—The below response (cut and paste from pre written material), via Nikki Kaye…
“There is currently no conclusive evidence that depleted uranium poses a significant threat to health or the environment. In 2005, the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee considered a petition to ban depleted uranium, and concluded that there was no consensus in the international scientific community as to the effect of depleted uranium on human health, but that New Zealand should continue to monitor the international research on the health consequences of its use. For this reason, the Government supports continued monitoring and research into the effects of depleted uranium, but will not take further action without clear scientific evidence.
Whenever New Zealand Defence Force personnel are deployed in theatres of operations where depleted uranium munitions may have been used, more stringent health monitoring has been untaken on those personnel. To date, there have been no adverse health effects identified in NZDF personnel. Most reports also conclude that any health and environmental risks associated with depleted uranium can be controlled with simple counter-measures by national authorities such as monitoring, clean-up operations where depleted uranium has been used, and further research.
New Zealand is closely following studies by international agencies on the potential health impacts of depleted uranium, and The Government will continue to monitor international developments, reports and studies on depleted uranium and potential health risks. New Zealand also supports a United Nations General Assembly resolution passed last year encouraging Member States to facilitate and Monitor studies and research on depleted uranium by relevant international organisations.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
The IAEA has participated with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Health Organisation (WHO) in several international appraisals of depleted uranium, with the objective of these assessments being to draw conclusions regarding the toxic and radiological safety of depleted uranium, and to make recommendations to mitigate the hazards of the population and the environment.
In general, the results of these assessments indicated that the existence of depleted uranium residues dispersed in the environment does not pose a radiological hazard to the population of the affected regions. The IAEA estimated that annual radiation doses from depleted uranium would be very low and of little radiological concern, with cases of prolonged skin contact with depleted uranium or fragments being the only possible exposure pathway leading to significant risks. Provided access to where these fragments exist remain restricted, the likelihood that members of the public come into such contact is low.
An IAEA assessment came to the same conclusion in Southern Iraq in 2010, and provided recommendations for safe management of fragments of depleted uranium.
I hope you find this information useful, thank you again for your email.”
The response came back within 24 hours of the original email, which suggests that there is someone/something monitoring her inbox, and spewing back this garbage, as I would be surprised if it were NK, even though I have had responses which I can tell are actually from her previously.
Either way whether cut and pasted by her hand, or by someone else, it is her endorsement of the vote she cast againse the bill, and then this attempt to vindicate her choice.
NK is the chair of the education and science select committe, so the email signature states…
This is truly staggering that we are into such dangerous territory now, with the blatant bowing to those who control NATO, which we have recently signed up for…
I will post my response to her on open mike tomorrow, and ecourage people to get onto any and all NACT members, and those who voted this bill down, and in no uncertain words let them know that this is beyond reproach!
Either way whether cut and pasted by her hand, or by someone else, it is her endorsement of the vote she cast againse the bill, and then this attempt to vindicate her choice.
Kevin, Freedom and others who have fallen under the spell of the anti-depleted uranium jihad and have not taken the time to do actual scientific research as opposed to a YouTube or Google look up where everyone just repeats the same lies that first were presented in about 1992 – some are sincere lovers of peace, but others are just con artists who seek to profit from the lies or are professional propagandists. Sadly, I expect that MP Phil Twyford has had his compassionate side mislead by these people as well.
The Phil Twyford Private Member’s bill is full of false and misleading information. There has been an active worldwide campaign against depleted uranium since Saddam Hussein’s regime decided to kill two birds with one stone. They did not like the fact that their vaunted Soviet built tanks could be killed by US/UK tanks at long range with a single shot of a depleted uranium kinetic energy penetrator round from the main gun of the M1 Abrams Tank or the UK’s Challenger Tank. They also did not want to be subject to the UN Sanctions that ended the Gulf War. As a result, all birth defects and cancers were blamed on that horrid radioactive weapon, depleted uranium. How many readers of this have ingested some DU today? All of you! Why, because DU is naturally occuring Uranium-238, and every being on this planet ingests, drinks in or breathes in a fraction of a microgram of U-238 every day of their life. Uranium is a toxic chemical if you take in too much of it and the first sign of a toxic dose is kidney failure, something that surprisingly has seldom been alleged by any of the people who claim to have been made ill by claimed depleted uranium contamination. The toxic radioactive dose of U-238 is unlimited according the IAEA’s Dangerous Quanitities of Radioactive Material (D-values) page 11 http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/EPR_D_web.pdf
If anyone would like to write to me, I will gladly correspond with you about my independent research (paid by no one) over the past seven plus years. I even tried to make MP Twyford aware of grave errors in his Bill when he first presented it in 2010 but his comments during the first reading on June 27th and his comments about the Maaori Party since then have led me to believe that he cares little about facts and just wants to believe that he is making a better world. You can write me at owner at the Yahoo group that is linked to this comment. There are a number of public links at this Yahoo group to actual scientific reports by the IAEA and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and others.
PS – Kevin, there is overwhelming evidence that depleted uranium has not been used in Afghanistan and I would be glad to discuss that with you.
John Armstrong in today’s Herald. The man must write speeches for the Nats.
Some interesting points though. “There is no indication Labour has woken up to the fact that some of the targets – such as boosting child immunisation rates, lifting the numbers getting trade qualifications and tackling youth crime – amount to an invasion of its traditional domains.”
JA is part of the NACT spin machine as is O’sullivan/Roughan etc not much intelligence or rigour just CT authored rhetoric presented as if it’s objective comment.
It’s a large reason they got back in as the sheeple take this crap as wise opinion rather than paid for advertorial pieces from the 4th estate dinosaurs.
The Armstrong piece demonstrates National’s way of doing things.
1. Announce big and important targets (so it looks as if you care and are doing important things)
2. “?”
3. Success (or er.. Profit) – see “Underpants Gnomes” for reference.
No interim goals or benchmarks – nothing to measure progress against, and no responsibility. They will claim the incidental wins as their own and ignore the failures that they perpetrated.
Hmmm… speaking of underpants gnomes – I need some coffee.
And some more interesting reading…..From the Nation: NAFTA on steroids. The Americans are also worried about the Trans Pacific Partnership. Here’s an article about the damaging effects the TPP will bring to democracy, from an American perspective. I couldn’t agree with their applause for New Zealand though. Even the Nats accept, after much persuading, that loosening Pharmac’s role would be bad for them, not to mention us as people. The article seems to allude to our govt being principled.
A pity really, with its older forgotten sibling, TVNZ6, was an anchor for a new improved digital TV era. But its fate was more or less sealed on election night 2008. If you want to get anything that is remotely public service, you have to fork out for Sky, which IMO is crap for what you pay for. You dont have to worry about missing anything because it would be on again in a few days/weeks/months.
“You don’t have to worry about missing anything because it would be on again in a few days/weeks/months.”
Years. I am seeing repeats of the repeats of the repeats I saw repeated 3 to 4 years ago.
And I agree it is crap and I have told sky as soon as I can download good stuff via the infernalnet they can shove it right up where the sun doesn’t shine.
Like everybody else I got a letter advising me what a WUNDERFUL JOB they were doing and how I can now look at about 50 million channels (complete with adverts every 5 minutes) of the Olympics.(Couldn’t give a toss about the Olympics), and how fortunate as a sky subscriber I already have HD and don’t need to do anything else when all television goes digital in NZ.
Because of this utopia that Sky is supplying my fee has to go up by about 6%. for the same crap I have seen for years.
This is why Channel 7 has been killed off. It was a threat to Keys fat cat mate’s future advertising revenue,
Trotter is right, the left today seems to be more worried about racial minorities and gay marriage than public ownership, the welfare state, workers rights and poverty.
I have no problem with that. Sure it’s a minor issue compared to some others but it is also easy to do and shows that the new government will be doing and not just saying which has been the problem of left governments for the last few decades. Now the real test comes, now they need to enact legislation to start to undo the damage that neo-liberalism has done.
As a right winger I have no problem with gay marriage, in fact I’d say it should be a non-event. Supporting marriage and (hopefully) fidelity should be looked as something good for society as a whole, I’d have thought.
You mean the French government is only capable of passing a single law at any one time? They only have one ministry/department operating at any one time and all the rest go on holiday?
Or … oh noes, their first *announcement* of policy was something that hetero white middle-class Waitakere Myths couldn’t benefit from? Gosh, how terrible.
Not like people ‘fought’ to have the state and church removed as ‘licensing’ authorities over relationships. But hey. Nothing like a bit of ‘progressive’ conservatism to galvanise folks.
Trotter is right, the left today seems to be more worried about racial minorities and gay marriage than public ownership, the welfare state, workers rights and poverty.
Agreed! (I’m delighted too, that someone here other than me said it first! 🙂 )
The housing crisis in Christchurch really shouldn’t be allowed to happen. But I believe that the government is allowing this to happen to enrich private landlords, who are the only ones who will benefit from a housing crisis.
The changes to state housing underlines this. Throwing thousands of vulnerable tenants out of state housing and off waiting lists, will only add to a large pool of people in the private rental market chasing a scare number of homes, and thus lead to rents being pushed up, for even grotty dives.
creating another housing bubble something the right always try to blame on the left.
the only people who benefit are the banks and the don’t tax me capital gaingsters
Maori are lodging a claim on water, and the left shoudnt really support this. Water is a public ownership owned by everyone, not a private asset owned by the few.
And, yeah, water is owned by the whole community and not just one small sector of it. Go that route and we will see massive deprivation for the sector that doesn’t own it.
160 odd years ago, Maori may have stated they owned the water that was laying around on what they refer to as their land.
The water came from rainclouds they do not have any claim to.
The water that arrives today may have come from clouds that travelled from Antartica airspace so I am at a loss to understand Maori logic that is their water.
Fartrain the money ended up in Anglo Saxon hands mainly.
Now in courts that has been proven and Maori have been generous to us by accepting
between 1 and 3% seettlements.
Fartrain I smell the politics of envy from you and your cohorts and it stinks.
You must be joking! NZlaenders have paid BILLIONS in the last few years out of their meager pay packets and have forgone proper healthcare, increase on minimum wages, pensions etc. It seem you are one of those who only will be happy when the pakehas are in rags and begging on street corners.
feigning Weka the settlements haven’t past $2billion and are closer to $1 billion.
envy.
Some Maori tribes have turned their 1to3% settlements into very large portfolios
jealous
Stop being an ignoranting idiot and get your facts right before you
promote your redneck racist attitudes.
Feigning Weka, wrong name – Foreign Waka, as in we are all foreign (just a degree on seperation in years) and came on a Waka.
http://www.nzcpr.com/guest275.htm excerpt from NZ Centre of Political Research:
..total redress agreed to and mostly paid to February 1 this year is $2.455-billion. The Treaty Negotiations Vote in last year’s Budget contains a multi-year appropriation of $1.4-billion for the five-year period 2011 to 2015. Since we listed a total of $2.079-billion last July, if that $1.4-billion Budget appropriation were added to our last year’s total, expected redress would reach $3.479-billion.
Envy? Jealous? Of what? I think that the majority of Maoris know very well that the money comes from working people who struggle all the same. The claim however is directed to the crown, or the Queen, so to speak. This seems to pass you by and my assertion is that you have a mighty handout mentality.
Maori were promised the same rights as British citizens but were these rights were under mined
By shonkey traders taking full advantage of Maori illiteracy .
Maori have a Different value system than Tory Anglo Saxons.
It depends on the substance of the Maori claim. People everywhere should have access to clean water as a basic human right. It should be a public utility not a source of monopoly power for a wealthy elite.
Maori have access to schools? Yes? Illiteracy is an issue of neglect within the family, so don’t roll this on to someone else. By what my experience is, Maori do have the same rights. In fact, there are many more benefits available to Maori than to any other race. This seem to be based on a legislated “affirmative action” model stemming from the Treaty, albeit equality was a key word.
As to the use of water – we all need to drink water in order to survive. And this should be freely accessible.
However, it is also clear that the drawing of ground water for irrigation has to have strict monitoring if not levies imposed as any depletion will lower the water table and salinate the ground water. This would make it unusable – forever. I doubt that the value system is very different on that point.
* Do try to limit your Americanisms. “Different than” is an Americanism New Zealanders (including Don Brash) use, as they hear it on TV., but even some Americans admit it’s actually wrong…
Maori 160 odd years ago had concepts of land and land ‘ownership’ distinctly different than European concepts then, or Pakeha concepts how. Until you understand what those differences are, and how Maori treaty rights have been undermined because of those differences (amongst other things) then you are ignorant and you have no basis on which to express an opinion.
Instead of indulging in Maori bashing, why not educate yourself? You might be surprised at how interesting and useful Maori views about land are.
The Greens want to commodofy water because Russel Norman believes in a curious version of market theory that says putting a price on water will magically clean up our waterways.
I would much prefer it to be put under Maori guardianship/ownership/protection to prevent that sort of nonsense in the future..
I would much prefer it to be put under Maori guardianship/ownership/protection to prevent that sort of nonsense in the future..
Would this be similar to the Maori guardianship/ownership/protection of our fisheries, using poorly paid foreign fisher labour in appalling and dangerous working conditions?
Which politician would have pushed the Police to behave so over-the-top with Mr Dotcom?
Groser is 100% Pure on the American approach to Trade. He will concede to the intrusive anti-sovernitu terms the Americans have in the TPP.
The little man should not be in-charge of Trade any more than he should be in charge of Climate Change. He is a 100% Pure Liability.
“Which politician would have pushed the Police to behave so over-the-top with Mr Dotcom?”
I think the immigration minister.
I have noticed that Collins has not repeated her mistake (covering up incompetence as she did with the CEO and Chairman of ACC) with Judge Winklemann’s ruling re Dotcom. Collins knows she has to tread carefully because Dotcom has the cash when it comes to litigation.
When it comes to Collins fixing ACC I feel that she will not walk the talk. An inquiry is required and then RECOMMENDATIONS from claimants/their legal advisor and non ACC health professionals could be implemented.
What did Collins do to implement Bazley’s recommendations into police culture?
There was an independent report criticising the police dragging their heels and all I heard from Collins was tut tut, they need to be hurried along.
Which politician would have pushed the Police to behave so over-the-top with Mr Dotcom?
Groser is 100% Pure on the American approach to Trade. He will concede to the intrusive anti-sovereignty terms the Americans have in the TPP.
The little man should not be in-charge of Trade any more than he should be in charge of Climate Change. He is a 100% Pure Liability.
I listened to the tail end of the debate in parliament on Wednesday evening where Richard Prosser of NZFirst gave a quick fire but detailed resume of the dangers of depleted uranium from his experience having being involved in the missile business.
It is to New Zealand’s detriment that the debate on this bill did not make waves in the media because the implications of cross shipping yellowcake uranium through New Zealand from Australia is fraught with potential dangers that New Zealand is underprepared to deal with in the event of an accident or worse terrorist activity.
Second to that is the exposure New Zealand Military are exposed to in Afghanistan and Iraq where depleted uranium has been deployed in an armour piercing capability thereby exposing all in close proximity to possible toxic dust.
Depleted uranium is considered in the same light as Agent Orange of the Vietnam era with the same insidious genetic damage and prevalence of cancers.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/5876622/Radioactive-uranium-passing-through-NZ-ports
Large amount of yellowcake uranium is being shipped in and out of NZ ports since 1996. This material is regarded as useful for manufacturing of weapons.
Health effects to prolonged exposure include chromosome aberrations, cancers of the lung, mouth, larynx, bronchial, bone, connective tissue, kidney and liver.
People reading the Christchurch Press re the CTV rescue 22/3 Feb this morning?? Truly tragic for trapped survivors.
In the account of a husband in cell phone and physical (voice/tapping) contact with his trapped wife, he feels he locates her exact position. The news doesn’t, apparently, galvanise rescuers.
He is removed from the site and, hours later, his wife and others die. The article asks why efforts were not made to cut a hole through the concrete slab trapping her, as well as why her location was not protected from approaching fire.
Lessons, responsibility, compensation… Post Pike River etc, let’s hope.
Thanks to whoever mentioned this documentary by John Pilger… The War on Democracy I have only been watching it in small pieces, so many crimes against democracy and the Venezuelan people are documented.
It is as if writers as watchdogs are extinct, or in thrall to a sociopathic zeitgeist, convinced they are too clever to be duped. Witness the stampede of sycophants eager to deify Christopher Hitchens, a war lover who longed to be allowed to justify the crimes of rapacious power. “For almost the first time in two centuries”, wrote Terry Eagleton, “there is no eminent British poet, playwright or novelist prepared to question the foundations of the western way of life”. No Orwell warns that we do not need to live in a totalitarian society to be corrupted by totalitarianism. No Shelley speaks for the poor, no Blake proffers a vision, no Wilde reminds us that “disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue”. And grievously no Pinter rages at the war machine, as in American Football:
Hallelujah.
Praise the Lord for all good things…
We blew their balls into shards of dust,
Into shards of fucking dust…
Into shards of fucking dust go all the lives blown there by Barack Obama, the Hopey Changey of western violence. Whenever one of Obama’s drones wipes out an entire family in a faraway tribal region of Pakistan, or Somalia, or Yemen, the American controllers in front of their computer-game screens type in “Bugsplat”. Obama likes drones and has joked about them with journalists. One of his first actions as president was to order a wave of Predator drone attacks on Pakistan that killed 74 people. He has since killed thousands, mostly civilians; drones fire Hellfire missiles that suck the air out of the lungs of children and leave body parts festooned across scrubland.
We could do with a few more like Pilger. Hitchens became the darling of the lifestyle left because he was a militant atheist, not because he stood against abuses of power. If I had my time over again, I’d like to be a journalist like Pilger. Being a theoretical physicist doesn’t bring the opportunity to change much that matters.
Thanks to whoever mentioned this documentary by John Pilger… The War on Democracy I have only been watching it in small pieces, so many crimes against democracy and the Venezuelan people are documented.
I found it in my local VideoEzy a few months back, which is amazing! I look for documentaries, but it’s one of the very few they have.
It’s so awesome, that I actually cried!
Obama likes drones and has joked about them with journalists.
I heard one referred to, bizarrely, on the BBC news today as ‘an unmanned plane’. I suppose that’s a new eupehmism… it made me feel sick!
I see where the uniforms for the NZ Olympic team have been designed and manufactured overseas. The contract was awarded to the NZ arm of Rodd and Gunn and conditions of awarding this contract should have been that it must be designed and manufactured in this country. Instead it was designed in Australia, and manufactured in China, Turkey and Italy. We have plenty of creative talented people in this country and it is outrageous that these people were overlooked. No doubt it was all about price, but what price do you place on national pride and sovereignty.
Rodd and Gunn sell overpriced crap that falls to bits anyway. As far as I can see, that’s entirely appropriate for overhyped corporate sport. The uniforms are stylistically bad from what I can see as well, although it’s not easy to judge from how they look on anorexic models how they’ll look on athletes.
This reminds me of the Red Sock campaign when the Americas Cup was on. A south island manufacturer offered these socks and sponsorship.
The next America’s Cup campaign they decided to run the same Red Sock promotion, but this time had them made in CHINA. No consideration for the guy who came up with the original idea, or for the company in NZ which could have manufactured them. Bloody disgusting and I hope the outlet running this promotion ended up lots of unsold stock.
Gordon Campbell has a good article up about efficiency and how it’s being used to undermine our society.
It really is a scam. The word “efficiency”is merely the sauna to which the crusty old policies of slashing wages and limiting the role of government are sent, to provide them with an illusion of health. Which is why it can be quite amusing to stop, smell the roses and look back at what has been peddled in the past as the hallmarks of efficiency. A classic example can be found is this celebrated 2005 speech by then-Treasury Secretary John Whitehead, in which he sang loud and long about enhanced efficiency in ways that are now embarrassing, given what has gone down since 2005. Because what seemed like efficiency – to Treasury at least – became a seedbed for criminality.
See? With bailouts for Spain and Italy now all but inevitable, if you leave Germany out of the picture for the moment, you’re left with no-one at all to pay for those bailouts. Not even a complete and immediate move towards a fiscal, banking and political union would do anything to resolve Europe’s financial quagmire if Germany is not present.
In other words: it all comes down to Germany. Berlin is on the hook for everything. The required funding for the EFSF and ESM emergency funds would, with Spain and Italy moving into roles as debtors instead of creditors, have to come from Germany to the tune of what would fast approach 50% or so.
Does anyone think that is realistic? That Germany can make the markets truly, as in for more than a day or so, believe it has that kind of money lying around, and is wiling to gamble it? Or is it perhaps more likely that, if the Germans would even try it, the markets would turn on Berlin the next morning? If you look at bunds right now, there’s no doubt they’re perceived as a safe haven. But what are the chances that perception would last if Merkel agreed to take on the Savior Of All Of Europe part?
Really do wish these indebted nations would just default and get it over with but it seems that the banksters are in control and are taking as much wealth as they can before reality comes calling.
Really do wish these indebted nations would just default and get it over with
Not so easy in this globalised financial network TPTB have locked us all into. But yeah, its all going to fall over sooner or later, and the more we do the routine ‘pretend and extend’ the harder the fall will be in the end.
It won’t be long and the stoic Germans will march on parliament. There are many who are fed up of being ask to carry all of Europe. It all seem to have the same predicament as the situation after the signing of the Versailles contract. If Germany looses its economic footing, things will get very bad.
Crosby Textor have given The NZ Women’s Weekly exclusive access to John Key’s person photo album. Seems to solve his issue of the 1981 tour
They look a bit hinky to me Link 1
In a decision made public today, the UN Human Rights Committee ruled that diplomatic assurances against torture did not provide an effective safeguard against ill-treatment in the case of an asylum seeker transferred from Sweden to Egypt by CIA operatives in December 2001. The committee decided that Sweden’s involvement in the US transfer of Mohammed al-Zari to Egypt breached the absolute ban on torture, despite assurances of humane treatment provided by Egyptian authorities prior to the rendition.
Look on the bright side, even before The Olympics have started an ‘African runner’ has claimed asylum, the rest of the World is already here so I’m sure there will be a house and numerous hand outs waiting for this freeloader, isn’t it great to live in a country with no borders and that puts everyone before it’s own people? I was seriously thinking of getting away from it all but it wouldn’t surprise me if I got home and found my house had been turned into a mosque or an Eastern European family had moved in, such is life.
I was thinking of moving to England to start an Eastern European mosque for gay africans. Just post your address and I’ll make sure I do it at your place. I promise to even fold your BNP flags nicely for you.
My house.
Nice area with no ‘Polski skleps’, Mosques or asylum ‘overspill’ (as in most parts of the country are full but they still let the freeloaders in). YET.
I see the torch is in Westminster now, that bunch of traitors deserve the Guy Fawkes treatment.
Ahem mods, are the openly racist droolings of this fool acceptable now?
Strange to put such ramblings in a 3 week old post. For my part, I’m inclined to keep an eye on him(?) rather than just ban, insofar as such comments serve to highlight the banal stupidity of racism and so serve a perverse purpose. Of course, another moderator may disagree 😉 [B]
So not supporting uncontrolled immigration, believing the EU is rotten to the core, expecting migrants to respect their host nation and suggesting asylum seekers/refugees go to the first safe country rather than travelling half way across the world to an already overcrowded country constitue bigotry? Common sense, more like.
Tell you what NZ is roughly the same size as UK but with a fraction of our population, let’s dump 4 Million low wage or benefit dependent migrants who take a lot more than they contribute on you, throw in countless asylum seekers who of course need taxpayer funded hand outs not to mention state housing, bow down to muzzie terrorists (taxpayer funded of course) who you can’t deport, yuman rites and all that, hand out Millions to countries that openly despise you, outsource millions of jobs, decimate heavy industry, attack workers rights and promote alien cultures at the expense of your own.
All of this while having no control of your borders.
You might want ot give a cite for those astonishing numbers there.
A full half of the UKs population is low wage or benefit dependent migrants?
Reckon you should look more at your bankers and pollies of the source of your problems, that at the people those tossers to tell you to look at. Ya big mugg.
“So not supporting uncontrolled immigration, believing the EU is rotten to the core, expecting migrants to respect their host nation and suggesting asylum seekers/refugees go to the first safe country rather than travelling half way across the world to an already overcrowded country constitue bigotry?”
Not necessarily, but the heat it seems to generate in you is a bit of a pointer.
I was more referring to the bigoted shit you wrote before about how a nice area is one with no mosques or polacks though.
(I’d have thought that was obvious from the order of the comments)
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It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
It may have been a short week but there’s been no shortage of things that caught our attention. Here is some of the most interesting. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at public transport ridership in 2024 On Thursday Connor asked some questions ...
The East Is Red: Journalists and commentators are referring to the sudden and disruptive arrival of DeepSeek as a second “Sputnik moment”. (Sputnik being the name given by the godless communists of the Soviet Union to the world’s first artificial satellite which, to the consternation and dismay of the Americans, ...
Hi,Back on inauguration day we launched a ridiculous RFK Jr. “brain worms” tee on the Webworm store, and I told you I’d be throwing my profits over to Mutual Aid LA and Rainbow Youth New Zealand. Just to show I am not full of shit, here are the receipts. I ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump over Gaza and Ukraine.Health expert and author David Galler ...
In an uncompromising paper Treasury has basically told the Government that its plan for a third medical school at Waikato University is a waste of money. Furthermore, the country cannot afford it. That advice was released this week by the Treasury under the Official Information Act. And it comes as ...
Back in November, He Pou a Rangi provided the government with formal advice on the domestic contribution to our next Paris target. Not what the target should be, but what we could realistically achieve, by domestic action alone, without resorting to offshore mitigation. Their answer was startling: depending on exactly ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guest David Patman and ...
I don't like to spend all my time complaining about our government, so let me complain about the media first.Senior journalistic Herald person Thomas Coughlan reported that Treasury replied yeah nah, wrong bro to Luxon's claim that our benighted little country has been in recession for three years.His excitement rose ...
Back in 2022, when the government was consulting internally about proactive release of cabinet papers, the SIS opposed it. The basis of their opposition was the "mosaic effect" - people being able to piece together individual pieces of innocuous public information in a way which supposedly harms "national security" (effectively: ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Coates, Program Director, Housing and Economic Security, Grattan Institute Marlinde/Shutterstock Most Australians can look forward to a comfortable retirement. More than three in four retirees own their own home, most report feeling comfortable financially, and few suffer financial stress. But ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The weekend byelection in the outer suburban seat of Werribee saw the widely-anticipated slap-in-the-face to Victorian Labor, which is absolutely on the nose. The question is: to what degree were electors venting against federal Labor ...
Mediawatch -Trump's alarmed the world with trade tariffs, turning off aid and proposing to take over Gaza. But New Zealand's had diplomatic drama in the news too - with the media in the middle of it. ...
By Rachel Helyer Donaldson, RNZ News journalist New Zealand should be robust in its response to the “unacceptable” situation in Gaza but it must also back its allies against threats by the US President, says an international relations academic. Otago University professor of international relations Robert Patman said the rest ...
A Christchurch man who lost 55 relatives in three Israeli airstrikes on Gaza says his remaining family will never leave, despite a US proposal to remove them. ...
Asia Pacific Report A national Palestine advocacy group has hit back at critics of its “genocide hotline” campaign against soldiers involved in Israel’s war against Gaza, saying New Zealand should be actively following international law. The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) dismissed a “predictable lineup of apologists for Israel” for ...
ACT Party leader David Seymour said he wrote to police about the treatment of Philip Polkinghorne because it's an electorate MP's job to pass on the concerns of their constituents. ...
MEDIAWATCH:By Colin Peacock, RNZ Mediawatch presenter By the time US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on China and Canada last Monday which could kickstart a trade war, New Zealand’s diplomats in Washington, DC, had already been deployed on another diplomatic drama. Republican Senator Ted Cruz had said on social ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown says New Zealand is asking for too much oversight over its deal with China, which is expected to be penned in Beijing next week. Brown told RNZ Pacific the Cook Islands-New Zealand relationship was reciprocal. “They certainly did ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Byelections occurred on Saturday in the Victorian state seats of Prahran and Werribee. The Liberals gained Prahran from the Greens by a ...
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—The below response (cut and paste from pre written material), via Nikki Kaye…
“There is currently no conclusive evidence that depleted uranium poses a significant threat to health or the environment. In 2005, the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee considered a petition to ban depleted uranium, and concluded that there was no consensus in the international scientific community as to the effect of depleted uranium on human health, but that New Zealand should continue to monitor the international research on the health consequences of its use. For this reason, the Government supports continued monitoring and research into the effects of depleted uranium, but will not take further action without clear scientific evidence.
Whenever New Zealand Defence Force personnel are deployed in theatres of operations where depleted uranium munitions may have been used, more stringent health monitoring has been untaken on those personnel. To date, there have been no adverse health effects identified in NZDF personnel. Most reports also conclude that any health and environmental risks associated with depleted uranium can be controlled with simple counter-measures by national authorities such as monitoring, clean-up operations where depleted uranium has been used, and further research.
New Zealand is closely following studies by international agencies on the potential health impacts of depleted uranium, and The Government will continue to monitor international developments, reports and studies on depleted uranium and potential health risks. New Zealand also supports a United Nations General Assembly resolution passed last year encouraging Member States to facilitate and Monitor studies and research on depleted uranium by relevant international organisations.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
The IAEA has participated with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Health Organisation (WHO) in several international appraisals of depleted uranium, with the objective of these assessments being to draw conclusions regarding the toxic and radiological safety of depleted uranium, and to make recommendations to mitigate the hazards of the population and the environment.
In general, the results of these assessments indicated that the existence of depleted uranium residues dispersed in the environment does not pose a radiological hazard to the population of the affected regions. The IAEA estimated that annual radiation doses from depleted uranium would be very low and of little radiological concern, with cases of prolonged skin contact with depleted uranium or fragments being the only possible exposure pathway leading to significant risks. Provided access to where these fragments exist remain restricted, the likelihood that members of the public come into such contact is low.
An IAEA assessment came to the same conclusion in Southern Iraq in 2010, and provided recommendations for safe management of fragments of depleted uranium.
I hope you find this information useful, thank you again for your email.”
fucking incredible
i double dare Nikki Kaye to type three little words* into any image search engine and then try to spout that bullshit ever again
* depleted uranium iraq
The response came back within 24 hours of the original email, which suggests that there is someone/something monitoring her inbox, and spewing back this garbage, as I would be surprised if it were NK, even though I have had responses which I can tell are actually from her previously.
Either way whether cut and pasted by her hand, or by someone else, it is her endorsement of the vote she cast againse the bill, and then this attempt to vindicate her choice.
NK is the chair of the education and science select committe, so the email signature states…
This is truly staggering that we are into such dangerous territory now, with the blatant bowing to those who control NATO, which we have recently signed up for…
I will post my response to her on open mike tomorrow, and ecourage people to get onto any and all NACT members, and those who voted this bill down, and in no uncertain words let them know that this is beyond reproach!
Appalling! Idiot woman…
Kevin, Freedom and others who have fallen under the spell of the anti-depleted uranium jihad and have not taken the time to do actual scientific research as opposed to a YouTube or Google look up where everyone just repeats the same lies that first were presented in about 1992 – some are sincere lovers of peace, but others are just con artists who seek to profit from the lies or are professional propagandists. Sadly, I expect that MP Phil Twyford has had his compassionate side mislead by these people as well.
The Phil Twyford Private Member’s bill is full of false and misleading information. There has been an active worldwide campaign against depleted uranium since Saddam Hussein’s regime decided to kill two birds with one stone. They did not like the fact that their vaunted Soviet built tanks could be killed by US/UK tanks at long range with a single shot of a depleted uranium kinetic energy penetrator round from the main gun of the M1 Abrams Tank or the UK’s Challenger Tank. They also did not want to be subject to the UN Sanctions that ended the Gulf War. As a result, all birth defects and cancers were blamed on that horrid radioactive weapon, depleted uranium. How many readers of this have ingested some DU today? All of you! Why, because DU is naturally occuring Uranium-238, and every being on this planet ingests, drinks in or breathes in a fraction of a microgram of U-238 every day of their life. Uranium is a toxic chemical if you take in too much of it and the first sign of a toxic dose is kidney failure, something that surprisingly has seldom been alleged by any of the people who claim to have been made ill by claimed depleted uranium contamination. The toxic radioactive dose of U-238 is unlimited according the IAEA’s Dangerous Quanitities of Radioactive Material (D-values) page 11
http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/EPR_D_web.pdf
If anyone would like to write to me, I will gladly correspond with you about my independent research (paid by no one) over the past seven plus years. I even tried to make MP Twyford aware of grave errors in his Bill when he first presented it in 2010 but his comments during the first reading on June 27th and his comments about the Maaori Party since then have led me to believe that he cares little about facts and just wants to believe that he is making a better world. You can write me at owner at the Yahoo group that is linked to this comment. There are a number of public links at this Yahoo group to actual scientific reports by the IAEA and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and others.
PS – Kevin, there is overwhelming evidence that depleted uranium has not been used in Afghanistan and I would be glad to discuss that with you.
John Armstrong in today’s Herald. The man must write speeches for the Nats.
Some interesting points though. “There is no indication Labour has woken up to the fact that some of the targets – such as boosting child immunisation rates, lifting the numbers getting trade qualifications and tackling youth crime – amount to an invasion of its traditional domains.”
JA is part of the NACT spin machine as is O’sullivan/Roughan etc not much intelligence or rigour just CT authored rhetoric presented as if it’s objective comment.
It’s a large reason they got back in as the sheeple take this crap as wise opinion rather than paid for advertorial pieces from the 4th estate dinosaurs.
The Armstrong piece demonstrates National’s way of doing things.
1. Announce big and important targets (so it looks as if you care and are doing important things)
2. “?”
3. Success (or er.. Profit) – see “Underpants Gnomes” for reference.
No interim goals or benchmarks – nothing to measure progress against, and no responsibility. They will claim the incidental wins as their own and ignore the failures that they perpetrated.
Hmmm… speaking of underpants gnomes – I need some coffee.
More insider information on national here.
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/John_Key
That’s given us a chuckle for the morning!
LOL = well worth a read on a cold Sat morning – especially after stupidly reading Armstrong and Roughan on the Herald site.
Mind you, I was surprised at Fran O’Sullivan’s column today – calling for an independent enquiry into the police conduct of the raid on Dotcom.
And some more interesting reading…..From the Nation: NAFTA on steroids. The Americans are also worried about the Trans Pacific Partnership. Here’s an article about the damaging effects the TPP will bring to democracy, from an American perspective. I couldn’t agree with their applause for New Zealand though. Even the Nats accept, after much persuading, that loosening Pharmac’s role would be bad for them, not to mention us as people. The article seems to allude to our govt being principled.
http://www.thenation.com/article/168627/nafta-steroids#
TVNZ 7 winds up today.
A pity really, with its older forgotten sibling, TVNZ6, was an anchor for a new improved digital TV era. But its fate was more or less sealed on election night 2008. If you want to get anything that is remotely public service, you have to fork out for Sky, which IMO is crap for what you pay for. You dont have to worry about missing anything because it would be on again in a few days/weeks/months.
Oh well, at least I have torrents.
“You don’t have to worry about missing anything because it would be on again in a few days/weeks/months.”
Years. I am seeing repeats of the repeats of the repeats I saw repeated 3 to 4 years ago.
And I agree it is crap and I have told sky as soon as I can download good stuff via the infernalnet they can shove it right up where the sun doesn’t shine.
Like everybody else I got a letter advising me what a WUNDERFUL JOB they were doing and how I can now look at about 50 million channels (complete with adverts every 5 minutes) of the Olympics.(Couldn’t give a toss about the Olympics), and how fortunate as a sky subscriber I already have HD and don’t need to do anything else when all television goes digital in NZ.
Because of this utopia that Sky is supplying my fee has to go up by about 6%. for the same crap I have seen for years.
This is why Channel 7 has been killed off. It was a threat to Keys fat cat mate’s future advertising revenue,
The left sweeps to power in France, gaining control of all branches of government for the first time, well ever, and that is the first thing they do?
Gay Marriage!
Trotter is right, the left today seems to be more worried about racial minorities and gay marriage than public ownership, the welfare state, workers rights and poverty.
I have no problem with that. Sure it’s a minor issue compared to some others but it is also easy to do and shows that the new government will be doing and not just saying which has been the problem of left governments for the last few decades. Now the real test comes, now they need to enact legislation to start to undo the damage that neo-liberalism has done.
As a right winger I have no problem with gay marriage, in fact I’d say it should be a non-event. Supporting marriage and (hopefully) fidelity should be looked as something good for society as a whole, I’d have thought.
You mean the French government is only capable of passing a single law at any one time? They only have one ministry/department operating at any one time and all the rest go on holiday?
Or … oh noes, their first *announcement* of policy was something that hetero white middle-class Waitakere Myths couldn’t benefit from? Gosh, how terrible.
How can they benefit? It’s in furking France for gods sake!!!
I’m sure France has its equivalent “waaaa, the nasty gays and wimminz are takin’ our jobs!” leftwing whingers.
Not like people ‘fought’ to have the state and church removed as ‘licensing’ authorities over relationships. But hey. Nothing like a bit of ‘progressive’ conservatism to galvanise folks.
Agreed! (I’m delighted too, that someone here other than me said it first! 🙂 )
This is the new plan.
http://www.make-everything-ok.com/
The housing crisis in Christchurch really shouldn’t be allowed to happen. But I believe that the government is allowing this to happen to enrich private landlords, who are the only ones who will benefit from a housing crisis.
The changes to state housing underlines this. Throwing thousands of vulnerable tenants out of state housing and off waiting lists, will only add to a large pool of people in the private rental market chasing a scare number of homes, and thus lead to rents being pushed up, for even grotty dives.
creating another housing bubble something the right always try to blame on the left.
the only people who benefit are the banks and the don’t tax me capital gaingsters
Maori are lodging a claim on water, and the left shoudnt really support this. Water is a public ownership owned by everyone, not a private asset owned by the few.
even John key says no-one owns water,
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10783913
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/news/nbnat/2038498866-Water-ownership-a-no-brainer—Key
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/6655601/Water-ownership-hearing-threatens-asset-sales
etc
for how much longer he says that ???
Until he can sell it.
And, yeah, water is owned by the whole community and not just one small sector of it. Go that route and we will see massive deprivation for the sector that doesn’t own it.
160 odd years ago, Maori may have stated they owned the water that was laying around on what they refer to as their land.
The water came from rainclouds they do not have any claim to.
The water that arrives today may have come from clouds that travelled from Antartica airspace so I am at a loss to understand Maori logic that is their water.
Rob
Easy “Just follow the money”.
Fartrain the money ended up in Anglo Saxon hands mainly.
Now in courts that has been proven and Maori have been generous to us by accepting
between 1 and 3% seettlements.
Fartrain I smell the politics of envy from you and your cohorts and it stinks.
You must be joking! NZlaenders have paid BILLIONS in the last few years out of their meager pay packets and have forgone proper healthcare, increase on minimum wages, pensions etc. It seem you are one of those who only will be happy when the pakehas are in rags and begging on street corners.
feigning Weka the settlements haven’t past $2billion and are closer to $1 billion.
envy.
Some Maori tribes have turned their 1to3% settlements into very large portfolios
jealous
Stop being an ignoranting idiot and get your facts right before you
promote your redneck racist attitudes.
Estimate of the “Maori economy” = $36.9B of value.
http://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/in-print/our-publications/fact-sheets/the-maori-economy/download/tpk-maorieconomy-2012.pdf
Feigning Weka, wrong name – Foreign Waka, as in we are all foreign (just a degree on seperation in years) and came on a Waka.
http://www.nzcpr.com/guest275.htm excerpt from NZ Centre of Political Research:
..total redress agreed to and mostly paid to February 1 this year is $2.455-billion. The Treaty Negotiations Vote in last year’s Budget contains a multi-year appropriation of $1.4-billion for the five-year period 2011 to 2015. Since we listed a total of $2.079-billion last July, if that $1.4-billion Budget appropriation were added to our last year’s total, expected redress would reach $3.479-billion.
Interestingly the same number pops up in this report:
http://www.getfrank.co.nz/editorial/nz-politics/treaty-transparency-settlements-1989-2012
Envy? Jealous? Of what? I think that the majority of Maoris know very well that the money comes from working people who struggle all the same. The claim however is directed to the crown, or the Queen, so to speak. This seems to pass you by and my assertion is that you have a mighty handout mentality.
Maori were promised the same rights as British citizens but were these rights were under mined
By shonkey traders taking full advantage of Maori illiteracy .
Maori have a Different value system than Tory Anglo Saxons.
It depends on the substance of the Maori claim. People everywhere should have access to clean water as a basic human right. It should be a public utility not a source of monopoly power for a wealthy elite.
But it’s ok if that wealthy elite is Maori.
Maori have access to schools? Yes? Illiteracy is an issue of neglect within the family, so don’t roll this on to someone else. By what my experience is, Maori do have the same rights. In fact, there are many more benefits available to Maori than to any other race. This seem to be based on a legislated “affirmative action” model stemming from the Treaty, albeit equality was a key word.
As to the use of water – we all need to drink water in order to survive. And this should be freely accessible.
However, it is also clear that the drawing of ground water for irrigation has to have strict monitoring if not levies imposed as any depletion will lower the water table and salinate the ground water. This would make it unusable – forever. I doubt that the value system is very different on that point.
NB – Anglo-Saxons are Germans, and calling white gentile people Anglo-Saxons, is another dill-brained American* habit. It’s as absurd as saying ‘caucasian’ instead of Pakeha, as the police and media do now.
http://raaw.wordpress.com/2007/10/15/caucasian/
and
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2011/01/stop-using-the-word-caucasian-to-mean-white/
* Do try to limit your Americanisms. “Different than” is an Americanism New Zealanders (including Don Brash) use, as they hear it on TV., but even some Americans admit it’s actually wrong…
Maori 160 odd years ago had concepts of land and land ‘ownership’ distinctly different than European concepts then, or Pakeha concepts how. Until you understand what those differences are, and how Maori treaty rights have been undermined because of those differences (amongst other things) then you are ignorant and you have no basis on which to express an opinion.
Instead of indulging in Maori bashing, why not educate yourself? You might be surprised at how interesting and useful Maori views about land are.
Such as how Taniwha’s know to appear at the most convenient time?
I think you are confusing Taniwha with Trolls OneTrack.
The Greens want to commodofy water because Russel Norman believes in a curious version of market theory that says putting a price on water will magically clean up our waterways.
I would much prefer it to be put under Maori guardianship/ownership/protection to prevent that sort of nonsense in the future..
Would this be similar to the Maori guardianship/ownership/protection of our fisheries, using poorly paid foreign fisher labour in appalling and dangerous working conditions?
Oh really? I’d say they would sell to the Chinese in a heartbeat, then lease back for the 3x the sale price on the condition they couldnt complain
Which politician would have pushed the Police to behave so over-the-top with Mr Dotcom?
Groser is 100% Pure on the American approach to Trade. He will concede to the intrusive anti-sovernitu terms the Americans have in the TPP.
The little man should not be in-charge of Trade any more than he should be in charge of Climate Change. He is a 100% Pure Liability.
“Which politician would have pushed the Police to behave so over-the-top with Mr Dotcom?”
I think the immigration minister.
I have noticed that Collins has not repeated her mistake (covering up incompetence as she did with the CEO and Chairman of ACC) with Judge Winklemann’s ruling re Dotcom. Collins knows she has to tread carefully because Dotcom has the cash when it comes to litigation.
When it comes to Collins fixing ACC I feel that she will not walk the talk. An inquiry is required and then RECOMMENDATIONS from claimants/their legal advisor and non ACC health professionals could be implemented.
What did Collins do to implement Bazley’s recommendations into police culture?
There was an independent report criticising the police dragging their heels and all I heard from Collins was tut tut, they need to be hurried along.
Which politician would have pushed the Police to behave so over-the-top with Mr Dotcom?
Groser is 100% Pure on the American approach to Trade. He will concede to the intrusive anti-sovereignty terms the Americans have in the TPP.
The little man should not be in-charge of Trade any more than he should be in charge of Climate Change. He is a 100% Pure Liability.
I listened to the tail end of the debate in parliament on Wednesday evening where Richard Prosser of NZFirst gave a quick fire but detailed resume of the dangers of depleted uranium from his experience having being involved in the missile business.
It is to New Zealand’s detriment that the debate on this bill did not make waves in the media because the implications of cross shipping yellowcake uranium through New Zealand from Australia is fraught with potential dangers that New Zealand is underprepared to deal with in the event of an accident or worse terrorist activity.
Second to that is the exposure New Zealand Military are exposed to in Afghanistan and Iraq where depleted uranium has been deployed in an armour piercing capability thereby exposing all in close proximity to possible toxic dust.
Depleted uranium is considered in the same light as Agent Orange of the Vietnam era with the same insidious genetic damage and prevalence of cancers.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/5876622/Radioactive-uranium-passing-through-NZ-ports
Large amount of yellowcake uranium is being shipped in and out of NZ ports since 1996. This material is regarded as useful for manufacturing of weapons.
Health effects to prolonged exposure include chromosome aberrations, cancers of the lung, mouth, larynx, bronchial, bone, connective tissue, kidney and liver.
Sure Ben Vidgeon referenced this among other things in the 2 state secrets books he wrote many years ago!
People reading the Christchurch Press re the CTV rescue 22/3 Feb this morning?? Truly tragic for trapped survivors.
In the account of a husband in cell phone and physical (voice/tapping) contact with his trapped wife, he feels he locates her exact position. The news doesn’t, apparently, galvanise rescuers.
He is removed from the site and, hours later, his wife and others die. The article asks why efforts were not made to cut a hole through the concrete slab trapping her, as well as why her location was not protected from approaching fire.
Lessons, responsibility, compensation… Post Pike River etc, let’s hope.
Thanks to whoever mentioned this documentary by John Pilger… The War on Democracy I have only been watching it in small pieces, so many crimes against democracy and the Venezuelan people are documented.
Pilger may be the last real journalist left in the world…
We could do with a few more like Pilger. Hitchens became the darling of the lifestyle left because he was a militant atheist, not because he stood against abuses of power. If I had my time over again, I’d like to be a journalist like Pilger. Being a theoretical physicist doesn’t bring the opportunity to change much that matters.
I found it in my local VideoEzy a few months back, which is amazing! I look for documentaries, but it’s one of the very few they have.
It’s so awesome, that I actually cried!
I heard one referred to, bizarrely, on the BBC news today as ‘an unmanned plane’. I suppose that’s a new eupehmism… it made me feel sick!
I see where the uniforms for the NZ Olympic team have been designed and manufactured overseas. The contract was awarded to the NZ arm of Rodd and Gunn and conditions of awarding this contract should have been that it must be designed and manufactured in this country. Instead it was designed in Australia, and manufactured in China, Turkey and Italy. We have plenty of creative talented people in this country and it is outrageous that these people were overlooked. No doubt it was all about price, but what price do you place on national pride and sovereignty.
Under the free-market gods? None.
Rodd and Gunn sell overpriced crap that falls to bits anyway. As far as I can see, that’s entirely appropriate for overhyped corporate sport. The uniforms are stylistically bad from what I can see as well, although it’s not easy to judge from how they look on anorexic models how they’ll look on athletes.
This reminds me of the Red Sock campaign when the Americas Cup was on. A south island manufacturer offered these socks and sponsorship.
The next America’s Cup campaign they decided to run the same Red Sock promotion, but this time had them made in CHINA. No consideration for the guy who came up with the original idea, or for the company in NZ which could have manufactured them. Bloody disgusting and I hope the outlet running this promotion ended up lots of unsold stock.
Gordon Campbell has a good article up about efficiency and how it’s being used to undermine our society.
Angela Merkel is Playing You For Fools
Really do wish these indebted nations would just default and get it over with but it seems that the banksters are in control and are taking as much wealth as they can before reality comes calling.
Not so easy in this globalised financial network TPTB have locked us all into. But yeah, its all going to fall over sooner or later, and the more we do the routine ‘pretend and extend’ the harder the fall will be in the end.
It won’t be long and the stoic Germans will march on parliament. There are many who are fed up of being ask to carry all of Europe. It all seem to have the same predicament as the situation after the signing of the Versailles contract. If Germany looses its economic footing, things will get very bad.
RWNJ commentators let their feelings show.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/06/28/CBC-Walks-Out-On-The-Vote
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2900923/posts
http://libertysflame.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=30947
http://libertysflame.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=30827
Crosby Textor have given The NZ Women’s Weekly exclusive access to John Key’s person photo album. Seems to solve his issue of the 1981 tour
They look a bit hinky to me
Link 1
Plus other things he was up to…..
Link 2
Link 3
Sure thats not Kris Fa’foi? I thought he had some past memory lapses?
A man for all people!
Ever wonder why Assange doesn’t trust the Swedish authorities not to ship him straight to the USA (or worse)?
http://www.hrw.org/news/2006/11/09/sweden-violated-torture-ban-cia-rendition
Look on the bright side, even before The Olympics have started an ‘African runner’ has claimed asylum, the rest of the World is already here so I’m sure there will be a house and numerous hand outs waiting for this freeloader, isn’t it great to live in a country with no borders and that puts everyone before it’s own people? I was seriously thinking of getting away from it all but it wouldn’t surprise me if I got home and found my house had been turned into a mosque or an Eastern European family had moved in, such is life.
I was thinking of moving to England to start an Eastern European mosque for gay africans. Just post your address and I’ll make sure I do it at your place. I promise to even fold your BNP flags nicely for you.
Sure it’s:
My house.
Nice area with no ‘Polski skleps’, Mosques or asylum ‘overspill’ (as in most parts of the country are full but they still let the freeloaders in). YET.
I see the torch is in Westminster now, that bunch of traitors deserve the Guy Fawkes treatment.
Stalin.
Ahem mods, are the openly racist droolings of this fool acceptable now?
Strange to put such ramblings in a 3 week old post. For my part, I’m inclined to keep an eye on him(?) rather than just ban, insofar as such comments serve to highlight the banal stupidity of racism and so serve a perverse purpose. Of course, another moderator may disagree 😉 [B]
Ah, gotcha, you believe in freedom of speech but only if you agree with what is being said.
Freedom of speech =/= freedom to bizarrely troll other people’s blogs with no moderation.
You have a problem with what I said there, DS? Am I not allowed to voice my opinion on your horrible bigotry?
O NOEZ MY FREEDOMZ IZ BEING OPPRESSED ON!!!
So not supporting uncontrolled immigration, believing the EU is rotten to the core, expecting migrants to respect their host nation and suggesting asylum seekers/refugees go to the first safe country rather than travelling half way across the world to an already overcrowded country constitue bigotry? Common sense, more like.
Tell you what NZ is roughly the same size as UK but with a fraction of our population, let’s dump 4 Million low wage or benefit dependent migrants who take a lot more than they contribute on you, throw in countless asylum seekers who of course need taxpayer funded hand outs not to mention state housing, bow down to muzzie terrorists (taxpayer funded of course) who you can’t deport, yuman rites and all that, hand out Millions to countries that openly despise you, outsource millions of jobs, decimate heavy industry, attack workers rights and promote alien cultures at the expense of your own.
All of this while having no control of your borders.
You might want ot give a cite for those astonishing numbers there.
A full half of the UKs population is low wage or benefit dependent migrants?
Reckon you should look more at your bankers and pollies of the source of your problems, that at the people those tossers to tell you to look at. Ya big mugg.
He’s probably just trying to introduce himself nicely because Key has headhunted him as our next Human Rights Commissioner.
“So not supporting uncontrolled immigration, believing the EU is rotten to the core, expecting migrants to respect their host nation and suggesting asylum seekers/refugees go to the first safe country rather than travelling half way across the world to an already overcrowded country constitue bigotry?”
Not necessarily, but the heat it seems to generate in you is a bit of a pointer.
I was more referring to the bigoted shit you wrote before about how a nice area is one with no mosques or polacks though.
(I’d have thought that was obvious from the order of the comments)