Makes for good reading, especially for all the Cassandras around here who spend all day renting their clothes and gnashing their teeth that Labour hasn't immediately declared a people’s proletariat and (after suitable show trials) shot the landlords.
Let’s talk about housing. Grant feed the fire that is destorying this market and contributing to all these worsening social conditions and then he walks away and leaves the reserve bank to fix his screw up.
Ask people out there after all these announcements are their living conditons improving or going backwards. And after reading your list that is the bottom line, how are peoples lives ?
Let me tell you Herodotus, that his list has not been compiled to talk about housing. That list was compiled for people to feel good about a government that is failing many.
Funny how housing is being excluded. For the umtenth time much of our social ills are a result of inadequate housing. Whilst we have the green co leader distancing herself from her responsibilities, Megan and co gone MIA that for me sums it up for any real solutions.
Marama Davidson is Associate Minister of Homelessness. Without the minister of housing, Labour Person Wood she can't do much. So frankly as i said the other day, she did not get the job to win, she got the job to fail. My advice to her would be, run – not walk – away and be excellent outside this government on the opposition bench.
Yes, the next comedic line will be to assert that the government has got it all wrong because the Herald supports it.
It's the converse of the old saying, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Here it has become, "Who doesn’t attack my enemy's actions is also my enemy."
That line of laughable logic surfaced most recently with critics of our government in the 5 Eyes issue saying that we support the Chinese government in its actions against the Uighur because they assert we haven't criticised it in public recently.
Indeed, if a Minister doesn’t show their face in the 24-hour news cycle they are MIA. The logic of simpletons and the great unthinking. Many can’t read between the metaphorical lines and absorb nuance and context, which makes all the difference. To them, life is like a box of Roses chocolates: it’s all crap.
Yei! you learned about chocolate. I am so happy! Really i wuz worried you would waste your hard earned money on milkpowder, palmoil, refined sugar, chocolate flavoring and chocolate coloring. You made my day.
Good, then i can now expect no more bad faith offers of bad crappy chocolate to keep me sweet. I generally am not sweet, don't want to be sweet, and have stopped being sweet in order to please some people a long time a go.
I actually like Sauerkraut but your Teutonic temperament spoils it. A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down. I highly recommend chocolate fondue.
Mm chocolate – chocolate fondue Mmmmm. Chocolate mousse is good too. Some chocolate is good for one's health apparently, oh bliss! No doubt in small, regular amounts enough to keep us going and smiling as well.
Bullshit , no one person can exert that much power, even Gates or Musk havent got enough money to buy enough houses to force that much demand. It is simply pent up demand and fear of missing out and stupidity. If people stopped buying the market would collapse.
Adrian so a shortage of 80,000 dwellings is going to be solved by no one buying houses.
Because of the demand house construction permits have reached 15,000 in the last 1/4 2020 . The under supply has made it profitable for developers to build more houses ,to fix the under supply this level of construction needs to be maintained for at least 6 years.
Good stuff…and my unreserved praise goes to Min wage boost, Local Democracy Reporting, Period products, and qualified approval to the rest, but…
…WEAG (Welfare Experts Advisory Group Report) remains unimplemented in the main particularly re raising Benefit levels, Fair Pay Agreements are not going to happen in any shape significantly useful to unions–workers should ideally get pay boosts from the employing class not other taxpayers e.g, WFF. A public housing mega build has barely crossed the Labour Caucus conciousness, middle class people are now having to scrape together deposits for their kids in the overheated property scene–need I go on?
This Govt. retains heavy structural neo liberalism in legislation and methodology re funder/provider splits, contracting out, PPPs, managerialism and free in and outflow of capital. This majority MMP Govt. retains absolute support for the 36 year monetarist consensus amongst main Parliamentary political parties.
These are basic issues for the NZ working class that need urgent attention, and NZ Labour is in for a significant arse bite in 2023 if they do not raise benefits, start building houses and apartments, and control rents.
You know, every mistake made by this government in relation to covid has been forensically examined and represented hysterically in the media as a "massive failure" or a "border blunder" or MIQ "shambles."
However, if you are the NZ Herald and you rely almost excuslively on real estate and travel advertising to stay in business then a cock up at Brisbane airport is characterised as a gentle "hiccup"
"..Live: Bubble hiccup – warning for NZ travellers after airport breach in Australia.."
The Herald knows which side it's toast is buttered.
Audrey Young of the NZ Herald certainly knows which side her toast is buttered. Her ratings of the ministers yesterday were laughable. I felt sorry for Damien O'Connor only receiving a 4/10 which was the lowest (he must be in her bad books). Even Marama got a 5/10!
Yeah – we've made a broad negative observation – but we haven't brought it home to the worst performers just how poorly they serve the public, and how badly they are eroding their platform's bottom line.
Lady I know did her PhD on quality in journalism. The papers she worked with lifted circulation by around 70%. There's money in doing the job properly, as well as public service.
The public is fickle and with so much choice at their fingertips, they go for the low hanging fruit that gives an instant hit. It is like an addiction and they keep coming back for more. Even drug lords understand this.
Well, not everyone notices the satire implicit in La donna e mobile. The worst media chase the sugar hit. But over the medium term, the public tire of it – Tova's latest feigned outrage no longer gets the adrenaline flowing, and they start browsing elsewhere.
It's well known, and the demise of The Truth is a local demonstration that degrading content is a poor strategy.
Absolutely agree. I avoid many news sources as I'm not that keen on wasting my time – even when I'm wasting time.
Now that 'everyone's a content creator' the sea of mediocre and rubbish content that we're all awash in has become more than simply tedious, it's repugnant. Folk are aware, folk are looking for better.
Every day I block sites for life (of this computer at least). These sites use money and resources to get my attention yet have nothing but trivia to offer. Blocked for life. I hope the expense to wedge garbage onto the screens of myself and my peers hurts really bad. It's the least I can do.
I think that we ought to keep a closer eye on The Civilian. I haven't seen it mentioned much here. For news with a twist, you can't go past it I reckon. Look at The Herald quickly then glance over to The Civilian and imbibe it with your Cornflakes – they would go together well.
Who read about this amazing new approach to our housing problem in March? It seems as beautifully written as usual.
You could also say that calling it a gentle hickup is also a nice nice term to protect those here that opened the gates. Hopefully not to hell.
My partners company lost their first employee in India. One of the dispatchers called yesterday to querie a machine. The kid is 24 odd years old and is usually the kindest and sweetest person. He was kind, sweet and broken hearted yesterday.
We all don't know how lucky we are that his little hickup may not be the drop of water that breaches the floodgates.
In an incredibly powerful piece in the Guardian that also lays bare the poverty of so much of the prose of journalism these days Arundhati Roy says the number of dead in India could be 30 times the official figure:
"…Where shall we look for solace? For science? Shall we cling to numbers? How many dead? How many recovered? How many infected? When will the peak come? On 27 April, the report was 323,144 new cases, 2,771 deaths. The precision is somewhat reassuring. Except – how do we know? Tests are hard to come by, even in Delhi. The number of Covid-protocol funerals from graveyards and crematoriums in small towns and cities suggest a death toll up to 30 times higher than the official count. Doctors who are working outside the metropolitan areas can tell you how it is…
So upwards of 25-30,000 a day – a massacre of the poor.
For what it is worth, my wife knows a doctor who spent decades in India working for aid programs and who only returned last year and she is hearing the same sort of thing.
honestly if you are of the praying kind, pray for India.
We have known this guy for 4 years, thought him how to pronounce Maori names so engineers would be send to the correct location and yesterday listening him, honestly i just sat there and cried.
Hopelessness, despair, and so so tired. that poor kid.
I am really happy for Rainbow Youth to have been provided with something and i hope that they are to be provided with more then just a promise of money.
Wait times for children and teenagers trying to access mental health care have increased by almost two weeks since Labour was elected in 2017, despite a billion-dollar promise to fix the ailing sector.
New figures provided to Stuff show the average wait time across 16 of the 20 district health boards increased to 33 days for the year ended July 2020, up from 21 days when Labour was elected – with some DHBs seeing wait times as high as 72 days, well over two months.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) provides treatment to teenagers and children with the most severe mental health issues.
Health Minister Andrew Little said wait times had gone up, but the Government was focused on growing the mental health workforce.
But Mr. Little is growing a mental health workforce, he just needs a bit of manure (horse or sheep or chicken) and comfrey tea to help it grow a bit faster. The last 4 years of growing seems to have had no effect.
But then we don’t really get the stats we used to says Chloe Swarbrook, but then Mr. Little is comfortable with the data the they give us. Go figure?
reen Party mental health spokeswoman Chlöe Swarbrick says the Ministry of Health should be legally required to produce a wide range of mental health statistics, after concerns were raised about a routine mental health report released years late and with significantly less data than it once had.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has distanced her Government from the report too, noting it had all been produced within the ministry She said she herself was having trouble finding a specific suicide statistic that used to be in the report.
This came after Health Minister Andrew Little said on Tuesday he was comfortable with the report’s release
Sabine, I know a lot of the mental health field. Developing a new workforce is potentially a very long complicated task. The only country I am aware of who rolled out a mental health work force to serve people with mild to moderate mental health issues was the UK under Professor David Clark from Oxford University. In NZ there isn't wide spread support and training in CBT which is an evidenced based therapy. Various training institutes offer other models, most of which are lacking in any substantial evidence. So there is also an issue with training the trainers. People t teaching at these training institutes are deeply wedded to their model and can't be deployed to train in other more proven therapies. There is also the issue of providing culturally sensitive therapy.However the Min of Health doesn't appear to have adopted his model. Training therapists is a very complex issue. People have to have aptitude for the job
Unfortunately I am aware. that there are many therapists practicing who aren't effective therapists.
Good therapists practicing evidence based therapy can not just be magically pulled of a hat.
I agree with all that you said. But it has been four years, and in stead of just staying bad, it got worse, and hey our stats are now so whitewashed that effectively they are useless. But then, if you don't count it don/t exist. Right?
What i should not care? Don't give a fuck about the homeless, the hungry, the shoeless kids with empty bellies in preschool, the beatings women get form violent men, the glue sniffing kids, the poor huddled unwashed masses?
Sorry, but you know what? I am closer to those then i ever will be to the wellfed, wellhoused, well dressed doodas that you so cherish.
My view is excellent. Its neither Red nor Blue, it ain't partisan, it ain't based on wishful thinking.
And mental health under this government has gotten worse by their own admission. So don't take it too me, tell them to give you better news.
My wife is a Psychologist and has been involved with training Counselors. She is not impressed with how the training institutions are doing this. There is a huge risk of people being seen by people who are not properly trained to help them. This could make the situation worse not better.
Tricledrown – The USA university mention made me think of Ruth Dudley Edwards novel Murdering Americans (politically incorrect title for a book having that theme.) What they teach in the university/college at which she is visiting professor is far from her expectations.
…Murdering Americans takes place in a solidly built, nice looking college in the abandoned steel town of New Paddington, Indiana. The college, Freeman State University, has deteriorated over the years from the principles on which it was founded, that is the teachings of math, science, and history, freedom of speech, diversity of thought and integration, and so on. Political Correctness (with a capital "PC") has become their crushing ideology. The only competition permitted by this college is who is the greater victim…
…Baroness "Jack" Troutbeck, though quite busy being a member of the House of Lords and the Mistress of St. Martha's College in Cambridge, is always eager to face a new challenge should one present itself. To her surprise and delight she has been invited to America as a Distinguished Visiting Professor. She readily accepts, leaves London and flies off to America, and on to Freeman State University. The Baroness imagined the American colleges to be as she had viewed them in the movies of the fifties. What a shock to find them bastions of the liberal elite who have contempt for all things Western…
She found that this college did not offer the standard courses in literature and science but instead an array of programs in political correctness. Because Christian Americans are at the root of the world's problems, students need only to study the backgrounds and cultures of blacks, gays and lesbians, Muslims, Jews, and other oppressed minorities to understand why all countries in the world hate America.
During her stay, the Baroness is involved in four murders of which she has been inconveniently accused. She immediately calls for her friend in need, Robert Amiss, who flies to her side to help her solve the crimes…
What a load of nonsense! Firstly, it is a false dichotomy between “Christian moralist Calvinism” and science-based tertiary training and education, and a strawman. Secondly, which US universities and when did they supposedly push for a “style of psychology”, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Thirdly, I note you have not provided one shred of evidence for your assertions, not even a tiny little link. Lastly, the context is Aotearoa-New Zealand, not the USA.
Sorry about the link incognito. I think that the novel gives an example of the way that some of the second or third-grade universities have changed their focus in tertiary education, particularly in the USA.
And from the USA has come wokeness and an enhanced sensitivity to various groups making claims of unfairness, sometimes distantly connected to those who are actually battling huge inequality. The fact that it is fiction does not make it trivial. Matters taught in university in humanities and perhaps economics, may be more distorted than fiction I consider.
And where are the services that were promised and funded to cover tough stress over COVID , still waiting. Another announcement with no action to follow. Now there are real needs out there and there are many who think that an announcement from the throne solves these issues , guess what ?? It doesn’t and our queen bee needs to be told of this . But then again after an announcement out on it ministers go missing they have got there RV spot whilst nothing changes for the masses.
The whole mental health sector is under immense pressure and has been for years. In fact, the whole medical care sector is bending over backwards. They all need a long holiday, literally, before they burn out. Anybody with half a brain cell can see this.
that is nice, very nice, but of no help to anyone who needed mental health access and treatment yesterday and tomorrow. They are still shit outta luck.
I am looking forward to seeing these same excuses when National is next in line to fucking it up. Its a bit like, yeah, we don't build no houses, but there is a record number of building consents.
The Australian Health Department has contacted hundreds of Victorians and urged them to undergo a coronavirus test after “strong and unexpected” Covid-19 fragments were detected in the state’s wastewater.
Authorities say 246 people who were in Melbourne’s western and north-western suburbs were contacted on Thursday and told to get tested as a precaution.
“This additional action is being taken due to the strength of the wastewater detection and because a known positive Covid-19 case, from flight QF778, has been in Victoria in the past 14 days,” the department said.
Go on Morrissey give us a clue so we can guess first before looking up the links, testing our shrewdness, during our busyness trying to keep up with this amorphous world we live in.
“I hope that enough people will see that Nathan is a victim here. He was stupid, he should get a kick up the arse for what he did … but I think he deserves his job,” Mr Entsch said.
Great that the guys boss believes he deserves his job back after doing that over a womans desk! Anyone can be an MP these days.
Are you serious, there appears to have been zero awareness of what had occurred until the video was posted and you want that treated as a criminal offence?
i don't know, have a bloke stand in front of your table to ejaculate all over it should be considered at least a 'biological' attack, you know should be treated like we would treat pissing and pooping in public. Unless of course men have so little control over their darker urges that spontaniously whipping it out to burn one is considered normal.
Under the legislation, individuals could face civil penalties of up to AU$105,000 and corporations of up to AU$525,000 if they do not remove an image when requested to by the eSafety commissioner.
Obscene Exposure / Sexual Exposure is considered a public order offence and is punishable under s19 of the Summary Offences Act 1966 (Vic). You may be, or may have already been, charged with Obscene Exposure under the Act. Section 19 states that “A person must not wilfully and obscenely expose the genital area of his or her body in, or within the view of, a public place”. The provision also imposes a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment.
What the prosecution must prove
In order to convict you, the prosecution must demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that you:
· Wilfully and obscenely exposed your genital area, and
· Did so in, or within the view of, a public place.
Well i think he could get around 2 years and maybe a few fines. Well he should get. and while we are at, we should add a charge for the idiocy of fiming such abhorrent behaviour. But i am no lawyer.
So if I get this straight, the guy who filmed himself committing gross misconduct that got him fired after the video was aired is considering making a formal "revenge porn" complaint against his ex who had given the video to the media after their break-up.
Worthy of a soap opera. No idea which way the legal system might go on it, but sheesh.
Thing is, on the face of it, the pervert who got fired does have a point: an intimate visual recording shared in confidence was distributed for publication without his permission.
BUT
there is also the public interest in revealing that footage, given the guy's boss is obviously ok with such behaviour in the workplace
BUT public interest might not be a defense under the Aussie law, and how long did the other guy wait to send it to the media? Was it at the time, or did he really just do it as revenge for being dumped, rather than serving the public interest?
BUT I'm assuming the footage wasn't published unblurred, so does that count as intimate recording if the intimate bits are blurred out?
And other buts. Damned if I would be able to cut through that legal gordian knot.
As for pretty much everyone except the person whose desk was defiled and, as you say, the cleaner… yuck.
We have to watch and be wary of cults as well as gangs, and also the pseudo churches and charities that slide in to the tax-reduction gap offered to so-called worthy entities. This tax exemption strategy should be wiped, and replaced with applications for tax reduction on specific projects supplying sufficient Samaritan-like aid to the needy which is supervised. That is to try and prevent the institutional nasties that we have a Commission for at present.
"It's not true to say they 'wish those who leave all the best': They tell you 'you will fall apart, suffer financially, won't keep faith, your health will fail, you won't have relationships'.. "You're not allowed to think for yourself. One saying in there is from the leadership: 'You do the doing, we'll do the thinking'."
Investigative journalist Nicky Hager has uncovered widespread use of private investigators by senior Brethren against ex-members in New Zealand. "If we as a society can't protect people in that very vulnerable state, escape from something like a cult where their lives were being controlled and then they find themselves still being harassed, if we can't protect them, then something is really wrong."
This is the latest on the long-running, really eternal, story of grievances and sadness resulting from the dictatorship of the Exclusive Brethren (has reverted to Plymouth Brethren I have read. Bad faith is inherent in the beliefs and practices of this cult). The authorities seem to find it difficult to show pastoral care for the citizens in such coercive groups, even from a business and taxation POV.
[deleted entire comment because of potentially harmful content]
[I’m deeply uncomfortable with your allegations about EB/PB and the inferences you make about connections between them and other groupings with political parties without one piece of supporting evidence!
Given that have shown repeatedly ignoring Moderation notes in the past, I have deleted your whole comment and have passed it on to other Moderators who have much better understanding of the possible legal implications of your seemingly baseless accusations.
If you can back up all your assertions AND if the other Moderators deem it harmless enough, I will restore your comment.
Please acknowledge that you have read and understood this Moderation note at your earliest convenience, thanks – Incognito]
I agree with helping India as we can, perhaps some supplies to specific points as well as some money towards UN help. And careful rehoming of NZs, and families split, what about them especially where there are children? We have a large number of Indian people resident here now living, working, making their lives with us, and we must have cognisance of their needs and do what we can being concerned and reasonable, which doesn’t mean we can do everything that is wanted.
Our governments have not resisted the forces of the free market and open borders and cheaper goods made elsewhere. They chose to run down this country's internal economy and conditions in order to let foreign money (called investment) flood in. But that attitude has come back and bitten us in the bum. So we are bums, admit it, and attempt to do some good now it is needed, but without throwing away the good we have managed to retain and conserve here.
Also let us help Paprua New Guinea – they are beside themselves over there according to reports. And it seems, literally, anyone who can do good is trying to be in two places at once.
Health officials and doctors interviewed by RNZ Pacific have described a health system teetering on the brink of collapse and a country that has no real grasp of just how widespread the virus really is.
Officially, the country has recorded 10,915 cases of Covid-19 and 107 deaths, according to government figures released on Wednesday night.
So Papua New Guinea – PNG has a TB outbreak as well. I think we need to airlift supplies to these people. Fly in, drop off, refuel and back. Be in constant touch and advocate for them as well from the PTB and authorities, could even see what Australia is doing and co-ordinate with them keeping our aid separate to minimise spread of anything between us.
Nothing new for PNG being under prepared. I heard a doctor say the other day that most day to day medical supplies run out. Covid was always going to impact on unprepared populations and large populations and the poorest in the population.
In NZ we create a bubble and wait for the impact. I have previously said that an airport is a hot spot for transmission.
The person had mixed with passengers travelling on three flights to New Zealand under the trans-Tasman bubble arrangement.
The positive result was returned on Friday and a serology test was underway. Queensland Health's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young has declared the international terminal a venue of concern.
“Anyone who was in the terminal between 9.45am and midday on Thursday, 29 April 2021, should monitor their symptoms and get tested immediately if they feel unwell,” she said.
Not if but when the community spread is detected. Have Scooby-Doo and Ardern really considered the viability of a bubble. I have and everyday since it began.
TEL AVIV (Sputnik) – The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concerns on Thursday about a parade that took place in Kiev to celebrate the creation of SS Galicia Division, calling on the Ukrainian government to condemn the glorification of Nazi collaborators.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian nationalists held the first march in the center of Kiev to commemorate the anniversary of the foundation of the SS division during the Second World War. Previously, such parades were held in the city of Lviv.
Now, I'm no fan of Israel, but I wonder if Blinken will address these concerns when he visits there next week, or will he support the SS Parade?
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
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Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
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This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
“It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Minister’s ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
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Makes for good reading, especially for all the Cassandras around here who spend all day renting their clothes and gnashing their teeth that Labour hasn't immediately declared a people’s proletariat and (after suitable show trials) shot the landlords.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/audrey-young-labours-manifesto-now-has-the-teeth-it-lacked-last-term/EXXECPHAV3ILAZH25USQ3D4L44/
"…This term, because there is nothing holding back Labour, the manifesto is its pre-eminent policy document. Policies implemented so far:
• Increased the minimum wage to $20 an hour.
• Increased abatement thresholds before benefits are affected to $160 a week.
• Expanded access to flexi-wage and increase subsidy to fund up to 40,000 New Zealanders into supported work.
• Required Commerce Commission to do market study into supermarket sector.
• Restarted the refugee quota programme.
• Introduced new tax rate of 39 per cent on incomes over $180,000.
• Begun to expand free lunch in schools programme.
• Rolling out free period products to all primary, intermediate, secondary school and kura from June 2021.
• Rolling out targeted funding for mental health services for Rainbow young people.
• Introduced clean car import standard to reduce emissions and fuel costs.
• Supporting councils to decarbonise the public transport bus fleet by 2035.
• Reinstated the 100 per cent funding band for ECEs.
• Introduced a progressive procurement policy around Māori businesses.
• Launched $55 million fund for public interest journalism.
• Established Just Transition Unit to prepare for closure of Tiwai.
• Announced first date for Matariki public holiday.
• Opened quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia.
• Ending the installation of new low and medium temperature coal-fired boilers.
• Expanding sick leave entitlements to 10 days…"
Not bad for six months in the face of a pandemic and a hostile press!!
Let’s talk about housing. Grant feed the fire that is destorying this market and contributing to all these worsening social conditions and then he walks away and leaves the reserve bank to fix his screw up.
Ask people out there after all these announcements are their living conditons improving or going backwards. And after reading your list that is the bottom line, how are peoples lives ?
Let me tell you Herodotus, that his list has not been compiled to talk about housing. That list was compiled for people to feel good about a government that is failing many.
Funny how housing is being excluded. For the umtenth time much of our social ills are a result of inadequate housing. Whilst we have the green co leader distancing herself from her responsibilities, Megan and co gone MIA that for me sums it up for any real solutions.
Marama Davidson is Associate Minister of Homelessness. Without the minister of housing, Labour Person Wood she can't do much. So frankly as i said the other day, she did not get the job to win, she got the job to fail. My advice to her would be, run – not walk – away and be excellent outside this government on the opposition bench.
Being on the Opposition bench is worse than being a lame possum caught in the headlights on a RONS.
Audrey Young and the NZ Herald want to make us feel good about this Government? How Machiavellian of them.
That’s comedy gold
Yes, the next comedic line will be to assert that the government has got it all wrong because the Herald supports it.
It's the converse of the old saying, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Here it has become, "Who doesn’t attack my enemy's actions is also my enemy."
That line of laughable logic surfaced most recently with critics of our government in the 5 Eyes issue saying that we support the Chinese government in its actions against the Uighur because they assert we haven't criticised it in public recently.
Indeed, if a Minister doesn’t show their face in the 24-hour news cycle they are MIA. The logic of simpletons and the great unthinking. Many can’t read between the metaphorical lines and absorb nuance and context, which makes all the difference. To them, life is like a box of Roses chocolates: it’s all crap.
Yei! you learned about chocolate. I am so happy! Really i wuz worried you would waste your hard earned money on milkpowder, palmoil, refined sugar, chocolate flavoring and chocolate coloring. You made my day.
Belgium chocolate is the best; Swiss chocolate has got too many holes in it and makes me hear Alphorns and yodelling.
Good, then i can now expect no more bad faith offers of bad crappy chocolate to keep me sweet. I generally am not sweet, don't want to be sweet, and have stopped being sweet in order to please some people a long time a go.
thanks.
I actually like Sauerkraut but your Teutonic temperament spoils it. A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down. I highly recommend chocolate fondue.
Mm chocolate – chocolate fondue Mmmmm. Chocolate mousse is good too. Some chocolate is good for one's health apparently, oh bliss! No doubt in small, regular amounts enough to keep us going and smiling as well.
Whittakers Chocolate. We can be proud of that!!
Bullshit , no one person can exert that much power, even Gates or Musk havent got enough money to buy enough houses to force that much demand. It is simply pent up demand and fear of missing out and stupidity. If people stopped buying the market would collapse.
Adrian so a shortage of 80,000 dwellings is going to be solved by no one buying houses.
Because of the demand house construction permits have reached 15,000 in the last 1/4 2020 . The under supply has made it profitable for developers to build more houses ,to fix the under supply this level of construction needs to be maintained for at least 6 years.
So where are these people going to live.
In a ditch or in a motel under the guise of emergency housing?
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/podcast-the-detail/page/our-construction-crisis
@ Herodotus, Audrey didnt "include extra things like housing policies & Maori wards" See 1.2
"doesn't include extra things like housing policies & Maori wards"
https://twitter.com/ClintVSmith/status/1387912277932666880
Good stuff…and my unreserved praise goes to Min wage boost, Local Democracy Reporting, Period products, and qualified approval to the rest, but…
…WEAG (Welfare Experts Advisory Group Report) remains unimplemented in the main particularly re raising Benefit levels, Fair Pay Agreements are not going to happen in any shape significantly useful to unions–workers should ideally get pay boosts from the employing class not other taxpayers e.g, WFF. A public housing mega build has barely crossed the Labour Caucus conciousness, middle class people are now having to scrape together deposits for their kids in the overheated property scene–need I go on?
This Govt. retains heavy structural neo liberalism in legislation and methodology re funder/provider splits, contracting out, PPPs, managerialism and free in and outflow of capital. This majority MMP Govt. retains absolute support for the 36 year monetarist consensus amongst main Parliamentary political parties.
These are basic issues for the NZ working class that need urgent attention, and NZ Labour is in for a significant arse bite in 2023 if they do not raise benefits, start building houses and apartments, and control rents.
+1
You know, every mistake made by this government in relation to covid has been forensically examined and represented hysterically in the media as a "massive failure" or a "border blunder" or MIQ "shambles."
However, if you are the NZ Herald and you rely almost excuslively on real estate and travel advertising to stay in business then a cock up at Brisbane airport is characterised as a gentle "hiccup"
"..Live: Bubble hiccup – warning for NZ travellers after airport breach in Australia.."
The Herald knows which side it's toast is buttered.
Audrey Young of the NZ Herald certainly knows which side her toast is buttered. Her ratings of the ministers yesterday were laughable. I felt sorry for Damien O'Connor only receiving a 4/10 which was the lowest (he must be in her bad books). Even Marama got a 5/10!
LOL. She's giving ratings for ministers. What is she 15? Hope she also did a "who's hot and who's not" article, just to reinforce her 'style'.
It's about time we rated journalists – not many would reach the towering heights of a 3/10.
We’ve already done that, kinda.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018793371/we-ve-got-trust-issues-with-news
Yeah – we've made a broad negative observation – but we haven't brought it home to the worst performers just how poorly they serve the public, and how badly they are eroding their platform's bottom line.
Lady I know did her PhD on quality in journalism. The papers she worked with lifted circulation by around 70%. There's money in doing the job properly, as well as public service.
The public is fickle and with so much choice at their fingertips, they go for the low hanging fruit that gives an instant hit. It is like an addiction and they keep coming back for more. Even drug lords understand this.
Well, not everyone notices the satire implicit in La donna e mobile. The worst media chase the sugar hit. But over the medium term, the public tire of it – Tova's latest feigned outrage no longer gets the adrenaline flowing, and they start browsing elsewhere.
It's well known, and the demise of The Truth is a local demonstration that degrading content is a poor strategy.
Absolutely agree. I avoid many news sources as I'm not that keen on wasting my time – even when I'm wasting time.
Now that 'everyone's a content creator' the sea of mediocre and rubbish content that we're all awash in has become more than simply tedious, it's repugnant. Folk are aware, folk are looking for better.
Every day I block sites for life (of this computer at least). These sites use money and resources to get my attention yet have nothing but trivia to offer. Blocked for life. I hope the expense to wedge garbage onto the screens of myself and my peers hurts really bad. It's the least I can do.
I think that we ought to keep a closer eye on The Civilian. I haven't seen it mentioned much here. For news with a twist, you can't go past it I reckon. Look at The Herald quickly then glance over to The Civilian and imbibe it with your Cornflakes – they would go together well.
Who read about this amazing new approach to our housing problem in March? It seems as beautifully written as usual.
http://www.thecivilian.co.nz/scientists-begin-search-for-elusive-capital-gain-particle-to-explain-runaway-housing-market/
You could also say that calling it a gentle hickup is also a nice nice term to protect those here that opened the gates. Hopefully not to hell.
My partners company lost their first employee in India. One of the dispatchers called yesterday to querie a machine. The kid is 24 odd years old and is usually the kindest and sweetest person. He was kind, sweet and broken hearted yesterday.
We all don't know how lucky we are that his little hickup may not be the drop of water that breaches the floodgates.
In an incredibly powerful piece in the Guardian that also lays bare the poverty of so much of the prose of journalism these days Arundhati Roy says the number of dead in India could be 30 times the official figure:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/apr/28/crime-against-humanity-arundhati-roy-india-covid-catastrophe
"…Where shall we look for solace? For science? Shall we cling to numbers? How many dead? How many recovered? How many infected? When will the peak come? On 27 April, the report was 323,144 new cases, 2,771 deaths. The precision is somewhat reassuring. Except – how do we know? Tests are hard to come by, even in Delhi. The number of Covid-protocol funerals from graveyards and crematoriums in small towns and cities suggest a death toll up to 30 times higher than the official count. Doctors who are working outside the metropolitan areas can tell you how it is…
So upwards of 25-30,000 a day – a massacre of the poor.
For what it is worth, my wife knows a doctor who spent decades in India working for aid programs and who only returned last year and she is hearing the same sort of thing.
honestly if you are of the praying kind, pray for India.
We have known this guy for 4 years, thought him how to pronounce Maori names so engineers would be send to the correct location and yesterday listening him, honestly i just sat there and cried.
Hopelessness, despair, and so so tired. that poor kid.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19-coronavirus-democracy-in-india-under-microscope-as-hundreds-of-anti-government-accounts-censored/5WRF3F4DOP3NWFWCLNSJCIAKZQ/
I am really happy for Rainbow Youth to have been provided with something and i hope that they are to be provided with more then just a promise of money.
However if we take labels away, we learn that Children and teenagers (Youth) as of April 2021 is not getting the mental health when they need it.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300271651/wait-times-for-youth-mental-health-services-balloon-out-under-labour-despite-huge-investment
But Mr. Little is growing a mental health workforce, he just needs a bit of manure (horse or sheep or chicken) and comfrey tea to help it grow a bit faster. The last 4 years of growing seems to have had no effect.
But then we don’t really get the stats we used to says Chloe Swarbrook, but then Mr. Little is comfortable with the data the they give us. Go figure?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300271515/greens-push-for-mental-health-statistics-to-be-required-by-law-as-prime-minister-appears-to-distance-herself-from-slimmeddown-report?rm=a
yep, mental health is in shambles. Nevermind.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300266892/huge-growth-in-use-of-last-resort-seclusion-indicates-mental-health-system-in-crisis-and-in-worse-shape-than-when-labour-elected-in-2017?rm=a
Sabine, I know a lot of the mental health field. Developing a new workforce is potentially a very long complicated task. The only country I am aware of who rolled out a mental health work force to serve people with mild to moderate mental health issues was the UK under Professor David Clark from Oxford University. In NZ there isn't wide spread support and training in CBT which is an evidenced based therapy. Various training institutes offer other models, most of which are lacking in any substantial evidence. So there is also an issue with training the trainers. People t teaching at these training institutes are deeply wedded to their model and can't be deployed to train in other more proven therapies. There is also the issue of providing culturally sensitive therapy.However the Min of Health doesn't appear to have adopted his model. Training therapists is a very complex issue. People have to have aptitude for the job
Unfortunately I am aware. that there are many therapists practicing who aren't effective therapists.
Good therapists practicing evidence based therapy can not just be magically pulled of a hat.
I agree with all that you said. But it has been four years, and in stead of just staying bad, it got worse, and hey our stats are now so whitewashed that effectively they are useless. But then, if you don't count it don/t exist. Right?
You may want to change the polarity of your filter; it may shock you.
What i should not care? Don't give a fuck about the homeless, the hungry, the shoeless kids with empty bellies in preschool, the beatings women get form violent men, the glue sniffing kids, the poor huddled unwashed masses?
Sorry, but you know what? I am closer to those then i ever will be to the wellfed, wellhoused, well dressed doodas that you so cherish.
My view is excellent. Its neither Red nor Blue, it ain't partisan, it ain't based on wishful thinking.
And mental health under this government has gotten worse by their own admission. So don't take it too me, tell them to give you better news.
minus to plus
the people's poet
My wife is a Psychologist and has been involved with training Counselors. She is not impressed with how the training institutions are doing this. There is a huge risk of people being seen by people who are not properly trained to help them. This could make the situation worse not better.
My tongue is bleeding heavily …
Was your wife trained in NZ? She must be old school.
So, we should stop training these young and highly motivated bright people because they “could make the situation worse not better”?
Let’s not do anything and stay inside because we may make a mistake. FFS!
Incognito US universities pushed a style of psychology that was Christian moralist calvinism not scientific ie Otago University longitudinal study.
Looking at Gosmans comments and allegiance to reaganomics it all makes sense.
Tricledrown – The USA university mention made me think of Ruth Dudley Edwards novel Murdering Americans (politically incorrect title for a book having that theme.) What they teach in the university/college at which she is visiting professor is far from her expectations.
…Murdering Americans takes place in a solidly built, nice looking college in the abandoned steel town of New Paddington, Indiana. The college, Freeman State University, has deteriorated over the years from the principles on which it was founded, that is the teachings of math, science, and history, freedom of speech, diversity of thought and integration, and so on. Political Correctness (with a capital "PC") has become their crushing ideology. The only competition permitted by this college is who is the greater victim…
…Baroness "Jack" Troutbeck, though quite busy being a member of the House of Lords and the Mistress of St. Martha's College in Cambridge, is always eager to face a new challenge should one present itself. To her surprise and delight she has been invited to America as a Distinguished Visiting Professor. She readily accepts, leaves London and flies off to America, and on to Freeman State University. The Baroness imagined the American colleges to be as she had viewed them in the movies of the fifties. What a shock to find them bastions of the liberal elite who have contempt for all things Western…
She found that this college did not offer the standard courses in literature and science but instead an array of programs in political correctness. Because Christian Americans are at the root of the world's problems, students need only to study the backgrounds and cultures of blacks, gays and lesbians, Muslims, Jews, and other oppressed minorities to understand why all countries in the world hate America.
During her stay, the Baroness is involved in four murders of which she has been inconveniently accused. She immediately calls for her friend in need, Robert Amiss, who flies to her side to help her solve the crimes…
Why do you use a novel to support allegations about ‘intellectual derailment’ at US universities??
Please include a link next time, thanks.
What a load of nonsense! Firstly, it is a false dichotomy between “Christian moralist Calvinism” and science-based tertiary training and education, and a strawman. Secondly, which US universities and when did they supposedly push for a “style of psychology”, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Thirdly, I note you have not provided one shred of evidence for your assertions, not even a tiny little link. Lastly, the context is Aotearoa-New Zealand, not the USA.
Sorry about the link incognito. I think that the novel gives an example of the way that some of the second or third-grade universities have changed their focus in tertiary education, particularly in the USA.
And from the USA has come wokeness and an enhanced sensitivity to various groups making claims of unfairness, sometimes distantly connected to those who are actually battling huge inequality. The fact that it is fiction does not make it trivial. Matters taught in university in humanities and perhaps economics, may be more distorted than fiction I consider.
Gosman given your competency I wouldn't take your spin on any subject as truth.
You love lapping up what the media feed you.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/124843528/number-of-students-studying-mental-health-course-doubles-in-taranaki
And where are the services that were promised and funded to cover tough stress over COVID , still waiting. Another announcement with no action to follow. Now there are real needs out there and there are many who think that an announcement from the throne solves these issues , guess what ?? It doesn’t and our queen bee needs to be told of this . But then again after an announcement out on it ministers go missing they have got there RV spot whilst nothing changes for the masses.
The whole mental health sector is under immense pressure and has been for years. In fact, the whole medical care sector is bending over backwards. They all need a long holiday, literally, before they burn out. Anybody with half a brain cell can see this.
that is nice, very nice, but of no help to anyone who needed mental health access and treatment yesterday and tomorrow. They are still shit outta luck.
I am looking forward to seeing these same excuses when National is next in line to fucking it up. Its a bit like, yeah, we don't build no houses, but there is a record number of building consents.
the quarantine free holidays are hopefully a thing of the past soon.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/300289065/covid19-hundreds-in-melbourne-told-to-get-tested-after-unexpected-wastewater-detections
Yesterday's Deranged Ranting
This fellow is not interested in arguing his case, just in shutting people down.
https://markdoran.files.wordpress.com/2021/04/johnson-real.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E0EZ2TuX0AI_vH1?format=jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E0IuZs7WQAIQL-9?format=png&name=small
Hoodat?
Go on Morrissey give us a clue so we can guess first before looking up the links, testing our shrewdness, during our busyness trying to keep up with this amorphous world we live in.
Australia have a low bar of entry for politicians.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/staffer-in-parliament-masturbating-video-files-police-report-over-revenge-porn-20210429-p57nnd.html
“I hope that enough people will see that Nathan is a victim here. He was stupid, he should get a kick up the arse for what he did … but I think he deserves his job,” Mr Entsch said.
Great that the guys boss believes he deserves his job back after doing that over a womans desk! Anyone can be an MP these days.
anyone can. Indeed.
i find it interesting that this is not considered sexual assault.
Are you serious, there appears to have been zero awareness of what had occurred until the video was posted and you want that treated as a criminal offence?
i don't know, have a bloke stand in front of your table to ejaculate all over it should be considered at least a 'biological' attack, you know should be treated like we would treat pissing and pooping in public. Unless of course men have so little control over their darker urges that spontaniously whipping it out to burn one is considered normal.
Revenge Porn is already a criminal act.
yep, they did pass some law to make that illegal https://www.zdnet.com/article/australia-passes-revenge-porn-legislation/
Public urinating and defecation :
you can get fined for this in OZ. https://www.criminaldefencelawyers.com.au/blog/woman-fined-for-offensive-conduct-after-defecating-in-public/
indecent exposure
https://www.criminalsolicitorsmelbourne.com.au/?what_we_do=obscene-exposure-lawyers-melbourne-indecent-exposure#:~:text=Section%2019%20states%20that%20%E2%80%9CA,penalty%20of%202%20years%20imprisonment.
What the prosecution must prove
In order to convict you, the prosecution must demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that you:
· Wilfully and obscenely exposed your genital area, and
· Did so in, or within the view of, a public place.
Well i think he could get around 2 years and maybe a few fines. Well he should get. and while we are at, we should add a charge for the idiocy of fiming such abhorrent behaviour. But i am no lawyer.
We should push for a prosecution of Paula Radcliffe at the same time?
And I would suggest MPs offices are not actually public spaces.
What she do? Did she ejaculate over someones desk? Then yeah, she should also be prosecuted.
She won the London Marathon 2005, but doing so involved an unscheduled and very public toilet stop.
One can draw ones own conclusions as to Mr Entsch's work habits.
Mr Entsch's work habits…
I'm sure I'm not the only person to notice that this gentleman's name is an anagram of "Stench".
So if I get this straight, the guy who filmed himself committing gross misconduct that got him fired after the video was aired is considering making a formal "revenge porn" complaint against his ex who had given the video to the media after their break-up.
Worthy of a soap opera. No idea which way the legal system might go on it, but sheesh.
Another day in the office.
Yep, that's how I understood it too. So "the perp" has become "the victim".
But I thought the funniest part was his boss Mr Entsch saying he should have his job back!
I wouldn't want to be a cleaner in that office!
Thing is, on the face of it, the pervert who got fired does have a point: an intimate visual recording shared in confidence was distributed for publication without his permission.
BUT
there is also the public interest in revealing that footage, given the guy's boss is obviously ok with such behaviour in the workplace
BUT public interest might not be a defense under the Aussie law, and how long did the other guy wait to send it to the media? Was it at the time, or did he really just do it as revenge for being dumped, rather than serving the public interest?
BUT I'm assuming the footage wasn't published unblurred, so does that count as intimate recording if the intimate bits are blurred out?
And other buts. Damned if I would be able to cut through that legal gordian knot.
As for pretty much everyone except the person whose desk was defiled and, as you say, the cleaner… yuck.
No reason they can't both be prosecuted.
Not sure the [literal] wanker did anything illegal as such.
Definitely deserved to lose his job though.
But yeah – very much a case of "throw everything at the courts and let them sort it out".
Bit of a sticky wicket, what!
We have to watch and be wary of cults as well as gangs, and also the pseudo churches and charities that slide in to the tax-reduction gap offered to so-called worthy entities. This tax exemption strategy should be wiped, and replaced with applications for tax reduction on specific projects supplying sufficient Samaritan-like aid to the needy which is supervised. That is to try and prevent the institutional nasties that we have a Commission for at present.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/441479/ex-exclusive-brethren-accuse-church-of-tearing-families-apart-there-are-some-pretty-nasty-stories
…Wellington man Peter H… is starting life again at the age of 52…
"It's not true to say they 'wish those who leave all the best': They tell you 'you will fall apart, suffer financially, won't keep faith, your health will fail, you won't have relationships'..
"You're not allowed to think for yourself. One saying in there is from the leadership: 'You do the doing, we'll do the thinking'."
Investigative journalist Nicky Hager has uncovered widespread use of private investigators by senior Brethren against ex-members in New Zealand.
"If we as a society can't protect people in that very vulnerable state, escape from something like a cult where their lives were being controlled and then they find themselves still being harassed, if we can't protect them, then something is really wrong."
This is the latest on the long-running, really eternal, story of grievances and sadness resulting from the dictatorship of the Exclusive Brethren (has reverted to Plymouth Brethren I have read. Bad faith is inherent in the beliefs and practices of this cult). The authorities seem to find it difficult to show pastoral care for the citizens in such coercive groups, even from a business and taxation POV.
You can get between the Brethren and their God, but God help you if you get between the Brethren and their money.
Adrian
Much the same thing.
[deleted entire comment because of potentially harmful content]
[I’m deeply uncomfortable with your allegations about EB/PB and the inferences you make about connections between them and other groupings with political parties without one piece of supporting evidence!
Given that have shown repeatedly ignoring Moderation notes in the past, I have deleted your whole comment and have passed it on to other Moderators who have much better understanding of the possible legal implications of your seemingly baseless accusations.
If you can back up all your assertions AND if the other Moderators deem it harmless enough, I will restore your comment.
Please acknowledge that you have read and understood this Moderation note at your earliest convenience, thanks – Incognito]
That fits with what i have read Tricledrown. Agree with you.
See my Moderation note @ 1:27 pm.
edit
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/441390/new-zealand-donates-1m-as-india-covid-19-deaths-top-200-000
I agree with helping India as we can, perhaps some supplies to specific points as well as some money towards UN help. And careful rehoming of NZs, and families split, what about them especially where there are children? We have a large number of Indian people resident here now living, working, making their lives with us, and we must have cognisance of their needs and do what we can being concerned and reasonable, which doesn’t mean we can do everything that is wanted.
Our governments have not resisted the forces of the free market and open borders and cheaper goods made elsewhere. They chose to run down this country's internal economy and conditions in order to let foreign money (called investment) flood in. But that attitude has come back and bitten us in the bum. So we are bums, admit it, and attempt to do some good now it is needed, but without throwing away the good we have managed to retain and conserve here.
Also let us help Paprua New Guinea – they are beside themselves over there according to reports. And it seems, literally, anyone who can do good is trying to be in two places at once.
29/4 at 6.02 am – https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/programmes/pacific-waves/audio/2018793344/png-doctors-say-covid-19-outbreak-getting-worse
29/4 at 4.23pm – https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific/441445/we-don-t-have-any-grasp-covid-19-crisis-pushes-png-hospitals-to-the-brink |Jamie Tahana
Doctors in Papua New Guinea say the coronavirus crisis is only getting worse as some hospitals shut their doors to patients and others struggle without supplies as basic as gloves.
Health officials and doctors interviewed by RNZ Pacific have described a health system teetering on the brink of collapse and a country that has no real grasp of just how widespread the virus really is.
Officially, the country has recorded 10,915 cases of Covid-19 and 107 deaths, according to government figures released on Wednesday night.
This in March – https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/2018789058/papua-new-guinea-battling-tb-crisis-amid-covid-19-pandemic
So Papua New Guinea – PNG has a TB outbreak as well. I think we need to airlift supplies to these people. Fly in, drop off, refuel and back. Be in constant touch and advocate for them as well from the PTB and authorities, could even see what Australia is doing and co-ordinate with them keeping our aid separate to minimise spread of anything between us.
Nothing new for PNG being under prepared. I heard a doctor say the other day that most day to day medical supplies run out. Covid was always going to impact on unprepared populations and large populations and the poorest in the population.
In NZ we create a bubble and wait for the impact. I have previously said that an airport is a hot spot for transmission.
fuck.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/124993291/covid19-red-zone-traveller-who-breached-brisbane-airport-green-zone-tests-positive
Not if but when the community spread is detected. Have Scooby-Doo and Ardern really considered the viability of a bubble. I have and everyday since it began.
TEL AVIV (Sputnik) – The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concerns on Thursday about a parade that took place in Kiev to celebrate the creation of SS Galicia Division, calling on the Ukrainian government to condemn the glorification of Nazi collaborators.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian nationalists held the first march in the center of Kiev to commemorate the anniversary of the foundation of the SS division during the Second World War. Previously, such parades were held in the city of Lviv.
Now, I'm no fan of Israel, but I wonder if Blinken will address these concerns when he visits there next week, or will he support the SS Parade?
The Ukraine is weak Jerry.