A very well attended and effective Labour Regional Conference in Birkenhead this weekend. “Thank you” to those MPs who stayed to listen and contribute to the long sessions on the “remits”. Some good presentations by a couple of Senior MPs.
Aye. The most interesting presentation was David Cunliffe’s clean tech presentation. This addresses what may be the most significant weakness for Labour. Last election in the wealthier areas support flooded to the greens because of perceived weaknesses with environmental policies. Labour does have good policy in the area and Cunliffe’s presentation highlighted this.
As we stumble into the future and environmental disasters start the environment will become the number one concern for the human race.
Plus for those of us who enjoy democracy as an active sport, a really clear and unanimous direction that caucus should have a strong but minority say in who is the next leader. This will make for a good and crunchy labour conference in November. Great to feel us really building up for that, which is of course the launchpad for taking this country back from this principle-free meat-cleaver weilding bunch of beslabbering trolls known as Cabinet.
Labour will never have an adequate environmental policy for people who actually care about the environment as one of their issues, and should simply concede the fact that they’ll please more people by saying their environmental policies will be developed in coalition with the Greens. 😛
Nice to hear Shearer this morning on National Radio with well-phrased opints, clean diction, and some snap to the style. I like this kind of Shearer. Particularly if it takes the Banks-like rhetorical sheen off Parata. As this site noted yesterday – National seem utterly tone deaf on education across the entire field.
His minions could learn something about social media though. They really need to start to creating the brand and pushing the image. The stuff that is out there is pretty lame.
The continual abysmal performance at forecasting by Treasury officials, and the stunning debacle in the shrinking of teacher numbers, begs two questions:
1. Why would you allow this failed Treasury department to set Education Policy?
2. Did these Treasury officials attend schools with very big class sizes?
Teachers I know are incensed. For the past few years they have been indifferent to Labour but now they are ready to roll.
Key’s setting up of a working party is an admission they stuffed this up. Their line “90% of schools will either gain a teacher or lose a teacher” is shown to be spin and is being drowned out by the horror stories coming out of Intermediate schools.
I really get the impression that they blundered here and did not understand what they were doing.
Helen would never have made such a serious mistake.
When Parata got such a grilling over how many teachers were going to lose their jobs as a result of the change, they should have stopped to think “oh, seems like we’ve hit a nerve this time” and re-considered. I guess by that point the budget had already been printed, though.
Billodress, you need to examine the real role of “economists” to our political economy. In Roman times the Ponitfex Maximus and a cotery of “priests” would divine the future by reading chicken entrails etc. All states present and past have had a preisthood who have the role of giving the system of state and its political and economic decision process the chimera of validity, by association with the all powerful (God) who is the only one who can know the future. It is highly important to all societies that legitimacy has a basis, and this is the role of todays economist.
The “Enlightenment” saw a diminution in the acceptance of the “divine” in terms of cause and effect, rational thought and the rise of scientific empiricism challenged the role of God will (interpreted by the presithood) as a justification rulers decisions. The gap had to be closed before authority and decision became individual, and to the rescue rode Adam Smith with his “invisible hand”, bringing deity back via the “market”. These artificial constructs required preists, all religions do. Economists grew out of history departments where the past was usefully being compared to predict the future, constructed theories and when asked to prove them by sceptics invented a mathematical process called econometrics. Hence the rise of the modern economist, the role to provide legitimacy to the decisions of state.
You will note I said legitimacy: to do so you have to claim rectitude on some divine basis (such as market rationalism). Being correct is something that evades economists, because like religion their rational has no empirically proven basis, it is all supposition and faith. Accuracy is entirely arbitrary and coincidental.
So to answer both your questions: reality does not matter to Treasury, that is not their role. They may have had one reality demanded of them, that of saving cash. That is a less divine peice of empiricism, it merely requires some mechanical book keeping. The real costs will not be able to be predicted by these idiots, you and I can predict the outcomes easily enough.
Economics today and, by extension, Treasury, is even worse than that, because their role is to defend why a few people are rich and everyone else is poor. To, quite simply, defend the dictatorship that results from capitalism. Everyone goes on about the invisible hand of Smith’s but the one line that stuck when I read The Wealth of Nations went something like It is the right of the rich to command the poor which, given the context of the paragraphs around it meant the right of the rich to appropriate the wealth created by the poor (labour theory of value) which is probably what really made him popular with the governing classes – they were rich after all.
Oh, and as for what Smith actually said about the invisible hand:
“As every individual … therefore, endeavours as much as he can, both to employ his capital in the support of domestic industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce maybe of the greatest value; every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the general [Smith said “public” not general] interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security, and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain; and he is in this, [as in many other cases] led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest, he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it.
Yeah, not a hell of a lot about free-international trade and capitalism in there but plenty about supporting the local society though.
Yes you are right Draco, the interests of the priesthood always support that of the ruling class. In capitalist countries it is that those who own property and the means of production. In the formerly communist countries the commissars of the Party represented the nomenklatur who claimed ownership on behalf of the”people”. Interestingly both sides have a deity with prophets and terminology to reflect this.
I always laugh at Gos and the market fundamentalists when they have a go at socialism and communism: both have mirror images of each other such as the “invisible hand” and “dialectic materialism”, or Smith and Marx as prophets. The way I see it this represents both sides of the same debased coin, you might as well attack yourself, there is no difference. Even funnier is the fact that in either of these extreme models the same people will form the same privileged class of fat cats and courtiers. These are the people the priests serve and justify.
So where to? View reality first and then steer the appropriate course to your preferred destination. My destination point is called equity, fairness and compassion.
What I see as the major fault with economics today is you get armies of people who can’t think for themselves. They’re called economists but they’re not really, they’re just regurgitating what they were taught and parroting what they think their mentors would have said or done. That results in an absence of innovation and problem solving.
A good example is this present Govt. There’s a need to both stimulate the economy with carefully targeted extra spending and to cut spending but for the beancounters at Treasury the two are ideologically incompatible with each other so they can’t conceive it. In business we do that all the time but economists are so rigidly stuck to their particular dogma they can’t think outside the square. They’re an incredibly dull and uninspiring bunch.
Michael Valley who wrote on this blog a couple of times about how we should “liberate” all those countries with poor brown people would have made a great case out of the Massacre of Houla in Syria and would have no doubt volunteered the NZ army to help them poor brown Muslim people out.
Except the BBC showed pictures from Victims of the war in Iraq made after the invasion of that country by the coalition of the killing in 2003 and it turns out that it is civilian militia’s armed by the US who are doing door to door killing in Syria.
Jane Clifton wrote on The Conservative Party: Creative creationists?
The “polls” that catapulted the Conservatives into prominence barely deserve the name.
The source of the word about the poll? The Conservative Party, which had its eye on Act’s voters – such as they were by then. Then word got around of another poll, showing Craig ahead in the Rodney electorate. Source of the poll? Again, the Conservative Party. Well, good news should be shared, shouldn’t it?
In the rush of the election campaign, the provenance of the polls was never examined by the media.
There was one small poll during the election on Ohariu that precipitated reports of uncertainty. It wasn’t the only thing affecting the outcome, but it could have been significant. Was this the kneecapping of United Future?
An is this just a part of our democracy we have to accept as the way things are? Or can media be made more accountable? And can we have some moderation of election polling?
Well there certainly needs to be Pete George. The Dim Post has a great chart by Peter Green that shows the inaccuracy (particularly with National) of polling since 2005. Between the 2008 election and the last one, all but one poll has placed National higher in the polls than what they actually attained in the election.
It’s likely that some people will vote in accordance with polling, or perhaps not vote at all if it looks like a landslide. I recall the rightwing pundits claiming it would be a landslide, based on the polls. Now we’re seeing a raft of negative legislation being passed by one effing vote. That’s not democracy, that’s a bunch of devious politicians and their cohorts that have manipulated the public.
There is no doubt that National is going against what the vast majority of New Zealanders want, and their dictatorship is being reflected in recent polling… albeit still bias towards what can only be described as a failed government with too many broken promises to list.
I agree Pete, it’s disturbing how much influence the polls seem to be capable of. They’re supposed to be a measurement, not a campaign tool.
One aspect I particularly dislike is the reporting of numbers as a percentage of 100 when they are no such thing. Perhaps one step in the right direction would be to report the “undecideds” along with the “decideds” as a true percentage.
Return to the subject of student loans, moral standards, this generation’s inherited hardships.
Have met a student, on a loan, living at home and sharing his bed with girfriend. He never, makes his bed or tidys room,never washes clothes,never does any housework except washing dishes ocassionally when asked .Does not do any gardening, mow lawns etc. Does not get up in time for breakfast so buys something in town. Showers inconsistently.
I will not embarrass anyone with further detail.
Is this an acceptable norm. for the youth of today ?
You will be forgiven John72. You will find as you age it will become easier to rise from your bed. The girl will move on and you will feel loss but you will survive and as you clean yourself up, dress better and get those lawns mown a bright light will send you aglow. There is a way forward John.
You will be Born Again! Bless you John.
ianmac, please note, my first line defined the subject. this included “this generation’s inherited hardships”. 50 years ago a student did not have time to live with this weeks girlfriend. He did not have a student loan. He was always up, washed, tidy and dressed before breakfast. I was mowing the lawns at home by the time I was 14 and learning to cook my own meals.
Am I baiting you or are you baiting me?
yep. say what you like about students in the sixties, but you have to say they were always well washed, worked hard, lived clean and kept well clear of that James K Baxter chappie, who was also well turned out, well fed and did not come out of the university system no he didn’t so stop saying that.
We all bait each other here, don’t worry about it. I am constantly under the strain of the “inherited hardship” of the previous generation. All that rock n roll free love attitude, normalised in my lifetime, has made me arrogant and stupid. Pop music and advertsing born in the fifties and sixties and honed on the minds of subsequent generations has made me want to go out and enjoy myself all the time, smoke cigarettes, sunbathe on tropical islands and never ask how or why.
That is unless you and I get together and stop the rot! But first, a cup of tea.
Just this morning I was listening to Billy Corgan tear his heart out, it sounding just like it did in 1994 and I thought, “Billy, you can write some good music, but your thinking is a bit bald.” I’m getting old, you see. An uncertain future and a glorious past continually conspire to rob me of my present and my sanity. The next generation, assailed by pop culture experts like Rebecca Black and Ke$ha, don’t stand a chance.
Just kidding John. One of my family was a bit like your case but it seems that he was suffering from depression at that time and now he works hard, has been headhunted to a new firm, and totally independently chosen to not drink for two months. Agonising to watch the difficulties but it was not simply clear cut in our day 3 X score years ago either. We just choose to forget, luckily.
I must confess, I never reminisce about a misspent youth on tropical beaches or in asian brothels.
It was riding a bike to work for 30 years that fed the family. The turning point is hard and lonely.
Your family ate your bike? That’s luxury! When I was your age I had to get up an hour before I went to sleep, fed my brothers on broken glass and sliced off my feet to avoid frostbite before hobbling ten miles to work. You kids have it easy.
I so <3 morons extrapolating from one case as though it were a reflection on a whole population.
Tip – go back and do basic statistics.
Tip 2 – failure to tell the whole story here leaves me wondering if you're lying by omission, especially as the behavioural patterns are indicative of high stress or depression etc etc. Or it could just be plain old lazy parenting.
NickS: “Basic statistics” Refer to The Press May 30, Page B5. The article states that in Britian, 60 years ago, 5% of children were born to unmarried mothers. Today 47% are. I assume that figures would be similar for New Zealand, especially with the benefit for the Solo Mother. The author then states that children were happier 60 years ago. This is something that can not be measured but I am frequently seeing and hearing of children who who want to know or need to know their father. There will always be bad fathers, but the media does not give the good ones any credit, and most of them are good. Remember, good parents do not just “Happen”. It is a learning experience for Mum and Dad and the more they put into it the more they enjoy it. Hollywood and TV has created this fanciful image of “They all lived happily ever after”, which is lazy and unreal.
Life is difficult. But in acknowledging this we conquer it.
Withour danger, danger cannot be surmounted.
Life is an adventure. Go out and enjoy this life.
There will always be someone better off than you BUT there are millions worse off. ENVY will only spoil your life and make those around you unhappy. It will not earn you respect.
Before arising try and think of something pleasant to say about a friend or relation. Something different. You do not have to pass it on.
$9.95 million set aside in the last budget for hospitality at the Rugby World Cup. Yet so few dignitaries attended.
Still, the budget blew out to $15 million. WTF?
And that’s not all. Why did $6 Million come out of the foreign affairs budget to help pay for this blowout prior to the announcement of cost cutting measures in that particular department ?.
“Greek opinion polls showed voters warming to parties supporting the European Union’s bailout agreement as political leaders at home and abroad warned of economic catastrophe should the single currency fragment”
— Use of words such as catastrophe, the propaganda lies have begun again…Anyone who believes this stuff, is an imbicile!
— Institute for International Finance….Sounds convincing doesn’t it!
Mustn’t be too definite about wanting more private input to biosecurity and research. Difficult when the mantra is that government shouldn’t be involved in things yet they have been supplying this essential service to our modern, forward-moving, clever (best in the world) farmers.
A World Wildlife anti report has brought out the staunch farmers, their haloes and excuses polished, though they won’t admit that there is a nasty group that will do little about pollution or not enough to comply as required. One guy I heard about has had native shrubs planted by his creek bed then sends his animals down there to use it as fodder.
The FedFarmers say that thirty years ago they were encouraged to do things that are now frowned on, and apparently it’s too short a period to make adjustments to such swingeing change. Though dairy farmers can move quickly to overstock and tie up any water they can get hold of and import extra stock food of palm kernel matter that has come from cutting down native trees in other countries on land that’s then taken over for private plantations. They can learn quickly when there is personal gain.
My question is how could PSA get here in pollen if our systems are so good as we are regularly advised? And why has there not been a reliable marker for tuberculosis in cows developed? Recently I heard of a whole herd which had to go when one cow case was found.
The State Department of the United States released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011 on May 24, 2012. As in previous years, the reports are full of over-critical remarks on the human rights situation in nearly 200 countries and regions as well as distortions and accusations concerning the human rights cause in China. However, the United States turned a blind eye to its own woeful human rights situation and kept silent about it. The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2011 is hereby prepared to reveal the true human rights situation of the United States to people across the world and urge the United States to face up to its own doings.
Well it is standard practice to swap propaganda when you swap patron. In the defence of the US, they’re not quite as tight of censorship and disinformation as China is. You can at least still use the whole internet there.
Populuxe1 But to get the whole picture you have to work all night? And still be limited by USA censorship trying to prevent reality and unpleasant truths from emerging that don’t match the Disneyesque facade.
The US supports regimes that include Kazakhstan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, formerly Egypt and Libya, while maintaining countless military bases and personnel around the world.
The US is directly responsible for millions of deaths in Iraq, South and Central America, SE Asia, the Phillipines and beyond.
The WWF report cannot be ignored, especially when the government’s own Environment Commissioner supports the content. In terms of our carbon emissions, Solid Energies plans to dig up the lignite in Southland will increase them by 10-20%. Coal Action Murihiku today left a visible reminder to the Gore community of what Solid Energy plans to do on their back door! http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/coal-action-murihiku-visible-in-gore.html
I heard the Shonkster on the radio claiming vast progress through the expenditure of massive amounts to save the planet from global catastrophe. All well rehearsed snake oil, a lot of wind amounting to nothing bar a salve for the idiots who believe him. Alarmingly he had zip to say re bio diversity and the loss of species, totally oblivious or more likely deliberately disinterested.
Its getting trite to say the least and the hollow man is becoming more vacuous each time he displays his psychopathic contempt for anything not John. Keep the heat on the creep, Johnnygrad is freezing over and will surely crack.
Bored, the Greens are putting on the heat in the house, asking daily questions about the evidence or science base for National’s roading developments or lack of urgency for environmental action. the replies are full of evasions and non answers. The cracks are appearing and we are becoming aware that there is no evidence or research basis to their governance, just rough guesses, ideological faith and pure ignorance. We just need mainstream media to focus on the cracks and we will have a government revealed in all its naked glory.
This shouldn’t be happening, we’re a relatively well off, non-economic basket case nation, with a long history of trying to take care of our poor via government welfare, and yet this is still happening.
And National has the stupidity to claim they care.
And it’s nothing to do with the parents not looking after their own kids and/or not claiming all the multitude of government benefits that are available.
Not only has the machinery of our blindly watchmade brains geared us to do unspeakable things to society, Bastard, but we have pathetically succumbed to “free market” dogma while irreversibly altering planetary systems to the detriment of all but the Archaea.
We, we, we, we are bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, Bastard, so we should suffer as the machine dictates and feel guilty, guilty.
For weeks now I have been repulsed by the reporting of court proceedings of assaults and the journalists repeating the details of the charges and evidence. I have found the gruesome facts quite disturbing and wondering why I need to be hearing such detail. And now this …
And the worst part? She shouldn’t have died from HIV caused complications if she’d been given anti-retrovirals, for which some is very much at fault for not doing the bloody blood work and tests on the kid to work out what was wrong with her.
That is as maybe NickS.
I am commenting on the fact that the reporting of court room deliberations are repeated ad nauseum (usually with, in my opinion, unnecessary detail).
If a court finds a guilty verdict, then the details of the offence will be a matter of record and those interested can surely research them. But cut the daily assault on our hearing …
There is a dilemma with reporting court cases. We need justice to be seen to be done. So the courts are generally open to the public. But few people have the time or inclination to go. So the media fulfill that role.
That poses the dilemma. We see the trial not as a process but as edited highlights selected by criteria that we not informed of, by people we don’t now, in circumstances we are unaware of.
Our evaluation of what took place is hampered by seeing it through the eyes of a host of people.
Australia expels Syrian diplomats. Considering that the Syrian embassy in Canberra is also our embassy was this discusses with MFAT?
If it was, was there anyone at MFAT to answer the phone?
If they ran it passed the Minister of Buffoonery, did he tell them not to do it? In the same way he blamed Sea Shepherd for having their boat rammed?
Oh, for the days when we thought nothing of sending warships into test zones!
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The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
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 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
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A very well attended and effective Labour Regional Conference in Birkenhead this weekend. “Thank you” to those MPs who stayed to listen and contribute to the long sessions on the “remits”. Some good presentations by a couple of Senior MPs.
Aye. The most interesting presentation was David Cunliffe’s clean tech presentation. This addresses what may be the most significant weakness for Labour. Last election in the wealthier areas support flooded to the greens because of perceived weaknesses with environmental policies. Labour does have good policy in the area and Cunliffe’s presentation highlighted this.
As we stumble into the future and environmental disasters start the environment will become the number one concern for the human race.
Plus for those of us who enjoy democracy as an active sport, a really clear and unanimous direction that caucus should have a strong but minority say in who is the next leader. This will make for a good and crunchy labour conference in November. Great to feel us really building up for that, which is of course the launchpad for taking this country back from this principle-free meat-cleaver weilding bunch of beslabbering trolls known as Cabinet.
Pinching more green party policies? Can’t he think of any of his own?
Since the Greens can’t implement their own policies, Labour can give them a kindly hand to do so.
Labour will never have an adequate environmental policy for people who actually care about the environment as one of their issues, and should simply concede the fact that they’ll please more people by saying their environmental policies will be developed in coalition with the Greens. 😛
Nice to hear Shearer this morning on National Radio with well-phrased opints, clean diction, and some snap to the style. I like this kind of Shearer. Particularly if it takes the Banks-like rhetorical sheen off Parata. As this site noted yesterday – National seem utterly tone deaf on education across the entire field.
Agreed. Shearer did well.
His minions could learn something about social media though. They really need to start to creating the brand and pushing the image. The stuff that is out there is pretty lame.
“They”, “his minions”, are not up to it. Everybody accepts that “they” got it wrong under Phil. Shearer needs to look wider for advice.
“They”, “his minions”, are not up to it. Everybody accepts that “they” got it wrong under Phil. Shearer needs to look wider for advice.
The continual abysmal performance at forecasting by Treasury officials, and the stunning debacle in the shrinking of teacher numbers, begs two questions:
1. Why would you allow this failed Treasury department to set Education Policy?
2. Did these Treasury officials attend schools with very big class sizes?
Teachers I know are incensed. For the past few years they have been indifferent to Labour but now they are ready to roll.
Key’s setting up of a working party is an admission they stuffed this up. Their line “90% of schools will either gain a teacher or lose a teacher” is shown to be spin and is being drowned out by the horror stories coming out of Intermediate schools.
I really get the impression that they blundered here and did not understand what they were doing.
Helen would never have made such a serious mistake.
i’m just waiting for Key to share how he ‘only heard about it the day before’
When Parata got such a grilling over how many teachers were going to lose their jobs as a result of the change, they should have stopped to think “oh, seems like we’ve hit a nerve this time” and re-considered. I guess by that point the budget had already been printed, though.
Billodress, you need to examine the real role of “economists” to our political economy. In Roman times the Ponitfex Maximus and a cotery of “priests” would divine the future by reading chicken entrails etc. All states present and past have had a preisthood who have the role of giving the system of state and its political and economic decision process the chimera of validity, by association with the all powerful (God) who is the only one who can know the future. It is highly important to all societies that legitimacy has a basis, and this is the role of todays economist.
The “Enlightenment” saw a diminution in the acceptance of the “divine” in terms of cause and effect, rational thought and the rise of scientific empiricism challenged the role of God will (interpreted by the presithood) as a justification rulers decisions. The gap had to be closed before authority and decision became individual, and to the rescue rode Adam Smith with his “invisible hand”, bringing deity back via the “market”. These artificial constructs required preists, all religions do. Economists grew out of history departments where the past was usefully being compared to predict the future, constructed theories and when asked to prove them by sceptics invented a mathematical process called econometrics. Hence the rise of the modern economist, the role to provide legitimacy to the decisions of state.
You will note I said legitimacy: to do so you have to claim rectitude on some divine basis (such as market rationalism). Being correct is something that evades economists, because like religion their rational has no empirically proven basis, it is all supposition and faith. Accuracy is entirely arbitrary and coincidental.
So to answer both your questions: reality does not matter to Treasury, that is not their role. They may have had one reality demanded of them, that of saving cash. That is a less divine peice of empiricism, it merely requires some mechanical book keeping. The real costs will not be able to be predicted by these idiots, you and I can predict the outcomes easily enough.
Economics today and, by extension, Treasury, is even worse than that, because their role is to defend why a few people are rich and everyone else is poor. To, quite simply, defend the dictatorship that results from capitalism. Everyone goes on about the invisible hand of Smith’s but the one line that stuck when I read The Wealth of Nations went something like It is the right of the rich to command the poor which, given the context of the paragraphs around it meant the right of the rich to appropriate the wealth created by the poor (labour theory of value) which is probably what really made him popular with the governing classes – they were rich after all.
Oh, and as for what Smith actually said about the invisible hand:
Yeah, not a hell of a lot about free-international trade and capitalism in there but plenty about supporting the local society though.
Yes you are right Draco, the interests of the priesthood always support that of the ruling class. In capitalist countries it is that those who own property and the means of production. In the formerly communist countries the commissars of the Party represented the nomenklatur who claimed ownership on behalf of the”people”. Interestingly both sides have a deity with prophets and terminology to reflect this.
I always laugh at Gos and the market fundamentalists when they have a go at socialism and communism: both have mirror images of each other such as the “invisible hand” and “dialectic materialism”, or Smith and Marx as prophets. The way I see it this represents both sides of the same debased coin, you might as well attack yourself, there is no difference. Even funnier is the fact that in either of these extreme models the same people will form the same privileged class of fat cats and courtiers. These are the people the priests serve and justify.
So where to? View reality first and then steer the appropriate course to your preferred destination. My destination point is called equity, fairness and compassion.
What I see as the major fault with economics today is you get armies of people who can’t think for themselves. They’re called economists but they’re not really, they’re just regurgitating what they were taught and parroting what they think their mentors would have said or done. That results in an absence of innovation and problem solving.
A good example is this present Govt. There’s a need to both stimulate the economy with carefully targeted extra spending and to cut spending but for the beancounters at Treasury the two are ideologically incompatible with each other so they can’t conceive it. In business we do that all the time but economists are so rigidly stuck to their particular dogma they can’t think outside the square. They’re an incredibly dull and uninspiring bunch.
Michael Valley who wrote on this blog a couple of times about how we should “liberate” all those countries with poor brown people would have made a great case out of the Massacre of Houla in Syria and would have no doubt volunteered the NZ army to help them poor brown Muslim people out.
Except the BBC showed pictures from Victims of the war in Iraq made after the invasion of that country by the coalition of the killing in 2003 and it turns out that it is civilian militia’s armed by the US who are doing door to door killing in Syria.
Armed I might add via those paragons of civil liberty the Sheik of Bahrain and the King of Saudi Arabia.
What are you actually saying here? Your point is kind of confused.
The report from the Hill is only 4 days old. Are you suggesting, what?
It’s no surprise that regional countries are making havoc in Syria. It would be surprising if they weren’t. They have interests there.
You can cry about that, or spread strange points and allegations about the place trying to muddy the picture, but to what end?
Jane Clifton wrote on The Conservative Party: Creative creationists?
There was one small poll during the election on Ohariu that precipitated reports of uncertainty. It wasn’t the only thing affecting the outcome, but it could have been significant. Was this the kneecapping of United Future?
An is this just a part of our democracy we have to accept as the way things are? Or can media be made more accountable? And can we have some moderation of election polling?
Well there certainly needs to be Pete George. The Dim Post has a great chart by Peter Green that shows the inaccuracy (particularly with National) of polling since 2005. Between the 2008 election and the last one, all but one poll has placed National higher in the polls than what they actually attained in the election.
It’s likely that some people will vote in accordance with polling, or perhaps not vote at all if it looks like a landslide. I recall the rightwing pundits claiming it would be a landslide, based on the polls. Now we’re seeing a raft of negative legislation being passed by one effing vote. That’s not democracy, that’s a bunch of devious politicians and their cohorts that have manipulated the public.
There is no doubt that National is going against what the vast majority of New Zealanders want, and their dictatorship is being reflected in recent polling… albeit still bias towards what can only be described as a failed government with too many broken promises to list.
I agree Pete, it’s disturbing how much influence the polls seem to be capable of. They’re supposed to be a measurement, not a campaign tool.
One aspect I particularly dislike is the reporting of numbers as a percentage of 100 when they are no such thing. Perhaps one step in the right direction would be to report the “undecideds” along with the “decideds” as a true percentage.
Return to the subject of student loans, moral standards, this generation’s inherited hardships.
Have met a student, on a loan, living at home and sharing his bed with girfriend. He never, makes his bed or tidys room,never washes clothes,never does any housework except washing dishes ocassionally when asked .Does not do any gardening, mow lawns etc. Does not get up in time for breakfast so buys something in town. Showers inconsistently.
I will not embarrass anyone with further detail.
Is this an acceptable norm. for the youth of today ?
You will be forgiven John72. You will find as you age it will become easier to rise from your bed. The girl will move on and you will feel loss but you will survive and as you clean yourself up, dress better and get those lawns mown a bright light will send you aglow. There is a way forward John.
You will be Born Again! Bless you John.
ianmac, please note, my first line defined the subject. this included “this generation’s inherited hardships”. 50 years ago a student did not have time to live with this weeks girlfriend. He did not have a student loan. He was always up, washed, tidy and dressed before breakfast. I was mowing the lawns at home by the time I was 14 and learning to cook my own meals.
Am I baiting you or are you baiting me?
yep. say what you like about students in the sixties, but you have to say they were always well washed, worked hard, lived clean and kept well clear of that James K Baxter chappie, who was also well turned out, well fed and did not come out of the university system no he didn’t so stop saying that.
Oh, I’m sure he had the time but the parents wouldn’t have let her stay at their place.
Well, no, they generally weren’t available then and they probably didn’t need one either.
Sounds like he still is. He’s just not having breakfast at the same time as the parents.
/golfclap
We all bait each other here, don’t worry about it. I am constantly under the strain of the “inherited hardship” of the previous generation. All that rock n roll free love attitude, normalised in my lifetime, has made me arrogant and stupid. Pop music and advertsing born in the fifties and sixties and honed on the minds of subsequent generations has made me want to go out and enjoy myself all the time, smoke cigarettes, sunbathe on tropical islands and never ask how or why.
That is unless you and I get together and stop the rot! But first, a cup of tea.
Just this morning I was listening to Billy Corgan tear his heart out, it sounding just like it did in 1994 and I thought, “Billy, you can write some good music, but your thinking is a bit bald.” I’m getting old, you see. An uncertain future and a glorious past continually conspire to rob me of my present and my sanity. The next generation, assailed by pop culture experts like Rebecca Black and Ke$ha, don’t stand a chance.
Just kidding John. One of my family was a bit like your case but it seems that he was suffering from depression at that time and now he works hard, has been headhunted to a new firm, and totally independently chosen to not drink for two months. Agonising to watch the difficulties but it was not simply clear cut in our day 3 X score years ago either. We just choose to forget, luckily.
I must confess, I never reminisce about a misspent youth on tropical beaches or in asian brothels.
It was riding a bike to work for 30 years that fed the family. The turning point is hard and lonely.
Your family ate your bike? That’s luxury! When I was your age I had to get up an hour before I went to sleep, fed my brothers on broken glass and sliced off my feet to avoid frostbite before hobbling ten miles to work. You kids have it easy.
Uturn, LOL!
I so <3 morons extrapolating from one case as though it were a reflection on a whole population.
Tip – go back and do basic statistics.
Tip 2 – failure to tell the whole story here leaves me wondering if you're lying by omission, especially as the behavioural patterns are indicative of high stress or depression etc etc. Or it could just be plain old lazy parenting.
NickS: “Basic statistics” Refer to The Press May 30, Page B5. The article states that in Britian, 60 years ago, 5% of children were born to unmarried mothers. Today 47% are. I assume that figures would be similar for New Zealand, especially with the benefit for the Solo Mother. The author then states that children were happier 60 years ago. This is something that can not be measured but I am frequently seeing and hearing of children who who want to know or need to know their father. There will always be bad fathers, but the media does not give the good ones any credit, and most of them are good. Remember, good parents do not just “Happen”. It is a learning experience for Mum and Dad and the more they put into it the more they enjoy it. Hollywood and TV has created this fanciful image of “They all lived happily ever after”, which is lazy and unreal.
Life is difficult. But in acknowledging this we conquer it.
Withour danger, danger cannot be surmounted.
Life is an adventure. Go out and enjoy this life.
There will always be someone better off than you BUT there are millions worse off. ENVY will only spoil your life and make those around you unhappy. It will not earn you respect.
Before arising try and think of something pleasant to say about a friend or relation. Something different. You do not have to pass it on.
$9.95 million set aside in the last budget for hospitality at the Rugby World Cup. Yet so few dignitaries attended.
Still, the budget blew out to $15 million. WTF?
Talk about welfare entitlements!
And that’s not all. Why did $6 Million come out of the foreign affairs budget to help pay for this blowout prior to the announcement of cost cutting measures in that particular department ?.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7006538/Rugby-World-Cup-hospitality-blowout
I saw that too but then the Herald seems to disagree with it:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/budget-2012/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503257&objectid=10809172
One thing they do agree on is the $6mill coming out of MFAT though
You might be mistaken if you only counted numbers later on. At the RWC most men could quickly deteriorate from dignitaries to good old boys.
Greek voters face a choice between supporting a review of the country’s aid package or the “blind and catastrophic” route of terminating the deal unilaterally, Evangelos Venizelos, Pasok’s leader, said. Charles Dallara, head of the Washington-based Institute of International Finance, said the cost of Greece exiting the euro would probably exceed €1 trillion
“Greek opinion polls showed voters warming to parties supporting the European Union’s bailout agreement as political leaders at home and abroad warned of economic catastrophe should the single currency fragment”
— Use of words such as catastrophe, the propaganda lies have begun again…Anyone who believes this stuff, is an imbicile!
— Institute for International Finance….Sounds convincing doesn’t it!
Mustn’t be too definite about wanting more private input to biosecurity and research. Difficult when the mantra is that government shouldn’t be involved in things yet they have been supplying this essential service to our modern, forward-moving, clever (best in the world) farmers.
A World Wildlife anti report has brought out the staunch farmers, their haloes and excuses polished, though they won’t admit that there is a nasty group that will do little about pollution or not enough to comply as required. One guy I heard about has had native shrubs planted by his creek bed then sends his animals down there to use it as fodder.
The FedFarmers say that thirty years ago they were encouraged to do things that are now frowned on, and apparently it’s too short a period to make adjustments to such swingeing change. Though dairy farmers can move quickly to overstock and tie up any water they can get hold of and import extra stock food of palm kernel matter that has come from cutting down native trees in other countries on land that’s then taken over for private plantations. They can learn quickly when there is personal gain.
My question is how could PSA get here in pollen if our systems are so good as we are regularly advised? And why has there not been a reliable marker for tuberculosis in cows developed? Recently I heard of a whole herd which had to go when one cow case was found.
China Daily: Human Rights Record of United States in 2011.
The State Department of the United States released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011 on May 24, 2012. As in previous years, the reports are full of over-critical remarks on the human rights situation in nearly 200 countries and regions as well as distortions and accusations concerning the human rights cause in China. However, the United States turned a blind eye to its own woeful human rights situation and kept silent about it. The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2011 is hereby prepared to reveal the true human rights situation of the United States to people across the world and urge the United States to face up to its own doings.
joe90 Thanks for the link to China Daily. It’s not the sort of thing I would see in even precised form in my local news.
Amnesty Internationals 2012 report.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/usa/report-2012
Yes, the USA’s shit does stink – but to quote from a Chinese source?
To paraphrase Christine Keeler, well they would say that, wouldn’t they.
I rather imagine that Chinese sources are going to become pretty standard over the next 10-15 years.
Well it is standard practice to swap propaganda when you swap patron. In the defence of the US, they’re not quite as tight of censorship and disinformation as China is. You can at least still use the whole internet there.
Populuxe1 But to get the whole picture you have to work all night? And still be limited by USA censorship trying to prevent reality and unpleasant truths from emerging that don’t match the Disneyesque facade.
The US supports regimes that include Kazakhstan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, formerly Egypt and Libya, while maintaining countless military bases and personnel around the world.
The US is directly responsible for millions of deaths in Iraq, South and Central America, SE Asia, the Phillipines and beyond.
The US has active campaigns trying to control reproductive rights and repeal worker rights, supports state-sponsored executions, assassinations and rendition of their own and other nationals, legalised torture, draconian homeland security and surveillance legislation and the ability to hold anyone anywhere indefinitely without charge.
A rogue nation?. Fuck Yeah.
An interesting video on the hemispheres of the brain and what we’ve done to society.
Very good. Looks like we’ve become high-tech barbarians!
Watched it after dinner this evening. Cool, thanks DtB.
That is just lovely. It is pessimistic about where we are to be sure, but it also conceptualises a way out of it.
The WWF report cannot be ignored, especially when the government’s own Environment Commissioner supports the content. In terms of our carbon emissions, Solid Energies plans to dig up the lignite in Southland will increase them by 10-20%. Coal Action Murihiku today left a visible reminder to the Gore community of what Solid Energy plans to do on their back door!
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/coal-action-murihiku-visible-in-gore.html
I heard the Shonkster on the radio claiming vast progress through the expenditure of massive amounts to save the planet from global catastrophe. All well rehearsed snake oil, a lot of wind amounting to nothing bar a salve for the idiots who believe him. Alarmingly he had zip to say re bio diversity and the loss of species, totally oblivious or more likely deliberately disinterested.
Its getting trite to say the least and the hollow man is becoming more vacuous each time he displays his psychopathic contempt for anything not John. Keep the heat on the creep, Johnnygrad is freezing over and will surely crack.
Bored, the Greens are putting on the heat in the house, asking daily questions about the evidence or science base for National’s roading developments or lack of urgency for environmental action. the replies are full of evasions and non answers. The cracks are appearing and we are becoming aware that there is no evidence or research basis to their governance, just rough guesses, ideological faith and pure ignorance. We just need mainstream media to focus on the cracks and we will have a government revealed in all its naked glory.
Fuckityfuckfuckfuck:
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/poverty-stricken-kids-resort-scavenging-4903003
This shouldn’t be happening, we’re a relatively well off, non-economic basket case nation, with a long history of trying to take care of our poor via government welfare, and yet this is still happening.
And National has the stupidity to claim they care.
Such is the result of the “free-market” dogma which has descended upon us since the 1980s.
And it’s nothing to do with the parents not looking after their own kids and/or not claiming all the multitude of government benefits that are available.
Evidence please.
Or stfu.
This may come as a surprise to you but, in some circumstances, the welfare that we give isn’t enough.
Not only has the machinery of our blindly watchmade brains geared us to do unspeakable things to society, Bastard, but we have pathetically succumbed to “free market” dogma while irreversibly altering planetary systems to the detriment of all but the Archaea.
We, we, we, we are bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, Bastard, so we should suffer as the machine dictates and feel guilty, guilty.
Load of crap, get outside and smell the daisies.
Have you actually got anything to say or are you just going to talk shit as per usual?
Whelp, shit is the only thing his mess of a brain can manage don’tcha know.
MSM
For weeks now I have been repulsed by the reporting of court proceedings of assaults and the journalists repeating the details of the charges and evidence. I have found the gruesome facts quite disturbing and wondering why I need to be hearing such detail. And now this …
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10809244
The accused has been found not guilty.
Thus I didn’t need to be told repeatedly what didn’t even happen.
And the worst part? She shouldn’t have died from HIV caused complications if she’d been given anti-retrovirals, for which some is very much at fault for not doing the bloody blood work and tests on the kid to work out what was wrong with her.
That is as maybe NickS.
I am commenting on the fact that the reporting of court room deliberations are repeated ad nauseum (usually with, in my opinion, unnecessary detail).
If a court finds a guilty verdict, then the details of the offence will be a matter of record and those interested can surely research them. But cut the daily assault on our hearing …
There is a dilemma with reporting court cases. We need justice to be seen to be done. So the courts are generally open to the public. But few people have the time or inclination to go. So the media fulfill that role.
That poses the dilemma. We see the trial not as a process but as edited highlights selected by criteria that we not informed of, by people we don’t now, in circumstances we are unaware of.
Our evaluation of what took place is hampered by seeing it through the eyes of a host of people.
Australia expels Syrian diplomats. Considering that the Syrian embassy in Canberra is also our embassy was this discusses with MFAT?
If it was, was there anyone at MFAT to answer the phone?
If they ran it passed the Minister of Buffoonery, did he tell them not to do it? In the same way he blamed Sea Shepherd for having their boat rammed?
Oh, for the days when we thought nothing of sending warships into test zones!