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6:00 am, August 31st, 2018 - 96 comments
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The dairy industry is out of control and needs to be managed a lot better.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/365324/photos-reveal-unacceptable-conditions-for-calving-safe-says
Damien O’Connor is not up to the job of dealing with rogue famrers.
As Rachel Stewart says…
and……
.
Rachel Stewart speaks truth to power.
Mr Jones told Morning Report that the following about Australian banks.
The minister said he planned to speak to Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr to “establish the facts” about the requirements of banking licences and will then consider policy options.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/365265/aus-banks-take-skinflint-approach-to-nz-shane-jones
‘The Regional Economic Development Minister says the banks are putting profits ahead of their responsibility to rural areas, as unions raise concerns over branch closures.
The banking sector is certainly not the first group to attract the ire of Shane Jones – he’s previously taken issue with supermarkets, power companies, Fonterra and Air New Zealand.’
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/365333/champion-of-regions-jones-holds-true-to-title
We used to have regional community owned banks exactly for that purpose.
TSB is the only one left.
Yes we do agree with more community banks now for sure, -and we have switched to TSB 12 yrs ago and recommend TSB as HB/Gisborne based residents..
Third talking point.
When Jeffrey Sachs speaks truth to power about Syria.
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ending-disastrous-american-role-in-syria-by-jeffrey-d-sachs-2018-02?barrier=accesspaylog
To provide some context. That interview took place in April, during the aftermath of allegations there had been a chemical attack in Douma but before missiles had been launched into Syria..
To my mind, Jeffrey Sachs (and that’s a link to his wiki page for those interested) just goes to show that some good people do manage to survive in fairly toxic environments.
For those who either don’t like Dore’s style of presentation, or who (understandably) won’t watch 18 min vids, here’s a basic transcript of what Sachs said.
Jeffrey Sachs, can hardly be said to be speaking truth to power, appearing a little less unhinged, but in essence little different to Infowars Alex Jones. Both push the same pro-fascist, pro-genocide script.
‘
The Geo-politics of Counter-revolution
Michael Karadjis – August 23, 2018
To which I would add:
Even global imperial wars between each other, are not feared as much by the rival global elites who run our world, as much as they fear popular revolt from below.*
In 1917 in the war of intervention the Western Allies and the Entent powers both invaded Russia to overturn the results of the revolution.
Even rival empires, England and Germany who were still fighting each other on the Western Front, took part in the war of intervention.
In an echo of Assad, Churchill used gas weapons in an effort to exterminate the revolutionaries.
The war of intervention lasted until 1921 and cost 1.2 million lives. The imperial powers, (though probably not realising it at the time), achieved their purpose of defeating the revolution.
– the best of the popular revolutionaries of 1917 who fell in the war of intervention, were replaced by the murderous Stalinist bureaucracy that grew to fill the vacuum. Just as the murderous Isis was a product of the Assadist genocide against the popular opposition to the dictator.
Martin Luther King explained this process:
“Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – April 16, 1963
* Imperialist wars are fought between soldiers and working people on behalf of the rulers, they are not wars fought by soldiers and working people, against the rulers, and it is the civilians and soldiers who bear the burden of the suffering and death. In imperialist war between rival imperialist oppressors, it is hardly ever the elites who suffer, (even if they find themselves on the losing side.)
Unlike a war between oppressors. The same cannot be said for a war against the oppressors.
The Geo-politics of Counter-revoluion
Tea Partier Ron Paul’s Liberty Report.
RT.
Eva Bartlett
Vanessa Beeley
And now the Jimmy Dore Show?
Tea Partiers, RT propagandists, Conspiracy Theorists?
Really Bill?
Are these the sources of your information on Syria?
Talk about an echo chamber.
Rational Wiki:
Jimmy Dore
Rational Wiki
I’d be interested in hearing/seeing Lprent’s take:
https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/29-08-2018/nz-tech-is-losing-it-over-the-idea-of-derek-handley-as-cto-of-new-zealand/
…… and others
I’d be interested in hearing/seeing Lprent’s take:
https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/29-08-2018/nz-tech-is-losing-it-over-the-idea-of-derek-handley-as-cto-of-new-zealand/
…… and others
Fascinating! I’ve always been very impressed by Derek Handley whenever he’s spoken on tv. I would’ve thought he’s ideal for the job. That groundswell of tech opponents seems a significant consensus though, so their views will need careful consideration.
Duncan Grieve’s report covers the implications well and I agree it all hinges on the job description, and how accurately that depicts the liaison and coordination functions required to interface our vitally-important emerging tech industry with government.
Agree with you (both paragraphs).
I’m interested in Lprent’s take because he’s been in the industry for quite some time and has seen the good and the bad. He appears to be motivated by creation of coding that is at it’s most efficient (probably to the point of obsession – not just stuff that works), and he seems to be as intolerant of some of the muppetry we’ve seen ( I could start a rave on government IT projects for example)
I might be a little cynical (I know), but over 40 plus years, I’ve also seen the bullshit artists, the promotion of various processes and schemes – often re-inventions of past practices with new names:
Project Management Schema
Bizzniss Management ‘best practices’ earning their ticket clipping creators vast sums, self-improvement books and best practice management schemes.
(Kaizen, SDLC’s , Martin Marrieta’s and whoever else is now in vogue, etc., etc. and other wheel reinventions)
I’m trying to keep an open mind. (It’s bloody hard when you walk down the streets of Wellington following some ‘IT professionals’ exercising their egos as well as their limbs discussing the projects they’re working on, knowing they’re trying to recreate a wheel). I’m also well-pleased to be out of it al.
I’m Oh so very PASSIONATE about it don’tcha know. I’m passionate about being entrepreneurial going forwardl
Operating in the traditional context of capitalism is understandable (when in Rome..) but it’s been obvious to me for that entire 40 year time that we need a better way forward. I’ve put stuff online about that before but for Aotearoa’s tech industry the key point is incentivising entrepreneurs in team contexts (self-interest limited by a collaborative common-interest context – stakeholder integral design).
Corporates using teams the past 30 years have mostly just been sloganeering. Has to be authentic. Employee profit-sharing, but also risk-sharing via participation in management. Ricardo Semler made it work in the eighties and Mondragon much earlier, so ain’t like the design is unproven.
The more kiwis support a local enterprise culture, the more they will wean themselves off dependency on capitalists. Never underestimate the empowering effect of agency in the psyche! We need like-mindedness on this to become contagious. Great to see sustainable business trending big nowadays but has to be more authenticity in it – a real green business is a genuine hybrid of capitalism and socialism, both in design and in how it operates.
Ae.
Need a nanna nap right now (energy levels have collapsed) but hopefully we can continue this discussion, and also Lyn might get a glimpse.
I’m hoping that ‘old school’ Jessie Mulligan will be able to put me into a deep sleep before he has to don his lycra and bile up the hill to RNZ for the Project.
Winston was 100% correct in october 2017 as he warned us all that the economy was at the top of the cliff on the night he chose to partner labour in October 2017.
Winsrton warned that this correction would happen in his election speak as he announced that he will join NZ First coalition with Labour.
Time to refresh our memories here.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11934973
QUOTE;
“In his explanation of why New Zealand First went with Labour over National, Winston Peters said the agreement reached in talks was a summation of policies that survived negotiations.
He went on: “As the song says, You can’t always get what you want.”
“Our negotiations have taken place against a backdrop of changing international and internal economic circumstances which we cannot ignore.”
Those in New Zealand First believed that an economic correction, or a slowdown, was looming, and that the first signs were already apparent, he said.
“There’s no denying that a enormous correction is looming and pretending low business confidence is just all spite misses the much more dangerous signals”.
This is the latest current issue with ‘Ministerial services’ botch-up again;
Who are Ministerial services overseen by?
Could the ‘Ministerial Services’ be operated by several National Party ‘cling-ons trying to destabilise the labour lead Government’????
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/365337/labour-mp-accused-of-manhandling-press-secretary
We see today that the Government is in trouble with “Ministerial staffing issues” again as I seemed to be at Phil Twyford’s Ministerial office in Wellington as when I was trying to get clarity out of Twyford’s staff member ‘she slamed the phone down and cut me off before the discussion ended, and now we want an enquiry into why this ‘Ministerial staffer felt it was appropproate that she can terminate a phone call before answering questions from a constituent public member.
Just as a Labour Minister is allegedgly charged with puishing a staffing member out of an office in Parlaiment perhaps we need to review the actions and performance of the “ministerial staff” and have the Minister of Internal affairs to open an enquiry into “Ministerial services” also now??????.
Press secretaries are employed more or less directly by their minister. Ministerial services just pays the salary
She probably slammed the phone down because you were rambling and making no sense. Happens all the time when you’ve got the opportunity to type and review what you are writing. I can only imagine how incoherent you’ll be talking
The opposite of security
The GCSB’s current motto on its website is “If New Zealand has secrets worth stealing, then they’re worth protecting”. Now, the GCSB and their Five Eyes masters wants to make it radically easier for people to steal those very secrets they claim to exist to protect. How? By backdooring the encryption which protects our networks, our filesystems, our financial transactions, everything:
http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-opposite-of-security.html
According to this RNZ press release;- the leaker was not actually named by RNZ!!!
So I suspect this was National party leaking again, as bad as the last one was that Simple Simon Bridges spending also was exposed, and now found to be him falsely leaking his spending for press cover.
So it looks as though I am right sadly that the “Ministerial services staff” are behind all the leaking of information for “political reasons” probably by National Party cling-ons trying to destablise the labour lead government again and this is inside collussion going on here both inside the Government Ministerial services and the publically owned media network RNZ as they are recieving illegal leaked information from the Government employees conducting ‘poitical actions against their employer.
National “dirty politics part two”???.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/365337/labour-mp-accused-of-manhandling-press-secretary
Sources have told RNZ Ms Whaitiri was difficult to work with and point to a high staff turnover in her office. The press secretary role had been vacant for months.
RNZ has chosen not to identify the press secretary. She has not responded to requests for comment.
Both Ms Whaitiri and Ms Ardern are refusing to answer questions on the matter while the investigation is ongoing.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told RNZ Ms Ardern had alerted him to the reasons behind the inquiry but he would not elaborate on them.
He would wait until the investigation was over and “see where the cards fall” before commenting, he said.
“Allegations are not fact. They’re allegations. Let’s see whether they’re meritorious or not.”
Low level corruption with high level impact……how to undo a 9 year legacy?
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/08/30/216721/ministerial-advice-doctored
This looks like closet-stalinism. Eugenie asked for advice from the ecologist. A public servant intercepted that advice, then censored it before passing it on to her.
I can’t see how any public servant could justify such misbehaviour. Does anyone here feel up to defending such closet-stalinists in our public service??
“Asked why the passages were deleted, Severinsen says: “The content formed a part of a larger piece of work under consideration by the department and it was not appropriate to include that subset of information until the other task was completed.”
So that is the bullshit and hows its done.. unbelievable in their audacity…time for heads to roll.
Yes Dennis I now see that when I had the phone slammed down on my conversation with Phil Twyfords staffer I felt that same “censoring’ controlling ‘stalinist’ Fed-up’ interference of my human rights to get questions answered by a ministers staffer as an employee of my government and that she also is a public servant.
She was a person I describe as without any civility or reasonable patience or bedside manner and lacked all resonable ability to offer help to any public enquiries so I would ask Government to restore “civility” to public serive employees.
To cut off during a convewrsation a enquiry from the public is unreasonable service and a stark lack of respect & humanity.
Dennis you asked; ‘Am I feed up with low public service employees’?
Yes some only, (as some are very good) – and in this case when I called Phil Twyfords office in Wellington, my human rights were clearly violated by this Ministerial staffer and Phil twyford should sack her and appologise to me for her lack of reasonable conduct, as he and his office have a recording of the conversation already and can easily review her disconduct..
I share your concern and it seems clear that you have a valid grievance. Twyford’s gate-keeper could be operating in bulldog mode. Do such people get hired on the basis of Labour Party membership or are they supposedly neutral?
If the latter, you could have a case for a formal complaint & it may be a good idea to learn how to proceed with one.
I keep reminding cleangreen that the Minister is totally the wrong person to help for the local issue.- the noise from heavy vehicles on the Kennedy Rd Overpass.
its the Regional land Transport Committee who deal with local projects at this scale.
The person in the Ministers office should have been able to assist you with their contact details
My understanding is that cleangreen has been involved in all issues transport in the Gisborne and Hawkes Bay areas for many years and is well known to all people, organisations (eg District and Regional Councils including probably the local regional transport committees) in that area. He has also appeared before Select Committees etc including just a few months ago (I watched him/his group present a submission online). I suspect he is in contact with all local and regional councils and committees as well as Ministers’ offices regularly …
Thanks again Dennis,
Will do after Tuesday possible outcome, as we called our labour MP Napier office this morning and Stuart Nash’s local PA said she would have her staffer on the case Monday to get to the bottom of this intentional devisive blocking of communication beteen our NGO and Phil Twyford.
Hope we finally get to discuss/solutions to Napiers truck gridlock noise and air polution public health problems facing our 12000 folks living alongside the truck route road HB Expressway to the port of napier, as people are badly affected by this now and are facing pysical damage to their health..
I am holdiing a letter written by Helen Cl;ark as Prime minister of NZ dated 26th October 2003 to me as seretary of Pirimai residents association advising me that she has engaged both Mark gosche and michael Cullen to meet me and our committee at the HB Expressway with Transit NZ (now NZTA) CEO Robin Dun;op to help solve our issues.
Then after several other meetings we got Michael Cullen to finally buy back our rail system to get freight back on rail and off the roads and place a smooth road along residential areas so we got help with the last labour lot.
This last nine years NZTA took the smooth road away and trebbled the truck mfreight through our residential areas so we lost alot but now labour need to come back and fix all our problems national left us with.
Interestingly the PCE report from their year long study of the HB Expressway advised Government to fix alll thse things and work with our residential groups also and we expect labour to comiit to this again. see page 22 ‘conclussions’.
https://www.pce.parliament.nz/media/pdfs/Hawkes-Bay-Expressway-Noise-and-air-quality-issues-June-2005.pdf
Yet another reason a review of our public service, and senior public servants is way past time.
Hopefully, Skippy might remember this as one example, alongside others that encompass Health, Education, Economic Development,, Social Welfare, Employment, Standards, standards that include infrastructure and environmental risk, Local gubbamint, ……… not just the bugger’s muddle of processes and multiple organisational bureaucracy involved in child birth.
Ian Lees-Galloway might even realise that there are some very simple edicts that can be issued regarding Ummiigration that could seriously impact, if not stop much of the exploitation of workers. (The solution isn’t going to be found by soley consulting with his ‘officials’)
Right now though, we appear to be hung up on what’s best for the horse and its ability to race and support a betting industry than we are about the competencies relating to social policy and the citizenry of Aoteraroa/NuZull
I just happened on NORightTurn’s http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2018/08/mushrooming-minister.html.
Being an old codger (early 60s), I had to look up the urban dik to see what mushrooming meant – I’d asked my late 30s son first.
Oh how the response reminded me of the last time I worked in the PS. and how different it was from the first time as a clerk in the Supreme Court after leaving college.
Unbelievably apt
“The solid twatting of a ho’s face by the bulbous bell-end belonging to an erect nob. It is either an act of intense passion and loving for the mushroomed one, or an act of anger at the dislike of an unagreeable technique used during oral sex. If the face is struck hard enough with the familiar mushroom shape of said bell-end, then a bruise will be left”
In our corporatised ps, there are a number of CEOs whose job descriptions could probably reflect their position of being that ‘erect nob’
While I don’t really wish to paint over that startling but apt mental picture, I suspect NRT’s use of “mushrooming” was probably intended to evoke the idea of being kept in the dark and fed bullshit.
Jeremy Corbyn proposes new media model in the UK…bit of fight back from JC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx8GopvbngU
And the bit I really like…Jeremy Corbyn calls on the BBC to declare staff ‘social class’
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/08/22/jeremy-corbyn-call-bbc-declare-social-class-presenters-journalists/
…I would love to see the ‘social class’ breakdown at The Guardian…wouldn’t be to many surprises there I bet.
It was interesting that 27% of BBC staff self-identify as working class whereas only 9% at the corporate do. His advocacy for a renewal of class-consciousness will appeal to nostalgia freaks all over the UK but you don’t see many cloth-cap-wearers in the wide camera pics of British news reports so they may be all dead.
Not much substance in those two links Adrian (due to usual tv focus on froth), but this report goes through his specific proposals in some detail: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/media/2018/08/jeremy-corbyn-proposal-media-speech-edinburgh
We learned yesterday that the firm that owns Burger King in New Zealand has been banned from using migrant labour (ie people on work visas, not resident non-citizens) for a year.
In light of the shortage of affordable houses, and the routing of employers to get migrants for questionable low paid occupations – and reports of employee’s paying for their questionable job, and the fact that all the new people on these low wages probably will qualify for Kiwibuild and also be competing on low cost rentals, and the amount of Maori in jail who could probably get a job flipping burgers instead of the migrants, perhaps time to rethink these bizarre immigration “skilled” skills?
30 years ago it cost around $10,000 to sponsor in a worker and therefore was only used for real high value skills. Time to put that amount with inflation (around $20,000 as least) back on the table to get rid of all the routs.
Main occupations for Skilled Migrant Category principal applicants, 2016/17
Occupation 2016/17
Number %
Chef 684 5.7%
Registered Nurse (Aged Care) 559 4.6%
Retail Manager (General) 503 4.2%
Cafe or Restaurant Manager 452 3.7%
Number of people granted Essential Skills work visas by main occupations, 2016/17
Occupation Number %
Chef 2,178 6.6%
Dairy Cattle Farm Worker 1,617 4.9%
Carpenter 1,478 4.5%
Retail Supervisor 961 2.9%
Cafe or Restaurant Manager 942 2.9%
Retail Manager (General) 767 2.3%
Aged or Disabled Carer 748 2.3%
https://croakingcassandra.com/2018/08/30/work-visas-for-shop-managers/
That would be right. There is now ‘work visa specialist firms’ which travel around from shop to shop or farms telling them of the ‘cheap deal’ they can do to replace their local workers with ‘imports’ I was at the Chemist shop and such a business branded vehicle pulled up outside the dairy next door.
Betcha that firm makes the migrants pay a hefty fee to them too. Sad NZ has turned into scam city for jobs.
Yes. Thats how it works too.
Wasn’t flipping burgers. It was the manager
Was interesting that story
I heard about it a couple of days ago
It was actually a kiwi worker that they were under paying
A manager they were paying less than minimum wage to, but the punishment is not being able to get foreigners
All good with the punishment, but the law must be written quite weird.
It must kind of assume it would be a foreigner being under paid or something
Hilarious, the migrants get paid correctly and the Kiwis are under paid! Maybe they were trying to get rid of the Kiwi, by underpaying them. If they can’t pay minimum wages correctly they should not be importing in workers, let alone importing in workers for that skill set!
I hope the government is writing the cheque for the infrastructure for the aforementioned houses… not expecting the rate payers to pay for it…
Government to strip Auckland Council of powers over major housing developments
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/08/government-to-strip-auckland-council-of-powers-over-major-housing-developments.html
Perhaps they need to look at who is taking the affordable houses – and do something about lazy immigration above because they already put in a fuel tax to help the lazy planners and now the government is pushing in, to screw up congestion and pollution further with being in charge of more houses!
We really need (sarcasm) 20 liquor stores and burger Kings on every corner and the people who actually do real work in the city can’t get into work with all the congestion from low paid precariat workers driving around all day going from job to job, breaking down in their trucks as they deliver food and goods around to dodgy small businesses or the truck and trailers of dirt and concrete going across the city.
God help us, even the pathetic low level IT workers are dropping off the skills list. What is that telling us as we “move” towards the digital economy? How many of those skill are growing the economy, in high tech or manufacturing for example?
The government is writing cheques for infrastructure all over the country for new houses, because the councils are so weak and pathetic that they have not provided either the infrastructure or the houses for New Zealand society for decades.
Good fucking job for the Minister kicking Councils all over the park.
Nope they are writing cheques to construction firms many of whom are overseas based and employ foreign workers with Kiwis taxes that should be paying for teachers and hospitals.
Nobody has even seen this mythical thousands upon thousands of affordable houses. Construction firms are build spec houses for foreigners who bring money in to buy the house and then have no or small incomes so qualify for welfare.
Government are complicit in allowing foreign buyers of apartments and foreign buyers for new builds and foreign buyers of land and employers to bring in thousands of questionable migrant workers like at Burger King.
The government are actually increasing the cost of living and congestion for the aforementioned kiwis are they supposedly helping by their pathetic policies that they have not stopped since the Natz got out.
In fact the immigration skills look even worse last year than the year before with the Natz in charge as at least that had IT on it even if it was at a numbingly low level.
Not only that, the skills is on about a third of how people get into NZ residency, the rest are relatives off the aforementioned people and marriages…
Actually the “cheques” are from the Housing Infrastructure Fund that was set up by the previous government . They are drawn down by local councils, regional councils, and NZTA. They are drawn for the purposes of building infrastructure including wastewater mains, pump stations, water supply reservoirs, and roads.
They are not drawn by developers.
And of course, this fund is entirely separate to the funds from general taxation for the salaries of teachers.
A typical example is the $24 million loan announced by Phil Twyford yesterday for the new housing development in Queenstown.
The housing being built is only mythical if you are ignorant and don’t follow the news,
The quote at the end of the article is telling: “We have to do this, because if we don’t our kids will never be able to afford to live in this town,” he told NZME.”
This is why the most effective means of getting NZer’s housed in affordable, healthy homes is not going to happen. Because the focus is firmly on maintaining a high sales prices – while simultaneously ensuring those that traditionally have had the ability to purchase – are supported while doing so.
1. No mention about how providing affordable homes in secure tenancies (ie. state housing) improves health, community and crime outcomes.
2. No mention about the number of working families reduced to living out of vehicles.
3. No mention of the long-term trajectory of house prices and creation of bad living conditions when landlords are in the game only for the financial return,
4. No suggestion of making policy, tax and other changes to reduce the attractiveness and effectiveness of putting money into residential properties to generate personal financial gain.
Just stated worries about “children” not being able to live in the city. Inference “my” children. There have been children suffering from the housing crisis for years.
Would you like him to summarise his entire housing and tenancy policies to make you feel better?
There are active policies and reviews instigated by this Miniser to respond to all of those points.
No, I would like those working on housing to understand that one of the most effective ways to address all the issues regarding “our children” not being able to afford housing is for the state to embark on a massive building programme. Not in conjunction with private developers, not with financial assistance for some to purchase, but in order to house our people.
Whenever, I hear or read housing policy, these points are lightly touched on and not given the weight or priority that is required.
As I wanted to see if the housing policy has changed substantially since the last time I checked I had a look at Labour’s Housing Policy.
State Houses: People over Profit
Pretty lightweight. No mention of the security of housing for all, and the multiple benefits that come from reducing increase in transitional housing. Nothing about recreating the egalatarian approach to housing that existed and paved the way for connected communities. The “need” is the part that rankles with me. The expectation that state housing is always to be transitional despite the community benefits of having secure and long-term tenants. Also, no mention of how they determine where those communities are built – ie. are they close to all services and recreational areas. Otherwise, you have tenants who are transport poor as well as otherwise.
Kiwibuild
Pretty much what the main focus is on – particular “children” being able to enter the property market.
Investing in warm dry homes
A bit of a hotchpotch page to be honest. There have been studies showing that the installation of thermal curtains and pelmets are very effective in reduction of heat loss through single glazing. An much more affordable solution than replacing all windows with double glazing.
And the final note on that page:
Which is in line with how I understood the current policy focus to be. Not really sure that it has changed at all.
Is there a reason that you are going to the Labour site rather than to the site of the actual government that forms and executes actual policy as a government?
http://www.thebeehive.govt.nz is where you will find actual government policy on housing.
Lazily, because when I googled housing policy NZ govt the Labour policy was second on the list. The beehive link for The Future of Housing was further down and I hadn’t scrolled that far.
Once again, Ad. No concrete suggestions for the items I have mentioned. The only semi-fleshed out policy is Kiwibuild.
I firmly believe that will not solve the issues regarding housing if it remains the priority, which it seems to be.
(Also, the Labour party housing policy and the beehive link seem to be much of a muchness. Are we discussing content here?)
RNZ says Chelsea Manning has been cleared by Immigration NZ to apply for work visa for 2 speaking gigs.
https://twitter.com/rnz_news/status/1035276812622815232
Also Stuff
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/106718206/chelsea-manning-granted-special-direction-to-apply-for-visa
I’m interested in the policy differences between our Immigration Service clearing Chelsea for entry here, but Australia denying entry.
Any view on the policy or operational or regulatory differences for the different result?
I haven’t seen one. RNZ says NZ Immigration used a category “special direction”. Aussie authorities say Manning has failed a “good character test”.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/365358/chelsea-manning-cleared-to-enter-nz-for-speaking-tour
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-29/chelsea-manning-australian-government-may-ban-entry/10180236
Protectionism. Don’t want to let any foreign criminals in because they feel the need to protect their domestic criminals. Also why they’ve started exporting kiwi crims back to here. Remember those headlines about the mafia taking over the Oz casinos in the seventies?
Australia has not yet denied Manning entry despite many media headlines (and the one here on the post re this) stating that Australia has banned her.
What Australia has done was on Wednesday they issued a Notice of Intention to deny a visa, which allows Manning to put her case why she should be granted a visa despite her convictions etc. (ie the Good Character Test). Presumably she and her sponsors etc have done this and are now awaiting a final decision.
I suspect that Australia may take a harder line than NZ, but I am really pleased that NZ has gone ahead and now allowed her to apply for a special exemption to the conviction provisions that would normally prevent her getting a visa (according the RNZ because she has not offended anywhere that she has gone to on similar speaking tours).
This means that NZ has taken a different approach to Australia which appears to be maintaining their hard line immigration approach that Dutton introduced (apart from a certain au pair…). It will be interesting to see what the Australian reaction will be to NZ’s position. LOL.
Don’t know the exact differences between NZ and Australian immigration rules, but of interest is that Canada after refusing Manning a visa last year, granted her one in May this year to do a speaking event in Montreal (or Ottawa?) albeit on very restrictive conditions re time there etc. So there is precedent for her to be granted a “special direction” allowing a visa for entry to NZ to be issued on similar conditions.
In terms of practicalities, Manning is due to speak in Sydney this Sunday so time is tight, then Melbourne next Friday before coming to NZ for Auckland Sat 8 Sept and Wellington 9 Sept, then back to Australia for Brisbane on 11 Sept.
If Australia refuses a visa it is still probably feasible that she could still come to NZ since it is for two events.
My reply above was thrown together in a hurry, but now see that my wording in para 3 could be misleading. So here is a better version with the changes in italics.
Revised para 3
I suspect that Australia may take a harder line than NZ, but I am really pleased that NZ has gone ahead and granted a special exemption to apply for a visa despite her convictions which would normally prevent her getting a visa (according the RNZ because she has not offended anywhere that she has gone to on similar speaking tours).
Here is what The Australian is saying re the NZ decision and where the Australian is at.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/chelsea-manning-allowed-into-new-zealand/news-story/22cd171161203c3f99c55139c1531ac9
Here are the main points as The Australian articles usually quickly end up behind a paywall.
However, Immigration New Zealand confirmed on Friday morning it had given Manning special dispensation to apply for a visa.
“While Ms Manning was convicted of a serious offence and sentenced to 35 years imprisonment, it was noted that her sentence was commuted by President Obama in January 2017,” INZ general manager Steve Stuart said.
“The likelihood of her offending while in New Zealand is considered low … (we) could see no reason to believe Ms Manning would not comply with the terms and conditions of any visa.”
… The NZ government’s decision comes after Manning’s tour organiser, Think Inc, said this week it had received a notice of intention to deny the former soldier entry into Australia under section 501 of the Migration Act.
She was banned from entering Canada last year due to her criminal convictions in the US but was allowed to speak in Montreal in May.
Think Inc has called on the transgender activist’s supporters to lobby Australia’s new immigration minister, David Coleman, to allow her into Australia.
Good on her
This may bring up an interesting situation actually
If Aussie end up barring her, I wonder if she will bother paying all the cash just to come here
Given some people on here proclaiming the difference between Manning and the Canadians is the Canadians are only it for the money, while Manning is in it to spread the word, I wonder what they say if she were to cancel
Three events in Austalia; two in NZ. Therefore more likely that she would come here even if Australia bans here than say, the Canadians where they had five in Australia and only one in NZ.
Good point
Never checked the difference in itinerary
The best thing, politically speaking (as evinced by Molyneux and Southern) would have been for Manning to be denied and her message carried on the inevitable wave of outrage crashing around tha net.
All credit to Michael Woodhouse though. He tried his best. 👿
edit – won’t someone design a ‘dripping sarcasm’ tag?
Just for you Bill.
http://www.geinzooi.nl/funny-fake-news/chelsea-manning-successfully-enters-australia-disguised-as-an-au-pair/
That’s quite amusing.
If I was smarter I’d be able to come up with a witty and perhaps acerbic comment involving shovels (“The Shovel” being the source for that commentary).
But I’m not. So I can’t. 🙂
Yes, after I posted it I realised that it came from The Shovel and the link was in the Gein link. I had forgotten about the Shovel so must do see what else is there recently.
Will woodhouse paint a sign and organise a protest? Imagine….. hehehehe
UPDATE TIME
Australia is alive with the sound of – not music, but calls for the Australian Govt to rethink their propose ban on Chelsea Manning being given a visa.
In less than 24 hours a Change.org petition to allow her to enter Australia has already got 15,000 signatures and counting.
http://junkee.com/chelsea-manning-visa-petition/173779
Here is a link to the Guardian article that is only a few minutes’ old saying that the Australian Government is considering lots of submissions calling for Manning to be allowed entry but time is now critical and if a favourable decisions is not imminent then she is unlikely to make Sydney for the Sunday event. (As an aside, Judith Collins gets a mention calling Manning a traitor).
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/31/chelsea-manning-cleared-new-zealand-speaking-tour-visa
The Australian is apparently reporting that Di Natole, the Aussie Green Leader, is supporting allowing Manning to enter Australia, but cannot put up link as I have used my free quota of their articles.
So time will tell. Good move NZ.
I irrationally don’t like Chelsea Manning but will totally defend her ability to annoy me by speaking here. 🙂
I had never heard her speak and was neither for or against but also totally defend her right to speak.
Then Kim Hill interviewed her two weeks ago and I was very, very surprised. So much so that I would now like to go to her Wellington event but cannot afford it at present – and am also recovering from day surgery so probably too soon.
As I said elsewhere here, it was one of Hill’s better interviews and she also seemed impressed with Manning.
Here is a link if you want to try it.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday
Re your post, I was not doxxing (I never do that as my anonymity and privacy are all important to me) and will reply later but off out now. You may be interested in my reply to Darien Fenton for a little of my experience.
https://thestandard.org.nz/facing-meka/#comment-1519566
Its your over-generalisation without any supporting evidence etc that gets up my nose (grrrrrr, as you also did yesterday) – and the lemmings just fall in behind when some of them probably haven’t even been in the door of the Beehive! LOL.
For those who process information visually
https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/1034433170589077506
Fuck.
That’s a wicked as link, thanks Pat.
!!!!!!!!!
!
Come clean Labour.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/106698295/how-helen-clark-would-have-handled-the-youth-camp-sex-assaults
Maybe the malefactor has mental health issues indy.
Its ok, this will be the most transparent government ever
Fake news: “Helen Clark might not have meant to fire a “missile” at Jacinda Ardern” according to a political scientist. No missile was fired.
The Government is looking at new and novel ways of financing infrastructure without breaking its strict budget responsibility rules.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/106704499/billions-borrowed-for-new-state-homes-against-treasury-advice
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/04/22/105712/twyford-bends-budget-rules
“A later analysis estimated an additional $3m-$6m in annual interest costs for every $1b borrowed by Housing New Zealand. ” So to ensure that we are within “Budget Responsibility Rules” it costs us more, yet in the financial records this debt doesn’t “really” exist !!!
This appears to me to be a National MO, not an upfront Labour led govt
https://thestandard.org.nz/scrap-the-spending-cap/
The annual budget process costs in delays and treasury rigamarole for something like Housing NZ.
The debt does exist. Just not under core crown debt.
It there is a delay caused by process, then why not, to save us $millions of extra interest costs then transfer the debt at a later date ? If not, then how can this govt cry poor when govt workers seek fair wage increases?
Perhaps this as you commented on is the reason “The debt does exist. Just NOT under core crown debt.”
The ockoes have a policy of giving the Immigration portfolio to arseholes addy.
Tough break for the Greens and for Minister Genter that she’s still off while the government announces $4 billion to boost road safety.
Otherwise it would have been the best-ever Greens policy win by $$.
Was Shaw there? He has picked up her Associate Minister of Transport portfolio for the next six weeks, but I thought he was currently overseas. So bad luck …
PS – I just put up an update at 12.4 re Australia and Manning’s visa to enter there.
No it was Twyford and CE of NZTA at the media scrum.
Labour needs to throw the greens a few bones . If the greens die labour more than likely lose the next election.
Trotter allows his sense of humour out for a run around the park: http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2018/08/compassing-economys-death.html
Makes me wonder about the residual powers of the Crown. Does sovereignty still enable it to hold barons accountable for misbehaviour? When captains of industry whine & moan that they’re losing confidence & the govt is to blame, would a few lashes of the legislative whip be a useful antidote? For instance, the govt could pass a law requiring all such barons to resign after issuing any such public complaint that they can no longer cope with the demands of their job.
I love how free markets operate.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/food-news/106717422/cafe-operator-closed-down-for-going-dairyfree
Did you read it ??
What’s free market got to do with it being forced to close by a bunch of dick heads . ??
“Mangawhai Activity Zone trustee chairman Colin Gallagher says the committee voted to close Redfern-Hardisty’s operation because of the complaints from people wanting a “normal” coffee at the park.
He wouldn’t say what the vote numbers were, but said it wasn’t close.
“We have been extremely supportive of this guy. We own the container, we don’t charge him any rent, we don’t charge him for power, we don’t charge him for water.
“But he has denied our customers choice. That’s where it is. Any customer should have a choice of whether there is plant-based or dairy-based milk in their coffee.”
Take choice away from the customers and the free market reacts…quite simple really.
That’s still not the free market speaking . If the market had spoken the vendor would have gone broke ,which he hasn’t,he s been put out of business by whingeing tossers with a little power .
The bombshell comes now for our PM Jacinda and the greens.
Maybe this may be PM Jacinda Ardern’s chance to shine again (as her generations nuclear moment) and offer the Greens something?
Another thing Jacinda has missed is our loss of oxgen in our air that sustains us all is depleting now, as the new elephant in the room and this changes everything now.
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/O2DroppingFasterThanCO2Rising.php
Quote;
O2 Dropping Faster than CO2 Rising
Implications for Climate Change Policies
New research shows oxygen depletion in the atmosphere accelerating since 2003, coinciding with the biofuels boom; climate policies that focus exclusively on carbon sequestration could be disastrous for all oxygen-breathing organisms including humans Dr. Mae-Wan Ho
Threat of oxygen depletion
Mention climate change and everyone thinks of CO2 increasing in the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect heating the earth, glaciers melting, rising sea levels, floods, hurricanes, droughts, and a host of other environmental catastrophes. Climate mitigating policies are almost all aimed at reducing CO2, by whatever means.
Within the past several years, however, scientists have found that oxygen (O2) in the atmosphere has been dropping, and at higher rates than just the amount that goes into the increase of CO2 from burning fossil fuels, some 2 to 4-times as much, and accelerating since 2002-2003 [1-3]. Simultaneously, oxygen levels in the world’s oceans have also been falling [4] (see Warming Oceans Starved of Oxygen, SiS 44).
It is becoming clear that getting rid of CO2 is not enough; oxygen has its own dynamic and the rapid decline in atmospheric O2 must also be addressed.
On the upside about 50-85% of oxygen comes from phytoplankton (ocean plants)
It happens with their photosynthesis so yay global warming and sun shine!!
The is a joke!!! (before I get lynched)
Chris
Breathe deep while you can sunshine.
(get an oxygen supply for the day you cant)
We are still letting people sell us lies we can see that has happened many time’s in the past because of people like trump choosing to ignore the Green house effect’s of Human caused Global Warming why because he can milk it he will be getting billion’s through the back door .Wealthy or power full people have set Humanity advances back 100 years by burning books and suppression new technology that will cause these people to lose power and control the carbon( baron that back trump) . If he could make money out of it he would put LEAD back in Petrol .We new lead was poisonous and it took 50 years to rip it out of the capitalist hand’s and put it’s fact’s of a bad mistake in our history books .
We have to stand up and stop these people who are lieing to the whole Papatunuku
JUST to make MONEY enough said I have 2 links below KIA KAHA Green tangata
Ka kite ano P.S Watch Cosmos A Space Time Odssey season 1 episode 7 I will get my mokopunas to all watch all of this awesome programs
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-03/29/c_136167676.htm
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40593353
Newshub Nation The living wage or $20 a hour will not cause a loss of 30 k of jobs thats just the Capitals spin as always.
The worker’s deserve respect like all people is that not In the Law it would be much better for the many if we found solution’s for our low paid seasonal workers shortage I.E a way to make it more worth the effort to go to work I.E the employers need to pay more full stop.
New Zealand have no privacy we are hooked up with the who and we no they are spying on the whole Papatuanuku enough said.
Many thanks Nation for running the story on Myanmar this show’s the Papatuanuku
need to know what’s going on in all these human made greed desasters that are growing at a alarming rate . ka kite ano P.S Tod Barclay enough said boys
Some Eco Maori music M&M has just release his latest album I think we have some of the same views on our reality Ka pai E-Hoa link is below ka kite ano.
Good evening Newshub That’s going to be a Papatuanuku class Americas Cup yacht race held in Auckland Tamaki-makau-rau one will be able to watch the race from the shore .
With Napier’s problems one Great British Actor Michael Cain has made a statement that poverty is what creates crime and that’s a fact .In Napier there were heaps of jobs not now after the last nine years of money transfer policy’s ‘.
There you go Technology at its best Many thanks Alibaba enough said.
China plastic Surgery growth of 40% you know the mokopuna’s they are easily lead it’s the people of my generation that one can see that when they get longer in the tooth that they end up looking bad if they over do it ie heaps of operations .
Kate I’v been wacthing Cosmos Spacetime Odyessey narrated by Neil Degrasse all tangata should watch this series. Ka kite ano P.S I can see how fast the music of my Koauau travels around Papatuanuku