Doesn't sound like the TVNZ HR department did very good background checking on this bloke. Be interesting to see who they replace John Campbell with now.
We’ve also learned that the reasonable majority can be frightened and silenced if caught between extremes, while many others can be captured by mass delusions.”
Military budget of the United States 801 Billion (population 329.5 million )
Military budget of China 261 Billion (population 1.402 billion)
Military budget of Russia 66 Billion (population 144.1 million )
And we all know the truly impressive and extremely long list of countries in which the US has conducted hostile incursions into another country's territories….and lets not even start with the USA's role in meddling in other countries elections….that list would be just ridiculous……., and yet people on this very site will scream at the top of their lungs…FEAR RUSSIA….FEAR CHINA…..
Like most of their rhetoric…logic, common sense (and historical evidence) has to be completely ignored in order to join their new Cold War Club…..unfortunately it seems like they are getting plenty of takers now that Putin has wrongly and stupidly given them the gift of the Ukraine….millions of deaths, untold misery and destruction caused and still being caused by ultra aggressive US/Western militarism…forgotten quite literally in the blink of an eye…..
Putin launched this war precisely because he thought the US was weak and not going to intervene.
At the beginning of this year most people thought it unlikely Urkaine would be invaded – yet here we are. And now Russia is rightly feared and loathed for its vile invasion.
China continues to threaten to invade Taiwan, and are openly pre-positioning themselves to do so. Only a complete fool would could now claim this is unlikely. Indeed you only have to look at their insanely provocative actions in the South Pacific to understand precisely what their intentions are. As a result China is also rightly feared and loathed for continuing down this same medieval, war-mongering path as Russia.
Adrian's undeniable cheerleading for these totalitarian regimes and the neo-colonial invasions they promote renders anything he says about US history to meaningless partisan blather. More to the point – if he lived in Russia or China and was saying comparable things against those regimes, he would very likely be shut down and pay a high cost for it. That he feels free to abuse the relative freedom of speech that he enjoys here in the West to undermine and betray the open society he has the remarkable privilege to live in underscores a profound ignorance and moral bankruptcy.
Alternatively Putin launched his SMO because he recognized America's power play in the ukraine and doing nothing about it was'nt an option .
Agree most observers in the west thought he was'nt going to invade but now that has occurred a great many counties arround the world have some sympathies for the Russian perspective and its predicament ie America's openly stated intention to 'weaken ' Russia . Those countries include China obviously plus India and probably Pakistan South Africa Iran Venezuela Mexico and numerous others .
I had a humorous thought that probably all Reds mum would have had to do when he was an infant was whistle Dixie to get him to suckle vigorously !
Throwing propaganda and unhelpful labels at each other leads to more widespread confusion and division, not just between sides, but also within sides and this is often one of the objectives of propaganda – it becomes self-reinforcing.
A useful idiot becomes less useful for propagandists once he/she start to realise that they are and have been manipulated. When this leads to better understanding of the situation and possibly even an internal dialogue within and between sides there’s an increased chance that a non-binary non-partisan solution might be found and also sooner rather than later. The fact is that some people actually benefit from wars and it is these people who often have a hand (literally) in spreading propaganda aka the vested interests.
If russia and china get free passes because your room is too full of hate for the usa, then it's myopic, one sided and most likely just politically motivated chatter.
I don't take anyone seriously, showing such small minded, blinkered thinking. Blame and consequences should land at all deserving doors.
But do go for it – I'm clearly not the intended audience.
The cause of the war in Ukraine and many other wars and invasions, usually have nothing at all to do with the ridiculous stated reasons, like the murder of an Arch Duke, or neo-nazis in Ukraine.
Hi Adrian, you have provided us an accurate list exposing the reach and spread of the US military empire. Taken together, the US empire's record of invasions and wars around the globe is truly horrific.
But this list of US crime and global power does not account for the current situation. And the very real threat posed by Russian imperialism.
The comparative size and success of imperialist powers is not their only measure.
Let's take an analogy:
Before the Second and First World Wars, the British Empire, not the US empire was the global hegemonic super power. The crimes of the British Empire are well documented, during its reign as the world hegemon the British Empire killed an estimated 40 million people.
…..At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power.[1] By 1913 the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23 per cent of the world population at the time,[2] and by 1920 it covered 35,500,000 km2 (13,700,000 sq mi),[3] 24 per cent of the Earth's total land area.
Though the German imperialists certainly matched the British imperialists in their level of atrocity and genocide. Compared to the British Empire, the German and Nazi empires never reached anywhere near the size and reach of the British Empire.
As the eponymous character in the anti-war satire 'Black Adder' put it, compared to the British Empire all the German Empire had was a small sausage factory in Tanganyika.
Obviously an exaggeration for theatrical effect, but not that far from the truth.
But this list of US crime and global power does not account for the current situation. And the very real threat posed by Russian imperialism.
"Russian imperialism" is a figment of your imagination. Though there may have been a few imperialist efforts during Tsarist days, mostly aimed at gaining Istanbul.
Try telling the people of Syria under Russian bombing, that Russian imperialism is a figment of their imagination.
I'm not sure what the Ukranians think, and to be honest I don't think it matters. Speculations about what they might be thinking just some of the rubbish you serve up when you can't come up with a cogent argument.
Mikesh, tell me, is Chinese imperialism also a figment of my imagination?
I really have no idea, but if they are then they are doing through diplomatic channels. I don't see any reason to get upset about that.
However, I think your imagination seems a little erratic.
PS: By the way, have you read Harari's Sapiens. Harari thinks that the historical role of empires is to bring nations together, and forge a common way of life.
It is impossible to verify Ziawudun's account completely because of the severe restrictions China places on reporters in the country, but travel documents and immigration records she provided to the BBC corroborate the timeline of her story. Her descriptions of the camp in Xinyuan county – known in Uighur as Kunes county – match satellite imagery analysed by the BBC, and her descriptions of daily life inside the camp, as well as the nature and methods of the abuse, correspond with other accounts from former detainees.
Internal documents from the Kunes county justice system from 2017 and 2018, provided to the BBC by Adrian Zenz, a leading expert on China's policies in Xinjiang, detail planning and spending for "transformation through education" of "key groups" – a common euphemism in China for the indoctrination of the Uighurs. In one Kunes document, the "education" process is described as "washing brains, cleansing hearts, strengthening righteousness and eliminating evil".
The BBC also interviewed a Kazakh woman from Xinjiang who was detained for 18 months in the camp system, who said she was forced to strip Uighur women naked and handcuff them, before leaving them alone with Chinese men. Afterwards, she cleaned the rooms, she said.
"My job was to remove their clothes above the waist and handcuff them so they cannot move," said Gulzira Auelkhan, crossing her wrists behind her head to demonstrate. "Then I would leave the women in the room and a man would enter – some Chinese man from outside or policeman. I sat silently next to the door, and when the man left the room I took the woman for a shower."
The Chinese men "would pay money to have their pick of the prettiest young inmates", she said.
Some former detainees of the camps have described being forced to assist guards or face punishment. Auelkhan said she was powerless to resist or intervene.
Asked if there was a system of organised rape, she said: "Yes, rape."
"They forced me to go into that room," she said. "They forced me to take off those women's clothes and to restrain their hands and leave the room."
A budding imperial power that wants to play the "Great Game" on the world stage, first starts by colonising its hinterland and/or smaller nearest neighbours.. After it has enslaved and murdered and robbed these peoples, only then does it feel confident enough to challenge its rival imperialists on the world stage.
It's the same process followed by the British Empire began in Ireland, And the US empire with its genocidal Manifest Destiny policy against its First People Nations.
It's the pattern followed by Chinese regime against Tibet and against the Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The latest news is that the diplomatic efforts of the Chinese imperialists into the Pacific have been checked.
"I'm not sure what the Ukranians think, and to be honest I don't think it matters….."mikesh 31 May 2022 at 1:08 pm
Of course you don't think it matters what the Ukrainians think, No surprises there. Whenever has anyone, who supports imperialist war and invasions ever thought it matters what the people of the country being invaded and taken over think?
"…the historical role of empires is to bring nations together, and forge a common way of life." mikesh 31 May 2022 at 1:08 pm
That's what every supporter of imperialism, that ever was, has said.
Ghengis Khan, Cecil Rhodes, King Leopold, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Hirohito and Vladimir Putin would all agree with you on that one.
Of course you don't think it matters what the Ukrainians think, No surprises there. Whenever has anyone, who supports imperialist war and invasions ever thought it matters what the people of the country being invaded and taken over think?
I would think the Ukrainians would be too worried about bombs dropping on their heads to be interested in whether or not Russia has "imperialist intentions".
Ghengis Khan, Cecil Rhodes, King Leopold, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Hirohito and Vladimir Putin would all agree with you on that one
Empires are a fact of life, or a fact of history. Whether anybody supports them, or nobody supports them, is rather pointless to speculate on..
By the way, you forgot about Cyrus the Great, and also Augustus Caesar.
What gets me is that the left spent a decade tearing itself apart over how Assange was a rapist because he didn't use a condom on his morning wood – but when orders Putin the murder of a country somehow he's just a poor misunderstood vlad.
No-one is denying that what is going on in Ukraine is abhorent. Differences that countries have with one another should sorted out by negotiation, and perhaps with arbitration if a settlement cannot be reached. However, if one party (in this case, Zelenskyy) won't come to the the negotiating table, and if that party won't abide by previously arrived at agreements (like the Minsk agreements), then it's difficult to see what options the other party has, other than to declare war.
You twist yourself into pretzels trying to exculpate the murderous Putin regime.
Russia agreed in 1994 to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and national borders in return for Kyiv agreeing to give up its nuclear arsenal. ~ The Budapest Memorandum.
Russia's alternative was to abide by its agreements – now the Putin regime will be crushed – and a good thing too.
Well given that Putin had already egregiously reneged on the prior Budapest Memorandum – to your obvious satisfaction – why then do you demand Ukraine should abide by any agreement either? Why one rule for Russia and another for Ukraine?
“The key political provisions are incompatible, in my opinion, with Ukraine’s existence as a sovereign country,” said Duncan Allan, a fellow at Chatham House who specialises in the Minsk Agreements.
In his analysis, the Minsk plan for the political reintegration of Donbas was put together hastily and contains contradictory points, which has led to the two sides arguing for interpretations that are advantageous to them.
Indeed, other analysts suggest that if Kyiv was pressured into implementing Russia’s version of Minsk, there could be a severe backlash from ordinary Ukrainians that could destabilise the country internally.
Allan believes that the agreements have a “very convoluted and confused sequencing procedure”.
Under the agreements, Ukraine wants Russia and its proxy forces to withdraw and allow Ukraine to take back control of the border before the proposed local elections under international standards take place. Then, instead of granting the territories the special status that Russia has argued for, Kyiv would give the territories some extra powers but essentially incorporate them into its existing decentralisation programme.
Ukraine’s interpretation of the agreement envisions alterations to some of the prickliest political elements, but in doing so, it negates what Russia has shown it wants from Minsk – the ability to continue to control the territories and through them have a say in Ukraine’s national affairs on an ongoing basis.
If Ukraine fulfilled Russia’s interpretation of the agreements, it would give the occupied region special status. In Russia’s eyes, this would include its own police force, described as a ‘people’s militia’; the right to choose judges and prosecutors; support from Kyiv of the region’s transnational cooperation with Russia; amnesty for anyone involved in the fighting on the Russian side; and elections. All of this would happen before the Russian-controlled and Russian forces withdrew.
In essence Putin’s record of lies and betrayals means that nothing he says is of any worth whatsoever. Agreement cannot be reached with such a person.
Whatever. It doesn't excuse the bombing of Donbas. Porochenko (I assume it was him) should rather have been looking at obtaining a negotiated agreement with the Easterners.
Right there in one lazy sneering word. You don't give a shit about Ukraine so long as you get to bang the 'look how good a leftie I am for hating on the US' drum.
I assume you would rather he had returned the nukes? Really? And the initial fighting was not about borders; it was Porochenko, and later Zelenskyy, attacking their own countrymen, just because they were ethnically Russian.
It really doesn't matter how enthusiastically you repeat Putin's lies, Mikesh – Your career as a Tokyo Rose will not end in the plaudits of a grateful dictator.
I would rather Putin had stayed within his borders. No, it was not about Poroshenko and Zelensky – Russian forces had been killing Ukrainians relentlessly since 2014 – over 14 000 of them (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Russo-Ukrainian_War) – the missing column in your mathematics of blame.
But of course it’s okay to for Russia to kill Ukrainians. They have Mikesh’s blessing.
It's a good thing that it's hard for Russia to win, since hard though that may be for you to believe, having soaked up Putin's disinformation like the rest of the poriferae, you do not face the consequence of being forced into a battle with no training, Soviet era equipment, and scant concern for your survival.
Here we can see a recent draft of Donetsk citizens mustering for battle – they entrusted little matters like self-determination to pseudo parental figures like Putin, not unlike certain childish notionally Left persons somewhat closer to home.
To paraphrase John Donne: No country is an island, Entire unto itself …
"Self determination" is all very well, but it doesn't give a country license to do whatever it likes. Ukraine has a rather powerful neighbour who may well have had grave concerns about the way it had been carrying on.
By the way I’m not acquainted with anything Putin has said, irrespective of whether it is information or disinformation.
Of course anyone with any enlightenment values necessarily reviles genocidal warmongering dictators. We notice your lack of such values.
I couldn't care less about Putin.
And yet you repeat his propaganda as enthusiastically as the Hitler Youth repeated his. This is not an appropriate forum for that – you should do that on 8chan.
It's one of life's little curiosities that Yeltsin was considered by Russians to be a sophisticate. He had the Moscow accent – whereas Gorbachev only had a record of successful and popular economic reforms in Primorye.
Turns out your better than Yeltsin president is a danger to many peaceable people in Europe, whereas Yeltsin, besides wrecking Gorbachev's reform and dooming his country to penury, was most dangerous to his own liver.
Yes, ianmac. I've cleaned some houses like that and they were sterile glass and concrete monuments to Mammon. No art on the walls save a faux French clock from a garden shop, no book shelves, a 50" TV at the end of a 15 metre glass gallery and no musical instruments.
Buy/build a small house and get some good art, books, and a piano/guitar. Whatever, but celebrate creative arts and have someone come into the house and be agreeably surprised by functional and creative beauty both.
So true Mac1. I did ask one chap why did he build such a big house overlooking the golf course. "It was what my wife wanted actually." Some people are too rich but it does seem that some big houses are as you say "sterile". A good but sad word.
Which is why the demise of the quarter acre section is so unfortunate. Which I guess is inevitable with the increase in population, but new subdivisions could be designed so that every kid gets room to play barefoot on real grass and learn about how the world and a bee both work.
Only 4br and 3 baths? That is very modest in some quarters. I spent the last years of the last NACT government processing Land Use Consents in Auckland. More like 6br and 5 bathrooms, absolutely maximising the "building envelope" and concreting us as much of the site as the impervious areas rules would permit. I rang one agent who had sent in something with 6br, all with en-suite bathrooms – and an extra bathroom, and said I wanted in writing that they were not building a brothel. I got the statement – but I find it hard to believe that was any sort of family home.
We have one next door. The owners built an 'extension' which more than doubled the size of the house. Went from 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 living area; to 7 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 3 living areas & an internal double garage.
Now has 12+ students living there (including living in the garage). With at least 6 cars parked on the road outside.
If you can, get a copy of Tony Watkins – The Human House.
A NZ architect, and column writer, the book is a series of articles about the human investment in crafting a house to suit your own personality and interests.
I found a copy in my library, and re-read it several times.
I'll admit that despite our tight budget, I ended up buying a copy of the book.
I'm usually a purchaser of library withdrawals and second hand books, but it was nice to indulge in purchasing new knowing that some of the funds would make their way to Tony Watkins.
Very good thread on some of the problems with replacing sex with gender identity in surveys and data collection used to inform policy and law. How does one name the GI of a baby, young child, or child who cannot speak etc?
From an interview with Jordan Carter, outgoing chief executive of Internet NZ:
“The Russian state, for quite a long time, has made use of some of the vulnerabilities of this social media environment to intervene in other countries. They seem to say: ‘Well, we can't ever win a head-on confrontation with the liberal democracies, but we can use these systems they've built to undermine their social and political cohesion.’
"That's a risk people are waking up to,” he said.
“Ever since publishing was invented you've had people publishing bizarre opinions. The problem isn't when some person chooses to express ‘random view X’ they might or might not agree with. The problem is when their systems amplify it in a way that then creates social divisions that weren't necessarily there.
"Media systems have fastened on to the most controversial and polarizing views, and then just keep stirring them up in a way that draws people apart from each other,” he said.
Hot off the press….sitting with an injured relative in Ed. Here since mid day. Corridors full of patients. Staff, calm and kind.
a plea to the Labour govt, stop spending money on earnest and young consultants and re structures. Increase staff numbers and pay. This is what with improve our health system
At Middlemore (3 weeks ago, friend with an injured teen – potential neck/spine injury from an accidental tackle in touch rugby)
Only one support person per patient allowed (a bit of a fuss from some families)
All patients and support people given RAT tests
Everyone had to wear a mask. People who didn't want to were seen elsewhere (removed, not sure where they went – but not in the general waiting room)
Anyone with a positive RAT (regardless of other symptoms) was separated out (friend didn't see where they went, as she was in the non-infected group)
People lying on floors, in corridors, etc. Simply not enough space for the demand.
Time taken to see a doctor with (even with a potentially crippling spinal injury) was 12 hours + radiology time + final interview with the doctor.
Because of the delay in getting the scan – there was a lot of swelling, and they weren't able to get a clear picture – there was still a possibility of a break; but they were sent home at 3am (ambulance, so teen could keep lying flat and wearing the neck brace), because there were no beds to admit him for observation.
Staff were lovely. Clearly doing their best under immense pressure. As is so common in ED, plenty of people under the influence of drugs/alcohol, off-meds or with some form of psychotic breakdown, stupidly aggressive personally or their support people were; as well as heartbreaking cases of kids who clearly needed emergency care for something which could have been treated earlier (but parents couldn't afford/get access to care)
Outcome. Teen didn't have a neck/spinal injury (thank heavens), but did have 2 ribs with intercostal dislocations, a whiplash style neck muscle injury, and severe bruising around the whole ribcage.
Difficult to tell. Suspect staff shortages (overall), compounded by staff shortages due to staff either isolating themselves with Covid, or as a family contact. All made worse by increased demand on ED: some people using it as a GP – because cost; and health conditions in general just worse after care deferred due to lockdowns.
Covid protocols in Wellington ED far more relaxed Han you write of Bella.
I was screened at the door, but just questioned did I have covid or a household member. I told them I had had some exposure with a couple of contacts socially, but they weren’t interested. No rat tests.
everyone wore masks.
there were beds both sides of the corridors, so not as much social distancing as ideal.
my husband who was injured wasn’t given a RAT test.
I know proceedures were a lot tighter in Wellington when omicron was peaking.
I can’t speak highly enough of the staff. They were the epitaxy of grace under pressure
Also need to make exclusive supply relationships (by contract) illegal.
This is where the small, local supplier is locked into a supply deal (often disadvantageously) by one of the big chains; and is contractually prevented from also selling (perhaps at better terms) to the other.
It puts all of the power in the relationship with the big supermarket chain.
The little guys are stuck in a take-it-or-leave it deal, and are unable to leverage sales to negotiate a better deal with the competitor.
Just done a mini-shop this afternoon (Mr 14 is getting braces fitted tomorrow, so stocking up on easy to eat supplies). Ouch. Prices have gone up again in the last fortnight.
New Zealand's capital, Wellington, has been ranked one of the least affordable cities in the world for buying a property. The picture is also grim for renters, with a 12% rise in prices in the past year. That, along with increases in petrol and food prices, has led many to consider moving to nearby Australia – where they have the right to live and work.
Chris, a builder, his partner Harmony and their four daughters recently left Wellington to start a new life in the Australian city of Brisbane. Despite owning their home and earning reasonable salaries, they were still struggling.
"We have four kids, so it was expensive. We'd notice Australians saying you know the cost of living is going up – but that was the cost five years ago in New Zealand," says Chris.
Leaving New Zealand and the rest of her family was a difficult decision for Harmony. But she says the move was necessary for the children.
"You can't make a living in New Zealand. There is no living. You just go backwards. You don't get a choice if you want live, you have to move, or New Zealand has to change. I want a future for my children and there is none in New Zealand," she says.
The New Zealand government has tried to increase some short-term measures like fuel subsidies and halving the cost of public transport – but for many, it's not enough.
When ACT gets in with National they'll be against the Government having anything to do with supermarkets won't they? A 'super' market being one where the Government totally butts out, and it is a 'free' market. Isn't that it?
No budget bump for Labour in tonight's poll. Maybe if they would start listening to kiwis instead of talking to them, they would still be favourite's for a third term.
Kiwis don't want Three waters, co-governance or the Maori health authority. People are also crumbling under the weight of the cost of living crisis. What's Labours answer? push through with divisive policy and offer a token amount of money to half the population, which will effectively achieve nothing.
Next years budget must be a doozy. Reap what you sow!
Results are +\3% so too close to call for either Left or Right.
But agree, no bump in support for Labour following the budget (which I suspect they would have been hoping for) – and what looks like leaking of their left-wing over to the Greens (which will make some commenters here happy).
Maybe if they started listening to kiwis they wouldn't do anything like Three Waters or address the serious issues with Maori health, just let things carry on as they are.
Woe betide them if they listen to experts who say there are serious issues to be dealt with and actually try to do something.
Of course we know they've done nothing with housing. The many new houses I see in Selwyn, Waimakariri, Franklin, Waitakere, Rodney, Whangarei and wherever are all mirages I know.
The Democracy Project releases another work of independent scholarship timed with an opposition attack on a female, Maori, Labour politician, after previously having work supporting Michael Bassett.
Unsuprisingly the work basically runs Winston Peters (another specifically non-racist figure in NZ politics) attacks on Nanaia Mahuta. Mahuta has suffered all kinds of racist and sexist bs since assuming her role, including attacks on her moko. Gerry Brownlee gets treated with reverence of a statesman, despite being turfed out of his electorate after he started a few steps down the path of American style Covid politics.
The piece tries to link a series of hit jobs on 3 Waters with foreign affairs. It’s too much for her.
It ignores the work Mahuta does and has been doing or discounts it with criticism.
It lauds the (week old) work of the new foreign minister of Australia, but ignores the government of Australia Mahuta had been working with.
It ignores the Covid issues the PM is having in get US, as it dismisses Covid concerns for less international travel.
In the sneaky way it presents as journalism, but by listing as ‘opinion’ it can simply repeat or line up one sided criticism without having to get a response from the minister or the government.
The underlying message of the piece is that anything we’ve done is bad and anything done elsewhere is good.
The piece seems to suggest that NZ should be operating separately to its allies and that dropping in on the Solomons would have solved all the tension in the region.
It is a piece of immense cultural cringe. Look how brilliant that Australian minister is because she took a face to face meeting! Neglect to report that our foreign minister was in Fiji in April. Neglect to report, except in criticism of it, that the derided zoom meeting that actually achieved the clear outcome of extending NZ presence in the Solomons. And that off the back of that she will be visiting Solomons.
It repeats Peter’s criticism in embedded tweet that the PM is ‘swanning around the world’, a somewhat sexist way of representing her US trip, you know meeting the head of the other main power in the Pacific during a time of crisis, while deriding Mahuta for not traveling. If a Labour woman does it, it’s swanning around I guess.
It sneaks in little phrases like’To be fair to Mahuta’ after 7 or 8 paragraphs of mostly unfair or poorly contextualised criticism to give the illusion of journalism, while presenting the least charitable possible view of her work.
To add to that- it ignores the criticism of ScoMo by Fiji’s PM, using the language of the Pacific Family from the recent NZ agreement, as opposed to ScoMo’s neo -colonial phrase of the Pacific being in Australia’s backyard.
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Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
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 ...
Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
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Doesn't sound like the TVNZ HR department did very good background checking on this bloke. Be interesting to see who they replace John Campbell with now.
Kamahl Santamaria quits TVNZ: Breakfast show hosts address 'the changes' after host's abrupt departure – NZ Herald
Yesterday the article on Stuff contained a snippet that he'd faced similar accusations working at Al Jazeera. Was very quickly removed.
About sums it up.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-american-polity-is-cracked-and-might-collapse-canada-must-prepare/
U.S. the most war like country on Earth…..
USA; 750 military bases around the World
China; 3 military bases around the World
Russia; 8 military bases around the World
Military budget of the United States 801 Billion (population 329.5 million )
Military budget of China 261 Billion (population 1.402 billion)
Military budget of Russia 66 Billion (population 144.1 million )
And we all know the truly impressive and extremely long list of countries in which the US has conducted hostile incursions into another country's territories….and lets not even start with the USA's role in meddling in other countries elections….that list would be just ridiculous……., and yet people on this very site will scream at the top of their lungs…FEAR RUSSIA….FEAR CHINA…..
Like most of their rhetoric…logic, common sense (and historical evidence) has to be completely ignored in order to join their new Cold War Club…..unfortunately it seems like they are getting plenty of takers now that Putin has wrongly and stupidly given them the gift of the Ukraine….millions of deaths, untold misery and destruction caused and still being caused by ultra aggressive US/Western militarism…forgotten quite literally in the blink of an eye…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frKIiKB8iWY&t=7s
Putin launched this war precisely because he thought the US was weak and not going to intervene.
At the beginning of this year most people thought it unlikely Urkaine would be invaded – yet here we are. And now Russia is rightly feared and loathed for its vile invasion.
China continues to threaten to invade Taiwan, and are openly pre-positioning themselves to do so. Only a complete fool would could now claim this is unlikely. Indeed you only have to look at their insanely provocative actions in the South Pacific to understand precisely what their intentions are. As a result China is also rightly feared and loathed for continuing down this same medieval, war-mongering path as Russia.
Adrian's undeniable cheerleading for these totalitarian regimes and the neo-colonial invasions they promote renders anything he says about US history to meaningless partisan blather. More to the point – if he lived in Russia or China and was saying comparable things against those regimes, he would very likely be shut down and pay a high cost for it. That he feels free to abuse the relative freedom of speech that he enjoys here in the West to undermine and betray the open society he has the remarkable privilege to live in underscores a profound ignorance and moral bankruptcy.
I watched a wee animation of Japan's Pacific expansion from 1931 and I was pretty chilled by the recognition of China's moves this decade.
Bad news for the fish, too.
https://twitter.com/CleoPaskal/status/1529297600876273667
What is chilling about that map is the 8 USA areas, doubtless all equipped for military use.
Worked well last time.
" Putin launched this war " etc etc
Alternatively Putin launched his SMO because he recognized America's power play in the ukraine and doing nothing about it was'nt an option .
Agree most observers in the west thought he was'nt going to invade but now that has occurred a great many counties arround the world have some sympathies for the Russian perspective and its predicament ie America's openly stated intention to 'weaken ' Russia . Those countries include China obviously plus India and probably Pakistan South Africa Iran Venezuela Mexico and numerous others .
I had a humorous thought that probably all Reds mum would have had to do when he was an infant was whistle Dixie to get him to suckle vigorously !
Russia even invented a phrase for it.
In political jargon, a useful idiot is a derogatory term for a person perceived as propagandizing for a cause without fully comprehending the cause's goals, and who is cynically used by the cause's leaders.[1][2] The term was originally used during the Cold War to describe non-communists regarded as susceptible to communist propaganda and manipulation.
So when both sides can accuse the other of exactly the same 'useful idiot ' term is anything achieved Alien ?
Like being lectured by an anti vaxxer on healthcare or global warming by a cc denier lol
Fine example of false equivalence with a dash of desperation ! lol
Fit "fake news" and "alternative facts" in your next reply and collect your 25 bonus putin points.
Throwing propaganda and unhelpful labels at each other leads to more widespread confusion and division, not just between sides, but also within sides and this is often one of the objectives of propaganda – it becomes self-reinforcing.
A useful idiot becomes less useful for propagandists once he/she start to realise that they are and have been manipulated. When this leads to better understanding of the situation and possibly even an internal dialogue within and between sides there’s an increased chance that a non-binary non-partisan solution might be found and also sooner rather than later. The fact is that some people actually benefit from wars and it is these people who often have a hand (literally) in spreading propaganda aka the vested interests.
But not you, and the handful like you, who only seem to have the mental capacity to fear the united states.
The USA are easily the biggest war mongers on the planet by a very comfortable margin any body disputing this fact cant even do simple math .
And because of that, you can't make space inside your head to condemn russia and china? Bless.
I notice you've left out Turkmenistan in your condemnations. What's your point?
The point lol
If russia and china get free passes because your room is too full of hate for the usa, then it's myopic, one sided and most likely just politically motivated chatter.
I don't take anyone seriously, showing such small minded, blinkered thinking. Blame and consequences should land at all deserving doors.
But do go for it – I'm clearly not the intended audience.
The cause of the war in Ukraine and many other wars and invasions, usually have nothing at all to do with the ridiculous stated reasons, like the murder of an Arch Duke, or neo-nazis in Ukraine.
Hi Adrian, you have provided us an accurate list exposing the reach and spread of the US military empire. Taken together, the US empire's record of invasions and wars around the globe is truly horrific.
But this list of US crime and global power does not account for the current situation. And the very real threat posed by Russian imperialism.
The comparative size and success of imperialist powers is not their only measure.
Let's take an analogy:
Before the Second and First World Wars, the British Empire, not the US empire was the global hegemonic super power. The crimes of the British Empire are well documented, during its reign as the world hegemon the British Empire killed an estimated 40 million people.
"The law of murder is the law of growth." 19th Century British Imperialist, Winwood Reade
Though the German imperialists certainly matched the British imperialists in their level of atrocity and genocide. Compared to the British Empire, the German and Nazi empires never reached anywhere near the size and reach of the British Empire.
As the eponymous character in the anti-war satire 'Black Adder' put it, compared to the British Empire all the German Empire had was a small sausage factory in Tanganyika.
Obviously an exaggeration for theatrical effect, but not that far from the truth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGxAYeeyoIc
The cause of war?
My conclusion is that 99% of war is simply about taking somebody else's stuff.
But this list of US crime and global power does not account for the current situation. And the very real threat posed by Russian imperialism.
"Russian imperialism" is a figment of your imagination. Though there may have been a few imperialist efforts during Tsarist days, mostly aimed at gaining Istanbul.
Try telling the people of Ukraine under Russian bombing, that Russian imperialism is a figment of their imagination.
Try telling the people of Syria under Russian bombing, that Russian imperialism is a figment of their imagination.
How Russian denial of civilian casualties follows tactics used in Syria
Mikesh, tell me, is Chinese imperialism also a figment of my imagination?
Try telling the people of Syria under Russian bombing, that Russian imperialism is a figment of their imagination.
I'm not sure what the Ukranians think, and to be honest I don't think it matters. Speculations about what they might be thinking just some of the rubbish you serve up when you can't come up with a cogent argument.
Mikesh, tell me, is Chinese imperialism also a figment of my imagination?
I really have no idea, but if they are then they are doing through diplomatic channels. I don't see any reason to get upset about that.
However, I think your imagination seems a little erratic.
PS: By the way, have you read Harari's Sapiens. Harari thinks that the historical role of empires is to bring nations together, and forge a common way of life.
but if they are then they are doing through diplomatic channels
The Uighurs might not agree: Xinjiang leak reveals extent of Chinese abuses in Uighur camps | News | Al Jazeera
I think Jenny is referring to China's incursions into the Pacific.
I expect that she is as concerned by oppression within Chinese borders as she is with oppression outside them.
That would be noble of her if such oppression did exist.
The BBC just published the documents that show it exists.
All fake news of course:
Nothing to see here.
'The BBC just published documents
that show it exists.'FIFY Stuart
Brigid LOL at state sponsored genocide.
Brigid makes a typo.
I think the word you were looking for Brigid, was applaud, not appal.
Here, let me fix it for you.
"….I
appal[applaud] violence in all its forms,including[especially] state sanctioned murder." BrigidLOL This, you fascist bitch.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/27/massacre-in-tadamon-how-two-academics-hunted-down-a-syrian-war-criminal.
[A blatant lie: “Brigid LOL at state sponsored genocide.” Brigid did not say or imply such a thing in her comment.
Dredging up old comment threads without providing relevant context – old grievances.
Twisting somebody else’s words aka putting words in their mouth.
FYI, appal is a verb.
Not making a single political point for discussion.
Personal insult and attack – old grievances.
Take a week off – Incognito]
Mod note
It is indicative of your sincerity as a commenter, that you dismiss a substantial body of evidence without even a cursory look.
For shame Brigid.
May the day never come when you are oppressed, and internationals who might have mustered to your defense simply cannot be bothered.
Who Knows. Still, nice deflection on your part, albeit a bit sneaky.
What I think:
A budding imperial power that wants to play the "Great Game" on the world stage, first starts by colonising its hinterland and/or smaller nearest neighbours.. After it has enslaved and murdered and robbed these peoples, only then does it feel confident enough to challenge its rival imperialists on the world stage.
It's the same process followed by the British Empire began in Ireland, And the US empire with its genocidal Manifest Destiny policy against its First People Nations.
It's the pattern followed by Chinese regime against Tibet and against the Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The latest news is that the diplomatic efforts of the Chinese imperialists into the Pacific have been checked.
Of course you don't think it matters what the Ukrainians think, No surprises there. Whenever has anyone, who supports imperialist war and invasions ever thought it matters what the people of the country being invaded and taken over think?
That's what every supporter of imperialism, that ever was, has said.
Ghengis Khan, Cecil Rhodes, King Leopold, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Hirohito and Vladimir Putin would all agree with you on that one.
Of course you don't think it matters what the Ukrainians think, No surprises there. Whenever has anyone, who supports imperialist war and invasions ever thought it matters what the people of the country being invaded and taken over think?
I would think the Ukrainians would be too worried about bombs dropping on their heads to be interested in whether or not Russia has "imperialist intentions".
Ghengis Khan, Cecil Rhodes, King Leopold, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Hirohito and Vladimir Putin would all agree with you on that one
Empires are a fact of life, or a fact of history. Whether anybody supports them, or nobody supports them, is rather pointless to speculate on..
By the way, you forgot about Cyrus the Great, and also Augustus Caesar.
From Finland and the Baltic states to Moldova, from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia to Siberia, Manchuria and Alaska.
Just a few imperialist efforts.
/
So… ? No-one doubts that Russia is already an empire.
Listen to the truth about Putin, Wormtongue.
She was killed for it of course.
What gets me is that the left spent a decade tearing itself apart over how Assange was a rapist because he didn't use a condom on his morning wood – but when orders Putin the murder of a country somehow he's just a poor misunderstood vlad.
No one is saying US military behaviour is marvellous.
But this "whataboutism" does nothing to excuse the mass murder / rape / destruction Russia is inflicting in the independent democracy of Ukraine.
Nor does it excuse mass persecution of Uyghurs by China.
No-one is denying that what is going on in Ukraine is abhorent. Differences that countries have with one another should sorted out by negotiation, and perhaps with arbitration if a settlement cannot be reached. However, if one party (in this case, Zelenskyy) won't come to the the negotiating table, and if that party won't abide by previously arrived at agreements (like the Minsk agreements), then it's difficult to see what options the other party has, other than to declare war.
You twist yourself into pretzels trying to exculpate the murderous Putin regime.
Russia agreed in 1994 to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and national borders in return for Kyiv agreeing to give up its nuclear arsenal. ~ The Budapest Memorandum.
Russia's alternative was to abide by its agreements – now the Putin regime will be crushed – and a good thing too.
Ukraine also signed up to the Minsk Agreements. But that didn't seem to stop Zelenskyy's minions bombing the Donbas region.
now the Putin regime will be crushed – and a good thing too.
Yes. It's hard to win when your opponent has the brutal and corrupt US regime on your side, supplying you with weapons.
Well given that Putin had already egregiously reneged on the prior Budapest Memorandum – to your obvious satisfaction – why then do you demand Ukraine should abide by any agreement either? Why one rule for Russia and another for Ukraine?
And while the terms of the Budapest agreement were always crystal clear and uncontroversial – the Minsk agreement was quite the opposite:
In essence Putin’s record of lies and betrayals means that nothing he says is of any worth whatsoever. Agreement cannot be reached with such a person.
Whatever. It doesn't excuse the bombing of Donbas. Porochenko (I assume it was him) should rather have been looking at obtaining a negotiated agreement with the Easterners.
Whatever …
Right there in one lazy sneering word. You don't give a shit about Ukraine so long as you get to bang the 'look how good a leftie I am for hating on the US' drum.
Was that an argument? Looked more like a sneering ad hominem to me. And I never claimed to be a leftie FWIW.
The Budapest Agreement was not Putin's agreement. That would been that drunken sot who preceded him.
Not bound by it eh?
Did he return the nukes? No?
Just another dishonorable warmonger then.
And you, God help you, are his Wormtongue.
I assume you would rather he had returned the nukes? Really? And the initial fighting was not about borders; it was Porochenko, and later Zelenskyy, attacking their own countrymen, just because they were ethnically Russian.
It really doesn't matter how enthusiastically you repeat Putin's lies, Mikesh – Your career as a Tokyo Rose will not end in the plaudits of a grateful dictator.
I would rather Putin had stayed within his borders. No, it was not about Poroshenko and Zelensky – Russian forces had been killing Ukrainians relentlessly since 2014 – over 14 000 of them (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Russo-Ukrainian_War) – the missing column in your mathematics of blame.
But of course it’s okay to for Russia to kill Ukrainians. They have Mikesh’s blessing.
Has Putin been telling whoppers. I wouldn't know. I don't think I have heard he has said recently.
It's a good thing that it's hard for Russia to win, since hard though that may be for you to believe, having soaked up Putin's disinformation like the rest of the poriferae, you do not face the consequence of being forced into a battle with no training, Soviet era equipment, and scant concern for your survival.
Here we can see a recent draft of Donetsk citizens mustering for battle – they entrusted little matters like self-determination to pseudo parental figures like Putin, not unlike certain childish notionally Left persons somewhat closer to home.
To paraphrase John Donne: No country is an island, Entire unto itself …
"Self determination" is all very well, but it doesn't give a country license to do whatever it likes. Ukraine has a rather powerful neighbour who may well have had grave concerns about the way it had been carrying on.
By the way I’m not acquainted with anything Putin has said, irrespective of whether it is information or disinformation.
By the way I’m not acquainted with anything Putin has said
Of course you are – you just got it second or third hand.
You have a visceral hatred for Putin. I get that. I couldn't care less about Putin. All my comments are concerned with the goings on in Ukraine.
Though I think I said I said somewhere that I thought Putin a better ruler than the drunken sot who preceded him.
Of course anyone with any enlightenment values necessarily reviles genocidal warmongering dictators. We notice your lack of such values.
I couldn't care less about Putin.
And yet you repeat his propaganda as enthusiastically as the Hitler Youth repeated his. This is not an appropriate forum for that – you should do that on 8chan.
It's one of life's little curiosities that Yeltsin was considered by Russians to be a sophisticate. He had the Moscow accent – whereas Gorbachev only had a record of successful and popular economic reforms in Primorye.
Turns out your better than Yeltsin president is a danger to many peaceable people in Europe, whereas Yeltsin, besides wrecking Gorbachev's reform and dooming his country to penury, was most dangerous to his own liver.
Well I'm sure Comrade Putin doesn't like you very much either. With good reason,
Another example of the effects of this homophobic cult.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/29/if-lesbian-prefers-same-sex-dates-thats-not-bigotry-desire-personal-thing?fbclid=IwAR0b7LFokaFo0v1m0Nwue0KgUjDhwY_-23TuxILtj7sHaLzCWY8Zy2WRD4Q
The capture of NGOS,institutions, government departments and 'advisors' is the concern.
Individuals spouting nonsense can be managed with some effort.
It it when such perspectives emerge fully formed in political discourse and legislative and policy changes that the scale of the problem is revealed.
Housing crisis solutions, tiny homes, climate mitigation and adaptation are all connected.
https://twitter.com/wekatweets/status/1531035728871759873
Some couples build 4+ bedroom houses with 3+ bathrooms with a footprint of 300+ square metre. "What the…."
Then I look at the charming functional Madrid house and think "Wow!"
Yes, ianmac. I've cleaned some houses like that and they were sterile glass and concrete monuments to Mammon. No art on the walls save a faux French clock from a garden shop, no book shelves, a 50" TV at the end of a 15 metre glass gallery and no musical instruments.
Buy/build a small house and get some good art, books, and a piano/guitar. Whatever, but celebrate creative arts and have someone come into the house and be agreeably surprised by functional and creative beauty both.
They are allowed a BBQ, though…..
So true Mac1. I did ask one chap why did he build such a big house overlooking the golf course. "It was what my wife wanted actually." Some people are too rich but it does seem that some big houses are as you say "sterile". A good but sad word.
And a shed. Where you can teach the kids wood work and how an internal combustion engine works
And a garden where you can teach the children about how the world and a bee both work.
Which is why the demise of the quarter acre section is so unfortunate. Which I guess is inevitable with the increase in population, but new subdivisions could be designed so that every kid gets room to play barefoot on real grass and learn about how the world and a bee both work.
my house is a small two bedroom cottage. its too big. my shed is a large eight car sized. its too small.(i have one car only)
There is a resource consent application for a house in Wanaka measuring 2,458m2 now under consideration by the Council. My own 3br house is 140m2.
Only 4br and 3 baths? That is very modest in some quarters. I spent the last years of the last NACT government processing Land Use Consents in Auckland. More like 6br and 5 bathrooms, absolutely maximising the "building envelope" and concreting us as much of the site as the impervious areas rules would permit. I rang one agent who had sent in something with 6br, all with en-suite bathrooms – and an extra bathroom, and said I wanted in writing that they were not building a brothel. I got the statement – but I find it hard to believe that was any sort of family home.
I think more areas than concrete are being shown to be impervious here…… to rain, family, sun, gardens, birds, trees, beauty, life itself!
We have one next door. The owners built an 'extension' which more than doubled the size of the house. Went from 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 living area; to 7 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 3 living areas & an internal double garage.
Now has 12+ students living there (including living in the garage). With at least 6 cars parked on the road outside.
If you can, get a copy of Tony Watkins – The Human House.
A NZ architect, and column writer, the book is a series of articles about the human investment in crafting a house to suit your own personality and interests.
I found a copy in my library, and re-read it several times.
https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/celebrating-the-human-house/
Thanks for the link Molly, a great read.
I'll admit that despite our tight budget, I ended up buying a copy of the book.
I'm usually a purchaser of library withdrawals and second hand books, but it was nice to indulge in purchasing new knowing that some of the funds would make their way to Tony Watkins.
Very good thread on some of the problems with replacing sex with gender identity in surveys and data collection used to inform policy and law. How does one name the GI of a baby, young child, or child who cannot speak etc?
https://twitter.com/threditor/status/1530861976141848580
And the Scottish Census people are threatening to prosecute people who "deface" (tell the truth) on an already low response rate Census.
excellent opportunity for some public civil disobedience there.
The entitlement is strong.
/
Rusny stole a ps4 from a man from Mariupol, and now he writes to the mail and asks for a password from the account.
https://twitter.com/OstAnatoliy/status/1530817634060607493
When the toy fits.
https://twitter.com/expatua/status/1525024848698916865
https://twitter.com/Sputnik_Not/status/1530521234269667329
From an interview with Jordan Carter, outgoing chief executive of Internet NZ:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018843101/two-decades-of-internet-disruption
Heard it all before but it needs repeating, over and over again.
Hot off the press….sitting with an injured relative in Ed. Here since mid day. Corridors full of patients. Staff, calm and kind.
a plea to the Labour govt, stop spending money on earnest and young consultants and re structures. Increase staff numbers and pay. This is what with improve our health system
Amen! From your lips to Little's ears.
what are they doing with people with respiratory symptoms?
At Middlemore (3 weeks ago, friend with an injured teen – potential neck/spine injury from an accidental tackle in touch rugby)
Outcome. Teen didn't have a neck/spinal injury (thank heavens), but did have 2 ribs with intercostal dislocations, a whiplash style neck muscle injury, and severe bruising around the whole ribcage.
Ouch, that's still not a fun injury.
The covid protocol is encouraging. Are the excessive waits due to staff shortages?
Difficult to tell. Suspect staff shortages (overall), compounded by staff shortages due to staff either isolating themselves with Covid, or as a family contact. All made worse by increased demand on ED: some people using it as a GP – because cost; and health conditions in general just worse after care deferred due to lockdowns.
This is the government going against the supermarkets. Catherine Rich can stick it in her ear.
Government Acts On Supermarket Duopoly | Scoop News
· Will introduce:
o An industry regulator
o A mandatory code of conduct
o Compulsory unit pricing on groceries
o More transparent loyalty schemes
And rejected the Commerce Commission's 3 year timetable.
Let's see what The Warehouse can do with that.
Also need to make exclusive supply relationships (by contract) illegal.
This is where the small, local supplier is locked into a supply deal (often disadvantageously) by one of the big chains; and is contractually prevented from also selling (perhaps at better terms) to the other.
It puts all of the power in the relationship with the big supermarket chain.
The little guys are stuck in a take-it-or-leave it deal, and are unable to leverage sales to negotiate a better deal with the competitor.
Just done a mini-shop this afternoon (Mr 14 is getting braces fitted tomorrow, so stocking up on easy to eat supplies). Ouch. Prices have gone up again in the last fortnight.
From a world report about rising costs
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-61584608
It's been that way for a good while. About half the extended family are now in Oz – and all of them are prospering. Here, not so much.
When ACT gets in with National they'll be against the Government having anything to do with supermarkets won't they? A 'super' market being one where the Government totally butts out, and it is a 'free' market. Isn't that it?
No budget bump for Labour in tonight's poll. Maybe if they would start listening to kiwis instead of talking to them, they would still be favourite's for a third term.
Kiwis don't want Three waters, co-governance or the Maori health authority. People are also crumbling under the weight of the cost of living crisis. What's Labours answer? push through with divisive policy and offer a token amount of money to half the population, which will effectively achieve nothing.
Next years budget must be a doozy. Reap what you sow!
Results are +\3% so too close to call for either Left or Right.
But agree, no bump in support for Labour following the budget (which I suspect they would have been hoping for) – and what looks like leaking of their left-wing over to the Greens (which will make some commenters here happy).
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/128805700/political-poll-has-labour-national-close-while-mori-party-remains-kingmaker
Maybe if they started listening to kiwis they wouldn't do anything like Three Waters or address the serious issues with Maori health, just let things carry on as they are.
Woe betide them if they listen to experts who say there are serious issues to be dealt with and actually try to do something.
Of course we know they've done nothing with housing. The many new houses I see in Selwyn, Waimakariri, Franklin, Waitakere, Rodney, Whangarei and wherever are all mirages I know.
The Democracy Project releases another work of independent scholarship timed with an opposition attack on a female, Maori, Labour politician, after previously having work supporting Michael Bassett.
Unsuprisingly the work basically runs Winston Peters (another specifically non-racist figure in NZ politics) attacks on Nanaia Mahuta. Mahuta has suffered all kinds of racist and sexist bs since assuming her role, including attacks on her moko. Gerry Brownlee gets treated with reverence of a statesman, despite being turfed out of his electorate after he started a few steps down the path of American style Covid politics.
The piece tries to link a series of hit jobs on 3 Waters with foreign affairs. It’s too much for her.
It ignores the work Mahuta does and has been doing or discounts it with criticism.
It lauds the (week old) work of the new foreign minister of Australia, but ignores the government of Australia Mahuta had been working with.
It ignores the Covid issues the PM is having in get US, as it dismisses Covid concerns for less international travel.
In the sneaky way it presents as journalism, but by listing as ‘opinion’ it can simply repeat or line up one sided criticism without having to get a response from the minister or the government.
The underlying message of the piece is that anything we’ve done is bad and anything done elsewhere is good.
The piece seems to suggest that NZ should be operating separately to its allies and that dropping in on the Solomons would have solved all the tension in the region.
It is a piece of immense cultural cringe. Look how brilliant that Australian minister is because she took a face to face meeting! Neglect to report that our foreign minister was in Fiji in April. Neglect to report, except in criticism of it, that the derided zoom meeting that actually achieved the clear outcome of extending NZ presence in the Solomons. And that off the back of that she will be visiting Solomons.
It repeats Peter’s criticism in embedded tweet that the PM is ‘swanning around the world’, a somewhat sexist way of representing her US trip, you know meeting the head of the other main power in the Pacific during a time of crisis, while deriding Mahuta for not traveling. If a Labour woman does it, it’s swanning around I guess.
It sneaks in little phrases like’To be fair to Mahuta’ after 7 or 8 paragraphs of mostly unfair or poorly contextualised criticism to give the illusion of journalism, while presenting the least charitable possible view of her work.
Anyway, what a crock. Again.
Miller from the Democracy Project in Stuff
To add to that- it ignores the criticism of ScoMo by Fiji’s PM, using the language of the Pacific Family from the recent NZ agreement, as opposed to ScoMo’s neo -colonial phrase of the Pacific being in Australia’s backyard.