‘The government has no plans to sell New Zealand Post despite the company continuing to struggle with fewer postal deliveries, Finance Minister Bill English says.’
No, NZ post won’t be sold – the postal services are not worth anything. Kiwibank will be split and that will be sold. English could make no comment on Kiwibank being split off from NZ Post. The only reason to split would be to sell off the profitable part (Kiwibank)
Hooton bathes in his own celebrity. Hmm let me guess who his main client is these days?
Probably deals in milk powder, swamp kauri and bottled water. Just happens to have a wife who is a power hungry Minister who is not adverse to knocking over rivals.
Little is not that much of an idiot Matthew to call you out. Tickets please…tickets please…clipping tickets for a price!
“Some of which are highly paid PR consultants I might add.”
They also give someone from the left the same opportunity. At least Mr Hooton criticisms his own side (often very vigorously). The current representative from the left seems to just be an apologist for everything Labour does.
“They also give someone from the left the same opportunity. At least Mr Hooton criticisms his own side (often very vigorously). The current representative from the left seems to just be an apologist for everything Labour does.”
Poor Gosman. He can’t tell the difference between a coherent argument that can be debated and a line of PR that is designed to manipulate the listener towards a certain bias. Or maybe he can 😉
Some would say Hooton works to keep Collins at the top of the peaking order of Natcorp. It is in her best interests to crack Key every now and then. Bennett is Key’s pet so trimming her up also serves Collins.
And we’re seeing this lack of maintenance around the world. US engineers estimate that the US infrastructure needs trillions of dollars spent on it. Political response? Cut taxes on the rich and cut social spending including spending on infrastructure.
Makes me wonder just how bad NZs infrastructure is because we’ve been doing exactly the same for the last 30 years.
Diary Spy
By LabourVoices · March 26, 2016
Parliament wasn’t sitting this week, so in lieu of the Whipping Post, here’s the week that was outside the House.
Just listened to Andrew Little being interviewed on Morning Report regarding his views on politicians being attacked on social media. It was so bad I felt sorry for him. Why did he try and make a political point on this topic?
Just read Gosman shitstirring on The Standard this morning regarding his feelings about politicians being political. It was so pathetic I felt sorry for him. Why did he try and make an astroturfing point out of this topic?
Is there a website where we can see copies of all the flags submitted for consideration? Failing that, the shortlisted flags before the “expert kiwis” rejected them. Also, we know how the politicians voted but has anyone asked the “panel” how they voted? Wonder if any of them still preferred the original.
there are a few really good designs amongst them.
But frankly i hope to never ever have to see a design from that Lockwood dude. He had way to many entries. Maybe they should have just limited it to one entry per person, and we would have gotten a bit more choice.
In saying that….Hypno Flag and Laser Kiwi….t’would have been a hard choice.
All five of the Lockwood designs in the top 40 were the same thing in different colours (one of them had previously won a Devonport design a flag competition, but couldn’t say which). The peculiar thing is just how based around the fern they were, considering that he can’t draw a fern for sour apples. Sven Baker also had four different designs in the longlist, but at least they were all different (5 different kinds of repulsive). Any future flag design panel should have a one finalist per designer rule (some designers and vexillogists would help too).
Personally, I liked Frizell’s black&green Manawa design, but the black jack was good too:
lets not speak about this….erosion of benefits – no not the bludger benefits like unemployment benefits or single parent benefits – they obviously need to be as low as possible to get people to ‘choose’ work instead of ‘live on the dole’, no the other good benefits like Accom Supplement ( i was told by a WINZ drone it is not a ‘benefit), Student Allowances, WFF, Legal Aid……… http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/78333951/some-government-benefits-are-quietly-being-eroded-at-the-expense-of-families
“EROSION OF SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS
Student allowance is a fairness mechanism there to help the children of poorer families get a tertiary education.
Whether a student gets it or not depends on their income, and those of their parents.
The parental income levels have been frozen since April 2012, and will not be inflation-adjusted from their current levels until March 2019.
The number of people getting the allowance has fallen from nearly 70,000 in 2011 to about 54,000 in 2015.
The amount paid dropped from $78.8 million to $58.7m. A similar decline happened for student accommodation allowance.”
We need an NZ version of this. Read the whole piece for best effect. An Open Letter To All Supporters Of The TPP
Now, the legislative bodies of twelve Pacific Rim countries are presented with a secretively created trade agreement and encouraged to approve it WITHOUT ANY MODIFICATIONS. This agreement simply builds on and greatly expands the corruptive practices that previous corporate created agreements have had.
It is critical that the media accepts its moral responsibility and honestly inform the public at large of the detailed ramifications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). After all, this is the largest trade deal in history and was created by a cabal of international corporations and bankers who explicitly stated that it was designed to counter the enormous economic influence of China. However, that is a rather narrow expression of what a more complete examination of its underlying objectives reveal.
While continually excluding the public, lobbyist from some of the largest corporations and banks in the world created this agreement. It is designed to maximize profits at the expense of the rest of humanity. Among those who were not invited to be involved in its creation, were representatives of labor organizations, environmentalist, civil rights organizations, international human rights organizations, advocates for an open Internet, the medical community and numerous other groups of similar ilk.
This agreement provides more international protections for these large corporations and financial groups when it comes to intellectual property, patents, trademarks, copyrights, loans, securities and global franchise agreements. At the same time, there are minimal to no protections for workers, small investors, health workers, consumers, the Internet, personal privacy or the environment.
John Gascoigne is good in the Herald today. In particular:
“New Zealanders are told they have a “rock-star economy” and are doing well. But they also experience low wages, almost 6 per cent unemployment, job insecurity, housing unaffordability, crippling student and national debt, homelessness, a metastasising underclass, grotesque inequality, desolate communities and so on. But we are doing well, apparently.”
Agreed saveNZ. I wonder if there is a strategy here directed by Joyce/Crosby Textor to drown out the debate on genuine policies. Some quiet words at BBQ’s and cocktail parties-nothing in writing of course;”keep up the trolling pressure chaps”.
IMO the only way to fight fire is with fire-attack Key at every opportunity. Knock the rapidly disintegrating gloss of his image.
@ gsays
Yeah maybe you are right. Trying to drag Key into the mud never seems to work-Dirty Politics being the best example.
The people will work out he is a duplicitous liar working mostly for his 1% mates….eventually.
My only solace is that his reign will be looked back at negatively by most people, probably even his own side, in the future. He just doesn’t have the vision thing. At all.
Dam you are on to us! Just last week the Crosby Textor drones were out in force delivering instructions to thousands of BBQ’s gatherings all over NZ. Some inside info…just like on mission impossible after the instructions have been read by all it self destructs to stop any vital Intel falling into the hands of left wing spies!!
Seriously guys your comments are surely tongue in check?
Smearing and firing up the DP machine is all they have as the facts, shonky deals, corruption and chooks of their ecomonic incompetance come home to roost.
Only read part of it Sabine, but Trump dissembles like Key does when speaking unscripted. Transcripts show that there are lots of words but little of substance.
Worker Cooperatives Are More Productive Than Normal Companies
Imagine an economy without bosses. It’s not a utopian vision but a growing daily reality for many enterprises. A close analysis of the performance of worker-owned cooperative firms—companies in which workers share in management and ownership—shows that, compared to standard top-down firms, co-ops can be a viable, even superior way of doing business.
The term “co-op” evokes images of collective farming or crunchy craft breweries. But Virginie Perotin of Leeds University Business School synthesized research on “labor-managed firms” in Western Europe, the United States and Latin America, and found that, aside from the holistic social benefits of worker autonomy, giving workers a direct stake in managing production enables a business to operate more effectively. On balance, Perotin concludes, “worker cooperatives are more productive than conventional businesses, with staff working ‘better and smarter’ and production organized more efficiently.”
hi weka,
during the weekend i rewatched ‘the four horsemen of the apocalypse’ (great film).
it touched on how the workplaces (factories and other places of production) were worker owned.
seems absolutely logical.
also an article, highlighted on the standard, about a ubi run in a town in canada.
the findings included how productivity took a lift during this time.
watch the tories diss this as they know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.
The Kaipara District Council and the Auditor-General have agreed to settle the claim by the Council against the Auditor-General in connection with audit issues identified in the Auditor-General’s report Inquiry into the Mangawhai community wastewater scheme tabled in Parliament in December 2013.
As that Inquiry established, the Council failed to adequately perform its responsibilities to the community in connection with the wastewater scheme. The Council’s claim alleged that the Auditor-General failed to identify these failings in a timely manner and take appropriate steps to bring them to the attention of the Council. The Council alleged that some of the poor decisions made by the Council in this period could have been averted if the Auditor-General’s office had performed its responsibilities appropriately.
In the Inquiry report, the Auditor-General offered an unreserved apology to the Kaipara District community for the failings in some audit work carried out by her office. However, the Auditor-General disputed the Council’s claim for damages arising out of those failings. In particular, the Auditor-General considered that it was the Council that had the responsibility to comply with its statutory obligations, and its failure to do so is not attributable to the Auditor-General’s office.
The parties agreed to participate in a mediation of their dispute conducted by Hon Rodney Hansen QC, a retired High Court Judge. The outcome of that mediation is that the parties have agreed to settle the dispute, without any admission of liability. The sum of $5,375,000 (including GST, if any) will be paid to the Council on behalf of the Auditor-General, and the parties will bear their own costs in the litigation to date. The mediator has confirmed to the parties that, in his opinion, the settlement is a reasonable one for the parties to enter into.
Hope it works, I know people involved on both sides of this story and nobody is looking too flash. I feel sorry for ratepayers in places like Ruawai and Dargaville who will no doubt end up paying for it in the long run.
PROTEST THE PRIVATISATION OF STATE HOUSING IN TAMAKI!
Seen this?
____________________________________________________________________________________
Please join us in protest outside the Tamaki Regeneration Company offices, 244 Apirana Ave Glen Innes this Thursday the 31st March, at 3pm.
This Thursday, the 31st of March, 2,800 state homes are to be transfered to the Tāmaki Housing Association. This affects 2,800 households that will be anticipating eviction, and subsequent demolitions of state housing in Tāmaki in favour of the government’s proposed ‘urban renewal’ promise to build more homes.
Mixed tenure communities is used as a way of socially cleansing low-income communities through a process of state-led gentrification.
The government says that demolishing state houses and building a mixture of private, affordable and social housing will lead to affordable housing.
This is a con, as land values in Glen Innes have increased by more than 100% since the redevelopment. The transfer of homes is not a new idea, it is a continuation of what the privatisation and gentrification of Tāmaki since 2011.
This is a further privatisation of state assets and gentrification of lower socioeconomic areas as in Pomarie, Tauranga and Invercargill.
This is happening all over Aotearoa and is similar to Thatcher’s regime, where council estates were transferred to housing associations which led to privatisation, displacement and homelessness.
This is the first major step in the National government’s privatisation of state housing, and we need to make a stand now or we stand to lose more than just a state asset.
Come and support the Tāmaki Housing Group, and all state housing tenants that are, or soon will be, directly affected by these reforms.
We live in a low wage economy where people are already struggling to pay rent, getting rid of state housing is not a solution to the housing crisis, it only leads to increasing unaffordability.
Everybody is affected by these reforms. Let us resist the state’s neoliberal agenda on a basic human right to for families to have a home to live in.
Obviously not caring if your staff or customers died on site was a bad look.
Now, hopefully, they’ll think twice about continuing their current dispute with the union over rosters. Too much shitty publicity so close together is a bad plan for anyone wanting to keep customers.
“Auckland Council’s membership of a property developer body is “crony capitalism” of the sort pushing Americans to vote for Donald Trump.
So says veteran local politician Mike Lee, who has called for councillors to vote on Thursday to end the association with the Property Council of New Zealand.
The Property Council lobbies central and local government on behalf of property developers. It was a glaring conflict of interest that Auckland Council was also a member, Lee said.
…..”
I agree with Auckland Councillor Mike Lee.
Again – I will be pushing that Auckland Council and all CCOs which are members of the NZ Property Council cease their membership forthwith, when I address the Auckland Council Governing Body (tomorrow) Thursday 31 March 2016, at 9.30am, Auckland Town Hall, in ‘Public Forum.’
If YOU are opposed to the ‘regulator’ / ‘referee’ effectively playing on the same side of one of the ‘teams’ – then come along?
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The Minister for ACC is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to join the Board of ACC on 1 February 2021. “All three bring diverse skills and experience to provide strong governance oversight to lead the direction of ACC” said Hon Carmel Sepuloni. Bella Takiari-Brame from Hamilton ...
The Government is investing $9 million to upgrade a significant community facility in Invercargill, creating economic stimulus and jobs, Infrastructure Minister Grant Robertson and Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene have announced. The grant for Waihōpai Rūnaka Inc to make improvements to Murihiku Marae comes from the $3 billion set ...
[Opening comments, welcome and thank you to Auckland University etc] It is a great pleasure to be here this afternoon to celebrate such an historic occasion - the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This is a moment many feared would never come, but ...
The Government is providing $3 million in one-off seed funding to help disabled people around New Zealand stay connected and access support in their communities, Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni announced today. The funding will allow disability service providers to develop digital and community-based solutions over the next two ...
Border workers in quarantine facilities will be offered voluntary daily COVID-19 saliva tests in addition to their regular weekly testing, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. This additional option will be rolled out at the Jet Park Quarantine facility in Auckland starting on Monday 25 January, and then to ...
The next steps in the Government’s ambitious firearms reform programme to include a three-month buy-back have been announced by Police Minister Poto Williams today. “The last buy-back and amnesty was unprecedented for New Zealand and was successful in collecting 60,297 firearms, modifying a further 5,630 firearms, and collecting 299,837 prohibited ...
Upscaling work already underway to restore two iconic ecosystems will deliver jobs and a lasting legacy, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “The Jobs for Nature programme provides $1.25 billion over four years to offer employment opportunities for people whose livelihoods have been impacted by the COVID-19 recession. “Two new projects ...
The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The New Zealand public sector and judiciary has again been ranked the least corrupt in the world. The 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released today by global anti-corruption organization Transparency International ranks New Zealand first equal ...
New Zealand is again ranked first equal with Denmark in the Transparency International annual index of perceived levels of public sector corruption. Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has welcomed New Zealand’s position in the 2020 index. He says New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Kaufman, Research Fellow, Vaccine Uptake Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute The federal government’s A$23.9 million COVID-19 vaccination information campaign, launchedyesterday, aims to reassure the public about vaccine safety and effectiveness. It will also provide information about the vaccine rollout. We’ve ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Hongi Luo, brand director at TikTok.In terms of cultural reach and impact, the ...
After Covid devastated its 2020, Basement Theatre comes roaring into 2021 with its Summer Season. Here’s the rundown of shows in-store, with some comments from programmer Nisha Madhan.Pre-FringeLust IslandWhen’s it on: February 2-6, 8pmWho’s involved: The women of improv troupe Hearthrobs (McKenzie’s Daughters, Salem Bitch Trials), including Brynley Stent, Alice ...
The whānau of Te Ahikaiata Turei supported by Māori and non-Māori staff at Unitec will take back a portrait of the Tūhoe leader who led the establishment of Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae and the values that brought the institute back from the brink of ...
A poll across the Early Childhood Education community found 93% in favour of pausing the ‘lunchbox rules’, or the Ministry of Education’s new Food Safety/choking changes to the Licensing Criteria, which came into effect on 25 January. “The message ...
Cycling advocates are calling for the transformation of urban transport, as New Zealand races to cut carbon. The Climate Change Commission will release its initial advice on Sunday 31 January. “Bikes and e-bikes are perfect for many local trips, ...
Three Ministers, led by the PM, joined in chorus today to warble about a bunch of measures aimed at helping to meet New Zealand’s 2050 carbon neutral target, create new jobs and boost innovation. Mind you, the measures mentioned seem to be more matters of decisions yet to be made ...
Michelle Kidd defines her role at Auckland’s specialist family violence court as te kaiwhakatere – the navigator. It’s a one-of-a-kind job, helping guide defendants through the court system. And there’s no one better suited to it than Whaea Michelle.First published November 24, 2020.Whaea Michelle is part of Frame, a series of short ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sallie Yea, Associate professor & Principal Research Fellow, La Trobe University Each year, thousands of men and boys labour under extremely exploitative conditions on commercial fishing vessels owned by Taiwanese, Chinese and South Korean companies. The Taiwanese fleet, which operates in all ...
Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis believes the Crown should maintain responsibility for the care and protection of at-risk and vulnerable children, regardless of their race. Moreover, he is confident his all-Maori team of advisers will not be taking race into account as they help to improve Oranga Tamariki’s care and protection of ...
It’s easy to sacrifice John Banks. It’s a lot harder for brands, sports organisations and government to truly stop funding racism. Are they willing to try?Yesterday John Banks, the former Auckland mayor and MP, became subject to one of the fastest firings in media history when audio covering his approving ...
A community is outraged after Auckland Council granted consent for a row of trees planted by local kids to be removed along a revitalised waterway in South Auckland, reports Justin Latif. An Auckland Council decision to give contractors the all-clear to chop down 12 mānuka and kānuka trees shading Māngere’s Tararata ...
Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu hopes that the recent changes to Oranga Tamariki leadership present an opportunity for a long overdue paradigm shift that will place whānau at the heart of the child welfare sector. Pouārahi Helen Leahy says that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rice, Professor of Management, University of New England Elon Musk is now the world’s richest person, edging out previous title holder Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. His rocketing fortune is due to the booming share price of Tesla, the maker of electric vehicles ...
There are now three returnees who contracted the virus in the Auckland isolation facility then left into the community while positive. These are some of the questions that need to be resolved. At 10.20pm last night the Ministry of Health confirmed that the two cases they’d been treating as probable ...
Having a hard time remembering to scan in on the NZ Covid Tracer app when you’re out and about? Get this song stuck in your head and you’ll never forget again.Learn the lyrics:Aotearoa, it’s time to get scanning!I mean if you think about it, it never really wasn’t time we ...
We conclude our week-long examination of New Zealand writer Roderick Finlayson with a review of his stories by John Newton Roger Hickin’s Cold Hub Press is one of the small miracles of contemporary New Zealand publishing. Over the last decade, on what can only be a shoe-string budget, the ...
Thursday 28th January, AUCKLAND: Drive Electric, the not-for-profit with one mission – making electric vehicle uptake in New Zealand mainstream, welcomes the announcement by the Government today as a sign of what’s to come through 2021, and we are confident ...
The Government announced today key policy decisions on the proposed clean car policies. The MIA has stated on many occasions that we support well thought out and constructive policies that will lead to an increased rate in the reduction of CO2 emissions from ...
Get wild, get cultured, get fed and then get to bed: the essential guide to a perfect few days in the southern city. There’s one thing that preoccupies the staff of The Spinoff almost as much as arranging popular food items into arbitrary lists, and that’s Dunedin. A quite remarkable ...
John Banks’ racist exchange with a Magic Talk listener on Tuesday was the latest in nearly 50 years of talkback controversies. Donna Chisholm has the receipts.John Banks axed over Māori ‘stone age culture’ comments on Magic Talk1972: On Radio I, sports talkback host Tim Bickerstaff launches a “Punch a Pom ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission.Two new community Covid-19 cases have been identified as the more infectious South African variant, but Auckland Mayor Phil Goff sayit would be "premature to go into lockdown now". The two new cases of Covid-19 identified in the ...
Today, for the second time in two months Dunedin climate protectors have locked themselves to the railway tracks outside the Dunedin Railway station to stop the KiwiRail coal train from Bathurst Resources’ Takitimu mine in Southland to Fonterra’s ...
KiwiRail STOP Hauling COAL Today, for the second time in two months Dunedin climate protectors have locked themselves to the railway tracks outside the Dunedin Railway station to stop the KiwiRail coal train from Bathurst Resources’ Takitimu mine ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Dunn, Associate professor, University of Sydney The government is rolling out a new public information campaign this week to reassure the public about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, which one expert has said “couldn’t be more crucial” to people actually getting ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Therese O’Sullivan, Associate Professor, Edith Cowan University The COVID vaccine rollout has placed the issue of vaccination firmly in the spotlight. A successful rollout will depend on a variety of factors, one of which is vaccine acceptance. One potential hurdle to vaccine ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bernard Walker, Associate Professor in Organisations and Leadership, University of Canterbury Kiwis know what it’s like when life throws curveballs. We’ve had major quakes, floods, fires, an eruption, a terrorist attack and now a pandemic. In those situations, it’s the ability to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Irwin, Emeritus professor, Murdoch University While we continue to be occupied with the COVID pandemic, another life-threatening disease has emerged in northern Australia, one that’s cause for considerable alarm for the millions of dog owners around the country. This disease — ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cath Ferguson, Academic, Edith Cowan University Almost half of Australian adults struggle with reading. Similar levels of struggling readers are reported in the United Kingdom and United States. This does not mean all struggling readers are illiterate. It means they often struggle ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Abbas Shieh, Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Design, Islamic Azad University The industrial revolution transformed cities, resulting in places of residence and work becoming more distant than ever before. This spatial segregation is still largely embedded in the design of our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Review: Occupation: Rainfall, written and directed by Luke Sparke Historically, when a sequel to a film was greenlit, you could rest assured this was because the first film made a ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for January 28, keeping you up to date with the latest local and international news. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nzOur members make The Spinoff happen! Every dollar contributed directly funds our editorial team – click here to learn more about how you can support us ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Tourism suffers in the shadow of Covid-19, two new positive cases in Auckland confirmed, and National will contest the Māori electorates.The front page of the January 4 Greymouth Star carried grim tidings for several of the glacier towns on the ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. Two people who left managed isolation on January 15 have been confirmed as positive Covid-19 cases, with the Ministry of Health urging anyone who visited the same locations during the same time period as the infected pair in Auckland to ...
The watchlist of 'offensive or unreasonable' babies' names is to be reviewed, to include more names from other languages. Generations of the Īhaka family have played a meaningful role in bringing Te Reo and stories of Māori to our wider community. Archdeacon Sir Kīngi Matutaera Īhaka (Te Aupōuri, 1921-93) was known as the orator of ...
After Morocco’s flagrant violation of the terms of the ceasefire in Western Sahara on Friday 13 November 2020 war broke out between the two sides. In the midst of this war Tauranga based Ballance Agri-Nutrients has decided to carry on importing phosphate ...
A young girl who once sent $5 to an embattled America's Cup team is now among the women on the water helping run the contest for the Auld Mug. As an eager and generous nine-year-old, Melanie Roberts posted a letter, with a $5 note, to OneAustralia’s America’s Cup team. It was 1995, ...
Nicholas Agar suggests that our handling of the pandemic could be partly down to our distinctive Treaty of Waitangi relationship, and Māori ideas that enabled us to make it through without tens of thousands of deaths A mission for universities in the coming decade will be a deep understanding of the meaning ...
At 5am today, cock’s crow, the embargo lifted on the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards longlist. Here are the books in the race, followed by thoughts from poetry editor Chris Tse and books editor Catherine Woulfe. A shortlist of four books in each category will be announced March 3, with ...
Ignoring those QR codes when you drop into the supermarket? Can’t be bothered when you grab a coffee? The people serving you notice, and you’re freaking them out.So far, New Zealanders’ use of the Covid-19 Tracer app has been notably woeful. Food industry workers who’ve watched streams of customers walk ...
Steve Braunias reveals the longlist of the 2021 Ockham New Zealand book awards Apart from one or two unfortunate omissions which cast doubt on the sanity and intellectual acumen of judges, especially the nobodies who judged this year's non-fiction, the longlist for the 2021 Ockham New Zealand book awards is ...
By Lulu Mark in Port Moresby Papua New Guinea’s biggest hospital is straining to provide medical services to the growing population of the capital Port Moresby – with an estimated growth rate of 3 percent annually, a medical executive says. Port Moresby General Hospital chief executive officer Dr Paki Molumi ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Nationals who attend Thursday’s memorial service in Tweed Heads for Doug Anthony, who died last month aged 90, may muse on the contrast between the state of their party when he led it and now. ...
Returning to quarantine-free travel in 2021 doesn't just need a vaccine, but a way to check whether arriving passengers are actually immune to the virus. A smart Kiwi science start-up is working with a global biometrics giant to make that happen. A deal signed between Kiwi research and development company Orbis Diagnostics, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caitlyn Forster, PhD Candidate, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney This summer’s wetter conditions have created great conditions for flowering plants. Flowers provide sweet nectar and protein-rich pollen, attracting many insects, including bees. Commercial honey bees are also thriving: ...
Lotto scratchie tickets featuring the pop band Six60 are being withdrawn after a public backlash. In a statement, Lotto NZ said there had been a mutual decision made with the band to remove the tickets from sale following the negative feedback, and it offered an apology. The band faced criticism, both ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Russell Dean Christopher Bicknell, Post-doctoral researcher in Palaeobiology , University of New England Shell-crushing predation was already in full swing half a billion years ago, as our new research published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B reveals. A hyena devouring ...
Vodafone has suspended advertising on the radio station amid calls for talkback host John Banks to be taken off air after yet another racist outburst. Alex Braae reports. In an alarming segment of talkback radio, former Auckland mayor John Banks endorsed the views of a caller who described Māori as a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Welch, Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland When a COVID-19 case was found in Northland last Sunday, Aotearoa’s second-longest period with no detected community case came to an end. ESR scientists worked late into Sunday night to obtain a whole genome sequence ...
He has the perfect moustache, an exceptional mullet, and he uses terms like ‘face hole’ on national TV. Who or what is Dr Joel Rindelaub?I was drawn in by the moustache, but it was the mullet that really kept me there. Watching TVNZ’s Breakfast yesterday morning I was fixated. Often, ...
We’ll never be royals with nearly a quarter of declined baby names featuring “Royal” in some form or another. Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs has released the list of names declined in 2020 by the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and ...
After a raft of inquiries delving into and recommending what should be done about the politically beleaguered Orangi Tamaraki, along with the briefing papers we suppose he has been given, we imagined Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis would have no more need for expert advice. Wrong. He has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Senior Lecturer and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University There’s a common assumption men take longer than women to poo. People say so on Twitter, in memes, and elsewhereonline. But is that right? What could explain it? And if ...
Just as sexuality is a spectrum, so too is asexuality. In Ace of Hearts, members of New Zealand’s asexual community talk about the challenges and misconceptions of identifying as ace.First published November 17, 2020.Ace of Hearts is part of Frame, a series of short documentaries produced by Wrestler for The Spinoff.“A ...
Sam Brooks wasn’t allowed to watch kids TV as a kid. Now, as a 30 year old man, he watches it for the first time.My mother’s approach to parenting was unorthodox. I wrote weekly book reports on top of my actual homework, I did maths equations in Roman numerals and ...
Pacific Media Watch newsdesk More leading Indonesian figures have made racial slurs against Natalius Pigai, former chair of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) – and all West Papuans, says United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) interim president Benny Wenda. “Since the illegal Indonesian invasion in 1963, Indonesian ...
“The Government’s failure to even conduct a standard cost-benefit analysis for the most expensive infrastructure project in New Zealand’s history is mind-bogglingly arrogant,” says New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke. “A ...
The Ministry of Health is today drawing backlash from the local New Zealand vaping industry following its release of proposed regulations for the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act. Vaping Trade Association New Zealand (VTANZ) President, ...
Sophie Gilmour and Simon Day are joined by special guest Hugo Baird, co-owner of Grey Lynn’s Honey Bones and Lilian, to talk about opening new pub Hotel Ponsonby.Auckland is a city of many bars but few really good pubs – the kind of places you’d be just as comfortable going ...
The appointment of an advisory board for Oranga Tamariki is welcome and should be a step toward a total transformation of the care and protection system to a by Māori, for Māori approach, Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft said today. Minister ...
Taking control of your financial wellbeing can have cascading positive impacts for your life and it can also be fun. With the help of the team at Kiwi Wealth, we’ve compiled some simple tricks for balancing your books in 2021. There’s something about the beginning of a new year, especially after ...
‘The government has no plans to sell New Zealand Post despite the company continuing to struggle with fewer postal deliveries, Finance Minister Bill English says.’
Yeah, right.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/300139/struggling-nz-post-won't-be-sold-english
No, NZ post won’t be sold – the postal services are not worth anything. Kiwibank will be split and that will be sold. English could make no comment on Kiwibank being split off from NZ Post. The only reason to split would be to sell off the profitable part (Kiwibank)
Here we go ! Definitive suggestion the govt will sell Kiwibank.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?id=466&objectid=11614062dann
Business editor of the NZ Herald Liam Dann: Time to sell Kiwibank and NZ Post
4:17 PM Wednesday Mar 30, 2016
Hooton bathes in his own celebrity. Hmm let me guess who his main client is these days?
Probably deals in milk powder, swamp kauri and bottled water. Just happens to have a wife who is a power hungry Minister who is not adverse to knocking over rivals.
Little is not that much of an idiot Matthew to call you out. Tickets please…tickets please…clipping tickets for a price!
“Some of which are highly paid PR consultants I might add.”
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11613354
It is a disgrace that RNZ give this spin merchant a platform to dissemble each week.
They also give someone from the left the same opportunity. At least Mr Hooton criticisms his own side (often very vigorously). The current representative from the left seems to just be an apologist for everything Labour does.
Wonder why a pseudo-left winger like Pagani didn’t get the spot
“They also give someone from the left the same opportunity. At least Mr Hooton criticisms his own side (often very vigorously). The current representative from the left seems to just be an apologist for everything Labour does.”
Poor Gosman. He can’t tell the difference between a coherent argument that can be debated and a line of PR that is designed to manipulate the listener towards a certain bias. Or maybe he can 😉
Some would say Hooton works to keep Collins at the top of the peaking order of Natcorp. It is in her best interests to crack Key every now and then. Bennett is Key’s pet so trimming her up also serves Collins.
Clean green New Zealand.
Yeah, right.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/300174/'it's-just-destroyed-our-entire-summer‘
The big question there is: Why did the sluice gates break?
I suspect that the answer is lack of maintenance.
Same reason the Napier to Gisborne railway line has been mothballed. Lack of maintenance which caused a culvert washout during a storm.
And we’re seeing this lack of maintenance around the world. US engineers estimate that the US infrastructure needs trillions of dollars spent on it. Political response? Cut taxes on the rich and cut social spending including spending on infrastructure.
Makes me wonder just how bad NZs infrastructure is because we’ve been doing exactly the same for the last 30 years.
What’s missing?
http://www.labour.org.nz/
http://www.labour.org.nz/diary_spy_160324
Just listened to Andrew Little being interviewed on Morning Report regarding his views on politicians being attacked on social media. It was so bad I felt sorry for him. Why did he try and make a political point on this topic?
A barking dog and passing cars comes to mind.
Just read Gosman shitstirring on The Standard this morning regarding his feelings about politicians being political. It was so pathetic I felt sorry for him. Why did he try and make an astroturfing point out of this topic?
Is there a website where we can see copies of all the flags submitted for consideration? Failing that, the shortlisted flags before the “expert kiwis” rejected them. Also, we know how the politicians voted but has anyone asked the “panel” how they voted? Wonder if any of them still preferred the original.
Here are all 172 pages of submissions, the pencil & crayon drawn ones have the most charm for me. There’s a link on to the longlist of 40.
https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/gallery/?sort=random
there are a few really good designs amongst them.
But frankly i hope to never ever have to see a design from that Lockwood dude. He had way to many entries. Maybe they should have just limited it to one entry per person, and we would have gotten a bit more choice.
In saying that….Hypno Flag and Laser Kiwi….t’would have been a hard choice.
All five of the Lockwood designs in the top 40 were the same thing in different colours (one of them had previously won a Devonport design a flag competition, but couldn’t say which). The peculiar thing is just how based around the fern they were, considering that he can’t draw a fern for sour apples. Sven Baker also had four different designs in the longlist, but at least they were all different (5 different kinds of repulsive). Any future flag design panel should have a one finalist per designer rule (some designers and vexillogists would help too).
Personally, I liked Frizell’s black&green Manawa design, but the black jack was good too:
https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/gallery/
lets not speak about this….erosion of benefits – no not the bludger benefits like unemployment benefits or single parent benefits – they obviously need to be as low as possible to get people to ‘choose’ work instead of ‘live on the dole’, no the other good benefits like Accom Supplement ( i was told by a WINZ drone it is not a ‘benefit), Student Allowances, WFF, Legal Aid………
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/78333951/some-government-benefits-are-quietly-being-eroded-at-the-expense-of-families
“EROSION OF SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS
Student allowance is a fairness mechanism there to help the children of poorer families get a tertiary education.
Whether a student gets it or not depends on their income, and those of their parents.
The parental income levels have been frozen since April 2012, and will not be inflation-adjusted from their current levels until March 2019.
The number of people getting the allowance has fallen from nearly 70,000 in 2011 to about 54,000 in 2015.
The amount paid dropped from $78.8 million to $58.7m. A similar decline happened for student accommodation allowance.”
Raped by the state
We need an NZ version of this. Read the whole piece for best effect.
An Open Letter To All Supporters Of The TPP
http://www.opednews.com/articles/An-Open-Letter-To-All-Supp-by-Terry-Sneller-Tpp-Trans-pacific-Partnership-160328-458.html
+1 Tautoko Mangō Mata
This is a few days old now, but new to me. Even if someone has already linked to it, it does deserve viewing:
“…changes in this space”
“what space?”
“the space where the news used to be”
shit, he’s frighteningly incisive…and funny
John Gascoigne is good in the Herald today. In particular:
“New Zealanders are told they have a “rock-star economy” and are doing well. But they also experience low wages, almost 6 per cent unemployment, job insecurity, housing unaffordability, crippling student and national debt, homelessness, a metastasising underclass, grotesque inequality, desolate communities and so on. But we are doing well, apparently.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11613468
Gosh there is a lot of right wing Troll activity on the blogs at the moment as well as attacks on Little.
I think the polls might be looking shaky for the Natz.
Agreed saveNZ. I wonder if there is a strategy here directed by Joyce/Crosby Textor to drown out the debate on genuine policies. Some quiet words at BBQ’s and cocktail parties-nothing in writing of course;”keep up the trolling pressure chaps”.
IMO the only way to fight fire is with fire-attack Key at every opportunity. Knock the rapidly disintegrating gloss of his image.
or articulate an attractive alternative vision.
ubi, cleaned up waterways, a diversified economy, chase up the foreign fat cats and make them pay their fair share…
and leave the tories to their unattractive sniping.
remember when you wrestle with a pig, you both get dirty. only the pig enjoys it.
@ gsays
Yeah maybe you are right. Trying to drag Key into the mud never seems to work-Dirty Politics being the best example.
The people will work out he is a duplicitous liar working mostly for his 1% mates….eventually.
My only solace is that his reign will be looked back at negatively by most people, probably even his own side, in the future. He just doesn’t have the vision thing. At all.
Dam you are on to us! Just last week the Crosby Textor drones were out in force delivering instructions to thousands of BBQ’s gatherings all over NZ. Some inside info…just like on mission impossible after the instructions have been read by all it self destructs to stop any vital Intel falling into the hands of left wing spies!!
Seriously guys your comments are surely tongue in check?
Smearing and firing up the DP machine is all they have as the facts, shonky deals, corruption and chooks of their ecomonic incompetance come home to roost.
Interesting read on D. Trump Presnit to be and his foreign policy. Go read it, you know you want to 🙂
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/us/politics/donald-trump-transcript.html?_r=0
Only read part of it Sabine, but Trump dissembles like Key does when speaking unscripted. Transcripts show that there are lots of words but little of substance.
Worker Cooperatives Are More Productive Than Normal Companies
http://www.thenation.com/article/worker-cooperatives-are-more-productive-than-normal-companies/
hi weka,
during the weekend i rewatched ‘the four horsemen of the apocalypse’ (great film).
it touched on how the workplaces (factories and other places of production) were worker owned.
seems absolutely logical.
also an article, highlighted on the standard, about a ubi run in a town in canada.
the findings included how productivity took a lift during this time.
watch the tories diss this as they know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.
Kaipara District Council claim settled
http://oag.govt.nz/media/2016/kaipara-settlement
Hope it works, I know people involved on both sides of this story and nobody is looking too flash. I feel sorry for ratepayers in places like Ruawai and Dargaville who will no doubt end up paying for it in the long run.
PROTEST THE PRIVATISATION OF STATE HOUSING IN TAMAKI!
Seen this?
____________________________________________________________________________________
Please join us in protest outside the Tamaki Regeneration Company offices, 244 Apirana Ave Glen Innes this Thursday the 31st March, at 3pm.
This Thursday, the 31st of March, 2,800 state homes are to be transfered to the Tāmaki Housing Association. This affects 2,800 households that will be anticipating eviction, and subsequent demolitions of state housing in Tāmaki in favour of the government’s proposed ‘urban renewal’ promise to build more homes.
Mixed tenure communities is used as a way of socially cleansing low-income communities through a process of state-led gentrification.
The government says that demolishing state houses and building a mixture of private, affordable and social housing will lead to affordable housing.
This is a con, as land values in Glen Innes have increased by more than 100% since the redevelopment. The transfer of homes is not a new idea, it is a continuation of what the privatisation and gentrification of Tāmaki since 2011.
This is a further privatisation of state assets and gentrification of lower socioeconomic areas as in Pomarie, Tauranga and Invercargill.
This is happening all over Aotearoa and is similar to Thatcher’s regime, where council estates were transferred to housing associations which led to privatisation, displacement and homelessness.
This is the first major step in the National government’s privatisation of state housing, and we need to make a stand now or we stand to lose more than just a state asset.
Come and support the Tāmaki Housing Group, and all state housing tenants that are, or soon will be, directly affected by these reforms.
We live in a low wage economy where people are already struggling to pay rent, getting rid of state housing is not a solution to the housing crisis, it only leads to increasing unaffordability.
Everybody is affected by these reforms. Let us resist the state’s neoliberal agenda on a basic human right to for families to have a home to live in.
Please join us in protest outside the Tamaki Regeneration Company offices, 244 Apirana Ave Glen Innes this Thursday the 31st March, at 3pm.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1695882720676368/
Ngā mihi,
Tāmaki Housing Group
+100 Penny
Yawn, protest over load
Crosstalk discussion /debate:
https://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/337391-terror-attacks-nato-ukraine/
“Why can’t Europe protect itself from terror attacks – does Brussels have misplaced priorities?
Also, Russia as universal bogeyman – when the US and the EU stare failure in the face blaming Russia is the first excuse of convenience.
And is Trump on to something – should there be a serious re-think about the necessity of NATO?
And finally Ukraine again – Crimea’s democratic return to Russia two years on….
CrossTalking with Patrick Henningsen, Dmitry Babich and Xavier Moreau.
Bunnings back down on store defibrillators.
Obviously not caring if your staff or customers died on site was a bad look.
Now, hopefully, they’ll think twice about continuing their current dispute with the union over rosters. Too much shitty publicity so close together is a bad plan for anyone wanting to keep customers.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/78339440/council-belonging-to-developer-body-is-conflict-of-interest-lee-says
“Auckland Council’s membership of a property developer body is “crony capitalism” of the sort pushing Americans to vote for Donald Trump.
So says veteran local politician Mike Lee, who has called for councillors to vote on Thursday to end the association with the Property Council of New Zealand.
The Property Council lobbies central and local government on behalf of property developers. It was a glaring conflict of interest that Auckland Council was also a member, Lee said.
…..”
I agree with Auckland Councillor Mike Lee.
Again – I will be pushing that Auckland Council and all CCOs which are members of the NZ Property Council cease their membership forthwith, when I address the Auckland Council Governing Body (tomorrow) Thursday 31 March 2016, at 9.30am, Auckland Town Hall, in ‘Public Forum.’
If YOU are opposed to the ‘regulator’ / ‘referee’ effectively playing on the same side of one of the ‘teams’ – then come along?
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption Public Watchdog’
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
https://kiaoragaza.wordpress.com/2016/03/25/what-can-we-do-to-help-achieve-peace-justice-for-palestine/conference-on-palestine-poster-akl-02-ft/