Ahead of the New Zealand premiere of his new film The Coming War on China tonight, Pilger said New Zealand was precariously placed in its dealings with the US and China.
Just last week, the Government made ambitious new economic commitments with China, now New Zealand’s biggest trading partner.
Yet New Zealand was undermining this relationship through its growing support for American provocations in the disputed South China Sea, Pilger said.
“This film carries an urgency for New Zealand, which appears to be playing a precarious game,” he told the Herald via email.
I used to laugh at my Dad back in the Vietnam war days, when he had this bee in his bonnet about China ultimately planning to invade NZ. That was part of his and many others’ domino theory back then – first they’ll take Nam, then, before you know it, NZ.
My Dad used to quote Nostradamus about the next big world war including us against China. Pilger now seems to be sounding a bit like my Dad.
Pilger can go stuff himself. He’s concerned about NZ undermining its relationship with China, yet doesn’t seem to have any concern about NZ undermining its relationship with the US.
That shows a fundamental ignorance about the options little powers have with big powers – unless he straight comes out and says “NZ should align with China against the US”.
There’s a Chinese saying “when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled”. NZ is a blade of grass. What we need to do is be small and out of the way enough that nobody wants to stamp on us, and then pivot to the side of the winners at the last minute.
The two opposition parties sit at the same position as they did before the 2014 election, at which Labour plummeted to 25 percent.
Labour’s polling average is up 4 percentage points on its December average, to 30.6 percent, but its running mate, the Greens, fell two points to 11.3 percent.
At the same time National is down three points to 45.7 percent.
That leaves the gap between National and the combined Labour and Greens at 3.8 percentage points, down from 9.4 points in December and 7.4 in February.
The poll keeps New Zealand First, with a March average of 8.7 percent, as the potential kingmaker
“National went on….to cruise back into government [in the 2014 election]”
This is bollocks. Despite massive and disingenuous media coverage in their favour and a disastrous “Moment of Truth” the Nats scraped back in.
As the article says, their current polling leaves them in trouble and the English honeymoon is coming to an end. The Nats can’t get more than 40% under English which leaves them in trouble.
They scraped back in by an act with ACT and United Future. Not a resounding win. Unless as friends of ours who like to just compare National with Labour 2014 as though no other parties matter.
But don’t forget the 4% of wasted votes that went Conservative. It’s fairly safe to say that few of those would otherwise have gone to Labour, most would have otherwise gone Nat or maybe Winnie.
+1 – The Chairman – like the ‘trickle down’ theory – years of the ideology of fake trade, massive reliance on external factors and countries has made little difference to most business but a hell of a mess to local living standards and affordability, and one of our biggest exports… is now profits not goods or services.
Part of the issues is that the people doing the calculations are not looking past the sticker prices and are foolishly and slavishly taught to exclude other factors, jobs, wages, welfare payments, homelessness and crimes (when people have no jobs), etc
Thatcher famously said there is not such thing as society. Labour and Greens need to bring back ‘society, aka community, in their calculations.
Because money is just a commodity, and being loved, accepted, healthy, safe and free to make your own decisions as an individual, community and country and influence those decisions and be listened too, is more important than money for most people.
Caring about local people is now labeled as ‘harmful protectionism’ to be avoided.
I just don’t think Labour has really been able to message that in a modern way.
Their previous messages of tax rises and declining levels of social security with free trade and foreign investment not having to pay their taxes, is not the same message. It’s an unpopular message.
I seem to recall that Paul Holmes thought it would be good for his olive oil business…and everyone was very excited to get those cheap deals on garden furniture at the Warehouse…we’re an easily distracted bunch really….
Seventy-one percent of respondents say the new Kapiti Expressway has either made no difference, or made things worse.
Funny, that’s exactly what local and overseas experience said would happen. Still, I suppose, at least some National Party donors made lots and lots of money.
Have nzta ever solved any long term traffic issues? You think building two highways means bottlenecks just disappear, no they just get shifted somewhere else. I hope that was worth the almost $2 billion dollar spend.
Exactly maui, all it does is shift the traffic jam down the road a bit further.
It is like this farce we have going on with the Waikato Expressway, Hamilton section 17 bridges in a 22 k length of road
nzta are crowing that it will knock 33 minutes off the journey. No it won’t all it will do is to get to the traffic parking area known as the Southern Motorway 33 minutes earlier.
Bottlenecks tend to shift elsewhere when one is playing catch up and construction of the overall roading network has failed to keep up with growth, thus is vastly insufficient. Not to mention, dangerous.
“I hope that was worth the almost $2 billion dollar spend.”
That depends on how much one values life, thus the added safety value the new and improved highway provides.
You please easily – a highway is “fantastic”? There are many adjectives to use, some of them even approving, but if a highlight of your day is the motorway to work then you’re doing life wrong.
We know there are some decent ones because they approached Nicky Hager with their stories and I’m sure the soldier in the item was a decent one too. But there are the other sort too. Around 15 years ago an ex SAS soldier did some computer repair work for me. He took advantage of my next to nothing knowledge of computers to charge me more than an arm and a leg. I’m talking around $200 dollars for a job I later learned was worth less than $50.
“The ethnic makeup of New Zealand’s new intakes of prisoners has set new records.
Maori now make up a higher proportion of all new prisoners than at any time in recorded history.
Ministry of Justice figures released last week showed 56.3 per cent of people imprisoned last year were Maori – the highest proportion since records were available from 1980.”
Unbelievably bad and in so many interconnected and intergenerational ways.
“…Auckland University of Technology law lecturer Khylee Quince said New Zealand courts were “incredibly punitive”. “About half of people in prison in New Zealand are there for property and drug offending. Very few Western nations send people to prison for those types of offences.
the sick thing is Māori will be blamed for it and for not fixing it!!! When clearly the bias is shown and known throughout all stages of the process – from racial profiling, to not enough diversity on the bench, to ingrained systemic bias against Māori, to politicians saying little and doing even less even while they build MORE prisons and let serco-like scum run them.
Oh well keep supporting the Maori party if you think they are working for Maori! Statistic’s show they are not, but hey, if you want to call everyone racist to stop questions being asked about their conduct…..
“Oh well keep supporting the Maori party if you think they are working for Maori! Statistic’s show they are not, but hey, if you want to call everyone racist to stop questions being asked about their conduct…..”
Citation needed for the stats that show the Mp aren’t working for Māori.
So how to get the 2017 edition English and Collins to pay attention to the 2011 versions?
“And he has a surprising ally in Corrections Minister Judith Collins who, on TV3’s The Nation last month, joined Finance Minister Bill English in describing prisons as a “moral and fiscal failure”.
English had said: “Prisons are a fiscal and moral failure. And building more of them on a large scale is something I don’t think any New Zealander wants to see. They want a safer community and they want protection from the worst elements of criminal behaviour, but they don’t want to be a prison colony … It’s the fastest rising cost in government in the last decade and my view is we shouldn’t build any more of them.” ”
Well, I’m a quant guy, so the stats like life expectancy, educational attainment, avoidable hospital admissions, unemployment rates (most socio-economic indicators, really) tell me “yes”, but qualitatively I also have a certain “yes” impression. Even in the deep south.
I’m only guessing here, but II think’s it’s more a cultural/mental issue, 150-200 years ago Maori had to be hard warriors to survive in Aotearoa, only the toughest and hardest Maori survived and prospered.
I do believe that this sort of mindset is still mentally ingrained within Maori today that comes out at times of intense emotional situations(“the red mist”) which leads to all these bad scenarios that end up putting so many Maori behind bars.
I wonder if the answer is eventually over time like the Scots the Maori will just eventually mellow lose that initial fight response and develop other avenues to deal with issues.
I know, right? It was like he distilled fuckedinthehead into such a concentrated form that any possible response was woefully inadequate to the level of pointlessness.
Can’t remember the initial cost kiwi rail put on the repairs to the Gisborne/Wairoa rail line but my maybe was around $4 mil ?
Far too much for this govt! so it set about widening roads/adding passing lanes so those required extra freight trucks could beat the road into gravel, and now this announcement that the rail-bike business deal is all go ahead.
But, but, but………. what about the proposal from the Gisborne business community and the logging company that had freight stacked up just waiting for the line to come back into service?
And the roads, what has been the increase in costs of road repairs since all freight has been on trucks? (never mind the costs of passing lanes etc).
Were Iwi whose land sections of the line are built on consulted? What about the HBRC and the local businesses that had their proposal shat down the crapper?
My only consolation is the barstads haven’t started ripping out the lines already, but the whole sorry saga gets me very, very angry at this govts poor vision and constant fall back position of taking the option that enriches their mates, fuck everyone else.
I guess you’d be thinking of a Friedlander in all of that.
They really do seem to have a ‘grab it while you can’ attitude. Which is why, when we do eventually get a change in government, it’ll be important to just take it all back with no, or little compensation for those involve in what is effectively theft.
(After all ……… “the market the market” etc.)
Flynn’s own words then: “I mean, five people around her have had, have been given immunity, including her former chief of staff,” Flynn told Chuck Todd. “When you are given immunity, that means that you have probably committed a crime.”
“Lookups for immunity spiked over 2500% over the hourly average after The Wall Street Journal reported that a recent national security adviser was interested in the subject.”
“Operation Burnham: the cover-up continues
by Nicky Hager”
Has this been aired?
“Jon Stephenson and I, the authors of Hit and Run, have now had time to study the defence chief’s statements. Our conclusion is that the NZDF criticisms are wrong – with one exception – and that they have failed to address almost everything of substance in the book. This is what a cover up looks like.
1. The raid described in the book “is not an operation the NZSAS conducted”: INCORRECT
“The information presented in Keating’s press conference leaves no doubt that the book and the defence chief are talking about the same raid. Keating gave the name of the raid (Operation Burnham), the times and date (12.30-3.45am on 22 August 2010), the location in the Tirgiran Valley, and said the SAS arrived in two Chinook helicopters, used SAS snipers, found a quantity of ammunition in one building and had one SAS trooper injured by falling debris. All of these are details of the SAS raid publicised first in chapter 3 of the book. There were not two different raids with the same operation name at the same time in the same valley. It is obviously the same raid…….” http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/operation-burnham-the-cover-up-continues
Mr Buchanan has it correct, but if this inquiry is to succeed it has to make sure that the people right at the top who made the decisions are brought to account and not the service personnel who were doing their job at the front line who are punished and made accountable for what happened.
Always the same all through history – no wonder Key did a bunk – slimy toad – of course it was always going to be a bad decision made right at the top of the tree, they are never made accountable. Look at Bush – he has never been made accountable for the terrible decision he made to be the big boy and invade Iraq, how he sleeps at night beggars belief.
Hager and Stephenson need to stay strong and keep on the course and make sure this sees the light of day. Our servicemen men need more support and they never get it – that report on the tours of Afghanistan show how much was lacking in their support, lack of equipment and lack lustre treatment of our service personnel who died out there.
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The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
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The following interview with former Green Party MP Sue Kedgley came about because she features in the new memoir Hine Toa by activist Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku; the two knew each other at the University of Auckland in the early 70s, when they were both took on leadership roles in the ...
COMMENTARY:By Murray Horton New Zealand needs to get tough with Israel. It’s not as if we haven’t done so before. When NZ authorities busted a Mossad operation in Auckland 20 years ago, the government didn’t say: “Oh well, Israel has the right to defend itself.” No, it arrested, prosecuted, ...
NEWSMAKERS:By Vijay Narayan, news director of FijiVillage Blessed to be part of the University of Fiji (UniFiji) faculty to continue to teach and mentor those who want to join our noble profession, and to stand for truth and justice for the people of the country. I was privileged to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Lowry, Ice Sheet & Climate Modeller, GNS Science Hugh Chittock/Antarctica New Zealand, CC BY-SA As the climate warms and Antarctica’s glaciers and ice sheets melt, the resulting rise in sea level has the potential to displace hundreds of millions of ...
“Mr Mark John Taylor”, of Hamilton.
A New Zealand citizen who is now classified by the US as a terrorist.
For fighting in Syria and making videos for several years.
Quite a first for us.
Greens’ rivers PR a car crash
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/03/opinion-greens-rivers-pr-a-car-crash.html
That’s a shocking, yet utterly amateurish hatchet job by Isobel Ewing. Just plain stupid.
It does sound like it could have been better planned and organised – seems like a PR screwup for a number of reasons.
John Pilger’s doco is screening soon in NZ (The Coming War with China) .
Pilger says the NZ government is playing a dangerous game – doing war exercises with the US, while also courting China.
I used to laugh at my Dad back in the Vietnam war days, when he had this bee in his bonnet about China ultimately planning to invade NZ. That was part of his and many others’ domino theory back then – first they’ll take Nam, then, before you know it, NZ.
My Dad used to quote Nostradamus about the next big world war including us against China. Pilger now seems to be sounding a bit like my Dad.
Pilger can go stuff himself. He’s concerned about NZ undermining its relationship with China, yet doesn’t seem to have any concern about NZ undermining its relationship with the US.
That shows a fundamental ignorance about the options little powers have with big powers – unless he straight comes out and says “NZ should align with China against the US”.
There’s a Chinese saying “when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled”. NZ is a blade of grass. What we need to do is be small and out of the way enough that nobody wants to stamp on us, and then pivot to the side of the winners at the last minute.
When did RNZ start doing political polling? – Oh – it doesn’t. It does a poll of polls average.
This article on the RNZ website, posted today, has Nats down 3, Labour up 4, Greens down 2 and NZ First the Kingmaker – in their poll of polls.
@Carolyn Thanks for that. From the article:
“National went on….to cruise back into government [in the 2014 election]”
This is bollocks. Despite massive and disingenuous media coverage in their favour and a disastrous “Moment of Truth” the Nats scraped back in.
As the article says, their current polling leaves them in trouble and the English honeymoon is coming to an end. The Nats can’t get more than 40% under English which leaves them in trouble.
“the Nats scraped back in”. Now that really is hilarious.
What parallel universe do you inhabit?
They scraped back in by an act with ACT and United Future. Not a resounding win. Unless as friends of ours who like to just compare National with Labour 2014 as though no other parties matter.
But don’t forget the 4% of wasted votes that went Conservative. It’s fairly safe to say that few of those would otherwise have gone to Labour, most would have otherwise gone Nat or maybe Winnie.
Yes, it’s been consistent over the last three elections that the country is around 7% to the right
It’s you in the parallel universe. Really, check the ejection results. National needed three support parties rather than just one.
Can Labour afford to win the next election?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/91039043/labour-amps-up-pressure-on-donors-warning-campaign-may-be-scaled-back
So what? We all know that Labour is short of funds and we all know that National have many dubious big donors.
“We all know that Labour is short of funds…”
“So what? “
Do you think it will be another nail in their coffin when it comes to the election? Funding is not all they’re short on.
You seem desperate for Labour to fail.
Not at all. But I would prefer to see them move more to the left.
I’d prefer them to nail their colours to the mast.
As the government sets out to renegotiate the China free trade agreement, a survey of businesses found most businesses see no benefit from FTAs.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/91042376/most-businesses-see-no-benefit-from-ftas-many-prefer-protection
+1 – The Chairman – like the ‘trickle down’ theory – years of the ideology of fake trade, massive reliance on external factors and countries has made little difference to most business but a hell of a mess to local living standards and affordability, and one of our biggest exports… is now profits not goods or services.
“One of our biggest exports… is now profits not goods or services”
Indeed, saveNZ. And it seems more company profits are about to head offshore.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/91046612/dunedin-city-council-dumps-councilowned-company-from-20-million-rubbish-contract
Part of the issues is that the people doing the calculations are not looking past the sticker prices and are foolishly and slavishly taught to exclude other factors, jobs, wages, welfare payments, homelessness and crimes (when people have no jobs), etc
Thatcher famously said there is not such thing as society. Labour and Greens need to bring back ‘society, aka community, in their calculations.
Because money is just a commodity, and being loved, accepted, healthy, safe and free to make your own decisions as an individual, community and country and influence those decisions and be listened too, is more important than money for most people.
Caring about local people is now labeled as ‘harmful protectionism’ to be avoided.
I just don’t think Labour has really been able to message that in a modern way.
Their previous messages of tax rises and declining levels of social security with free trade and foreign investment not having to pay their taxes, is not the same message. It’s an unpopular message.
I seem to recall that Paul Holmes thought it would be good for his olive oil business…and everyone was very excited to get those cheap deals on garden furniture at the Warehouse…we’re an easily distracted bunch really….
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10502493
Seventy-one percent of respondents say the new Kapiti Expressway has either made no difference, or made things worse.
Funny, that’s exactly what local and overseas experience said would happen. Still, I suppose, at least some National Party donors made lots and lots of money.
One Anonymous Bloke – not surprising at all.
I drove on it last weekend and it was fantastic.
NZTA have always said there would be bottle neck issues until Transmission Gully is completed. It is a great start though.
Have nzta ever solved any long term traffic issues? You think building two highways means bottlenecks just disappear, no they just get shifted somewhere else. I hope that was worth the almost $2 billion dollar spend.
Exactly maui, all it does is shift the traffic jam down the road a bit further.
It is like this farce we have going on with the Waikato Expressway, Hamilton section 17 bridges in a 22 k length of road
nzta are crowing that it will knock 33 minutes off the journey. No it won’t all it will do is to get to the traffic parking area known as the Southern Motorway 33 minutes earlier.
Bottlenecks tend to shift elsewhere when one is playing catch up and construction of the overall roading network has failed to keep up with growth, thus is vastly insufficient. Not to mention, dangerous.
“I hope that was worth the almost $2 billion dollar spend.”
That depends on how much one values life, thus the added safety value the new and improved highway provides.
lol
You please easily – a highway is “fantastic”? There are many adjectives to use, some of them even approving, but if a highlight of your day is the motorway to work then you’re doing life wrong.
http://bv.ms/1JudYgT
Greece’s Highways Are Smoother Than Its Finances
By Marc Champion
Oh look, Herald journos (with probable exception of David fisher) are on an SAS charm offensive.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11829109
We know there are some decent ones because they approached Nicky Hager with their stories and I’m sure the soldier in the item was a decent one too. But there are the other sort too. Around 15 years ago an ex SAS soldier did some computer repair work for me. He took advantage of my next to nothing knowledge of computers to charge me more than an arm and a leg. I’m talking around $200 dollars for a job I later learned was worth less than $50.
Charming.
Dairy is Scary
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/30/dairy-scary-public-farming-calves-pens-alternatives
There was talk of a Chinese company wanting to do this down South a few years back. Does anyone know if they succeeded? God I hope not.
“The ethnic makeup of New Zealand’s new intakes of prisoners has set new records.
Maori now make up a higher proportion of all new prisoners than at any time in recorded history.
Ministry of Justice figures released last week showed 56.3 per cent of people imprisoned last year were Maori – the highest proportion since records were available from 1980.”
Unbelievably bad and in so many interconnected and intergenerational ways.
“…Auckland University of Technology law lecturer Khylee Quince said New Zealand courts were “incredibly punitive”. “About half of people in prison in New Zealand are there for property and drug offending. Very few Western nations send people to prison for those types of offences.
“It’s outrageous.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11828500
the sick thing is Māori will be blamed for it and for not fixing it!!! When clearly the bias is shown and known throughout all stages of the process – from racial profiling, to not enough diversity on the bench, to ingrained systemic bias against Māori, to politicians saying little and doing even less even while they build MORE prisons and let serco-like scum run them.
You have to ask though, why do the Maori party continue to support the Natz in their right wing policies…
Clearly whatever Maori party bribes they are getting are not working out for most Maori…
Oh look marty mars the very next comment by saveNZ fits you prediction “sick thing is Māori will be blamed for it and for not fixing it!!! ”
Gotta love NZ racism, so predictable it hurts
sadly it is very predictable adam
Oh well keep supporting the Maori party if you think they are working for Maori! Statistic’s show they are not, but hey, if you want to call everyone racist to stop questions being asked about their conduct…..
What have you done to help reduce the number of Māori in prison?
He has criticised the elite-favouring Maori party, the reps of the ultra-rich Maori minority who are happy with neo-liberalism.
How has that helped reduce the number of Māori in prison?
A small start…
I don’t see how.
“Oh well keep supporting the Maori party if you think they are working for Maori! Statistic’s show they are not, but hey, if you want to call everyone racist to stop questions being asked about their conduct…..”
Citation needed for the stats that show the Mp aren’t working for Māori.
So how to get the 2017 edition English and Collins to pay attention to the 2011 versions?
“And he has a surprising ally in Corrections Minister Judith Collins who, on TV3’s The Nation last month, joined Finance Minister Bill English in describing prisons as a “moral and fiscal failure”.
English had said: “Prisons are a fiscal and moral failure. And building more of them on a large scale is something I don’t think any New Zealander wants to see. They want a safer community and they want protection from the worst elements of criminal behaviour, but they don’t want to be a prison colony … It’s the fastest rising cost in government in the last decade and my view is we shouldn’t build any more of them.” ”
http://www.noted.co.nz/archive/listener-nz-2011/the-problem-with-prisons/
Yep, but what is English’s solution?
To just make criminals ‘disappear’ like pollution, homelessness and unemployment when their policies are creating them in increasing numbers.
What an illusionist the Natz are…
Billions have been targeted at Maori to improve these sort of terrible statistics yet it’s not improving it’s getting worse, why?
What’s going on? why are Maori fighting society?
Because society is fighting them?
Do you think society is anti-Maori?
Well, I’m a quant guy, so the stats like life expectancy, educational attainment, avoidable hospital admissions, unemployment rates (most socio-economic indicators, really) tell me “yes”, but qualitatively I also have a certain “yes” impression. Even in the deep south.
Do you think it isn’t anti-Māori ?
Big questions with a variety of answers. What do you think the issue is?
I’m only guessing here, but II think’s it’s more a cultural/mental issue, 150-200 years ago Maori had to be hard warriors to survive in Aotearoa, only the toughest and hardest Maori survived and prospered.
I do believe that this sort of mindset is still mentally ingrained within Maori today that comes out at times of intense emotional situations(“the red mist”) which leads to all these bad scenarios that end up putting so many Maori behind bars.
I wonder if the answer is eventually over time like the Scots the Maori will just eventually mellow lose that initial fight response and develop other avenues to deal with issues.
Can’t believe that comment has stood for over an hour and no-one has called you on it by way of simply telling you to fuck off.
“Red mist”? Mellowed Scots? “Initial fight response.”
Where in the name of fuck are you dredging this shit up from?
I started to write something and then decided there was no point. There’s a whole post worth of things to pull apart there.
Yep I wrote a couple of replys but decided it wasn’t worth it.
I know, right? It was like he distilled fuckedinthehead into such a concentrated form that any possible response was woefully inadequate to the level of pointlessness.
Useful tool for debates, especially with those trying to deflect or muddy the waters – http://www.krisconstable.com/logical-fallacies/
Kiwi rail, kiwi rail, kiwi rail………… sigh!
Can’t remember the initial cost kiwi rail put on the repairs to the Gisborne/Wairoa rail line but my maybe was around $4 mil ?
Far too much for this govt! so it set about widening roads/adding passing lanes so those required extra freight trucks could beat the road into gravel, and now this announcement that the rail-bike business deal is all go ahead.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/91041334/new-railbike-tourism-venture-for-mothballed-gisbornewairoa-train-line
But, but, but………. what about the proposal from the Gisborne business community and the logging company that had freight stacked up just waiting for the line to come back into service?
And the roads, what has been the increase in costs of road repairs since all freight has been on trucks? (never mind the costs of passing lanes etc).
Were Iwi whose land sections of the line are built on consulted? What about the HBRC and the local businesses that had their proposal shat down the crapper?
My only consolation is the barstads haven’t started ripping out the lines already, but the whole sorry saga gets me very, very angry at this govts poor vision and constant fall back position of taking the option that enriches their mates, fuck everyone else.
I guess you’d be thinking of a Friedlander in all of that.
They really do seem to have a ‘grab it while you can’ attitude. Which is why, when we do eventually get a change in government, it’ll be important to just take it all back with no, or little compensation for those involve in what is effectively theft.
(After all ……… “the market the market” etc.)
hey, cheers john, for highlighting this.
well said, too, once…
bloody rogues the lot of ’em.
kick the lobbyists out
Flynn’s own words then: “I mean, five people around her have had, have been given immunity, including her former chief of staff,” Flynn told Chuck Todd. “When you are given immunity, that means that you have probably committed a crime.”
It seems he now wants immunity…
http://www.vox.com/2017/3/30/15132280/michael-flynn-immunity-testify
Flynn protegees named as the source of Nunes’ revelation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/30/us/politics/devin-nunes-intelligence-reports.html
edit:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8M_IkzXkAEw5c6.jpg
heh
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8NNBfVUIAAEmtR.jpg
“Lookups for immunity spiked over 2500% over the hourly average after The Wall Street Journal reported that a recent national security adviser was interested in the subject.”
https://www.merriam-webster.com/news-trend-watch/flynn-offers-to-testify-in-exchange-for-immunity-20170330
looks like all of the dumps staff are looking it up
“Operation Burnham: the cover-up continues
by Nicky Hager”
Has this been aired?
“Jon Stephenson and I, the authors of Hit and Run, have now had time to study the defence chief’s statements. Our conclusion is that the NZDF criticisms are wrong – with one exception – and that they have failed to address almost everything of substance in the book. This is what a cover up looks like.
1. The raid described in the book “is not an operation the NZSAS conducted”: INCORRECT
“The information presented in Keating’s press conference leaves no doubt that the book and the defence chief are talking about the same raid. Keating gave the name of the raid (Operation Burnham), the times and date (12.30-3.45am on 22 August 2010), the location in the Tirgiran Valley, and said the SAS arrived in two Chinook helicopters, used SAS snipers, found a quantity of ammunition in one building and had one SAS trooper injured by falling debris. All of these are details of the SAS raid publicised first in chapter 3 of the book. There were not two different raids with the same operation name at the same time in the same valley. It is obviously the same raid…….”
http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/operation-burnham-the-cover-up-continues
And Paul Buchanan in SpinOff has added this :
http://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/31-03-2017/an-inquiry-into-the-hit-and-run-claims-is-now-essential-and-there-is-an-obvious-person-to-lead-it/
Where did all the honest people go?
I think I’m getting jaded.
Mr Buchanan has it correct, but if this inquiry is to succeed it has to make sure that the people right at the top who made the decisions are brought to account and not the service personnel who were doing their job at the front line who are punished and made accountable for what happened.
Always the same all through history – no wonder Key did a bunk – slimy toad – of course it was always going to be a bad decision made right at the top of the tree, they are never made accountable. Look at Bush – he has never been made accountable for the terrible decision he made to be the big boy and invade Iraq, how he sleeps at night beggars belief.
Hager and Stephenson need to stay strong and keep on the course and make sure this sees the light of day. Our servicemen men need more support and they never get it – that report on the tours of Afghanistan show how much was lacking in their support, lack of equipment and lack lustre treatment of our service personnel who died out there.