gosh all the skyline pollution – wonder how much petroluem was burned to print that poster and all the vehicles…good Simon Bridges has been honoured. Lets not forget the big head office renovation going on at the moment for the heavyweughts at the top of greenpeace.
Lying lying lying…all these lying MP’s so how come we top anti corruption stakes. Greenpeace is only good for shooting themselves in the foot. Good to see on the news tonight USA about to be bigger than the Arabs on oil production. So much for peak oil. However people dying in china from pollution and getting cancer. Then the lefts want to tax fuel for Auckland roads and raise toll money.
I remember this argument about how tv causes violence etc etc. P.S. There was no tv during world war one or the napoleanic wars…people just make stuff up and on here is some real shape shifters but I enjoy the debate.
And before someone gives me a lecture on ww1 Its my pet subject so have some pretty dam good links between millions of death and sesame street if you are going to claim tv is the cause for violence. The was no tv.
I digress…oil production has another 200 years to go and by that time we would of landed on mars.
Peak Oil is about peak production, and the relationship between oil and the economy (it’s not about how much oil is left in the ground). Show me some evidence that Hubbert was wrong (about the timing, as I assume even you understand the basics of physics involved in non-renewable resources).
Corruption is cultural. The corruption we have in the current govt is culturally sanctioned corruption, as opposed to the corruption we look at in other countries which doesn’t fit our ideas about what is ok.
Violence… am pretty sure the violence in WW1 was because countries with lots of soldiers were at war with each other. Citation needed for anyone ever saying that TV caused WW1.
btw, I take it from your lack of response to my comment that you reCant your statement about Greenpeace having no proof.
Re: the violence comment. I think Yes is saying that if someone suggests that TV leads to higher violence then ALL violence must be caused by TV. Therefore, if one can find an instance of violence that was not preceded by TV (e.g. WW1), then it would disprove the hypothesis.
I know it makes absolutely no sense, but is consistent with other comments Yes has posted so far. Draw your own conclusions from what this says about his/her ability to think.
You really have NFI WTF you’re talking about do you? Peak Oil happened for conventional oil in 2005/6. That and the massive price jump for crude drove development of uncoventional oil. The problem with unconventional oil is a) that’s it’s EROEI is far less and b) that it peaks a hell of a lot faster. So, what’s really happening is that we’re bumping along the bumpy plateau of Peak Oil now, sooner or later, we’ll start going down the other side and demand still isn’t decreasing.
NZ will be one of the first countries priced out of the oil market and that includes our own oil. That latter part really shows the shear delusion of the free-market – we apparently can’t afford our own resources, resources that we already own.
oil production has another 200 years to go
Nobody who knows anything about Peak Oil hasn’t said otherwise. What they said is that production won’t match demand.
Then the lefts want to tax fuel for Auckland roads and raise toll money.
Too much madness in your post to address, but the below requires more.
digressâŚoil production has another 200 years to go and by that time we would of landed on mars.
Do you actually believe that your family/offspring are going to be part of any *deep space* plans for colonization, I mean are you completely deluded, or have you been *promised* a seat on the starship enterprise?
You write like someone who genuinely does not give a toss, but your style betrays your fear.
If you seriously believe what you write, then I have a single question for you.
– What do you hope to achieve, and what are your preferred outcomes for NZ, and humanity in general!
Don’t hold back, I would like to understand where your bigger picture is heading!
I digressâŚoil production has another 200 years to go and by that time we would of landed on mars.
Yes! Because Mars gets as close as only 54.6 million kilometres from Earth, we already know how to travel to the moon (363,104 kilometres), we will be able to terraform entire planets by shooting friggin laser beams at them and StarTrek is real…it’s REAL I tells ya!
With such an unsurpassed intellect, have you ever thought about working for Simon Bridges yes?
Actually there is some pretty compelling evidence that we are not equipped to deal with a major oil spill. Keys and co are well aware of this but greed is good, so there you have it.
Compelling eveidence alright – walked on the beach last night – still polluted from Rena, plastic beads all up on the high tide line, keep getting oil spots on the surfboard after a few waves..can’t even clean that up nearly 2 years on…and this geezer is my ‘local’ MP….
It could go on the hill adjacent to the Wgtn airport and replace that stupid “Wellington” sign that was put up last year. BLiP’s list could be put up on all major landmarks in cities and towns around NZ.
Yes indeed Greenpeace NOT Greens. I just received their blurb in the mail and not ONE WORD about dismantling Keys spy network. Can’t say I’m much pleased with this given Norman’s renunciation of Keys actions.
Awesome…this is the sort of hard arsed tactics needed to expose this National Party, the MSM aren’t doing their job of exposing the truth so you just have to find another way…MORE PLEASE!
sigh….that article contains another glib lie – he ain’t a boy from Tauranga, just a national party blow in from Te Atatu…they just keep rolling off the tongue
Agreed Lefty. There has been long absence of clever political art, satire and graffiti in this town. The creative and free expression that used to be around has just disappeared over the years, along with any fight we once had in us. It needs to be there as a counter to the insipid and framed messages that people derive from the MSM. It needs to be there to challenge people’s belief they have in the lies they are told and it needs to be there to be a direct challenge to those who tell those lies.
Speaking of MSM framing, heres a classic pro govt headline from stuffed.
So, Simon Bridges has been “attacked”. Do they ever say anything about Bridge’s attacks on democracy and his attacks of workers? No they don’t. They are apologists for this govt.
Come back street artists. There’s no better time than now.
Didn’t Greenpeace say it was an apolitical organisation?
No surprise the Charities Commission revoked its tax-free status, since they are an arm of the Green Party.
Can you cite some sources for “they are the arm of the Green Party”. Is the Employers federation an arm of the National Party? Or the Round Table? Notice how quiet the BRT is when National is in government?
Santi do you support Ministers lying or misleading the electorate?
When you’re leary
Feeling pall
When doubt is in your eyes
I will lie to you all
I’m on your side
When polls get rough
And truth just can’t be found
Like a Bridge over polluted water
I will lie me down
Like a Bridge over polluted water
I will lie me down
When you’re down and out
When you’re on the street
When wages fall so hard
I will lie to you
I’ll make up a part
When oil spills come
And birds lie all around
Like a Bridge over troubled water
I will lie me down
Like a Bridge over troubled water
I will lie me down
Drill on Corporate Oil,
Drill on down
Your time has come to scour
All your profit is on the way
See how they refine
If you need a friend
I’m lying right behind
Like a Bridge over troubled water
I will ease your way
Like a Bridge over troubled water
I will lie your way
He is directly addressing it – he is accused of misleading parliament because he said he never meet with anyone from the oil industry to discuss the changes about protesting at sea. It then emerged he had met with Shell a couple of weeks before introducing those changes. His argument is that the meeting was not about those changes but about something else.
If he can prove that that meeting did not discuss those changes there is no lie.
Also, while it is likely that they did discuss it, it is also likely that nothing will come of the misleading parliament charge as the accusers will need to prove that he did discuss that with Shell and I can’t see how they will do that.
Bridges said he was “chuffed” about the billboard.
“As a boy from Tauranga, I’ve always wanted my name up in lights in the big city. Now it’s happened and I managed to get Greenpeace to pay for it.”
Another lie.
Bridges has claimned to be a boy from Te Atatu and there was a billboard of him and Tau Henare for a public meeting about the “Local boy done well” story.
Chris, can we agree that it is highly unlikely he was not lobbied by anyone to change the law? I must say when Mr Key promised in 2008 to be transparent and to even answer questions he wasn’t asked (Paul Henry interview on Breakfast), I hoped we were seeing a turning point. We weren’t.
“If he can prove that that meeting did not discuss those changes there is no lie.”
And he hasn’t. He has denied the accusation which is different. Politicians denying accusations of lying or misleading the public is like a tour de france winner saying he is as appalled by other people taking drugs as everyone else but he is clean..
As long as we, the public accept that if it is our “team’ doing the misleading, well, what can we do. As long as we see our government of preference about being on the winning or losing team, we are sunk.
Family First says the decline in children being born into wedlock is a danger warning, I say accepting misleading, obsfucation and lie as “normal” behaviour in ALL our politicians we are sunk.
I completely agree it is highly unlikely. The timing is all too convenient. I don’t agree with what he has done at all. My post was more to try and point out that the lie he is accused of was not that he met with petrol company representatives, he has already admitted that he did.
Simon Bridges was born in October 1976 in Auckland, the youngest of six children. His father, a MÄori of NgÄti Maniapoto descent, was a Baptist Minister, and his mother, a NZ European from Waihi, was a primary school teacher. He is also related to former Labour Cabinet minister Koro WÄtere.[1]
Bridges grew up in Te Atatu, where he attended high school at Rutherford College. There, he was taught by future Labour Education Minister Chris Carter, and also became Head Boy of the college.[2][3] He went on to complete a BA in political science and history and an LLB (Hons) at the University of Auckland.
Legal career
Bridges began his legal career as a litigation lawyer at a major Auckland law firm, Kensington Swan.[2] He moved to Tauranga in 2001 to take up a position as a Crown prosecutor in the District and High Courts. During this time, he took leave to travel to the United Kingdom to study at the London School of Economics, and later to complete a postgraduate law degree at St Catherine’s College, Oxford; he also worked as an intern in the British House of Commons.[2] As a Crown prosecutor in Tauranga, Bridges mainly worked on jury trials.[4] Bridges ended his legal career in 2008, when he was nominated by the National Party to stand for election to the New Zealand Parliament.[5]
Early political career
Bridges became a member of the Young Nationals at the age of 16 and was elected Deputy New Zealand Chair in 1997. He was active in National’s West Auckland organisation as a member of Brian Neeson’s electorate team, whom he supported at the 2002 general election against a challenge by John Key for the National Party candidacy to contest the new seat of Helensville.[2] In the following years, he held several senior positions within the party, including sitting on the National Party rules committee and chairperson of the Tauranga National Party.[5]”
One can see how the young agents life pans out, while receiving the obligatory rinse along the road.
They are a familiar journey, one which inevitably leads back to home base, ready to take the order they were given, and having way cleared for them, to rule!
Bridges actions betray NZ, that much is well established!
Closer to home, don’t forget about this http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10796431
They will lie any chance they get and even after being pulled up time and again they have the audacity to put up this billboard, which for all we know is yet another lie! Although they cover themselves by saying ‘has been accused’ and never using the word ‘lie’, clever, because when they they are inevitably found to be wrong yet again they can’t be done for defamation.
As I understand it, protests can take place outside of 500 metres from a drilling site. That seems sensible from a health and safety perspective alone, and is still close enough to be seen making a point.
I can well imagine that if a protester got injured or killed on a drilling site, then the very same people bleating about the current ban would start bleating that the government hadn’t passed any law to stop them getting into harms way.
If protesters are close enough to endanger safety of themselves or others, this is covered by maritime law, OSH, and the crimes act. No arbitrary “500m”. And the RICO-esque seasoning on the law is clearly aimed at prosecuting organisations when there is absolutely no evidence that the organisation incited or participated in the “offence”.
The problem is that such protests have impeded organisations from engaging in lawful activities in the past. Seems strange to me that they should be complaining about the government limiting their right to act lawfully when they attempt to do the same to other organisations. Hypocrites much.
I’m getting tired of all the “nonsense and misinformation” being propagated about it being illegal to take mind altering drugs in this country.
People complain that they’re only affecting their own body and mind so what business is it of anyone else.
What nonsense. Substances aren’t banned. People can probably still partake of 99.999% of all the consumable substances in the world without restriction.
Well done.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Our #PantsOnFire billboard has caused quite a stir in Wellington .. but Simon Bridges MP has so far failed to clear his name in response to allegations that he mislead Parliament and New Zealand over his dealings with Shell regarding the controversial Crown Minerals Bill amendment and law changes around protest at sea … http://act.gp/18mj1DH
And he says that we can deal with an oil spill. We canât.
He also said that he thought the photo was good and he was chuffed to have his own billboard in Wellington… http://goo.gl/ygdSw
This is a form of ‘corrupt practice’ known as ‘State capture’ – where vested interests lobby for the legislation that serves their interests at the ‘policy’ stage, before the legislation is passed.
In my considered opinion as an ‘anti-corruption’ campaigner – this is a form of ‘grand’ corruption which is endemic in corrupt, polluted tax haven – New Zealand (aka ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ ).
(Check out the Regulatory Impact Statements / Reports and see who has been ‘consulted’? )
I really don’t understand all the whining and bleating about the law being changed to limit protest.
Organisations such as Greenpeace display very little regard for the law when it comes to inhibiting the rights of others to engage in lawful activity. So why complain and bleat about it when the government acts to limit the lawful right of protest? Surely its just a case of them not liking it when the boot is on the other foot.
Since these organisations often display little regard for the law anyway, then why not just ignore the 500 metre law and accept the consequences? All this whining and bleating doesn’t impress me at all. Or is it just that we have fairweather protestors here who will only protest when everything is in their favour?
I really donât understand all the whining and bleating about the law being changed to limit protest.
That is the whole point.
– The law is being changed to limit protest.
– The law is being changed to try to limit the effectiveness of protest.
– The law is being changed to try to muzzle protest.
– The law is being changed to try to limit peoples’ rights to defend the values they believe in.
Yet organisations such as Greenpeace are very happy to do the same in trying to limit the ability of other organisations to go about their lawful activities.
You are making a lot of assumptions about why the government has changed the law in this respect.
Perhaps the government is trying to ensure the rights of organisations to act lawfully are properly balanced, so that the rights of one doesn’t infringe on the rights of the other. Do you think?
Yet organisations such as Greenpeace are very happy to do the same in trying to limit the ability of other organisations to go about their lawful activities.
“Lawful” does not always make it right, TS. A bad law can have dire consequences for all of us – you included.
Absolutely. But the rights to protest are already balanced against the rights of others. For example, I couldn’t lawfully break into your house to protest against something. So, there isn’t anything particularly unusual about legislating to ensure that competing rights are balanced equitably.
Not a good comparison at all, TS. (Unless my stereo is blaring at 3am in the morning and Noise Control is nowhere to be seen.)
And really, when you’re refering to “the rights to protest are already balanced against the rights of others”, that’s code for neutering the ability of protesters to carry out effective protest.
‘I couldn’t break into your house’. Not a valid comparison. What if you were arrested for going within half a km of someone’s house. Being arrested for protesting in a neighbouring suburb.
And to be honest with you, it’s not an easy one to answer…
All, I can say is that it depends on the situation. Personally speaking, I doubt I’d be involved in any protest that involved violence that threatened peoples’ lives.
So, it seems we both agree the line should be drawn somewhere. The answer is therefore going to be a subjective one. So, a 500 metre limit isn’t necessarily wrong. As you say, it depends on the situation.
There are other instances where boundaries are set for protests. For instance, when protestors are kept behind barriers when visiting VIPs visit and the like. So, it is not without precedent.
Making legal protest illegal needs to be justified. Whether the protest is against something that is legal or illegal, undertaken by individuals, companies or government is irrelevant. If there is no reasonable basis for changing the status of legal protest, then it shouldn’t be changed. Pretending that the target of the protest has something to do with it is at best misleading.
It seems that the 500 metre limit is a secondary offence that seems related to the tendency of some protesters to sabotage and interfere with legitimate activities. I don’t believe that sort of activity would qualify as legal protest, especially if it compromised safety.
So, perhaps the protesters have brought the 500 metre limit on themselves due to past behaviour.
One could argue that the protests haven’t been effective enough so the stupid behaviour they are protesting about continues and sane people have to continue to protest. In this case its the stupid behaviour that has caused the draconian law to be introduced.
Sad to watch a country being internationally admired for its will to stand up against terrorists that blew up the Rainbow Warrior, introducing anti nuclear legislation, having designated National Parks that are the envy of so many, being a bacon of sanity – albeit sometimes hard fought for. And then, within a relative short time, such reputation is not just diminished but by will of individual interest a country is fast moving towards something quite unimaginable – spying on people, corporate sponsorship of gaming halls, legal synthetic garbage, collaboration with international corporations to amend civil liberty laws etc.. sad, really sad.
I guess that a justification for protest is that it wins the hearts and minds of the public. It seems that the more extreme versions of protest haven’t achieved that objective.
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See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes –Â That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labourâs caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
 Buzz from the Beehive  The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the governmentâs official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes –Â Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? Thatâs the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Governmentâs removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes –Â Â The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ârock solidâ $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The MÄori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labourâs change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te PÄti MÄori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. âIâm calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jonesâ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Governmentâs fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Governmentâs miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesnât act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own â and itâs hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own â and itâs hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money â but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Governmentâs proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm". He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The governmentâs attack on MÄori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te PÄti MÄori. âThe government have begun their onslaught on MÄori health with the abolishment of the MÄori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same dayâ said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,â Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand â European ...
New Zealandâs social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. âI want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealandâs social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. âTo coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that todayâs opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. âIt was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealandâs relationship with China, including trade, ...
KÄinga Ora â Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. âEarlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of KÄinga Ora. ...
TÄna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealandâs indispensable strategic partnerships. Â Â Â âSingapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening MĹrena, ngÄ mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, itâs a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. âMarch 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,â Mr Luxon says. âToday we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. Itâs a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asiaâs most populous country. Â âWe are in Jakarta so early in our new governmentâs term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. âWe look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealandâs ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. âThe recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Aucklandâs rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. âOver the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023â24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. âThe Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).âAs it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. âParts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. âA $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.  âWe have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Governmentâs priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,â says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Governmentâs commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says itâs a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Governmentâs commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says itâs a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Governmentâs plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. âThe SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Governmentâs plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. âThe SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. âLower fruit and vege ...
TÄnÄ koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
TÄnÄ koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. âFarmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and itâs vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,â ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.  Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. âThe Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. âCurrently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliamentâs Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023â24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. âOne of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. اŮŘłŮŮŮŮا٠ؚŮŮŮŮ In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. Itâs a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. âSimon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. âHelp is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Governmentâs restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,â says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. âNew Zealanders believe ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queenslandâs chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It canât be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet ChlĂśe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. âOn her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Itâs been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its âFirst 100 Day programmeâ. During this period thereâs been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and canât be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as âTransport for Allâ, is actively opposing the governmentâs transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Councilâs various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his âmisguided political viewsâ. âI get knocked down, but I get up again,â blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guineaâs Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last monthâs massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFLâs 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parentsâ (or grandparentsâ) lives were like prior to moving â for kids in particular, theyâre too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge âIf you donât know who your mob are, you donât know who you are,â Detective Andrea âAndieâ Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University Itâs commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their partiesâ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yiâs visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit â including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in TÄmaki Makaurau. Itâs one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
Thereâs ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealandâs ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: âHis Excellencyâs speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayersâ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to âno new taxesâ as part of Budget 2024. âMr Luxonâs refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the âno new taxesâ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Governmentâs Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that thereâs a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown thatâs difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, thereâs nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australiaâs political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode â and how theyâre making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: PÄkehÄ Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversationâs series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
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Is that real?
I truly hope so. Can anyone in Wellington pop downtown and check?
Haven’t popped downtown to check, but here’s a Greenpeace press release about it from Scoop:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1307/S00197/minister-in-pants-on-fire-accusations-on-capital-billboard.htm
Yeah, I just saw it yesterday, it’s real.
Oh yes Weka it truly is, and we need more about the rest of them.
Love that it’s over Banks shoes. Nice name association there.
Was going to make the same comment, Rosy. Good one! đ
gosh all the skyline pollution – wonder how much petroluem was burned to print that poster and all the vehicles…good Simon Bridges has been honoured. Lets not forget the big head office renovation going on at the moment for the heavyweughts at the top of greenpeace.
What’s your point?
That’s the best you can do? You’re barely literate, son.
Greenpeace have no proof at all. that’s my point – I gather Simon bridges cant either – so what a waste of energy on a billboard.
Bet you a dollar the Greens supported this!
Simon bridges cant
Cant indeed.
“Greenpeace have no proof at all.”
That Bridges has been accused of misleading parliament over whether he met with oil industry bods?
Or that he says we can clean up oil spills?
Or the fact that we can’t?
I think all three of those are pretty easy to prove. Am pretty sure Greenpeace believe that too and aren’t expecting a libel suit any time soon
Lying lying lying…all these lying MP’s so how come we top anti corruption stakes. Greenpeace is only good for shooting themselves in the foot. Good to see on the news tonight USA about to be bigger than the Arabs on oil production. So much for peak oil. However people dying in china from pollution and getting cancer. Then the lefts want to tax fuel for Auckland roads and raise toll money.
I remember this argument about how tv causes violence etc etc. P.S. There was no tv during world war one or the napoleanic wars…people just make stuff up and on here is some real shape shifters but I enjoy the debate.
And before someone gives me a lecture on ww1 Its my pet subject so have some pretty dam good links between millions of death and sesame street if you are going to claim tv is the cause for violence. The was no tv.
I digress…oil production has another 200 years to go and by that time we would of landed on mars.
*facepalm* So much stupid in one comment.
Peak Oil is about peak production, and the relationship between oil and the economy (it’s not about how much oil is left in the ground). Show me some evidence that Hubbert was wrong (about the timing, as I assume even you understand the basics of physics involved in non-renewable resources).
Corruption is cultural. The corruption we have in the current govt is culturally sanctioned corruption, as opposed to the corruption we look at in other countries which doesn’t fit our ideas about what is ok.
Violence… am pretty sure the violence in WW1 was because countries with lots of soldiers were at war with each other. Citation needed for anyone ever saying that TV caused WW1.
btw, I take it from your lack of response to my comment that you reCant your statement about Greenpeace having no proof.
Re: the violence comment. I think Yes is saying that if someone suggests that TV leads to higher violence then ALL violence must be caused by TV. Therefore, if one can find an instance of violence that was not preceded by TV (e.g. WW1), then it would disprove the hypothesis.
I know it makes absolutely no sense, but is consistent with other comments Yes has posted so far. Draw your own conclusions from what this says about his/her ability to think.
It looks to me like Yes is about 12. The stuff Yes is writing is childlike.
Yes it had crossed my mind. Even kiwiteen123 made more sense.
Oh god don’t say his name, he might appear.
Something tells me he never really went away.
I had a blue one once. But the second wheel fell off and it never tasted so good.
That’s giraffes for you though!
Spectacles.
And yet, somehow this makes more sense than yes’s comment.
Lying lying lyingâŚall these lying MPâs so how come we top anti corruption stakes.
Actually, we don’t:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_New_Zealand
Ignorance personified, yes.,..
just… wow
You really have NFI WTF you’re talking about do you? Peak Oil happened for conventional oil in 2005/6. That and the massive price jump for crude drove development of uncoventional oil. The problem with unconventional oil is a) that’s it’s EROEI is far less and b) that it peaks a hell of a lot faster. So, what’s really happening is that we’re bumping along the bumpy plateau of Peak Oil now, sooner or later, we’ll start going down the other side and demand still isn’t decreasing.
NZ will be one of the first countries priced out of the oil market and that includes our own oil. That latter part really shows the shear delusion of the free-market – we apparently can’t afford our own resources, resources that we already own.
Nobody who knows anything about Peak Oil hasn’t said otherwise. What they said is that production won’t match demand.
Actually, that seems to be The Consensus-Building Group.
Too much madness in your post to address, but the below requires more.
Do you actually believe that your family/offspring are going to be part of any *deep space* plans for colonization, I mean are you completely deluded, or have you been *promised* a seat on the starship enterprise?
You write like someone who genuinely does not give a toss, but your style betrays your fear.
If you seriously believe what you write, then I have a single question for you.
– What do you hope to achieve, and what are your preferred outcomes for NZ, and humanity in general!
Don’t hold back, I would like to understand where your bigger picture is heading!
I want a country where politicians don’t be make rubbish up. That simple
No you don’t or you wouldn’t spend most of your time on here defending those found to be misleading the electorate.
Yes!
Yes! Because Mars gets as close as only 54.6 million kilometres from Earth, we already know how to travel to the moon (363,104 kilometres), we will be able to terraform entire planets by shooting friggin laser beams at them and StarTrek is real…it’s REAL I tells ya!
With such an unsurpassed intellect, have you ever thought about working for Simon Bridges yes?
Neither greenpeace or bridges can prove each other wrong because hither know?
WTF? Does your mum know you’re on here?
lol Yes you are a little kid
Spellcheck fail. I imagine it should be:
because neither know
You owe a dollar
Actually there is some pretty compelling evidence that we are not equipped to deal with a major oil spill. Keys and co are well aware of this but greed is good, so there you have it.
Compelling eveidence alright – walked on the beach last night – still polluted from Rena, plastic beads all up on the high tide line, keep getting oil spots on the surfboard after a few waves..can’t even clean that up nearly 2 years on…and this geezer is my ‘local’ MP….
You’re right Yes, imagine though how awful it would be if Bridges had signed something for charity that he hadn’t painted. Now THAT would be heinous…
Nice work, Greens.
We won’t get changes until we start publicly embarrassing dishonest MPs.
(Greenpeace, I note, not Green Party.)
Brilliant!!!
Next – a billboard listing all of Key’s lies and broken promises.
Only thing though… is there a billboard big enough?!
Maybe, at a stretch:
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/1424254.jpg
http://parish-without-borders.net/ddp/activities/2012-Activities/Graphics/apcd3-8c.jpg
http://blogbaladi.com/images/94895_mainimg-425×282.jpg
Do we go back as far as the EBs funding meetings with Key?
http://ecofriend.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/dubai-billboard_RICJg_69.jpg
http://adland.tv/n1rv4n4g8/2005/septjpg/20.jpg
“Only thing though⌠is there a billboard big enough?!”
We should crowdfund BLiP’s list!
Crowd fund BLiP’s list? Absolutely! Count me in!
It could go on the hill adjacent to the Wgtn airport and replace that stupid “Wellington” sign that was put up last year. BLiP’s list could be put up on all major landmarks in cities and towns around NZ.
I would donate to that fund. Maybe bring back town criers and read out his lies that way, in shopping malls and shopping centres and parks
đ
Probably more of the side of a mountain than a billboard.
Accused… lol.
Yes indeed Greenpeace NOT Greens. I just received their blurb in the mail and not ONE WORD about dismantling Keys spy network. Can’t say I’m much pleased with this given Norman’s renunciation of Keys actions.
Maybe the Greenpeace party? They could have my vote.
Awesome…this is the sort of hard arsed tactics needed to expose this National Party, the MSM aren’t doing their job of exposing the truth so you just have to find another way…MORE PLEASE!
Greenpeace is as credible as Grant Robertson denying a leadership coup. Nothing to see here.
Classic headline:
“Simon Bridges denies his pants are on fire”
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/news/nbpol/1742280717-simon-bridges-denies-his-pants-are-on-fire
sigh….that article contains another glib lie – he ain’t a boy from Tauranga, just a national party blow in from Te Atatu…they just keep rolling off the tongue
.
Bridges bullshit
Bridges bullshit
Bridges bullshit
Bridges the bullshitter
Great job Greenpeace.
It does make me wonder though: whatever happened to the fine old tradition of political graffitti.
It is truly a sad measure of our lack of political engagement when the only signs of dissent are in paid advertising.
In countries where there is still a strong sense that things can be changed every available blank public space is filled with political messaging.
Its probably been partly replaced by Facebooking but this alone is not enough, the message needs to be in the face of the enemy.
Agreed Lefty. There has been long absence of clever political art, satire and graffiti in this town. The creative and free expression that used to be around has just disappeared over the years, along with any fight we once had in us. It needs to be there as a counter to the insipid and framed messages that people derive from the MSM. It needs to be there to challenge people’s belief they have in the lies they are told and it needs to be there to be a direct challenge to those who tell those lies.
Speaking of MSM framing, heres a classic pro govt headline from stuffed.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8928503/Pants-on-fire-attack-on-minister
So, Simon Bridges has been “attacked”. Do they ever say anything about Bridge’s attacks on democracy and his attacks of workers? No they don’t. They are apologists for this govt.
Come back street artists. There’s no better time than now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gFnCwVqbWs
Didn’t Greenpeace say it was an apolitical organisation?
No surprise the Charities Commission revoked its tax-free status, since they are an arm of the Green Party.
Actually they won at the Court of Appeal.
http://www.charities.govt.nz/assets/docs/registration/judgments/GreenpeaceNZIncmediarelease.pdf
Can you cite some sources for “they are the arm of the Green Party”. Is the Employers federation an arm of the National Party? Or the Round Table? Notice how quiet the BRT is when National is in government?
Santi do you support Ministers lying or misleading the electorate?
Well said, Tracey.
As an aside, the Business Roundtable is no more. In 2012 it merged with the NZ Institute into the “New Zealand Initiative”.
also – apolitical and charity are two completely different things
you can be a charity with political leanings/affiliations
you can be a lobby group that is apolitical
can you see the difference santi?
When you’re leary
Feeling pall
When doubt is in your eyes
I will lie to you all
I’m on your side
When polls get rough
And truth just can’t be found
Like a Bridge over polluted water
I will lie me down
Like a Bridge over polluted water
I will lie me down
When you’re down and out
When you’re on the street
When wages fall so hard
I will lie to you
I’ll make up a part
When oil spills come
And birds lie all around
Like a Bridge over troubled water
I will lie me down
Like a Bridge over troubled water
I will lie me down
Drill on Corporate Oil,
Drill on down
Your time has come to scour
All your profit is on the way
See how they refine
If you need a friend
I’m lying right behind
Like a Bridge over troubled water
I will ease your way
Like a Bridge over troubled water
I will lie your way
Applause!
and more applause
“On a more serious note, he has denied any conspiracy and says he was not lobbied by anyone to change the law.”
Note he doesn’t actually address the lie that the billboard raise, of him meeting with the oil industry.
He is directly addressing it – he is accused of misleading parliament because he said he never meet with anyone from the oil industry to discuss the changes about protesting at sea. It then emerged he had met with Shell a couple of weeks before introducing those changes. His argument is that the meeting was not about those changes but about something else.
If he can prove that that meeting did not discuss those changes there is no lie.
Also, while it is likely that they did discuss it, it is also likely that nothing will come of the misleading parliament charge as the accusers will need to prove that he did discuss that with Shell and I can’t see how they will do that.
Fomm the NZ Herald
Bridges said he was “chuffed” about the billboard.
“As a boy from Tauranga, I’ve always wanted my name up in lights in the big city. Now it’s happened and I managed to get Greenpeace to pay for it.”
Another lie.
Bridges has claimned to be a boy from Te Atatu and there was a billboard of him and Tau Henare for a public meeting about the “Local boy done well” story.
Bridges is well done now
Chris, can we agree that it is highly unlikely he was not lobbied by anyone to change the law? I must say when Mr Key promised in 2008 to be transparent and to even answer questions he wasn’t asked (Paul Henry interview on Breakfast), I hoped we were seeing a turning point. We weren’t.
“If he can prove that that meeting did not discuss those changes there is no lie.”
And he hasn’t. He has denied the accusation which is different. Politicians denying accusations of lying or misleading the public is like a tour de france winner saying he is as appalled by other people taking drugs as everyone else but he is clean..
As long as we, the public accept that if it is our “team’ doing the misleading, well, what can we do. As long as we see our government of preference about being on the winning or losing team, we are sunk.
Family First says the decline in children being born into wedlock is a danger warning, I say accepting misleading, obsfucation and lie as “normal” behaviour in ALL our politicians we are sunk.
I completely agree it is highly unlikely. The timing is all too convenient. I don’t agree with what he has done at all. My post was more to try and point out that the lie he is accused of was not that he met with petrol company representatives, he has already admitted that he did.
From wikipedia
“Early life
Simon Bridges was born in October 1976 in Auckland, the youngest of six children. His father, a MÄori of NgÄti Maniapoto descent, was a Baptist Minister, and his mother, a NZ European from Waihi, was a primary school teacher. He is also related to former Labour Cabinet minister Koro WÄtere.[1]
Bridges grew up in Te Atatu, where he attended high school at Rutherford College. There, he was taught by future Labour Education Minister Chris Carter, and also became Head Boy of the college.[2][3] He went on to complete a BA in political science and history and an LLB (Hons) at the University of Auckland.
Legal career
Bridges began his legal career as a litigation lawyer at a major Auckland law firm, Kensington Swan.[2] He moved to Tauranga in 2001 to take up a position as a Crown prosecutor in the District and High Courts. During this time, he took leave to travel to the United Kingdom to study at the London School of Economics, and later to complete a postgraduate law degree at St Catherine’s College, Oxford; he also worked as an intern in the British House of Commons.[2] As a Crown prosecutor in Tauranga, Bridges mainly worked on jury trials.[4] Bridges ended his legal career in 2008, when he was nominated by the National Party to stand for election to the New Zealand Parliament.[5]
Early political career
Bridges became a member of the Young Nationals at the age of 16 and was elected Deputy New Zealand Chair in 1997. He was active in National’s West Auckland organisation as a member of Brian Neeson’s electorate team, whom he supported at the 2002 general election against a challenge by John Key for the National Party candidacy to contest the new seat of Helensville.[2] In the following years, he held several senior positions within the party, including sitting on the National Party rules committee and chairperson of the Tauranga National Party.[5]”
“…During this time, he took leave to travel to the United Kingdom to study at the London School of Economics …”
LOL. I wonder whether he studied under Prof Robert Wade, Bill English’s new “bestie” as discussed in the Truth Makes Them Angry post here?
I somehow doubt that they (Bridges/Wade) share the same views!
One can see how the young agents life pans out, while receiving the obligatory rinse along the road.
They are a familiar journey, one which inevitably leads back to home base, ready to take the order they were given, and having way cleared for them, to rule!
Bridges actions betray NZ, that much is well established!
Brian Neeson. Pffffft! Says it all really.
Being accused of telling porkies by Greenpeace is deep irony
A climate change denialist sneering at Greenpeace is deep irony.
Who’s in denial? The latest science shows that carbon dioxide fertilisation is leading to a massive greening of the planet.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/grl.50563/abstract
Seriously, whatever PR genius from the green taliban thought this up so far out of their depth they should be working on the Brent Spar
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/greenpeaces-brent-spar-apology-1599647.html
Probably bad news: more greenery = lower albedo.
Closer to home, don’t forget about this http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10796431
They will lie any chance they get and even after being pulled up time and again they have the audacity to put up this billboard, which for all we know is yet another lie! Although they cover themselves by saying ‘has been accused’ and never using the word ‘lie’, clever, because when they they are inevitably found to be wrong yet again they can’t be done for defamation.
must – attack – messenger
Pot, kettle, black.
Greenpeace, a quasi-terrorist organization (remember the invasions), has no credibility.
“a quasi-terrorist organization (remember the invasions)”
what?
care to elaborate on that one?
Invasion? Quasi Terrorist? What are you on about?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenpeace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_designated_terrorist_organizations
Nonsense and misinformation is being propagated about the nature of the ban on protesting. For instance, from the article:
What utter nonsense. Protesting at sea isn’t banned. Greenpeace can still go and protest in probably 99.999% of the sea without restriction.
And the protests in the other 0.001%?
Banned.
Those protests would be at sea.
So… well, you know the rest.
As I understand it, protests can take place outside of 500 metres from a drilling site. That seems sensible from a health and safety perspective alone, and is still close enough to be seen making a point.
I can well imagine that if a protester got injured or killed on a drilling site, then the very same people bleating about the current ban would start bleating that the government hadn’t passed any law to stop them getting into harms way.
Oi! Don’t be bringing that kind of logic into this arguement.
Indeed. Idiot’s logic.
If protesters are close enough to endanger safety of themselves or others, this is covered by maritime law, OSH, and the crimes act. No arbitrary “500m”. And the RICO-esque seasoning on the law is clearly aimed at prosecuting organisations when there is absolutely no evidence that the organisation incited or participated in the “offence”.
Quite right, TS. They’re allowed to protest as long as they don’t do so effectively. Very sensible.
The problem is that such protests have impeded organisations from engaging in lawful activities in the past. Seems strange to me that they should be complaining about the government limiting their right to act lawfully when they attempt to do the same to other organisations. Hypocrites much.
Protests are a form of civil disobedience. Suck it up mate, that’s just the way it is.
And the ship can go anywhere it likes. The 500 metres keeps shifting. In other words the entire ocean is out of bounds for protest.
So we have an Alcohol ban in NZ because some local councils have liquor bans in public areas?
Pull your head in.
Even with all our earthquakes, local council areas move around a little less than ships at sea. Not a sailor, are you Bob?
I’m getting tired of all the “nonsense and misinformation” being propagated about it being illegal to take mind altering drugs in this country.
People complain that they’re only affecting their own body and mind so what business is it of anyone else.
What nonsense. Substances aren’t banned. People can probably still partake of 99.999% of all the consumable substances in the world without restriction.
Except your logic doesn’t follow. I was objecting to the claim that protests had been banned at sea, which is clearly not the gase.
To follow logically, you would need to say:
Perhaps you would like to reword your argument starting at that position.
Thank you, your rewording is fine. Carry on.
Yes. People must only protest unlawful activity
I haven’t seen so much grease on a billboard since the last close up of Elvis Presleys hair do.
I believe it’s excellent propaganda for Bridges, who will easily win the seat (again).
Keep at it Redpeace, sorry, Greenpeace.
GREAT work Greenpeace!
Well done.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Our #PantsOnFire billboard has caused quite a stir in Wellington .. but Simon Bridges MP has so far failed to clear his name in response to allegations that he mislead Parliament and New Zealand over his dealings with Shell regarding the controversial Crown Minerals Bill amendment and law changes around protest at sea … http://act.gp/18mj1DH
And he says that we can deal with an oil spill. We canât.
He also said that he thought the photo was good and he was chuffed to have his own billboard in Wellington… http://goo.gl/ygdSw
#AnadarkoAmendment
______________________________________________________________________________
This is a form of ‘corrupt practice’ known as ‘State capture’ – where vested interests lobby for the legislation that serves their interests at the ‘policy’ stage, before the legislation is passed.
In my considered opinion as an ‘anti-corruption’ campaigner – this is a form of ‘grand’ corruption which is endemic in corrupt, polluted tax haven – New Zealand (aka ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ ).
(Check out the Regulatory Impact Statements / Reports and see who has been ‘consulted’? )
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption /anti-privatisation’ campaigner
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate
I really don’t understand all the whining and bleating about the law being changed to limit protest.
Organisations such as Greenpeace display very little regard for the law when it comes to inhibiting the rights of others to engage in lawful activity. So why complain and bleat about it when the government acts to limit the lawful right of protest? Surely its just a case of them not liking it when the boot is on the other foot.
Since these organisations often display little regard for the law anyway, then why not just ignore the 500 metre law and accept the consequences? All this whining and bleating doesn’t impress me at all. Or is it just that we have fairweather protestors here who will only protest when everything is in their favour?
That is the whole point.
– The law is being changed to limit protest.
– The law is being changed to try to limit the effectiveness of protest.
– The law is being changed to try to muzzle protest.
– The law is being changed to try to limit peoples’ rights to defend the values they believe in.
Yet organisations such as Greenpeace are very happy to do the same in trying to limit the ability of other organisations to go about their lawful activities.
You are making a lot of assumptions about why the government has changed the law in this respect.
Perhaps the government is trying to ensure the rights of organisations to act lawfully are properly balanced, so that the rights of one doesn’t infringe on the rights of the other. Do you think?
“Lawful” does not always make it right, TS. A bad law can have dire consequences for all of us – you included.
Absolutely. But the rights to protest are already balanced against the rights of others. For example, I couldn’t lawfully break into your house to protest against something. So, there isn’t anything particularly unusual about legislating to ensure that competing rights are balanced equitably.
“I couldnât lawfully break into your house to protest against something.”
Good comparison TS Not.
This law change is just another attack on people/organizations being able to organize a protest, but you know that TS.
“Breaking into my house”?!
Not a good comparison at all, TS. (Unless my stereo is blaring at 3am in the morning and Noise Control is nowhere to be seen.)
And really, when you’re refering to “the rights to protest are already balanced against the rights of others”, that’s code for neutering the ability of protesters to carry out effective protest.
‘I couldn’t break into your house’. Not a valid comparison. What if you were arrested for going within half a km of someone’s house. Being arrested for protesting in a neighbouring suburb.
So, should the line be drawn anywhere so far as protest against legal activities is concerned. If so, where?
Now that’s an excellent question, Ts.
And to be honest with you, it’s not an easy one to answer…
All, I can say is that it depends on the situation. Personally speaking, I doubt I’d be involved in any protest that involved violence that threatened peoples’ lives.
So, it seems we both agree the line should be drawn somewhere. The answer is therefore going to be a subjective one. So, a 500 metre limit isn’t necessarily wrong. As you say, it depends on the situation.
There are other instances where boundaries are set for protests. For instance, when protestors are kept behind barriers when visiting VIPs visit and the like. So, it is not without precedent.
The onus is always on those who want to curtail freedom, not the other way around.
Making legal protest illegal needs to be justified. Whether the protest is against something that is legal or illegal, undertaken by individuals, companies or government is irrelevant. If there is no reasonable basis for changing the status of legal protest, then it shouldn’t be changed. Pretending that the target of the protest has something to do with it is at best misleading.
It seems that the 500 metre limit is a secondary offence that seems related to the tendency of some protesters to sabotage and interfere with legitimate activities. I don’t believe that sort of activity would qualify as legal protest, especially if it compromised safety.
So, perhaps the protesters have brought the 500 metre limit on themselves due to past behaviour.
One could argue that the protests haven’t been effective enough so the stupid behaviour they are protesting about continues and sane people have to continue to protest. In this case its the stupid behaviour that has caused the draconian law to be introduced.
Sad to watch a country being internationally admired for its will to stand up against terrorists that blew up the Rainbow Warrior, introducing anti nuclear legislation, having designated National Parks that are the envy of so many, being a bacon of sanity – albeit sometimes hard fought for. And then, within a relative short time, such reputation is not just diminished but by will of individual interest a country is fast moving towards something quite unimaginable – spying on people, corporate sponsorship of gaming halls, legal synthetic garbage, collaboration with international corporations to amend civil liberty laws etc.. sad, really sad.
I guess that a justification for protest is that it wins the hearts and minds of the public. It seems that the more extreme versions of protest haven’t achieved that objective.