A few years on from initial cannabis legalisation in a couple of US states, here’s a look at how the economics of growing and distributing it have evolved.
It’s showing the normal dynamics of any product that can scale, has immense choice in type/cultivar, evolving consumption methods with a very discerning consumer base.
As well as lighting up the recreational market previously underground big business has cut its teeth in Colorado and eyes off these new states in a similar way that booze flowed after prohibition.
They’ll do to the retail market what malls have done to suburban strip shops, be niche, have a point of difference or go out of business.
That piece doesn’t really spell out the next likely stages of the market evolution, but other consumables like beer, wine, cheese, ice cream show the likely path. Consolidation of suppliers into a few big players with multiple brands, and as you say, the remaining small players either find their special niche (and probably sell out to a big player shortly thereafter), or wither and die.
One niche will be the coupling of, say, artisanal marijuana and craft beer, with requisite ambience (no slot machines or pop music). I would pay a premium for that.
Current BC (Canada) market is humming. I’m curious as to how SK (Saskatchewan) will fuck it up (through a combination of archaic provincialism, conservatism, fear, corruption and bumbling incompetence).
An interesting piece of RNZ this morning about (in part) the effects in Mexico of legalisation in the US: basically, the drug cartels scaling up into harder drugs for export into the US (mostly heroin), other kinds of crime (like kidnapping) and an increase in violence between drug cartels (the murder rate is about 27 000 –
nearly doubled in 11 years) and involving the army. Of course, this piece was also about the war on drugs in Mexico, and the wider relationship between Mexico and the US. Worth a listen.
How much time and space do we owe the right wing here?
Yesterday was another day when I look through Open Mike and just skip past all the sections occupied by by “James” or “BM” or Sryland” or a half dozen others. Previously I would have read through the comments, but over time I have found their contributions to be of such low value that scrolling past them or abandoning the thread/site is a better course of action for me.
They demand space in the name of freedom. They demand attention in the name of tolerance. Plurality of views is called for to justify their presence.
This space was created for, and primarily occupied by, the very people whom James and BM want to squash. It really owes them nothing and if their presence appears is felt to stifle debate or exploration then they should excluded.
Agreed
They do not offer an debate or argument. Schoolyard squabbling would be best they offer.
They just pollute the site with insults, attacks, smears and diversions.
The only people owed anything here are the authors, moderators and others that keep the place running, who are owed a heap of gratitude. All the rest of us should keep in mind we’re playing for free in a playground that others put a lot of volunteer work into making it available.
As far as the likes of BM, james, Wayne, srylands etc goes, they help stop this space from being too much of an echo chamber. Scrolling past the inane tit-for-tats and obvious trolling is a small price to pay for the rare occasions they bring interesting perspectives here.
Agreed – we owe administrators, moderators and authors a debt of gratitude for running this site.
But these rwnjs do stifle debate and make people lose interest in threads.
It’s worth asking what they add to the site when they are probably ( as they intend) turning many others away from the site.
“But these rwnjs do stifle debate and make people lose interest in threads.”
That’s the object of the exercise. And some of them really get off on it. Same sort of behaviour as the muppets that go into bars and try and pick fights, except I doubt the local batch of wingnuts would fare too well at that.
Prick who reckons the British Empire was all good and cracked a fat over Dick and Dubya’s excellent Iraq adventure sez nazis are people too, and we should listen to them.
/
The biggest threat to the world? The right-wing as shown by all the wars that they start, their denial of global warming and their insistence that business needs to be able to pollute without restraint (see farming).
John Brunner reckoned the biggest threat to the world was selective inattention, whereby humans ignore what is important in favour of issues that are popular or framed so as to appeal to us. That would to some extent cover the RWNJ narratives as well as the less valid parts of the Left.
“The right-wing as shown by all the wars that they start”.
In the United States it is generally the other way around.
The main wars they were involved in in the 20th century were, I would suggest, WW1, WW2, Korea and Vietnam. When they started there were Democrats in the White House, every time. They were Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John Kennedy.
Good theory but no cigar, I’m afraid.
The US entered the first following the sinking of their shipping, the second after an act of war, Korea and Vietnam to repel a perceived red menace but hey, alwyn says because leftist!
I suggest you read what I said before you sound off.
I said nothing like what you are claiming I said. I merely pointed out the Comment by DTB, proposing that it was right-wingers who started all the wars was not supported by the facts.
Please try and comment on what I say, not what you would like to think I had said.
In the past couple of centuries the US has been involved in hundreds of conflicts abroad but you disingenuously lump the left with wars of your choice.
“invasion of Russia after WWI”.
I only picked out the major ones.
On the other hand that would have taken place when Wilson was President, wouldn’t it? Wasn’t he a Democrat?
Oh well if you want to include it go ahead. I wouldn’t bother. It would be like counting the invasion of Grenada under Reagan, or Cuba at the Bay of Pigs under Kennedy.
You mean the Bay of Pigs plan developed under Eisenhower? And the US entered Vietnam under Eisenhower.
Then there’s McKinley and Teddy Rooseveldt, republicans, and the reason MacArthur was in the Phillipines in the first place to be able to say “I shall return”. Hawaii was invaded. Iran-contra. Panama (twice). Iraq (twice).
WW2 is an exception, because it was a war of self defense – the US was militarily attacked and had war declared upon it.
So, nice try, but both US parties have started their share of wars. Some more defensible than others.
The most anti-democratic of the ones I listed was Woodrow Wilson. He was dreadful. Anti-Semitic, racist, anti-Union, you name it and Wilson was guilty of it.
A white American in the early 20th Century was anti-semitic and a racist to boot? OMG, how could such an outlier ever have been elected to the presidency?
How much time and space do we owe the right wing here?
Who’s “we?” Are you claiming some kind of shared ownership of this site? Good luck with that – likewise with telling the moderators who should be allowed to comment here.
Here is the problem I have with debating with the right and people like James.
They almost always dishonest. You will seldom get a right winger these days to openly state their case and why. Instead they will dissemble, use false equivalance, argue in bad faith, use “whataboutism” and employ hairsplitting over minutiae to divert. Expert information is dismissed with a mix of anti-intellectualism and conspiracy theories. It is the mentality of paranoid reaction; they have no constructive views only attacks on what they don’t like. They can’t defend their POV because being racist and classist and misogynist in no longer acceptable in the common discourse.
They are the marginalised voices of irrelevance, left behind and not dealing with the shock of the new.
To me, these are indicators of poorly educated people in the sense that (to me at least) the true mark of an an educated person is someone who is able sift good information from bad, discern reliable opinion from unreliable, and be able to identify and engage with experts.
So i seldom waste my time arguing with pygmies like James, sryland etc etc. They doesn’t have a clue; it isn’t my job to try and give them one.
IMHO, a website comments section should be treated in most ways as a letters section of a daily newspaper. No one ever demanded the right to publish any old rubbish in the local paper as a fundamental component of free speech. Publication in any organ is a privilege, not a right and any publication has a right to not publish Letters or comments that are incorrect or designed to inflame. Comments should be curated and anything that is disingenuous, dishonest, or trolling should be removed, no questions asked.
Very good summary in your second paragraph Sanctuary, and I agree with Gristle up-thread.
As someone who enjoys the discourse on this site, learns a lot especially through links provided that I’m sure I would never have come across otherwise, and is challenged regularly by the views of others, can I ask Standardistas to consider ignoring the obvious contenders and James in particular.
Before being accused of being afraid of, or trying to limit, robust debate (or being afraid of opposing views) I would say that he offers very little in the way of debate (or shows he’s read the links provided by others) and I consider that’s not why he’s here anyway. As someone else has said yesterday it’s just shit and giggles.
I stress that I am not denying his right to express his opinion here, but once he has, I just wish people would move on. Choosing to not engage with someone you consider to have ulterior motives is a perfectly legitimate course of action, in fact the sensible one.
If anyone wants to continue dealing with this irritant that’s your choice but please be aware it makes this site less enjoyable and interesting for some others as it forces us to clamber through clogged-up threads.
I will be pressing the mental “ignore” button from now on. Please, for the benefit of those of us who come here for stimulation and encouragement, consider doing the same.
Come on Sanctuary I’ve caught out james twice. One for him supporting the right to beat children, and recently his support of the racist murders by the right in Venezuela.
James has holes, just expose them once in a while whist not attacking him personally.
I’d say much like Puckish Rogue he is a racist, and hates being told his opinions are pretty much worthless.
James plays words games and trolls people – if you like, be smart and troll him back. Sheesh he is not as smart as he thinks he is, you should not give him much credit either.
agreed…james in particular posts things just to stir and troll…it is a delberate tactic to limit intelligent and constuctive debate on this site….the best course is to ignore bm and james
I guess that happens offline too. I go to a reasonably liberal or at least non-fundamentalist church but we have recently attracted an extreme fundamentalist. He is a former missionary for Ravi Zaccarius international ministries and is worming his way in every where. He speaks in tongues and thinks himself God touched. He poisons groups with his agendas so some people just stop going yet no-one will even suggest dealing with him because we all like to be tolerant. How to the tolerant and inclusive deal with the intolerant and exclusive?.
You took the words right out of my mouth, so to speak-I was tempted yesterday to ask nicely if we could have one right-wing troll-free day a week so conversations are able to gain some depth – the ping-pong thing does get very boring.
I guess I have the choice to just not bother, but it seems a shame when there are otherwise so many interesting things to read.
Maybe if people just stop taking the bait so readily?
James like pushing people’s buttons with his smug bullshit comments. Please don’t respond. I suspect he would be lost on right wing forums cos he’s just one among many. What get’s me his (successful) derailing of threads with tales of his flash BBQ’s, whereby people dutifully respond. Just….don’t.
What turns people off is the repetitive nature of their trolling. Red herrings, sprats to catch mackerel, and bait for sharks. It is all prods and jabs with the odd barb.
Maybe someone should get hold of Kim Hill and remind her how to conduct a robust interview, when it comes to American politics she seems to have lost touch with the critical thinking side of her brain….( I can’t remember if that is the right or left side)…
Here is Kim Hill interviewing Luke Harding on his book ‘Collusion: How Russia Helped Trump Win the White House’
Here is Aaron Matè interviewing Luke Harding on his book ‘Collusion: How Russia Helped Trump Win the White House’
While Aarons interview isn’t perfect, at least he actually tries to make Harding explain how he came to his conclusions, and not just assume those conclusions are fact, as Kim so obviously does.
I agree with you Adrian. Luke Harding was an interesting interview, but she let him away with a lot of contentious statements, without challenging him.
Still, it’s not the worst interview she’s conducted. I was appalled by her credulity when she interviewed a glib and smooth propagandist in 2013….
I don’t get interviewers like Aaron Matè. Harding’s written a book in which he makes a case for the Russian government having colluded with Trump and attempted to influence the election for president. Most of Matè’s questions amount to “Yeah, but where’s the proof?” Well, fucking duh – if there was proof, Trump would be serving a term in prison rather than a term as PotUS and diplomatic relations between the USA and the Russian Federation would be only one step short of armed conflict. As with many other political questions, there is no certainty one way or the other, just what you can argue for.
Asking for some verifiable proof is not “truculent disagreement”.
Contending (as has been done on a regular basis) that anyone not believing that which is “meant to be believed” are supportive of dictators and oppressive regimes is intellectually bankrupt.
So, on the one side there are the “true believers” who push their case by vilifying any who don’t buy into what they want to sell.
And on the other there are those who say if serious allegations are being made, then the onus is on those making the allegations to provide some measure of proof.
Asking for some verifiable proof is not “truculent disagreement”.
Asking Mueller for some verifiable proof after he’s finished his investigation isn’t truculent disagreement, no. It’s due process. But a journalist declaring up front that he rejects his interviewee’s arguments and spending the interview on “But where’s the proof” questions are – if Luke Harding had proof of what he’s claiming, Trump would be in prison, as mentioned above.
A guy makes bold claims. He says his claims are all true and reasonable. All you’re saying is he shouldn’t be questioned and probed on the claims he makes with an aim of establishing how true or reasonable his claims might be.
Fuck that for a game of soldiers.
Next you’ll be saying no questions should be asked of a guy who’s written a book about how the earth is flat, even though he’s based his claims on having spoken to some guy, or to some guy who spoke to some guy…and maybe one or two of those guys are guys who powerful guys, who want us to believe the earth is flat, have put in a good word for.
And anyone who does question the guy who wrote the book, or who wants to see some evidence that might back up claims made in the book…well, they obviously believe the absurd notion that earth rests on the back of a giant turtle.
That’s essentially the pattern conservative liberals who house themselves on both the right and left of the political spectrum, are creating with their insistence we all accept their word on Russian stuff as an article of faith.
There’s nothing “bold” about the claim that great-power governments attempt to clandestinely interfere in the affairs of other countries in various ways. It’s anything but a “bold” claim.
He says his claims are all true and reasonable.
Or, in this case, he writes a whole book laying out the basis of his claims.
All you’re saying is he shouldn’t be questioned and probed on the claims he makes with an aim of establishing how true or reasonable his claims might be.
I haven’t said that at all. I have said that demanding “proof” is for the justice system, not for journalists interviewing an author about his book. By all means deal with his arguments, but leave proof to the systems designed to establish proof.
There’s nothing “bold” about the claim that great-power governments attempt to clandestinely interfere in the affairs of other countries in various ways.
Sure. And no-one has said that isn’t the case. But the claims being made go way beyond that banal observation.
And you want books (and presumably newspaper and magazine articles besides) not held up to any scrutiny – as in demanding evidence that would underscore or back up claims, because that’s “proof” and so rightly left to a judicial system.
Meaning (according to your argument) that anyone can write any piece of tosh, and unless some court case is in the pipeline, no questions ought ever to be asked about said tosh – because everything must correctly come down to mere belief versus non-belief.
What happens when a “true believer” meets some request for evidence to back their gospel?
Hard swallowing, umming and ahhing, a bit of literal arm waving and the whole sermon of “you don’t believe only because you’re not seeing the same shadows I see and that makes you wrong and me right” followed by “oops I hit the disconnect button”.
Hope the poor guy had a wet-wipe and a clean shirt to hand.
Or was it all in place before the change in government?
I wondered the same thing and that was the only explanation I could come up with. There would be a fairly substantial lead time in putting the list together.
As mentioned in the other replies, the list was compiled by the previous government and the new government would have had little choice but to run with it in view of the change of government only two months before the NY Honours announcements.
The process for nomination, checking nominations, approval within NZ and then obtaining Royal assent is a long slow one – and the final decisions and assents may well have been virtually completed by Oct 26, the date of the swearing in of the new government. Therefore there would have been no real way that they could have scrapped the National Government nominations and replaced them with new ones that late in the process – and it would have looked pretty poor if they had just scrapped the Nat nominations and left a big blank this round.
Jacinda Ardern has confirmed this in a post on her Facebook account this morning “This year I had the privilege of seeing a bit more of the detail behind our honours list. While the list was compiled by the last Government, I was there for the final stage. This list is a snap shot of all the work so many New Zealanders do across a whole lifetime- and usually it’s on behalf of all of us. Special mention to Joy Cowley for helping so many generations learn to read, and my friend @annette.of.rongotai Our longest serving woman in politics, and a wonderful person.” https://www.facebook.com/jacindaardern/
What we will probably never know is whether there were other Nat govt nominations that were in fact vetoed by the new government in this final stage …
That is unbelievably weak from the PM. She is either the DPMC minister or she isn’t. Gets a peek into the process? FFS imagine Clark saying that.
There’s no sign this government had any input and she admitted it. Go through the last 9 years of lists and you see a fully politicised process of well calibrated patronage.
The two Labour people up the list -King and Bassett- are hard right enforcers better suited to National.
We need to stay calling ‘time’ on their excuses that it’s only been 2 months. They heroically tout their list of wonders every chance they get.
I agree JanM. My understanding is: those Honours lists are compiled months in advance. Many are recommendations from various sources and the rest are essentially added to the list by the incumbent government – that is, the politically aligned recipients. The only thing Jacinda Ardern would have seen was the ‘signed and sealed in’ official list which can’t be aborted.
No point in crying over spilt milk and anyway… their turn will come at some point when they, too, lose the treasury benches but the subsequent Honours list was complied by them.
I hope an outgoing Labour led government wouldn’t be expected to be vindictive in this area. The honours list really should be politically neutral, and recognition of service to the community as a whole.
Sure there were a couple of names on this list where I (and probably a lot of people) though “wonder what they did for the National Party”, but generally the names were people who gave a significant contribution to our community through the arts, other people’s sporting achievement, or the smooth functioning of our communities.
But at change of government those political honours stand out starkly, and reflect poorly on the outgoing government.
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Give her a break. She came into the field as a late starter and has won the race. Since then she has spent every waking hour trying to get policies moving, the public engaged, and face off the disaffected. And she is still probably trying to feel sensitively the strength of the invaders trying to enter her territory. I hope that you are not one who would attack her on spurious grounds! Practicality not wishful thinking is the driver.
(Picture a delicate spider touching the web and checking out who would be good to eat, who to deter, and who are poisonous to be in contact with. I think our PM has to watch over her territory carefully.)
Ditzy Dame Denise a Disgraceful choice for New Year’s Honour List
Anyone who listens to RNZ National will be well aware that Denise L’Estrange Corbet is one of the nastiest, as well as most poorly informed, people to have appeared on Jim Mora’s light chat show. In 2014 she unleashed this screeching broadside against the poor….
DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: It’s like the TV programme Benefit Street. People who are on the dole, who spend their days SMOKING and DRINKING and GAMBLING and they keep on having CHILDREN. … Maybe someone needs to go in and see where the money is going. We just can’t keep on handing out MONEY! …. It comes down to education. Don’t smoke it, don’t drink it, don’t buy Lotto tickets. I don’t believe there IS a shortage of jobs in New Zealand….
Still, she’s no worse than “Sir” Robert Jones and President Donald Trump, I guess. What’s the next outrage to public sensibility, I wonder? Sir Kyle Chapman? Lord Garth the Ripper?
Yeah, but as stated before, this list was prepared by the Nats. The process takes months and even if they had wanted to, I doubt very much that the new government would have seen altering it as a top priority in the limited time they’ve had.
More interesting for me is whether or not they’ll dump the “Sir” and “Dame” relics of the British Empire again, like the Clark government did. The worry being, of course, that the next Nat led government (whenever it occurs) could just bring them back in, as SIR John Key did.
‘Farmers have started on a journey which will be to the environment what the 1980s reforms were to the economy, he said.
As anyone with a modicum of political knowledge would be aware, the 1980s destroyed the NZ economy for ordinary NZers and gave it to foreigners and a parasitic rentier class.
So he obviously cares not one one whit about the environment.
The environmental damage caused by the explosion of dairy when he was leader of federated farmers shows up the Honours system for what it is.
I think Talley’s award was the worst.
It appears that the New Zealand First website has winked out of existence.
Completely.
How can this happen, especially when this is the party which forms the current government?
How are we supposed to communicate with New Zealand First MPs on specific issues when we are denied access to their manifesto and pre -election policy statements?
So…when New Zealand First’s new website winks into existence, whenever, we will be unable to compare their former, pre-election policies with whatever presumably sanitised version will be posted.
I find it annoying that political parties can do this. Older versions of their sites should be archived. NZF have done something particularly bad if all the incoming links are now broken. They should be redirecting if they’re rebuilding their website.
I agree it’s not acceptable for a govt party. Try here if you need something in the meantime,
New Zealand First, from what I can glean from what wayback has archived, has nothing specific to say about the issue I’m currently trying to remind current government MPs about…so probably a waste of time writing to them…as the only NZF MP who has spoken on this issue in the house is gone….
I hate, really really hate it when something like this happens.
A document, an entire fucking government party website, disappearing of the web.
We shouldn’t have to do the wayback thing.
My innate suspicion of all political parties and all politicians has just been ramped up to the nth degree.
This is the current government’s coalition partner…without NZF, Labour would not be in power.
So much for transparency and accountability and all that claptrap.
If I had my way, I’d declare this coalition null and void on grounds of extreme deceit on behalf on one of the parties.
Labour really needs to address this urgently…oh, that’s right, they;re all away on their hols.
Labour really needs to address this urgently…oh, that’s right, they;re all away on their hols.
To be fair, Labour aren’t in control of another party’s website. How would that play out? Should they be appointed guardians of the Greens’ website too?
Plus, people are allowed holidays. Even politicians and public servants. And even if this was Labour’s issue (which it isn’t) it would hardly be a matter of urgency. There are a few other matters that need addressing in the country, after all…
“There are a few other matters that need addressing in the country, after all…”
Yes, red-blooded, I know.
And it is for that reason that I went searching for information about Members of Parliament that went a little deeper than the information available on the Parliamentary website.
When I write to MPs about issues I like to read their biographies and their CVs. It helps in knowing how much information and in what form to put it in respect to each recipient.
It is also through the Party website one can access electoral/party email and postal addresses.
It also is of assistance to be able to quote from policy and/or manifesto documents.
None of this information can I access about Labour’s vital ‘without them we would be still occupying the opposition benches’ coalition party because it has completely obliterated its old website before setting up its new one.
Yes, and I understand your frustration – I just don’t see why you’re holding Labour accountable for a poor decision made internally by NZF (not related to anything negotiated with Labour). After all, whatever the current laws or regulations for political parties that are relevant to this (assuming there are some) weren’t developed by this government.
I do agree that political parties should include comprehensive archives on their websites so that people can search for past policies and documents. I think we can all understand why they might not, though.
I guess if this is a significant concern for you it might be worth contacting Claire Curran and suggesting that it should be something considered as part of the Open Government policy. If there was some kind of law or parliamentary regulation imposed, it would need to apply to all political parties, though – not just those in government.
To be fair, Labour aren’t in control of another party’s website. How would that play out? Should they be appointed guardians of the Greens’ website too?
Just a simple piece of legislation saying that anything that ever goes on a political party’s website must remain available on their website and be recorded by the National Library.
The web site in question will have been archived by the National Library (or should have been, according to its legislation). Unfortunately, that doesn’t necessarily translate into the archived site being publicly accessible – if that were to be a requirement, they’d need a budget that reflected that requirement.
Its not simply a case of a previous incarnation of NZF’s online presence having disappeared….New Zealand First has NO website at all at the present point in time.
A document, an entire fucking government party website, disappearing of the web.
That should not happen. A political party’s policies are their promises and we need to be able told them to account.
We shouldn’t have to do the wayback thing.
1. It should always be available upon the political party’s website
2. All political parties entire websites should be held on the National Records by default.
Ye Gods, will the gutter press every leave the families of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope in peace?
The Herald has it’s annual “what happened to Ben Smart and Olivia Hope?” story online today. I feel for their families, who have to endure this sleezeball sensationalism every year.
Anyway, should anone at the Herald actually be genuinely wondering what happened to Ben Smart and Olivia Hope, I can help you here.
They were murdered by Scott Watson, who was convicted for this crime in 1999 and who exhausted all avenues of appeal including to the privy council.
I was drinking my morning coffee with Mrs Hornet when she brought in the Herald (we still subscribe to the Saturday edition). I took one look at the front page, folded the section up and gave it back. Disgusting gutter press.
I see Rod Drury founder of Xero has a good article on stuff about NZ starting up a Chief Technology officer this new organisation can target our investment in technology to the technology that is more beneficial and this will give us more rewards for our investment he writes a good read Ka pai.
I see the Dutch have advanced plans for a massive wind farm in the north Sea eco admire the Dutch influence and innovation they don’t run there country just for the 1% imagine how much we could have achieved in renewable energy if the neo liberals did not put profits of our power companies before a sustainable future for our mokos.
All the people who said that solar will never scale up and will always cost more than fossils fuel should be seeing reality and changeing sides about now. And remember this all the bad articles about renewable energy is just big oil proper gander PS I like the way Elon Muslims runs his company comunacations anyone can voice concerns directly to him or the management upper or lower
This process helps speed up problems solving and one can see it in action with the success of these companies https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/100235637/how-2018-can-be-a-defining-year-for-digital-innovation-in-new-zealand just trying to post links Ka pai
All the people who said that solar will never scale up and will always cost more than fossils fuel should be seeing reality and changeing sides about now.
If these people had ever thought economically they would have realised that solar panels, even the ones created back in the 1960s, were always cheaper than fossil fuels as they don’t destroy the resources used to produce usable energy. The fact that they’ve never thought about it that way shows that they don’t understand economics. Admittedly, a lot of that comes from the economist misrepresenting money.
PS I like the way Elon Muslims [Musk?] runs his company comunacations anyone can voice concerns directly to him or the management upper or lower
#BREAKING – King of #Jordan dismisses his 3 brothers; Faisal, Ali and Talal from Jordanian army command after evidence of them contacting #Saudi leaders Mohammad bin Salman and Mohammad bin Zayed to formulate a coup against him. All 3 brothers are now under house arrest. pic.twitter.com/D0pv1cQM6x— SURA (@AlSuraEnglish) December 29, 2017
It’s more that war is in our face but we’re trying very hard to ignore it.
Trust has reached all time lows and strategists have blamed Saudi Arabia’s poorly planned actions for the shift of regional influence from the Saudi state and to Turkey, Iran and Egypt. Gulf Arab nations in particular have been very critical of often at times, unilateral actions by Saudi Arabia which they must comply with.
Saudi Arabia, like Israel, is a proxy agent of the West.
The muppets are still hanging around like sand fly around rotten fruit but eco is not rotten the muppets are rotten to the core and its good to be able to let everyone no this fact Ana to kai
‘Common fungicides are the strongest factor linked to steep declines in bumblebees across the US, according to the first landscape-scale analysis.
The surprising result has alarmed bee experts because fungicides are targeted at molds and mildews – not insects – but now appear to be a cause of major harm. How fungicides kill bees is now being studied, but is likely to be by making them more susceptible to the deadly nosema parasite or by exacerbating the toxicity of other pesticides.’
Hi Robert Guyton
Hope you had a bee-utiful Christmas. Have you heard about this latest on the bees? Now it is the bumblebees to worry about, endangered as the lovely honey bees we have had good relations with. Have there been any reports that the African bees that found their way to the USA from Brazil have been able to withstand the shit thrown at their plants?
Hi Greywarshark – sorry for the slow response time; I’ve been outside in the balmy air, enjoying the forest; no fungicides in there, save those that are naturally part of the system; our honey bees seem strong and full of vitality, as do the various bumbles; the native bees too, that drill holes in the compacted clay in our clothes-line “circle” – I’m backing diversity as the insurance against collapse of any pollinator family; if the honey bees go down, the hoverflies will step up; if they fail, the wax-eyes will have more nectar to collect. That said, it’s idiocy to continue to pour on the synthetic “icides’ for so many reasons. I’ve encouraged frogs this year, with some careful spawn transfers from an ephemeral pond, and know they’ve a good chance here in our “clean” environment but still wonder why I’m seeing so few red and yellow admirals this season…wasps are getting some very bad press lately, with “movements” determined to take them out of the picture. They certainly do seem to be cleaning the place up; insects and all; that’s worrying, but so’s every other pest organism that’s being detected with increasing frequency. I hope your Chjristmas went swimmingly and that the new year looks appealing to you! I’m excited by the shape of things and my opportunity to make something of it.
‘Greenpeace spokeswoman Gen Toop said the funding was essentially subsidised propaganda.
“Large scale irrigation is environmentally destructive and inherently unsustainable. It drives intensive dairy conversions and in turn water pollution and rising climate emissions.”
“With our polluted rivers in a state of crisis this particular fund needs to be used to genuinely help farmers deal with agricultural pollution.”’
‘Who cares about the holidaymakers, I say. Bees are dying and all RNZ can be concerned with is the holidaymakers. The last thing to interest them is why are the bees dying.’
I read somewhere recently Ed that when the last bee has died the human race have four years left of survival. Quite thought provoking and of course none of us realise just our reliant we are on our friendly bee species. With hives collapsing and the Veroa mite destroying our hives, the future looks bloody grim for us all. Commercial insecticides also are making the bees lose their navigation skills and they cannot return to their hives at night. We are a bloody useless species us humans.
Nation of Debt: Half a trillion dollars and still rising http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11873204
Govt debt is $96.9BILLION
And this after an extended prolonged economic “Rock Star Economy”.
Should/when the tide turns how will our country cope ? And how will we protect our environment when the money is not there ?
‘‘household debt remains at levels that worry the Reserve Bank and leaves us vulnerable to the risk of a housing market crash or international financial crisis,.’
‘For New Zealand households, the ratio of debt to income has now reached a record – 168 per cent, well above the pre-financial crisis peak of 159 per cent.’
‘The Herald has tallied the country’s total gross debt – combining household, business, agricultural, central and local government debt. The grand total of $528.7 billion is up 7.3 per cent from a year ago.’
‘The latest Reserve Bank figures (for the year to April 30) show household debt has topped $250b, driven by rising property prices and an increase in consumer borrowing.’
Due to the way our finance system is rigged the economy can only grow if there is more debt and capitalism requires growth. The inevitable result is collapse.
An indebted nation.
In 2018, a financial crash is coming.
As we are poorly placed to handle it.
Fasten your seatbelts…….
‘household debt remains at levels that worry the Reserve Bank and leaves us vulnerable to the risk of a housing market crash or international financial crisis,.’
‘For New Zealand households, the ratio of debt to income has now reached a record – 168 per cent, well above the pre-financial crisis peak of 159 per cent.’
‘The Herald has tallied the country’s total gross debt – combining household, business, agricultural, central and local government debt. The grand total of $528.7 billion is up 7.3 per cent from a year ago.’
‘Over 100 officers have been redeployed to the district, including five from Counties Manukau, with a focus on problem areas Whangamatā, Whitianga, and Waihī.
They were kept busy last night with up to 400 people gathering at Whangamatā’s Surf Club.
Senior Sergeant Simon Cherry said 15 people were arrested for disorder, fighting and breaching the peace and the towns liquor ban.’
Many thanks to Lee from the Rock radio station you play some awesome music. I no that some people don’t like my views on how the state and settlers treated. Maori well the way they treated Maori is the same as they treated all indigenous culture around the world so stop denieing reality until we admit to the wrong that happened to us Maori well it will always be a issue. So why is it that our government does not declassifie all the documents relating to that era?????? Ana to kai PS I see some websites that rejected ECO MAORI are struggling now Ana to kai
Many thanks to Our New government hounering the many great ladies and men that have helped shape New Zealand society for the better its good to see a lot of Dames in the list Ka kite ano
I should do more research before posting my post got the new houners list wrong aparantly the neo liberals chose the people to be honoured apologies.
And apologies to JanM I have trust issues as the muppets have a very long reach keep up the good work JanM
Ka kite ano
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
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To celebrate the start of New Zealand music month, we look back at the best local tuneage that managed to weasel its way into Hollywood productions. There’s nothing quite like the thrilling zap of recognition when New Zealand weasels its way into a glamorous Hollywood production. Crack open a Tui ...
People trust other people more than institutions. So how can the media gain that trust through journalists without losing what’s important about the institution? Anna Rawhiti-Connell reflects on two years of curating the news for The Bulletin.Amonth ago, armed cops descended on my neighbourhood as calls to “lock your ...
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NONFICTION 1 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)’ This is the hottest book in New Zealand, number one with a bullet in its first week, selling more than any overseas title, and demand is so huge that it’s already been reprinted. A ...
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A warning – suicide is discussed in this podcast New Zealand’s own long-running soap Shortland Street doesn’t hesitate to kill off its much-loved characters. But would TVNZ dare to kill off our favourite soap? That’s the fear as times get tough in television – even though it’s been pointed out ...
A few years on from initial cannabis legalisation in a couple of US states, here’s a look at how the economics of growing and distributing it have evolved.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/legal-weed-isnt-the-boon-small-businesses-thought-it-would-be/
It’s showing the normal dynamics of any product that can scale, has immense choice in type/cultivar, evolving consumption methods with a very discerning consumer base.
As well as lighting up the recreational market previously underground big business has cut its teeth in Colorado and eyes off these new states in a similar way that booze flowed after prohibition.
They’ll do to the retail market what malls have done to suburban strip shops, be niche, have a point of difference or go out of business.
That piece doesn’t really spell out the next likely stages of the market evolution, but other consumables like beer, wine, cheese, ice cream show the likely path. Consolidation of suppliers into a few big players with multiple brands, and as you say, the remaining small players either find their special niche (and probably sell out to a big player shortly thereafter), or wither and die.
One niche will be the coupling of, say, artisanal marijuana and craft beer, with requisite ambience (no slot machines or pop music). I would pay a premium for that.
Current BC (Canada) market is humming. I’m curious as to how SK (Saskatchewan) will fuck it up (through a combination of archaic provincialism, conservatism, fear, corruption and bumbling incompetence).
An interesting piece of RNZ this morning about (in part) the effects in Mexico of legalisation in the US: basically, the drug cartels scaling up into harder drugs for export into the US (mostly heroin), other kinds of crime (like kidnapping) and an increase in violence between drug cartels (the murder rate is about 27 000 –
nearly doubled in 11 years) and involving the army. Of course, this piece was also about the war on drugs in Mexico, and the wider relationship between Mexico and the US. Worth a listen.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018627699 (from just before the 11 minute mark)
Typical capitalism then.
How much time and space do we owe the right wing here?
Yesterday was another day when I look through Open Mike and just skip past all the sections occupied by by “James” or “BM” or Sryland” or a half dozen others. Previously I would have read through the comments, but over time I have found their contributions to be of such low value that scrolling past them or abandoning the thread/site is a better course of action for me.
They demand space in the name of freedom. They demand attention in the name of tolerance. Plurality of views is called for to justify their presence.
This space was created for, and primarily occupied by, the very people whom James and BM want to squash. It really owes them nothing and if their presence appears is felt to stifle debate or exploration then they should excluded.
Agreed
They do not offer an debate or argument. Schoolyard squabbling would be best they offer.
They just pollute the site with insults, attacks, smears and diversions.
The only people owed anything here are the authors, moderators and others that keep the place running, who are owed a heap of gratitude. All the rest of us should keep in mind we’re playing for free in a playground that others put a lot of volunteer work into making it available.
As far as the likes of BM, james, Wayne, srylands etc goes, they help stop this space from being too much of an echo chamber. Scrolling past the inane tit-for-tats and obvious trolling is a small price to pay for the rare occasions they bring interesting perspectives here.
Agreed – we owe administrators, moderators and authors a debt of gratitude for running this site.
But these rwnjs do stifle debate and make people lose interest in threads.
It’s worth asking what they add to the site when they are probably ( as they intend) turning many others away from the site.
“But these rwnjs do stifle debate and make people lose interest in threads.”
That’s the object of the exercise. And some of them really get off on it. Same sort of behaviour as the muppets that go into bars and try and pick fights, except I doubt the local batch of wingnuts would fare too well at that.
The biggest threat to free speech? The left.
From the Boston Globe.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/08/07/the-biggest-threat-free-speech-the-left/QeNyES0rXB3bdWR8rjHKTI/story.html
tl;dr
Prick who reckons the British Empire was all good and cracked a fat over Dick and Dubya’s excellent Iraq adventure sez nazis are people too, and we should listen to them.
/
wow, James is running alt right lines now?
The biggest threat to the world? The right-wing as shown by all the wars that they start, their denial of global warming and their insistence that business needs to be able to pollute without restraint (see farming).
John Brunner reckoned the biggest threat to the world was selective inattention, whereby humans ignore what is important in favour of issues that are popular or framed so as to appeal to us. That would to some extent cover the RWNJ narratives as well as the less valid parts of the Left.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/872228.The_Stone_That_Never_Came_Down
“The right-wing as shown by all the wars that they start”.
In the United States it is generally the other way around.
The main wars they were involved in in the 20th century were, I would suggest, WW1, WW2, Korea and Vietnam. When they started there were Democrats in the White House, every time. They were Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John Kennedy.
Good theory but no cigar, I’m afraid.
The US entered the first following the sinking of their shipping, the second after an act of war, Korea and Vietnam to repel a perceived red menace but hey, alwyn says because leftist!
“alwyn says because leftist!”.
I suggest you read what I said before you sound off.
I said nothing like what you are claiming I said. I merely pointed out the Comment by DTB, proposing that it was right-wingers who started all the wars was not supported by the facts.
Please try and comment on what I say, not what you would like to think I had said.
In the past couple of centuries the US has been involved in hundreds of conflicts abroad but you disingenuously lump the left with wars of your choice.
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Q7zjcMH4K_QJ:https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R42738.pdf+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=nz&client=firefox-b
https://www.indy100.com/article/usa-american-army-invasions-police-actions-overseas-dod-defense-war-troops-deployment-marines-7908611
The US has been invading other nations since it’s independence. You missed their invasion of Russia after WWI as an example.
Oh, and all wars started by RWNJs is accurate and isn’t exclusive to the US.
“invasion of Russia after WWI”.
I only picked out the major ones.
On the other hand that would have taken place when Wilson was President, wouldn’t it? Wasn’t he a Democrat?
Oh well if you want to include it go ahead. I wouldn’t bother. It would be like counting the invasion of Grenada under Reagan, or Cuba at the Bay of Pigs under Kennedy.
Yes and yes.
What gives you the idea that the Democrats have ever been Left wing?
They, like Labour here, have always been a capitalist party.
You mean the Bay of Pigs plan developed under Eisenhower? And the US entered Vietnam under Eisenhower.
Then there’s McKinley and Teddy Rooseveldt, republicans, and the reason MacArthur was in the Phillipines in the first place to be able to say “I shall return”. Hawaii was invaded. Iran-contra. Panama (twice). Iraq (twice).
WW2 is an exception, because it was a war of self defense – the US was militarily attacked and had war declared upon it.
So, nice try, but both US parties have started their share of wars. Some more defensible than others.
And what makes you think US democrats, especially their presidents, are left wing? Truman was pretty anti-union.
Bushes started wars in Iraq, and Afghanistan.
The most anti-democratic of the ones I listed was Woodrow Wilson. He was dreadful. Anti-Semitic, racist, anti-Union, you name it and Wilson was guilty of it.
A white American in the early 20th Century was anti-semitic and a racist to boot? OMG, how could such an outlier ever have been elected to the presidency?
How much time and space do we owe the right wing here?
Who’s “we?” Are you claiming some kind of shared ownership of this site? Good luck with that – likewise with telling the moderators who should be allowed to comment here.
Here is the problem I have with debating with the right and people like James.
They almost always dishonest. You will seldom get a right winger these days to openly state their case and why. Instead they will dissemble, use false equivalance, argue in bad faith, use “whataboutism” and employ hairsplitting over minutiae to divert. Expert information is dismissed with a mix of anti-intellectualism and conspiracy theories. It is the mentality of paranoid reaction; they have no constructive views only attacks on what they don’t like. They can’t defend their POV because being racist and classist and misogynist in no longer acceptable in the common discourse.
They are the marginalised voices of irrelevance, left behind and not dealing with the shock of the new.
To me, these are indicators of poorly educated people in the sense that (to me at least) the true mark of an an educated person is someone who is able sift good information from bad, discern reliable opinion from unreliable, and be able to identify and engage with experts.
So i seldom waste my time arguing with pygmies like James, sryland etc etc. They doesn’t have a clue; it isn’t my job to try and give them one.
IMHO, a website comments section should be treated in most ways as a letters section of a daily newspaper. No one ever demanded the right to publish any old rubbish in the local paper as a fundamental component of free speech. Publication in any organ is a privilege, not a right and any publication has a right to not publish Letters or comments that are incorrect or designed to inflame. Comments should be curated and anything that is disingenuous, dishonest, or trolling should be removed, no questions asked.
Very good summary in your second paragraph Sanctuary, and I agree with Gristle up-thread.
As someone who enjoys the discourse on this site, learns a lot especially through links provided that I’m sure I would never have come across otherwise, and is challenged regularly by the views of others, can I ask Standardistas to consider ignoring the obvious contenders and James in particular.
Before being accused of being afraid of, or trying to limit, robust debate (or being afraid of opposing views) I would say that he offers very little in the way of debate (or shows he’s read the links provided by others) and I consider that’s not why he’s here anyway. As someone else has said yesterday it’s just shit and giggles.
I stress that I am not denying his right to express his opinion here, but once he has, I just wish people would move on. Choosing to not engage with someone you consider to have ulterior motives is a perfectly legitimate course of action, in fact the sensible one.
If anyone wants to continue dealing with this irritant that’s your choice but please be aware it makes this site less enjoyable and interesting for some others as it forces us to clamber through clogged-up threads.
I will be pressing the mental “ignore” button from now on. Please, for the benefit of those of us who come here for stimulation and encouragement, consider doing the same.
Come on Sanctuary I’ve caught out james twice. One for him supporting the right to beat children, and recently his support of the racist murders by the right in Venezuela.
James has holes, just expose them once in a while whist not attacking him personally.
I’d say much like Puckish Rogue he is a racist, and hates being told his opinions are pretty much worthless.
James plays words games and trolls people – if you like, be smart and troll him back. Sheesh he is not as smart as he thinks he is, you should not give him much credit either.
agreed…james in particular posts things just to stir and troll…it is a delberate tactic to limit intelligent and constuctive debate on this site….the best course is to ignore bm and james
I guess that happens offline too. I go to a reasonably liberal or at least non-fundamentalist church but we have recently attracted an extreme fundamentalist. He is a former missionary for Ravi Zaccarius international ministries and is worming his way in every where. He speaks in tongues and thinks himself God touched. He poisons groups with his agendas so some people just stop going yet no-one will even suggest dealing with him because we all like to be tolerant. How to the tolerant and inclusive deal with the intolerant and exclusive?.
You took the words right out of my mouth, so to speak-I was tempted yesterday to ask nicely if we could have one right-wing troll-free day a week so conversations are able to gain some depth – the ping-pong thing does get very boring.
I guess I have the choice to just not bother, but it seems a shame when there are otherwise so many interesting things to read.
Maybe if people just stop taking the bait so readily?
+100. I come to read this site to get away from the likes of James etc. Why don’t they stick to their own forum? eg talkback radio
James like pushing people’s buttons with his smug bullshit comments. Please don’t respond. I suspect he would be lost on right wing forums cos he’s just one among many. What get’s me his (successful) derailing of threads with tales of his flash BBQ’s, whereby people dutifully respond. Just….don’t.
What turns people off is the repetitive nature of their trolling. Red herrings, sprats to catch mackerel, and bait for sharks. It is all prods and jabs with the odd barb.
Maybe someone should get hold of Kim Hill and remind her how to conduct a robust interview, when it comes to American politics she seems to have lost touch with the critical thinking side of her brain….( I can’t remember if that is the right or left side)…
Here is Kim Hill interviewing Luke Harding on his book ‘Collusion: How Russia Helped Trump Win the White House’
https://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018624819
Here is Aaron Matè interviewing Luke Harding on his book ‘Collusion: How Russia Helped Trump Win the White House’
While Aarons interview isn’t perfect, at least he actually tries to make Harding explain how he came to his conclusions, and not just assume those conclusions are fact, as Kim so obviously does.
I agree with you Adrian. Luke Harding was an interesting interview, but she let him away with a lot of contentious statements, without challenging him.
Still, it’s not the worst interview she’s conducted. I was appalled by her credulity when she interviewed a glib and smooth propagandist in 2013….
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-13072013/#comment-662336
I don’t get interviewers like Aaron Matè. Harding’s written a book in which he makes a case for the Russian government having colluded with Trump and attempted to influence the election for president. Most of Matè’s questions amount to “Yeah, but where’s the proof?” Well, fucking duh – if there was proof, Trump would be serving a term in prison rather than a term as PotUS and diplomatic relations between the USA and the Russian Federation would be only one step short of armed conflict. As with many other political questions, there is no certainty one way or the other, just what you can argue for.
Well then isn’t it up to interviewers to test that hypothesis?
Rather than to agree lamely?
Sure it is. But truculent disagreement isn’t a great improvement on lame agreement.
Asking for some verifiable proof is not “truculent disagreement”.
Contending (as has been done on a regular basis) that anyone not believing that which is “meant to be believed” are supportive of dictators and oppressive regimes is intellectually bankrupt.
So, on the one side there are the “true believers” who push their case by vilifying any who don’t buy into what they want to sell.
And on the other there are those who say if serious allegations are being made, then the onus is on those making the allegations to provide some measure of proof.
Asking for some verifiable proof is not “truculent disagreement”.
Asking Mueller for some verifiable proof after he’s finished his investigation isn’t truculent disagreement, no. It’s due process. But a journalist declaring up front that he rejects his interviewee’s arguments and spending the interview on “But where’s the proof” questions are – if Luke Harding had proof of what he’s claiming, Trump would be in prison, as mentioned above.
A guy makes bold claims. He says his claims are all true and reasonable. All you’re saying is he shouldn’t be questioned and probed on the claims he makes with an aim of establishing how true or reasonable his claims might be.
Fuck that for a game of soldiers.
Next you’ll be saying no questions should be asked of a guy who’s written a book about how the earth is flat, even though he’s based his claims on having spoken to some guy, or to some guy who spoke to some guy…and maybe one or two of those guys are guys who powerful guys, who want us to believe the earth is flat, have put in a good word for.
And anyone who does question the guy who wrote the book, or who wants to see some evidence that might back up claims made in the book…well, they obviously believe the absurd notion that earth rests on the back of a giant turtle.
That’s essentially the pattern conservative liberals who house themselves on both the right and left of the political spectrum, are creating with their insistence we all accept their word on Russian stuff as an article of faith.
A guy makes bold claims.
There’s nothing “bold” about the claim that great-power governments attempt to clandestinely interfere in the affairs of other countries in various ways. It’s anything but a “bold” claim.
He says his claims are all true and reasonable.
Or, in this case, he writes a whole book laying out the basis of his claims.
All you’re saying is he shouldn’t be questioned and probed on the claims he makes with an aim of establishing how true or reasonable his claims might be.
I haven’t said that at all. I have said that demanding “proof” is for the justice system, not for journalists interviewing an author about his book. By all means deal with his arguments, but leave proof to the systems designed to establish proof.
There’s nothing “bold” about the claim that great-power governments attempt to clandestinely interfere in the affairs of other countries in various ways.
Sure. And no-one has said that isn’t the case. But the claims being made go way beyond that banal observation.
And you want books (and presumably newspaper and magazine articles besides) not held up to any scrutiny – as in demanding evidence that would underscore or back up claims, because that’s “proof” and so rightly left to a judicial system.
Meaning (according to your argument) that anyone can write any piece of tosh, and unless some court case is in the pipeline, no questions ought ever to be asked about said tosh – because everything must correctly come down to mere belief versus non-belief.
Fucking madness.
And you want books (and presumably newspaper and magazine articles besides) not held up to any scrutiny…
Well, you keep saying that, but I haven’t.
Classic. Thanks for the link Adrian :))
What happens when a “true believer” meets some request for evidence to back their gospel?
Hard swallowing, umming and ahhing, a bit of literal arm waving and the whole sermon of “you don’t believe only because you’re not seeing the same shadows I see and that makes you wrong and me right” followed by “oops I hit the disconnect button”.
Hope the poor guy had a wet-wipe and a clean shirt to hand.
Why do the New Years Honours look like there has been no change of government at all?
It reads like Labour weren’t prepared for government.
Or was it all in place before the change in government?
I wondered the same thing and that was the only explanation I could come up with. There would be a fairly substantial lead time in putting the list together.
Highly this was drawn up by the outgoing government.
The gongs given out to farming luimaries suggest that.
millsy
Did they look like ‘dim bulbs’?
As mentioned in the other replies, the list was compiled by the previous government and the new government would have had little choice but to run with it in view of the change of government only two months before the NY Honours announcements.
The process for nomination, checking nominations, approval within NZ and then obtaining Royal assent is a long slow one – and the final decisions and assents may well have been virtually completed by Oct 26, the date of the swearing in of the new government. Therefore there would have been no real way that they could have scrapped the National Government nominations and replaced them with new ones that late in the process – and it would have looked pretty poor if they had just scrapped the Nat nominations and left a big blank this round.
The process – https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/our-programmes/new-zealand-royal-honours/make-nomination/nominations-honours (more links listed in this one).
Jacinda Ardern has confirmed this in a post on her Facebook account this morning
“This year I had the privilege of seeing a bit more of the detail behind our honours list. While the list was compiled by the last Government, I was there for the final stage. This list is a snap shot of all the work so many New Zealanders do across a whole lifetime- and usually it’s on behalf of all of us. Special mention to Joy Cowley for helping so many generations learn to read, and my friend @annette.of.rongotai Our longest serving woman in politics, and a wonderful person.”
https://www.facebook.com/jacindaardern/
What we will probably never know is whether there were other Nat govt nominations that were in fact vetoed by the new government in this final stage …
That is unbelievably weak from the PM. She is either the DPMC minister or she isn’t. Gets a peek into the process? FFS imagine Clark saying that.
There’s no sign this government had any input and she admitted it. Go through the last 9 years of lists and you see a fully politicised process of well calibrated patronage.
The two Labour people up the list -King and Bassett- are hard right enforcers better suited to National.
We need to stay calling ‘time’ on their excuses that it’s only been 2 months. They heroically tout their list of wonders every chance they get.
Cheap shot, Ad – stuff has made it quite clear that this list was compiled by the last government
I agree JanM. My understanding is: those Honours lists are compiled months in advance. Many are recommendations from various sources and the rest are essentially added to the list by the incumbent government – that is, the politically aligned recipients. The only thing Jacinda Ardern would have seen was the ‘signed and sealed in’ official list which can’t be aborted.
No point in crying over spilt milk and anyway… their turn will come at some point when they, too, lose the treasury benches but the subsequent Honours list was complied by them.
I hope an outgoing Labour led government wouldn’t be expected to be vindictive in this area. The honours list really should be politically neutral, and recognition of service to the community as a whole.
Sure there were a couple of names on this list where I (and probably a lot of people) though “wonder what they did for the National Party”, but generally the names were people who gave a significant contribution to our community through the arts, other people’s sporting achievement, or the smooth functioning of our communities.
But at change of government those political honours stand out starkly, and reflect poorly on the outgoing government.
Ad
Give her a break. She came into the field as a late starter and has won the race. Since then she has spent every waking hour trying to get policies moving, the public engaged, and face off the disaffected. And she is still probably trying to feel sensitively the strength of the invaders trying to enter her territory. I hope that you are not one who would attack her on spurious grounds! Practicality not wishful thinking is the driver.
(Picture a delicate spider touching the web and checking out who would be good to eat, who to deter, and who are poisonous to be in contact with. I think our PM has to watch over her territory carefully.)
Agreed
I’ll give them well into the New Year before waxing critical – but not till 2019. There’s quite a big job to be done.
Ditzy Dame Denise a Disgraceful choice for New Year’s Honour List
Anyone who listens to RNZ National will be well aware that Denise L’Estrange Corbet is one of the nastiest, as well as most poorly informed, people to have appeared on Jim Mora’s light chat show. In 2014 she unleashed this screeching broadside against the poor….
Still, she’s no worse than “Sir” Robert Jones and President Donald Trump, I guess. What’s the next outrage to public sensibility, I wonder? Sir Kyle Chapman? Lord Garth the Ripper?
Yeah, but as stated before, this list was prepared by the Nats. The process takes months and even if they had wanted to, I doubt very much that the new government would have seen altering it as a top priority in the limited time they’ve had.
More interesting for me is whether or not they’ll dump the “Sir” and “Dame” relics of the British Empire again, like the Clark government did. The worry being, of course, that the next Nat led government (whenever it occurs) could just bring them back in, as SIR John Key did.
And aren’t th recipricants asked if they will accept an honour?
To avoid the embarrassment of a public refusal?
Rachel Stewart
‘One of the worst leaders Federated Farmers has ever had – and that’s saying something – gets a gong. Shows why the honour system is a tired joke.’
https://t.co/kXn1C6Uvt3?amp=1
The recipient Rolleston said this in 2017.
‘Farmers have started on a journey which will be to the environment what the 1980s reforms were to the economy, he said.
As anyone with a modicum of political knowledge would be aware, the 1980s destroyed the NZ economy for ordinary NZers and gave it to foreigners and a parasitic rentier class.
So he obviously cares not one one whit about the environment.
The environmental damage caused by the explosion of dairy when he was leader of federated farmers shows up the Honours system for what it is.
I think Talley’s award was the worst.
I’ve commented on the loons of Federated Farmers last year….
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-07112016/#comment-1256257
and on some destructive dairy farmers earlier this month….
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-17-12-2017/#comment-1427213
Like you, Ed, as well as Rachel Stewart and many others, I have been appalled every time I have heard William Rolleston speak—and he seems to be on the radio a lot now, usually pretending to be a serious and moderate farmer, when in fact he’s anything but. Rolleston is very much a supporter of this fellow and the water policy he’s demonstrating here….
https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/l/f/i/z/s/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620×349.1lfi0o.png/1504501119377.jpg
Code Pink – Stars as always.
Well, I’m disappointed, and not a little bit pissed off.
Where the hell is the official Party website for the partner in our coalition government?
http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/
No list of members.
No contact details.
No policy statements.
No nothing.
Not good enough.
(And yes, I have been here…https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/political-parties/new-zealand-first-party/, and I have been here…https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/members-of-parliament/
but I want something akin to this…https://www.greens.org.nz/
And yes….I looked here…https://www.interest.co.nz/news/86954/election-2017-party-philosophieskaupapa
and under New Zealand First…every link reads…
“The page you were looking for was not found.”
It appears that the New Zealand First website has winked out of existence.
Completely.
How can this happen, especially when this is the party which forms the current government?
How are we supposed to communicate with New Zealand First MPs on specific issues when we are denied access to their manifesto and pre -election policy statements?
So…when New Zealand First’s new website winks into existence, whenever, we will be unable to compare their former, pre-election policies with whatever presumably sanitised version will be posted.
Totally unacceptable.
http://www.nzfirst.org.nz says new website coming soon, so I guess they’re rearranging things 🙁
I find it annoying that political parties can do this. Older versions of their sites should be archived. NZF have done something particularly bad if all the incoming links are now broken. They should be redirecting if they’re rebuilding their website.
I agree it’s not acceptable for a govt party. Try here if you need something in the meantime,
https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/
Thanks weka for the response.
New Zealand First, from what I can glean from what wayback has archived, has nothing specific to say about the issue I’m currently trying to remind current government MPs about…so probably a waste of time writing to them…as the only NZF MP who has spoken on this issue in the house is gone….
I hate, really really hate it when something like this happens.
A document, an entire fucking government party website, disappearing of the web.
We shouldn’t have to do the wayback thing.
My innate suspicion of all political parties and all politicians has just been ramped up to the nth degree.
This is the current government’s coalition partner…without NZF, Labour would not be in power.
So much for transparency and accountability and all that claptrap.
If I had my way, I’d declare this coalition null and void on grounds of extreme deceit on behalf on one of the parties.
Labour really needs to address this urgently…oh, that’s right, they;re all away on their hols.
I think your expectations of NZ 1st may be far too high in general
A.
It’s not just NZ1st.
Labour really needs to address this urgently…oh, that’s right, they;re all away on their hols.
To be fair, Labour aren’t in control of another party’s website. How would that play out? Should they be appointed guardians of the Greens’ website too?
Plus, people are allowed holidays. Even politicians and public servants. And even if this was Labour’s issue (which it isn’t) it would hardly be a matter of urgency. There are a few other matters that need addressing in the country, after all…
“There are a few other matters that need addressing in the country, after all…”
Yes, red-blooded, I know.
And it is for that reason that I went searching for information about Members of Parliament that went a little deeper than the information available on the Parliamentary website.
When I write to MPs about issues I like to read their biographies and their CVs. It helps in knowing how much information and in what form to put it in respect to each recipient.
It is also through the Party website one can access electoral/party email and postal addresses.
It also is of assistance to be able to quote from policy and/or manifesto documents.
None of this information can I access about Labour’s vital ‘without them we would be still occupying the opposition benches’ coalition party because it has completely obliterated its old website before setting up its new one.
Its about credibility.
+1
Yes, and I understand your frustration – I just don’t see why you’re holding Labour accountable for a poor decision made internally by NZF (not related to anything negotiated with Labour). After all, whatever the current laws or regulations for political parties that are relevant to this (assuming there are some) weren’t developed by this government.
I do agree that political parties should include comprehensive archives on their websites so that people can search for past policies and documents. I think we can all understand why they might not, though.
I guess if this is a significant concern for you it might be worth contacting Claire Curran and suggesting that it should be something considered as part of the Open Government policy. If there was some kind of law or parliamentary regulation imposed, it would need to apply to all political parties, though – not just those in government.
Just a simple piece of legislation saying that anything that ever goes on a political party’s website must remain available on their website and be recorded by the National Library.
The web site in question will have been archived by the National Library (or should have been, according to its legislation). Unfortunately, that doesn’t necessarily translate into the archived site being publicly accessible – if that were to be a requirement, they’d need a budget that reflected that requirement.
Its not simply a case of a previous incarnation of NZF’s online presence having disappeared….New Zealand First has NO website at all at the present point in time.
That should not happen. A political party’s policies are their promises and we need to be able told them to account.
1. It should always be available upon the political party’s website
2. All political parties entire websites should be held on the National Records by default.
“A political party’s policies are their promises and we need to be able told them to account.”
And New Zealand First’s promises have disappeared back into the mists from whence they came.
I simply cannot understand why NZF would obliterate their existing website before their new site is up and running.
These days an organisation simply doesn’t exist unless they have a fully functioning website.
And this is the party, ffs, on which our current Government’s very existence hinges.
Ye Gods, will the gutter press every leave the families of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope in peace?
The Herald has it’s annual “what happened to Ben Smart and Olivia Hope?” story online today. I feel for their families, who have to endure this sleezeball sensationalism every year.
Anyway, should anone at the Herald actually be genuinely wondering what happened to Ben Smart and Olivia Hope, I can help you here.
They were murdered by Scott Watson, who was convicted for this crime in 1999 and who exhausted all avenues of appeal including to the privy council.
Please update your records.
Now, Can you leave their families in peace?
I was drinking my morning coffee with Mrs Hornet when she brought in the Herald (we still subscribe to the Saturday edition). I took one look at the front page, folded the section up and gave it back. Disgusting gutter press.
This is a great example of how the MSM are trying to distract us from the ‘now’.
I see Rod Drury founder of Xero has a good article on stuff about NZ starting up a Chief Technology officer this new organisation can target our investment in technology to the technology that is more beneficial and this will give us more rewards for our investment he writes a good read Ka pai.
I see the Dutch have advanced plans for a massive wind farm in the north Sea eco admire the Dutch influence and innovation they don’t run there country just for the 1% imagine how much we could have achieved in renewable energy if the neo liberals did not put profits of our power companies before a sustainable future for our mokos.
All the people who said that solar will never scale up and will always cost more than fossils fuel should be seeing reality and changeing sides about now. And remember this all the bad articles about renewable energy is just big oil proper gander PS I like the way Elon Muslims runs his company comunacations anyone can voice concerns directly to him or the management upper or lower
This process helps speed up problems solving and one can see it in action with the success of these companies https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/100235637/how-2018-can-be-a-defining-year-for-digital-innovation-in-new-zealand just trying to post links Ka pai
If these people had ever thought economically they would have realised that solar panels, even the ones created back in the 1960s, were always cheaper than fossil fuels as they don’t destroy the resources used to produce usable energy. The fact that they’ve never thought about it that way shows that they don’t understand economics. Admittedly, a lot of that comes from the economist misrepresenting money.
Yeah, that’s called communism.
We’ve been here before DTB you will have a good idea on what my reply will be Ana to kai
Buckle up, people. There’s war on the horizon.
http://al-sura.com/jordans-king-arrests-brothers-and-cousin-in-suspected-saudi-led-coup/
It’s more that war is in our face but we’re trying very hard to ignore it.
Saudi Arabia, like Israel, is a proxy agent of the West.
The muppets are still hanging around like sand fly around rotten fruit but eco is not rotten the muppets are rotten to the core and its good to be able to let everyone no this fact Ana to kai
Bees.
Disappearing.
Thanks to capitalism.
‘Common fungicides are the strongest factor linked to steep declines in bumblebees across the US, according to the first landscape-scale analysis.
The surprising result has alarmed bee experts because fungicides are targeted at molds and mildews – not insects – but now appear to be a cause of major harm. How fungicides kill bees is now being studied, but is likely to be by making them more susceptible to the deadly nosema parasite or by exacerbating the toxicity of other pesticides.’
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/29/alarming-link-between-fungicides-and-bee-declines-revealed
“Bees.
Disappearing.
Thanks to capitalism.“
Yep – it’s all part of capitalism 101. Start with the bees and everything thing else will follow.
You’re welcome.
Oh – and I have a few hives on my property as well. Better go kill them and be a good capitalist huh Ed.
Capitalism demands a growing economy.
It ignores externalities.
Profit trumps the environment.
So yes capitalism has created the situation.
I am predicting that you have never studied capitalism and its philosophical underpinnings.
Any chance you could go to KiwiBlog and talk to people like yourself?
Don’t bother Ed. Just hit the mental “ignore” button.
It’s hard.
James stalks me across this site and abuses me.
Well, no, it’s actually Start with the profit and everything else will crumble.
The profit motive always produces the worst outcomes imaginable.
Profit trumps the environment.
It’s not actually about you James.
Hi Robert Guyton
Hope you had a bee-utiful Christmas. Have you heard about this latest on the bees? Now it is the bumblebees to worry about, endangered as the lovely honey bees we have had good relations with. Have there been any reports that the African bees that found their way to the USA from Brazil have been able to withstand the shit thrown at their plants?
Hi Greywarshark – sorry for the slow response time; I’ve been outside in the balmy air, enjoying the forest; no fungicides in there, save those that are naturally part of the system; our honey bees seem strong and full of vitality, as do the various bumbles; the native bees too, that drill holes in the compacted clay in our clothes-line “circle” – I’m backing diversity as the insurance against collapse of any pollinator family; if the honey bees go down, the hoverflies will step up; if they fail, the wax-eyes will have more nectar to collect. That said, it’s idiocy to continue to pour on the synthetic “icides’ for so many reasons. I’ve encouraged frogs this year, with some careful spawn transfers from an ephemeral pond, and know they’ve a good chance here in our “clean” environment but still wonder why I’m seeing so few red and yellow admirals this season…wasps are getting some very bad press lately, with “movements” determined to take them out of the picture. They certainly do seem to be cleaning the place up; insects and all; that’s worrying, but so’s every other pest organism that’s being detected with increasing frequency. I hope your Chjristmas went swimmingly and that the new year looks appealing to you! I’m excited by the shape of things and my opportunity to make something of it.
Unbelievable.
‘Greenpeace slams govt’s funding for Irrigation NZ
Irrigation New Zealand has been given $180,000 of government funding to promote sustainable farming, a decision Greenpeace says beggars belief.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/country/347173/greenpeace-slams-govt-s-funding-for-irrigation-nz
As long as it actually promotes sustainable farming that would be fine.
Chancres are that they won’t though. It will most likely to used to lobby government for more irrigation.
From the article
‘Greenpeace spokeswoman Gen Toop said the funding was essentially subsidised propaganda.
“Large scale irrigation is environmentally destructive and inherently unsustainable. It drives intensive dairy conversions and in turn water pollution and rising climate emissions.”
“With our polluted rivers in a state of crisis this particular fund needs to be used to genuinely help farmers deal with agricultural pollution.”’
Dying bees inundating beach at Whangamata
‘Who cares about the holidaymakers, I say. Bees are dying and all RNZ can be concerned with is the holidaymakers. The last thing to interest them is why are the bees dying.’
http://robinwestenra.blogspot.co.nz/2017/12/dying-bees-iniundating-beach-at.html?m=1
I read somewhere recently Ed that when the last bee has died the human race have four years left of survival. Quite thought provoking and of course none of us realise just our reliant we are on our friendly bee species. With hives collapsing and the Veroa mite destroying our hives, the future looks bloody grim for us all. Commercial insecticides also are making the bees lose their navigation skills and they cannot return to their hives at night. We are a bloody useless species us humans.
There are so many environmental red alerts – yet we as a species ignore them.
Nation of Debt: Half a trillion dollars and still rising
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11873204
Govt debt is $96.9BILLION
And this after an extended prolonged economic “Rock Star Economy”.
Should/when the tide turns how will our country cope ? And how will we protect our environment when the money is not there ?
New Zealand is sleepwalking into a crisis.
‘‘household debt remains at levels that worry the Reserve Bank and leaves us vulnerable to the risk of a housing market crash or international financial crisis,.’
‘For New Zealand households, the ratio of debt to income has now reached a record – 168 per cent, well above the pre-financial crisis peak of 159 per cent.’
‘The Herald has tallied the country’s total gross debt – combining household, business, agricultural, central and local government debt. The grand total of $528.7 billion is up 7.3 per cent from a year ago.’
‘The latest Reserve Bank figures (for the year to April 30) show household debt has topped $250b, driven by rising property prices and an increase in consumer borrowing.’
Quick !
We better create inflation by putting interest rates up to 15% to cool the debt.
Due to the way our finance system is rigged the economy can only grow if there is more debt and capitalism requires growth. The inevitable result is collapse.
An indebted nation.
In 2018, a financial crash is coming.
As we are poorly placed to handle it.
Fasten your seatbelts…….
‘household debt remains at levels that worry the Reserve Bank and leaves us vulnerable to the risk of a housing market crash or international financial crisis,.’
‘For New Zealand households, the ratio of debt to income has now reached a record – 168 per cent, well above the pre-financial crisis peak of 159 per cent.’
‘The Herald has tallied the country’s total gross debt – combining household, business, agricultural, central and local government debt. The grand total of $528.7 billion is up 7.3 per cent from a year ago.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11873204
Alcohol.
A blight on New Zealand.
#1
‘Over 100 officers have been redeployed to the district, including five from Counties Manukau, with a focus on problem areas Whangamatā, Whitianga, and Waihī.
They were kept busy last night with up to 400 people gathering at Whangamatā’s Surf Club.
Senior Sergeant Simon Cherry said 15 people were arrested for disorder, fighting and breaching the peace and the towns liquor ban.’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/347241/police-urge-restraint-after-15-arrests-in-whangamata
Many thanks to Lee from the Rock radio station you play some awesome music. I no that some people don’t like my views on how the state and settlers treated. Maori well the way they treated Maori is the same as they treated all indigenous culture around the world so stop denieing reality until we admit to the wrong that happened to us Maori well it will always be a issue. So why is it that our government does not declassifie all the documents relating to that era?????? Ana to kai PS I see some websites that rejected ECO MAORI are struggling now Ana to kai
Many thanks to Our New government hounering the many great ladies and men that have helped shape New Zealand society for the better its good to see a lot of Dames in the list Ka kite ano
Charlie Brooker isn’t doing a 2017 Wipe this year so Frankie Boyle will have to do.
David Farrar ‘s friends up to their usual violent crimes.
Israeli jets, tanks launch fresh attacks against Gaza Strip
http://robinwestenra.blogspot.co.nz/2017/12/israeli-launch-attack-on-gaza.html?m=1
I should do more research before posting my post got the new houners list wrong aparantly the neo liberals chose the people to be honoured apologies.
And apologies to JanM I have trust issues as the muppets have a very long reach keep up the good work JanM
Ka kite ano