Stayed at the Taufua Fale at Lalomanu, Upolu, Samoa, couple of years ago. Recall sitting on the beautiful beach there looking out to Nu’utele Island – the site of a leper colony 1916-1918 – http://samoa.southpacific.org/upolu/eastern.html
As I gloried in the warmth of Lalomanu and lively, embracing Samoan hospitality I would contemplatively muse – “How must life have been for those poor souls ?”
It is a bitter, bitter irony that our Minister of Corrections Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga is Samoan. How must life be Sam……in the SERCO establishments you continue to licence……thus smartening the investment portfolios of the British upper-middle class……gifting wealth way beyond need ?
Deploying for a moment the risibly fake ‘Everyman’ diction of The Ponce-Key……”I reckon” if SERCO had been around in Germany and Poland in the 30s and 40s……there would have been some magnificent profit turned.
Sam……like a boy you do your masters’ bidding and you truck with the corporate beast SERCO, seemingly without shame. You do that in our name. No ! No ! Where is Fa’a Samoa in you Sam ?
Mmmm……a National Party politician…….he and Alfred Ngaro, the fiapalagi bait The Ponce-Key patronisingly disported before Pasifika of South Auckland last election…….that turned out beautifully, didn’t it ?
It’s that time of year again – when Britain’s “poppy fascism” dominates public life. Television presenters are perhaps the most conspicuous exponents, whereby the paper facsimile of the little red flower must be donned on all lapels.
Now weeks ahead of the official commemoration day, more and more Britons, including TV personalties, are pinning the poppy in public.
It may seem innocuous, but there is a disturbing authoritarianism to the increasing custom. Those who don’t wear the symbol commemorating Britain’s war dead are liable to be castigated and abused for being “traitors”.
The BBC is a classic example. The publicly owned state broadcaster says that its presenters and reporters have the option of not wearing the red poppy. But in practice such is the peer pressure and jingoistic mood of modern Britain that all BBC staff will have to conform to a personal display of the red floral tribute. Bet on it.
Some brave television figures refuse to go along with the established “norm”. It was Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow who coined the phrase “poppy fascism” a few years ago when he was publicly berated by BBC journalists and other media outlets for refusing to don the flower during his nightly broadcasts. It remains to be seen if the Channel 4 news anchor will this year cave to public pressure – a pressure which seems to be growing every year.
Ever since 1919, Britain and its Commonwealth states, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand hold Remembrance Day on November 11.
It marks the armistice of the First World War in 1918. The first commemoration was held by Britain’s King George V who wore a red poppy, thus inaugurating a tradition that continues to this day. The delicate flower was commonly seen on the battlefields of Belgium and France and came to symbolise the millions of soldiers killed during the four-year-old war.
Across Britain, Remembrance Day is marked by sombre ceremonies in towns and cities during which poppy wreathes are laid at war memorials. The biggest event is held at the Cenotaph in London’s Whitehall. Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister David Cameron and other political leaders will be among the chief dignitaries, along with senior members of Britain’s armed forces.
So what, you may ask, is objectionable about Britain’s annual Remembrance?
In its early observance, the event was indeed a momentous mourning for the millions who died in the First World War. It was an occasion to vow “never again” should mankind be plagued with such horror.
However, the massive demonstration of grieving and repudiation of war has since given way to an obscene glorification of war. The danger of such co-option was there from the beginning when King George V led the first Remembrance Day. For the British monarch – whose cousins included Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II and other European aristocrats – personified the basic background to the conflict. It was an imperialist squabble that exploded into a conflagration that consumed up to 18 million ordinary civilians among the warring nations. ….
On Remembrance Day I’d agree with you – pride or sorrow for the loss of lives spent in war or for futures than never were. But it’s not even November yet and the poppy is everywhere (peer pressure? It’s not meant to be a fashion statement). I feel this devalues the day itself.
Agreed. It’s like that beautiful word “awesome”. Once apon a time it was used in it’s correct sense. Something that filled one with awe. Now it has been debased by it’s gross overuse (young people especially) and it’s lost it’s status.
The same will happen with the poppy remembrance. For that reason I refuse to wear it on any other day other than the 25th April.
I’d agree with you if you’d said you wore it in sorrow.
DULCE ET DECORUM EST
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.
Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams before my helpless sight
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin,
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
The article you link to jumps from reasoned debate to an utter ugly and ill founded rant to fit the event to the author’s very public and well known counter-positions on monarchy, armed forces and UK government.
As a retired serviceman the ceremonies are a tiny moment of peace and stillness to reflect as a nation upon the futility of war and the loss of friends and comrades through the years. It remembers, for example, the fight against Nazi Fascism and in all the other conflicts in which we are caught up – mostly as a result of the failure of Politicians and Diplomats.
Those who shout loudest against events such as this have largely never worn uniform and put their lives in the hands of others. They do not recognise the value of service, they don’t see value at all, only cost. That is why, for example, the Monarchy that gives so many millions of people so much pleasure and generates so much for our nation, is the easy target for small minded and jealous writers whose own lives are monotonously dull and grey. For those of us who wore uniform, and who continue to do so, we do so for a variety of reasons – and not all are nationalistic or idealism – but ultimately because we are prepared to do so detractors are able to contort their faces into anger and shout their spittle laced messages from the safety of their own lives. The Poppy is a dignified sign of respect and thanks. If you don’t wear it that is up to you – freedom to exercise such rights is after all part of what we fought so hard for (unlike those compelled to wear a yellow star for example) – and frankly if you are so blinded by ugly rhetoric and cannot see the humanity beneath the November ceremonies you should not and neither are you decent enough person to be a Poppy wearer. Keep shouting – few are listening but many gave their lives that you could
Do you think it acceptable that the RSA never spoke out against the massacre, and in fact published doggerel in its magazine in praise of the murderers?
Certainly not about nationalism, not about the ugly military and their armies, not about government, not about the frikkin’ crown, not about politicians. Those things are all responsible for war and should be arsed out of the commemorations. Fuck them.
Unfortunately today, it has morphed into nationalism, militarism, government, crown and politicians.
It is fucked in the head and leading straight back to more war and death.
I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.
In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you’ll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.
Wellington employers Chamber of commerce wants to take action against the city council for issues around the living wage.
On the board -detail on website -are
Daniel Fielding – Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
Richard Stone – JacksonStone & Partners
Pierre Woolridge – Optimum Websites Ltd
Charles Finny – Saunders Unsworth
Zane Fulljames – NZ Bus.
Linda Sissons – Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec)
Peter Cullen – Cullen Law, President
Cas Carter – Massey University, Vice-President
Olivier Lacoua – CQ Hotels
Ian Cassels – The Wellington Company
Brent Callaghan – Westpac
John Dow – Agenda Limited
Not exactly your small local business’s are they – wonder if the membership looks the same.
You’d have though that on behalf on their members they would be more likely to support an increase in lower level pay and a hold on the upper level pay.
After all that would mean more people outside their door with money to spend. Looking at the CV’s I suspect a number of them may have council contracts – is there a conflict of interets? Go on journo’s do your stuff – ask the questions.
The hysteria around this move by the WCC is incredible. What is it about people not electing the “right” local government that so gets under the skin of the neo-libs? Farrar is practically demanding a judicial coup against the democratically elected councillors complete with blood curdling threats of hefty fines – and all over less than $3,000,000 a year in extra wages?
It is a bizarrely over the top authoritarian response from an increasingly intolerant and Fascistic right wing that seems to think anyone who doesn’t agree with them has no right to govern.
So you are for it now that we have cleared that up?
Westpac
“Cash earnings in the New Zealand business rose to $441 million in the six months ended March 31, from $432 million a year earlier, the Sydney-based bank said in a statement. Net interest income rose 6 per cent to $832 million as the local lender grew its mortgage loan book 5 per cent to $40.7 billion and business lending expanded 5 per cent to $24 billion. Impairment charges on bad debts rose to $31 million from $4 million a year earlier, when the bank benefitted from provision recoveries.
“We achieved good growth in New Zealand, supported by changes to our distribution network and the increased use of digital channels,” group chief executive Brian Hartzer said.” May 2015
“…The Australian parent reported a small dip in first-half profit to A$3.61 billion, from A$3.62 billion a year earlier, with cash earnings flat at A$3.77 billion. “
Can I suggest that the Wellington Chamber of Commerce should be asked to come up with a weekly household budget for a person living on the minimum wage to support their argument with the Wellington Council.
That line-up shows the chamber of commerce is just another rightwing front like the Taxpayer Union. Using the credibility of local business owners to push their agenda.
Despite the Chamber of Commerces’ hysterical (good word Sanctuary) reaction to the vote to retain the living wage for council staff and get council contractors on board with the living wage too, the main contractor in question, Recon, who provide noise control services to the WCC and whose staff would benefit from moving to the living wage haven’t said a word about it as yet. (Maybe they have and I missed it – or is Recon a member of the Chamber of Commerce and they want to stay under the radar?)
It is absurd that their ideological viewpoint would prevent them from putting $$$ into potential customers hands to spend at their stores (eg John MIlford used to be CE of Kirkaldie and Stains, and look where that store has ended up after 150 years of trading – down the tubes, no customers!)
Absurd too that Nicola Young, right wing councillor for Lambton Ward, in her opposition to introducing the living wage to council staff last year, said those on minimum wage get benefits from the government to top up their existence. I thought those nats thought people who receive benefits are bludgers, draining their precious tax payer $$$?
By opposing the living wage in their blind mean spirited way, these guys are in fact opposing increased trade, let alone the reduction of financial stress in people’s lives, that which of course they couldn’t care about.
hi rosie,
re. living wage being paid: there is a great ted talk that covers this amongst other things.
put “plutocrats and the pitchforks are coming” into the search.
essentially he helps to define capitalism and deals with inequality, arguing that the middle class is where jobs and growth are generated.
while he is at it he smashes a few of those neo-liberal myths, eg.tricledown, raising minimum wages costs jobs etc.
Thanks gsays. I’ve heard of Ted Talks but never listened to one. Do I just google ted talk and who is the speaker I look for? Ta.
The other thing that just occurred to me is that is would make sense for a banker, ie, Brent Callaghan from Westpac of the board of the Chamber of Commerce, to oppose a living wage. If people could actually afford to live they would use their credit cards less and less for essential and non essential items.
People like Brent, I would assume, would want workers to remain on low wages and be dependent on the bank for credit. The business of debt is big business for them. It’s pure profit.
Imagine if wages in general went up. You’d get more side orders at your cafe, in addition to orders for mains, and more covers. People, once their debt is under control could do nice things like go out and enjoy themselves. Your business would increase, then you can all have wage increase too!!!
Hey, go the whole hog, abolish GST and theres more money for everyone!!!
The speaker is billionaire Nick Hanauer and he makes some excellent points. Video here. He’s got an article up here as well covering the same ground.
People like Brent, I would assume, would want workers to remain on low wages and be dependent on the bank for credit. The business of debt is big business for them. It’s pure profit.
That is pretty much exactly how our financial system works.
The poor are in debt because they can’t afford to live and the interest that they pay goes to the rich and then stays there because our banks create money to loan out rather than loaning out money that they have on deposit.
Imagine if wages in general went up. You’d get more side orders at your cafe, in addition to orders for mains, and more covers. People, once their debt is under control could do nice things like go out and enjoy themselves.
And they become nicer to everyone else as well as competition between people decreases. This is another reason why our government should be bringing back full employment as a policy setting.
Thanks Draco. I’ve got 5 minutes into the Nick Hanauer talk, before I have to dash off and do things, and he’s talking alot of sense.
Those boofheads at the Chamber of Commerce need to listen to what he says about inequality being bad for business, regardless of your moral stance – sort of what I was getting to above, in a less articulate way.
In Robert Reich’s “Inequality for all” that same theme is covered: (Trailer)
I’ve seen you post that “A flaw in the monetary system” video before and will give it a look later. And re the poor being in debt, I think it’s increasingly more the middle classes too. Everything points to out current system holding us back financially which affects us personally and socially. I believe our society is under a great strain but here in Nu Zuland I think those pitchforks are going to stay safely tucked away in their garden sheds for quite some time.
PS: Stephanie has a good post on her blog Boots Theory about the living wage Vs the chamber of Commerce.
Oh the injustice, Council are SUCH bastards, paying a living wage to security guards. Westpac make billions a year in profit but pay their security guards 14.70 (gross) per hour to guard the loot
Will there be a spin off for Fonterra in baby formula sales due to China increasing the population?
In 1979 China introduced the one child policy, 400 million less births have occurred due to the policy. Not sure when but there has been a relaxation in some provinces to allow a second child due to an aging population. Knowing how many extra children have been born in the provinces with a second child would interest me as it would give an estimation of how many people may elect to have a second child.
In rural areas often the parents go into the cities to work and leave their children in the care of grandparents.
Increasing the birth rate is part of China’s vision for the next five years. I can now see why establishing the production of milk solids in NZ is important for China.
At some point the population in China will reach 2 billion, it is currently 1.4 billion.
During the year of the dragon the birth rate increases and during the year of the sheep it decreases. Planning maternity services for an extra child is just the start, next is housing, child care, education, health, jobs etc.
There was a bit more on TV 3 news at 6 pm about the one child policy. A woman dared to have a second child, the child was deemed to not exist as there was no entitlement to health care, education or travel documents. I was left thinking how forward thinking this mother was.
I would like to see all children who were born under the one child policy, treated the same as a first born.
A neighbour mentioned to me that many children overseas have elderly parents in China. I also think that there could be a shortage of females.
“Court Orders USTR To Justify Industry Advisor Confidentiality In TPP”
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) next week is expected to provide justification for withholding from a Freedom of Information Act request the communications with its industry advisors as confidential commercial or financial information. The case involves communications in the lead-up to completion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, and could set a precedent for exemptions of communications with lobbyists. http://www.ip-watch.org/2015/10/29/ustr-called-on-to-justify-industry-advisor-confidentiality-in-tpp/
Good and about time! In addition there needs to be a political donations disclosure requirement from lobbyists.
Wonder who wrote this Editorial? Interesting to see the connection between Slater and Hager.
“Blogger Cameron Slater and author Nicky Hager have much in common, even beyond the emails one wrote and the other obtained, possibly illegally, now the Supreme Court has ruled computer files are property.
Both claim to be journalists, and both have found their work subject to the scrutiny of the High Court……….
…..The Supreme Court’s ruling suggests receiving illegally obtained email may be a crime.
Although data might be property is is clearly pretty different from physical property in the sense that the person still has the data even if it is copied. Also someone who wipes out data from the original should be treated differently than someone who just copies data.
Also it should take into account where the data came from, is it Facebook? (already face book and many other sites keep copies on their servers even if they are deleted).
In the Hager case, nobody can prove where it came from anyway. There is no proof it was stolen apart from what contempt of court Slater has said. Slater could have printed it out and lost it at the park or accidentally sent it to the wrong person – or what ever. Plenty of SIS and ACC scandals about this.
The rumours are that Slater records everything like his conversations with the prime minister for example. He is not going to admit he ‘lost or accidentally’ sent the data off to the wrong person rather say it was not his fault and it was stolen.
So I don’t think some sort of receipt of ‘stolen goods’ is applicable in the Hager case as a defence at all. So many holes in it.
I just don’t think the police can prove anything on that one. In fact the police have always said Hager is NOT a suspect for criminal activity in the media.
And even if the data was copied from Slater then the ‘for the public good’ will apply.
TPP- the latest news and ongoing saga.
TPP Text Needs Further Work After Japan; Release Not Expected For Weeks
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) officials will not be able to finalize the text of the agreement by Oct. 30, when a drafting and legal scrub session is slated to wrap up in Tokyo, meaning the release of the final text is still several weeks away, according to informed sources. http://insidetrade.com/
A further David Fisher article on the Hager/Westpac information release is on the Herald’s website today, which is a good round-up of the overall situation re banks and others providing information to NZ Police. It is somewhat hidden on the site, and I had missed it earlier and only heard about it through another blog site.
” The simple act of transparency is likely to reduce the practice. That was TradeMe’s experience with its Transparency Report.”
Interestingly, once a company publishes the number of requests it receives (but no identifying names), Fisher suggests it reduces the number of attempts the police make….
Overseas investors are deserting Auckland’s property market as the Government crack down on foreign buyers works, but experts say asking prices now remain too high for the remaining local buyers.
There Idiot/Savant draws and almost correct conclusion:
But the fact that it has had such a noticeable effect tells us something about the sort of money we’ve been playing haven too, and how a deregulated market enables foreign crime and corruption.
A deregulated will also enable our own crime and corruption which is why the psychopaths like it so much.
Love the way the politicians denied it was foreign investors and some money laundering issue for so long in Auckland.
Now there are some basic ways to curb foreign investment in place to buy a property and people are going to be taxed if it is resold before 2 years – we don’t have the run away prices.
If they had bothered to do it 4 years ago, there wouldn’t be the mess!
Take it you haven’t watched the first series of Continuum then?
Admittedly, the idea there was to map the patterns of reflections of existing wifi and cellphone towers.
And it’s not as if they’ve discovered anything – RADAR has been around awhile. It’s just now that they’ve developed the technological capability needed to do it.
So, Lord Lloyd-Webber, what would Jesus do about tax credits cuts?
If there’s one thing he couldn’t stand, it was the poor whining on about being hungry.
by MARK STEEL, The Independent, 29 October 2015
George Osborne should be aware of his achievement, because he must be one of the first people to be warned he’s being too mean to the poor by a body made up of the aristocracy, people dressed in ermine and bishops.
This proves his leadership potential, similar to a burglar being so determined he’s told by his colleagues: “Hang on, George, leave them the Sugar Puffs. We can’t take everything off the poor sods.” But instead of taking credit, he’s humble enough to explain the main issue of this uneasiness about cutting the income of the poorest people, which is that it creates a “constitutional crisis”.
That’s the real pain that will be felt by the families who lose £1,300 a year. When children ask: “Why have we got to go without breakfast from now on, Mummy?” they’ll be told: “Because if we’re allowed to keep getting tax credits it would disturb an unspecified constitutional legislative protocol that may or may not have been established in 1910. Do you want to ruin that just for a boiled egg? Now remember, if you faint at school, chew on a finger.”
Some of us might wonder how you can spoil a constitution when there isn’t a constitution. He might as well say: “The House of Lords has drawn over the masterpiece I painted, and murdered my stegosaurus.” But the most important thing is he’s explained thoroughly that the cuts won’t make people poorer at all, although they will save £4.4bn.
To be fair, this is genius and if we all did it we would be much better off. To start with, we could call the electricity company and say: “I have to make essential savings, so from now on, I’ll only be paying half my bill. But don’t listen to anyone who suggests this will make you worse off, they’re all extremists.” Then you can get a trolley full of shopping from Sainsbury’s and insist you’re only giving them £2 as you have to make essential savings, but it’s fine because they’re not getting any less than if you gave them £70.
Because, as Osborne says about tax credits: “It’s ridiculous that we give with one hand and take it away with the other.” So it’s much more efficient if we dispense with the “giving” bit of that process – which, after all, is the expensive bit – and stick to the taking away, which makes everything much more manageable.
In any case, as the Government repeats about every issue, we all benefit from these savings because they create a strong economy which makes us all better off. So if you’re receiving tax credits, the most sensible thing to do is accept these cuts, then demand they take more off you, forcing you to place your floorboards on eBay and put a great aunt on the game, then you’ll be living the dream.
This is why so many lords and ladies selflessly gave up their time to vote with the Government. Lord Lloyd-Webber, for example, hasn’t bothered voting for two years, because nothing in the past two years has really mattered. But this week he flew in from New York and cast his vote, because cutting tax credits to the poorest people in work is the one issue where he had to make a stand. And he’s so dedicated I don’t suppose he even checked to see whether he qualifies for tax credits himself, because for him it’s all about the principle. …..
Mark Reason: New Zealand “deserved” to have that sixteenth man in 2011 The Panel, Radio NZ National, Friday 30 October 2015, 4:50 p.m.
Horrible, braindead, unsporting rhetoric from Reason and Farrar. All their faux-patriotic, one-eyed bullshit fails to convince Gayford or Mulligan, however….
MARK REASON:[speaking slowly and carefully to show how serious he is] The appointment of the referee is very important. Think back to 2011: we all thanked the Lord that Craig Joubert didn’t penalize New Zealand once in that last twenty minutes. We DESERVED to have a hometown referee for our home final! ….
DAVID FARRAR: I don’t think anybody will care if the Australians are complaining after the match, AS LONG AS WE WIN! Ha ha ha ha!
I will admit I never knew there was/is any dessent over the last final due to the fact that I don’t watch much sport “news” ,sport to me is entertainment pure and simple and as a ex rugby player that’s my chosen entertainment.
I’d put farrars comment down to a bit of pre game sledging .
What do you get if you take the AB’s out of wallabies??
It’s only a game of footy Morrissey a bit of light hearted banter is getting your knickers in a twist, chill as I have counselled you before, build a bridge re the 2011 rwc final, the result ain’t going to change
It’s only a game of footy [sic] Morrissey a bit of light hearted banter is getting your knickers in a twist,
First point: adults say “football”. Please don’t use puerile language.
Second point: I don’t see anything lighthearted about systematic cheating, a referee who colludes in that cheating, and commentators like Mark Reason who claim that “we” deserved to have a “hometown referee” for that farcical match.
the result ain’t going to change
Lance Armstrong still has those Tour de France titles to his name. But perception of the worth and validity of his victories has changed. It wasn’t immediately apparent that he’d cheated; it was and is immediately apparent that the All Blacks did in 2011. Our pyrhhic victory in 2011 was immediately condemned by the French players, and in France generally. That this country has maintained a Soviet-level official silence over the scandal doesn’t mean people don’t actually know what happened—as Reason’s words so clearly demonstrate.
Epic match. I presume you are hinting at Laurie Mains’s muttering about “Suzy”. I wouldn’t trust Mains as far as I could kick him.
I suggest you take a look some time at the 1999 final, which was in many ways a grim foreshadowing of the 2011 final. The commentators for Television New Zealand’s live coverage—Keith Quinn, John McBeth and Wayne Graham—were all clearly disturbed by the performance of another South African referee, Andre Watson.
I’ll post more on that débâcle some time in the future.
You’re very willing to condemn kiwis yet you seem to not think it possible that the fledgling rainbow nation wouldn’t see winning the world cup by any means as plausible. Why so down on nz?
I don’t condemn “Kiwis”. Most of my analysis concerns the performance or non-performance of South African referees in 1999 and 2011. I’ve acknowledged that while the All Blacks, led by McCaw, cheated flagrantly in 2011, so would have any team that was granted such carte blanche immunity by a “referee”. Read my posts again.
yet you seem to not think it possible that the fledgling rainbow nation wouldn’t see winning the world cup by any means as plausible.
Maybe it happened. I don’t trust South Africa any more than any other country. But there’s never been anything more than allegations about “Suzy”. I wouldn’t trust anything Mains said or says on that matter or any other.
Why so down on nz?
Once again: look at my posts carefully. My criticisms are mainly of the referees, both of them South African. The beneficiaries of Andre “The Warbler” Watson’s extraordinary 1999 RWC final performance—a chilling preview in many ways of what happened 16 years later—were not the All Blacks but the Wallabies.
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Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist A Pacific regionalism academic has called out New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS and says the security deal “raises serious questions for the Pacific region”. Auckland University of Technology academic Dr Marco de Jong ...
How worried should we be about the cloud? This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. I currently have a few thousand unread emails languishing in my inbox, mostly old marketing newsletters and piles of unread science journal press releases. I have a similar number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies College of Arts and Sciences Department of Languages, Literature, and Communication Studies, Northern State University Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asian governments not only have to deal with the virus but also with the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Murakami Wood, Professor of Critical Surveillance and Securities Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa The skyline of Riyadh, the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.(Shutterstock) There is a long history of planned city building by both governments ...
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In its terms this Waatea News article doesn’t sufficiently indicate that SERCO runs Christmas Island –
http://www.waateanews.com/Waatea+News.html?story_id=MTEzNDQ%3D&v=291#.Vi7jsfkk3-k.facebook
This workpermit.com article expressly confirms that fact –
http://www.workpermit.com/news/2015-01-22/serco-wins-5-year-australian-immigration-contract
Stayed at the Taufua Fale at Lalomanu, Upolu, Samoa, couple of years ago. Recall sitting on the beautiful beach there looking out to Nu’utele Island – the site of a leper colony 1916-1918 – http://samoa.southpacific.org/upolu/eastern.html
As I gloried in the warmth of Lalomanu and lively, embracing Samoan hospitality I would contemplatively muse – “How must life have been for those poor souls ?”
It is a bitter, bitter irony that our Minister of Corrections Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga is Samoan. How must life be Sam……in the SERCO establishments you continue to licence……thus smartening the investment portfolios of the British upper-middle class……gifting wealth way beyond need ?
Deploying for a moment the risibly fake ‘Everyman’ diction of The Ponce-Key……”I reckon” if SERCO had been around in Germany and Poland in the 30s and 40s……there would have been some magnificent profit turned.
Sam……like a boy you do your masters’ bidding and you truck with the corporate beast SERCO, seemingly without shame. You do that in our name. No ! No ! Where is Fa’a Samoa in you Sam ?
He’s a politician, North. His primary loyalty is to the National Party.
Mmmm……a National Party politician…….he and Alfred Ngaro, the fiapalagi bait The Ponce-Key patronisingly disported before Pasifika of South Auckland last election…….that turned out beautifully, didn’t it ?
Britain’s Poppy Fascism
by Finian Cunningham, 29 October 2015
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article43274.htm
It’s that time of year again – when Britain’s “poppy fascism” dominates public life. Television presenters are perhaps the most conspicuous exponents, whereby the paper facsimile of the little red flower must be donned on all lapels.
Now weeks ahead of the official commemoration day, more and more Britons, including TV personalties, are pinning the poppy in public.
It may seem innocuous, but there is a disturbing authoritarianism to the increasing custom. Those who don’t wear the symbol commemorating Britain’s war dead are liable to be castigated and abused for being “traitors”.
The BBC is a classic example. The publicly owned state broadcaster says that its presenters and reporters have the option of not wearing the red poppy. But in practice such is the peer pressure and jingoistic mood of modern Britain that all BBC staff will have to conform to a personal display of the red floral tribute. Bet on it.
Some brave television figures refuse to go along with the established “norm”. It was Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow who coined the phrase “poppy fascism” a few years ago when he was publicly berated by BBC journalists and other media outlets for refusing to don the flower during his nightly broadcasts. It remains to be seen if the Channel 4 news anchor will this year cave to public pressure – a pressure which seems to be growing every year.
Ever since 1919, Britain and its Commonwealth states, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand hold Remembrance Day on November 11.
It marks the armistice of the First World War in 1918. The first commemoration was held by Britain’s King George V who wore a red poppy, thus inaugurating a tradition that continues to this day. The delicate flower was commonly seen on the battlefields of Belgium and France and came to symbolise the millions of soldiers killed during the four-year-old war.
Across Britain, Remembrance Day is marked by sombre ceremonies in towns and cities during which poppy wreathes are laid at war memorials. The biggest event is held at the Cenotaph in London’s Whitehall. Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister David Cameron and other political leaders will be among the chief dignitaries, along with senior members of Britain’s armed forces.
So what, you may ask, is objectionable about Britain’s annual Remembrance?
In its early observance, the event was indeed a momentous mourning for the millions who died in the First World War. It was an occasion to vow “never again” should mankind be plagued with such horror.
However, the massive demonstration of grieving and repudiation of war has since given way to an obscene glorification of war. The danger of such co-option was there from the beginning when King George V led the first Remembrance Day. For the British monarch – whose cousins included Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II and other European aristocrats – personified the basic background to the conflict. It was an imperialist squabble that exploded into a conflagration that consumed up to 18 million ordinary civilians among the warring nations. ….
Read more….
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article43274.htm
+1
Personally I find it the most respectful representation of war that I’ve seen.
And I definitely wear it with pride.
+1
“And I definitely wear it with pride”
On Remembrance Day I’d agree with you – pride or sorrow for the loss of lives spent in war or for futures than never were. But it’s not even November yet and the poppy is everywhere (peer pressure? It’s not meant to be a fashion statement). I feel this devalues the day itself.
Agreed. It’s like that beautiful word “awesome”. Once apon a time it was used in it’s correct sense. Something that filled one with awe. Now it has been debased by it’s gross overuse (young people especially) and it’s lost it’s status.
The same will happen with the poppy remembrance. For that reason I refuse to wear it on any other day other than the 25th April.
I’d agree with you if you’d said you wore it in sorrow.
DULCE ET DECORUM EST
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.
Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams before my helpless sight
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin,
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
Which war did you both (Ad and Poppy with pride) serve in, if you don’t mind me asking.
Not at all. None. Thank God.
Poppy fascism 🙄 what drivel
Poppy fascism what drivel
??
Could you back up your rather emotional statement with an argument please?
The article you link to jumps from reasoned debate to an utter ugly and ill founded rant to fit the event to the author’s very public and well known counter-positions on monarchy, armed forces and UK government.
As a retired serviceman the ceremonies are a tiny moment of peace and stillness to reflect as a nation upon the futility of war and the loss of friends and comrades through the years. It remembers, for example, the fight against Nazi Fascism and in all the other conflicts in which we are caught up – mostly as a result of the failure of Politicians and Diplomats.
Those who shout loudest against events such as this have largely never worn uniform and put their lives in the hands of others. They do not recognise the value of service, they don’t see value at all, only cost. That is why, for example, the Monarchy that gives so many millions of people so much pleasure and generates so much for our nation, is the easy target for small minded and jealous writers whose own lives are monotonously dull and grey. For those of us who wore uniform, and who continue to do so, we do so for a variety of reasons – and not all are nationalistic or idealism – but ultimately because we are prepared to do so detractors are able to contort their faces into anger and shout their spittle laced messages from the safety of their own lives. The Poppy is a dignified sign of respect and thanks. If you don’t wear it that is up to you – freedom to exercise such rights is after all part of what we fought so hard for (unlike those compelled to wear a yellow star for example) – and frankly if you are so blinded by ugly rhetoric and cannot see the humanity beneath the November ceremonies you should not and neither are you decent enough person to be a Poppy wearer. Keep shouting – few are listening but many gave their lives that you could
What is your assessment of the New Zealand soldiers who murdered all those boys and men in Surafend in 1918, after the war had finished?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2675357/Old-words-cast-fresh-light-on-Anzac-atrocity
Do you think it acceptable that the RSA never spoke out against the massacre, and in fact published doggerel in its magazine in praise of the murderers?
It is about the people who died, nothing else.
Certainly not about nationalism, not about the ugly military and their armies, not about government, not about the frikkin’ crown, not about politicians. Those things are all responsible for war and should be arsed out of the commemorations. Fuck them.
Unfortunately today, it has morphed into nationalism, militarism, government, crown and politicians.
It is fucked in the head and leading straight back to more war and death.
I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.
In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you’ll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.
Thanks Grant. Said in a nutshell.
Wellington employers Chamber of commerce wants to take action against the city council for issues around the living wage.
On the board -detail on website -are
Daniel Fielding – Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
Richard Stone – JacksonStone & Partners
Pierre Woolridge – Optimum Websites Ltd
Charles Finny – Saunders Unsworth
Zane Fulljames – NZ Bus.
Linda Sissons – Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec)
Peter Cullen – Cullen Law, President
Cas Carter – Massey University, Vice-President
Olivier Lacoua – CQ Hotels
Ian Cassels – The Wellington Company
Brent Callaghan – Westpac
John Dow – Agenda Limited
Not exactly your small local business’s are they – wonder if the membership looks the same.
You’d have though that on behalf on their members they would be more likely to support an increase in lower level pay and a hold on the upper level pay.
After all that would mean more people outside their door with money to spend. Looking at the CV’s I suspect a number of them may have council contracts – is there a conflict of interets? Go on journo’s do your stuff – ask the questions.
The hysteria around this move by the WCC is incredible. What is it about people not electing the “right” local government that so gets under the skin of the neo-libs? Farrar is practically demanding a judicial coup against the democratically elected councillors complete with blood curdling threats of hefty fines – and all over less than $3,000,000 a year in extra wages?
It is a bizarrely over the top authoritarian response from an increasingly intolerant and Fascistic right wing that seems to think anyone who doesn’t agree with them has no right to govern.
You think Farrar is neo-liberal? You know he is called “Pinko” right?
only by the insane fringes of torydom that you inhabit.
I thought that was reference to his skin colour?
http://www.arkive.org/star-nosed-mole/condylura-cristata/image-G76377.html
Lovely people aren’t they.
Pushing to pay people less than it costs to live.
Fucking bludgers
Does that include the Councillors who voted for the living wage, but refuse to pay their own business staff it? e.g. Mark Peck
everyone
yes.
So you are for it now that we have cleared that up?
Westpac
“Cash earnings in the New Zealand business rose to $441 million in the six months ended March 31, from $432 million a year earlier, the Sydney-based bank said in a statement. Net interest income rose 6 per cent to $832 million as the local lender grew its mortgage loan book 5 per cent to $40.7 billion and business lending expanded 5 per cent to $24 billion. Impairment charges on bad debts rose to $31 million from $4 million a year earlier, when the bank benefitted from provision recoveries.
“We achieved good growth in New Zealand, supported by changes to our distribution network and the increased use of digital channels,” group chief executive Brian Hartzer said.” May 2015
“…The Australian parent reported a small dip in first-half profit to A$3.61 billion, from A$3.62 billion a year earlier, with cash earnings flat at A$3.77 billion. “
Can I suggest that the Wellington Chamber of Commerce should be asked to come up with a weekly household budget for a person living on the minimum wage to support their argument with the Wellington Council.
@Tautoko Mangō Mata – and then the chamber of commerce people have to live on it for a month.
and their families.
lol…t’would be fun to watch……
A month wouldn’t be long enough. Needs to be a year at the very least.
That line-up shows the chamber of commerce is just another rightwing front like the Taxpayer Union. Using the credibility of local business owners to push their agenda.
yup ‘Charles Finny – Saunders Unsworth’ stands out amongst others.
And rent a place paying the average rent in Auckland.
Despite the Chamber of Commerces’ hysterical (good word Sanctuary) reaction to the vote to retain the living wage for council staff and get council contractors on board with the living wage too, the main contractor in question, Recon, who provide noise control services to the WCC and whose staff would benefit from moving to the living wage haven’t said a word about it as yet. (Maybe they have and I missed it – or is Recon a member of the Chamber of Commerce and they want to stay under the radar?)
It is absurd that their ideological viewpoint would prevent them from putting $$$ into potential customers hands to spend at their stores (eg John MIlford used to be CE of Kirkaldie and Stains, and look where that store has ended up after 150 years of trading – down the tubes, no customers!)
Absurd too that Nicola Young, right wing councillor for Lambton Ward, in her opposition to introducing the living wage to council staff last year, said those on minimum wage get benefits from the government to top up their existence. I thought those nats thought people who receive benefits are bludgers, draining their precious tax payer $$$?
By opposing the living wage in their blind mean spirited way, these guys are in fact opposing increased trade, let alone the reduction of financial stress in people’s lives, that which of course they couldn’t care about.
hi rosie,
re. living wage being paid: there is a great ted talk that covers this amongst other things.
put “plutocrats and the pitchforks are coming” into the search.
essentially he helps to define capitalism and deals with inequality, arguing that the middle class is where jobs and growth are generated.
while he is at it he smashes a few of those neo-liberal myths, eg.tricledown, raising minimum wages costs jobs etc.
thoroughly reccommended 20mins.
Thanks gsays. I’ve heard of Ted Talks but never listened to one. Do I just google ted talk and who is the speaker I look for? Ta.
The other thing that just occurred to me is that is would make sense for a banker, ie, Brent Callaghan from Westpac of the board of the Chamber of Commerce, to oppose a living wage. If people could actually afford to live they would use their credit cards less and less for essential and non essential items.
People like Brent, I would assume, would want workers to remain on low wages and be dependent on the bank for credit. The business of debt is big business for them. It’s pure profit.
Imagine if wages in general went up. You’d get more side orders at your cafe, in addition to orders for mains, and more covers. People, once their debt is under control could do nice things like go out and enjoy themselves. Your business would increase, then you can all have wage increase too!!!
Hey, go the whole hog, abolish GST and theres more money for everyone!!!
We’d get our financial independence back!!!
The speaker is billionaire Nick Hanauer and he makes some excellent points. Video here. He’s got an article up here as well covering the same ground.
That is pretty much exactly how our financial system works.
The poor are in debt because they can’t afford to live and the interest that they pay goes to the rich and then stays there because our banks create money to loan out rather than loaning out money that they have on deposit.
And they become nicer to everyone else as well as competition between people decreases. This is another reason why our government should be bringing back full employment as a policy setting.
Thanks Draco. I’ve got 5 minutes into the Nick Hanauer talk, before I have to dash off and do things, and he’s talking alot of sense.
Those boofheads at the Chamber of Commerce need to listen to what he says about inequality being bad for business, regardless of your moral stance – sort of what I was getting to above, in a less articulate way.
In Robert Reich’s “Inequality for all” that same theme is covered: (Trailer)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9REdcxfie3M
I’ve seen you post that “A flaw in the monetary system” video before and will give it a look later. And re the poor being in debt, I think it’s increasingly more the middle classes too. Everything points to out current system holding us back financially which affects us personally and socially. I believe our society is under a great strain but here in Nu Zuland I think those pitchforks are going to stay safely tucked away in their garden sheds for quite some time.
PS: Stephanie has a good post on her blog Boots Theory about the living wage Vs the chamber of Commerce.
‘Imagine if wages in general went up. You’d get more side orders at your cafe, in addition to orders for mains, and more covers.’
that is one of points nick hanauer (thanks draco) makes;
its a good thing if you pay your staff enough so they can afford to eat at your place.
Fighting to keep paying people what is regarded as insufficient to lead a decent life…
Oh the injustice, Council are SUCH bastards, paying a living wage to security guards. Westpac make billions a year in profit but pay their security guards 14.70 (gross) per hour to guard the loot
By evening this article had dropped way down stuffs online presence to near invisibilty-
maybe not such a good idea by the Chamber?
Will there be a spin off for Fonterra in baby formula sales due to China increasing the population?
In 1979 China introduced the one child policy, 400 million less births have occurred due to the policy. Not sure when but there has been a relaxation in some provinces to allow a second child due to an aging population. Knowing how many extra children have been born in the provinces with a second child would interest me as it would give an estimation of how many people may elect to have a second child.
In rural areas often the parents go into the cities to work and leave their children in the care of grandparents.
Increasing the birth rate is part of China’s vision for the next five years. I can now see why establishing the production of milk solids in NZ is important for China.
At some point the population in China will reach 2 billion, it is currently 1.4 billion.
During the year of the dragon the birth rate increases and during the year of the sheep it decreases. Planning maternity services for an extra child is just the start, next is housing, child care, education, health, jobs etc.
There was a bit more on TV 3 news at 6 pm about the one child policy. A woman dared to have a second child, the child was deemed to not exist as there was no entitlement to health care, education or travel documents. I was left thinking how forward thinking this mother was.
I would like to see all children who were born under the one child policy, treated the same as a first born.
A neighbour mentioned to me that many children overseas have elderly parents in China. I also think that there could be a shortage of females.
“Court Orders USTR To Justify Industry Advisor Confidentiality In TPP”
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) next week is expected to provide justification for withholding from a Freedom of Information Act request the communications with its industry advisors as confidential commercial or financial information. The case involves communications in the lead-up to completion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, and could set a precedent for exemptions of communications with lobbyists.
http://www.ip-watch.org/2015/10/29/ustr-called-on-to-justify-industry-advisor-confidentiality-in-tpp/
Good and about time! In addition there needs to be a political donations disclosure requirement from lobbyists.
These guys are raising money to make a documentary about TPP.
https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/4209-beautiful-democracy-documentary-on-activism-through-art
Wonder who wrote this Editorial? Interesting to see the connection between Slater and Hager.
“Blogger Cameron Slater and author Nicky Hager have much in common, even beyond the emails one wrote and the other obtained, possibly illegally, now the Supreme Court has ruled computer files are property.
Both claim to be journalists, and both have found their work subject to the scrutiny of the High Court……….
…..The Supreme Court’s ruling suggests receiving illegally obtained email may be a crime.
On this basis, Hager’s challenge to the police search of his house may be harder to sustain. But since his book served a public interest, free speech should prevail.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11537132
Although data might be property is is clearly pretty different from physical property in the sense that the person still has the data even if it is copied. Also someone who wipes out data from the original should be treated differently than someone who just copies data.
Also it should take into account where the data came from, is it Facebook? (already face book and many other sites keep copies on their servers even if they are deleted).
In the Hager case, nobody can prove where it came from anyway. There is no proof it was stolen apart from what contempt of court Slater has said. Slater could have printed it out and lost it at the park or accidentally sent it to the wrong person – or what ever. Plenty of SIS and ACC scandals about this.
The rumours are that Slater records everything like his conversations with the prime minister for example. He is not going to admit he ‘lost or accidentally’ sent the data off to the wrong person rather say it was not his fault and it was stolen.
So I don’t think some sort of receipt of ‘stolen goods’ is applicable in the Hager case as a defence at all. So many holes in it.
I just don’t think the police can prove anything on that one. In fact the police have always said Hager is NOT a suspect for criminal activity in the media.
And even if the data was copied from Slater then the ‘for the public good’ will apply.
That Slater is th only person to get a public apology from our PM suggest to me that he does indeed KEEP. EVERYTHING.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/288342/dotcom's-bid-to-stop-hearing-rejected
Good to see common sense has prevailed and finally a decision will be made.
Please come and join us on the Q&A with Alastair Thompson post…
just had my comment not appear, presumably into moderation. Is that the random bug?
edit, nevermind, it’s there now 🙂
Audrey young very wise not to open her opinion piece to comments. Lovely photo of esteemed pm with his stubby in his hand.
TPP- the latest news and ongoing saga.
TPP Text Needs Further Work After Japan; Release Not Expected For Weeks
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) officials will not be able to finalize the text of the agreement by Oct. 30, when a drafting and legal scrub session is slated to wrap up in Tokyo, meaning the release of the final text is still several weeks away, according to informed sources.
http://insidetrade.com/
A further David Fisher article on the Hager/Westpac information release is on the Herald’s website today, which is a good round-up of the overall situation re banks and others providing information to NZ Police. It is somewhat hidden on the site, and I had missed it earlier and only heard about it through another blog site.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11537431
a cynic would suggest they didnt really want the spotlight on this… untilt hey discovered i tmight affect their bottom line
” The simple act of transparency is likely to reduce the practice. That was TradeMe’s experience with its Transparency Report.”
Interestingly, once a company publishes the number of requests it receives (but no identifying names), Fisher suggests it reduces the number of attempts the police make….
And more information coming to light that it was foreign investors pushing our housing bubble:
There Idiot/Savant draws and almost correct conclusion:
A deregulated will also enable our own crime and corruption which is why the psychopaths like it so much.
Love the way the politicians denied it was foreign investors and some money laundering issue for so long in Auckland.
Now there are some basic ways to curb foreign investment in place to buy a property and people are going to be taxed if it is resold before 2 years – we don’t have the run away prices.
If they had bothered to do it 4 years ago, there wouldn’t be the mess!
In creepy news, researchers discover how to use Wifi to see what’s happening inside your house.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3292246/Forget-X-rays-walls-using-WI-FI-Device-captures-silhouettes-identify-people-stood-CONCRETE.html
Take it you haven’t watched the first series of Continuum then?
Admittedly, the idea there was to map the patterns of reflections of existing wifi and cellphone towers.
And it’s not as if they’ve discovered anything – RADAR has been around awhile. It’s just now that they’ve developed the technological capability needed to do it.
So, Lord Lloyd-Webber, what would Jesus do about tax credits cuts?
If there’s one thing he couldn’t stand, it was the poor whining on about being hungry.
by MARK STEEL, The Independent, 29 October 2015
George Osborne should be aware of his achievement, because he must be one of the first people to be warned he’s being too mean to the poor by a body made up of the aristocracy, people dressed in ermine and bishops.
This proves his leadership potential, similar to a burglar being so determined he’s told by his colleagues: “Hang on, George, leave them the Sugar Puffs. We can’t take everything off the poor sods.” But instead of taking credit, he’s humble enough to explain the main issue of this uneasiness about cutting the income of the poorest people, which is that it creates a “constitutional crisis”.
That’s the real pain that will be felt by the families who lose £1,300 a year. When children ask: “Why have we got to go without breakfast from now on, Mummy?” they’ll be told: “Because if we’re allowed to keep getting tax credits it would disturb an unspecified constitutional legislative protocol that may or may not have been established in 1910. Do you want to ruin that just for a boiled egg? Now remember, if you faint at school, chew on a finger.”
Some of us might wonder how you can spoil a constitution when there isn’t a constitution. He might as well say: “The House of Lords has drawn over the masterpiece I painted, and murdered my stegosaurus.” But the most important thing is he’s explained thoroughly that the cuts won’t make people poorer at all, although they will save £4.4bn.
To be fair, this is genius and if we all did it we would be much better off. To start with, we could call the electricity company and say: “I have to make essential savings, so from now on, I’ll only be paying half my bill. But don’t listen to anyone who suggests this will make you worse off, they’re all extremists.” Then you can get a trolley full of shopping from Sainsbury’s and insist you’re only giving them £2 as you have to make essential savings, but it’s fine because they’re not getting any less than if you gave them £70.
Because, as Osborne says about tax credits: “It’s ridiculous that we give with one hand and take it away with the other.” So it’s much more efficient if we dispense with the “giving” bit of that process – which, after all, is the expensive bit – and stick to the taking away, which makes everything much more manageable.
In any case, as the Government repeats about every issue, we all benefit from these savings because they create a strong economy which makes us all better off. So if you’re receiving tax credits, the most sensible thing to do is accept these cuts, then demand they take more off you, forcing you to place your floorboards on eBay and put a great aunt on the game, then you’ll be living the dream.
This is why so many lords and ladies selflessly gave up their time to vote with the Government. Lord Lloyd-Webber, for example, hasn’t bothered voting for two years, because nothing in the past two years has really mattered. But this week he flew in from New York and cast his vote, because cutting tax credits to the poorest people in work is the one issue where he had to make a stand. And he’s so dedicated I don’t suppose he even checked to see whether he qualifies for tax credits himself, because for him it’s all about the principle. …..
Read more…
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/so-lord-lloyd-webber-what-would-jesus-do-about-tax-credits-cuts-a6713916.html
Mark Reason: New Zealand “deserved” to have that sixteenth man in 2011
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Friday 30 October 2015, 4:50 p.m.
Horrible, braindead, unsporting rhetoric from Reason and Farrar. All their faux-patriotic, one-eyed bullshit fails to convince Gayford or Mulligan, however….
MARK REASON: [speaking slowly and carefully to show how serious he is] The appointment of the referee is very important. Think back to 2011: we all thanked the Lord that Craig Joubert didn’t penalize New Zealand once in that last twenty minutes. We DESERVED to have a hometown referee for our home final! ….
DAVID FARRAR: I don’t think anybody will care if the Australians are complaining after the match, AS LONG AS WE WIN! Ha ha ha ha!
CLARK GAYFORD: [dubious] Hmmmmmmm.
JESSE MULLIGAN: [deeply uncomfortable] Heh heh heh heh….
I will admit I never knew there was/is any dessent over the last final due to the fact that I don’t watch much sport “news” ,sport to me is entertainment pure and simple and as a ex rugby player that’s my chosen entertainment.
I’d put farrars comment down to a bit of pre game sledging .
What do you get if you take the AB’s out of wallabies??
Wallies!!:-)
What do you make of the 95 final??
It’s only a game of footy Morrissey a bit of light hearted banter is getting your knickers in a twist, chill as I have counselled you before, build a bridge re the 2011 rwc final, the result ain’t going to change
It’s only a game of footy [sic] Morrissey a bit of light hearted banter is getting your knickers in a twist,
First point: adults say “football”. Please don’t use puerile language.
Second point: I don’t see anything lighthearted about systematic cheating, a referee who colludes in that cheating, and commentators like Mark Reason who claim that “we” deserved to have a “hometown referee” for that farcical match.
the result ain’t going to change
Lance Armstrong still has those Tour de France titles to his name. But perception of the worth and validity of his victories has changed. It wasn’t immediately apparent that he’d cheated; it was and is immediately apparent that the All Blacks did in 2011. Our pyrhhic victory in 2011 was immediately condemned by the French players, and in France generally. That this country has maintained a Soviet-level official silence over the scandal doesn’t mean people don’t actually know what happened—as Reason’s words so clearly demonstrate.
I’d put farrars comment down to a bit of pre game sledging.
Fair comment.
What do you get if you take the AB’s out of wallabies?? Wallies!!:-)
http://static.commentcamarche.net/es.ccm.net/pictures/Ud6krzOUaQiVrbx4IWkuzUrMD8vWr4qbG1wMtmWKQ94r7Doi6fybXXnACJoLFtKR-lol.png
What do you make of the 95 final??
Epic match. I presume you are hinting at Laurie Mains’s muttering about “Suzy”. I wouldn’t trust Mains as far as I could kick him.
I suggest you take a look some time at the 1999 final, which was in many ways a grim foreshadowing of the 2011 final. The commentators for Television New Zealand’s live coverage—Keith Quinn, John McBeth and Wayne Graham—were all clearly disturbed by the performance of another South African referee, Andre Watson.
I’ll post more on that débâcle some time in the future.
You’re very willing to condemn kiwis yet you seem to not think it possible that the fledgling rainbow nation wouldn’t see winning the world cup by any means as plausible. Why so down on nz?
You’re very willing to condemn kiwis
I don’t condemn “Kiwis”. Most of my analysis concerns the performance or non-performance of South African referees in 1999 and 2011. I’ve acknowledged that while the All Blacks, led by McCaw, cheated flagrantly in 2011, so would have any team that was granted such carte blanche immunity by a “referee”. Read my posts again.
yet you seem to not think it possible that the fledgling rainbow nation wouldn’t see winning the world cup by any means as plausible.
Maybe it happened. I don’t trust South Africa any more than any other country. But there’s never been anything more than allegations about “Suzy”. I wouldn’t trust anything Mains said or says on that matter or any other.
Why so down on nz?
Once again: look at my posts carefully. My criticisms are mainly of the referees, both of them South African. The beneficiaries of Andre “The Warbler” Watson’s extraordinary 1999 RWC final performance—a chilling preview in many ways of what happened 16 years later—were not the All Blacks but the Wallabies.