If you are still needing a reason to vote Green, here is evidence of why we need to act on climate change urgently.
What do we want to leave for our children and grandchildren?
“Southern Alps snow, ice vanishing
Retreating glaciers and uncovered rocks evidence of swift change in climate with implications for sea level.
A third of the permanent snow and ice on the Southern Alps has vanished in less than four decades, according to an analysis of aerial surveys.
In an article published on Australian website The Conversation, three Kiwi researchers describe the story of the alps’ disappearing ice as very dramatic.
The analysis, by climate scientist Dr Jim Salinger, Otago University Professor Emeritus Blair Fitzharris and glaciologist Dr Trevor Chinn, follows on from a paper published by Dr Chinn last year documenting the retreat of our postcard glaciers.”
Compared with the now unstoppable collapse of the West Antartic Ice Sheet, the ice disappearing from the Southern Alps is piffling. And there is nothing the Greens can do about either even if they had a 100% majority in Parliament so you might as well vote National, grab your share of the money-go-round and party while you still can.
There are things that can be done to mitigate disasters.
For example I live in a coastal area and yet there are still people building substantial houses and businesses within metres of a coastline that has issues with eroding storm damage . People who invest their money into buildings and businesses on the coastline complain bitterly about RMA regulations yet are the first to go crying to Council to fix the problem when a storm occurs. This type of behaviour costs Councils a lot of time and money and I repeat: the people conducting themselves in such ways are the same people who are not prepared to create distance between the shoreline and their buildings from the outset. It is bloody ridiculous.
“There are things that can be done to mitigate disasters.” – Blue leopard.
Go tell it to the President.
US President B. M. Obama, 14/6/2014
“[S]ince this is a very educated group, you already know the science. Burning fossil fuels release carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide traps heat. Levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere are higher than they’ve been in 800,000 years. …
We know the trends. The 18 warmest years on record have all happened since you graduates were born. We know what we see with our own eyes. Out West, firefighters brave longer, harsher wildfire seasons; states have to budget for that. Mountain towns worry about what smaller snowpacks mean for tourism. Farmers and families at the bottom worry about what it will mean for their water. In cities like Norfolk and Miami, streets now flood frequently at high tide. Shrinking icecaps have National Geographic making the biggest change in its atlas since the Soviet Union broke apart.
So the question is not whether we need to act. The overwhelming judgment of science, accumulated and measured and reviewed over decades, has put that question to rest. The question is whether we have the will to act before it’s too late. For if we fail to protect the world we leave not just to my children, but to your children and your children’s children, we will fail one of our primary reasons for being on this world in the first place."
“As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, BOEM…today announced that the bureau will offer more than 21 million acres offshore Texas for oil and gas exploration and development in a lease sale that will include all available unleased areas in the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area.”
You shouldn’t solely base your views on what America is doing. They are screwed politically just now.
We are a much smaller country with a different political system (namely our voting system). We have more opportunity to get a shift happening. The more countries, such as ourselves, that take rational stances toward the problem – the more pressure there will be on America and other more captured countries to make a shift.
“The more countries, such as ourselves, that take rational stances toward the problem – the more pressure there will be on America and other more captured countries to make a shift.”
Er, yeah. Like Europe’s Green powerhouse Germany, now importing coal from the USA to burn for power generation so it can abandon nice ‘clean’ nuclear.
But my original point in response to the thread starter was that voting Green in New Zealand isn’t going to make any difference to the loss of snow and ice on the Southern Alps as that problem doesn’t originate in New Zealand.
“The more countries, such as ourselves, that take rational stances toward the problem – the more pressure there will be on America and other more captured countries to make a shift.”
And exactly how many countries are taking that rational stance? China, India, the EU, Australia.
The hot air emanating from politicians about tackling Global Warming is just adding to the problem.
Great article you linked to there. It was really informative, thanks.
Yes your original point was that voting Greens wasn’t going to make any difference to the snow and ice loss on the Southern Alps and I responded by saying that having a Greener approach works on many different levels for example as it stands the RMA, which has really good guidelines for mitigating disaster, is being undermined by our current government. This means that people are less likely to be personally affected by the very real issues that are likely to arise in the not so distant future due to climate and pollution issues. Their behaviour and attitudes, therefore, don’t change and this not only means any sea-level rise will cause more disruption than it needs to, it also lowers peoples’ awareness of the issue and drops any pressure for change on a larger scale.
I am not too informed about what countries are taking strong actions on the issue of climate change (hopefully someone who is will jump in … Jenny? I am vaguely aware of perhaps Scandinavian countries, maybe the Netherlands? doing well with greener technology) – it is a pity to hear that about Germany re coal – however that article does indicate that they haven’t given up and perhaps see the use of coal as a way of avoiding nuclear power while they certainly sound like they are investing a lot into finding alternatives. So it is not like they have given up on their aim.
When countries become successful with Greener technologies – they are bound to catch on. We have an opportunity to be part of that process. Moreso than larger countries.
One thing for sure – simply following those countries that are captured by big money and are accordingly not making sincere efforts in that regard certainly won’t address the issue. Nor will defeatism.
Your logic is flawed Tom, if you really believe nothing can be done – Then you should have not commented here, and should be sniffing coke off Keys ass.
I don’t believe nothing CAN be done. I strongly suspect nothing WILL be done, until it is far too late to prevent disaster. After all, we are already locked in to a 2 – 5’c temperature rise and a minimum 15ft sea-level rise and what has actually been done to ameliorate worse?.
However I’m sorry my expressed opinion disturbed the harminious circle-wank you clearly come here for and won’t waste my time putting up alternative views that might frighten the horses, as I don’t come to The Standard to be insulted.
There are others that express similar concerns on the Standard that you have, Tom – I hope you don’t get completely put off commenting here. I enjoy a variety of opinions as I am sure others do too.
I don’t think that staying down at 2C by the end of the century has about as much hope of happening as a icicle has of surviving the night in hell. Pretty much on track for about 4C or higher and I’d be assuming something closer to 15 metres sea level rise than 5 metres after the WAIS starts getting undercut and lubricated. I suspect from the previous deglaciation evidence, that once it starts, it is very fast emptying the basin area of ice and a bit slower after that.
But those are pretty minor provided you don’t live in the tropics, on an atoll or in a coastal plain like Bangladesh. They take time enough for people to adapt.
It is the rapid weather pattern shifts that are going to be much more problematic. Those will impact directly on to food production. They will do so much earlier than sea level rises or heat prostration. Most people fail to understand exactly how reliant we as a civilization are on the settled weather of the current interglacial in our farming practices.
I dont normally warm to much to Latta, but I thought that program last night was excellant if you still vote National after watching this program you have to be a loaf short of a picnic.
I am not usually a fan of Nigel Latta either but this time he made a great job of presenting the realities of the huge difference between the haves and the havenots. Since Key English are in denial about this, no doubt they will be very angry little boys. TVNZ please explain! http://tvnz.co.nz/nigel_latta/video
I was impressed with Nigel Latta’s show – very good indeed. I also share others’ misgivings of Mr Latta – but this show is really something else. Exciting to witness something so informative on TV.
Just saw this and although so, so, many worthy topics of discussion it is imo important and shocking
Director Ridley Scott’s new biblical blockbuster, Exodus: Gods and Kings, has come under fire for “whitewashing” African history, casting four white leads to tell a story of Israelites and Egyptians.
I am SICK of politicians claiming we should treat everyone the same “under the law” and that is why Maori shouldn’t get Maori seats of whatever. The TREATY of Waitangi is (arguably I know) a legal document. It is “under the law”
A partnership agreement made when Maori were 99% of the population and the british 1%. NOW that our dominance is assured, it’s a piece of law, an agreement that group, and others don’t want any more.
Many of us white folk seem to choose to forget the incredible generosity of the Maori folk back in 1840. Im not to sure that it was 99/1 but there were certainly way more Maori being generous than there were English receiving it at the time.
No doubt, there was an area of misunderstanding between the parties, as to what the other interpreted it to mean (each side interpreting it by their own culture) but that did not excuse the wrongs that were subsequently done to the Maori people.
When you do a wrong, you need to put it right. Hence the Waitangi Tribunal.
contra proferentum my friend. its all allowed for under the law.
Contra proferentem (Latin: “against [the] offeror”),[1] also known as “interpretation against the draftsman”, is a doctrine of contractual interpretation providing that, where a promise, agreement or term is ambiguous, the preferred meaning should be the one that works against the interests of the party who provided the wording.[2] The doctrine is often applied to situations involving standardized contracts or where the parties are of unequal bargaining power, but is applicable to other cases.[3] However, the doctrine is not directly applicable to situations where the language at issue is mandated by law, as is often the case with insurance contracts and bills of lading.[4] wiki
+11111 Tracey – I was not happy when Dame Susan Devoy was appointed Race Relations Commissioner. She did say though that she had a bit of catching up/reading to do about what had gone before, but she certainly has ripped into the ACT leader’s comments and rightly so.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11301500
Goodness me, first Nigel Latta and now Dame Susan – whoever next.
I imagineshe has learned stuff, like facts, since taking up the position. Previously she, like others only tuned into shallow rhetoric and thought it was “true”
You’ll have to point out to me in the Treaty where is says anything about Maori seats. The Maori Representation Act 1867 was a bribe to Crown loyalists during the land wars and now seem only to exist to prop up National and maybe get Kim Dotcom influence in Parliament.
Oh I do like listening to jamie Whyte. He is so articulate and you always know what he stands for. The people of Epsom must be jumping up and down with joy at having him represent them in parliament. /sarc.
The people of Epsom must be saying oh fuuuucccckkkkkkk. Oh why, do we have these fools foisted on us by TricKey.
Whtye is on the ACT list, and he will get into parliament if any red buttons are found and pushed.
Unfortunately even the richest people are seeing that National no longer is representing their interests. Wealth can be undermined, by boardrooms, by market failures but also by governments undermine the society that underwrites the whole economy.
Why would a wealthy person want to support others to get wealthy, cheat on their taxes, get incentives than undermine their consumers buying power, etc, etc. Its just dumb to want tax cuts, its socialism for the rich, an easy rich for those who are supposed to make their wealth by hard work, or harder risk taking.
National is corrupted by its neo-liberal ideological heart. I still can’t find an example of this high minimum wages causes job loses ideal, the closest I can find is a slave economy, where slave owners raise the amount of money they give the slaves. The slaved then buy themselves out of slavery and push up the unemployment numbers.
i have to wonder then Gosman why the pathetic racially divisive idiot is then given airtime anywhere on the TeeVee or my wireless,
The 7 Maori electorates, in my opinion, being a physical manifestation of Tinorangatiratanga, would suggest that until such time as Maori enrolled to vote in such electorates agree to not have them they will be a major feature of our political landscape…
just like they understand the rule of law, contract law and property rights 🙂
for a party that is chock full of crims, doesnt want to honour legal contracts and wants to remove property rights from a group of people, they have some funny policies
ACT’s Whyte is in some ways correct, Maori do have a legal privilege here in Aotearoa/New Zealand,
Its called the Treaty of Waitangi and the only racial problem ever created from the existence of this legal privilege was in fact the ignoring of its provisions once the colonials got the upper hand militarily over the tribal Maori nations…
Interesting that the Treaty is considered a “race” based document. It is between the chiefs and tribes of NZ and the Crown. The former are the owners of property and property rights allowing usage over the same. It just so happens that these “owners” and “sellers” happened to be Maori, the “buyers” non Maori. Under British law we are talking property rights that are inherited by through genealogical linkage. Is that “race” based?
Watch out. Auckland home owners, surely, could argue that they have special treasure in the liveability of Auckland and so stop the councils from raising the building heights.
There was a lilt in his voice, an inflection that screamed out loud and clear his class position: there was an assumed authority that underlined the former. In short a privileged prat. He sounded like Don Brash Mark 2.
His logic on race was quite precise: which all goes to prove that a logical argument can be made for anything in isolation. That in a nutshell is where ACT are, ideologically logical in isolation of any facts or realities that challenge their dogma.
I hope someone takes the time soon, live, to destroy Unclecousin’s facile conceit that his sophistry qualifies as philosophy, while he splutters and rages like the lying entitled wretch he is.
How fascinating. You appear to regard people with Don Brash’s “class position” as being privileged prats.
Presumably you regard David Cunliffe as being a “privileged prat” also. After all Don’s father was a Presbyterian Minister and David’s an Anglican one. Both apparently favoured the Labour Party. Hard to see any difference really.
One would have to say they come from the same class, wouldn’t one?
@ alwyn 3.10
How fascinating. That you have not noticed that people from the same class can behave in a variety of ways. There is a general behaviour that people adopt within a class system, with extremes at the fringes. So David Cunliffe can be different from Don Brash on that basis.
Then within each church referred to there are differing attitudes to achieving righteousness. If Don’s parents were Calvinists and David’s were from the liberal side of the Anglican church they would be quite different in their outlooks, though they would be aware of the attitudes likely coming from those positions. The Anglicans have a broad church – the Presbyterians inclined to be more demanding to be worthy of heaven.
The whole core of the rich prick class brought in by Thatcher, was of a socialist party for the rich, and privatizism for the everyone else. They’re the rich so they can cheat on their taxes, and force our taxes up while screaming how we aren’t paying enough.
ACT is not a libertarian party. Its a socialist elite party. Nearest thing a western country comes to a communist politburo. Always dictating how others aren’t shaping up.
Can you perhaps tell me how the class they come from is different?
Just what class do you think each one was born into if it isn’t the same one?
Claiming say that the Presbyterian church is a higher class than the Anglican which in turn is higher than The Salvation Army which is higher than the Baptist doesn’t really cut it.
Brash became a commercial – a blind servant of mammon – 2nd class. Cunliffe seems to subscribe to a notion of public service that resembles to some degree the synthetic ideals of Hutcheson. As an accountant Brash may have had some virtue, as a statesman he had none. You might also consider Brash’s degree (Canterbury?) vs Cunliffe’s (Harvard?).
I suppose I could consider Don Brash’s degrees, since you have no idea.
Canterbury BA and MA in Economics. That’s economics, not accounting.
ANU PhD. That is a more highly rated University than any of the NZ ones.
Cunliffe has one economics qualification I suppose. A diploma from Massey.
Doesn’t really seem much does it?
Did Brash learn his racism at ANU? The university at which someone gets their qualifications has very little to do with how well they do in their chosen career. I’ve seen many examples of this.
But I have, greywarbler, I have. It was ennui who appears to regard peoples behaviour as being due to the class into which they were born. If you are born in one class he seems to think your behaviour is pre-ordained.
I think that Don and Dave were born into a very similar class background. It didn’t really matter though. Whatever class Don came from I think he would always have been successful and would have contributed greatly to New Zealand, particularly as he did from his time as Reserve Bank Governor. David Cunliffe on the other hand was always going to be a prat.
I will take your word for the religious attitudes of the various churches. I regard all those who profess to believe in a god as being idiots. You are allowed to take the easy way out and say, as Helen Clark did, that you are an agnostic, or come out and say you are an atheist. Anything else is for people who believe in fairies.
Greywarbler – in defence of some Presbyterian friends I have, it is also a fairly broad church. Standard Calvinism is pretty rigid stuff, but my friends (one a reverend) have been in favour of “worldly” things like gay marriage and marijuana legalisation for years. My impression was that it was broader than the Anglicans, with some of the more traditional Anglicans being able to swap easily to Catholicism.
@ Murray Olsen 1.43
Trying to classify religions as I did was a mistake. I remember now one interesting book by I think, a chap Greenwood, which referred to the high Anglican church and its rites being so near Catholicism, setting its style apart from the practice of the major part of the church. Actually there are some quite good crime stories that weave religious practices and styles in and it is a fascinating theme within the genre.
And alwyn I think you are looking down on the goings on of pollies, while I am the reverse, looking up. And I see Don Brash as a prat who probably got too much praise at school for being precise and clever while never learnign much about actual human behaviour, and David Cunliffe as being successful, highly trained, experienced and yet human-oriented, less statistical and theory biased and more ground-based than Brash.
I don’t like fervent idealists and theory based, utopian followers whether its in economic theory squeezing life to comply, or socially based humanitarian ones who announce the world belongs to the people in fervent tones, or knock-it-all-down and rebuild fresh and new stirrers, or religious ones whose hymn is I Did it my Way, and there is no other, and anyway it is the next life that counts. A pox on all their houses.
John Key says that water quality is not that bad, all it means is that we can’t swim in some rivers on some days.
Show us the money John. It’s your policy, so you should understand the costs by now. Tell us which rivers and which days. Or is it more like which catchments and which months or seasons?
Paul Fish & Game are so unimpressed that they have (collectively as a Council that is) called for Nick Smith’s resignation – the resignation of their very own Minister.
And these are sensible calm rational people (the f&g folk that is, not smith of course)
Fantastic cartoon by Murdoch in the Press this morning showing Nick Smith at a restaurant refusing a glass of water “strained lovingly through cows” while he eats fish.
Someone described this as not the “rock star economy” but the “pollution economy”, which is most apt. John Key’s pollution economy.
Given the newspaper rage aimed at Mr Cunliffe about the Liu affair, does it seem strange that newspapers seem to have almost avoided the clean water/Smith issue?
From my wireless, RadioNZ National, 550+ pack out the hall at the Rotorua InternetMana roadshow, the sniff of 5% of the vote for InternetMana i had last week just got as pungent as that from one of the many mud-pools up there in Waiariki,
Those numbers say to me Annette Sykes will be the new Member of Parliament for that electorate, the tangi for the Maori Party begins….
“someone” should not have put Curtis in the media mix till he had at least fronted the event. Always easier to let a cat out of the bag than add one.
I don’t know the inside story here yet, but do know that there are a number of whanau still split along Mana/Māori Party lines that take it seriously which is why Hone was still reaching out for some kind of rapprochement last year.
Curtis is just doing a nice turn of supporting his bollocks with a fence rail.
And now for the next act… surprise surprise folks … (drum roll) … bring you hands together for Simon Bridges…… (applause) … our latest LIAR from John Key’s government.
Yesterday Bridges admitted spending $240,000 on oil execs in NZ for the rugby world cup
The result?… is this … “Only one of those companies had so far been granted a petroleum exploration permit but had committed to spending almost $20 million here,”
BUT folks here is the clanger, the lie, the deceit and the dishonesty that you have all been waiting for …… I give you again …. Siiiimmon Bridgeessssss…. (applause) …
“But Energy Minister Simon Bridges defended the spending: “the sums expended were very modest …. and has resulted in billions of dollars of international investment in New Zealand.”
…. ta daa
$20million the reality
$billions the liar claims.
Simon Bridges please take your place alongside all the other liars in your government….
(the audience is nearly all gone at this point …)
Yep, six oil companies, that’s a 40 grand piss up, accommodation, and, you can just about bet with certainty free tickets to the rugby for each of those oil companies, only one of which has taken up the right to explore here, all paid for by us the taxpayers,
i wonder if that was one executive per company that such largesse was bestowed upon by Slippery’s National Government, if so, the expense would suggest that they got flown around the country on one very long drunken tour of our rugby stadia,
Meanwhile, those of us living life within the small means brushed our way as crumbs off of the table got to watch ‘live’ from the big screens at the pub…
I’m pretty sure these three companies will make investment decisions on factors other than sychophantic governments. A nice presentation to the Boards would have done the trick if NZ had solid investment potential. I’ keen toknow whhether thre other three companies are established players or cowboy companies. Also if any of them operate here already, or have up sticks and left.
The oil and gas sector currently earns the Government about $800m in royalties and taxes each year which are used to fund roads, schools and hospitals.
Yes, let’s point out what taxes are for, while somehow implying that if not for oil exploration we’d not have roads, schools and hospitals.
Yes clever clogs, well aware of the place of the mining and oil sector in NZ …. but you missed the deception. The point of the comment was not the place of oil and mining, it was the dishonesty of Simon Bridges…. can you see it here?
“the sums expended were very modest …. and has resulted in billions of dollars of international investment “
i was just about to indulge in my favorite breakfast when i read that, 2 toasts, i each with a swipe of marmite and peanut butter, both then lashed with guacamole,
Think i might wait for your image of Banks indulging in His dogs dinner to fade…
That’s my standard munch at breakfast Chooky, laugh, six months ago i had never even made guacamole now its become a staple replacing butter or margarine which are both off the menu here,(and strangely enough not missed at all),
i have just moved to supplying myself with milk for $1.20 a liter via buying in the skim milk powder and purchasing a couple of liter bottles with screw top lids which resemble the milk bottles of my hugely misspent youth,(takes all of five minutes to mix, and is best accomplished by mixing half the liter and then leaving overnight for the froth from the shaking to dissipate),
Soy milk which tastes yummy has been put through my testing regime and found wanting in a number of areas including cost,(anyone thinking of shifting to obtaining their milk via powder should buy the kilo pack as there is no savings involved from buying the smaller packages)…
Well you could put your sign out as a local breakfast cafe as far as i am concerned! …breakfast is the meal of the day i enjoy most i think ( probably because i havent eaten for a while….food tastes so much better on an empty stomach)
Lolz, i have a breakfast menu, including a couple of slices of one of the poor little piggies rear end that is the ultimate in Delish, works as dinner as well…
…you won’t be arguing with Phillip over breakfast then!
..once when I was in an isolated fish and chip shop with my 8 year old son a Mongrel Mob looking guy walked in and my 8 year old red head said “Mum, what do people taste like?”….the Mongrel Mob guy looked interested ….I said “I dont know but your sister would!”…there was the teenage daughter cool as a cucumber …she would have scared any Mongrel Mob!…the guy smiled ever so slightly…I said “I have heard people taste a bit like bacon that is why they were called ‘long pig’ ”
Maybe some NACTS will come knocking at your door and you could have them in for breakfast
Just watched BamBam on the Whitehouse Lawn “givin them damned godless Ruskies” a tongue lashing. Absolute pity about the whole thing was that nothing he said could be backed up by solid evidence, it was all be implication. What the limp rag Uncle Tom was announcing was more sanctions against Russia on behalf of US corporate energy and agricultural corporates. The Russians of course are better placed because they don’t have to rely upon “faith” in the Greenback..they have the real oil and gas that Europe so desperately needs. Merkel wont risk German wealth just to help out a US oil company that cant supply her industry.
Somehow I think the whole issue is going to blow up in our faces with much higher oil prices: the timing is such a pit because along with the drop in dairy receipts, pressure on petrol prices might just have given Key and his cronies a massive electoral headache.
To say that Obama doesnt care is pretty harsh. To say that on the important stuff, he doesnt actually have much of a say, would be far more accurate.
The things he did push, like ObamaCare (he promised “You can keep your existing plan”) may or may not have been a good policy move, but its upsetting a bunch of his middle income voters who already had an existing plan and couldnt keep it, despite the promise.
Those who got cover for the first time, were overwhelmingly likely to support the Democratic nominee in any case.
Laila Harre is standing in Helensville for the Internet/Mana Party.
Hopefully, this will encourage Prime Minister John Key to participate in Helensville electorate candidate debates.
I look forward to voters who support candidates who are members of political parties, giving them their PARTY vote, and giving me their ELECTORATE vote as the (fiercely) Independent MP for Helensville.
So, Slippery the Prime Minister has spun the roulette wheel and bet the ‘House’ on Winston Peters, that’s some gamble from the money trader who in His former life always got to play the game with the deck having been previously stacked by the bigger money boys on the floors of the ‘trading house’ above,
There’s a huge prospect in play here where NZFirst and Colon’s Conservatives become entwined in a lose/lose battle for party vote %’s each chiseling not only votes from each other but crucially nibbling at the soft rump of the National Governments own party vote,
A minus for NZFirst in September will be the loss of support from those who in election 2011 voted for that party solely on the basis that Slippery the PM ruled Peters out of inclusion in a National coalition, and, in the chess game of MMP politics voted as a ‘check’, which incidently nearly became ‘check-mate’, to ensure National as all the media polls were suggesting at the time, could not ‘Govern alone’,
Unfortunately this ‘tactical vote’ which helped NZFirst re-enter the Parliament in 2011 cannot be measured, but, my opinion says, a 3% Conservative vote along with the loss of that 2011 ‘tactical vote’ will see NZFirst fall again, as the party did in 2008, agonizing short of the 5%,
If Anette Sykes wins Waiariki, and, last nights standing room only InternetMana meeting in that electorate has me giving Her a 70/30 advantage over the dying Maori Party’s Flavell there, then Nationals chances of forming a third term Government look even more remote,
Kick ACT from Epsom and/or Dunne from Ohariu and it becomes virtually impossible for the Tory’s to gain that third term,
The left? despite the media polls, looking good, by that i mean looking GOOD, Labour 33%, Greens 12%, InternetMana 5%, not too big an ask at all i would suggest….
i always seen you as confused Puckish, add to that conflicted and we await the addition of a few more words beginning with the consonant C, above four letters please, and we may have you described to a T as opposed to simply describing you in simpler form via C with few other letters added….
(Condensed springs to mind as an addition to confused/conflicted)…
In 2006 Weissglass was just as frank about Israel’s policy towards Gaza’s 1.8 million inhabitants: ‘The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.’ He was not speaking metaphorically: it later emerged that the Israeli defence ministry had conducted detailed research on how to translate his vision into reality, and arrived at a figure of 2279 calories per person per day – some 8 per cent less than a previous calculation because the research team had originally neglected to account for ‘culture and experience’ in determining nutritional ‘red lines’
The regularity of Israel’s perceived need to use force is illustrated by the notorious expression, “mowing the lawn,” that one of its military officers used to describe strategy toward Gaza. It is reminiscent of the advice that Thrasybulus gave Periander of Corinth, recounted in Herodotus. Walking through a field, Thrasybulus broke off the tallest ears of grain by way of showing Periander’s envoy the best way to rule violently. The envoy couldn’t figure out his meaning, but Periander, the prototype of the ancient tyrant, understood immediately on hearing the envoy’s report. The analogy showed that violence could not be a one-time affair. New stalks would grow up. It would remain necessary to keep lopping off the top ones—i.e. mowing the lawn.
Twelve days after the shoot-down of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, your administration still has issued no coordinated intelligence assessment summarizing what evidence exists to determine who was responsible – much less to convincingly support repeated claims that the plane was downed by a Russian-supplied missile in the hands of Ukrainian separatists.
Your administration has not provided any satellite imagery showing that the separatists had such weaponry, and there are several other “dogs that have not barked.” Washington’s credibility, and your own, will continue to erode, should you be unwilling – or unable – to present more tangible evidence behind administration claims. In what follows, we put this in the perspective of former intelligence professionals with a cumulative total of 260 years in various parts of U.S. intelligence:
What the professional’s think of the ‘evidence’ against Russia can only be termed scathing. They’re particularly nasty in their condemnation of Senator Kerry.
I just read on another blog a post by someone complaining about Key’s WWI speech yesterday, and was pleased to see someone felt the same as I did. Other pollies spoke with emotion and as this person said, from the heart. But John Key read his speech without any emotion or emphasis. He looked bored and he sounded it and as if it was all just too tiring and bothersome. I felt it was insulting that he didn’t take the time to familiarize himself with the material someone else had written for him. I can only think the subject was just not important enough to him personally. Our veterans weren’t worth the bother of him learning his speech and speaking with the level of commitment the commemoration deserved. Why are so many blinded by this fake?
Don’t take it personally. He’s always like that. There is nothing warm or genuine about him, he’s just going through the motions. Enter room, shake hands with Important Person One, smile, shake hands with Important Person two, smile. Give canned speech written by someone else. Wait until applause dies down. Move away for media standup. Exit. Move on to next event.
As to why so many are blinded, there is a lot that power, money and superficial charm can convince people to overlook.
..the Israeli government has gone mad …it is hell of a PR for Israelis around the world …they are beginning to look more and more like the Nazi government…they will be called to account by history and future generations for crimes against humanity ….and the rest of the world had better not look on and do nothing about it!…because we also will be called to account!
Daniel Barenboim is one Israeli who has spoken out
I met Mirak Smisek several times ….a New Zealand potter of repute, an a opponent of the Nazis and a refugee from Nazi torn Europe …and he told me that it is art that will save us…it was art that gave him hope and art that helped him transcend the evil he had witnessed
Yep it really grates when the right of the party side with the Herald to tell us there is no bias to see and to move along when we spend so much time detailing the concerns. Their choice is a dead giveaway. If the Herald wanted a debate it would select a leftie not an apologist for the right.
I also wish Quin would get his stuff right. The comment about how Labour is only going for the missing million has been replied to on numerous occasions but he still trots out the wrong line …
Just remember that after the next election and you’re scrambling around for excuses as to why Labour did so badly you were told time and time again whats wrong with Labour
I’ll tell you what I have had a gut full of – people who are so lacking in respect that they think they can turn the Labour Party into a vehicle for whatever suits them. For God’s sake, this guy cites the opinion of Shane Jones, who has decamped to work for National. Having taken a glance at other headlines of Quin’s, I assume he is one of the eighties’ influx of aspiring “young men of the city” who sought a vehicle for themselves under Douglas’s wing. And Josie and her ilk appear to think the party exists to allow nice, talented people like themselves to retain a foothold among the political/media elite. To these people I say, read the party’s bloody principles, and try to refrain from dissembling to yourself as you do so! You would not become a priest because the Catholic church could do with more atheists. You would not join the Greens to contribute a much-needed voice in favour of fracking. Why do you think it is OK to do this kind of thing to Labour?
Labours a broad church so i’m guessing their views are valid otherwise why would you have the likes of Mallard, Cosgrove, Goff , King etc etc still hanging around
About six weeks before Helen Clark finally cemented her grip on NZ Labour – one which she maintains to this day, even in absentia – I had finally convinced Phil Goff to topple her.
Phil Quin was someone who tried to get rid of Helen Clark prior to her gaining the government for 9 years.
Perhaps that is why he is an ex Labour adviser?
Not someone’s advice who I would listen to.
It is about time those further right (centrists) created a new party. As it stands it appears that the ‘right-wing’ faction of Labour are pissing on our chances of a decent left-wing government gaining power. Those who are ‘centrists’ in the party need to realise that Labour have very much been presenting themselves to appeal to the centre whilst still attempting to appeal to those further left too. It is ultraistic to push Labour’s current stance any other way. I wish those right-wing /’centrist’ types connected to Labour would stop their squawking and get real.
[Additionally in his article Quin cited, amongst other things, the Dong Liu saga as ‘mismanaged’ by Labour – omitting to mention the story was fictitious and yet propagated by our media. There has been no apology for that nonsense. The problem there was Labour took the story seriously – how were they to know that the media would grab something so unsubstantiated and report it as fact? I think most people who followed that story were truly shocked by how lacking in facts that story was.]
Interesting BL. So according to Quin Helen’s reign and the fifth Labour Government was an abject disaster for the party and we should be led by Shane Jones, no doubt with Josie Pagani as deputy.
It is certainly looking like that although I think it is important to acknowledge the many Labourites who are loyal and are working diligently. Those loyal people need to speak firmly to the ones that are wrecking things for Labour and tell them in no uncertain terms how unacceptable their behaviour is.
i think Richard is flailing, sadly, in the wrong place at the wrong time, it really is too late in the piece for us to be attempting to exploit that which we see as not quite right in the policy arena,
The 3 years just passed were the times to be talking thus, with the campaign proper having overtaken such concerns the vote itself now becomes the imperative,
i like these numbers, for me they have a certain resonance, an inevitability if you will, Labour 33%, Greens 12%, InternetMana 5%, my little gaze into the crystal ball of the 2014 election…
A dreadful comment on Radionz this morning about the ballooning tragedy and the defects of the CAA. They knew lots about the guy, binge drinker, marijuana smoker, incidents. But they all know each other, and cosset each other apparently. The CAA put hot air balloons low on the dangerous list! They are not only not doing their job properly, they are under their own control and espouse apparently, that stupid, irresponsible free market crap about businesses should control and regulate themselves.
And they are one of these pseudo-government entities that are free to operate as they wish without control, oversight or discipline from government.
It is time that we demanded a complete overhaul and sacking of these pompous, diseased shits. The disease of arrogant position, so that they feel no shame when accidents occur, just throwing excuses, statistics and technical jargon in everyone’s eyes when actually the source of the fault is quite obvious to the naive, unpropagandised enquirer. And a Royal Commission to establish the fault properly. These so and so’s in CAA should be jailed and fined as well. The interview with David Still sets out the situation well.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon
Balloon death families call for government to act ( 12′ 43″ )
09:08 David Still’s daughter Alexis was one of 10 passengers who died in a hot air balloon crash in Carterton in 2012, along with pilot Lance Hopping. He says the Civil Aviation Authority failed to act despite repeated complaints about Hopping prior to the accident, and he’s calling for the government to force change upon the aviation safety regulator.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport
CAA failed to take action over balloon pilot complaints ( 3′ 11″ )
08:23 An inquest has been told several complaints had been made to the Civil Aviation Authority about the pilot of a hot-air balloon which crashed in Wairarapa in 2012 killing all 11 people on board.
Preventable accidents in NZ –
Crash survivors sue Ansett for $3 million – Tony Stickley – NZ … http://www.nzherald.co.nz/tony-stickley/news/article.cfm?a_id=143...
Dec 23, 1999 – … Dash-8 flight which smashed into a hill while trying to land at Palmerston North in June 1995. Two passengers and one crew member died in the tragedy. … The airline had also made a deliberate decision not to replace faulty landing gear, … on flying the plane, said Mr Miles, the captain was helping the co-pilot lower the …
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=192796
As evidence would show, this was not as alarming as it may sound. Landing gear problems on the Dash-8s had become so frequent that pilots had stopped reporting them to Ansett.
But what Captain Sotheran and First Officer Brown had failed to notice was that their aircraft was perilously close to the foothills of the Tararua Ranges, to the east of Palmerston North.
Interestingly, i gather the market response is that now that business will fail, and others will see their failure, due to deaths, and do stuff to avoid people dying… But look how many have to die
Job interview at 2pm.
Only a fixed term contract through January 31st 2015, but a bit of breathing space from Mr Wolf when he comes a knocking.
Don’t know what to say about my last employment when asked, but I’ll burn that bridge when I’ve crossed it.
I went with honesty being the best policy. Whether it works or not is out of my hands now.
I was happy enough with my performance. I’ll just have to keep my trotters crossed.
Labour had some concerns about the proposals, but agreed to back the bill into law because it felt urgent measures were needed to relieve house prices. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/election-2014/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503581&objectid=11301094
And many wonder what the difference between Nat and Lab are ? Well for developers IMO they allow for profits to increase as they transfer costs to the rate payer, and I defie anyone to prove anything different.
If anyone has any ideas that transferring council contributions to rate payers will reduce the price of property, they are misguided. The price we pay for a house is “market driven” not as cost plus basis.
If you look to the last major building industry crisis, leaky homes, developers took profits, shut down the company, avoided any liability and have had NO legislation aimed at them… Builders, yes. Designers? Yes. Developers no, and this govt wants to give them more money, less regulation and still no tightening of liability.
And they get full support from Labour. Next year when rates have increased it is not all the fault of our local govt, they have been given a hospital pass from Wellington.
Many of the services that are to now be funded by “other ” sources like libraries, sports grounds, community facilities, there are vast amounts that have been already collected by council & to be spent in the future, but under the LTCCP are deferred., part of the reason is the squeeze on councils increasing debt. Also talking of the LTCCP , councils spent huge resources, $ and time in preparing these and in one wee stroke all the work and planning of funding and timing has been undone. What a waste
Now that Stephen Joyce has confirmed that he will be nationalising Novopay from Talent2, can some one tell me whether Michelle Boag is a shareholder in Talent2?
This expensive re–look at the 4 decades old Crewe murders is only significant for more arse covering and fingers in ears from the blue bellies. They do manage to find space to retry the case and smear pardoned and compensated Arthur Thomas again and let one early suspect off the hook.
RIP to those who perished in the Wairarapa ballooning tragedy, it could be said that to be the passenger of a balloon pilot so affected is even worse,
Obviously, at some point in the future when the Parliament comes to look at the decriminalization/legalization of that particular substance such concerns as how to address the use of such vis a vis employment/public safety issues will have to be an inherent part of such Legislation,
The recent ‘running aground’ of a Tranzrail passenger train at the Melling station here in Wellington has been attributed to either a too high speed limit rounding the bend into that particular end of the line station and/or the Marijuana use of the driver…
“in the future when the Parliament comes to look at the decriminalization/legalization of that particular substance such concerns as how to address the use of such vis a vis employment/public safety issues”
Not to make light of that shocking preventable tragedy, but a literacy test might be a start.
i laughs,(but only quietly up my sleeve), gee Alien for once i am a little disappointed in the Wiki,
my Collins English ‘book of words’ is far more descriptive and explanatory when the words puckering up are considered previous to a reference to condyloma,
i am of course far to polite to go into the minute detail here, and besides, its dinner time…
David Cunliffe’s facebook page just sent a message:
“Multinationals must pay their fair share of tax, just like ordinary working people. Labour will ’embed’ IRD auditors in corporations that have a history of tax avoidance #forabetterNZ”
Yes, just like a political commissionar in the old soviet union. All decisions will be then be able to be vetoed if they don’t meet certain “National interest” criteria.
Unions will get no more of a ‘free pass’ on tax than any New Zealand-based business or other organisation currently does.
This policy is an additional tax enforcement strengthening measure and not the removal of all tax enforcement for everyone other than some errant multinationals.
Puckish, David Cunliffe as far as i know does not collect taxes, the IRD involve themselves in that activity,
i see no suggestion from you or the Labour Party that Trade Unions will be absolved from taxes by altering of the current Legislation which makes your comment somewhat deserving of a multiple lettered epithet starting with the consonant, (you choose)…
Those right-wing hacks/commenters are so irrational…and yet they are the type to trust that ‘markets players are rational’ – you couldn’t make this stuff up.
People such as the writer of this article apparently fall outside the expected group of low income folk, people in debt or worried about immigration status, etc.
I think this group who just don’t want their details bought and sold for business gain is growing.
Anyone got a good reason for the roll to be published at all? I can’t see why and I bet the turnout would go through the roof if voters were allowed to remain anonymous, just as the vote they cast is.
Anyone got a good reason for the roll to be published at all?
Not that I know of.
That said, it was possibly an idea that someone had that people would be able to look at the role and see if there were people on it that shouldn’t be. It may have worked if communities stayed below about 1000 people and everyone knew everyone else. Won’t work in any community above that size though.
And these days we have better options to ensure that people are registered where they should be without having to make the role publicly available.
It’s up to the EC to decide who should and should not be on the roll, not the public. So at the moment you have to register by paper, or online using RealMe. Even using RealMe you have to open an account then go to a postshop and have your photo taken.
Even after all of this I cannot see a reason for publishing unless the EC have been given a directive to fund themselves by selling voters’ information to third parties.
Ie, user pays, even when voting, a basic right in any democracy.
News from my wireless, RadioNZ National, the Government has announced it will establish a private company to take over the Education Payroll from Novopay,
Novopay is said to be paying the Government an undisclosed amount as penalty payment for a system that still fails to fulfill its expectations,
Gee only how many years too late and the ‘problems’ in the system will still have to be addressed by this ‘private company’…
From, I think, the same item on Checkpoint Stephen Joyce admitted that the taxpayer was picking up the larger share of the tab because there was “blame on both sides”. The Ministry had, apparently, bungled some things too. He didn’t mention who the negligent Minister was who has just cost us this coin.
Then, when asked if this was a case of the public sector being better than the private sector Joyce said words to the effect of ‘not at all, it simply happens that the government holds one side of the contract in this case and is taking over’.
But I thought that governments and their bureaucracies just can’t do this sort of stuff. Wouldn’t they be the last type of organisation you’d therefore turn to for a safe pair of hands in this kind of situation?
Aren’t things like payrolls just too tricky by half for them to get their heads around. The private sector, on the other hand …
Do we need another Henare voted into Parliament? The last one was bad enough. Is it not time for labour supporters to start voting for greens and other candidates in electorates? Labour activist here and elsewhere, keep begging the left not to split the vote. The gall to ask people to hold there noses and vote for some Tory scum in red clothing.
How about all those so called supporters of working people advise/aid/direct, or just be honest about some of the candidates that the labour party have put up. Phil Goff, Stuart (I think your grandfather is rolling in his grave) Nash, I’m sure others can be added to this list.
These are the evil shits we need to remove, the elephant in the room – how much longer labour people, how much longer you going to push the dead donkey?
Why do labour supporters keep putting up with these scum?
In the interests of working people any chance we can have an honest debate about the dead chaff in Labour who are hell bent on losing this election? Or am I going to get called a right wing troll – stupid or some other slagging off? Are the labour faithful going to go into fits of there own self-righteousness, and cling to any old Tory wannabe?
You say you like David Cunliff, yet he keeps being treated like shit. Labour have finally put up a leader who will make a bloody decent PM. And it is these MP wannabes who seem to me the happiest to poop in their own nest. Quite frankly, it reeks of the politics of self interest.
Everyone is accusing Jamie Whyte from the Act Party of being a racist.
Hypothetically speaking, if his partner was black, like I mean black black, would that change anything?
[lprent: Everybody? Don’t be a fool. There are usually thousands of people reading this site every day and a few hundred commenting. I guess you can’t count or have the common neolib inflationary view that expands the few fools in Act into a “movement”. I’d suggest that if you’re going to indulge in hyperbole, that you don’t do it about this site. That draws my attention to the dickheads doing it because I will answer for the site.
I really hate wasting time on peewees who measure their dicks using a magnifying glass for that extra size inflation. Read the policy. ]
No. Notwithstanding his personal family situation, to claim Maori are unjustly privileged is unhelpful to New Zealand, and racist. We intend to be different to African and American history here.
In addition, to describe someone as black is one thing, silverbullet, but to then describe someone as “black black” is…
Go put your Stalinist comrade uniform on – oh hang on, you are already wearing it.
[lprent: I suggest that you read the policy. You appear to be wearing a troll uniform. Lets be nice and imagine that it is like this…
This is your one warning about being a dickhead jerking off on our site. Engage with the conversation or leave before I have to toss you off the site. Leading up to an election, I really can’t be bothered being tolerant of mindless fools who try to imagine that they are sophisticated smartarses. ]
If any current NZ leader could be compared to Stalin it is John Key. Figuratively, the similarities between Key’s rejuvenation drive to the great purge in the 1920’s are alarming.
Your Far Left ideology is grounded in the philosophy of Marxism, with its “class consciousness”, “class conflict” and some future “workers paradise” type utopia.
Seeing as you asked silverbullet, NO, racism is not confined within one racial grouping, a white male for instance with an African American partner could for instance express hatred for Maori and rightly be labeled a racist,
The term racist does not presuppose that there is hatred of all the races other than that of the racist, the racist might only be so concerning one race other than his own to be a racist…
Seriously? Its always been about white vs the rest. So it does bring into question hypothetically that Whyte really is racist if he is married to someone of African descent and has kids too…
I’m really sorry this exchange didn’t go the way you planned, and that’s left you arguing against a case that no-one seems to be making, but what’s happening here is obvious. Jamie Unclecousin is attacking maori so racists will vote for ACT.
Now that might be a racist thing to do, or it might just be a selfish stupid short-sighted evil nasty cynical divisive corrosive thing to do. But either way, it has nothing to do with his wife, just as it had nothing to do with Don Brash’s wife when he pulled the exact same stunt 10 years ago.
What we do know is that no good can come of it. It will make some people in our society angry about other people in our society. It will hurt people. It will hurt race relations. And it will not achieve a single positive thing.
“tough on crime” is their main clarion call in Epsom, despite the Govt, of which they were a part, until their only member committed… a crime… tells us crime is falling and we are safer than ever.
So
Tough on crime
2.Maori are too privileged
AND they will get a seat in parliament… Over 17% of their sitting MPs have committed crimes…People of Epsom worship at the later of money
Just heard on the TV that we’ve paid x millions to Talent2 for the Novapay fuckup and that we’re then going to paying another nine million over the next six years as well. Wish I could get a job like that – paid for fucking it up, paid to be fired from it and then 6 year multi-million dollar redundancy package.
@ Weepus beard 6.55
“Where is the minister of Education in all of this?She has learned when to keep her mouth shut.”
These words by Graham Nash have substance and they say what we are all thinking here! And we need to rouse them and ourselves and follow our dreams during the day and night – dreams for a happy, functioning society. I think there might be an odd word in it.
From musixmatch
“Teach Your Children”
You, who are on the road must have a code that you can live by.
And so become yourself because the past is just a good bye.
Teach your children well, their father’s hell did slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams, the one they fix, the one you’ll know by.
Don’t you ever ask them why, if they told you, you would cry,
So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.
And you, of the tender years can’t know the fears that your elders grew by,
And so please help them with your youth, they seek the truth before they can die.
Teach your parents well, their children’s hell will slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams, the one they fix,the one you’ll know by.
Don’t you ever ask them why, if they told you, you would cry,
So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.
This extract from Chris Trotter’s reply to Phil Quin referred to in Puddleglum 6.45 carries forward my comment about the necessity for igniting the dream. I fear that the generations since 1984 have been unable to imbibe enough of that message from their parents, and certainly not from school or any other formal or informal education. One reason they may not feel like voting.
The people whose precarious position of privilege vis-a-vis the working poor and beneficiaries renders them unashamedly reluctant to redistribute even a little of the wealth they have “worked for”.
Beneath a superficial “concern” for the disadvantaged, these voters conceal a visceral contempt for the poor. They are terrified of being forced to share their resources with the “underserving” and will have absolutely no truck with any political party which suggests that, as citizens, they have a moral obligation to put an end to inequality and poverty. –
See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/07/30/the-40-percent-solution-chris-trotter-responds-to-phil-quin/#sthash.0TbWppqF.dpuf
I have to admit that I am stunned that there is still such a thing as a ‘Labour Right’ that extends so far to the right that its apparent members (Pagani, Quin, Jones) are essentially pushing an economic approach that actively undermines the welfare of just those people that Labour Parties around the world were set up to represent and advance.
How on earth is such an economic policy orientation part of any ‘Labour’ approach?
You can thank the Post Modernists for the meaningless of language these days, they are after all the bastard children of ‘Progressive’ Left Neo Marxist ideology.
I think you need to distinguish between postmodernism as an intellectual current and postmodernity as a hypothesised economic, social and cultural transformation of modernity.
The latter is exemplified by ‘late consumer capitalism’ and all of its attendant industries (marketing, advertising, media, design, etc.) and the emergence of a supposedly new social class (highly educated, high income, usually employed in the industries just mentioned) for whom ‘cultural capital’ is an additional boasting right (on top of other forms of capital).
To be honest, I think it is postmodernity (or the cultural and economic conditions that that term usually refers to) that is responsible for any loss of meaning in our use of language. That loss of meaning is present in managerialism-speak, marketing-speak, neoliberalism-speak (which is increasingly commerce-speak) and, sadly, political-speak.
This morphing flexibility in linguistic meaning comes very close, of course, to old-fashioned lying – semantic relativism taken to its logical conclusion.
For me that logical conclusion is forever epitomised by John Key’s one-time reference to ‘the dynamic environment’ to explain why the meaning of his words change over time (or something like that).
By comparison, I think the influence of postmodernist theorists over the actual loss of meaning in everyday practice is infinitesimal.
I’m afraid your ‘silverbullet’ just missed what should have been its real target.
@Puddleglum 7.42
Your comment on ‘the dynamic environment’ and changes in meaning reminds me of something that Thomas Belmonte wrote and I think called it protean, about the changing, sometimes conflicting and changing beliefs of people rather lost in a changing society. He was impressed how people could be Catholic and Communist at the same time etc.
I looked up protean and came on this psycholgist who has done work on Nasties and their psychology and the Holocaust. Then he has posited two streams of people management – one called totalism and has presented proteanism as being the opposite.
Indeed. I made a similar remark at 21.1.1.2. The broad church concept is meaningful where someone like, say, Damien O’Connor, is concerned, beavering away on behalf of the West Coast. He is often considered to be of the right of the party, but he still able to say he sees social justice and regional development as his missions. However, the people you list seem to want to remain in the Labour Party while casting aside everything it stands for.
The real schism in the Labour Part is between the traditional working class and the academic Identity Politics crowd – the latter having a strangle hold on the Labour Party which is a shadow of its former self.
No, the most significant parting of the ways will always be when one faction believes that it should be serving the interests of the powerful and entrenched rather than the powerless, dispossessed and marginalised.
Clever justifications for serving powerful interests (trickle-down, etc.) will never resolve that betrayal, I’m afraid.
I have no problems with someone like O’Connor being ‘Labour’. And I’m even enough of a pragmatist to accept that some in the Labour caucus would want to make some sort of ‘truce’ or compromise with the ‘neo-liberal consensus’.
What I really can’t fathom is people who are not satisfied with ‘accommodating’ neoliberalism but seem bent on actively extending its reach and pushing it further into our social and economic arrangements – just because that’s what National is doing and ‘Ooo, look how popular National are!’.
It’s just mind-boggling that someone wishing to do that would even want to be in the Labour Party.
I just wish that when the media went for people who can talk intelligently on the Labour Party they would choose people that I knew! Mike Williams can do it. He has a grassroots understanding of the party.
Pagani and Quin cannot. Honest I have been heavily involved in the party for the past 15 years and I have not met either of them. I met John Pagani but this does not qualify him as someone who can talk intelligibly on the party.
There are people who come and go at the “upper” level but they have no comprehension about what is happening at the activist level.
Pagani and Quin cannot. Honest I have been heavily involved in the party for the past 15 years and I have not met either of them. I met John Pagani but this does not qualify him as someone who can talk intelligibly on the party
I know exactly what you mean. I’ve met John Pagani once and wasn’t that impressed. His campaigning felt like it was out of the ark (mind you most of the MPs are worse). Never met the other two that I am aware of. And I’ve been to the majority of the conferences and congresses in one capacity or another over the last 25 years which is where you’d expect to meet Labour party people. I still do even though I’m in the media room rather than the remit floor.
That is truly horrible that the people commenting in the media as though they are informed about Labour – or as though they are insiders – may not be even actively involved in the Party – that really is terrible to hear.
Why can’t the media find more informed voices to comment on these political current affairs? (Not really a question – more of a plea).
Basically because damn near everyone who is suitable is also actively working during the day for a variety of private and public organisations and volunteering at night. Generally companies like my current employers have contract clauses that limit how much time I can take during paid hours and conflict of interest clauses that limit me in the rest. I also have many claims on my “free” time.
It takes time to write articles, prep for interviews and panels, or anything else.
Hell the one interview I have ever done involved me in a 3 hour hole in the middle of my working day driving from Albany to Newmarket, doing a segment, and then going back to work. I then worked 3 hours extra that day, which interfered with the volunteer work for the rest of the week as I caught up.
The people who are left over to become talking heads are those who aren’t particularly actively involved, those developing careers as talking heads, or who are semi-retired.
For everyone else who works a lot, the whole thing is a confounded nuisance.
Well written from Chris Trotter, thanks for the link as i forget sometimes to cast an eye over the daily offering from that direction,
40% as far as the vote goes is totally unnecessary in the enviroment of MMP, these numbers, Labour 33%, Greens 12%, InternetMana 5%, are hardly wildly optimistic, they do tho shout out 50% at the September vote…
I have a little anecdote. Talking to an older woman with health problems. Mentioned that it was very hard for unemployed and mentioned the recent comment that people are required to apply for 5 jobs a day and may still have their benefit withdrawn.
She said that was awful but she couldn’t cope with it, she needed to just manage and carry on quietly. I said well don’t vote for National will you. But I like John Key she said, he seems nice, (or something of that nature). She said with a smile, is that the end of the lecture. We smiled and went on with our day.
greywarbler …that is very depressing when you meet idiots like that…however after her encounter with you this timid soul may change her vote once she gets in the voting booth
Interesting you should say that, because i had a similar, but more disturbing experience. The person I was talking to was a 50 plus year old primary school teacher who said that she would be voting National because she said, she likes key! I was very surprised that she was so naive. I try to change her reasoning, but she actually was peeved with me and did not want to discus the issue.
Shows that lots of people have been fooled and conned so very easily by the smiling assassin!
Nats know this. No wonder they have chosen #Team Key as their slogan.
People are in pretty bad, sad political/enlightened state in modern NZ!
@ Chooky 10.54 and Clemgeopin
“that is very depressing when you meet idiots like that”
Trouble is she is not an idiot. But I think one of many NZs who want to leave the pollies to govern, as that being their job, and have never been taught how fragile democracy is, and our firm opinions are (not firm at all – able to be changed fast with a propaganda campaign.) To many NZs, having an interest in politics is a hobby, it is akin to stamp collecting, or it is for go-getters who are pushing their wheelbarrow not for ordinary people.
Then there are those who can hardly bring themelves to complain about anything apart from blocks to whatever is dear to their heart. What right do we have to disagree with the confident con men and fabulists who tell us all they want us to know, and are never guilty of wrongdoing, at worst whatever – was a little mistake – just a tiny, teeny one. We all have a little cringe built-in. We have got confused, don’t have a dream for NZ, don’t have even a workable vision – given up on pollies substance and just see the candy floss. Poem for today’s pollies, there for us at election time with hearts on sleeves, and then after the election – a different story.
W. H. Mearns – Antigonish
Yesterday upon the stair
I met a man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
I wish, I wish he’d go away
When I came home last night at three
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall
I couldn’t see him there at all!
“It’s not just radicalised Islamists – what about foreign fighters who flock to the IDF?
Is the Government interested in UK citizens who have been fighting in Israeli uniform in Gaza in the past couple of weeks?…
Let me be frank. Dozens of British supporters of Israel do serve in the Israeli army. The same applies for Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US. And they don’t necessarily gravitate to being war criminals. This may not be what an Arab would say – and it is certainly not what Israelis would suggest. But there is plenty of evidence – from 1982 in Lebanon, from 1996 in Qana, from 2008-9 in Gaza and again in Gaza these past two weeks – that individual Israeli soldiers and pilots have committed acts which, under international law, are war crimes…
It will hit you sooner or later, what goes on in Ukraine, in Middle and Near East, and many other parts of the world, New Zealand is not insulated and will be affected.
After Ukips success in the UK and EU elections NZ polictions are trying to jump on the bandwagon but NZ has only a limited number of racist so it will be slim pickings for Winnie the poo ,in reading whyte supremacist and Crazy Colon Craig.
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
“It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Minister’s ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 28 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was “improper” ...
As a young gymnast, Aimee Didierjean was always conscious of making sure her underwear wasn’t showing on the competition floor. A peek of a bra strap, or briefs if a leotard rode up, would cost a gymnast points in her routines. “When I was growing and going through puberty, it ...
Jubi/West Papua Daily Repeated cases of Indonesian military (TNI) soldiers torturing civilians in Papua have been evident, as seen in the viral video depicting the torture of civilians in the Puncak Regency allegedly done by soldiers of Raider 300/Brajawijaya Infantry Battalion. There is a pressing need for stringent law enforcement ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In 2023, Anthony Albanese was shooting for the moon, his eyes on the Voice referendum. On one view, he looked like the idealist reflecting his left-wing roots. In 2024, we’re seeing a pragmatic, determined, ...
The House - The principle that all MPs are honourable and that they should be taken at their word has been tested multiple times this week in Parliament. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Dickinson, Professor, Public Service Research, UNSW Sydney Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock Since the review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) released its recommendations in December, there has been a series of Town Hall events to discuss them around the country ...
Asia Pacific Report Two of the global Freedom Flotilla ships are being prepared in Turkey and almost ready for the upcoming humanitarian mission to Gaza. It is expected that the flotilla will include a New Zealand medical team. Kia Ora Gaza is a member of the international Freedom Flotilla Coalition ...
If you are still needing a reason to vote Green, here is evidence of why we need to act on climate change urgently.
What do we want to leave for our children and grandchildren?
“Southern Alps snow, ice vanishing
Retreating glaciers and uncovered rocks evidence of swift change in climate with implications for sea level.
A third of the permanent snow and ice on the Southern Alps has vanished in less than four decades, according to an analysis of aerial surveys.
In an article published on Australian website The Conversation, three Kiwi researchers describe the story of the alps’ disappearing ice as very dramatic.
The analysis, by climate scientist Dr Jim Salinger, Otago University Professor Emeritus Blair Fitzharris and glaciologist Dr Trevor Chinn, follows on from a paper published by Dr Chinn last year documenting the retreat of our postcard glaciers.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11301095
“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”
+100…
Compared with the now unstoppable collapse of the West Antartic Ice Sheet, the ice disappearing from the Southern Alps is piffling. And there is nothing the Greens can do about either even if they had a 100% majority in Parliament so you might as well vote National, grab your share of the money-go-round and party while you still can.
http://time.com/96173/antarctic-glacier-loss-is-unstoppable-study-says
There are things that can be done to mitigate disasters.
For example I live in a coastal area and yet there are still people building substantial houses and businesses within metres of a coastline that has issues with eroding storm damage . People who invest their money into buildings and businesses on the coastline complain bitterly about RMA regulations yet are the first to go crying to Council to fix the problem when a storm occurs. This type of behaviour costs Councils a lot of time and money and I repeat: the people conducting themselves in such ways are the same people who are not prepared to create distance between the shoreline and their buildings from the outset. It is bloody ridiculous.
“There are things that can be done to mitigate disasters.” – Blue leopard.
Go tell it to the President.
US President B. M. Obama, 14/6/2014
“[S]ince this is a very educated group, you already know the science. Burning fossil fuels release carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide traps heat. Levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere are higher than they’ve been in 800,000 years. …
We know the trends. The 18 warmest years on record have all happened since you graduates were born. We know what we see with our own eyes. Out West, firefighters brave longer, harsher wildfire seasons; states have to budget for that. Mountain towns worry about what smaller snowpacks mean for tourism. Farmers and families at the bottom worry about what it will mean for their water. In cities like Norfolk and Miami, streets now flood frequently at high tide. Shrinking icecaps have National Geographic making the biggest change in its atlas since the Soviet Union broke apart.
So the question is not whether we need to act. The overwhelming judgment of science, accumulated and measured and reviewed over decades, has put that question to rest. The question is whether we have the will to act before it’s too late. For if we fail to protect the world we leave not just to my children, but to your children and your children’s children, we will fail one of our primary reasons for being on this world in the first place."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/14/1307018/-President-Obama-s-remarks-at-UC-Irvine-commencement-ceremony
US President B. M. Obama, 17/7/2014
“As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, BOEM…today announced that the bureau will offer more than 21 million acres offshore Texas for oil and gas exploration and development in a lease sale that will include all available unleased areas in the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area.”
http://www.boem.gov/press07172014a
Do you wonder that I’ve given up?
You shouldn’t solely base your views on what America is doing. They are screwed politically just now.
We are a much smaller country with a different political system (namely our voting system). We have more opportunity to get a shift happening. The more countries, such as ourselves, that take rational stances toward the problem – the more pressure there will be on America and other more captured countries to make a shift.
“The more countries, such as ourselves, that take rational stances toward the problem – the more pressure there will be on America and other more captured countries to make a shift.”
Er, yeah. Like Europe’s Green powerhouse Germany, now importing coal from the USA to burn for power generation so it can abandon nice ‘clean’ nuclear.
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/on_the_road_to_green_energy_germany_detours_on_dirty_coal/2769
But my original point in response to the thread starter was that voting Green in New Zealand isn’t going to make any difference to the loss of snow and ice on the Southern Alps as that problem doesn’t originate in New Zealand.
“The more countries, such as ourselves, that take rational stances toward the problem – the more pressure there will be on America and other more captured countries to make a shift.”
And exactly how many countries are taking that rational stance? China, India, the EU, Australia.
The hot air emanating from politicians about tackling Global Warming is just adding to the problem.
@ Tom Bradford
Great article you linked to there. It was really informative, thanks.
Yes your original point was that voting Greens wasn’t going to make any difference to the snow and ice loss on the Southern Alps and I responded by saying that having a Greener approach works on many different levels for example as it stands the RMA, which has really good guidelines for mitigating disaster, is being undermined by our current government. This means that people are less likely to be personally affected by the very real issues that are likely to arise in the not so distant future due to climate and pollution issues. Their behaviour and attitudes, therefore, don’t change and this not only means any sea-level rise will cause more disruption than it needs to, it also lowers peoples’ awareness of the issue and drops any pressure for change on a larger scale.
I am not too informed about what countries are taking strong actions on the issue of climate change (hopefully someone who is will jump in … Jenny? I am vaguely aware of perhaps Scandinavian countries, maybe the Netherlands? doing well with greener technology) – it is a pity to hear that about Germany re coal – however that article does indicate that they haven’t given up and perhaps see the use of coal as a way of avoiding nuclear power while they certainly sound like they are investing a lot into finding alternatives. So it is not like they have given up on their aim.
When countries become successful with Greener technologies – they are bound to catch on. We have an opportunity to be part of that process. Moreso than larger countries.
One thing for sure – simply following those countries that are captured by big money and are accordingly not making sincere efforts in that regard certainly won’t address the issue. Nor will defeatism.
Your logic is flawed Tom, if you really believe nothing can be done – Then you should have not commented here, and should be sniffing coke off Keys ass.
“..and should be sniffing coke off Keys ass…”
heh..!
I don’t believe nothing CAN be done. I strongly suspect nothing WILL be done, until it is far too late to prevent disaster. After all, we are already locked in to a 2 – 5’c temperature rise and a minimum 15ft sea-level rise and what has actually been done to ameliorate worse?.
However I’m sorry my expressed opinion disturbed the harminious circle-wank you clearly come here for and won’t waste my time putting up alternative views that might frighten the horses, as I don’t come to The Standard to be insulted.
There are others that express similar concerns on the Standard that you have, Tom – I hope you don’t get completely put off commenting here. I enjoy a variety of opinions as I am sure others do too.
I don’t think that staying down at 2C by the end of the century has about as much hope of happening as a icicle has of surviving the night in hell. Pretty much on track for about 4C or higher and I’d be assuming something closer to 15 metres sea level rise than 5 metres after the WAIS starts getting undercut and lubricated. I suspect from the previous deglaciation evidence, that once it starts, it is very fast emptying the basin area of ice and a bit slower after that.
But those are pretty minor provided you don’t live in the tropics, on an atoll or in a coastal plain like Bangladesh. They take time enough for people to adapt.
It is the rapid weather pattern shifts that are going to be much more problematic. Those will impact directly on to food production. They will do so much earlier than sea level rises or heat prostration. Most people fail to understand exactly how reliant we as a civilization are on the settled weather of the current interglacial in our farming practices.
Nigel Latta on the ‘The New Haves And Have Nots’
Good to see a discussion about inequality
http://tvnz.co.nz/nigel-latta/s1-ep4-video-6025283
I dont normally warm to much to Latta, but I thought that program last night was excellant if you still vote National after watching this program you have to be a loaf short of a picnic.
I am not usually a fan of Nigel Latta either but this time he made a great job of presenting the realities of the huge difference between the haves and the havenots. Since Key English are in denial about this, no doubt they will be very angry little boys. TVNZ please explain!
http://tvnz.co.nz/nigel_latta/video
+100 Nigel Latta is a good guy
Just keep him away from all that “darklands” nonsense.
lol +1 agree!
Some very interesting responses to his programme on face book. Like what Paula Benefit wrote in the Vic Uni magazine in 1996
I was impressed with Nigel Latta’s show – very good indeed. I also share others’ misgivings of Mr Latta – but this show is really something else. Exciting to witness something so informative on TV.
Thanks Nigel Latta and the team that made it.
whyte doing his race-baiting rant on tvnz..
..the man is unintelligible….
..he makes shearer look like a lucid speaker/wordsmith…
..and every appearance whyte makes..
..just confirms how much of an odious-oink he actually is…
Yep odious describes him well.
Just saw this and although so, so, many worthy topics of discussion it is imo important and shocking
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/10324082/Racist-casting-claim-for-Ridley-Scotts-Exodus
check out this tweet – it really is blatant and it is also rewriting history
https://twitter.com/TheeSouthside/status/493509410288041985/photo/1
I am SICK of politicians claiming we should treat everyone the same “under the law” and that is why Maori shouldn’t get Maori seats of whatever. The TREATY of Waitangi is (arguably I know) a legal document. It is “under the law”
A partnership agreement made when Maori were 99% of the population and the british 1%. NOW that our dominance is assured, it’s a piece of law, an agreement that group, and others don’t want any more.
Have some honour
Many of us white folk seem to choose to forget the incredible generosity of the Maori folk back in 1840. Im not to sure that it was 99/1 but there were certainly way more Maori being generous than there were English receiving it at the time.
No doubt, there was an area of misunderstanding between the parties, as to what the other interpreted it to mean (each side interpreting it by their own culture) but that did not excuse the wrongs that were subsequently done to the Maori people.
When you do a wrong, you need to put it right. Hence the Waitangi Tribunal.
contra proferentum my friend. its all allowed for under the law.
Contra proferentem (Latin: “against [the] offeror”),[1] also known as “interpretation against the draftsman”, is a doctrine of contractual interpretation providing that, where a promise, agreement or term is ambiguous, the preferred meaning should be the one that works against the interests of the party who provided the wording.[2] The doctrine is often applied to situations involving standardized contracts or where the parties are of unequal bargaining power, but is applicable to other cases.[3] However, the doctrine is not directly applicable to situations where the language at issue is mandated by law, as is often the case with insurance contracts and bills of lading.[4] wiki
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/graph/36364/maori-and-european-population-numbers-1840-1881
+11111 Tracey – I was not happy when Dame Susan Devoy was appointed Race Relations Commissioner. She did say though that she had a bit of catching up/reading to do about what had gone before, but she certainly has ripped into the ACT leader’s comments and rightly so.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11301500
Goodness me, first Nigel Latta and now Dame Susan – whoever next.
I imagineshe has learned stuff, like facts, since taking up the position. Previously she, like others only tuned into shallow rhetoric and thought it was “true”
You’ll have to point out to me in the Treaty where is says anything about Maori seats. The Maori Representation Act 1867 was a bribe to Crown loyalists during the land wars and now seem only to exist to prop up National and maybe get Kim Dotcom influence in Parliament.
go read it..
and then we have that racist piece of shit on tvone breakfast..rawdon christie..
..with his blond sidekick..
..defending/(translating?) whyes’ racist diatribe..
..’he’s got a point there’..
(the only point whyte has..is his fucken conehead..)
..and then reading out emails from aggrieved-whites who have suffered from these excessive privileges maori enjoy..(!)..(who fucken knew..?..eh.?..)
..and after reading out an email noting the 150 yrs of maori having their land stolen etc..
..’rawdy’ airily waves his hand..and sneers:..’that’s looking back’…
..just who is the bigger odious-oink..?..whyte or christie..?
whyte accused Guyon of being “all over the place.”
Whyte was the one very much all over the place. Incoherent!
Seems to have done the trick about getting publicity though. Winston even joined in the fun.
yeah..if yr happy about that ‘publicity’ being widespread laughing-at/piss-taking…
..confirmation of what an inarticulate-idiot whyte is..
..i mean..cd the man give instructions on how to get to a bus-stop..?
..without thoroughly confusing the listener..?
not quite – even though i disagree with winston he was far more articulate and he fired some shots at act and nat at the same time
all jamie whyte power did was further confirm hes not very smart – just like most racists
Jamie Whyte wasn’t much better on RNZ this morning. Again, Espiner was asking some good questions. A nice surprise.
Oh I do like listening to jamie Whyte. He is so articulate and you always know what he stands for. The people of Epsom must be jumping up and down with joy at having him represent them in parliament. /sarc.
The people of Epsom must be saying oh fuuuucccckkkkkkk. Oh why, do we have these fools foisted on us by TricKey.
whyte is not the act candidate..he is the party ‘president’..
..(what do you call ‘the president’ of such a small motley-crew as act..?..delusional..?..)
..the actual candidate is a super-dweeb called seymour..
..and yet they keep him well under wraps..(since those unfortunate junping out from behind hedges and scaring people..and video-taping it..episodes..)
..and they wheel whyte out for act public-appearances….because he handles the media better..?..(!)..
(a talent-pool as deep as a petrie-dish..)
..seymour is walking proof of the dictum..’keep them wondering..!..don’t open yr mouth..and prove what an idiot you are!’..
..those lucky lucky epsom-voters…!..eh..?
..aren’t they spoilt..?
Whtye is on the ACT list, and he will get into parliament if any red buttons are found and pushed.
Unfortunately even the richest people are seeing that National no longer is representing their interests. Wealth can be undermined, by boardrooms, by market failures but also by governments undermine the society that underwrites the whole economy.
Why would a wealthy person want to support others to get wealthy, cheat on their taxes, get incentives than undermine their consumers buying power, etc, etc. Its just dumb to want tax cuts, its socialism for the rich, an easy rich for those who are supposed to make their wealth by hard work, or harder risk taking.
National is corrupted by its neo-liberal ideological heart. I still can’t find an example of this high minimum wages causes job loses ideal, the closest I can find is a slave economy, where slave owners raise the amount of money they give the slaves. The slaved then buy themselves out of slavery and push up the unemployment numbers.
Jamie Whyte is not standing as a candidate in Epsom so the people there won’t have him represent them.
But if Act get enough party votes he will get in won’t he?
Yes but you can hardly claim he is representing Epsom in that situation.
well apart from the fact that its only because of epsom he would be there
Then the same would apply to Laila Harre and Te Tai Tokerau if she gets in as a result of Hone winning that seat.
indeed.
Are any parties intentionally throwing the TTT electorate campaign in order to get an overhang on their side? No?
Epsom must be proud.
i have to wonder then Gosman why the pathetic racially divisive idiot is then given airtime anywhere on the TeeVee or my wireless,
The 7 Maori electorates, in my opinion, being a physical manifestation of Tinorangatiratanga, would suggest that until such time as Maori enrolled to vote in such electorates agree to not have them they will be a major feature of our political landscape…
Because it is newsworthy apparently. Winston and Tariana Turia also thought so as they both commented on the subject.
Nah Gos, the people of Epsom understand personal responsibility, surely?
just like they understand the rule of law, contract law and property rights 🙂
for a party that is chock full of crims, doesnt want to honour legal contracts and wants to remove property rights from a group of people, they have some funny policies
ACT’s Whyte is in some ways correct, Maori do have a legal privilege here in Aotearoa/New Zealand,
Its called the Treaty of Waitangi and the only racial problem ever created from the existence of this legal privilege was in fact the ignoring of its provisions once the colonials got the upper hand militarily over the tribal Maori nations…
Interesting that the Treaty is considered a “race” based document. It is between the chiefs and tribes of NZ and the Crown. The former are the owners of property and property rights allowing usage over the same. It just so happens that these “owners” and “sellers” happened to be Maori, the “buyers” non Maori. Under British law we are talking property rights that are inherited by through genealogical linkage. Is that “race” based?
Watch out. Auckland home owners, surely, could argue that they have special treasure in the liveability of Auckland and so stop the councils from raising the building heights.
There was a lilt in his voice, an inflection that screamed out loud and clear his class position: there was an assumed authority that underlined the former. In short a privileged prat. He sounded like Don Brash Mark 2.
His logic on race was quite precise: which all goes to prove that a logical argument can be made for anything in isolation. That in a nutshell is where ACT are, ideologically logical in isolation of any facts or realities that challenge their dogma.
I hope someone takes the time soon, live, to destroy Unclecousin’s facile conceit that his sophistry qualifies as philosophy, while he splutters and rages like the lying entitled wretch he is.
@ oan..
..tidily put…
Precisely:
That being despite all the evidence proving that it’s farming that is ruining our waterways.
How fascinating. You appear to regard people with Don Brash’s “class position” as being privileged prats.
Presumably you regard David Cunliffe as being a “privileged prat” also. After all Don’s father was a Presbyterian Minister and David’s an Anglican one. Both apparently favoured the Labour Party. Hard to see any difference really.
One would have to say they come from the same class, wouldn’t one?
@ alwyn 3.10
How fascinating. That you have not noticed that people from the same class can behave in a variety of ways. There is a general behaviour that people adopt within a class system, with extremes at the fringes. So David Cunliffe can be different from Don Brash on that basis.
Then within each church referred to there are differing attitudes to achieving righteousness. If Don’s parents were Calvinists and David’s were from the liberal side of the Anglican church they would be quite different in their outlooks, though they would be aware of the attitudes likely coming from those positions. The Anglicans have a broad church – the Presbyterians inclined to be more demanding to be worthy of heaven.
The whole core of the rich prick class brought in by Thatcher, was of a socialist party for the rich, and privatizism for the everyone else. They’re the rich so they can cheat on their taxes, and force our taxes up while screaming how we aren’t paying enough.
ACT is not a libertarian party. Its a socialist elite party. Nearest thing a western country comes to a communist politburo. Always dictating how others aren’t shaping up.
gw
Yes alwyn is really fascinating. My god I think DC and DB have the same size shoes too.
“One would have to say they come from the same class, wouldn’t one?’ (No one wouldn’t).
Isn’t torylogic great.
Can you perhaps tell me how the class they come from is different?
Just what class do you think each one was born into if it isn’t the same one?
Claiming say that the Presbyterian church is a higher class than the Anglican which in turn is higher than The Salvation Army which is higher than the Baptist doesn’t really cut it.
Brash became a commercial – a blind servant of mammon – 2nd class. Cunliffe seems to subscribe to a notion of public service that resembles to some degree the synthetic ideals of Hutcheson. As an accountant Brash may have had some virtue, as a statesman he had none. You might also consider Brash’s degree (Canterbury?) vs Cunliffe’s (Harvard?).
I suppose I could consider Don Brash’s degrees, since you have no idea.
Canterbury BA and MA in Economics. That’s economics, not accounting.
ANU PhD. That is a more highly rated University than any of the NZ ones.
Cunliffe has one economics qualification I suppose. A diploma from Massey.
Doesn’t really seem much does it?
Did Brash learn his racism at ANU? The university at which someone gets their qualifications has very little to do with how well they do in their chosen career. I’ve seen many examples of this.
But I have, greywarbler, I have. It was ennui who appears to regard peoples behaviour as being due to the class into which they were born. If you are born in one class he seems to think your behaviour is pre-ordained.
I think that Don and Dave were born into a very similar class background. It didn’t really matter though. Whatever class Don came from I think he would always have been successful and would have contributed greatly to New Zealand, particularly as he did from his time as Reserve Bank Governor. David Cunliffe on the other hand was always going to be a prat.
I will take your word for the religious attitudes of the various churches. I regard all those who profess to believe in a god as being idiots. You are allowed to take the easy way out and say, as Helen Clark did, that you are an agnostic, or come out and say you are an atheist. Anything else is for people who believe in fairies.
Greywarbler – in defence of some Presbyterian friends I have, it is also a fairly broad church. Standard Calvinism is pretty rigid stuff, but my friends (one a reverend) have been in favour of “worldly” things like gay marriage and marijuana legalisation for years. My impression was that it was broader than the Anglicans, with some of the more traditional Anglicans being able to swap easily to Catholicism.
@ Murray Olsen 1.43
Trying to classify religions as I did was a mistake. I remember now one interesting book by I think, a chap Greenwood, which referred to the high Anglican church and its rites being so near Catholicism, setting its style apart from the practice of the major part of the church. Actually there are some quite good crime stories that weave religious practices and styles in and it is a fascinating theme within the genre.
And alwyn I think you are looking down on the goings on of pollies, while I am the reverse, looking up. And I see Don Brash as a prat who probably got too much praise at school for being precise and clever while never learnign much about actual human behaviour, and David Cunliffe as being successful, highly trained, experienced and yet human-oriented, less statistical and theory biased and more ground-based than Brash.
I don’t like fervent idealists and theory based, utopian followers whether its in economic theory squeezing life to comply, or socially based humanitarian ones who announce the world belongs to the people in fervent tones, or knock-it-all-down and rebuild fresh and new stirrers, or religious ones whose hymn is I Did it my Way, and there is no other, and anyway it is the next life that counts. A pox on all their houses.
John Key says that water quality is not that bad, all it means is that we can’t swim in some rivers on some days.
Show us the money John. It’s your policy, so you should understand the costs by now. Tell us which rivers and which days. Or is it more like which catchments and which months or seasons?
Fish and Game sound really unimpressed by the government on this issue.
As am I.
Paul Fish & Game are so unimpressed that they have (collectively as a Council that is) called for Nick Smith’s resignation – the resignation of their very own Minister.
And these are sensible calm rational people (the f&g folk that is, not smith of course)
National, firstly they bought us carless days now its rivers we cant swim in. Time for real change.
Fantastic cartoon by Murdoch in the Press this morning showing Nick Smith at a restaurant refusing a glass of water “strained lovingly through cows” while he eats fish.
Someone described this as not the “rock star economy” but the “pollution economy”, which is most apt. John Key’s pollution economy.
And Tom Scott in the Dom, Nick screaming that no one will get away with accusing him of bullying!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/cartoons/
Given the newspaper rage aimed at Mr Cunliffe about the Liu affair, does it seem strange that newspapers seem to have almost avoided the clean water/Smith issue?
OOps. Found some items in the Newspapers today though muted criticism of Old Nick.
I think the swimming in Hawaii is great. Key probably wonders why people dont just there on holidays to swim.
I want to see on what days Key and his family are prepared to swim in which rivers?
From my wireless, RadioNZ National, 550+ pack out the hall at the Rotorua InternetMana roadshow, the sniff of 5% of the vote for InternetMana i had last week just got as pungent as that from one of the many mud-pools up there in Waiariki,
Those numbers say to me Annette Sykes will be the new Member of Parliament for that electorate, the tangi for the Maori Party begins….
Clarification from yesterdays open mike
I posted this
“Actor Cliff Curtis has become the latest celebrity to publicly declare support for the Mana Movement.” http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10320814/Cliff-Curtis-supports-Mana
today this
“But Curtis today clarified his position, saying that “while I respect my cousin Annette Sykes’ commitment in engaging in the political process, I do not endorse or support any political party”.” http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/10324758/Cliff-Curtis-denies-Mana-support
Hope that’s all sorted now 🙂
Not to split hairs but the second piece was published yesterday and last updated at 18:58 and not today. It was also on TV3’s site at 5:44p.m.
lol thanks allen
No worries Mars, I know you’re a stickler for accuracy and stuff.
“someone” should not have put Curtis in the media mix till he had at least fronted the event. Always easier to let a cat out of the bag than add one.
I don’t know the inside story here yet, but do know that there are a number of whanau still split along Mana/Māori Party lines that take it seriously which is why Hone was still reaching out for some kind of rapprochement last year.
Curtis is just doing a nice turn of supporting his bollocks with a fence rail.
And now for the next act… surprise surprise folks … (drum roll) … bring you hands together for Simon Bridges…… (applause) … our latest LIAR from John Key’s government.
Yesterday Bridges admitted spending $240,000 on oil execs in NZ for the rugby world cup
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10326838/Oil-exec-junket-needed-Govt
The result?… is this … “Only one of those companies had so far been granted a petroleum exploration permit but had committed to spending almost $20 million here,”
BUT folks here is the clanger, the lie, the deceit and the dishonesty that you have all been waiting for …… I give you again …. Siiiimmon Bridgeessssss…. (applause) …
“But Energy Minister Simon Bridges defended the spending: “the sums expended were very modest …. and has resulted in billions of dollars of international investment in New Zealand.”
…. ta daa
$20million the reality
$billions the liar claims.
Simon Bridges please take your place alongside all the other liars in your government….
(the audience is nearly all gone at this point …)
Yep, six oil companies, that’s a 40 grand piss up, accommodation, and, you can just about bet with certainty free tickets to the rugby for each of those oil companies, only one of which has taken up the right to explore here, all paid for by us the taxpayers,
i wonder if that was one executive per company that such largesse was bestowed upon by Slippery’s National Government, if so, the expense would suggest that they got flown around the country on one very long drunken tour of our rugby stadia,
Meanwhile, those of us living life within the small means brushed our way as crumbs off of the table got to watch ‘live’ from the big screens at the pub…
Chevron, Statoil, Apache and? ??
I’m pretty sure these three companies will make investment decisions on factors other than sychophantic governments. A nice presentation to the Boards would have done the trick if NZ had solid investment potential. I’ keen toknow whhether thre other three companies are established players or cowboy companies. Also if any of them operate here already, or have up sticks and left.
This is a nice touch at the end:
Yes, let’s point out what taxes are for, while somehow implying that if not for oil exploration we’d not have roads, schools and hospitals.
Yes clever clogs, well aware of the place of the mining and oil sector in NZ …. but you missed the deception. The point of the comment was not the place of oil and mining, it was the dishonesty of Simon Bridges…. can you see it here?
“the sums expended were very modest …. and has resulted in billions of dollars of international investment “
Yes, I can, I was being sarcastic about the need to include that tidbit at the end.
oh woops so you were – burning the candles at all ends makes for weary brain. Time for time out.
And if we didnt spend 250k wining and dining they would walk away from their drills…
And remember this Government buying votes for the Security Council bid with junkets to NZ/Queenstown.
question for the day:
..can john banks drive..talk on cellphone..and pick ‘n eat earwax…at the same time..?
i was just about to indulge in my favorite breakfast when i read that, 2 toasts, i each with a swipe of marmite and peanut butter, both then lashed with guacamole,
Think i might wait for your image of Banks indulging in His dogs dinner to fade…
sounds like a yummy breakfast…i also have avocado on my toast when i can ….what about the black coffee?
just read pu’s comment …disguisting….glad i have finished my vege/peanut butter toast
That’s my standard munch at breakfast Chooky, laugh, six months ago i had never even made guacamole now its become a staple replacing butter or margarine which are both off the menu here,(and strangely enough not missed at all),
i have just moved to supplying myself with milk for $1.20 a liter via buying in the skim milk powder and purchasing a couple of liter bottles with screw top lids which resemble the milk bottles of my hugely misspent youth,(takes all of five minutes to mix, and is best accomplished by mixing half the liter and then leaving overnight for the froth from the shaking to dissipate),
Soy milk which tastes yummy has been put through my testing regime and found wanting in a number of areas including cost,(anyone thinking of shifting to obtaining their milk via powder should buy the kilo pack as there is no savings involved from buying the smaller packages)…
Well you could put your sign out as a local breakfast cafe as far as i am concerned! …breakfast is the meal of the day i enjoy most i think ( probably because i havent eaten for a while….food tastes so much better on an empty stomach)
Lolz, i have a breakfast menu, including a couple of slices of one of the poor little piggies rear end that is the ultimate in Delish, works as dinner as well…
…you won’t be arguing with Phillip over breakfast then!
..once when I was in an isolated fish and chip shop with my 8 year old son a Mongrel Mob looking guy walked in and my 8 year old red head said “Mum, what do people taste like?”….the Mongrel Mob guy looked interested ….I said “I dont know but your sister would!”…there was the teenage daughter cool as a cucumber …she would have scared any Mongrel Mob!…the guy smiled ever so slightly…I said “I have heard people taste a bit like bacon that is why they were called ‘long pig’ ”
Maybe some NACTS will come knocking at your door and you could have them in for breakfast
Just watched BamBam on the Whitehouse Lawn “givin them damned godless Ruskies” a tongue lashing. Absolute pity about the whole thing was that nothing he said could be backed up by solid evidence, it was all be implication. What the limp rag Uncle Tom was announcing was more sanctions against Russia on behalf of US corporate energy and agricultural corporates. The Russians of course are better placed because they don’t have to rely upon “faith” in the Greenback..they have the real oil and gas that Europe so desperately needs. Merkel wont risk German wealth just to help out a US oil company that cant supply her industry.
Somehow I think the whole issue is going to blow up in our faces with much higher oil prices: the timing is such a pit because along with the drop in dairy receipts, pressure on petrol prices might just have given Key and his cronies a massive electoral headache.
Uncle Tom….
really ?
The election of a “black” President does not seem to have done any good for “his” people. One can only surmise that Obama is powerless to change the way things are for African Americans OR he does not care. Both would be Uncle Tom traits.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov/03/obama-african-americans-paradox
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/28/these-seven-charts-show-the-black-white-economic-gap-hasnt-budged-in-50-years/
http://blackagendareport.com/content/expansion-black-american-misery-under-barack-obama%E2%80%99s-watch
To say that Obama doesnt care is pretty harsh. To say that on the important stuff, he doesnt actually have much of a say, would be far more accurate.
The things he did push, like ObamaCare (he promised “You can keep your existing plan”) may or may not have been a good policy move, but its upsetting a bunch of his middle income voters who already had an existing plan and couldnt keep it, despite the promise.
Those who got cover for the first time, were overwhelmingly likely to support the Democratic nominee in any case.
Laila Harre is standing in Helensville for the Internet/Mana Party.
Hopefully, this will encourage Prime Minister John Key to participate in Helensville electorate candidate debates.
I look forward to voters who support candidates who are members of political parties, giving them their PARTY vote, and giving me their ELECTORATE vote as the (fiercely) Independent MP for Helensville.
All good!
Penny Bright
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
It will confirm Key as a no show in Hellensville. WHY would he debate he has won that seat.
“nternet Mana leader Laila Harre will take on Prime Minister John Key in the Helensville electorate.
Harre says she wants to debate Key at candidate meetings and says he has “some explaining to do.”
Key had a 21,000 majority at the last election and has held the seat since 2002.
“I want to wake New Zealanders up from the anaesthetic trance that John Key has induced with his soothing words,” Harre said.
A spokesman for Key said, “the Prime Minister has said Ms Harre is free to stand wherever she likes.” “
Why would he waste his time.
You capture Key’s arrogance quite well..
with his electorate? – beats me too – its not like he lives there or ever visits is it
Yet people know this and are still happy to vote for him in overwhelming numbers.
Accountability?
+100 Penny …Go Girl!
Penny! Don’t stand in Helensville . You and Laila will split the left vote and allow John Key to come through the middle. Yeah Nah.
That would be about 20 votes each would it?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10324092/Peters-No-deal-with-Maori-Mana
Do keep up will ya.
So, Slippery the Prime Minister has spun the roulette wheel and bet the ‘House’ on Winston Peters, that’s some gamble from the money trader who in His former life always got to play the game with the deck having been previously stacked by the bigger money boys on the floors of the ‘trading house’ above,
There’s a huge prospect in play here where NZFirst and Colon’s Conservatives become entwined in a lose/lose battle for party vote %’s each chiseling not only votes from each other but crucially nibbling at the soft rump of the National Governments own party vote,
A minus for NZFirst in September will be the loss of support from those who in election 2011 voted for that party solely on the basis that Slippery the PM ruled Peters out of inclusion in a National coalition, and, in the chess game of MMP politics voted as a ‘check’, which incidently nearly became ‘check-mate’, to ensure National as all the media polls were suggesting at the time, could not ‘Govern alone’,
Unfortunately this ‘tactical vote’ which helped NZFirst re-enter the Parliament in 2011 cannot be measured, but, my opinion says, a 3% Conservative vote along with the loss of that 2011 ‘tactical vote’ will see NZFirst fall again, as the party did in 2008, agonizing short of the 5%,
If Anette Sykes wins Waiariki, and, last nights standing room only InternetMana meeting in that electorate has me giving Her a 70/30 advantage over the dying Maori Party’s Flavell there, then Nationals chances of forming a third term Government look even more remote,
Kick ACT from Epsom and/or Dunne from Ohariu and it becomes virtually impossible for the Tory’s to gain that third term,
The left? despite the media polls, looking good, by that i mean looking GOOD, Labour 33%, Greens 12%, InternetMana 5%, not too big an ask at all i would suggest….
I’m conflicted, on the one hand National in power = good but Winston with some form of power = bad
i always seen you as confused Puckish, add to that conflicted and we await the addition of a few more words beginning with the consonant C, above four letters please, and we may have you described to a T as opposed to simply describing you in simpler form via C with few other letters added….
(Condensed springs to mind as an addition to confused/conflicted)…
[lprent: Approaching pointless again. ]
Well thats just plain rude 🙂
i have some manual labour to attend to, be assured Puckish, later there is more such ‘rudeness’ to be supplied and applied…
I used to do manual labour but I prefer to work inside now, much better on the body
the nz herald features in the huffington post..
..but not to be praised/for good reasons…
“..Newspaper Runs Image Of ‘Jackass’ Star Instead Of Killed Israeli Soldier..”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/29/newspaper-gaza-ryan-dunn-jackass-new-zealand_n_5629828.html?ref=topbar
Starve them and mow the lawn.
In 2006 Weissglass was just as frank about Israel’s policy towards Gaza’s 1.8 million inhabitants: ‘The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.’ He was not speaking metaphorically: it later emerged that the Israeli defence ministry had conducted detailed research on how to translate his vision into reality, and arrived at a figure of 2279 calories per person per day – some 8 per cent less than a previous calculation because the research team had originally neglected to account for ‘culture and experience’ in determining nutritional ‘red lines’
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n15/mouin-rabbani/israel-mows-the-lawn
The regularity of Israel’s perceived need to use force is illustrated by the notorious expression, “mowing the lawn,” that one of its military officers used to describe strategy toward Gaza. It is reminiscent of the advice that Thrasybulus gave Periander of Corinth, recounted in Herodotus. Walking through a field, Thrasybulus broke off the tallest ears of grain by way of showing Periander’s envoy the best way to rule violently. The envoy couldn’t figure out his meaning, but Periander, the prototype of the ancient tyrant, understood immediately on hearing the envoy’s report. The analogy showed that violence could not be a one-time affair. New stalks would grow up. It would remain necessary to keep lopping off the top ones—i.e. mowing the lawn.
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-thrasybulus-syndrome-israel%E2%80%99s-war-gaza-10968
Following the destruction of the sole power station 90% of Gazans are without electricity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpekJnM7Zpg&feature=youtu.be
American Intelligence Officers Who Battled the Soviet Union for Decades Slam the Flimsy “Intelligence” Against Russia
What the professional’s think of the ‘evidence’ against Russia can only be termed scathing. They’re particularly nasty in their condemnation of Senator Kerry.
I just read on another blog a post by someone complaining about Key’s WWI speech yesterday, and was pleased to see someone felt the same as I did. Other pollies spoke with emotion and as this person said, from the heart. But John Key read his speech without any emotion or emphasis. He looked bored and he sounded it and as if it was all just too tiring and bothersome. I felt it was insulting that he didn’t take the time to familiarize himself with the material someone else had written for him. I can only think the subject was just not important enough to him personally. Our veterans weren’t worth the bother of him learning his speech and speaking with the level of commitment the commemoration deserved. Why are so many blinded by this fake?
Don’t take it personally. He’s always like that. There is nothing warm or genuine about him, he’s just going through the motions. Enter room, shake hands with Important Person One, smile, shake hands with Important Person two, smile. Give canned speech written by someone else. Wait until applause dies down. Move away for media standup. Exit. Move on to next event.
As to why so many are blinded, there is a lot that power, money and superficial charm can convince people to overlook.
Gaza: hell on earth. http://i.imgur.com/H0NSLBk.jpg
..the Israeli government has gone mad …it is hell of a PR for Israelis around the world …they are beginning to look more and more like the Nazi government…they will be called to account by history and future generations for crimes against humanity ….and the rest of the world had better not look on and do nothing about it!…because we also will be called to account!
Daniel Barenboim is one Israeli who has spoken out
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/07/29/bare-j29.html
I met Mirak Smisek several times ….a New Zealand potter of repute, an a opponent of the Nazis and a refugee from Nazi torn Europe …and he told me that it is art that will save us…it was art that gave him hope and art that helped him transcend the evil he had witnessed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirek_Sm%C3%AD%C5%A1ek
Daniel Barenboim is transcendent in a similar way
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/apr/04/beethoven-and-quality-courage/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5OaSju0qNc
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11301000
Looks like Phil Quin, like Jones, Pagani and Steve Kilgallon’s mysterious “insider”, is a paid-up member of the ABC club.
Yep it really grates when the right of the party side with the Herald to tell us there is no bias to see and to move along when we spend so much time detailing the concerns. Their choice is a dead giveaway. If the Herald wanted a debate it would select a leftie not an apologist for the right.
I also wish Quin would get his stuff right. The comment about how Labour is only going for the missing million has been replied to on numerous occasions but he still trots out the wrong line …
Just remember that after the next election and you’re scrambling around for excuses as to why Labour did so badly you were told time and time again whats wrong with Labour
that there was a bunch of turncoats who are in the wrong party and who couldnt swallow thier egos and get in behind the boss?
yeah we know that one already
+100 Framu
That they arent National enough?
I’ll tell you what I have had a gut full of – people who are so lacking in respect that they think they can turn the Labour Party into a vehicle for whatever suits them. For God’s sake, this guy cites the opinion of Shane Jones, who has decamped to work for National. Having taken a glance at other headlines of Quin’s, I assume he is one of the eighties’ influx of aspiring “young men of the city” who sought a vehicle for themselves under Douglas’s wing. And Josie and her ilk appear to think the party exists to allow nice, talented people like themselves to retain a foothold among the political/media elite. To these people I say, read the party’s bloody principles, and try to refrain from dissembling to yourself as you do so! You would not become a priest because the Catholic church could do with more atheists. You would not join the Greens to contribute a much-needed voice in favour of fracking. Why do you think it is OK to do this kind of thing to Labour?
Labours a broad church so i’m guessing their views are valid otherwise why would you have the likes of Mallard, Cosgrove, Goff , King etc etc still hanging around
As opposed to National which is a Cult.
For the money, I suppose !
Mickey
What does it take to get chucked out of Labour? Surely scuttling the ship is not a good thing?
We had a conversation about Phil Quin on another Open Mike.
It resulted in Karen sharing this article.
Phil Quin was someone who tried to get rid of Helen Clark prior to her gaining the government for 9 years.
Perhaps that is why he is an ex Labour adviser?
Not someone’s advice who I would listen to.
It is about time those further right (centrists) created a new party. As it stands it appears that the ‘right-wing’ faction of Labour are pissing on our chances of a decent left-wing government gaining power. Those who are ‘centrists’ in the party need to realise that Labour have very much been presenting themselves to appeal to the centre whilst still attempting to appeal to those further left too. It is ultraistic to push Labour’s current stance any other way. I wish those right-wing /’centrist’ types connected to Labour would stop their squawking and get real.
[Additionally in his article Quin cited, amongst other things, the Dong Liu saga as ‘mismanaged’ by Labour – omitting to mention the story was fictitious and yet propagated by our media. There has been no apology for that nonsense. The problem there was Labour took the story seriously – how were they to know that the media would grab something so unsubstantiated and report it as fact? I think most people who followed that story were truly shocked by how lacking in facts that story was.]
Here is a working link to that other Open Mike:
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-06072014/#comment-845221
Interesting BL. So according to Quin Helen’s reign and the fifth Labour Government was an abject disaster for the party and we should be led by Shane Jones, no doubt with Josie Pagani as deputy.
Words fail me …
I am thinking, broadly, the difference between nats and labs is
Nats are driven by self interest and that drive will lead them to a collective lie cos they think it will benefit them in the long run
Labs are driven by self interest and if they think they wont get what they want, they will burn the house down
It is certainly looking like that although I think it is important to acknowledge the many Labourites who are loyal and are working diligently. Those loyal people need to speak firmly to the ones that are wrecking things for Labour and tell them in no uncertain terms how unacceptable their behaviour is.
Agreed.
Anything theydois undermined by the type i describe.
Former labour seems to mean when roger dpuglas was in power, so having them as commentator for the left is a joke cos they probably vote ACT now
😆 …. yes it beggars belief…
… and yet Quin gets his platform as a left-supportive commentator….?
I’m sure that a few of them would be quite comfortable in ACT.
Or united future… The right wing party pretending to care but bobbing its head in agreement to policies that are unfair
Yes it’s true that this is someone’s OPINION, well spotted 🙄
Even this crap: “Supporters and activists find it much easier to blame straw-men, presumably along with a mandatory 50 per cent of straw-women……”
This could be the most relevant part: “Phil Quin is a FORMER Labour Party adviser and a strategic communications consultant”
Yep, unemployed ‘strategic communications consultant’ touting for work.
yet another rightwing labour-trout..eh..?
..hardly an endangered-species…
He’s certainly no Mighty Quin, but he’s possesses a lame schoolboy humour Key
would beis proud of.I think Labour is failing, sadly, on several issues…
one of which is tax policy…
as an example:
http://i.imgur.com/Qp9MVmr.jpg
Your image proves you an idiot.
Stylee 😆
i think Richard is flailing, sadly, in the wrong place at the wrong time, it really is too late in the piece for us to be attempting to exploit that which we see as not quite right in the policy arena,
The 3 years just passed were the times to be talking thus, with the campaign proper having overtaken such concerns the vote itself now becomes the imperative,
i like these numbers, for me they have a certain resonance, an inevitability if you will, Labour 33%, Greens 12%, InternetMana 5%, my little gaze into the crystal ball of the 2014 election…
A dreadful comment on Radionz this morning about the ballooning tragedy and the defects of the CAA. They knew lots about the guy, binge drinker, marijuana smoker, incidents. But they all know each other, and cosset each other apparently. The CAA put hot air balloons low on the dangerous list! They are not only not doing their job properly, they are under their own control and espouse apparently, that stupid, irresponsible free market crap about businesses should control and regulate themselves.
And they are one of these pseudo-government entities that are free to operate as they wish without control, oversight or discipline from government.
It is time that we demanded a complete overhaul and sacking of these pompous, diseased shits. The disease of arrogant position, so that they feel no shame when accidents occur, just throwing excuses, statistics and technical jargon in everyone’s eyes when actually the source of the fault is quite obvious to the naive, unpropagandised enquirer. And a Royal Commission to establish the fault properly. These so and so’s in CAA should be jailed and fined as well. The interview with David Still sets out the situation well.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon
Balloon death families call for government to act ( 12′ 43″ )
09:08 David Still’s daughter Alexis was one of 10 passengers who died in a hot air balloon crash in Carterton in 2012, along with pilot Lance Hopping. He says the Civil Aviation Authority failed to act despite repeated complaints about Hopping prior to the accident, and he’s calling for the government to force change upon the aviation safety regulator.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport
CAA failed to take action over balloon pilot complaints ( 3′ 11″ )
08:23 An inquest has been told several complaints had been made to the Civil Aviation Authority about the pilot of a hot-air balloon which crashed in Wairarapa in 2012 killing all 11 people on board.
Preventable accidents in NZ –
Crash survivors sue Ansett for $3 million – Tony Stickley – NZ …
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/tony-stickley/news/article.cfm?a_id=143...
Dec 23, 1999 – … Dash-8 flight which smashed into a hill while trying to land at Palmerston North in June 1995. Two passengers and one crew member died in the tragedy. … The airline had also made a deliberate decision not to replace faulty landing gear, … on flying the plane, said Mr Miles, the captain was helping the co-pilot lower the …
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=192796
As evidence would show, this was not as alarming as it may sound. Landing gear problems on the Dash-8s had become so frequent that pilots had stopped reporting them to Ansett.
But what Captain Sotheran and First Officer Brown had failed to notice was that their aircraft was perilously close to the foothills of the Tararua Ranges, to the east of Palmerston North.
Interesting from CAA 1990s
NZ Fixed Wing Aviation Accidents 1995-2004
Seven Crop and Food deaths.:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3506293
Interestingly, i gather the market response is that now that business will fail, and others will see their failure, due to deaths, and do stuff to avoid people dying… But look how many have to die
Job interview at 2pm.
Only a fixed term contract through January 31st 2015, but a bit of breathing space from Mr Wolf when he comes a knocking.
Don’t know what to say about my last employment when asked, but I’ll burn that bridge when I’ve crossed it.
Good luck
Cheers mate
I bought fake job references on the Internet—and it worked
http://www.dailydot.com/business/career-excuse-fake-job-references/
http://www.careerexcuse.com/
By almost any measure, I have an impeccable résumé.
I went with honesty being the best policy. Whether it works or not is out of my hands now.
I was happy enough with my performance. I’ll just have to keep my trotters crossed.
Labour had some concerns about the proposals, but agreed to back the bill into law because it felt urgent measures were needed to relieve house prices.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/election-2014/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503581&objectid=11301094
And many wonder what the difference between Nat and Lab are ? Well for developers IMO they allow for profits to increase as they transfer costs to the rate payer, and I defie anyone to prove anything different.
If anyone has any ideas that transferring council contributions to rate payers will reduce the price of property, they are misguided. The price we pay for a house is “market driven” not as cost plus basis.
If you look to the last major building industry crisis, leaky homes, developers took profits, shut down the company, avoided any liability and have had NO legislation aimed at them… Builders, yes. Designers? Yes. Developers no, and this govt wants to give them more money, less regulation and still no tightening of liability.
And they get full support from Labour. Next year when rates have increased it is not all the fault of our local govt, they have been given a hospital pass from Wellington.
Many of the services that are to now be funded by “other ” sources like libraries, sports grounds, community facilities, there are vast amounts that have been already collected by council & to be spent in the future, but under the LTCCP are deferred., part of the reason is the squeeze on councils increasing debt. Also talking of the LTCCP , councils spent huge resources, $ and time in preparing these and in one wee stroke all the work and planning of funding and timing has been undone. What a waste
Now that Stephen Joyce has confirmed that he will be nationalising Novopay from Talent2, can some one tell me whether Michelle Boag is a shareholder in Talent2?
dunno about boag…but banks was…
Beyond Reasonable Doubt?–police culture is still reactionary no doubt about that.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11301287
This expensive re–look at the 4 decades old Crewe murders is only significant for more arse covering and fingers in ears from the blue bellies. They do manage to find space to retry the case and smear pardoned and compensated Arthur Thomas again and let one early suspect off the hook.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10328036/Labour-pledges-2-rise-in-minimum-wage-to-16-25
no..this was heralded before..
..and gee..!..shock horror..!..labour party promises to raise minimum wage..
..the story wd be if they weren’t promising to do that..
..um..!..do you ever say anything that could be of the slightest interest to anyone..?
..do you ever take the sneer off yr face..
..are you really as thick/simplistic as you appear in yr postings here..?..
..or is it a routine/act that you do..?
I apoligise if I sound rude but I’m having trouble following you
first step..join the mana party..
..second step:..stop eating animals..and their bye-products..
..third step..stop drinking booze..smoke pot instead..
..(then get back to me..and i’ll give you some more ‘following’-tips..)
..oh..!..and go to the pound..and get a dog or two…eh..?
first step..join the mana party..
..second step:..stop eating animals..and their bye-products..
..third step..stop drinking booze..smoke pot instead..
..oh..!..and go to the pound..and get a dog or two…eh..?
“The problem is it doesn’t matter if you vote left or vote right bacon is delicious”
Aint that the truth of it.
“I don’t think smoking pot is all that good for you either”
If you’re a balloon pilot it really isn’t.
RIP to those who perished in the Wairarapa ballooning tragedy, it could be said that to be the passenger of a balloon pilot so affected is even worse,
Obviously, at some point in the future when the Parliament comes to look at the decriminalization/legalization of that particular substance such concerns as how to address the use of such vis a vis employment/public safety issues will have to be an inherent part of such Legislation,
The recent ‘running aground’ of a Tranzrail passenger train at the Melling station here in Wellington has been attributed to either a too high speed limit rounding the bend into that particular end of the line station and/or the Marijuana use of the driver…
“in the future when the Parliament comes to look at the decriminalization/legalization of that particular substance such concerns as how to address the use of such vis a vis employment/public safety issues”
Not to make light of that shocking preventable tragedy, but a literacy test might be a start.
You will have to be far more lucid than this comment Alien if such ”literacy test’ were directed my way,
Of course as a general comment thought of as directed ‘elsewhere’ it becomes far clearer to understand,
Phillip below seems to have, perhaps mastered the art of the oblique when referencing a particular commenter,
Of course as ‘it’ is never ever engaging with me again here at the Standard that comment surely cannot be aimed my way,
i would have really liked to spark a discussion about puckering up to relieve some commenters of their condyloma but don’t dare…
“You will have to be far more lucid than this comment Alien if such ”literacy test’ were directed my way,”
Nah, I mostly get what you’re going on about.
“Of course as a general comment thought of as directed ‘elsewhere’ it becomes far clearer to understand,”
Bullseye. …Ah!!!..the rambling prose…
“condyloma”
I had to google.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condyloma
i laughs,(but only quietly up my sleeve), gee Alien for once i am a little disappointed in the Wiki,
my Collins English ‘book of words’ is far more descriptive and explanatory when the words puckering up are considered previous to a reference to condyloma,
i am of course far to polite to go into the minute detail here, and besides, its dinner time…
@ pouting ‘bad-boy’..
well at least you have got yr ‘following’ sorted out..eh..?
..that was a particularly silly conceit on yr part to claim that..eh..?
Those on The Standard who read women’s magazines will enjoy this one:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/07/lessons-in-capitalism-from-kim-kardashian/375252/
David Cunliffe’s facebook page just sent a message:
https://www.facebook.com/david.cunliffe.labour
excellent idea…
Yes, I thought so too 🙂
Yes, just like a political commissionar in the old soviet union. All decisions will be then be able to be vetoed if they don’t meet certain “National interest” criteria.
Do you think multinationals shouldn’t pay their fair share of tax or not, Gosman?
no gossie..just ensuring they pay their tax…
..r u ‘relaxed’ about these thieving-bastards ripping us blind…?
…Gosman has suddenly come over all coy about responding. Funny thing that.
[lprent: Could be working? After all that is why my moderation sweeps have gotten more intermittent. ]
He probably is one of those thieving bastards.
😆 😯
“Yes, just like a political commissionar in the old soviet union.”
Or like a political commissar in Radio New Zealand: the purpose Richard Griffin has been fulfilling for the past few years.
Will that include unions that don’t pay their fair share as well?
Are unions ‘multinationals’?
So unions get a free pass on tax, good to know
Don’t know how you arrive at that conclusion
Oh, for goodness’ sake.
Unions will get no more of a ‘free pass’ on tax than any New Zealand-based business or other organisation currently does.
This policy is an additional tax enforcement strengthening measure and not the removal of all tax enforcement for everyone other than some errant multinationals.
Yes I can just see Cunliffe going after the unions for tax money…
Do you think multinationals shouldn’t have to pay their fair share of tax?
pouting ‘bad-boy’ is like gossie..
..he won’t answer that question..
..they both ‘duck and cover’..
..that is their answer..
Tell us about a vegan’s stance on possum/rat/weasel/stoat control any time.
Puckish, David Cunliffe as far as i know does not collect taxes, the IRD involve themselves in that activity,
i see no suggestion from you or the Labour Party that Trade Unions will be absolved from taxes by altering of the current Legislation which makes your comment somewhat deserving of a multiple lettered epithet starting with the consonant, (you choose)…
Those right-wing hacks/commenters are so irrational…and yet they are the type to trust that ‘markets players are rational’ – you couldn’t make this stuff up.
You need to pop away and research multinational. Clue its not a terms for national mps who change their positions on things many times
Further to the decreasing voter turnout debate…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/assignments/will-you-be-voting-in-this-election/10327597/I-value-my-privacy-more-than-my-vote
People such as the writer of this article apparently fall outside the expected group of low income folk, people in debt or worried about immigration status, etc.
I think this group who just don’t want their details bought and sold for business gain is growing.
Anyone got a good reason for the roll to be published at all? I can’t see why and I bet the turnout would go through the roof if voters were allowed to remain anonymous, just as the vote they cast is.
Not that I know of.
That said, it was possibly an idea that someone had that people would be able to look at the role and see if there were people on it that shouldn’t be. It may have worked if communities stayed below about 1000 people and everyone knew everyone else. Won’t work in any community above that size though.
And these days we have better options to ensure that people are registered where they should be without having to make the role publicly available.
It’s up to the EC to decide who should and should not be on the roll, not the public. So at the moment you have to register by paper, or online using RealMe. Even using RealMe you have to open an account then go to a postshop and have your photo taken.
Even after all of this I cannot see a reason for publishing unless the EC have been given a directive to fund themselves by selling voters’ information to third parties.
Ie, user pays, even when voting, a basic right in any democracy.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10326510/Ron-Mark-eyes-return-to-parliament
News from my wireless, RadioNZ National, the Government has announced it will establish a private company to take over the Education Payroll from Novopay,
Novopay is said to be paying the Government an undisclosed amount as penalty payment for a system that still fails to fulfill its expectations,
Gee only how many years too late and the ‘problems’ in the system will still have to be addressed by this ‘private company’…
From, I think, the same item on Checkpoint Stephen Joyce admitted that the taxpayer was picking up the larger share of the tab because there was “blame on both sides”. The Ministry had, apparently, bungled some things too. He didn’t mention who the negligent Minister was who has just cost us this coin.
Then, when asked if this was a case of the public sector being better than the private sector Joyce said words to the effect of ‘not at all, it simply happens that the government holds one side of the contract in this case and is taking over’.
But I thought that governments and their bureaucracies just can’t do this sort of stuff. Wouldn’t they be the last type of organisation you’d therefore turn to for a safe pair of hands in this kind of situation?
Aren’t things like payrolls just too tricky by half for them to get their heads around. The private sector, on the other hand …
Do we need another Henare voted into Parliament? The last one was bad enough. Is it not time for labour supporters to start voting for greens and other candidates in electorates? Labour activist here and elsewhere, keep begging the left not to split the vote. The gall to ask people to hold there noses and vote for some Tory scum in red clothing.
How about all those so called supporters of working people advise/aid/direct, or just be honest about some of the candidates that the labour party have put up. Phil Goff, Stuart (I think your grandfather is rolling in his grave) Nash, I’m sure others can be added to this list.
These are the evil shits we need to remove, the elephant in the room – how much longer labour people, how much longer you going to push the dead donkey?
Why do labour supporters keep putting up with these scum?
In the interests of working people any chance we can have an honest debate about the dead chaff in Labour who are hell bent on losing this election? Or am I going to get called a right wing troll – stupid or some other slagging off? Are the labour faithful going to go into fits of there own self-righteousness, and cling to any old Tory wannabe?
You say you like David Cunliff, yet he keeps being treated like shit. Labour have finally put up a leader who will make a bloody decent PM. And it is these MP wannabes who seem to me the happiest to poop in their own nest. Quite frankly, it reeks of the politics of self interest.
Everyone is accusing Jamie Whyte from the Act Party of being a racist.
Hypothetically speaking, if his partner was black, like I mean black black, would that change anything?
[lprent: Everybody? Don’t be a fool. There are usually thousands of people reading this site every day and a few hundred commenting. I guess you can’t count or have the common neolib inflationary view that expands the few fools in Act into a “movement”. I’d suggest that if you’re going to indulge in hyperbole, that you don’t do it about this site. That draws my attention to the dickheads doing it because I will answer for the site.
I really hate wasting time on peewees who measure their dicks using a magnifying glass for that extra size inflation. Read the policy. ]
No. Notwithstanding his personal family situation, to claim Maori are unjustly privileged is unhelpful to New Zealand, and racist. We intend to be different to African and American history here.
In addition, to describe someone as black is one thing, silverbullet, but to then describe someone as “black black” is…
racist.
Go put your pointy white hat on.
Go put your Stalinist comrade uniform on – oh hang on, you are already wearing it.
[lprent: I suggest that you read the policy. You appear to be wearing a troll uniform. Lets be nice and imagine that it is like this…
This is your one warning about being a dickhead jerking off on our site. Engage with the conversation or leave before I have to toss you off the site. Leading up to an election, I really can’t be bothered being tolerant of mindless fools who try to imagine that they are sophisticated smartarses. ]
If any current NZ leader could be compared to Stalin it is John Key. Figuratively, the similarities between Key’s rejuvenation drive to the great purge in the 1920’s are alarming.
Your Far Left ideology is grounded in the philosophy of Marxism, with its “class consciousness”, “class conflict” and some future “workers paradise” type utopia.
Nothing other than the slight possibility of making fellow racists less likely to vote for him.
Seeing as you asked silverbullet, NO, racism is not confined within one racial grouping, a white male for instance with an African American partner could for instance express hatred for Maori and rightly be labeled a racist,
The term racist does not presuppose that there is hatred of all the races other than that of the racist, the racist might only be so concerning one race other than his own to be a racist…
Seriously? Its always been about white vs the rest. So it does bring into question hypothetically that Whyte really is racist if he is married to someone of African descent and has kids too…
You were the one who brought up white vs “the rest” (ie brown, black, yellow).
You might want to stop digging.
Who are you kidding? The meme has always been white oppressors vs the oppressed ethnics, Comrade Weepy.
I’m really sorry this exchange didn’t go the way you planned, and that’s left you arguing against a case that no-one seems to be making, but what’s happening here is obvious. Jamie Unclecousin is attacking maori so racists will vote for ACT.
Now that might be a racist thing to do, or it might just be a selfish stupid short-sighted evil nasty cynical divisive corrosive thing to do. But either way, it has nothing to do with his wife, just as it had nothing to do with Don Brash’s wife when he pulled the exact same stunt 10 years ago.
What we do know is that no good can come of it. It will make some people in our society angry about other people in our society. It will hurt people. It will hurt race relations. And it will not achieve a single positive thing.
plus bloody 1
“tough on crime” is their main clarion call in Epsom, despite the Govt, of which they were a part, until their only member committed… a crime… tells us crime is falling and we are safer than ever.
So
2.Maori are too privileged
AND they will get a seat in parliament… Over 17% of their sitting MPs have committed crimes…People of Epsom worship at the later of money
🙄 Continuing the conversation with you would be an exercise in legitimizing abject stupidity, yours that is, 🙄 …
Wow, just wow, you really have been triggered.
Just heard on the TV that we’ve paid x millions to Talent2 for the Novapay fuckup and that we’re then going to paying another nine million over the next six years as well. Wish I could get a job like that – paid for fucking it up, paid to be fired from it and then 6 year multi-million dollar redundancy package.
In short, does that mean they’re being paid to keep their mouth’s shut?
Key spun it as the sensible thing to do. Might have been sensible 2 years ago, but not now. Now it looks like the Minister of fix-its didn’t fix it.
Where is the minister of Education in all of this?
@ Weepus beard 6.55
“Where is the minister of Education in all of this?She has learned when to keep her mouth shut.”
These words by Graham Nash have substance and they say what we are all thinking here! And we need to rouse them and ourselves and follow our dreams during the day and night – dreams for a happy, functioning society. I think there might be an odd word in it.
From musixmatch
“Teach Your Children”
You, who are on the road must have a code that you can live by.
And so become yourself because the past is just a good bye.
Teach your children well, their father’s hell did slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams, the one they fix, the one you’ll know by.
Don’t you ever ask them why, if they told you, you would cry,
So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.
And you, of the tender years can’t know the fears that your elders grew by,
And so please help them with your youth, they seek the truth before they can die.
Teach your parents well, their children’s hell will slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams, the one they fix,the one you’ll know by.
Don’t you ever ask them why, if they told you, you would cry,
So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.
This extract from Chris Trotter’s reply to Phil Quin referred to in Puddleglum 6.45 carries forward my comment about the necessity for igniting the dream. I fear that the generations since 1984 have been unable to imbibe enough of that message from their parents, and certainly not from school or any other formal or informal education. One reason they may not feel like voting.
The people whose precarious position of privilege vis-a-vis the working poor and beneficiaries renders them unashamedly reluctant to redistribute even a little of the wealth they have “worked for”.
Beneath a superficial “concern” for the disadvantaged, these voters conceal a visceral contempt for the poor. They are terrified of being forced to share their resources with the “underserving” and will have absolutely no truck with any political party which suggests that, as citizens, they have a moral obligation to put an end to inequality and poverty. –
See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/07/30/the-40-percent-solution-chris-trotter-responds-to-phil-quin/#sthash.0TbWppqF.dpuf
Chris Trotter’s response to Phil Quin.
I have to admit that I am stunned that there is still such a thing as a ‘Labour Right’ that extends so far to the right that its apparent members (Pagani, Quin, Jones) are essentially pushing an economic approach that actively undermines the welfare of just those people that Labour Parties around the world were set up to represent and advance.
How on earth is such an economic policy orientation part of any ‘Labour’ approach?
Do words mean nothing anymore?
You can thank the Post Modernists for the meaningless of language these days, they are after all the bastard children of ‘Progressive’ Left Neo Marxist ideology.
Nope, the language has been screwed over by the RWNJs to further their own goals against the majority of people.
I’m not sure it’s that straightforward.
I think you need to distinguish between postmodernism as an intellectual current and postmodernity as a hypothesised economic, social and cultural transformation of modernity.
The latter is exemplified by ‘late consumer capitalism’ and all of its attendant industries (marketing, advertising, media, design, etc.) and the emergence of a supposedly new social class (highly educated, high income, usually employed in the industries just mentioned) for whom ‘cultural capital’ is an additional boasting right (on top of other forms of capital).
To be honest, I think it is postmodernity (or the cultural and economic conditions that that term usually refers to) that is responsible for any loss of meaning in our use of language. That loss of meaning is present in managerialism-speak, marketing-speak, neoliberalism-speak (which is increasingly commerce-speak) and, sadly, political-speak.
This morphing flexibility in linguistic meaning comes very close, of course, to old-fashioned lying – semantic relativism taken to its logical conclusion.
For me that logical conclusion is forever epitomised by John Key’s one-time reference to ‘the dynamic environment’ to explain why the meaning of his words change over time (or something like that).
By comparison, I think the influence of postmodernist theorists over the actual loss of meaning in everyday practice is infinitesimal.
I’m afraid your ‘silverbullet’ just missed what should have been its real target.
@Puddleglum 7.42
Your comment on ‘the dynamic environment’ and changes in meaning reminds me of something that Thomas Belmonte wrote and I think called it protean, about the changing, sometimes conflicting and changing beliefs of people rather lost in a changing society. He was impressed how people could be Catholic and Communist at the same time etc.
I looked up protean and came on this psycholgist who has done work on Nasties and their psychology and the Holocaust. Then he has posited two streams of people management – one called totalism and has presented proteanism as being the opposite.
I don’t know whether this is useful towards understanding what is exercising people’s minds at present but it is interesting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Jay_Lifton
Indeed. I made a similar remark at 21.1.1.2. The broad church concept is meaningful where someone like, say, Damien O’Connor, is concerned, beavering away on behalf of the West Coast. He is often considered to be of the right of the party, but he still able to say he sees social justice and regional development as his missions. However, the people you list seem to want to remain in the Labour Party while casting aside everything it stands for.
The real schism in the Labour Part is between the traditional working class and the academic Identity Politics crowd – the latter having a strangle hold on the Labour Party which is a shadow of its former self.
No, the most significant parting of the ways will always be when one faction believes that it should be serving the interests of the powerful and entrenched rather than the powerless, dispossessed and marginalised.
Clever justifications for serving powerful interests (trickle-down, etc.) will never resolve that betrayal, I’m afraid.
Who in the current Labour caucus would you say is part of the “academic Identity Politics crowd”?
I’m struggling to make seense of that.
I suspect you are muddling a range of concepts.
I’m with pg. It’s more about those who’ve bought into the third way pandering to the comfortable middle classes as a route to electoral victory.
Agreed.
I have no problems with someone like O’Connor being ‘Labour’. And I’m even enough of a pragmatist to accept that some in the Labour caucus would want to make some sort of ‘truce’ or compromise with the ‘neo-liberal consensus’.
What I really can’t fathom is people who are not satisfied with ‘accommodating’ neoliberalism but seem bent on actively extending its reach and pushing it further into our social and economic arrangements – just because that’s what National is doing and ‘Ooo, look how popular National are!’.
It’s just mind-boggling that someone wishing to do that would even want to be in the Labour Party.
Aye.
I just wish that when the media went for people who can talk intelligently on the Labour Party they would choose people that I knew! Mike Williams can do it. He has a grassroots understanding of the party.
Pagani and Quin cannot. Honest I have been heavily involved in the party for the past 15 years and I have not met either of them. I met John Pagani but this does not qualify him as someone who can talk intelligibly on the party.
There are people who come and go at the “upper” level but they have no comprehension about what is happening at the activist level.
Pagani and Quin cannot. Honest I have been heavily involved in the party for the past 15 years and I have not met either of them. I met John Pagani but this does not qualify him as someone who can talk intelligibly on the party
I know exactly what you mean. I’ve met John Pagani once and wasn’t that impressed. His campaigning felt like it was out of the ark (mind you most of the MPs are worse). Never met the other two that I am aware of. And I’ve been to the majority of the conferences and congresses in one capacity or another over the last 25 years which is where you’d expect to meet Labour party people. I still do even though I’m in the media room rather than the remit floor.
@ MS & lprent,
That is truly horrible that the people commenting in the media as though they are informed about Labour – or as though they are insiders – may not be even actively involved in the Party – that really is terrible to hear.
Why can’t the media find more informed voices to comment on these political current affairs? (Not really a question – more of a plea).
Basically because damn near everyone who is suitable is also actively working during the day for a variety of private and public organisations and volunteering at night. Generally companies like my current employers have contract clauses that limit how much time I can take during paid hours and conflict of interest clauses that limit me in the rest. I also have many claims on my “free” time.
It takes time to write articles, prep for interviews and panels, or anything else.
Hell the one interview I have ever done involved me in a 3 hour hole in the middle of my working day driving from Albany to Newmarket, doing a segment, and then going back to work. I then worked 3 hours extra that day, which interfered with the volunteer work for the rest of the week as I caught up.
The people who are left over to become talking heads are those who aren’t particularly actively involved, those developing careers as talking heads, or who are semi-retired.
For everyone else who works a lot, the whole thing is a confounded nuisance.
Well written from Chris Trotter, thanks for the link as i forget sometimes to cast an eye over the daily offering from that direction,
40% as far as the vote goes is totally unnecessary in the enviroment of MMP, these numbers, Labour 33%, Greens 12%, InternetMana 5%, are hardly wildly optimistic, they do tho shout out 50% at the September vote…
I have a little anecdote. Talking to an older woman with health problems. Mentioned that it was very hard for unemployed and mentioned the recent comment that people are required to apply for 5 jobs a day and may still have their benefit withdrawn.
She said that was awful but she couldn’t cope with it, she needed to just manage and carry on quietly. I said well don’t vote for National will you. But I like John Key she said, he seems nice, (or something of that nature). She said with a smile, is that the end of the lecture. We smiled and went on with our day.
greywarbler …that is very depressing when you meet idiots like that…however after her encounter with you this timid soul may change her vote once she gets in the voting booth
Interesting you should say that, because i had a similar, but more disturbing experience. The person I was talking to was a 50 plus year old primary school teacher who said that she would be voting National because she said, she likes key! I was very surprised that she was so naive. I try to change her reasoning, but she actually was peeved with me and did not want to discus the issue.
Shows that lots of people have been fooled and conned so very easily by the smiling assassin!
Nats know this. No wonder they have chosen #Team Key as their slogan.
People are in pretty bad, sad political/enlightened state in modern NZ!
@ Chooky 10.54 and Clemgeopin
“that is very depressing when you meet idiots like that”
Trouble is she is not an idiot. But I think one of many NZs who want to leave the pollies to govern, as that being their job, and have never been taught how fragile democracy is, and our firm opinions are (not firm at all – able to be changed fast with a propaganda campaign.) To many NZs, having an interest in politics is a hobby, it is akin to stamp collecting, or it is for go-getters who are pushing their wheelbarrow not for ordinary people.
Then there are those who can hardly bring themelves to complain about anything apart from blocks to whatever is dear to their heart. What right do we have to disagree with the confident con men and fabulists who tell us all they want us to know, and are never guilty of wrongdoing, at worst whatever – was a little mistake – just a tiny, teeny one. We all have a little cringe built-in. We have got confused, don’t have a dream for NZ, don’t have even a workable vision – given up on pollies substance and just see the candy floss. Poem for today’s pollies, there for us at election time with hearts on sleeves, and then after the election – a different story.
W. H. Mearns – Antigonish
Yesterday upon the stair
I met a man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
I wish, I wish he’d go away
When I came home last night at three
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall
I couldn’t see him there at all!
By Robert Fisk
“It’s not just radicalised Islamists – what about foreign fighters who flock to the IDF?
Is the Government interested in UK citizens who have been fighting in Israeli uniform in Gaza in the past couple of weeks?…
Let me be frank. Dozens of British supporters of Israel do serve in the Israeli army. The same applies for Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US. And they don’t necessarily gravitate to being war criminals. This may not be what an Arab would say – and it is certainly not what Israelis would suggest. But there is plenty of evidence – from 1982 in Lebanon, from 1996 in Qana, from 2008-9 in Gaza and again in Gaza these past two weeks – that individual Israeli soldiers and pilots have committed acts which, under international law, are war crimes…
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/its-not-just-radicalised-islamists–what-about-foreign-fighters-who-flock-to-the-idf-9634260.html
Maybe NZ needs some of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZCRaOnqefI
It will hit you sooner or later, what goes on in Ukraine, in Middle and Near East, and many other parts of the world, New Zealand is not insulated and will be affected.
MORE to come!
After Ukips success in the UK and EU elections NZ polictions are trying to jump on the bandwagon but NZ has only a limited number of racist so it will be slim pickings for Winnie the poo ,in reading whyte supremacist and Crazy Colon Craig.