Labour & Greens have fielded very strong candidates who appeal to many, more so than the weak candidates they stood in 2014. While Savage is pragmatic about Jones standing, I think Ash won’t cut any deal and given the Greens co leader has come out staunchly opposed to Jones. There will be no change in Whangarei Reti is it.
Don’t forget that Whangarei is completely encircled by Winston’s electorate and we’ve still got an awful lot of one-way bridges up here – the trains still aren’t running and the trucks on the roads are getting worse
Pete George,
All of the candidates that you have listed have been through a process of selection within their parties, particularly National and Labour who normally have vigorous process.
Shane Jones did not go through any process.
NZ First is a sham political party.
Contemporary voting is based more on personalities than parties. Jones might significantly increase NZF party votes. That’s a major reason for him to run.
MSM are fawning all over Jones even had a couple asking if I will be there. Yeah I will get along box off a deal or 2 given they both know I hold the key for any upset victory up here.
Interesting one of the MSM shills outed this;
“One of National’s most senior MPs has even told me he thought Jones would win and Reti would lose.”
Apparently it was Gerry Brownlee who said this. Not good a inner circle Minister thinks this of the ‘strong local voice’. Though Jabba was bitter his mini me Jones never beat Reti for the candidacy.
On that very score (James @ 1 above) I’m rethinking my intended repeat vote for Winston Peters in Northland electorate. Additionally, the great ‘me me me’ void which is Jones quite repels this voter. It’s a question of character.
In the Northland by-election it actually made a difference whether you voted for Peters, the Nat wotzit, or any of the others. Because before the by-election the Nats only needed one of Rimmer or the hairdo or the Maori Party for a majority. After Peters won, the Nats needed the Maori Party or both Rimmer and the hairdo. That’s a major shift in the balance of power.
In the coming election, it’s back to just the party vote that matters, unless you’re in Epsom, Ohariu, or the Maori electorates. For the other electorates, at most the electorate result just shuffles who’s in or out in the lower part of the list.
Still awaiting your opinion on the real issues that affect many people in this country.
How does New Zealand tackle the extreme levels of inequality
How does New Zealand tackle child poverty
How does New Zealand tackle extreme levels of suicide
How does New Zealand tackle The housing crisis
How does New Zealand tackle its alcohol problem
How does New Zealand tackle the P epidemic
How does New Zealand tackle Obesity
As to suicde/mental health/drugs, a Scandinavian country took a different approach. (I heard this on rnz about a month ago)
They invested heavily in activities youth enjoy: sport music,cultural activities. The thinking was that the happy chemicals serotonin and dopamine are released in a sustainable way.
Some of the effects were far less time on their devices, increased time with parents and a drop in the statistics that we kiwi are excelling in.
This all takes time, which ironically, is a key by product of a UBI!
“Show me the money”, I hear the Tories whine, a FTT, home tax, tobin tax.
All doable we merely lack the will.
And in Iceland they developed a huge amount time/money in activity for young people. Alcohol use in teens dropped from 40% to 5%. The streets of Rechaivik (sp?) are now empty of loitering kids as they are too busy being active.
the tax on equity securities nuked most domestic bond speculation – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The ones in Switzerland and Taiwan rake in billions a year, so really it’s in how you implement it. How’s the one in Colombia doing? France? Italy? Peru? Belgium? the USA? In the 30-odd other countries that have some form of FTT?
If we are to believe Chang Ha-Joon, Switzerland’s relative prosperity relates to their having the highest consumption of locally manufactured goods – the financial sector contributes remarkably little to the great majority of the populace.
Hi gosman,
I am not familiar with the Swede example,
If you benefit from the tax spend you would think it was good.
If your previously untaxed habits become liable for a .01% tax, you may have a differing opinion.
From what I have read it is one of the initiatives that appeals across the political spectrum.
From the left it lessens inequality, from the right it allows more participants in the ‘market’.
Read Labour’s announced policies, Ed. Easy to find on their website. That will answer some of your queries – oh, and also read Andrew Little’s speeches – those should answer the rest of your queries.
being a masseuse didn’t end happily for me, I took the Reiki just an inch too far and it got weird, and I got fired from the braille job after an incident with a sesame seed bun.
I’d keep getting kicked out of the House for telling tories to suck my balls. I really did work venue security for years, and the patois of the street is difficult to shake. And there’s something about smiling tories that makes my fists itch.
But there are plenty of opportunities to slog away for the good fight while being restrained from general public contact. And the last six months or so I’ve been working with a local community culture&heritage group – you’d be amazed at how many people need a halfway decent bureaucrat. When their place is up and running I’ll be slamming together just a basic excel worksheet for people and skillsets that will flag when safety and competency certifications (first aid/fire/etc) are due to expire – you know, the sort of things that slip off the radar and then cause havoc five years later when auditors discover they’re noncompliant.
Scoop is holding a consultation on housing using the HiveMind platform – a modern civics application that supports text analysis of different viewpoints.
There is plenty of information on the page but essentially we have sourced ideas from across the political spectrum from – NZ initiative, Renters United, Community Housing Aotearoa, government policy, party manifestos, research articles and so on.
If you are able I’d be delighted if you can take part. The output will be a report on the diversity of views proposed and analysis of approaches that seem to have wide endorsement. We have contacted hundreds of people interested in the area – people involved in public housing, rental campaigns, property companies, estate agents, builders and developers as well as our readership.
i had a look at the last election results , unfortunately the chances of jones and reti splitting the vote far enough for labour to get in is unlikely, unless the greens pull their person
But ask yourself this? How appropriate will Shane Jones be as a New Zealand First candidate given his past history? He was after all the minister that controversially approved citizenship for businessman Bill Liu, a man convicted in May of money laundering. How does that fit with New Zealand First’s immigration and law and order stances?
Shane Jones is a near-perfect candidate for New Zealand First.
While he won’t win in Whangarei, he will get a good list placing and will strengthen the NZF firepower in parliament whether they are a part of the government or not. If they do get in to government, he is already an experienced Minister.
He is an excellent campaigner, always funny at the podium, self-funding, well versed, charming (if that kind of thing appeals), takes no prisoners, qualified Masters in Public Administration with further study at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Management, and now on top of that plenty of diplomatic and commercial experience across the Pacific.
If a Labour and Greens binary grouping cannot work with Shane Jones, they have absolutely no chance of being in power until 2020, and it will be their fault not his.
I reckon Jones is bought and paid for by National and will serve only them no matter what position he holds. Labour and The Greens can do nothing about that.
Given Jones’ antipathy towards the Greens and the Greens willingness and ability to work with anyone in shared policy, I think your analysis is flawed. But another good reason for lefties to not vote NZF, jones would be just as happy with national.
The Greens don’t need NZF. If you want change but not power for its own sake then you don’t have to play those games in that way.
I would say the ball is in Labour’s court on this. I’ve seen the argument that Labour should just come out and say it won’t work with NZF and then centrist/swing voters can choose if they want to change the govt or not. Of course Labour aren’t going to do that but it does sharpen the mind.
Plus it’s up to swing, centrist and left wing voters generally. I don’t have a problem with NZF being in a coalition with Labour and the Greens, and I can certainly see why NZF appeals to many people needing a better government than we’ve had. But I do have a problem with Peters in that because despite the useful things he’s done, he has also routinely used MMP to lessen representation and consolidate power to the middle and the right. I full expect him to continue to do that including in post-election negotiations.
There should be a line beyond which the powermongering has to be resisted for its own sake and I’d prefer the Greens to stay out of government rather than be so compromised as to see themselves as having to bow down to the anti-democratic positions of Peters and Jones if that’s what Peters insists upon. I would trust the Greens to know where that line is, but it would also be very hard given how hard they’ve worked to get into govt. Not sure what the membership would do, and a lot will depend on them.
I don’t mind the Greens becoming more mainstream, while it lessens their progressiveness somewhat it moves NZ in a better direction. But if NZ chooses a centrist, right of Labour govt via NZF, then we need the Greens to hold the left position because there is literally no-one else to do it. They can’t do that if the kaupapa is appeasing Shane Jones in order to gain power.
He has the kind of “charm” that does not appeal, in fact it makes me want to smack him in the face: smug, pompous false bonhomie, always with a strand of malicious bigotry underlying it.
He may have been to a fancy university and been a hit on the local cocktail circuit, but the only things he’s famous for are ones that prompt the suspicion that he’s corrupt. He’d fit right in to a National cabinet, but I guess he prefers to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond.
Certainly Labour and the Greens would be nuts to have anything to do with him.
2.55A Minister of the Crown, while holding a ministerial warrant, acts in a number of different capacities:
in a ministerial capacity, making decisions and determining and promoting policy within particular portfolios;
in a political capacity as a member of Parliament, representing a constituency or particular community of interest; and
in a personal capacity.
2.56In all these roles and at all times, Ministers are expected to act lawfully and to behave in a way that upholds, and is seen to uphold, the highest ethical standards.
This includes exercising a professional approach and good judgement in their interactions with the public and officials, and in all their communications, personal and professional.
Ultimately, Ministers are accountable to the Prime Minister for their behaviour.
2.57Holding ministerial office is regarded as a full-time occupation and is remunerated as such. Accordingly:
accepting additional payment for doing anything that could be regarded as a ministerial function is not permissible; and
accepting payment for any other activities requires the prior approval of the Prime Minister.
_____________________________
The problem?
“Ultimately, Ministers are accountable to the Prime Minister for their behaviour.”
What happens when the Prime Minister arguably does NOT act lawfully and behaves in a way that does NOT uphold and is seen to uphold, the highest ethical standards?
Is the Prime Minister going to sack himself?
Unlikely.
So – I guess that becomes the job of the voting public on 23 September 2017?
Penny is citing the Cabinet manual, proposing that it has no real effect, then saying the election is the real law. On both counts she is wrong, and dumb. Bill English will be re-elected by a country mile but that does not make what he did right. Nor does it make the Cabinet manual ineffective. Penny should hold her breath until the Police have completed the further examination and make a determination.
No a few Hail Mary’s for penance and all his sins are forgiven, a good Catholic will already have confessed.’Bless me father for I have sinned etc’.See no quilt.
The RNZ “In The House” This link is the privatisation of government services, including Universities. Also the dire state of RNZ being defended by Richard Griffen. This has recieved minimum coverage in the MSM and was difficult to find on the RNZ website. Disgraceful.
Illustrates what the staff there are dealing with. Long list of issues presented:
“There’s a concern that RNZ hasn’t managed reasonably well on its reduced funding. There’s a downgrade in regional coverage, cuts in key programs, there’s no buffer in the staffing – so they’re down to a skeleton staff on the weekends, there’s key staff resignations, a loss of experience, thin cover in the newsroom, the closure of regional offices including Tauranga and Queenstown – no journalists now between Hamilton and Napier,”
To which the board chair Richard Griffin apparently considers this a compelling rebuttal:
“Our audience is bigger both online and on-air than they’ve ever been.”
It’s an object lesson in why you shouldn’t appoint right-wingers to run public-sector organisations.
national treat every govt dept and SOE as a potential opportunity to further their interests, shore up positions and dish out sinecures.
RNZ/TVNZ are willing participants under griffin and house of travel kev after recycling rik laid the groundwork, blew sheds of cash on tivo and gave heartland away to sky.
Exactly. Commercial radio is so appallingly bad that people flee to National Radio, and a dumb-arse commercialist uses this as an excuse for deliberate underfunding of National Radio. (I refuse to agree to all the expensive name-changes that National Radio has undergone over recent years.)
National are in trouble on the Peter Thiel “12 days” scandal. It is something the public can easily understand, and smacks of privilege and favouritism to mates.
But it is worse than that. On RNZ Nine to Noon just now the comedians, Raybon Kan and Michelle O’Court couldn’t resist the issue and roasted it.
O’Court suggested that when the Americas Cup comes to Auckland this would mean a lot of rich white men would come too, so the government should open a Citizenship Kiosk, handing out passports to the rich white men as they would be here for longer than 12 days.
Raybon Kan, having listened to Nathan Guy’s reasons for granting citizenship, said that Guy was worshiping Thiel like he was Harry Styles, and that Guy must have a poster of Thiel up in his room.
When the comedians are finding such fertile ground for irony in a government decision, they are in trouble.
They’re right. Citizenship for sale is something that should make those who have given up their lives to move to NZ, gone through the process, and become a citizen through proper channels, very mad.
We still haven’t seen any compelling reasons as to why he was given citizenship. Apart from a vulture fund that benefited Thiel, and a few million pumped into Xero (and likely sold when it hit $50 a share)…
He was supposed to promote NZ on the world stage? A quick Google shows he has never mentioned NZ in his multiple speaking engagements over the last two years… And he deals a lot with the IT sector, which he was supposed to promote NZ to.
So, this is something that should be taken further. Judicial review a possibility?
A’Court-thanks. Not sure if judicial review would work as outside statutory period to lodge. But you have reminded me of something else Raybon Kan alluded to, which was: Who else has had the same treatment?
Maybe we need an OIA request asking for info on any other dubious citizenship approvals over the last few years.
Chimpanzees have their limitations too. Mothers may group together and raid another group and catch and eat their babies. Also when one chimpanzee became ill and its fur changed colour or something, he was rejected from his group who wouldn’t groom him. Jane had to help him as a fellow group member to gather the materials for his nest each night as no-one else would.
The old primitive things that come up in our minds need to be dealt to with our superior intellect, but usually aren’t and often we use that intellect to impose harm to a psychotic degree.
“Jane had to help him”
You mean that that miserable bugger Tarzan, the supposed “Tarzan of the apes” didn’t do it first?
Or do you have some other Jane in mind?
Alwyn
I just presumed that any informed person on TS would know about Jane Goodall and her groundbreaking research and study on chimpanzees.
A woman whose work is all good. Easy to remember her name.
The official title for her work is Primatologist also ethologist, anthropologist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Goodall
There you are. An information capsule – just slip it in the nearest gap in your head.
Sorry Alwyn you were making a funny which I consider good medicine but you just touched a nerve there. I tend to revere people like Jane Goodall who stick to their task of finding out things we need to know that make us better and more informed even though they get flak along the way.
Yes, it was only mean’t as a simple joke.
I should have realised who you were talking abot as you had given the full name a couple of comments earliar. I just didn’t connect the two.
Blame it on jet lag.
Carolyn-nth
Perhaps that’s Labour’s random act of beauty and kindness for the day encouraging people to do what they are praised for. That would be clever thinking.
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When National was in government and fucking over the poor for the benefit of the rich, foodbanks were a growth industry. And now Labour is in charge, nothing has changed: A huge demand for emergency food parcels means the Auckland City Mission is struggling to prepare for the impending arrival ...
Gayford, pictured here on The Project, before things got wildly out of control. A bold public relations move by the Government to encourage parents to vaccinate their children has gone horribly wrong. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appeared on tonight’s episode of Three’s The Project, where the plan was for her ...
Mr. Whippy’s business model has driven it down a dark road of intimidation. Residents in major centres around the country are becoming disgruntled by the increasingly aggressive actions of purported ice cream company Mr. Whippy, who have taken to parking on people’s front lawns and doorsteps in a desperate attempt ...
Today the government released its Action Plan for Healthy Waterways, aimed at cleaning up our lakes and rivers. Its actually quite good. There will be protection for wetlands, better standards for swimming spots, a requirement for continuous improvement, and better standards for wastewater and stormwater. But most importantly, there's a ...
Today I appeared before the Environment Committee to give an oral submission on the Zero Carbon Bill. Over 1,500 people have asked to appear in person, so they've divided into subcommittees and are off touring the country, giving people a five minute slot each. The other submitters were a mixed ...
Anti-fluoride activists have some wealthy backers – they are erecting billboards misrepresenting the Canadian study on many New Zealand cities – and local authorities are ordering their removal because of their scaremongering. Many New Zealanders ...
So, those who “know best” have again done their worst. While constantly claiming to be the guardians of democracy and the constitution, and respecters of the 2016 referendum result, diehard Remainers (who have never brought themselves to believe that their advice could have been rejected) have striven might and main ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is questioning why, for the second time, Jacinda Ardern has appointed a Crown-owned company Chief Executive to Chair her “Business Advisory Council”, following her announcement that Mercury CEO Fraser Whineray ...
Responding to the Government’s decision to give around $300 million to Amazon as a sweetener for filming a TV series in New Zealand, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says: “As a matter of simple waste, this is striking, ...
I am very pleased with Air New Zealand’s Decision to backdown and withdraw their application to trademark into a logo Kia Ora. I said at the time that it was an ill conceived idea and poorly thought out – more importantly it should never have been ...
NZEI Te Riu Roa members will be joining with others across the union movement by wearing black and white in support of pay equity on Suffrage Day tomorrow, and urging the Government to commit to a settlement for teacher aides this year. ...
Yesterday’s announcement from the Minister for Immigration, to improve temporary work visas for migrant workers, provides some positive changes but more detail is needed. The Council of Trade Unions fundamentally supports the principle of making ...
FIRST Union today welcomed Westpac’s public admission of the significant gender pay gap in its workforce and reiterated its call for employers to work with unions to close this disparity, arguing that this work must begin at the bottom of the pay ...
Changes to the work visa system announced by the Minister of Immigration are not all positive for employers or migrants, comments Ms June Ranson, chair of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI) , a leading voice in the ...
The Dairy Workers Union (DWU) has welcomed the announcement from dairy company, Synlait, that they will be boosting parental leave entitlements significantly for working parents. ...
In June, the Children’s Commissioner announced a thematic review into Oranga Tamariki’s policies, processes and practice relating to care and protection issues for tamariki Māori aged 0-3 months. Today the Children’s Commissioner has released the full ...
“Closing the Gap” Tauranga, one of the area groups of Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc., has surveyed all candidates in the three local body elections to discover attitudes to some basic issues of the Western Bay region. We believe that this is ...
In response to DairyNZ's attempt to dismiss an economic report that highlighted dairy's role in the New Zealand economy is only three per cent of GDP, Fish & Game New Zealand Chief Executive Martin Taylor says: "If DairyNZ wishes to reject a report ...
Kiingi Tuuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has successfully guided the mana whenua of lhumaatao to reach a consensus on the future of their whenua. ...
Two activists disguised as shareholders interrupted the AGM of a gold mining company in central Auckland this morning to inform shareholders their plans to mine for gold in conservation estate in the Karangahake Gorge were unwelcome. ...
The Capital and Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) has been labelled ‘NATO’ (no action, talk only) when it comes to child mental health, with just 0.6 full time staff (24 hours per week) for inpatient child psychology and just 0.8 full time staff ...
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL has awarded three New Zealand climate youth groups with its Ambassador of Conscience award, its highest recognition for human rights work, previously given to the likes of Nelson Mandela, Ai Weiwei and Malala Yousafzai. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union , in partnership with the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance , has today published this year's Ratepayers' Report – online local government league tables – at www.ratepayersreport.nz . ...
NZUS Council executive director Jordan Small welcomes the news New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will meet with US President Donald Trump in New York next week. ...
The recent NZIER report trivialises the significant role the dairy sector plays in New Zealand’s economy – and fails to look at the specifics of the Government’s freshwater package, according to DairyNZ. DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle said ...
This week, the New Zealand Parliament and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) will jointly host a seminar on tackling the global spread of illicit weapons. ...
In a landmark judgment issued this morning, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the Southern Response Concealment Class Action will proceed issued on an "opt out” basis. ...
Mainstream media, as the purveyors of truth and source of balanced information, took another backward step today with the announcement by Stuff that most New Zealand organisations had joined 170 media outlets from around the world in the “Covering ...
The goal of one million Kiwis having basic conversations in te reo by 2040 is unrealistic if more is not done to get serious about reo acquisition says the Māori Party. “While small steps have been taken to bolster efforts to increase the numbers of speakers, ...
Changes announced today by the Immigration Minister to employer-assisted visas will help businesses, but more work is needed to boost economic growth says Business Central. ...
DairyNZ Chief Executive Dr Tim Mackle is welcoming today’s announcement that the Government will be streamlining the employer assisted work visa process to help businesses and farms fill skills shortages. ...
Lawrence Yule MP wrote to our Office with concerns about the Department of Corrections' approach to procuring design and build services for rapid deployment of prison accommodation. We have published our response to Mr Yule on our website . ...
That from the chair of the Wellington Region of the College of Midwives, Siobhan Connor, following the news that Hutt Valley District Health Board is targeting midwives from overseas to help fill gaps in maternity units. ...
70% of New Zealand’s surface water take is allocated to Meridian’s Manapouri Power Scheme. But when Environment Minister David Parker asked to exempt the Scheme from his Freshwater Action Plan, he didn’t tell Cabinet that. ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that officers responded in a timely and appropriate manner as soon as they were aware that a fleeing driver had hit a pedestrian. ...
prevention and intervention. Following Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s post-Cabinet press conference we are encouraged to see the acknowledgement of the mistakes made and the need to address this. The five points outlined in the action plan, which ...
A surge in teen vaping rates and a series of deaths being linked to vaping has resulted in a number of bans on the sales of flavoured Vape juice products in the United States. Though it is widely acknowledged that vaping is far less harmful than smoking tobacco, ...
The governments’ new environmental proposals will further accentuate the move of good, productive farmland into forestry according to environmental lobby group 50 Shades of Green. ...
17 September 2019: New Zealanders are acutely aware of the impact food production processes have on our planet according to new research released today by the 5+ A Day Charitable Trust. ...
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL is awarding three New Zealand climate youth groups with its Ambassador of Conscience award, its highest recognition for human rights work, previously given to the likes of Nelson Mandela, Ai Weiwei and Malala Yousafzai. ...
On 14 September 2017, the pipeline that brings diesel, petrol, and jet fuel from Marsden Point Oil Refinery into Auckland ruptured. It leaked jet fuel into rural properties and stopped the transmission of fuels into Auckland for 10 days. The rupture ...
Victims Advocate Louise Nicholas - Labour should have brought in “specialist support” “When there is a complaint especially a serious complaint of sexual assault, the first thing that should have happened was specialist support brought in to ensure ...
Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods says New Zealand is ‘not close’ to bringing in oil reserves after the attack on Saudi fields. “We would have to see prices rise by about $20 per barrel in order for some of those strategic reserves ...
New Zealand's new fresh water regulation rules will have no major impacts on the national economy, according to an independent report just out. The report by independent economic consultancy New Zealand Institute of Economic Research shows that dairying ...
Fish & Game New Zealand has welcomed the findings of a New Zealand Institute of Economic Research report, which rejects claims the Government’s freshwater proposals will have a significant economic impact. ...
The Council of Licensed Firearms Owners (COLFO) says the Government should take its proposed firearms legislation to the people with a touring Select Committee, as it just has with the Zero Carbon bill. ...
Water reforms and the long term sustainability of water will be a key focus at the Water New Zealand conference and expo this week (18-20 September) in Hamilton. ...
“Kiwi ex-smokers are mobilising against the Government’s plans to drastically limit vaping flavours. Flavours have been key to them quitting tobacco and they now just want other smokers to have the same chance,” says Jonathan Devery, co-owner ...
Oil company Tamarind Resources has reportedly halted drilling at its Tui oil field off the Taranaki coast after the first of the three planned wells came up dry and bad weather caused delays. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the left-wing campaign group “ActionStation” to front up and be transparent about how much taxpayer funding it takes from the Government to underwrite its activism activities. Earlier in the month, the Taxpayers’ ...
The ‘ Unplanned ’ movie is here and Family First has secured one of the first screenings in New Zealand tonight. ‘Unplanned’ brings an eye-opening look inside the abortion industry from a woman who was once its most passionate advocate. All ...
James Renwick claim that NZ is failing on climate change is valid, and since James has been receiving widespread media coverage that we outline most of it again here now as we gear up for the ‘Global climate change conference’ beginning next week. ...
Protestors will be outside the venue of the fourth hearing for Operation Burnham Inquiry on Monday morning from 8.30am to give a message to former and current military officers as they arrive to speak about the ongoing coverup of the 2010 attack on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paxton Loke, Paediatric Allergist and Immunologist, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Spring has sprung and if you’re one of the one in five Australians who get hay fever, you’ve probably noticed some of those pesky symptoms: sneezing; an itchy, runny or stuffy nose; ...
Covering Climate Now: Alex Casey watches 2040, a climate change documentary determined to let the light in. I’ve seen enough documentaries about climate change to know what I don’t want to see anymore. I don’t want Leonardo DiCaprio stroking his goatee on a sheet of ice and saying “folks: it’s bad”. ...
Covering Climate Now: We need to broaden our measures of success if we want to have any chance of reaching blunt targets for reducing emissions, writes Catherine Leining.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Since 1992, multiple rounds of greenhouse gas ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has acknowledged the Labour sexual assault scandal risks hurting New Zealand's reputation on the world stage as she heads abroad. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has acknowledged the Labour sexual assault scandal risks hurting New Zealand's reputation on the world stage as she heads abroad. ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Thousands of forest fires have been burning across Indonesian Borneo and Sumatra, disrupting air travel, closing schools and sickening thousands of people, reports the New York Times. Officials have said that about 80 per cent of the fires were intentionally set to make room for lucrative ...
After over a month of discussions, Kiingitanga has announced that mana whenua at Ihumātao want to keep the land. Fletcher Buildings still owns it, so what comes next in the movement to protect Ihumātao?After over a month of discussion between divided mana whenua over the land at Ihumātao, the Māori ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Climate change Sharon Murdoch (Stuff): 4000 Days: A climate change story where you choose the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kevin Orrman-Rossiter, PhD Research Student, History & Philosophy of Science, University of Melbourne If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au.How big is the International Space Station? – Isla, aged 6, Australia. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle O’Shea, Lecturer Sport Management, Western Sydney University In March this year, photographer Michael Willson captured an image of AFL footballer Tayla Harris kicking for a goal. The image shows Harris in athletic flight, right leg extended skyward and muscles flexed as ...
It’s a hard road getting attention for outsider candidates in local elections. Alex Braae, writer of The Bulletin and stout defender of the political little guy, thought he’d lend a hand by moderating a rebel Wellington mayoral debate.The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The SpinoffMembers. For more ...
Covering Climate Now: A midweek update from the Spinoffers who have ditched dairy (and eggs, and meat, and fish…) for the week. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Read this for the background on what this plant-based palaver is all about.Three ...
Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere is defending his use of the words "sieg heil" during last night's lively political debate with Phil Goff, despite being lambasted for it on social media. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Belinda Xie, Scientia PhD Scholar, School of Psychology, UNSW This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. This Friday in the lead-up to the United Nations ...
Covering Climate Now: It’s easy to indulge in the idea that individual actions can’t have an impact on climate change. But a few simple ideas from economics show how wrong that is, argues Waikato University lecturer in environmental economics Zach Dorner.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Renwick, Professor, Physical Geography (climate science), Victoria University of Wellington CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Laurenceson, Acting Director and Professor, Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI), University of Technology Sydney Last week’s Asian-Australian Leadership Summit in Melbourne saw the release of valuable new survey data on the discrimination some Australians face. A survey conducted by the Australian National ...
Last night Auckland mayoral contender John Tamihere said “sieg heil” when answering a question on diversity. Sadly that has forced us to put together a cheat sheet on how not to say Nazi phrases in debates.About one hour and 18 minutes into a pub politics debate at Chapel Bar on ...
In a special video interview ahead of the big UN Climate Action Summit, UN Secretary General Antonion Guterres says he is hopeful rather than desperate in the face of the climate emergency. ...
The Future of Work at Hutt City’s Dowse Art Museum makes visible our changing work conditions. Mark Amery took a tour, and even got some work done himself while he was there.I’ve gone to work at the gallery. And I’m making an exhibition of myself. Making my labour visible. I’m ...
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council was the first in New Zealand to vote in Māori ward seats. This election, the region’s longest-standing Māori councillor is up against some fierce competition from a former broadcaster who’s already put his skills to use in a viral video.The Spinoff local election coverage ...
With only a few more sleeps until the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Tara Ward looks at the variety of ways you can watch the tournament from the comfort of your own home.Set your clocks, sound the alarms and gird your scrum-loving loins for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, which kicks ...
Covering Climate Now: As part of The Spinoff’s commitment to Covering Climate Now, the food section has gone vegan. Today, a delicious recipe to herald the arrival of spring. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Roman-style vignarolahas great appeal at ...
Covering Climate Now: Connecting your everyday choices at the supermarket to a crisis half a world away might be a hard concept get your head around, but we all have power to effect change, writes Hannah McGowan.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Haskell-Dowland, Associate Dean (Computing and Security), Edith Cowan University When we think of a bank robbery, we might imagine a safe with the door blown open. But nowadays it might be more accurate to picture criminals accessing our bank account online ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Kenny, Senior Fellow, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National University In the hit biopic Rocket Man, the ambitious young Reginald Dwight is counselled to hide his working-class roots if he wants to make it in “showbiz”: You gotta kill the person ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Senior Lecturer, University of Western Australia Countries around the world, including Australia, are using different ways to get parents to vaccinate their children. Our new research, published this week in the journal Milbank Quarterly, looks at diverse mandatory vaccination policies ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bill Hare, Director, Climate Analytics, Adjunct Professor, Murdoch University (Perth), Visiting scientist, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research This piece is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathalie Collins, Academic Director (National Programs), Edith Cowan University The hit sitcom Friends aired for the first time 25 years ago this week. Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Joey have not aged on our small screen – and neither has their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hall, Senior Researcher in Politics, Auckland University of Technology This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. As a new sense of urgency to act ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Love, Hon Senior Fellow, Transport Health and Urban Design (THUD) Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne The Spanish city of Barcelona has pioneered an innovative approach to managing traffic, freeing up public space and promoting walking and cycling. The “superblocks” ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Govt makes business-friendly migrant worker changes, PM off overseas to talk trade, and the cost of Christchurch water in China revealed.A range of changes around the immigration system have been announced, reports Newshub. Among the biggest headline grabbers was the decision that ...
A group representing migrant workers says the government's overhaul of work visas has failed to remove a clause that means they can be treated like modern day slaves. ...
Open Mike 30/06/2017 
We surveyed candidates on their attitudes to issues facing the Western Bay Region, find out what they think: “Closing the Gap” Tauranga, one of the area groups of Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc., has surveyed all candidates in the three local body elections to discover attitudes to some basic issues ...4 hours ago
Please spread widely, and sign, to support science and rationalism over the new irrationalism sweeping universities and institutions. PROJECT NETTIE Sexual reproduction, the generation of offspring by fusion of genetic material from two different individuals, evolved over 1 billion years ago. It is the reproductive strategy of all higher animals ...6 hours ago
Just when I was thinking that Palmerston North's mayoral race (which includes a convicted child molester / public wanker and a convicted child beater) was the worst in the country, Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere opened his mouth:Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere is being slammed for using the words "sieg ...6 hours ago
Why is New Zealand climate change policy so crap? The Herald this morning has a long article on the twists and turns of climate change policy in New Zealand [paywalled / depaywall script], which shows where we've been. The short version is that the government first began worrying about this ...9 hours ago
The All Blacks have been, for more than a century, arguably the most successful International sports team in the world. But they are more than that; even for those Kiwis who are immune to the charms of rugby (and there are more than a few), the All Blacks are ambassadors ...12 hours ago
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In times of hysteria about the “World coming to an end” and “rising sea levels” so-called ‘Journalists’ who can barely spell words longer than four letters are having a ball! Though the majority of the Public have worked out that manmade climate change is nothing short of pseudo-science, and the ...2 days ago
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Dangerous Foes: For those readers of Bowalley Road who feel disposed to dismiss any prospect of an Israeli destabilisation of New Zealand politics, the example of the United Kingdom repays close attention. Ever since the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party, the Israelis have sanctioned, funded and ...2 days ago
Make It 16, the youth-led campaign to lower New Zealand's voting age, is holding an official campaign launch at Parliament this Friday from 16:30. If you'd like to attend, you can register using EventBrite here. ...2 days ago
by Don Franks It was a lovely sunny Wellington afternoon with blue skies above the beaches. In Courtenay Place, political activists packed out a stuffy upstairs room for an important meeting. The assembled pacifists, anarchists, communists and independent young radicals of Peace Action Wellington felt the need for a mission ...2 days ago
From the Wall Street Journal:Inside a room of the ornately decorated Hotel du Palais during last month’s Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, President Trump awaited a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. Mr. Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and called out in ...3 days ago
. . This blogpost is different to my usual format of reporting on issues… Since July 1011, I have blogged on a variety of political issues; near always political and/or environmental; mostly highly critical of the previous National Government. Other issues included Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and repression of ...5 days ago
Those close to the Police Minister believe the initiative may be the result of Nash “seeing a great deal” on AliExpress. In a move that comes seemingly out of nowhere, Police Minister Stuart Nash announced this afternoon that he expects all frontline staff to don bearskin hats, famously worn by ...5 days ago
Moving And Shaking: There was a time when people spoke matter-of-factly about the “labour movement” – a political phenomenon understood to embrace much more than the Labour Party. Included within the term’s definition was the whole trade union movement – many of whose members looked upon the Labour Party as ...6 days ago
By Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern I am every bit as angry as you are. I am every bit as disappointed as you must be. The people with power, oversight and the ability to do something about these processes within the Labour Party should be ashamed. Whoever those people are, I ...6 days ago
Two-Faced? Labour insiders' commitment to the neoliberal status quo puts them at odds with their party’s membership; its trade union affiliates; and a majority of Labour voters, but this only serves to strengthen the perception they have of themselves as a special elite. Among the lesser breeds, they’ll talk up a ...6 days ago
By Simon Bridges. The following is a press release from the office of Simon Bridges, leader of The National Party. Key ora, New Zealand. Happy Maori Language Week. Look, I’m writing to you today because I want to clear something up. There’s been a lot of kerfuffle around some things ...1 week ago
Dr. Christopher Labos and Jonathan Jarry discuss the recent Canadian fluoride/IQ research. They provide an expert analysis of the paper and its problems. Click on image to go to podcast. The critical debate about the recent ... 1 week ago
An ambitious plan to fly to Los Angeles petered out into a brief sight-seeing trip and a desire to return home and get some sleep before work tomorrow. Air New Zealand has confirmed a flight to Los Angeles last night was turned back about a quarter of the way into ...1 week ago
There appears to be consensus – by omission – that the concept of indigenous futures should be accepted at face value. So I scavenged the internet to see if I could locate an academic descriptor or a framework around how we think about it as a concept, and whether it ...1 week ago
Here’s another novelty chocolate to shove in your gob, New Zealand Cadbury could be seeking to make itself great again with a rumoured new release: Pineapple Trumps, a spin on its classic chocolate-encased pineapple treat and do-it-yourself tooth remover. The global confectionery manufacturer and bumbling “before” character in an infomercial, ...1 week ago
During my time in the Pentagon I had the privilege of sitting down with military leaders and defence and security officials from a variety of Latin American nations. Sometimes I was present as a subordinate assistant to a senior US defence department official, sometimes as part of a delegation that ...1 week ago
Kia ora, Aotearoa. It’s that magical time of year. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. In English, the week that frightens talk radio. As you probably know by now, all your favourite media outlets are participating, some more successfully than others. Stuff has changed its name to Puna for the ...1 week ago
Lost In Political Space: The most important takeaway from this latest Labour sexual assault scandal, which (if I may paraphrase Nixon’s White House counsel’s, John Dean’s, infamous description of Watergate) is “growing like a cancer” on the premiership, is the Labour Party organisation’s extraordinary professional paralysis in the face of ...1 week ago
Hi there, just call me Tim.We face tough problems, and I’d like to help, because there are solutions.An Auckand District Health Board member has nominated me for as a candidate for the ADHB, because her MS-related pain and fatigue is reduced with hemp products from Rotorua. Nothing else helped her. If I ...1 week ago
Bewhiskered Cassandra? Professor Hugh White’s chilling suggestion, advanced to select collections of academic, military and diplomatic Kiwi experts over the course of the past week, is that the assumptions upon which Australia and New Zealand have built their foreign affairs and defence policies for practically their entire histories – are ...1 week ago
Air New Zealand couldn’t believe its luck that this seemingly ideal piece of real estate had so far gone entirely unnoticed. Air New Zealand’s search for a site to build a second Auckland Airport may have made a breakthrough this afternoon, after employees scanning Google satellite imagery spotted a huge, ...2 weeks ago
Gayford, pictured here on The Project, before things got wildly out of control. A bold public relations move by the Government to encourage parents to vaccinate their children has gone horribly wrong. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appeared on tonight’s episode of Three’s The Project, where the plan was for her ...2 weeks ago
Mr. Whippy’s business model has driven it down a dark road of intimidation. Residents in major centres around the country are becoming disgruntled by the increasingly aggressive actions of purported ice cream company Mr. Whippy, who have taken to parking on people’s front lawns and doorsteps in a desperate attempt ...2 weeks ago
Anti-fluoride activists have some wealthy backers – they are erecting billboards misrepresenting the Canadian study on many New Zealand cities – and local authorities are ordering their removal because of their scaremongering. Many New Zealanders ... 2 weeks ago
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is questioning why, for the second time, Jacinda Ardern has appointed a Crown-owned company Chief Executive to Chair her “Business Advisory Council”, following her announcement that Mercury CEO Fraser Whineray ...2 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paxton Loke, Paediatric Allergist and Immunologist, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Spring has sprung and if you’re one of the one in five Australians who get hay fever, you’ve probably noticed some of those pesky symptoms: sneezing; an itchy, runny or stuffy nose; ...3 mins ago
Covering Climate Now: Alex Casey watches 2040, a climate change documentary determined to let the light in. I’ve seen enough documentaries about climate change to know what I don’t want to see anymore. I don’t want Leonardo DiCaprio stroking his goatee on a sheet of ice and saying “folks: it’s bad”. ...34 mins ago
Jacinda Ardern flies to New York with hope of action on the Christchurch Call and climate change. ...1 hour ago
Covering Climate Now: We need to broaden our measures of success if we want to have any chance of reaching blunt targets for reducing emissions, writes Catherine Leining.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Since 1992, multiple rounds of greenhouse gas ...2 hours ago
A Christchurch mayoral candidate is campaigning on environmental sustainability, but some of his hospitality businesses doesn't recycle. ...2 hours ago
Without targets, the Government will have a difficult task in defining whether the gun buyback is successful. Some say it’s impossible. ...3 hours ago
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Thousands of forest fires have been burning across Indonesian Borneo and Sumatra, disrupting air travel, closing schools and sickening thousands of people, reports the New York Times. Officials have said that about 80 per cent of the fires were intentionally set to make room for lucrative ...4 hours ago
The government has announced a plan to turn aquaculture into a $3 billion industry within 15 years. ...4 hours ago
After over a month of discussions, Kiingitanga has announced that mana whenua at Ihumātao want to keep the land. Fletcher Buildings still owns it, so what comes next in the movement to protect Ihumātao?After over a month of discussion between divided mana whenua over the land at Ihumātao, the Māori ...4 hours ago
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kevin Orrman-Rossiter, PhD Research Student, History & Philosophy of Science, University of Melbourne If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au. How big is the International Space Station? – Isla, aged 6, Australia. ...5 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle O’Shea, Lecturer Sport Management, Western Sydney University In March this year, photographer Michael Willson captured an image of AFL footballer Tayla Harris kicking for a goal. The image shows Harris in athletic flight, right leg extended skyward and muscles flexed as ...5 hours ago
It’s a hard road getting attention for outsider candidates in local elections. Alex Braae, writer of The Bulletin and stout defender of the political little guy, thought he’d lend a hand by moderating a rebel Wellington mayoral debate.The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more ...5 hours ago
The difference between what the country earns and spends overseas has narrowed slightly. ...5 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Belinda Xie, Scientia PhD Scholar, School of Psychology, UNSW This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. This Friday in the lead-up to the United Nations ...6 hours ago
Covering Climate Now: It’s easy to indulge in the idea that individual actions can’t have an impact on climate change. But a few simple ideas from economics show how wrong that is, argues Waikato University lecturer in environmental economics Zach Dorner.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible ...7 hours ago
Listed property investment company Goodman Property Trust is looking to raise up to $175 million through a share issue for future developments. ...7 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Renwick, Professor, Physical Geography (climate science), Victoria University of Wellington CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like ...7 hours ago
Curbing foreign political donations is the easy bit of the Chinese equation. ...7 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Laurenceson, Acting Director and Professor, Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI), University of Technology Sydney Last week’s Asian-Australian Leadership Summit in Melbourne saw the release of valuable new survey data on the discrimination some Australians face. A survey conducted by the Australian National ...7 hours ago
Last night Auckland mayoral contender John Tamihere said “sieg heil” when answering a question on diversity. Sadly that has forced us to put together a cheat sheet on how not to say Nazi phrases in debates.About one hour and 18 minutes into a pub politics debate at Chapel Bar on ...7 hours ago
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Shane Jones to NZ First – Im thinking that this can only be good for National come post election discussions.
Some of the media have been promoting Jones’ chances for months and are now going hard out giving today’s announcement maximum publicity.
Patrick Gower has gone further than most: 12 reasons why Shane Jones can win Whangarei
He missed reason 13 – Paddy power.
There are actually other candidates for Whangarei, not that most people would know from what they hear in the media.
Other contenders are:
Shane Reti (National) – current MP, 13,169 in 2014
Tony Savage (Labour)
Ash Howell (Greens)
Chris Leitch (Democrats)
Labour & Greens have fielded very strong candidates who appeal to many, more so than the weak candidates they stood in 2014. While Savage is pragmatic about Jones standing, I think Ash won’t cut any deal and given the Greens co leader has come out staunchly opposed to Jones. There will be no change in Whangarei Reti is it.
Don’t forget that Whangarei is completely encircled by Winston’s electorate and we’ve still got an awful lot of one-way bridges up here – the trains still aren’t running and the trucks on the roads are getting worse
Pete George,
All of the candidates that you have listed have been through a process of selection within their parties, particularly National and Labour who normally have vigorous process.
Shane Jones did not go through any process.
NZ First is a sham political party.
Bill M. Shane Jones was one of three candidates for the NZF position. To be settled by 1pm today.
More like a WinstonFirst sham process.
@ bill murray
I agree, “NZ First is a sham political party.”
Contemporary voting is based more on personalities than parties. Jones might significantly increase NZF party votes. That’s a major reason for him to run.
MSM are fawning all over Jones even had a couple asking if I will be there. Yeah I will get along box off a deal or 2 given they both know I hold the key for any upset victory up here.
Interesting one of the MSM shills outed this;
“One of National’s most senior MPs has even told me he thought Jones would win and Reti would lose.”
Apparently it was Gerry Brownlee who said this. Not good a inner circle Minister thinks this of the ‘strong local voice’. Though Jabba was bitter his mini me Jones never beat Reti for the candidacy.
On that very score (James @ 1 above) I’m rethinking my intended repeat vote for Winston Peters in Northland electorate. Additionally, the great ‘me me me’ void which is Jones quite repels this voter. It’s a question of character.
oh hell yes ,jones is shit
Quite right North. A vote for NZF is a vote for more bloody National. And that means more pricks like Thiel. Just what we need!
+1. Jones is thoroughly unlikable. A dirty Jerry Brownlee.
@ MUTTONBIRD (1.2.3) … agree.
Jones, the political prince of pawn, is as grubby as they come. Don’t think his selection will go down well with many NZF voters somehow.
In the Northland by-election it actually made a difference whether you voted for Peters, the Nat wotzit, or any of the others. Because before the by-election the Nats only needed one of Rimmer or the hairdo or the Maori Party for a majority. After Peters won, the Nats needed the Maori Party or both Rimmer and the hairdo. That’s a major shift in the balance of power.
In the coming election, it’s back to just the party vote that matters, unless you’re in Epsom, Ohariu, or the Maori electorates. For the other electorates, at most the electorate result just shuffles who’s in or out in the lower part of the list.
Still awaiting your opinion on the real issues that affect many people in this country.
How does New Zealand tackle the extreme levels of inequality
How does New Zealand tackle child poverty
How does New Zealand tackle extreme levels of suicide
How does New Zealand tackle The housing crisis
How does New Zealand tackle its alcohol problem
How does New Zealand tackle the P epidemic
How does New Zealand tackle Obesity
Hi ed,
I will offer a few answers to yr questions.
The inequality/child poverty issue can be impacted by a UBI and a living wage.
Nick hanaeur says it well here: https://www.ted.com/talks/nick_hanauer_beware_fellow_plutocrats_the_pitchforks_are_coming/up-next
20 mins well spent.
As to suicde/mental health/drugs, a Scandinavian country took a different approach. (I heard this on rnz about a month ago)
They invested heavily in activities youth enjoy: sport music,cultural activities. The thinking was that the happy chemicals serotonin and dopamine are released in a sustainable way.
Some of the effects were far less time on their devices, increased time with parents and a drop in the statistics that we kiwi are excelling in.
This all takes time, which ironically, is a key by product of a UBI!
“Show me the money”, I hear the Tories whine, a FTT, home tax, tobin tax.
All doable we merely lack the will.
And in Iceland they developed a huge amount time/money in activity for young people. Alcohol use in teens dropped from 40% to 5%. The streets of Rechaivik (sp?) are now empty of loitering kids as they are too busy being active.
An FTT has been tried before in Sweden I believe. What was the result do you know?
the tax on equity securities nuked most domestic bond speculation – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The ones in Switzerland and Taiwan rake in billions a year, so really it’s in how you implement it. How’s the one in Colombia doing? France? Italy? Peru? Belgium? the USA? In the 30-odd other countries that have some form of FTT?
Thanks ianmac, that will be the one I heard about.
If we are to believe Chang Ha-Joon, Switzerland’s relative prosperity relates to their having the highest consumption of locally manufactured goods – the financial sector contributes remarkably little to the great majority of the populace.
Potentially sounds like in the state in the US that refunded tax to the citizenry because of the huge tax take from marijuana sales.
Hi gosman,
I am not familiar with the Swede example,
If you benefit from the tax spend you would think it was good.
If your previously untaxed habits become liable for a .01% tax, you may have a differing opinion.
From what I have read it is one of the initiatives that appeals across the political spectrum.
From the left it lessens inequality, from the right it allows more participants in the ‘market’.
Read Labour’s announced policies, Ed. Easy to find on their website. That will answer some of your queries – oh, and also read Andrew Little’s speeches – those should answer the rest of your queries.
We have, and we are not amused.
yeah, but when was the last time you were anything other than a glum puritan?
When were you anything but a beige liberal?
Well, I used to be door security for heritage buildings, but decided to give it up after someone kicked me in the portico.
I tried to qualify as a pilot, but it didn’t go well when I winged the test.
Had a short stint as a ghostwriter, but apparently publishers expect more than “ooooooOOOOOOOooooaveeennnggeeemeeeeeee”.
Tried being a plasterer, but got fired after sorting out the plumber’s crack.
Went to med school to be a surgeon, but I just couldn’t cut it.
But I’ve always been a smartarse.
McFlock
Your short stint as a ghostwriter taught you a lot about levity. (That’s meant to be funny in case I am misunderstood.)
Rather relieved that you didn’t try proctology, McFlock
Or is that something to do with ‘smartarse’?
There were some bits of the job I could handle, but in a general sense there was something wrong, on the whole, that I just couldn’t put my finger on.
As they say, it’s a shitty workplace and there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.
that’s the spirit!
With such sensitive fingers, you should have been a surgeon..
Or a masseur or a Reiki Master or a Braille proof-reader or …
being a masseuse didn’t end happily for me, I took the Reiki just an inch too far and it got weird, and I got fired from the braille job after an incident with a sesame seed bun.
You were in computers for a bit weren’t you?
No, we did go out on a couple of dates but they never went anywhere.
Very good riposte.
Ever considered politics?
lol
I’d keep getting kicked out of the House for telling tories to suck my balls. I really did work venue security for years, and the patois of the street is difficult to shake. And there’s something about smiling tories that makes my fists itch.
But there are plenty of opportunities to slog away for the good fight while being restrained from general public contact. And the last six months or so I’ve been working with a local community culture&heritage group – you’d be amazed at how many people need a halfway decent bureaucrat. When their place is up and running I’ll be slamming together just a basic excel worksheet for people and skillsets that will flag when safety and competency certifications (first aid/fire/etc) are due to expire – you know, the sort of things that slip off the radar and then cause havoc five years later when auditors discover they’re noncompliant.
So still busy busy 🙂
My Plastering always sucked arse.
Paper tape, terrible, bubbles and all sorts of shite.
Then I discovered this product, fucking amazing
http://intex.co.nz/shop/Brands/Fibafuse/x_cat/00860.html
What a difference, I’m no pro but wow you get a good result.
Scoop is holding a consultation on housing using the HiveMind platform – a modern civics application that supports text analysis of different viewpoints.
There is plenty of information on the page but essentially we have sourced ideas from across the political spectrum from – NZ initiative, Renters United, Community Housing Aotearoa, government policy, party manifestos, research articles and so on.
If you are able I’d be delighted if you can take part. The output will be a report on the diversity of views proposed and analysis of approaches that seem to have wide endorsement. We have contacted hundreds of people interested in the area – people involved in public housing, rental campaigns, property companies, estate agents, builders and developers as well as our readership.
The consultation is here http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1706/S00034/making-housing-affordable-lets-crack-it.htm and it got a nice write up on last week’s Media Watch http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/201848483/getting-engaged-with-the-audience and is open till next Sunday 9 July
i had a look at the last election results , unfortunately the chances of jones and reti splitting the vote far enough for labour to get in is unlikely, unless the greens pull their person
Felix Marwick runs against the media tide:
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/felix-marwick-politicians-so-often-too-cute-with-the-truth/
Shane Jones is a near-perfect candidate for New Zealand First.
While he won’t win in Whangarei, he will get a good list placing and will strengthen the NZF firepower in parliament whether they are a part of the government or not. If they do get in to government, he is already an experienced Minister.
He is an excellent campaigner, always funny at the podium, self-funding, well versed, charming (if that kind of thing appeals), takes no prisoners, qualified Masters in Public Administration with further study at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Management, and now on top of that plenty of diplomatic and commercial experience across the Pacific.
If a Labour and Greens binary grouping cannot work with Shane Jones, they have absolutely no chance of being in power until 2020, and it will be their fault not his.
I reckon Jones is bought and paid for by National and will serve only them no matter what position he holds. Labour and The Greens can do nothing about that.
Given Jones’ antipathy towards the Greens and the Greens willingness and ability to work with anyone in shared policy, I think your analysis is flawed. But another good reason for lefties to not vote NZF, jones would be just as happy with national.
I know why you would say that.
But New Zealand First doesn’t need the Greens.
The Greens need New Zealand First.
The Greens don’t need NZF. If you want change but not power for its own sake then you don’t have to play those games in that way.
I would say the ball is in Labour’s court on this. I’ve seen the argument that Labour should just come out and say it won’t work with NZF and then centrist/swing voters can choose if they want to change the govt or not. Of course Labour aren’t going to do that but it does sharpen the mind.
Plus it’s up to swing, centrist and left wing voters generally. I don’t have a problem with NZF being in a coalition with Labour and the Greens, and I can certainly see why NZF appeals to many people needing a better government than we’ve had. But I do have a problem with Peters in that because despite the useful things he’s done, he has also routinely used MMP to lessen representation and consolidate power to the middle and the right. I full expect him to continue to do that including in post-election negotiations.
There should be a line beyond which the powermongering has to be resisted for its own sake and I’d prefer the Greens to stay out of government rather than be so compromised as to see themselves as having to bow down to the anti-democratic positions of Peters and Jones if that’s what Peters insists upon. I would trust the Greens to know where that line is, but it would also be very hard given how hard they’ve worked to get into govt. Not sure what the membership would do, and a lot will depend on them.
I don’t mind the Greens becoming more mainstream, while it lessens their progressiveness somewhat it moves NZ in a better direction. But if NZ chooses a centrist, right of Labour govt via NZF, then we need the Greens to hold the left position because there is literally no-one else to do it. They can’t do that if the kaupapa is appeasing Shane Jones in order to gain power.
He has the kind of “charm” that does not appeal, in fact it makes me want to smack him in the face: smug, pompous false bonhomie, always with a strand of malicious bigotry underlying it.
He may have been to a fancy university and been a hit on the local cocktail circuit, but the only things he’s famous for are ones that prompt the suspicion that he’s corrupt. He’d fit right in to a National cabinet, but I guess he prefers to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond.
Certainly Labour and the Greens would be nuts to have anything to do with him.
Im thinking James is correct.
It was always going to happen Robert. 🙂
Like lightning. I’m safe from now on, statistically 🙂
Excellent reply. But you may well be the next Roy Sullivan.
” Sullivan was described as a brawny man with a broad, rugged face, who resembled the actor Gene Hackman.”
This conveniently ‘clocking out’ at will from the NZ ‘Ministerial factory’ is just more utter BILLSHIT.
Seen THIS?
How is being a New Zealand Minister, including the PRIME Minister, not a 24/7 ‘job’?
Here’s what the NZ Cabinet Manual states:
https://dpmc.govt.nz/our-business-units/cabinet-office/supporting-work-cabinet/cabinet-manual/2-ministers-crown-6
Conduct of Ministers
2.55A Minister of the Crown, while holding a ministerial warrant, acts in a number of different capacities:
in a ministerial capacity, making decisions and determining and promoting policy within particular portfolios;
in a political capacity as a member of Parliament, representing a constituency or particular community of interest; and
in a personal capacity.
2.56In all these roles and at all times, Ministers are expected to act lawfully and to behave in a way that upholds, and is seen to uphold, the highest ethical standards.
This includes exercising a professional approach and good judgement in their interactions with the public and officials, and in all their communications, personal and professional.
Ultimately, Ministers are accountable to the Prime Minister for their behaviour.
2.57Holding ministerial office is regarded as a full-time occupation and is remunerated as such. Accordingly:
accepting additional payment for doing anything that could be regarded as a ministerial function is not permissible; and
accepting payment for any other activities requires the prior approval of the Prime Minister.
_____________________________
The problem?
“Ultimately, Ministers are accountable to the Prime Minister for their behaviour.”
What happens when the Prime Minister arguably does NOT act lawfully and behaves in a way that does NOT uphold and is seen to uphold, the highest ethical standards?
Is the Prime Minister going to sack himself?
Unlikely.
So – I guess that becomes the job of the voting public on 23 September 2017?
Penny Bright
2017 Independent candidate for Tamaki.
So all you are saying that is if Bill English gets re-elected, all his sins are forgiven.
…and a person like Hitler got massive German public approval, even after many misdeeds. What is your real point Ad?
Go for Godwin, so quick!
Penny is citing the Cabinet manual, proposing that it has no real effect, then saying the election is the real law. On both counts she is wrong, and dumb. Bill English will be re-elected by a country mile but that does not make what he did right. Nor does it make the Cabinet manual ineffective. Penny should hold her breath until the Police have completed the further examination and make a determination.
No a few Hail Mary’s for penance and all his sins are forgiven, a good Catholic will already have confessed.’Bless me father for I have sinned etc’.See no quilt.
The RNZ “In The House” This link is the privatisation of government services, including Universities. Also the dire state of RNZ being defended by Richard Griffen. This has recieved minimum coverage in the MSM and was difficult to find on the RNZ website. Disgraceful.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=201849371
Covered by Stuff here.
Illustrates what the staff there are dealing with. Long list of issues presented:
“There’s a concern that RNZ hasn’t managed reasonably well on its reduced funding. There’s a downgrade in regional coverage, cuts in key programs, there’s no buffer in the staffing – so they’re down to a skeleton staff on the weekends, there’s key staff resignations, a loss of experience, thin cover in the newsroom, the closure of regional offices including Tauranga and Queenstown – no journalists now between Hamilton and Napier,”
To which the board chair Richard Griffin apparently considers this a compelling rebuttal:
“Our audience is bigger both online and on-air than they’ve ever been.”
It’s an object lesson in why you shouldn’t appoint right-wingers to run public-sector organisations.
national treat every govt dept and SOE as a potential opportunity to further their interests, shore up positions and dish out sinecures.
RNZ/TVNZ are willing participants under griffin and house of travel kev after recycling rik laid the groundwork, blew sheds of cash on tivo and gave heartland away to sky.
Exactly. Commercial radio is so appallingly bad that people flee to National Radio, and a dumb-arse commercialist uses this as an excuse for deliberate underfunding of National Radio. (I refuse to agree to all the expensive name-changes that National Radio has undergone over recent years.)
Ten quick graphs on climate change:
https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/10-indicators-that-show-climate-change?utm_source=email-welcome-sequence&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=General
Does anyone know what is happening with Chris Trotter’s Bowalley Road blog?
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz
No update since the end of May.
On the Road?
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/category/bloggers/chris-trotter/
Article on Stuff 3 days ago.
A story of sharing a one bedroom flat between eight people + the baby is now better than anything on offer by the state (ie nothing).
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/06/30/update-family-of-five-including-six-month-old-baby-accommodation-crisis/
National are in trouble on the Peter Thiel “12 days” scandal. It is something the public can easily understand, and smacks of privilege and favouritism to mates.
But it is worse than that. On RNZ Nine to Noon just now the comedians, Raybon Kan and Michelle O’Court couldn’t resist the issue and roasted it.
O’Court suggested that when the Americas Cup comes to Auckland this would mean a lot of rich white men would come too, so the government should open a Citizenship Kiosk, handing out passports to the rich white men as they would be here for longer than 12 days.
Raybon Kan, having listened to Nathan Guy’s reasons for granting citizenship, said that Guy was worshiping Thiel like he was Harry Styles, and that Guy must have a poster of Thiel up in his room.
When the comedians are finding such fertile ground for irony in a government decision, they are in trouble.
A’Court. Not O’Court.
They’re right. Citizenship for sale is something that should make those who have given up their lives to move to NZ, gone through the process, and become a citizen through proper channels, very mad.
We still haven’t seen any compelling reasons as to why he was given citizenship. Apart from a vulture fund that benefited Thiel, and a few million pumped into Xero (and likely sold when it hit $50 a share)…
He was supposed to promote NZ on the world stage? A quick Google shows he has never mentioned NZ in his multiple speaking engagements over the last two years… And he deals a lot with the IT sector, which he was supposed to promote NZ to.
So, this is something that should be taken further. Judicial review a possibility?
@James Thrace
A’Court-thanks. Not sure if judicial review would work as outside statutory period to lodge. But you have reminded me of something else Raybon Kan alluded to, which was: Who else has had the same treatment?
Maybe we need an OIA request asking for info on any other dubious citizenship approvals over the last few years.
I got an email from the Labour Party thanking me for attending the launch of their community action network. Eh? Not me.
I used the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email.
There have been others complaining about this also.
Jane Goodall, now 83, has been travelling the world 300 days a year and her message is to be kind to each other and other animals.
chimpanzees are altruistic, even at personal cost, if it involves reciprocity.
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/06/13/1700351114.abstract
Chimpanzees have their limitations too. Mothers may group together and raid another group and catch and eat their babies. Also when one chimpanzee became ill and its fur changed colour or something, he was rejected from his group who wouldn’t groom him. Jane had to help him as a fellow group member to gather the materials for his nest each night as no-one else would.
The old primitive things that come up in our minds need to be dealt to with our superior intellect, but usually aren’t and often we use that intellect to impose harm to a psychotic degree.
“Jane had to help him”
You mean that that miserable bugger Tarzan, the supposed “Tarzan of the apes” didn’t do it first?
Or do you have some other Jane in mind?
Alwyn
I just presumed that any informed person on TS would know about Jane Goodall and her groundbreaking research and study on chimpanzees.
A woman whose work is all good. Easy to remember her name.
The official title for her work is Primatologist also ethologist, anthropologist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Goodall
There you are. An information capsule – just slip it in the nearest gap in your head.
Sorry Alwyn you were making a funny which I consider good medicine but you just touched a nerve there. I tend to revere people like Jane Goodall who stick to their task of finding out things we need to know that make us better and more informed even though they get flak along the way.
Yes, it was only mean’t as a simple joke.
I should have realised who you were talking abot as you had given the full name a couple of comments earliar. I just didn’t connect the two.
Blame it on jet lag.
Carolyn-nth
Perhaps that’s Labour’s random act of beauty and kindness for the day encouraging people to do what they are praised for. That would be clever thinking.