“…..60 percent of the electorate of New Zealand, you stand accused and have been found guilty of aiding and abetting the election of Rodney Hide. For this crime you will be handed the following sentence. You will all (except for 2% of you who will recieve it) hand over all of your publicly owned assetts, and pay in perpetuity (to the 2%) excessive charges for their use. May God have mercy on your souls”.
If you are confused with the news that we are sitting on a superannuation time bomb, we will have a personal debt of over $ 400.000.- ($ 2 trillion) per Kiwi in the year 2050 if we keep borrowing like we are today and the news that interest rates will go up for mortgages next year while last week you were told that we were the first ones to climb out of the world wide recession and we were going to rake it in with our new free trade agreement with Malaysia perhaps you might want to watch this video on how money is created again and follow up with this one as to what will happen next.
Perhaps it makes more sense now as the Money Masters are pulling out all the stops to bankrupt the worlds currencies so they can implement a global currency and with it global control.
It was after all a Rothchild who said, “Give me the right to print money and I care not who makes the laws.”
And while you educate yourself keep in mind that John Key was a Wall street banker when the Glass Steagall act was repealed opening the doors to the biggest scam of all times and remember that at the time he was hand picked by the Federal Reserve of New York to serve on a advisory committee of only four people or was he perhaps hand picked to be instructed how to go about being that nice “smiling assassin” Prime Minister of New Zealand?
travellerev what an interesting post with useful links to get background on this problem. The financial system is being manipulated and so is our understanding of it and our country’s financial policies. I think we are on a treadmill being ordered to work longer and harder and all the time profits are being leaked away to overseas investors or staying here as future debt. Our manufacturing for self-sufficiency in many goods has gone, our export returns undermined by the exchange rate being the plaything of overseas short-term investors. Looming over this are the double-faced ‘good’ governments like the USA, shaping our economy with their experts’ advice and doing the opposite in their own economies. Looking at the USA it is notable how many financial crises they have had and still are unstable and unwilling to properly regulate themselves for sound probity of financial dealings and then they blame the collapse on government wanting to widen the mortgage market to include lower income people.
Adding to this…
Why is it that Michael Laws seem so hell bent on being continually divisive? Is it really that he is just so media hungry that he will say anything for attention or is he actively trying to create anger and hatred?
My version of eugenics would start with Mr Laws, followed closely by Wodders and then the rest of the electorate which voted in NACT. Which amply demonstrates my point, where ever you start with eugenics you dont end.
Best not to start, eugenics historic record includes Hitler who merely took over an existing (and by then) accepted mainstream theory and took it to further lethal conclusions.
Talk to some family lawyers or social workers who see first hand how bad some parents are.
As Steven Pinker wrote in the NY Times earlier this year, behavioural traits are significantly heritable and even if they weren’t, these kids being raised by terrible parents will end up like them.
Laws’ suggestion is sensible to stop abuse at the very least people should be offered incentives by WINZ to people to use contraception.
Otherwise you get a future demographic disaster as these kids end up in crime & leading dysfunctional lives. People who hold utopian views about the perfectibility of some parents need to spend some time seeing the abuse.
I think that there is merit in Michael Laws idea. It seems a bit ‘out there’ but think about it – many of us have had sterilisations because we want to limit our families. I think that adults who have had at least one child and are egregious criminals or have been extremely neglectful parents, should be offered $1000 and free operations and care to have the sterilisation, and that it be at their choice not enforced by the state. It would be a reasonable policy to limit the kind of harmful child raising that is becoming endemic in sub-classes of New Zealanders. Eugenics is not an issue here. We have too many tragic and vicious attacks on children, and these tragic individuals tend to grow into adults continuing warped lives.
I think people have a very utopian and unrealistic view of how much you can change or improve some parents.
Laws is not suggesting mandatory sterilization as was ordered by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, or supported by various early 20th century figures like Planned Parenting’s Margaret Sanger & George Bernhard Shaw. He is suggesting incentives.
Really I don’t see why there shouldn’t be some reciprocal obligation on those accepting welfare to use contraception. Most people have to anyway to afford to get by.
There have been some double-edged comments around politics lately. The latest, with the Parliamentary Services saying that security staff holding a short strike left the building ‘insecure’. I think that insecurity in the staff because of lessening of their conditions of employment was the actual issue! Keeping the redundancy provisions unchanged at a time of frozen wage rates would be a reasonable way to halt these two insecurities.
Gerry Brownlee recently talked about possible “sensitive” mining in national parks. Has that man got a sensitive bone in his body?
I think some people have a very simplistic and erroneous view on how to ‘fix’ the world around them.
If the problem is unwanted pregnancies then rather than bribing young people to undertake an irreversible step to prevent them how about taking that $10,000 per person that ML is keen to hand out and providing free contraception and improved education, not just to potential parents but the parents of pre-teens as well.
Who is going to deal with the longterm mental health of a person that takes a sterilization option at 18, just so they can have unprotected sex, and then has to live with the fact that they can never have children? Actually who sets the age? I mean what parents is he talking about here? 16/15 year old parents.. are we really advocating sterilizing 15 year olds? Where does the $10,000 go… to them or their parents?
You know… the more you look at this the more obvious it becomes that it is just an unthought out piece of orchestrated… ‘Look At Me’.
Someone tell the Nat’s to hurry up and put the ‘H’ in so laws has something else to keep him busy.
The rules regarding takinga spouse on parliamentary trips says
partner. Now I can understand that ,and although I think the rules need to be reviewed I have no augument with that,
But surely Rodney’s little girl does not come into that catergory .
She;s 20yrs old ! Just how long has he known her ? Surely a partner means a long time live in. However perhaps we have received the wrong message .Maybe its his granddaughter .
pinkpostman – How does Hide pull a 20 year old? Lessons to be learned here. Is it being slightly tanned all the time, being certain he’s right which inspires confidence, the yellow blazer? He talks about needing to be together to assist an enduring relationship and how he needs support. That seems a frequent call for most of us, but we don’t have government coffers to assist us preserve our family ties.
“[lprent: Lazy idiot.
Link or comment. Put PR releases elsewhere.
Quotes should be there to illustrate your points, not just copied pasted here.”
Charming, I guess abusing people should be the first approach to enforcing the guidelines. Why the hostility? Do you talk to people like this in person?
[lprent: Not usually. But I’m not here as a ‘person’. On this site I’m a sysop and moderator. Read the policy. We find it preferable (ie less work for us) to stomp hard at the bounds so people remember to amend their behaviour. Either ask or behave badly if you want a further demonstration of moderator activity… ]
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Today’s better-than-forecast GDP figures show the expected impact of the decision to act quickly to protect New Zealanders from the global COVID-19 pandemic. GDP fell 12.2% in the June quarter from March, reflecting decisions to close New Zealand’s borders and enter Alert Level 4. “This result was better than the ...
The Government is investing $39.7 Million over four years to support the educational needs of Pacific learners and families in the regions hardest hit by COVID-19, with Auckland getting an immediate boost, Associate Minister of Education Jenny Salesa says. “Like all New Zealanders Pacific families want learners to do well ...
New Zealand’s goal of 100,000 kiwi by 2030 is being helped by an extra $19.7 million in funding to accelerate iwi and community efforts to protect kiwi, Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced. “$19.7 million of Jobs for Nature funding is being invested in kiwi conservation activities including increased predator ...
Ensuring New Zealanders can get the best deal on their electricity takes a step in the right direction today with the South Island launch of the EnergyMate pilot run by the Electricity Retailers’ Association, says Minister of Energy and Resources, Dr Megan Woods. EnergyMate is an industry-led programme providing coaching ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter announced today that the Government has reached its target of 50 percent on women on state sector board and committees – setting a new record level of women on state sector boards. “This Government is committed to having more women in leadership roles - ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford released today the final Government Policy Statement on land transport (GPS) 2021 which outlines the planned $48 billion investment in services and infrastructure over the next decade. “The final GPS supports our Government’s five-point plan for economic recovery by confirming our record investments in transport infrastructure ...
Three ambitious and cutting-edge research programmes that will lift New Zealand’s advanced energy technology research capability over seven years, have been supported by Government today, says Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods. The projects will each receive a share of $40.7 million investment from the Strategic Science Investment Fund. ...
The critical area for forensic examination known as Pit Bottom in Stone has been reached in what is a major milestone for the Pike River re-entry project, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little announced. “The infrastructure located in Pit Bottom in Stone is of very significant interest in ...
The Government is working on how New Zealand’s retirement income policies and settings can best support Kiwis in light of the COVID-19 economic recovery, with the help of the Retirement Commissioner’s latest review, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi said. “The Retirement Commissioner’s three-yearly review into New Zealand’s retirement ...
A new digital hub and development centre in Murupara will be instrumental in growing the region’s productivity, said Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau at the official opening of two community initiatives today. “I’m pleased to be here celebrating a significant milestone for two projects set to make a ...
PREFU shows economy doing better than forecast Unemployment to peak at 7.8%, down from 9.8% forecast in the Budget Year-to-June accounts show tax revenue, debt and OBEGAL better than forecast Global forecast downgraded as COVID-19 second waves and uncertainty grows Balanced plan to support critical public services, manage debt and ...
The Kāpiti Coast town of Ōtaki will receive $1.4 million in Government funding for two projects providing scores of jobs for locals while improving community facilities, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Māoriland Charitable Trust will receive a $900,000 Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) grant to upgrade the ...
The Provincial Growth Fund will provide $11.88 million to fund fencing and waterway projects nationwide that will improve the environment and create jobs in their communities, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. “These projects will create more than 100 jobs nationwide with work starting within the next couple ...
As part of the COVID-19 recovery, the Government has strengthened its procurement rules to ensure its annual $42 billion spend creates more jobs, uses more sustainable construction practices and results in better outcomes for Māori and Pasifika, Government Ministers announced today. Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford says the $42 ...
The Government is supporting a major upgrade of Timaru’s iconic Theatre Royal and the construction of a new connected Heritage Facility museum and exhibition space with $11.6 million from the Government’s Infrastructure Fund, Jacinda Ardern announced today. “We heard the call from the community and the council. The Theatre Royal ...
Chrissy Montague (formerly Armstrong), barrister of Auckland has been appointed as a District Court Judge with Family Court jurisdiction to be based in Wellington, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Ms Montague commenced practice in Auckland in 1987 and went into general practice dealing with Wills, Estates, Trusts, Conveyancing, Relationship Property ...
A Proposal to provide for the development and operation of commercial film and video production facilities in areas of Christchurch has been given the go ahead. Hon Poto Williams, Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, has approved the Proposal, which was prepared and submitted by Regenerate Christchurch. Minister Williams ...
As part of the Government’s focus on building closer partnerships with Māori and enhancing the quality of, and access to, Māori medium education, a payment of $8 million will be made to Te Wānanga o Raukawa in partial recognition of its Waitangi Tribunal claim (WAI 2698), Associate Education Minister Kelvin ...
The Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage has announced a $19 million investment over four years in an important forest restoration project involving a partnership between the Department of Conservation, iwi/hapū, the Bay of Plenty and Waikato Regional Councils, community conservation groups and organisations such as Forest and Bird across the ...
New Zealand will be the first country in the world to require the financial sector to report on climate risks, the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw announced today. The changes build on the huge progress this Government has made to tackle the climate crisis. “Today is another step on ...
Economic activity across the Auckland region and the country bounced back to levels experienced under Alert Level 1 following Auckland’s move out of Alert Level 3, analysis in the Treasury’s latest Weekly Economic Update shows. The analysis of economic data since Auckland’s move out of Level 3 shows: Auckland card ...
Takiri mai te ata, ka ao, ka ao, ka awatea, tihei mauriora! Tātou katoa ngā iwi o Aotearoa, tēnā koutou! Tēnā tātou e whakanuia ana i te wiki nei, te wiki o te reo Māori Greeting to you all from Otepoti, Dunedin. This week is the Māori Language week and ...
More mental health and addiction services are available for young New Zealanders in Rotorua and Taupō, Wairarapa, South Canterbury, Dunedin and Southland from next month, Health Minister Chris Hipkins and Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter say. “The Government is serious about making sure New Zealanders struggling with mental health ...
The Manuherekia catchment in Central Otago is the third exemplar catchment to be targeted as part of the Government’s plan to clean up waterways by supporting community-led programmes. Environment Minister David Parker said the Manuherekia catchment is vitally important to the people of Central Otago. “The Manuherekia rises in the ...
The Government has agreed on a preferred design for the new Dunedin Hospital featuring two separate buildings, and has provided funding for the next stages of work. Minister of Health Chris Hipkins says Cabinet has approved in principle the detailed business case for the new hospital, giving people in ...
New Zealanders across the country are set to mark history as part of the Māori Language Week commemorations led by Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori this year. Māori Development Minister, Nanaia Mahuta says the initiative will mark history for all the right reasons including making te reo Māori ...
More than 1000 teachers, support staff and school leaders have graduated from a programme designed to grow their capability to use te reo Māori in their teaching practice, as part of the Government’s plan to integrate te reo Māori into education, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. Being trialled ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio, says the Toloa Tertiary Scholarships which aims to encourage more Pacific student numbers participating and pursuing STEM-related studies in 2021, are now open. “These tertiary scholarships are administrated by the Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP), and are part of MPP’s overall Toloa ...
Four Bay of Plenty timber businesses will receive investments totalling nearly $22 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to boost the local economy and create jobs, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. Rotorua-based sawmill Red Stag Wood Solutions will receive a $15 million loan to develop an engineered ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced that New Zealand is exploring the viability of working with partners to conduct a search for the black box on the Gulf Livestock 1. “We know how much it would mean to the families of those on the ship to understand more about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has today announced the Government is supporting the creation of new marine infrastructure in northern Te Tairāwhiti on the North Island’s East Coast. The Government has approved in principle an allocation of up to $45 million to support the construction of a marine transport facility at ...
E Epineha. Ka tangi te iwi, ki a koe e ngaro nei i te kitenga kanohi. Kua mokemoke to whānau, to iwi, te motu whanui. Haere ki o matua, tipuna. Haere ki te okiokinga tuturu mo te tangata. Haere i runga i te aroha o ngā reanga kei muri i ...
Catch limits will be increased for 26 fisheries and reduced for three fisheries as part of a regular round of reviews designed to ensure ongoing sustainability of fisheries resources. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash has announced decisions following a review of catch limits and management controls for 29 fish stocks. The ...
The Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson says while it is disappointing the Rugby Championship will not be held in New Zealand, the country will host two Bledisloe Cup games in October and has the capacity in managed isolation facilities to host other international sporting events. “We offered flexible quarantine ...
Up to 350 more people in regional New Zealand will gain a pathway to trades training through a $14 million government investment in apprenticeships, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. The apprenticeships are part of the $40 million Regional Apprenticeship Initiative (RAI) announced in June. The funding comes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Carter, Professor emeritus, The University of Queensland Culture has long been stratified as “high” or “low”, or perhaps “high” and “popular” to soften the blow. But what about the in-between? The word “middlebrow” emerged into English in the 1920s as an ...
As tertiary institutions round the halfway mark of semester two, The Spinoff spoke to students and their universities about how they’re adapting to the changes wrought by the pandemic. With New Zealand’s alert levels confirmed to be shifting down this week, we’re edging closer to something approaching normality. But what ...
Greenpeace has today launched a call for the incoming government to prioritise cameras on boats across the full commercial fishing fleet, and to complete implementation within their first term. To launch the campaign, Greenpeace teamed up with recreational ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne This week’s Newspoll, conducted September 16-19 from a sample of 2,068, gave the Coalition a 51-49 lead, a one-point gain for the Coalition since the previous Newspoll, three weeks ago. ...
The Māori Party is promising to establish an independent Māori Health Funding Authority, overseeing the distribution of $5 billion - if it makes up part of the new government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allan Fels, Professorial Fellow, University of Melbourne It has been a long time since an Australian government turned its mind to policy concerning the news media — other than the removal of outdated ownership regulations. Now, thanks to the government’s intention to ...
From Auckland Business Chamber CEO, Michael Barnett: Auckland’s economic recovery remains hobbled for another two weeks at least with the order to stay in Level Two with no credit given to the show of compliance and vigilance to prevent new flare ...
A mystery Covid-19 case still under investigation has not stopped Auckland's move to Level 2, and the rest of New Zealand to Level 1, Jacinda Ardern has announced The Government has confirmed Auckland’s move down to Alert Level 2, and the rest of the country to Alert Level 1, despite ...
The deadline to register for a postal vote for the upcoming election and referendums has been extended by five days to give people more time to apply. Postal voting is available for people who cannot go to a voting place to vote in person, for example ...
Nau mai ki ngā Pepakati – te pakihere rokiroki o ngā pukapuka! Welcome to Papercuts – the podcast all about books! Sit back, relax and let Jenna, Kiran and Louisa tempt you with some awesome reads to add to your pile.The Papercuts gals are back to help you navigate the huge ...
Communities right across the region will benefit from further cycling initiatives with the announcement of this year’s Community Bike Fund recipients. Now in its fourth year, the fund is made available from Auckland Transport (AT) to support communities ...
The case of a person who tested positive almost a week after leaving managed isolation has highlighted the need to keep tracking those who have been through MIQ, writes Siouxsie Wiles. Over the weekend, the Ministry of Health reported a case of Covid-19 in Auckland that is not related to ...
The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards are today – screening live from midday on Vibe and SkyGo – but who are you putting your bets on? We took a look at the Neon and Sky catalogues to gain a little insight on how a show can maximise its chances.If you’re an entertainment ...
Monday 21st September, 2020, AUCKLAND: Drive Electric, the not-for-profit with one mission – making electric vehicle ownership in New Zealand mainstream, has today responded to the Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport , 2020/2021 ...
ACT's primary industries policy proposal says the party would repeal government's landmark climate change law, the Zero Carbon Act, along with the Emissions Trading Scheme. ...
The USA’s reputation among allies and partner countries has declined seriously, according to a poll by the US Pew Research Centre. Gauging attitudes in 13 countries, Pew reports the share of the public with a favourable view of the United States is as low as at any time it has ...
We already know how to solve our elective surgery crisis, says New Zealand Orthopaedic Association president Peter Robertson. We just need to take action.New Zealand is facing an elective surgery crisis – this isn’t news. The situation has been worsening for years and over successive governments. Now and again some ...
Commercial and recreational fishers are welcoming some aspects of the Green Party marine policy, but say care must be taken and more data is needed on fishery stocks. ...
National says it would double the size of the tech sector in 10 years, if elected, with a $1.29 billion plan that aims to create at least 100,000 new jobs and develop the "world's most tech friendly regulation". ...
Auckland, 18 September 2020 – Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be felt by New Zealanders. Concerns surrounding the economy and unemployment increased to unprecedented heights in May 2020. In September concerns for the economy retains ...
Alzheimers NZ wants more focus on designing buildings, particularly commercial and government buildings, to reflect the needs of people affected by dementia. Chief executive Catherine Hall says buildings cater for physically disabled people – ...
By Moffat Mamu in Honiara Two foreign nationals have lost their lives in the Solomon Islands during a bomb blast last night at their home in Tasahe, West Honiara. Police said the two, an Australian and a British citizen, were working for a Norwegian aid agency conducting a survey on ...
This week sees the first televised leaders debate between Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins. What are the techniques and tricks Jacinda and Judith will need to win the nation’s love? José Barbosa has watched a podium-load of old debates and thinks he has the answers.By golly gum I love TV ...
As Judith Collins defends a $4b hole in National's fiscal plan, she's pointing the finger at errors in Treasury PREFU documents, saying they show how easy it is for someone to make a mistake. ...
The Executive Director of the New Zealand Maori Council, Matthew Tukaki, has welcomed the opening of the first round of hearings at the Royal Commission into Abuse of Care in Auckland. Tukaki, who is a member of the Commissions Taumata, has said this ...
Reports of DOC and Minister Eugenie Sage turning their killing programme from tahr to deer suggests the extermination edict is paramount in government polices says a hunting and environmental advocacy. Laurie Collins spokesman for the Sporting Hunters ...
A fully funded independent Māori Health Funding Authority, all Māori having their own Whānau Health Card and Māori being screened for Cancer 10 years earlier than non-Māori are all part of the Māori Party Health Policy. Māori Party Co-Leader ...
"We urge the Minister to halt the consent for the transfer of interest and change of operatorship of the Maari oil field from OMV to Jadestone Energy. Decisions on such proposals should not be made, at least until the Crown Minerals Act and other ...
The lockdowns have required significant sacrifice, but Covid-19 has served us with a timely reminder of how interconnected we all are, writes Chris Farrelly of the Auckland City Mission.Amid this global pandemic, we witness the power and importance of community. Put simply, we have seen that our own efforts are ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bruce Bradbury, Associate Professor, Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW This week, support to unemployed Australians will be dramatically reduced. In April, the new Coronavirus Supplement roughly doubled the level of benefits for unemployed people on the JobSeeker payment and a range of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Wake, Program Manager, Journalism, RMIT University From today, ABC local radio listeners will no longer hear the majestic fanfare theme on local radio at 7:45am, signalling the 15-minute morning news. Although it might seem a smart managerial decision to reduce reporting ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Annette Cowie, Adjunct Professor, University of New England Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor is on Tuesday expected tooutline the Morrison government’s first Low Emissions Technology Statement, plotting Australia’s way forward on climate action. It’s likely to include “negative emissions” technologies, which ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alberto Posso, Professor of Economics, RMIT University Closing schools has been one response around the world to try to stop the spread of COVID-19. In Australia, states mandated an end to face-to-face learning for some time during the so-called first wave of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tebeje Molla, Research Fellow, Deakin University For disadvantaged people with disrupted educational trajectories, such as refugees, vocational qualifications can widen access to paid jobs and enhance economic independence. But many still consider vocational education and training (VET) qualifications not as prestigious as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Vredenburg, Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Marketing, Auckland University of Technology So-called brand activism is evolving fast. When Colin Kaepernick first knelt during the US national anthem in 2016, professional football turned its back on him. Now, consumer and sports fan ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Makin, Professor of Economics, Griffith University The financial response of Western governments to the COVID-19 crisis has been gargantuan, with boosts to health expenditure, enhanced JobSeeker-like payments, and JobKeeper-like wage subsidies to keep workers attached to jobs. While a strong response ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Richardson, Adjunct Professor of Journalism, La Trobe University Of all the words written about Rupert Murdoch, “boring” is not one of them. The media mogul has been the object of fascination for six decades, after he followed his father Sir Keith ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for September 21, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other NZ news. The essential campaign dates are here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Explore the parties’ pledges at Policy. I’m ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fonterra gets back into the black, National’s economic plan derailed by accounting blunder, and Air NZ boss questions continuing with elimination strategy.To lead off today, one of the most important single numbers for the rural economy. Fonterra has announced a payout ...
All week this week we focus on an extraordinary book of essays by Iranian-born Auckland film-maker Ghazaleh Golbakhsh. Today: her tale of a wandering Persian exile The Shah of Grey Lynn walks in front of me, his body long and lean, his head hung low. A shah is similar ...
Some of the safest parliamentary seats in the country are about to be taken over by newbies. They're sure things, anointed by their parties, waiting for the public's stamp of approval. In the latest in an occasional series, Marc Daalder speaks to public health expert Ayesha Verrall who, fresh off a ...
It was trash talk of a constructive nature during a political debate about the country's waste problem, including a hike in landfill levies hoped to fund better waste infrastructure Politicians put forward their policies for dealing with New Zealand’s growing waste problem in an online debate. Per capita we have ...
Fresh-faced and 14, our new national surfing champion initially struggled under the weight of the title. But with a new mindset, Ava Henderson is looking forward to claiming more crowns, she tells Anna Willcox. In the months after being crowned the New Zealand women’s surf champion, Ava Henderson didn’t like it. ...
National tried to go high-tech in its virtual campaign launch - but it was a far less sophisticated mathematical error which overshadowed Judith Collins, Sam Sachdeva writes As far as political humiliations at Avalon Studios go, Paul Goldsmith didn't quite match the time Rodney Hide dropped his Dancing with the Stars ...
Protecting 30 percent of our oceans by 2030 was one of a raft of marine plans announced by the Green Party Bans of bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf and a dramatic increase in the amount of protected marine areas are part of the Green Party's vision for oceans. Green ...
In this second of a series on the party leaders on the campaign trail, Tim Murphy joins the Greens' Marama Davison on a Sunday street corner in Glen Innes Marama Davidson and her offsider doubled the numbers when they arrived at the third of her four street corner campaign stops in ...
Covid-19 has put sign language in the public eye this year, but the fight to have it recognised as a 'real 'l language continues This week is New Zealand Sign Language Week, to coincide with the International Week of the Deaf and the United Nations International Day of Sign Languages ...
It was trash talk of a constructive nature during a political debate about the country's waste problem, including a hike in landfill levies hoped to fund better waste infrastructure Politicians put forward their policies for dealing with New Zealand’s growing waste problem in an online debate. Per capita we have ...
Misinformation about the effectiveness of the test is swirling, but in fact the PCR is both reliable and critical in taking on the virus, explains Siouxsie Wiles.I’ve been asked by several people in recent days whether there is any truth to a video about the Covid-19 PCR test that is ...
Let’s put tax at the core of this election. Sharing wealth is how we share care and responsibility for this land and all of the people in it, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira.It’s election season in the middle of a pandemic and global economic crisis. These are strange times we find ...
A look at the three elements that make up the TV election debate - the broadcaster, the moderator, and the politician. They come around every three years. Everything from the studio sets and the position of the podiums, to the colour of the ties, is carefully thought out; and then ...
By Keith Jackson The trend is your friend, it is said, and the trend in counting votes for the next president of Bougainville remains firmly with former Bougaiville Revolutionary Army commander Ishmael Toroama, who continues to move ahead of the field. With the elimination of the 14th presidential candidate late ...
A Government plan to charge people for emergency housing like motels was derailed by Covid-19, but will now come into effect two days after the election. ...
Thank you for your kind welcome. I am so proud to lead this great National Party in our first-ever virtual campaign launch. It is a bittersweet day. We should all be here together. But we all know why we aren’t. The rhetoric never matches the ...
Judith Collins’ hopes of kicking the National 2020 campaign into gear were stalled by an embarrassing accounting error, writes Justin Giovannetti from the Hutt Valley.Today was the day the National Party’s election campaign was finally going to start rolling with momentum after a belated campaign launch. Instead, festivities were overshadowed ...
It’s been revealed that an upcoming novel by the Harry Potter author features a crossdressing serial killer. In the last several years Joanne “JK” Rowling has doubled, tripled, and as of last week, quadrupled down on her bigotry towards transgender people, both in her public statements and in her popular fiction. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kcasey McLoughlin, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Newcastle Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death has generated an outpouring of grief around the globe. Part of this grief reflects her unparalleled status as a feminist icon and pioneer for women in the legal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jared Mondschein, Senior Fellow & Senior Advisor, US Studies Centre, University of Sydney As the two sides in US politics begin jockeying for position following the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the similarities to the 2016 presidential election are ...
The National Party has acknowledged it made a $4 billion error in its fiscal plan promising tax cuts to kick start the economy, after the anomaly was highlighted by Labour. ...
RNZ article today featured 'Truck crashes leave Auckland Harbour Bridge hobbled' clearly shows the massive cost of damages many of our highways drains, bridges and road surfaces by overuse of freight trucks all over NZ as the National Party recklessly ...
Kiwi politicians will face their toughest audience yet when they enter ‘a virtual hotseat’ hosted by a panel of the nation’s young people. Presented by Save the Children New Zealand and GirlGuiding New Zealand, the ‘Virtual Hotseat’ will ...
Today the Green Party announced their “Thriving Oceans Plan” to highlight their Ocean policies to build a thriving ocean. Every single life on our planet is dependent on the ocean. It’s one of the world’s greatest resources. It produces food and ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says that if Labour had done what it had promised and introduce an independent election policy costing office, the current confusion over National’s numbers would never have happened. Union Spokesman, Jordan Williams, says: “The ...
Child abuse advocacy group, Child Matters, is frustrated that calls to make Police vetting and child protection training mandatory for everyone who works with children have gone unheard Child Matters Chief Executive, Jane Searle, says while changes ...
Greenpeace is applauding the Greens marine policy, released today, saying it sets a strong vision for healthy and thriving oceans. Jessica Desmond, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa, says she’s pleased to see the Greens take a big picture ...
Open mike 30/10/09 
Becky Casale Elon Musk reckons his Neuralink brain implant is much more than a medical device–that one day it will drive a symbiosis between humans and artificial intelligence. “Good morning! I’m Dr Benedict Egg and I’ll be supervising your Neuralink insertion today. Do you have any questions?” “Yes, Doc. ...2 hours ago
Many New Zealanders take a strong interest in US politics, with the death of Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg being the latest example. Liam Hehir wonders if it very wise for New Zealanders to get so worked about it. Many politically engaged New Zealanders are now furiously ...3 hours ago
After stamping the Coronavirus out via strict lockdown between March and May, New Zealand went through a good three months without any community cases. Then a local outbreak in Auckland rather buggered things up last month. Auckland’s been in level 3 and level 2.5 for the past six weeks. ...3 hours ago
Who's causing our skyrocketing emissions? As with most of our other problems, It's the rich: The wealthiest 1% of the world’s population were responsible for the emission of more than twice as much carbon dioxide as the poorer half of the world from 1990 to 2015, according to new ...3 hours ago
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... The tipping points at the heart of the climate crisis Many parts of the Earth’s climate system have been destabilised by ...8 hours ago
In the absence of national public opinion polls, we have had to make do in recent weeks with other guides to voter intentions. Those guides, such as the Auckland Central poll, the incidence of google enquiries and the responses to Vote Compass questions, have suggested, not unexpectedly, that Labour is ...9 hours ago
Crusher Collins - National Party leaderWe all know that the National Party is desperate to gain some traction during this election campaign and have been throwing pretty much everything at the Labour Party in order to try and undermine Jacinda Ardern and what the Coalition Government has achieved. But unfortunately ...11 hours ago
Much of the commentariat’s reporting of the most recent GDP figure was misleading and unhelpful. The prize for the stupidest remark about the GDP figure for second quarter 2020 (2020Q2) released on Thursday (17 Sept) goes to Judith Collins, whose response to Grant Robertson’s comments indicated she did not ...23 hours ago
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh goloing@gmail.com (19/09/2020) Che Guevara said that a true revolutionary is motivated by love i.e. love of the oppressed, the poor, the children dying from preventable illnesses. This phrase of his is true but has been used by reformists and their more hippy wing have taken advantage ...1 day ago
With the National Party this week announcing a new policy of tax cuts to spice up the election campagin. MyThinks went along to the launch and afterwards we spoke to the party’s finance spokesperson Paul “Golden Touch” Goldsmith. MT: Thanks for speaking to us Mr Goldsmith. PG: No. Thank you. ...2 days ago
Always to islanders danger Is what comes over the seas ‘Landfall in Unknown Seas’ (Allen Curnow)Six economic issues external to New Zealand, which will greatly impact upon us. 1. The Diminishing Global Dominance of the US. Since 1941 America has dominated the world economically and politically. Probably it could ...3 days ago
Dangerous Times: This will be the choice confronting those coming of age in the 2020s. Embrace Neoliberalism’s belief in racial and sexual equality; adopt its secular and scientific world view; and cultivate the technocratic, multicultural, global outlook required of those who keep the machinery of hyper-capitalism humming. Or, throw your ...3 days ago
Tax Justice UK, September 2020 Serious tax reform is on the political agenda for the first time in decades due to the coronavirus crisis. As this debate hots up it is important to understand what people think about public spending, wealth and tax. Tax Justice UK, along with Survation and ...3 days ago
Although I had the fortune of being a graduate student of some of the foremost US nuclear strategists of the day (1970s) and later rubbed shoulders with Air Force and Naval officers who were entrusted with parts of the US nuclear arsenal, I seldom get to write or speak about ...4 days ago
At the 2017 election, the New Zealand Labour Party promised a Fees Free Policy for tertiary students. Basically, it would make the first year of university education free in 2018, with a second year in 2021, and a third in 2024. It also promised to restore Post-Graduate access to the ...5 days ago
On “In Defense of Looting” Matt Taibibi takes an entertaining look at this generation of woke activists and how they compare with Abbie Hoffman the iconic anti-Vietnam war counter-culture figure of the 1960s On Thursday, August 27th, the same day Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican nomination, National Public Radio ...6 days ago
In a couple of months, the 53rd Parliament will meet in Wellington, and approximately 120 MPs will be sworn in, many of them for the first time.They will all have political goals, some aligning with their party platforms, some not, some complex, and some simple, but they will gain one ...6 days ago
So the Greens co-leader James Shaw recently made a mistake. In his role as Associate Finance Minister approving funding for “shovel-ready” projects, he fought hard for a private “Green school” to get funding to expand their buildings and, therefore, their student capacity. There are many problems with what he did: ...1 week ago-1f82146fa0d95608c5d921931b8dd46e7f0c9b1b/537110292.jpg?format=1500w)
Windows 95 is famous for requiring the shutting down the system by clicking ‘start, like stopping your car by turning the ignition key on. Why are so many interfaces so user-unfriendly? The Covid app to register your entering premises can be so clumsy. Sometimes I have signed in, sat down ...1 week ago
If there was any doubt left, we can surely call it now. Time and date. End of. Finito. Perhaps you thought you saw a flickering eyelid or a finger move? You were wrong. Labour has given up on tax reform for the foreseeable future. One of the key remaining left/right ...2 weeks ago
The Green Party is calling for Waka Kotahi the NZ Transport Agency to convert a lane over the Auckland Harbour Bridge to bus-only and make buses free to use across the bridge until all lanes are back in operation. ...1 hour ago
It was another busy week out on the campaign trail, with Labour focused on jobs, training, and supporting Kiwi workers. As we continue to roll out our five-point plan for recovery, we’re investing in our people, businesses, communities and vital services, so we can keep our economy moving as we ...2 days ago
The Coalition Government has committed to invest $27 million in COVID-19 vaccine development through the global COVAX Facility, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced today. “The COVAX Facility is a key part of our COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy to obtain safe and effective vaccines. It allows us to invest in a high-quality, ...5 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Carter, Professor emeritus, The University of Queensland Culture has long been stratified as “high” or “low”, or perhaps “high” and “popular” to soften the blow. But what about the in-between? The word “middlebrow” emerged into English in the 1920s as an ...42 mins ago
Postal voting registration - which had been set to close on Wednesday - has been extended by five days. ...46 mins ago
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When we see the perk buster out walking with his girlfriend are we seeing a new angle on a C(h)rome Dome.
“…..60 percent of the electorate of New Zealand, you stand accused and have been found guilty of aiding and abetting the election of Rodney Hide. For this crime you will be handed the following sentence. You will all (except for 2% of you who will recieve it) hand over all of your publicly owned assetts, and pay in perpetuity (to the 2%) excessive charges for their use. May God have mercy on your souls”.
$25,000 for a pelvic affiliate to go on holiday! You go Rodney, bust those perks!
More troughing . what a surprise
LOL
If you are confused with the news that we are sitting on a superannuation time bomb, we will have a personal debt of over $ 400.000.- ($ 2 trillion) per Kiwi in the year 2050 if we keep borrowing like we are today and the news that interest rates will go up for mortgages next year while last week you were told that we were the first ones to climb out of the world wide recession and we were going to rake it in with our new free trade agreement with Malaysia perhaps you might want to watch this video on how money is created again and follow up with this one as to what will happen next.
Perhaps it makes more sense now as the Money Masters are pulling out all the stops to bankrupt the worlds currencies so they can implement a global currency and with it global control.
It was after all a Rothchild who said, “Give me the right to print money and I care not who makes the laws.”
And while you educate yourself keep in mind that John Key was a Wall street banker when the Glass Steagall act was repealed opening the doors to the biggest scam of all times and remember that at the time he was hand picked by the Federal Reserve of New York to serve on a advisory committee of only four people or was he perhaps hand picked to be instructed how to go about being that nice “smiling assassin” Prime Minister of New Zealand?
travellerev what an interesting post with useful links to get background on this problem. The financial system is being manipulated and so is our understanding of it and our country’s financial policies. I think we are on a treadmill being ordered to work longer and harder and all the time profits are being leaked away to overseas investors or staying here as future debt. Our manufacturing for self-sufficiency in many goods has gone, our export returns undermined by the exchange rate being the plaything of overseas short-term investors. Looming over this are the double-faced ‘good’ governments like the USA, shaping our economy with their experts’ advice and doing the opposite in their own economies. Looking at the USA it is notable how many financial crises they have had and still are unstable and unwilling to properly regulate themselves for sound probity of financial dealings and then they blame the collapse on government wanting to widen the mortgage market to include lower income people.
Michael Laws as a proponent of eugenics… I suppose it was inevitable he would go there eventually:
Sterilise underclass to stop child abuse – Michael Laws
Adding to this…
Why is it that Michael Laws seem so hell bent on being continually divisive? Is it really that he is just so media hungry that he will say anything for attention or is he actively trying to create anger and hatred?
he is asking for help albeit in a disfunctional, trashing about like a child, kind of way. Who is there to help him? Not me – but i do feel his pain.
song for mike – monster side by addict
My version of eugenics would start with Mr Laws, followed closely by Wodders and then the rest of the electorate which voted in NACT. Which amply demonstrates my point, where ever you start with eugenics you dont end.
Best not to start, eugenics historic record includes Hitler who merely took over an existing (and by then) accepted mainstream theory and took it to further lethal conclusions.
Talk to some family lawyers or social workers who see first hand how bad some parents are.
As Steven Pinker wrote in the NY Times earlier this year, behavioural traits are significantly heritable and even if they weren’t, these kids being raised by terrible parents will end up like them.
Laws’ suggestion is sensible to stop abuse at the very least people should be offered incentives by WINZ to people to use contraception.
Otherwise you get a future demographic disaster as these kids end up in crime & leading dysfunctional lives. People who hold utopian views about the perfectibility of some parents need to spend some time seeing the abuse.
So how do we save ourselves from Law’s kids then?
I think that there is merit in Michael Laws idea. It seems a bit ‘out there’ but think about it – many of us have had sterilisations because we want to limit our families. I think that adults who have had at least one child and are egregious criminals or have been extremely neglectful parents, should be offered $1000 and free operations and care to have the sterilisation, and that it be at their choice not enforced by the state. It would be a reasonable policy to limit the kind of harmful child raising that is becoming endemic in sub-classes of New Zealanders. Eugenics is not an issue here. We have too many tragic and vicious attacks on children, and these tragic individuals tend to grow into adults continuing warped lives.
I think people have a very utopian and unrealistic view of how much you can change or improve some parents.
Laws is not suggesting mandatory sterilization as was ordered by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, or supported by various early 20th century figures like Planned Parenting’s Margaret Sanger & George Bernhard Shaw. He is suggesting incentives.
Really I don’t see why there shouldn’t be some reciprocal obligation on those accepting welfare to use contraception. Most people have to anyway to afford to get by.
There have been some double-edged comments around politics lately. The latest, with the Parliamentary Services saying that security staff holding a short strike left the building ‘insecure’. I think that insecurity in the staff because of lessening of their conditions of employment was the actual issue! Keeping the redundancy provisions unchanged at a time of frozen wage rates would be a reasonable way to halt these two insecurities.
Gerry Brownlee recently talked about possible “sensitive” mining in national parks. Has that man got a sensitive bone in his body?
I think some people have a very simplistic and erroneous view on how to ‘fix’ the world around them.
If the problem is unwanted pregnancies then rather than bribing young people to undertake an irreversible step to prevent them how about taking that $10,000 per person that ML is keen to hand out and providing free contraception and improved education, not just to potential parents but the parents of pre-teens as well.
Who is going to deal with the longterm mental health of a person that takes a sterilization option at 18, just so they can have unprotected sex, and then has to live with the fact that they can never have children? Actually who sets the age? I mean what parents is he talking about here? 16/15 year old parents.. are we really advocating sterilizing 15 year olds? Where does the $10,000 go… to them or their parents?
You know… the more you look at this the more obvious it becomes that it is just an unthought out piece of orchestrated… ‘Look At Me’.
Someone tell the Nat’s to hurry up and put the ‘H’ in so laws has something else to keep him busy.
[Large quote deleted]
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=79394
[lprent: Lazy idiot.
Link or comment. Put PR releases elsewhere.
Quotes should be there to illustrate your points, not just copied pasted here. ]
The rules regarding takinga spouse on parliamentary trips says
partner. Now I can understand that ,and although I think the rules need to be reviewed I have no augument with that,
But surely Rodney’s little girl does not come into that catergory .
She;s 20yrs old ! Just how long has he known her ? Surely a partner means a long time live in. However perhaps we have received the wrong message .Maybe its his granddaughter .
She’s 31. Still quite a feat for an elderly midget though.
pinkpostman – How does Hide pull a 20 year old? Lessons to be learned here. Is it being slightly tanned all the time, being certain he’s right which inspires confidence, the yellow blazer? He talks about needing to be together to assist an enduring relationship and how he needs support. That seems a frequent call for most of us, but we don’t have government coffers to assist us preserve our family ties.
Pheremones, visual myopia (odd in a squash player) or that all time chick puller POWER
Such cynicism chappies!
Have you never seen the courtship dance of wee canaries? Truly splendid and somewhat irresistible.
“[lprent: Lazy idiot.
Link or comment. Put PR releases elsewhere.
Quotes should be there to illustrate your points, not just copied pasted here.”
Charming, I guess abusing people should be the first approach to enforcing the guidelines. Why the hostility? Do you talk to people like this in person?
[lprent: Not usually. But I’m not here as a ‘person’. On this site I’m a sysop and moderator. Read the policy. We find it preferable (ie less work for us) to stomp hard at the bounds so people remember to amend their behaviour. Either ask or behave badly if you want a further demonstration of moderator activity… ]
No right turn shows us again why Labour doesn’t care about human rights and cannot be trusted. And where’s Trevor Mallard’s explanation of why Labour voted against our civil liberties again with the Bodily samples amendment bill?
Tidy up people, we’ve got guests coming. Who knew?