Wee gripes: get it right
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10:23 am, December 4th, 2009 - 7 comments
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Some dude sent me this from the awful Trans-Tasman: “More than five months after Richard Worth resigned as a minister and quit Parliament amid a sex scandal, police have closed their file and decided he won’t face any charges. A complaint laid by a Korean businesswoman and revelations of an incident involving a woman member of the Labour Party ended Worth’s political career”
- Nup. Worth resigned/was sacked before the allegations came out. Key denied the scandals are the reason Worth went. Basic stuff.
Then, Small yesterday in an otherwise good piece: “Morgan’s “big kahuna” set the shark among the reef fish at the tax working group seminar on Tuesday. He proposed a 1.25 per cent capital gains tax, a flat tax of 25 per cent and a $10,000 minimum adult wage.”
- Nup. Capital tax. Not capital gains tax. Big difference. Also, it’s a guaranteed minimum income. Not a minimum wage. Big difference.
Reminded me of Colin Espiner the other week: “the country could be sitting on $60 billion of untapped black gold… could be worth about $30b a year in export receipts…. there could be as many as 6.5b barrels of undiscovered oil. At current market value, that is worth about $67b.”
- Think about it. If there’s only $60 billion worth how are you pulling out $30 billion worth a year? How much does a barrel of oil go for? $10? Nup. More like $100 NZ. 6.5 billion barrels = $650 billion.
I’m not having a go. Just pieces go from good information to confusing nonsense when these simple things are screwed up.
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Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...1 week ago
- Release: National Party urged to support modern slavery legislation
Labour is urging the Prime Minister to walk the talk and support legislation combating modern slavery. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour has lost confidence in the Speaker
The Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament made an unprecedented decision on the government amendment to the Fast Track Approvals Bill last night. ...2 weeks ago
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Today’s announcement from the Government on its plan for new ferries throws more uncertainty on the future of the country’s rail network. ...2 weeks ago
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After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...2 weeks ago
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- Release: Labour fully supports greyhound racing ban
The Government has done the right thing in moving to ban greyhound racing. ...2 weeks ago
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In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...2 weeks ago
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The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...2 weeks ago
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Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...2 weeks ago
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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...2 days ago
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The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...2 days ago
- Ending contracted emergency housing in Rotorua
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...3 days ago
- Vocational education and training decisions support return to regions
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The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...3 days ago
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People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...3 days ago
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Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...3 days ago
- Government to celebrate Waitangi Day around NZ
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- Strengthening Free Speech in Universities
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Oh, Z, don’t get me started. But you have … 😉
Basic factual errors in political coverage, no. 837: the Greens supported the last Labour government on confidence and supply. People like Barry Soper trot this one out all the time.
Fact: They didn’t.
I got Google, can I be a Political Editor, please?
Another one that has been bugging me all week is when the media refer to Barrack Obama asking for increased troops in Afghanistan from his NATO partners then referring to NZ in the rest of the article as though we are a member of NATO
NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
Surely any 8 year old would know that New Zealand isn’t in the North Atlantic??!
Just another wee Friday morning gripe….
And anybody who’s been watching the news knows that NATO now extends to Turkey and a few other countries that aren’t in the North Atlantic. This isn’t to say that NZ is in NATO but that it’s no longer confined to that geographic region.
NATO members…28 countries
42 countries participating in or making up the so called International Security Assistance Force under NATO command.
Which means that 42 countries are turning a blind eye to the fact that the invasion of Afghanistan was illegal
Turkey’s been in NATO for decades.
Heh, my bad. Was trying to think of names of countries in that part of the world that had recently joined NATO. Should have Googled
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1543000.stm
Hard not to laugh out loud at Vernons mistake. especially as Gareth spelled out what he thought quite clearly.
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