It seems a bit silly to claim there’s a widely-accepted, gender-neutral meaning of ‘bitch’ when you have to point out, twice, that you don’t mean it as a gendered slur.
Edited to add: and of course, the not-specifically-female meaning of ‘bitch’ is typically homophobic. And it’s so easy to just not use it, as I demonstrated! Why make it difficult for yourself?
So your further your statement “i wonder what is in the nsa/spook-dirt-file on john key” is to imply South Islanders are inbred racists that seem to all have migrated from Alabama and you call me a fkn moron go on Phillip make some more shit up or lay off the grog before midday.
FYI Not in the South Island either so more of your made up crap
Yes i figured out how to click the link and it was as vague as any one of your posts although considerably more interesting to read, now run along back to your bottle so you can make up more shit followed of course by another racist bigoted rant
…i blame the delerium…
John Key & Paula Bennett are preparing to have a ball with their Young Nats. We’re hosting an alternative party for those left out in the cold by Nationals war on the poor.
AAAP are hosting a ‘Block Party’ outside the ball.
Live performances by: STREET CHANT + TOTEMS
We’ll be dishing up free soup & bread too.
Beneficiaries, low paid workers and young New Zealanders see little reason to celebrate after 6 years under National.
Let’s remind the Nats their champagne celebrations will not go unchallenged while so many of us are pushed further into poverty as a result of their policies.
David Cunliffe good on Morning Report…however imo he needs to be MUCH more AGGRESSIVE and dis the polls…they are always putting him in a defensive position which is spurious
1.) they are not an accurate reflection of what will happen on Election Day…even up to a day or so before the Elections… as Jim Bolger found when he lost despite positive polling for his win…and as Winston Peters has found in the past when he hasn’t even registered in the polls yet come in for a win
2.) they distort elections and electioneering…it is pathetic how they make politicians SLAVES to statistics and polling….statistics which are in the hands of the pollsters….and who knows what THEIR bias and intent is?…Polls ad Statistics are NOT the TRUTH….lets face it statistics can be skewed to suit the intent and design survey of the Pollster /statistician….and Polling is a business and can be skewed by business interests
It is time New Zealanders are no longer held captive by the Pollsters bullshit…”Bugger the Pollsters!” and “Bugger the Polls!”….this should be the mantra of the Labour Party
..how about:..’just ignore the elephant..!..just ignore the elephant..!..’
..and hooten said only one thing that rang true in his total dominance of q & a on sun..
..(didn’t he ‘own’ that show..?..as in being a rude-prick and talking-over/dominating the conversation..?..just braying on and bloody on..the show compere watching..gape-mouthed..)
..when he noted that the labour party vote cd well collapse..much like national suffered under english..
..and of course the rise of harawira/mana/internet party could well hasten that collapse..
..and the main problem with labour..in my opinion..is that..like in a piece i linked to a couple of days ago..detailing the similar woes labour is facing in britain..
..is that they may well have good/progressive policies..
..but that they are doing a woeful job selling them..
..they are totally failing in the task of presenting themselves as an appealing choice..
..and of course..the pressures on labour here are/will be even stronger than in britain..
..as thanks to mmp..we have a suite of minor parties to turn to..
..positively bristling with new/fresh ideas…change..
..labour seem to have chosen/taken the path of ‘we’re not quite as bad as national’..
..but yes..!..of course we will off-shore/deep-sea drill..!
..of course we will continue to frack..!
..and no..we will not be closing down the spooks…!
..we must stay part of ‘the five eyes network’..!..(we get ‘reports!..didn’tyaknow..!..we are with ‘the big boys’..!..)
..and yes..of course..!..with a few adjustments/tweaks..of course we will sign the t.p.p..!
..and ending pot-prohibition..?..no way..!..
..what’s that you say…?..the greens..?
..didn’t you see/hear russel norman on the weekend..?
..he won’t bother us..
..he is compromise-on-steroids..
..like us..it’s become difficult to see what he actually stands for..
..did you notice that..?..’
(and/but..seriously..!..labour haven’t got much time left to get their shit together..
..eh..?..
..and no..i don’t mean rolling cunnliffe..
..i mean presenting a viable/believable vision of change from the status quo..
..’cos up until now..
..the retention of that broken status-quo is all they seem to have on offer..
@philip ure …not really the “elephant in the room”
…the fact that Hooton possum is obsessed with polls and talks of nothing else makes me suspicious …makes me think that the polls are stewed and skewed…. a little right wing pottage… served up to convince the unwitting public that Cunliffe is not up to the job and knee cap him before he even gets into his stride
….polls used as a right wing PR exercise to undermine a Labour Party and a New Leader who could really make difference for New Zealand! …..in coalition with the Greens and NZF and Mana and maybe Dotcom
the Polls and Pollsters should be ignored …they serve as a toxic right wing PR detraction from the real issues of the Labour Party and winning this election!…they are a waste of everyone’s time
Interesting that you should say that. Very topical, going by yet another badly worded ‘news’ segment by the TV3 resident Joseph Goebbels, Patrick Gower, today on 6 pm news, designed to hurt Labour and Cunliffe some more:
I wrote a message below their news item as follows:
‘What is wrong with you, Gower? Why sensationalise relatively minor errors and be so biased against Cunliffe and Labour designed to harm them further? Why not report facts without hype, exaggeration and unfairness? That Cunliffe’s trust was for his Labour party leadership election and involved just about $8,000 and $9,000 of ‘secret’ donations that were returned because the donors preferred to remain private. Not really a very big deal, compared to millions of donations by wealthy rich dudes to National and ACT involving secret/blind trusts etc. Be balanced and fair in your reporting, man. Shame on you and shame on TV3 ‘news’. Report news, don’t ‘create’ news as that is manipulation, unjust and a disservice to freedom and democracy.’
nothing til i have seen it is a cop out position. give us your position, david, on what you have seen leaked so far. .. and what it would take for you to be pro or anti.
I often wonder how election results would pan out if there weren’t any polls. Would a lack of polling require folks to think for themselves and not be swayed by the numbers that are being whispered in their ears? Or do polls have little influence on results?
Example: Was chatting with my anti Dunne (we’re in Ohariu) anti National Coalition Govt Dr who had become dismayed and expressed words to this effect: “the polls aren’t looking good for Labour, it looks like they may lose”. Unacceptable assumption! We then discussed how to go about winning and he looked a lot brighter by the end of the conversation.
And what about the thousands of people that turned out all over the country during the weekend for the TPP protests and NZEI protests? Are they happy with the direction Key and his Govt have gone in the last almost 6 years? Are they happy with Key as leader? No and No. Poll those folks and you’d get a completely different result.
..(and cunnliffe was roundly booed for his gravity-defying spinal-gyrations around the vexed subject he and norman seem to have signed up for..the tpp..)
..so..really..by any measure..
..that is a very tenuous anti-polling/pro-labour sheet-anchor for you/anyone to hang onto..
The TPPA is a hard one to measure as, I believe, that most people truly don’t understand it and so stay home when they would be out protesting if they knew better.
+100 Penny Bright…good point …maybe too difficult for the msm to get their heads around or they are scared of offending the John Key NACT govt!….either way pretty pathetic journalism
…nevertheless there was a good crowd in earthquake ravaged Christchurch and some great speakers !…so people know about it and are concerned !
“..that is a very tenuous anti-polling/pro-labour sheet-anchor for you/anyone to hang onto..”
phillip. I am talking polls in general, election after election and not just at the moment because it doesn’t suit my political inclinations to see the Left in a place I’m not joyous about. (and in saying that, I’m not freaked about the polls that have been held in recent months).
What purpose do polls serve? To assist spin and to fulfil the curiosity of voters? Or are polls less insidious and more useful than that? I am questioning the faith we put in them.
I get that Cunliffe needs to be very clear about Labour’s views around the TPPA but would you write him off over it?
“so..are you saying that all you are hearing out there is words of praise for cunnliffe/labour..?
..and how well they are doing/going..?”
No I’m not saying that. What I am hearing, in a casual way that can’t be measured, from folks I am speaking with about this years’ election is that they will be voting Labour because they want to get rid of Key – these are the people who don’t usually vote or pay any attention to what happens in our society. It’s an anti govt vote – they hate Key and what he has done, that is about as much as they know.
They don’t know about Goff’s work around free trade deals of the past, and less about the TPP.
Those I know who are politically engaged tend to be Green voters and I can count one Mana voter among that lot.
As for your suggestion that we need a “wholesale clear out of that rightwing cabal of Labour MP’s, before Labour can rejuvenate as a true progressive party”, I don’t disagree with you, and it is these aspects of the Party that prevents me from being a member or volunteering my time during this years’ campaign.
We don’t have that happening. However, is not the most pressing and immediate priority to expel this putrid pussy zit of a govt, off the face of our suffering country?
Which brings me back to those ordinary non engaged voters I mentioned first up. First things first, expel the govt – then rejuvenate.
They have an influence. IIRC, about a third of the people who didn’t vote last election didn’t do so because of what the polls were saying. They believed that National was getting in no matter what and yet if they had voted we’d have a Labour led government now.
Thank you DTB – your example is a perfect illustration of the power of polls.
I hope that everyone here who wants a Labour Green coalition/remove this corrupt govt is speaking with those they know that didn’t vote last time and letting them know that their vote is important and really encouraging them to see the value in voting.
I think there’s an even stronger case for dropping polls altogether. They do influence people and getting people to actually read the policies would be much better. Of course, the latter is far more expensive than polls and so the MSM won’t do it.
So because it’s possible in our electoral system, we must actively support it? That’s what you’re saying.
If you didn’t notice, the MMP referendum and subsequent public submissions were very clearly on the side of reducing the various tactical opportunities available.
Tactical voting, by it’s very definition, implies that certain people in certain areas of the country have a greater impact on the outcome of the election that all other people in the country. That’s not fair nor democratic. Why should twats in Epsom lumber us with an idiotic government that sells state assets at a massive loss? That’s exactly what happened in 2011 (if National had won either Epsom or Ohariu, but not both, they wouldn’t have had enough MPs in support of asset sales).
What a great head in the sand attitude, if Labour and the Green Party identify all their party voters in the Epsom electorate some 7-8000 of them and convince those voters to hold their noses and strategically vote for the National candidate in Epsom it will only take a quarter of them to do so and ACT will be out of the Parliament,
We shouldn’t do this because it offends your sensibilities???my sensibilities are far more offended that every week the wage gap between the haves and the have nots widens and with every widening of that wage gap another kid or two misses out,
Not just misses out for the time National is in office but because of the damage done misses out for a life-time,
Every electoral system can be gamed to a certain extent, FPP was gamed by having the boundaries set by an unelected body, the MMP system tho gives us full transparency to see who is gaming what, thus allowing us to devise strategy which in effect would nullify such ‘gaming’,
Because some on the left have their sensibilities a little offended at the thought of doing this is laughable,
It is obvious by the extent of the National Party vote that the wider electorate does not rate this ‘gaming’ in electorates like Epsom as a highly negative factor in their voting choices,and while submissions to electoral commissions might highlight the practice as odorous it is the voter who is the final arbiter of such practices,
There is at present only one means of ensuring that the voters of Epsom do not have a greater say in who forms Government than the rest of us and that is to convince those who would vote left in that electorate to use their votes to nullify such electoral gerrymandering by the parties on the right…
My point, actually, is that tactical voting is undesirable in any electoral system.
Electoral systems should be as fair and even-handed as possible. There will likely always be particular circumstances where some people’s votes have more impact than others.
But the proposal was to stop publishing polling. The reason given for why we should continue polling, is that it allows for tactical voting – something that we should not be encouraging. Whether we should actively discourage it or not is another question, although as noted, the public have already opined that they’d prefer to see less tactical voting than we have now (by removing the coat-tales incentive: for example National would be much less likely to gift The Conservatives an electorate seat if there’s 0 chance of them bringing in more than 1 MP).
What Lanth is ‘unfair’ about the present system??? we all get two votes and it is how people use those two votes that is all important,
The MMP referendum gave us the exact same system that we have now, so how you use this as an example of this particular referendum citing a demand of change is beyond me,
The voter’s Lanth showed what they think of ‘tactical voting’ and ‘giving nods’ in the 2011 election, i see no evidence that Nationals vote was hurt in any way by such use, so, unless you propose a referendum of the question about polls/tactical voting i fail to see how submissions to the electoral commission obviously from a partisan sector of politics should carry any weight at all,
Was it not for ‘tactical’ voting and activism during and leading up to that 2011 election NZFirst may not have regained a position in the Parliament leaving National in a position of governing alone, the fact that nothing has been said about this aspect of tactical voting does not mean that it did not occur and occur via a reasonably substantial number of voters,)probably up to 1%),
Your citing of the Conservatives has no basis of fact, for fact you only have to look at the Epsom electorate where National happily gave Banks the nod, and, i should imagine it is not the fact that the Conservatives might only bring National one extra seat should they gift that party an electorate that has them loath at this point to make such a gift, had not Craig over the Christmas period given a good display of the ‘Loonies having taken over the asylum’ i am pretty sure it would still be on the cards for National to be gifting that party a seat,
MMP is all about coalitions, in that i believe National are slightly ahead of Labour in their thinking, National seem to have taken on board the fact that there is NO loss in giving up an electorate seat to a likely partner in order to keep a supply of coalition partners at least appearing if not growing…
“..if Labour and the Green Party identify all their party voters in the Epsom electorate some 7-8000 of them and convince those voters to hold their noses and strategically vote for the National candidate in Epsom it will only take a quarter of them to do so and ACT will be out of the Parliament,
We shouldn’t do this because it offends your sensibilities???..”
..Under the the present circumstances.,
..if the left does not vote smartly..
..then the nasty Nats will end up getting 6 MPs for their coalition..
..through 3 of Whyte, Dunne and Craig..
..PLUS their own 3 National party list candidates=6!..
..3+3=6!..
..If we gazump them by voting strategically..
.. for the National CANDIDATE for the ELECTORATE vote..
.. National will only get their own 3 candidates,..
..while the 3 political parasites of ACT, UF and Conservatives parties.. ..will be gone burgers which is sweet as!..
..3+0=3!..
..Labour will end up getting 3 candidates..
..through higher up on the party list vote..
Yes!…in the present circumstances, because, otherwise, the nasty Nats will get 6 candidates for their coalition through 3 of Whyte, Dunne and Craig PLUS their own 3 National party list candidates=6! 3+3=6!
If we gazump them by voting strategically for National CANDIDATE for the ELECTORATE vote, National will only get their own 3 candidates, while the 3 political parasites of ACT, UF and Conservatives parties will be gone burgers which is sweet as: 3+0=3!
Labour will end up getting 3 candidates through the party list vote. 0+3=3!
I suspect the following is what might be happening:
Key’s early announcement of an early election has jolted people out of their political apathy and for the first time in three years they are thinking seriously about politics. Its early enough for some of them to be casting around and thinking they might vote for another party other than Labour this time:
How about Winston Peters eh? He’s all for keeping the super at 65 and we’re not that far away from 65. We’ve always voted Labour but they reckon they’re gonna raise it to 67. That stinks.
Labour is NOT going to lose!…..but they sooner they ignore the polls the better ….too much time is wasted on them
….Cunliffe should just say “BaH.. Polls Bullshit!…..We are going to discuss the REAL issues facing the electorate!…the REAL issues facing New Zealanders…the REAL issues facing the voters”
….and btw …the msm should be doing the same ….way too much importance is given to polls and pollsters …they should be put in their place! …they are not the Truth!…they are not the Final Outcome!…they are used as a MARKETING PLOY to undermine and put down good people like David Cunliffe
….i wouldnt mind betting the polls are rigged and the pollsters bought off
I love the statement of faith about not losing – good to see there are still a few red believers out there.
Cunliffe should discuss real issues facing Kiwis – however real issues don’t include giving subsidies to forest owners, giving baby handouts to folks on $150K, centralizing power retailing, and buying back minority shareholding in power companies and an airline.
There are a few topics that aren’t worth pushing this year and they include:
The state of the economy – its doing fine.
The state of manufacturing in NZ – its doing fine
The state of primary industries – they’re doing fine
The state of the provinces – they’re booming.
Unemployment – its going down
Crime – its going down
Grizzles about Free Trade Agreements – China proves this wrong big time
The Nats have got the biggies sown up so Labour are left with some crumbs to play with:
Interest rates slowly rising
Housing affordability in bigger cities
RMA reform (Snatch this out of JK’s hands)
Auckland City Council Reform (Use Len Brown against JK to beat him with and promise reform of the legislation to allow more control over the Mayor’s office)
Abuse of user pays affecting lower income folk and pensioners (Council fees/rates etc.)
Its gona be a hard road for the left this year but if Cunliffe wants to win then he needs to get stuck in a lot more than what he has
Sue gets bashed a lot but she was one of the more successful MPs of the past 30 years. Small party, never in govt but managed to push major reform. I always listen to what she has to say.
Why did Sue Bradford leave the Green Party? On Sunday, on the The Nation, she described it as having become surprisingly willing to compromise, and fighting with other parties for the centre vote.
It’s fine if you agree with the party’s move to the centre – but evidently not everyone sees it the same way.
Jesus Phillip what rubbish, Nandor as front-runner to be the Green party leader, Ha-Ha-Ha that is hilarious,(give us some proof to this assertion wont you Phillip),
Sue Bradford suddenly re-invents Herself as the Martyr in a Green Party power struggle???don’t make me laugh, Sue missed out on the leadership to Metiria,(both of whom came to the Party via the benefits rights movement), did a toy toss,left and that’s where the full stop comes in,
My view is that Sue’s ego got the better of Her, perhaps She thought She was bigger than the Party, no matter what Her ‘reasoning was’ if there were any ‘reasoning’ at all, if She had an ounce of credibility as far as the Green movement goes She would have stayed put right where She was and quietly worked away to build Her support to such an extent that She could have been one of the Party leaders,
The current leadership of Metiria and Russell has the ability not only to reach out to the middle class but secure their votes too, and, that goes for the young in National safe seats as well and you, thinking you know better, poo poo this as some form of sellout,
It’s a democracy Phillip, requiring the votes of the people to gauge and gain the influence of where ones ideals and ideals are acceptable to be passed into the Laws of the land…
I agree with your point on another post advocating the Labour and Green supporters in Epsom and Ohariu to strategically vote for the National candidate to get rid of the ACT and UF political parasites, Whyte and Dunne, in order to nullify the National’s cunning and dirty tactics. [I could not reply to you under your post there as the ‘reply’ button was not showing!]
Ah Clem, the secret to replying after the ‘reply’ tab has done the disappear is to go back up the comments until you find the last reply tab and hit on that one,
Usually does the trick and your comment is stacked in the correct order, the miracles of computing,(and it took me a while to figure that one out too Lolz),
Yeah Clem, those opposed to ‘strategic voting’ cite submissions to the Electoral Commission as evidence of dislike for this practice, ‘the voters’ tho as evidenced by the last election do not see it that way,
My view is that such strategies, gerrymandering if you will is within the rules and is transparent, we can all see exactly what is going on and it is then up to us, us as in the political parties of the left, to devise strategy which nullifies in this case National’s attempts at building themselves a majority,
i don’t like ‘morals’ for dinner they make a very unsubstantial meal, the sooner ‘the left’ comes down off that high-ground in my opinion the better…
Phillip, i am definitely saying that Sue Bradford never worked like crazy to get Russell Norman elected as co leader of the Green Party,
As far as this ‘supposed’ promise goes from Norman to Bradford you will have to put up something more than ”you got told”,(if it did occur in the manner you say i would suggest that Russell saw in Sue exactly the same as what i did years befor during the benefit rights days, that i will keep to myself for the moment),
You do tho make mention of ”who’s shoulders the ultimately stand upon”, mine for starters Phillip, and, what shoulders that now support the Party, should they stray, can just as easily be removed,(but hardly on your say so),
i will reverse what you say and by way of query ask you ”who’s shoulders did Sue Bradford stand upon that gave Her the profile to get Her nose into the trough”, i wont bother to enlighten you to particular ‘publicity stunts’ that Sue ‘thought’ up to get Her face front and center on the TV screen,(its only politics after all),
As i point out tho, the shoulders stood on by those who would ‘represent us’ in an effort to reach such heady heights can just as easily be withdrawn and about the time Bradford was voted ‘best behaved MP’ in the Parliament, ‘we’ having tired of waiting simply withdrew our shoulders,
So at least half of 200 delegates voted Russell Norman into the position of co-leader out of a field of 4 candidates on the first ballot and while i havn’t got the ballot papers here Phillip i would suggest Nandor certainly didn’t get a look in,(perhaps the other 2 entered the race as ‘spoilers’, but that’s politics,
See what your saying is that Russell Norman promised to support Sue Bradford into a co-leader position and then welched on this deal, really??? got any evidence to support such a defamation???,
Do you know who i think is the ‘smarter’ of the pair Sue Bradford/Meteria Turei, knowing both of them i won’t make a judgement call, but guess who won the delegates vote in that co-leadership race Phillip,(that’s a clue by the way),
What are you really whining about Phillip, the fact that no-one can be bothered with dope legalization at the moment, everything else your raving about is simply politics and if you think that the Green Party stuff is ‘mean’ you havn’t yet seen how my little crew have un-seated some from their pompous positions in certain organizations…
..bradford/delahunty et al didn’t ‘work’ the country..
..in a concerted-campaign to get norman elected over tanczos..?
..right ho..!
..you just carry-on..eh..?
“..and if you think that the Green Party stuff is ‘mean’ you havn’t yet seen how my little crew have un-seated some from their pompous positions in certain organizations…”
ok..tony…
..you put ‘the fix’ in..?.ka-peeche..?
..were all the other bosses onside..?
‘went out this morning..etc etc..and got myself a gun..’
Puppies spray Philip is what i detect as the sum total of you latest comment/lie, it’s an old day now here in this Post but i am sure we will be discussing things in a far deeper manner in coming days,
When you can add some proof to your lies Phillip you will be believable, until such time as that proof is added what you say is simply the jumbled raving of a filthy junky who has destroyed any capability to distinguish between fantasy and reality…
But Phillis, you yourself admit to being a poly-addict, in some terminologies this would equate to you being a filthy junky,
In terms of what you think, say, and, spray, into the pages of the Standard, this status(Ha-Ha-Ha),this status of yours,poly-addiction aka filthy junky means that its all colored, or more to the point, discolored, by the warped brain suffering either the effects or withdrawals from your particular drug of choice which maintains your addiction at the moment,
The best means of providing a measurement of this coloring of what passes for thought in your addled mind is to point out that your brain is in a constant state of concussion and/or suffering various levels of what the Psychiatric Profession,(i think the insertion of another Ha-Ha-Ha appropriate at this point), calls a psychotic episode,
In effect Philip, such self inflicted Psychotic episodes are to all extents and purposes Schizophrenia of a self inflicted nature and while Psychotic events are said in some circles to be accompanied by the odd flash of psychic ability such ‘flashes’ are few and far between with the ongoing Schizophrenia making the self inflicted sufferer more garbled and un-understandable the longer the self infliction lasts,
At some point in the self infliction the damage done to the brain cannot be reversed even when the self infliction ceases and the self inflicted simply lead a life of Psychotic events/Psychic flashes, never being able to distinguish between the reality of one and the fantasy of the other,
Such is what you daily exhibit in the pages of the Standard Phillip…
[lprent: I can’t see a point in here. Read the policy about pointless abuse. ]
You claim Phillip that Nandor was a Green Party high flyer, the problem with that dense statement is that mere months befor Nandor wasn’t an MP either having taken a dive on the party list and failed to be elected,(probably a plot from the other MP’s who just knew the Party Vote was going to tumble right),
The only reason Nandor got back into the Parliament was because Rod Donald died so far from the favorite of the members as you stupidly claim He was to all extents and purposes a ‘goner’ befor any thoughts of a leadership contest…
Very few could be more painful than Williams. I hope RNZ has finally seen the light and axed him. The only good thing about Williams is the entertainment his stupidity brings but the problem with this is that you have to listen to his voice which is often an impossible task.
The one interesting thing about the poll is that the number of “undecided” votes has shot up so high – add that to all the under 30’s who don’t have landlines, the whole of South Auckland who rarely have landlines, the landline owners who are all out at work and you are left with older, somewhat wealthier people who have landlines, who may be retired – and in that group the number of undecideds has skyrocketed! Very interesting! Not so dedicated to Jonkey as they once were!!
Listening to Radionz this morning a variety of news.
One about the CTV building and the Fire Service. Over 10 officials from the FS in Christchurch by evening and not one with a base at the CTV building. Hands off management?
I have commented before how there seems to be a distaste for getting the hands dirty by some men. It seems as you move up in this classist society and join the managerial class you don’t ever roll your sleeves up and get down to the operational side. Someone commenting said ‘that wasn’t their role’ when talking about handling disaster.
And this could be where the problem lies. People taking management roles who know all about their role but who don’t have the commitment to extend themselves to serve in whatever way they can in a disaster. A silo mentality. If they have been appointed on the generic manager principle, then they may not have the necessary deep knowledge and experience to do so. What is needed actually, is people who can think laterally and liaise and help to the full moving between their management role and the operational.
We noticed something similar with Pike. The police on the spot unwilling to chance injury, life and limb had taken over management and control of the mine excluding miners who could not even carry out a sortie within their own capabilities, with the aid of the police or their gear, but at their own risk. Instead the police were liaising with management in Wellington who Poirot-like sat and thought about it all at their desks. Except Poirot in the stories found ways of reaching the best conclusion possible and this was never tested at Pike.
There was also the journalist (TV3 I think) who told how within a minute of the quake he was on the street filming. Not helping pull people out of rubble, but filming. Told the story with pride, or at least no shame.
Matthew is hooting about Russel Norman saying that the Greens don’t have TPPA as a bottom line thing. And saying WTF. What is Russel up to? I guess he is being pragmatic and saying what he and the Greens would do if it became a done deal that had to be coped with. But a stand against it, rather than looking at the legals and checking the i’s and crossing t’s is what we would expect surely. Try the alphabet letter y Norman? That’s the word to use.
Why do we want TPPA? What is likely to happen for this country?? We know the signs are – this way to the Lemmings Leap! (Sotto voce, ‘Suckers’.)
A Green Party spokesman later clarified that the party continued to be opposed to the TPPA and would vote against it in its current form, whether in government or opposition. There would need to be significant changes to the agreement for the Greens to support it, he said.
Dr Norman said there were areas where the party could get Labour to move, but others where the parties would differ.
“So it will all depend on how that relative balance of power is in a post-election negotiation.”
The TPP would have to change “very significantly” before the Greens would vote in favour of it.
“The current TPP is so far away from basic democratic rights, environmental protection.”
Matthew H is trying to diss a link between the 18-24 years and the Internet Party. He is bringing up a connection for that age and Jim Bolger in the 90’s as an example. Grasping at straws, what an odd reference, totally irrelevant for here and now. A different time, a different theatre, and different mindsets.
I watched The Nation online and was staggered at the way Paddy the Terrible asked leading questions then denied that the interviewee had answered differently from Paddy’s question.
Blatantly putting words in the mouth of Russell which he did not say. Paddy did likewise to David Cunliffe.
Paddy: Do you Russell believe that the gap between rich and poor is getting bigger?
Russell: The data supports that position and we in the Greens will work hard to change that unlike the National Government which denies that there is a problem.
Paddy: So you are denying that there is a problem that the gap is growing bigger.
Russell: No! What I said..
Paddy: Moving on to another question……
(Paddy notes to self must headline 6pm News with “Russell Norman denies that the gap between Rich and Poor is growing bigger.” He did speak those words)
I suggest you complain to MEDIA WORKS (first) on their OFFICIAL complaint site (not the TV3 feedback one. doesn’t count!), wait for response within the mandatory 20 days and then complain to the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA).
This is the ONLY way to get some fairness and balanced reporting of news now. Don’t let the stupid so called ‘journalists’ get away with lies, spin, unfairness, exaggeration, propaganda, bias and BS.
Opps. Not a real report Clem. Just my interpretation of what Paddy is doing to his guests. However I did complain to TV3 at the similar huge distortions made during the Gower/Cunliffe interview a week or so ago followed by such mischief, when Paddy misreported for TV3 News.
Heh, Hooton thinks He is the clever one, Russell Norman just played a little trump card, expressing bottom lines would have simply given the Hootons of the world something with which to promote divisions,
The Green Party has certainly learned from the ‘lightbulbs’ and showerheads’ incidents, the point Russell makes is the all important one, the Green Party can only have influence of a significance that has been passed to the Party by the voters,
An 18–19–20% Green/Mana-Internet bloc in the next Parliament would certainly provide such influence…
The RNZ political slot was enjoyable this morning. Chris Trotter brings an extra intellectual element to bear which even had an effect on Matthew Hooton. Sometimes Trotter goes too far with his extrapolations, but this morning he was spot on. I agree with him when he says David Cunliffe is being held back from expressing his real views on matters like the TPPA because of the right wing element within his own caucus. Perhaps it is in the interest of Labour if they don’t win the next election because that will surely mean the ‘old hands’ will be forced to move on.
Personally, I would like to see Cunliffe stand up to them and give them an ultimatum. Get behind me and the rest of the Party or get out.
I am a Labour supporter and a socialist, but I am a little weary of this left and right straight jacket labeling.
Policies should be fair, just and good for all the people, the environment and the country. They need to be socialist based but fair and just to all, the rich and the poor, the workers and the employers, the young and the old, the employed and the unemployed.
The policies should be based on critical thinking, evidence based and help advance people’s aspirations.
In order to achieve good results to make New Zealand a better place, we must be smart enough to use all kinds of policies and not be hung up on so called ‘left’ or ‘right’ policies. That is such a retro kind of thinking in this modern advanced high tech age!
Lolz Clem, that’s a state,ment worthy of Pete George, Mathew Hooton used to run the same line a while back, (there is no real left or right),
Depends where you sit in the food chain, if your comfortable in your job, think it’s ‘safe’ and you have the ability to save then sure the politics of left and right become blurred…
Oh, no! Don’t mention Dunne and Hooten Hooton and Banks and Key……..Yuck! I despise their views and ways!
[When I say, policies that are fair to the rich and poor, it does not exclude a reasonable increase in income tax rate to the top earners. It was 39% during the last Labour government which this stupid present government reduced to help the the wealthy the most and lost about 2 billion dollars of revenue each year every year!
The tax rate should not be unreasonably high squeezing business and jobs either.
They need to be socialist based but fair and just to all, the rich and the poor, the workers and the employers, the young and the old, the employed and the unemployed.
We can’t afford the rich so, inevitably, policies that are good for society are going to be bad for the rich.
Trotter brought a bit of life the segment, as often it can be rather boring.
‘Perhaps it is in the interest of Labour if they don’t win the next election because that will surely mean the ‘old hands’ will be forced to move on…’
Interesting point, but the media is falsely framing the Cunliffe leadership as a ‘lurch to the left’, which is not being countered anywhere, for various reasons.
If Labour loses, it is likely the myth will be perpetuated that the failure of the supposed ‘lurch’ to excite the electorate is evidence it has to move to the right.
If Labour loses, it is likely the myth will be perpetuated that the failure of the supposed ‘lurch’ to excite the electorate is evidence it has to move to the right.
That’s exactly how it will be used. If Labour lose this election we can expect to see Cunliffe kicked out of the leadership position and Labour following National further to the right.
That is not what I said, Bearded Git. That is a misrepresentation.
I do not believe it is right to let this Cunliffe regime be presented as a ‘lurch to the left’, as that is untruthful, unless you consider raising the retirement age, paying a few extra government workers a living wage, and controlling electricity inflation without messing with the profit gouging model, to be left-wing. And then there’s Labour’s bullshit prevarication on the TPP, and support for legislation to prosecute partners of benefit fraudsters.
We are drowning in propaganda, and I am not going to be united behind perpetuating a lie.
Personally, I would like to see Cunliffe stand up to them and give them an ultimatum. Get behind me and the rest of the Party or get out.
He’d be able to do that if he had the proof that the party membership was fully behind him. The only way that he would get that is to have full democratic accountability:
IMO, There’s a few places where it can be used immediately
1.) Council wards
2.) Political parties
3.) Clubs
Larger communities such as full councils and discussing national policy will probably take a bit of time as people get used to having a say in their local communities first. I could be wrong on that, in fact I’d love to be as I’d prefer a more participatory democracy but I don’t think I am.
sadly too many think its better to run a country like a company than a democracy…. hence the dilution of community boards in places in auckland… what would the people know, theyre not all accountants and business people.
The trouble is Tracey, sometimes people will not take the time to think and analyse. Often there’s just reaction to the latest event. Groups I have worked for usually will not have a single idea when asked in advance to ‘give us your thoughts’. If they do they have no idea why it might be a good or what could make it a bad idea, no background thinking.
agreed. it is possible people have lost an expectation for any real information. that does seem to be the way the rich have ensured their ongoing prosperity…
remember how upset thechurch was to have the bible published in languages the plebs could read and understand… same concept imo.
The plebs get complacent, find a niche and go to it and expect to stay there. unmolested. But they may remain ignorant that outside the den walls, all is not quite as rosy as they think. That nothing is over, till they die. Before that they have to keep percolating or end up in a home for the bewildered making paper hats for mock olympics held at the institution.
And that does not fit the picture we have of intelligent questing man and woman eternally flexible and adaptable to changes. That implies that people are noticing changes, thinking about them, even foreseeing them and what they think should be done if there are changes. It keeps the mind alive.
Complacency is deadening to the intellect apparently. That is why we are near to having our pavlova pinched from under our noses and ‘you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone’. So we can’t let others grab our pavlova paradise. We must be a lert, and get out with all the other lerts and think and do.
Self-visualisation and action-motivation at work here. Please do not disturb.
Groups I have worked for usually will not have a single idea when asked in advance to ‘give us your thoughts’.
Yep, that happens when people are confronted with such a question out of the blue. That’s why I like Loomio, it allows discussion, time for people to get their head into gear.
DTB
Don’t local boards in Vermont have participatory meetings for decisions? I think they used to anyway. I wonder what the good and bad sides to it are, and the overall opinion there of its effectiveness?
If you recall, I had made an official complaint about the sensational propagandist, a so called ‘journalist’, Patrick Gower to TV3 first as that is a requirement before an official complaint can be made to the Broad casting standards authority.
TV3 is supposed to reply within 20 days. However obviously they are unable to.
Here is their reply to me today:
Dear Clem,
You lodged your complaint with us on 3 March 2014 and our normal practice is to respond to your complaint within 20 working days of that date. Unfortunately due to pressure of other complaints work we are not going to be able to meet the deadline for getting a response to you. We apologise for this delay and we will get a response to you as soon as possible and in any event no later than 40 working days from the date you lodged your complaint with us.
Thanks for keeping us up to date with your complaint Clemgeopin.
This bit was interesting:
“Unfortunately due to pressure of other complaints work we are not going to be able to meet the deadline for getting a response to you.”
So lots of complaints then!!! All Gower related, or some about their excess and brain numbing reality show programming? Either way, they are receiving extra complaints in general that caused them to go past their deadline in responding to yours, and/or they are understaffed in that department.
Interesting. I lodged two complaints with the Herald over the way Trevett and O’Sullivan reported the Trust issues for DC.
Didn’t hear for 10 days, so sent it straight through to the Press Council, which is what you are suppose to do (give the media 10 days to respond). Then the Press Council got back to me and said they had been in touch with the Herald and unfortunately, my email with the complaint had been “over-looked”. So I have given the Herald another go and guess what? Still no response. I am counting down the days and then its going straight back to the Press Council. No if, buts or maybes.
Although Dunne fits the profile i really think that DotCom has simply used the ‘other MP’ as a bargaining chip,
DotCom knows that Hone holds all the Aces in this little game, having said that i hope they keep the negotiation going as i am leaning slightly toward Mana at the moment as the recipient of my Party vote,
An Alliance, Mana/Internet Party i would suggest might be worth 3 or 4 MP’s in the next Parliament…
“170,000 new jobs” springs to mind, as does the letter Garner claimed was circulating in one particular week 🙂
Can’t think of an actual vaporware MP, though…
There must be something – like the old:
Mutineer: “cap’n, me and all the men here don’t like what you’re doin'”
Captain: “What men, where?”
Mutineer: [looks behind him, sees nobody is there to back him up] ” … “
Well, um, look, um, that depends on how things go upI mean down… I mean um, mango skins for the poor isn’t the most um, futurist solution to child poverty, but um, I suppose the warmer weather will… no, look, um, provide a suitable climate for mango cultivation…
If you’re right, then at least Shearer will finally get to enjoy the “full support of caucus” 😀
vaporware! Good name and perhaps more polite than “bullshit” whenever the current Government announces a new idea especially suited to deflect interest in Labour/Greens.
“I say Mr Key old chap. Are you spouting more Vaporware?”
If it is all a giant vanishing act, the tactic of saying ‘oh, they’ve had to deny it in the media’ is genius, if a little bit reminiscent of ‘only the true Messiah would deny it!’
Four out of five independent research reports from investment houses in New Zealand and Australia value Genesis Energy shares at higher than the $1.55 a share offer price announced by government Ministers last Friday.
The highest valuations, from Edison Investment Research and Craigs Investment Partners, suggest Genesis shares could be worth $1.97 apiece, while the most conservative valuation is from Australian research house Morningstar, which places a ‘fair value’ on the shares of $1.60.
Interesting poll today in Herald asking “What do you think of National’s handling of income equality?”.
Over 7000 responses and 48% say “it has been bad.”
I know these polls are suspect, but that’s an incredible result for the Herald. Definitely votes to be had here by Labour if they get the policy right, and it needs to be STRONG policy because National will come in with some policy on this issue to cover their backsides.
How can the public have confidence that NZ politicians at the highest levels are not involved in foreign exchange trading – either directly – or indirectly passing on tips to friends / family or business associates?
Who is checking?
How is this being checked?
Anyone else think that these are fair questions?
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption/anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
That was fun. Paul Henry waved the Climate Change Report around on his late show. It is a reality he said.
Then he interviewed Tim Groser Minister of Climate Change. Tim plodded on with all the talk. Paul asked him repeatedly to explain just what has the Government done apart from talk. Tim talked some more about all the talking they must do in the future and how the Government was leaving it up to Local Councils to do something anyway.
So Paul said that the Government has done nothing then. Tim looked a bit unhappy. Not used to being challenged it seems.
Poor Tim (And questions were from one of the Government supporters too!!)
That’s almost scary. Paul Henry probably owns a beach house and is worried Local Councils won’t agree to build a special moat around it. Beachside real estate is starting to look like a horribly ironic investment for the very wealthy.
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
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This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
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1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
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TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
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About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
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The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
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As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
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As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
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TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
Flag-bearing duties were shared between boxer David Nyika and Black Ferns Sevens captain Sarah Hirini in Tokyo three years ago. Triple Olympic medallist in boardsailing, Barbara Kendall was the first female flag bearer in Atlanta in 1996. Since 2004, the flagbearers have worn a kākahu (cloak) as they led ...
i wonder what is in the nsa/spook-dirt-file on john key..?
..do the americans ‘own’ him..?
..is he their ‘bitch’..?..
(used in it’s non-gender-specific-meaning..denoting servility/obedience..being ‘owned’..)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/29/nsa-merkel-leaders-surveillance-documents-snowden
..that’d be an interesting read..eh..?
Underling, plaything, pawn, tool, servant, lackey, puppet, stooge, dupe, patsy, hireling, minion, groupie, yes-man, toady.
Really, phillip, it’s not that difficult.
+1
are you accusing me of linguistic-laziness..?
..or are you objecting to that non-gender-specific/street- use of that ‘b’-word..?
..a use that gives it a different meaning to the gender-specific-use..
..or both..?
It seems a bit silly to claim there’s a widely-accepted, gender-neutral meaning of ‘bitch’ when you have to point out, twice, that you don’t mean it as a gendered slur.
Edited to add: and of course, the not-specifically-female meaning of ‘bitch’ is typically homophobic. And it’s so easy to just not use it, as I demonstrated! Why make it difficult for yourself?
i don’t see/use it as ‘homophobic’..
..that reading is about power of one individual over another..
..being ‘owned’..
..that’s it..no further nuances..
..the gender/orientation are of no matter…
..hence key being ‘owned’ by the american-spooks/govt..
..’cos of dirt they have on him..
(nothing gender-specific/homophobic in that use..eh..?..)
..and maybe why i have to qualify that ‘reading’ of the word..
..is a discussion better suited to a word-police-forum..
..maybe titled:..?
..’black and white strictures we should maybe rethink’..
Nobody’s policing you. I’ve offered you alternatives to a word which could give people the impression you’re sexist and homophobic.
Completely agree with your point Stephanie, and good luck with having a rational conversation with phil about it.
Thanks weka. I’ve said all I really need to say, it’s up to phillip to choose what language he uses.
look..!..there’s weka-george again..!
..or is it pete weka..?
“good luck having a rational conversation with phil about it.”
point proven weka
chuckle
Tell us more about this “nsa/spook-dirt-file on john key” or are you just making shit up again Phillip
plse give me one example of me ‘making shit up’..?
..i come with footnotes built in..
..and in this case they are in the link in the original comment at the top of the thread..
..and can i just pause to call you a fucken moron..?..
..one furthering that profile of sth islanders as inbred hicks..?
..yee-haw..!..eh..?..
..’we don’t see too many coloured folks down around these parts..do we leroy..?’
So your further your statement “i wonder what is in the nsa/spook-dirt-file on john key” is to imply South Islanders are inbred racists that seem to all have migrated from Alabama and you call me a fkn moron go on Phillip make some more shit up or lay off the grog before midday.
FYI Not in the South Island either so more of your made up crap
i repeat..
..give me one example of where i have ‘made shit up’…
..’cos..y’ see..i comment under my own name…
..so this matters..
..the evidence plse..
..or fucken withdraw and apologise..
..and act like a fucken inbred hick..
..and i’ll call you an inbred hick..
..did you work out how to click on the link..?
..apology pending..is it..?
..and if you want to swathe yrslf in that ‘mainland’-bullshit..
..expect nothing less..
..and as a matter of fact..
..christchrch is the city for white-trash racists..isn’t it..?
..also the city with the highest number of junkies in nz..too…
..(low-rent speed/sleeping pill junkies too..most of them..
..i blame the flatness..)
..and..you don’t see many ‘coloured folks’ down around those parts..do you..mainlander..?
..i am told they aren’t made to feel that welcome..
..y’know..shouted racist insults from groups of those white-trash racists..
..’cruising the square’..eh..?
..i blame the flatness..
Yes i figured out how to click the link and it was as vague as any one of your posts although considerably more interesting to read, now run along back to your bottle so you can make up more shit followed of course by another racist bigoted rant
…i blame the delerium…
Herald cartoon – books Key collects “purely for interest”
ah yes
That is a quite cutting cartoon
…. plus of course a whole shelf of Dale Carnegie type kaka ….
“How to win friends and influence people” etc.
wow, given his immense popularity thats a very telling cartoon
Auckland Action Against Poverty – action outside the Young Nats Ball in Auckland next Saturday evening:
Gotta hand it to AAAP – they do well targeted and creative bits of action.
heh..!
..remind us again next fri..
..i’ll publicise that one..
David Cunliffe good on Morning Report…however imo he needs to be MUCH more AGGRESSIVE and dis the polls…they are always putting him in a defensive position which is spurious
1.) they are not an accurate reflection of what will happen on Election Day…even up to a day or so before the Elections… as Jim Bolger found when he lost despite positive polling for his win…and as Winston Peters has found in the past when he hasn’t even registered in the polls yet come in for a win
2.) they distort elections and electioneering…it is pathetic how they make politicians SLAVES to statistics and polling….statistics which are in the hands of the pollsters….and who knows what THEIR bias and intent is?…Polls ad Statistics are NOT the TRUTH….lets face it statistics can be skewed to suit the intent and design survey of the Pollster /statistician….and Polling is a business and can be skewed by business interests
It is time New Zealanders are no longer held captive by the Pollsters bullshit…”Bugger the Pollsters!” and “Bugger the Polls!”….this should be the mantra of the Labour Party
chooky..
..how about:..’just ignore the elephant..!..just ignore the elephant..!..’
..and hooten said only one thing that rang true in his total dominance of q & a on sun..
..(didn’t he ‘own’ that show..?..as in being a rude-prick and talking-over/dominating the conversation..?..just braying on and bloody on..the show compere watching..gape-mouthed..)
..when he noted that the labour party vote cd well collapse..much like national suffered under english..
..and of course the rise of harawira/mana/internet party could well hasten that collapse..
..and the main problem with labour..in my opinion..is that..like in a piece i linked to a couple of days ago..detailing the similar woes labour is facing in britain..
..is that they may well have good/progressive policies..
..but that they are doing a woeful job selling them..
..they are totally failing in the task of presenting themselves as an appealing choice..
..and of course..the pressures on labour here are/will be even stronger than in britain..
..as thanks to mmp..we have a suite of minor parties to turn to..
..positively bristling with new/fresh ideas…change..
..labour seem to have chosen/taken the path of ‘we’re not quite as bad as national’..
..but yes..!..of course we will off-shore/deep-sea drill..!
..of course we will continue to frack..!
..and no..we will not be closing down the spooks…!
..we must stay part of ‘the five eyes network’..!..(we get ‘reports!..didn’tyaknow..!..we are with ‘the big boys’..!..)
..and yes..of course..!..with a few adjustments/tweaks..of course we will sign the t.p.p..!
..and ending pot-prohibition..?..no way..!..
..what’s that you say…?..the greens..?
..didn’t you see/hear russel norman on the weekend..?
..he won’t bother us..
..he is compromise-on-steroids..
..like us..it’s become difficult to see what he actually stands for..
..did you notice that..?..’
(and/but..seriously..!..labour haven’t got much time left to get their shit together..
..eh..?..
..and no..i don’t mean rolling cunnliffe..
..i mean presenting a viable/believable vision of change from the status quo..
..’cos up until now..
..the retention of that broken status-quo is all they seem to have on offer..
auto-moderation..?
Too many ellipses is my bet. Spam engine had to work hard to comprehend what you were trying to say.
Personally I didn’t bother.
so..why do you feel the need to tell me..?
..lashing out..
..due to intellectual-incompetence on yr part..?
..engendering a feeling of powerlessness..?
..perchance..?
..that’s all ya got..?
Hoping you’ll take constructive criticism and improve your posting style so that people will bother to read your posts. I know I’m not the only one.
Your choice to do what you want of, of course.
lolol
a few of the regulars are giving me some good chuckles this monday morning. thank you all.
that’s all ya got..?..there..tracey..?
..riding others’ ad-homs..
..and you’d be a sucker for tried and true material..
..wouldn’t you..?
Me neither-too long Mr. Ure
@philip ure …not really the “elephant in the room”
…the fact that Hooton possum is obsessed with polls and talks of nothing else makes me suspicious …makes me think that the polls are stewed and skewed…. a little right wing pottage… served up to convince the unwitting public that Cunliffe is not up to the job and knee cap him before he even gets into his stride
….polls used as a right wing PR exercise to undermine a Labour Party and a New Leader who could really make difference for New Zealand! …..in coalition with the Greens and NZF and Mana and maybe Dotcom
the Polls and Pollsters should be ignored …they serve as a toxic right wing PR detraction from the real issues of the Labour Party and winning this election!…they are a waste of everyone’s time
Interesting that you should say that. Very topical, going by yet another badly worded ‘news’ segment by the TV3 resident Joseph Goebbels, Patrick Gower, today on 6 pm news, designed to hurt Labour and Cunliffe some more:
Watch it here and see what I mean:
http://www.3news.co.nz/Cunliffes-poll-numbers-slide-after-trust-issue/tabid/1607/articleID/338161/Default.aspx
I wrote a message below their news item as follows:
‘What is wrong with you, Gower? Why sensationalise relatively minor errors and be so biased against Cunliffe and Labour designed to harm them further? Why not report facts without hype, exaggeration and unfairness? That Cunliffe’s trust was for his Labour party leadership election and involved just about $8,000 and $9,000 of ‘secret’ donations that were returned because the donors preferred to remain private. Not really a very big deal, compared to millions of donations by wealthy rich dudes to National and ACT involving secret/blind trusts etc. Be balanced and fair in your reporting, man. Shame on you and shame on TV3 ‘news’. Report news, don’t ‘create’ news as that is manipulation, unjust and a disservice to freedom and democracy.’
+100 Clemgeopin…good on you! ….i rarely watch tv news …but that is real bias
He also needs to sort out his position on TPPA.
And by that I mean Labour need to sort themselves out and come out swinging against it.
We can only wish for that. Unfortunately, Labour still believe in the delusional free-market that they bagged us with in the 1980s.
nothing til i have seen it is a cop out position. give us your position, david, on what you have seen leaked so far. .. and what it would take for you to be pro or anti.
a bob each ways is bs
Onya Chooky.
I often wonder how election results would pan out if there weren’t any polls. Would a lack of polling require folks to think for themselves and not be swayed by the numbers that are being whispered in their ears? Or do polls have little influence on results?
Example: Was chatting with my anti Dunne (we’re in Ohariu) anti National Coalition Govt Dr who had become dismayed and expressed words to this effect: “the polls aren’t looking good for Labour, it looks like they may lose”. Unacceptable assumption! We then discussed how to go about winning and he looked a lot brighter by the end of the conversation.
And what about the thousands of people that turned out all over the country during the weekend for the TPP protests and NZEI protests? Are they happy with the direction Key and his Govt have gone in the last almost 6 years? Are they happy with Key as leader? No and No. Poll those folks and you’d get a completely different result.
i went to the auckland one..
..there weren’t really that many people there..
..(and cunnliffe was roundly booed for his gravity-defying spinal-gyrations around the vexed subject he and norman seem to have signed up for..the tpp..)
..so..really..by any measure..
..that is a very tenuous anti-polling/pro-labour sheet-anchor for you/anyone to hang onto..
..eh..?
The TPPA is a hard one to measure as, I believe, that most people truly don’t understand it and so stay home when they would be out protesting if they knew better.
Where was all the mainstream media telling folks about the upcoming TPPA protest rallies BEFORE Saturday 29 March 2014?
Penny Bright
+100 Penny Bright…good point …maybe too difficult for the msm to get their heads around or they are scared of offending the John Key NACT govt!….either way pretty pathetic journalism
…nevertheless there was a good crowd in earthquake ravaged Christchurch and some great speakers !…so people know about it and are concerned !
“..that is a very tenuous anti-polling/pro-labour sheet-anchor for you/anyone to hang onto..”
phillip. I am talking polls in general, election after election and not just at the moment because it doesn’t suit my political inclinations to see the Left in a place I’m not joyous about. (and in saying that, I’m not freaked about the polls that have been held in recent months).
What purpose do polls serve? To assist spin and to fulfil the curiosity of voters? Or are polls less insidious and more useful than that? I am questioning the faith we put in them.
I get that Cunliffe needs to be very clear about Labour’s views around the TPPA but would you write him off over it?
@ rosie..
..of course polls can be wrong on the/any given day..
..but there is a science around tracking the trends..
..and as a barometer of how something is going..
..we have little else..
..so..are you saying that all you are hearing out there is words of praise for cunnliffe/labour..?
..and how well they are doing/going..?
..and that..ipso facto..the polls are all wrong..?
..i see the polls as just confirming that too many people are not seeing labour as an/the answer..
..which of course is bad news for labour..
..but good news for the minor parties on the progressive side of the ledger..
..and re yr final question:..i think trotter on nat-rad just clarified cunnliffes’ major problem..
..namely that he is more left than the rightwing/neo-lib hangovers from the clark era..the tpp-freaks/fanatics like goff etc..
..and that he cannot come out and say what needs to be said..
…because they are behind him..going:
..’we don’t agree with that..that’s not official labour policy’..
..whereas cunnliffe should be coming out and promising to rip up any tpp..
..and which all brings me back to a question posed the other day..that maybe labours’ vote has to collapse this time..
..for there to be a wholesale clear-out of that rightwing cabal of labour mp’s..
..before labour can rejuvenate as a true progressive party..
..but whatever the case..
..don’t blame cunnliffe..
..blame those rightwing bastards..
“so..are you saying that all you are hearing out there is words of praise for cunnliffe/labour..?
..and how well they are doing/going..?”
No I’m not saying that. What I am hearing, in a casual way that can’t be measured, from folks I am speaking with about this years’ election is that they will be voting Labour because they want to get rid of Key – these are the people who don’t usually vote or pay any attention to what happens in our society. It’s an anti govt vote – they hate Key and what he has done, that is about as much as they know.
They don’t know about Goff’s work around free trade deals of the past, and less about the TPP.
Those I know who are politically engaged tend to be Green voters and I can count one Mana voter among that lot.
As for your suggestion that we need a “wholesale clear out of that rightwing cabal of Labour MP’s, before Labour can rejuvenate as a true progressive party”, I don’t disagree with you, and it is these aspects of the Party that prevents me from being a member or volunteering my time during this years’ campaign.
We don’t have that happening. However, is not the most pressing and immediate priority to expel this putrid pussy zit of a govt, off the face of our suffering country?
Which brings me back to those ordinary non engaged voters I mentioned first up. First things first, expel the govt – then rejuvenate.
@ rosie..
“..However, is not the most pressing and immediate priority to expel this putrid pussy zit of a govt, off the face of our suffering country..”
..plus 1..
They have an influence. IIRC, about a third of the people who didn’t vote last election didn’t do so because of what the polls were saying. They believed that National was getting in no matter what and yet if they had voted we’d have a Labour led government now.
Thank you DTB – your example is a perfect illustration of the power of polls.
I hope that everyone here who wants a Labour Green coalition/remove this corrupt govt is speaking with those they know that didn’t vote last time and letting them know that their vote is important and really encouraging them to see the value in voting.
@ rosie/draco..
..i agree with the analysis from draco..
..and i do think there is a case for closing off polls..say..4 wks before election day..?
..i think there is a very strong case to be made for that..
I think there’s an even stronger case for dropping polls altogether. They do influence people and getting people to actually read the policies would be much better. Of course, the latter is far more expensive than polls and so the MSM won’t do it.
In an MMP system polls are important for strategic voting
Why should we encourage strategic voting?
It’s a reality of our electoral system and can benefit the left as well as the right.
So because it’s possible in our electoral system, we must actively support it? That’s what you’re saying.
If you didn’t notice, the MMP referendum and subsequent public submissions were very clearly on the side of reducing the various tactical opportunities available.
Tactical voting, by it’s very definition, implies that certain people in certain areas of the country have a greater impact on the outcome of the election that all other people in the country. That’s not fair nor democratic. Why should twats in Epsom lumber us with an idiotic government that sells state assets at a massive loss? That’s exactly what happened in 2011 (if National had won either Epsom or Ohariu, but not both, they wouldn’t have had enough MPs in support of asset sales).
+1 Lanth
it is a political-fact/reality..lanth..
..and if the right are using it..as they have..
..with a high degree of success..
..for the progressives to go..no..!..no..!..we won’t do that..!
..is madness..guaranteeing ongoing defeats..
I tactical vote where I can to try get a result for the left. If you don’t want to or like it then don’t.
shrug
What a great head in the sand attitude, if Labour and the Green Party identify all their party voters in the Epsom electorate some 7-8000 of them and convince those voters to hold their noses and strategically vote for the National candidate in Epsom it will only take a quarter of them to do so and ACT will be out of the Parliament,
We shouldn’t do this because it offends your sensibilities???my sensibilities are far more offended that every week the wage gap between the haves and the have nots widens and with every widening of that wage gap another kid or two misses out,
Not just misses out for the time National is in office but because of the damage done misses out for a life-time,
Every electoral system can be gamed to a certain extent, FPP was gamed by having the boundaries set by an unelected body, the MMP system tho gives us full transparency to see who is gaming what, thus allowing us to devise strategy which in effect would nullify such ‘gaming’,
Because some on the left have their sensibilities a little offended at the thought of doing this is laughable,
It is obvious by the extent of the National Party vote that the wider electorate does not rate this ‘gaming’ in electorates like Epsom as a highly negative factor in their voting choices,and while submissions to electoral commissions might highlight the practice as odorous it is the voter who is the final arbiter of such practices,
There is at present only one means of ensuring that the voters of Epsom do not have a greater say in who forms Government than the rest of us and that is to convince those who would vote left in that electorate to use their votes to nullify such electoral gerrymandering by the parties on the right…
My point, actually, is that tactical voting is undesirable in any electoral system.
Electoral systems should be as fair and even-handed as possible. There will likely always be particular circumstances where some people’s votes have more impact than others.
But the proposal was to stop publishing polling. The reason given for why we should continue polling, is that it allows for tactical voting – something that we should not be encouraging. Whether we should actively discourage it or not is another question, although as noted, the public have already opined that they’d prefer to see less tactical voting than we have now (by removing the coat-tales incentive: for example National would be much less likely to gift The Conservatives an electorate seat if there’s 0 chance of them bringing in more than 1 MP).
What Lanth is ‘unfair’ about the present system??? we all get two votes and it is how people use those two votes that is all important,
The MMP referendum gave us the exact same system that we have now, so how you use this as an example of this particular referendum citing a demand of change is beyond me,
The voter’s Lanth showed what they think of ‘tactical voting’ and ‘giving nods’ in the 2011 election, i see no evidence that Nationals vote was hurt in any way by such use, so, unless you propose a referendum of the question about polls/tactical voting i fail to see how submissions to the electoral commission obviously from a partisan sector of politics should carry any weight at all,
Was it not for ‘tactical’ voting and activism during and leading up to that 2011 election NZFirst may not have regained a position in the Parliament leaving National in a position of governing alone, the fact that nothing has been said about this aspect of tactical voting does not mean that it did not occur and occur via a reasonably substantial number of voters,)probably up to 1%),
Your citing of the Conservatives has no basis of fact, for fact you only have to look at the Epsom electorate where National happily gave Banks the nod, and, i should imagine it is not the fact that the Conservatives might only bring National one extra seat should they gift that party an electorate that has them loath at this point to make such a gift, had not Craig over the Christmas period given a good display of the ‘Loonies having taken over the asylum’ i am pretty sure it would still be on the cards for National to be gifting that party a seat,
MMP is all about coalitions, in that i believe National are slightly ahead of Labour in their thinking, National seem to have taken on board the fact that there is NO loss in giving up an electorate seat to a likely partner in order to keep a supply of coalition partners at least appearing if not growing…
@ bad..
“..if Labour and the Green Party identify all their party voters in the Epsom electorate some 7-8000 of them and convince those voters to hold their noses and strategically vote for the National candidate in Epsom it will only take a quarter of them to do so and ACT will be out of the Parliament,
We shouldn’t do this because it offends your sensibilities???..”
plus 1..
it puzzles me how/why both labour and greens cannot trust their supporters in those seats to have the intelligence/brains..
..to vote tactically to unseat act/dunne..
..it wd be so easy..
..suggested-script:..
look..we all know that we all don’t like tail-gating..
..and the commission advised scrapping it..
..but key/national ignored that imperative..
..and they are using this tactic to some success..repeatedly..
..and so we are forced to fight fire with fire..
..and tho’ we promise to fix this when we get into office..
..for now we are going to have to ask you to take one for the party..
..and to vote-smart to ensure act/dunne are swept into the dustbin of history..
..so..please..labour/green voter..please give us your party vote..
..but with your candidate vote..vote-smart..
..and candidate vote for national..
..and be aware..your vote-smart here will be one of the most important votes in this election..
…and maybe in yr/our lives..
..and strange tho’ it may seem..
..you voting for the national party candidate with your party vote..
..is the best you can do for the labour/green party..
..remember..!
..vote-smart..!..get rid of act/dunne..!
..(now..how can they not sell that to their supporters in those elctorates..?
..f.f.s..!..)
..get rid of act..get rid of dunne..
..just by voting-smart..
@ Philip, add….
..Under the the present circumstances.,
..if the left does not vote smartly..
..then the nasty Nats will end up getting 6 MPs for their coalition..
..through 3 of Whyte, Dunne and Craig..
..PLUS their own 3 National party list candidates=6!..
..3+3=6!..
..If we gazump them by voting strategically..
.. for the National CANDIDATE for the ELECTORATE vote..
.. National will only get their own 3 candidates,..
..while the 3 political parasites of ACT, UF and Conservatives parties.. ..will be gone burgers which is sweet as!..
..3+0=3!..
..Labour will end up getting 3 candidates..
..through higher up on the party list vote..
..0+3=3!..
..Right 3= Left 3!..
..6=3? Nah!!..
so you accept polls are a tool for manipulation of the electorate?
and do you think this is something to be encouraged?
Yes!…in the present circumstances, because, otherwise, the nasty Nats will get 6 candidates for their coalition through 3 of Whyte, Dunne and Craig PLUS their own 3 National party list candidates=6! 3+3=6!
If we gazump them by voting strategically for National CANDIDATE for the ELECTORATE vote, National will only get their own 3 candidates, while the 3 political parasites of ACT, UF and Conservatives parties will be gone burgers which is sweet as: 3+0=3!
Labour will end up getting 3 candidates through the party list vote. 0+3=3!
Right 3= Left 3!
6=3? Nopes! Got it?
well, we’d have Phil Goff…….
te polls are lazy journalism. its all very well for partys to privately poll…
if parliament wont pass a law outlawing them for a few weeks prior to an election….
@ Rosie …agreed…i think the polls are bunkum…and people are quietly deciding they will vote against John Key and this Nact government.
Time for A Change !…as they say
I suspect the following is what might be happening:
Key’s early announcement of an early election has jolted people out of their political apathy and for the first time in three years they are thinking seriously about politics. Its early enough for some of them to be casting around and thinking they might vote for another party other than Labour this time:
How about Winston Peters eh? He’s all for keeping the super at 65 and we’re not that far away from 65. We’ve always voted Labour but they reckon they’re gonna raise it to 67. That stinks.
@ Anne…yes that retirement age is a loser for Labour and they cant afford it
So if Labour ignore the polls and still lose what then?
Who’s ignoring the polls, no mates National who can’t govern alone? 😆
@ Jimmie
Labour is NOT going to lose!…..but they sooner they ignore the polls the better ….too much time is wasted on them
….Cunliffe should just say “BaH.. Polls Bullshit!…..We are going to discuss the REAL issues facing the electorate!…the REAL issues facing New Zealanders…the REAL issues facing the voters”
….and btw …the msm should be doing the same ….way too much importance is given to polls and pollsters …they should be put in their place! …they are not the Truth!…they are not the Final Outcome!…they are used as a MARKETING PLOY to undermine and put down good people like David Cunliffe
….i wouldnt mind betting the polls are rigged and the pollsters bought off
I love the statement of faith about not losing – good to see there are still a few red believers out there.
Cunliffe should discuss real issues facing Kiwis – however real issues don’t include giving subsidies to forest owners, giving baby handouts to folks on $150K, centralizing power retailing, and buying back minority shareholding in power companies and an airline.
There are a few topics that aren’t worth pushing this year and they include:
The state of the economy – its doing fine.
The state of manufacturing in NZ – its doing fine
The state of primary industries – they’re doing fine
The state of the provinces – they’re booming.
Unemployment – its going down
Crime – its going down
Grizzles about Free Trade Agreements – China proves this wrong big time
The Nats have got the biggies sown up so Labour are left with some crumbs to play with:
Interest rates slowly rising
Housing affordability in bigger cities
RMA reform (Snatch this out of JK’s hands)
Auckland City Council Reform (Use Len Brown against JK to beat him with and promise reform of the legislation to allow more control over the Mayor’s office)
Abuse of user pays affecting lower income folk and pensioners (Council fees/rates etc.)
Its gona be a hard road for the left this year but if Cunliffe wants to win then he needs to get stuck in a lot more than what he has
How about some POLICIES on fighting ‘white collar’ crime, corruption and ‘corporate welfare’?
Penny Bright
‘corporate welfare’
You mean like Cunny wanting to give subsidies to his rich mates the forest owners.
nah, like johnny no-mates giving pokies to sky city.
@ Penny Bright..now you are talking….that gets to the crux of the matter and the core of Nact
the final panel-segment of the nation is worth watching online..
..for the resolute/logic-based case sue bradford made for the universal basic income..u.b.i..
..very tidy..it was…
..and should be required-viewing..
Sue gets bashed a lot but she was one of the more successful MPs of the past 30 years. Small party, never in govt but managed to push major reform. I always listen to what she has to say.
What? the GP achieved some of its aims?!
(that’s for phil’s benefit, because he thinks they’re useless at politics).
Why did Sue Bradford leave the Green Party? On Sunday, on the The Nation, she described it as having become surprisingly willing to compromise, and fighting with other parties for the centre vote.
It’s fine if you agree with the party’s move to the centre – but evidently not everyone sees it the same way.
@ergo..
..my reading of that exit-reason is that yes..sue bradford was dismayed by the drift to the right..
..and that would have underpinned her decision to go..
..but the leadership-question was the main reason..
..’cos’..y’see..!..when norman was battling tanczos for the leadership role..
..tanczos was the obvious front-runner..(high profile..sitting mp..)
..whereas norman was the outsider..just an ak policy-wonk..
..but my understanding is that norman went to bradford..
..and promised her..that if she threw her formidable organising/networking-skills behind him defeating tanczos..
..that when fitzsimon left..he would support her for the role as female co-leader..
..bradford then threw herself into that role..and with delahunty as wing-person..and locke backing norman..
..they totally ambushed tanczos..
..he walked into that leadership meeting..
..not knowing he had been totally done and dusted..
..brought down by good old-fashioned leftwing organising/nailing down the numbers..
..and out from the shadows strode the apparatchik/policy-wonk from ak..
..the (surprising to many)..new co-leader..
..who would not have been there..had not bradford called in every favour/ounce of goodwill she could muster..
..and then we all know what happened next..
..fitzsimons left..and norman ratted-out on his promises to bradford..
..and supported turei for the role..
..politics is a very dirty business..
..even when green-tinged..
..eh..?
..i hope that tale of betrayal and treachery and lies and broken-promises clarifies that for you somewhat..there..ergo..
..sue bradford was stitched-up..
..and she deserved/deserves better..
Jesus Phillip what rubbish, Nandor as front-runner to be the Green party leader, Ha-Ha-Ha that is hilarious,(give us some proof to this assertion wont you Phillip),
Sue Bradford suddenly re-invents Herself as the Martyr in a Green Party power struggle???don’t make me laugh, Sue missed out on the leadership to Metiria,(both of whom came to the Party via the benefits rights movement), did a toy toss,left and that’s where the full stop comes in,
My view is that Sue’s ego got the better of Her, perhaps She thought She was bigger than the Party, no matter what Her ‘reasoning was’ if there were any ‘reasoning’ at all, if She had an ounce of credibility as far as the Green movement goes She would have stayed put right where She was and quietly worked away to build Her support to such an extent that She could have been one of the Party leaders,
The current leadership of Metiria and Russell has the ability not only to reach out to the middle class but secure their votes too, and, that goes for the young in National safe seats as well and you, thinking you know better, poo poo this as some form of sellout,
It’s a democracy Phillip, requiring the votes of the people to gauge and gain the influence of where ones ideals and ideals are acceptable to be passed into the Laws of the land…
I agree with your point on another post advocating the Labour and Green supporters in Epsom and Ohariu to strategically vote for the National candidate to get rid of the ACT and UF political parasites, Whyte and Dunne, in order to nullify the National’s cunning and dirty tactics. [I could not reply to you under your post there as the ‘reply’ button was not showing!]
Ah Clem, the secret to replying after the ‘reply’ tab has done the disappear is to go back up the comments until you find the last reply tab and hit on that one,
Usually does the trick and your comment is stacked in the correct order, the miracles of computing,(and it took me a while to figure that one out too Lolz),
Yeah Clem, those opposed to ‘strategic voting’ cite submissions to the Electoral Commission as evidence of dislike for this practice, ‘the voters’ tho as evidenced by the last election do not see it that way,
My view is that such strategies, gerrymandering if you will is within the rules and is transparent, we can all see exactly what is going on and it is then up to us, us as in the political parties of the left, to devise strategy which nullifies in this case National’s attempts at building themselves a majority,
i don’t like ‘morals’ for dinner they make a very unsubstantial meal, the sooner ‘the left’ comes down off that high-ground in my opinion the better…
so..when nandor wasa high-profile mp..
..and norman was keith lockes’ assistant in the auckland office..
..whose name was usually greeted with a ‘russel who?’..
..at that time..nandor was most certainly the front-runner..
..in most eyes..
..including his own..
..and are you saying russel norman never made that promise to sue bradford..?
..and that she went and worked like crazy to get norman elected..?
..right ho..!
..that is after all – all i said..
..(btw..sue bradford has never spoken to me about this issue..
..i wouldn’t mind having that conversation with her one day..
..this was all gleaned from other sources..
..and maybe you could make the case she should have stayed..
..as a voice of reason during this lurch to ‘the middle’..as you call it..
..and i agree..that is where they have gone..
..i just don’t know how all those on whose shoulders they undoubtedly stand..
..how they feel about this headlong rush to the bmw-garage..
..and this wholesale compromising of all that they stood/fought for..
..as the price to pay for the keys to those bmw’s..
..you call it ‘going to the middle’..
i’m a bit more brutal..
..i call it a wholesale selling-out..
…i guess it all must be in the eye of the beholder..
..eh..?
Phillip, i am definitely saying that Sue Bradford never worked like crazy to get Russell Norman elected as co leader of the Green Party,
As far as this ‘supposed’ promise goes from Norman to Bradford you will have to put up something more than ”you got told”,(if it did occur in the manner you say i would suggest that Russell saw in Sue exactly the same as what i did years befor during the benefit rights days, that i will keep to myself for the moment),
You do tho make mention of ”who’s shoulders the ultimately stand upon”, mine for starters Phillip, and, what shoulders that now support the Party, should they stray, can just as easily be removed,(but hardly on your say so),
i will reverse what you say and by way of query ask you ”who’s shoulders did Sue Bradford stand upon that gave Her the profile to get Her nose into the trough”, i wont bother to enlighten you to particular ‘publicity stunts’ that Sue ‘thought’ up to get Her face front and center on the TV screen,(its only politics after all),
As i point out tho, the shoulders stood on by those who would ‘represent us’ in an effort to reach such heady heights can just as easily be withdrawn and about the time Bradford was voted ‘best behaved MP’ in the Parliament, ‘we’ having tired of waiting simply withdrew our shoulders,
So at least half of 200 delegates voted Russell Norman into the position of co-leader out of a field of 4 candidates on the first ballot and while i havn’t got the ballot papers here Phillip i would suggest Nandor certainly didn’t get a look in,(perhaps the other 2 entered the race as ‘spoilers’, but that’s politics,
See what your saying is that Russell Norman promised to support Sue Bradford into a co-leader position and then welched on this deal, really??? got any evidence to support such a defamation???,
Do you know who i think is the ‘smarter’ of the pair Sue Bradford/Meteria Turei, knowing both of them i won’t make a judgement call, but guess who won the delegates vote in that co-leadership race Phillip,(that’s a clue by the way),
What are you really whining about Phillip, the fact that no-one can be bothered with dope legalization at the moment, everything else your raving about is simply politics and if you think that the Green Party stuff is ‘mean’ you havn’t yet seen how my little crew have un-seated some from their pompous positions in certain organizations…
yeah right..
..bradford/delahunty et al didn’t ‘work’ the country..
..in a concerted-campaign to get norman elected over tanczos..?
..right ho..!
..you just carry-on..eh..?
“..and if you think that the Green Party stuff is ‘mean’ you havn’t yet seen how my little crew have un-seated some from their pompous positions in certain organizations…”
ok..tony…
..you put ‘the fix’ in..?.ka-peeche..?
..were all the other bosses onside..?
‘went out this morning..etc etc..and got myself a gun..’
..heh..!
Puppies spray Philip is what i detect as the sum total of you latest comment/lie, it’s an old day now here in this Post but i am sure we will be discussing things in a far deeper manner in coming days,
When you can add some proof to your lies Phillip you will be believable, until such time as that proof is added what you say is simply the jumbled raving of a filthy junky who has destroyed any capability to distinguish between fantasy and reality…
“..a filthy junky.”
time to flick the off-switch on you again..
..methinks..
..you are becoming foam-flecked..again..
..and that can’t be good for you..
..eh..?
..good-nite irene..
But Phillis, you yourself admit to being a poly-addict, in some terminologies this would equate to you being a filthy junky,
In terms of what you think, say, and, spray, into the pages of the Standard, this status(Ha-Ha-Ha),this status of yours,poly-addiction aka filthy junky means that its all colored, or more to the point, discolored, by the warped brain suffering either the effects or withdrawals from your particular drug of choice which maintains your addiction at the moment,
The best means of providing a measurement of this coloring of what passes for thought in your addled mind is to point out that your brain is in a constant state of concussion and/or suffering various levels of what the Psychiatric Profession,(i think the insertion of another Ha-Ha-Ha appropriate at this point), calls a psychotic episode,
In effect Philip, such self inflicted Psychotic episodes are to all extents and purposes Schizophrenia of a self inflicted nature and while Psychotic events are said in some circles to be accompanied by the odd flash of psychic ability such ‘flashes’ are few and far between with the ongoing Schizophrenia making the self inflicted sufferer more garbled and un-understandable the longer the self infliction lasts,
At some point in the self infliction the damage done to the brain cannot be reversed even when the self infliction ceases and the self inflicted simply lead a life of Psychotic events/Psychic flashes, never being able to distinguish between the reality of one and the fantasy of the other,
Such is what you daily exhibit in the pages of the Standard Phillip…
[lprent: I can’t see a point in here. Read the policy about pointless abuse. ]
By the way Phillip, Nandor the high flyer???, only among those who regularly lit up the bhong,
”Mr Tanczos first entered the Parliament in 1999 but was on the outer in 2005 after being demoted from fourth to seventh on the party list”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/202119/tanczos-weighs-up-quitting
another factcheck for you..
..as far as being a pothead..
..nandor was a lite-weight…
..and you cite the conclusion of the successful/orchestrated campaign against him..
(..funnily enough..that pot-slur/lie you cite..being a pillar of that whispering-campaign..)
..you cite this as evidence of what exactly..?
You claim Phillip that Nandor was a Green Party high flyer, the problem with that dense statement is that mere months befor Nandor wasn’t an MP either having taken a dive on the party list and failed to be elected,(probably a plot from the other MP’s who just knew the Party Vote was going to tumble right),
The only reason Nandor got back into the Parliament was because Rod Donald died so far from the favorite of the members as you stupidly claim He was to all extents and purposes a ‘goner’ befor any thoughts of a leadership contest…
Matthew Hooton & Chris Trotter scheduled for the political slot this morning on RNZ.
I suppose they’ll both enjoy bashing David Cunliffe.
trotter couldn’t be worse than ‘i serially-agree with matthew!’ williams..
..cd he..?
Very few could be more painful than Williams. I hope RNZ has finally seen the light and axed him. The only good thing about Williams is the entertainment his stupidity brings but the problem with this is that you have to listen to his voice which is often an impossible task.
does trotter really represent a left view?
hooten doesnt represent a right view, he supports the national govt. its not quite the same thing.
“I suppose they’ll both enjoy bashing David Cunliffe”
Oh dear i will have to switch off my radio that will take at least all day
The one interesting thing about the poll is that the number of “undecided” votes has shot up so high – add that to all the under 30’s who don’t have landlines, the whole of South Auckland who rarely have landlines, the landline owners who are all out at work and you are left with older, somewhat wealthier people who have landlines, who may be retired – and in that group the number of undecideds has skyrocketed! Very interesting! Not so dedicated to Jonkey as they once were!!
Listening to Radionz this morning a variety of news.
One about the CTV building and the Fire Service. Over 10 officials from the FS in Christchurch by evening and not one with a base at the CTV building. Hands off management?
I have commented before how there seems to be a distaste for getting the hands dirty by some men. It seems as you move up in this classist society and join the managerial class you don’t ever roll your sleeves up and get down to the operational side. Someone commenting said ‘that wasn’t their role’ when talking about handling disaster.
And this could be where the problem lies. People taking management roles who know all about their role but who don’t have the commitment to extend themselves to serve in whatever way they can in a disaster. A silo mentality. If they have been appointed on the generic manager principle, then they may not have the necessary deep knowledge and experience to do so. What is needed actually, is people who can think laterally and liaise and help to the full moving between their management role and the operational.
We noticed something similar with Pike. The police on the spot unwilling to chance injury, life and limb had taken over management and control of the mine excluding miners who could not even carry out a sortie within their own capabilities, with the aid of the police or their gear, but at their own risk. Instead the police were liaising with management in Wellington who Poirot-like sat and thought about it all at their desks. Except Poirot in the stories found ways of reaching the best conclusion possible and this was never tested at Pike.
There was also the journalist (TV3 I think) who told how within a minute of the quake he was on the street filming. Not helping pull people out of rubble, but filming. Told the story with pride, or at least no shame.
Matthew is hooting about Russel Norman saying that the Greens don’t have TPPA as a bottom line thing. And saying WTF. What is Russel up to? I guess he is being pragmatic and saying what he and the Greens would do if it became a done deal that had to be coped with. But a stand against it, rather than looking at the legals and checking the i’s and crossing t’s is what we would expect surely. Try the alphabet letter y Norman? That’s the word to use.
Why do we want TPPA? What is likely to happen for this country?? We know the signs are – this way to the Lemmings Leap! (Sotto voce, ‘Suckers’.)
Green link.
https://www.greens.org.nz/oralquestions/russel-norman-why-any-final-tppa-text-should-be-tabled-parliament
The Herald reports.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11228752
Matthew H is trying to diss a link between the 18-24 years and the Internet Party. He is bringing up a connection for that age and Jim Bolger in the 90’s as an example. Grasping at straws, what an odd reference, totally irrelevant for here and now. A different time, a different theatre, and different mindsets.
tv3 claimed russell took a position about tpp, then played a clip which didnt show what they headlined. more bs journalism.
Don’t believe in what I say, but see what I do eh!
I watched The Nation online and was staggered at the way Paddy the Terrible asked leading questions then denied that the interviewee had answered differently from Paddy’s question.
Blatantly putting words in the mouth of Russell which he did not say. Paddy did likewise to David Cunliffe.
Paddy: Do you Russell believe that the gap between rich and poor is getting bigger?
Russell: The data supports that position and we in the Greens will work hard to change that unlike the National Government which denies that there is a problem.
Paddy: So you are denying that there is a problem that the gap is growing bigger.
Russell: No! What I said..
Paddy: Moving on to another question……
(Paddy notes to self must headline 6pm News with “Russell Norman denies that the gap between Rich and Poor is growing bigger.” He did speak those words)
That IS shocking and false reporting.
I suggest you complain to MEDIA WORKS (first) on their OFFICIAL complaint site (not the TV3 feedback one. doesn’t count!), wait for response within the mandatory 20 days and then complain to the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA).
This is the ONLY way to get some fairness and balanced reporting of news now. Don’t let the stupid so called ‘journalists’ get away with lies, spin, unfairness, exaggeration, propaganda, bias and BS.
Here is the link:
http://www.mediaworks.co.nz/Default.aspx?tabid=288
Cheers!
Opps. Not a real report Clem. Just my interpretation of what Paddy is doing to his guests. However I did complain to TV3 at the similar huge distortions made during the Gower/Cunliffe interview a week or so ago followed by such mischief, when Paddy misreported for TV3 News.
Bloody hell! You sucked me in a day before April Fools day! ……[John Key has been doing that to about 45% of voters for the last 6 years!]
Heh, Hooton thinks He is the clever one, Russell Norman just played a little trump card, expressing bottom lines would have simply given the Hootons of the world something with which to promote divisions,
The Green Party has certainly learned from the ‘lightbulbs’ and showerheads’ incidents, the point Russell makes is the all important one, the Green Party can only have influence of a significance that has been passed to the Party by the voters,
An 18–19–20% Green/Mana-Internet bloc in the next Parliament would certainly provide such influence…
The RNZ political slot was enjoyable this morning. Chris Trotter brings an extra intellectual element to bear which even had an effect on Matthew Hooton. Sometimes Trotter goes too far with his extrapolations, but this morning he was spot on. I agree with him when he says David Cunliffe is being held back from expressing his real views on matters like the TPPA because of the right wing element within his own caucus. Perhaps it is in the interest of Labour if they don’t win the next election because that will surely mean the ‘old hands’ will be forced to move on.
Personally, I would like to see Cunliffe stand up to them and give them an ultimatum. Get behind me and the rest of the Party or get out.
Wayne Hope said something similar on The Daily Blog today.
Maybe it’s not too late for more of us to make our dissatisfaction with the right wing of Labour caucus known?
I am a Labour supporter and a socialist, but I am a little weary of this left and right straight jacket labeling.
Policies should be fair, just and good for all the people, the environment and the country. They need to be socialist based but fair and just to all, the rich and the poor, the workers and the employers, the young and the old, the employed and the unemployed.
The policies should be based on critical thinking, evidence based and help advance people’s aspirations.
In order to achieve good results to make New Zealand a better place, we must be smart enough to use all kinds of policies and not be hung up on so called ‘left’ or ‘right’ policies. That is such a retro kind of thinking in this modern advanced high tech age!
Lolz Clem, that’s a state,ment worthy of Pete George, Mathew Hooton used to run the same line a while back, (there is no real left or right),
Depends where you sit in the food chain, if your comfortable in your job, think it’s ‘safe’ and you have the ability to save then sure the politics of left and right become blurred…
Oh, no! Don’t mention Dunne and
HootenHooton and Banks and Key……..Yuck! I despise their views and ways![When I say, policies that are fair to the rich and poor, it does not exclude a reasonable increase in income tax rate to the top earners. It was 39% during the last Labour government which this stupid present government reduced to help the the wealthy the most and lost about 2 billion dollars of revenue each year every year!
The tax rate should not be unreasonably high squeezing business and jobs either.
Just one example]
[lprent: Learn to spell peoples names please. ]
We can’t afford the rich so, inevitably, policies that are good for society are going to be bad for the rich.
Trotter brought a bit of life the segment, as often it can be rather boring.
‘Perhaps it is in the interest of Labour if they don’t win the next election because that will surely mean the ‘old hands’ will be forced to move on…’
Interesting point, but the media is falsely framing the Cunliffe leadership as a ‘lurch to the left’, which is not being countered anywhere, for various reasons.
If Labour loses, it is likely the myth will be perpetuated that the failure of the supposed ‘lurch’ to excite the electorate is evidence it has to move to the right.
That’s exactly how it will be used. If Labour lose this election we can expect to see Cunliffe kicked out of the leadership position and Labour following National further to the right.
You must be kidding Ergo-3 more years of these evil slimeballs rather than a Labour/Green coalition?
Standardista’s need to unite behind this potential red/green coalition rather than keep arguing amongst each other.
+a bajillion bearded g
That is not what I said, Bearded Git. That is a misrepresentation.
I do not believe it is right to let this Cunliffe regime be presented as a ‘lurch to the left’, as that is untruthful, unless you consider raising the retirement age, paying a few extra government workers a living wage, and controlling electricity inflation without messing with the profit gouging model, to be left-wing. And then there’s Labour’s bullshit prevarication on the TPP, and support for legislation to prosecute partners of benefit fraudsters.
We are drowning in propaganda, and I am not going to be united behind perpetuating a lie.
He’d be able to do that if he had the proof that the party membership was fully behind him. The only way that he would get that is to have full democratic accountability:
https://www.loomio.org/
When Labour implements that I think we would see Labour’s right-wing moving on as they would find that they’re just not compatible with the party.
That would be an interesting useful tool – a good task for loomio. I was reading about it here the other day but hadn’t seen its best application.
IMO, There’s a few places where it can be used immediately
1.) Council wards
2.) Political parties
3.) Clubs
Larger communities such as full councils and discussing national policy will probably take a bit of time as people get used to having a say in their local communities first. I could be wrong on that, in fact I’d love to be as I’d prefer a more participatory democracy but I don’t think I am.
sadly too many think its better to run a country like a company than a democracy…. hence the dilution of community boards in places in auckland… what would the people know, theyre not all accountants and business people.
The trouble is Tracey, sometimes people will not take the time to think and analyse. Often there’s just reaction to the latest event. Groups I have worked for usually will not have a single idea when asked in advance to ‘give us your thoughts’. If they do they have no idea why it might be a good or what could make it a bad idea, no background thinking.
agreed. it is possible people have lost an expectation for any real information. that does seem to be the way the rich have ensured their ongoing prosperity…
remember how upset thechurch was to have the bible published in languages the plebs could read and understand… same concept imo.
The plebs get complacent, find a niche and go to it and expect to stay there. unmolested. But they may remain ignorant that outside the den walls, all is not quite as rosy as they think. That nothing is over, till they die. Before that they have to keep percolating or end up in a home for the bewildered making paper hats for mock olympics held at the institution.
And that does not fit the picture we have of intelligent questing man and woman eternally flexible and adaptable to changes. That implies that people are noticing changes, thinking about them, even foreseeing them and what they think should be done if there are changes. It keeps the mind alive.
Complacency is deadening to the intellect apparently. That is why we are near to having our pavlova pinched from under our noses and ‘you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone’. So we can’t let others grab our pavlova paradise. We must be a lert, and get out with all the other lerts and think and do.
Self-visualisation and action-motivation at work here. Please do not disturb.
Yep, that happens when people are confronted with such a question out of the blue. That’s why I like Loomio, it allows discussion, time for people to get their head into gear.
DTB
Don’t local boards in Vermont have participatory meetings for decisions? I think they used to anyway. I wonder what the good and bad sides to it are, and the overall opinion there of its effectiveness?
I’m quite well acquainted with one of the Loomio founders in Wellington. I am most impressed with the dedication of the team
perhaps dotcom will do everyone a favour and offer mallard a job as his chief body guard and political strategist
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Trotter & Hooton on RNZ today
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ntn/ntn-20140331-1126-politics_with_chris_trotter_and_matthew_hooton-048.mp3
If you recall, I had made an official complaint about the sensational propagandist, a so called ‘journalist’, Patrick Gower to TV3 first as that is a requirement before an official complaint can be made to the Broad casting standards authority.
I had promised to keep you informed. Here it is.
The matter was related to the following report by Gower:
Interview on the Nation: http://www.3news.co.nz/How-can-Cunliffe-beat-Key/tabid/1348/articleID/334196 /Default.aspx News at 6pm: http://www.3news.co.nz/David-Cunliffe-admits-mistake-in-attack-on-PMs-wealth/tabid/1607/articleID/334215/Default.aspx
TV3 is supposed to reply within 20 days. However obviously they are unable to.
Here is their reply to me today:
Dear Clem,
You lodged your complaint with us on 3 March 2014 and our normal practice is to respond to your complaint within 20 working days of that date. Unfortunately due to pressure of other complaints work we are not going to be able to meet the deadline for getting a response to you. We apologise for this delay and we will get a response to you as soon as possible and in any event no later than 40 working days from the date you lodged your complaint with us.
Kind regards
for MediaWorks TV Standards Committee.
I will update you what happens next,
Cheers!
Thanks for keeping us up to date with your complaint Clemgeopin.
This bit was interesting:
“Unfortunately due to pressure of other complaints work we are not going to be able to meet the deadline for getting a response to you.”
So lots of complaints then!!! All Gower related, or some about their excess and brain numbing reality show programming? Either way, they are receiving extra complaints in general that caused them to go past their deadline in responding to yours, and/or they are understaffed in that department.
another toothless complaints process. ask them how many complaints are ahead of you.
Yeah give me a number then.
Thanks Clem! I think others here made complaints too.
Interesting. I lodged two complaints with the Herald over the way Trevett and O’Sullivan reported the Trust issues for DC.
Didn’t hear for 10 days, so sent it straight through to the Press Council, which is what you are suppose to do (give the media 10 days to respond). Then the Press Council got back to me and said they had been in touch with the Herald and unfortunately, my email with the complaint had been “over-looked”. So I have given the Herald another go and guess what? Still no response. I am counting down the days and then its going straight back to the Press Council. No if, buts or maybes.
Talking of the Press Council… I loved this Herald cartoon Thursday 27th March
Club matters.
I liked the Thelma and Louise moment.
Today’s episode – more in the soap opera of the “Mysterious sitting MP”.
Did Dunne do it?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11229577
Although Dunne fits the profile i really think that DotCom has simply used the ‘other MP’ as a bargaining chip,
DotCom knows that Hone holds all the Aces in this little game, having said that i hope they keep the negotiation going as i am leaning slightly toward Mana at the moment as the recipient of my Party vote,
An Alliance, Mana/Internet Party i would suggest might be worth 3 or 4 MP’s in the next Parliament…
lol
it might well be the first ever instance of political vaporware. 🙂
heh. Bet there’s been plenty of policy vaporware before though.
“170,000 new jobs” springs to mind, as does the letter Garner claimed was circulating in one particular week 🙂
Can’t think of an actual vaporware MP, though…
There must be something – like the old:
Mutineer: “cap’n, me and all the men here don’t like what you’re doin'”
Captain: “What men, where?”
Mutineer: [looks behind him, sees nobody is there to back him up] ” … “
Is that the Labour caucus?
they’re there, if one chooses to be able to see them.
that is the story of the leadership of david shearer..
..that’s why i reckon he will go and lead the internet party..
..i’m sure he’s had more than a lifetimes worth of labour caucus/party meetings..
..(heh..!..one of the seven circles of hell..?..)
..leading a fast-paced/technology-up-the-wazoo party..
..one promising to do all the futurist-stuff he wanted to do as leader of labour..
..but never got to implement..
..i would..if i were him..
..wouldn’t you..?
..and i don’t see him trying to contest the labour-safe mt albert seat,,”..if it’s happening..he can leave in june..
..thus leaving labour plenty of time to fill that seat..
..shearer/iternet party won’t want to go to war with labour..
..they will want to work with labour post-election..
..a civilised/timely handing back of mt albert will go a long way towards cementing that..
..thus..the june date announced by dotcom..
..as when he will tell us who will be leading the internet party..
..this is what/how i reckon things will go down..
Great. So the stoner pick for KDC’s mp is shearer.
… and yours is vaporware. Meh. Easy to paint people into boxes, innit? Pass the vapouriser, please phil. 🙂
How does repeating what I said paint me into a box?
Well, um, look, um, that depends on how things go
upI mean down… I mean um, mango skins for the poor isn’t the most um, futurist solution to child poverty, but um, I suppose the warmer weather will… no, look, um, provide a suitable climate for mango cultivation…If you’re right, then at least Shearer will finally get to enjoy the “full support of caucus” 😀
It would be an interesting prospect, DS for the IP leadership, but he will want the Foreign Affairs portfolio in a Labour cabinet.
He probably got thrust into the Labour leadership too early IMO. Goff should never have stood down after 2011
vaporware! Good name and perhaps more polite than “bullshit” whenever the current Government announces a new idea especially suited to deflect interest in Labour/Greens.
“I say Mr Key old chap. Are you spouting more Vaporware?”
tim groser as minister to fight climatechange..
..vaporware…
the act party want ‘to do nothing’ about climate-change..(jamie whyte..)
..the act party..
..vaporware..
the political-career/promises of peter dunne..
..vaporware..
If it is all a giant vanishing act, the tactic of saying ‘oh, they’ve had to deny it in the media’ is genius, if a little bit reminiscent of ‘only the true Messiah would deny it!’
Genesis going cheap-ish?
herald reports today
Four out of five independent research reports from investment houses in New Zealand and Australia value Genesis Energy shares at higher than the $1.55 a share offer price announced by government Ministers last Friday.
The highest valuations, from Edison Investment Research and Craigs Investment Partners, suggest Genesis shares could be worth $1.97 apiece, while the most conservative valuation is from Australian research house Morningstar, which places a ‘fair value’ on the shares of $1.60.
Interesting poll today in Herald asking “What do you think of National’s handling of income equality?”.
Over 7000 responses and 48% say “it has been bad.”
I know these polls are suspect, but that’s an incredible result for the Herald. Definitely votes to be had here by Labour if they get the policy right, and it needs to be STRONG policy because National will come in with some policy on this issue to cover their backsides.
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/commerce-commission-investigates-currency-trading-amid-global-probe-manipulation-bd-154008#comment-650236
(My comment – yet to be published )
How can the public have confidence that NZ politicians at the highest levels are not involved in foreign exchange trading – either directly – or indirectly passing on tips to friends / family or business associates?
Who is checking?
How is this being checked?
Anyone else think that these are fair questions?
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption/anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
The haters are going to spend weeks dining out on this result.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/30/anne-hidalgo-socialist-first-paris-mayor-front-national
https://twitter.com/search?src=typd&q=Front%20National
The French like a bit of fascism from time to time. This is a country that almost carried out a military coup over same sex marriage.
National stealing Labour policy.
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/national-exploring-own-paid-parental-leave-supplement-5880860
Fuckers.
Breaking news. Intl Court of Justice upholds Australia’s bid to ban Japanese whaling.
Stop the press! Tony Abbott announces Australia will commence its own whaling.
I made that last part up.
Yes AOB. Good news but will Japan stop do you thin? Who will stop them in Antarctica?
Tony Abbott will defend Australia’s right to kill whales to the death. You think he’ll stop at sinking Japanese whaling ships?
Seriously though, this is a good result, not a symbolic victory.
That was fun. Paul Henry waved the Climate Change Report around on his late show. It is a reality he said.
Then he interviewed Tim Groser Minister of Climate Change. Tim plodded on with all the talk. Paul asked him repeatedly to explain just what has the Government done apart from talk. Tim talked some more about all the talking they must do in the future and how the Government was leaving it up to Local Councils to do something anyway.
So Paul said that the Government has done nothing then. Tim looked a bit unhappy. Not used to being challenged it seems.
Poor Tim (And questions were from one of the Government supporters too!!)
That’s almost scary. Paul Henry probably owns a beach house and is worried Local Councils won’t agree to build a special moat around it. Beachside real estate is starting to look like a horribly ironic investment for the very wealthy.