Watkin tends to think that Brash will create more problems for National and Key than he solves, opening up questions about contentious issues that Key thought he’d laid to rest. I tend to see National as benefitting from a Brash-led Act, though.
And Watkin provides this link to an animated reminded of Brash of yesteryear:
Watkin is right – Brash gives Labour someone to discredit, whereas Rodney had already done the job (on) himself. It adds a measure of uncertainty that Brash’s opponents can use to drive their vote up.
A couple of other things that Brash has that Rodney doesn’t – (a) he has policy to frighten people with, and he doesn’t resile from it, and (b) there’s plenty of dirt on Brash that hasn’t come out, yet.
Having said that, Labour have had plenty of opportunities over the last 2.5 years and have missed more than they have hit. It seems like they forgot how to be the opposition, because they were in government for so long.
Stuff has an interesting poll on what people think of Brash as a minister. Keeping in mind that Stuff polls are not particularly reliable, it’s 20% for and 80% against. The results, as presented, indicate that it’s only the miniscule percent of the population that support ACT and less than half of National’s support that would like to see Brash as a minister. Food for thought for National.
Is John Banks peak oil aware?
Well in 2002 (ish) when he had his radio show I faxed him a 2 page version of this – http://oilcrash.com/articles/running.htm I know he at least read some of it because he read a few lines out over the air.
Not that it mattered back then or now, as the pig ignorant public don’t give a toss )
Other than giving me the opportunity to laugh at the local loons as they make goats of themselves I’ve not paid much attention to the birther issue but this bloke calls it like it is.
So, tears in my eyes, pain in my heart and rage in my soul, I composed this video message. More than written text, it comes close to expressing my full pain at witnessing a white man who was handed everything call the President of the United States (and me) a nigger.
Even the experts have no agreement.
Fran O’Sullivan: “…..Don Brash has already staked a claim for a top finance role in John Key’s next Government.”
But John Armstrong says “Key’s ruling out of any likelihood of Brash becoming the finance minister is an important signal…….”
Armstrong again: “Brash also wants Key to strip Hide of his ministerial portfolios – an option which Key has now conveniently told Brash is within the Act leader’s discretion.”
After all Hide and Brash have been friends for more than 15 years.
You could’nt spend 5 million every year.
But you HAVE to spend 50k a year to survive
And then there’s the other 70 odd% that dont even get 20k a year.
But then again no Politician seems to care, we don’t hear of them decrying these increases, and ol’ Shonkey and Blinglish will love this as it will add more fuel to their AVERAGE wages have increased by X% Bullshit.
This to me is the real gem within the article “…But John McGill, chairman of remuneration consultants Strategic Pay, says the chief executives of New Zealand’s largest firms are not overpaid, especially when compared with their counterparts overseas..” Why then do we not do the same analysis for those below the CEO level. So the CEO deserves remuneration on a international scale yet the rest of us should be paid on a domestic scale. Something is not as consistenant as it should be.
Pity many political parties will base there tax system on these few but capture so many more who are just above the waterline in maintaining the household budget.
The gilded grifter, Donald Trump, got his little waterloo this week, Joe90 linked to a great piece above that folks should check out with regard to apart of what it all means on a human level.
Johann Hari writes about what it means for the GOP, and he gets much of it dead right:
It has long claimed that evolution is a myth believed in only by whiny liberals – and it turns out it was on to something. Every six months, the party venerates a new hero, and each time it is somebody further back on the evolutionary scale.
Sarah Palin told cheering rallies that her message to the world was: “We’ll put a boot in your ass, it’s the American way!” – but that wasn’t enough. So the party found Michele Bachmann, who said darkly it was an “interesting coincidence” that swine flu only breaks out under Democratic presidents, claims the message of The Lion King is “I’m better at what I do because I’m gay”, and argues “there isn’t even one study that can be produced that shows carbon dioxide is a harmful gas.”
That wasn’t enough. I half-expected the next contender to be a lung-fish draped in the Stars and Stripes. But it wasn’t anything so sophisticated. Enter stage (far) right Donald Trump, the bewigged billionaire who has filled America with phallic symbols and plastered his name across more surfaces than the average Central Asian dictator. CNN’s polling suggests he is the most popular candidate among Republican voters. It’s not hard to see why. Trump is every trend in Republican politics over the past 35 years taken to its logical conclusion. He is the Republican id, finally entirely unleashed from all restraint and all reality.
As an intro to the grotesque that is the decaying corpse of the Party of Lincoln, that’s pretty much it. He goes on to describe the disease, again, pretty accurately in my view.
Naked imperialism.
Dog-whistled prejudice.
The raw worship of wealth as an end in itself.
The insistence that “any fact inconvenient to your world view simply doesn’t exist, or can be overcome by pure willpower”
There are a few symptoms I would be tempted to add to that list, but they are mostly subsets of those already listed. Those four are the core.
Where he goes wrong, I suspect, is in his conclusion:
Trump probably won’t become the Republican nominee, but not because most Republicans reject his premisses. No: it will be because he states these arguments too crudely for mass public consumption. He takes the whispered dogmas of the Reagan, Bush and Tea Party years and shrieks them through a megaphone. The nominee will share similar ideas, but express them more subtly. In case you think these ideas are marginal to the party, remember – it has united behind the budget plan of Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan. It’s simple: it halves taxes on the richest 1 percent and ends all taxes on corporate income, dividends, and inheritance. It pays for it by slashing spending on food stamps, healthcare for the poor and the elderly, and basic services. It aims to return the US to the spending levels of the 1920s – and while Ryan frames it as a response to the deficit, it would actually increase it according to the independent Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
I agree that Trump won’t be the nominee, but I think that whoever it is will either be just as crude, or fatally weak in support from the GOP electorate. The crudeness of Trump’s campaign is itself an expression of the fourth pillar. To be less in denial with reality is to compromise with the enemy. They are are party defined and refined into walking shibboleths. The extent to say these things is the extent to which a candidate is prepared to stick with the tribe of real ‘murkins. The extent to which they are one of ‘us’ rather than than one of ‘them’.
The reason Trump won’t get the candidacy is that, ironically enough, he won’t release his own documents, because if he did the gig would be up on his claim to be an exemplar of the third pillar.
Pity that Rodney didn’t do the same. Then there would be two fires raging. Actually I think that this close to an election the Parliament has the right to block such a by-election if 70% (?) vote to block it. After about the 20 May you can’t anyway.
However if Hone resigns on Monday and next week MPs vote to block the by-election where will Hone be afterwards? Unprecedented?
When a vacancy arises, the Speaker of the House of Representatives publishes a notice of the vacancy in the New Zealand Gazette. Within 21 days of that notice, the Governor-General must issue the writ directing the Chief Electoral Officer to conduct an election in the electorate. The writ sets out the key dates for the by-election: namely, the last day for the lodging of nominations of candidates, election day, and the last day for the return of the writ with the name of the elected candidate endorsed on its back….
…A by-election is not required if –
(a)The vacancy arises within 6 months of the date on which Parliament would expire (the six month period for the 49th Parliament begins on 28 May 2011); or
(b)The Prime Minister informs the House of Representatives in writing that a general election will be held witin 6 months of the vacancy –
and 75% or more members of the House of Representatives resolve that a writ for a by-election not be issued.
As I understand that because he is resigning slightly more than 6 months out, then the by-election must be held. That can change only if Key brings the general election forward and 75% of the house vote to leave the seat empty.
Interesting , Hone is basically calling the Nacts out on an election date or the Nacts risk a vote that they need Labours support for. Am I reading this right?
Will it mean that once Hone resigns he would no longer enjoy the benefits of being an MP?
Will his by-election be funded given that it is a new Party and will have been long gone after the registration date in March?
Graeme Edgeler on Public Address” The process by which this money is allocated is convoluted. It starts many months before the election when parties (or prospective parties) are required to advise the Commission in writing that they wish to be considered. ………
…..And on 17 March this year, just before the 5pm deadline, I asked the Electoral Commission who had applied……….. The Maori Party has applied, but Hone Harawira’s Mana Party has not (Hone the candidate will be allowed radio and tv advertising as part of his $25k spending limit, but it won’t be able to push a party vote and it won’t be publicly funded).” http://publicaddress.net/legalbeagle/adventures-in-the-oia-or-why-don-brash-wanted/
Yeah, he’s already missed the publicly funded tv stuff, so this won’t change that. He’ll still get his parliamentary funding, and I’m not sure what, if any, the effect of re-testing his mandate will be.
But if Hone is elected as a Mana Party candidate in a by-election, doesn’t that mean his Mana Party will get funding for the general election …. as he would be the sitting member for the Mana Party?
The only reason more politicians aren’t on my list is none of the others were stinking up the TV news this evening………. if they piss me off this much now I expect to be homicidal in another few months.
I was going to write a long rant about all the reasons this by-election is a gift to the Right.
But it’s Saturday night and I can’t be bothered wasting time on such stupidity. All you need to do is ask yourselves what the media/country should be focusing on instead, and who doesn’t want to focus on those things. Yep, John Key owes Hone a big bunch of flowers.
I think more of a gift to the Right, is Phil Goff ruling out working with the Mana Party.
The Mana Party is essentially the old Alliance remember them?
Mana Motuhake
New Labour
The Democrats
The Greens
They are probably capable of taking 5% of the vote and collecting 7/8 MP’s
They will most certainly take the hard lefties from the Green with them.. Which is great for the environmentally focused Greens.
Interestingly The Greens have been moving more to the centre in recent times and now have a party to the left of them [Mana]which is very interesting in terms of perception.
It could be argued that Greens now freed up to be a more environmental party will surely mop more then a few Blue/Greens votes The Greens list for example, has more environmentalists on it then lefties, the first in a long time.
If we had a resurgent Labour Party National may well be on the ropes in November.
If..
“I think more of a gift to the Right, is Phil Goff ruling out working with the Mana Party.”
The Mana Party’s first decision was to call an expensive, pointless, distracting, self-indulgent by-election that nobody needs. This will be opposed by 99% of the voters.
If that’s the level of stupidity that the party aspires to, Phil Goff – or any other Labour leader – should treat them with the contempt they deserve.
Lynn – if you click on an authors name, it’ll take you to a listing of all of their posts.
But if their name has a space in it, eg Marty G or Mike Smith, then it just takes you to the main page. This is quite irritating, since search is broken at the moment.
Apropos of very little, Pagani’s blogging is not too bad a read since the recent fox pass – certainly prolific and arguably terriffic, worthy of a comment I thought but beggared if I can manage one, any techspurts able to enlighten a relic as to how to log in when it keeps telling you you haven’t logged in so cant log in so email but sorry havent got ur email so you cant email or something?
…same applies to TUMEKE, yet i can slip into dimpost like a suppository smeared with Key-juice….barriers, tech brothers an sisters, break em down for us ole felks
In Australia the Government actually has plans to create jobs … !!!!!!!
NZ Govt aware of Aussie jobs threat
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There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
The Green Party is thrilled to see changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that mean consents for large projects can be declined if they will have significant climate change implications that are inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Act and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations. ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence The Royal New Zealand Navy’s new ship, Aotearoa, set sail for New Zealand on 10 June from the Republic of Korea, and is due to arrive in Auckland tomorrow, announced Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “Aotearoa is the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new fleet ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Racing Racing Minister Winston Peters has today welcomed the Racing Industry Bill passing its third reading, creating the legislative framework for revitalising the racing industry while limiting the need for future government intervention. “For too long our domestic racing industry has ...
The Green Party has today put forward an amendment to the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill to ensure all people in prisons can vote in general elections. ...
The Green Party welcomes the decision to not proceed with Public Public Investment (PPI) delivery of Auckland’s light rail project and to instead run the process through the public service. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First List MP Hon Ron Mark welcomes the announcement of Provincial Growth Funding investment of $1.4 million to help secure the Wairarapa’s water supply. The funding boost will allow the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), and ...
New Zealand First list MP Mark Patterson has been selected to represent the party in the newly formed Taieri electorate at the upcoming election. Mr Patterson, his wife Jude and two daughters farm sheep and beef at Lawrence and Waitahuna. He previously stood in the Clutha-Southland electorate however boundary changes ...
Hon Shane Jones, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises A new ‘super depot’ to be built for NZ Post in Wellington will create around 350 jobs during construction, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises Shane Jones says. Shane Jones today attended a ground-breaking and blessing ceremony for the parcel-processing depot ...
Our strong economic management prior to COVID-19 - with surpluses, low debt and near-record-low unemployment - put us in a good position to weather the impact of the virus and start to rebuild our economy much earlier than many other countries.Now we're putting our plan to recover and rebuild ...
Darroch Ball MP, New Zealand First Spokesperson for Law and Order Recently released Police fleeing driver statistics have shown yet another increase in incidents with another record-high in the latest quarter. “This new quarterly record-high is the latest in a string of record-high numbers since 2014. The data shows incidents ...
New Zealand First MP Fletcher Tabuteau is pleased to be confirmed today as the party’s candidate for the Rotorua electorate. Speaking at the Rotorua AGM for New Zealand First, Mr Tabuteau said this is an election that is incredibly important for the people of Rotorua. “The founding principles of New ...
The Human Rights Commission’s PRISM report on the issues impacting people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) provides an excellent programme of work for future governments to follow, say the Greens. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said the trans-Tasman bubble had not been jeopardised after aborder botch-upresulted in New Zealand having two active cases of COVID-19. On Friday, Mr Peters told RNZ's Morning Report he had heard from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison that borders for trans-Tasman travel would open by ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said today he was pleased the army was now running the quarantine and isolation process - up until now it has been the Ministry of Health. Peters told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking that the army knew how to introduce and follow protocols and instil discipline. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First MP and Minister for Defence and Veteran’s Affairs Ron Mark has confirmed his bid for the Wairarapa seat.“The Coalition Government has done a lot of good work throughout the Wairarapa, but many constituents have told ...
New Zealand First is pleased to release the names of its next tranche of candidates for the 2020 election. We’re proud to announce these hardworking New Zealanders that have put their hand up to fight for a commonsense and resilient future.Jamie Arbuckle – Kaikoura Mark Arneil – Christchurch Central Jackie ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence A massive joint effort between New Zealand Government agencies, employers, and the Vanuatu Government is underway to repatriate over 1000 Vanuatu nationals stranded in New Zealand, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Ron ...
Small businesses are getting greater certainty about access to finance with an extension to the interest-free cashflow loan scheme to the end of the year. The Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme has already been extended once, to 24 July. Revenue and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says it will be ...
A package of 23 projects across the country will clean up waterways and deliver over 2000 jobs Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Environment Minister David Parker announced today. The $162 million dollar package will see 22 water clean-up projects put forward by local councils receiving $62 million and the Kaipara ...
Tena koutou katoa Nga tangata whenua o tenei rohe o Pōneke, tena koutou Nau mai, haere mai ki te hui a tau mo te roopu reipa Ko tatou! Ko to tatou mana! Ko to tatou kaupapa kei te kokiri whakamua Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa Welcome. I ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $1.5 million to ensure QE Health in Rotorua can proceed with its world class health service and save 75 existing jobs, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development, Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. The PGF funding announced today is in addition to the $8 million ...
A new programme, which sets a firm course for the Building and Construction sector to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has been announced by the Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa. “A significant amount of New Zealand’s carbon emissions come from the building and construction sector. If we’re serious ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing more than $7.5 million in Northland ventures to combat the economic impact of the COVID-19 virus, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) investment is going to the Northern Adventure Experience and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Education Minister Chris Hipkins today announced significant funding for Auckland’s Northcote College as part of the first wave of a new nationwide school redevelopment programme to upgrade schools over the next 10 years. The $48.5 million project brings the total investment in Northcote College to ...
The Government has opened an urgent response fund to support schools and early learning services to get children and young people back on track after the Covid-19 lockdown. “While we are seeing improvements in attendance under Alert Level 1 Ministry of Education data shows that attendance rates in our schools ...
The law to boost the economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19 by speeding up resource consenting on selected projects has passed its second and third readings in the House today. “Accelerating nationwide projects and activities by government, iwi and the private sector will help deliver faster economic recovery and ...
Five port-related projects in Whanganui will receive a $26.75 million Provincial Growth Fund investment to support local economic recovery and create new opportunities for growth, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This is a significant investment that will support the redevelopment of the Whanganui Port, a project governed ...
Whanganui’s Sarjeant Gallery will receive an investment of up to $12 million administered by the Provincial Growth Fund to support its redevelopment, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. The project is included in a $3 billion infrastructure pipeline announced by Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Shane Jones yesterday. ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing nearly $2.5 million into three Te Ara Mahi programmes to support Manawatū-Whanganui jobseekers and employees to quickly train and upskill, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Up to 154 local people will be supported into employment within the first year by these ...
This morning I have formally tendered my resignation as Minister of Health, which was accepted by the Prime Minister. Serving as Minister of Health has been an absolute privilege – particularly through these extraordinary last few months. It’s no secret that Health is a challenging portfolio. I have given ...
Scholarships for 57 early-career agricultural emissions scientists from 20 developing countries is another example of New Zealand’s international leadership in primary sector sustainability, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. Mr O’Connor, announcing the scholarships today, says hundreds of applications were received for this fourth round of the CLIFF-GRADS programme (Climate, Food ...
A project to help rejuvenate the Horowhenua town of Foxton will receive a Provincial Growth Fund investment of $3.86 million, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This funding for the Foxton Regeneration project will be used to make the well-known holiday town even more attractive for visitors and ...
Moa bones and other sub-fossil remains of extinct species are set to have improved protection with proposals to prevent the trade in extinct species announced the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “We have lost too many of our native species, but these lost species, such as moa, remain an ...
The Government’s free and healthy school lunches programme moves south for the first time creating jobs for around 30 people in Otago and Southland. “Eighteen schools with 3000 students are joining the programme – 11 have already begun serving lunches, and seven are preparing to start during Term 3. This is ...
Thousands of Kiwi jobs and investment in New Zealand productions will be protected through a screen sector support package announced today by Associate Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Economic Development Phil Twyford and Minister for Broadcasting Kris Faafoi. The package also includes investment in broadcasting ...
The Government has established a new $10 million fund for the domestic events sector to help save jobs and protect incomes as it recovers from the impacts of COVID-19, Minister of Economic Development Phil Twyford announced today. This funding from Budget 2020 follows talks with the event sector designed to ...
The Government has taken another step in its commitment to making sure New Zealanders get a fairer deal at the petrol pump with the introduction of legislation to improve competition in the retail fuel market, says Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods. “The fuel market study that this Government ordered ...
New Zealand has joined a global initiative that aims to enable all countries to access a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters announced today. The COVAX Facility was recently launched by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The Alliance includes the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank ...
From today new legislation takes effect to both restore the right to legal representation at the start of a Care of Children (CoCA) dispute in the Family Court, and allow parties to those proceedings to access legal aid where eligible. During a visit to the Family Court in Auckland today, ...
Home-based early childhood education (ECE) subsidised by the government will transition to a fully qualified workforce by 2025 to ensure better and more consistent quality, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. “Quality early learning helps provide children with a strong foundation for their future,” Chris Hipkins said. From 1 January ...
The new Criminal Cases Review Commission | Te Kāhui Tātari Ture (CCRC) has started work and can now independently investigate claimed miscarriages of justice. “Even though we have appeal rights and safeguards against unsafe convictions, from time to time our justice system does get things wrong. The design of the ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha, tēnā koutou Ki a koutou Te Āti Awa, Taranaki Whānui, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, ngā mana whenua o te rohe nei, tēnā koutou Ko Te Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa ki ngā take o te Ao (NZIIA), Ko te Rōpū Tohu Tono ...
The Government’s increase to paid parental leave kicks in today with another 4 weeks taking New Zealand up to a full 6 months (26 weeks, up from 22 weeks) leave for new parents, and the maximum weekly payment will increase by $20pw, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. ...
A new package of infrastructure investments will help kick-start the post-COVID rebuild by creating more than 20,000 jobs and unlocking more than $5 billion of projects up and down New Zealand. Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones today outlined how the $3 billion infrastructure fund in the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today expressed the New Zealand Government’s deep disappointment at the passage by China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee of a national security law for Hong Kong. “New Zealand has consistently emphasised its serious concern about the imposition of this legislation on Hong Kong without inclusive ...
More jobs and more family time with newborns are the centrepiece of a suite of Government initiatives coming into effect today. July 1 is a milestone day for the Government as a host of key policies take effect, demonstrating the critical areas where progress has been made. “The Coalition Government ...
Environment Minister David Parker has today “called in” Auckland’s application to the Waikato Regional Council to take an extra 200 million litres of water a day from the lower reaches of the Waikato River for Auckland drinking water and other municipal uses. The call-in means the application has been referred ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker announced today that New Zealand’s hosting of APEC in 2021 will go ahead using virtual digital platforms. Mr Peters said the global disruption caused by COVID-19, including resultant border restrictions, had been the major factor in the ...
The start of construction on a new link road between Matakana Road and State Highway 1 will create jobs and support the significant population growth expected in the Warkworth area, Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Mayor Phil Goff announced today. Transport Minister Phil Twyford said construction of the Matakana Link ...
The Government is prioritising its latest investment in PPE for frontline health workers, including staff at managed isolation and quarantine facilities, Health Minister David Clark says. “With no community transmission of COVID-19 our response now has a firm focus on keeping our border safe and secure. “We must ensure that ...
The Parihaka Papakāinga Trust in Taranaki will receive up to $14 million for a new visitor centre and other improvements at the historic settlement that will boost the local economy and provide much-needed jobs, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little have ...
Protections for workers who are employees of one employer but working under the direction of another business or organisation have come into force, closing a gap in legislation that made the personal grievance process inaccessible for some workers, says Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. “This Government is working hard to ...
A range of improvements are already underway to address issues identified in the rapid review of the Managed Isolation and Quarantine system released today, Housing Minister Megan Woods said. The review was commissioned just over a week ago to identify and understand current and emerging risks to ensure the end-to-end ...
The important brown kiwi habitat around Whakatāne will receive added protection through an Iwi-led predator free project announced by Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau. “The Government is investing nearly $5 million into Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa’s environmental projects with $2.5 ...
An extra 4,000 tonnes of offcuts and scraps of untreated wood per year will soon be able to be recycled into useful products such as horticultural and garden mulch, playground safety surfacing and animal bedding as a result of a $660,000 investment from the Waste Minimisation Fund, Associate Environment Minister ...
The Governor-General has referred Scott Watson’s convictions for murder back to the Court of Appeal, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced today. Mr Watson was convicted in 1999 of the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope. His appeal to the Court of Appeal in 2000 was unsuccessful, as was his ...
A new five-year funding agreement for the Reserve Bank will mean it can boost its work to protect New Zealanders’ finances, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “New Zealand has a strong and stable financial system. Financial stability is an area that we are not prepared to cut corners for, particularly ...
Vision New Zealand is delighted to be launching George Ngatai as its candidate for Takanini tonight, 6th July, at the Songbird Cafe, 9 Gosper Road, Waiata Shores, Conifer Grove Takanini. Party Leader Hannah Tamaki said “I am confident that George will ...
Honour the Maunga and Iramoko Marae have announced a unique partnership that gives life to Treaty principles in their joint efforts to save 345 trees from being felled on Ōwairaka / Mt Albert. Honour the Maunga has maintained an ongoing tree-saving ...
Festival for the Future Live will kick off its 10th annual event on Monday 13 July, in what is touted to be the most international digital summit ever hosted from New Zealand. With speakers from The United Nations Development Programme and The Obama ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk The Lokataru Legal and Human Rights Foundation says there are two problems with the Indonesian police which have developed during the era of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration. These two problems are “politicisation” and “police professionalism”. “Perhaps it’s still the same as the problem before, particularly ...
By RNZ Pacific A sit-in has been held outside the French High Commission in French Polynesia to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the first nuclear weapons test at Moruroa. The demonstration was organised by the anti-nuclear group Association 193 which again decried the recent law change tightening compensation criteria for ...
David Goldsmith, a 52-year-old dad from Christchurch, is starting his month-long hunger strike outside Parliament on Monday as a drastic call for climate change action AR: Hunger strikes are mostly known from prisons – that’s drastic. DG: Yes, it’s ...
The biggest news site in New Zealand, and the country’s fifth biggest site overall, Stuff has embarked on an experiment in dropping the use of Facebook and Instagram. It has been launched ‘in the context of the international Boycott Facebook movement’, according to a memo leaked to The Spinoff. A leaked ...
After the Labour's annual conference, pundits were quick to criticise Jacinda Ardern for taking a 'self-congratulatory tone' in her remarks, but the PM says that was not her intent at all. ...
A global study is under way to compare how information about Covid-19 is delivered by authorities and the media, and how it is understood and used by people in different countries. University of Canterbury (UC) population health expert Professor Philip ...
It’s time to get ready to vote in the 2020 General Election and referendums. “It’s less than three months now until the election on 19 September when you choose the people and parties that represent you in Parliament. There will also be two referendums ...
If you’re like most New Zealanders, you probably don’t know the name of the country’s most powerful judge. And that’s nothing to be ashamed of, writes University of Otago law lecturer Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere. Here’s a test for you: name New Zealand’s chief justice. Click on the link to find ...
If enough New Zealanders continued to work from home on a regular basis, the country could easily save the same amount of carbon emissions as taking 35,000 cars off the road, according to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. The analysis ...
There are many groups within NZ including the Green Party that are calling for the legalisation of marijuana for personal/medicinal use and my question for them is: - How can they reconcile that stand with the negative environmental effects from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Moore, Director of The Australian National University Institute for Space and the Advanced Instrumentation Technology Centre, Australian National University With all of the immense challenges we face on Earth this year, space can feel like an afterthought. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya Notley, Senior Lecturer in Digital Media, Western Sydney University Today we release the findings from our new research into how young Australians consume and think about news media. Following a summer of bushfires and during the COVID-19 pandemic, young people have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Thwaites, Chair, Monash Sustainable Development Institute & ClimateWorks Australia, Monash University The global Sustainable Development Report 2020, released this week in New York, ranks Australia third among OECD countries for the effectiveness of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, beaten by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Yue Zhang, Associate Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology Only 40% of students in China who previously intended to study overseas still plan to, while just under 50% of those who had studied overseas plan to return to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Neil Warren, Emeritus Professor of Taxation, UNSW A major report commissioned by the NSW government has proposed lifting and expanding the goods and services tax and replacing stamp duty with a broad-based land tax. Launched at the National Press Club on July ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Baker, Lecturer in Business Strategy, Auckland University of Technology Like the coronavirus itself, joblessness can act as a pestilence on a society. People who would have otherwise gone to their local restaurant, hairdresser, café or bar, taken a holiday in Queenstown ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Mailhammer, Associate Dean, Research, Western Sydney University Remember when Australians paid in shillings and pence? New research suggests the words for these coins and other culturally important items and concepts are the result of close contact between the early Germanic people ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this ...
Ian Cummings - Independent Candidate Ian Cummings is pleased to announce he will be campaigning as an independent candidate in the upcoming general election to provide voters with a credible alternative and more effective voice on issues that matter ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Stories raise themes of political accountability, investigation launched after active case details leaked, and frustrating infrastructure failures hurt Auckland water system.There have been several stories involving the theme of political accountability for mistakes in recent days. So for a lead today, ...
Labour's scaled-down party conference was still an opportunity for Jacinda Ardern to show how loved she is by her fans - and make the case for why her Government should keep on moving to a second term Looking around the packed room at Te Papa in Wellington, it was hard ...
Stacy Gregg and Nicky Pellegrino conclude their podcast series, and interview Tayi Tibble. Wellington poet Tayi Tibble was 23 years old when she won the Ockham for best first book of poetry for Poukahangatus. Of Te Whanau ā Apanui and Ngāti Porou descent, Tayi’s poems speak to beauty, activism, power ...
As New Zealand’s top artistic gymnast, Maia Fishwick, heads back to the US to join her college team, the Aggies, she tells Suzanne McFadden her rise has been an against-the-odds story. Maia Fishwick was told she was too old to be a good gymnast. She was seven. This was a kid who obviously had a ...
Oranga Tamariki's refusal to acknowledge systemic issues within the organisation is intolerable, writes social worker and social work researcher John Darroch Recently Newsroom published an article based on interviews with practising social workers who described systemic issues within Oranga Tamariki. As a social worker, and post-graduate student conducting research into statutory ...
As Serena Jones faces incurable cancer, she wants to add something personal to the end-of-life choice debate Seven years ago I was told I had a 25 percent chance of living five years without the cancer returning; two years ago I was given 12 months to live. Plainly the up-coming ...
Advocacy group Sea Shepherd steps up its moves to push for US ban on New Zealand seafood over Māui dolphin protection A US ban on New Zealand seafood could be three to four weeks away after Sea Shepherd filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. Earlier this year, the marine advocacy group ...
David Clark has become the oldest of ritual objects: a scapegoat, writes Dr Deane Galbraith and Dr Ben Schonthal The casting out of David Clark has been a spectacle of biblical proportions. We mean that quite literally. The Health Minister’s mistakes were serious and the media is right to hold our ...
A new petition calling for an end to religious instruction in primary schools is part of a renewed campaign to make state schooling truly secular, reports Emily Writes.Few people know about Section 54 of the Education and Training Bill, but Tanya Jacob does. That’s why she has authored a petition ...
Combatting climate change as a healthcare organisation involves more than simply reducing its carbon footprint, writes David Galler. It means seeing climate change and wellbeing as intertwined – and that what’s good for the environment is always good for health.This pandemic, as overwhelming as it is, will eventually pass. But ...
A list of infrastructure projects handpicked for border exemptions is either a hasty cut and paste job or a sign we can't build anything without foreign labour. ...
A New Zealand-made ad featuring porn stars that encourages parents to talk to their children about what they're seeing online has gone viral - and sparked a world-wide conversation. The campaign that features two naked actors has reached more than 22 million viewers around the world and is being retold in ...
Parliament's independent MP has been accused of pandering to anti-vaccine activists after he started a petition and introduced a bill against what he calls "forced vaccination". ...
Changes to Covid-19 testing criteria may see fewer New Zealanders being tested - but there is some confusion about how the rules are being applied Health Minister Chris Hipkins has promised to put officials on notice about providing Covid-19 tests for those who want them, following confusion after changes to ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Days after President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Philippines Anti-Terrorism Law, Vice-President Leni Robredo has pushed for safeguards so that the controversial measure would not be abused, reports Rappler. In her weekly radio show with co-host Ely Saludar, Robredo noted that she does not oppose the law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Developments in Melbourne on Saturday are more important, and certainly of more interest to the public, than what has happened in Eden-Monaro. Anthony Albanese is set to struggle over the line in the Labor seat, ...
The House - Parliament had to speed through a bill adjusting a law which enables some prisoners to vote. Daniela Maoate-Cox explains how and why they did it. ...
The campaign to stop the Department of Conservation exterminating tahr in national parks is gathering increasing public support, with nearly 40,000 people signing the petition calling for a halt to DOC’s plans. The Change.org petition was started ...
DATE: Sunday, 5th July 2020 TIME: 15:00 LOCATION: Taylor Preston's, Centennial Highway, Wellington On Sunday, Wellington Animal Save will be bearing witness to animals on their way to slaughter, outside Taylor Preston's slaughterhouse. ...
Local Government’s Regional Sector are welcoming an announcement today of over $162 million in central government funding for 22 regional and unitary council Jobs for Nature projects, saying the strong support is an endorsement of the return on ...
Political editor Justin Giovannatti reports from Te Papa, where the prime minister today addressed Labour’s 2020 Congress.Jacinda Ardern looked to slap a Labour sticker on the team of five million with the launch today of the party’s Covid-19 recovery plan, at an event which serves as the unofficial kickoff to ...
Kelvin Davis stole the show at Labour’s 2019 conference with a hilarious speech about the formation of the coalition government. The party’s oft-underestimated deputy leader was again in the spotlight this year, but with a more solemn yet at times impassioned address outlining the country’s Covid-19 sacrifices. Here is the text: Anne Guenole. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Russo, Associate Professor, Director Cabrini Monash University Department of Nursing Research, Monash University The Victorian government’s decision to “close and contain” nine public housing towers in Flemington and North Melbourne represents a significant escalation in the fight against COVID-19. Under the ...
By Grace Auka-Salmang in Port Moresby Key findings from the 2016 to 2018 Papua New Guinea Demographic and Health Survey reveals that 56 percent of women aged 15 to 49 in PNG have experienced physical violence around the age of 15. And 28 percent have experienced sexual violence. Also 18 ...
The New Zealand Herald recently published a column which criticises its own record on race. Teuila Fuatai explains why she felt she had to call out the paper that commissioned her. In the column, freelance journalist Teuila Fuatai detailed her concerns about the Herald’s record on race and her efforts to ...
Dunedin writer Victor Billot farewells retiring National MP Paula Bennett.Working Class Hero I came up the hard way in Taupo, you see, surviving off Weetbix (just occasionally.) I waited tables then knocked off a degree, perhaps with the help of a state subsidy. Then a man with a ...
Three of the country's biggest seafood companies have broken ranks with the rest of the sector and declared their support for cameras on fishing boats. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne This article was updated July 5. With 77% of enrolled voters counted at Saturday’s Eden-Monaro byelection, Labor’s Kristy McBain currently leads the Liberals’ Fiona Kotvojs by a 50.8-49.2 projected ...
The family of pioneering New Zealand suffragist Kate Sheppard kept an important secret – one that possibly explains a lot about her life, her beliefs and her motivation.Kate Sheppard’s secret involved her father, Andrew Wilson Malcolm, and what happened to him after she was born. An extensive and painstaking quest ...
Covid-19 or not, renewable energy is the future. That’s why one grassroots business is taking a leap of faith and trusting that the current downturn will eventually yield to an ecotourism boom.To launch an ecotourism business in rural Otago right now, you’d need to be either a visionary or just ...
Sam Brooks reviews Auckland writer Lil O’Brien’s memoir Not That I’d Kiss A Girl, and finds it a valuable yet unclear story of the author’s struggle with her own acceptance.As queer people, we can be unnecessarily harsh on media that is about us, and by us. I think of the ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this ...
In the wake of lockdown, Volunteering New Zealand is calling on people to reshape the way they think about volunteering. To unite with whānau, friends and workmates to make a group commitment to a community or cause that matters to them. Covid-19 ...
Mahesh Bindra has been a loyal member of NZ First for almost 15 years. But as an Indian-New Zealander, what does he make of members of his party attacking his community? Multicultural Times editor Gaurav Sharma reports.Winston Peters, deputy prime minister and leader of New Zealand First, likes to say ...
As Auckland suffers its worst drought in 27 years, many of the city’s self-service car washes are doing a roaring trade. Michael Andrew finds out how these businesses are getting around the strict water restrictions.Car washing may seem like a wasteful luxury in the middle of a drought, but take ...
Call it last, call it the foundation: Georgie Dansey is 84th on the Labour Party list for the 2020 election. Here she explains how she got there.What does it take to come last on the Labour list? It’s a bit of a story, so if you’re feeling tl;dr then just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne At Saturday’s Eden-Monaro byelection, Labor’s Kristy McBain currently leads the Liberals’ Fiona Kotvojs by a 50.7-49.3 projected margin in The Poll Bludger’s Eden-Monaro election page. This page has all the ...
The controversial MP says his former party put a target on the minister’s back, but Melissa Lee insists there was no concerted campaign.The MP who exited the National Party in a tailspin attack on former leader Simon Bridges has publicly apologised to Clare Curran for his role in the treatment ...
By Jane Patterson, political editor of RNZ News The State Services Minister says the government will do everything it can to track down who is responsible for a massive privacy breach relating to New Zealand’s active covid cases, and is not ruling out pursuing criminal charges. An investigation has been ...
The National editorial Hundreds walked the Sir John Guise drive on Thursday calling for justice for the brutal death of 19-year-old mother-of-two – Jenelyn Kennedy last week. Jenelyn’s battered lifeless body was taken into the Port Moresby General Hospital last Tuesday by four men (one believed to be the father ...
*Watch the full video in the player below*In the first 48 hours of life, blood from newborn New Zealand babies is taken and tested. Most parents will never hear back. For others, it’s life-changing, and life-saving. Frank Film investigates. Performed 48 hours after birth, it’s a medical procedure ...
Latest from the Beehive Shane Jones, the Minister of Munificence, in a joint statement with fellow Northlander and Deputy PM Winston Peters, wrapped up a week of handout investment announcements with news of more millions for the people of his patch in the Far North. This time it was a ...
Open mike 30/04/2011 
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Some interesting comments from Tim Watkin over at Pundit on Brash and Act:
http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/is-brash-really-the-saviour-of-the-right
Watkin tends to think that Brash will create more problems for National and Key than he solves, opening up questions about contentious issues that Key thought he’d laid to rest. I tend to see National as benefitting from a Brash-led Act, though.
And Watkin provides this link to an animated reminded of Brash of yesteryear:
http://www.labour.net.nz/gonebylunchtime/
Watkin is right – Brash gives Labour someone to discredit, whereas Rodney had already done the job (on) himself. It adds a measure of uncertainty that Brash’s opponents can use to drive their vote up.
A couple of other things that Brash has that Rodney doesn’t – (a) he has policy to frighten people with, and he doesn’t resile from it, and (b) there’s plenty of dirt on Brash that hasn’t come out, yet.
Having said that, Labour have had plenty of opportunities over the last 2.5 years and have missed more than they have hit. It seems like they forgot how to be the opposition, because they were in government for so long.
Stuff has an interesting poll on what people think of Brash as a minister. Keeping in mind that Stuff polls are not particularly reliable, it’s 20% for and 80% against. The results, as presented, indicate that it’s only the miniscule percent of the population that support ACT and less than half of National’s support that would like to see Brash as a minister. Food for thought for National.
From 1996: Toward an apartheid economy</a..
Is John Banks peak oil aware?
Well in 2002 (ish) when he had his radio show I faxed him a 2 page version of this – http://oilcrash.com/articles/running.htm I know he at least read some of it because he read a few lines out over the air.
Not that it mattered back then or now, as the pig ignorant public don’t give a toss )
Other than giving me the opportunity to laugh at the local loons as they make goats of themselves I’ve not paid much attention to the birther issue but this bloke calls it like it is.
So, tears in my eyes, pain in my heart and rage in my soul, I composed this video message. More than written text, it comes close to expressing my full pain at witnessing a white man who was handed everything call the President of the United States (and me) a nigger.
Even the experts have no agreement.
Fran O’Sullivan: “…..Don Brash has already staked a claim for a top finance role in John Key’s next Government.”
But John Armstrong says “Key’s ruling out of any likelihood of Brash becoming the finance minister is an important signal…….”
Armstrong again: “Brash also wants Key to strip Hide of his ministerial portfolios – an option which Key has now conveniently told Brash is within the Act leader’s discretion.”
After all Hide and Brash have been friends for more than 15 years.
And just to make us feel better we have the Herald running this nice little gem on the Bosses wage increases.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10722406
I see the workers got 1.7%
You could’nt spend 5 million every year.
But you HAVE to spend 50k a year to survive
And then there’s the other 70 odd% that dont even get 20k a year.
But then again no Politician seems to care, we don’t hear of them decrying these increases, and ol’ Shonkey and Blinglish will love this as it will add more fuel to their AVERAGE wages have increased by X% Bullshit.
All grist to the spin mill.
This to me is the real gem within the article “…But John McGill, chairman of remuneration consultants Strategic Pay, says the chief executives of New Zealand’s largest firms are not overpaid, especially when compared with their counterparts overseas..” Why then do we not do the same analysis for those below the CEO level. So the CEO deserves remuneration on a international scale yet the rest of us should be paid on a domestic scale. Something is not as consistenant as it should be.
Pity many political parties will base there tax system on these few but capture so many more who are just above the waterline in maintaining the household budget.
The gilded grifter, Donald Trump, got his little waterloo this week, Joe90 linked to a great piece above that folks should check out with regard to apart of what it all means on a human level.
Johann Hari writes about what it means for the GOP, and he gets much of it dead right:
As an intro to the grotesque that is the decaying corpse of the Party of Lincoln, that’s pretty much it. He goes on to describe the disease, again, pretty accurately in my view.
Naked imperialism.
Dog-whistled prejudice.
The raw worship of wealth as an end in itself.
The insistence that “any fact inconvenient to your world view simply doesn’t exist, or can be overcome by pure willpower”
There are a few symptoms I would be tempted to add to that list, but they are mostly subsets of those already listed. Those four are the core.
Where he goes wrong, I suspect, is in his conclusion:
I agree that Trump won’t be the nominee, but I think that whoever it is will either be just as crude, or fatally weak in support from the GOP electorate. The crudeness of Trump’s campaign is itself an expression of the fourth pillar. To be less in denial with reality is to compromise with the enemy. They are are party defined and refined into walking shibboleths. The extent to say these things is the extent to which a candidate is prepared to stick with the tribe of real ‘murkins. The extent to which they are one of ‘us’ rather than than one of ‘them’.
The reason Trump won’t get the candidacy is that, ironically enough, he won’t release his own documents, because if he did the gig would be up on his claim to be an exemplar of the third pillar.
Hone Harawira to quit – forces By-election
http://www.3news.co.nz/Hone-Harawira-to-resign-from-Parliament/tabid/419/articleID/209202/Default.aspx
Pity that Rodney didn’t do the same. Then there would be two fires raging. Actually I think that this close to an election the Parliament has the right to block such a by-election if 70% (?) vote to block it. After about the 20 May you can’t anyway.
However if Hone resigns on Monday and next week MPs vote to block the by-election where will Hone be afterwards? Unprecedented?
Would “then this new party then lose out on funding for Nov’s general election- As they would not have a current party rep in parliament?
Here’s what the electoral commission says:
http://www.elections.org.nz/elections/by-elections/by-elections.html
As I understand that because he is resigning slightly more than 6 months out, then the by-election must be held. That can change only if Key brings the general election forward and 75% of the house vote to leave the seat empty.
Interesting , Hone is basically calling the Nacts out on an election date or the Nacts risk a vote that they need Labours support for. Am I reading this right?
Will it mean that once Hone resigns he would no longer enjoy the benefits of being an MP?
Will his by-election be funded given that it is a new Party and will have been long gone after the registration date in March?
Graeme Edgeler on Public Address” The process by which this money is allocated is convoluted. It starts many months before the election when parties (or prospective parties) are required to advise the Commission in writing that they wish to be considered. ………
…..And on 17 March this year, just before the 5pm deadline, I asked the Electoral Commission who had applied……….. The Maori Party has applied, but Hone Harawira’s Mana Party has not (Hone the candidate will be allowed radio and tv advertising as part of his $25k spending limit, but it won’t be able to push a party vote and it won’t be publicly funded).”
http://publicaddress.net/legalbeagle/adventures-in-the-oia-or-why-don-brash-wanted/
Yeah, he’s already missed the publicly funded tv stuff, so this won’t change that. He’ll still get his parliamentary funding, and I’m not sure what, if any, the effect of re-testing his mandate will be.
But if Hone is elected as a Mana Party candidate in a by-election, doesn’t that mean his Mana Party will get funding for the general election …. as he would be the sitting member for the Mana Party?
Not by my reading of the Edgeler post. If you haven’t applied by March 17 Hone misses out – I think.
Maybe it hasn’t arisen before Carol.
He is demonstrably a fucking halfwit
people I would like to punch in the face at the mo.
Wendy Petrie
John Key
Hone Hariwira
Don Brash
Just go easy with Don. He’s an old frail man.
Can I kick him in the butt ?
You didn’t put Winnie on that list 😈
You could probably punch him in the dick without mortally wounding him.
Who wears glasses.
But, he is willing to sell off both your children and their assets.
So, close call, surely.
The only reason more politicians aren’t on my list is none of the others were stinking up the TV news this evening………. if they piss me off this much now I expect to be homicidal in another few months.
I’ve always found Rescue Remedy good for times like this 🙂
If by “rescue remedy” you mean “pharmaceutical grade morphine” then yes, it is.
higherstandard: straddling the centre like a galoshes. Still, it’s progress…(the curse of a good memory, eh liarstan?)
Go suck the shriveled previous member for Tauranga.
I was going to write a long rant about all the reasons this by-election is a gift to the Right.
But it’s Saturday night and I can’t be bothered wasting time on such stupidity. All you need to do is ask yourselves what the media/country should be focusing on instead, and who doesn’t want to focus on those things. Yep, John Key owes Hone a big bunch of flowers.
Nuff said.
I think more of a gift to the Right, is Phil Goff ruling out working with the Mana Party.
The Mana Party is essentially the old Alliance remember them?
Mana Motuhake
New Labour
The Democrats
The Greens
They are probably capable of taking 5% of the vote and collecting 7/8 MP’s
They will most certainly take the hard lefties from the Green with them.. Which is great for the environmentally focused Greens.
Interestingly The Greens have been moving more to the centre in recent times and now have a party to the left of them [Mana]which is very interesting in terms of perception.
It could be argued that Greens now freed up to be a more environmental party will surely mop more then a few Blue/Greens votes The Greens list for example, has more environmentalists on it then lefties, the first in a long time.
If we had a resurgent Labour Party National may well be on the ropes in November.
If..
“I think more of a gift to the Right, is Phil Goff ruling out working with the Mana Party.”
The Mana Party’s first decision was to call an expensive, pointless, distracting, self-indulgent by-election that nobody needs. This will be opposed by 99% of the voters.
If that’s the level of stupidity that the party aspires to, Phil Goff – or any other Labour leader – should treat them with the contempt they deserve.
“Yep, John Key owes Hone a big bunch of flowers.”
Agreed.
Lynn – if you click on an authors name, it’ll take you to a listing of all of their posts.
But if their name has a space in it, eg Marty G or Mike Smith, then it just takes you to the main page. This is quite irritating, since search is broken at the moment.
Yes I found that one last month when I was looking for Marty G ‘s posts. I will do that today..
Apropos of very little, Pagani’s blogging is not too bad a read since the recent fox pass – certainly prolific and arguably terriffic, worthy of a comment I thought but beggared if I can manage one, any techspurts able to enlighten a relic as to how to log in when it keeps telling you you haven’t logged in so cant log in so email but sorry havent got ur email so you cant email or something?
…same applies to TUMEKE, yet i can slip into dimpost like a suppository smeared with Key-juice….barriers, tech brothers an sisters, break em down for us ole felks
Helen gives it to you straight:
Don’t eat food from Europe and don’t eat Turkish apricots:
In Australia the Government actually has plans to create jobs … !!!!!!!
NZ Govt aware of Aussie jobs threat
Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan said government’s budget would help create half a million jobs over the next two years to deal with a skills shortage in sectors such as mining, and to replace retiring baby boomers.