Paddy performs as expected and is valued by the DP movers and shakers as the attack dog with a national tv soapbox. Sacked ! ha more likely just some firm directions on toning it down to appear considered and suck more sheeple in.
The whole current crop of so called journalists can go, im so sick of them telling us their views of the news instead of just reporting the news, Gower is the worst that pillock will burst a blood vessel one day while he is glorifying in somebody elses misfortune
I don’t believe it ! Yesterday the Herald had a column which commented favourably on Andrew Little’s state of nation speech, this morning there is another one PLUS an editorial which states :
“Mr Little has the luxury of time to produce more definitive solutions to the issues still facing the country, Mr Key does not. He urgently needs to give his Government new themes and impetus. This time last year he announced an imaginative education initiative, yesterday was an opportunity lost. ”
Are things finally starting to look up for Labour ? ?
Are things finally starting to look up for Labour ? ?
That’s how it looks. There’s a long way to go but up looks an attainable direction now.
There’s evidence too that opponents see Little as a threat that they are not sure how to deal with.
Key competing on the same day is one indication.
And Slater has been running a long and frequent series of attempted hits on Little (at least five posts yesterday alone), including repeated digs at Little’s appearance and his temperament. It looks like flailing around trying to seed something to attack with. It’s not working.
Another promising step along the way for Little yesterday. A lot still to do but it looks like the beginning of a recovery and rebuild, at last.
About FJK: “Key confirmed plans to sell 1000 to 2000 state houses in the next year to community housing providers and up to 8000 over the next four years.
Housing New Zealand would remain the biggest provider of social housing with at last 60,000 properties by 2017 against 68,000 now.”
It doesn’t take advanced mathematics to see that the have stopped building state houses altogether. Did FJK actually mention that?
The print version of the Herald has a half page devoted to rating the Key and Little speeches. The result according to them?
8/10 for Key and 4/10 for Little. So, no, I am afraid there is no change of tack in that right wing rag.
The odd pat on the head for Little means nothing unless they take Key to task instead of sheltering him from scrutiny.
Right at the moment they will be lining Little-Labour up in the business hearld with something stupid like “former Union Boss buckles to his union mates demands to abolish 90 day trial” (fire at will bill).
Where is the attack on bullshit artist Key over selling state housing, something he lied about in his pre election campaign ‘no further assets sales’.
How about, what exactly do you mean by part of the proceeds of state housing sales goes for capital infrastructure, what paying for roading projects?
Or, won’t you be paper shuffling and applying colorful accounting, referring to the sale of state houses to balance (fudge) the books?
I thought the focus of Andrew’s speech excellent. Small and medium business are the heart and blood of this bilateral nation. A labour government focussed on job creation through improving conditions for small business is a vote winner.
Positive and practical messaging and policies to increase the volume of money flowing through communities clogged by unemployment and impoverishment is a vote winner.
The biggest and immediate issue confronting Māori communities is the lack of jobs. Young people are rotting on unemployment and many are not on benefits.
Job creation should be the primary focus of any Labour Government otherwise it should relabel itself as Non-Labour Government.
Police Association president Greg O’Connor says Sabin is entitled to natural justice. But he believes it is unfair the MP, who is an ex-cop, is not held accountable to the same standards as police staff put before him.
“Any police officer who is under any sort of a cloud, generally, the first thing that happens is that they are stood down.
“So there would be a certain irony in police officers who would be subject to that being questioned. If one of those police officers in front of the select committee was under the same cloud, then they wouldn’t be there. However, we as police work on the principle innocent until proven guilty.”
h/t Tracey.
Conflict of interest much? How is this Key’s call?
Just heard the very good justice lawyer and friend Kelly Ellis rubbing Sabin’s nose into the dirt. Love that lady’s witty style. Yip what an ebarrasment Sabin is by pushing for the removal of a right to silence, and choosing silence himself, oh the hypocrisy makes me laugh.
Maybe John Key will ‘break the silence’ and force Sabin into retirement from politics.
My experience has been more along the lines of “However, we as police work on the principle innocent until bashed sufficiently to confess, or until we can do a deal with some jailhouse informant, or until we can fabricate sufficient evidence.”
Gower is an example of a TV presenter who believe they are more important than the message. Or worse maybe he is so deluded he thinks that people enjoy some rantings of a brown nosed National simpleton, with a brain smaller than his large teeth that he bares in some hideous attempt at entertainment. Again the Rugby thicko TV execs don’t notice that people are watching TV less and less in particular news …. I wonder why?
What is it with these political commentators/radio hosts, listened to that muppet Duncan (gotcha) Garner with his “epic fail” comment r.e Littles speach yesterday, at least hes consistant as he pulls the same crap with everyone, he is nothing but a sound bite merchant but that sound bite is now being replayed every hour, and he tries to make out he left political life because of all the nastiness well i say that trait has a bit more to do with him than his previous job
Rant over
The link to the news item is pay-walled but apparently local government have blocked a development so the addled have decided to do something for their friendly corporate.
New demands on the justice system requiring restorative justice talks even when the victirm doesn’t want it, are meaning three times the appearances for one very minor offence when only one was used to be needed. The system is grinding to a halt.
Ideological not practical or pragmatic. In 2012 submissions were made against this.
Perhaps we should call it the Bazley effect. Minister Amy Adams (not the celebrity) is looking at it. But it was pushed through by the previous Minimal of Justice so being new on the Block she might not have any authority. Has she the perspicacity?
This regime is fast gaining a deserved reputation for ignoring all expert on-the-ground advice in various areas and running solely on their own ideology.
@ vto
Let’s make it third-terminalitis!
After all balloons filled with hot air and helium only stay out of reach at the ceiling for a time. What goes up must come down.
As I listened to the talk about selling off, hiving off, our social housing I thought of a subtitle for our country – New Zealand/Aotearoa, the Islands of Reduced Circumstances.
We are like the elderly ladies in many Brit stories I have read who have been living on Father’s legacy or annuity which has dwindled as they have got older, and gradually they have been forced to sell heirlooms and treasured family belongings. Poor old lady NZ reduced to poverty in the land of much milk and less honey, and suffering the kind attentions of loan sharks, hucksters and high rollers.
edited
A survey by the website voteforpolicies.org.uk reports that in blind tests (the 500,000 people it has polled were unaware of which positions belong to which parties), the Green party’s policies are more popular than those of any other. If people voted for what they wanted, the Greens would be the party of government.
And that’s just a small taste. There is so much more in that article that can be directly transferred to NZ.
The head of the US military has had to launch an essay competition to find someone to write something nice about the brutal ruler who John Key honoured this week by ordering the lowering of the New Zealand flag to half mast.
Maybe General Martin Dempsey, Chair of the US Joint heads of staff could have saved himself the effort, and just instead asked the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to tell the world what he personally admired about the late King Addullah of Saudi Arabia.
Maybe JK could wax lyrical about the multiply beheadings and dismemberments, and the jailing of government critics, or possibly the lack of civil rights for women. Or the Saudi Government’s legal sanction of child abuse, paternal rape and murder, or the flogging and jailing of bloggers and writers critical of the government. (Lynn Prentice, Eleanor Catton take note).
I am certain that an essay written by John Key on these subjects as well as creating an international sensation would easily win US Chief of Staff General Dempsey’s prize. (As well as winning the approval of the US State Department and President Obama’s office, something John Key has always been mindful of.)
I guess sometimes the truth hurts. I particularly liked this quote:
“It has to belong to everybody or the country really doesn’t want to know about it.”
It irritates me that the politicians and the wealthy in this country are very quick to celebrate their own achievements, which clearly result from their hard work, but if someone else does something worth of recognition it suddenly becomes “we did,” not “he did,” or “she did.” Even the phrase “New Zealand’s own…” suggests ownership.
Why not suggest support, instead? My degree contributed nothing toward her success, nor did anything else I’ve done in the last year. Perhaps a few cents from my taxes did, in some small way, but it was her talents that won her the award, not my taxes or even her nationality.
I’m disgusted by the behaviour of the media toward Miss Catton, but I can’t find a suitable word to describe my feelings for the Prime Minister, a man who brags that he had the support of the taxpayer as a child and made his way unaided after that, forgetting his free degree, and he now deserves his wealth and power.
When do we get our slice of the fortune our taxes created for him?
In NZ I notice that any time the UNACTS want to smear goo on a policy they label it Green. The worst sort of thing that could be imagined. They must huddle together at parties and down their alcohol in buckets while they shiver fearfully at some gory story about the frightening Greens, the new vampires.
On 4 July 2014 USA population given as 318,881,992. How much average per person of Koch $889,000,000?
In NZ the 2014 popuation was 4,500,000. How much if this is multipled by USA individual
amount?
And think of the spending and influence power of just one uber-rich group.
And Koch is giving that money to media and PR firms who already have all the infrastructure and staff in place and are ready to roll. So the $$$ will go much further.
“The government position is that basic commodity shortages are being caused by elements of the private sector that control the importation, production and distribution of food and other products and criminal speculators and smugglers who are sometimes allied with this sector. These actors are allegedly responsible or complicit in the illegal stockpiling of products in warehouses aimed at bringing about artificial shortages. There is empirical evidence for such claims. Thousands of tons of products, including subsidized items, have been diverted from the marketplace for sale in Colombia in 2014. Warehouses full of goods that ought to be on store shelves are frequently discovered by the authorities. Subsidized food items are often purchased by speculators for resale at higher prices in the domestic market. Some importers have been buying products at the subsidized currency exchange rate but then selling those products as though they were purchased at the much higher parallel rate. Fictitious “importers” are also blamed for massive amounts of currency fraud by obtaining divisas (dollars) at the preferential exchange rate under pretext of importing priority goods and then selling those dollars on the parallel market or holding on to them in expectation of further devaluation of the bolivar, a practice that suggests the corruption of some public servants as well. What are we to make of these observations about scarcity?”
Wow! Who would have thought that distorting the economy by providing subsidies or imposing price controls would lead to people taking advantage of these to make money?
The solution seems obvious. You remove the distortions and then the people won’t sell subsidised goods in neighbouring countries.
Also I love how some leftists think they can just dictate problems away.
“For Maduro, the game is up for the economic coup being waged by the political opposition and its allied collaborators in the private sector. He has delivered an ultimatum to food distributors to cooperate with efforts to overcome food shortages…”
Goostepper i do so like pointing out that you have only used parts of your own link that suits your agenda.
Trying to dictate what we think and say.
But your own link points out that the right wing in Venezuela are trying to undermine a democratically elected govt the same way as the CIA did in Chile underming Allende and installing a murdurous Dictator.
South America is littered with the mass graves of American foreign Policy of keeping corrupt murderous dictators and drug lords in power!
Thankfully we live in a capatlist society where the free market allows people to operate in an honest and open way never taking advantage of the lack of regulation and controls. In our great system people making huge amounts off speculation alone would never create a situation that endangers the economy of the enitre world for their own profit.
Stupid socialists identifying people breaking their laws designed to try and help people. They should totally do things the way we do.
If you think you can construct laws that solve problems of economic distribution and supply you are very, very wrong. Attempting to legislate prices at a level below what people are willing to pay for them will just lead to exactly the problem the Venezuelan government is facing now. People will stop producing and/or sell the items on the black market or across the border in places where they can get higher prices. You may try to claim this behaviour is unethical or immoral but then many people always try to blame others for problems they themselves have caused.
Gooseman you have only chosen selected parts of the story gooseman.
The reason why food shortages are occuring is because the right wing are using the same tactics as the CIA used to overthrow a democratically elected Allende and installing a murderous fascist dictator!
Fascist Murderous Dictators were installed in just about every South American country one stage or another.
Maduro was elected the right wing are deliberately with the collusion of the CIA underming democracy.
Don’t get me started on the war on drugs in South America.
Fact is South America is littered with mass graves as a direct result of American nihilistic foreign policy.
Democracy freedoms have been undermined!
Yes, it’s funny how the most freedom for the market seems to require the least freedom for workers and the strongest state apparatus.
A good example was the military dictatorship in Chile, the students of Milton Friedman economics.
Apparently you can’t tell the market what to do, but the state required by the ‘free’ market can not only tell you what to do but lock you up, torture you and kill you if you don’t obey.
How exactly is the right wing doing this? They seem terribly effective if they are as well. the economy is close to collapse. Perhaps it is best not to start a fight with them.
Of course you could try prosecuting the corrupt public servants. We could set an example by prosecuting those who handed out SFC assets to Key’s neighbour, for cents in the dollar.
But yeah Gooseman, you are right on one point. Capitalist scum like yourself cannot be trusted not to enrich themselves at the cost of the rest of us. You lot are criminals and should be treated as such. Funny that you are all willing to trot out the traitor label for someone who makes some mild criticisms.
I was told by a good source that Waiariki Institute of Technology is charging Indian Students $20k to do its Agricultural course, which is fine (nothing like exploiting people who are desperate to get out of their country)
BUT
Farmers can employ these students between May and November (busy calving time) for $200 per week. This needs to be investigated because these students are being exploited, its displacing local people and there is no way that this falls within minimum pay rates legislation.
Re the $200/wk, is that true for students who are residents too? Indian students only? i.e is this via immigration or via tertiary practice of making these deals.
One of the union people from round here should get on to this .
There has always been a good amount of farm owners treating there workers like dirt but they seem to get away with it Out sight out of mind I guess.
If you want to know who was behind Jordan Williams’s attack on Eleanor Catton yesterday, look no further than David Farrar: http://www.taxpayers.org.nz/who_we_are
The Taxpayers Union is just a thinly disguised recruiting tool for National Party members.
Danyl at Dimpost pointing out the two tracks is up and running again,
There are lots of good pieces on the Eleanor Catton contretemps – Morgan Godfrey, Brian Easton, Gordon Campbell, Andrew Geddis, Simon Wilson – all focusing on issues around intellectuals and criticism and New Zealand attitudes towards same, which are all valid points. But what’s also meaningful, I think, is that this is a reprise of National’s two-track communications strategy we spent so much time talking about last year. Sean Plunket isn’t just a talk-radio dofus: he’s very close to the National government and, just like his mate Cameron Slater, Plunket is there to smear and bully and intimidate anyone who speaks out against John Key or National, so that National themselves don’t have to.
If – like most of the country – you haven’t heard anything from Plunket since he left Morning Report a few years back then his attack on Catton probably seemed very strange. But if you listened to him during the 2014 election campaign, most of which he spent in a state of flat-out hysteria ranting about terrorists and traitors, culminating in Plunket phoning Paddy Gower live on air and accusing him of being involved in a conspiracy against the government because he was reporting on Dirty Politics, it’s easier to see that abusing critics of the National Party – real or imaginary – is pretty much just his day to day role.
The past year has seen a massive upsurge of working class communities in the south of Ireland against the attempt of the Fine Gael/Labour coalition to impose a household water tax. This follows on the household tax itself, cuts in social welfare payments, the raising of the retirement age and other anti-working class measures.
In a rake of working class communities people are physically preventing the installation of meters and sabotaging them where the state-capitalist water company, Irish Water, does manage to install them.
This is all very different from New Zealand, where workers remain almost obdurately passive in the face of the whittling away of rights and conditions and living standards by the bosses and by successive National and Labour governments.
Why is the NZ working class so passive compared to workers in Ireland?
We’ve tentatively explored the question a few times on Redline, but we need to do a lot more work on it.
I agree with you about the 1980s (and early 1990s).
But even at its most militant, the labour movement in NZ wasn’t really all that militant.
Take, for instance, 1913. In NZ workers fought for a few weeks. (And, in terms of workers involved, this was the most significant labour dispute in NZ history). At the same time the most significant industrial dispute in Irish history was taking place. Impoverished Dublin workers fought for *six months*.
When Massey’s Cossacks clubbed workers here, they complained about it. When the police in Dublin clubbed workers, the workers formed a workers militia, got armed, and paraded around Dublin streets tooled up; the cops kept their distance.
Those workers, the Irish Citizen Army, went on to be the driving force of the 1916 Rebellion. A number of their officers and a section of the ranks were women.
One reason I’ve become sympathetic to the idea of Australia and NZ merging is that the Aussies are much more Bolshie in defending their rights and we need some damn thing to harden up the working class here.
I think if I was young and had kids, I’d emigrate. I just couldn’t bear my kids growing up in a society where workers are so supine; I wouldn’t want my kids thinking that eating shit sandwiches is normal. I’d go to Oz or to Ireland.
maybe cos we have tended to lead the world, our work force swallow the oft fed line “you are not as badly off as xxx,”, with its implication to not seem ungrateful… we tend to be a polite and deferential lot
8 hour day
40 hour week
women voting
labour govts
ACC
health and safety
every day someone tells the poor or the workers of New Zealand how grateful they should be, they just use different and more nasty words. Kiwis apparently dont like to stick out from the crowd to be seen to be making a fuss, not risk-takers our fellow average kiwis.
For some reason, this country is infested with the idea of “I’ve got mine, screw you.” Everyone thinks they’re on their way up, through their own hard work, but nobody else is.
Anecdotes:
My brother overheard some (highly paid) managers at the last election time, saying that they were going to vote National because Labour were just going to give money to poor people, and why should they get something for nothing?
(Funny. I recall working long days and getting bitchy emails from my manager, telling me that I wasn’t working enough unpaid hours. He got a lot of something for nothing.)
I hear that kind of thing a lot. Before he retired, one of my father’s co-workers said that he worked 40 years to get whatever his wage was, he doesn’t see why he should help anybody else.
Many of us pride ourselves on our charity and thoughtfulness toward others, most especially Christians, but so very many of us seem to act contrary to that.
Then there’s the whole ideal that if a manager gets a pay increase, they deserve it for working hard, but if I want more than minimum wage I’m just being greedy.
Three or four years ago, one of the guys who worked with me was getting $15/hour. He was senior staff, and asked for a pay increase. I heard our boss tell him that if he wants a pay increase then he’d better upskill and become more valuable to the company.
I can do everything that other guy did with a single exception, and a whole lot more than he ever learned. I get minimum wage and there are no pay increases. According to my boss the only guy who gets a pay increase (and a Christmas bonus) is the CEO. The rest of us munters are just out of luck.
I’ve tried organising. Supporting my initial statements, one guy doesn’t care, he’s just funding his studies while another feels that he’ll be recognised as a true talent any day now, either promoted or hired somewhere else, and this is just his investment in his career.
These are only symptoms of the issue, though. I don’t know what’s causing it, or why we think we’re special and everyone else is lazy. I do know that it makes us easy prey for reducing our rights, and creating a low-wage economy.
Kiwis grow up in a culture that says you should have your own business and your own house to be a success. We really are Napoleon’s nation of shopkeepers and never developed a deeply entrenched sense of class. Even Bomber, a supposed left wing mouthpiece, carries on about rubbish like generational differences and almost never gives an analysis in terms of class. I wish it was different.
With regard to Oz, there is also the important factor that the ostensibly Labour government of Lange was the one that achieved a tko on its supporters. The union bureaucrats were busy agreeing with Douglas rather than building resistance. In Oz it was a Liberal government that tried most of it on, and the unions instinctively fought back, even if only to protect their relationship with the Labor Party.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s much better over here. You might find militant class warriors marching in support of “Stop the Boats” or complaining about Kiwis taking their jobs. It’s no proletarian paradise, comrade.
“The union bureaucrats were busy agreeing with Douglas rather than building resistance. ”
They got big fat redundancy payouts for themselves and their members. Then they could set their own businesses, contract back to the SOE’s, and pole vault themselves into the middle bourgeois class.
30 odd years later, National has a new layer of voters.
I’ve been bouncing back in time, thse past few days, when I click on comments and even the “feeds”.
Oddly, usually to the same two places, one a blog from 2014. I’m starting to feel like my computer, or ths site has some misguided Hal* which is trying to bring something to my attention.
Wikipedia tell us: “The Imitation Game was both a critical and commercial success. The film was included in both the National Board of Review’s and American Film Institute’s “Top 10 Films of 2014″. At the 87th Academy Awards, it has been nominated in eight categories including Best Picture, Best Director for Tyldum, Best Actor for Cumberbatch and Best Supporting Actress for Keira Knightley. It also garnered five nominations in the 72nd Golden Globe Awards and was nominated in three categories at the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards including Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. In addition, it received nine British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominations including Best Film and Outstanding British Film.”
Alan Turing, the person the film is mainly about, was the guy mainly responsible for cracking the Nazis’ ‘enigma code’ during WW2. In 1952, however, Turing was convicted of ‘gross indecency’, the usual name for male homosexual acts.
Last August the British queen announced a royal pardon of Turing.
An interesting indication of the changes in capitalism and in bourgeois ideology in recent decades:
and he possibly committed suicide when a nation turned on him because of who he loved…
“Turing was prosecuted in 1952 for homosexual acts, when such behaviour was still criminalised in the UK. He accepted treatment with oestrogen injections (chemical castration) as an alternative to prison. Turing died in 1954, 16 days before his 42nd birthday, from cyanide poisoning. An inquest determined his death a suicide; his mother and some others believed it was accidental.[9] In 2009, following an Internet campaign, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an official public apology on behalf of the British government for “the appalling way he was treated”. Queen Elizabeth II granted him a posthumous pardon in 2013.[10][11][12]”
The Brits did a pretty good job of taking hate on the road too when they colonised…
I’m not sure Turing was the guy mainly responsible. The effort began with the Polish military and mathematicians even before WW2. Commandos and Royal Marines also played an important role, as well as spies and French intelligence. Turing played a crucial role and it would have taken longer without him, but others were important as well. There is an interesting book:
Little had some good digs at the current government in his speech and all we get is bull shit from the press about lack of policy when Little said he wasn’t doing policy .
Reporters are either thick as pigshit or owned.
Ross, the NZLP was in the news all day yesterday and again today. The party (mainly Andrew Little) got some decent coverage on their own initiatives, National’s housing fail and Sabin’s case. It’s not compulsory to watch the TV news or read the papers, but it’s a good idea before you make comments like that to do some prep, lest you look like a bridge dweller.
TRP. Unfortunately, I no longer live in my own country. I wish I could. I subscribe to feeds and get my thrills through TS. What you say is, no doubt, correct. But I do the research I can. That research, for now, reveals almost zero penetration of the fog by Labour or any opposition. I often get more news about NZ from the Guardian than I do through Stuff. That’s a comment about the media. An opposition’s job is to find a way around that. Why doesn’t a Labour MP get a shovel and dig a spud patch on the front lawn at parliament? Why? To feed our starving kids! Why doesn’t one of the useless fools order a truck load of concrete sewerage pipes to be dumped alongside the potato patch? Why? To house our homeless!
Here one for you and for everyone that opposes these Key’s State house sell off:
Take a look, make a stand and sign the petition now.
This is the email message I received from Phil Twyford.
“Key finally admitted his plans to sell off thousands of our state houses over the next two and a bit years.
Now he’s fronted the policy, it raises the stakes. He’ll want to push the sell-off through as soon as possible as he’ll be scared of losing face if his plans fall through.
It means if we’re going to have a chance to stop the sell-off, we need to move quickly. In our tens of thousands. But it also means John Key is vulnerable.
The first step of this campaign is proving the levels of public opposition to the sell-off. Already, nearly 22,000 of us have signed a petition against it.
We need thousands more. If you’ve not yet added your name, time is running out to act – so please add your name today”
Once your name’s on the petition, please forward this email to your friends and family – every name on the petition will make our campaign stronger.
Next week, we’ll be in touch with an exciting plan to use our huge petition to make sure the Government can’t just force this issue through without the rest of New Zealand being made aware of their plans. But first, we need to work together to get as many people to sign the petition as possible.
Please take a minute to sign the petition and forward it on to other people you know who will be concerned about John Key’s state house sell-off.
@Phil not that I know of and i would think it is very very unlikely that this occurs in NZ.
The larger issue in NZ is the continuing limiting of registration of certain medical specialties to ensure a large enough practice and waiting lists – although to some extent for example in orthopaedics this is a function of limited theatre space.
“Or do you find evidence of the crime that the National Party is often accused of: deliberately running public health down for money.”
No evidence of that whatsoever.
Health services in NZ are generally speaking of a very high quality and from memory the money going into vote health has been rising year on year for quite some time – as i’m sure you understand we could put our entire GDP into health and there’d still be unmet demand for services.
The Urologists and ophthalmologists used to limit the numbers admitted into their particular specialties to make sure there were enough population per surgeon to ensure a good patient stream in public and private.
There are other surgical specialties which tend to do the same.
Cabinet minister Nick Smith has chartered another helicopter for television cameras – this time using tax-payer cash set aside for the families of the Pike River victims.
Why does the minister even have access to that money?
But of all the ways that Uber could change the world, the most far-reaching may be found closest at hand: your office. Uber, and more broadly the app-driven labor market it represents, is at the center of what could be a sea change in work, and in how people think about their jobs. You may not be contemplating becoming an Uber driver any time soon, but the Uberization of work may soon be coming to your chosen profession.
Contrary to many Leftists I’m actually cautiously optimistic about this but it does, IMO, show that these types of services need to be run through government servers. Running it through government servers will get rid of the capitalist bludgers that are making millions from other people being paid minimum wage or less. The government will just be getting the taxes and so the dead-weight loss of profit will be removed from the equation.
Also shows the needs for a UBI for two reasons. Firstly if you don’t get enough work you’ll still have enough to get by on with out dropping into poverty or having the risk of losing everything. Secondly it would remove the need to ‘have a job’. Essentially you could tell your employer to fuck off and still have work. Again, it helps remove the dead-weight loss of profit.
It’ll be the one thing that National and employers really hate – an actual free and flexible labour market. How do I know that they hate it? Because that’s what an unemployment benefit allows and National always undermines that.
And of course, Israel can strike Syria without the UN batting an eyelid. Says it all about the state of of international law in at the present time. One law for official enemies, and quite another for us.
Colonial Rawshark, why did you make that comment? It has nothing to do with the item I posted.
Also, I do not believe it is legitimate to “mock Jews”. Of course it’s perfectly legitimate to mock war criminals and sanctimonious, murderous hypocrites—including Israeli ones. But it’s their criminality, sanctimoniousness and hypocrisy that should be attacked, not their Jewishness.
Leave the crude race-baiting to the likes of David Rankin, Leighton Smith, Larry “Lackwit” Williams and Nevil “Breivik” Gibson.
I don’t think CR was mocking Jews. I don’t think he’s either that depraved or that foolish. I just think he needs to be careful how he expresses his ideas.
In other words, abusing or mocking Jews as Jews is as unacceptable as the Charlie Hebdo speciality of mocking and antagonizing Algerians.
Yes, that is correct. I’m interested in serious analysis, not in crude ethnic or religious stereotyping. If you want to indulge in that dismal nonsense, ring Kerre McIvor on NewstalkZB.
“… Charlie Hebdo speciality of mocking and antagonizing Algerians.”
Yeah, I’m totally sure you’ve got a cite for that, Moz. And CV, splitting hairs is pretty sad. Bigotry is bigotry. Anti-semitism is pathetic, whatever the specific religion turns out to be.
Those cartoons were aimed at insulting, humiliating and antagonizing French Muslims—most of whom are Algerian. It’s an old tactic of the extreme right, made no more acceptable by the fact it has been taken up by people who like to think of themselves as liberals.
Marine Le Pen knew perfectly well what the Charlie Hebdo folk were up to, and endorsed them completely. As did such liberal heroes as Binyamin Netanyahu and David Cameron.
It’s a French magazine. It attacked Muslims. It sells in France. Most Muslims in France are Algerians. French people would tend to identify Muslims in France as Algerians.
Really? You think that French people can’t recognise different ethnicities? Perhaps zay all look ze same to zem, non?
Algerians are not the majority in the Muslim religious demographic. Some folk might think that only a racist would think they were, but I’m sure that’s not the case with you, Murray.
CH attacks Muslims does not equal CH attacks Algerians. Moz was wrong.
You’re trying to suggest I am racist, even though you’re sure that’s not the case. Fairly typical of your debating style.
There are more than 5 million Algerians in France. The majority of these are Sunni Muslim. There are estimated to be something like 6 million Muslims in France. Who are the majority?
I think Morrisey is correct on this one.
Nice try saying the French can recognise different ethnicities, followed by some stupid imitation of Franglais. Who said they couldn’t?
Your numbers are wrong, Murray. Algerians make up around a third of the ‘immigrant’ Muslim population of France. That is, about 1.5 million people. In fact, they are about half of the population that hails from the Maghreb.
So, if you want to avoid looking dodgy, check your facts before opining and don’t conflate one ethnic group with others.
I did check my numbers and I am not conflating one ethnic group with another. Any further accusations, font of all that is true and righteous? Where does your figure of 1.5 million come from?
By the way, I couldn’t give a fuck if you think I look dodgy. Your life would have no meaning without the opportunity to try and look superior on a blog. You make a habit of it.
And CV, splitting hairs is pretty sad. Bigotry is bigotry. Anti-semitism is pathetic, whatever the specific religion turns out to be.
So now, stating facts = splitting hairs?
I stated what had actually happened at Charlie Hebdo. A cartoonist got fired in 2009 and threatened with charges for something which was interpreted as being anti-Jewish. So much for the freedom of speech argument that Charlie Hebdo would later frequently use whenever they published things interpreted as being anti-Muslim.
Again I stated that fact plain and simple, and contrasted to bring the hypocrisy in to distinct relief. Not my problem if you don’t like the illustration I used.
Yes, that’s one way of looking at it. Taking a semantic approach to an issue instead of recognising the wider truth. Yep, a good definition of splitting hairs.
The cartoonist that got fired all those years ago appealed the sacking and won. I’m sure the folk at CH learned a valuable lesson. Your bigotry is not based on anything substantial, CV, just word wankery.
Ps: “So much for the freedom of speech argument that Charlie Hebdo would later frequently use whenever they published things interpreted as being anti-Muslim.”
They never actually used that defence, because they didn’t need a defence. They were defiantly proud of being anti-religion.
The Petulant Entitlement Syndrome of Journalists
by GLENN GREENWALD, The Intercept, 29 January 2015
As intended, Jonathan Chait’s denunciation of the “PC language police” – a trite note of self-victimization he’s been sounding for decades – provoked intense reaction: much criticism from liberals and praise from conservatives (with plenty of exceptions both ways). I have all sorts of points I could make about his argument – beginning with how he tellingly focuses on the pseudo-oppression of still-influential people like himself and his journalist-friends while steadfastly ignoring the much more serious ways that people with views Chait dislikes are penalized and repressed – but I’ll instead point to commentary from Alex Pareene, Amanda Marcotte and Jessica Valenti as worthwhile responses. In sum, I fundamentally agree with Jill Filipovic’s reaction: “There is a good and thoughtful piece to be written about language policing & ‘PC’ culture online and in academia. That was not it.” I instead want to focus on one specific point about the depressingly abundant genre of journalists writing grievances about how they’re victimized by online hordes, of which Chait’s article is a very representative sample….
Records about to be broken for driest January on record in Auckland and Wellington.
Yet Fairfax media fails to mention climate change once in this article.
You do wonder who is in control of the conversation at these organisations.
A mining magnate by the name of Julia Reinhard?
Pu is on the mark. I detest his prescription but he is correct labour is little more than national lite, tweaking at the boundaries, why change, barring if your of that persuasion the greens get their hands on the lever of powers. Labours dilemma at every election, no matter who their leader is
If Syriza is the answer it must have been a pretty stupid question
Castro Cuba. Chavez Venezuela all hard left lefties that led their county to nirvana why is Syria different little red riding hood ( to stay on the fairy tail theme been your realm of reality)
Re delusional The govenor of the Bank of England disagrees with you to redelusion.
Syrizia has gone into coalition with ACT type party of the far right.
So re delusional your argument is!
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. 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 ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
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Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
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My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
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A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
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Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
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The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
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:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
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 ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
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. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
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 A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
Patrick Gower making a complete fool of him self on TV the 1st minute was all about him .When will they sack the chump.
Paddy performs as expected and is valued by the DP movers and shakers as the attack dog with a national tv soapbox. Sacked ! ha more likely just some firm directions on toning it down to appear considered and suck more sheeple in.
The size of his ego is unbelievable I reackon a paul henry/Paul Holmes type offensive outburst is the best chance of seeing the back of the fool.
That’s what I thought, all about him. A very pissy item from Gower.
State of the Nation speeches aren’t supposed to be for the entertainment of journalists. They mark a serious start to the serious year of politics.
Maybe Gower should take a longer holiday if that’s the best he can do. Awful.
The whole current crop of so called journalists can go, im so sick of them telling us their views of the news instead of just reporting the news, Gower is the worst that pillock will burst a blood vessel one day while he is glorifying in somebody elses misfortune
how is it possible for labour under little to ‘move further away from social-policies’..
..when in 2014 they offered beneficiaries..nothing..
..so you wd think there was nowhere for them to ‘move’ to..
..what will they do in ’17…?
..promise to cut benefits..?
I don’t believe it ! Yesterday the Herald had a column which commented favourably on Andrew Little’s state of nation speech, this morning there is another one PLUS an editorial which states :
“Mr Little has the luxury of time to produce more definitive solutions to the issues still facing the country, Mr Key does not. He urgently needs to give his Government new themes and impetus. This time last year he announced an imaginative education initiative, yesterday was an opportunity lost. ”
Are things finally starting to look up for Labour ? ?
one editorial-chastisement of key – does not a labour govt make….
Are things finally starting to look up for Labour ? ?
That’s how it looks. There’s a long way to go but up looks an attainable direction now.
There’s evidence too that opponents see Little as a threat that they are not sure how to deal with.
Key competing on the same day is one indication.
And Slater has been running a long and frequent series of attempted hits on Little (at least five posts yesterday alone), including repeated digs at Little’s appearance and his temperament. It looks like flailing around trying to seed something to attack with. It’s not working.
Another promising step along the way for Little yesterday. A lot still to do but it looks like the beginning of a recovery and rebuild, at last.
Fearfax Media spin it differently.
‘Key trumps Little’
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/65525196/key-trumps-little-on-speech-day
About FJK: “Key confirmed plans to sell 1000 to 2000 state houses in the next year to community housing providers and up to 8000 over the next four years.
Housing New Zealand would remain the biggest provider of social housing with at last 60,000 properties by 2017 against 68,000 now.”
It doesn’t take advanced mathematics to see that the have stopped building state houses altogether. Did FJK actually mention that?
+1.
Well said, Pete.
: roll :
Good comment Jenny but don’t hold your breath, my guess is that they will swing back to the right ,hope I am wrong.
The print version of the Herald has a half page devoted to rating the Key and Little speeches. The result according to them?
8/10 for Key and 4/10 for Little. So, no, I am afraid there is no change of tack in that right wing rag.
Darn it ! thought for a brief moment there, might have been a change of tack ……
obviously someone other than mr roughan wrote today’s editorial !
i wouldn’t give little more than 4/10 for that speech..
..that is quite a generous mark..
While driving about half an hour ago, I heard Chtis Trotter and Rodney Hide on roadio live analysing the speeches of key and Little.
Both praised Little for the points he made in his speech and were luke worm about Key’s speech.
Hide had NZH were wrong and pretty stupid in their two scores and said he would reverse that and give Little 7/10 and key, 4/10.
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Audio.aspx
Listen in from 2 pm onwards today (Click on January 29, Thursday, 14:00)
The first 8 minutes is news.
Squalid right wing rag.
FIFY 😈
The odd pat on the head for Little means nothing unless they take Key to task instead of sheltering him from scrutiny.
Right at the moment they will be lining Little-Labour up in the business hearld with something stupid like “former Union Boss buckles to his union mates demands to abolish 90 day trial” (fire at will bill).
Where is the attack on bullshit artist Key over selling state housing, something he lied about in his pre election campaign ‘no further assets sales’.
How about, what exactly do you mean by part of the proceeds of state housing sales goes for capital infrastructure, what paying for roading projects?
Or, won’t you be paper shuffling and applying colorful accounting, referring to the sale of state houses to balance (fudge) the books?
Q. How is an ‘endorsement’ from the NZH a positive for Little ?
A pat on the head for a status quo speech i would say
+ 1..
It’s no longer the Media – It’s “The Ministry of Truth”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Truth
Kiaora Jenny
I thought the focus of Andrew’s speech excellent. Small and medium business are the heart and blood of this bilateral nation. A labour government focussed on job creation through improving conditions for small business is a vote winner.
Positive and practical messaging and policies to increase the volume of money flowing through communities clogged by unemployment and impoverishment is a vote winner.
The biggest and immediate issue confronting Māori communities is the lack of jobs. Young people are rotting on unemployment and many are not on benefits.
Job creation should be the primary focus of any Labour Government otherwise it should relabel itself as Non-Labour Government.
National Party values in the news.
h/t Tracey.
Conflict of interest much? How is this Key’s call?
Just heard the very good justice lawyer and friend Kelly Ellis rubbing Sabin’s nose into the dirt. Love that lady’s witty style. Yip what an ebarrasment Sabin is by pushing for the removal of a right to silence, and choosing silence himself, oh the hypocrisy makes me laugh.
Maybe John Key will ‘break the silence’ and force Sabin into retirement from politics.
My experience has been more along the lines of “However, we as police work on the principle innocent until bashed sufficiently to confess, or until we can do a deal with some jailhouse informant, or until we can fabricate sufficient evidence.”
Gower is an example of a TV presenter who believe they are more important than the message. Or worse maybe he is so deluded he thinks that people enjoy some rantings of a brown nosed National simpleton, with a brain smaller than his large teeth that he bares in some hideous attempt at entertainment. Again the Rugby thicko TV execs don’t notice that people are watching TV less and less in particular news …. I wonder why?
We shouldn’t criticise Gower for his teeth….hmm, ok, maybe just the front ones. He reminds me of a rat looking around for some easy food.
What is it with these political commentators/radio hosts, listened to that muppet Duncan (gotcha) Garner with his “epic fail” comment r.e Littles speach yesterday, at least hes consistant as he pulls the same crap with everyone, he is nothing but a sound bite merchant but that sound bite is now being replayed every hour, and he tries to make out he left political life because of all the nastiness well i say that trait has a bit more to do with him than his previous job
Rant over
Yes, he’s incredibly thick and doesn’t present well – I’ve often wondered how he’s survived at all – are they that hard up?
The Germans again come up with a novel way to deal with intolerance and simplistic political debate.
This time, giving out stickers and banners to anti-Islam marchers that direct people to a website that go over concerns with considered information and practical actions that are non-divisive.
Yes I saw that too Molly – very good work there and both subtle and direct.
heh
http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2015/01/26/anti-islam-san-francisco-muni-ads-defaced-with-messages-of-love/
I can’t believe those ads were allowed on the side of public transport buses. Wtf?
Anything goes in the land of the free.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/19/pamela-geller-new-york-buses-subways-islam-james-foley
“the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AMDI)”
yeah, because the freedoms of US citizens are under threat from Muslims not the US govt, bankers and corporations.
The link to the news item is pay-walled but apparently local government have blocked a development so the addled have decided to do something for their friendly corporate.
Joe Sonka @joesonka
A prayer circle for Walmart
https://twitter.com/joesonka/status/560484948336214016
New demands on the justice system requiring restorative justice talks even when the victirm doesn’t want it, are meaning three times the appearances for one very minor offence when only one was used to be needed. The system is grinding to a halt.
Ideological not practical or pragmatic. In 2012 submissions were made against this.
Perhaps we should call it the Bazley effect. Minister Amy Adams (not the celebrity) is looking at it. But it was pushed through by the previous Minimal of Justice so being new on the Block she might not have any authority. Has she the perspicacity?
This regime is fast gaining a deserved reputation for ignoring all expert on-the-ground advice in various areas and running solely on their own ideology.
Third-termitis
@ vto
Let’s make it third-terminalitis!
After all balloons filled with hot air and helium only stay out of reach at the ceiling for a time. What goes up must come down.
Considering that they were doing that right from the start I don’t think Third-termitis applies. Just pure arrogance and hubris.
As I listened to the talk about selling off, hiving off, our social housing I thought of a subtitle for our country – New Zealand/Aotearoa, the Islands of Reduced Circumstances.
We are like the elderly ladies in many Brit stories I have read who have been living on Father’s legacy or annuity which has dwindled as they have got older, and gradually they have been forced to sell heirlooms and treasured family belongings. Poor old lady NZ reduced to poverty in the land of much milk and less honey, and suffering the kind attentions of loan sharks, hucksters and high rollers.
edited
+111
@ grey
..+ 1
Follow your convictions – this could be the end of the politics of fear
And that’s just a small taste. There is so much more in that article that can be directly transferred to NZ.
DTB
Great link. Thanx.
hence parties, espesh our Nat party, spend time and money manipulating the populace towant what isn’t actually good for them but to believe it is.
The head of the US military has had to launch an essay competition to find someone to write something nice about the brutal ruler who John Key honoured this week by ordering the lowering of the New Zealand flag to half mast.
Maybe General Martin Dempsey, Chair of the US Joint heads of staff could have saved himself the effort, and just instead asked the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to tell the world what he personally admired about the late King Addullah of Saudi Arabia.
Maybe JK could wax lyrical about the multiply beheadings and dismemberments, and the jailing of government critics, or possibly the lack of civil rights for women. Or the Saudi Government’s legal sanction of child abuse, paternal rape and murder, or the flogging and jailing of bloggers and writers critical of the government. (Lynn Prentice, Eleanor Catton take note).
I am certain that an essay written by John Key on these subjects as well as creating an international sensation would easily win US Chief of Staff General Dempsey’s prize. (As well as winning the approval of the US State Department and President Obama’s office, something John Key has always been mindful of.)
Let us celebrate, moderate beheadings
What with New Zealand being peacefully settled, you never know what previously unknown pearls of wisdom Key will come out with.
He had more important threats to democracy to deal with, A Man Booker Prize winner for starters.
I guess sometimes the truth hurts. I particularly liked this quote:
“It has to belong to everybody or the country really doesn’t want to know about it.”
It irritates me that the politicians and the wealthy in this country are very quick to celebrate their own achievements, which clearly result from their hard work, but if someone else does something worth of recognition it suddenly becomes “we did,” not “he did,” or “she did.” Even the phrase “New Zealand’s own…” suggests ownership.
Why not suggest support, instead? My degree contributed nothing toward her success, nor did anything else I’ve done in the last year. Perhaps a few cents from my taxes did, in some small way, but it was her talents that won her the award, not my taxes or even her nationality.
I’m disgusted by the behaviour of the media toward Miss Catton, but I can’t find a suitable word to describe my feelings for the Prime Minister, a man who brags that he had the support of the taxpayer as a child and made his way unaided after that, forgetting his free degree, and he now deserves his wealth and power.
When do we get our slice of the fortune our taxes created for him?
Oh, I forgot. He achieved that on his own.
In NZ I notice that any time the UNACTS want to smear goo on a policy they label it Green. The worst sort of thing that could be imagined. They must huddle together at parties and down their alcohol in buckets while they shiver fearfully at some gory story about the frightening Greens, the new vampires.
Not directly relevant to us, but the Koch brothers are preparing to spend $889 million on the next election.
Is that the going rate?
$889 p.r.o.i. (political return on ‘investment’)
Political candidates on sale and to be bought by the 0.1%!
Maybe we could all chip in a few coins and buy ourselves a US politician to lobby for us.
🙂 chump change
i inadvertently left out the ‘m’ (millions) but, yah, big money buys big politicians.
On 4 July 2014 USA population given as 318,881,992. How much average per person of Koch $889,000,000?
In NZ the 2014 popuation was 4,500,000. How much if this is multipled by USA individual
amount?
And think of the spending and influence power of just one uber-rich group.
$2.79 per person.
$12.5 million equivalent in Aotearoa. Much more than Dotcom spent.
And Koch is giving that money to media and PR firms who already have all the infrastructure and staff in place and are ready to roll. So the $$$ will go much further.
I do so enjoy reading leftist excuses for failed policies. This one about Venezuela takes the prize for most bizarre rant.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/01/27/revolution-counter-revolution-and-the-economic-war-in-venezuela/
“The government position is that basic commodity shortages are being caused by elements of the private sector that control the importation, production and distribution of food and other products and criminal speculators and smugglers who are sometimes allied with this sector. These actors are allegedly responsible or complicit in the illegal stockpiling of products in warehouses aimed at bringing about artificial shortages. There is empirical evidence for such claims. Thousands of tons of products, including subsidized items, have been diverted from the marketplace for sale in Colombia in 2014. Warehouses full of goods that ought to be on store shelves are frequently discovered by the authorities. Subsidized food items are often purchased by speculators for resale at higher prices in the domestic market. Some importers have been buying products at the subsidized currency exchange rate but then selling those products as though they were purchased at the much higher parallel rate. Fictitious “importers” are also blamed for massive amounts of currency fraud by obtaining divisas (dollars) at the preferential exchange rate under pretext of importing priority goods and then selling those dollars on the parallel market or holding on to them in expectation of further devaluation of the bolivar, a practice that suggests the corruption of some public servants as well. What are we to make of these observations about scarcity?”
Wow! Who would have thought that distorting the economy by providing subsidies or imposing price controls would lead to people taking advantage of these to make money?
The solution seems obvious. You remove the distortions and then the people won’t sell subsidised goods in neighbouring countries.
Also I love how some leftists think they can just dictate problems away.
“For Maduro, the game is up for the economic coup being waged by the political opposition and its allied collaborators in the private sector. He has delivered an ultimatum to food distributors to cooperate with efforts to overcome food shortages…”
What a complete moron.
Replying to your own posts now Gossy?
Sheesh, must be a lonely world your in…
Goostepper i do so like pointing out that you have only used parts of your own link that suits your agenda.
Trying to dictate what we think and say.
But your own link points out that the right wing in Venezuela are trying to undermine a democratically elected govt the same way as the CIA did in Chile underming Allende and installing a murdurous Dictator.
South America is littered with the mass graves of American foreign Policy of keeping corrupt murderous dictators and drug lords in power!
+ 1..
Q. Can you use “I do so enjoy” more often ?
Not convinced you have completely overused it just yet
Thankfully we live in a capatlist society where the free market allows people to operate in an honest and open way never taking advantage of the lack of regulation and controls. In our great system people making huge amounts off speculation alone would never create a situation that endangers the economy of the enitre world for their own profit.
Stupid socialists identifying people breaking their laws designed to try and help people. They should totally do things the way we do.
If you think you can construct laws that solve problems of economic distribution and supply you are very, very wrong. Attempting to legislate prices at a level below what people are willing to pay for them will just lead to exactly the problem the Venezuelan government is facing now. People will stop producing and/or sell the items on the black market or across the border in places where they can get higher prices. You may try to claim this behaviour is unethical or immoral but then many people always try to blame others for problems they themselves have caused.
Gooseman you have only chosen selected parts of the story gooseman.
The reason why food shortages are occuring is because the right wing are using the same tactics as the CIA used to overthrow a democratically elected Allende and installing a murderous fascist dictator!
Fascist Murderous Dictators were installed in just about every South American country one stage or another.
Maduro was elected the right wing are deliberately with the collusion of the CIA underming democracy.
Don’t get me started on the war on drugs in South America.
Fact is South America is littered with mass graves as a direct result of American nihilistic foreign policy.
Democracy freedoms have been undermined!
Yes, it’s funny how the most freedom for the market seems to require the least freedom for workers and the strongest state apparatus.
A good example was the military dictatorship in Chile, the students of Milton Friedman economics.
Apparently you can’t tell the market what to do, but the state required by the ‘free’ market can not only tell you what to do but lock you up, torture you and kill you if you don’t obey.
Phil
How exactly is the right wing doing this? They seem terribly effective if they are as well. the economy is close to collapse. Perhaps it is best not to start a fight with them.
Actually, I figure it’s best to finish the fight with them by the simple expedient of enforcing the law.
+1
La grand pared para ellos!
You mean like illicit drugs aren’t prevalent in society because of law enforcement?
Of course you could try prosecuting the corrupt public servants. We could set an example by prosecuting those who handed out SFC assets to Key’s neighbour, for cents in the dollar.
But yeah Gooseman, you are right on one point. Capitalist scum like yourself cannot be trusted not to enrich themselves at the cost of the rest of us. You lot are criminals and should be treated as such. Funny that you are all willing to trot out the traitor label for someone who makes some mild criticisms.
I was told by a good source that Waiariki Institute of Technology is charging Indian Students $20k to do its Agricultural course, which is fine (nothing like exploiting people who are desperate to get out of their country)
BUT
Farmers can employ these students between May and November (busy calving time) for $200 per week. This needs to be investigated because these students are being exploited, its displacing local people and there is no way that this falls within minimum pay rates legislation.
Right up Winston’s alley.
what are they charge other overseas students?
and is that per annum or whole course?
Re the $200/wk, is that true for students who are residents too? Indian students only? i.e is this via immigration or via tertiary practice of making these deals.
cos i know that full time students from overseas at unis and polys pay about 15k per year
Wouldn’t it depend on teh course?
edit,
http://www.waiariki.ac.nz/international-students/international-student-tuition-fees
Yes, I was referring to full time courses such as Diploma or bachelor courses, being 8 papers a year
Yes, but I was meaning across the same degree, that cost would depend on the subject of the course.
How many hours are they expected to do for the $200.
and are they getting accommodation etc as part of that?
Need to do some more work on this…but understood that they would be full time. Most farm jobs include accommodation.
One of the union people from round here should get on to this .
There has always been a good amount of farm owners treating there workers like dirt but they seem to get away with it Out sight out of mind I guess.
Dirty politics, yet again.
Look who is on the team at the Taxpayer’s Union…
If you want to know who was behind Jordan Williams’s attack on Eleanor Catton yesterday, look no further than David Farrar: http://www.taxpayers.org.nz/who_we_are
The Taxpayers Union is just a thinly disguised recruiting tool for National Party members.
Danyl at Dimpost pointing out the two tracks is up and running again,
There are lots of good pieces on the Eleanor Catton contretemps – Morgan Godfrey, Brian Easton, Gordon Campbell, Andrew Geddis, Simon Wilson – all focusing on issues around intellectuals and criticism and New Zealand attitudes towards same, which are all valid points. But what’s also meaningful, I think, is that this is a reprise of National’s two-track communications strategy we spent so much time talking about last year. Sean Plunket isn’t just a talk-radio dofus: he’s very close to the National government and, just like his mate Cameron Slater, Plunket is there to smear and bully and intimidate anyone who speaks out against John Key or National, so that National themselves don’t have to.
If – like most of the country – you haven’t heard anything from Plunket since he left Morning Report a few years back then his attack on Catton probably seemed very strange. But if you listened to him during the 2014 election campaign, most of which he spent in a state of flat-out hysteria ranting about terrorists and traitors, culminating in Plunket phoning Paddy Gower live on air and accusing him of being involved in a conspiracy against the government because he was reporting on Dirty Politics, it’s easier to see that abusing critics of the National Party – real or imaginary – is pretty much just his day to day role.
https://dimpost.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/back-to-two-track/
is it a fact that Plunkett is a friend of Slater (junior)?
Much as I dislike mocking people for there last names, one guy there has the last name Craven. Pretty fitting really.
The past year has seen a massive upsurge of working class communities in the south of Ireland against the attempt of the Fine Gael/Labour coalition to impose a household water tax. This follows on the household tax itself, cuts in social welfare payments, the raising of the retirement age and other anti-working class measures.
In a rake of working class communities people are physically preventing the installation of meters and sabotaging them where the state-capitalist water company, Irish Water, does manage to install them.
This is all very different from New Zealand, where workers remain almost obdurately passive in the face of the whittling away of rights and conditions and living standards by the bosses and by successive National and Labour governments.
Why is the NZ working class so passive compared to workers in Ireland?
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/dublin-working-class-communities-show-how-resistance-is-done/
Phil
“..Why is the NZ working class so passive..”
this has long puzzled me..
..and the example of this passivity (amongst working class leadership esp.) that could not be more potent..
..was the rightwing revolution in the 80’s..
..in australia the union movement stood up and said: ‘no yer fucken not..!..’
..here they pulled down their pants..bent over..and then went and waited to get their rewards..knighthood/seats on company boards..etc..
..and today..?..we have a low-wage economy..australia doesn’t..
..the union-leadership from that time are/were traitors..
..both to those they purported to represent..
..and to the country as a whole..
We’ve tentatively explored the question a few times on Redline, but we need to do a lot more work on it.
I agree with you about the 1980s (and early 1990s).
But even at its most militant, the labour movement in NZ wasn’t really all that militant.
Take, for instance, 1913. In NZ workers fought for a few weeks. (And, in terms of workers involved, this was the most significant labour dispute in NZ history). At the same time the most significant industrial dispute in Irish history was taking place. Impoverished Dublin workers fought for *six months*.
When Massey’s Cossacks clubbed workers here, they complained about it. When the police in Dublin clubbed workers, the workers formed a workers militia, got armed, and paraded around Dublin streets tooled up; the cops kept their distance.
Those workers, the Irish Citizen Army, went on to be the driving force of the 1916 Rebellion. A number of their officers and a section of the ranks were women.
One reason I’ve become sympathetic to the idea of Australia and NZ merging is that the Aussies are much more Bolshie in defending their rights and we need some damn thing to harden up the working class here.
I think if I was young and had kids, I’d emigrate. I just couldn’t bear my kids growing up in a society where workers are so supine; I wouldn’t want my kids thinking that eating shit sandwiches is normal. I’d go to Oz or to Ireland.
Phil
“..I think if I was young and had kids, I’d emigrate…”
..+ 1..
..and i hafta say..littles’ speech i found quite depressing..
..as there is little/no sign of any changes from the neo-lib paradigm..
..just more of the same old fucken same old..
..i am just holding out hope that the sight of a leftwing with some balls..in greece..and spain/scotland etc..
..a leftwing really/actually doing the job they are meant to do..
..i am hoping there will be some contagion down here..
..but i’m not holding my breath..
..the right is fully in control..in both national and labour..
..and i think little will get quite a soft-ride from the media..
..as their bosses don’t see him as anyway a ‘threat’ to their sweet-rides/the current paradigm…
..and at a time when we are screaming out for ‘threats to the current paradigm’…
maybe cos we have tended to lead the world, our work force swallow the oft fed line “you are not as badly off as xxx,”, with its implication to not seem ungrateful… we tend to be a polite and deferential lot
8 hour day
40 hour week
women voting
labour govts
ACC
health and safety
maybe then..but not now…
..rightwingers in labour/national have ensured that..
every day someone tells the poor or the workers of New Zealand how grateful they should be, they just use different and more nasty words. Kiwis apparently dont like to stick out from the crowd to be seen to be making a fuss, not risk-takers our fellow average kiwis.
For some reason, this country is infested with the idea of “I’ve got mine, screw you.” Everyone thinks they’re on their way up, through their own hard work, but nobody else is.
Anecdotes:
My brother overheard some (highly paid) managers at the last election time, saying that they were going to vote National because Labour were just going to give money to poor people, and why should they get something for nothing?
(Funny. I recall working long days and getting bitchy emails from my manager, telling me that I wasn’t working enough unpaid hours. He got a lot of something for nothing.)
I hear that kind of thing a lot. Before he retired, one of my father’s co-workers said that he worked 40 years to get whatever his wage was, he doesn’t see why he should help anybody else.
Many of us pride ourselves on our charity and thoughtfulness toward others, most especially Christians, but so very many of us seem to act contrary to that.
Then there’s the whole ideal that if a manager gets a pay increase, they deserve it for working hard, but if I want more than minimum wage I’m just being greedy.
Three or four years ago, one of the guys who worked with me was getting $15/hour. He was senior staff, and asked for a pay increase. I heard our boss tell him that if he wants a pay increase then he’d better upskill and become more valuable to the company.
I can do everything that other guy did with a single exception, and a whole lot more than he ever learned. I get minimum wage and there are no pay increases. According to my boss the only guy who gets a pay increase (and a Christmas bonus) is the CEO. The rest of us munters are just out of luck.
I’ve tried organising. Supporting my initial statements, one guy doesn’t care, he’s just funding his studies while another feels that he’ll be recognised as a true talent any day now, either promoted or hired somewhere else, and this is just his investment in his career.
These are only symptoms of the issue, though. I don’t know what’s causing it, or why we think we’re special and everyone else is lazy. I do know that it makes us easy prey for reducing our rights, and creating a low-wage economy.
Definitely worth a discussion.
Kiwis grow up in a culture that says you should have your own business and your own house to be a success. We really are Napoleon’s nation of shopkeepers and never developed a deeply entrenched sense of class. Even Bomber, a supposed left wing mouthpiece, carries on about rubbish like generational differences and almost never gives an analysis in terms of class. I wish it was different.
With regard to Oz, there is also the important factor that the ostensibly Labour government of Lange was the one that achieved a tko on its supporters. The union bureaucrats were busy agreeing with Douglas rather than building resistance. In Oz it was a Liberal government that tried most of it on, and the unions instinctively fought back, even if only to protect their relationship with the Labor Party.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s much better over here. You might find militant class warriors marching in support of “Stop the Boats” or complaining about Kiwis taking their jobs. It’s no proletarian paradise, comrade.
“The union bureaucrats were busy agreeing with Douglas rather than building resistance. ”
They got big fat redundancy payouts for themselves and their members. Then they could set their own businesses, contract back to the SOE’s, and pole vault themselves into the middle bourgeois class.
30 odd years later, National has a new layer of voters.
I’ve been bouncing back in time, thse past few days, when I click on comments and even the “feeds”.
Oddly, usually to the same two places, one a blog from 2014. I’m starting to feel like my computer, or ths site has some misguided Hal* which is trying to bring something to my attention.
* as in ‘2001 a space odyssey’.
Wikipedia tell us: “The Imitation Game was both a critical and commercial success. The film was included in both the National Board of Review’s and American Film Institute’s “Top 10 Films of 2014″. At the 87th Academy Awards, it has been nominated in eight categories including Best Picture, Best Director for Tyldum, Best Actor for Cumberbatch and Best Supporting Actress for Keira Knightley. It also garnered five nominations in the 72nd Golden Globe Awards and was nominated in three categories at the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards including Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. In addition, it received nine British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominations including Best Film and Outstanding British Film.”
Alan Turing, the person the film is mainly about, was the guy mainly responsible for cracking the Nazis’ ‘enigma code’ during WW2. In 1952, however, Turing was convicted of ‘gross indecency’, the usual name for male homosexual acts.
Last August the British queen announced a royal pardon of Turing.
An interesting indication of the changes in capitalism and in bourgeois ideology in recent decades:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/alan-turing-capitalism-and-the-changes-in-bourgeois-ideology/
and he possibly committed suicide when a nation turned on him because of who he loved…
“Turing was prosecuted in 1952 for homosexual acts, when such behaviour was still criminalised in the UK. He accepted treatment with oestrogen injections (chemical castration) as an alternative to prison. Turing died in 1954, 16 days before his 42nd birthday, from cyanide poisoning. An inquest determined his death a suicide; his mother and some others believed it was accidental.[9] In 2009, following an Internet campaign, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an official public apology on behalf of the British government for “the appalling way he was treated”. Queen Elizabeth II granted him a posthumous pardon in 2013.[10][11][12]”
The Brits did a pretty good job of taking hate on the road too when they colonised…
I’m not sure Turing was the guy mainly responsible. The effort began with the Polish military and mathematicians even before WW2. Commandos and Royal Marines also played an important role, as well as spies and French intelligence. Turing played a crucial role and it would have taken longer without him, but others were important as well. There is an interesting book:
http://www.amazon.com/Enigma-Battle-Code-Hugh-Sebag-Montefiore/dp/0471490350/ref=la_B001ITRR5I_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422513372&sr=1-1
Conspicuously missing: the Labour party.
I keep waiting for someone (anyone?) to lay into these dogs who think they are running our country.
Housing: The governments action is a lie. Bald faced. In your face: yeah we said we wouldn’t. We are. Waddaya gunna do?
Where is the damn opposition?
Sabin: Yeah he can have power over the people who are investigating him. So what.
Opposition?
Stupid greeny hippy know nothing writer; sure, gut the RMA: more cows; less welfare…
Has anyone said anything about the Greek election.
Opposition where?
“..Where is the damn opposition?..”
parliament re-opens soon..
..then we will see if they intend to sleepwalk for the next few yrs..
..or if they will get off their arses..(literally)..
..and do what they are paid/voted in to do..
..them and the greens..
‘Controlled Opposition’ is the phrase you are seeking
Little had some good digs at the current government in his speech and all we get is bull shit from the press about lack of policy when Little said he wasn’t doing policy .
Reporters are either thick as pigshit or owned.
Ross, the NZLP was in the news all day yesterday and again today. The party (mainly Andrew Little) got some decent coverage on their own initiatives, National’s housing fail and Sabin’s case. It’s not compulsory to watch the TV news or read the papers, but it’s a good idea before you make comments like that to do some prep, lest you look like a bridge dweller.
TRP. Unfortunately, I no longer live in my own country. I wish I could. I subscribe to feeds and get my thrills through TS. What you say is, no doubt, correct. But I do the research I can. That research, for now, reveals almost zero penetration of the fog by Labour or any opposition. I often get more news about NZ from the Guardian than I do through Stuff. That’s a comment about the media. An opposition’s job is to find a way around that. Why doesn’t a Labour MP get a shovel and dig a spud patch on the front lawn at parliament? Why? To feed our starving kids! Why doesn’t one of the useless fools order a truck load of concrete sewerage pipes to be dumped alongside the potato patch? Why? To house our homeless!
My question remains, where?
Here one for you and for everyone that opposes these Key’s State house sell off:
Take a look, make a stand and sign the petition now.
This is the email message I received from Phil Twyford.
“Key finally admitted his plans to sell off thousands of our state houses over the next two and a bit years.
Now he’s fronted the policy, it raises the stakes. He’ll want to push the sell-off through as soon as possible as he’ll be scared of losing face if his plans fall through.
It means if we’re going to have a chance to stop the sell-off, we need to move quickly. In our tens of thousands. But it also means John Key is vulnerable.
The first step of this campaign is proving the levels of public opposition to the sell-off. Already, nearly 22,000 of us have signed a petition against it.
We need thousands more. If you’ve not yet added your name, time is running out to act – so please add your name today”
http://action.labour.org.nz/save-our-state-houses
You may also donate to fund the campaign
https://contribute-nzlabour.nationbuilder.com/housing_campaign_thanks?utm_campaign=150128_sotn_k&utm_medium=email&utm_source=nzlabour
Once your name’s on the petition, please forward this email to your friends and family – every name on the petition will make our campaign stronger.
Next week, we’ll be in touch with an exciting plan to use our huge petition to make sure the Government can’t just force this issue through without the rest of New Zealand being made aware of their plans. But first, we need to work together to get as many people to sign the petition as possible.
Please take a minute to sign the petition and forward it on to other people you know who will be concerned about John Key’s state house sell-off.
Thanks,
Phil Twyford
Labour Housing Spokesperson
Done and done. Thanks.
(one for labour and greens to read..learn..and inwardly digest..)
“..‘Hope begins today was their mantra’: the inside story of Syriza’s rise to power..
..Ten years ago – Syriza scraped just 4% of the vote in Greek elections.
This week – the leftwing party took control under the charismatic leadership of Alexis Tsipras.
How did it do it?
For 22 days Paul Mason followed the party’s campaign trail –
– and saw an anti-austerity message delivered with youthful plausibility –
– win over a nation..”
(cont..)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/28/greek-people-wrote-history-how-syriza-rose-to-power
(maybe northshoredoc..or anyone else..can tell us if this goes on in nz..)
“..Doctors in the dock: Scandal of GPs who get cash from healthcare firms for patient referrals..
..Investigation shows healthcare companies offer inducements to send patients to their hospitals –
– leading to calls for financial interests of all UK practitioners to be made public..”
(cont..)
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/doctors-in-the-dock-scandal-of-gps-who-get-cash-from-healthcare-firms-for-patient-referrals-10009380.html
@Phil not that I know of and i would think it is very very unlikely that this occurs in NZ.
The larger issue in NZ is the continuing limiting of registration of certain medical specialties to ensure a large enough practice and waiting lists – although to some extent for example in orthopaedics this is a function of limited theatre space.
That implies the limitations are more demographic than political?
Or do you find evidence of the crime that the National Party is often accused of: deliberately running public health down for money.
“Or do you find evidence of the crime that the National Party is often accused of: deliberately running public health down for money.”
No evidence of that whatsoever.
Health services in NZ are generally speaking of a very high quality and from memory the money going into vote health has been rising year on year for quite some time – as i’m sure you understand we could put our entire GDP into health and there’d still be unmet demand for services.
at first glance i thought we wd not have the critical mass of private hospitals etc..
..for there to be such competition/opportunity for corruption….
..but if looking..you wd throw the rock in the water in epsom..
..and see if there are any surprising patterns in gp’s referrals there….
which specialties is that prevalent in..?
The Urologists and ophthalmologists used to limit the numbers admitted into their particular specialties to make sure there were enough population per surgeon to ensure a good patient stream in public and private.
There are other surgical specialties which tend to do the same.
(how could u not want one of these..?..video..)
“..Tesla’s ‘Insane’ Button – Totally Freaks People Out..
..What kind of car would come with an ‘insane mode?
A Tesla – specifically a Tesla Model S P85D- the $120,000 electric speedster with a 221-horsepower front motor and a 470-horsepower rear motor.
Hitting the ‘insane’ button engages both at the same time –
– allowing you to reach 60 mph in just over 3 seconds –
– and scare the pants off friends and family members –
– if you use it without warning..”
(cont..)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/28/tesla-insane-button-video_n_6560170.html
A rocket!
Definitely better than a 91 subaru legacy wagon for sure!
By the way, any update on the theft? How are you managing?
the cops have been told..not much else to do..
Oh, this is going to hurt:
Why does the minister even have access to that money?
Uber’s Business Model Could Change Your Work
Contrary to many Leftists I’m actually cautiously optimistic about this but it does, IMO, show that these types of services need to be run through government servers. Running it through government servers will get rid of the capitalist bludgers that are making millions from other people being paid minimum wage or less. The government will just be getting the taxes and so the dead-weight loss of profit will be removed from the equation.
Also shows the needs for a UBI for two reasons. Firstly if you don’t get enough work you’ll still have enough to get by on with out dropping into poverty or having the risk of losing everything. Secondly it would remove the need to ‘have a job’. Essentially you could tell your employer to fuck off and still have work. Again, it helps remove the dead-weight loss of profit.
It’ll be the one thing that National and employers really hate – an actual free and flexible labour market. How do I know that they hate it? Because that’s what an unemployment benefit allows and National always undermines that.
Yeah, ain’t it great how capital can use apps and smartphones to wring profits from the desperation of the unemployed/underemployed.
/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-gets-uber-valuation-of-18-2-billion-1402073876
That’s what capitalism is designed to do. Now how do we change it and get rid of the bludgers?
who are the ‘bludgers’..?
..the disrupters..or..(as in the case with taxis in ak..some of the most expensive in the world..) the current exploiters..?
..and lots of professionals should be very nervous..
..low-hanging fruit wd have to be those lawyers who make a nice income from clipping the ticket on property-transactions…
..either an uber-model..or a decent app..will render them redundant..
If Russia killed a UN peacekeeper,
it would be headline news for days on the BBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dsj_3jJQb4
And of course, Israel can strike Syria without the UN batting an eyelid. Says it all about the state of of international law in at the present time. One law for official enemies, and quite another for us.
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1422491513.html
Draw cartoons mocking Muslims = freedom of speech.
Draw cartoons mocking Jews = fired, fined, court appearance.
Colonial Rawshark, why did you make that comment? It has nothing to do with the item I posted.
Also, I do not believe it is legitimate to “mock Jews”. Of course it’s perfectly legitimate to mock war criminals and sanctimonious, murderous hypocrites—including Israeli ones. But it’s their criminality, sanctimoniousness and hypocrisy that should be attacked, not their Jewishness.
Leave the crude race-baiting to the likes of David Rankin, Leighton Smith, Larry “Lackwit” Williams and Nevil “Breivik” Gibson.
Seems to be an identical message to me Morrisey. A law for them, a law for us. How do you get CR mocking Jews out of that post?
I don’t think CR was mocking Jews. I don’t think he’s either that depraved or that foolish. I just think he needs to be careful how he expresses his ideas.
In other words, abusing or mocking Jews as Jews is as unacceptable as the Charlie Hebdo speciality of mocking and antagonizing Algerians.
My comment paralleled the point you made about how Israel can act and attack with absolute impunity and immunity from criticism.
Don’t get weak kneed about it now.
BTW Jews are not a “race” therefore you cannot “race bait” by commenting on cartoons depicting Jews.
Careful, Rawshark, you are treading a very dodgy line.
The fact is: if you poke fun at Jews for being Jews you are in Paul Holmes territory. I advise you to think carefully before you go down that path.
you’re the one who stated that Israel’s ability to act with impunity and with immunity to criticism was a sign of international degradation.
Yes, that is correct. I’m interested in serious analysis, not in crude ethnic or religious stereotyping. If you want to indulge in that dismal nonsense, ring Kerre McIvor on NewstalkZB.
Or Sean Plunket.
And exactly which of my replies above do you see as constituting “crude ethnic or religious stereotyping”???
Fuck you, you self aggrandising “Serious Analysis R Us” dick.
“… Charlie Hebdo speciality of mocking and antagonizing Algerians.”
Yeah, I’m totally sure you’ve got a cite for that, Moz. And CV, splitting hairs is pretty sad. Bigotry is bigotry. Anti-semitism is pathetic, whatever the specific religion turns out to be.
Those cartoons were aimed at insulting, humiliating and antagonizing French Muslims—most of whom are Algerian. It’s an old tactic of the extreme right, made no more acceptable by the fact it has been taken up by people who like to think of themselves as liberals.
Marine Le Pen knew perfectly well what the Charlie Hebdo folk were up to, and endorsed them completely. As did such liberal heroes as Binyamin Netanyahu and David Cameron.
So not aimed at Algerians, but at Muslims in general. Glad we cleared that up.
It’s a French magazine. It attacked Muslims. It sells in France. Most Muslims in France are Algerians. French people would tend to identify Muslims in France as Algerians.
You haven’t cleared anything up.
Really? You think that French people can’t recognise different ethnicities? Perhaps zay all look ze same to zem, non?
Algerians are not the majority in the Muslim religious demographic. Some folk might think that only a racist would think they were, but I’m sure that’s not the case with you, Murray.
CH attacks Muslims does not equal CH attacks Algerians. Moz was wrong.
You’re trying to suggest I am racist, even though you’re sure that’s not the case. Fairly typical of your debating style.
There are more than 5 million Algerians in France. The majority of these are Sunni Muslim. There are estimated to be something like 6 million Muslims in France. Who are the majority?
I think Morrisey is correct on this one.
Nice try saying the French can recognise different ethnicities, followed by some stupid imitation of Franglais. Who said they couldn’t?
Your numbers are wrong, Murray. Algerians make up around a third of the ‘immigrant’ Muslim population of France. That is, about 1.5 million people. In fact, they are about half of the population that hails from the Maghreb.
So, if you want to avoid looking dodgy, check your facts before opining and don’t conflate one ethnic group with others.
I did check my numbers and I am not conflating one ethnic group with another. Any further accusations, font of all that is true and righteous? Where does your figure of 1.5 million come from?
By the way, I couldn’t give a fuck if you think I look dodgy. Your life would have no meaning without the opportunity to try and look superior on a blog. You make a habit of it.
So now, stating facts = splitting hairs?
I stated what had actually happened at Charlie Hebdo. A cartoonist got fired in 2009 and threatened with charges for something which was interpreted as being anti-Jewish. So much for the freedom of speech argument that Charlie Hebdo would later frequently use whenever they published things interpreted as being anti-Muslim.
Again I stated that fact plain and simple, and contrasted to bring the hypocrisy in to distinct relief. Not my problem if you don’t like the illustration I used.
“So now, stating facts = splitting hairs?”
Yes, that’s one way of looking at it. Taking a semantic approach to an issue instead of recognising the wider truth. Yep, a good definition of splitting hairs.
The cartoonist that got fired all those years ago appealed the sacking and won. I’m sure the folk at CH learned a valuable lesson. Your bigotry is not based on anything substantial, CV, just word wankery.
Ps: “So much for the freedom of speech argument that Charlie Hebdo would later frequently use whenever they published things interpreted as being anti-Muslim.”
They never actually used that defence, because they didn’t need a defence. They were defiantly proud of being anti-religion.
Q. Are you an actor ?
Q. Do you believe in your own hype ?
Q. Are interactions ‘challenging’ for those who have to engage with you ?
Watch a daring monKEY.
Kind of how Key is teasing the people of this country with his harmful callous policies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BjF5lQ5lJE
The Petulant Entitlement Syndrome of Journalists
by GLENN GREENWALD, The Intercept, 29 January 2015
As intended, Jonathan Chait’s denunciation of the “PC language police” – a trite note of self-victimization he’s been sounding for decades – provoked intense reaction: much criticism from liberals and praise from conservatives (with plenty of exceptions both ways). I have all sorts of points I could make about his argument – beginning with how he tellingly focuses on the pseudo-oppression of still-influential people like himself and his journalist-friends while steadfastly ignoring the much more serious ways that people with views Chait dislikes are penalized and repressed – but I’ll instead point to commentary from Alex Pareene, Amanda Marcotte and Jessica Valenti as worthwhile responses. In sum, I fundamentally agree with Jill Filipovic’s reaction: “There is a good and thoughtful piece to be written about language policing & ‘PC’ culture online and in academia. That was not it.” I instead want to focus on one specific point about the depressingly abundant genre of journalists writing grievances about how they’re victimized by online hordes, of which Chait’s article is a very representative sample….
Read more…..
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/01/28/petulant-entitlement-syndrome-journalists/
I’ll have to remember to put my robe on next time I victimise paddy gower.
You might like to ask Garth “The Knife” McVicar to lend you his.
I wish you hadn’t said that I’ve got a very visual mind ,Mcvicar in a robe ,not a sight I needed just before my bed time. 🙂
Records about to be broken for driest January on record in Auckland and Wellington.
Yet Fairfax media fails to mention climate change once in this article.
You do wonder who is in control of the conversation at these organisations.
A mining magnate by the name of Julia Reinhard?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/65544122/areas-on-track-for-driest-january-on-record
Pu is on the mark. I detest his prescription but he is correct labour is little more than national lite, tweaking at the boundaries, why change, barring if your of that persuasion the greens get their hands on the lever of powers. Labours dilemma at every election, no matter who their leader is
Syriza! Wet your pants.
The sky won’t fall in Greece, and then, Chicken Little, you get to choke on it.
If Syriza is the answer it must have been a pretty stupid question
Castro Cuba. Chavez Venezuela all hard left lefties that led their county to nirvana why is Syria different little red riding hood ( to stay on the fairy tail theme been your realm of reality)
Sure Greece is exactly like Cubazuela. Your first instinct is to run your mouth before your brain. Slow down, get an amygdalectomy, whatever it takes.
Or choke on it. No-one will notice or even care.
settle OAB. We just have difference of opinion, nothing more, like I said gotta go sleep well
Just think, while you’re asleep, you might even have an evidence based thought process.
Re delusional The govenor of the Bank of England disagrees with you to redelusion.
Syrizia has gone into coalition with ACT type party of the far right.
So re delusional your argument is!