Open mike 29/05/2024
Written By:
- Date published:
6:00 am, May 29th, 2024 - 37 comments
Categories: open mike -
Tags:
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
37 comments on “Open mike 29/05/2024 ”
- Comments are now closed
- Comments are now closed
CommentsOpinions
Recent Comments
FeedsPartyGovtMedia
- EGU2025 – Presentation about our translation activities
As mentioned in the recently published prolog to EGU2025 article, I submitted an abstract to talk about some of our translation activities and the challenges we have been facing with those. This blog post is a "companion article" to that presentation in session EOS4.3 Geoethics and Global Anthropogenic Change: Geoscience for Policy, ...1 hour ago - The drums of war revisited
On 25 April 2021, I published an internal all-staff Anzac Day message. I did so as the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, which is responsible for Australia’s civil defence, and its resilience in ...6 hours ago - Cameron Slater’s New Website: Same Old Defamation
You’ve likely noticed that the disgraced blogger of Whale Oil Beef Hooked infamy, Cameron Slater, is still slithering around the internet, peddling his bile on a shiny new blogsite calling itself The Good Oil. If you thought bankruptcy, defamation rulings, and a near-fatal health scare would teach this idiot a ...7 hours ago - David Seymour’s Atlas Network Receiving Unwanted Attention
The Atlas Network, a sprawling web of libertarian think tanks funded by fossil fuel barons and corporate elites, has sunk its claws into New Zealand’s political landscape. At the forefront of this insidious influence is David Seymour, the ACT Party leader, whose ties to Atlas run deep.With the National Party’s ...8 hours ago
- Nicola Willis To Blame For Family Boost Debacle
Nicola Willis, National’s supposed Finance Minister, has delivered another policy failure with the Family Boost scheme, a childcare rebate that was big on promises but has been very small on delivery. Only 56,000 families have signed up, a far cry from the 130,000 Willis personally championed in National’s campaign. This ...9 hours ago
- Editors’ pick: ‘On the value of military service’
This article was first published on 7 February 2025. In January, I crossed the milestone of 24 years of service in two militaries—the British and Australian armies. It is fair to say that I am ...10 hours ago
- Rest easy, my friend.
He shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.Age shall not weary him, nor the years condemn.At the going down of the sun and in the morningI will remember him.My mate Keith died yesterday, peacefully in the early hours. My dear friend in Rotorua, whom I’ve been ...11 hours ago - The Hoon around the week to April 25
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on news New Zealand abstained from a vote on a global shipping levy on climate emissions and downgraded the importance ...12 hours ago - The Men Commenting on Lorde
Hi,In case you missed it, New Zealand icon Lorde has a new single out. It’s called “What Was That”, and has a very low key music video that was filmed around her impromptu performance in New York’s Washington Square Park. When police shut down the initial popup, one of my ...14 hours ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2025
Open access notables Internal variability effect doped by climate change drove the 2023 marine heat extreme in the North Atlantic, Guinaldo et al., Communications Earth & Environment The year 2023 shattered numerous heat records both globally and regionally. We here focus on the drivers of the unprecedented warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies which started in ...1 day ago
- Military denial: the basis of deterrence, and of response if deterrence fails
A strategy of denial is now the cornerstone concept for Australia’s National Defence Strategy. The term’s use as an overarching guide to defence policy, however, has led to some confusion on what it actually means ...1 day ago
- Fiscal failure
The IMF’s twice-yearly World Economic Outlook and Fiscal Monitor publications have come out in the last couple of days. If there is gloom in the GDP numbers (eg this chart for the advanced countries, and we don’t score a lot better on the comparable one for the 2019 to ...1 day ago - Climate Change: Fucking the ETS again
For a while, it looked like the government had unfucked the ETS, at least insofar as unit settings were concerned. They had to be forced into it by a court case, but at least it got done, and when National came to power, it learned the lesson (and then fucked ...1 day ago - What’s secret? When is it secret? Well, that’s complicated
The argument over US officials’ misuse of secure but non-governmental messaging platform Signal falls into two camps. Either it is a gross error that undermines national security, or it is a bit of a blunder ...1 day ago
- Today’s Headlines: David Seymour’s ECE Risks & Coalition Government Lies
Cost of living ~1/3 of Kiwis needed help with food as cost of living pressures continue to increase - turning to friends, family, food banks or Work and Income in the past year, to find food. 40% of Kiwis also said they felt schemes offered little or no benefit, according ...1 day ago - Is The NZ Media Awards Sponsored By a Conspiracy Theorist?
Hi,Perhaps in 2025 it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the CEO and owner of Voyager Internet — the major sponsor of the New Zealand Media Awards — has taken to sharing a variety of Anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories to his 1.2 million followers.This included sharing a post from ...1 day ago - Australia-India defence cooperation should be about more than navies
In the sprint to deepen Australia-India defence cooperation, navy links have shot ahead of ties between the two countries’ air forces and armies. That’s largely a good thing: maritime security is at the heart of ...1 day ago
- When in Rome
'Cause you and me, were meant to be,Walking free, in harmony,One fine day, we'll fly away,Don't you know that Rome wasn't built in a day?Songwriters: Paul David Godfrey / Ross Godfrey / Skye Edwards.I was half expecting to see photos this morning of National Party supporters with wads of cotton ...1 day ago - Thursday 24 April
The PSA says a settlement with Health New Zealand over the agency’s proposed restructure of its Data and Digital and Pacific Health teams has saved around 200 roles from being cut. A third of New Zealanders have needed help accessing food in the past year, according to Consumer NZ, and ...1 day ago - John Campbell Investigates Brian Tamaki’s Destiny Church
John Campbell’s Under His Command, a five-part TVNZ+ investigation series starting today, rips the veil off Destiny Church, exposing the rot festering under Brian Tamaki’s self-proclaimed apostolic throne. This isn’t just a church; it’s a fiefdom, built on fear, manipulation, and a trail of scandals that make your stomach churn. ...1 day ago
- Decrypting tomorrow’s threats: critical infrastructure needs post-quantum protection today
Some argue we still have time, since quantum computing capable of breaking today’s encryption is a decade or more away. But breakthrough capabilities, especially in domains tied to strategic advantage, rarely follow predictable timelines. Just ...1 day ago
- Inside my quest for a climate-friendly bank
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Pearl Marvell (Photo credit: Pearl Marvell. Image credit: Samantha Harrington. Dollar bill vector image: by pch.vector on Freepik) Igrew up knowing that when you had extra money, you put it under a bed, stashed it in a book or a clock, or, ...1 day ago
- Winston Peters Has Lost The Plot
The political petrified piece of wood, Winston Peters, who refuses to retire gracefully, has had an eventful couple of weeks peddling transphobia, pushing bigoted policies, undertaking his unrelenting war on wokeness and slinging vile accusations like calling Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick a “groomer”.At 80, the hypocritical NZ First leader’s latest ...1 day ago
- The one who left
It's raining in Cockermouth and we're following our host up the stairs. We’re telling her it’s a lovely building and she’s explaining that it used to be a pub and a nightclub and a backpackers, but no more.There were floods in 2009 and 2015 along the main street, huge floods, ...2 days ago - Gordon Campbell On The Trump Upside, And Peters Persecution Of Trans People
A recurring aspect of the Trump tariff coverage is that it normalises – or even sanctifies – a status quo that in many respects has been a disaster for working class families. No doubt, Donald Trump is an uncertainty machine that is tanking the stock market and the growth prospects ...2 days ago - Is Mark Mitchell a racist?
The National Party’s Minister of Police, Corrections, and Ethnic Communities (irony alert) has stumbled into yet another racist quagmire, proving that when it comes to bigotry, the right wing’s playbook is as predictable as it is vile. This time, Mitchell’s office reposted an Instagram reel falsely claiming that Te Pāti ...2 days ago
- Australian statecraft must restore the link between deterrence and non-proliferation to survive in t...
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...2 days ago
- J.K. Rowling – Arsehole of the Week
In a world crying out for empathy, J.K. Rowling has once again proven she’s more interested in stoking division than building bridges. The once-beloved author of Harry Potter has cemented her place as this week’s Arsehole of the Week, a title earned through her relentless, tone-deaf crusade against transgender rights. ...2 days ago
- The rotten, unaccountable crown
Between 1950 and 1993 the New Zealand government tortured and abused up to 250,000 children in residential care facilities. They then proceeded to cover it up in order to minimise their liability, dragging out cases, slandering their victims and ultimately denying redress. In its final report, the Inquiry into Abuse ...2 days ago
- To prepare for future threats, treat health security as national security
Health security is often seen as a peripheral security domain, and as a problem that is difficult to address. These perceptions weaken our capacity to respond to borderless threats. With the wind back of Covid-19 ...2 days ago
- What’s on the Label -vs- What’s in the Tin.
Would our political parties pass muster under the Fair Trading Act?WHAT IF OUR POLITICAL PARTIES were subject to the Fair Trading Act? What if they, like the nation’s businesses, were prohibited from misleading their consumers – i.e. the voters – about the nature, characteristics, suitability, or quantity of the products ...2 days ago - Simeon Brown Doesn’t Consider Abortion To Be Healthcare As Services Scaled Back
Rod EmmersonThank you to my subscribers and readers - you make it all possible. Tui.Subscribe nowSix updates today from around the world and locally here in Aoteaora New Zealand -1. RFK Jnr’s Autism CrusadeAmerica plans to create a registry of people with autism in the United States. RFK Jr’s department ...2 days ago - Another Munich crisis? Understanding the limits of policymaking by analogy
We see it often enough. A democracy deals with an authoritarian state, and those who oppose concessions cite the lesson of Munich 1938: make none to dictators; take a firm stand. And so we hear ...2 days ago
- Wednesday 23 April
370 perioperative nurses working at Auckland City Hospital, Starship Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre will strike for two hours on 1 May – the same day senior doctors are striking. This is part of nationwide events to mark May Day on 1 May, including rallies outside public hospitals, organised by ...2 days ago
- Auckland character rules stop building on 20,000 sections
Character protections for Auckland’s villas have stymied past development. Now moves afoot to strip character protection from a bunch of inner-city villas. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories shortest from our political economy on Wednesday, April 23:Special Character Areas designed to protect villas are stopping 20,000 sites near Auckland’s ...2 days ago - AI is changing Indo-Pacific naval operations
Artificial intelligence is poised to significantly transform the Indo-Pacific maritime security landscape. It offers unprecedented situational awareness, decision-making speed and operational flexibility. But without clear rules, shared norms and mechanisms for risk reduction, AI could ...2 days ago
- What is a Man?
For what is a man, what has he got?If not himself, then he has naughtTo say the things he truly feelsAnd not the words of one who kneelsThe record showsI took the blowsAnd did it my wayLyrics: Paul Anka.Morena folks, before we discuss Winston’s latest salvo in NZ First’s War ...2 days ago - Britain recasts AUKUS for a new era
Britain once risked a reputation as the weak link in the trilateral AUKUS partnership. But now the appointment of an empowered senior official to drive the project forward and a new burst of British parliamentary ...3 days ago
- Australia’s basic-metals problem: old plants and subsidised Chinese competition
Australia’s ability to produce basic metals, including copper, lead, zinc, nickel and construction steel, is in jeopardy, with ageing plants struggling against Chinese competition. The multinational commodities company Trafigura has put its Australian operations under ...3 days ago
- Rob Campbell – Public Private Partnerships: What a Good Idea! OR ‘There will be no free...
There have been recent PPP debacles, both in New Zealand (think Transmission Gully) and globally, with numerous examples across both Australia and Britain of failed projects and extensive litigation by government agencies seeking redress for the failures.Rob Campbell is one of New Zealand’s sharpest critics of PPPs noting that; "There ...3 days ago - RB spending: the Board and the Minister
On Twitter on Saturday I indicated that there had been a mistake in my post from last Thursday in which I attempted to step through the Reserve Bank Funding Agreement issues. Making mistakes (there are two) is annoying and I don’t fully understand how I did it (probably too much ...3 days ago
- Indonesia needs to rethink its approach to military drones
Indonesia’s armed forces still have a lot of work to do in making proper use of drones. Two major challenges are pilot training and achieving interoperability between the services. Another is overcoming a predilection for ...3 days ago
- Help Stop the Gaza Genocide Through Activism
As a living breathing human being, you’ve likely seen the heart-wrenching images from Gaza...homes reduced to rubble, children burnt to cinders, families displaced, and a death toll that’s beyond comprehension. What is going on in Gaza is most definitely a genocide, the suffering is real, and it’s easy to feel ...3 days ago
- Willis ignores new Global Financial & Trade Crisis
Donald Trump, who has called the Chair of the Federal Reserve “a major loser”. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories shortest from our political economy on Tuesday, April 22:US markets slump after Donald Trump threatens the Fed’s independence. China warns its trading partners not to side with the US. Trump says some ...3 days ago - One of the Good Ones
3 days ago - AI is reshaping security, and the intelligence review sets good direction
The 2024 Independent Intelligence Review found the NIC to be highly capable and performing well. So, it is not a surprise that most of the 67 recommendations are incremental adjustments and small but nevertheless important ...3 days ago
- A worse-than-current-policy world?
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink The world has made real progress toward tacking climate change in recent years, with spending on clean energy technologies skyrocketing from hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars globally over the past decade, and global CO2 emissions plateauing. This has contributed to a reassessment of ...3 days ago
- “An A-Grade Teacher’s Pet”
Hi,I’ve been having a peaceful month of what I’d call “existential dread”, even more aware than usual that — at some point — this all ends.It was very specifically triggered by watching Pantheon, an animated sci-fi show that I’m filing away with all-time greats like Six Feet Under, Watchmen and ...3 days ago - Gordon Campbell On Papal Picks, And India As A Defence Ally
Once the formalities of honouring the late Pope wrap up in two to three weeks time, the conclave of Cardinals will go into seclusion. Some 253 of the current College of Cardinals can take part in the debate over choosing the next Pope, but only 138 of them are below ...4 days ago
- The National Party’s Prison Pipeline Ruining New Zealand
The National Party government is doubling down on a grim, regressive vision for the future: more prisons, more prisoners, and a society fractured by policies that punish rather than heal. This isn’t just a misstep; it’s a deliberate lurch toward a dystopian future where incarceration is the answer to every ...4 days ago
- Don Brash’s NZME Power Grab Must Be Rejected
4 days ago
- 2025 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #16
A listing of 28 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 13, 2025 thru Sat, April 19, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. The formatting is a ...5 days ago
- The “perfect storm” National can use to consolidate slash’n’burn policy is here…
“What I’d say to you is…” our Prime Minister might typically begin a sentence, when he’s about to obfuscate and attempt to derail the question you really, really want him to answer properly (even once would be okay, Christopher). Questions such as “Why is a literal election promise over ...5 days ago - Economic Futures – Climate Change and Modernity
Ruth IrwinExponential Economic growth is the driver of Ecological degradation. It is driven by CO2 greenhouse gas emissions through fossil fuel extraction and burning for the plethora of polluting industries. Extreme weather disasters and Climate change will continue to get worse because governments subscribe to the current global economic system, ...5 days ago
- Winning Together
A man on telly tries to tell me what is realBut it's alright, I like the way that feelsAnd everybody singsWe are evolving from night to morningAnd I wanna believe in somethingWriter: Adam Duritz.The world is changing rapidly, over the last year or so, it has been out with the ...5 days ago - My Food Bag’s Cecilia Robinson Courts Your Money For Health
MFB Co-Founder Cecilia Robinson runs Tend HealthcareSummary:Kieran McAnulty calls out National on healthcare lies and says Health Minister Simeon Brown is “dishonest and disingenuous” (video below)McAnulty says negotiation with doctors is standard practice, but this level of disrespect is not, especially when we need and want our valued doctors.National’s $20bn ...5 days ago - The Case Against Chris Luxon Remaining PM
Chris Luxon’s tenure as New Zealand’s Prime Minister has been a masterclass in incompetence, marked by coalition chaos, economic lethargy, verbal gaffes, and a moral compass that seems to point wherever political expediency lies. The former Air New Zealand CEO (how could we forget?) was sold as a steady hand, ...5 days ago
- Cameron Slater’s Creepy Fixation On Jacinda Ardern
Has anybody else noticed Cameron Slater still obsessing over Jacinda Ardern? The disgraced Whale Oil blogger seems to have made it his life’s mission to shadow the former Prime Minister of New Zealand like some unhinged stalker lurking in the digital bushes.The man’s obsession with Ardern isn't just unhealthy...it’s downright ...6 days ago
- Fact brief – Is climate change a net benefit for society?
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is climate change a net benefit for society? Human-caused climate change has been a net detriment to society as measured by loss of ...6 days ago
- National’s Water Done Well Will Cost Ratepayers More
When the National Party hastily announced its “Local Water Done Well” policy, they touted it as the great saviour of New Zealand’s crumbling water infrastructure. But as time goes by it's looking more and more like a planning and fiscal lame duck...and one that’s going to cost ratepayers far more ...6 days ago
- Trump’s Tariff Tantrum Is Causing Economic Chaos
Donald Trump, the orange-hued oligarch, is back at it again, wielding tariffs like a mob boss swinging a lead pipe. His latest economic edict; slapping hefty tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada, has the stench of a protectionist shakedown, cooked up in the fevered minds of his sycophantic ...6 days ago
- The ‘China’ challenge: now a multi-generational test for Australian strategy
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...6 days ago
- White Rabbit
One pill makes you largerAnd one pill makes you smallAnd the ones that mother gives youDon't do anything at allGo ask AliceWhen she's ten feet tallSongwriter: Grace Wing Slick.Morena, all, and a happy Bicycle Day to you.Today is an unofficial celebration of the dawning of the psychedelic era, commemorating the ...6 days ago - Why Has The World Forgotten About Hollywood?
It’s only been a few months since the Hollywood fires tore through Los Angeles, leaving a trail of devastation, numerous deaths, over 10,000 homes reduced to rubble, and a once glorious film industry on its knees. The Palisades and Eaton fires, fueled by climate-driven dry winds, didn’t just burn houses; ...7 days ago
- Viennese Refugees Who Changed the Way We Think
Four eighty-year-old books which are still vitally relevant today. Between 1942 and 1945, four refugees from Vienna each published a ground-breaking – seminal – book.* They left their country after Austria was taken over by fascists in 1934 and by Nazi Germany in 1938. Previously they had lived in ‘Red ...7 days ago - Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricem, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1496): A Complete...
Good Friday, 18th April, 2025: I can at last unveil the Secret Non-Fiction Project. The first complete Latin-to-English translation of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s twelve-book Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricem (Disputations Against Divinatory Astrology). Amounting to some 174,000 words, total. Some context is probably in order. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) ...1 week ago - Hamish Campbell Lied About His Links With Two By Twos Cult
National MP Hamish Campbell's pathetic attempt to downplay his deep ties to and involvement in the Two by Twos...a secretive religious sect under FBI and NZ Police investigation for child sexual abuse...isn’t just a misstep; it’s a calculated lie that insults the intelligence of every Kiwi voter.Campbell’s claim of being ...1 week ago
- Is Shane Jones The Most Corrupt Politician in New Zealand?
New Zealand First’s Shane Jones has long styled himself as the “Prince of the Provinces,” a champion of regional development and economic growth. But beneath the bluster lies a troubling pattern of behaviour that reeks of cronyism and corruption, undermining the very democracy he claims to serve. Recent revelations and ...1 week ago
- Good Friday
Give me one reason to stay hereAnd I'll turn right back aroundGive me one reason to stay hereAnd I'll turn right back aroundSaid I don't want to leave you lonelyYou got to make me change my mindSongwriters: Tracy Chapman.Morena, and Happy Easter, whether that means to you. Hot cross buns, ...1 week ago - Luxon Turns A Blind Eye to Homelessness
New Zealand’s housing crisis is a sad indictment on the failures of right wing neoliberalism, and the National Party, under Chris Luxon’s shaky leadership, is trying to simply ignore it. The numbers don’t lie: Census data from 2023 revealed 112,496 Kiwis were severely housing deprived...couch-surfing, car-sleeping, or roughing it on ...1 week ago
- The Hoon around the week to April 18
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on a global survey of over 3,000 economists and scientists showing a significant divide in views on green growth; and ...1 week ago
- Simeon Brown Has Caused The Doctor’s Strike
Simeon Brown, the National Party’s poster child for hubris, consistently over-promises and under-delivers. His track record...marked by policy flip-flops and a dismissive attitude toward expert advice, reveals a politician driven by personal ambition rather than evidence. From transport to health, Brown’s focus seems fixed on protecting National's image, not addressing ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2025
Open access notables Recent intensified riverine CO2 emission across the Northern Hemisphere permafrost region, Mu et al., Nature Communications: Global warming causes permafrost thawing, transferring large amounts of soil carbon into rivers, which inevitably accelerates riverine CO2 release. However, temporally and spatially explicit variations of riverine CO2 emissions remain unclear, limiting the ...1 week ago
- Whatever Happened to Cactus Kate?
Once a venomous thorn in New Zealand’s blogosphere, Cathy Odgers, aka Cactus Kate, has slunk into the shadows, her once-sharp quills dulled by the fallout of Dirty Politics.The dishonest attack-blogger, alongside her vile accomplices such as Cameron Slater, were key players in the National Party’s sordid smear campaigns, exposed by Nicky ...1 week ago
- Sovereign capability can benefit Australia—up to a point
Once upon a time, not so long ago, those who talked of Australian sovereign capability, especially in the technology sector, were generally considered an amusing group of eccentrics. After all, technology ecosystems are global and ...1 week ago
.jpg){kind=link}
- Education Should be Led by Experts-Not Economists
Te Pāti Māori are appalled by Cabinet's decision to agree to 15 recommendations to the Early Childhood Education (ECE) sector following the regulatory review by the Ministry of Regulation. We emphasise the need to prioritise tamariki Māori in Early Childhood Education, conducted by education experts- not economists. “Our mokopuna deserve ...23 hours ago
- Release: Govt’s flagship cost of living policy a failure
After promising $250 a fortnight to many families, the Government has been forced to admit just a couple hundred families are receiving it. ...1 day ago - Release: Transparency needed on changes to early childhood education
The Government is putting children at risk in early childhood education (ECE) by proposing to loosen the requirement for qualified teachers. ...1 day ago
- Release: Govt funding needed to combat invasive seaweed
The Government must support Northland hapū who have resorted to rakes and buckets to try to control a devastating invasive seaweed that threatens the local economy and environment. ...3 days ago
- New Zealand First Introduces Bill Defining ‘Woman’ and ‘Man’ in Law
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill that would ensure the biological definition of a woman and man are defined in law. “This is not about being anti-anyone or anti-anything. This is about ensuring we as a country focus on the facts of biology and protect the ...3 days ago - Release: Labour marks the passing of Pope Francis
Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins joins those mourning the passing of Pope Francis. ...4 days ago
- Release: Boot camps blog post fails to provide clarity
After stonewalling requests for information on boot camps, the Government has now offered up a blog post right before Easter weekend rather than provide clarity on the pilot. ...1 week ago
- Release: Inflation rises and families feel the squeeze
Inflation is rising again and it’s landing hardest on families already stretched thin. ...1 week ago
- Release: Govt doesn’t know how to fund new hospitals
The Government’s health infrastructure plan is big on promises but coy on where the money is coming from. ...1 week ago
- Release: $10 million for only 215 students in charter schools
David Seymour is pouring $10 million into charter schools that only have 215 students enrolled. ...1 week ago
- Release: Food prices further stretching the family budget
Families already stretched by rising costs will struggle with the news food prices are going up again. ...1 week ago
- Release: Mental health staff and patients at risk without plan
More people could be harmed if Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey does not guarantee to protect patients and workers as the Police withdraw from supporting mental health call outs. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Driver licensing proposal doesn’t put safety first
The Government’s proposal to change driver licensing rules is a mixed bag of sensible and careless. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Students struggling as Govt sits on hands
The Government is continuing to sit on its hands as students struggle to pay rent due to delays with StudyLink. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: More must be done to stop children going hungry
More children are going hungry and statistics showing children in material hardship continue to get worse. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens continue to call for Pacific Visa Waiver
The Green Party recognises the extension of visa allowances for our Pacific whānau as a step in the right direction but continues to call for a Pacific Visa Waiver. ...2 weeks ago - More children going hungry under Coalition govt
The Government yesterday released its annual child poverty statistics, and by its own admission, more tamariki across Aotearoa are now living in material hardship. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Longer wait for treatment under National
New Zealanders have waited longer to get an appointment with a specialist and to get elective surgery under the National Government. ...2 weeks ago
- Ka mate te Pire- Ka ora te mana o Te Tiriti o Waitangi me te iwi Māori
Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting ...2 weeks ago
- Chris Hipkins speech: Treaty Principles Bill second reading
Normally, when I rise in this House to speak on a bill, I say it's a great privilege to speak on the bill. That is not the case today. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: End to the Treaty Principles Bill, but challenges remain ahead for Aotearoa
Ka mate te pire I te rā neiThe bill dies today ...2 weeks ago
- Ka mate te Pire, ka ora Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Treaty Principles Bill dead, Te Tiriti o Waitangi m...
The Green Party is proud to have voted down the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, an archaic piece of legislation that sought to attack the nation’s founding agreement. ...2 weeks ago
- Member’s Bill an opportunity for climate action
A Member’s Bill in the name of Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter which aims to stop coal mining, the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill, has been pulled from Parliament’s ‘biscuit tin’ today. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Bill to make trading laws fairer passes first hurdle
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Members Bill to make the law simpler and fairer for businesses operating on Easter, Anzac and Christmas Days has passed its first reading after a conscience vote in Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Reserve Bank acts while Govt shrugs
Nicola Willis continues to sit on her hands amid a global economic crisis, leaving the Reserve Bank to act for New Zealanders who are worried about their jobs, mortgages, and KiwiSaver. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Property Law Amendment Bill pulled from ballot
A Bill to protect first home buyers and others from bad faith property vendors has been drawn from the Member’s Ballot. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: More children at risk of losing family connections
Karen Chhour is proposing to scrap Oranga Tamariki targets which aim to connect more children under state care with family and their culture. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: David Parker made a difference – Hipkins
The Labour Leader today acknowledged and celebrated David Parker’s 23-year contribution to the Labour Party and to Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: David Parker to step down from Parliament
Long-serving Labour MP and former Minister David Parker has today announced his intention to leave Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Flaws in Govt’s climate strategy will cost us money
The Government’s plan to achieve our climate goals falls short, and will cost New Zealanders money and jobs. ...3 weeks ago
- Green Party differing view on the Treaty Principles Bill
Read the Green Party's differing view on the Treaty Principles Bill, prepared by Tamatha Paul. ...3 weeks ago
No feed items found.
- Pacific editor welcomes US court ruling in favour of Radio Free Asia
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor The former head of BenarNews’ Pacific bureau says a United States court ruling this week ordering the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to release congressionally approved funding to Radio Free Asia and its subsidiaries “makes us very happy”. However, Stefan Armbruster, who has ...52 minutes ago - ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 25, 2025
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 25, 2025. Labor takes large leads in YouGov and Morgan polls as surge continuesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and ...3 hours ago
- Labor takes large leads in YouGov and Morgan polls as surge continues
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 With just eight days until the May 3 federal election, and with in-person early voting well under way, Labor has taken a ...4 hours ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending April 25
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (Fourth Estate, $35) Fictionalised true crime for foodies. 2 Sunrise on ...4 hours ago - Beating malaria: what can be done with shrinking funds and rising threats
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Taneshka Kruger, UP ISMC: Project Manager and Coordinator, University of Pretoria Healthcare in Africa faces a perfect storm: high rates of infectious diseases like malaria and HIV, a rise in non-communicable diseases, and dwindling foreign aid. In 2021, nearly half of ...7 hours ago
- The best things from Australia and Aotearoa to watch this weekend
Australia and New Zealand join forces once more to bring you the best films and TV shows to watch this weekend. This Anzac Day, our free-to-air TV channels will screen a variety of commemorative coverage. At 11am, TVNZ1 has live coverage of the Anzac Day National Commemorative Service in Wellington. ...8 hours ago
- Lest we forget? The shame of our two-tier veteran system
Our laws are leaving many veterans who served after 1974 out in the cold. I know, because I’m one of them. This Sunday Essay was made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. First published in 2024. As I write this story, I am in constant pain. My hands ...9 hours ago
- Cross-party hope for anti-trafficking legislation
An MP fighting for anti-trafficking legislation says it is hard for prosecutors to take cases to court - but he is hopeful his bill will turn the tide. ...9 hours ago - Bestselling books at Anzac weekend
NONFICTION1 No Words for This by Ali Mau (HarperCollins, $39.99)
2 Everyday Comfort Food by Vanya Insull (Allen & Unwin, $39.99)
3 Three Wee Bookshops at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw (Allen & Unwin, $39.99)11 hours ago - Governor-General’s Anzac Day Dawn Service Address
This Anzac Day marks 110 years since the Gallipoli landings by soldiers in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps - the ANZACS. It signalled the beginning of a campaign that was to take the lives of so many of our young men - and would devastate the ...11 hours ago - New Zealand’s role in the mass deportation of Koreans from post-WWII Japan
The violent deportation of migrants is not new, and New Zealand forces had a hand in such a regime after World War II, writes historian Scott Hamilton. The world is watching the new Trump government wage a war against migrants it deems illegal. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and ...13 hours ago
- David Hill: Seize the day
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view. This Sunday Essay was made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell. First published in 2022. The high school’s head girl and ...13 hours ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘Te Hono ki Īhipa’ by Aperahama Hurihanganui
A new poem by Aperahama Hurihanganui, about the name of Aperahama and Abby Hauraki’s three-year-old son, Te Hono ki Īhipa (which translates to ‘The Connection to Egypt’). Te Hono ki Īhipa what’s in a name? te hono – the connection to your tīpuna, valiant soldiers of the 28th Māori Battalion ...13 hours ago
- Daily crossword, Friday 25 April
The post Daily crossword, Friday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...13 hours ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 25 April
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...13 hours ago
- Open letter to Fijians – ‘why is our country supporting Israel’s heinous crimes in Gaza?’
Pacific Media Watch The Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network today condemned the Fiji government’s failure to stand up for international law and justice over the Israeli war on Gaza in their weekly Black Thursday protest. “For the past 18 months, we have made repeated requests to our government to do ...16 hours ago
- Scares and stunts in the home stretch: election special podcast
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Michelle Grattan and Amanda Dunn discuss the fourth week of the 2025 election campaign. While the death of Pope Francis interrupted campaigning for a while, the leaders had another debate on Tuesday night and the ...20 hours ago
- Grattan on Friday: Coalition’s campaign lacks good planning and enough elbow grease
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Whatever the result on May 3, even people within the Liberals think they have run a very poor national campaign. Not just poor, but odd. Nothing makes the point more strongly than this week’s ...22 hours ago
- Inside the elaborate farewell to Pope Francis
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carole Cusack, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Sydney
View the full interactive version of this article here. Carole Cusack does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from ... 23 hours ago - Nicola Willis confirms FamilyBoost eligibility to be expanded
The Finance Minister says the leftover funding from the unexpectedly low uptake of the FamilyBoost policy will be redistributed to families who need it. ...23 hours ago
- 5 ways to tackle Australia’s backlog of asylum cases
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Professor and Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney People who apply for asylum in Australia face significant delays in having their claims processed. These delays undermine the integrity of the asylum system, erode ...24 hours ago
- Preference deals can decide the outcome of a seat in an election – but not always
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 Every election cycle the media becomes infatuated, even if temporarily, with preference deals between parties. The 2025 election is no exception, with ...24 hours ago
- What is preferential voting and how does it work? Your guide to making your vote count
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Hortle, Deputy Director, Tasmanian Policy Exchange, University of Tasmania For each Australian federal election, there are two different ways you get to vote. Whether you vote early, by post or on polling day on May 3, each eligible voter will be ...24 hours ago
- Back to the fuel guzzlers? Coalition plans to end EV tax breaks would hobble the clean transport tra...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Mortimore, Lecturer, Griffith Business School, Griffith University wedmoment.stock/Shutterstock If elected, the Coalition has pledged to end Labor’s substantial tax break for new zero- or low-emissions vehicles. This, combined with an earlier promise to roll back new fuel efficiency standards, ...1 day ago
- Many experienced tradies don’t have formal qualifications. Could fast-tracked recognition ease the...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pi-Shen Seet, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Edith Cowan University Once again, housing affordability is at the forefront of an Australian federal election. Both major parties have put housing policies at the centre of their respective campaigns. But there are still ...1 day ago
- Our piping hot first reactions to Lorde’s brand new single ‘What Was That’
After a nearly four year hiatus, New Zealand’s premiere popstar is back with a brand new single. It’s been a thrilling few weeks of breadcrumbing for Lorde fans, as the New Zealand popstar has been teasing her return to the zeitgeist through mysterious silver duct tape on her shoes, rainbow ...1 day ago
- This may be as good as it gets: NZ and Australia face a complicated puzzle when it comes to supermar...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Meade, Adjunct Associate Professor, Centre for Applied Energy Economics and Policy Research, Griffith University Daria Nipot/Shutterstock With ongoing cost of living pressures, the Australian and New Zealand supermarket sectors are attracting renewed political attention on both sides of the Tasman. ...1 day ago
- The phrase ‘fuzzy wuzzy angels’ is far from affectionate – it reflects 500 years of racism
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erika K. Smith, Associate Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University This article contains mention of racist terms in historical context. Every Anzac Day, Australians are presented with narratives that re-inscribe particular versions of our national story. One such narrative persistently ...1 day ago
- ‘Never Again’ Anzac Day Peace Picnic
“Anzac Day is portrayed as a day where the country can reflect on the horrors of war, the costs in human lives and commit collectively to never again allowing genocidal mass murder. We have to ask, is that really happening?” said Valerie Morse, member ...1 day ago
- Why AUKUS remains the right strategy for the future defence of Australia
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Parker, Adjunct Fellow, Naval Studies at UNSW Canberra, and Expert Associate, National Security College, Australian National University Australian strategic thinking has long struggled to move beyond a narrow view of defence that focuses solely on protecting our shores. However, in today’s ...1 day ago
- Election meme hits and duds – we’ve graded some of the best (and worst) of the campaign so far
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University As Australia begins voting in the federal election, we’re awash with political messages. While this of course includes the typical paid ads in newspapers and on TV (those ones ...1 day ago
- Markets are choppy. What should you do with your super if you are near retirement?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Peng, Lecturer in Accounting, The University of Queensland Shutterstock For Australians approaching retirement, recent market volatility may feel like more than just a bump in the road. Unlike younger investors, who have time on their side, retirees don’t have ...1 day ago
- No virginity testing and amending alcohol licensing rules on Indian origin MPs agenda
Labour's Priyanca Radhakrishnan and ACT's Parmjeet Parmar claim support for their respective members' bills. ...1 day ago
- Provocative, progressive and fearless: why Beatrice Faust’s views still resonate in Australia
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judith Brett, Emeritus Professor of Politics, La Trobe University Beatrice Faust is best remembered as the founder, early in 1972, of the Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL). Women’s Liberation was already well under way. Betty Friedan had published The Feminine Mystique in 1962, ...1 day ago
- ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 24, 2025
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 24, 2025. The ocean can look deceptively calm – until it isn’t. Here’s what ‘hazardous surf’ really meansSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate, Beach Safety Research Group, School of Population ...1 day ago
- Fewer than 50 families to get National’s full tax package, says CTU
The rebate for families was a key plank of National's tax package last year. ...1 day ago
- The ocean can look deceptively calm – until it isn’t. Here’s what ‘hazardous surf’ really ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate, Beach Safety Research Group, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Over the Easter weekend, seven people drowned along the Australian coast. Most were swept off rock platforms – extremely dangerous locations that are increasingly prevalent in Australia’s coastal ...1 day ago
- Event noticeboard: traffic-inspired theatre, kōkōwai and experimental jewels
The Spinoff’s top picks of events from around the motu. Wow lucky us, it’s time to kiss the wheelie office chairs goodbye and begin another(!) long weekend. As tempting as I know it is to lean into the phone addiction and do just about nothing, you should make the most ...1 day ago
- Disregarding safety in raising speed limits is ‘highly unusual’ – transport agency
Higher speeds are being restored on 81 stretches of state highway, after ministers barred officials from considering safety and environmental concerns The post Disregarding safety in raising speed limits is ‘highly unusual’ – transport agency appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 day ago
- The major parties have announced their plans to address domestic and family violence. How do they st...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor (Practice), Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University In the past week, at least seven women have been killed in Australia, allegedly by men. These deaths have occurred in different contexts – across state borders, communities and relationships. But ...1 day ago
40 years ago there was an authoritarian PM who was also Minister of Finance.
He regulated the banking sector and wanted low unemployment – and people like Bob Jones wanted him gone – they wanted the "socialist" gone and a classic free market economy.
And Roger Douglas delivered. Others gave us the nuclear policy, and the Treaty in legislation. The succeeding government kept all three and thus came the iwi settlements (and they added benefit cuts, a low wage economy and market rents for state houses – all while removing the estate tax – thus increasing rather than reducing inequality was the goal)
The Waitangi Tribunal was formed in 1975.
https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/about/past-present-future-of-waitangi-tribunal/
National brought in Kohanga Reo, Mana Enterprises and Tu Tangata programmes and Muldoon gave PEP jobs to urban Maori "gangs".
The Waitangi Tribunal Act `1985
Back in 1984 Maori were more employed more hours than others, this was how they afforded home ownership.
In those times older folk were landlords – either converting bank account savings into a property ownership or using super payout to buy. They owned the house and paid tax on the rent income. There was no speculation with borrowed money.
2024.
Banking and a landlord class.
https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/the-life/looking-back-the-nz-housing-boom-when-and-how-it-all-began
Lack of secure tenancy. Struggling to afford rent and remain in a home. a risible 25 cents an hour MW increase. A one off tax cut for workers of $10 a week.
The legacy of Rogergnomics, Ruthinasia, Birch and Jimville English.
40 years ago they closed down a business in Willis Street. Where pigs could not sweat while on duty.
Animal Farm and a Brave New World.
In those times older folk were landlords – either converting bank account savings into a property ownership or using super payout to buy. They owned the house and paid tax on the rent income. There was no speculation with borrowed money.
Without borrowing is how investment should be done in the housing market – paying interest just tends to push up rental prices. I think TOP, at the last election, had a policy something along those lines.
Luxury Luxon and his cronies apparently care about the squeezed middle . ( I have grave doubts about that and IMO their attentions will make no difference.! )
On the other hand the very squeezed are going to be wrung out…
Its going down hill fast…
The only squeezed middle is Gerry Brownlees.
"Because those Kiwis struggling with the cost of living – what I call the squeezed middle – deserve support."
Clearly, in his warped mind, only the "right" sort of Kiwi struggling with the cost of living deserves support. (Read: if you don't work then you're obviously not affected by the cost of living, right?)
Oh yeah the "squeezed middle class".
What we used to call "yuppies" back in the 80s.
The only squeezing that affects them is bodily functions.
The latest Roy Morgan is interesting:
Nat 33.5
ACT 9.5
NZF 5.5
Lab 30.0
Gr 14.0
TMP 3.0
Government 48.5 against opposition 47.0 With the TMP overhang, assuming they win 6 Maori seats, this is neck and neck.
Labour is closing on the Nats. The Greens continue to poll well despite all the (mostly unjustified) crap that is being thrown at them.
https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/nz-national-voting-intention-may-2024
Thanks BG. In spite of criticism even from own ranks, it may be that Hipkin's softly softly might be the way to go. Let the COC die from self inflicted wounds.
I can't imagine gleefully sacking people , pulling the rug out from under first home buyers feet and starving poor kids sits well with your average decent citizen.
You 'misunderestimate' the nett tax payer's loathing of bureaucrats – especially the vast number 'given' positons by the previous majority Labour government.
That is the audience the present ruling coalition is playing to … and the need for reduction in government spending precipitated by $100 BILLIONS of recent borrowing (much of it channeled to the private individual during covid lockdowns). Eventually the uncontrolled flow has to be restricted.
They believe that there is still 20,000 plus extras to be dealt with.
(p.s. Have been made redundant three times in my working life – each due to a government economic failure.)
Not only the nett taxpayer, most of the working class (the much-derided Waitakere Man and small town NZ, rather than the urban liberal unionists) regard Wellington-based bureaucrats as freeloaders. Bureaucrats in Wellington losing their (very well paid) jobs, aren't going to gain much sympathy outside their support circle.
Ahhh bureaucrats. Love the smell of bureaucrats roasting on an open fire!
Oh wait it’s the passport office.
Oh wait it’s the teacher aid who works with my neighbor’s kid.
Oh wait, it’s the post office and RD has been cut back again.
Oh wait it’s our local surgery waiting lists and the cancellation of surgeries.
Oh wait it’s the disability support person who checks accessibility.
Oh f- me it’s all the construction projects that have been stopped and subs laid off because there’s no government certainty.
Oh f- me it’s an industry that had ratcheted up just drop off a cliff.
Oh f- me it’s the team that monitors and stops noxious weeds.
Oh f- me immigration have closed all their offices near us and their phone wait times are crazy and one of our workers wants to go home because his mother’s sick. Real good no shit guy.
Oh f- me it’s the wife’s contract to supply fresh veges to get friends who make lunches for the local school.
Oh f- me I just want to finish work eat my dinner and watch the news- where’s Paddy gone?
It doesn’t feel a lot better having got rid of all the woke lot- just a lot more money gone to their big business mates and even less for us.
And all those services are markedly better since the numbers of public servants increased vastly under the last government /sarc/
Always appreciate your input. Especially now you’ve moved from concern trolling to simply RW positions. Much more honest of you.
Yes the construction industry was geared up on a lot of projects because the government prioritised building houses. This had at least plateaued prices. Now the uncertainty has seen the industry creak to a halt because of the lack of certainty around projects.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/04/29/construction-workers-leaving-nz-in-droves-amid-big-project-delays/
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/518174/construction-industry-leaders-plead-for-acceleration-of-infrastructure-projects
And even your and Chris Trotter’s best friends can see that cutting jobs gleefully does nothing for the long term sustainability of the economy or the cost of living crisis, it simply goes to their mates’ back pockets as they avoid paying for the things we collectively need.
"Among others, local authorities are conveying to us their challenging financial predicaments, citing either a lack of funds or a need to await direction or decisions from central government before proceeding with planned works."
And we’ll find we’re paying more to borrow as the government isn’t guaranteeing water infrastructure.
/angrywithTINAandherpoisonousmates
Attempting to smear people with troll or RW labels – does no favours for your actual arguments.
From a fact-checked article:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/the-whole-truth/131057183/the-whole-truth-has-the-proportion-of-public-servants-grown
If that resulted in such a spectacular improvement in public services – which according to you are of such benefit – then the left (which really means Labour, since the other left parties increased their representation) – wouldn't have lost the election. They did.
The coalition went into government having campaigned on, and therefore with a mandate to, trim the public sector.
I fail to see why this is such a surprise. This is something that National does every time they are in government, just as Labour bumps up the public sector employment, every time they are in government.
According to the Wellington cafes not enough public servants were frequenting their cafes making it hard to make money charging stupid prices for a muffin.
Clearly we needed more………..
I did day decent people, only needs to be 5% shift
The World is not run and controlled by 'decent' people – all that matters is which tribe are they from – Ours …. or the Others. We get to pillage or they do.
You can't really expect luxury Luxon to have much sympathy, or empathy, for "freeloading" "Wellington-based bureaucrats" and "urban liberal unionists". As for empathy-free Seymour and his merry band of MPs, decency “don’t enter into it.”
Nicola 'ruthless' Willis can do ‘faux empathy’, but not well.
https://experteditor.com.au/blog/subtle-signs-someone-is-faking-their-empathy-and-kindness/
Similar thing happening in the UK with the tories throwing unjustified crap at Labours deputy leader Angela Rayner.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/28/angela-rayner-cleared-of-criminal-wrongdoing-over-sale-of-home
The key thing is Labour-Green 44% – National-ACT 43%.
NZF has never had a second term in a coalition government and probably will not be back in parliament (2008 and 2020).
Greens now have support agreement experience (2017-2020). And 2026 could be their time to step up into a coalition government role.
Presumably such a coalition would have TPM as support partners.
Nope, nothing to see here..
/
@StrayDogNZ
@NewshubNZ
have revealed Bill English was signed on to head the $500k review of Kāinga Ora weeks before Chris Bishop got official sign-off on the review. The arrangement was made via text messages with Bishop promising no involvement from Kāinga Ora in the review of Kāinga Ora.
https://x.com/StrayDogNZ/status/1795341814440046638
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/05/revealed-the-simple-texts-between-sir-bill-english-and-chris-bishop-that-led-to-k-inga-ora-review.html
And English failed to point out that the $2.5 billion per year has resulted in $45 billion in asset growth. Funny that. Must have forgotten that small detail.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/05/29/a-crisis-at-kainga-ora/
Mr Hickey lays nationals shit out on the table for all to see through
Chis Bishop hatched the hatchet job and already buried the twitching corpse even before the hit job.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/05/29/maligned-board-hits-back-over-kainga-ora-report/
Smith and Caugheys closing.
Could someone put a fire under the Auckland mayor?
Our largest city has poured over $6 billion into the CBD and downtown.
It's a crime hole. Sky City+Britomart+Commercial Bay are the winners out of this.
Revenue down 40% in 5 years I just heard on RNZ.
Some of that is the post-Covid shift in retail patterns (fewer people working in the CBD). Some is the longer term shift away from CBD shopping to local malls. Both economic trends that it's difficult to fight against.
But a huge amount is the ongoing misery that is the (seemingly endless) disruption caused by the CRL; the frankly dangerous vibe of Queen St and surrounding areas – not only after dark, but during the daytime; and the war against the car that AT have engaged in with their bus-only streets (with poor signage combined with high fines).
The City Council needs to put their hand up and take ownership of all of these.
I'll be sad to see the grand old lady of Queen St go – but I think that she's past saving in the current economic climate. I only fear what horror will be imposed on the Queen St facade when the building is vacated – we still have the gaping eyesore of the St James theatre, rotting across the road, as a dreadful warning. I guess the best we can hope for is conversion into luxury apartments – $2 million for a single bedroom – because the cost of conversion, heritage protection and rates won't allow for anything less expensive.
Spot the difference in focus?
Be honest Luxon is the worst kind of partisan hack, here trying to criminalise basic protest. ‘You can’t leave work, we own you!’
Here’s him in the fire starters and the focus? It’s all so frustrating!
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/02/15/parliament-protest-symptomatic-of-immense-frustration-luxon/
Same shit, different day. Hysterical reaction about protests being illegal because you’re not allowed to strike against racism and corruption, you don’t have those entitlements in your contracts! This is me at AIRNZ hitting them with their employment agreements. I was a king! And a better one than Joffrey, though perhaps not Robert…
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/05/28/luxon-warns-going-on-strike-to-join-budget-hui-would-be-illegal/
Oh and Hipkins is speaking…but his microphone isn’t working well. Great people on all sides apparently?
There is a strong chance that Luxon has motivated more people to get out and protest. Thanks Luxon for the free publicity.
I have been wondering what Luxon lacks as he listens to the other two.
Mana. The man has no Mana.
Top civil servant Dick Schoof has just agreed to become PM of the Netherlands. This is good news because it means the fascist Geert Wilders will not have the job, despite being leader of the largest party.
https://apnews.com/article/wilders-coalition-netherlands-government-schoof-f43f6ad97e38a837851a439d9cd3d6b5
Liberal, pro-Israel, Biden supporting non-profit J Street has had enough.
.
Mr. President, enough is enough.
Jeremy Ben-Ami
on May 28, 2024
For eight months, we have watched in abject horror the catastrophic war that has followed Hamas’ barbaric October 7 attack.
[…]
Hamas and the terrorists who attacked Israel on October 7 can and must be defeated. But that will only happen through a political resolution of the underlying Israeli-Palestinian conflict – one that rallies international support to deprive Hamas of financial, political and popular support and charts a clear, alternate, peaceful path toward Palestinian liberation. The path which President Biden is being led down by Prime Minister Netanyahu will bring only more death and destruction, a more radicalized and angry Palestinian population, and greater enemies for not just Israel but the United States as well.
And – let’s be clear – the political damage the President is suffering by going down this path is so deep that it could cost him the November election and all of us our democracy.
So we say to President Biden: Demand an end to this war now and lay out the choice clearly for Prime Minister Netanyahu. Either resolve this war and the underlying conflict the right way – in a manner that brings lasting peace, security and freedom to both peoples – or go it alone on the path of never-ending violence and bloodshed.
Mr. President, enough is enough.
Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street
https://act.jstreet.org/mailings/view/352452
https://jstreet.org/
Israel's capacity to keep the war going would quickly diminish if the US stopped sending them weapons and money.
Biden is too scared to act decisively because of the coming election and fears that the not inconsiderable Jewish vote will go to Trump.
It's a no win problem for Biden.
Some registered Democrats may not vote. And some Independents may vote for Israel whatever GOP.
And with housing a rising cost in the US – 7% 30 year loans – he has it tough anyhow.
Orca just wanna have fun.
.
For four years now, orcas have been ramming and sinking luxury yachts in European waters, and scientists have struggled to work out just why these smart, social animals had learnt this destructive new trick. But, sadly, it's not their anticapitalist 'eat the rich' agenda, nor is it to do with territory and aggression. The truth is, well, it's child's play.
https://newatlas.com/biology/orcas-killer-whales-boats/