I note the media focus last night on Prime and in the headlines on stuff and herald, regarding Greece, is the impact it is having on our and world sharemarkets and currencies. Quite a simple way to show people what the MSM sees as our priorities,
I hope the Greeks reject paying back the loan sharks. Germany can suck it up their economy is robust enough to handle it. Sharemarket panic attacks Is typical of the greedy investors. It is good news for China to counter the effects of the looming TPPA agreement which has seen their sharemarket drop 20% in the last 6 months.
Although some farmers were severely affected by ill stock last spring, the total number represented a small proportion of farmers that sowed HT swedes and other swede varieties in the south, he said. (General Manager of PGG Wrightson Seeds).
“It was a very, very difficult scenario last spring … we were aware people had used the [HT swedes] the previous three years and had no issues whatsoever.” http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/67524880/toxins-killed-southland-cows-ministry-says.html
It would be wise if farmers used the other swede varieties, if they are the good ‘husbands’ of the land they are always citing.
June 9 2015 – http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/69224494/dairynz-use-caution-with-ht-swedes-and-fodder-beet
Southland farmers are being urged to be cautious transitioning dairy cows onto crops after reports of cows again becoming ill and dying after eating HT swedes.
This follows the deaths of about 300 ewes and at least 200 Southland dairy cows last year after feeding on crops including HT [herbicide tolerant] swedes, with hundreds more becoming ill.
(What about us? When we eat swedes or drink milk in the belief that it is healthy and good for us, there must be something that is left that goes through our bodies. And it is unnecessary to use HT except that it can offer bigger crops. But it distorts the natural features of the vegetables and the soil they are in. Would bees visit the flowers, they should be able to utilise healthy crops for their needs?
“It was a very, very difficult scenario last spring … we were aware people had used the [HT swedes] the previous three years and had no issues whatsoever.”
This is a silly comment. Obviously something had changed. But they are talking like nothing had changed. And of course, they don’t know that but also seem singularly disinterested.
@Tracey
I keep seeing PGG Wrightson come up in the news as suppliers. I did some looking up when I wrote earlier about what has been done in research. Havn’t time to search now. I think one of the links I put says they are still looking into it. But I would expect that it might be hard to get accuracy about how much herbicide has been put on, as it would be in the interests of the farmer to fudge, and give a lower than the actual level. And it also depends on whether conditions as to how much of whatever stays in the leafy tops. All quite unsatisfactory really. To say the least.
And I think that a well-known seed company also sold the seed that was contaminated with some nasty unwanted grass weed, which spilled out here and there along the road as it was being transported back to the company after the contamination was found. Such companies probably have on their logo that they have been serving the nation since the year dot. Who knows how many of our pests and problems they have wittingly introduced.
Thanks Chooky. That piece about the Chinese is very interesting and raises many questions.
This is a basic. Agria [Seeds] holds 51 per cent of the iconic New Zealand rural services firm.
It initially bought into PGG Wrightson when the debt-ridden company was caught short after the global financial crisis.
1 If companies buy up or into other companies on a leveraged basis and there is a downturn in the market, then their ability to pay for their new investment out of revenue. drops like a stone and leaves them vulnerable needing input. I wonder if that is why PGG-W was debt-ridden. This area of business has always been fairly solid, dependable and profitable surely.
2 The proposed new giant company wants to compete with Monsanto and others. Giant companies fighting each other to have the newest most productive vital crop seed, that can gain dominance so that it lays its own GE profile on all other pollen? And probably using Monsanto measures of suing for wrongful use of intellectual property used against any farmers whose produce shows patented gene evidence, whether inadvertent or not.
Will it mean we will have this GE regime forced on us inevitably, with pollen blown by wind. Will we lose any chance of holding onto healthy, sustainable, earth-nurturing measures.?
The Chinese have big plans. Lai shared his vision for the seeds business at an interview in Auckland. “In three years we could be in the top 10 seeds companies in the world . That is our vision. In 10 years we want to be US$10 billion turnover.”
3 What effect will this have. But it’s not just all about selling grass (pasture) seeds. PGG Wrightson Seeds is strong in forage.
And with China rapidly building huge mega-dairy farms (Lai knows of at least 40 with more than 10,000 cows on each farm), he believes there is a big opportunity to grow forage in China to cut-and-carry to the animals….
Now 95 per cent of the modern dairy farms in China are buying forage from overseas….
PGG Wrightson Seeds is spearheading a Primary Growth Partnership programme with Grasslanz Technology Limited to deliver innovative forages for New Zealand farms.
The full programme is valued at $14.6 million, with PGP funding contributing $7.15 million over six years.
The company says the Seed and Nutritional Technology Development programme aims to develop new technologies that improve animal productivity and animal health, while overcoming adverse environmental impacts….
Lai said Agria was prepared to adjust the 51 per cent (in the PGG Wrightson Seeds business) to bring more benefit back to the New Zealand firm. He notes the New Zealand side is relatively quite large (it has operations in New Zealand, Australia and Latin America). China Seeds is smaller but has sported 50-60 per cent annual growth in the later three years with profit growing at 30 per cent – a “few million US dollars’ profit”.
That’s giant growth for China Seeds, they must dominate our NZ company whether they adjust the shareholding. And our milk production industry swamped by Chinese production. What will we grow, GE seeds for the world? China will be able to grow their own forage. Once the science and method is established there won’t be much else to do.
At present the government is cutting down on pure science, and I have heard it is directing investments to areas such as agriculture. Yet that would limit our growth as a supposedly developed nation with diverse exports. As for national production of our non-agricultural goods and the jobs we hope for and a living wage and life at middle class level? Who knows, but we haven’t done well so far.
I’ve been thinking recently about the implications of GE stuff under the TPP when this government forces it on us. Surely Monsanto and others can sue us for not allowing their seeds etc into our market?
@Tracey
I reckon. Corporates don’t like it if people start asserting themselves and ask annoying questions about product.
And it has been pointed out that they are faceless entities. They are great armies of mercenaries pillaging the countries they reside in or pass through. There is no one person or family at the top, no human running the show with his or her own vision, they are a man-made machine, an entity that has been produced from within our culture and morphed over and over run on a mathematical paradigm of profit and numeral manipulation.
Jeez must stop letting thoughts get into my head. Thinking drives you mad I have heard.
This Qatar? business is an early example of how we can be jerked into line and elbowed into action for doing what we think is the correct and moral thing.
Where is the media on this, NOT something Granny herald wants to report, only the $1200 ‘party’ from councillors. The blogs need to call this constant mis reporting out!
Sweating the small stuff from elected councillors and letting the private companies like law firms and off shore transport companies get away with taking millions from ratepayers.
So guess what, Wgton Regional Council is currently assessing tenders from three preferred private companies, one of which will take over the running of Wgton’s train services next year.
(the last paragraph in the Herald story is nonsense, Wgton’s commuter trains have been electric since forever, they’re just replacing all the trains with new ones and upgrading the infrastructure).
Reposting this topic, plus further summary aspects, originally posted by Tautoko Mangō Mata last night in Daily review. It’s important people know.
Some interesting excerpts from the recommendation to allow Police to charge people for their services. Some are awfully suggestive. From the recommended new bill:
“The Law and Order Committee has examined the Policing (Cost Recovery) Amendment Bill and recommends, by majority, that it be passed with the amendments shown…”
They say it was a majority, but it was never not going to be one. A majority of one.
“79B Policing services that may be subject to cost recovery
(1)The Minister may recommend a regulation under section 102A only if the Minister is satisfied that the policing service in question is a demand service.
(2)For the purposes of this section, demand servicemeans a service that
—
(a) constitutes policing; and
(b) is provided only on the request of an individual or organisation; and
(c) is provided to the individual or organisation requesting it for the direct
benefit of a particular person or organisation (even though there may be
indirect benefit to the public as a whole).
(2) For the purposes of this section, demand service —
(a) means a service that—
(i) constitutes policing; and
(ii) is provided only on the request of an individual or organisation;
And (iii) is provided to the individual or organisation requesting it and is of
direct benefit to that individual or organisation (even though provision of the service may also be of indirect benefit to the public
as a whole); but
(b) does not include—
(i) the response of the Police to calls for service relating to potential
offending:
(ii)the conduct of criminal investigations:
(iii)the prosecution of criminal offences.”
Under the section titled “Labour Party minority view”:
“…We also heard that the Police budget since 2010 has in real terms been cut by more than $90 million. Faced with having to do more with less, the Police have been told they can try to bridge the gap by charging for more of their services. The specific service which will be the first to be charged for is police vetting. Government justifies this on the grounds of the private benefit to service users…”
“…This legislation has not been well thought through, is unclear in its application, and unfair in its likely impact. It represents a dangerous new direction and ideology in Police charging for basic services. We [Labour Party] are strongly opposed to it.”
It was good of the Labour Party to remind people who already knew about the funding shortfall, otherwise they would’ve completely forgotten. Busy lives, anti-gay activities, $68.4million of property to look after, dinner parties, you know how it is, people forget stuff. As mentioned earlier by Tautoko Mangō Mata: So the incumbent government cuts police funding, then their core service supporters wail there is not enough funding, and the government agrees, and suggests they start charging charities and community groups, or almost anyone?
Under the section “Green Party minority view”:
“…We are told that the Police Commissioner will have the power to grant waivers or ex-emptions to fees, but nowhere are we told what the criteria or parameters for such consideration might be…”
“The bill specifies that “demand services” do not include the response of Police to calls for service relating to criminal offending; the conduct of criminal investigations; the prosecution of criminal offences. This leaves open to potential charging most other services provided by Police, including crime prevention activities (e.g. in commercial or residential areas, where a “private benefit” might accrue to householders or business owners); education or advisory services to private or public organisations; search and rescue activities; and much else. The Green Party opposes this bill, and recommends that it not proceed.”
So there is ambiguity over who is a private interest or not, although the paper suggests “people who help out in the community” aren’t targeted. However some community organisations who help out are targeted with police vetting fees, like Cancer Society, Salvation Army, Foundation for the Blind etc etc. Unions pickets might also be “private interests” too, but don’t worry, The Police Commissioner can waive fees.
Did I say Commissioner of Police? That’s how it is right now, but section 79D of the new bill has been changed to remove the “Police” from “Police Commissioner”, and will say that simply a “Commissioner” will be in charge of decisions to recover cost. Also, who the costs are recovered from is open to interpretation. If you are part of a group and are deemed to have benefitted as an individual, you incur costs, but also individuals in the group could also incur costs. It’s a nice way to make sure the Commissioner knows where you are, I guess.
Under the section “NZ First Party minority view”:
“Community groups, NGO’s and other community organisations who rely on volunteers and are not well resourced financially may well be prevented from going through the vetting process because of the costs imposed upon them. When that happens, children, women, the elderly and other vulnerable members of our society may well be put at risk due to caregivers and others working with these vulnerable citizens not being vetted…”
and
“…it is the state that requires that all paid and unpaid staff in schools undergo a police check. Paying for the service will increase compliance costs which will have a negative impact on the operational budgets of schools, particularly small schools. New Zealand First does not support this bill…”
So who was on the Committee?
“…Committee process
The Policing (Cost Recovery) Amendment Bill was referred to the Law and Order Committee on 4 November 2014. The closing date for submissions was 5 February 2015. We received and considered 132 submissions from interested groups and individuals. Of these, 25 submitters gave oral presentations to the committee. We received advice from the New Zealand Police. The Regulations Review Committee reported to the committee on the powers contained in clause 4.
Committee membership:
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi (Chairperson) [National Party MP]
Todd Barclay [National MP]
Mahesh Bindra [NZ First MP]
David Clendon [Green party MP]
Kelvin Davis [Labour MP]
Hon Phil Goff [Labour MP]
Ian McKelvie [National Party MP]
Lindsay Tisch [National Party member, assistant speaker of the house]
Jonathan Young [National MP]”
So, no way that was going to end by not being recommended. So who do we pay to tender for Police services? We pay a newly made bank account:
“Departmental bank account.
We recommend that new subsection 79F(2) be amended by deleting “a Crown Bank Account” and substituting “ a Departmental Bank Account”. The activities for which Police will be seeking to recover costs are all departmental, and the fees or charges
will need to be available to meet the costs of providing the services…”.
Readily available cash required, to fund the police doing something you want. Sounds familiar.
Thanks about this horrid policing law.
It is another example of National using its time in government to withdraw from their job of providing services, ensuring healthy business activity, advancing opportunities for increased wellbeing and stability in the country. What do they do – destroy the public systems of the country, destroy the diverse economy, and diminish the value of a universal government, and turn it into a grace and favour arrangement, like the owners of islands in Britain who probably establish rules for the people who are tenants to them.
We voted these so and sos in with the help of lacklustre Labour too concreted in their individualistic superiority to utilise sharp political ploys and maneouvring. We might have lost still but even if like some NZ sports teams, playing well but falling away at the end, we would have put up a decent showing with feelings of pride instead of this sadness and fear that Labour has lost its mojo irretrievably.
It is odd, isn’t it. I’m all for central government being as small as practical, and not poking their noses into people’s private lives, for example, except to assist wider freedoms/correct economic imbalances, but when our current crowd thinks of “small government” it means to take the same amount of funding from the public, but neglect their core duty, and remove themselves from assisting anything close to personal freedoms and instead abdicate power to control the population to private interests. Same funding, lower out-going costs. As you say: they’re just Corporate Robber Barons.
@Charles
We see the Beehive, we have elections. we get bullied to pay our taxes, we have information gathering, statistics supplying Treasury, advice from deep thinkers with deep pockets at the OECD, it’s all for a good purpose we have been told and believe but what do we get?
Bette Midler gives us the message – Is that all there is, then let’s keep dancing.
Put the usual youtube prefix.
com/watch?v=Fpn_xu81ySo
Mihingarangi Forbes’ last programme , Native Affairs, was on Maori TV last night.
Flavell, Turia, Peters and Mahuta were present.
In spite of being invited, no buggers from the disgraceful National, ACT or UF bothered to show their face or had the intellectual fortitude or guts to turn up to face some very important questions! Useless pricks that do not deserve to be in parliament as people’s representatives.
Who told D. Shearer to make the price comparison between milk and Coke? The former leader is ridiculing himself and Labour. He should keep his mouth shut, or is he playing dirty again?
[we’re used to a higher standard of trolling here, Cp. Lift your game or, even better, talk to the issues in the poverty post. TRP]
Yet more bad news for those gleefully anticipating the end of newspapers – The Herald’s taking its subbery back in-house.
At present it’s outsourced to an outfit called Pagemasters, and Gavin Ellis on Nine to Noon today admits he got it wrong earlier, by predicting the next step would be sending the subbing to Vietnam!
So this is significant given the expected trajectory was very different.
What a waste of time – so many lives disrupted by this nonsense. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201760464/media-commentator,-gavin-ellis
The NZ Transport Agency has announced details of a $4.2 billion, three-year programme to improve Auckland’s transport system.
Regional director Ernst Zöllner says investment for 2015-18 includes $1.175b for public transport, $960 million to maintain state highways, and $91m to improve cycling and walking.
– more to come
Given those figures I’m guessing that means about $2.2 billion dollars on more fucken roads which is going to increase congestion and thus make Aucklands’ transport problems even worse.
Decades of building more roads only to get more congestion and they haven’t learned a dammed thing.
Rumours abounding that Ron Mark is trying to roll Tracey Martin for NZ First’s deputy leader position. I’d say that would be a backward step for the prospects of a progressive coalition Government next election.
What the left really need to consider when it comes to Winston Peters is that he really, really, really likes the baubles of office so what can the Left offer Winston (who has also said his preference is to support the largest party) vs what the Right can offer
Ambassador maybe but really what Winston wants the most is (imho of course) a title, the Right can offer him the title of Sir Winston Peters
Can anyone here really say, hand on heart, that Winston doesn’t want a knighthood?
The stark difference between Labour and National is on display in the public arena in respect of Saturdays super rugby final.
Little says the government should put a halt to scalping (tickets now selling for $500) by utilising legislation already in place to declare the event one of national significance.
National are downplaying the event and refuse to utilise the legislation
Individual greed and profiteering at the expense of fairness and the collective good.
Otago University academics advocating a teen or pre-teen (age hasn’t been specified) long-acting contraception programme, on an opt-out basis.
A rather bizarre suggestion. For one thing, it would increase STI rates.
“For a programme to be effective you need to get as many people involved as possible and an opt-out programme seems to be more effective. You still get the right to say no and in terms of justice it treats everybody the same.”
Otago University academics advocating a teen or pre-teen (age hasn’t been specified) long-acting contraception programme, on an opt-out basis.
A rather bizarre suggestion. For one thing, it would increase STI rates.
Gosh, sounds like an argument by the Catholic Church.
My argument is based on health effects, unintended consequences, resource use, and academic myopia, none of which relate to the misogynist dogma of the Catholic Church.
Increased use of contraception by teenagers will increase STI rates.
The Catholic Church would likely approve of that statement IMO. They would probably also approve of your statement that the scientific evidence backs the position, too.
I just see many Catholics, struggling, stressed and having it as hard as everyone else. It’s just painful to read these comments – not offencive, just painful.
I just wish I could write up more things here on standard which I’m doing, but I have to keep confidentiality. And in many cases, people have just given up.
There is a reason I loath the Tory scum, and hate when people who oppose them get stuck into side track arguments.
It’s also why I give the labour party a hard time – I don’t dislike the activists. Thanks Lynn for bashing me on the head with that one, you were right. I just see a dysfunctional parliamentary wing, tethered to a structure which no matter what the activist do – enforces the labour party to stop being the ally to working people. Bureaucracy and Structures, are those villainous things, we would do well to destroy every now and then.
So again, back to painful I suppose, and being tired. Just one of those days – I get to see people get hammered, and then there is bugger all I can do. And in many cases faith is all people have left, and it gets them out of bed the next day. When they would otherwise give up.
I just see it as I another point the left fail at – respecting diversity. The nice words are there, but sometimes the other words slip in. I know you have copped some of that Colonial Rawshark, same as Stephanie Rodgers, and so have others.
What I don’t understand why people can’t see that their freedom relies on respecting other people’s freedom. That their liberty is the liberty they must offer everyone else, and that through togetherness – we do get a better society.
colonial viper is nuanced on religion. so he’s maybe some times bashing, other times supportive.
if i were you i’d try not to bother being negative about negativity. christians are better off doing the work of jesus than wasting their precious time worrying about what the liberals are waffling on about. and they’re so miseducated/callous they wouldn’t be able to take in what you were on about anyway.
on the other hand, christians are getting their arses kicked in an arm-long list of countries, and it’d be kind of lovely if “‘liberal’ ‘democracies'” were as jumpy about that stuff as they were about gay rights. maybe if christians HAD done a bunch of screaming and shouting over the past 30 years in these countries, then the christians in those countries would enjoy more attention from the governments of these countries.
it’s good you’re speaking up, in a way, cos it shows you care and you’re tired, like i am, of the unceasing, generations-long drone of put-downs. i’d say strategically, it’d be better to organically connect your christian work (orphanages/foodbanky stuff etc) with your vocal opposition to christian bashing. some liberals out there might have reasonably functioning consciences and might might have their horizons expanded by what you’re saying. i fear that simply speaking out on fora like this is insufficiently christoform.
Unusual that academics would take that line, because I am pretty sure that safe sex advocates in NZ do not endorse chemical contraception in isolation, for the very reason you say – possible increase in STI through youngins thinking that contraception keeps them safe from disease. Then I read the reasoning in the article. Turns out it’s a “Solo mums cost too much” kind of research thing. Oh Herald, when will you disappear behind a paywall?
Unusual that academics would take that line, because I am pretty sure that safe sex advocates in NZ do not endorse chemical contraception in isolation,
I didn’t see the academics taking that line either.
Turns out it’s a “Solo mums cost too much” kind of research thing.
Well, I suppose that the academics could be RWNJs but, then, they do have a point or two. Young solo mothers do cost and their offspring don’t do as well but I think that the solution to those is actually to have a better society rather than one that punishes people.
Other than that, I’m in favour of freely available contraceptives and better sex education.
What was the item on today’s news about the attempt to roll the Deputy Leader of NZ First Tracey Martin. It also seemed to suggest that the Ron Mark had something to do with it.
Any ides what is happening. I was under the impression that Martin was the only sensible person in the NZF and a possible contender to replace Winston. Maybe that is the problem
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As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
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The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
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http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11473094
Key has a let them eat cake moment
“but said if that argument was about price then water was free from the tap”
The less milk people drink, the better.
I note the media focus last night on Prime and in the headlines on stuff and herald, regarding Greece, is the impact it is having on our and world sharemarkets and currencies. Quite a simple way to show people what the MSM sees as our priorities,
I hope the Greeks reject paying back the loan sharks. Germany can suck it up their economy is robust enough to handle it. Sharemarket panic attacks Is typical of the greedy investors. It is good news for China to counter the effects of the looming TPPA agreement which has seen their sharemarket drop 20% in the last 6 months.
Yep. So do I. It’s necessary to try and bring the banksters to heel.
More on HT (herbicide tolerant) swedes following on from studies into the reason for cow deaths after feeding on them last winter.
30 June 2015 – http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/69788509/more-research-still-needed-for-ht-swederelated-deaths
Although some farmers were severely affected by ill stock last spring, the total number represented a small proportion of farmers that sowed HT swedes and other swede varieties in the south, he said. (General Manager of PGG Wrightson Seeds).
“It was a very, very difficult scenario last spring … we were aware people had used the [HT swedes] the previous three years and had no issues whatsoever.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/67524880/toxins-killed-southland-cows-ministry-says.html
It would be wise if farmers used the other swede varieties, if they are the good ‘husbands’ of the land they are always citing.
June 9 2015 – http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/69224494/dairynz-use-caution-with-ht-swedes-and-fodder-beet
Southland farmers are being urged to be cautious transitioning dairy cows onto crops after reports of cows again becoming ill and dying after eating HT swedes.
This follows the deaths of about 300 ewes and at least 200 Southland dairy cows last year after feeding on crops including HT [herbicide tolerant] swedes, with hundreds more becoming ill.
(What about us? When we eat swedes or drink milk in the belief that it is healthy and good for us, there must be something that is left that goes through our bodies. And it is unnecessary to use HT except that it can offer bigger crops. But it distorts the natural features of the vegetables and the soil they are in. Would bees visit the flowers, they should be able to utilise healthy crops for their needs?
grey, who supplied the swedes tot he farmers? Do you know if agrisearch has done a report/study?
This is a silly comment. Obviously something had changed. But they are talking like nothing had changed. And of course, they don’t know that but also seem singularly disinterested.
@Tracey
I keep seeing PGG Wrightson come up in the news as suppliers. I did some looking up when I wrote earlier about what has been done in research. Havn’t time to search now. I think one of the links I put says they are still looking into it. But I would expect that it might be hard to get accuracy about how much herbicide has been put on, as it would be in the interests of the farmer to fudge, and give a lower than the actual level. And it also depends on whether conditions as to how much of whatever stays in the leafy tops. All quite unsatisfactory really. To say the least.
And I think that a well-known seed company also sold the seed that was contaminated with some nasty unwanted grass weed, which spilled out here and there along the road as it was being transported back to the company after the contamination was found. Such companies probably have on their logo that they have been serving the nation since the year dot. Who knows how many of our pests and problems they have wittingly introduced.
PGG Wrightson is largely owned by the Chinese I think…51%
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10875679
Thanks Chooky. That piece about the Chinese is very interesting and raises many questions.
This is a basic.
Agria [Seeds] holds 51 per cent of the iconic New Zealand rural services firm.
It initially bought into PGG Wrightson when the debt-ridden company was caught short after the global financial crisis.
1 If companies buy up or into other companies on a leveraged basis and there is a downturn in the market, then their ability to pay for their new investment out of revenue. drops like a stone and leaves them vulnerable needing input. I wonder if that is why PGG-W was debt-ridden. This area of business has always been fairly solid, dependable and profitable surely.
2 The proposed new giant company wants to compete with Monsanto and others. Giant companies fighting each other to have the newest most productive vital crop seed, that can gain dominance so that it lays its own GE profile on all other pollen? And probably using Monsanto measures of suing for wrongful use of intellectual property used against any farmers whose produce shows patented gene evidence, whether inadvertent or not.
Will it mean we will have this GE regime forced on us inevitably, with pollen blown by wind. Will we lose any chance of holding onto healthy, sustainable, earth-nurturing measures.?
The Chinese have big plans.
Lai shared his vision for the seeds business at an interview in Auckland. “In three years we could be in the top 10 seeds companies in the world . That is our vision. In 10 years we want to be US$10 billion turnover.”
3 What effect will this have.
But it’s not just all about selling grass (pasture) seeds. PGG Wrightson Seeds is strong in forage.
And with China rapidly building huge mega-dairy farms (Lai knows of at least 40 with more than 10,000 cows on each farm), he believes there is a big opportunity to grow forage in China to cut-and-carry to the animals….
Now 95 per cent of the modern dairy farms in China are buying forage from overseas….
PGG Wrightson Seeds is spearheading a Primary Growth Partnership programme with Grasslanz Technology Limited to deliver innovative forages for New Zealand farms.
The full programme is valued at $14.6 million, with PGP funding contributing $7.15 million over six years.
The company says the Seed and Nutritional Technology Development programme aims to develop new technologies that improve animal productivity and animal health, while overcoming adverse environmental impacts….
Lai said Agria was prepared to adjust the 51 per cent (in the PGG Wrightson Seeds business) to bring more benefit back to the New Zealand firm. He notes the New Zealand side is relatively quite large (it has operations in New Zealand, Australia and Latin America). China Seeds is smaller but has sported 50-60 per cent annual growth in the later three years with profit growing at 30 per cent – a “few million US dollars’ profit”.
That’s giant growth for China Seeds, they must dominate our NZ company whether they adjust the shareholding. And our milk production industry swamped by Chinese production. What will we grow, GE seeds for the world? China will be able to grow their own forage. Once the science and method is established there won’t be much else to do.
At present the government is cutting down on pure science, and I have heard it is directing investments to areas such as agriculture. Yet that would limit our growth as a supposedly developed nation with diverse exports. As for national production of our non-agricultural goods and the jobs we hope for and a living wage and life at middle class level? Who knows, but we haven’t done well so far.
I’ve been thinking recently about the implications of GE stuff under the TPP when this government forces it on us. Surely Monsanto and others can sue us for not allowing their seeds etc into our market?
@Tracey
I reckon. Corporates don’t like it if people start asserting themselves and ask annoying questions about product.
And it has been pointed out that they are faceless entities. They are great armies of mercenaries pillaging the countries they reside in or pass through. There is no one person or family at the top, no human running the show with his or her own vision, they are a man-made machine, an entity that has been produced from within our culture and morphed over and over run on a mathematical paradigm of profit and numeral manipulation.
Jeez must stop letting thoughts get into my head. Thinking drives you mad I have heard.
This Qatar? business is an early example of how we can be jerked into line and elbowed into action for doing what we think is the correct and moral thing.
+100 greywarshark….seems like this needs a full post….maybe you or the Greens?
+100 greywarshark ….thanks for the investigative journalism and keeping us up to date on this mysterious case of the cow killing swedes
( personally i never buy swedes anymore, especially Southland swedes !)
Something we don’t hear from the ‘taxpayers union”
Auckland’s privatised rail operations costs $70m per year more than Wellington’s (for a similar numbers of passengers carried). In contrast to Auckland, where the train services are managed by the French company Transdev, Wellington’s operation is public sector. Run by state-owned KiwiRail. – See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/06/30/guest-blog-mike-lee-that-budget-and-why-i-voted-for-it/#comment-291410
Oh yes privatisation is so efficient, NOT.
Where is the media on this, NOT something Granny herald wants to report, only the $1200 ‘party’ from councillors. The blogs need to call this constant mis reporting out!
Sweating the small stuff from elected councillors and letting the private companies like law firms and off shore transport companies get away with taking millions from ratepayers.
So guess what, Wgton Regional Council is currently assessing tenders from three preferred private companies, one of which will take over the running of Wgton’s train services next year.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11380019
http://www.gw.govt.nz/short-list-finalised-for-rail-contract/
(the last paragraph in the Herald story is nonsense, Wgton’s commuter trains have been electric since forever, they’re just replacing all the trains with new ones and upgrading the infrastructure).
Thanks for this Save…
Dylann Roof’s massacre of black churchgoers in Charleston has reminded the world of the legacy of the Confederacy and slavery. But what about the slavery that flourished in the 19th century Pacific, thanks partly to the influence of displaced Confederates?
http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2015/06/savage-garbage-gatherers-new-zealand.html
Reposting this topic, plus further summary aspects, originally posted by Tautoko Mangō Mata last night in Daily review. It’s important people know.
Some interesting excerpts from the recommendation to allow Police to charge people for their services. Some are awfully suggestive. From the recommended new bill:
“The Law and Order Committee has examined the Policing (Cost Recovery) Amendment Bill and recommends, by majority, that it be passed with the amendments shown…”
They say it was a majority, but it was never not going to be one. A majority of one.
“79B Policing services that may be subject to cost recovery
(1)The Minister may recommend a regulation under section 102A only if the Minister is satisfied that the policing service in question is a demand service.
(2)For the purposes of this section, demand servicemeans a service that
—
(a) constitutes policing; and
(b) is provided only on the request of an individual or organisation; and
(c) is provided to the individual or organisation requesting it for the direct
benefit of a particular person or organisation (even though there may be
indirect benefit to the public as a whole).
(2) For the purposes of this section, demand service —
(a) means a service that—
(i) constitutes policing; and
(ii) is provided only on the request of an individual or organisation;
And (iii) is provided to the individual or organisation requesting it and is of
direct benefit to that individual or organisation (even though provision of the service may also be of indirect benefit to the public
as a whole); but
(b) does not include—
(i) the response of the Police to calls for service relating to potential
offending:
(ii)the conduct of criminal investigations:
(iii)the prosecution of criminal offences.”
Under the section titled “Labour Party minority view”:
“…We also heard that the Police budget since 2010 has in real terms been cut by more than $90 million. Faced with having to do more with less, the Police have been told they can try to bridge the gap by charging for more of their services. The specific service which will be the first to be charged for is police vetting. Government justifies this on the grounds of the private benefit to service users…”
“…This legislation has not been well thought through, is unclear in its application, and unfair in its likely impact. It represents a dangerous new direction and ideology in Police charging for basic services. We [Labour Party] are strongly opposed to it.”
It was good of the Labour Party to remind people who already knew about the funding shortfall, otherwise they would’ve completely forgotten. Busy lives, anti-gay activities, $68.4million of property to look after, dinner parties, you know how it is, people forget stuff. As mentioned earlier by Tautoko Mangō Mata: So the incumbent government cuts police funding, then their core service supporters wail there is not enough funding, and the government agrees, and suggests they start charging charities and community groups, or almost anyone?
Under the section “Green Party minority view”:
“…We are told that the Police Commissioner will have the power to grant waivers or ex-emptions to fees, but nowhere are we told what the criteria or parameters for such consideration might be…”
“The bill specifies that “demand services” do not include the response of Police to calls for service relating to criminal offending; the conduct of criminal investigations; the prosecution of criminal offences. This leaves open to potential charging most other services provided by Police, including crime prevention activities (e.g. in commercial or residential areas, where a “private benefit” might accrue to householders or business owners); education or advisory services to private or public organisations; search and rescue activities; and much else. The Green Party opposes this bill, and recommends that it not proceed.”
So there is ambiguity over who is a private interest or not, although the paper suggests “people who help out in the community” aren’t targeted. However some community organisations who help out are targeted with police vetting fees, like Cancer Society, Salvation Army, Foundation for the Blind etc etc. Unions pickets might also be “private interests” too, but don’t worry, The Police Commissioner can waive fees.
Did I say Commissioner of Police? That’s how it is right now, but section 79D of the new bill has been changed to remove the “Police” from “Police Commissioner”, and will say that simply a “Commissioner” will be in charge of decisions to recover cost. Also, who the costs are recovered from is open to interpretation. If you are part of a group and are deemed to have benefitted as an individual, you incur costs, but also individuals in the group could also incur costs. It’s a nice way to make sure the Commissioner knows where you are, I guess.
Under the section “NZ First Party minority view”:
“Community groups, NGO’s and other community organisations who rely on volunteers and are not well resourced financially may well be prevented from going through the vetting process because of the costs imposed upon them. When that happens, children, women, the elderly and other vulnerable members of our society may well be put at risk due to caregivers and others working with these vulnerable citizens not being vetted…”
and
“…it is the state that requires that all paid and unpaid staff in schools undergo a police check. Paying for the service will increase compliance costs which will have a negative impact on the operational budgets of schools, particularly small schools. New Zealand First does not support this bill…”
So who was on the Committee?
“…Committee process
The Policing (Cost Recovery) Amendment Bill was referred to the Law and Order Committee on 4 November 2014. The closing date for submissions was 5 February 2015. We received and considered 132 submissions from interested groups and individuals. Of these, 25 submitters gave oral presentations to the committee. We received advice from the New Zealand Police. The Regulations Review Committee reported to the committee on the powers contained in clause 4.
Committee membership:
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi (Chairperson) [National Party MP]
Todd Barclay [National MP]
Mahesh Bindra [NZ First MP]
David Clendon [Green party MP]
Kelvin Davis [Labour MP]
Hon Phil Goff [Labour MP]
Ian McKelvie [National Party MP]
Lindsay Tisch [National Party member, assistant speaker of the house]
Jonathan Young [National MP]”
So, no way that was going to end by not being recommended. So who do we pay to tender for Police services? We pay a newly made bank account:
“Departmental bank account.
We recommend that new subsection 79F(2) be amended by deleting “a Crown Bank Account” and substituting “ a Departmental Bank Account”. The activities for which Police will be seeking to recover costs are all departmental, and the fees or charges
will need to be available to meet the costs of providing the services…”.
Readily available cash required, to fund the police doing something you want. Sounds familiar.
Thanks about this horrid policing law.
It is another example of National using its time in government to withdraw from their job of providing services, ensuring healthy business activity, advancing opportunities for increased wellbeing and stability in the country. What do they do – destroy the public systems of the country, destroy the diverse economy, and diminish the value of a universal government, and turn it into a grace and favour arrangement, like the owners of islands in Britain who probably establish rules for the people who are tenants to them.
We voted these so and sos in with the help of lacklustre Labour too concreted in their individualistic superiority to utilise sharp political ploys and maneouvring. We might have lost still but even if like some NZ sports teams, playing well but falling away at the end, we would have put up a decent showing with feelings of pride instead of this sadness and fear that Labour has lost its mojo irretrievably.
It is odd, isn’t it. I’m all for central government being as small as practical, and not poking their noses into people’s private lives, for example, except to assist wider freedoms/correct economic imbalances, but when our current crowd thinks of “small government” it means to take the same amount of funding from the public, but neglect their core duty, and remove themselves from assisting anything close to personal freedoms and instead abdicate power to control the population to private interests. Same funding, lower out-going costs. As you say: they’re just Corporate Robber Barons.
@Charles
We see the Beehive, we have elections. we get bullied to pay our taxes, we have information gathering, statistics supplying Treasury, advice from deep thinkers with deep pockets at the OECD, it’s all for a good purpose we have been told and believe but what do we get?
Bette Midler gives us the message – Is that all there is, then let’s keep dancing.
Put the usual youtube prefix.
com/watch?v=Fpn_xu81ySo
That would open up the space for private police forces. How much longer will it be before corporations have standing armies?
Mihingarangi Forbes’ last programme , Native Affairs, was on Maori TV last night.
Flavell, Turia, Peters and Mahuta were present.
In spite of being invited, no buggers from the disgraceful National, ACT or UF bothered to show their face or had the intellectual fortitude or guts to turn up to face some very important questions! Useless pricks that do not deserve to be in parliament as people’s representatives.
The video clips are here if you are interested:
http://thestandard.org.nz/watch-native-affairs-tonight/#comment-1036572
Winter’s nice…
~ 2500 people dead in India’s recent heatwave.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Indian_heat_wave#Affected_areas
~ 1300 dead so far in Pakistan’s current heatwave.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-heatwave-claims-26-more-toll-nears-1300/articleshow/47853754.cms
Spain and Portugal issuing health alerts as temperatures exceed 40 degrees C.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33316985
Then there’s Canada and the US…
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/records-broken-heatwave-hits-northwest-150629104554904.html
Is Milk Bad for You? Diabetes and Milk.
I don’t know. Don’t know what to believe either!
http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/is-milk-bad-for-you-diabetes-and-milk/
Who told D. Shearer to make the price comparison between milk and Coke? The former leader is ridiculing himself and Labour. He should keep his mouth shut, or is he playing dirty again?
[we’re used to a higher standard of trolling here, Cp. Lift your game or, even better, talk to the issues in the poverty post. TRP]
I know it’s a link to advertising/marketing – but it’s a good link well worth looking at.
Plus I think Mr Sanders has made a very clever use of colour.
https://store.berniesanders.com/collections/all?sort_by=best-selling&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Bernie2016&utm_campaign=store_150629_3&utm_content=Bernie_shirt
Yet more bad news for those gleefully anticipating the end of newspapers – The Herald’s taking its subbery back in-house.
At present it’s outsourced to an outfit called Pagemasters, and Gavin Ellis on Nine to Noon today admits he got it wrong earlier, by predicting the next step would be sending the subbing to Vietnam!
So this is significant given the expected trajectory was very different.
What a waste of time – so many lives disrupted by this nonsense.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201760464/media-commentator,-gavin-ellis
$4.2b plan to improve Auckland transport
Given those figures I’m guessing that means about $2.2 billion dollars on more fucken roads which is going to increase congestion and thus make Aucklands’ transport problems even worse.
Decades of building more roads only to get more congestion and they haven’t learned a dammed thing.
Rumours abounding that Ron Mark is trying to roll Tracey Martin for NZ First’s deputy leader position. I’d say that would be a backward step for the prospects of a progressive coalition Government next election.
What the left really need to consider when it comes to Winston Peters is that he really, really, really likes the baubles of office so what can the Left offer Winston (who has also said his preference is to support the largest party) vs what the Right can offer
Ambassador maybe but really what Winston wants the most is (imho of course) a title, the Right can offer him the title of Sir Winston Peters
Can anyone here really say, hand on heart, that Winston doesn’t want a knighthood?
I thought it odd that Ron Mark would roll Tracey Martin. I thought Tracey was doing a great job connecting to people. Were as Ron, not so much.
Interesting to see if NZ could survive post Winston.
The stark difference between Labour and National is on display in the public arena in respect of Saturdays super rugby final.
Little says the government should put a halt to scalping (tickets now selling for $500) by utilising legislation already in place to declare the event one of national significance.
National are downplaying the event and refuse to utilise the legislation
Individual greed and profiteering at the expense of fairness and the collective good.
Its not of national significance (but go Highlanders anyway)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11473471
Otago University academics advocating a teen or pre-teen (age hasn’t been specified) long-acting contraception programme, on an opt-out basis.
A rather bizarre suggestion. For one thing, it would increase STI rates.
“For a programme to be effective you need to get as many people involved as possible and an opt-out programme seems to be more effective. You still get the right to say no and in terms of justice it treats everybody the same.”
Gosh, sounds like an argument by the Catholic Church.
My argument is based on health effects, unintended consequences, resource use, and academic myopia, none of which relate to the misogynist dogma of the Catholic Church.
Increased use of contraception by teenagers will increase STI rates.
The Catholic Church would likely approve of that statement IMO. They would probably also approve of your statement that the scientific evidence backs the position, too.
Joy, more Catholic bashing.
Anymore prejudices you’d like to get out in the open?
Feel free, because you know I really enjoying reading twatish posts, here on the standard.
I’m not Catholic bashing, mate, and I apologise if I have offended you Adam.
I’m not offended Colonial Rawshark, just tired.
I just see many Catholics, struggling, stressed and having it as hard as everyone else. It’s just painful to read these comments – not offencive, just painful.
I just wish I could write up more things here on standard which I’m doing, but I have to keep confidentiality. And in many cases, people have just given up.
There is a reason I loath the Tory scum, and hate when people who oppose them get stuck into side track arguments.
It’s also why I give the labour party a hard time – I don’t dislike the activists. Thanks Lynn for bashing me on the head with that one, you were right. I just see a dysfunctional parliamentary wing, tethered to a structure which no matter what the activist do – enforces the labour party to stop being the ally to working people. Bureaucracy and Structures, are those villainous things, we would do well to destroy every now and then.
So again, back to painful I suppose, and being tired. Just one of those days – I get to see people get hammered, and then there is bugger all I can do. And in many cases faith is all people have left, and it gets them out of bed the next day. When they would otherwise give up.
I just see it as I another point the left fail at – respecting diversity. The nice words are there, but sometimes the other words slip in. I know you have copped some of that Colonial Rawshark, same as Stephanie Rodgers, and so have others.
What I don’t understand why people can’t see that their freedom relies on respecting other people’s freedom. That their liberty is the liberty they must offer everyone else, and that through togetherness – we do get a better society.
colonial viper is nuanced on religion. so he’s maybe some times bashing, other times supportive.
if i were you i’d try not to bother being negative about negativity. christians are better off doing the work of jesus than wasting their precious time worrying about what the liberals are waffling on about. and they’re so miseducated/callous they wouldn’t be able to take in what you were on about anyway.
on the other hand, christians are getting their arses kicked in an arm-long list of countries, and it’d be kind of lovely if “‘liberal’ ‘democracies'” were as jumpy about that stuff as they were about gay rights. maybe if christians HAD done a bunch of screaming and shouting over the past 30 years in these countries, then the christians in those countries would enjoy more attention from the governments of these countries.
it’s good you’re speaking up, in a way, cos it shows you care and you’re tired, like i am, of the unceasing, generations-long drone of put-downs. i’d say strategically, it’d be better to organically connect your christian work (orphanages/foodbanky stuff etc) with your vocal opposition to christian bashing. some liberals out there might have reasonably functioning consciences and might might have their horizons expanded by what you’re saying. i fear that simply speaking out on fora like this is insufficiently christoform.
Unusual that academics would take that line, because I am pretty sure that safe sex advocates in NZ do not endorse chemical contraception in isolation, for the very reason you say – possible increase in STI through youngins thinking that contraception keeps them safe from disease. Then I read the reasoning in the article. Turns out it’s a “Solo mums cost too much” kind of research thing. Oh Herald, when will you disappear behind a paywall?
What? Isn’t the story just quoting the academics?
Here’s the press release: http://www.otago.ac.nz/news/news/otago113426.html
I didn’t see the academics taking that line either.
Well, I suppose that the academics could be RWNJs but, then, they do have a point or two. Young solo mothers do cost and their offspring don’t do as well but I think that the solution to those is actually to have a better society rather than one that punishes people.
Other than that, I’m in favour of freely available contraceptives and better sex education.
What was the item on today’s news about the attempt to roll the Deputy Leader of NZ First Tracey Martin. It also seemed to suggest that the Ron Mark had something to do with it.
Any ides what is happening. I was under the impression that Martin was the only sensible person in the NZF and a possible contender to replace Winston. Maybe that is the problem
Whoops just noticed that TPR has already asked the question a bit further up