Obama is embarrassing in his last minute legacy shopping to try and appear as a strong President who finally got the nerve to stand up to Putin (and try and disrupt the international playing field for an incoming Trump Administration).
Obama expels 35 Russian diplomats; Putin invites the families of US diplomats in Moscow to attend New Year festivities for the children in the Kremlin.
As well as wishing the Obama and Trump families seasons greetings.
fearful is probably the better term – putin isn’t used to people standing up to him – they don’t hang around for long – they all decide to conveniently take long walks off short piers
putin couldn’t retaliate – he was caught and he knows it so he did the decent thing and accepted that. He knows that pretty soon trump will be begging at his feet so he’s cool, the plan worked, trump is in.
That’s perfect for a commentator slot on CNN. Russia/Trump “stole the election”. Now lets use them as a scapegoat for the Democrats failings because we’ve told lies about Russia for decades anyway.
I don’t think the election was stolen. I don’t think the russians are scapegoats for the democratic party loss but the west has certainly told lies about russia for decades as russia has told lies about the US so 1 out of 3 ain’t bad there. Good effort C + more attention to detail please.
I give big ups to putin for not pretending – he’s got caught – fronted up and moved on. Obama is yesterday, Trump’s coming in now and he is where the real fun begins – he is tomorrow 🙂
I don’t like the word shill for some reason – so foreign to these shores – even the concept really. So X you will need to dig deeper into your nasty bag if you want to leave a mark on me today C- please try harder try hard
For Obama, Russia is thus a uniquely effective wedge issue, with the potential to divide the president-elect from his party. If Trump tries to remove the new sanctions, he could face blowback from Congress; if he doesn’t, his friendly relationship with Putin could be damaged.
I certainly hope it is. The Obnoxious Loudmouth in Chief and his cabinet of the 0.1% need to be sabotaged and boxed-in to whatever extent possible, for all our sakes.
Putin has been “outperforming ” Western leaders for some time now ,and he does it with style. His press interviews are a delight to behold ,and he does it all off the cuff.
I see Iain Robert Rennie also got a CNZM For services to the State
Several people got honours for services to local government – curious as to why so many for that.
and an Honorary award of some sort for Gad Propper For services to New Zealand-Israel relations. Propper is an Israeli businessman – on many corporate boards, and organisations, including:
Mr. Gad Propper has been the Managing Director of Osem International Ltd. since 1991. Mr. Propper serves as the Chairman of L’Oreal-Israel Ltd. He serves as the Chairman of the Israel Federation of the Bi-National Chambers of Commerce & Industry and Honorary Consul of New Zealand in Israel. From 1993 to May, 1997, he was Chairman of the Israel-British Chamber of Commerce; and from 1987 to 1991, he was Chairman of the Israel Export Institute. He serves as a Director of LFSMD Ltd. He has been a Director of B. Gaon Holdings Ltd. since June 19, 2013. He serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of Asam investments Ltd., L’oreal Israel Ltd. and Vitania Proper Ltd. He is a member of the boards of directors of several companies, including Osem Investment Ltd. and several of it subsidiaries, Interbeauty Cosmetics Ltd. (where he is Chairman of the Board) and its subsidiaries, Pioneer, Concrete and Quarries.
Not when you look at the role they’ve played in letting national ride rough shot over the public services in central and local govt.
Local bodies and rural councils should be screaming at this govt over the condition they’ve let state highways get to which in turn effects their own regional efficiency and accessibility.
“the lesser NZ titles to ………… Fran Wilde.”
Can you please explain the claim that Fran got a lower award than Valerie?
You did notice , didn’t you, that they both got exactly the same award?
Gordon Campbell has an interesting analysis of McCully’s role in the UN resolution against Israeli settlements. He credibly puts NZ government role in the resolution in the wider context of trade with Middle East countries, and relations with China.
…McCully may even be able to reap some of those trade rewards in the Middle East (that fabled FTA with Saudi Arabia?) that would finally vindicate McCully personally over the Saudi sheep fiasco, and would ring down the curtain on his political career in triumph.
Sometimes….doing what’s good for trade can happily co-incide with Doing What’s Right, even if that latter bit is very much in the eye of the beholder. The Trans Pacific Partnership – for instance – was a diplomatic manoeuvre (and the centre-piece of Obama’s ‘tilt to the Pacific’ intended to isolate and contain China) that was being disguised as a trade pact. For New Zealand, this recent UN resolution was the reverse : a trade gambit disguised as a diplomatic manoeuvre. The added diplomatic advantage being that, this time, we’re not being drawn into a ploy meant to isolate China.
Not sure about Campbell’s qualification: Doing What’s Right, even if that latter bit is very much in the eye of the beholder.
But the rest of Campbell’s argument does fit with McCully’s past record on trade, the ME, etc.
Yes. Thanks, Karen. I read it a couple of days back. But it covers a lot of ground and it is interesting to re-read it today.
Field is pretty scathing about the inability of NZ’s MSM to cover foreign affairs.
On the point about trade with the Middle East, and in the light of Campbell’s piece on it, Field refers to Steve Hoadley on RNZ. To me Hoadley always seems to be pro the US government, and is fairly centre right – though probably more for Obama than Trump.
Field says:
Radio New Zealand went to the University of Auckland go-to-guru on foreign policy, Steve Hoadley, who said New Zealand should not be worried that Israel is angry.
He said New Zealand also trades with Arab states and was about to sign a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council: “There’s huge profits being made to export lamb and other dairy products, other food products to the Arab states,” Radio New Zealand quotes Hoadley.
What was not reported as just how small the trade was; Statistics New Zealand says for the year to June 2016 the New Zealand-Israel two-way trade was worth $164 million.
But his view of Murray McCully gives some implicit credence to the idea that his role in promoting the UN resolution, was indeed all about trade, though maybe the trade is small – but could still be a focus for McCully. McCully is known for micro-managing. Field says:
The [ Shalom.kiwi] blog claims McCully did not seek cabinet approval for resolution and suggests new Prime Minister Bill English did not know what was going on.
Amidst the hysterics of Shalom.Kiwi there is at least one issue that needs to be considered; how is New Zealand foreign policy formulated?
As one New Zealand diplomat put it, commenting on this issue, New Zealand ” diplomacy is still conducted very much in secret, indeed much more so than in other democracies”. The diplomat added the New Zealand media didnt have the specialists to pursue international issues”. Using the Official Information Act to find out what happens is no longer effective as it had been “gamed by ministers and comprehensive PR has been a hall mark of the Key regime.”
Field starts to roam a bit widely (wildly?) with is end comments on NZ historical relations to Israeli spy agents.
His stuff on the relationship between Netanyahu and Bainimarama is interesting, though probably a small footnote in the overall international politicking in the Asia-Pacific region.
On this last day of this arbitrarily constructed year I’d like to say thanks for their efforts and energy to the following long term contributors that we lost this year from the standard.
te reo putake (the voice of reason)
Red Logix
plus I still miss the hard left comments of Murray Olsen
I know there have been many others that each of us miss – feel free to add their names to the list.
I especially miss RLs commentary, while not always agreeing with him, he was a calm and kind voice at a blog that’s become increasingly angry and tribal.
They both said they were leaving and not coming back. I hope they both do come back personally even though I had majors with both of those opinionated, arrogant, interesting writers and contributers.
Unless TRP said something I missed, he was just banned until the middle of January. Same as Lanthanide. RedLogix has put up a few comments since saying he wasn’t coming back, but not many.
Yes. Redlogix has an exceptional brain and trp a wonderful turn of phrase. I know they are both inclined to be hotheads at times but their contributions are sorely missed by me. trp’s posts in particular were inclined to be misunderstood by some. Redlogix’s technical perambulations were well over my head but I’m sure there were readers here who could follow them. 😉
I also miss Tracey and Rosie. Weka and Sabine are voices I value and have been a lot quieter lately and Stephanie seems to have given up.
This is my last comment for a while – although there are still some voices here whose opinions I value (marty mars, Joe90, Carolyn_nth, Robert Guyton, Mickey Savage and a few others) they have become a small minority.
Election year next year – I will put energy into getting a Labour/Green government rather than spending time arguing with right-wingers, and spreaders of alt-right propaganda. Good luck to all of you here who are trying to make The Standard a left-wing blog.
I will miss you Karen and I accept your decision – I understand it only too well. When you decide to write again, I’d like to read it – kia kaha for 2017 and I too will be working to change this government.
There are a number of commenters here whose contributions I value very much – too many to name. Some post short and to the point… others are longer and more complex… others don’t post on a regular basis… but they are all valuable in providing an over-all assessment of a situation or event. Sadly – very sadly – their contributions are being drowned out by prolific rwnjs such as wellfedweta, BM et al, whose aims I am sure are to destroy this site. It does not surprise me many of our best commenters are falling by the wayside.
frankly we don’t need the likes of BM et all to make this site and unhappening thing.
the so called ‘left’ has enough people happy to tear each other up on their own.
the last few month were nice window into it. if anything i can handle BM et al, but i can not support those that are happy to throw my rights and more importantly needs as a women, that are happy to throw the rights and needs of anyone not a heterosexual male, that are happy to throw the rights and needs of anyone not supporting the flavour du jour of ‘destroy it all to start over again’ under the bus.
And these are supposedly on our side. So frankly if we call out BM, the welfedweta, fisiani and such we should also call out those on our side that would equally just cut our rights and privileges in order to promote ‘change’, especially if that ‘change’ will have no impact on their lives.
+1 Sabine – and then I’m out. But I will leave this for the “not-my-idea-of-left” :
Jessica Williams
@mizjwilliams
But hey, another reckon: IF YOUR PROGRESSIVISM (or whatever) DOESN’T ADVANCE INTERESTS OF WOMEN, LGBTI, PoC ETC THEN IT IS BOLLOCKS.
On this last day of this arbitrarily constructed year
Unless you’re thinking you can switch winter and summer so that you can go snowboarding tomorrow the year is most definitely not arbitrarily constructed.
the dates are aren’t they – or can you please direct me to where in nature those dates are…
the year is just numbers that don’t correspond to much – not the full moons, not the longest or shortest days – but please if you have any information to share, do so…
the year is just numbers that don’t correspond to much – not the full moons, not the longest or shortest days
Actually, the end/beginning of the year has been the Winter Solstice in European and many other traditions since before recorded history. There is some inaccuracy in the numbers but the tradition is still there. Months are, of course, called so after the Lunar cycle and the names themselves have meaning.
The numbers of the years are based upon the assumed birth of christ. Such birth probably didn’t exist but it’s not exactly arbitrary either. The numbers are there is so that confusion is removed from the historical record.
Most people probably ignore the actual number of the year – I know I do – as it’s not really important but take note of the time of year and the end/beginning of the year.
You know, you’re argument was that the year was arbitrary. I said that it wasn’t. That it was based upon the seasons and, lo and behold, that’s exactly what it’s based upon.
You’re now here trying to distract from the completely stupid thing that you said.
I don’t have a lot of interest in celebrating New Year in January. I enjoy the summer weather that tends to get going soon after – but that’s another matter.
On another note – just watched ‘The Dead Lands’ again last night – I rate this movie for at least using te reo and subtitles – so nice to hear the language in context.
Plus there are many subtle levels to this movie I think – many levels indeed
Happy New year NZ from Los Angeles, where for one last time my old party crew is doing it’s fly in from London, Miami, Sydney, NYC, Washington DC and Santiago to see in the new year. With one baby here and one on the way plus one wedding this year and one in the new year this is going to be a bittersweet new year’s eve as I go out for possibly the last time with a crew I’ve partied with from London to LA via Miami and Vegas for twelve years.
Where does the time go? babies? Marriage? Who could have imagined it a decade ago? Nothing lasts forever, but I wish the moments could last a little longer. Amazing. Anyway, a big thanks to the Standard and all who sail on her, and here is to the year that has gone and to the defeat of the National government in 2017!
Wonderful comment Sanctuary, thank you. I concur and also wish all a more becoming New Year 2017 with a New Zealand free of a national government and finally getting on to work on child poverty, housing and poverty and environment resuscitation.
It’s also a very common misconception that some of the warming is natural. However, until about 100 years ago, our climate was cooling. The planet cooled about 5 degrees F in polar regions near Greenland (half or less globally) over the last 6,000 years. This research comes from mini-icecaps on Baffin Island where easily dateable rooted plants were revealed from melt. In the last 100 years, the temperature on Baffin has warmed about 7 degrees Fahrenheit; 2 degrees warmer than at any time in the last 120,000 years. Most of this warming has occurred since the 1950s.
The extremes we are experiencing now (temperature, rainfall, drought, etc.) will not increase at the same rate as the average temperature. The physics of thermodynamics say extremes will increase nonlinearly. Earth has lost its ability to buffer the warming. As we replace coal with non-fossil fuel alternatives, masking of warming by global cooling pollutants will also disappear, compounding the nonlinear rate of increasing extremes.
We live on a very complicated and dangerous planet that is worthy of great respect and awe. The past year’s advances in climate science should urge us to put that respect and awe into practice, taking definitive action against global warming.
An excellent summation and thanks for the link Draco.
Interestingly – and very pertinent to the discussions we have been having wrt the effectiveness of Obama as President – I note this:
President Obama’s Clean Power Plan (CPP), which is the first policy to set a national limit on power plant-generated CO2 pollution, was one of the major developments of 2015. The CPP is almost identical to the U.S. Kyoto Protocol commitment (created in the mid-1990s) of reducing CO2 emissions but the CPP is 18 years behind Kyoto. In other words, the new regulations are no different than they were a generation ago and we have emitted almost as much additional carbon dioxide during the delay. Implementation of the CPP began in June 2015, six years after carbon dioxide was successfully declared a pollutant by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In February 2016 however, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the CCP back to Federal Appeals Court to determine if it is legal or not. This is the first time that the U.S. Supreme Court has ever blocked an EPA rule.
Those who decry Obama should really take a step back to see just what he has been facing over his whole tenure: and not just Republican, but many centre right Democrats as well.
The above is just another example of the entrenched conservatism in US politics. It’s almost impossible to bring about any significant change. Maybe this will be a good thing in the immediate future. I sincerely hope so.
Those who decry Obama should really take a step back to see just what he has been facing over his whole tenure: and not just Republican, but many centre right Democrats as well.
Yep. That’s what I pulled one of the RWNJs up on the other day. The Westminster system has whips to hold the party’s MPs in line. The US system doesn’t – each representative is independent and can vote anyway that they choose. They don’t have the concept of Crossing the Floor that we have here.
Oh FFS! Take a running jump the pair of you!
You have destroyed what used to be a decent left wing blog into a diatribe of hate and scorn and yap between a few stupid “useful idiots” propagandizing for Putin – I just hope they pay you well.
Neither of you add anything to the debate, and as for the disgraceful behaviour on the “post” of the moment, where some have rightfully called ENOUGH – nope you just go on with your biased yap caring not a wit for the sad reality that is the festering sore of Allepo.
BTW – I’m sure the Chump will stop the Pipeline on 20th Jan 2017. Yeah Right. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-dakota-access-pipeline-support-investments-conflct-of-interest-a7453051.html
Totally agree with you both, Macro and Anne. Its disturbing that this has happened, and unpleasant ….. and the loss of some brilliant commentators along the way ….. doesn’t make this a blogsite to linger on any more.
Use your brain James. Macro’s comment : ‘I just hope they pay you well’ was an expression of his/her frustration with two commenters. He/she knows they are not getting paid.
There is no debate if you claim you are on the left but also claim USA= good and Russia= bad. The USA has not been an honest broker in this world.
You also claim I’m a right winger. I am a Green supporter and have not trusted the labour party since Roger Douglas hijacked it. Still waiting for it to get back to being a left wing party.
What are you talking about? I’ve never claimed you are a right winger garibaldi. Either I have said something somewhere you have misunderstood or you’ve got the wrong commenter.
One hand says, yes, it’s a great idea. The idea that someone winning an electorate has more status to be a Prime Minister is a bit on the nose. After all, the electorate MP ostensibly represents the electorate in Parliament. The PM certainly wouldn’t have the time or the commitment (unless they’re Helen Clark) to the role of electorate MP.
The other hand says, no, if a person isn’t elected to Parliament by the will of their electorate, then how could they have a claim to represent 4.7 million people, if they can’t even get the support locally to represent circa 40,000 people in an electorate? Of course, that seems to just be an astroturf argument as I’m all too conscious it’s a favourite argument made ad hominem about Andrew Little.
Perhaps we should just do away with electorates entirely (aren’t they an FPP hangover?), and just have a party vote nationwide that gives seats in parliament on a proportionate basis.
What would it look like if this were the case using the 2014 election results? ACT and United Future would be gone. Conservatives would be in. Looks like 1% of the vote would be needed in order to gain a seat in Parliament as Internet Mana would have 2 seats in Parliament. National, Conservatives and Maori Party would likely have control of the levers so I’m not sure that this method would be any better. I used swedish rounding so under 4 it rounds down, 5 and above, it rounds up. The totals end up with a 118 seat parliament. Some years it might be more.
Party / 2014 Party Vote / % of seats in parliament (Seats after rounding)
National / 47.04% / 56.4 (56)
Maori Party / 1.32% / 1.584 (2)
Conservatives / 3.97% / 4.764 (5)
Labour / 25.13% / 30.15 (30)
Green / 10.70% / 12.84 (13)
NZ First / 8.66% / 10.392 (10)
It is a trivial point but ACT would have 1 seat. 0.69 * 1.2 = 0.828 and rounds to 1.
After the US election everyone who was unhappy had a go at how they would change the US election system. They didn’t live there but they considered their favourite method should be used.
Perhaps we should allow Greece to have a go at revising ours. After all their Governing party is everybody’s favourite Syriza so it must be good. Greece has a bonus system for the biggest party.
Roughly speaking we would have a Parliament where you would get 1 seat per one percent and National as the biggest would get a bonus of 20 seats.
National would have 67, Labour 25, Green 11, NZ First 9 and so on.
Surely that is a better system? After all it comes from the birthplace of democracy.
“Perhaps we should just do away with electorates entirely (aren’t they an FPP hangover?), and just have a party vote nationwide that gives seats in parliament on a proportionate basis. ”
I like the theory, sadly I think the reality would be a beltway of professional politicians near totally removed from the citizens of the country and at the whim of lobbyists.
The other hand says, no, if a person isn’t elected to Parliament by the will of their electorate, then how could they have a claim to represent 4.7 million people
Because they got the support of the majority of voters in the country? You know, the main electorate that all other electorates are a subset of?
Perhaps we should just do away with electorates entirely (aren’t they an FPP hangover?), and just have a party vote nationwide that gives seats in parliament on a proportionate basis.
That’s what I would prefer as it allows MPs to be more accountable. As an example just look at how easy it is for a party to kick off a list MP and have them changed for a new one in comparison to how impossible it is to get rid of an electorate MP – Phillip Field comes to mind.
I’m also thinking you’ve got you calculation wrong. The number of seats in parliament should be static.
This idea has merit in that it means that the voice in Parliament is distributed proportionately and represents the will of the people in that regard. However the downside is that there are many duties that Members of Parliament perform that are not covered by Policy Platforms. The homeless, or the person struggling with central bureaucracy, and a host of other local issues that need to be dealt with or taken to central government. These tasks and responsibilities cannot be effectively handled by a list MP – they need to be the responsibility of a locally domiciled representative who ideally represents the people within that electorate. It is for this reason that local MPs hold their surgeries.
These tasks and responsibilities cannot be effectively handled by a list MP – they need to be the responsibility of a locally domiciled representative who ideally represents the people within that electorate.
Of course those duties can be effectively handled by them. It may require some shifting of laws and customs but they can most certainly do it.
If I was having housing issues I’d want to go to a some MP that in a party that’s actually going to try to address them rather than to one that’s in a party that seems more to favour making those issues worse.
Besides, most issues taken to an electorate office are probably handled by the staff in the office rather than the MP themselves.
Besides, most issues taken to an electorate office are probably handled by the staff in the office rather than the MP themselves.
that may be true – as is a lot of things – but the MP usually signs it off eg David Cunliffe.
The fact that the Dunny keeps getting elected, despite his consistent fence sitting, is primarily due to the fact that as an electorate MP he is very good. People may not vote for his party but they are quite happy to go to him with issues that concern them.
And how many people who vote for him actually go to his office to speak with him about issues and then see him resolve those issues?
I suspect that it’s a lot less than who vote for him.
And a list MP could be just as good. In fact, I’m pretty sure that there’s a number of list MPs that set up electorate offices and perform all the same duties as an electorate MP.
And then there’s Blinglish who kept getting voted in to the Southland electorate despite living in Wellington.
Thanks for that, marty. Interesting read. I’d like to see Miss Kirchoff now bring her formidable analytical method to the phenomenon of dead ducks pretending to be masculine.
“In the wake of Trump’s election, the Internet Archive has announced it will be moving a copy of its archive to Canada. The archive is one of the world’s largest public digital libraries. Part of the site includes the Wayback Machine, which preserves old websites, allowing researchers to access pages deleted by politicians and others. We speak to the founder of the Internet Archive, Brewster Kahle.”
Labour in Scotland to go into partnership with the Tories.
The English Labour Party Scottish branch was reduced to one (1) seat out of the 59 in Westminster.
It was reduced to third place and is no longer the official opposition in the Sciottish Parliament at Holyrood.
It is now admitting that it will loose control of all its Local Councils and go into third place behind the SNP and the Tories. They have now written-off Glasgow which the controlled for 40 years.
They are planning to allocate their resources only into those councils where they could win control jointly with Tories and LibDems. The needs of the electorate do not figure in their plans: only jobs for the (mainly and not manly) boys.
Labour will partner with Tories to block left of centre SNP.
Well in the year in which the Guardian has totally exposed itself as nothing more than just another faceless guard defending the free market establishment ideology, in the year where they shed any semblance of journalistic impartiality, it is fitting that they go out in 2016 spreading actual Fake news that is destroying and undermining the progressive left….
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Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
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. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
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 ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. 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 ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
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Putin outplays Obama
https://www.rt.com/news/372256-putin-diplomats-expulsion-rejects/
Obama is embarrassing in his last minute legacy shopping to try and appear as a strong President who finally got the nerve to stand up to Putin (and try and disrupt the international playing field for an incoming Trump Administration).
Obama expels 35 Russian diplomats; Putin invites the families of US diplomats in Moscow to attend New Year festivities for the children in the Kremlin.
As well as wishing the Obama and Trump families seasons greetings.
Pretty clear who the grown up statesman is here.
Putin countered the speculation and lies by outplaying Obama and taking the higher ground.
Which leaves him looking like the statesman and Obama looking like the stirring provocateur.
Looks like Putin stole the strategy straight from Michelle Obama: “when they go low…”
I think putin has blinked and shown his weakness – never mind, he’ll have an easier time with ‘scratch my tummy’ trump.
So your story is that Obama somehow managed to stare down Putin?
why would they eject US officials other than for tit for tat. But if the reasons for being ejected are accepted no tit for tat needed.
putin is scared of Obama but he isn’t scared of trump, he’s good buddies with that dude and his ‘team’.
so not only did Obama stare down Putin from retaliating, but its clear to you that Putin is actually scared of Obama?
fearful is probably the better term – putin isn’t used to people standing up to him – they don’t hang around for long – they all decide to conveniently take long walks off short piers
putin couldn’t retaliate – he was caught and he knows it so he did the decent thing and accepted that. He knows that pretty soon trump will be begging at his feet so he’s cool, the plan worked, trump is in.
That’s perfect for a commentator slot on CNN. Russia/Trump “stole the election”. Now lets use them as a scapegoat for the Democrats failings because we’ve told lies about Russia for decades anyway.
I don’t think the election was stolen. I don’t think the russians are scapegoats for the democratic party loss but the west has certainly told lies about russia for decades as russia has told lies about the US so 1 out of 3 ain’t bad there. Good effort C + more attention to detail please.
I give big ups to putin for not pretending – he’s got caught – fronted up and moved on. Obama is yesterday, Trump’s coming in now and he is where the real fun begins – he is tomorrow 🙂
Think it’s more Putin pointing out that Obama’s just an irrelevant annoyance now.
Throw your toys, have a sulk you’ll be gone in a couple of weeks and then normal relations will resume.
+1, BM.
Oh come on marty! You are showing that you are not genuine poster at all , the word is shill!
I don’t like the word shill for some reason – so foreign to these shores – even the concept really. So X you will need to dig deeper into your nasty bag if you want to leave a mark on me today C- please try harder try hard
shill it is marty, its just the right word for what you do
Prove it
“I think putin has blinked and shown his weakness…”
Sometimes it’s bigger and wiser to show restraint. This was one of those occasions.
You’re one very confused individual MM
Comments you make are an inconsistent mix of ‘preaching peace’ while low balling attempts to defuse and de-escalate political confrontation
Predjudice blinds you
Hmmmm you do seem to spend a lot of time judging others, might be time to get your mirror out.
Putin outplays Obama
Maybe. Or, Obama outplays Trump: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/30/obama-russia-sanctions-donald-trump-republicans
For Obama, Russia is thus a uniquely effective wedge issue, with the potential to divide the president-elect from his party. If Trump tries to remove the new sanctions, he could face blowback from Congress; if he doesn’t, his friendly relationship with Putin could be damaged.
Outgoing Obama tries to sabotage and box in new Trump Administration?
That sounds about right.
I certainly hope it is. The Obnoxious Loudmouth in Chief and his cabinet of the 0.1% need to be sabotaged and boxed-in to whatever extent possible, for all our sakes.
It won’t be the first time Trump has been at odds with his party.
Trump praised Putin’s response, therefore it will be interesting to see whether or not he lifts the sanctions.
Apart from the warmongers, most people would agree stronger US – Russia relations is best for everyone.
“Apart from the warmongers, most people would agree stronger US – Russia relations is best for everyone.”
Except for those that in their ‘wisdom’ the US and Russia decide to lay waste to either militarily or economically.
If the US and Russia decide to lay waste to each other, there will be little hope for anyone.
Putin has been “outperforming ” Western leaders for some time now ,and he does it with style. His press interviews are a delight to behold ,and he does it all off the cuff.
Not surprising at all! I picked that he would do nothing here.
Dame Valerie Adams, it is.
And some of the lesser NZ titles to Goff and Fran Wilde.
Goff?
Stuff on the “honours” – those archaic things.
Some people who made a great contribution to NZ get them, but so do some who made a dubious contribution.
Dubious ? Pretty straight forward, do as national ask/donate and on the list you go.
A Former nat MP, latest boys club inductee Brian Roche who is riding nzpost into the dust, shonky flag debacle panel chair etc etc
I see Iain Robert Rennie also got a CNZM For services to the State
Several people got honours for services to local government – curious as to why so many for that.
and an Honorary award of some sort for Gad Propper For services to New Zealand-Israel relations. Propper is an Israeli businessman – on many corporate boards, and organisations, including:
And some more at the link.
Not when you look at the role they’ve played in letting national ride rough shot over the public services in central and local govt.
Local bodies and rural councils should be screaming at this govt over the condition they’ve let state highways get to which in turn effects their own regional efficiency and accessibility.
Then there’s the water…..
Some of them were mayors in the Waikato.
Alistair Travers Sowman was a Councillor and mayor in Marlborough.
He also was/is a member of the Blenheim Round Table as well as being in the garlic business.
The Blenheim Round Table seems to be some sort of charitable mens’ club.
But in recent years the focus on Blues Brews and BBQs for movie nights.
This was leaked on the Web before today.
But yes, NZ Post is going to shit under him.
At least we haven’t got Sir John Key (yet).
Wait till Queens Birthday Millsy. Sir John and his beloved Queen.
John Burrows, man who couldnt engage the public in the botched flag change process is honoured.
http://stuff.co.nz/national/87982485/canterbury-law-professor-john-burrows-receives-second-honour
“the lesser NZ titles to ………… Fran Wilde.”
Can you please explain the claim that Fran got a lower award than Valerie?
You did notice , didn’t you, that they both got exactly the same award?
Gordon Campbell has an interesting analysis of McCully’s role in the UN resolution against Israeli settlements. He credibly puts NZ government role in the resolution in the wider context of trade with Middle East countries, and relations with China.
Not sure about Campbell’s qualification: Doing What’s Right, even if that latter bit is very much in the eye of the beholder.
But the rest of Campbell’s argument does fit with McCully’s past record on trade, the ME, etc.
Did you see Michael Field’s article Carolyn? Interesting South Pacific perspective.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1612/S00104/background-to-how-israel-nearly-went-to-war-with-new-zealand.htm
Yes. Thanks, Karen. I read it a couple of days back. But it covers a lot of ground and it is interesting to re-read it today.
Field is pretty scathing about the inability of NZ’s MSM to cover foreign affairs.
On the point about trade with the Middle East, and in the light of Campbell’s piece on it, Field refers to Steve Hoadley on RNZ. To me Hoadley always seems to be pro the US government, and is fairly centre right – though probably more for Obama than Trump.
Field says:
But his view of Murray McCully gives some implicit credence to the idea that his role in promoting the UN resolution, was indeed all about trade, though maybe the trade is small – but could still be a focus for McCully. McCully is known for micro-managing. Field says:
Field starts to roam a bit widely (wildly?) with is end comments on NZ historical relations to Israeli spy agents.
His stuff on the relationship between Netanyahu and Bainimarama is interesting, though probably a small footnote in the overall international politicking in the Asia-Pacific region.
On this last day of this arbitrarily constructed year I’d like to say thanks for their efforts and energy to the following long term contributors that we lost this year from the standard.
te reo putake (the voice of reason)
Red Logix
plus I still miss the hard left comments of Murray Olsen
I know there have been many others that each of us miss – feel free to add their names to the list.
What happened to Red Logix?
Was he banned or has he decided not to post anymore?
+1 Marty
I especially miss RLs commentary, while not always agreeing with him, he was a calm and kind voice at a blog that’s become increasingly angry and tribal.
Both trp and Red Logix are around in one form or another, but just not active.
They both said they were leaving and not coming back. I hope they both do come back personally even though I had majors with both of those opinionated, arrogant, interesting writers and contributers.
Unless TRP said something I missed, he was just banned until the middle of January. Same as Lanthanide. RedLogix has put up a few comments since saying he wasn’t coming back, but not many.
I’m happy to have it wrong – I hope I am.
I hope they both do come back.
Yes. Redlogix has an exceptional brain and trp a wonderful turn of phrase. I know they are both inclined to be hotheads at times but their contributions are sorely missed by me. trp’s posts in particular were inclined to be misunderstood by some. Redlogix’s technical perambulations were well over my head but I’m sure there were readers here who could follow them. 😉
I also miss Tracey and Rosie. Weka and Sabine are voices I value and have been a lot quieter lately and Stephanie seems to have given up.
This is my last comment for a while – although there are still some voices here whose opinions I value (marty mars, Joe90, Carolyn_nth, Robert Guyton, Mickey Savage and a few others) they have become a small minority.
Election year next year – I will put energy into getting a Labour/Green government rather than spending time arguing with right-wingers, and spreaders of alt-right propaganda. Good luck to all of you here who are trying to make The Standard a left-wing blog.
I will miss you Karen and I accept your decision – I understand it only too well. When you decide to write again, I’d like to read it – kia kaha for 2017 and I too will be working to change this government.
ditto. happy New Year and
good riddance 2016
There are a number of commenters here whose contributions I value very much – too many to name. Some post short and to the point… others are longer and more complex… others don’t post on a regular basis… but they are all valuable in providing an over-all assessment of a situation or event. Sadly – very sadly – their contributions are being drowned out by prolific rwnjs such as wellfedweta, BM et al, whose aims I am sure are to destroy this site. It does not surprise me many of our best commenters are falling by the wayside.
frankly we don’t need the likes of BM et all to make this site and unhappening thing.
the so called ‘left’ has enough people happy to tear each other up on their own.
the last few month were nice window into it. if anything i can handle BM et al, but i can not support those that are happy to throw my rights and more importantly needs as a women, that are happy to throw the rights and needs of anyone not a heterosexual male, that are happy to throw the rights and needs of anyone not supporting the flavour du jour of ‘destroy it all to start over again’ under the bus.
And these are supposedly on our side. So frankly if we call out BM, the welfedweta, fisiani and such we should also call out those on our side that would equally just cut our rights and privileges in order to promote ‘change’, especially if that ‘change’ will have no impact on their lives.
+1 Sabine – and then I’m out. But I will leave this for the “not-my-idea-of-left” :
Jessica Williams
@mizjwilliams
But hey, another reckon: IF YOUR PROGRESSIVISM (or whatever) DOESN’T ADVANCE INTERESTS OF WOMEN, LGBTI, PoC ETC THEN IT IS BOLLOCKS.
All the best for your political activities next year (2017).
Unless you’re thinking you can switch winter and summer so that you can go snowboarding tomorrow the year is most definitely not arbitrarily constructed.
the dates are aren’t they – or can you please direct me to where in nature those dates are…
the year is just numbers that don’t correspond to much – not the full moons, not the longest or shortest days – but please if you have any information to share, do so…
Actually, the end/beginning of the year has been the Winter Solstice in European and many other traditions since before recorded history. There is some inaccuracy in the numbers but the tradition is still there. Months are, of course, called so after the Lunar cycle and the names themselves have meaning.
The numbers of the years are based upon the assumed birth of christ. Such birth probably didn’t exist but it’s not exactly arbitrary either. The numbers are there is so that confusion is removed from the historical record.
Most people probably ignore the actual number of the year – I know I do – as it’s not really important but take note of the time of year and the end/beginning of the year.
is tonight the solstice? if not then your wordage is meaningless
and as for your european traditions – handy for up north not so much down here in the Pacific Ocean imo
Nope, still meaningful. Sure, there’s been some slippage due to political reasons and inaccuracies but it’s still the basis of the year.
Actually, you’d be wrong there to. It really doesn’t work if the world uses different calendars.
oh don’t worry stonehenge builders we’ve just had some slippage… that is how out of whack your whole comment is – not pretty.
You know, you’re argument was that the year was arbitrary. I said that it wasn’t. That it was based upon the seasons and, lo and behold, that’s exactly what it’s based upon.
You’re now here trying to distract from the completely stupid thing that you said.
So you agree that the choice of calendar year is one of a convenient social construction. And it is one that arose in the northern hemisphere.
The traditional Maori New Year is in May/June – similar season to that of the northern hemisphere traditional New Year.
I don’t have a lot of interest in celebrating New Year in January. I enjoy the summer weather that tends to get going soon after – but that’s another matter.
I didn’t say that it wasn’t. What I said was that it wasn’t arbitrary, that it was based upon the physical characteristics of the year.
Yep. And if it had been the Māori that had had an empire that the sun never set upon then that probably would have been the calendar in use today.
I don’t celebrate it at all. I also think that it’d be great having a one week holiday during Mātariki.
Glad we cleared that up then.
I do like good summer weather. Looking forward to some.
I’m loving this – may even give it a go next year
“Ngarino Te Waati and his wife Kura have created an online training programme that uses haka movements to help people get fit.
“It’s got a traditional background – you’ll see many of the movements that are stemmed from the ancient days,” he said.”
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/health/2016/12/haka-gets-revamp-in-maori-fitness-programme.html
On another note – just watched ‘The Dead Lands’ again last night – I rate this movie for at least using te reo and subtitles – so nice to hear the language in context.
Plus there are many subtle levels to this movie I think – many levels indeed
Thanks for the tip. Will watch it. I don’t speak Te Reo, but want to increase my exposure to it.
Plus it sounds like an interesting story, with an intriguing subtext/depth.
Patti Smith just turned 70
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zmw_UnIfbs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPR-HyGj2d0
Happy birthday xxx
Happy New year NZ from Los Angeles, where for one last time my old party crew is doing it’s fly in from London, Miami, Sydney, NYC, Washington DC and Santiago to see in the new year. With one baby here and one on the way plus one wedding this year and one in the new year this is going to be a bittersweet new year’s eve as I go out for possibly the last time with a crew I’ve partied with from London to LA via Miami and Vegas for twelve years.
Where does the time go? babies? Marriage? Who could have imagined it a decade ago? Nothing lasts forever, but I wish the moments could last a little longer. Amazing. Anyway, a big thanks to the Standard and all who sail on her, and here is to the year that has gone and to the defeat of the National government in 2017!
Wonderful comment Sanctuary, thank you. I concur and also wish all a more becoming New Year 2017 with a New Zealand free of a national government and finally getting on to work on child poverty, housing and poverty and environment resuscitation.
18 Signs That Show We’ve Reached the Tipping Point
The planet will survive and recover over time as it has done plenty of times in the past. Civilisation? Probably not.
We’re at the point of: Humanity: Probably not
An excellent summation and thanks for the link Draco.
Interestingly – and very pertinent to the discussions we have been having wrt the effectiveness of Obama as President – I note this:
Those who decry Obama should really take a step back to see just what he has been facing over his whole tenure: and not just Republican, but many centre right Democrats as well.
The above is just another example of the entrenched conservatism in US politics. It’s almost impossible to bring about any significant change. Maybe this will be a good thing in the immediate future. I sincerely hope so.
Yep. That’s what I pulled one of the RWNJs up on the other day. The Westminster system has whips to hold the party’s MPs in line. The US system doesn’t – each representative is independent and can vote anyway that they choose. They don’t have the concept of Crossing the Floor that we have here.
if anyone thought Obama a poor POTUS they had best buckle up for the man childs rule….he is a moron…unfortunately for the world he’s lucky moron.
http://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/12/15/donald-trump-epa-climate-change-scientists-marsh-lead-pkg.cnn
http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21711521-and-his-cabinet-looks-set-be-filled-retired-generals-president-elects-epa-head
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/15/trump-cabinet-climate-change-deniers
POTUS??….mans not fit to run a used car lot
Making more water weak excuses for the corporate sponsored presidency of Barack Obama?
Notice how Obama refused to sacrifice or leverage any of his huge popularity to get anything real done during his term?
And one more point: the Dakota Access Pipeline could not have proceeded without co-operation from the US Army and the US Army corps of engineers.
As Commander in Chief he could have killed that project at any stage this year, without going through Congress.
Guess what Obama did instead? Nothing of course. Except leave the festering sore for the next Administration to deal with.
Don’t forget his despicable drone warfare campaign either. Obama was a huge disappointment compared to his campaign rhetoric.
Victimisation of multiple whistleblowers. Enabling ever expanding mass surveillance. The list goes on.
Yet the Left still rate him so highly.
Although I do give him credit for not totally repeating the mistake of Libya in either Syria or the Ukraine.
Oh FFS! Take a running jump the pair of you!
You have destroyed what used to be a decent left wing blog into a diatribe of hate and scorn and yap between a few stupid “useful idiots” propagandizing for Putin – I just hope they pay you well.
Neither of you add anything to the debate, and as for the disgraceful behaviour on the “post” of the moment, where some have rightfully called ENOUGH – nope you just go on with your biased yap caring not a wit for the sad reality that is the festering sore of Allepo.
BTW – I’m sure the Chump will stop the Pipeline on 20th Jan 2017. Yeah Right.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-dakota-access-pipeline-support-investments-conflct-of-interest-a7453051.html
You have destroyed what used to be a decent left wing blog into a diatribe of hate and scorn and yap…
Sadly true. And in the process this site is losing the contributions of some first class thinkers.
Totally agree with you both, Macro and Anne. Its disturbing that this has happened, and unpleasant ….. and the loss of some brilliant commentators along the way ….. doesn’t make this a blogsite to linger on any more.
What is it with some lefties when people post things they disagree with – they jump to the “they must be paying you” meme.
A good blog has a variety of views and commenters. If soimd like you want me echo chamber – which is sad.
Use your brain James. Macro’s comment : ‘I just hope they pay you well’ was an expression of his/her frustration with two commenters. He/she knows they are not getting paid.
There is no debate if you claim you are on the left but also claim USA= good and Russia= bad. The USA has not been an honest broker in this world.
You also claim I’m a right winger. I am a Green supporter and have not trusted the labour party since Roger Douglas hijacked it. Still waiting for it to get back to being a left wing party.
What are you talking about? I’ve never claimed you are a right winger garibaldi. Either I have said something somewhere you have misunderstood or you’ve got the wrong commenter.
I am still not sure about how I feel on the subject of the Prime Minister being a list MP
One hand says, yes, it’s a great idea. The idea that someone winning an electorate has more status to be a Prime Minister is a bit on the nose. After all, the electorate MP ostensibly represents the electorate in Parliament. The PM certainly wouldn’t have the time or the commitment (unless they’re Helen Clark) to the role of electorate MP.
The other hand says, no, if a person isn’t elected to Parliament by the will of their electorate, then how could they have a claim to represent 4.7 million people, if they can’t even get the support locally to represent circa 40,000 people in an electorate? Of course, that seems to just be an astroturf argument as I’m all too conscious it’s a favourite argument made ad hominem about Andrew Little.
Perhaps we should just do away with electorates entirely (aren’t they an FPP hangover?), and just have a party vote nationwide that gives seats in parliament on a proportionate basis.
What would it look like if this were the case using the 2014 election results? ACT and United Future would be gone. Conservatives would be in. Looks like 1% of the vote would be needed in order to gain a seat in Parliament as Internet Mana would have 2 seats in Parliament. National, Conservatives and Maori Party would likely have control of the levers so I’m not sure that this method would be any better. I used swedish rounding so under 4 it rounds down, 5 and above, it rounds up. The totals end up with a 118 seat parliament. Some years it might be more.
Party / 2014 Party Vote / % of seats in parliament (Seats after rounding)
National / 47.04% / 56.4 (56)
Maori Party / 1.32% / 1.584 (2)
Conservatives / 3.97% / 4.764 (5)
Labour / 25.13% / 30.15 (30)
Green / 10.70% / 12.84 (13)
NZ First / 8.66% / 10.392 (10)
Internet Mana / 1.42% / 1.7 (2)
ACT / .69% / 0
United Future / .22% / 0
They have list only parliaments in some European countries.
It is a trivial point but ACT would have 1 seat. 0.69 * 1.2 = 0.828 and rounds to 1.
After the US election everyone who was unhappy had a go at how they would change the US election system. They didn’t live there but they considered their favourite method should be used.
Perhaps we should allow Greece to have a go at revising ours. After all their Governing party is everybody’s favourite Syriza so it must be good. Greece has a bonus system for the biggest party.
Roughly speaking we would have a Parliament where you would get 1 seat per one percent and National as the biggest would get a bonus of 20 seats.
National would have 67, Labour 25, Green 11, NZ First 9 and so on.
Surely that is a better system? After all it comes from the birthplace of democracy.
“Perhaps we should just do away with electorates entirely (aren’t they an FPP hangover?), and just have a party vote nationwide that gives seats in parliament on a proportionate basis. ”
I like the theory, sadly I think the reality would be a beltway of professional politicians near totally removed from the citizens of the country and at the whim of lobbyists.
Because they got the support of the majority of voters in the country? You know, the main electorate that all other electorates are a subset of?
That’s what I would prefer as it allows MPs to be more accountable. As an example just look at how easy it is for a party to kick off a list MP and have them changed for a new one in comparison to how impossible it is to get rid of an electorate MP – Phillip Field comes to mind.
I’m also thinking you’ve got you calculation wrong. The number of seats in parliament should be static.
This idea has merit in that it means that the voice in Parliament is distributed proportionately and represents the will of the people in that regard. However the downside is that there are many duties that Members of Parliament perform that are not covered by Policy Platforms. The homeless, or the person struggling with central bureaucracy, and a host of other local issues that need to be dealt with or taken to central government. These tasks and responsibilities cannot be effectively handled by a list MP – they need to be the responsibility of a locally domiciled representative who ideally represents the people within that electorate. It is for this reason that local MPs hold their surgeries.
Of course those duties can be effectively handled by them. It may require some shifting of laws and customs but they can most certainly do it.
If I was having housing issues I’d want to go to a some MP that in a party that’s actually going to try to address them rather than to one that’s in a party that seems more to favour making those issues worse.
Besides, most issues taken to an electorate office are probably handled by the staff in the office rather than the MP themselves.
that may be true – as is a lot of things – but the MP usually signs it off
eg David Cunliffe.
The fact that the Dunny keeps getting elected, despite his consistent fence sitting, is primarily due to the fact that as an electorate MP he is very good. People may not vote for his party but they are quite happy to go to him with issues that concern them.
And how many people who vote for him actually go to his office to speak with him about issues and then see him resolve those issues?
I suspect that it’s a lot less than who vote for him.
And a list MP could be just as good. In fact, I’m pretty sure that there’s a number of list MPs that set up electorate offices and perform all the same duties as an electorate MP.
And then there’s Blinglish who kept getting voted in to the Southland electorate despite living in Wellington.
Savaged by a dead duck
Vladimir Putin must be trembling with fear at the thought of any more attacks by that world-renowned champion of democracy*, President Hopey Changey.
* Except for Honduras, Brazil, Venezuela, Palestine….
https://cdn-webimages.wimages.net/051aa3d4c8779045230471237317c72a6d3d47-wm.jpg?v=3
here’s some reading for you morrie
https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2016/12/30/on-masculinity-and-political-power-trump-is-a-page-out-of-putins-playbook/
not all men are created equal – for some, masculinity is more than bluster and bullshit – but don’t worry putin and trump are NOT in that category.
Thanks for that, marty. Interesting read. I’d like to see Miss Kirchoff now bring her formidable analytical method to the phenomenon of dead ducks pretending to be masculine.
Important news
“In the wake of Trump’s election, the Internet Archive has announced it will be moving a copy of its archive to Canada. The archive is one of the world’s largest public digital libraries. Part of the site includes the Wayback Machine, which preserves old websites, allowing researchers to access pages deleted by politicians and others. We speak to the founder of the Internet Archive, Brewster Kahle.”
https://www.democracynow.org/2016/12/29/facing_possible_threats_under_trump_internet
The eleventh day around Christmas with another Friendship quote.
Labour in Scotland to go into partnership with the Tories.
The English Labour Party Scottish branch was reduced to one (1) seat out of the 59 in Westminster.
It was reduced to third place and is no longer the official opposition in the Sciottish Parliament at Holyrood.
It is now admitting that it will loose control of all its Local Councils and go into third place behind the SNP and the Tories. They have now written-off Glasgow which the controlled for 40 years.
They are planning to allocate their resources only into those councils where they could win control jointly with Tories and LibDems. The needs of the electorate do not figure in their plans: only jobs for the (mainly and not manly) boys.
Labour will partner with Tories to block left of centre SNP.
http://wingsoverscotland.com/the-final-surrender/
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14993738.Scottish_Labour_heading_for_new_electoral_iceberg_as_internal_polls_show_it_on_just_15_per_cent/
Bill Drees
That is a very telling move and confirms what many have been saying about modern ‘Labour’.
Well in the year in which the Guardian has totally exposed itself as nothing more than just another faceless guard defending the free market establishment ideology, in the year where they shed any semblance of journalistic impartiality, it is fitting that they go out in 2016 spreading actual Fake news that is destroying and undermining the progressive left….
https://theintercept.com/2016/12/29/the-guardians-summary-of-julian-assanges-interview-went-viral-and-was-completely-false/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNPUewpOWJs&t=199s
BREAKING NEWS THIS DAY ON NEW YEARS EVE
A GREAT DAY FOR US FREEDOM FIGHTERS. ;
FINALLY BILDERBERG HAS BEEN HACKED & THERE IS MORE TO COME IF THEY DON’T STOP THEIR EVIL BLACK OPP’S UNDERMINING OUR SOVERIGN COUNTRIES.
https://www.rt.com/usa/372312-bilderberg-website-hacked/
‘We will watch you’: Bilderberg website hacked and have been threatened to expose the whole underside of the clandestine organisation finally.
So Bilderberg members are all (heterosexual) men?
Happy New Year, everyone!
Happy New Year.
May 2017 bring us a bit of joy, health, love and good fortune.