You miss the point, Morrissey. This was a President expressing emotion, and hope for the future. Gun control is an emotional issue, and will not be resolved by reason alone – many supporters of carrying guns have no reason. In a world where a leader, whether a politician or business leader, is admired for being ruthless, where caring for others is a weakness, where children are discouraged from competing unless they can be a winner – or in singing be as good as they hear from professionals, where if you cannot be certain who to vote for you are encouraged to not vote, where politics is something we try to keep off our TV/entertainment systems, where all politicians lie, cheat and indulge in the activities described in Dirty Politics, where success ins measured in dollars, it does us good to see a Leader expressing emotion over the loss of innocent citizens gunned down by a deranged young person, and speaking of trying to prevent similar people from similar future folly, it is good to see that Obama believes something can be done if American voters want it enough. we need hope in this world, and the peddlers of “might is right” would deny us that hope.
If you care about anything, Morrissey, you will know that such caring involves emotion as well as reason – it does not have to be perfect on its own, but together we can make the sounds that lead us to a better world, where people can have a decent life without being in ear of being shot, of not having food or shelter, that children can have reasonable equal opportunity to succeed regardless of the wealth of their parents, that your vote will be as valued as a voter in any other electorate, that you are part of our community and your views do matter.
Have hope, Morrissey, have both reason and emotion, and understand that you too can make a contribution even if you are not perfect.
This is the same President who every week greenlights the drone strikes in far away lands which have killed thousands of civilians including children, yes?
it is good to see that Obama believes something can be done if American voters want it enough.
Then he probably should have vetoed Citizens United which allowed corporations unlimited spending of big money into election campaigns.
The best a President can do is nominate a Supreme Court judge that will pledge to overturn the ruling when the next one dies or retires. I believe Democrats have pledged to do this, as they also do it for things like abortion. (they will not nominate a judge who will ban abortion, for example)
The White House is fully capable of passing law that violates the constitution. It is active and in-effect until such time as it is struck down by the Supreme Court.
I don’t think there’s any precedent for the White House deliberately passing a law that the SCOTUS has already said violates the constitution, though, but theoretically there’s no reason they couldn’t.
Also, they could pass a law that has the same effect of declaring companies are not people, just do it in a different way to the previous law so that it can’t be declared unconstitutional.
There is currently a group attempting to have a constitutional ammendment introduced to remove big money from politics. Check out wolfpac.com. Essentially they have to get a large number of the states to pass a constitutional amendment bill. Once enough states have ratified it it is passed into law.
The other way to do it would be through legislation in the house to introduce the amendment but with all the money flowing into it there is no chance of that happening in the near future.
I imagine if this wolfpac thing continues to churn along as it is eventually the house will see what is coming and introduce the amendemnt themselves so they don’t have to wear the backlash of being forced into making the change by the states.
Aside from the fact that the White House is empowered to pass laws, but only to faithfully execute those laws as Congress makes from time to time.
The cleverest scheme to effectively “amend” the constitution is a law that a number of states have passed specifying that, in a presidential election, that states electors must support the popular vote winner in the electoral college if a critical mass of other states have also passed the same law.
Ed. I have to agree with you. Obama wasn’t on American Idol. For any failings he may have, his not very good attempt at singing was for different reasons perhaps honourable and was in a different context from the one conjured up by Morrisey.
…his not very good attempt at singing was for different reasons perhaps honourable
Obama oversees a campaign of torture, mayhem and terror from Africa to Syria and Iraq. He, or his henchmen, have pursued, persecuted and imprisoned peace advocates and journalists from within the United States and from overseas. He has signed off on a large number of extrajudicial—i.e., illegal—assassinations.
Unless he’s a complete moral imbecile, Obama was as aware as anyone who cringed throughout his execrable sub-karaoke horror in Charleston, that he is perhaps the most inappropriate person in the world to be preaching a message of peace. To paraphrase the great George Michael, guilty vocal chords ain’t got no sweetness.
Prices aren’t set by international sales but by how much the market that the product is being sold into can bear. That means that the prices go up until sales drop and then prices will fixate around that price. Competition may be able to lower the price (I have my doubts about that because increased competition increases bureaucracy) because the competition would be after increased market share but it’s not happening because of Fonterra – other companies just can’t build up enough of a market share here to get the economies of scale and importing would cost more than buying from Fonterra.
Not necessarily. Just because it’s at the maximum price that the market will bear doesn’t mean that it’s at the price that it should be at as at that price it’s inevitably over priced.
Confusing stuff, so how is it inevitably over priced, if the market will bear that price and it cant be sorced cheaper via overseas or other competitors?
If a large percentage of dairy farms are not getting paid by Fonterra, their cost of production, and Fonterras own share value has dropped by a huge amount in the last two years, I cant see how milk is set at a greater cost than the cost to supply?
someone in the supply chain is “milking” the situation (excuse the pun). I’d say its Fonterra doing their usual thing of extracting maximum money out of NZ consumers, and smaller dairy companies happy to go along with those retail prices as it benefits them too.
I wonder how much the supermarkets buy a 2L container of milk for.
Well if it is Fonterra milking the situation they are doing a poor job of it, they cant even pay the farmers cost too supply.
And they are shedding staff at an alarming rate, as well as share value.
Logic does not follow huh, OK then fill me in what is the cost of supply for milk and whats happening to the money, if Fonterra and farmers are not getting any?
+1
Kiwi milk consumers just can’t win, excuses for high milks prices previously were high international milk solids prices effecting the domestic market. Then when the arse fell out of the international market we got the excuse the domestic market was different.
Shearer is making some noise on the issue which makes me wonder if he is also considering a crack at the title of becoming his worship the Mayor of Auckland?
I do better than that, we buy local farm gate milk, it is cheaper and is the good stuff Dennis. I gave cheese and butter away years ago, no regrets there and replaced them with fresh salads most days. Whole grain bread with the occasional home made garlic bread. Healthy eating isn’t cheap which cuts out many people and we aren’t encouraged like other countries who drop GST/VTA. Apparently part of the difference between our milk and AUS & UK is tax, something the bumbling fool Shearer missed in his excitement to kick farmers in the guts.
“Food and drink for human consumption is usually zero-rated but some items are standard-rated, including alcoholic drinks, confectionery, crisps and savoury snacks, hot food, sports drinks, hot takeaways, ice cream, soft drinks and mineral water.”
yes. Only processed food is taxed in Oz. Vegetables and meat etc is gst free. One of the reasons for placing gst on everything here was that it would make it far too difficult to administer – which as overseas experience shows – is complete bollocks.
Yep computers, spreadsheets, bar code systems make the organisation of this kind of thing bloody easy ffs
Funny how there is no adminstrative problem with different supermarket pricing of booze when the alcohol tax goes up but which doesn’t affect any other products in store etc.
One only has to look at accounting software that are able to handle those components of a business expenses that has GST attached to them and those that doesn’t to know the argument it is too difficult to administer is complete bollocks, and since one of those is a NZ company, than no one can hide behind the ‘NZ firms don’t have the knowledge’ bollocks either.
FFS, if it was possible to have a period of two levels of GST, why can’t you have GST and none?
Not only that; the removal of GST on essential items such as meat and vegetables would help those who live with a very meagre income to buy good food rather than forcing them to buy the processed and unhealthy food, as they are now forced to do, because cheap and nasty food is the cheapest.
So do we Skinny. Yummy!…. and the cream! Enough to make your own butter and cheese. 🙂
When you hear how Fonterra milk is created – you wouldn’t want it anyway! http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/9310148/Tests-show-milk-clear-of-Roundup-used-for-silage
Note that it was the dairy industry who did the tests to assure us that it is perfectly ok!
The article says that it has no effect on the health of the animal – how would they know? Cows’ natural life expectancy is 20 years or more, but the average dairy cow lives just 3 to 4 years, exhausted by constant lactation and frequent disease.
Don’t usually agree with you infused but its the same with bread. The cheapest budget bread has the same minerals, protein goodies as the expensive heavily advertised breads. Tastes the same too.
I can’t see many families being able to afford the ten pints a day we used as a family…..oh, I nearly forgot. Milk was subsidised in those days, the rationale being that milk was an ESSENTIAL for families ( as were affordable houses, and jobs to pay them off with).
I just gave milk up , all the stiffness in my spin and joints went in 3 days, my skins better and the kilos are falling off. Now it would be fair to say I have a high maintenance plumbing system (guts) but it makes me wonder how good milk really is.
He outlines the reasons why A2 milk was less harmful to humans, and how our dairy herds are predominantly A1. Many years ago I read an article regarding the higher incidence of African American obesity and heart attacks being linked to dairy consumption. (Unfortunately, can’t remember where it was, I was looking into the impact of food consumption on learning disorders at the time).
I don’t think that milk consumption is necessarily of benefit to all, and depending on genetics – can actually be detrimental to health.
Pretty much. I cut milk, bread and potatos… did a wonder of good. Mainly cutting the bread out. Horrible shit… well actually it’s delicious, but horrible for the body.
Even as a child I never liked milk and refused to drink it straight. The only time I drank milk was when it was in my tea or coffee. Since I now have the choice of soy milk I’ve dropped cow milk out of my diet completely and I too feel much better now.
I was raised on it straight from the cow and had no health problems as a kid but it has been good going off it physically and mentally. Same goes for gluten so some of these things seem to come on with age.
I miss beer pies and ice cream 🙁
“cow milk proteins good for baby cows not good for people”
Yea. No other animal except for rats and some other scavengers consume another creature’s milk.
no other animals cook food either. Or do lots of things that humans do uniquely. It’s a daft argument esp when you look at the cultures that have very good health outcomes that consume milk.
oh definitely, lots of people who do badly on any kind of milk, and lots who do badly on processed milk. Including people who aren’t genetically adapted.
Lots of people do well on milk as adults in a traditional diet. There are cultures for whom (raw) milk is a staple. Saying milk is for baby cows doesn’t make sense in that context (and not all milk comes from cows).
we’re talking about cows milk in this thread unless a specific remark has been made otherwise that you can point me to; also I did not intend my remarks to be applied to milk in all its forms processed or unprocessed, but just to cows milk from the supermarket.
There are cultures for whom (raw) milk is a staple.
yes cow’s milk, but the argument is made that human adults shouldn’t drink milk from other species because of the species and infant/adult issues, not because of which animal it comes from.
“but just to cows milk from the supermarket.”
I have no problem with that being named as a problematic food for many people 😉 I do have a problem with milk being labeled as inherently bad though. It’s not.
I could eat brussel sprouts till the cows come home 🙂
Seriously, I really love the taste of brussel sprouts – they have a real taste, not like so many insipid foods that people tell me they enjoy – e.g., tofu (I know, I know, it can be so, so tasty if only you do x, y or z with it … but then I also have no sense of smell).
Most milk products make me gag (especially thick, slimy ones like cream, whole cream milk, custard, etc.). Truly evil foods.
One unfortunate consequence was that it allowed herding cultures (often male dominated because of the reliance on animals that could be ‘owned’ – a surplus to be dominated tends to create social hierarchies) to displace hunter-gatherer cultures with greater sex egalitarianism.
As the first linked article mentions, milk drinking may have given up to a 19% advantage in fertility which meant rapid displacement of non-drinking populations. Once again, quantity of lives swamps quality of lives. It’s a recurring pattern in human history/prehistory.
Even more seriously, lactose intolerance is the standard human condition.
Yep – so, bad luck for the standard human. There’s a reason why lactose tolerance spread so rapidly, and that reason is that it provided huge survival advantages over “the standard human condition.” Sure, if there’s any species on the planet that’s capable of feeling bad about an evolutionary advantage, it’s humans, but even so – why the fuck feel bad about an evolutionary advantage? We may not be subject to natural selection any more, but fucked if I’m going to assign moral value to genetics.
…the rationale being that milk was an ESSENTIAL for families ( as were affordable houses, and jobs to pay them off with).
Yep. Milk’s an awesome food. It’s used by zoologists as an example of how evolution affects humans, because lactose tolerance was one of the fastest-spreading human adaptations we know about. The reason it spread so fast is because the people who could drink it had a way higher survival rate into adulthood than the people who couldn’t. Every kid should have plenty of it available, preferably without the fat removed.
fermented milk products have always been traditionally regarded as more useful and healthy as many of the troublesome components in the milk are already partially broken down
There’s no evidence of it in modern diets either. Also, keep in mind that pasteurisation was invented for a really good reason and you are actually taking a risk drinking raw milk. I’m all for people taking whatever risks they want, as long as they know they’re taking one – the people selling raw milk sometimes don’t trouble themselves to provide that info.
raw milk became a public health problem when it was industrialised and dairy herds were kept and milked in unsanitary conditions in order to produce mass amounts of milk for a food supply chain.
“Every kid should have plenty of it available, preferably without the fat removed.”
I agree about the fat, but there are significant populations how aren’t genetically adapted to milk and lots of places in the world where milk was never drunk traditionally (i.e. it didn’t spread there).
A Couple of months ago I a designed a series of badges. I embroider them to order. When I noticed people starting to use the images of them as avatars and profile pictures I was upset. A lot of work goes into designing them and my blog also takes up a fair amount of my time and I wanted to sell the badges and not have the images nicked for other purposes!
But with the passing of the fast track bill to allow Obama to facilitate/negotiate the super secret trade agreements designed to destroy our sovereignty and impoverish the global population to enrich the few I have decided to encourage that very use as avatars and profile pictures.
Feel free to order them as embroidered badges too but please share the images far and wide to get the message out there!
the greek people are probably thinking we are fucked whichever option we choose but at least we are choosing, not people whose only care is getting their interest paid, and paid and paid…
To state the bleedin’ obvious (and before Gosman and other trolls start their lies) this situation was inherited by the current Greek government, not caused by it.
by previous governments just kowtowing to the banks and their threats… even with a small amount of push back the EU position has softened in the last months
Certainly looking that way. NRT has a good article on it:
As for what happens next, faced with a concrete threat of departure and a decision in the hands of voters rather than politicians, the EU has finally offered debt relief. So maybe there’ll be a better deal on the table by Sunday which the Greek government and people can accept. If not, and Greece is forced out of the Euro as punishment for debt, then I guess we’ll know that it is bankers and not elected politicians who run the EU.
I’d agree with that. We haven’t been in control our governments for some time and so I expect that Greece will be forced out of the Euro and that the banksters will then demand, and get, sanctions on Greece.
NZ polity being sliced for steaks while still alive! National Party being accused of cruel and unusual punishment by suffering citizens!
Government is not interested in assisting citizens with services, information, advice and standards for guidance as to best practice and legality. You are on your own mate, don’t bother us with your requests and needs. They are nice to haves, but not essential in our National Party and neo liberal view.
National has been given a mandate? by about half of NZ citizens, who appear to be either or both stupid and venal, to divest itself of the proper and expected roles of serving its citizens needs. National is considering selling large blocks of state houses and lands that are of national importance with the most infantile and pathetic reason (and I don’t think that reason is the right word here.)
The Government doesn’t consider it can improve the lives of tenants so it will abandon them to a kindly Australian provider, which will also become a foreign owner with a large stake in NZ residential land. And we just get a large stake through our hearts.
Quote – Housing New Zealand Minister Bill English has said the Government would sell to anyone who could improve the lives of tenants. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/277415/australian-purchase-may-have-benefits-key
Government is limiting R&D in science, and reducing the spectrum of research. It is reducing facilities, now it is cutting into Landcare. They are changing research direction and looking more at water reform and we know why that is of heightened interest, while other topics are less important. And there is likely to be a reduction at head office in Christchurch. Do I divine that water research is a sensitive matter for Christchurch? http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/277437/jobs-to-go-at-landcare
I looked on google for information to help decisions on my house insurance value and got – Estimated building costs data
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment no longer provides data on estimated values for building work. from the Building division now under Mobie, and the advice now is to consult a quantity surveyor. There is no basic background advice now for the citizen available there, and earlier it was only aimed at helping local authorities.
There are offices in Nelson for government departments with notices that these are not open for public use or consultation.
Steaks or stakes – we are being carved up by National. And it is hurting us! Can’t anything be done to stop this villainous government from reducing us to an early 1900’s condition, from strip-mining us, from asset stripping our country, and massively benefitting those in the loop who are hustling our public goods and serivces????
Disclosure of Interest: I have just wondered how Scoop is getting on and looked up to find out how their campaign is progressing. I am considering supporting by giving a reasonable amount.
Thanks Kiwiri
I have wondered and not got round to tracking Scoop’s latest down. I too think we should support it and at that amount it is a no brainer. Use it or lose it – support it. Same goes for Radionz which we don’t have to shell out for. But they do have replay radio, and that can be useful to get content and music which are good to pay for.
Years ago, I helped a little-known (at the time) organisation with an initiative. There was a media advisory that we wanted to put out but, importantly, we wanted it on a news-related webpage somewhere. We sent it to Scoop and, voila, within a few hours, it was up on their site. We were then able to refer to it in our other communications and publicity efforts.
There was no other avenue that could have done what we wanted then, and it was a bonus that Scoop was so quick. Surely that would have been worth more than a small advertisement column in the newspaper.
2014 Oscar-Winning Director Laura Poitras’ in-depth look at Edward Snowden, the man and the extraordinary repercussions for his courageous act of whisteblowing. Free download.
Do please download and watch and tell everybody you know to do the same.
[As far s I can ascertain, that documentary hasn’t been made available for free download by the makers. I’ve removed the link and would appreciate you don’t ever again use ‘the standard’ to promote direct links to illegal downloads] – Bill
I can’t believe that NZer’s are so thick as to overlook our Governments gifting of millions to a country that gifts to those who want to kill our soldiers? I thought we had a law about not giving to terrorist organisations? But isn’t that what our “Government” has just done in gifting a $10m bribe to people, who give to people, who want to kill us? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_Suppression_Act_2002
National has announced that they’ll allow private investors to cash in on mental health patients.
Banks and financial institutions will be paid a bonus by the government for funding mental health services.
This is National using vulnerable mental health patients as guinea pigs.
The details of these plans are yet to be decided by Cabinet. But if enough of us sign the open letter against this proposal, the Government will have to choose between listening to us, the people they’re elected to represent, or listening to investors looking for a profit from vital social services.
“2014 Oscar-Winning Director Laura Poitras’ in-depth look at Edward Snowden, the man and the extraordinary repercussions for his courageous act of whisteblowing. Free download.
Do please download and watch and tell everybody you know to do the same.”
Thats awesome (/sarc) – I know that a lot of people are not huge fans of IP rights or copyright.
But – Here is a group who have put something out that a lot on here would agree with at substantial cost – and you go ‘Great – lets just rip it off the net for free’ – How about if you want it but a copy of the bloody thing because you think its worth it – and tell everybody you know to do the same as opposed to pirated rips.
[Thanks for bringing my attention to that. Link removed from comment] – Bill
The link provided had no donate or pay button. The official site is https://citizenfourfilm.com/ and has no buy options from what I can see. Neither does it have any download links. People hitting torrents is one thing. Using ‘the standard’ to provide links to said torrents is quite another.
Thanks for doing the due diligence, Bill.
The worst possible thing is that I end up unknowingly downloading a virus or spyware, besides breaking the law.
It’s already played in NZ cinemas. It’s also available on various digital (legal) options in some parts of the world.
Now in theaters or on television in Austria, Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia, New Zealand, and the United States. Opens in cinemas in Spain on 27 March 2015. Coming soon to festivals and more cinemas around the world and to television screens and digital platforms. Available now on HBO and HBO GO in the US and on iTunes from 24 April 2015; on iTunes in Canada; and, on Channel 4’s 4OD in the UK and on iTunes from 24 April 2015. In Germany, the film broadcasts on NDR in Spring 2015.
The fact that it’s played at the pictures and has been broadcast on TV or whatever makes no difference to the legality of downloading it as a torrent. If people want to torrent, then hey. But to use the standard to link to a torrent download is fucking crap and could likely land the site in the shit.
If Brigid wants to provide a legitimate link to a legitimate download, then all good.
yeah I got all that, I was just highlighing ways that people might be able to see it that benefited the filmmakers financially, which is possibly what James was on about (although it’s hard to tell).
Kaipara District Council ‘test case’ Whangerei District Court Tuesday
30 June 2015 10am.
________________________________________________________________________________
“For those with a concern about democracy in local government, tune in to the district court in Whangarei on 30 June 2015.
There, the Kaipara District Council is going to try to screw arrears of rates out of some ratepayers using illegal and incorrect rates demands as evidence.
The burning question in this case is whether councils have to comply with the law. They argue that they don’t, and that the law is there for ratepayers to obey, not them.
The defendants are putting up hundreds of instances of failure by this particular council to comply with mandatory provisions of the Local Government Rating Act.
Some of the failures by this council resulted in a special Act of Parliament in 2014 that swept a huge list of illegalities under the carpet. It was the worst piece of legislative chicanery ever perpetrated in New Zealand. But nothing changed, and the council, under appointed government hatchet men, carried on as before, piling illegality upon illegality.
Now they are hoping to use the judicial system to help them enforce illegal demands for money. It will be a huge test of the integrity of our system of justice, and if justice prevails, nothing will ever be the same again for Local Government in New Zealand.”
Forwarded in the public interest by Penny Bright, on behalf of those in Kaipara, who are fighting for their lawful rights, as citizens – NOT slaves – and are doing their best to hold the Kaipara District Council accountable to the ‘rule of law’.
(Who will be at the Whangerei District Court at 10 am 30 June 2015, in support, as an independent ‘anti-corruption Public Watchdog’.)
ADDRESS:
Whangerei District Court
105 Banks Street Whangerei
The reality is that money is a very useful medium of exchange (a social technology), material wealth is the goods and services (output) that we produce and enjoy, and that all output has a lifespan (very short in the case of services; slow depreciation in the case of a house).
A good read about the difference between money and the economy.
Quick predictions if Greece exits from Euro to the old Drachma:
1.Rapid devaluation of Drachma against major currencies.
2.That devaluation leading to skyrocketing inflation, making it much harder for citizens to buy things.
3.Capital flight (runs on banks), and a sharp increase in non-performing loans. Greek banks downgraded.
4.Some public sector and pension freezing of payments until there’s actual new cash around. Probably some social unrest about that.
5.Quite hard to get loans for a while, and those you can get are onerous in their terms. Makes it harder for businesses to function.
6.Harder to buy international commodities, so basics like food and petrol imports get tough for a while. A run on the supermarkets, and some social tension about that.
7.The above leading to further contraction of GDP.
8.A partial debt restructuring, but this time with only the IMF willing to deal.
9.Invasion of predatory foreign investors gaining, companies, properties, public utilities at really cheap prices. Foreign private control, in short.
10.Comparative diplomatic and economic isolation from Europe – leading it a little and forgotten country, with Turkey and Russia keen to ‘help’.
Not saying everyone’s playing nicely in this space, but there’s a bit of risk to it.
10.Comparative diplomatic and economic isolation from Europe – leading it a little and forgotten country, with Turkey and Russia keen to ‘help’.
It will still be a NATO and an EU country. Yes, first 2 or 3 years will be very tough on the population. But the Iceland experience is that after that, exchange rates and inflation will come under control very rapidly.
Spain, Portugal and Italy are countries to keep a close eye on.
@CV even the conservative media is sympathetic with Greeks !
“With his call for a sudden referendum, Alexis Tsipras outraged Europe’s elites, who detest nothing more than to be reminded of the will of the people”
Greece has debt defaulted multiple times in its modern history (four or five times since 1800 IIRC) so pretty sure they can handle another go at it. Yes Argentina remains an important warning for why a government should not denominate its debt in a currency that it does not control (US dollars).
Argentina was doing fine until some unscrupulous arseholes got hold of some bonds that had been defaulted upon and took them to court over it in an American Court which should not have jurisdiction over another nation at all ever.
If Greece do exit the Euro and go back to the Drachma I think there’ll be a short period of confusion and then the economy will start to pick up again as money starts flowing.
That’s because the money that’s being printed is going to the rich who use it for financial speculation rather than buying anything or investing in producing anything. In other words, they use it to chase bubble gains on the stock market and housing. Inevitably, this doesn’t produce the flow of money that’s needed to get the economy moving.
If the central banks had printed the same amount and given it as a weekly grant to each individual their economies would be booming by now.
It’s not just a question of what is done but how it’s done.
of course there’s risk. They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. They have sky rocketing unemployment, they are being told they have to reduce wages to public servants and reduce pensions further. IF they are going to be plunged into poverty, perhaps its better if they choose the path to it…
A number of countries who have lent money to Greece actually are charging little interest and don’t need the money all paid back soon but it impacts the “books” so they are pushing now.
That’s a really good point: it’s all very well to predict doom and gloom if they leave the Euro, but staying in just creates a different kind of doom and gloom for the most vulnerable citizens.
Ad’s line about Russia and Turkey being keen to “help” was interesting: Greece and Turkey are NATO members, but regional competitors (Cyprus coming to mind). Quid pro quo there.
Russia, on the other hand, would also be keen to leverage the opportunity to
a)weaken NATO; and
b)maybe get access to a friendly-ish and stable port in the Med (wishlist).
“This Government’s approach to economic development seems to be to grow the salaries of New Zealanders one government executive at a time,” Labour Party economic development spokesman David Clark says.
That seems to be at least partly true.
Mr Clark says he has been given figures from MBIE showing the ministry is paying staff more than ever, with 196 now above $150,000. The average Kiwi earns about $50,000 a year.
“That’s where we can see that the Government has become arrogant and out of touch,” he says.
But will Labour call for a maximum public servant salary of $100,000 including MP, ministers and people who work for SOEs and other companies with significant(>50%) government shareholding?
But the extra cash is normal to remain competitive and retain “the right people” in the market, MBIE chief executive David Smol said in a statement to ONE News.
Greedy RWNJs are not the right people for public service.
A source close to me says the same pressure has been applied to Radio NZ. Unfortunately for Mr Lung (Ms Collins husband) Winston Peters will be highlighting the shady Kaui swamp trade tonight on Native Affairs, expect this to flow over into the parliament this week during oral question time.
Little wonder the public are suspect when large political donations are made and accepted, they think ‘there is always a catch.’
But they are not even “carved” – just “painted”! I could not believe Flavell could be so compromised – but he obviously is – also evidence his support for the state housing sell off as well. Unbelievable. What is he getting – apart from a nice car and a fat salary?
I’ve been reminded of that ever since the MP joined up with the Nats. Yep, the modern day equivalent is minor ministerial responsibilities (under the Nats M for M. Affairs is a minor portfolio) but with ministerial salaries and free travel expenses. I recall Pita Sharples explaining some years ago he couldn’t stand down as M for M.A. because he’d just bought a bigger house.
“Looks to me like the modern day equivalent of blankets, beads and whiskey”
That’s pretty patronising to the natives there CV.
From what I understand, local iwi have developed a profitable business from a local resource. I don’t like it, and I think it’s abhorrent and immoral, but I can also see why Flavell would be supportive.
I’d also like to point out that NZ still imports old growth timber from places like Canada for building with. When we (a) stop being hypocrites, and (b) honour the treaty properly, then we can probably take the moral high ground.
Oh nonsense, it’s not about the ‘moral high ground’; the chief considerations are the economic, social, environmental, and long-term interests of New Zealand, and this trade is deleterious to those factors.
The valid reasons I see for opposing it are environmental, cultural and spiritual. Economically it makes sense to do what those landowners are doing. If we want iwi to not do this, then perhaps we should think about why they are doing it. Some here think it’s plain greed, and it might be, but let’s not forget the cultural context.
The point about our imports stands. Unless you are saying we get to protect our iwn environment while contributing to the destruction of the environment elsewhere.
It depends on your view of economics and that’s why I included ‘long-term’ as a consideration. I’m also factoring in employment and regional development.
As for: ‘are you saying we get to protect our own environment…’? You could use that argument for doing nothing in NZ about climate change. It’s certainly not what I’m arguing, but I’m realistic about we can hope to influence.
It’s not just the cultural context that makes this issue impervious to the social and long-term factors many of us value, but the short-sighted economic system of exploitation.
Essentially, though, I was only pointing out that most people’s objections relate to those factors, rather than any claim on the moral high ground.
I don’t think people object on economic grounds. They object because they consider the environmental aspects (but how come we import old growth timber?), and they object because kauri has significant cultural importance. Some (myself included) object because of the objectification of nature that is going on.
My main point here is that the argument around economics for the good of NZ is hard to make in the face of iwi taking control of their own economies.
Well, in the media coverage I have followed, such as Morning Report, stakeholders are putting forward economic and regional development arguments, weka.
There are certainly other considerations too, and they do not involve the ‘moral high ground’.
I can see the economic argument, I just don’t think it’s as important as the others, and as I’ve said several times now, which you are ignoring, there are distinct problems with making economic arguments about what iwi are doing.
as fas as I can tell your point is that there are multiple compelling arguments for why this kauri mining shouldn’t be happening, none of which I disagree with.
Swamp kauri is special and shouldn’t be sold overseas as part of the gold rush to strip NZ of all its assets quickly before anyone can gather knowledge and energy to protest. The Roger Douglas method again.
One of the reasons that huia was finally wiped out was that they were in demand and Maori could sell feathers and birds and then also hunted them in greater numbers to wear their feathers at a Royal visit. In the rush the breeding populations that remained were decimated.
The conservationists say that digging for swamp kauri is destructive to swamplands which have been found to be important environmental areas. It is bad that this material isn’t legally controlled so that it is conserved for Maori in New Zealand to use if they wish over the years. At present, from comments made by concerned people, it seems that it’s virtually being mined out and hocked off overseas for a fast buck.
Predation by introduced mammals and, to a lesser extent, human hunting, was the likely cause of huia extinction. Large areas of native forest containing huia were logged or burned in the 1800s to make way for farming, but this would have caused a modest range reduction rather than being a major contributor to their extinction. Maori traditionally prized and wore huia tail feathers as a mark of status. Tail feathers became fashionable in Britain after the Duke of York was photographed wearing one during a 1901 visit to New Zealand. Overseas bird collectors and museums bought mounted specimens and tail feathers. Austrian naturalist Andreas Reischek took 212 pairs between 1877 and 1889. New Zealand naturalist Walter Buller recorded that 11 Maori hunters took 646 huia skins from forest between Manawatu Gorge and Akitio during one month in 1863. Gilbert Mair recorded eating “a splendid stew of Huia, Kaka, Pigeons & Bacon” with Buller at a bush camp in Wairarapa, October 1883, after shooting 16 huia and capturing live birds. Thousands of huia were exported overseas. Protection measures enacted in the 1890s were poorly enforced. Two male birds kept at London Zoo in the 1880s died in captivity. Plans to transfer huia to Kapiti and Little Barrier island reserves never eventuated. A pair captured in 1893 for transfer to Little Barrier was acquired by Walter Buller and apparently sent to Baron Walter Rothschild in England.
thanks for that marty. As I understand it, once NZ native birds were in danger of extinction, the pressure for specimens increased, everyone wanted one before they were gone. The kauri sales seems similar to me, it’s a form of colonisation.
@martymars
This bit gives me a pain in the heart.. It is one example of sticking a stake through the remaining huia by pakeha,as weka comments. A pair captured in 1893 for transfer to Little Barrier was acquired by Walter Buller and apparently sent to Baron Walter Rothschild in England.
If that Buller was the one who specialised in studying the birds here – well how mercenary of him to offer sacrifices of huia to someone who no doubt was giving philanthropic funding. However we know that there are different sorts of philanthropy, think of Talley being made a Sir with his ‘philanthropy’ being a major part.
I am a pro environment advocate. I am also opposed to the export of Kauri in an unprocessed, value added state BUT as an owner of Maori Land myself, I fully sympathise with people who have such an asset and object to other people telling them that their swamp kauri is a taonga and must be protected for everyone. A lot of the lands that whanau, hapu and iwi were allowed to retain post 1840, were then and are now, insufficient for supporting a whanau, inaccessible, or ‘protected’ from development by paternalistic governments and enthusiastic ‘conservationists.’
Along with my whanau, I hold shares in several blocks of native timbers. We have been offered a pittance to refrain forever from any sustainable harvest in the nation’s interest. In one particular block, we received approximately $4000 to refrain from any logging, to manage the land as if it were, in effect, a national park. That was divided between all the shareholders and my mother received approximately $200.00. That was recompense forever. My great, great grandmother, my great grandmother and my grandfather received nothing. My siblings and I, my son, niece and nephews will receive nothing nor will my mokopuna or her mokopuna so tourists and the 1% can pat themselves on the back for ‘saving’ native forest. Everyone else expects tp have a lot of say about what belongs to us!
This is slightly dated but deals with some of the issues in Te Wai Pounamu pertaining to SILNA forests.
As I say, I am not pro logging or exporting raw swamp kauri but I urge people to also consider the viewpoint of those who want to capitalise on an asset for their whanau. What alternatives are being offered them? Poverty so that people with no skin in the game pat themselves on the back and doing down the lazy Maori who just want houndouts all the time?
Of course, I do not condone the illegality of the export company not converting the kauri into tangible goods. I hope they get prosecuted but I am not holding my breath.
AH, but that would cut across the ‘full and final settlement’ mentality that Crown negotiators always seem to come equipped with as their first and final position.
I totally agree, not because my family is interested in getting money every year, but because of the principle involved.
Thank you for the detailed explanation above Hateatea. It’s these stories that are largely missing from the non-Māori communities in NZ but need to be heard and understood if we want to stop things like the export of kauri.
Too often it is seen as greed by the owners but the reality is, that there has often never been meaningful income from the land. It is very difficult to turn down money when it is offered if that means an upgrade to the house or more food on the table, even if it is only for a brief period of time.
We as a whanau don’t need the income but have some resentment to the attitude that it is for the ‘good of the nation’.
I totally agree about the ‘good of the nation’ lines. Kaitiakitanga is not understood very well by our society. The mana of say a waterway was determined by the resources available for the people not how pretty it looked. The resources available directly related to the mana of the people who protected and interrelated with that waterway, and this was utilised when others came around, ie the mana was expressed by the ability of tangata whenua to provide for the visitors.
In todays world the concepts are still there but we have the added complication of money added in.
My whānau too has land in the deep south – but no resources from that – what do you think that says about our mana. I blame the government :).
It often amazes me the different standards applied to indigenous people verses others and all so the middle class can see a pretty view amongst the devastation they caused. Seems like a similar argument to climate change – the western nations have reaped and now they want everyone else to tighten their belts meanwhile they blithely continue on their extravagant planet killing ways.
@Hateatea
I believe still that it is a mistake for hapu to sell off this kauri which is a rare taonga. I know that it is difficult for iwi to get income and jobs and even start their own businesses. But this kauri timber reflects your past history, and your relationship with the land. Considering these things have helped Maori remain strong and fight for their culture, and their pride, and self-belief. And also apparently its extraction badly affects environmentally valuable wetlands. If irreplacable taonga for a quick buck, it is carved away from the people and the land who would no longer have it to draw on over the years for special occasions. Not selling out long term assets in short term desperation is why Northland Maori are objecting to oil drilling there.
Pakeha, since we first arrived, have caused difficulties for Maori to retain their culture, their resources, make a good living, keep self-respect and progress. Negative results from actions were often foreseen and even intentional, and only strong and determined, culturally bound Maori leaders and activists have ensured that the people have survived culturally. When the Treaty was invoked and resurrected it was only because of strength and determination from Maori to reveal truths of fault and gain some redress.
Maori will continue to stay determined to progress and hold onto their culture and mana, and I think are showing us all how to be staunch and struggle to retain the ‘heart’ of the country. A major part of Maori progress will be to get back to a community with working enterprises where people can make a living, establish small businesses and give training for jobs for both young and mature.
Economic development professionals with an interest in co-operative style, employment rich and sustainable businesses need to be central, listening to and advising the keen aspirational people in each local area. There are many young trained Maori getting into business. As local economic development grows accompanied by strategic thinking about the strengths of each area with cautious investment and strong business management, the successes will multiply.
When Maori effectively manage their lives and conditions they will do better than under present regimes with government offering minimum survival assistance, some Maori making themselves wealthy individually but not enabling others also in well managed co-operative ways, and the occasions for loan sharks and retail businesses to hock off impulse goods at high prices with credit traps that bind people with debt will plummet.
I wanted to add more to my piece on Maori development but the system wouldn’t let me in though there was plenty of time left.
I thought it important that any ventures that Maori kickstart to build local enterprise should be financed from within NZ, not with overseas money, and preferably the finance should come from locals so that revenue occurs locally and profits remain for investment in the area rather than become a debt to an overseas entity.
This is where Maori and pakeha views on conservation tend to do differ. Pakeha take the approach that they’ve damaged the land so much since they arrived that any conservation land has to remain untouched and restored back to a pristine paradise. Obviously this is the mantra that the DOC follows. Maori however who were more accustomed to living with their environment want use of that land in a customary way like their ancestors did. You can see proof of that with the latest story about kereru still being caught for food.
In rural Maori communities with Maori owned land they have a huge opportunity I think to create sustainable communities where they don’t have to import any resources. They’ve got essential knowledge in food production going back to their ancestors. Tie that in with an export industry say in cropping and you’ve got a great low cost business model. These types of things probably already happen a lot in Maori communities anyway (not that I’m an expert).
Maori have every right to make money off the land they have, I guess I see the export of kauri logs as a bad way to do it. There are sustainable ways to do it, but I think digging up any existing wetlands and destroying them once and for all for very valuable logs is just short sighted. Sure that might create millions of dollars, but once that money goes you’re back with the initial problem of making a living again.
Newsflash: tory trool linkwhores a shallow regurgitation of an already-discussed propaganda release that doesn’t match the data it supposedly refers to.
I hated Brussel Sprouts as a kid, I would regurgitate them, nearly puke! My parents would make me eat them, until I devised a plan. I decided I had a runny nose, and when I blew into my napkin, I spewed the sprouts out of my mouth into the large napkin, and hid the evidence in this napkin! Then I put it on my lap, and then eventually was able to flush it down the toilet! I remember being very proud of my clever plan, as it was so successful! When there is a will I suppose there is a way!
Strangely enough, now, as an adult, steamed with sesame oil, they are just delicious!
Drop them into boiling water for only a couple of minutes then stop their cooking with cold water. Cut them in half or quarters and toss into a pan with butter and garlic. Or for those who have no objections to bacon, fry off some finely chopped bacon, add the garlic then toss in the halved brussel sprouts. Either way they are vastly superior to the mushy overcooked ones we mostly had to eat when we were kids. Always happy to see them reappear each winter.
That sounds nice Prickles and healthy too. Thanks I want to make myself eat more greens. Turning them into a dish and not a side helping would do it.
About overcooked greens. One old lady told me she always cooked cabbage for 15 minutes. I could visualise the flaccid, pale, clear strands dripping water. It’s a nice green too, when just lightly cooked.
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
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Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
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Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
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TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
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About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
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The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
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As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
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Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
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TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
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As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
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The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
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History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
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A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
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This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
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 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
Opinion: New Health NZ commissioner Lester Levy is authorised to assume operational leadership – chief executive Margie Apa is effectively relegated to his operational deputy The post All-powerful Levy is feudal baron of a $28b fiefdom appeared first on Newsroom. ...
This tone-deaf singer would have been shafted if he’d dared to enter American Idol
http://edition.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/06/26/obama-sings-amazing-grace-during-pinckney-eulogy-sot-nr.cnn
How Simon would have reacted to the horror….
http://mrwgifs.com/simon-cowell-dead-stare-reaction-gif/
You miss the point, Morrissey. This was a President expressing emotion, and hope for the future. Gun control is an emotional issue, and will not be resolved by reason alone – many supporters of carrying guns have no reason. In a world where a leader, whether a politician or business leader, is admired for being ruthless, where caring for others is a weakness, where children are discouraged from competing unless they can be a winner – or in singing be as good as they hear from professionals, where if you cannot be certain who to vote for you are encouraged to not vote, where politics is something we try to keep off our TV/entertainment systems, where all politicians lie, cheat and indulge in the activities described in Dirty Politics, where success ins measured in dollars, it does us good to see a Leader expressing emotion over the loss of innocent citizens gunned down by a deranged young person, and speaking of trying to prevent similar people from similar future folly, it is good to see that Obama believes something can be done if American voters want it enough. we need hope in this world, and the peddlers of “might is right” would deny us that hope.
If you care about anything, Morrissey, you will know that such caring involves emotion as well as reason – it does not have to be perfect on its own, but together we can make the sounds that lead us to a better world, where people can have a decent life without being in ear of being shot, of not having food or shelter, that children can have reasonable equal opportunity to succeed regardless of the wealth of their parents, that your vote will be as valued as a voter in any other electorate, that you are part of our community and your views do matter.
Have hope, Morrissey, have both reason and emotion, and understand that you too can make a contribution even if you are not perfect.
This is the same President who every week greenlights the drone strikes in far away lands which have killed thousands of civilians including children, yes?
Then he probably should have vetoed Citizens United which allowed corporations unlimited spending of big money into election campaigns.
How could he have ‘vetoed’ Citizens United, CV? He’s the President, not a Supreme Court judge.
Fair point, and Obama has only had a chance to put two justices on to the bench thus far.
The President can’t exactly veto a supreme court decision…
Indeed
The best a President can do is nominate a Supreme Court judge that will pledge to overturn the ruling when the next one dies or retires. I believe Democrats have pledged to do this, as they also do it for things like abortion. (they will not nominate a judge who will ban abortion, for example)
The White House is fully capable of passing law that violates the constitution. It is active and in-effect until such time as it is struck down by the Supreme Court.
I don’t think there’s any precedent for the White House deliberately passing a law that the SCOTUS has already said violates the constitution, though, but theoretically there’s no reason they couldn’t.
Also, they could pass a law that has the same effect of declaring companies are not people, just do it in a different way to the previous law so that it can’t be declared unconstitutional.
There is currently a group attempting to have a constitutional ammendment introduced to remove big money from politics. Check out wolfpac.com. Essentially they have to get a large number of the states to pass a constitutional amendment bill. Once enough states have ratified it it is passed into law.
The other way to do it would be through legislation in the house to introduce the amendment but with all the money flowing into it there is no chance of that happening in the near future.
I imagine if this wolfpac thing continues to churn along as it is eventually the house will see what is coming and introduce the amendemnt themselves so they don’t have to wear the backlash of being forced into making the change by the states.
Correct link is wolf-pac.com
Aside from the fact that the White House is empowered to pass laws, but only to faithfully execute those laws as Congress makes from time to time.
The cleverest scheme to effectively “amend” the constitution is a law that a number of states have passed specifying that, in a presidential election, that states electors must support the popular vote winner in the electoral college if a critical mass of other states have also passed the same law.
is not ^
Ed. I have to agree with you. Obama wasn’t on American Idol. For any failings he may have, his not very good attempt at singing was for different reasons perhaps honourable and was in a different context from the one conjured up by Morrisey.
…his not very good attempt at singing was for different reasons perhaps honourable
Obama oversees a campaign of torture, mayhem and terror from Africa to Syria and Iraq. He, or his henchmen, have pursued, persecuted and imprisoned peace advocates and journalists from within the United States and from overseas. He has signed off on a large number of extrajudicial—i.e., illegal—assassinations.
Unless he’s a complete moral imbecile, Obama was as aware as anyone who cringed throughout his execrable sub-karaoke horror in Charleston, that he is perhaps the most inappropriate person in the world to be preaching a message of peace. To paraphrase the great George Michael, guilty vocal chords ain’t got no sweetness.
You can tell it’s Monday, the PM’s giving his weekly trainwreck interview with Espiner on Morning Report.
An absolute shocker! *He talks in circles with his tongue *A line from a song about a liar by Meghan Train or.
Couldn’t find it on replay radio. Maybe there was nothing to record?
This one, I think this one but I am not looking forward to hearing it:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201760266/foreign-buyers-eyeing-up-state-house-sell-off
or
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20150629-0720-foreign_buyers_eyeing_up_state_house_sell-off-048.mp3
Thanks Kiwiri. A sad interview though 🙁
Hey Aren’t we sad that Craig and Stringer didn’t get elected and are helping to organise our country ?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11472754
Kiwis not ripped off over milk price: Key
“Overseas markets were causing high prices for milk at home, Mr Key told Paul Henry this morning.
HUH – the milk prices at auction have NOT fallen then. Dairy farmers will be pleased.
“A price war at the moment in the UK is causing that.” (The high prices)
But don’t price wars cause price falls
Good to see the market works then!!
Prices aren’t set by international sales but by how much the market that the product is being sold into can bear. That means that the prices go up until sales drop and then prices will fixate around that price. Competition may be able to lower the price (I have my doubts about that because increased competition increases bureaucracy) because the competition would be after increased market share but it’s not happening because of Fonterra – other companies just can’t build up enough of a market share here to get the economies of scale and importing would cost more than buying from Fonterra.
So if importing milk costs more than buying from Fonterra, the price must be about right, or competitors would be doing that?
Not necessarily. Just because it’s at the maximum price that the market will bear doesn’t mean that it’s at the price that it should be at as at that price it’s inevitably over priced.
Confusing stuff, so how is it inevitably over priced, if the market will bear that price and it cant be sorced cheaper via overseas or other competitors?
It’s over priced because the price is set at greater than the cost to supply it.
If a large percentage of dairy farms are not getting paid by Fonterra, their cost of production, and Fonterras own share value has dropped by a huge amount in the last two years, I cant see how milk is set at a greater cost than the cost to supply?
someone in the supply chain is “milking” the situation (excuse the pun). I’d say its Fonterra doing their usual thing of extracting maximum money out of NZ consumers, and smaller dairy companies happy to go along with those retail prices as it benefits them too.
I wonder how much the supermarkets buy a 2L container of milk for.
Well if it is Fonterra milking the situation they are doing a poor job of it, they cant even pay the farmers cost too supply.
And they are shedding staff at an alarming rate, as well as share value.
Non sequitur (logic)
Logic does not follow huh, OK then fill me in what is the cost of supply for milk and whats happening to the money, if Fonterra and farmers are not getting any?
/facepalm
I’m really not sure if you’re that stupid or just trying to derail the thread.
But, I’ll put it this way. Fonterra shouldn’t be subsidising their offshore losses from NZ consumers.
+1
Kiwi milk consumers just can’t win, excuses for high milks prices previously were high international milk solids prices effecting the domestic market. Then when the arse fell out of the international market we got the excuse the domestic market was different.
Shearer is making some noise on the issue which makes me wonder if he is also considering a crack at the title of becoming his worship the Mayor of Auckland?
:
Buy the budget stuff. It’s all the same shit anyway.
Yes, only the packaging is different. Pretty much the same with butter – buy the cheapest and skip paying extra for the branding.
I do better than that, we buy local farm gate milk, it is cheaper and is the good stuff Dennis. I gave cheese and butter away years ago, no regrets there and replaced them with fresh salads most days. Whole grain bread with the occasional home made garlic bread. Healthy eating isn’t cheap which cuts out many people and we aren’t encouraged like other countries who drop GST/VTA. Apparently part of the difference between our milk and AUS & UK is tax, something the bumbling fool Shearer missed in his excitement to kick farmers in the guts.
Oh … so milk is exempted from the 20% VAT in the UK and the 10% GST in Oz ?
Seems so, at least in the UK context.
“Food and drink for human consumption is usually zero-rated but some items are standard-rated, including alcoholic drinks, confectionery, crisps and savoury snacks, hot food, sports drinks, hot takeaways, ice cream, soft drinks and mineral water.”
https://www.gov.uk/rates-of-vat-on-different-goods-and-services
yes. Only processed food is taxed in Oz. Vegetables and meat etc is gst free. One of the reasons for placing gst on everything here was that it would make it far too difficult to administer – which as overseas experience shows – is complete bollocks.
Yep computers, spreadsheets, bar code systems make the organisation of this kind of thing bloody easy ffs
Funny how there is no adminstrative problem with different supermarket pricing of booze when the alcohol tax goes up but which doesn’t affect any other products in store etc.
Something else other than milk, but while on GST, it looks like Aussie women pay $30m more tax than men.
Given their system of GST exemption on ‘essential products’ and in the interest of gender fairness, tampons and sanitary napkins should be GST-free:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-26/tampon-tax-tony-abbottsays-no-federal-push-removing-gst/6498230
Tony’s cabinet has only one female? The Afghani cabinet has more than that.
Yeah but that’s Tony Abbott! He has even less social awareness than Key – and that is saying something.
He made himself Womens Affairs Minister so what would you expect
One only has to look at accounting software that are able to handle those components of a business expenses that has GST attached to them and those that doesn’t to know the argument it is too difficult to administer is complete bollocks, and since one of those is a NZ company, than no one can hide behind the ‘NZ firms don’t have the knowledge’ bollocks either.
FFS, if it was possible to have a period of two levels of GST, why can’t you have GST and none?
exactly, its totally a smokescreen for lazy governing (from both Labour and National)
Not only that; the removal of GST on essential items such as meat and vegetables would help those who live with a very meagre income to buy good food rather than forcing them to buy the processed and unhealthy food, as they are now forced to do, because cheap and nasty food is the cheapest.
So do we Skinny. Yummy!…. and the cream! Enough to make your own butter and cheese. 🙂
When you hear how Fonterra milk is created – you wouldn’t want it anyway!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/9310148/Tests-show-milk-clear-of-Roundup-used-for-silage
Note that it was the dairy industry who did the tests to assure us that it is perfectly ok!
The article says that it has no effect on the health of the animal – how would they know? Cows’ natural life expectancy is 20 years or more, but the average dairy cow lives just 3 to 4 years, exhausted by constant lactation and frequent disease.
Jolly good to hear Marco I enjoy my farm gate milk with my porridge and fruit in the morning, sets me up for the day!
Don’t usually agree with you infused but its the same with bread. The cheapest budget bread has the same minerals, protein goodies as the expensive heavily advertised breads. Tastes the same too.
I can’t see many families being able to afford the ten pints a day we used as a family…..oh, I nearly forgot. Milk was subsidised in those days, the rationale being that milk was an ESSENTIAL for families ( as were affordable houses, and jobs to pay them off with).
I just gave milk up , all the stiffness in my spin and joints went in 3 days, my skins better and the kilos are falling off. Now it would be fair to say I have a high maintenance plumbing system (guts) but it makes me wonder how good milk really is.
An interesting read on that topic can be found in the NZ book: The Devil in the Milk by Keith Woodford.
He outlines the reasons why A2 milk was less harmful to humans, and how our dairy herds are predominantly A1. Many years ago I read an article regarding the higher incidence of African American obesity and heart attacks being linked to dairy consumption. (Unfortunately, can’t remember where it was, I was looking into the impact of food consumption on learning disorders at the time).
I don’t think that milk consumption is necessarily of benefit to all, and depending on genetics – can actually be detrimental to health.
Keith Woodford’s blog has some interesting comments on his A1 and A2 articles.
Pretty much. I cut milk, bread and potatos… did a wonder of good. Mainly cutting the bread out. Horrible shit… well actually it’s delicious, but horrible for the body.
Even as a child I never liked milk and refused to drink it straight. The only time I drank milk was when it was in my tea or coffee. Since I now have the choice of soy milk I’ve dropped cow milk out of my diet completely and I too feel much better now.
I was raised on it straight from the cow and had no health problems as a kid but it has been good going off it physically and mentally. Same goes for gluten so some of these things seem to come on with age.
I miss beer pies and ice cream 🙁
Was the milk as a kid raw? I do much better on raw milk. I get similar stiffness etc as you if I drink processed milk or other dairy.
Yes whole milk as it comes ,still warm if we took a cup to the shed.
nice. I hated raw milk as a child but didn’t grow up with it. It was simply that it tasted so different to what I was used to. Love it now.
immune system reactivity
cow milk proteins good for baby cows not good for people
“cow milk proteins good for baby cows not good for people”
Yea. No other animal except for rats and some other scavengers consume another creature’s milk.
no other animals cook food either. Or do lots of things that humans do uniquely. It’s a daft argument esp when you look at the cultures that have very good health outcomes that consume milk.
Actually, I believe that a number of wild monkeys have been observed to cook their food and use tools.
That I’d agree with but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be some people who would be better off never consuming milk.
oh definitely, lots of people who do badly on any kind of milk, and lots who do badly on processed milk. Including people who aren’t genetically adapted.
That’s not NZ though, is it.
you can buy raw milk in NZ CV.
Sure and it makes up what – less than 1% of all milk sold in NZ?
Hey weka, you’re gonna love this! Admittedly, Kanzi didn’t make his own matches, but still, wow!
lolz trp, there’s always one pedant ;-p
Humans don’t usually greet each other the way Bonobos do either.
“no other animals cook food either.”….so?
Lots of people do well on milk as adults in a traditional diet. There are cultures for whom (raw) milk is a staple. Saying milk is for baby cows doesn’t make sense in that context (and not all milk comes from cows).
we’re talking about cows milk in this thread unless a specific remark has been made otherwise that you can point me to; also I did not intend my remarks to be applied to milk in all its forms processed or unprocessed, but just to cows milk from the supermarket.
I was referring to the NZ context
yes cow’s milk, but the argument is made that human adults shouldn’t drink milk from other species because of the species and infant/adult issues, not because of which animal it comes from.
“but just to cows milk from the supermarket.”
I have no problem with that being named as a problematic food for many people 😉 I do have a problem with milk being labeled as inherently bad though. It’s not.
Is there any food that is not a problematic food for some/many people?
Is there any food that is inherently bad?
Brussels sprouts😨
Brussel Sprouts are evil.
I could eat brussel sprouts till the cows come home 🙂
Seriously, I really love the taste of brussel sprouts – they have a real taste, not like so many insipid foods that people tell me they enjoy – e.g., tofu (I know, I know, it can be so, so tasty if only you do x, y or z with it … but then I also have no sense of smell).
Most milk products make me gag (especially thick, slimy ones like cream, whole cream milk, custard, etc.). Truly evil foods.
Even more seriously, lactose intolerance is the standard human condition .
One unfortunate consequence was that it allowed herding cultures (often male dominated because of the reliance on animals that could be ‘owned’ – a surplus to be dominated tends to create social hierarchies) to displace hunter-gatherer cultures with greater sex egalitarianism.
As the first linked article mentions, milk drinking may have given up to a 19% advantage in fertility which meant rapid displacement of non-drinking populations. Once again, quantity of lives swamps quality of lives. It’s a recurring pattern in human history/prehistory.
Even more seriously, lactose intolerance is the standard human condition.
Yep – so, bad luck for the standard human. There’s a reason why lactose tolerance spread so rapidly, and that reason is that it provided huge survival advantages over “the standard human condition.” Sure, if there’s any species on the planet that’s capable of feeling bad about an evolutionary advantage, it’s humans, but even so – why the fuck feel bad about an evolutionary advantage? We may not be subject to natural selection any more, but fucked if I’m going to assign moral value to genetics.
…the rationale being that milk was an ESSENTIAL for families ( as were affordable houses, and jobs to pay them off with).
Yep. Milk’s an awesome food. It’s used by zoologists as an example of how evolution affects humans, because lactose tolerance was one of the fastest-spreading human adaptations we know about. The reason it spread so fast is because the people who could drink it had a way higher survival rate into adulthood than the people who couldn’t. Every kid should have plenty of it available, preferably without the fat removed.
heart disease and immune disease material.
Really. So, we’re leaving out autism, ADHD and cancer, then? Surely it causes those too?
Drink it all you want, I’m not stopping you.
“heart disease and immune disease material.”
Any evidence of that in traditional diets that include raw milk (especially fermented)?
fermented milk products have always been traditionally regarded as more useful and healthy as many of the troublesome components in the milk are already partially broken down
There’s no evidence of it in modern diets either. Also, keep in mind that pasteurisation was invented for a really good reason and you are actually taking a risk drinking raw milk. I’m all for people taking whatever risks they want, as long as they know they’re taking one – the people selling raw milk sometimes don’t trouble themselves to provide that info.
raw milk became a public health problem when it was industrialised and dairy herds were kept and milked in unsanitary conditions in order to produce mass amounts of milk for a food supply chain.
“Every kid should have plenty of it available, preferably without the fat removed.”
I agree about the fat, but there are significant populations how aren’t genetically adapted to milk and lots of places in the world where milk was never drunk traditionally (i.e. it didn’t spread there).
Meh – they can drink what they like. Kids in this country should drink plenty, unless there’s some indication they lack the genes for it.
consider the milk isn’t a traditional food in Māori, Pasifica and many Asian cultures.
A Couple of months ago I a designed a series of badges. I embroider them to order. When I noticed people starting to use the images of them as avatars and profile pictures I was upset. A lot of work goes into designing them and my blog also takes up a fair amount of my time and I wanted to sell the badges and not have the images nicked for other purposes!
But with the passing of the fast track bill to allow Obama to facilitate/negotiate the super secret trade agreements designed to destroy our sovereignty and impoverish the global population to enrich the few I have decided to encourage that very use as avatars and profile pictures.
Feel free to order them as embroidered badges too but please share the images far and wide to get the message out there!
Thank you!
So is it the return of the Drachma and see ya Euro? Put it to the people.
http://m.ft.com/cms/s/0/1987071c-14c8-11e5-9509-00144feabdc0.html
Cue an ill-informed Gosman diatribe in 3-2-1….
the greek people are probably thinking we are fucked whichever option we choose but at least we are choosing, not people whose only care is getting their interest paid, and paid and paid…
Just look at the pictures from Greece here:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-06-28/ignoring-tsipras-plea-calm-greeks-storm-atms-stores-gas-stations
To state the bleedin’ obvious (and before Gosman and other trolls start their lies) this situation was inherited by the current Greek government, not caused by it.
Yep.
By loose borrowing and even looser lending.
by previous governments just kowtowing to the banks and their threats… even with a small amount of push back the EU position has softened in the last months
This article puts the negotiations in everyday perspective.
If the current situation for Greek people is a sign of the last five years’ austerity measures ‘working’ then I’d hate to see them not working.
Certainly looking that way. NRT has a good article on it:
I’d agree with that. We haven’t been in control our governments for some time and so I expect that Greece will be forced out of the Euro and that the banksters will then demand, and get, sanctions on Greece.
Whatever happens, I dont think we will get a happy ending.
Syriza made the mistake of thinking the EU was open to negotiation. It wasn’t. They wanted austerity at all costs.
NZ polity being sliced for steaks while still alive! National Party being accused of cruel and unusual punishment by suffering citizens!
Government is not interested in assisting citizens with services, information, advice and standards for guidance as to best practice and legality. You are on your own mate, don’t bother us with your requests and needs. They are nice to haves, but not essential in our National Party and neo liberal view.
National has been given a mandate? by about half of NZ citizens, who appear to be either or both stupid and venal, to divest itself of the proper and expected roles of serving its citizens needs. National is considering selling large blocks of state houses and lands that are of national importance with the most infantile and pathetic reason (and I don’t think that reason is the right word here.)
The Government doesn’t consider it can improve the lives of tenants so it will abandon them to a kindly Australian provider, which will also become a foreign owner with a large stake in NZ residential land. And we just get a large stake through our hearts.
Quote – Housing New Zealand Minister Bill English has said the Government would sell to anyone who could improve the lives of tenants.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/277415/australian-purchase-may-have-benefits-key
Government is limiting R&D in science, and reducing the spectrum of research. It is reducing facilities, now it is cutting into Landcare. They are changing research direction and looking more at water reform and we know why that is of heightened interest, while other topics are less important. And there is likely to be a reduction at head office in Christchurch. Do I divine that water research is a sensitive matter for Christchurch?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/277437/jobs-to-go-at-landcare
It is mucking around with scientific study of Agresearch shifting from Dunedin to Christchurch,they probably call it consolidating.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/275247/cannibalised-christchurch-cull
I looked on google for information to help decisions on my house insurance value and got – Estimated building costs data
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment no longer provides data on estimated values for building work. from the Building division now under Mobie, and the advice now is to consult a quantity surveyor. There is no basic background advice now for the citizen available there, and earlier it was only aimed at helping local authorities.
There are offices in Nelson for government departments with notices that these are not open for public use or consultation.
Steaks or stakes – we are being carved up by National. And it is hurting us! Can’t anything be done to stop this villainous government from reducing us to an early 1900’s condition, from strip-mining us, from asset stripping our country, and massively benefitting those in the loop who are hustling our public goods and serivces????
Patti Smith
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/28/patti-smith-at-glastonbury-2015-review-punk-rage-dalai-lama
Oh, that is fantastic! Thanks for posting the link, Marty. Hopefully some video of Patti’s set will turn up on the net soonish.
Horses is a fucking awesome album. Also her song Rock and Roll N1gger. Good stuff
I wonder if she still plays that one live? “Rock and Roll N-word” doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Yep, still plays it regularly, most recently a month a go in Barcelona. http://www.setlist.fm/stats/patti-smith-73d6a2c9.html
Scoop: Building A Sustainable News Company For The People Of New Zealand
Pledge $16 (minimum) per annum to keep it going.
That’s about 3 lattes bought from a cafe for the whole year.
Do it today or tomorrow before the 1st July deadline:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1506/S00105/16-years-of-scoop-16-to-join-scoop-as-a-member-please-share-this.htm
Pledge your contribution at:
https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/3711-scoop-s-sweet-sixteenth-birthday-crowd-selling-campaign
Disclosure of Interest: I have just wondered how Scoop is getting on and looked up to find out how their campaign is progressing. I am considering supporting by giving a reasonable amount.
Thanks Kiwiri
I have wondered and not got round to tracking Scoop’s latest down. I too think we should support it and at that amount it is a no brainer. Use it or lose it – support it. Same goes for Radionz which we don’t have to shell out for. But they do have replay radio, and that can be useful to get content and music which are good to pay for.
Years ago, I helped a little-known (at the time) organisation with an initiative. There was a media advisory that we wanted to put out but, importantly, we wanted it on a news-related webpage somewhere. We sent it to Scoop and, voila, within a few hours, it was up on their site. We were then able to refer to it in our other communications and publicity efforts.
There was no other avenue that could have done what we wanted then, and it was a bonus that Scoop was so quick. Surely that would have been worth more than a small advertisement column in the newspaper.
2014 Oscar-Winning Director Laura Poitras’ in-depth look at Edward Snowden, the man and the extraordinary repercussions for his courageous act of whisteblowing. Free download.
Do please download and watch and tell everybody you know to do the same.
[As far s I can ascertain, that documentary hasn’t been made available for free download by the makers. I’ve removed the link and would appreciate you don’t ever again use ‘the standard’ to promote direct links to illegal downloads] – Bill
Apart from dozens of public beheadings every year, our governments’ (yes, intentionally plural) Saudi friends have been up to all kinds of dirty tricks, as recent Wikileaks reveal:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/wikileaks-exposes-saudi-dictatorships-dirty-tricks/
I can’t believe that NZer’s are so thick as to overlook our Governments gifting of millions to a country that gifts to those who want to kill our soldiers? I thought we had a law about not giving to terrorist organisations? But isn’t that what our “Government” has just done in gifting a $10m bribe to people, who give to people, who want to kill us?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_Suppression_Act_2002
Sign the open letter against Social Bonds :
National has announced that they’ll allow private investors to cash in on mental health patients.
Banks and financial institutions will be paid a bonus by the government for funding mental health services.
This is National using vulnerable mental health patients as guinea pigs.
The details of these plans are yet to be decided by Cabinet. But if enough of us sign the open letter against this proposal, the Government will have to choose between listening to us, the people they’re elected to represent, or listening to investors looking for a profit from vital social services.
http://action.labour.org.nz/social-bonds?utm_campaign=news_28_6_15&utm_medium=email&utm_source=nzlabour
“2014 Oscar-Winning Director Laura Poitras’ in-depth look at Edward Snowden, the man and the extraordinary repercussions for his courageous act of whisteblowing. Free download.
Do please download and watch and tell everybody you know to do the same.”
Thats awesome (/sarc) – I know that a lot of people are not huge fans of IP rights or copyright.
But – Here is a group who have put something out that a lot on here would agree with at substantial cost – and you go ‘Great – lets just rip it off the net for free’ – How about if you want it but a copy of the bloody thing because you think its worth it – and tell everybody you know to do the same as opposed to pirated rips.
[Thanks for bringing my attention to that. Link removed from comment] – Bill
Can’t quite make sense of that, but there’s nothing stopping the people who can afford it from buying a copy or making a donation.
Torrent isn’t that straight forward, lots of people still don’t use it so I would guess the film makers will still sell plenty of copies.
The link provided had no donate or pay button. The official site is https://citizenfourfilm.com/ and has no buy options from what I can see. Neither does it have any download links. People hitting torrents is one thing. Using ‘the standard’ to provide links to said torrents is quite another.
Thanks for doing the due diligence, Bill.
The worst possible thing is that I end up unknowingly downloading a virus or spyware, besides breaking the law.
It’s already played in NZ cinemas. It’s also available on various digital (legal) options in some parts of the world.
Now in theaters or on television in Austria, Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia, New Zealand, and the United States. Opens in cinemas in Spain on 27 March 2015. Coming soon to festivals and more cinemas around the world and to television screens and digital platforms. Available now on HBO and HBO GO in the US and on iTunes from 24 April 2015; on iTunes in Canada; and, on Channel 4’s 4OD in the UK and on iTunes from 24 April 2015. In Germany, the film broadcasts on NDR in Spring 2015.
https://citizenfourfilm.com/see-the-film
The fact that it’s played at the pictures and has been broadcast on TV or whatever makes no difference to the legality of downloading it as a torrent. If people want to torrent, then hey. But to use the standard to link to a torrent download is fucking crap and could likely land the site in the shit.
If Brigid wants to provide a legitimate link to a legitimate download, then all good.
yeah I got all that, I was just highlighing ways that people might be able to see it that benefited the filmmakers financially, which is possibly what James was on about (although it’s hard to tell).
FYI ! Do Councils have to comply with the law?
Kaipara District Council ‘test case’ Whangerei District Court Tuesday
30 June 2015 10am.
________________________________________________________________________________
“For those with a concern about democracy in local government, tune in to the district court in Whangarei on 30 June 2015.
There, the Kaipara District Council is going to try to screw arrears of rates out of some ratepayers using illegal and incorrect rates demands as evidence.
The burning question in this case is whether councils have to comply with the law. They argue that they don’t, and that the law is there for ratepayers to obey, not them.
The defendants are putting up hundreds of instances of failure by this particular council to comply with mandatory provisions of the Local Government Rating Act.
Some of the failures by this council resulted in a special Act of Parliament in 2014 that swept a huge list of illegalities under the carpet. It was the worst piece of legislative chicanery ever perpetrated in New Zealand. But nothing changed, and the council, under appointed government hatchet men, carried on as before, piling illegality upon illegality.
Now they are hoping to use the judicial system to help them enforce illegal demands for money. It will be a huge test of the integrity of our system of justice, and if justice prevails, nothing will ever be the same again for Local Government in New Zealand.”
__________________________________________________________________________________
Forwarded in the public interest by Penny Bright, on behalf of those in Kaipara, who are fighting for their lawful rights, as citizens – NOT slaves – and are doing their best to hold the Kaipara District Council accountable to the ‘rule of law’.
(Who will be at the Whangerei District Court at 10 am 30 June 2015, in support, as an independent ‘anti-corruption Public Watchdog’.)
ADDRESS:
Whangerei District Court
105 Banks Street Whangerei
MAP:
https://www.google.co.nz/maps/place/Department+for+Courts+-+Collections/@-35.7229497,174.3198682,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x33d312c2028d7a49
May Justice and the ‘rule of law’ prevail.
Money ‘As If’ it was Magic by Keith Rankin
A good read about the difference between money and the economy.
Quick predictions if Greece exits from Euro to the old Drachma:
1.Rapid devaluation of Drachma against major currencies.
2.That devaluation leading to skyrocketing inflation, making it much harder for citizens to buy things.
3.Capital flight (runs on banks), and a sharp increase in non-performing loans. Greek banks downgraded.
4.Some public sector and pension freezing of payments until there’s actual new cash around. Probably some social unrest about that.
5.Quite hard to get loans for a while, and those you can get are onerous in their terms. Makes it harder for businesses to function.
6.Harder to buy international commodities, so basics like food and petrol imports get tough for a while. A run on the supermarkets, and some social tension about that.
7.The above leading to further contraction of GDP.
8.A partial debt restructuring, but this time with only the IMF willing to deal.
9.Invasion of predatory foreign investors gaining, companies, properties, public utilities at really cheap prices. Foreign private control, in short.
10.Comparative diplomatic and economic isolation from Europe – leading it a little and forgotten country, with Turkey and Russia keen to ‘help’.
Not saying everyone’s playing nicely in this space, but there’s a bit of risk to it.
It will still be a NATO and an EU country. Yes, first 2 or 3 years will be very tough on the population. But the Iceland experience is that after that, exchange rates and inflation will come under control very rapidly.
Spain, Portugal and Italy are countries to keep a close eye on.
So, here on, it is from PIGS to PIS.
@CV even the conservative media is sympathetic with Greeks !
“With his call for a sudden referendum, Alexis Tsipras outraged Europe’s elites, who detest nothing more than to be reminded of the will of the people”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/11703745/Theres-method-in-Greeces-madness-it-could-pay-off.html
Hard to see either Greece or EU wanting to remain in membership.
Argentina still hasn’t recovered from its default.
Greece has debt defaulted multiple times in its modern history (four or five times since 1800 IIRC) so pretty sure they can handle another go at it. Yes Argentina remains an important warning for why a government should not denominate its debt in a currency that it does not control (US dollars).
Argentina was doing fine until some unscrupulous arseholes got hold of some bonds that had been defaulted upon and took them to court over it in an American Court which should not have jurisdiction over another nation at all ever.
If Greece do exit the Euro and go back to the Drachma I think there’ll be a short period of confusion and then the economy will start to pick up again as money starts flowing.
Half of Europe hasn’t recovered from the GFC 8 years ago, despite the banks printing money all over the place. No moment for optimism.
That’s because the money that’s being printed is going to the rich who use it for financial speculation rather than buying anything or investing in producing anything. In other words, they use it to chase bubble gains on the stock market and housing. Inevitably, this doesn’t produce the flow of money that’s needed to get the economy moving.
If the central banks had printed the same amount and given it as a weekly grant to each individual their economies would be booming by now.
It’s not just a question of what is done but how it’s done.
free printed money and capital gains for the top 0.1%; austerity and bedroom taxes for the bottom 90%.
“If the central banks had printed the same amount and given it as a weekly grant to each individual their economies would be booming by now”
You mean effectively giving everyone a Universal Basic Income – UBI. Now we’re talking!
of course there’s risk. They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. They have sky rocketing unemployment, they are being told they have to reduce wages to public servants and reduce pensions further. IF they are going to be plunged into poverty, perhaps its better if they choose the path to it…
A number of countries who have lent money to Greece actually are charging little interest and don’t need the money all paid back soon but it impacts the “books” so they are pushing now.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/69786141/how-did-the-greek-financial-crisis-happen
That’s a really good point: it’s all very well to predict doom and gloom if they leave the Euro, but staying in just creates a different kind of doom and gloom for the most vulnerable citizens.
Ad’s line about Russia and Turkey being keen to “help” was interesting: Greece and Turkey are NATO members, but regional competitors (Cyprus coming to mind). Quid pro quo there.
Russia, on the other hand, would also be keen to leverage the opportunity to
a)weaken NATO; and
b)maybe get access to a friendly-ish and stable port in the Med (wishlist).
Also Greece is a nice landing point for the ‘Turkish Stream’ gas pipeline to the EU.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/exclusive-ministry-24k-fridge-pays-staff-three-times-average-6348469
That seems to be at least partly true.
But will Labour call for a maximum public servant salary of $100,000 including MP, ministers and people who work for SOEs and other companies with significant(>50%) government shareholding?
Greedy RWNJs are not the right people for public service.
the old Yes Prime Minister line:
So much wastage in the corrupt dept. some heads should start rolling
I heard Collins partner was threatening the media over bad press. Looks like they forced an apology here;
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11472924
A source close to me says the same pressure has been applied to Radio NZ. Unfortunately for Mr Lung (Ms Collins husband) Winston Peters will be highlighting the shady Kaui swamp trade tonight on Native Affairs, expect this to flow over into the parliament this week during oral question time.
Little wonder the public are suspect when large political donations are made and accepted, they think ‘there is always a catch.’
*Mr Tung
*Kauri
🙂
Meanwhile the Tory-Maori Party leader comes out in support of the shady trade;
http://www.waateanews.com/Waatea+News.html?story_id=OTgwNA%3D%3D&v=413#.VYh0Bv7O10I.facebook
But they are not even “carved” – just “painted”! I could not believe Flavell could be so compromised – but he obviously is – also evidence his support for the state housing sell off as well. Unbelievable. What is he getting – apart from a nice car and a fat salary?
Looks to me like the modern day equivalent of blankets, beads and whiskey
Ha ha yip add a broken mirror to the list, self vainty. Fox is far more aloof than Flavell, who just may get rolled by her given enough rope.
I’ve been reminded of that ever since the MP joined up with the Nats. Yep, the modern day equivalent is minor ministerial responsibilities (under the Nats M for M. Affairs is a minor portfolio) but with ministerial salaries and free travel expenses. I recall Pita Sharples explaining some years ago he couldn’t stand down as M for M.A. because he’d just bought a bigger house.
“Looks to me like the modern day equivalent of blankets, beads and whiskey”
That’s pretty patronising to the natives there CV.
From what I understand, local iwi have developed a profitable business from a local resource. I don’t like it, and I think it’s abhorrent and immoral, but I can also see why Flavell would be supportive.
I’d also like to point out that NZ still imports old growth timber from places like Canada for building with. When we (a) stop being hypocrites, and (b) honour the treaty properly, then we can probably take the moral high ground.
Just calling it like it is. If he were a church official I’d be talking about pieces of silver.
the blankets beads and whistky analogy implies that the natives are being ripped off and manipulated. Please explain that in this instance.
most of the natives are being ripped off while a few chosen ones have got something out of it. Is that clear enough for you?
hardly. Who are most of the natives, and who are the few chosen?
Sorry weka I’ve already fucking spelt my position out A B C
Oh nonsense, it’s not about the ‘moral high ground’; the chief considerations are the economic, social, environmental, and long-term interests of New Zealand, and this trade is deleterious to those factors.
The valid reasons I see for opposing it are environmental, cultural and spiritual. Economically it makes sense to do what those landowners are doing. If we want iwi to not do this, then perhaps we should think about why they are doing it. Some here think it’s plain greed, and it might be, but let’s not forget the cultural context.
The point about our imports stands. Unless you are saying we get to protect our iwn environment while contributing to the destruction of the environment elsewhere.
It depends on your view of economics and that’s why I included ‘long-term’ as a consideration. I’m also factoring in employment and regional development.
As for: ‘are you saying we get to protect our own environment…’? You could use that argument for doing nothing in NZ about climate change. It’s certainly not what I’m arguing, but I’m realistic about we can hope to influence.
It’s not just the cultural context that makes this issue impervious to the social and long-term factors many of us value, but the short-sighted economic system of exploitation.
Essentially, though, I was only pointing out that most people’s objections relate to those factors, rather than any claim on the moral high ground.
I don’t think people object on economic grounds. They object because they consider the environmental aspects (but how come we import old growth timber?), and they object because kauri has significant cultural importance. Some (myself included) object because of the objectification of nature that is going on.
My main point here is that the argument around economics for the good of NZ is hard to make in the face of iwi taking control of their own economies.
Well, in the media coverage I have followed, such as Morning Report, stakeholders are putting forward economic and regional development arguments, weka.
There are certainly other considerations too, and they do not involve the ‘moral high ground’.
I think you have missed my point about the moral high ground.
And I think you’ve missed the point in general.
The fact you can’t see an economic/social argument is rather telling.
I can see the economic argument, I just don’t think it’s as important as the others, and as I’ve said several times now, which you are ignoring, there are distinct problems with making economic arguments about what iwi are doing.
as fas as I can tell your point is that there are multiple compelling arguments for why this kauri mining shouldn’t be happening, none of which I disagree with.
it is also illegal.
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1949/0019/latest/DLM256602.html?search=ta_act_F_ac%40ainf%40anif_an%40bn%40rn_200_a&p=1
If these people want to use the resource then they should use it profitably and provide employment to the people within the iwi. It is not illegal to export carved wood, tables, cutting boards, etc overseas. But to paint a bit of a design on it, and send it off to be sold as uncut log is a crime, and the people involved should be brought to justice.
Swamp kauri is special and shouldn’t be sold overseas as part of the gold rush to strip NZ of all its assets quickly before anyone can gather knowledge and energy to protest. The Roger Douglas method again.
One of the reasons that huia was finally wiped out was that they were in demand and Maori could sell feathers and birds and then also hunted them in greater numbers to wear their feathers at a Royal visit. In the rush the breeding populations that remained were decimated.
The conservationists say that digging for swamp kauri is destructive to swamplands which have been found to be important environmental areas. It is bad that this material isn’t legally controlled so that it is conserved for Maori in New Zealand to use if they wish over the years. At present, from comments made by concerned people, it seems that it’s virtually being mined out and hocked off overseas for a fast buck.
The comparison with the Huia is apt grey.
http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/huia
So, who killed off the Huia?
thanks for that marty. As I understand it, once NZ native birds were in danger of extinction, the pressure for specimens increased, everyone wanted one before they were gone. The kauri sales seems similar to me, it’s a form of colonisation.
Yes I agree with you that it is a form of colonisation – this exploitation.
@martymars
This bit gives me a pain in the heart.. It is one example of sticking a stake through the remaining huia by pakeha,as weka comments.
A pair captured in 1893 for transfer to Little Barrier was acquired by Walter Buller and apparently sent to Baron Walter Rothschild in England.
If that Buller was the one who specialised in studying the birds here – well how mercenary of him to offer sacrifices of huia to someone who no doubt was giving philanthropic funding. However we know that there are different sorts of philanthropy, think of Talley being made a Sir with his ‘philanthropy’ being a major part.
Well said greywarshark…
This petition may be worthwhile signing for those opposed to this disgusting illegal trade in swamp kauri
https://www.toko.org.nz/petitions/saveourfallenkauri-stop-the-illegal-trade-of-swamp-kauri-and-save-our-wetlands
I am a pro environment advocate. I am also opposed to the export of Kauri in an unprocessed, value added state BUT as an owner of Maori Land myself, I fully sympathise with people who have such an asset and object to other people telling them that their swamp kauri is a taonga and must be protected for everyone. A lot of the lands that whanau, hapu and iwi were allowed to retain post 1840, were then and are now, insufficient for supporting a whanau, inaccessible, or ‘protected’ from development by paternalistic governments and enthusiastic ‘conservationists.’
Along with my whanau, I hold shares in several blocks of native timbers. We have been offered a pittance to refrain forever from any sustainable harvest in the nation’s interest. In one particular block, we received approximately $4000 to refrain from any logging, to manage the land as if it were, in effect, a national park. That was divided between all the shareholders and my mother received approximately $200.00. That was recompense forever. My great, great grandmother, my great grandmother and my grandfather received nothing. My siblings and I, my son, niece and nephews will receive nothing nor will my mokopuna or her mokopuna so tourists and the 1% can pat themselves on the back for ‘saving’ native forest. Everyone else expects tp have a lot of say about what belongs to us!
This is slightly dated but deals with some of the issues in Te Wai Pounamu pertaining to SILNA forests.
http://www.otago.ac.nz/titi/hui/Main/Talks2/Devoe.htm
As I say, I am not pro logging or exporting raw swamp kauri but I urge people to also consider the viewpoint of those who want to capitalise on an asset for their whanau. What alternatives are being offered them? Poverty so that people with no skin in the game pat themselves on the back and doing down the lazy Maori who just want houndouts all the time?
Of course, I do not condone the illegality of the export company not converting the kauri into tangible goods. I hope they get prosecuted but I am not holding my breath.
sounds like you should receive an annual sum to look after the land to set conservation standards.
AH, but that would cut across the ‘full and final settlement’ mentality that Crown negotiators always seem to come equipped with as their first and final position.
I totally agree, not because my family is interested in getting money every year, but because of the principle involved.
Thank you for the detailed explanation above Hateatea. It’s these stories that are largely missing from the non-Māori communities in NZ but need to be heard and understood if we want to stop things like the export of kauri.
Too often it is seen as greed by the owners but the reality is, that there has often never been meaningful income from the land. It is very difficult to turn down money when it is offered if that means an upgrade to the house or more food on the table, even if it is only for a brief period of time.
We as a whanau don’t need the income but have some resentment to the attitude that it is for the ‘good of the nation’.
I totally agree about the ‘good of the nation’ lines. Kaitiakitanga is not understood very well by our society. The mana of say a waterway was determined by the resources available for the people not how pretty it looked. The resources available directly related to the mana of the people who protected and interrelated with that waterway, and this was utilised when others came around, ie the mana was expressed by the ability of tangata whenua to provide for the visitors.
In todays world the concepts are still there but we have the added complication of money added in.
My whānau too has land in the deep south – but no resources from that – what do you think that says about our mana. I blame the government :).
It often amazes me the different standards applied to indigenous people verses others and all so the middle class can see a pretty view amongst the devastation they caused. Seems like a similar argument to climate change – the western nations have reaped and now they want everyone else to tighten their belts meanwhile they blithely continue on their extravagant planet killing ways.
Kia kaha Hateatea
@Hateatea
I believe still that it is a mistake for hapu to sell off this kauri which is a rare taonga. I know that it is difficult for iwi to get income and jobs and even start their own businesses. But this kauri timber reflects your past history, and your relationship with the land. Considering these things have helped Maori remain strong and fight for their culture, and their pride, and self-belief. And also apparently its extraction badly affects environmentally valuable wetlands. If irreplacable taonga for a quick buck, it is carved away from the people and the land who would no longer have it to draw on over the years for special occasions. Not selling out long term assets in short term desperation is why Northland Maori are objecting to oil drilling there.
Pakeha, since we first arrived, have caused difficulties for Maori to retain their culture, their resources, make a good living, keep self-respect and progress. Negative results from actions were often foreseen and even intentional, and only strong and determined, culturally bound Maori leaders and activists have ensured that the people have survived culturally. When the Treaty was invoked and resurrected it was only because of strength and determination from Maori to reveal truths of fault and gain some redress.
Maori will continue to stay determined to progress and hold onto their culture and mana, and I think are showing us all how to be staunch and struggle to retain the ‘heart’ of the country. A major part of Maori progress will be to get back to a community with working enterprises where people can make a living, establish small businesses and give training for jobs for both young and mature.
Economic development professionals with an interest in co-operative style, employment rich and sustainable businesses need to be central, listening to and advising the keen aspirational people in each local area. There are many young trained Maori getting into business. As local economic development grows accompanied by strategic thinking about the strengths of each area with cautious investment and strong business management, the successes will multiply.
I mention caution because it is important that there not be repeats of the sad situation of Matauri X failed spring water bottling company. It jeopardised Maori land and this 2005 link detailed how it had been seized and put up for mortgagee sale.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10118748
The problems continued into 2013 Maori Television revealed.
http://www.maoritelevision.com/news/regional/struggle-ahead-tackle-matauri-x-incorporation-debt
When Maori effectively manage their lives and conditions they will do better than under present regimes with government offering minimum survival assistance, some Maori making themselves wealthy individually but not enabling others also in well managed co-operative ways, and the occasions for loan sharks and retail businesses to hock off impulse goods at high prices with credit traps that bind people with debt will plummet.
I wanted to add more to my piece on Maori development but the system wouldn’t let me in though there was plenty of time left.
I thought it important that any ventures that Maori kickstart to build local enterprise should be financed from within NZ, not with overseas money, and preferably the finance should come from locals so that revenue occurs locally and profits remain for investment in the area rather than become a debt to an overseas entity.
This is where Maori and pakeha views on conservation tend to do differ. Pakeha take the approach that they’ve damaged the land so much since they arrived that any conservation land has to remain untouched and restored back to a pristine paradise. Obviously this is the mantra that the DOC follows. Maori however who were more accustomed to living with their environment want use of that land in a customary way like their ancestors did. You can see proof of that with the latest story about kereru still being caught for food.
In rural Maori communities with Maori owned land they have a huge opportunity I think to create sustainable communities where they don’t have to import any resources. They’ve got essential knowledge in food production going back to their ancestors. Tie that in with an export industry say in cropping and you’ve got a great low cost business model. These types of things probably already happen a lot in Maori communities anyway (not that I’m an expert).
Maori have every right to make money off the land they have, I guess I see the export of kauri logs as a bad way to do it. There are sustainable ways to do it, but I think digging up any existing wetlands and destroying them once and for all for very valuable logs is just short sighted. Sure that might create millions of dollars, but once that money goes you’re back with the initial problem of making a living again.
I’m sure there are ways to keep on improving the land base and making a living, providing jobs in the community, etc. I think someone posted a link about this group recently that goes in this direction.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/268427/maori-orchard-success-story
Thanks for the education
If we stamped “swamp stump” on her ass, could we just export Judith Collins?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/69733931/inequality-in-nz-hasnt-risen-in-20-years-treasury-paper-says
– Well done National and Labour, bet theres more’n few countries that wish they could claim the same
Hmmmmm inequality not worsened from the depths of Ruthanasia…hooray
Newsflash: tory trool linkwhores a shallow regurgitation of an already-discussed propaganda release that doesn’t match the data it supposedly refers to.
Fuck off, tory-come-lately.
Yes but it hasn’t fucking decreased has it !
that report is from the Business Roundtable, what do you expect?
Ah, I’d forgotten that.
Explains a lot.
yup
I hated Brussel Sprouts as a kid, I would regurgitate them, nearly puke! My parents would make me eat them, until I devised a plan. I decided I had a runny nose, and when I blew into my napkin, I spewed the sprouts out of my mouth into the large napkin, and hid the evidence in this napkin! Then I put it on my lap, and then eventually was able to flush it down the toilet! I remember being very proud of my clever plan, as it was so successful! When there is a will I suppose there is a way!
Strangely enough, now, as an adult, steamed with sesame oil, they are just delicious!
I ate them tonight actually!
they are a super food, and my favorite, plus I love that quite a few people don’t like them
Drop them into boiling water for only a couple of minutes then stop their cooking with cold water. Cut them in half or quarters and toss into a pan with butter and garlic. Or for those who have no objections to bacon, fry off some finely chopped bacon, add the garlic then toss in the halved brussel sprouts. Either way they are vastly superior to the mushy overcooked ones we mostly had to eat when we were kids. Always happy to see them reappear each winter.
Thanks marty and Prickles. I boiled some the other night and they were not nice. To respect the sprouts I will try some of your ideas.
they will cook quicker than you think ianmac, they look dense but are not really
or just chopped them up and stir-fry them as you would with a mixture of vegetables.
That sounds nice Prickles and healthy too. Thanks I want to make myself eat more greens. Turning them into a dish and not a side helping would do it.
About overcooked greens. One old lady told me she always cooked cabbage for 15 minutes. I could visualise the flaccid, pale, clear strands dripping water. It’s a nice green too, when just lightly cooked.
They need to be fresh(ish) and not overcooked, and I am with you, they are like a different veggie