidence of wrongdoing, or even where there is exculpatory evidence? Bias. Often racial bias (just saying that as a “side note” so apparently it would be unfair for you to respond to it in any way. /sarc)
Why should I have to read your links? I could end up anywhere, like Whaleoil… You ask so many questions and demand answers of others.
“Moreover, do you believe its got nothing to do with questions surrounding a couple in their own camp?” I don’t know what you mean by this, Labour, National or Greens?
You don’t have to read my links, Tracey. However, it was a rather important political article that I would have assumed those that have an interest in politics (such as yourself) would’ve already been aware of.
The link clearly reads newsroom, so there was no chance of you ending up at Whaleoil.
Nevertheless, back to the clarification seeing as the link provided seems to have been considered inadequate. There are also questions surrounding the connections (to the CCP) of two labour MPs.
And as shown in the link, Professor Anne-Marie Brady from the University of Canterbury (the author of the study) believed both National and Labour were being similarly influenced by the Chinese.
Personally, I’d go for it. If the investigation shows malicious intent and the MSM says but it was you who gave him citizenship I’d then say Yes, and now that mistake is being corrected.
I think the torch needs to be shone on National for knowingly appointing him to their candidate list and turning him into a Parliamentarian. I won’t hold my breath though. Good luck, let us know what else you uncover.
“I think the torch needs to be shone on National for knowingly appointing him to their candidate list and turning him into a Parliamentarian.”
So from that can we take it you will be holding their (Labour, Greens) feet to the fire for them to support an inquiry? Or is not holding your breath what you recommend we all do?
Moreover, you’ll be holding Labour to the same standard?
I have no problem with an inquiry except I know they are very expensive. I would just prefer the redacted document was unredacted. So much cheaper than an inquiry
In this instance, I don’t believe we can let the cost of an investigation excuse not having one. And it needs to go deeper than just removing the redaction.
Allow me to modestly predict that in a day or two our “Leftie” Mr Chairman will be raising points with great concern, subtly trying to prompt Greens and Labour towards those pits…
Listening to RNZ this morning and heard about the seriously substandard apartment buildings in NZ – so serious that people will be killed if something is not done about it. The incredible thing is that these buildings cannot be named for legal reasons. What on earth is Health and Safety going to do about this. The apartment building owners have been informed but not the apartment dwellers who are owners. They are owners of these apartments. Are they going to be left in limbo forever and a day not knowing if they step on their balcony it will collapse, the building will fall off its foundations or the walls so rotting that two people have a fun fight in their apartment will fall through the side walls.
Its appalling that people’s lives are so bloody cheap in this country. Surely the decent thing is to notify these owners of the apartments of the state and danger of their abode and give them a chance to relocate and sort out the fiasco at a later date. At least they won’t be killed or seriously injured living on in their ignorance. It just disgusts me that lives are so cheap and building owners can get away with their sloppy building practices to cut costs.
National made builders and designers personally liable but not developers, as a response to leaky homes… this one smaall step might have made a big difference to the quality of the final product. The Developer generally determines the budget, not the builder.
Tracey It doesn’t matter who is to blame for the state of the buildings, its the fact that people are living in these buildings and not being forewarned about the dangers and that they could be seriously injured or killed. Protecting shoddy work is not acceptable and should be against the law.
It does matter Kate because history repeats cos of such things. Until we get personal responsibility on the ones holding the wallet this will keep happening. Why would National make it against the law when they refuse to fix part of the problem at the source
Remember Key says all young people should look to apartments but left apartments off the Homesmart funding.
There is a pattern. Labour in the past and National feed the Developer appetite knowing they avoid all recourse from shoddy work. It is another example of money over people. It is wrong of course
Wow bill and Jim must have smoke coming out there ass after what I wrote last nite because the intimation stepped up ten fold today I tried my bluff with the bank it did not work but I will not retaliate because they are worried about me getting locked up and not been able to pay there money back YEA FIGHT.
And I can’t blame anyone for being victims of the fight between me the police and national my G mar would not approve Ka Pai
This may have been canvassed before but does anyone know NZF’s position on the tax cuts scheduled for April 18 ?
Essentially Labour’s programme of education / health / etc investment is dependent upon cancelling those cuts. So if NZF wants to retain those tax cuts then Labours has its hands tied , yes? Which way did NZF vote on these tax changes?
I’m trying to support some people’s Wairua and you neo liberal go and stuff them up.
So why did you not support Joe,s fight when they needed it is it because he would become a role model for all Brown people in NZ O we can’t have that because they will come out in force and vote you out you neo liberals are idiots and have tunnel vision and we cannot let you run OUR Country we are all on this journey together you fools
Ka Pai
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On Sunday July 7, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter announced their intention to review the Ministry of Health’s Funded Family Care policy and repeal Part 4Aof the 2000 NZ Public Health and Disability Act. These are festering injustices ...
Agriculture is our biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for 48% of the total. It follows that meeting any credible emissions reduction target requires cutting agricultural emissions, most likely by having fewer cows. But National thinks people shouldn't be ...
How scummy is the UK Home Office? This scummy:The Home Office lied to EU member states to remove victims of human trafficking and modern slavery in breach of European law, according to whistleblowers. Legal experts have said the practice is ...
Belle is a lovely fifteen year-old border collie who belongs to our friends and neighbours at Bryan’s Beach, Michael and Judy Corboy. Belle, in her old age, can hardly see or hear, but – as a constant participant at social ...
“We wuz robbed!” is the classic cry of the disappointed losers of a closely contested sporting contest – it is very much to the credit of the Black Caps that we heard no such sentiment from them following the stunning ...
The Youth Parliament is being held this week, and some of the youth MPs are campaigning for a lower voting age:Molly Doyle, 17, is one Youth MP who wants this to change. She is part of a non-partisan campaign run ...
Up till now, Australia has made its living by digging up coal and exporting it to other countries, destroying the global climate in the process. But now they have a new option: exporting solar power:The desert outside Tennant Creek, deep ...
Later this month, thousands of people are expected to march to parliament as part of the #HandsOffOurTamaraki movement. At its heart, the movement is about preserving whānau and demanding that the state stop removing children from their whānau, hapū and iwi. ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh The recent statements made by the former FARC commander, Carlos Lozada (legal name Julian Gallo), where, from his seat in Congress, he praised the Colombian Army demonstrate how low the farianos have sunk. Lozada began by ...
A Woman’s Place is on the Podium was a public meeting in London on 10 July to discuss women’s sports and the impact of transwomen competing against women. The venue was sold out with a packed hall of 750 people. ...
Last month I talked about the no-fly movement: people who refuse to fly or limit it to absolute necessity to avoid destroying the climate. Now, that movement has a somewhat surprising new member: Dutch airline KLM:Dutch airline KLM has launched ...
In the 1960's, humanity faced a terrible threat: global thermonuclear war. Nuclear weapons were uniquely destructive and dangerous, and if more countries got them, the logic of MAD and the pre-emptive strike would put us on a hair-trigger to destruction. ...
An occasional series where I will ponder allegations of anti-Semitism directed at the British Labour Party and its members.In this case, we are thinking about an allegedly anti-Semitic image shared by a Labour Party member. Its origins appear to be ...
Matariki has been and gone, but this year we saw a couple of op-eds arguing that it should be a public holiday, replacing the foreign monarch's fake birthday. And now, New Zealand Republic - a group which campaigns for an ...
The discussion on the quality of economic advice, which we reported last week, has spilled over into a discussion about whether so many senior appointments should be of non-New Zealanders. Recall I discussed the failure to develop career paths within ...
When Nicky Hager revealed US footage of the Operation Burnham raid, obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act, one of the obvious questions was whether Ministers had seen it - and in particular, whether they'd been told that it ...
Northern Ireland is the Alabama of the UK: a backwards region where women and gay people are denied fundamental rights. But Westminster has just decided to fix that:MPs have voted resoundingly to extend same-sex marriage and access to abortion to ...
There's a problem with "synthetic cannabis", and not just the one you think. It's the name.We're in the midst of a wave of news stories that link synthetic drugs to serious harm, through deadly road accidents and accidental overdoses (which ...
Ranjit Kauri, The Dancing Maharani and Other Stories, Swansea, Head and Heart, 2019, £6.99; reviewed by Don Franks Working people are not the same country to country. Our struggles for a better life take place in surroundings of very different ...
Let's Do Them! All Jacinda Ardern has to do to clinch the 2020 General Election is frighten the bejesus out of the electorate by describing in the most graphic terms imaginable what will happen to all the positive beginnings her ...
It may be that we have all misinterpreted the somewhat surprising “bromance” between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. It has been all too easy to assume that it is Kim who is cosying up to Trump rather than the ...
by Michael Roberts So the full circle is completed. The corrupt pro-business conservative New Democracy party in Greece that was ousted by the anti-capitalist Syriza party in 2015 has been returned to office in yesterday’s general election, with an outright ...
When the Australian government passed a series of new spy laws over the last few years, they pinky-promised that they wouldn't use them to spy on journalists and subvert freedom of the press. They lied:The anti-encryption laws passed by the ...
From 1975 to 1989, the spy agencies of South America's right-wing military dictatorships cooperated in Operation Condor, a joint campaign of extermination against the continent's left. Roughly 400,000 people were imprisoned, 30,000 disappeared, and 60,000 murdered - kidnapped, tortured, executed, ...
When she was standing for office, Jacinda Ardern promised she would take abortion out of the Crimes Act. And to be fair, there was some early action on that, with an immediate referral of the issue to the Law Commission ...
When the government introduced the Zero Carbon Bill, people rightly asked what they planned to do to reduce transport emissions, which basicly had no policy at all other than the ETS. Today, they responded, announcing a "feebate" system which would ...
At almost every level, the problem with medicinal cannabis is a lack of good information. In the US, FDA regulations make it hard to research. Most doctors aren't familiar with what research there is and most patients don't know either. ...
Redline is critical of Corbyn for his political weaknesses, but he’s no anti-Semite. There is no substance to the McCarthyist witch-hunt being run by the right wing, and the pro-Israel lobby inside and outside the Labour Party in the UK. ...
The government's billion trees program is the sort of policy which could make a real difference to our emissions and the fight against climate change. But climate scientist Jim Salinger isn't convinced:The Forestry Minister Shane Jones' one billion trees won't ...
Last month the government was celebrating another surplus. Meanwhile, children are starving:One in five children are living in households where putting food on the table is a struggle, according to a new report from the Ministry of Health. It found ...
Show Me The Money! The alternative to state funding of infrastructure is, of course, to fund it by taking on massive amounts of private debt. On this issue, at least, Auckland mayoral challenger, Tamihere, has some solid points to make. ...
If we are to avoid making the earth uninhabitable, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to practically nothing over the next decade. But that will still leave us with the problem of the carbon we have already emitted, which ...
Former Waikato DHB CEO Nigel Murray allegedly misused public funds, spending more than $120,000 of public money on unjustified travel. He was forced to resign and the Serious Fraud Office began an investigation. But despite the SFO finding that the ...
Jeremy Corbyn, we are told, is being advised – not least by his deputy (as well as by some of his would-be successors) – that he must come “off the fence” on the Brexit issue if he wants to bolster ...
The End of Life bill has been read a second time and is now heading for the House for further debate. Personally, I support the proposal. I don't ever epect to take advantage of the Bill's provisions myself, but as ...
Before the substantive issue which this column is about – whether there has been a deterioration in the economic advice given to the government – a paragraph about the budget leaks.read more ...
Below is a translation of the editorial in the June 24 round of weekly workplace bulletins issued all over France by the revolutionary workers’ organisation Lutte Ouvriere. Last Saturday, 8,000 people took to the streets of Belfort (eastern France) to ...
Why hasn't Parliament followed the lead set by our local authorities and declared a climate emergency? The answer is the National Party:The Prime Minister’s admission that she is open to the idea of declaring a climate change emergency is nothing ...
Back in May the government released its Zero Carbon Bill. While much of the bill was welcome, there was one big exception: it contained a secrecy clause, requiring the Climate Change Commission to maintain secrecy over practically everything it does. ...
by Phil Duncan This past week has marked the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Stonewall Inn riots in Christopher Street, New York, the event generally regarded as kicking off the gay liberation movement. Quite a few articles have ...
Southland - land of coal-burning dairy farmers - has become the first region in the country to explicitly vote against declaring a climate emergency. Their reason? They didn't want to "devalue" the word "emergency". Its an argument addressed powerfully in ...
New Zealand has a problem with police chases: officers going after fleeing drivers like rabid dogs, without any consideration for proportionality or public safety, often with fatal results. And according to an in-depth article in the Guardian today, the UK ...
Welcome to another heaping helping of research publications related to climate change drivers and mechanisms, the effects of climate change and how we might yet grope our way into systems approaches to dealing with the mess we're making, despite ourselves. ...
Holly Lawford-Smith is a senior lecturer in political philosophy at the University of Melbourne. She’s currently writing a book about radical feminism. This article appeared on Feminist Current Academics should be standing together in defence of universities’ fundamental values: the ...
The Otago Daily Times has an in-depth article about the future of wind energy in New Zealand, and it is looking bright:The news that wind will play the leading role in New Zealand’s energy future was put up in lights ...
If the sight of schoolkids striking for a future has been filling you with hope, good news: they want you to join them on September 27:Students will take to the streets again demanding action on climate change, and this time ...
The People's "Friend": In this masterpiece of revolutionary propaganda, the homicidal political psychopath, Jean-Paul Marat, has been transformed by Jacques-Louis David, the French Revolution's most accomplished artist, into a martyred hero of the ordinary people of Paris. Thanks to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, ...
The principle of one person, one vote doesn’t apply for local elections. In fact, you don’t even need to be a person to have voting rights. Welcome to the ratepayer roll. While the ratepayer roll accounts for less than 1% ...
I have been working my way through a 47,000 document tranche of declassified US government communications related to Argentina and the “Dirty War” of 1976-83. I grew up in Argentina in the period leading up to the March 24, 1976 ...
A new digital platform aims to make it easier for small businesses to access services from multiple government agencies, leaving them more time to focus on their own priorities. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Small Business Stuart Nash ...
Million-dollar start to gun collection eventsPolice Minister Stuart Nash says a solid start has been made to the gun buyback and amnesty after the first weekend of community collection events. “Gun owners will walk away with more than ...
Police Minister Stuart Nash has praised Police and gun owners after the first firearms collection event saw a busy turnout at Riccarton Racecourse in Christchurch. “Police officers and staff have put a tremendous effort into planning and logistics for the ...
Seventy-eight new Police constables are heading out to the regions following today’s graduation of a new recruit wing from the Royal New Zealand Police College. Police Minister Stuart Nash says the record high number of new Police officers being recruited, ...
A new website has launched in response to recent RNZ reporting about Police in Dunedin unlawfully entering people’s homes and breath-testing them. “I was disgusted when I saw what they cops were doing in Dunedin. Their behaviour undermines all of ...
Hundreds of whanau and Maori leaders gathered at a hui in Mangere last weekend where they voted unanimously for an inquiry into Oranga Tamariki. The historic meeting called for a child welfare framework to be developed by Maori, for Maori. ...
The Head of the New Zealand Maori Council has called for the Government to hold an immediate investigation into the global cosmetics company Sephora after they were caught dumping waste hundreds and thousands of waste paper products embedded with ...
Simon Shepherd: The government says its agreement with farmers, that they should pay for agricultural emissions, is historic. But there's no agreement on how. One proposal says farmers should pay a 5 per cent emissions tax. Another suggests farmers ...
The O’Brien Institute for Public Health at Calgary University has just released their report on fluoridation. This institute has, up to now, been staunchly in favour of fluoridation. However, yesterday, with regards to fluoride’s effect on the brain, ...
July 19 (BusinessDesk) - The government is looking to tighten control and impose harsher penalties after the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak revealed cracks in the country's stock management system. ...
Kia Anga Mua Ngā Hapū o Ngāpuhi (KAM) has reached a pivotal milestone following a hui yesterday at Waitangi with the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the Government spent $133,530 on producing its ‘Wellbeing Budget’ document, a cost blowout largely driven by spending on graphic design and photography. The $133,530 price tag compares to $86,268 ...
Kahungunu Māori Language Awards. Nominations closed on 5 July 2019, and were judged by the Senior Management Team of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated. The judges wish to acknowledge the very high calibre of all nominations received making it a very ...
High Court of Australia Judge, Justice Stephen Gageler, will address recent criticism of court judgment delays in Australia, at the University of Canterbury (UC) on 23 July at 6.15pm. ...
This summary is provided to assist in the understanding of the Inquiry’s proceedings but does not constitute the official record. The full Minute is available at the link below. ...
The Tertiary Education Commission is laying charges under section 292A of the Education Act 1989 against three individuals for making a false representation for the purpose of receiving, or continuing to receive, free tertiary education from a tertiary education ...
New Zealand food businesses today welcomed a trio of new food safety tools, designed to make it faster, easier and more affordable to follow the rules and keep consumers safe. ...
AUT research shows that Māori children are almost four times more likely than those of European descent to be placed out of home by child protection services ...
The Government announced today that grants of up to $2,500 for energy efficient heaters are now available as part of the Government’s Warmer Kiwi Homes programme. ...
Fonterra’s use of coal has been the target of numerous grassroots campaigns in recent years. Last year 350 Aotearoa affiliated groups, Fossil Free Aoraki and 350 Nelson launched a petition dismissing the dairy giant’s initial target of no new ...
Information sessions on proposals for The Medicinal Cannabis Scheme take place in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch over the next fortnight. The sessions are open to anyone with an interest in learning more about the proposed scheme. ...
“Our children are our most vulnerable, most innocent victims and we do not want to see any more children harmed by these ‘known sex offenders’. The safety of our community must be the paramount consideration.” ...
“The announcement that Fonterra will immediately stop installing any new coal boilers or increasing capacity to burn coal is the signal that the biomass fuel supply industry welcomes” said Brian Cox, Executive Officer of the Bioenergy Association. ...
18 July 2019-- Coal Action Network Aotearoa (CANA) today welcomed Fonterra’s commitment to build no new coal plants, a “no brainer” for the climate crisis the world faces. The group has been urging this transition for six years now and ...
The increase in demand for cage-free eggs is set to continue according to animal rights organisation SAFE, who says the egg industry should expect this and prepare. ...
Wellington, New Zealand – 350 Pacific made a formal submission to the New Zealand Government’s Environment Parliamentary Select Committee on the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill, led by the Pacific Climate Warriors (PCWs) based in ...
There used to be a school of thought on the centre right side of politics that the best way to neuter the Greens as a political force would be to let them have a spell in government. Then, according to ...
Today (18 July) is Nelson Mandela International Day when the United Nations highlights the importance of humane conditions of imprisonment. In New Zealand our prisons are overcrowded and understaffed. At 214 prisoners per 100,000 people, we have the fifth ...
NZEI Te Riu Roa will take legal action over the lengthy delay in implementing pay increases for teachers. Novopay announced yesterday that teachers would have to wait until 11 September to see pay increases that they won when they settled ...
EDS has filed its submission on the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill. The Bill sets targets for greenhouse gas reductions, provides for the government to set a series of carbon budgets, and sets up a new, independent, Climate ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union has identified an absurd case of mission creep at Wellington City Council: the decision to spend $21,750 on two Consumer NZ investigations into different brands of bike lights. ...
The Motor Trade Association is welcoming the release of the Government’s new draft road safety strategy. MTA Chief Executive Craig Pomare says the association is pleased to see vehicle safety has been made a priority in the Road to Zero ...
The Department of Conservation continue to repeat the same old story about attacks on staff and how it is affecting their role in protecting our precious wildlife. NZ herald https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12249704 ...
The government's silence on the fact that the country's second-largest milk processor is on the brink of becoming 25% Chinese Government owned has been deafening. ...
School Strike 4 Climate NZ welcomes the coalition Government’s endeavour to take action on reducing agricultural emissions but is disappointed at the weak stance that the Government has taken on the issue. ...
The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has issued a formal warning under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act) to seven reporting entities within the Regus Management Limited (RNZML) designated business ...
The Northland Regional Council (NRC) has voted to exclude all GM/GE precautionary provisions in its regional plan, despite years of community engagement showing support for such protection. There is a sense of betrayal following the way the NRC Chairman ...
New Zealand’s ‘mission-driven’ charities working in international aid are showing early signs of changing the way they work, in particular prioritising building the capacity and resilience of local communities to do their own development. ...
Teachers will have to wait until 11 September for pay increases won as part of their collective agreement negotiations settled in June, according to an update sent to schools today from Novopay. ...
July 16 (BusinessDesk) - Energy Minister Megan Woods says the government “won’t die in a ditch” if its goal of 100 percent renewable electricity generation isn't reached by 2035. ...
The Electricity Networks Association (ENA) is welcoming the Government’s response to the Interim Climate Change Committee (ICCC) Report released today. Graeme Peters, chief executive of the ENA, said one of the key recommendations, endorsed by the ...
An article* published this month in the Journal of Health Organization and Management raises questions over the way health board members are elected and whether the boards are even needed. ...
NZEI Te Riu Roa's kindergarten teacher members will vote on a proposed settlement to their collective agreement after four days of negotiations with the Ministry of Education and kindergarten employers. ...
Vector has today welcomed the ICCC’s report on Accelerated Electrification . Vector agrees that accelerating the electrification of transport and process heat will play a major role in reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. Initiatives to ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Porirua City Council to cancel its underwriting of a proposed Canadian-led privately owned adventure park slated for public land after a similar project created a huge liability for Christchurch ...
Youth climate change campaigners Generation Zero welcome the Interim Climate Change Committee’s (ICCC’s) reports: Accelerated Electrification and Action on agricultural emissions ; which were finally released by the Government today, almost three months ...
Fish & Game New Zealand notes the announcement today that the Government and the intensive agriculture leadership have reached a ‘historic consensus’ and are exploring using a formal sector-government agreement instead of bringing agriculture ...
The independent Interim Climate Change Committee’s report on Accelerated Electrification was released today by the Minister for Energy and Resources, Hon Dr Megan Woods. ...
The independent Interim Climate Change Committee’s report Action on agricultural emissions was released today by the Minister for Climate Change, Hon James Shaw and the Minister of Agriculture, Hon Damien O’Connor. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Flannery, Planetary Scientist, Queensland University of Technology This weekend marks 50 years exactly since humans first walked on the Moon. It also marks Australia’s small but significant role in enabling NASA ...
The Lightbulb asks innovators and entrepreneurs how they turned their ideas into reality. This week we talk to Aaron Jones, founder of Christchurch-based reusable bag company Zerobag.First of all, give us your elevator pitch for Zerobag.Zerobag is a New Zealand-owned ...
Aaron Kreisler looks beyond the gags in this survey of an artist and his dogsat the Christchurch Art Gallery.“The dog really must love him, it’s so incredibly patient…”, a woman says to her daughter, punctuating a screening of Coin ...
‘He wants to sleep with you,’ a close friend had said. ‘Then you’ll be able to tell if it is going to lead anywhere’: a short story by New Plymouth author Elizabeth Smither. Photography by Peter Black. ...
Opinion - The leadership visits are more interesting in that they serve as a spotlight on the two countries - politically, and on policy issues, writes Brigette Morten. ...
Created by future ACT Party leader Richard Prebble after an epic reform bender in the 80s, NZ on Air has just marked its third decade. Duncan Greive relates its history and asks: is the funder still fit for purpose?It’s a ...
It helps that he played in the New Zealand cricket team when they lost the 1992 semi-final and went on to coach India, writes Georgie Wright, daughter of JohnMy dad has taught me a fair few things over my 25 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Professor Deep Saini discusses the week in politics with Michelle Grattan – one with a reduced pace, despite the 24 ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and ...
Jacinda Ardern’s Melbourne trip wrapped up with nothing to show on longstanding trans-Tasman concerns, but was a potent reminder of her international appeal. ...
Pricing agricultural emissions first at the processor level - such as Fonterra - rather than right down at farm level stacks up as a gap measure says Catherine Leining. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanne Orlando, Researcher: Children and Technology, Western Sydney University Instagram is running a social media experiment in Australia and elsewhere to see what happens when it hides the number of likes on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Cross, Research Fellow, Curtin University Sign up to the Beating Around the Bush newsletter here, and suggest a plant we should cover at batb@theconversation.edu.au. Billabongs in the northern Kimberley are welcome ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sunanda Creagh, Head of Digital Storytelling You’ve probably heard that this week marks 50 years since humans first set foot on the Moon – a feat that still boggles the mind given ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dennis Gentilin, Adjunct Fellow, Macquarie University As strange as it might sound, whistleblowers in Australia have reason to rejoice – so long as they are in the private sector. Thanks to new ...
The fourth season of Queer Eye drops today on Netflix. Sam Brooks reflects on his difficult relationship with the show, and where it sits in mainstream culture.For depressingly many people, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy was an introduction not just to ...
The collapse of a multi-billion dollar deal to sell AMP's life insurance division to a British company for $3.6 billion is the fault of the companies, according to the Reserve Bank. ...
A poem by Miramar poet Geoff Cochrane.Channel HoppingStupa or Stuka?Weet-Bix or Welsh rabbit?Galactic aerodrome or Matchbox truck?*I’m young in my dreams, still young.*Beautiful Keanu’s wearing shades—antique shades with iodine-coloured lenses.*I’m young in my dreams, still young,and I still have some ...
For the month of July, Josie Adams is taking on the challenge of being low-waste. That means minimising plastics, emissions, and even recyclables. Each week we release her diary. This is week two.Read week one here.I’ll be honest, week two ...
By Royson Willie in Port Vila Two Vanuatu Daily Post journalists were literally given a pat-down by the police criminal investigation unit yesterday over a story they had written about the vehicle of the Chairman of the Public Service ...
By Gorothy Kenneth in Port Moresby Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape will visit Australia this weekend for a week-long state visit and the Bougainville independence referendum in less than three months is expected to be high on ...
Tougher laws governing the movement of animals and harsher penalties for non-compliance are on the table under an overhaul of two key pieces of legislation. ...
Wtf did we just watch?That sound you heard was a million furries screaming in ecstasy as their fantasy and everyone else’s nightmare came to life in the form of the first trailer for the live action version of Cats.Is it ...
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 Three Women by Lisa Taddeo (Bloomsbury, $35)Fucking ...
Tougher laws governing the movement of animals and harsher penalties for non-compliance are on the table under an overhaul of two key pieces of legislation. ...
As we mark the fiftieth anniversary the July 20th Moon landing Dr Nick Long reflects on what that's meant for New Zealand and considers the space 'gold rush' ahead. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine Griebsch, Specialist and Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Medicine, University Veterinary Teaching Hospital Sydney, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney Recently reported cases of the often fatal bacterial infection ...
My selection of the eight best morning news links from here and overseas, along with eight lunchtime lean-back long reads. Also, the full list of links, including Jacinda Ardern's trip to Australia, the big emissions report, Fonterra's coal move and a new ...
Heaven is a place on earth, and June is saving the world one ’80s pop hit at a time. Tara Ward recaps season 4, episode 9 of The Handmaid’s Tale. Praise be, for there was a tiny bit of good news ...
Finance companies say they shouldn’t have to be ‘fit and proper’ even though in some cases they charge more than the planned clampdown on high cost lending. A group of finance companies that charges well over the government’s proposed cap on ...
An ANZ shareholder is demanding the bank disclose more information about the sale of an Auckland residential property to its former chief executive and his family. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s contentForeign Affairs and trade Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): The new, ...
Tara Ward sets out on a valiant quest to find the best apple in Aotearoa. The idea that every apple is a good apple is fake news. We’ve all got stories about shit experiences with apples, when it looked good on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Sarkissian, Operations Scientist, CSIRO The role Australia played in relaying the first television images of astronaut Neil Armstrong’s historic walk on the Moon 50 years ago this July features in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lyndal Sleep, Research Fellow, Griffith University In Australia’s social security laws, the “couple rule” is used to determine if a person is in a relationship, tying access to Centrelink payments to the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Walker, Lecturer (Management), Victoria University of Wellington We live in a society obsessed with performance. For both young and old, competitions, awards and rankings are an inescapable feature of life. How ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan O’Connell, Honorary Senior Fellow, University of Melbourne One-third of all preschools may lack a qualified teacher in the next four years if nothing changes, my new modelling shows. Currently, half of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kirsty Volz, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Of all the mantras for modernism, the one I think most befitting for Australian mid-century modern houses is L’esprit Nouveau – The New Spirit. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Skifield snowmaking a sign of the future, vaccination rates fall alarmingly, and construction industry encouraged to lower emissions.Snowmaking has saved the ski industry from disaster this year, after the weather ...
Neil Armstrong may have been the first man on the moon, but if we define the ‘space race’ as spaceflight capability, the Soviets won it hands down, writes Jennifer Frost. ...
Joel Rindelaub explains why it's so important for those weighing on climate science to be transparent about their funding sources and conflicts of interest. ...
Open Mike 28/09/2017 
by Daphna Whitmore The story of how the world awoke to a big injustice is starting to be told. The Pacific Games held this month in Samoa is another chapter. On the podium was Laurel Hubbard, the giant transgender weightlifter, ...2 hours ago
Our conversations and push against specific supremacist and ultra-Nationalist groups, and the pseudo-intellectual underpinnings of them, need to mature at all levels. But in doing so, it’s going to have to include a more thorough and brutally honest self-examination ...20 hours ago
This week, in the wake of National's opposition to even talking about reducing agricultural emissions and Simon Bridges' refusal to recognise that there is a climate emergency, I've been saying that National is unfit to govern. And it looks like ...22 hours ago
Something I missed: not only did Youth MPs declare a climate emergency; they also launched a campaign to lower the voting age to 16:Youth Parliament week in Parliament has seen the establishment of Make it 16, a campaign to ...1 day ago
I have been reading and listening to the aftermath of Trump’s comments about the four female first term Democratic representatives, all of whom are “people of color.” I found the US coverage interesting both as evidence of partisanship and the ...2 days ago
The proposed Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill treats biogenic methane emissions differently from all other carbon emissions. The latter are to be measured net so that emissions from fossil fuels can be offset by carbon stored in trees. ...3 days ago
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh This article aims to answer a simple question, whether the conflict is only a rural one or whether it is also urban. The verb ‘to be’ is conjugated in the present tense as ,despite what some ...3 days ago
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On Sunday July 7, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter announced their intention to review the Ministry of Health’s Funded Family Care policy and repeal Part 4Aof the 2000 NZ Public Health and Disability Act. These are festering injustices ...4 days ago
Belle is a lovely fifteen year-old border collie who belongs to our friends and neighbours at Bryan’s Beach, Michael and Judy Corboy. Belle, in her old age, can hardly see or hear, but – as a constant participant at social ...4 days ago
An occasional series where I will ponder allegations of anti-Semitism directed at the British Labour Party and its members.In this case, we are thinking about an allegedly anti-Semitic image shared by a Labour Party member. Its origins appear to be ...1 week ago
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Welcome to another heaping helping of research publications related to climate change drivers and mechanisms, the effects of climate change and how we might yet grope our way into systems approaches to dealing with the mess we're making, despite ourselves. ...3 weeks ago
The People's "Friend": In this masterpiece of revolutionary propaganda, the homicidal political psychopath, Jean-Paul Marat, has been transformed by Jacques-Louis David, the French Revolution's most accomplished artist, into a martyred hero of the ordinary people of Paris. Thanks to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, ...3 weeks ago
The principle of one person, one vote doesn’t apply for local elections. In fact, you don’t even need to be a person to have voting rights. Welcome to the ratepayer roll. While the ratepayer roll accounts for less than 1% ...3 weeks ago
Image Credit: Blog Writing Tips. I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the ... 3 weeks ago
A new digital platform aims to make it easier for small businesses to access services from multiple government agencies, leaving them more time to focus on their own priorities. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Small Business Stuart Nash ...4 days ago
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NZ Labour should listen to this.
Some key points.
1. Labour to to take utilities back into public ownership and change the way the economy runs.
2. The public sector pay cap must end.
3. A Labour government will bring in rent controls and ensure tenants are rehoused locally when estates are regenerated.
4. Labour wants more workplace democracy.
5. Corbyn attacks the traditional media and its tax exile owners who “trash Labour at every turn”, especially the Daily Mail.
6. Tuition fees would be abolished for both university and further education students.
7. Businesses will have to pay a bit more tax.
The speech in 4 minutes.
The bit where he attacks the Daily Mail.
I thought this speech from the UK Labour conference was also something that would sound like beautiful music coming from NZ Labour, but I guess with old third way crusaders like Robinson, Clarke and Mike Williams being the ideological back bone of NZ Labour now…all we will hear is the unpleasant sounds of NZ Labour digging further into it’s own grave….
Paul Mason ‘We Will Change the World’ Labour Party Conference
Ed, this is similar to Winstons policy to take back utilities companies again along with any ‘errant manufacturing companies that get public taxpyer bailouts and then leave NZ’ and we have several of those dont we just.
All around Corbyn is a hero I see there and a new dawn to take back our countries from the ‘rogue elites’ ( we call carpetbaggers invited here by John Key & mow accomodated by Bill English.)
Hopefully we will get a Labour/NZ First/Greens coalition to save our country.
An excellent platform for a Labour-NZ First-Greens coalition for the next 3 years. Each of those points has been championed by one of these three parties at some stage… except no.2… but pretty sure Green and NZ First would support it.
And property developers must ‘use it or lose it’ when it comes to land banking.
That south islanders pay 30+ cents a litre more than north Islanders, and the BPs and Caltexes say it is NOT to do with transport, means it is
a. greed
b. informal price fixing
I have a pretty good idea of the relative transport costs.
It is fractions! of a cent per litre.
If anyone has trouble hearing JC, this RT link has much better sound and you get the intro.
Take it back. Sound is shit after 50 or so mins.
This is what neo-liberalism looks like #1
Leaky homes: ‘If you can’t afford to pay for it, then tough luck’
The son of one elderly Auckland owner said authorities needed to urgently step in because open-ended repair bills put all the risk on the owners.
“There is no protection. It will cost what it will cost and if you can’t afford to pay for it, then tough luck,” Iain Swan said.
His 86-year-old father has moved out of his leaky Bay Palms apartment in Browns Bay, on the North Shore, but Mr Swan said payment demands from the body corporate remained.
“Under the Unit Titles Act the body corp committee are quite able to forcibly sell your apartment.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/339867/leaky-homes-if-you-can-t-afford-to-pay-for-it-then-tough-luck
I wonder who the son has been voting for the last 20 years? I worked in the leaky home area and it became a gravy train for so-called building experts and lawyers. The Council (Auckland in particular) got so fixated on its own liability it has forced many properties into full reclad when Building Code repairs were possible.
Building experts cream money for being a project manager of a rebuild. On a multi-unit, we are talking no change from 50k and often far higher.
WHY would they recommend repairs? Why would they fight for repairs?
Many Body Corps run by professional Body Corps have been treated negligently but suing your Body Corp is the same as suing yourself.
IF National wanted to deal with this for future generations (and that would include Christchurch rebuild) they would have made developers personally liable, along with Designers and Builders. The Cowboys would have disappeared and the good ones would dominate. Instead
Developer starts a company – does build – removes profits – shuts down company – = escapes any legal liability for wrongdoing.
Sadly too many people dismiss such issues until it happens to them (or their loved one).
And it’s not just developers who do that.
IIRC, there was a tech shop a few years ago who got into trouble for not paying his employees enough. Went to court, was found guilty and ordered to pay. Next day the business was shut down and a new one in its place owned by the same person and selling the same stuff. The liability disappeared overnight as the business that had been charged no longer existed.
When shit like this can happen then the law needs to change to hold the people that own the business liable. After all, it’s not the business that’s breaking the law as that’s an inanimate object. It’s the people that own it.
Unfortunately it is the cladding manufacturers and the academics who advised Branz, as much as the developers. So far they have escaped any liability.
I agree on both counts but developers decided to buy the cheap mediterranean suited cladding.
Note how quickly BRANZ was changed into a company jyst in time to escape liability. I have seen documentation which shows BRANZ never tested Harditex before put their mark on it they just accepted JH testing… which it turns out they didnt do
This is what neo-liberalism looks like #2
Acceptance of inequality at heart of CEO pay – researcher
‘Chief executives are paid more in societies that are more tolerant of inequality, a researcher says.
Researcher Max Rashbrooke specialises in salary trends.
He told Morning Report research showed that New Zealand chief executives received large salaries whether their companies did well or not.
“They’ve kind of got a bit of a bet each way.”
Mr Rashbrooke said chief executives earned far more than their predecessors a generation ago but there was no evidence they were more effective.
“They are paid more because they’re in a society that’s much more tolerant of inequality.
“Whereas conversely, if you look at a country like Japan where you have people running huge multinational companies, most Japanese chief executives would be paid less than $1m New Zealand.
“Because in Japan it’s still, to a large extent, culturally unacceptable to have those very large salaries which people don’t regard as deserved.”‘
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/340243/acceptance-of-inequality-at-heart-of-ceo-pay-researcher
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=201859949
How does Fonterra boss’ $8.3m pay packet stack up to other professions?
Select a card to flip it over and find out.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/97314609/comparing-fonterra-boss-theo-spierings-83m-pay-packet
“Acceptance of inequality at heart of CEO pay”
The silence on the matter from some political parties is enlightening.
This is what neo-liberalism looks like #3
Poverty, illness and living on less than the minimum wage.
‘The last time there was fresh produce on the table was more than two years ago.
After covering her basic expenses, Lynlie Beazley survives on just $22 per week and sometimes she sleeps on an empty stomach. The west Auckland resident described herself as the “face of poverty” in the country. “I don’t know how I live each day.”
Beazley said she would not be able to survive without food parcels from The Salvation Army. She is one of a growing number of people knocking on the charity’s door for help. Her weekly benefit was about $236, but she only had $22 after rent, expenses, and hire purchase payments. Beazley, a Housing NZ tenant, said this was enough for two bottles of milk, three loaves of bread and a tray of eggs.
Salvation Army welfare national Practice Manager Jono Bell said they helped 10,555 individuals and families around the country with food parcels between April and June – an 8 per cent increase on the same period last year
“For many people we see food parcels are a temporary measure to help them out in a crisis, such as losing their job, but we do have a number of clients who rely on food parcels for survival, because their income is not enough to meet their needs.
“The rising cost of food on top of the increasing rents we’ve seen in the past few years have been a major factor in this.” ….’
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/western-leader/96992301
Beazley was convicted of aggravated robbery, and she’s been evicted for doing $1000 of damage to her house.
Don’t be so mean.
Bringing facts into the debate is totally unfair.
That is like asking Metira to tell the truth about the amount of support she got from her child’s fathers family.
Why doesn’t RNZ release the material they received about that? They have no problem with releasing anything provided to them if it denigrates a National MP’s character.
Wow alwyn, not enough to destroy someones political career, you want to put the boot into their family as well.
But what is even stranger no matter how far down the gutter a natioanl mp goes you will support them.
You have no morals, where should I send the white sheets?
Or Bill lying about a hole or imaginary taxes or using lawyers/accountants to take another 900 a week for living in Dipton, when he didn’t
Stinking bully you are alwyn and a liar lover too.
neither of which mean she should have to rely on private charity to live, so… fuck you, arsehole.
Of course she shouldn’t.
On the other hand I do think she should have fulfilled her obligations to the taxpayer and done such minor little things as naming the father.
She should also, when she justified her fraud, have told the truth about her situation instead of leaving the impression that the father had basically abandoned her and left her, and her daughter to go hungry.
She also had an obligation, at least in my view, to have looked for a part time job instead of spending her time running for Parliament on the ticket of idiot parties. It is called “taking responsibility” and even toward the end she never seemed to have grown up enough to do that.
Was it your obsession with Turei that makes you think I replied to you, or merely your ego? Both seem to be unhealthy.
[edit: what the hell – fuck you, too]
I do apologise. The numbers on the indents don’t show up very clearly and I did think I was one of the two people you were referring to.
I can assure you I have no obsession with Turei. I dislike in equal measure all corrupt politicians.
On the other hand, having read your last sentence I withdraw the words of apology. The rest stands though.
Dislikes corrupt politicians. Supports national. ’nuff said.
Yup. Rewards those who show no personal responsibility or accountability for their lawbreaking (from positions of power) but preaches personal responsibility and accountability for others
In other words you are a self righteous, bigoted judgemental twit.
You have no idea what you would do in the same situation. I suspect, like Turei, Bennett and everyone else, you do what you have to do to survive.
There you go again, judging her for not being honest, but votiing for National.
Alwyn, just maybe the father did not want to be named ? If fathers are not married to the mothers of their children then they have to specifically front up to the registry office and sign on the dotted line. Many men won’t take that final step. Mother can name the father to WINZ but without the signature the mother is deemed to have “not named the father”.
Ms Beazley has been to prison and has completed her sentence.
Also to the point – in the article I read she has been searching for work. She clearly wasn’t coached as to the sheer amount of effort it would take to pick up an entry level job.
It’s silly in the extreme to expect someone from a hard background, with prison sentences, to know how to operate in the mainstream.
Why aren’t ex-prisoners being set up with work when they leave prison? And a mentor-buddy to help them past the rocky parts?
Or do we choose to keep on punishing them?
I didn’t see the piece on ‘$1000 of damage’. I have no idea whether it was accidental or deliberate. I do know that the amount she has to cover her overheads and living costs is far too low.
Remember – she’s done her time. Don’t let the punishment continue.
Well said!
But the demonising and stigmatising (can these be used together, I wonder) must go on. You know, once a thief, always a thief. This applies to Beazley, Turei, as well as to Bill English. How on Earth can these be ‘fundamentally decent’ people once they’ve erred in their ways, I ask you … Let those we have never committed sin stand tall be counted and they shall be knighted for their good deeds and unblemished record. Yeah, nah!
Heh. National ripping off “Lose Yourself” just took on another level of irony. Allegedly it’s a favourite song for psychopaths.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11927110
I guess they figured “Sociopaths, psychopaths, near enough.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11926756
“The Electoral Commission is looking into a social media post on election day by former broadcaster Sean Plunket that used a play on words to endorse the political party he worked for.
The commission confirmed it has received complaints about the tweet, which read: “Hope everyone remembers to put a top on before going out to vote, when it’s cold, two tops.”
I hope the complaint is upheld. I noticed a bit of this sort of thing going on on election day at Kiwiblog but it’s a whole new level when someone (formerly) in the media is doing it.
God he must think he’s so clever. Like Whaleoil with his name suppression breaches.
So in other words Alwyn…….you just don’t give a fuck about people being bone poor in New Zealand. That disregard necessarily includes bone poor children. To the contrary you militate for a small proportion of the population to earn, and enhance their earnings way, way, way beyond need. There seems to be no other conclusion.
You are therefore one of those self-perceived ‘fine’, repugnant, subversive extremists worthy of nothing less than contempt. In my more than 4 decades of active engagement with NZ criminal law I am yet to find the penalty of starvation prescribed in any New Zealand criminal legislation. A word to the ignorant…….it is extremely dishonest to muddy the waters by invoking a conviction without at the same time providing full detail of the circumstances of the offending. The offence of aggravated robbery covers a wide range of unlawful behaviour. Not that that would worry a darkly ignorant blowhard.
Even if this woman’s offence fell at the very serious end of the scale of such offending, where imprisonment is more or less mandatory, starvation was never part of that sentence. Or are you saying that if one has a serious conviction you’ll not be left to starve while serving your prison sentence but that’s all good once you’re released ? Karma will take you Alwyn.
Did anyone else hear the item on Morning Report (I just heard it on the 7 am news) where there was some discussion talked about in which Tuariki John Delamere is said to have stated that “if Jacinda offers Winston the shared PM” she will probably get a deal – there was then some suggestion that “Bill wouldn’t and shouldn’t”.
Maybe I’m just being sensitive before my morning coffee, but it reeked sexism to me.
I heard it but I didn’t hear it as sexist… I heard it as Jacinda having less of an ego than Bill, making such an arrangement possible. Given that time is on Jacinda’s side and not on Winnie’s… why not make that offer? They could do 18 months each.
Ha! Hell… why not throw in James as well and they can have 12 months each… 🙂
@SpaceMonkey – ok, must have been the lack of coffee then 😉
I just hope it’s the lack of ego factor driving people to make such comments, rather than any insinuation about her gender, age or relative lack of experience – those things push my sensitive wee buttons!!
A turn each would definitely be egalitarian 🙂
Sounds like a bitter member of the old boys club grasping at straws and living in the dark ages.
A bit like all the speculation that is rife in the media again today.
Bitter ex MP’s facing irrelevance like Dunne giving his opinion and speculations while preparing his CV after withdrawing from the election due to a lack of popularity that was waging a war against his ego.
@Cinny – +1 – Dunne should just go back into his box…..! The ego of that man knows no bounds.
Hey there Frida 😀 I’m finding it super amusing, how media are asking opinions of all these people, because their opinions will have absolutely no bearing on any decision making.
Winston click bait for the masses, it’s sooooo funny.
@Cinny – agreed! I am enjoying that aspect of it too
Tualeki the two faced .
Former National/NZfirst MP.
Traitorous meddler.
Bill English is finished washed up if he doesn’t get over the line.
Now at least that’s up the anti how trustable are National in holding their coalition deal given this Rant from the Tuafaced Delamare.
NOne of my favorite programs on TV IS Gold Rush Its a good program that shows that the small guy can win and beat big money with a bit of learning and some good intelligence . I remember one day and Mitch Parkers mechanic had a water leak in one of
There machine and Mitch said that a tip that Jean Cheesman was to have heaps of black pepper and they put that in the radiatior and it stops the water leaks so six months ago when I found that my radiator cap had been loosened and had a slight crack in the head I remember that episode and poured black pepper into my trucks cooling system and what do you no it works so DON’T by any of that shit they sell in the shop just put black pepper in your cooling system and top the water up if you are losing water and you will be able to get home it was a temporary fix
That gave me six months .Now the grass is growing and my other job has started well I will be able to pay my loan off piece o piss and also the big picture is were are the small COUNTRY so don’t go shooting our own foot off and attacking fonterra One old say if I like is if it ain’t broke DON’T fix it yes there need to be some environment issues sorted but fonterra business structures are fine.
ground pepper or peppercorns?
I suppose ground pepper would do it, drifting into the cracks. As long as the pipes in the system don’t block…
“…poured black pepper into my trucks cooling system and what do you no it works so DON’T by any of that shit they sell in the shop.”
Would get us home as long as we had black pepper on board. Great ide Eco maori.
Don’t you get it our largest trading nation has a controlled economy and they can fuck WITH our exports at the drop of a hat By the way someone direct credit $30 into my bank account and reference it with KEEP GROWING IN TAURANGA.
Now that can be interpreted in many ways so DON’T DO that because it’s not helping me.
Eco Maori Fonterra is a monopoly it needs fixing .
Rod Oram has way more knowledge than your bandaide fixes.
Poor comparison.
A good article on Films for Action, How Swedes and Norwegians broke the power of the 1%.
Wow
Meanwhile the investigation continues…
chuckling
Yeh and many a true word spoken in jest.
I know schadenfreude is not a particularly noble emotion. But should Winston go with a progressive government, the shit fight within the National Party will be a joy to behold.
“Labour has not joined Peters’ call for an inquiry and has remained silent on the Yang story.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/97325576/winston-peters-wont-let-yang-allegations-slide
Why is that?
Because they were in Government when he got his citizenship. It’s not a secret Chairman. But National, they are the ones who elevated him to parliamentarian.
Which raises questions in itself.
Moreover, do you believe its got nothing to do with questions surrounding a couple in their own camp?
So, you read an article yesterday and this is your stick de jour.
What do you mean by
“do you believe its got nothing to do with questions surrounding a couple in their own camp?”
Really, Tracey?
Head in the sand much?
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/09/18/48616/expert-calls-for-inquiry-into-chinese-threat
Really Chairman? Cannot answer my simple question seeking clarification?
The answer was in the link provided, Tracey.
[lprent: Quite inadequate. If you want people to click into links, then provide some summary information about why they should click into it rather than your effective statement of “I am a pretentious wanker”. As you can see it just causes stupid flames which I don’t like reading or dealing with and have a tendency to deal with by making sure that don’t happen again. ]
🙄
So you’re either incapable of stating the answer in your own words, or you’re just playing silly buggers. Gee, which could it be?
She was seeking further clarification, I provided it.
Moreover, I’m not the topic.
Cheeky bugger.
https://tinyurl.com/yd977ufu
no you didn’t provide clarification. You merely linked to something you claim provides clarification.
And if you don’t provide a clear description of your point in a sentence or two of your own construction, then you’re either incapable of doing so (in which case discussing the topic with you is pointless, as you cannot comprehend it), or you’re to lazy to do so (in which case there’s no point in discussing the topic with you), or you used the request for clarification as an excuse to insert irrelevant information into the discussion alongside whatever “clarification” your link might provide (in which case there’s no point in discussing the topic with you because you’re discusssing things in bad faith).
I provided a link that contained further clarification. Which I thought would have been more than sufficient, but apparently not.
So your assumptions are merely that (assumptions). Which, of course, are incorrect.
But here we are talking about me again, funny that.
Care to engage in the topic at hand?
If you’re genuinely interested (which I doubt) the clarification was posted to Tracey below.
Not that I can see much point, but here goes:
Are there allegations that any Labour MPs worked for schools that taught agents of foreign intelligence services?
No?
Probably just what Tracey said, then.
Did national do due diligence when making him a candidate?
“Are there allegations that any Labour MPs worked for schools that taught agents of foreign intelligence services?”
No, not that I’m aware of at this stage. But there are questions about donations and their connection to the CCP. As I pointed out to Tracey, it is thought (by the author of the report) both National and Labour were being similarly influenced by the Chinese.
And we need to know how influential that influence is. In both parties.
As for Nationals due diligence, it’s another thing the inquiry will need to discover. The same goes for Labour and their MPs.
And by the way, I did warn about this, but as usual, I was largely brushed off as a concern troll.
When Labour face the same allegations as the nats, go consider your “questions”.
Hey, seeing as it’s about you now, did you have any concerns about, say, US involvement with the nats? Like sharing the data from the KDC search with the FBI? What about rewriting NZ labour laws after meetings with Hollywood folk?
Oh, wait, the yanks aren’t Chinese, so…. no, you probably didn’t.
“When Labour face the same allegations as the nats…”
They largely are.
However, I’m not to clear on the point you’re trying to make re go consider my questions?
And as for the US (and any other nation for that matter) of course I have concerns about what influence they have on our nation. One of the reasons why I opposed the TPP.
lol largely are?
No. A nat mp has allegations, your wider wank merely has questions.
marty was pretty clear, and my point is that I agree with him: I think you’re a racist. But with the addition that you also give national a pass on genuine issues and beat up bullshit about labour and the greens.
It’s not just my “wank” as you put it. As highlighted above, the author of the study believes both National and Labour are being similarly influenced by the Chinese.
If it were only my “wider wank” (again, as you put it) Labour would have little to worry about, but as it happens, it’s not.
This study was largely drowned out by the election, but once that is done and dusted (and especially if Labour become the new Government) don’t be surprised if the media refocuses on this.
And while at this stage it may be only questions being raised, don’t you think it would be prudent to duly investigate before any potential damage is done and ensure the line hasn’t already been crossed?
Marty is a pinhead who can stay on the sidelines (having fun) hurling his insults for all I care. Sticks and stones. But every now and then I may give him a clip (verbally of course) and have some fun of my own.
Resorting to the race card is often done as a means of diminishing the concern (as in, don’t listen to him he’s a racist) and shutting down these types of discussions.
Like Marty and a number of others (regardless of the topic at hand) you jump at the opportunity to make it about me. It may appeal to the ignorant and pinheads like Marty, but I’m hoping more readers are above that and will see through all this racist, concern troll, undercover righty crap that continually gets thrown at me.
But I’m sure, going forward, you and Marty will be there to hurl your abuse, distract the discussion and do your best to make it about me. Knock yourself out. You won’t deter me.
Though, you may end up in the big guys bad book.
Dude, even when I addressed the topic without discussing you, you made it about you. But if someone else does it, you get all twee and self-effacing.
The fact is that allegations with serious ramifications have been made about a specific individual, and wider “questions” are raised about donations overwhelmingly directed at one party in particular. Your article mentions fifteen donations to national, probably totalling well over a million bucks. But you give equal time to the one 40k donation to Labour before one donor switched allegiance. Your fixation is on China and Labour. This bias affects your comments.
I know you won’t be deterred – like most bigots you think that your opinions are normal and reasonable.
As usual the self absorbed its not about me chair gets all cut up cos hes misunderstood.
As a troll you are quite funny but your wee mask is slipping and your bed of rancor is exposed too often now. Zero cred usually means you’ll up your comments. Ho hum lets do this…
@Marty
Thanks again for providing readers with another example of you playing the man and not the ball, Marty.
You know the more you do it the more chance you are going to get the big guys attention? But feel free to dig your own grave.
Sounds like a threat.
No, not at all. I hold no power here to threaten you with, Marty.
As Winston would say, it’s just commonsense.
The more you play up, the more chance you’ll be caught out.
Correct – you have no power.
Whether or not someone wants to make themselves the topic is their prerogative. Evidently, you don’t respect that.
Moreover, the instance I take it you are referring too was a side note, merely stating I forewarned about this and I was largely brushed off as a concern troll. It was inline with the topic, hence wasn’t a means to distract. And again, it’s ones prerogative and you should respect that. It’s not a green light for you to go piling it on.
The fact is there is more than allegations with serious ramifications being made. You’re overlooking there are also questions with potentially serious ramifications requiring answers.
Moreover, I’m not taking a one sided approach to this. As shown from my call for a wide-ranging inquiry.
Hence, that’s just you resorting to lies again in an attempt to score a point and discredit my approach.
The reason Labour has gotten a little more attention in this discussion relates to some being oblivious to (and some attempting to diminish) Labour’s role in this. Pointing at you.
As my comments will overwhelmingly show. I don’t come here to talk about me. I come here to talk politics and that which relates to it. Unlike you, that clearly wants to continue making it about me. As shown in this and most of your other replies too me.
So thanks again for providing readers with another example.
Labour’s “role” in this is at worst a bit part, with the nats centre stage. Your emphasis on Labour raises the question as to why your attention dwells well away from the major players. Like your emphasis on China yet nothing about the yanks.
The main issue is that the nats put NZ on sale to the highest bidder. Chinese millionaires, yank billionaires, limited raw materials at low low prices, everything must go! Even earning an honourable mention from Mossack Fonseca. A cynic would argue that this is why National got so many “questioned” donations and Labour got only one – the donors got no return on their “investment” to one party, maybe? Which one?
“Labour’s “role” in this is at worst a bit part…”
That’s a bold claim.
The author of the study believes both National and Labour are being similarly influenced by the Chinese, suggesting their role is far larger than a bit part.
But, without a thorough investigation, you’re clearly speculating at best.
My emphasis on Labour in this particular discussion relates to some being oblivious to (and some attempting to diminish) Labour’s role in this. As I already explained.
So your assertion can only be seen as another attempt to discredit and make this discussion about me.
Thanks again for another example of you playing the man and not the ball. The more you do it, the more I’ll highlight it.
And as I told Marty, the more you play up like this, the more chance you’ll be caught out.
Moreover, each time your play the man and not the ball your veil is further lifted, exposing readers to your troll like behaviour.
But as I mentioned above, knock yourself out.
It will be interesting to see how long you’ll get away with it.
As for National obtaining larger donations, perhaps it’s due to them being in Government and (until recently) being perceived as more likely to maintain hold of that power. It’s rather pointless donating large sums of money to a party that won’t achieve power, thus produce a return.
Or maybe with Labour having two Chinese MPs to potentially apply influence, the large fiscal incentive isn’t as necessary. And with Labour having set up the free trade deal with China, perhaps they’ve already won over the support of a number within the party?
you’re the one making the claim, doofus. You allege Labour is being influenced by the Chinese government. All you have is that Labour received one donation from people who gave repeatedly to the national party, and someone you agree with wrote an article.
If China is controlling the Labour party as much as it is the nats, why were Labour opposing foreign involvement in the housing market, while the nats have refused to do a damned thing?
You know why people usually demand (or conduct) investigations when there is no evidence of wrongdoing, or even where there is exculpatory evidence? Bias. Often racial bias (just saying that as a “side note” so apparently it would be unfair for you to respond to it in any way. /sarc)
Why should I have to read your links? I could end up anywhere, like Whaleoil… You ask so many questions and demand answers of others.
“Moreover, do you believe its got nothing to do with questions surrounding a couple in their own camp?” I don’t know what you mean by this, Labour, National or Greens?
You don’t have to read my links, Tracey. However, it was a rather important political article that I would have assumed those that have an interest in politics (such as yourself) would’ve already been aware of.
The link clearly reads newsroom, so there was no chance of you ending up at Whaleoil.
Nevertheless, back to the clarification seeing as the link provided seems to have been considered inadequate. There are also questions surrounding the connections (to the CCP) of two labour MPs.
And as shown in the link, Professor Anne-Marie Brady from the University of Canterbury (the author of the study) believed both National and Labour were being similarly influenced by the Chinese.
Point taken, lprent. I’ll be more careful in future.
Well, I’d say that they’re still considering it.
Personally, I’d go for it. If the investigation shows malicious intent and the MSM says but it was you who gave him citizenship I’d then say Yes, and now that mistake is being corrected.
Anybody know where the Greens stand on this?
Have you asked them? And Seymour? And Peters? and English?
Shouldn’t they be telling us, Tracey?
I think the torch needs to be shone on National for knowingly appointing him to their candidate list and turning him into a Parliamentarian. I won’t hold my breath though. Good luck, let us know what else you uncover.
“I think the torch needs to be shone on National for knowingly appointing him to their candidate list and turning him into a Parliamentarian.”
So from that can we take it you will be holding their (Labour, Greens) feet to the fire for them to support an inquiry? Or is not holding your breath what you recommend we all do?
Moreover, you’ll be holding Labour to the same standard?
Whoa there sunshine you’re going from shine a torch to gruesome torture – twisted shit.
I’m not the topic, Marty.
But do feel free to engage the subject matter.
Do you support an inquiry?
Nah I think you are a racist – i only make fun of them.
I have no problem with an inquiry except I know they are very expensive. I would just prefer the redacted document was unredacted. So much cheaper than an inquiry
In this instance, I don’t believe we can let the cost of an investigation excuse not having one. And it needs to go deeper than just removing the redaction.
What would you like the outcome to be (of the enquiry0?
We require a wide-ranging inquiry, leaving no stone unturned and see what it develops.
See the Hagmann case of defamation against Little is going ahead as Hagmann was alive when his wife filed it.
It could cost Andrew $100 000 They got 7 million. Neo liberals.
Judges reserving a verdict. (yeah right!!)
Reserving a decision is usual practice in Civil cases.
Presumably that’s only the wife’s court action – defamation law in NZ is crystal clear that claims do not survive death.
An interesting read.
Pitfalls for the Greens and NZ First in coalition discussions – By Keith Locke.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/09/26/pitfalls-for-the-greens-and-nz-first-in-coalition-discussions/
Allow me to modestly predict that in a day or two our “Leftie” Mr Chairman will be raising points with great concern, subtly trying to prompt Greens and Labour towards those pits…
Good to see you picked up on the post. Sadly, your assumptions are delusional.
Clearly, the point of posting the link was to help make those pitfalls more widely known. Giving a greater chance they’ll be avoided.
Listening to RNZ this morning and heard about the seriously substandard apartment buildings in NZ – so serious that people will be killed if something is not done about it. The incredible thing is that these buildings cannot be named for legal reasons. What on earth is Health and Safety going to do about this. The apartment building owners have been informed but not the apartment dwellers who are owners. They are owners of these apartments. Are they going to be left in limbo forever and a day not knowing if they step on their balcony it will collapse, the building will fall off its foundations or the walls so rotting that two people have a fun fight in their apartment will fall through the side walls.
Its appalling that people’s lives are so bloody cheap in this country. Surely the decent thing is to notify these owners of the apartments of the state and danger of their abode and give them a chance to relocate and sort out the fiasco at a later date. At least they won’t be killed or seriously injured living on in their ignorance. It just disgusts me that lives are so cheap and building owners can get away with their sloppy building practices to cut costs.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/340396/multi-storey-building-flaws-almost-the-norm
National made builders and designers personally liable but not developers, as a response to leaky homes… this one smaall step might have made a big difference to the quality of the final product. The Developer generally determines the budget, not the builder.
Tracey It doesn’t matter who is to blame for the state of the buildings, its the fact that people are living in these buildings and not being forewarned about the dangers and that they could be seriously injured or killed. Protecting shoddy work is not acceptable and should be against the law.
It does matter Kate because history repeats cos of such things. Until we get personal responsibility on the ones holding the wallet this will keep happening. Why would National make it against the law when they refuse to fix part of the problem at the source
Remember Key says all young people should look to apartments but left apartments off the Homesmart funding.
There is a pattern. Labour in the past and National feed the Developer appetite knowing they avoid all recourse from shoddy work. It is another example of money over people. It is wrong of course
Wow bill and Jim must have smoke coming out there ass after what I wrote last nite because the intimation stepped up ten fold today I tried my bluff with the bank it did not work but I will not retaliate because they are worried about me getting locked up and not been able to pay there money back YEA FIGHT.
And I can’t blame anyone for being victims of the fight between me the police and national my G mar would not approve Ka Pai
Odd. On my Samsung S7 edge, since yesterday, the mobile theme isn’t displaying the comment box or the reply link inside of the posts.
I’ll see if there was some kind of crappy update last night. Otherwise it will have to wait until after work.
Anyone else seeing it?
yes @lprent on my iPhone
My phones is a Huawei and I have to use computer mode to post because there is no reply tabs in phone format Iprent thanks
This may have been canvassed before but does anyone know NZF’s position on the tax cuts scheduled for April 18 ?
Essentially Labour’s programme of education / health / etc investment is dependent upon cancelling those cuts. So if NZF wants to retain those tax cuts then Labours has its hands tied , yes? Which way did NZF vote on these tax changes?
Other than politicians, is there anyone in the world more unpleasant than Bill Gates?
Not only unpleasant, but fundamentally stupid….
The Panel repeating right wing bs about National Green alliance.
Please RNZ ……. stop repeating National Party lies and spin.
Do your job.
That is their job under Griffin, why else would you have DP players like Hooten and Farrar on unless you were intent on bias.
RNZ doesn’t have the reach that redneck radio rantland does that’s why they’ve ZB and radio Live to cover the demographics.
Just for Hugh Hefner, now he’s dead:
One day you’re going to have to face
A deep dark truthful mirror
A 13.2% swing to Labour and Greens in my electorate of Clutha-Southland. Not bad for one of the most conservative seats in the country.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/97283075/election-shows-ruralurban-divide-shrinking-not-growing
I’m trying to support some people’s Wairua and you neo liberal go and stuff them up.
So why did you not support Joe,s fight when they needed it is it because he would become a role model for all Brown people in NZ O we can’t have that because they will come out in force and vote you out you neo liberals are idiots and have tunnel vision and we cannot let you run OUR Country we are all on this journey together you fools
Ka Pai