they have all earlier sessions recorded and available on the page, youtube is happening as we speak,
i am downloading as i go and recording on audiotape
yeah, He is quietly sitting there with his translator, whom he hardly uses, busy explaining the framework required to build a case to take a lot of very powerful people to International Court, and then continues to lay out the best way to make it happen.
It was an incredible first day. The quality of the speakers is well balanced with the considered time they each get to present. The long Q&A sessions from the panel and the audience, including on line contributions, are already showing their worth.
Standard, please get the Weekend column up earlier, we want to discuss gardening and such like with my RWNJ annd LWNJ horticultural mates. Plus the rugger head stuff.
I want to ask that someone who has a lead into what sounds like an awesome firework display for tonight in Auckland to post it, in the Weekend fun column.
I will be playing on my cycle in the countryside from this evening and have no desire to participate in watching a minority sport developed at a public (toff’s) school, by people who couldn’t play proper football, played by colonial nations and appealing to farmers and red necks.
I will be playing on my cycle in the countryside from this evening and have no desire to participate in watching a minority sport developed at a public (toff’s) school, by people who couldn’t play proper football, played by colonial nations and appealing to farmers and red necks.
I shall be doing my level best to avoid it, but man it’s difficult! Some person has decided that Mt Albert (where I have the misfortune to live) has “adopted” the USA as “our team” and the suburb is festooned with the flag I least like to see… There are a million questions – not least, who decided that “we” care?
Our good friend Ianupnorth clambered up high on his high horse, looked down on the plebs (he sneeringly dismisses them as “red necks”) and disdainfully opined that rugby football is “played by colonial nations and appealing to farmers and red necks.”
It’s really just too silly and pathetic to merit much comment, but one thing in Ian’s Olympian dismissal of the game demands clarification: in what way is France a colonial nation?
I am interested in the treatment of “Taugate” by the left and the right.
On the left a few comments, no posts in any of the major left blogs that I know of and a couple of tweets.
On the right an attack by the slithery one on the complainant backed up by one of those echo posts by Farrar, you know the ones where Slater does the disgusting stuff and Farrar “only” reports that Slater has reported it.
Is this that different to the speeding cop car that Helen was not actually driving but which provided RWNJs with years of abuse and conspiracy theories on here?
Does the left actually weigh up the seriousness of an incident before commenting whereas the right just relish the opportunity to attack?
There’s been a mixture of attacks and support for Henare on KB.
And if you think “the left actually weigh up the seriousness of an incident before commenting” then you mustn’t actually read anything in posts or comments here, or you must suffer from severe blinkeritis..
In my own narrow experience here I’ve been attacked by numerous people sometimes based only on the presumption I must be bad because I’ve been active on “bad” blogs, or as someone admitted recently, based on attacks on me they’ve seen by people like you.
Did you weigh up anything before accusing me of working for CT or the Beehive?
Did you weigh up anything before accusing me of working for CT or the Beehive?
Have I ever done that? I thought from the start you were a fan of the coiffured one rather than a CT clone. The attacks on you are a response to the quality of your comments more than anything else.
Ehm in one of them I accused Herodotus of having the CT songbook out. I accused you of linkwhoring, not understanding the country’s financial state, taking the piss, trolling, being a waste of bandwidth, walking around with your wyes deliberately closed, and always insisting on having the last word.
In the other one I asked if you had “[b]een going to “how to muck up a thread” lessons with CT?” because you show an unusual ability to do so.
Not really. Your search is quite inefficient use – @author. It shows Mickey using it occasionally with long intervals between. Your search in it’s first page went back to mid 2010. If you looked at the squirrel in his several identities and ran queries on moderate or balance or centre you’d find he was eternally repetitive on those in the short time he has been here.
And that is back to mid 2010 on about half the total number of comments..
Basically you can get largish numbers of the same phrase for anyone who leaves large numbers of comments. If you left more then I could analyze your phrases as well. I suppose I could look at the IPs….
Essentially you’re just being a bit of irritating dickhead – roughly the intelligence level of the drunken ugly rugby louts staggering somewhere outside my house. Noisy, loud and stupid…
Snippet in Business news on RNZ this morning about building consents at their lowest since World War 2. This is doing a time of major housing crisis and a year after of major earthquakes. Of course not picked up as a story to investigate (let alone asking the minister for some accountability).
A month of BBC and Al J me thinks. NZ media now inhabits a parralell universe where nothing but a bunch of gladiators running round a paddock after a ball exists.
Yep, noticed that. In fact a closer inspection would reveal that there is less building going on than any time since the 1970s. Down 24% on last year – that is a colossal drop.
That is really something major. It tells a big story about what the people of NZ are doing at the moment.
It is also worth noting another example in tourism. On the west coast this year numbers are down well below 50% of last years. And last years were dismally down on the previous too.
It is like we have run off a cliff like a road runner cartoon and are currently suspended in mid-air in realisation of the drop about to occur …..
National are not a business party with the interests of NZ business at heart.
They are second hand salesman, they talk up and then sell cheap.
They reflect the NZ economy and culture. If you can do it now for
next to nothing then best get it done because there’s no come back,
and everyone is doing it so where would they start with anyway.
If you want a world class economy we need a world class parliament.
Limiting our nation to 100 MPs and no upper chamber, is the bottle
neck. If you want better policy you need to pay for more people to
produce better policy.
A month ago there was a little bit of media coverage concerning the wage difference between males and females in New Zealand. The impetus for that reporting was to highlight the defunct thought process of Alasdair Thompson who was dismissed from the EMA for his sexist remarks. Although slowly declining, wage inequality is still a problem that disproportionately attributes wealth based on a male dominated hierarchical system…
It may pay for Goff to refrain from commenting on what should be happenning in Christchurch until such time as he and Labour have worked out what they think should be happenning in Christchurch.
Labour has completely failed in not coming up with a Christchurch policy. Speaking about it merely highlights that lack of policy. Is this not simple politics?
I think they’re in a position where they don’t want to make any promises, especially anything that National could rake them over the coals with (which they surely would).
Pete, it’s pretty obvious that Labour will win this election on policies, not personality. So the timing of policy releases is pretty important and I would say there is very little point releasing anything till the thugby finishes, because it’ll be swamped by the RWC coverage. In short, expect a short, sharp campaign from Labour starting immediately after the final, with actual policies and plans for the future.
And, anyway, isn’t a policy free zone like United Future a strange place to be complaining from? The last 4 elections, UF’s only go has been to grovel for a job from whoever is best placed to form a Government.
Pete, it’s pretty obvious that Labour will win this election on policies, not personality.
Labour stalwarts seem to be convinced of that, but few give them a show.
UnitedFuture have openly published a wide range of policies so people have a chance to check them out in plenty of time rather than trying a risky last minute last hope onslaught.
Gee, sorry if I wasn’t clear, Pete. Despite being in various parties and Governments for what feels like forever, Dunne has failed to implement anything other than his vision of himself sitting in the back seat of a ministerial limo. Is that better?
You are dead right that UF have a website with ‘policy’ on it. So did that party you were a member of a month ago, as I recall. It’s the ability to translate that policy into action that counts and Dunne has failed miserably to achieve anything other than personal enrichment and regular hair, scalp and ego massaging.
Also on the United Future website is the Successes section. The only “success” (sic) listed over the last three years appears to be signing a confidence and supply agreement with National. Whoopee!
So, TVOR, if Labour lose the election, it will be because the Nats personality won, not a rejection of Labours policies? And as soon as the public stops falling for ther JK smile and wave act all will be right (well, left) because the current polling has absolutly nothing to do with Labours policies and all with JK!?!?!?!?
Know where you’re coming from Sweetd, but it would be fair to say that Labour cannot win a personality contest, so it has to be superior policies that get them over the line. And I don’t think the public has rejected Labour’s previous policies, anyway. National simply adopted them and put up a fresh face to spruik for them.
This time around though, there will be a more substantial difference between the left and right and I hope that the debate will be about which direction NZ goes in, not who’d be more fun at a BBQ.
Agreed, its MMP applied; that is the main parties fight for the middle ground, and whoever holds the middle ground becomes govt, therefore the main parties end up looking very similar in terms of policies.
So just what are the National / ACT policies, Pete George?
Further up there is talk about building consents being at a record low – is that consistent with getting Christchurch going again? Or have all the builders left to help out Queensland after their floods?
What is National / ACT doing about the building sector?
I think I might jump in and mention that the South African Rugby Board offered to have neutral referees in the 1976 series but the NZ Rugby Union declined. Apparently ‘Pole’ Whiting retired on the spot when he was told that.
Anything has to be an improvement on the Nats policy- demolish the CBD and two suburbs, bleed the EQC dry, blame everything on the earthquake….
There is plenty to criticize in this shameful display of disaster politics and no reason to be quiet about it.
Just read over on Red Alert on the question of unemployment, “They told us there was to be absolutely no discussion of anything to the media. If anyone spoke to the media it could be a code of conduct issue,” an employee told the Taranaki Daily News on condition of anonymity. Penalties for breaching the code of conduct could include being sacked, they said.
Could this be true? Ominous. Reminds me of the news blackout during the wharfies strike in the 50s.
I wish that Owen Glenn would just piss off – nakedly partisan PR bullshit puffery and the dirty money that he is trying to bribe the country with has no place in NZ Politics
where would national be? and labour and the whole lot of them
its the richest who decide elections cos they harp on and on and on re their spin until people believe it and they have the $ to back em up
The elections of old are long gone
this election like the last one esp in nationals case is that clown key is the only thing they have apart from brash hahahahha
this is about image rather than substance or policies
wot an eyesore the rwc is and then election following behind it full of smile and mince
Owen had a couple of things that drove him. He wanted respect, ergo the desire to have a diplomatic passport and be a mover and shaker, and he just wanted to be loved.
In some respects he is a very simple man. Give someone like this a few billion dollars and this is what you get.
yeah pity people like him didnt actually stay in the country and invest those few billion and create a few jobs BUT NO………………………
but nah
frakers like him, seem to think we owe them something cos they’re rich??
C L – On Owen Glenn – Might have been better to give him the consul’s job that he so wanted – get him out of our hair. He might have used up his money at European casinos instead of playing roulette wheel with us.
Capill was released weeks ago. I saw him walking through the underpass between the Beehive and Bowen House. Question is, who in government was he visiting?
On the Stuff news web site yesterday there was an intriguing story headed “NZDF may have covered up abuse allegations- Ferguson.” It was from an interveiw with former head of the NZDF, Bruce Ferguson screened on Media 7 last night. Ferguson had admitted that whistleblowing by Kiwi soldiers about the prisoner abuse in Afghanistan could have been covered up by their superiors on his watch.
In the light of Hagar’s revelations, I made a point of watching the interview. I heard no such admission. In case I missed it, I also watched it online a short time later. Now, one of two things must have happened:
a) my cognitive abilities were not the best at the time (?) or
b) the segment containing that admission was removed before it went on air.
If it was the latter, then it has to be concluded that an instruction was sent to TVNZ (probably from the PM’s Office) to remove the segment from the interview. Surely politicians – or an official on their behalf – are not allowed to interfere with day to day programming like that?
The Stuff item was still online an hour or so ago.
The Stuff story gave the impression it was included in the on air interview.
I had a few dealings with Bruce Ferguson back in the days when he was a RNZAF Squadron Leader. He came across to me as a well rounded, highly intelligent and astute person. I have no qualms in believing him when he says he knew nothing about the mistreatment of the prisoners for example. In fact, he was a very good choice by the Labour Govt. to lead the Defence Forces during that period.
It’s bullshit that the CHch rebuild will give a boost to the building industry. Even if as many as 30,000 houses are to be rebuilt at say 6000 a year ( conservative ) it will still not take the number a houses built in the country to anywhere near the average starts per annum for the last 20 years. We don’t need imported labour from Ireland or anywhere else for that matter. Why was this fuckwit idea floated, because indentured labour is strike proof and can be easily ripped and if you complain about anything you’re on the next plane out of here. Wasn’t the Irish building boom built by Poles and Czechs ?
One of New Zealand’s richest families have denied they are profiting from the elderly in a move which could net them more than $5 million.
A group of pensioners at Perrinpark near Hamilton are fighting the Perry Foundation, a charitable trust and owner of Te Kowhai retirement village, over freeholding of land.
and
If the Perrys collected an average $75,000 for each section, the trust would be $5.4 million richer, she said. “I wonder where they are taking all the money they’re getting from the village?”
An idea. May have been proposed before on The Standard, I don’t know.
Among the various resources we squander in New Zealand is “waste”.
In most cities, shit not only undergoes an expensive treatment process to render it benign but is discarded by pumping the filtered sewage into the sea. (A few places try to recycle: I believe they do or did create biogas for council vehicles at the Chch sewage works.) This is a crazy waste of money and of a valuable resource. People in China, Africa, and other places, would simply shake their heads and wonder why we do all this.
The alternative system would be for each home – where practical – to have a small biogas plant. Essentially a biogas digestor would be similar to the old-school septic tank, but have several side-benefits: producing gas for heating and cooking, and compost for the garden.
In this way, we would (a) save society sewage treatment costs; (b) save households on energy costs; (c) make households more food self-sufficient; (d) avoid the need for industrial gas extraction like “fracking” (banned in the EU, but coming to a NZ town near you, real soon!).
Thanks Ianupnorth. Sounds like an excellent scheme, although it still involves expensive centralised infrastructure. Here are some pull quotes from the link:
“If successful, a full-scale plant in Rotorua could initially remove thousands of tonnes of biosolid waste going to landfill each year, and ultimately achieve cost reduction and value creation of around $4 million per year for the council and community,” says Rotorua District Council chief executive Peter Guerin.
…
The technology has applications beyond sewage biosolids… “The growing waste streams from expanding industries such as pulp and paper, agriculture, dairy, meat and fruit processing represent a tremendous potential resource for New Zealand that can be tapped into by environmental technologies like those developed through the Waste 2 Gold biosolids research programme.
“Also, greenhouse gas emissions and the risk of contaminating leachates arising from organic wastes will be substantially reduced,” says Dr Parker.
It has been noted on this site recently that as you scan Fairfax’s media offerings the widespread use of comments is always more interesting for what articles qualify for the opportunity of public response and which fall short. No prizes this weekend if guessing which topics are muted. There are over a dozen well aligned 9/11 articles on Stuff this weekend but only the riveting Gwenyth Paltrow piece has comments switched on, and that single article has not been updated since Thursday.
Just saying is all
NZ times for Toronto Hearings Day2 (note: schedule was accurate on Day One)
10/09/11 nzt
01:00 – 01:15 Moderators: Overview of the Day’s Testimony
01:15 – 02:30 Jay Kolar: The Alleged 9/11 Hijackers
02:45 – 04:00 Paul Zarembka: Evidence of Insider Trading Before 9/11
04:00 – 04:35 Barbara Honegger:
Eyewitnesses and Evidence of Explosions at the Pentagon
4:35 – 6:10 Richard Gage: Evidence of the Demolition of WTC:
An Overview
06:30 – 07:45 Michel Chossudovsky: Global Consequences of 9/11
07:45 – 08:25 Cynthia McKinney: Attempts to Raise Questions about 9/11
08:45 – 9:30 Audience Question and Answer
Good luck if we’re in the finals 😀 This symbolically is like the practice run just as it was for the ABs tonight, the more serious stuff has yet to come.
It’s a big exciting event so going beyond capacity of public services is too be expected for the latecomers etc, but it’s pretty shitty how they are getting all draconian now and advising people not to join the party in whatever area. I remember being in London and no matter how busy public transport got ‘from people excited about some sporting/whatever thing’ but the public servants never really tried to put the dampners on it in real time like this, we’d simply get neutral reports and updates on the delays to expect using whatever forms of public transport, and let people make decisions for themselves, like adults do.
Is subliminal advertising illegal or legal in New Zealand?
I nearly choked on my tea the other day. The leery face of John Key popped out at me, taking up most of the television screen. He added nothing to the item I was watching and therefore fulfilled the criteria of subliminal advertising. It happened again tonight. A split second.
Everyone is commenting that whenever they turn on the tv all they get is John Key. Is this the new criminal activity that NAct is indulging in without using campaign monies.
John Key may find that this sort of behaviour may achieve the opposite result.
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Michelle Boag - Former National Party PresidentWhen Todd Muller decided not to discipline Hamish Walker for his horribly racist press release last week, you had to wonder if his lack of proper leadership had something to do with a shared belief system? After all, the whiteness of the blue “team” ...
On Twitter today, lawyer Felix Geiringer asked a good question: why are MP's exempt from the Privacy Act? The Act imposes its obligations on "agencies", and s8 of the 2020 Act states that this term does not include... a member of Parliament in their official capacity The 1993 Act, ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzWhat was the climate and sea level like at times ...
So now we know, beyond all doubt. The National party has no interest in joining the “team of five million” in our fight against the pandemic but its priority is to take every opportunity it can to damage the government. The cynicism is breathtaking. It was prepared to leak the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters The massive dust storm that formed over the Sahara Desert in mid-June invaded the southeastern U.S. June 25-28, bringing dangerous levels of air pollution, low visibility, and colorful sunsets. The air pollution event over parts of Texas and the Gulf ...
In 1987, as a British Labour MP, I was elected to the Shadow Cabinet by my colleagues and was asked by the party leader to direct Labour’s campaign in the general election of that year. The election was to take place at the height of Mrs Thatcher’s dominance and we ...
National MP Nicola WillisHousing, which I would argue is a fundamental human right, has long been a problem in New Zealand. Not only do we have some of the most overpriced houses in the entire world, much of the housing stock is substandard and therefore affects not just people’s health ...
If the government has not lined up behind a "Yes" vote in this year's cannabis referendum the way some reformers would have liked, one entirely laudable thing it did do was commission some science around the public's choice.That science landed today, in the form of the report from an expert ...
Associate Professor Sara WaltonAt the heart of the discussion on opening up our borders is the dichotomy of health and the economy – both of which are actually intertwined, like many things with our economy, as this epidemic has shown.If we think about our country as a system, ...
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Josh Gabbatiss This year will see the largest ever drop globally in both investment and consumer spending on energy as the coronavirus pandemic hits every major sector, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The crisis is accelerating the shutdown of older fossil-fuelled ...
A short opinion piece – Friday 26th June 2020 Whilst our Government has treated many financial victims of the current Covid-19 virus with appropriate generosity, the same cannot be said for those of the two earlier “epidemics” in NZ. The “Covid-84” virus (also called “Rogernomics”) spread systemic greed, with the ...
Everyone deserves a a decent life. We know this is possible with a fairer approach to income support and tax Read the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Poverty Action Plan here ...
After a long break, the government is back inserting secrecy clauses in legislation. This time its the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill (No 3), which in its clause allowing Ministers to exempt purchasers of farm land from the usual rules also allows them to exempt an exemption from the publication requirement: ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters acknowledged today the heavy price of trying to lead the National Party today. ‘One’s sympathy goes out to Todd Muller and his family. Todd is a good man, unlike most of his colleagues he does ...
We're keeping New Zealand moving, one progress-packed week at a time. Read below to find out how we're creating jobs, protecting the environment, looking out for the health of New Zealanders', and upgrading our critical infrastructure - and that's only this week. ...
We're keeping New Zealand moving, one progress-packed week at a time. Read below to find out how we're creating jobs, protecting the environment, looking out for the health of New Zealanders', and upgrading our critical infrastructure - and that's only this week. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund is providing up to $19.5 million to boost innovative primary sector businesses and create training and job opportunities for Northland locals through the construction of an innovation and enterprise park at Ngawha, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones ...
The Green Party is today unveiling part one of its plan for a fossil-fuel free Aotearoa, including an immediate ban on new industrial coal boilers. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industry New Zealand First is supporting calls by hunters and the New Zealand Tahr Foundation (NZTF) to halt a large scale cull of Himalayan Tahr by the Department of Conservation in National Parks. The calls are supported by a 40,000 strong petition and the ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First leader Winston Peters today scoffed at suggestions that a team of six political operatives have been dispatched to New Zealand to assist his campaign. ‘As President Ronald Reagan once said, ‘there they go again.’ ‘The clickbait journos can’t ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce Jenny Marcroft as the party’s election 2020 candidate for the Auckland Central electorate. Jenny spent years working in Auckland Central, having spent a vast proportion of her broadcasting career there. She says she, "knows the place and knows the people." Ms Marcroft says ...
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...
This week we moved into the second half of 2020 - and our Government delivered another week of big changes and major progress for New Zealanders. Read below for a wrap of the key things moments from the week - from extending paid parental leave, to making major investments in ...
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...
There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has expressed his condolences regarding the passing of Niue’s former Premier, Sir Toke Talagi, which occurred today in Niue. “Sir Toke, who was also formerly Niue’s Foreign Minister, made a significant contribution to Niue over a long career. He served as a dedicated Premier of ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has extended New Zealand’s condolences following the death of Niue’s former Premier, Sir Toke Talagi, who has passed away in Niue. “We extend our condolences to his family and to the people of Niue. Sir Toke was an elder statesman of the Pacific and a long ...
Two leaking and run-down community facilities in Gore will receive Government funding to provide jobs for local contractors and long-term benefits to the Gore community and wider region, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has announced. The funding comes from the $3 billion tagged contingency set aside in Budget 2020 for infrastructure. ...
Kia ora tatou Today I am setting out our plan in the event we have a new case of community transmission of COVID-19 in New Zealand. I will take a bit of time to do that, and then I’ll be happy to take questions at the end. Since we moved ...
·$124 million Government investment in recycling infrastructure ·Plans confirmed to increase and expand the waste levy to divert material from landfill, and recycle revenue into resource recovery and waste minimisation ·Innovative construction and demolition facility opened in Auckland with $3.1 million in support from Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF). As ...
A package of wellbeing infrastructure investments in Kaipara which focuses on improving the lives of the elderly and upgrading the iconic Kauri Museum has been announced by Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones today. “These shovel-ready projects will have significant benefits for their respective communities and I’m pleased this funding ...
More support is rolling out for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the COVID Response and Recovery Fund, to help them adapt and innovate to deal with the impact of the virus. The Ministers for Economic Development and Small Business have announced a further $40 million for the Regional Business ...
Stephen Clark, Māori Land Court Judge of Hamilton has been appointed as a District Court Judge with jury jurisdiction to be based in Hamilton, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Judge Clark graduated with an LLB from Auckland University in 1988 and was admitted to the Bar in the same year. ...
The Crown will provide a loan to Hawke’s Bay Airport to ensure it can trade through COVID-19 economic impacts, support the region’s recovery and protect up to 200 jobs. The Crown has a 50 percent shareholding in Hawke’s Bay Airport Limited (HBAL), with Napier City Council holding 26 percent and ...
Four celebrated Māori and Pasifika events will receive up to $100,000 each in funding from the new Creative and Cultural Events Incubator fund, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. The four events that were successful in the inaugural funding round are: Kia Mau Festival, Wellington Māoriland Film Festival, Otaki ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio is pleased to announce the inaugural launch of Kiribati Language Week as part of the 2020 Pacific language Weeks programme. “I am so pleased that this year we are able to provide resourcing support to the Kiribati community in Aotearoa which will ...
Wildlife institutions affected by a loss of visitor revenue during the COVID-19 lockdown are set to receive government support with nearly $15 million of funding available announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. “Eco-sanctuaries, zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks, and wildlife rescue, hospital and rehabilitation facilities provide crucial support for the recovery ...
The Government is expanding and accelerating frontline mental health and wellbeing services at tertiary education institutes (TEI) to help students manage ongoing stresses related to COVID-19. “The lockdown has been hugely disruptive for students. Many of them have had to relocate and move to online learning, isolating them from their ...
The Minister of Police says a major operation against the Mongrel Mob in Waikato will make a big dent in drug harm and violent offending linked to organised crime networks. “Senior leadership of the Waikato Mongrel Mob has been taken out as a result of Operation Kingsville, which resulted in ...
The Government is extending the border exception criteria to enable some offshore victims and support people of the Christchurch mosque attacks to attend the sentencing of the accused beginning on 24 August2020, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. “We want to support our valued Muslim brothers and sisters who were directly ...
A project to support volunteer efforts to look after streams and rivers is getting a boost thanks to support from DOC’s Community Conservation Fund announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “The government is backing efforts to look after waterways with $199,400 for the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust from ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter today announced that funding for the COVID-19 Community Fund for women and girls will be doubled, as the first successful funding applications for the initial $1million were revealed. “Women and girls across the country have suffered because of the effects of COVID-19, and I ...
The Government’s books were better than forecast with a higher GST take as the economy got moving again after lockdown, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Crown Accounts for the 11 months to the end of May indicate the year end results for tax revenue will be stronger than forecast. ...
A plan to revitalise New Zealand’s strong wool sector and set it on a new, more sustainable and profitable path was unveiled today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The newly-released report - Vision and Action for New Zealand’s Wool Sector - was developed by the Wool Industry Project Action Group ...
Community efforts to create a Predator Free Whangārei will receive a $6 million boost, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced today. The new funding, through Government company Predator Free 2050 Ltd, will create around 12 jobs while enabling the complete removal of possums over ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced that the New Zealand Government is reviewing the settings of its relationship with Hong Kong. “China’s decision to pass a new national security law for Hong Kong has fundamentally changed the environment for international engagement there,” Mr Peters said. “New Zealand remains deeply ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced details of a multimillion-dollar investment in Whangārei for infrastructure projects that will help it recover from the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 200 jobs are expected to be created through the $26 million investment from the Government’s rejuvenation package ...
Following a second incident in which a person escaped from a managed isolation facility, security is being enhanced, including more police presence onsite, Minister Megan Woods said. “The actions of some individuals who choose to break the very clear rules to stay within the facilities means that more resourcing is ...
Waste reduction and recycling programmes in Kaipara are set to get a boost with Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage today announcing a $361,447 grant from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) Sustainable Kaipara. “The new funding will allow Sustainable Kaipara to partner with local schools, kura, community ...
The Government will support the Southland economy in the wake of multinational mining company Rio Tinto’s decision to follow through with its long signalled closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. “This day has unfortunately been on the cards for some time now, but nevertheless the final decision is a ...
New tools being developed to help boost Aotearoa’s Predator Free 2050 effort were unveiled today by Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau. A new rat poison, a camera with predator recognition software to detect and report predators, a new predator lure and a ...
The Coalition Government has approved the purchase of a fleet of Bushmaster vehicles to replace the New Zealand Army’s armoured Pinzgauers, Defence Minister Ron Mark has announced today. The new fleet of 43 Australian-designed and built Bushmaster NZ5.5 will provide better protection for personnel and improved carrying capacity. “The age ...
The Government’s three prevention frameworks to reduce family violence in Aotearoa were launched this week by Associate Minister for Social Development Poto Williams. The frameworks were developed in partnership with communities around New Zealand, and build on the work the Government has already begun with its new family violence prevention ...
The Government is pleased to confirm funding for improvements to radiology and surgical services at Hawke's Bay DHB, Health Minister Chris Hipkins says. "The Minister of Finance the Hon Grant Robertson and former Health Minister Dr David Clark approved funding for Hawke's Bay DHB’s redevelopment of their radiology facilities ...
• New funding for four beds at Napier’s Springhill Residential Addiction Centre • A new managed withdrawal home and community service, and peer support before and after residential care at Tairāwhiti DHB • A co-ordinated network of withdrawal management services throughout the South Island • Peer support in Rotorua and ...
Introduction, seafarers and POAL Good morning everyone, I am delighted to be online with you all today. Before I begin, I have to acknowledge that COVID-19 has disrupted the maritime sector on an unprecedented scale. The work of seafarers and the maritime industry is keeping many economies around the world ...
A $13 million investment from Government will create jobs and improve the resilience of the rail connection between Christchurch and the West Coast, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones and Regional Economic Development Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau say. The funding comes from the tagged contingency set aside in Budget 2020 for infrastructure projects ...
The Government is investing $761 million to assist local government upgrade under-pressure water services across the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The announcement was made at the site of the water bore that was found to be the source of the fatal ...
Recognised Seasonal Employers and migrant seasonal workers stranded in New Zealand will be able to continue working and supporting themselves with more flexible hours and roles, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. The time-limited visa changes are: Stranded RSE workers will be able to work part-time (a minimum of 15 hours ...
The Government is making immediate short-term changes to visa settings to support temporary migrants already onshore in New Zealand and their employers, while also ensuring New Zealanders needing work are prioritised, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. We are: Extending temporary work visas due to expire by the end of 2020 ...
Professor Peter Skelton CNZM has been appointed as Chief Freshwater Commissioner and Alternate Environment Court Judge Craig James Thompson as Deputy Chief Freshwater Commissioner for the newly established Freshwater Planning Process (FPP). Environment Minister David Parker today also announced the appointment of Chief Environment Court Judge Laurie Newhook as the ...
Auckland Queen’s Counsel Neil Campbell has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Campbell graduated with a BCom and LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1992. He spent two years with Bell Gully Buddle Weir in Auckland before travelling to the United ...
The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal to better enable the development and operation of commercial film and video facilities in Christchurch. The Proposal, developed by Regenerate Christchurch in response to a request from Christchurch City Council, asks that powers under section ...
The Government has launched a bold plan to boost primary sector export earnings by $44 billion over the next decade, while protecting the environment and growing jobs. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today released Fit for a Better World – Accelerating our Economic Potential, a 10-year roadmap to unlock greater value ...
A new approach to prevent family harm that encourages greater collaboration across government and community groups is being celebrated at the opening of a new facility in Auckland. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today opened the Multi-Disciplinary Family Harm Prevention Hub Te Taanga Manawa in Lambie Road in Manukau. The facility ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Morrison government has announced $2 billion – to be augmented by another $500 million from the states – for a skills package to boost training and job creation. A $1 billion JobTrainer program will ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison on Wednesday once again ruled out any consideration of moving to an “elimination” strategy for dealing with COVID-19. He told Triple M Melbourne: “You don’t just shut the whole country down because that ...
Al Jazeera’s documentary on the plight of migrant workers during covid-19 lockdown.ANALYSIS:By Ross Tapsell, of the Australian National University The recent police interrogations of six Al Jazeera journalists in Malaysia – five of whom are Australian – was not about shaping international reportage or a diplomatic rift. Rather, ...
By Barbara Dreaver, 1 NEWS Pacific Correspondent The Cook Islands government’s inaccurate and startling announcement yesterday about a tourism bubble opening with New Zealand as soon as next week has done more harm than good. Clearly a failed attempt at trying to force Jacinda Ardern’s hand into giving a date ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Buckland, Professor in Computer Security, Cybercrime, and Cyberwar, UNSW The Australian Cyber Security Growth Network (AustCyber) on Monday released a report modelling the potential impact of cyberattacks and sustained digital outages on Australia. The Digital Trust Report’s modelling suggests four weeks ...
“A month out from the start of RIMPAC, the US Navy led military wargames, peace groups are calling on Minister of Defence Ron Mark to pull the plug on NZ’s involvement this year with a special video message ” said Valerie Morse, member of the Cancel ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Duffy, Senior Lecturer and Researcher, Monash Business School, Director Corporate Law, Organisation and Litigation Research Group (CLOL), Monash University The revelations in the “palace letters” may well renew enthusiasm for an Australian republic, especially coming on top of recent controversies involving ...
Prepare to go much harder and much earlier if coronavirus appears in the community. Justin Giovannetti reports from parliament where plans have been released for swift regional lockdowns and managed-isolation for domestic cases if Covid-19 ever breaks out of border facilities. New Zealand hasn’t detected any community transmission of the Covid-19 ...
New National leader Judith Collins would scrap the RMA, change climate legislation and reject any asset tax, but is declining to offer further detail on her party's economic policies just yet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Paton Gilmour, Research Scientist: Coral Ecology, Australian Institute of Marine Science Significant coral bleaching at one of Western Australia’s healthiest coral reefs was found during a survey carried out in April and May. The survey took a combined effort of several ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Medland, Sexual health physician, epidemiologist, researcher. (President-elect and vice-president Australasian Society of HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine), UNSW People who expose a police officer or emergency worker to body fluids would be compelled to have their blood tested for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julian Webb, Professor of Law, University of Melbourne Ripples from the sexual harassment allegations against former High Court Justice Dyson Heydon continue to spread. This week, the Victorian government announced its intention to launch reviews into both sexual harassment in the state ...
ANALYSIS:By Bryan Bruce The selection of Judith Collins by her colleagues as the new leader of New Zealand’s opposition National Party is a last minute throw of the political dice that might just save the Right from splintering at the upcoming election. One of the problems of the political ...
Forest & Bird has won in the Supreme Court against a coal mining company trying to push through an opencast mine near Westport, in a ruling which has implications across the whole of New Zealand. “This is absolutely wonderful ...
New National Party leader Judith Collins has replaced Michael Woodhouse with Shane Reti as the party's spokesperson on health matters Judith Collins is seeking to put the past week of privacy breach scandals behind her, appointing Whangarei MP Shane Reti as National's new spokesperson on health and promoting him to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pep Canadell, Chief research scientist, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere; and Executive Director, Global Carbon Project, CSIRO Fossil fuels and agriculture are driving a dangerous acceleration in methane emissions, at a rate consistent with a 3-4℃ rise in global temperatures this century. Our ...
New National leader Judith Collins has stripped Michael Woodhouse of the health portfolio because of his involvement in the Covid-19 data leak saga, with Dr Shane Reti replacing him ...
An extract from the splendid new book Weed: A New Zealand Story, by James Borrowdale. Books editor Catherine Woulfe writes:Weed is a masterclass in longform feature writing, a clever hopscotch through history, statistics, law, chemistry and neuroscience. Plus it’s packed with people and their yarns. Not many writers could keep their ...
With the Prime Minister’s “no new taxes” pledge long gone, the Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the National Party to commit to scrapping the 500% increase to the Government’s waste levy if elected to Government Reacting to the Government’s ...
While there are increasing examples of a return to some lockdown measures, there is little evidence to demonstrate the success of a second lockdown, because it’s too early to tell, write Maximilian de Courten, Bojana Klepac Pogrmilovic and Rosemary V Calder of Victoria University, Melbourne.The World Health Organisation reported more than ...
E tū is making sure workers’ voices lead the way with the kick-off of a new health and safety programme for Māori, Pasefika, and migrant workers in manufacturing. Funded jointly by the union and a Workplace Injury Prevention grant from ACC, E tū’s ...
From 2005’s Wayne Anderson: Singer of Songs to new Tom Sainsbury comedy Sextortion, via a dead peacock, a trio of escaped circus lions and a sentimental wrist wallet.Orlando Stewart has never made a hit TV show.What he has done, dating all the way back to 2005’s Wayne Anderson: Singer of ...
Latest from the Beehive The government announced more funding for this and that – along with bigger levies for trash disposal – while the Nats were arranging for Crusher Collins to vie with Kindly Jacinda when voters determine who will lead the next government. Mind you, the Greens aren’t averse ...
The third annual Jonesie Awards were hosted at Parliament today, celebrating the best of the worst of Government waste. Watch the video at www.taxpayers.org.nz/2020_jonesies . New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “Every year, ...
Four New Zealand food writers share their thoughts on being non-white in a very white industry – and suggest what they think needs to change.Recently, The Spinoff published a piece by Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning about the lack of diversity in New Zealand’s food media scene. It provoked much ...
The SpinoffBy Nalini Baruch, Ashia Ismail-Singer, Melissa Koh and Jennifer Yee Collinson
It is theoretically possible that Judith Collins could be the next Prime Minister but first she must prove she can wield the party into an effective, unified team. ...
Child Poverty Action Group is calling on the Government to nationalise early childhood education provision in response to the challenges presented by COVID-19 and reports of providers prioritising profits over quality of services. CPAG’s latest research ...
A new platform for Members, means 100% of contributions go towards making Spinoff journalism happen. Plus: A merch store!Kia ora,This is the biggest announcement we’ve had since the launch of The Spinoff Members a year ago.For many months now we’ve been ferreting away at a big overhaul of the way ...
Opinion - Judith Collins' first public remarks after becoming leader shows she means to continue in the same way she's always operated as a politician, writes Cat MacLennan*. ...
Finally! For as long as the Campaign Against Foreign Control (CAFCA) has existed - 45+ years - we have called for the closure of Rio Tinto's Bluff smelter (for example, see our historic Comalco comic at https://www.scribd.com/doc/25367862/Comalco-Comic ...
“We are absolutely thrilled with the government’s announcement that it will invest in recycling and change the waste levy. These are bold and important steps that will create employment in communities right throughout the country, reduce emissions ...
Carlson has long been one of our best comedians, and now the world can see it too, writes Sam Brooks. Last year, Urzila Carlson became the first comedian from our shores to perform her own Netflix special, a half hour episode of the Comedians of the World series. Now she’s ...
The US elections are in a bizarre and unsettling phase with President Donald Trump governing by tweets, spraying assaults on the medical profession and continuing to maintain the US has the Covid-19 pandemic under control. Really? No, as state after state (with the notable exclusion of New York) takes a ...
The AUT video … first of this year’s languags series.By Simon Smith of AUT News The Kiribati instalment in the AUT Pacific language video series – “Adapting to a changing world, shaping resilient futures” – has been released. The video, produced by Auckland University of Technology, is narrated in ...
The Government must develop a national plan to prevent and respond to family and sexual violence during and after a pandemic situation says Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo. She made the comments in a written submission ...
The Prime Minister says New Zealand has a robust plan in place to tackle any re-emergence of Covid-19 within our borders, Marc Daalder reports New Zealand is ready for a second wave. That's the message Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wanted to get across in a speech to the nation on ...
Allegations of defamation led to a court-mandated apology by Mike Hosking to John Tamihere.This morning Michael Noel James Hosking IV delivered a court-mandated apology to Māori Party co-leader John Tamihere over defamatory comments made by Hosking in 2018.The comments relate to a $600,000 private shareholder payment from Whānau Ora contractor, ...
A new Māori organisation called Te Pātaka Inc is being established to continue providing kai and firewood to assist whānau experiencing hardship from COVID-19 in Te Tau Ihu (top of the South Island). Originally the eight Te Tau Ihu iwi in Marlborough, ...
Analysis by Josh Van Veen – The Democracy Project. New National Party leader, Judith Collins, with prominent Auckland Council (Manurewa-Papakura ward) councillor, Daniel Newman. “I’m with her,” Newman said on hearing of her successful appointment as Leader of the Opposition. When Parliament sits next Tuesday, the ...
LGNZ is welcoming the Government’s announcement of $124 million for onshore recycling and the expansion of the waste levy, but is calling on the Government to match the money with a strategic waste plan to ensure New Zealanders get the best bang for ...
In her first interview with Morning Report as National Party leader, Judith Collins outlined a minor reshuffle, said she's not particularly worried about diversity, and said Michael Woodhouse's fate will be decided today. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.Today’s contentJudith Collins elected leader of the National Party Richard Harman (Politik): Why National finally called on Collins Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Judith Collins should have been elected as ...
We are now at a crucial time of Climate Change history, since Covid 19 pandemic diverted our Governments from the beginning of the movement of marching together for saving our climate, and now time is upon us to continue our fight to save our ...
Despite changes made to original plans to ‘avoid’ the Hua o te AtuaUrupā, an iwi group says the Waikato Regional Theatre is still set to be built on their burial ground. A group of rangatahi from Kirikiriroa iwi Ngāti Wairere says a big part of the community wasn’t consulted on ...
Trade union activists will go from house to house asking Wellingtonians to pledge their vote in the general election to parties and candidates who support workers’ rights. Unions Wellington launches its election campaign at 6pm on Wednesday July ...
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Hello, my name is Stewart Sowman-Lund and I’m the new editor of The Spinoff’s Live Updates. Thank you for having a read. If you have any feedback, please get in touch with me at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz.6.45am: Judith Collins, National leaderShortly before 10pm last night, Judith Collins was declared the new leader ...
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Open mike 09/09/2011 
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http://www.ustream.tv/channel/thetorontohearings
Todays remaining sessions at the Toronto Hearings in NZ time
05:00-06:30 David Ray Griffin: Inadequacies of the 9/11 Commission’s Report
06:30-08:30 Kevin Ryan: Inadequacies of the Reports by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology
08:15-09:00 Audience Question and Answer
Cheers, You beat me to it!!! LOL
For those of you wanting to hear earlier testimonies they are posted on the same page.
Are you recording? I missed the first hours and would love to see them. I’ll send you my Skype contact!
they have all earlier sessions recorded and available on the page, youtube is happening as we speak,
i am downloading as i go and recording on audiotape
Ferdinando Imposimato calling for an International Tribunal to investigate 9/11 was astounding
The Italian judge?
yeah, He is quietly sitting there with his translator, whom he hardly uses, busy explaining the framework required to build a case to take a lot of very powerful people to International Court, and then continues to lay out the best way to make it happen.
It was an incredible first day. The quality of the speakers is well balanced with the considered time they each get to present. The long Q&A sessions from the panel and the audience, including on line contributions, are already showing their worth.
Day two starts 1am tomorrow nzt
“The Italian judge?”
Yes and the honest one know-doubt!
Kevin Ryan discussing NIST report ‘innaccuracies’ till 8:30am NZT
Standard, please get the Weekend column up earlier, we want to discuss gardening and such like with my RWNJ annd LWNJ horticultural mates. Plus the rugger head stuff.
LOL,That sounds soo cute!
I want to ask that someone who has a lead into what sounds like an awesome firework display for tonight in Auckland to post it, in the Weekend fun column.
I will be playing on my cycle in the countryside from this evening and have no desire to participate in watching a minority sport developed at a public (toff’s) school, by people who couldn’t play proper football, played by colonial nations and appealing to farmers and red necks.
There, got that off my chest!
🙂
I shall be doing my level best to avoid it, but man it’s difficult! Some person has decided that Mt Albert (where I have the misfortune to live) has “adopted” the USA as “our team” and the suburb is festooned with the flag I least like to see… There are a million questions – not least, who decided that “we” care?
Our good friend Ianupnorth clambered up high on his high horse, looked down on the plebs (he sneeringly dismisses them as “red necks”) and disdainfully opined that rugby football is “played by colonial nations and appealing to farmers and red necks.”
It’s really just too silly and pathetic to merit much comment, but one thing in Ian’s Olympian dismissal of the game demands clarification: in what way is France a colonial nation?
I am interested in the treatment of “Taugate” by the left and the right.
On the left a few comments, no posts in any of the major left blogs that I know of and a couple of tweets.
On the right an attack by the slithery one on the complainant backed up by one of those echo posts by Farrar, you know the ones where Slater does the disgusting stuff and Farrar “only” reports that Slater has reported it.
Is this that different to the speeding cop car that Helen was not actually driving but which provided RWNJs with years of abuse and conspiracy theories on here?
Does the left actually weigh up the seriousness of an incident before commenting whereas the right just relish the opportunity to attack?
You must ne kidding.
There’s been a mixture of attacks and support for Henare on KB.
And if you think “the left actually weigh up the seriousness of an incident before commenting” then you mustn’t actually read anything in posts or comments here, or you must suffer from severe blinkeritis..
In my own narrow experience here I’ve been attacked by numerous people sometimes based only on the presumption I must be bad because I’ve been active on “bad” blogs, or as someone admitted recently, based on attacks on me they’ve seen by people like you.
Did you weigh up anything before accusing me of working for CT or the Beehive?
“Did you weigh up anything before accusing me of working for CT or the Beehive?”
I personally find these sorts of allegations, no matter who they’re levelled at, pretty pathetic.
It’s like the worst thing in the world a primary school kid can come up with: “I’m going to tell my mum on you!”.
Did you weigh up anything before accusing me of working for CT or the Beehive?
Have I ever done that? I thought from the start you were a fan of the coiffured one rather than a CT clone. The attacks on you are a response to the quality of your comments more than anything else.
You frequently throw the CT squeak here MS. Eg:
Ehm in one of them I accused Herodotus of having the CT songbook out. I accused you of linkwhoring, not understanding the country’s financial state, taking the piss, trolling, being a waste of bandwidth, walking around with your wyes deliberately closed, and always insisting on having the last word.
In the other one I asked if you had “[b]een going to “how to muck up a thread” lessons with CT?” because you show an unusual ability to do so.
Which, BTW, you are doing right now.
herm… http://thestandard.org.nz/?s=mickysavage+CT&isopen=none&search_posts=true&search_comments=true&search_sortby=date
Case closed.
Not really. Your search is quite inefficient use – @author. It shows Mickey using it occasionally with long intervals between. Your search in it’s first page went back to mid 2010. If you looked at the squirrel in his several identities and ran queries on moderate or balance or centre you’d find he was eternally repetitive on those in the short time he has been here.
but I also looked for myself using an occasional phrase of jerk…
http://thestandard.org.nz/?s=Centre+%40Author%22Pete+George%22&isopen=none&search_posts=true&search_comments=true&search_sortby=date
And that is back to mid 2010 on about half the total number of comments..
Basically you can get largish numbers of the same phrase for anyone who leaves large numbers of comments. If you left more then I could analyze your phrases as well. I suppose I could look at the IPs….
Essentially you’re just being a bit of irritating dickhead – roughly the intelligence level of the drunken ugly rugby louts staggering somewhere outside my house. Noisy, loud and stupid…
Snippet in Business news on RNZ this morning about building consents at their lowest since World War 2. This is doing a time of major housing crisis and a year after of major earthquakes. Of course not picked up as a story to investigate (let alone asking the minister for some accountability).
I must of missed it in between all the news about RWC. This is going to drive me to distraction …
+1
A month of BBC and Al J me thinks. NZ media now inhabits a parralell universe where nothing but a bunch of gladiators running round a paddock after a ball exists.
Ahhhhhhh!!!!
Yep, noticed that. In fact a closer inspection would reveal that there is less building going on than any time since the 1970s. Down 24% on last year – that is a colossal drop.
That is really something major. It tells a big story about what the people of NZ are doing at the moment.
It is also worth noting another example in tourism. On the west coast this year numbers are down well below 50% of last years. And last years were dismally down on the previous too.
It is like we have run off a cliff like a road runner cartoon and are currently suspended in mid-air in realisation of the drop about to occur …..
Never fear. A Mighty Minister Of Tourism is here!
National are not a business party with the interests of NZ business at heart.
They are second hand salesman, they talk up and then sell cheap.
They reflect the NZ economy and culture. If you can do it now for
next to nothing then best get it done because there’s no come back,
and everyone is doing it so where would they start with anyway.
If you want a world class economy we need a world class parliament.
Limiting our nation to 100 MPs and no upper chamber, is the bottle
neck. If you want better policy you need to pay for more people to
produce better policy.
Addressing the Imbalance
A month ago there was a little bit of media coverage concerning the wage difference between males and females in New Zealand. The impetus for that reporting was to highlight the defunct thought process of Alasdair Thompson who was dismissed from the EMA for his sexist remarks. Although slowly declining, wage inequality is still a problem that disproportionately attributes wealth based on a male dominated hierarchical system…
It may pay for Goff to refrain from commenting on what should be happenning in Christchurch until such time as he and Labour have worked out what they think should be happenning in Christchurch.
Labour has completely failed in not coming up with a Christchurch policy. Speaking about it merely highlights that lack of policy. Is this not simple politics?
I think they’re in a position where they don’t want to make any promises, especially anything that National could rake them over the coals with (which they surely would).
Afraid to mention policies?
If they had confidence in their policies they would put them out there.
Pete, it’s pretty obvious that Labour will win this election on policies, not personality. So the timing of policy releases is pretty important and I would say there is very little point releasing anything till the thugby finishes, because it’ll be swamped by the RWC coverage. In short, expect a short, sharp campaign from Labour starting immediately after the final, with actual policies and plans for the future.
And, anyway, isn’t a policy free zone like United Future a strange place to be complaining from? The last 4 elections, UF’s only go has been to grovel for a job from whoever is best placed to form a Government.
Pete, it’s pretty obvious that Labour will win this election on policies, not personality.
Labour stalwarts seem to be convinced of that, but few give them a show.
UnitedFuture have openly published a wide range of policies so people have a chance to check them out in plenty of time rather than trying a risky last minute last hope onslaught.
VoR, you won’t look because you’e just trying to spread lies, but there’s plenty here: http://www.unitedfuture.org.nz/our-policies/
Gee, sorry if I wasn’t clear, Pete. Despite being in various parties and Governments for what feels like forever, Dunne has failed to implement anything other than his vision of himself sitting in the back seat of a ministerial limo. Is that better?
You are dead right that UF have a website with ‘policy’ on it. So did that party you were a member of a month ago, as I recall. It’s the ability to translate that policy into action that counts and Dunne has failed miserably to achieve anything other than personal enrichment and regular hair, scalp and ego massaging.
Also, UF “policy” seemed to me to be more a collection of banal platitudes that could bend any way in any weather.
Hardly a declaration of goals.
Also on the United Future website is the Successes section. The only “success” (sic) listed over the last three years appears to be signing a confidence and supply agreement with National. Whoopee!
And which one has he even pushed in the years of sucking on the public teat??? Oh yes the so called Kronic law. What else??? big hair day?
So, TVOR, if Labour lose the election, it will be because the Nats personality won, not a rejection of Labours policies? And as soon as the public stops falling for ther JK smile and wave act all will be right (well, left) because the current polling has absolutly nothing to do with Labours policies and all with JK!?!?!?!?
Know where you’re coming from Sweetd, but it would be fair to say that Labour cannot win a personality contest, so it has to be superior policies that get them over the line. And I don’t think the public has rejected Labour’s previous policies, anyway. National simply adopted them and put up a fresh face to spruik for them.
This time around though, there will be a more substantial difference between the left and right and I hope that the debate will be about which direction NZ goes in, not who’d be more fun at a BBQ.
Agreed, its MMP applied; that is the main parties fight for the middle ground, and whoever holds the middle ground becomes govt, therefore the main parties end up looking very similar in terms of policies.
So which way is Dunne the wig gonna jump this election Pete?
Pete Dunno, kris.
So just what are the National / ACT policies, Pete George?
Further up there is talk about building consents being at a record low – is that consistent with getting Christchurch going again? Or have all the builders left to help out Queensland after their floods?
What is National / ACT doing about the building sector?
You could ask someone from National and ACt, or look at their websites, they both have some policies last time I looked.
If i was a super rich saffa who wanted to win the rubber wool cup. I’d pay a dodgy Tongan hit man to hobble Carter and McCaw…
…wouldn’t put it past those dodgy muthafuckas. Tongans and Saffas 🙂
yep, in fact if we get through this tournament without at least one controversial cheating incident then I will eat my chocolate hat.
saffa’s for sure. think ’76 referees in their pockets. think food poisoning in ’95.
there aint no rules.
I think I might jump in and mention that the South African Rugby Board offered to have neutral referees in the 1976 series but the NZ Rugby Union declined. Apparently ‘Pole’ Whiting retired on the spot when he was told that.
Chroist Porly, stop givin them oidears…finis and klaar.
Anything has to be an improvement on the Nats policy- demolish the CBD and two suburbs, bleed the EQC dry, blame everything on the earthquake….
There is plenty to criticize in this shameful display of disaster politics and no reason to be quiet about it.
Just read over on Red Alert on the question of unemployment, “They told us there was to be absolutely no discussion of anything to the media. If anyone spoke to the media it could be a code of conduct issue,” an employee told the Taranaki Daily News on condition of anonymity. Penalties for breaching the code of conduct could include being sacked, they said.
Could this be true? Ominous. Reminds me of the news blackout during the wharfies strike in the 50s.
I wish that Owen Glenn would just piss off – nakedly partisan PR bullshit puffery and the dirty money that he is trying to bribe the country with has no place in NZ Politics
+1
but then political parties be broke as us lol
where would national be? and labour and the whole lot of them
its the richest who decide elections cos they harp on and on and on re their spin until people believe it and they have the $ to back em up
The elections of old are long gone
this election like the last one esp in nationals case is that clown key is the only thing they have apart from brash hahahahha
this is about image rather than substance or policies
wot an eyesore the rwc is and then election following behind it full of smile and mince
pass
Owen had a couple of things that drove him. He wanted respect, ergo the desire to have a diplomatic passport and be a mover and shaker, and he just wanted to be loved.
In some respects he is a very simple man. Give someone like this a few billion dollars and this is what you get.
yeah pity people like him didnt actually stay in the country and invest those few billion and create a few jobs BUT NO………………………
but nah
frakers like him, seem to think we owe them something cos they’re rich??
C L – On Owen Glenn – Might have been better to give him the consul’s job that he so wanted – get him out of our hair. He might have used up his money at European casinos instead of playing roulette wheel with us.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/5592034/Graham-Capill-out-on-parole
Capill was released weeks ago. I saw him walking through the underpass between the Beehive and Bowen House. Question is, who in government was he visiting?
that **ucking ahole should not have been released
i do not like kid **ukers and society has no place for em
Surly he doesnt expect to have any Government job?
New rugby world cup mascot ?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/5593291/Seemingly-drunk-moose-found-stuck-in-tree
Tuis are known to get drunk on fermenting fruit. Saw a photo once of four tuis hanging in a row upside down on the branch of a tree.
Oh glorious! That really made me smile… 😀
“Johansson said the moose appeared to be sick, drunk or half-stupid.”
I wonder if the moose is available to stand in for John Key in question time?
Lol
Apparently not as he’s recently been seconded to the labour campaign strategy team.
On the Stuff news web site yesterday there was an intriguing story headed “NZDF may have covered up abuse allegations- Ferguson.” It was from an interveiw with former head of the NZDF, Bruce Ferguson screened on Media 7 last night. Ferguson had admitted that whistleblowing by Kiwi soldiers about the prisoner abuse in Afghanistan could have been covered up by their superiors on his watch.
In the light of Hagar’s revelations, I made a point of watching the interview. I heard no such admission. In case I missed it, I also watched it online a short time later. Now, one of two things must have happened:
a) my cognitive abilities were not the best at the time (?) or
b) the segment containing that admission was removed before it went on air.
If it was the latter, then it has to be concluded that an instruction was sent to TVNZ (probably from the PM’s Office) to remove the segment from the interview. Surely politicians – or an official on their behalf – are not allowed to interfere with day to day programming like that?
The Stuff item was still online an hour or so ago.
sorry, should have included link
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5590432/NZDF-may-have-covered-up-abuse-allegations-Ferguson
Anne, the comments were made in an after show discussion, thankfully recorded though. Details here:
http://publicaddress.net/hardnews/towards-the-truth/
Aha… thanks for that Pb. Gripping stuff!
The Stuff story gave the impression it was included in the on air interview.
I had a few dealings with Bruce Ferguson back in the days when he was a RNZAF Squadron Leader. He came across to me as a well rounded, highly intelligent and astute person. I have no qualms in believing him when he says he knew nothing about the mistreatment of the prisoners for example. In fact, he was a very good choice by the Labour Govt. to lead the Defence Forces during that period.
It’s bullshit that the CHch rebuild will give a boost to the building industry. Even if as many as 30,000 houses are to be rebuilt at say 6000 a year ( conservative ) it will still not take the number a houses built in the country to anywhere near the average starts per annum for the last 20 years. We don’t need imported labour from Ireland or anywhere else for that matter. Why was this fuckwit idea floated, because indentured labour is strike proof and can be easily ripped and if you complain about anything you’re on the next plane out of here. Wasn’t the Irish building boom built by Poles and Czechs ?
More rich listers ripping off the less fortunate
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10750402
and
35,000 are out on strike and marching in Sydney, due to NSW State Public Service cuts:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/this-is-just-the-start-strikers-warn-ofarrell-20110908-1jzz1.html
An idea. May have been proposed before on The Standard, I don’t know.
Among the various resources we squander in New Zealand is “waste”.
In most cities, shit not only undergoes an expensive treatment process to render it benign but is discarded by pumping the filtered sewage into the sea. (A few places try to recycle: I believe they do or did create biogas for council vehicles at the Chch sewage works.) This is a crazy waste of money and of a valuable resource. People in China, Africa, and other places, would simply shake their heads and wonder why we do all this.
The alternative system would be for each home – where practical – to have a small biogas plant. Essentially a biogas digestor would be similar to the old-school septic tank, but have several side-benefits: producing gas for heating and cooking, and compost for the garden.
In this way, we would (a) save society sewage treatment costs; (b) save households on energy costs; (c) make households more food self-sufficient; (d) avoid the need for industrial gas extraction like “fracking” (banned in the EU, but coming to a NZ town near you, real soon!).
There is work being done on this in Rotorua; they already make compost form poo and they are looking at some form of oil (http://www.rdc.govt.nz/YourCouncil/LatestNews/Innovative-technology-piloted-at-Rotorua.aspx)
Thanks Ianupnorth. Sounds like an excellent scheme, although it still involves expensive centralised infrastructure. Here are some pull quotes from the link:
So, you lose 44% of the companies value and get the biggest pay cheque ever ($5.2 million per annum, or $100K per week) because you have met short term and long term objectives? Go figure
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10750548
Can I get a job like that?
It has been noted on this site recently that as you scan Fairfax’s media offerings the widespread use of comments is always more interesting for what articles qualify for the opportunity of public response and which fall short. No prizes this weekend if guessing which topics are muted. There are over a dozen well aligned 9/11 articles on Stuff this weekend but only the riveting Gwenyth Paltrow piece has comments switched on, and that single article has not been updated since Thursday.
Just saying is all
torontohearings.org
live stream Day Two/ videos of Day One here
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/thetorontohearings
NZ times for Toronto Hearings Day2 (note: schedule was accurate on Day One)
10/09/11 nzt
01:00 – 01:15 Moderators: Overview of the Day’s Testimony
01:15 – 02:30 Jay Kolar: The Alleged 9/11 Hijackers
02:45 – 04:00 Paul Zarembka: Evidence of Insider Trading Before 9/11
04:00 – 04:35 Barbara Honegger:
Eyewitnesses and Evidence of Explosions at the Pentagon
4:35 – 6:10 Richard Gage: Evidence of the Demolition of WTC:
An Overview
06:30 – 07:45 Michel Chossudovsky: Global Consequences of 9/11
07:45 – 08:25 Cynthia McKinney: Attempts to Raise Questions about 9/11
08:45 – 9:30 Audience Question and Answer
Then there’s this
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10750653
Good on her for being brave enough to stick up for herself against a dodgy employer.
And thanks to Helen Clark for jacking up the world cup.
Onya mate.
Auckland’s large scale event management plans fail:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/fan-central/5598538/Police-tell-rugby-fans-to-stay-out-of-CBD
Good luck if we’re in the finals 😀 This symbolically is like the practice run just as it was for the ABs tonight, the more serious stuff has yet to come.
It’s a big exciting event so going beyond capacity of public services is too be expected for the latecomers etc, but it’s pretty shitty how they are getting all draconian now and advising people not to join the party in whatever area. I remember being in London and no matter how busy public transport got ‘from people excited about some sporting/whatever thing’ but the public servants never really tried to put the dampners on it in real time like this, we’d simply get neutral reports and updates on the delays to expect using whatever forms of public transport, and let people make decisions for themselves, like adults do.
Is subliminal advertising illegal or legal in New Zealand?
I nearly choked on my tea the other day. The leery face of John Key popped out at me, taking up most of the television screen. He added nothing to the item I was watching and therefore fulfilled the criteria of subliminal advertising. It happened again tonight. A split second.
Everyone is commenting that whenever they turn on the tv all they get is John Key. Is this the new criminal activity that NAct is indulging in without using campaign monies.
John Key may find that this sort of behaviour may achieve the opposite result.