Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, ugly and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Lucky we have a marae that cares……..
‘Social agencies desperate to help their clients have joined the queues of people turning up at a south Auckland marae that opened its doors to the homeless.’
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, ugly and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
‘Housing New Zealand is evicting several tenants in Hamilton, just as Aucklanders are being offered $5000 to move into state homes there and in other provincial cities.
Angela Eastham, 49, who faces eviction this Friday, has multiple sclerosis and cares for a 21-year-old son with a brain injury and a 23-year-old autistic daughter.
Another family with four school-aged children faces eviction within 48 hours if Housing NZ wins a Tenancy Tribunal case this Thursday. The evictions come just days after Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett announced a scheme to pay up to $5000 for Aucklanders seeking social housing to move to the provinces from June 20.
She said Hamilton, Huntly, Ngaruawahia, Whanganui and Gisborne all had vacant state houses available.’
Musical chairs game by Paula Bennett. Unfortunately the wording is too true, Someone from Paula Bennett’s department announced that they will be offering the option of chairs placed near a public toilet and shower block for people evicted from houses. Some will even have sunlounges offering a shade for protection from the weather.
The comment from Bill English was that the National government is cognisant of the difficulties which some people are experiencing, and does not want to see them having to sleep in the streets and under bridges with no amenities.
/sarc
This is the Auckland marae that has acted to assist with emergency housing.
All those people so angry about the homeless situation could have a look to see what they can do in the interim to help until we can get real NZ politicians into Parliament instead of these marathon competitors in the Hunger Games.
If someone connected with the marae could start a GiveaLittle page for them, it would ease the burden on them to have some money as they are going to be run off their feet and putting so much time and resources into it that their own lives and families will suffer. They need help at Te Puea Memorial Marae. Can someone who knows them help them to do so, I think they would be accepted without difficulty. And while it is in the news, and people have it at the top of their minds, I think would be the most effective time to do it.
Meanwhile NZ the Neo liberal paradise has been rated the 4th most prosperous country in the world across the balance of 89 variables by the Legatum Institute global annual survey, 1 ahead of the left poster child Sweden.
News flash Paul having palpitation as he searches for new daily header to reflect reality
Why are Nordic countries rated so highly then, with nz, thus all very similar over 89 variables, are not the Nordic countries the poster child’s for social democracy Thus nz can hardly be a neo liberal nightmare and they not
Over a third of coral is dead in parts of the Great Barrier Reef, scientists say
‘We knew this was coming.
For months, coral reef experts have been loudly, and sometimes mournfully, announcing that much of the treasured Great Barrier Reef has been hit by “severe” coral bleaching, thanks to abnormally warm ocean waters.
Bleaching, though, isn’t the same as coral death. When symbiotic algae leave corals’ bodies and the animals then turn white or “bleach,” they can still bounce back if environmental conditions improve. The Great Barrier Reef has seen major bleaching in some of its sectors — particularly the more isolated northern reef — and the expectation has long been that this event would result in significant coral death, as well.
Now some of the first figures confirming that are coming in. Diving and aerial surveys of 84 reefs by scientists with the ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Australia — the same researchers who recently documented at least some bleaching at 93 percent of individual reefs — have found that a striking 35 percent of corals have died in the northern and central sectors of the reef.’
To repeat…. because it needs repeating every night people repeat sleeping outside.
No wonder we don’t have enough houses to house the vulnerable… this government has sold them for fucks sake …… and let a couple hundred thousand more people into the country as well …
what the fuck did John Key expect?
What a complete dumbarse dope
. . . .
unless it was intentional ….. so that house prices would be driven high and the incumbent re-elected…. in that case it makes John Key a ……. traitor ……. amongst more and worse …..
. . . .
this entire situation is abominable and Key and his National Party members and supporters truly astounding.
Rising house prices which leads to increasing mortgages that feed in to the economy to produce a rising GDP and thus he, and National, would be able to proclaim a growing economy.
The reality is that a few people are getting richer on paper while the real economy collapses beneath them.
What if gorillas are a dying species and really precious to the earth. And we are fecund and destructive and harming other species. Perhaps we should shoot the boy, and his parents who are less alert than meerkats, and not as concerned in looking after their young as spiders.
Not all that hard. Somewhere around the “shoot the boy” and parent-blaming, your comment got routed through the “low probability of valuable content” filter and thereby avoided serious consideration 🙂
But but the reasoning is all factual. But the low probability of value content attention applies to anything really serious on blogs these days, hardly anyone can run their minds off the old familiar rails and gaze at a different landscape. they might encounter themselves. They don’t want to face that, and turn instead to the small and large brutalities on television, say Game of Thrones.
Hey, look, gorillas are one of the few non-human life-forms that approach my pet test for a sentience level we have a duty to preserve, which is “can they write a story about what they did on their summer holiday”.
But the fact is that an agitated gorilla can easily kill a kid by accident, even if it actually means to protect the sprog. And no parent is perfect at stopping their sprog doing something silly. Let’s say the gorilla was a human being who you couldn’t talk to for whatever reason, was growing agitated and was dragging a kid around by his ankle? Yeah, I wouldn’t judge a cop who shot the adult, or one who didn’t. It’s a shitty call to have to make, but sometimes there’s no winning move where everybody walks away unharmed.
“Distraction” is the wrong word, I think. It implies that people would watch and care about continued stories on Syrian refugees.
Many would just switch over to something else. It’s the difference between “hey, look over here, don’t look over there!” and “Bored now. What else will I look at?”
What has happened to the stunning news that Hilary Clinton/Clinton Foundation quite possibly will be indicted on Racketeering charges, it was breaking news yesterday and the FBI have said if the charges do not go ahead they will release their findings publicly anyway. Why aren’t our MSM all over this, even for just headline purposes, its not like they aren’t in the business of trying to break news. This will change completely the face of the upcoming presidential elections. It seems this is being swept under the carpet.
Another event which was swept under the carpet is the under/overpaying of accommodation supplement payments by our own government, and discovering it too close to an upcoming election and choosing to sweep it under the carpet. Is this becoming a common practice among our people in power?
I was listening to a podcast a few months ago about sexual abuse by Bill Clinton being covered up, and they recommended anyone who was in doubt about the Clinton’s shady dealings to read “Clinton Cash”, by Peter Schweizer.
It basically outlines how they profited into the millions by blurring the lines between charity, business and politics.
“General Sir Richard Shirreff is a high ranking retired British military General. He warns that nuclear war with Russia could happen within a year, if NATO doesn’t beef up its defence presence in the Baltic states.”
“Who is being aggressive? For the past few years the drumbeat for a conflict with Russia has been building almost to the point of hysteria. Now there is talk of a war – including a nuclear war – that could destroy civilization. On this edition of CrossTalk we ask who benefits from such dangerous talk.
CrossTalking with John Laughland, Nebojsa Malic, and Hall Gardner.”
‘Chomsky to RT: US and its NATO intervention force may spark nuclear war’
Gee, that’s a tough question, but my money’s on the one that invaded its neighbour’s territory and thereby made its other neighbours shit themselves. That seems pretty aggressive. Maybe if the fear of being forcibly absorbed into a Russian empire hadn’t been proved justified quite so often for these neighbours, they wouldn’t be clamouring for NATO protection in the wake of this latest instance – but what would I know?
That’s a pretty compelling argument you make there, One Two, but, comprehensive though it is, there are nevertheless a few things you could clarify for me:
1. Did the Russian Federation not annex Crimea and I just imagined it?
2. Russian military not fighting the Ukrainian military inside Ukraine, then?
3. Poland and the Baltic republics actually not keen for NATO to protect them from similar antics and just faking their concern, maybe?
4. Poland and the Baltics lack previous experience of being forcibly absorbed into a Russian empire and all the historians are wrong?
“A Czech veteran opposed to the “aggressive missions” of the US in Europe has decided to take a stand against the major drills across central and Eastern Europe by launching a semi-naked protest.
Martin Zapletal, a member of a group of Czech and Slovakian soldiers opposed to Nato, described the US soldiers as “aggressors, killers and occupiers” as Dragoon Ride II paraded through the country over the weekend…
1. Did the Russian Federation not annex Crimea and I just imagined it?
ANSW: Over 80% of the residents of Crimea, including the Tartars, voted to return to Russia.
Further, you gotta be dreaming if you think that Russia was about to let Sevastapol turn into a NATO base.
2. Russian military not fighting the Ukrainian military inside Ukraine, then?
ANSW:
Russian regular troops who asked were given leave from their units to fight a Ukraniain military that was attacking civilian towns and apartment blocks, in Eastern Ukraine, yes.
3. Poland and the Baltic republics actually not keen for NATO to protect them from similar antics and just faking their concern, maybe?
ANSW: NATO cannot protect these countries. The Baltic states in particular are totally indefensible. Further NATO is supposed to increase the security of its members – instead its actions moving armed forces right to Russia’s borders reduce the security of its member states.
Romania, due to the presence of the new US ABM system, has now made itself a strategic target in Russian military contingency plans.
4. Poland and the Baltics lack previous experience of being forcibly absorbed into a Russian empire and all the historians are wrong?
ANSW: Maybe you should remember your history. The Germans killed approx 27M Soviet citizens. That’s why the Soviet Union occupied those countries, as a buffer zone against future European aggression. Which is what Russia is facing right now.
Speaking of history, maybe you should also remember how France tried to sack Moscow under Napolean. European aggression against Russia has been the norm in history, not the other way around.
1. So, no I’m not imagining it.
2. So, yes Russia does have its military fighting Ukrainians in Ukraine.
3. Whether NATO will actually be able to protect those countries or not is irrelevant to the fact that they want somebody to protect them.
4. The people living in those countries find Soviet propaganda less credible than you do, obviously. I’ll take their word for it over yours any day. Also: these countries’ experience of Russian imperialism goes back way before Soviet times. They know their history a little better than you do.
You’re a fool if you believe the mood of the ordinary people on the streets of Riga and Vilnius is the same as the bought by USD political elite of those countries.
BTW people in the former eastern bloc countries have massively sensitive propaganda BS detectors because of their Warsaw Pact experience. Whereas us in the west, we’re stupid enough to believe that we’re not being propagandised so we don’t tend to look out for it.
Which is odd, because on The Standard, the theme of a highly biased pro-establishment narrative mass media, is taken for granted.
Been out doing vox pops, have you? Everything I’ve seen suggests no love for the Soviets and their modern counterparts in Poland or the Baltic republics. And they do indeed have powerful bullshit detectors, which is exactly why they don’t trust Putin and are looking to the defence of their countries.
But it will not allow Russia or China to run affairs even 1,000km from their own borders.
Your conspiracy theory that the Americans are “running affairs” in eastern Europe is merely comical; your belief that Russia and China have some kind of right to imperial power not comical at all.
Thats neatly countered Colonial Viper. You have been following your history.
Did you study it at uni or is it an interest of yours?
Our entire political team down here in Dunedin has an interest in history. You need to know some history or else contemporary politics becomes meaningless without context.
My interest is informal; I never studied history at university (my background is engineering and technical).
It certainly is important to look beyond the facile arguments that the RW come up with. Do you really know your stuff so well that it is 99% right?
I am convinced that the guts of it is right – minimum 85% to 90% right. Mostly it is just relaying things that the western style of propaganda (= propaganda by omission).
I like to read and listen to pieces by journalists and experts like Pilger, Hedges, Cohen, Wilkerson, Leveretts. These people are not pro-Russian, but they are definitely pro-reality.
Sigh. Germany putting 150 divisions there was “massing troops along the Russian border.” NATO having one armoured brigade rotate between six of Russia’s neighbours and maintaining around four divisions nowhere near Russia as a ready-reaction force, on the other hand, is not. You should spend less time on Russian propaganda sites, it’s leading you to present delusional fantasies as though they were facts.
Then try doing it. You’re fawning over someone who’s an apologist for a very ugly right-wing nationalist authoritarian regime in Russia.
Again, you are wrong here PM. Putin is a democratically elected and very centrist leader in Russia, and he is extremely popular for it, with personal approval ratings in the low to mid 80% range.
Try and find me a western leader with approval ratings anywhere near that figure. John Key was in the 60% range for a while, I guess.
And if you were at all genuinely concerned about “ugly right wing nationalist authoritarian regimes” you would be kicking the shit out of the government in Kiev, and their Stepan Bandera inspired paramilitary supporters, who have been using heavy weapons and terror tactics against their own citizens in eastern Ukraine for the last 3 years.
Sigh. Germany putting 150 divisions there was “massing troops along the Russian border.” NATO having one armoured brigade rotate between six of Russia’s neighbours and maintaining around four divisions nowhere near Russia as a ready-reaction force, on the other hand, is not.
Correct.
That singly NATO armoured brigade, I presume it is up to 2000 combat troops plus support personnel, has an effective fighting time span in a serious scrap with the Russians of under 12 hours. Being generous there. It’ll probably be 180 minutes or so.
The real threat to Russia is from the Romanian based US ABM system which uses interceptor missiles which can be nuclear tipped, and no one would ever know the difference. Not even the Romanians at the base. (Putin specifically mentioned this in a speech a couple of days ago).
That’s the real strategically destabilising factor that NATO has put on Russia’s door step.
NATO is supposed to make the environment more secure for its members; in fact it is doing exactly the opposite.
Putin is a democratically elected and very centrist leader in Russia…
So is Assad in Syria, according to you and Chooky.
…and he is extremely popular for it…
So was Hitler. These things in themselves mean little. Putin is in fact running a kleptocracy with no democratic or media oversight, in which nationalist authoritarianism is the dominant political approach and collaboration with the official Church hierarchy to promote order, obedience and conservative values is the dominant ideological approach. In political terms, he has more in common with General Franco than with any leaders of western democracies.
So was Hitler. These things in themselves mean little. Putin is in fact running a kleptocracy with no democratic or media oversight
Putin is an extremely popular leader – more popular than even our John Key – and United Russia won their internationally monitored elections fair and square.
And bear in mind that most of the Russians who do not support Putin…are people who think that he isn’t hard line enough and that he isn’t Communist enough.
Yes Putin is running a system where billionaire oligarchs have a lot of say in what happens in Russia…but sorry mate so does every western FVEY nation.
As for media oversight – you clearly have no idea. There is a strong Atlanticist leaning private sector mass media in Russia, both TV and in print.
And my understanding is that newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post are available on line in Russia, translated into Russian on the same day.
Bottom line is that the Russians do some pretty shite underhanded things for $$$, and their mid and local levels of government are often corrupt and utterly inefficient, but guess what, every country has shit that it needs to deal with.
A brief respite came Thursday — the day he cleared the number of delegates needed to be the nominee — when Trump gave his only scripted speech of the week at an energy conference in Bismarck, N.D. Standing between two teleprompters, Trump seemed to find his confidence not only as a winner but as the Republican nominee that many want him to be. Trump argued that returning to more use of coal and lifting environmental regulations are keys to making the nation wealthy again.
Rumour.. McDonald Trump will announce either Glenn Beck or Ronald Mcdonald as his running mate.
(To paraphrase Obama..”For Fox News people..that’s a Joke.”)
Watched some TV the other night for the first time in a long time, and…
…why anti-smoking ads (presumably) on the grounds its effects will afflict others, and why no high alcohol content ads on the grounds (presumably) that spirits won’t be doing you any favours (unlike ‘lolly water’ apparently) and yet – buy a car, a SUV, a 4WD or a whatever and fly to Australia or wherever for only $149 or whatever because carbon’s fine and global warming’s a big fat nothing, or maybe, if it’s not, we got it covered…(?)
…while 1000 homes in Auckland blank out off the back of some fairly normal wind and rain – again.
Chris Trotter did a piece on Labour, as he often does, taking the pulse, looking for rashes, and checking the health of eyes, ears, and throat, all important features in a capable and active politician.
These, interesting paragraphs – A genuinely “broad church” party of the Left would balance off Andrew Little with Hone Harawira, Jacinda Ardern with Laila Harré, Stuart Nash with John Minto, Kelvin Davis with Annette Sykes, Grant Robertson with Julie Anne Genter and Annette King with Metira Turei. The whole spectrum of alternative power: from Soft Centrists to Hard Leftists; would be covered.
That Labour’s fatal apostasy [the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief or principle] has made such a caucus impossible is the besetting tragedy of progressive New Zealand politics. Its embrace of neoliberalism in the mid-1980s left Labour with the political equivalent of syphilis. Sadly, every one of the many attempts to administer the Penicillin of genuine progressivism (God bless you Jim, Rod, Laila!) was rejected. Consequently, Labour’s bones have crumbled and its brain has rotted. Small wonder that the other opposition parties are reluctant to get too close! https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2016/05/an-opposition-worthy-of-name.html
This coming year has got to sort out the sheep from the goats. We have to draw on the principles and the name of Savage and be resolute. This is the time of the Hunger Games, not the Disabled Games where if a competitor stumbles the others turn round to give aid in a spirit of friendly competition. The neo liberals won’t stop until they advance their theory and prove that it works, or doesn’t, and whoever gets hurt in the process will be considered to be not of the right stuff. Try looking at Cold Lazarus by Dennis Potter. Some will probably be on Youtube.
We have people against us who are ruthless, and prepared to divide off society into us and them, who will repeat the Highland Clearings on a huge scale, or who may start a crisis ending in war so they can repeat the Nasti experiment.
One of the most terrifying things of that was that it could happen at all, arising from a civilised country with great philosophers. Our minds are so plastic that they can adapt to any thought and rationalise it.
edited
If increasing taxes has no discernible effect on reducing smoking rates, then why keep doing it?
It seems that the diminishing returns have basically fallen to zero, so the reason for increasing the tax isn’t about reducing smoking. Is it down to:
A. racism?
B. another hit on the punishment pinata of poor life choices/bene bashing?
C. milking addicts for cash (Tax Cuts anyone)?
D. being seen to be doing something, cos if it worked before, it’ll work forever??
E. Tariana & the Maori Party wanted it?
I don’t know, but based on the research presented it seems suspect.
I didn’t see it, but wouldn’t be surprised. After all, the current government’s already made cigarettes worth robbing a dairy for, so it’s not like Labour bunging another tenner on the price would make things worse – might as well rake in the cash.
For extra points, King could spend the additional money collected on a commission of enquiry into why poor people don’t have any cash.
Back when you could buy individual cigarettes and they were only 900% excise tax by weight, an increase in tax would result in a reduction in use (initially in number of cigarettes/day, but then reduction in weight per rollie).
But the law of diminishing returns means that the effects are no longer as obvious. I’d also be intrigued if there’s any research as to the size of the tobacco black market – it grows just as capably as dope in NZ.
The G7’s problems show that many of us have recognised that trade deals have made the world a playground for the super-rich – they are part of our staggeringly unequal economy. But the G7 is unable to think beyond the interests of the world’s elite. It’s up to us to reclaim our democracy as citizens, and the movements against TTIP and Ceta are the frontline.
What? Frozen? In 2014 this was the news:
RNZ in ‘decent shape’ despite funds freeze | Stuff.co.nz http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/…/RNZ-in-decent-shape-despite-funds-freeze
May 8, 2014 – Despite suffering frozen funds for the past six years, RNZ chief executive Paul … RNZ chairman Richard Griffin said financial constraints meant the broadcaster …
RNZ had about 500,000 regular listeners but wanted to double that in 10 years.
Forty per cent of RNZ’s listeners were older than 65, and mostly Pakeha.
30 May 2016
More ice for Radio NZ in Budget « LiveNews.co.nz
livenews.co.nz/2016/05/30/more-ice-for-radio-nz-in-budget/
1 day ago – Budget 2016 once again left our only public broadcaster, Radio NZ (RNZ), worse off. After eight years of funding freezes, you have to wonder if RNZ is being … The Government, however, has frozen RNZ’s budget at 2008 levels, which means … The current National-led Government may be actively de-prioritising its role, but …
Comment – from Geoff Simmons economist for Morgan Foundation on NBR (originally on Gareths World.) ‘Pass the parcel on’ >… and
(Tune into NBR Radio’s Sunday Business with Andrew Patterson on Sunday morning, for analysis and feature-length interviews.) The budget freeze on Radio NZ continues, the clear decline in public interest journalism elsewhere. It must be time for a rethink of this sector.
Meanwhile, there is almost $500m extra for defence and intelligence. Priorities…
apparently the govt calling for public submissions for what should be printed on plain packaged tobacco lol does this mean us smokers are gonna be treated to reading hate messages from all the health snobs out there ?…such as die you bastards how dare you try an take the easy way out when we all have to live forever !!You gotta laugh by calling for submissions they make the whole process sound like its democracy in action rather than a fascist subjugation of the rights of 500 thousand newzealanders !! you gotta laugh when prob at least a third of the population is on a form of happy pill acceptable because youre local quack dispenses it and while rot gut fizzy drink is peddled in enormous quantities to the poorest members of our society at a cheaper than cheap price and the consumtion of this muck despite health officials repeatedly stating the very serious connection to obesity not a word is said against it .It just shows the power of lobbyists ie the maori party ash etc and the short sighted righteousness of the health snob.
We can afford another embassy in South America. The one in Colombia will cost some tens of millions over two years, and give us about five down there.
I remember the touching scene when David Lange returned to the one in India closed down by the cheese parers, and the previous caretaker was still in a little hut keeping guard waiting for our return.
Now we are adding Colombia to our set though we only do some tens of millions of trade with them each year. I hope the trade will match the cost. Or perhaps the USA sees it as a strategic point in their fight against drugs and General Mayhem (or one of the Generals somewhere), They might have said to us you are a good little ally and you can open an embassy and keep us covered on events through 5Eyes. Heres something towards the cost.
“Marxist economist and game theorist Yanis Varoufakis confided in crowds gathered at a Welsh arts festival on Monday that he has some admiration for the late ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, despite largely viewing her legacy as damaging…
He had been invited to discuss the origins of the eurozone crisis, the relentless Troika (European Central Bank-International Monetary Fund-European Commission) austerity that followed, and a potential path ahead for Europe and Greece.
Reflecting on commentary Thatcher once gave on the European Central Bank (ECB), he said it was the “most pertinent” ever made.
“It was a very nuanced and sophisticated criticism – who controls interest rates in Europe controls the politics of Europe, and that money cannot be depoliticized,” he added…
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Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
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. ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karleen Gribble, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University richardernestyap/Shutterstock Parents are often advised to burp their babies after feeding them. Some people think burping after feeding is important to reduce or prevent discomfort crying, or to ...
Workers at a major ASB contact centre in Auckland have voted to take strike action and withdraw their labour following disappointing pay negotiations with the employer and an "offer" to workers that would leave them worse off than the previous year. ...
The Labour Party is demanding Peters be stood down, saying "he's embarrassed the country" with a "totally unacceptable" attack on a prominent AUKUS critic. ...
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance, whose members were victims of a China-backed cyber attack, is discussing forming a standing committee to deal with foreign influence. ...
The PSA is concerned that the voluntary redundancies being offered to staff by Stats NZ will impact on the agency’s ability to deliver on its core functions. ...
Results ranged from surprisingly yum to soul-destroying. I love cooking. The kitchen is a hearth of culinary creation, of sensory delights, of gastronomic poetry. I also can’t afford anything nice. Why does a pack of instant noodles and some milk cost ten bucks? I love you, Aotearoa, but I miss ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Police in Solomon Islands are on high alert ahead of the election of the prime minister today. The two candidates for the top job are former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele at the head of the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation, which is ...
He’s fine but it feels like I’m losing a friend and it’s making me bitter. How do I say ‘enough is enough’? Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzHey Hera,I’ve recently moved in with a girlfriend, her partner Steve, and his friend. We all live in a lovely little house. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Chartres, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Sydney shutterstockAhmet Misirligul/Shutterstock You go to the gym, eat healthy and walk as much as possible. You wash your hands and get vaccinated. You control your health. This is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Hendriks, Research Fellow and Lecturer, Curtin University Children and young people may be seeing news headlines about men murdering women or footage of people rallying to call for action. Perhaps they or their friends have even gone to the protests. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Balanzategui, Senior Lecturer in Media, RMIT University ABC “Bluey mania” shows no sign of abating. Bluey’s season finale, The Sign, was the most viewed ABC program of all time on iView. A “hidden” follow-up episode, aptly named The Surprise, created ...
Labour market figures came in softer than the Reserve Bank had forecast, but they won’t be enough to move the needle on interest rates, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Unemployment ...
The campaign will engage the community and encourage submissions on the bill to the New Zealand government by the closing submission deadline of Friday 31st of May 2024 4pm. ...
The paper raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand's political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency plays in that. ...
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Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, ugly and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Lucky we have a marae that cares……..
‘Social agencies desperate to help their clients have joined the queues of people turning up at a south Auckland marae that opened its doors to the homeless.’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/305224/social-workers-go-to-marae-for-help
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, ugly and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
‘Housing New Zealand is evicting several tenants in Hamilton, just as Aucklanders are being offered $5000 to move into state homes there and in other provincial cities.
Angela Eastham, 49, who faces eviction this Friday, has multiple sclerosis and cares for a 21-year-old son with a brain injury and a 23-year-old autistic daughter.
Another family with four school-aged children faces eviction within 48 hours if Housing NZ wins a Tenancy Tribunal case this Thursday. The evictions come just days after Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett announced a scheme to pay up to $5000 for Aucklanders seeking social housing to move to the provinces from June 20.
She said Hamilton, Huntly, Ngaruawahia, Whanganui and Gisborne all had vacant state houses available.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11647724
Nat led HCC recently flogged their rental housing….join the dots folks.
Musical chairs game by Paula Bennett. Unfortunately the wording is too true, Someone from Paula Bennett’s department announced that they will be offering the option of chairs placed near a public toilet and shower block for people evicted from houses. Some will even have sunlounges offering a shade for protection from the weather.
The comment from Bill English was that the National government is cognisant of the difficulties which some people are experiencing, and does not want to see them having to sleep in the streets and under bridges with no amenities.
/sarc
https://www.facebook.com/Te-Puea-Memorial-Marae-Manaaki-Tangata-1622950467990826/timeline
This is the Auckland marae that has acted to assist with emergency housing.
All those people so angry about the homeless situation could have a look to see what they can do in the interim to help until we can get real NZ politicians into Parliament instead of these marathon competitors in the Hunger Games.
If someone connected with the marae could start a GiveaLittle page for them, it would ease the burden on them to have some money as they are going to be run off their feet and putting so much time and resources into it that their own lives and families will suffer. They need help at Te Puea Memorial Marae. Can someone who knows them help them to do so, I think they would be accepted without difficulty. And while it is in the news, and people have it at the top of their minds, I think would be the most effective time to do it.
Meanwhile NZ the Neo liberal paradise has been rated the 4th most prosperous country in the world across the balance of 89 variables by the Legatum Institute global annual survey, 1 ahead of the left poster child Sweden.
News flash Paul having palpitation as he searches for new daily header to reflect reality
Legatum Institum is a think tank of the neoliberal cult.
Of course it likes New Zealand.
Why are Nordic countries rated so highly then, with nz, thus all very similar over 89 variables, are not the Nordic countries the poster child’s for social democracy Thus nz can hardly be a neo liberal nightmare and they not
Over a third of coral is dead in parts of the Great Barrier Reef, scientists say
‘We knew this was coming.
For months, coral reef experts have been loudly, and sometimes mournfully, announcing that much of the treasured Great Barrier Reef has been hit by “severe” coral bleaching, thanks to abnormally warm ocean waters.
Bleaching, though, isn’t the same as coral death. When symbiotic algae leave corals’ bodies and the animals then turn white or “bleach,” they can still bounce back if environmental conditions improve. The Great Barrier Reef has seen major bleaching in some of its sectors — particularly the more isolated northern reef — and the expectation has long been that this event would result in significant coral death, as well.
Now some of the first figures confirming that are coming in. Diving and aerial surveys of 84 reefs by scientists with the ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Australia — the same researchers who recently documented at least some bleaching at 93 percent of individual reefs — have found that a striking 35 percent of corals have died in the northern and central sectors of the reef.’
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/05/29/a-whole-new-ballgame-scientists-find-35-percent-coral-death-in-parts-of-great-barrier-reef/
Climate Change Infographic
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3059791/infographic-of-the-day/climate-change-charted-as-a-haunting-death-spiral
To repeat…. because it needs repeating every night people repeat sleeping outside.
No wonder we don’t have enough houses to house the vulnerable… this government has sold them for fucks sake …… and let a couple hundred thousand more people into the country as well …
what the fuck did John Key expect?
What a complete dumbarse dope
. . . .
unless it was intentional ….. so that house prices would be driven high and the incumbent re-elected…. in that case it makes John Key a ……. traitor ……. amongst more and worse …..
. . . .
this entire situation is abominable and Key and his National Party members and supporters truly astounding.
Fuck the National Party
+1000
I’m guessing migrants tend to vote National too.
Rising house prices which leads to increasing mortgages that feed in to the economy to produce a rising GDP and thus he, and National, would be able to proclaim a growing economy.
The reality is that a few people are getting richer on paper while the real economy collapses beneath them.
And some ‘happy’ news for stunned mullet and red delusion.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/80532662/new-zealand-rowers-looking-good-for-rio-olympics-after-world-cup-medal-haul
Remember, don’t look. Keep the tinted windows down.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BxFLanNCIAALuMe.jpg:large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjkfqbXVAAAnbo3.png:large
happy I am living rent free in your head Paul, saying that it is very drafty in here, plenty of vacant space 😀
Keep the tinted windows down.
Lock up your gated community.
Your repeating yourself Paul ( you have used tinted windows) simply saying the same rubbish moronically day after day does not make it so
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/07/reducing-food-waste-would-mitigate-climate-change-study-shows
The third biggest GHG emitter is food waste. Who knew?
You know, the ‘free-market’ is supposed to eliminate waste. So far, though, all I’ve seen is increasing amounts of it.
I would guess its a first world problem .
Some of us are deceived and distracted by the daily struggles of living in our current zeitgeist. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Sorry for the dead Gorrilla, but at least it distracts from Syrian children drowning in the Club Med Sea.
I reckon if someone had gone up to the cage (like the child’s mother) and asked, then the gorilla would have simply given the boy back …………..
we eternally under-estimate the non-human kingdom inhabitants..
What if gorillas are a dying species and really precious to the earth. And we are fecund and destructive and harming other species. Perhaps we should shoot the boy, and his parents who are less alert than meerkats, and not as concerned in looking after their young as spiders.
Now it’s hard to be objective isn’t it.
Not all that hard. Somewhere around the “shoot the boy” and parent-blaming, your comment got routed through the “low probability of valuable content” filter and thereby avoided serious consideration 🙂
But but the reasoning is all factual. But the low probability of value content attention applies to anything really serious on blogs these days, hardly anyone can run their minds off the old familiar rails and gaze at a different landscape. they might encounter themselves. They don’t want to face that, and turn instead to the small and large brutalities on television, say Game of Thrones.
Hey, look, gorillas are one of the few non-human life-forms that approach my pet test for a sentience level we have a duty to preserve, which is “can they write a story about what they did on their summer holiday”.
But the fact is that an agitated gorilla can easily kill a kid by accident, even if it actually means to protect the sprog. And no parent is perfect at stopping their sprog doing something silly. Let’s say the gorilla was a human being who you couldn’t talk to for whatever reason, was growing agitated and was dragging a kid around by his ankle? Yeah, I wouldn’t judge a cop who shot the adult, or one who didn’t. It’s a shitty call to have to make, but sometimes there’s no winning move where everybody walks away unharmed.
“Distraction” is the wrong word, I think. It implies that people would watch and care about continued stories on Syrian refugees.
Many would just switch over to something else. It’s the difference between “hey, look over here, don’t look over there!” and “Bored now. What else will I look at?”
We’re guilty of shooting first ask questions later too. Build motorways, imprison poachers, pollute rivers, etc etc.
What has happened to the stunning news that Hilary Clinton/Clinton Foundation quite possibly will be indicted on Racketeering charges, it was breaking news yesterday and the FBI have said if the charges do not go ahead they will release their findings publicly anyway. Why aren’t our MSM all over this, even for just headline purposes, its not like they aren’t in the business of trying to break news. This will change completely the face of the upcoming presidential elections. It seems this is being swept under the carpet.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/
Another event which was swept under the carpet is the under/overpaying of accommodation supplement payments by our own government, and discovering it too close to an upcoming election and choosing to sweep it under the carpet. Is this becoming a common practice among our people in power?
I was listening to a podcast a few months ago about sexual abuse by Bill Clinton being covered up, and they recommended anyone who was in doubt about the Clinton’s shady dealings to read “Clinton Cash”, by Peter Schweizer.
It basically outlines how they profited into the millions by blurring the lines between charity, business and politics.
Now check this out….
Peter Schweizer. Good friend of the mad Glenn Beck and equally crazy Sarah Palin.
Take a grain of salt!
Schweizer’s a serial bullshitter.
http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/04/20/clinton-cash-author-peter-schweizers-long-histo/203209
The Clintons are career criminals
+100
+100
Distraction update;
Gooners trougher sidekick mrs soper has been slagging off ngarawhaia and giving the waikato times an excuse to front page a nothing story.
If you really cared, instead of looking for an excuse for a bleat, you would have spelt Ngāruawāhia properly.
To counter RNZ cold war propaganda interview against Russia below (remember NATO destroyed Libya):
‘Top brass warns NATO on course for war with Russia’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201802711/top-brass-warns-nato-on-course-for-war-with-russia
“General Sir Richard Shirreff is a high ranking retired British military General. He warns that nuclear war with Russia could happen within a year, if NATO doesn’t beef up its defence presence in the Baltic states.”
…and the contrary view to give some balance:
‘Who’s aggressive?’
https://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/344555-russia-conflict-war-benefits/
“Who is being aggressive? For the past few years the drumbeat for a conflict with Russia has been building almost to the point of hysteria. Now there is talk of a war – including a nuclear war – that could destroy civilization. On this edition of CrossTalk we ask who benefits from such dangerous talk.
CrossTalking with John Laughland, Nebojsa Malic, and Hall Gardner.”
‘Chomsky to RT: US and its NATO intervention force may spark nuclear war’
https://www.rt.com/news/203055-us-russia-war-chomsky/
‘Chomsky: NATO is a U.S.-run intervention force’
https://www.rt.com/shows/sophieco/202967-cold-nuclear-war-nato/
‘Who’s aggressive?’
Gee, that’s a tough question, but my money’s on the one that invaded its neighbour’s territory and thereby made its other neighbours shit themselves. That seems pretty aggressive. Maybe if the fear of being forcibly absorbed into a Russian empire hadn’t been proved justified quite so often for these neighbours, they wouldn’t be clamouring for NATO protection in the wake of this latest instance – but what would I know?
You know nothing, as you pointed out!
That’s a pretty compelling argument you make there, One Two, but, comprehensive though it is, there are nevertheless a few things you could clarify for me:
1. Did the Russian Federation not annex Crimea and I just imagined it?
2. Russian military not fighting the Ukrainian military inside Ukraine, then?
3. Poland and the Baltic republics actually not keen for NATO to protect them from similar antics and just faking their concern, maybe?
4. Poland and the Baltics lack previous experience of being forcibly absorbed into a Russian empire and all the historians are wrong?
‘Czech veteran moons US convoy in anti-Nato protest (VIDEO)’
https://www.rt.com/news/344863-czech-veteran-moons-usarmy/
“A Czech veteran opposed to the “aggressive missions” of the US in Europe has decided to take a stand against the major drills across central and Eastern Europe by launching a semi-naked protest.
Martin Zapletal, a member of a group of Czech and Slovakian soldiers opposed to Nato, described the US soldiers as “aggressors, killers and occupiers” as Dragoon Ride II paraded through the country over the weekend…
1. Did the Russian Federation not annex Crimea and I just imagined it?
ANSW: Over 80% of the residents of Crimea, including the Tartars, voted to return to Russia.
Further, you gotta be dreaming if you think that Russia was about to let Sevastapol turn into a NATO base.
2. Russian military not fighting the Ukrainian military inside Ukraine, then?
ANSW:
Russian regular troops who asked were given leave from their units to fight a Ukraniain military that was attacking civilian towns and apartment blocks, in Eastern Ukraine, yes.
3. Poland and the Baltic republics actually not keen for NATO to protect them from similar antics and just faking their concern, maybe?
ANSW: NATO cannot protect these countries. The Baltic states in particular are totally indefensible. Further NATO is supposed to increase the security of its members – instead its actions moving armed forces right to Russia’s borders reduce the security of its member states.
Romania, due to the presence of the new US ABM system, has now made itself a strategic target in Russian military contingency plans.
4. Poland and the Baltics lack previous experience of being forcibly absorbed into a Russian empire and all the historians are wrong?
ANSW: Maybe you should remember your history. The Germans killed approx 27M Soviet citizens. That’s why the Soviet Union occupied those countries, as a buffer zone against future European aggression. Which is what Russia is facing right now.
Speaking of history, maybe you should also remember how France tried to sack Moscow under Napolean. European aggression against Russia has been the norm in history, not the other way around.
+100…well said CV
Over the last 70 years Washington DC has gotten used to run affairs in foreign nations 10,000km from its own borders.
But it will not allow Russia or China to run affairs even 1,000km from their own borders.
1. So, no I’m not imagining it.
2. So, yes Russia does have its military fighting Ukrainians in Ukraine.
3. Whether NATO will actually be able to protect those countries or not is irrelevant to the fact that they want somebody to protect them.
4. The people living in those countries find Soviet propaganda less credible than you do, obviously. I’ll take their word for it over yours any day. Also: these countries’ experience of Russian imperialism goes back way before Soviet times. They know their history a little better than you do.
You’re a fool if you believe the mood of the ordinary people on the streets of Riga and Vilnius is the same as the bought by USD political elite of those countries.
BTW people in the former eastern bloc countries have massively sensitive propaganda BS detectors because of their Warsaw Pact experience. Whereas us in the west, we’re stupid enough to believe that we’re not being propagandised so we don’t tend to look out for it.
Which is odd, because on The Standard, the theme of a highly biased pro-establishment narrative mass media, is taken for granted.
Been out doing vox pops, have you? Everything I’ve seen suggests no love for the Soviets and their modern counterparts in Poland or the Baltic republics. And they do indeed have powerful bullshit detectors, which is exactly why they don’t trust Putin and are looking to the defence of their countries.
But it will not allow Russia or China to run affairs even 1,000km from their own borders.
Your conspiracy theory that the Americans are “running affairs” in eastern Europe is merely comical; your belief that Russia and China have some kind of right to imperial power not comical at all.
Thats neatly countered Colonial Viper. You have been following your history.
Did you study it at uni or is it an interest of yours?
It certainly is important to look beyond the facile arguments that the RW come up with. Do you really know your stuff so well that it is 99% right?
Our entire political team down here in Dunedin has an interest in history. You need to know some history or else contemporary politics becomes meaningless without context.
My interest is informal; I never studied history at university (my background is engineering and technical).
I am convinced that the guts of it is right – minimum 85% to 90% right. Mostly it is just relaying things that the western style of propaganda (= propaganda by omission).
I like to read and listen to pieces by journalists and experts like Pilger, Hedges, Cohen, Wilkerson, Leveretts. These people are not pro-Russian, but they are definitely pro-reality.
Thanks for that CV. I have paid attention to your thoughts which seemed far seeing. So good to know the provenance!
It certainly is important to look beyond the facile arguments that the RW come up with.
Then try doing it. You’re fawning over someone who’s an apologist for a very ugly right-wing nationalist authoritarian regime in Russia.
actually I would have thought this description applied to you …
” someone who’s an apologist for a very ugly right-wing nationalist authoritarian regime”
‘NATO masses troops along Russian border, war becomes possible scenario – peace movement leader’
https://www.rt.com/shows/sophieco/344551-nato-planes-montenegro-conflict/
NATO masses troops along Russian border…
Sigh. Germany putting 150 divisions there was “massing troops along the Russian border.” NATO having one armoured brigade rotate between six of Russia’s neighbours and maintaining around four divisions nowhere near Russia as a ready-reaction force, on the other hand, is not. You should spend less time on Russian propaganda sites, it’s leading you to present delusional fantasies as though they were facts.
Again, you are wrong here PM. Putin is a democratically elected and very centrist leader in Russia, and he is extremely popular for it, with personal approval ratings in the low to mid 80% range.
Try and find me a western leader with approval ratings anywhere near that figure. John Key was in the 60% range for a while, I guess.
And if you were at all genuinely concerned about “ugly right wing nationalist authoritarian regimes” you would be kicking the shit out of the government in Kiev, and their Stepan Bandera inspired paramilitary supporters, who have been using heavy weapons and terror tactics against their own citizens in eastern Ukraine for the last 3 years.
Correct.
That singly NATO armoured brigade, I presume it is up to 2000 combat troops plus support personnel, has an effective fighting time span in a serious scrap with the Russians of under 12 hours. Being generous there. It’ll probably be 180 minutes or so.
The real threat to Russia is from the Romanian based US ABM system which uses interceptor missiles which can be nuclear tipped, and no one would ever know the difference. Not even the Romanians at the base. (Putin specifically mentioned this in a speech a couple of days ago).
That’s the real strategically destabilising factor that NATO has put on Russia’s door step.
NATO is supposed to make the environment more secure for its members; in fact it is doing exactly the opposite.
Putin is a democratically elected and very centrist leader in Russia…
So is Assad in Syria, according to you and Chooky.
…and he is extremely popular for it…
So was Hitler. These things in themselves mean little. Putin is in fact running a kleptocracy with no democratic or media oversight, in which nationalist authoritarianism is the dominant political approach and collaboration with the official Church hierarchy to promote order, obedience and conservative values is the dominant ideological approach. In political terms, he has more in common with General Franco than with any leaders of western democracies.
Putin is an extremely popular leader – more popular than even our John Key – and United Russia won their internationally monitored elections fair and square.
And bear in mind that most of the Russians who do not support Putin…are people who think that he isn’t hard line enough and that he isn’t Communist enough.
Yes Putin is running a system where billionaire oligarchs have a lot of say in what happens in Russia…but sorry mate so does every western FVEY nation.
As for media oversight – you clearly have no idea. There is a strong Atlanticist leaning private sector mass media in Russia, both TV and in print.
And my understanding is that newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post are available on line in Russia, translated into Russian on the same day.
Bottom line is that the Russians do some pretty shite underhanded things for $$$, and their mid and local levels of government are often corrupt and utterly inefficient, but guess what, every country has shit that it needs to deal with.
+100 greywarshark
Chooky
Thanks for defending me from the psycho melt-down.
‘Kusturica: Why does NATO still exist? To fight terrorism? It’s laughable!’
https://www.rt.com/shows/sophieco/emir-kusturica-europe-russia-296/
‘NATO’s “Humanitarian Intervention” in Libya: A Premeditated Geostrategic Operation’
http://www.globalresearch.ca/natos-humanitarian-intervention-in-libya-a-premeditated-geostrategic-operation/5482662
Coal, lots and lots of coal.
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A brief respite came Thursday — the day he cleared the number of delegates needed to be the nominee — when Trump gave his only scripted speech of the week at an energy conference in Bismarck, N.D. Standing between two teleprompters, Trump seemed to find his confidence not only as a winner but as the Republican nominee that many want him to be. Trump argued that returning to more use of coal and lifting environmental regulations are keys to making the nation wealthy again.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/even-in-victory-donald-trump-cant-stop-airing-his-grievances/2016/05/29/a5f7a566-2526-11e6-8690-f14ca9de2972_story.html
Rumour.. McDonald Trump will announce either Glenn Beck or Ronald Mcdonald as his running mate.
(To paraphrase Obama..”For Fox News people..that’s a Joke.”)
Watched some TV the other night for the first time in a long time, and…
…why anti-smoking ads (presumably) on the grounds its effects will afflict others, and why no high alcohol content ads on the grounds (presumably) that spirits won’t be doing you any favours (unlike ‘lolly water’ apparently) and yet – buy a car, a SUV, a 4WD or a whatever and fly to Australia or wherever for only $149 or whatever because carbon’s fine and global warming’s a big fat nothing, or maybe, if it’s not, we got it covered…(?)
…while 1000 homes in Auckland blank out off the back of some fairly normal wind and rain – again.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/80503311/strong-winds-down-trees-cut-power-to-auckland-homes
Words failing…
John Key knows money is created out of thin air. He has done it for 20 years and is still at it! Here is how it’s done.
Chris Trotter did a piece on Labour, as he often does, taking the pulse, looking for rashes, and checking the health of eyes, ears, and throat, all important features in a capable and active politician.
These, interesting paragraphs –
A genuinely “broad church” party of the Left would balance off Andrew Little with Hone Harawira, Jacinda Ardern with Laila Harré, Stuart Nash with John Minto, Kelvin Davis with Annette Sykes, Grant Robertson with Julie Anne Genter and Annette King with Metira Turei. The whole spectrum of alternative power: from Soft Centrists to Hard Leftists; would be covered.
That Labour’s fatal apostasy [the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief or principle] has made such a caucus impossible is the besetting tragedy of progressive New Zealand politics. Its embrace of neoliberalism in the mid-1980s left Labour with the political equivalent of syphilis. Sadly, every one of the many attempts to administer the Penicillin of genuine progressivism (God bless you Jim, Rod, Laila!) was rejected. Consequently, Labour’s bones have crumbled and its brain has rotted. Small wonder that the other opposition parties are reluctant to get too close!
https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2016/05/an-opposition-worthy-of-name.html
This coming year has got to sort out the sheep from the goats. We have to draw on the principles and the name of Savage and be resolute. This is the time of the Hunger Games, not the Disabled Games where if a competitor stumbles the others turn round to give aid in a spirit of friendly competition. The neo liberals won’t stop until they advance their theory and prove that it works, or doesn’t, and whoever gets hurt in the process will be considered to be not of the right stuff. Try looking at Cold Lazarus by Dennis Potter. Some will probably be on Youtube.
We have people against us who are ruthless, and prepared to divide off society into us and them, who will repeat the Highland Clearings on a huge scale, or who may start a crisis ending in war so they can repeat the Nasti experiment.
One of the most terrifying things of that was that it could happen at all, arising from a civilised country with great philosophers. Our minds are so plastic that they can adapt to any thought and rationalise it.
edited
Labour-Green Announcement 3.10 pm. Looking up, feeling better.
New Zealand’s leading Maori tobacco researcher says National’s tobacco tax increases racist?
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11647467
And Labour welcomed this?
Isn’t that a kick in the face for the strong support Maori gave Labour at the last election?
Thoughts?
It’s a good point raised.
If increasing taxes has no discernible effect on reducing smoking rates, then why keep doing it?
It seems that the diminishing returns have basically fallen to zero, so the reason for increasing the tax isn’t about reducing smoking. Is it down to:
A. racism?
B. another hit on the punishment pinata of poor life choices/bene bashing?
C. milking addicts for cash (Tax Cuts anyone)?
D. being seen to be doing something, cos if it worked before, it’ll work forever??
E. Tariana & the Maori Party wanted it?
I don’t know, but based on the research presented it seems suspect.
Mostly C, to a lesser extent E. I presume Labour supports it because it intends doing quite a bit of C when it’s the government again.
Didn’t King suggest the possibility of Labour doing that (further tax increases on tobacco) the other day?
I didn’t see it, but wouldn’t be surprised. After all, the current government’s already made cigarettes worth robbing a dairy for, so it’s not like Labour bunging another tenner on the price would make things worse – might as well rake in the cash.
For extra points, King could spend the additional money collected on a commission of enquiry into why poor people don’t have any cash.
we are going to tax you for your own well being
Dairy owners are very concerned about their well being.
Will Labour use the extra tax intake to also increase the police budget?
Corrections will also require more.
Might have to let prisoners smoke again for the $$$
I hear they smoke tea-leaves mixed with nicotine patches.
Good points. A bit of analysis applied to the no tobacco meme can go a long way. Perhaps try another path.
What psycho milt said, but also a bit of D.
Back when you could buy individual cigarettes and they were only 900% excise tax by weight, an increase in tax would result in a reduction in use (initially in number of cigarettes/day, but then reduction in weight per rollie).
But the law of diminishing returns means that the effects are no longer as obvious. I’d also be intrigued if there’s any research as to the size of the tobacco black market – it grows just as capably as dope in NZ.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/30/ttip-trade-deal-agreements-ceta-eu-canada
The G7’s problems show that many of us have recognised that trade deals have made the world a playground for the super-rich – they are part of our staggeringly unequal economy. But the G7 is unable to think beyond the interests of the world’s elite. It’s up to us to reclaim our democracy as citizens, and the movements against TTIP and Ceta are the frontline.
Eight year freeze to funding of Radio NZ.
Maori TV get 4 million boost.
He who pays the piper….
What? Frozen? In 2014 this was the news:
RNZ in ‘decent shape’ despite funds freeze | Stuff.co.nz
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/…/RNZ-in-decent-shape-despite-funds-freeze
May 8, 2014 – Despite suffering frozen funds for the past six years, RNZ chief executive Paul … RNZ chairman Richard Griffin said financial constraints meant the broadcaster …
RNZ had about 500,000 regular listeners but wanted to double that in 10 years.
Forty per cent of RNZ’s listeners were older than 65, and mostly Pakeha.
30 May 2016
More ice for Radio NZ in Budget « LiveNews.co.nz
livenews.co.nz/2016/05/30/more-ice-for-radio-nz-in-budget/
1 day ago – Budget 2016 once again left our only public broadcaster, Radio NZ (RNZ), worse off. After eight years of funding freezes, you have to wonder if RNZ is being … The Government, however, has frozen RNZ’s budget at 2008 levels, which means … The current National-led Government may be actively de-prioritising its role, but …
Comment – from Geoff Simmons economist for Morgan Foundation on NBR (originally on Gareths World.) ‘Pass the parcel on’ >… and
(Tune into NBR Radio’s Sunday Business with Andrew Patterson on Sunday morning, for analysis and feature-length interviews.)
The budget freeze on Radio NZ continues, the clear decline in public interest journalism elsewhere. It must be time for a rethink of this sector.
Meanwhile, there is almost $500m extra for defence and intelligence. Priorities…
Tim Watkin leaving as Producer of TV3 The Nation, joining RNZ.
apparently the govt calling for public submissions for what should be printed on plain packaged tobacco lol does this mean us smokers are gonna be treated to reading hate messages from all the health snobs out there ?…such as die you bastards how dare you try an take the easy way out when we all have to live forever !!You gotta laugh by calling for submissions they make the whole process sound like its democracy in action rather than a fascist subjugation of the rights of 500 thousand newzealanders !! you gotta laugh when prob at least a third of the population is on a form of happy pill acceptable because youre local quack dispenses it and while rot gut fizzy drink is peddled in enormous quantities to the poorest members of our society at a cheaper than cheap price and the consumtion of this muck despite health officials repeatedly stating the very serious connection to obesity not a word is said against it .It just shows the power of lobbyists ie the maori party ash etc and the short sighted righteousness of the health snob.
Anything that stops a teen starting is all good with me.
We can afford another embassy in South America. The one in Colombia will cost some tens of millions over two years, and give us about five down there.
I remember the touching scene when David Lange returned to the one in India closed down by the cheese parers, and the previous caretaker was still in a little hut keeping guard waiting for our return.
Now we are adding Colombia to our set though we only do some tens of millions of trade with them each year. I hope the trade will match the cost. Or perhaps the USA sees it as a strategic point in their fight against drugs and General Mayhem (or one of the Generals somewhere), They might have said to us you are a good little ally and you can open an embassy and keep us covered on events through 5Eyes. Heres something towards the cost.
Colombia is a colony of the USA, don’t know why we would need extra representation there.
Unless it’s a cover for a FVEY base of operations.
Praise for Thatcher from an unusual source
‘Varoufakis: Thatcher’s criticism of ECB was sophisticated, pertinent’
https://www.rt.com/uk/344964-varoufakis-thatcher-praise-ecb/
“Marxist economist and game theorist Yanis Varoufakis confided in crowds gathered at a Welsh arts festival on Monday that he has some admiration for the late ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, despite largely viewing her legacy as damaging…
He had been invited to discuss the origins of the eurozone crisis, the relentless Troika (European Central Bank-International Monetary Fund-European Commission) austerity that followed, and a potential path ahead for Europe and Greece.
Reflecting on commentary Thatcher once gave on the European Central Bank (ECB), he said it was the “most pertinent” ever made.
“It was a very nuanced and sophisticated criticism – who controls interest rates in Europe controls the politics of Europe, and that money cannot be depoliticized,” he added…