Just thinking about what I wrote above – it reminds me of the story of England during the war – how all the signposts were turned around to confuse the enemy if they invaded.
Perhaps the poor census data gathering was a 'Baldrick' cunning plan to confuse . . .?
When will Judith Collins and Simon Bridges give us their reasons for installing a Chinese Military Spy into the National Party Caucus – within our Parliament ?
Mind you, Mr Spy Guy is an adequate pointer to the rubbish pile which bloomer bloated National really is. 55 odd Goofs.
Like all polluting Rubbish – National is Aotearoa Stink.
Trade Minister David Parker has firmly committed New Zealand to China's Belt and Road Initiative, putting an end to speculation that domestic political differences would stand in the way of a New Zealand work plan being developed.
I watched that interview where David Parker said we will keep our right to change the rules as other countries do and China has done since when National signed up to the agreement in 2017, so don’t tell porkies BM..
Soundings indicate that an ambitious NZ-led project to form an aviation and sea transport link from China through New Zealand and on to Latin America does not yet enjoy political support from NZ First.
Is this the real reason why they want to move the port of Auckland up to Whangarei?
The upgrade of the free trade agreement has been Parker's other key focus in Beijing. New Zealand officials are seeking improved access in priority areas such as wood and paper, services and e-commerce.
Parker says a successful upgrade will also be a demonstration of both countries' commitment to trade and a rules-based system, and "our rejection of protectionism".
Looks like Labour has really opened the door to China, that’s got to disappoint many of the people who voted Labour.
BM You are a clever rationalist for National as we know, but again you misrepresented what Parker actually said when asked by Jack Tame "what is the belt and road actually now?
Parker said he has not a clear idea but when Jack again asked Parker has it changed from what national signed up to in 2017?
Parker said yes it has and that was when he said his government has reserved their right to change their agreement as China also has done,.
Parker qualified this by stating that his Government needs to protect the interests of NZ citizens and our control of our "essential strategic infrastructure assets.
So labour has now defined away from the agreement your buddies in National freewheeled signed up to then in 2017.
What happens when the religious right controls the US government
"The Trump administration is under fire after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to end rape as a weapon of war on Tuesday that excluded any mention of sexual and reproductive health. The resolution was gutted after the U.S. threatened to veto the measure altogether unless language referencing reproductive health was taken out due to the Trump administration’s belief that the language was code for abortion. The watered-down measure also weakened references to the International Criminal Court, making it harder for women and girls to seek justice."
David Cormack asks: Do the Greens deserve to be re-elected? "Perversely this decision has put the Greens in as strong a position as they've been since Metiria Turei stood down as co-leader. If they've got the political nous to cash in. Right from day one the Greens said they would hold the Government to account. They'd criticise it from the outside – this was the big advantage of the confidence and supply agreement, and not being in coalition." https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12226193
Except they haven't actually been doing that, eh? It's the perennial Patton question (inside the tent pissing out, or outside pissing in) and they've opted for neither. I agree being so well-behaved is good, inasmuch as the public views you as constructive. But I share somewhat Cormack's stance, similar to that expressed here on the weekend by the chairman, that they ought to be more forceful. It's a walk & chew gum simultaneously option: be forthright about staking out an independent position, while remaining a team-player in the govt.
"Holding Labour and NZ First to account was a major platform of Marama Davidson's co-leadership bid. She said that because she was not a Minister like Julie-Anne Genter, she would more easily be able to criticise Labour and NZ First. Except that since becoming co-leader there hasn't been a huge amount of her publicly holding the Government to account."
That's true, but too polite (I haven't noticed any such instance). Campaign rhetoric can be genuine, yet evaporate into irrelevance when realpolitik of governance becomes the primary determinant of outcomes. I don't blame her for feeling constrained by the necessity to create consensus. I blame Winston for stymying the coalition on the climate change legislation. If I was Marama, I'd break ranks and go public on that immediately – with a proviso.
She'd need to be briefed by James on the precise nature of the hold-up, and secure an agreement with him & Jacinda that she was free to use the info to operate her leverage. Tell the people exactly what is causing the process blockage, and the extent to which NZF is complicit in creating it.
Better for Cormack to do that – he's the media pro. They could use the bomber as MC – he does that. His latest bitch about the Greens: "After righteously attacking anonymous donations and anonymous money they are running a donations campaign using an anonymous donor. Sigh." https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/04/29/groan-oh-come-on-green-party-are-you-even-trying-now/
But, but, but! He's a leftist! Leftists do hypocrisy! How the hell else can anyone tell they're leftist?? After so many years copying rightists, I mean. He must be in denial.
……I share somewhat Cormack's stance, similar to that expressed here on the weekend by the chairman, that they ought to be more forceful. It's a walk & chew gum simultaneously option: be forthright about staking out an independent position, while remaining a team-player in the govt…..
Real leaders give a lead.
Maybe the Green MPs could take a few tips from Greta Thunberg.
….The move away from air travel was spearheaded by teen activist Greta Thunberg, who single-handedly kicked off the student climate strikes after boycotting school once a week to raise awareness for climate change. Thunberg refuses to fly and travelled by train to the World Economic Forum in Davos and the climate summit in Poland, while 1500 delegates flew in by private jet….
….flygskam (or flight shame) is spreading across Europe
Fears over climate change have led many to rethink the way they travel and, in Sweden, they've even invented a new word for the shame associated with flying….
…..The Swedes meanwhile have wholeheartedly embraced their rail network. SJ, Sweden’s national rail service, reported a record 32 million customers last year. The company attributes “the big interest in climate-smart travel” to its unprecedented growth…..
"flygskam"
“tagskryt”
"lentohapea"
The Dutch "vliegschaamte" and the German "flugscham"
My personal favourite is “smygflyga” it has a certain unpleasant sounding ring to it, much like the Norwegian surname ‘quisling’.
Maybe we could adopt this last into English, as in she/he was a dirty "smygflyga"
Sure for people who have to travel overseas, (where currently there is no alternative to air travel). But what about public figures here, who claim to be ‘Green’ surely they could and should also be giving a lead and setting an example? At least for domestic travel where there are alternatives, couldn't they also refuse to travel by air?
Come on you Green MPs, give a lead, take a stand, set an example.
Winston is greener than the greens are as he is solid on lowering truck emissions as he said at our last meeting that rail needs to be restored and carry freight to 'lower that excessive climate change emissions'
Winston also wants NZ wool carpets installed in every Government building so does this sound as though he is anti climate change emissions advocate?
……I share somewhat Cormack's stance, similar to that expressed here on the weekend by the chairman, that they ought to be more forceful. It's a walk & chew gum simultaneously option: be forthright about staking out an independent position, while remaining a team-player in the govt…..
New research finds Ross Ice Shelf melting 10 times faster than overall average
SCIENCE CLIMATE CHANGE
New research reveals the Ross Ice Shelf is melting 10 times faster than the overall average, which may cause New Zealand's sea level to rise much sooner and faster than originally predicted, NIWA says.
NIWA's found it's been caused by solar heated waters beneath the north-western corner of the shelf. It's likely to result in higher surface ocean temperatures in the Ross Sea.
NIWA scientist Dr Mike Williams told TVNZ1's Breakfast, "What we are seeing is a really important process that might impact upon the ice sheet and Antartica much faster than what we have traditionally thought… …so that might make sea level rise for New Zealand much faster and much sooner."
Mr Williams said the report released is "quite significant". "It highlights a process that scientists have speculated about for about 20 years and it highlights that this process is happening
Love the name , Mike Williams, the 'Left' politico who remained silent on RNZ Monday politics section while Mathew Hooten attacked the reality of climate change. God help us, because there is no help otherwise.
All the figures go ahead of the forecasts. As a gardener, lawns growing amazonly, 2 weekly 2 months in to autumn.
We can't cope with a sudden cliff. Friends , prove me wrong. 95 % chance against us. With my demise in my eyes I feel happy about knowing it.
Yeah it matters. Even when your phone is off the location of the device can be tracked. What a pity they don't use the same tech to find missing people #Missing411
We cannot expect the wealthy to believe in anything, let alone in Climate Change. !
What we have to do is push them off our two major Islands – and save the reliable, wouking population.
It will not be long now before we have to rid ourselves of all stupid Deniers and their Wealth. They will be no loss whatever. For they have never done anything for New Zealand – other than destroy it and waste it.
"Bishop" Tamaki writes "We will plan thru Private Visits to inmates in every Prison to bring ManUp in nd cause inmate revolts in evey prison," then tries to claim he wasn't being serious despite the serious tone of the message and the phrase "I'm warning you" at the end of it. The wannabe demagogue should be taken seriously when he posts shit like this, because he's a wannabe demagogue.
Also amusing: his claim that running an evangelical church as a means of enriching yourself, possibly the most American activity ever undertaken, constitutes an "indigenous programme."
Destiny Church show that they are on the same pyramid of hate as the Christchurch shooter.
The Destiny Church held a protest outside the mosque where an actual act of genocide was committed. The Destiny members at this protest condemned those killed by saying that Christchurch is a Christian City. The implication, non-Christians should not practice their faith in Christchurch, or risk being protested against, (or killed).
The pyramid of genocide,
'victim blaming' just above 'racist jokes' in the pyramid.
The only way that Brian Tamaki should see the inside of any prison is if he is sentenced to spend time there.
And he should be.
Threatening violence against a state institution, or infrastructure facility, (namely the Prison Service), to compel them do something, or not do something, is a crime under Section 5, sub-section (2)(b) and sub-section (2)(d) of the Suppression of Terrorism Act
(2) An act falls within this subsection if it is intended to cause, in any 1 or more countries, 1 or more of the outcomes specified in subsection (3), and is carried out for the purpose of advancing an ideological, political, or religious cause, and with the following intention:
(b) to unduly compel or to force a government or an international organisation to do or abstain from doing any act…..
(d) serious interference with, or serious disruption to, an infrastructure facility, if likely to endanger human life:
As the for the attraction. At the only Destiny church service that I had been invited to attend in there Mt Wellington Head quarters, is where the only haka I have ever personally witnessed being performed on a stage with a full light and sound production, where the performers brandished guns.
(Replica guns mind you, but still this is the only haka that I can recall witnessing being performed with other than traditional Maori hand weapons)
I think Tamaki's intentions are perfectly clear, and that the sleepy hobbits need to wake up. He wants to go to the prison to recruit hardened gang members and criminals to form an army that would launch mass progroms against 'loose women', LGBT, atheists, etc. You though living under Helen was nanny state, you wait till you get someone in charge who wants to tell you who you can and cant have intamite relationships with, what information about how this world came to be you can access, what clothes to wear, who makes up your family, etc and so on.
I can just imagine leather clad Destiny thugs burning books about evolution, smashing science labs, burning abortion clinics, and hanging LGBT.
I'll just put up a very interesting piece about cults. I had some links on a comment and managed to lose it. Haven't time to put it up again so I refer you to this – good thinking. Explains what's behind the followers' approach. Scary I think.
A tool that asks supporters to supply the personal information of other people?
Looks like doxxing, quacks like doxxing…
CHICAGO — Sen. Bernie Sanders flaunted his ground operation Saturday with what he called the “largest distributed day of action ever in a presidential campaign” and announced a new online organizing tool called BERN.
[…]
The online tool allows everyday supporters to contribute to the campaign’s voter database by logging names and background information of anyone from a family member to a stranger met at a bus stop. It matches each name to a voter record before noting their level of support, priority issue and even union membership.
Do FB have a tool to potentially identify and harass people who don't support Sanders? Because last time around, Bernie Bros showed such restraint and civility.
Donald Trump likes to boast about his achievements, imagined and otherwise, that is no secret. The president regularly trumpets the success of the greatest economy ever, and the strongest military, and the most decisive electoral victory and all manner of other superlatives he’s supposed to have delivered. But one that is undeniable is that he has just become one of the most prolific liars in the history of American governance, passing the 10,000th lie of his administration this week – meaning an average of almost 17 lies a day over 604 days.
Trump has made 10,000 untrue claims as president, factcheckers say
Not all of his lies were created equally. Some have been harmless, almost goofy claims about his physical stamina or business acumen, or obviously exaggerated anecdotes about the types of things supporters say to him. Others are downright horrifying and dangerous, about serious issues such as immigration and abortion.
I didn't know he was a representative of an acronym. Those damn acronyms – just a bunch of letters meaning something only to the cognescenti. A pocketful of mumbles and gestures signifying nothing.
My experience with dementia is that when a sufferer has to recall pretty much anything, they flounder about inside their own minds, searching. And when they're unable to find what they're looking for they confabulate, filling in the gaps with a response they truly believe to be the correct.
tRump's an instinctual liar and I reckon he's showing all the signs of early to mid onset dementia. Dude's spent his whole life lying, factor in his confabulating and you hit >10k untruths.
Tamaki wants access to prisons for a commercial activity. I wonder how many pieces of silver it's all worth and whether there was any thought given to the good work of God being done because it was the right thing to do.
Tamaki would have a small army soon from his jail movement, liking his story and leadership and POV that points to the major authority of The Bible. And they wouldn't get their assets pinched by legal asset-stripping by the state. It would all be much better run and they could turn away from crime, which is breaking the law, and go into stretching the law within a robust legal framework. Learning all that devious capitalist pakeha stuff.
Tamaki comment repeated on Radionz – says that Kelvin Davis is not treating him fairly – it is religious intolerance or something like that, that has resulted in his program not being accepted. Don’t trust him. Is he mates with John Tamihere?
A bit more dynamic demand and supply via the political parliamentary parties producing their own content for the television once a week, weighted to their representation respectively of opposition & govt. parties, govt ones being given double time of opposition, would make the democratic structure more of a payer regards the first sentence.
Good shid about Bill Maher , him veering to the centrist Democrat to lock in Trump's defeat. 'Return to normalcy'. So nothing is wrong to our haunches, let alone their plutocratic nethers. Why does he bother? He's just a Cato or Cicero in the demise of an oligarchy. Despite Chomsky's pessimistic views he's more right.
The Americans are so gauche, awkward in their moves for democracy. They don't know it. Unlike us who resent it's loss like our skin.
We talk about ourselves. In the meanwhile 4 billion world-wide have escaped poverty under the aegis of laissez-faire. Vital is to include the whole people of the world. What, are we, 16 % in the First World? Social democrats here talk about NZ endlessly but our legitimacy lies wider. 52, and 30 years of political thinking later I bring this up. Someone starving 'over there' is as much my fellow as anyone here.
Do you know Malawi has 20 million desperate people?! Hopeless. Which is to say, no hope. They keep quiet as the strong desire. But they are our star. Our core. Which is to say, nowt we can do but if they go down we're done. And they have no hope.
Kia ora Whanau some people would think that I was implying that they were solely responsible for our historical high roads accidents and deaths. They are just part of a big problem we cannot have people die needlessly on our ROADS. Te tangata te tangata te tangata .
I have said before that the big civil construction companies spend more on management than our past organisation did and that means less being spent on the road construction = roads being made of a low quality and low durability.
I have seen a few stories to back my opinion up the new Wellington transmission gully project failed with in months of the project being completed WTF =cheaper design build practices and CHEAP materials being used in the construction of the Roads = shitting roads =more deaths on our road +put a million more cars on the road = higher road toll.
What gets me is its the AGE of the computer and more money is being spent on managing these companies when a computer makes managing and designing much more efficient than when we did not have the technical knowledge one would think that management cost would come down not up as it has in all the big companies .???????????????????.
This is a subject close to my heart my Mokopuna happy healthy FUTURE . Mitigating against climate change is a must for this to be possible in my EYES.
We are rising up again on May 24th for the second Global School Strike for Climate 🌍💙
This will look different in different towns and cities across Aotearoa as they work out what’s going to be best for them. Some may do tree plantings, others may do a strike in their town square, others a rally, a sit-in outside MPs offices or a community hui.
Event details will be posted on Facebook and the website in the coming weeks and we will make sure there are many different ways to be involved 💚 If you would like support organising something in your community, please get in touch!! Or if you’ve got an event organised, we can make an event and promote it for you 🤩 We look forward to standing with you all again on May 24th to demand climate justice
We all know that the muppets show tag belongs to national.
Its sad seeing the tug of WAR going on in Venezuela .
trump is owned by the oil barrons every move he makes is to force the price of carbon up.
Paddy getting closer to some closure for the Pike River mine familys Ka pai pitty it took this long and stuff disappearing.
Let's hope that no to many native trees are losted to the extreme dry weather event caused by climate change.
Ka pai to Japans new Emperor may you have smove waters in your future.
Yes synthetic is a problem in NZ it was good to see the story on PEE last night if its easier to get than weed there must be heaps of the shit out there.?????????.
Well I don't think that NASA can guarantee that claim about no asteroid is going to crash into Papatuanukue for a hundred years . They are not even trying to track them all it to hard a task.
Ingrid it going to be a dry winter from Taupo up to North land that's going to be hard on some people . Ka kite ano
Its sad that the firefighter Can not get his reserdincy to NZ for his family.
robert bar has just made a mockery of the USA justice system ????????.
Its good that Facebook is going to try and stop the haters spreading their words and views on their websites .
it looks cold down there m8 that's the way you tell it like it is the Pike River familys have been put through a lot of Bullshit I can see it happening ????
I'm a bit sceptical of your poll I Back the re entries of the Pike River mine why because its all a JUSTICE for the common person I don't want peace I WANT FAIR JUSTICE .
I want to get into mountain biking riding but can't afford the bike and because of Eco Maori being a VIP I will probably trip over my escort LOL.
Good on the 2 ladies with their mother hood warts and all have rising tamariki is a great task
Last election some needed boxes of tissue I could see they counted there chicken and when Winston crowned Jacinda you should have seen the the tissues fly.
There should be a special law to gag mark lundy his acting is about as good as my 2 years old granddaughter
Hi,It’s almost Christmas Day which means it is almost my birthday, where you will find me whimpering in the corner clutching a warm bottle of Baileys.If you’re out of ideas for presents (and truly desperate) then it is possible to gift a full Webworm subscription to a friend (or enemy) ...
This morning’s six standouts for me at 6.30am include:Rachel Helyer Donaldson’s scoop via RNZ last night of cuts to maternity jobs in the health system;Maddy Croad’s scoop via The Press-$ this morning on funding cuts for Christchurch’s biggest food rescue charity;Benedict Collins’ scoop last night via 1News on a last-minute ...
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kasey Symons, Lecturer of Communication, Sports Media, Deakin University We are well and truly in cricket season. The Australian men’s cricket team is taking centre stage against India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series while the Big Bash League is underway, as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Woods, Lecturer, Nursing, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University FTiare/Shutterstock Summer is here and for many that means going to the beach. You grab your swimmers, beach towel and sunscreen then maybe check the weather forecast. Did you think to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Saman Khalesi, Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead in Nutrition, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity Australia Dean Clarke/Shutterstock The holiday season can be a time of joy, celebration, and indulgence in delicious foods and meals. However, for many, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Late Night With The Devil. Maslow Entertainment Marketing is critical to the success of commercial films, and companies will often spend half as much again on top of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francisco Jose Testa, Lecturer in Earth Sciences (Mineralogy, Petrology & Geochemistry), University of Tasmania The Conversation As a kid, it was tough for me to grasp the massive time scale of Earth’s history. Now, with nearly two decades of experience as ...
Te Pāti Māori has had to adopt a new way of debating, operating and even thinking in Parliament in response to the Government’s “onslaught” against te ao Māori, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says.In an end-of-year interview with Newsroom, the Te Tai Hauauru MP reflected on how 2024 has differed from her ...
Opinion: The latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science report was announced earlier this month, yet it didn’t get the flurry of media attention and political hand-wringing that typically accompanies these announcements. This might be because it presented good news, or you could argue, no news; the results paint a ...
NewsroomBy Dr Lisa Darragh, Dr Raewyn Eden and Dr David Pomeroy
At long last, The Spinoff shells out for a nut ranking. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.It recently came to The Spinoff’s attention ...
I was one of hundreds of people who lost my government job this week. Here’s exactly how it played out. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...
Summer reissue: One anxiously attentive passenger pays attention to an in-flight safety video, and wonders ‘Why can’t I pick up my own phone?’ The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...
Summer reissue: Why do those Lange-Douglas years cast such a long shadow 40 years on? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. First published June ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 23 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The Government’s social housing agency has backed out of a billion-dollar infrastructure alliance that would have built about 6000 new homes in Auckland – less than 18 months after signing a five-year extension.Labour says the decision to rip up the contract and sell off existing state houses could lead to ...
ByKoroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) says impending bad weather for Port Vila is now the most significant post-quake hazard. A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to move into Vanuatu waters, bringing heavy rainfall. Authorities have issued warnings to people ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...
As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television. Craig Parker has been a fixture on television in Aotearoa for nearly four decades. He had starring roles in iconic local series like Gloss, Mercy Peak and Diplomatic Immunity, featured in ...
The Ōtautahi musician shares the 10 tracks he loves to spin, including the folk classic that cured him of a ‘case of the give-ups’. When singer-songwriter Adam McGrath returns to Kumeu’s Auckland Folk Festival from January 24-27, he’s not planning on simply idling his way through – he wants the late ...
Alex Casey spends an afternoon on the job with River, the rescue dog on a mission to spread joy to Ōtautahi rest homes.Almost everyone says it is never enough time. But River the rescue dog, a jet black huntaway border collie cross, has to keep a tight pace to ...
Asia Pacific Report Fiji activists have recreated the nativity scene at a solidarity for Palestine gathering in Fiji’s capital Suva just days before Christmas. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network recreated the scene at the FWCC compound — a baby Jesus figurine lies amidst the ...
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I hear on the news the Chinese spy in the National Party (and in our parliament) wants the next census to be held early.
Why?
Perhaps so the PRC can have more accurate figures upon which to base any strategy?
Just thinking about what I wrote above – it reminds me of the story of England during the war – how all the signposts were turned around to confuse the enemy if they invaded.
Perhaps the poor census data gathering was a 'Baldrick' cunning plan to confuse . . .?
The Chinese Spy …
When will Judith Collins and Simon Bridges give us their reasons for installing a Chinese Military Spy into the National Party Caucus – within our Parliament ?
Mind you, Mr Spy Guy is an adequate pointer to the rubbish pile which bloomer bloated National really is. 55 odd Goofs.
Like all polluting Rubbish – National is Aotearoa Stink.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12225644
BM Bullshit.
I watched that interview where David Parker said we will keep our right to change the rules as other countries do and China has done since when National signed up to the agreement in 2017, so don’t tell porkies BM..
What's bullshit?
Did you even read the article?
Is this the real reason why they want to move the port of Auckland up to Whangarei?
Looks like Labour has really opened the door to China, that’s got to disappoint many of the people who voted Labour.
BM You are a clever rationalist for National as we know, but again you misrepresented what Parker actually said when asked by Jack Tame "what is the belt and road actually now?
Parker said he has not a clear idea but when Jack again asked Parker has it changed from what national signed up to in 2017?
Parker said yes it has and that was when he said his government has reserved their right to change their agreement as China also has done,.
Parker qualified this by stating that his Government needs to protect the interests of NZ citizens and our control of our "essential strategic infrastructure assets.
So labour has now defined away from the agreement your buddies in National freewheeled signed up to then in 2017.
Zachary BMmer, how would Davy know what he was committed to without Comrade Colonel there to inform him.
What happens when the religious right controls the US government
"The Trump administration is under fire after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to end rape as a weapon of war on Tuesday that excluded any mention of sexual and reproductive health. The resolution was gutted after the U.S. threatened to veto the measure altogether unless language referencing reproductive health was taken out due to the Trump administration’s belief that the language was code for abortion. The watered-down measure also weakened references to the International Criminal Court, making it harder for women and girls to seek justice."
David Cormack asks: Do the Greens deserve to be re-elected? "Perversely this decision has put the Greens in as strong a position as they've been since Metiria Turei stood down as co-leader. If they've got the political nous to cash in. Right from day one the Greens said they would hold the Government to account. They'd criticise it from the outside – this was the big advantage of the confidence and supply agreement, and not being in coalition." https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12226193
Except they haven't actually been doing that, eh? It's the perennial Patton question (inside the tent pissing out, or outside pissing in) and they've opted for neither. I agree being so well-behaved is good, inasmuch as the public views you as constructive. But I share somewhat Cormack's stance, similar to that expressed here on the weekend by the chairman, that they ought to be more forceful. It's a walk & chew gum simultaneously option: be forthright about staking out an independent position, while remaining a team-player in the govt.
"Holding Labour and NZ First to account was a major platform of Marama Davidson's co-leadership bid. She said that because she was not a Minister like Julie-Anne Genter, she would more easily be able to criticise Labour and NZ First. Except that since becoming co-leader there hasn't been a huge amount of her publicly holding the Government to account."
That's true, but too polite (I haven't noticed any such instance). Campaign rhetoric can be genuine, yet evaporate into irrelevance when realpolitik of governance becomes the primary determinant of outcomes. I don't blame her for feeling constrained by the necessity to create consensus. I blame Winston for stymying the coalition on the climate change legislation. If I was Marama, I'd break ranks and go public on that immediately – with a proviso.
She'd need to be briefed by James on the precise nature of the hold-up, and secure an agreement with him & Jacinda that she was free to use the info to operate her leverage. Tell the people exactly what is causing the process blockage, and the extent to which NZF is complicit in creating it.
Perhaps you and the Chair can hire a meeting room…
Better for Cormack to do that – he's the media pro. They could use the bomber as MC – he does that. His latest bitch about the Greens: "After righteously attacking anonymous donations and anonymous money they are running a donations campaign using an anonymous donor. Sigh." https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/04/29/groan-oh-come-on-green-party-are-you-even-trying-now/
But, but, but! He's a leftist! Leftists do hypocrisy! How the hell else can anyone tell they're leftist?? After so many years copying rightists, I mean. He must be in denial.
Real leaders give a lead.
Maybe the Green MPs could take a few tips from Greta Thunberg.
Who has refused to fly.
And started a movement…..
‘
'You dirty smygflyga'
If you thought leadership was not important, then you haven’t been paying attention.
https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/flight-shame-europe-sweden-a4120231.html
"flygskam"
“tagskryt”
"lentohapea"
The Dutch "vliegschaamte" and the German "flugscham"
My personal favourite is “smygflyga” it has a certain unpleasant sounding ring to it, much like the Norwegian surname ‘quisling’.
Maybe we could adopt this last into English, as in she/he was a dirty "smygflyga"
Sure for people who have to travel overseas, (where currently there is no alternative to air travel). But what about public figures here, who claim to be ‘Green’ surely they could and should also be giving a lead and setting an example? At least for domestic travel where there are alternatives, couldn't they also refuse to travel by air?
Come on you Green MPs, give a lead, take a stand, set an example.
In Greta Thunberg's words,
“Is that really too much to ask?"
Dennis you are way off there.
Winston is greener than the greens are as he is solid on lowering truck emissions as he said at our last meeting that rail needs to be restored and carry freight to 'lower that excessive climate change emissions'
Winston also wants NZ wool carpets installed in every Government building so does this sound as though he is anti climate change emissions advocate?
<blockquote>….Right from day one the Greens said they would hold the Government to account. They'd criticise it from the outside – this was the big advantage of the confidence and supply agreement, and not being in coalition." https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12226193…..
……I share somewhat Cormack's stance, similar to that expressed here on the weekend by the chairman, that they ought to be more forceful. It's a walk & chew gum simultaneously option: be forthright about staking out an independent position, while remaining a team-player in the govt…..
</blockquote>
Here's for all those 'climate deniers' a solid warning to sell your seafront property and – buy a boat – or learn to swim now.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/new-research-finds-ross-ice-shelf-melting-10-times-faster-than-overall-average
TV ONE 30th April 2019
New research finds Ross Ice Shelf melting 10 times faster than overall average
SCIENCE CLIMATE CHANGE
New research reveals the Ross Ice Shelf is melting 10 times faster than the overall average, which may cause New Zealand's sea level to rise much sooner and faster than originally predicted, NIWA says.
NIWA's found it's been caused by solar heated waters beneath the north-western corner of the shelf. It's likely to result in higher surface ocean temperatures in the Ross Sea.
NIWA scientist Dr Mike Williams told TVNZ1's Breakfast, "What we are seeing is a really important process that might impact upon the ice sheet and Antartica much faster than what we have traditionally thought… …so that might make sea level rise for New Zealand much faster and much sooner."
Mr Williams said the report released is "quite significant". "It highlights a process that scientists have speculated about for about 20 years and it highlights that this process is happening
Love the name , Mike Williams, the 'Left' politico who remained silent on RNZ Monday politics section while Mathew Hooten attacked the reality of climate change. God help us, because there is no help otherwise.
All the figures go ahead of the forecasts. As a gardener, lawns growing amazonly, 2 weekly 2 months in to autumn.
We can't cope with a sudden cliff. Friends , prove me wrong. 95 % chance against us. With my demise in my eyes I feel happy about knowing it.
Yeah it matters. Even when your phone is off the location of the device can be tracked. What a pity they don't use the same tech to find missing people #Missing411
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-29/google-tracks-your-location-and-shares-it-police-even-when-your-phone
Hi Cleangreen
We cannot expect the wealthy to believe in anything, let alone in Climate Change. !
What we have to do is push them off our two major Islands – and save the reliable, wouking population.
It will not be long now before we have to rid ourselves of all stupid Deniers and their Wealth. They will be no loss whatever. For they have never done anything for New Zealand – other than destroy it and waste it.
The Bishop was only joking, backs off a tad, then comes back full throttle.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/388066/brian-tamaki-says-tweet-threatening-violence-in-prisons-not-serious
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12226378
Gang rape': Bishop Brian Tamaki lashes out at criticism from PM, senior Govt ministers
A cup of tea and a wee lie down for the Bishop methinks.
"Bishop" Tamaki writes "We will plan thru Private Visits to inmates in every Prison to bring ManUp in nd cause inmate revolts in evey prison," then tries to claim he wasn't being serious despite the serious tone of the message and the phrase "I'm warning you" at the end of it. The wannabe demagogue should be taken seriously when he posts shit like this, because he's a wannabe demagogue.
Also amusing: his claim that running an evangelical church as a means of enriching yourself, possibly the most American activity ever undertaken, constitutes an "indigenous programme."
It seems slightly contradictory for someone promoting an anger management program for prisoners to then call them to violence.
What message is he sending them? Certainly a mixed one.
I think "What message is he sending them?" is one of the reasons the govt should be well dubious about having his programme in our prisons.
'
The pyramid
At the peak, 'genocide'
Near the bottom, tolerating racist jokes
Further up, claiming, 'it's just a joke'
In the middle, 'telling racist jokes'
https://blavity.com/professor-uses-pyramid-of-white-supremacy-to-teach-education-class
Destiny Church show that they are on the same pyramid of hate as the Christchurch shooter.
The Destiny Church held a protest outside the mosque where an actual act of genocide was committed. The Destiny members at this protest condemned those killed by saying that Christchurch is a Christian City. The implication, non-Christians should not practice their faith in Christchurch, or risk being protested against, (or killed).
The pyramid of genocide,
'victim blaming' just above 'racist jokes' in the pyramid.
https://blavity.com/professor-uses-pyramid-of-white-supremacy-to-teach-education-class
The only way that Brian Tamaki should see the inside of any prison is if he is sentenced to spend time there.
And he should be.
Threatening violence against a state institution, or infrastructure facility, (namely the Prison Service), to compel them do something, or not do something, is a crime under Section 5, sub-section (2)(b) and sub-section (2)(d) of the Suppression of Terrorism Act
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0034/latest/DLM152702.html
Brian Tamaki with his words and actions condones terrorism and violence.
Tama Iti one of the only few people ever charged under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.
Expresses his shock and grief at the terrorist attack in Christchurch.
https://www.maoritelevision.com/news/regional/tame-iti-sickened-act-terrorism-christchurch
No evidence was ever presented that Iti had threatened violence against state institution or infrastructure facility.
Tamaki openly threatens to commit acts of violence against an infrastructure facility, as defined under the Act and no one bats an eye.
He's most definitely in the frame for such charges, but they'll make tut tutting noises and dismiss him as a mostly harmless twit.
But he is a twit with an agenda and a surprisingly large following…many of them young to middle aged Maori men.
Not being in that demographic renders me incapable of divining exactly what the attraction is.
It seems that the Suppression of Terrorism, like many other things in our racially and class divided society, is in the eye of the beholder.
As the for the attraction. At the only Destiny church service that I had been invited to attend in there Mt Wellington Head quarters, is where the only haka I have ever personally witnessed being performed on a stage with a full light and sound production, where the performers brandished guns.
(Replica guns mind you, but still this is the only haka that I can recall witnessing being performed with other than traditional Maori hand weapons)
I think Tamaki's intentions are perfectly clear, and that the sleepy hobbits need to wake up. He wants to go to the prison to recruit hardened gang members and criminals to form an army that would launch mass progroms against 'loose women', LGBT, atheists, etc. You though living under Helen was nanny state, you wait till you get someone in charge who wants to tell you who you can and cant have intamite relationships with, what information about how this world came to be you can access, what clothes to wear, who makes up your family, etc and so on.
I can just imagine leather clad Destiny thugs burning books about evolution, smashing science labs, burning abortion clinics, and hanging LGBT.
I'll just put up a very interesting piece about cults. I had some links on a comment and managed to lose it. Haven't time to put it up again so I refer you to this – good thinking. Explains what's behind the followers' approach. Scary I think.
https://www.hgi.org.uk/resources/delve-our-extensive-library/society-and-culture/exploring-cult-culture
A tool that asks supporters to supply the personal information of other people?
Looks like doxxing, quacks like doxxing…
CHICAGO — Sen. Bernie Sanders flaunted his ground operation Saturday with what he called the “largest distributed day of action ever in a presidential campaign” and announced a new online organizing tool called BERN.
[…]
The online tool allows everyday supporters to contribute to the campaign’s voter database by logging names and background information of anyone from a family member to a stranger met at a bus stop. It matches each name to a voter record before noting their level of support, priority issue and even union membership.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/bernie-sanders-2020-campaign-unveils-app-increase-its-voter-database-n999206
Surely Facelook would do that for a small fee.
Do FB have a tool to potentially identify and harass people who don't support Sanders? Because last time around, Bernie Bros showed such restraint and civility.
/
Good total for the t.rump
So it isn't accidental?
Neither accidental or deliberate imo just an actual part of that dude – he literally is a liar, in everything, from golf on down, everything.
T.ell R.ambling U.nbelievable M.onumental P.orkies
I didn't know he was a representative of an acronym. Those damn acronyms – just a bunch of letters meaning something only to the cognescenti. A pocketful of mumbles and gestures signifying nothing.
My experience with dementia is that when a sufferer has to recall pretty much anything, they flounder about inside their own minds, searching. And when they're unable to find what they're looking for they confabulate, filling in the gaps with a response they truly believe to be the correct.
tRump's an instinctual liar and I reckon he's showing all the signs of early to mid onset dementia. Dude's spent his whole life lying, factor in his confabulating and you hit >10k untruths.
Good interview on Checkpoint atm with Womens Refuge discussing religious extremist Brian Tamaki.
I live in a suburb with around 28 churches and I am very glad the Destiny cult is not among them.
Tamaki wants access to prisons for a commercial activity. I wonder how many pieces of silver it's all worth and whether there was any thought given to the good work of God being done because it was the right thing to do.
Tamaki would have a small army soon from his jail movement, liking his story and leadership and POV that points to the major authority of The Bible. And they wouldn't get their assets pinched by legal asset-stripping by the state. It would all be much better run and they could turn away from crime, which is breaking the law, and go into stretching the law within a robust legal framework. Learning all that devious capitalist pakeha stuff.
Tamaki comment repeated on Radionz – says that Kelvin Davis is not treating him fairly – it is religious intolerance or something like that, that has resulted in his program not being accepted. Don’t trust him. Is he mates with John Tamihere?
Media is going to do whatever pays the bills.
A bit more dynamic demand and supply via the political parliamentary parties producing their own content for the television once a week, weighted to their representation respectively of opposition & govt. parties, govt ones being given double time of opposition, would make the democratic structure more of a payer regards the first sentence.
Good shid about Bill Maher , him veering to the centrist Democrat to lock in Trump's defeat. 'Return to normalcy'. So nothing is wrong to our haunches, let alone their plutocratic nethers. Why does he bother? He's just a Cato or Cicero in the demise of an oligarchy. Despite Chomsky's pessimistic views he's more right.
The Americans are so gauche, awkward in their moves for democracy. They don't know it. Unlike us who resent it's loss like our skin.
We talk about ourselves. In the meanwhile 4 billion world-wide have escaped poverty under the aegis of laissez-faire. Vital is to include the whole people of the world. What, are we, 16 % in the First World? Social democrats here talk about NZ endlessly but our legitimacy lies wider. 52, and 30 years of political thinking later I bring this up. Someone starving 'over there' is as much my fellow as anyone here.
Do you know Malawi has 20 million desperate people?! Hopeless. Which is to say, no hope. They keep quiet as the strong desire. But they are our star. Our core. Which is to say, nowt we can do but if they go down we're done. And they have no hope.
Kia ora Whanau some people would think that I was implying that they were solely responsible for our historical high roads accidents and deaths. They are just part of a big problem we cannot have people die needlessly on our ROADS. Te tangata te tangata te tangata .
I have said before that the big civil construction companies spend more on management than our past organisation did and that means less being spent on the road construction = roads being made of a low quality and low durability.
I have seen a few stories to back my opinion up the new Wellington transmission gully project failed with in months of the project being completed WTF =cheaper design build practices and CHEAP materials being used in the construction of the Roads = shitting roads =more deaths on our road +put a million more cars on the road = higher road toll.
What gets me is its the AGE of the computer and more money is being spent on managing these companies when a computer makes managing and designing much more efficient than when we did not have the technical knowledge one would think that management cost would come down not up as it has in all the big companies .???????????????????.
Ka kite ano P.S links below .
https://i.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/105426828/kpiti-expressway-needs-23m-worth-of-repairs-just-18-months-after-opening
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/thepanel/audio/2018692954/nz-has-some-of-the-worst-roads-in-the-developed-world
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/93640345/road-repairs-not-up-to-standard-for-taranaki-roading-group
P.S is it a coincidence that our road construction company's we big national party donators
Eco Maori knows our road we're better 10 years ago
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute
https://youtu.be/0I647GU3Jsc
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute .
https://youtu.be/4TKJOE78Fn8
When Eco Maori has a challenge I never give up on the challenge
This is a subject close to my heart my Mokopuna happy healthy FUTURE . Mitigating against climate change is a must for this to be possible in my EYES.
We are rising up again on May 24th for the second Global School Strike for Climate 🌍💙
This will look different in different towns and cities across Aotearoa as they work out what’s going to be best for them. Some may do tree plantings, others may do a strike in their town square, others a rally, a sit-in outside MPs offices or a community hui.
Event details will be posted on Facebook and the website in the coming weeks and we will make sure there are many different ways to be involved 💚 If you would like support organising something in your community, please get in touch!! Or if you’ve got an event organised, we can make an event and promote it for you 🤩 We look forward to standing with you all again on May 24th to demand climate justice
Ka kite ano link P.S I hope they get my drift .
https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/112375195/climate-change-strike-school-children-across-new-zealand-take-second-day-of-action
https://youtu.be/3KoMeJB_ywY
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute .
https://youtu.be/LdR5_bqS8ok
Kia ora Newshub .
We all know that the muppets show tag belongs to national.
Its sad seeing the tug of WAR going on in Venezuela .
trump is owned by the oil barrons every move he makes is to force the price of carbon up.
Paddy getting closer to some closure for the Pike River mine familys Ka pai pitty it took this long and stuff disappearing.
Let's hope that no to many native trees are losted to the extreme dry weather event caused by climate change.
Ka pai to Japans new Emperor may you have smove waters in your future.
Yes synthetic is a problem in NZ it was good to see the story on PEE last night if its easier to get than weed there must be heaps of the shit out there.?????????.
Well I don't think that NASA can guarantee that claim about no asteroid is going to crash into Papatuanukue for a hundred years . They are not even trying to track them all it to hard a task.
Ingrid it going to be a dry winter from Taupo up to North land that's going to be hard on some people . Ka kite ano
P.S if they could guarantee that claim than they should have been able to pridict the asteroid that have hit Papatuanukue in the last few years. A
Kia ora Newshub.
Its sad that the firefighter Can not get his reserdincy to NZ for his family.
robert bar has just made a mockery of the USA justice system ????????.
Its good that Facebook is going to try and stop the haters spreading their words and views on their websites .
it looks cold down there m8 that's the way you tell it like it is the Pike River familys have been put through a lot of Bullshit I can see it happening ????
I'm a bit sceptical of your poll I Back the re entries of the Pike River mine why because its all a JUSTICE for the common person I don't want peace I WANT FAIR JUSTICE .
I want to get into mountain biking riding but can't afford the bike and because of Eco Maori being a VIP I will probably trip over my escort LOL.
Good on the 2 ladies with their mother hood warts and all have rising tamariki is a great task
Last election some needed boxes of tissue I could see they counted there chicken and when Winston crowned Jacinda you should have seen the the tissues fly.
There should be a special law to gag mark lundy his acting is about as good as my 2 years old granddaughter
Ka kite ano
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute .
https://youtu.be/ycOPGarZ9nM