To fight the war against climate change leadership is necessary.
Where will this leadership come from?
“So they [the Government] go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent…. Owing to past neglect, in the face of the plainest warnings, we have entered upon a period of danger…. The era of procrastination, of half measures, of soothing and baffling expedience of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences…. We cannot avoid this period, we are in it now….”
Winston Churchill, November 12, 1936, House of Commons
Doesn’t this strange paradox of dithering, procrastination, of half measures, of soothing and expedience and delays describe our present parliament when it comes to Climate Change. Especially when we also are entering a period of consequences.
The apologists and Ignorers of climate change are dominant, one each, in two of the major parties in parliament. And the Greens are busy tailoring their party to fit with this paradigm.
So for the order of the day, the big political question is:
The most difficult task, phase-out over the next 20-25 years of coal use that does not capture CO2, is herculean, yet feasible when compared with the efforts that went into World War II. The stakes, for all life on the planet, surpass those of any previous crisis. The greatest danger is continued ignorance and denial, which could make tragic consequences unavoidable.
Target Atmospheric CO2: Where Should Humanity Aim? James Hansen, Makiko Sato, Pushker Kharecha, David Beerling, Valerie Masson-Delmotte, Mark Pagani, Maureen Raymo, Dana L. Royer, James C. Zachos
Winston Churchill, was a long serving Liberal Government MP and liberal cabinet Minister who lost his seat in the electoral landslide against the Liberals following WW1. Standing as a ‘constitutional anti-socialist’ independent, Churchill regained the seat of Epping, returning to parliament in 1924. Churchill however remained out of government from 1922 when he lost his original Liberal seat until 1939 when he was suddenly plucked from the obscurity of the back benches, to the premiership of the country. A promotion unrivaled in British parliamentary history.
What distinguished Churchill from all the other back bench MPs?
Despite the still ongoing Great Depression and massive social dislocation caused by mass unemployment. Rather than concentrate on economic issues, Churchill identified the rise of fascism as the singular greatest threat to civilisation. And refused, despite all sorts of pressure and abuse, to shut up about it. (Putting all British government MPs whether Liberal, Labour, or Conservative on notice.)
The other thing that distinguished Churchill from his peers was that he was completely non-sectarian, prepared to work with any grouping or party that was opposed to fascism. Despite being of the Right Churchill was prepared to work with the minority Labour Party and even Communist Party members, if they were opposed to fascism. This history has been covered up, and the British Conservative Party have claimed Churchill as one of their own, (Churchill had nominally taken up Tory membership in 1925). But up until 1939 when events proved him right, the Conservatives had long harboured a deep distrust of Churchill.
So who will it be, who will put NZ’s three parliamentary parties on notice that Climate Change cannot, and should not, be ignored?
There will be no ‘Churchill’. The choice is between preserving ecospheres or preserving the economy. We don’t get to have our cake and eat it. ( Not even ‘green’ cake) Meanwhile, everyone is looking for a champion to come from institutions dedicated to preserving the economy.
We have already stacked the atmosphere and oceans to the extent that 2 degrees is no longer on the table. Now the target the economists and politicians hope to miss is betwwen 4 – 6 degrees.
Between the need to pay back the mountains of debt (and interest) which our financialised global economy has generated, the promises of a better material lifestyle which have been made to billions, and the fact that moving to “green” infrastructure and energy is going to take a hell of a lot of “dirty” fossil fuel driven energy expenditure, we won’t see any serious moves to cut back GHG emissions.
In fact, its not growth in the use of oil we are going to see over the next ten years (oil use as a % of total energy used has been declining for sometime now). It is a massive explosion in the use of coal…a growth trend which has been going for a decade or so now.
Chruchill, like Blair, Bush 1/2, Clinton, Obama, Clark, Key et al , was a war criminal!
As far back as you can go, +/- a couple of names, these people are in the pocket of the same groups todays politicians represent..
when he was suddenly plucked from the obscurity of the back benches, to the premiership of the country. A promotion unrivaled in British parliamentary history.
Jenny I think you have just answered your own question right there…Imagine the control it takes to pluck someone out….
Things don’t just happen, its time poeple accepted that!
Actually, to say he was “plucked from obscurity” is a bit rich. As the quote points out he’d spent the entire decade warning of oncoming war in an era of appeasement. He had extensive military experience both tactically and strategically (not always successfully – Gallipoli was largely his responsibility, when he was in charge of the Admiralty), and I seem to recall had called out the cavalry on strikers in the 1920s. He’d also been Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Yes, he was well-connected and high-born. Story of UK society. But he wasn’t an unpredictable or secret choice.
“The average temperature for the Earth, or any region or even any specific place is very difficult to determine with any accuracy. At any given time surface air temperatures around the world range over about 100°C. Even in the same place they can vary by nearly that much seasonally and as much as 30°C or more in a day.
…
The purported 0.7°C of average global warming over the past century is highly uncertain. It is in fact less than the margin of error in our ability to determine the average temperature anywhere, much less globally. What portion of any such warming might be due to due to anthropogenic CO2 emissions is even less certain.”
You do understand about what causes more snow and therefore ice in a really cold climate right? That what you just described actually indicates that Antarctica is warming? That colder climates have less snow and ice formation and the first sign of warming in a really cold climate is that there is more moisture in the air to form snow. That the moisture is getting there means that there is more heat penetrating into the fridge.
I’m always amazed at how scientifically illiterate some people are. In this case you’d think that with water everywhere that people would find the implications of heat in the phase changes of water would be obvious…
And it is heading into winter in the Arctic. Of course it is freezing compared to what it was doing in summer. I guess you’ve never been around ponds in a winters morning? They get ice around the edges overnight and melt like crazy after the sun comes up. You have to have thick ice on a pond to not melt in the sun. There is very little thick ice in the Arctic any more.
I have to agree about dodgy ” worst in the world” stats. Years ago, about 25, I was being driven through Athens on a Saturday night by a “cat-and-dog’ relative who proudly told me that Greece didn’t have any assault crime or rape/sexual assault crime. My question had been triggered by what looked like a woman getting a clip around the ear in a side street, a few kms later a girls/ boys scrap that looked nasty was under way just off the road. It obviously doesn’t happen if you don’t want to see it or report it. We at least have a very robust reportage regime on all sorts of things which does us no favours in these sort of surveys.
“Instead, under National, police have actually stopped effectively reporting family violence statistics and have admitted that current statistics for family violence offences are no longer able to give meaningful comparisons across time.”
Robust like this…
Perhaps we should also stop reporting….hang on a sec!
I’m thinking our stats on family violence will be closer to those of other countries in the next year or so. National will then claim improvements when all that’s been changed is the reporting has been reduced.
I have heard in the past a criticism of international statistics (good and bad) is that when comparing NZ with other countries, outside of census data and certain international testing regimes, we’re better at counting. This is in part due to the ease of recording and collating small numbers in a small population and varying definitions of the factor being assessed. For example:
Because the methods of recording, are considered to be more consistent, more thorough and more accurate than other countries, New Zealand’s records reflect the local situation more accurately than records in the OECD countries New Zealand is usually compared to. Because of this, comparisons between New Zealand and other countries can not be considered of high value.
I’m not sure how accurate this justification for high negative stats, it’s just that the discussion is there.
Depends on what Obese is measured as. Put it this way, when I look around me at work, or elsewhere, I see more people who would be deemed straight up fat in old school terms, and that would, I expect put them in the morbidly obese, if I was asked.
I see overweight and fat people everywhere now, so for mine 62%, easily!
In any case I was more looking for the poverty, crime, abuse, suicide type stats, which if you put fat, into the equation, are all symptoms of a very sick country!
Our positions in the tables has been internationally tragic for decades now, and sadly it is only going to get worse!
Can you be hungry and overweight.
I was in London as a child in WW2 – we were often hungry but never overweight – in fact historically we were very healthy – even with a daily dose of Cod Liver Oil.
Maybe muzza, but to my mind there is a difference between fat and obese, and what is wrong with those things anyway? Should immigrants fear contemporarily defined fatness in the same way they should fear crime?
The correlations between overweight and health outcomes aren’t as direct, or cause and effect as you seem to imply. And while people are getting fatter, esp younger people, there is no way that the rate of obesity in NZ is 62%.
The link that was used to back up the 62% is very poor. I’m not sure it actually is saying 62% of total population – the first page suggests that 62% of fat people are obese, although I couldn’t really makes sense of it. The problem is that once you have one poor example of evidence, it renders the rest a bit suspect.
The Labour Party Board will meet shortly to amongst other things, consider New Lynn LEC’s complaint about how their MP was treated recently, particularly whether the Whip went overboard a bit.
Any LEC out there who wants to send any similar thougths to the President, in time for Friday?
Some will wish last week away, others perhaps inclined to stride across the smoking battlefield and bayonet the wounded.
Hopefully the President ensures some actual calm and fairness restored amongst members, after the raw political tsunami has receded.
If you care about science and reason trumping blind ideology, get over to Kiwiblog and stick up for Dr Mike Joy, who is currently a messenger with a lot of bullet holes in him.
alex
I had a look at Kiwiblog and there were one or two standing up for facts and reasoned opinion from Dr Joy but it’s a wasps circle there and they are hostile to criticism made by anyone but themselves apparently. I suppose it requires a reexamination of their certainties which is time consuming and irritating. And a desire to get things right rther than get things personally cushy.
Hey Mr. Tamborine man, sing a song for those who have seen the departing hand of god.
always in the dark, even at noon; condemned to take and never questioning.
No eternal reward can forgive us now for expecting the dawn.
no, tell me your synopsis and let it be revealing; i’m out of ammo, so gonna go reload and then I might be able to make some insertions myself.
btw, do you believe this has affected the so-called real world of Pleasantville? interested to know your thoughts on breadth and audience appeal; production values have certainly improved (Take) note! 🙂
imagine who all these people are forming inferences.
“these are the people in your neighbourhood…your neighbourhood…your neigh-Bore-hood…
the people that you meet each day”
-Eeeeeernie, and he drove the fastest milk-cart in the West
Bitter Harvest: Eastern tale (Eastern Europe/Asia) retold in 1924 Ireland. Man decides to make his enemies the measure of his worth, then periodically forgets what he set out to prove, then loses the thread of whatever made him decide in the first place. Darkness that can’t define itself either as hot or cold, dry or wet, comedy or tragedy, or any other reference point; resulting in the kind of laughter that creates familiarity within the confines of terror.
Pleasantville and audience appeal: see your notes on cognitive bias. Communication is a unintentionally fraudulant process; written communications, not so unintentional. Honesty would be a fine thing – if any of us knew the language – and appeals of any kind are lies told in the best of interests. I’ve heard that silence is the greatest music, interupted by the anxiety of notes. Still the notes stick, regardless of the tune.
Once, while I sat outside a shop eating a pie I saw a woman escorted to her next job; brought in by a taxi, left a few minutes later on foot with slumped shoulders. My pie still tasted the same and the woman didn’t stop walking. These are the people in my neighbourhood. They were here before I arrived and will be here after I go.
read in the local paper of high domestic violence statistics as government cuts into sexual abuse support
scan C.T becoming a more indulgent writer; Winter I enjoy can be dry and cold.Understand that
Key, “Chinese people are very interested in New Zealand”; need help with your prophecy? An Honest
statement at long last and it seems like he is doing more thinking before flipping the burghers welcoming
the Junk. All Pink on the inside, Gorgon Bennett! are these swine flying too. It is only Time
yet they can’t put that Message in a Bottle and Pump it Roxanne you don’t have to put on the red light
I do not mind if you benefit from your body all night I stretched my manhood further when my ol’
Lady pulled the odd trick, Didn’t bother me none as I pawned a body in a more mechanical way.
LOTR trilogy not representative enough at all; not dirty enough by more than few % and this is Proof?
and anything with Anthony Hopkins in it Clarice we men can withdraw anytime and I Generally did
must be the soft-cocks that carry on none-the-less; Can’t say “That’s not self-control, HTFU get on
your knees for a while with the Parliamentary cleaners up of there Purex (Trade Mark).Ethnography
IS Free, no need for fries with that. Went out on a Hot sunny day to engage some Whnz and nobody
There I trusted myself more to deliver than government departments and SOE’s this minnit. Nekkin’
romantically at outside Arnold’s Rebel, Top Dog or Alpha Phi Alpha you could not make this shit up.
Yet, smile and the world does smile back if it can pull back from the brink but I’m Thomas The
Rhymer.Iron sharpens Iron Hard Core unless it’s Cast and dies unlike my old friend Richard The
Librarian, Good Sort, no suit I used to stay along Flygers Line and now I Walk one, it’s Cash Only
for me Life’s What You Make It-Talk Talk with lprent as Head Master all can go to The Topps
of The Class even Holdsons Commodores and XLR8’s.Everywhere I randomly look there you are
Collective-Queen-Soul has always impressed me although I choose not to peck and retain scratchings
cannot live on words for we all know by now what man needs in his Sandwich Lord.Did The Borg
Return to Eden or was there a Giant in the East who passed away.Once you have met all the pollies
and classified their agenda and sampled their labels there dregs can leave a furry taste on the tongue.
The Naked and The Famous or The Naked and The Dead and when I walked The Streets of Laredo as a High Plains Drifter Saturday Night Fever I seemed Happy and some of the people were Happy too.
🙂 Long Live The Standard Bearer Quo Vadis 🙂
Heatley and Ryall need to periodically visit the children’s ward of hospitals. Then they may get it how the home and not seeing a doctor soon enough due to the cost impacts on children.
I liked the way the doco explained how NZ got this way and that NZ is third to last just ahead of Turkey and Mexico on the OCD index.
Three years ago, new to the job, Trade (and former Conservation) Minister Tim Groser said our brand would be built on “world class environmental standards”:
She goes on to detail how this ‘brand’ has been demolished, until:
2012 saw us slipping in the environment rankings, to fourteenth according to the Yale-Columbia Environmental Performance Index, from first in 2006; and eighth according to the World Bank, from second in 2009.
Ministers are tiptoeing away from that brand, saying that they now want to write a New Zealand story.
We need a functioning democracy where we, the people ,are able to make informed decisions about the things that matter for ourselves.
Instead we are channelled into handing our ability to think, and to act, over to politicians who are all driven by the needs of the capitalist economy rather than the best interests of people and planet.
No politician, nor any political party will save us.
We have to do that for ourselves.
That means finding ways to act collectively despite our politicians.
And finding ways to collectively stop politicians doing bad shit in our name.
The Shearer acolytes are fond of saying that he has got Labour up in the polls.
In fact, if you look at the Roy Morgan poll numbers in January and February this year, you will see Labour around 30-31%. The dead cat bounce, post-election, Goff gone, new leader, honeymoon.
The incumbents have been doing far worse over the course of this year however – how do you reconcile the fact that the Labour vote has not increased over time, given this?
David H proposes (in jest) that Fisi submit a guest post.
I don’t think this is such a bad idea.
I firmly believe that we need better wingnuts. Farrar and Mr. Oil? Give me a break. Matthew “the story” Hooten? Yeah nah.
The challenges we face require input from all sides. Parliamentary debate is a farce. Would it hurt to introduce some intellect from the right (please excuse the oxymoron) every now and then? April Fools’ Day?
Is that from Question Time today? The Speaker was well out of order letting Joyce run on like that. P**sed off, very, I was. Major diversion from holding the government to account!
28 November 2012Open Letter to NZ Prime Minister John Key: “Please confirm that NZ is going to support Palestine becoming a UN ‘non-member observer state’Dear Prime Minister,
Please confirm that in line with the following stated position on the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) website, that New Zealand is going to support the bid by the Palestinian Authority for Palestine to become a UN “non-member observer state” at the UN General Assembly meeting on Thursday 29 November 2012.
Since the beginning of the Arab – Israeli conflict, New Zealand has sought to approach the issue even-handedly, seeking a solution that provided for a Jewish/Israeli and a Palestinian state on the land of the former British mandate of Palestine. This policy has its origins in our commitment to the 1947 United Nations (UN) partition resolution on Palestine (Jewish state, Arab state, and internationalisation of Jerusalem) and the 1967 UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution on the need for a just settlement and Israel’s withdrawal from occupied territories.
The policy has been underpinned through contributions to the UN Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) since 1954 and to the Sinai Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) since 1982. We have also core funded the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).
New Zealand continues to advocate for a balanced and constructive resolution of interests, based on the need for a lasting two-state settlement in accordance with UNSC resolutions and subsequent agreements between the two parties. We have sought in our statements in the United Nations to draw attention to the rights and responsibilities of both sides. In particular, while constantly advocating the need for a peaceful two-state settlement, New Zealand has expressed strong opposition to ongoing acts of violent resistance against Israel, while underlining Israel’s own responsibility to act lawfully and with restraint.
New Zealand is prepared to speak out against actions by any party that are likely to have contravened international law. These include rocket attacks by Hamas and/or other Palestinian militant groups against Israel. Equally, we have spoken out against actions by Israel, including the blockade of the Gaza Strip, and expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
This carefully balanced position is consistent with New Zealand’s international reputation for fair-mindedness. It reflects the value we, as a small country, place on the international rule of law.
Positions New Zealand takes on resolutions within the United Nations reflect this even-handed, balanced and constructive approach. We acknowledge that, ultimately, a lasting two-state settlement is something that will have to be negotiated between the two principle parties. But the UN and its members have a role to play in promoting dialogue to encourage that negotiated settlement. There is also an important role to play by the UN development and humanitarian agencies in addressing the severe humanitarian hardships, and growing health-related problems, among the Palestinian people, especially women and children.
New Zealand therefore supports UN resolutions that advance the two-state solution, uphold international law, including human rights and humanitarian law, or call for humanitarian assistance. ”
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles and that ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
Today marks a tragic milestone for New Zealanders as the Coalition Government side with big tobacco to repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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To fight the war against climate change leadership is necessary.
Where will this leadership come from?
Doesn’t this strange paradox of dithering, procrastination, of half measures, of soothing and expedience and delays describe our present parliament when it comes to Climate Change. Especially when we also are entering a period of consequences.
The apologists and Ignorers of climate change are dominant, one each, in two of the major parties in parliament. And the Greens are busy tailoring their party to fit with this paradigm.
So for the order of the day, the big political question is:
Who will be New Zealand’s Climate Churchill?
“The Pearl Harbors are here. The Churchills and FDRs aren’t.”
http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2008/TargetCO2_20080407.pdf
So what was so special about Churchill?
Winston Churchill, was a long serving Liberal Government MP and liberal cabinet Minister who lost his seat in the electoral landslide against the Liberals following WW1. Standing as a ‘constitutional anti-socialist’ independent, Churchill regained the seat of Epping, returning to parliament in 1924. Churchill however remained out of government from 1922 when he lost his original Liberal seat until 1939 when he was suddenly plucked from the obscurity of the back benches, to the premiership of the country. A promotion unrivaled in British parliamentary history.
What distinguished Churchill from all the other back bench MPs?
Despite the still ongoing Great Depression and massive social dislocation caused by mass unemployment. Rather than concentrate on economic issues, Churchill identified the rise of fascism as the singular greatest threat to civilisation. And refused, despite all sorts of pressure and abuse, to shut up about it. (Putting all British government MPs whether Liberal, Labour, or Conservative on notice.)
The other thing that distinguished Churchill from his peers was that he was completely non-sectarian, prepared to work with any grouping or party that was opposed to fascism. Despite being of the Right Churchill was prepared to work with the minority Labour Party and even Communist Party members, if they were opposed to fascism. This history has been covered up, and the British Conservative Party have claimed Churchill as one of their own, (Churchill had nominally taken up Tory membership in 1925). But up until 1939 when events proved him right, the Conservatives had long harboured a deep distrust of Churchill.
So who will it be, who will put NZ’s three parliamentary parties on notice that Climate Change cannot, and should not, be ignored?
http://blog.labour.org.nz/2012/11/15/national-100-dirty-on-the-environment-and-the-economy/
http://blog.labour.org.nz/2012/10/25/38028/
There will be no ‘Churchill’. The choice is between preserving ecospheres or preserving the economy. We don’t get to have our cake and eat it. ( Not even ‘green’ cake) Meanwhile, everyone is looking for a champion to come from institutions dedicated to preserving the economy.
We have already stacked the atmosphere and oceans to the extent that 2 degrees is no longer on the table. Now the target the economists and politicians hope to miss is betwwen 4 – 6 degrees.
Basically this.
Between the need to pay back the mountains of debt (and interest) which our financialised global economy has generated, the promises of a better material lifestyle which have been made to billions, and the fact that moving to “green” infrastructure and energy is going to take a hell of a lot of “dirty” fossil fuel driven energy expenditure, we won’t see any serious moves to cut back GHG emissions.
In fact, its not growth in the use of oil we are going to see over the next ten years (oil use as a % of total energy used has been declining for sometime now). It is a massive explosion in the use of coal…a growth trend which has been going for a decade or so now.
Chruchill, like Blair, Bush 1/2, Clinton, Obama, Clark, Key et al , was a war criminal!
As far back as you can go, +/- a couple of names, these people are in the pocket of the same groups todays politicians represent..
Jenny I think you have just answered your own question right there…Imagine the control it takes to pluck someone out….
Things don’t just happen, its time poeple accepted that!
Actually, to say he was “plucked from obscurity” is a bit rich. As the quote points out he’d spent the entire decade warning of oncoming war in an era of appeasement. He had extensive military experience both tactically and strategically (not always successfully – Gallipoli was largely his responsibility, when he was in charge of the Admiralty), and I seem to recall had called out the cavalry on strikers in the 1920s. He’d also been Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Yes, he was well-connected and high-born. Story of UK society. But he wasn’t an unpredictable or secret choice.
If I read your links, will you read mine?
“The average temperature for the Earth, or any region or even any specific place is very difficult to determine with any accuracy. At any given time surface air temperatures around the world range over about 100°C. Even in the same place they can vary by nearly that much seasonally and as much as 30°C or more in a day.
…
The purported 0.7°C of average global warming over the past century is highly uncertain. It is in fact less than the margin of error in our ability to determine the average temperature anywhere, much less globally. What portion of any such warming might be due to due to anthropogenic CO2 emissions is even less certain.”
Read the rest here:
http://www.quadrant.org.au/blogs/doomed-planet/2012/11/speak-loudly-and-carry-a-busted-hockey-stick
The ice isn’t melting? Fuck that’s some good cgi.
No the Antarctic ice is not melting. There’s more ice there than there’s been for years. Arctic ice is refreezing at a very rapid rate.
Really? Says who? I think you need to check your capacity for excrement: it seems to be accelerating.
You do understand about what causes more snow and therefore ice in a really cold climate right? That what you just described actually indicates that Antarctica is warming? That colder climates have less snow and ice formation and the first sign of warming in a really cold climate is that there is more moisture in the air to form snow. That the moisture is getting there means that there is more heat penetrating into the fridge.
I’m always amazed at how scientifically illiterate some people are. In this case you’d think that with water everywhere that people would find the implications of heat in the phase changes of water would be obvious…
And it is heading into winter in the Arctic. Of course it is freezing compared to what it was doing in summer. I guess you’ve never been around ponds in a winters morning? They get ice around the edges overnight and melt like crazy after the sun comes up. You have to have thick ice on a pond to not melt in the sun. There is very little thick ice in the Arctic any more.
The thickness appears to have migrated elsewhere.
“What distinguished Churchill from all other back bench MPs ?”
He shot a Dervish and lived to write about it in “The River War”
NZ, the rankings of shame!
As much as I support anything that discourages immigration to NZ, that website doesn’t look so reliable. 62% of NZers are obese? I don’t think so.
I have to agree about dodgy ” worst in the world” stats. Years ago, about 25, I was being driven through Athens on a Saturday night by a “cat-and-dog’ relative who proudly told me that Greece didn’t have any assault crime or rape/sexual assault crime. My question had been triggered by what looked like a woman getting a clip around the ear in a side street, a few kms later a girls/ boys scrap that looked nasty was under way just off the road. It obviously doesn’t happen if you don’t want to see it or report it. We at least have a very robust reportage regime on all sorts of things which does us no favours in these sort of surveys.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10849852
Robust like this…
Perhaps we should also stop reporting….hang on a sec!
I’m thinking our stats on family violence will be closer to those of other countries in the next year or so. National will then claim improvements when all that’s been changed is the reporting has been reduced.
I have heard in the past a criticism of international statistics (good and bad) is that when comparing NZ with other countries, outside of census data and certain international testing regimes, we’re better at counting. This is in part due to the ease of recording and collating small numbers in a small population and varying definitions of the factor being assessed. For example:
Hi Weka,
Depends on what Obese is measured as. Put it this way, when I look around me at work, or elsewhere, I see more people who would be deemed straight up fat in old school terms, and that would, I expect put them in the morbidly obese, if I was asked.
I see overweight and fat people everywhere now, so for mine 62%, easily!
In any case I was more looking for the poverty, crime, abuse, suicide type stats, which if you put fat, into the equation, are all symptoms of a very sick country!
Our positions in the tables has been internationally tragic for decades now, and sadly it is only going to get worse!
muzza
Can you be hungry and overweight.
I was in London as a child in WW2 – we were often hungry but never overweight – in fact historically we were very healthy – even with a daily dose of Cod Liver Oil.
Maybe muzza, but to my mind there is a difference between fat and obese, and what is wrong with those things anyway? Should immigrants fear contemporarily defined fatness in the same way they should fear crime?
The correlations between overweight and health outcomes aren’t as direct, or cause and effect as you seem to imply. And while people are getting fatter, esp younger people, there is no way that the rate of obesity in NZ is 62%.
The link that was used to back up the 62% is very poor. I’m not sure it actually is saying 62% of total population – the first page suggests that 62% of fat people are obese, although I couldn’t really makes sense of it. The problem is that once you have one poor example of evidence, it renders the rest a bit suspect.
The Labour Party Board will meet shortly to amongst other things, consider New Lynn LEC’s complaint about how their MP was treated recently, particularly whether the Whip went overboard a bit.
Any LEC out there who wants to send any similar thougths to the President, in time for Friday?
Some will wish last week away, others perhaps inclined to stride across the smoking battlefield and bayonet the wounded.
Hopefully the President ensures some actual calm and fairness restored amongst members, after the raw political tsunami has receded.
vapour trail
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_biases_in_judgment_and_decision_making
“ya got me turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese…I don’t think so”
great shepherding ad and Ad. Thankyou
Zen0
If you care about science and reason trumping blind ideology, get over to Kiwiblog and stick up for Dr Mike Joy, who is currently a messenger with a lot of bullet holes in him.
alex
I had a look at Kiwiblog and there were one or two standing up for facts and reasoned opinion from Dr Joy but it’s a wasps circle there and they are hostile to criticism made by anyone but themselves apparently. I suppose it requires a reexamination of their certainties which is time consuming and irritating. And a desire to get things right rther than get things personally cushy.
Pump-Action Both Barrels
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_biases
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_bias_mitigation
Pick a round and load up Troops (“load up load up those raaarber bullets…”)
set the cats amidst the doves
Rhetorical reminders?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetoric
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetorical_device
though they may lead to superfluidity
-Reckless Abandon Real Life (“send me an angel…send me an angel…right now…right now”)
PS. if i should stumble, catch myah fall
Billy “Love Gun”
Hey Mr. Tamborine man, sing a song for those who have seen the departing hand of god.
always in the dark, even at noon; condemned to take and never questioning.
No eternal reward can forgive us now for expecting the dawn.
Hi, I was thinking of you while cycling along the road; Hard Case! What next oh illustrious One? 🙂
Make some rules and then break them, probably. Last night I saw a film called Bitter Harvest. Have you seen it?
no, tell me your synopsis and let it be revealing; i’m out of ammo, so gonna go reload and then I might be able to make some insertions myself.
btw, do you believe this has affected the so-called real world of Pleasantville? interested to know your thoughts on breadth and audience appeal; production values have certainly improved (Take) note! 🙂
imagine who all these people are forming inferences.
“these are the people in your neighbourhood…your neighbourhood…your neigh-Bore-hood…
the people that you meet each day”
-Eeeeeernie, and he drove the fastest milk-cart in the West
Bitter Harvest: Eastern tale (Eastern Europe/Asia) retold in 1924 Ireland. Man decides to make his enemies the measure of his worth, then periodically forgets what he set out to prove, then loses the thread of whatever made him decide in the first place. Darkness that can’t define itself either as hot or cold, dry or wet, comedy or tragedy, or any other reference point; resulting in the kind of laughter that creates familiarity within the confines of terror.
Pleasantville and audience appeal: see your notes on cognitive bias. Communication is a unintentionally fraudulant process; written communications, not so unintentional. Honesty would be a fine thing – if any of us knew the language – and appeals of any kind are lies told in the best of interests. I’ve heard that silence is the greatest music, interupted by the anxiety of notes. Still the notes stick, regardless of the tune.
Once, while I sat outside a shop eating a pie I saw a woman escorted to her next job; brought in by a taxi, left a few minutes later on foot with slumped shoulders. My pie still tasted the same and the woman didn’t stop walking. These are the people in my neighbourhood. They were here before I arrived and will be here after I go.
read in the local paper of high domestic violence statistics as government cuts into sexual abuse support
scan C.T becoming a more indulgent writer; Winter I enjoy can be dry and cold.Understand that
Key, “Chinese people are very interested in New Zealand”; need help with your prophecy? An Honest
statement at long last and it seems like he is doing more thinking before flipping the burghers welcoming
the Junk. All Pink on the inside, Gorgon Bennett! are these swine flying too. It is only Time
yet they can’t put that Message in a Bottle and Pump it Roxanne you don’t have to put on the red light
I do not mind if you benefit from your body all night I stretched my manhood further when my ol’
Lady pulled the odd trick, Didn’t bother me none as I pawned a body in a more mechanical way.
LOTR trilogy not representative enough at all; not dirty enough by more than few % and this is Proof?
and anything with Anthony Hopkins in it Clarice we men can withdraw anytime and I Generally did
must be the soft-cocks that carry on none-the-less; Can’t say “That’s not self-control, HTFU get on
your knees for a while with the Parliamentary cleaners up of there Purex (Trade Mark).Ethnography
IS Free, no need for fries with that. Went out on a Hot sunny day to engage some Whnz and nobody
There I trusted myself more to deliver than government departments and SOE’s this minnit. Nekkin’
romantically at outside Arnold’s Rebel, Top Dog or Alpha Phi Alpha you could not make this shit up.
Yet, smile and the world does smile back if it can pull back from the brink but I’m Thomas The
Rhymer.Iron sharpens Iron Hard Core unless it’s Cast and dies unlike my old friend Richard The
Librarian, Good Sort, no suit I used to stay along Flygers Line and now I Walk one, it’s Cash Only
for me Life’s What You Make It-Talk Talk with lprent as Head Master all can go to The Topps
of The Class even Holdsons Commodores and XLR8’s.Everywhere I randomly look there you are
Collective-Queen-Soul has always impressed me although I choose not to peck and retain scratchings
cannot live on words for we all know by now what man needs in his Sandwich Lord.Did The Borg
Return to Eden or was there a Giant in the East who passed away.Once you have met all the pollies
and classified their agenda and sampled their labels there dregs can leave a furry taste on the tongue.
The Naked and The Famous or The Naked and The Dead and when I walked The Streets of Laredo as a High Plains Drifter Saturday Night Fever I seemed Happy and some of the people were Happy too.
🙂 Long Live The Standard Bearer Quo Vadis 🙂
24 x 364 x 10 = ???
A pretty compelling program last night on TV3 a repeat of “Inside Child Poverty.” Rather timely too don’t you think?
http://ondemand.tv3.co.nz/Inside-New-Zealand-Inside-Child-Poverty/tabid/59/articleID/4761/MCat/342/Default.aspx
Heatley and Ryall need to periodically visit the children’s ward of hospitals. Then they may get it how the home and not seeing a doctor soon enough due to the cost impacts on children.
I liked the way the doco explained how NZ got this way and that NZ is third to last just ahead of Turkey and Mexico on the OCD index.
OECD index.
A moratorium on fracking is still appropriate until we have decent regulatory controls. http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/fracking-report-flags-issues.html
On things environmental… Claire Browining’s post on Pundit is worth a read:
She goes on to detail how this ‘brand’ has been demolished, until:
interesting phenomena this political web we weave…
We don’t need a Churchill.
We need a functioning democracy where we, the people ,are able to make informed decisions about the things that matter for ourselves.
Instead we are channelled into handing our ability to think, and to act, over to politicians who are all driven by the needs of the capitalist economy rather than the best interests of people and planet.
No politician, nor any political party will save us.
We have to do that for ourselves.
That means finding ways to act collectively despite our politicians.
And finding ways to collectively stop politicians doing bad shit in our name.
Israeli soldiers speak out
http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/
Latest Roy Morgan is out. Labour is down 1% and Greens are up 3%.
Ouch.
http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2012/4842/
Roy Morgan’s out:
Support for Labour is 31.5% (down 1%); Greens are 13.5% (up 3%), New Zealand First 6.5% (up 1.5 %). Total is 51.5%.
Nats drop slightly to 45%.
http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2012/4842/
[lprent: enhanced the comment. Check the dates. Wouldn’t expect a pronounced reaction from the conference ]
Betcha … just …
Mostly margin of error changes. But good to see Green support up.
Polling period includes all of last week.
The Shearer acolytes are fond of saying that he has got Labour up in the polls.
In fact, if you look at the Roy Morgan poll numbers in January and February this year, you will see Labour around 30-31%. The dead cat bounce, post-election, Goff gone, new leader, honeymoon.
That was nine months ago. Labour haven’t moved.
The incumbents have been doing far worse over the course of this year however – how do you reconcile the fact that the Labour vote has not increased over time, given this?
I don’t. Nor did I try.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10849084
Palestinians demonised with half truths
[deleted]
Leslie Bravery is a member of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign.
Copyright ©2012, APN Holdings NZ Limited
[deleted]
[lprent: You see that word “Copyright” there? Do that again and I will abbreviate any future possibility of a repitition.
Short quotes and state why you think people should read it. ]
David H proposes (in jest) that Fisi submit a guest post.
I don’t think this is such a bad idea.
I firmly believe that we need better wingnuts. Farrar and Mr. Oil? Give me a break. Matthew “the story” Hooten? Yeah nah.
The challenges we face require input from all sides. Parliamentary debate is a farce. Would it hurt to introduce some intellect from the right (please excuse the oxymoron) every now and then? April Fools’ Day?
Let them lay out their case.
Wingnuts.thestandard.org.nz ?
I expect it’s a silly idea 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4TEjtrEDj6o
So what you like about Joyce but this is pretty good, might have even cracked a smile on the greens….
Is that from Question Time today? The Speaker was well out of order letting Joyce run on like that. P**sed off, very, I was. Major diversion from holding the government to account!
I despair of what our parliament has become.
Funnily enough a couple of the Labour MPs saw the funny side of it
FYI
28 November 2012Open Letter to NZ Prime Minister John Key: “Please confirm that NZ is going to support Palestine becoming a UN ‘non-member observer state’Dear Prime Minister,
http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Foreign-Relations/Middle-East/2-Arab-Israeli-conflict.php
Middle East
Arab – Israeli Conflict: New Zealand Position
Since the beginning of the Arab – Israeli conflict, New Zealand has sought to approach the issue even-handedly, seeking a solution that provided for a Jewish/Israeli and a Palestinian state on the land of the former British mandate of Palestine. This policy has its origins in our commitment to the 1947 United Nations (UN) partition resolution on Palestine (Jewish state, Arab state, and internationalisation of Jerusalem) and the 1967 UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution on the need for a just settlement and Israel’s withdrawal from occupied territories.
The policy has been underpinned through contributions to the UN Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) since 1954 and to the Sinai Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) since 1982. We have also core funded the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).
New Zealand continues to advocate for a balanced and constructive resolution of interests, based on the need for a lasting two-state settlement in accordance with UNSC resolutions and subsequent agreements between the two parties. We have sought in our statements in the United Nations to draw attention to the rights and responsibilities of both sides. In particular, while constantly advocating the need for a peaceful two-state settlement, New Zealand has expressed strong opposition to ongoing acts of violent resistance against Israel, while underlining Israel’s own responsibility to act lawfully and with restraint.
New Zealand is prepared to speak out against actions by any party that are likely to have contravened international law. These include rocket attacks by Hamas and/or other Palestinian militant groups against Israel. Equally, we have spoken out against actions by Israel, including the blockade of the Gaza Strip, and expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
This carefully balanced position is consistent with New Zealand’s international reputation for fair-mindedness. It reflects the value we, as a small country, place on the international rule of law.
Positions New Zealand takes on resolutions within the United Nations reflect this even-handed, balanced and constructive approach. We acknowledge that, ultimately, a lasting two-state settlement is something that will have to be negotiated between the two principle parties. But the UN and its members have a role to play in promoting dialogue to encourage that negotiated settlement. There is also an important role to play by the UN development and humanitarian agencies in addressing the severe humanitarian hardships, and growing health-related problems, among the Palestinian people, especially women and children.
New Zealand therefore supports UN resolutions that advance the two-state solution, uphold international law, including human rights and humanitarian law, or call for humanitarian assistance. ”
___________________________________________________________________________________________
THIS IS WHAT IS BEING VOTED UPON:
COMPLETE TEXT OF DRAFT UN RESOLUTION UPGRADING STATUS OF PALESTINE:
………………
http://www.innercitypress.com/palreso1icpga110812.pdf
http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=58963
BACKGROUND INFORMATION”
FURTHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20299149
http://www.innercitypress.com/palreso1icpga110812.pdf
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Penny Bright
Jacquelyne Taylor
They really do eat their own.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/revenge-of-the-reality-based-community/
we could discuss amongst ourselves some more
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse_analysis
was Joe Strummer a Saint and come to some jazzy solutions Jimmie
and then conclude Oh Well, whatta ya gonna be doin’ next year no lie…
and surf the wave Cos charley don’t
So thats four Labour MPs going to the Hobbit premier and no Green MPs going.
I’m thinking the Greens have played this right (kiwis respect integrity) but how do you lot think?
I think its simply more maneuvering of the pawns around the board!
The Greens will NOT be any saviour on NZ, any more than Labour will, or any more than Cunliffe can could possibly be!
Apply the same to any name or party you like!
Look at the eyes…
This is a very bad individual!
I have always found these reinforcing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforcement_Schedules#Schedules_of_reinforcement
and in variably turns Right Whales and other farreright wildlife belly up under the beating down sun 🙂