Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, selfish, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
‘One in 100 Kiwis homeless, new study shows numbers quickly rising
Homelessness in New Zealand has been skyrocketing and now a new study proves just how big the issue is.
The “severely housing deprived” had accelerated from 2006 to 2013, says a study by University of Otago, Wellington.
At least one in every 100 Kiwis were homeless in 2013, this included those living with family and friends.
This figure had increased from 2006 data which showed one in every 120 people were homeless, while in 2001, this was at one in 130 people.’
All in denial over the issue of homelessness in New Zealand.
Part of the cruel, selfish, uncaring and cruel section of the populace poisoned by the antisocial neoliberal cult.
Well here’s something… which makes me kinda angry…
Phil Goffs little plan to relocate the Ports of Auckland to other areas – including places like Murawai…not only does it pander to Keys agenda to make Auckland city council have to sell off public assets and … privatize the ports… ( to the tune of 3-5 billion dollars ) it falls all too conveniently within the tax bribe of Keys 3 billion tax bribes…
So as Goff feigns opening up of areas for ‘ housing’ he assists Key in forcing Auckland city council to raise funds by selling off assets.
I would say that for the man who was given ‘dispensation’ to agree to disagree and cross the floor to vote with National regards the TTPA he has already shown his true colours. I would suggest that Labour cut off the neo liberal darlings in order to purge the neo liberal from the MOU.
Else , in disagreeing with old seadogs and in an era of more pragmatic rationalism he is found to be wanting. It is for no small reason that the Maori named the Waitemata the ‘ feminine ‘ harbour and the Manukau the ‘ masculine ‘ harbour…
Cosmopolitans such as Goff have absolutely no clue when they speak of relocating the main ports of Auckland to such places as the Thames and Murawai. Absolutely no idea of the treacherous shifting sands and bars of these waterways. And the colossal amount of funds needed to keep those waterways free from obstruction. And even then… the total impracticality of those locations to begin with.
The Orpheus cries out from its grave as testament to Goff’s folly…and its prophetic fulfillment is thus :
I would say… that in a way it was… however… if Labour is to tolerate subversives such as Goff, and hand out special treatment as such, – with special dispensations to cross the floor to vote for the TTPA… that it would behoove Labour to monitor carefully the tightrope they are walking…
As Goff becomes a liability to the whole concept of the MOU.
They are effectively saying one thing , – yet allowing such subversives like Goff to undermine confidence in the MOU as a genuine movement away from the supply side/ starve the beast model of neo liberal economics.
The whole concept of Goff advocating selling off of the Ports of Auckland plays right into the hands of Keys govt in demanding Auckland council sell off assets to fund infrastructure.
And as for suggesting such ludicrous locations as Murawai???!!!
Good lord!!!….does the man not know his history ???…
The Ports of Auckland operation could be shifted to Tauranga and to Marsden Point.
Goff would not have to sell Ports of Auckland land to do it – instead he could turn all of that land into the next waterfront development – just as the current one is ready to go into construction. It’s the operations that would be divested.
Granted it would take quite some funding of Kiwirail to form the track to Marsden, and further hundreds of millions to upgrade the northern line. Probably also it would need the Avondale-Onehunga line paralleling SH20 to do it as well. None of them easy tasks, until you compare them to the SH1 expressway programme accelerated for Wellsford-Whangrei within NZTA.
Many of those moves would take three terms of central and local government commitment to achieve – so nothing to get too anxious about for a while.
Well I do hope your right, another poster suggested Northland if it could be done, so there’s Tauranga way as well. As for Ports needing to be sold I’m pretty sure it would. But any suggestion of major Ports anywhere on the West coast is out of the question , I’m surprised it was even looked at. There would be calamity after calamity , mark my words. An outrageous suggestion.
I remember coming into the Manukau late one night, with a skipper new to it. He had 3 crew with torches out on the whaleback and must’ve lost a kilo just in sweat getting in. Smart fellow too, he’d been pushing boats for twenty years.
Essential listening for the politicians (and probably the voting public):
Natrad Saturday with Kim Hill
Dr Dacher Keltner is the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center and a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of the 2009 book, Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life, consulted on the 2015 Pixar film Inside Out, and his new book is The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence (Penguin).
Yes …I can understand… my point is … that often at the sake of political expediency…and a little lack of convenient joining of the dots… the consequences of overlooking the pragmatics can lead to the loss of lives… I need not remind you of the loss of 29 lives at Pike River due mainly to the destruction of unions ( aka the Employment Contacts Act or the later Employment Relations Act ) and lack of union mines inspectors monitoring conditions…
And I find it quite… pertinent that the Edmond Fitzgerald also lost 29 lives… and you know as well that if integrity is to have its place in the MOU… if workers are to account for anything in this equation… then all things must therefore be considered. Not just political expediencies.
Aye…well then Weka… I guess I’ll have to run with yer… I just wish… there was more a clamp down on the devious and the insipidly dishonest. With playing with honest men and women’s lives and dressing it up as bright ideas instead of calling it the deceptive plans it is… I don’t truck that sort of forked tongued weakness. Its sickening.
Hi Paul. There’s another article in the paper today about a couple who experience for the weekend really high end luxury living. Sick-making really when so many are in real need, like rubbing their faces in it. We cancelled our Herald over two years ago because of the tripe and trivia which was being delivered each morning to our place. Bias and rigged for the Government we no longer could stand it. Since then we have been hounded by their marketing team and each time they get a barrage from me about how we do not need social gossip, health issues, travel ideas etc – that we want a “proper” newspaper. Last week we were offered a week’s free with home delivery of the newspaper, so for a bit of a laugh really we said okay.
Well I can tell you it has gone from bad to worse – I just cannot believe that New Zealanders can read this drivel every day and soak it in for real. The editorial writers are a disgrace and the only use these newspapers are going to be for us is lining for our cat’s overnight litter tray.
And, they are going to be getting a email from me addressed to the owner’s of the paper saying its an insult to the people of NZ that they have fed this crap to read every day.
Suddenly Little is smart enough to have his caucus totally under control and he has unified the opposition…meanwhile Key’s popularity is dropping…is Claire reading the runes and seeing change?
She’d be an idiot not to… if she knows what side her bread is buttered on… and like all primeval organisms … she can sniff the breeze to smell the carcass to her own advantage.
Discussing: “Housing”, “Labour Green Memorandum”, and “Economy Meltdown”
Former Labour Party Leader, current MP for New Lynn and people’s hero – David Cunliffe
Winner of best columnist at the Canon media awards – the brilliant Rachel Stewart
The best MP in the NZ First Party – Tracy Martin
Political commentator, blogger and author – Comrade Chris Trotter
And NZ First bad boy – blogger and commentator – Curwen Rolinson
That,… was a particularly good showing… the speakers articulated their opinions with clarity.
And the good will was evident. I was quite impressed with Curwen Rowlinson. Equally impressed at the general sense of unanimity among all of them. Also David Cunliffe, he showed a real power as a headperson in humility and facilitating of the collective desire to work cohesively.
Rachael Stewart was total business . Refreshing, … and was the perfect contrast to Chris Trotters more measured and pensive analysis of the events unfolding.
It was good to hear Trotter at the end saying how important it was for the Nats to lose in 2017 because they are out of ideas (they never had many) and that the ideas they have got and cannot help pursuing are making the country’s problems worse.
Great episode, all were good, even Trotter. I have always like Tracey Martin, utterly underrated in my opinion. & Curwen is great, an awesome young man.
“Seeing people sleeping in their cars breaks my heart” – totally how I feel.
Yep, and the sentiment that “this is not a New Zealand that I recognise”.
The analysis of the Nat voting mindset was particularly good.
I agree with Cunliffe, the economy is hollow & the only thing giving us the illusion of GDP growth is record immigration levels & a foreign investment bubble. We are at a tipping point
“It may even have been put on the table already if the chit chat about talks on the side between NZ First and National go-betweens is true.”
TRACY WATKINS
Last updated 05:00, June 4 2016
Tracey Watkins gives us her opinion of the chance of Winston Peters becoming Prime Minister.
Though I had not been articulated it as bluntly as Watkins has, it had been stuck in the back of my mind as well. Here and Here
But unlike Watkins I had not imagined that this would be a bauble that the Labour/Greens would be offering Peters, but instead would be a sweetener offered by the National/ACT/Peter Dunne cabal.
What form this would take would be hard to say. The most likely would be a power sharing arrangement where for the first half of the next government’s term John Key would remain Prime Minister to be replaced by the premiership of Sir Winston for the second half.
Given the venom exuded by the Key Government to de-seat Winston in 2008, it is hard to imagine National welcoming him back into the fold let alone as PM. But Politics is a weird pit. Have him in or loose the election. Mmmm.
Surely this is much more likely with a left based govt.
It is credible for the PM to come from a party on say 15%, with Labour on say 30%. But it would look ridiculous if the larger party was on 45%.
The idea of WP being the PM for say the first 18 months has been widely mooted, but almost invariably on a NZF/Labour coalition. I guess the Greens would get something, but nothing too substantial in such a deal.
Paul
+1
In all the media in all the world, those items have to walk into ours. When can we concentrate on our learning about our own interesting little country.?
People internationally do, but we can’t think about our own lives and nation and analyse what to do, too much dull cultural cringe, and cargo culting waiting for the more advanced nations, we think, to bring us news from their home and to teach us their advanced ways.
But home is where the heart is. Media bring us news from our heart-land. Or get out of the country back to your owners in your corporate headquarters you bunch of toadies, mercenaries and confidence tricksters.
edited
bwaghorn
I seem to remember that you are sheep oriented = a shepherd?
This was on Radionz this morning.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201803333
Philip Armstrong: sheep
9:05 AM.Kim Hill talks to the Head of the Department of English at the University of Canterbury, and co-director of New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies about his new book, Sheep.
There was interesting stuff about whether sheep are bright and if not why not. The clever ones are a problem and get put down. They have been seen rolling on their backs to get under an electric fence to better grazing.
Or lifting the bar on the gate to get in with the rest of the flock to the tasty vegetable garden. And I think rolling across a cattle stop.
On the road at the mo will listen if I get a chance.
My view is sheep and cattle are bright in their own way but easily panicked but as you say being overly clever/cheeky is likely to shorten their lives
Dell XPS models always get good reviews. Never owned one myself.
They are both $799 refurbs. The first one has 256GB SSD (making it v. speedy), the other has a big 500GB HDD & a larger screen.
Gangnam Style
Thanks for comments on mine 2/6/16 on callous disdaining attitude to a young mother becoming pregnant a second time and being in dire conditions Very good comment greywarshark, whenever I see this kind of comment from our less emphatic compatriots (“why do they have babies if they are poor/homeless/not me?”) I am reminded of this little clip from 30 Rock. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCYPqrmLwqs
That’s a cutting piece of social comment from 30 Rock. You may have heard the interview on Radionz today Saturday, about studies on how the effects of having much money and power distorts or demolishes the human connections between classes.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201803328 29.12 m Dacher Keltner: power and corruption
8:12 AM.Kim Hill talks to the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center and professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, whose new book is The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence.
Then there was a description of how the bullying, callous attitudes of Australian politicians is formed, in special self-funded college within at one, (perhaps more), university which the institution can’t control. I thought of the recent hooligan behaviour at a NZ airport, of some boys from a sports team of an eminent education institution here where parents challenged its right to control their children’s behaviour to an accepted civil standard.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201803330 15.54 m. Van Badham: privilege in Australia
8:45 AM.Kim Hill talks the Australian theatre-maker, novelist, social commentator, and columnist for Guardian Australia, who has written widely about privilege and politics.
The rise of the rich, the bowing to and encouraging of individualistic, self-centred, hedonism or simplistic narrow self-interest is behind the lack of concern by both men and women about others’ suffering here in NZ. And it is being taught and reinforced in elite educational establishments, and I expect soon, military schools. The lack of socialisation of these children shows up in the lack of respect for others and condoning assaults, sexual violations, stealing through fraud, corruption becoming common amongst the better-off.
(And can I ask that more people put a bracket in front of their youtube offerings. The posts being filled with black boxes, some without any comment or explanation is destructive to the worth of a discussion site.
edited
I was hoping the ‘joke’ wasn’t too black…Slightly off topic but I can’t recommend Tina Feys book enough, I actually heard the audio book read by her, amazingly funny & political & fascinating & so, so honest.
I say the ‘jump back up your mother’, whenever I hear the ‘poor people shouldn’t have babies’ vacuous bile, simple pleasures are the best.
The New Bapsae
I haven’t read you before. I hope your comment at 15.2 is heartfelt, and not sarky – the quote would be my ideal for a social welfare system.
JFK responds: “Look! At the end of the day, what is a million bucks? How many kids would that sort of chicken feed, feed? Ok! so it might buy 10 2 bedroom relocatable cabins with showers and full kitchen and stuff – enough to house the 8 carloads of people in one carpark sleeping in cars who don’t want to be helped. But think of the money my mates will make hosting a golf tournament. AND the photo ops! I could be famous shaking hands with a famous winner. It’s good to be seen with winners. And let’s face it – Hungry kids and homeless people are losers – no votes there.”
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Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Ministry of Disabled People employees were promised a permanent role, but were told to start packing three weeks before their fixed term contract finished, says a former employee. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Blakers, Professor of Engineering, Australian National University Clean Energy Council / Neoen As Australia’s rapid renewable energy rollout continues, so too does debate over land use. Nationals Leader David Littleproud, for example, claimed regional areas had reached “saturation point” and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan C. Walsh, Sessional Academic, The University of Queensland Arrest for witchcraft (1866) by John PettieNGV, CC BY-NC In recent decades, governments the world over have increasingly taken action to address the dark history of witch-hunting. In western Europe, memorials to ...
By Mark Rabago, RNZ Pacific Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas correspondent The US Department of Justice is being urged to condemn and cease its reliance on the “Insular Cases” — a series of US Supreme Court opinions on US territories, which have been labelled racist. Senate Judiciary Committee chair Dick ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kara Dadswell, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Victoria University Ask your son or daughter, niece, or nephew to draw you a picture of a sport coach. They will most probably draw a man. Why? Our latest research published in the Psychology of Sport ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Rinehart, Professor, Child and Adolescent Psychology, Director, Krongold Clinic (Research), Monash University Shutterstock/Brian A. Jackson “Charlie” is an eight-year-old child with autism. Her parents are worried because she often responds to requests with insults, aggression and refusal. Simple demands, such ...
A rare opportunity to join our team of award-winning journalists. The Spinoff is advertising for a staff writer for the first time in… maybe ever? This is an extremely rare opportunity to join our small team of award-winning writers, covering a range of topics and tones, from the most serious ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hendri Yulius Wijaya, PhD Student in Political Science (Joint Supervision with Business School), The University of Melbourne witsarut sakorn/Shutterstock Around the world, more and more companies are publishing sustainability reports – public scorecards detailing their impacts on society and the environment. ...
News that the great writer Vincent O’Sullivan has died has spurred a wave of tributes. Here, fellow writer Emma Neale remembers her friend and colleague. I have a bright string of memories of Vince. The earliest moments are of sitting as a young student in his lectures on Katherine Mansfield, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natali Pearson, Senior Lecturer, Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, University of Sydney Hence Kertajaya/Shutterstock A lot of the recent talk about maritime issues in Southeast Asia has focused on issues such as security, the Blue Economy, law enforcement and climate change. But ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Ziegler, Collection Manager, Vertebrate Palaeontology, Museums Victoria Research Institute The fossil skeleton in a secluded alcove of the cave.Rob French/Museums Victoria Pitch-black darkness. Crushing squeezes, muddy passages, icy waterfalls. Bats and spiders. Abseiling over ledges into the unknown. How far ...
We remember one of Aotearoa’s towering literary figures, who died on Sunday 28 April. Sir Vincent O’Sullivan, one of Aotearoa’s most prolific writers, has died in Dunedin at the age of 87. His son, Dominic O’Sullivan, shared the news on social media on Sunday 28 April: “Hei aitua hoki, kua ...
Ariana Stevens founded Reo Māori Mai in 2018 to help people connect with te ao Māori through the reo. On Friday she was awarded Tū Rangatira, the supreme award at the Ngā Tohu Reo Māori awards.Te Tai Poutini (the South Island’s West Coast) is often characterised by its remote ...
Bad, bad records are going to be broken this year, and it’s time for business leaders to accept that the transition to a low-carbon economy is going to be spiky, writes business leader Dame Therese Walsh. When I was on the board of the stock exchange, the NZX, a gentleman ...
1 May marks a year since New Zealand’s world-leading ban on live exports by sea came into effect. Instead of it being cause for celebration the anniversary is marred by the Government’s plan to restart the unpopular trade. ...
More than a thousand claims have been lodged with ACC over children, some younger than a year old, being injured by shopping trolleys in the last five years. Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at why.Madeleine Holden was at her local Countdown when she heard something no mother wants to hear: her ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nalini Joshi, Professor of Mathematics, University of Sydney Tavrius / Shutterstock Imagine the tap of a card that bought you a cup of coffee this morning also let a hacker halfway across the world access your bank account and buy themselves ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brigid McCarthy, Lecturer in Journalism, La Trobe University Sports media misogyny was alive and well this month. In just the few short weeks it took for star United States basketball players Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese to shoot their way from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacob Crouse, Research Fellow in Youth Mental Health, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock The core experiences of depression – changes in energy, activity, thinking and mood – have been described for more than 10,000 years. The word “depression” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Wilson, PhD Candidate in Quantum Technology & Innovation Governance, Institue for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney EdBelkin/Shutterstock A landmark legal settlement has once again focused our attention on the dangers of “forever chemicals”. This class of chemicals, technically ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda Davies, Professor and Head of School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Australians are having fewer babies, so many fewer that without international migration our population would be on track to decline in just over a decade. In most ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Oscar, Senior Lecturer, Visual Communication, School of Design, University of Technology Sydney /imagine a photograph of a Thai woman, pregnant in a green and white dress with luggage at an airport departure terminal in Bangkok in 1974 with her eyes closed ...
The justice minister will be grilled on NZ’s human rights record at the UN later today, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. NZ’s turn in front of the class At 7pm ...
This week marks the return of Newsroom’s chart-topping investigative podcast, The Boy in the Water, when investigations editor Melanie Reid will take listeners inside the courtroom during the coronial inquest into the death of three-and-a-half year old Lachlan Jones. Lachie was found floating face up in an oxidation pond on the ...
It took Act’s arts spokesman Todd Stephenson 20 minutes to think of a single New Zealand author and a single New Zealand book. The only artistic experience he could think of is that he went to see Hamilton in New York. His only press release on the arts has been ...
If the council isn’t sure if it wants a bigger airport, it probably shouldn’t own hundreds of millions of dollars worth of airport shares. Any fan of a professional sports team, especially in the big-money US and European leagues, knows how much team success relies on the right owner. Good ...
Plagued by industry lobbying and design flaws, the system may be on the chopping block under National. Is it delivering what it says on the box?At the supermarket, a woman with a baby strapped to her front pushes a trolley piled high with groceries, and two young children sit ...
Opinion: Artificial intelligence is increasingly part of life, and so are anxieties about how it will change life as we know it. How it will change our jobs is just one aspect of the dystopian future we imagine it is creating. Some, if not many, of these concerns warrant serious ...
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Crown research institute GNS Science is about to officially open its new green hydrogen lab in Lower Hutt. One day it could contribute to making sure that small rural communities cut off by disaster can still power through, with stored green hydrogen used to establish a kind of micro-grid. Michelle ...
Asia Pacific Report A score of Palestine solidarity protesters draped themselves in white shrouds with mock blood in a sombre “die-in” demonstration at Te Komitanga Square — the heart of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city — today as speakers urged people to take a stronger boycott against Israeli products. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Tackling violence against women will be the sole agenda item for a national cabinet meeting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has convened for Wednesday. The meeting, held remotely, follows thousands of Australians attending rallies across ...
The protest outside the White House correspondents’ dinner hotel. Image: Anatolu video screenshot APR More than two dozen Palestinian journalists had called for a boycott of the dinner, writing an open letter urging their American colleagues not to attend. “You have a unique responsibility to speak truth to power and ...
“Our exporters should, therefore, be deeply concerned that the Fast-track Approvals Bill was not assessed for consistency with any of our free trade commitments prior to being introduced to the House,” says Gary Taylor, Chief Executive of the Environmental ...
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff is calling on all political parties to support the new Member’s Bill from Labour’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson Camilla Belich MP that would ensure negligent companies are held accountable when their employees ...
A historian with a track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go wrong for him. ...
A historian with an uncanny track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go very wrong for him. ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, selfish, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
‘One in 100 Kiwis homeless, new study shows numbers quickly rising
Homelessness in New Zealand has been skyrocketing and now a new study proves just how big the issue is.
The “severely housing deprived” had accelerated from 2006 to 2013, says a study by University of Otago, Wellington.
At least one in every 100 Kiwis were homeless in 2013, this included those living with family and friends.
This figure had increased from 2006 data which showed one in every 120 people were homeless, while in 2001, this was at one in 130 people.’
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/80719962/one-in-100-kiwis-homeless-new-study-shows-numbers-quickly-rising
Of that 1/100 derived from census returns aren’t 70% or so living with friends or family ?
Paula Bennett, John Key, stunned mullet……
All in denial over the issue of homelessness in New Zealand.
Part of the cruel, selfish, uncaring and cruel section of the populace poisoned by the antisocial neoliberal cult.
Thank you for your considered response Marvin.
Have you not been to the CBD of Auckland or Wellington, Stunned Mullet?
Probably is driven through it in his SUV with the tinted windows up while staring at his IPhone.
Look up
tha’ts right sm, and the rest don’t want help, dear leader told us.
A song for sm.
Well here’s something… which makes me kinda angry…
Phil Goffs little plan to relocate the Ports of Auckland to other areas – including places like Murawai…not only does it pander to Keys agenda to make Auckland city council have to sell off public assets and … privatize the ports… ( to the tune of 3-5 billion dollars ) it falls all too conveniently within the tax bribe of Keys 3 billion tax bribes…
So as Goff feigns opening up of areas for ‘ housing’ he assists Key in forcing Auckland city council to raise funds by selling off assets.
I would say that for the man who was given ‘dispensation’ to agree to disagree and cross the floor to vote with National regards the TTPA he has already shown his true colours. I would suggest that Labour cut off the neo liberal darlings in order to purge the neo liberal from the MOU.
Else , in disagreeing with old seadogs and in an era of more pragmatic rationalism he is found to be wanting. It is for no small reason that the Maori named the Waitemata the ‘ feminine ‘ harbour and the Manukau the ‘ masculine ‘ harbour…
Cosmopolitans such as Goff have absolutely no clue when they speak of relocating the main ports of Auckland to such places as the Thames and Murawai. Absolutely no idea of the treacherous shifting sands and bars of these waterways. And the colossal amount of funds needed to keep those waterways free from obstruction. And even then… the total impracticality of those locations to begin with.
The Orpheus cries out from its grave as testament to Goff’s folly…and its prophetic fulfillment is thus :
good points Katipo. I moved your comment to Open Mike as it was too off topic for the Green AGM thread.
I would say… that in a way it was… however… if Labour is to tolerate subversives such as Goff, and hand out special treatment as such, – with special dispensations to cross the floor to vote for the TTPA… that it would behoove Labour to monitor carefully the tightrope they are walking…
As Goff becomes a liability to the whole concept of the MOU.
They are effectively saying one thing , – yet allowing such subversives like Goff to undermine confidence in the MOU as a genuine movement away from the supply side/ starve the beast model of neo liberal economics.
The whole concept of Goff advocating selling off of the Ports of Auckland plays right into the hands of Keys govt in demanding Auckland council sell off assets to fund infrastructure.
And as for suggesting such ludicrous locations as Murawai???!!!
Good lord!!!….does the man not know his history ???…
Has he not heard of the Orpheus ???
The mans mad!
The Ports of Auckland operation could be shifted to Tauranga and to Marsden Point.
Goff would not have to sell Ports of Auckland land to do it – instead he could turn all of that land into the next waterfront development – just as the current one is ready to go into construction. It’s the operations that would be divested.
Granted it would take quite some funding of Kiwirail to form the track to Marsden, and further hundreds of millions to upgrade the northern line. Probably also it would need the Avondale-Onehunga line paralleling SH20 to do it as well. None of them easy tasks, until you compare them to the SH1 expressway programme accelerated for Wellsford-Whangrei within NZTA.
Many of those moves would take three terms of central and local government commitment to achieve – so nothing to get too anxious about for a while.
Well I do hope your right, another poster suggested Northland if it could be done, so there’s Tauranga way as well. As for Ports needing to be sold I’m pretty sure it would. But any suggestion of major Ports anywhere on the West coast is out of the question , I’m surprised it was even looked at. There would be calamity after calamity , mark my words. An outrageous suggestion.
Tauranga would take the exports, Marsden the imports.
Way it rolls.
I remember coming into the Manukau late one night, with a skipper new to it. He had 3 crew with torches out on the whaleback and must’ve lost a kilo just in sweat getting in. Smart fellow too, he’d been pushing boats for twenty years.
Essential listening for the politicians (and probably the voting public):
Natrad Saturday with Kim Hill
Dr Dacher Keltner is the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center and a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of the 2009 book, Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life, consulted on the 2015 Pixar film Inside Out, and his new book is The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence (Penguin).
Podcast not up yet
Com’on , chap post what needs to be posted.
Its not only shifting the ports…. its lives as well.
[Good points, but off topic, moved to Open Mike] – weka
I moved it to Open Mike. Good points but too off topic.
Yes …I can understand… my point is … that often at the sake of political expediency…and a little lack of convenient joining of the dots… the consequences of overlooking the pragmatics can lead to the loss of lives… I need not remind you of the loss of 29 lives at Pike River due mainly to the destruction of unions ( aka the Employment Contacts Act or the later Employment Relations Act ) and lack of union mines inspectors monitoring conditions…
And I find it quite… pertinent that the Edmond Fitzgerald also lost 29 lives… and you know as well that if integrity is to have its place in the MOU… if workers are to account for anything in this equation… then all things must therefore be considered. Not just political expediencies.
Aye…well then Weka… I guess I’ll have to run with yer… I just wish… there was more a clamp down on the devious and the insipidly dishonest. With playing with honest men and women’s lives and dressing it up as bright ideas instead of calling it the deceptive plans it is… I don’t truck that sort of forked tongued weakness. Its sickening.
The Herald fawns over the rich. My, don’t they have a tough life?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11648864
Hi Paul. There’s another article in the paper today about a couple who experience for the weekend really high end luxury living. Sick-making really when so many are in real need, like rubbing their faces in it. We cancelled our Herald over two years ago because of the tripe and trivia which was being delivered each morning to our place. Bias and rigged for the Government we no longer could stand it. Since then we have been hounded by their marketing team and each time they get a barrage from me about how we do not need social gossip, health issues, travel ideas etc – that we want a “proper” newspaper. Last week we were offered a week’s free with home delivery of the newspaper, so for a bit of a laugh really we said okay.
Well I can tell you it has gone from bad to worse – I just cannot believe that New Zealanders can read this drivel every day and soak it in for real. The editorial writers are a disgrace and the only use these newspapers are going to be for us is lining for our cat’s overnight litter tray.
And, they are going to be getting a email from me addressed to the owner’s of the paper saying its an insult to the people of NZ that they have fed this crap to read every day.
And another article about a fight over $20 million Waiheke Island farm.
The adventures of the rich and famous.
Go back to sleep New Zealand.
Actually, for a change, Claire Trevett’s piece in the Herald today is almost fair, and I mean almost. Worth a read.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11650364
Suddenly Little is smart enough to have his caucus totally under control and he has unified the opposition…meanwhile Key’s popularity is dropping…is Claire reading the runes and seeing change?
She’d be an idiot not to… if she knows what side her bread is buttered on… and like all primeval organisms … she can sniff the breeze to smell the carcass to her own advantage.
Yes maybe she’s seen penguins polling otherwise she’d be putting the boot in like earlier in the week.
Someone else probably drew the dogwhistle round this cycle like soper and wifey who have been busy.
Searing edition of Waatea 5th estate last night
Discussing: “Housing”, “Labour Green Memorandum”, and “Economy Meltdown”
Former Labour Party Leader, current MP for New Lynn and people’s hero – David Cunliffe
Winner of best columnist at the Canon media awards – the brilliant Rachel Stewart
The best MP in the NZ First Party – Tracy Martin
Political commentator, blogger and author – Comrade Chris Trotter
And NZ First bad boy – blogger and commentator – Curwen Rolinson
That,… was a particularly good showing… the speakers articulated their opinions with clarity.
And the good will was evident. I was quite impressed with Curwen Rowlinson. Equally impressed at the general sense of unanimity among all of them. Also David Cunliffe, he showed a real power as a headperson in humility and facilitating of the collective desire to work cohesively.
Rachael Stewart was total business . Refreshing, … and was the perfect contrast to Chris Trotters more measured and pensive analysis of the events unfolding.
Excellent stuff.
Pretty good Ropata. Worth the listen. Upbeat for the Left.
Thanks for posting that Ropata-brilliant.
It was good to hear Trotter at the end saying how important it was for the Nats to lose in 2017 because they are out of ideas (they never had many) and that the ideas they have got and cannot help pursuing are making the country’s problems worse.
Great episode, all were good, even Trotter. I have always like Tracey Martin, utterly underrated in my opinion. & Curwen is great, an awesome young man.
“Seeing people sleeping in their cars breaks my heart” – totally how I feel.
Yep, and the sentiment that “this is not a New Zealand that I recognise”.
The analysis of the Nat voting mindset was particularly good.
I agree with Cunliffe, the economy is hollow & the only thing giving us the illusion of GDP growth is record immigration levels & a foreign investment bubble. We are at a tipping point
Understanding white privilege
Deconstructing White Privilege with Dr. Robin Di Angelo
Tracey Watkins gives us her opinion of the chance of Winston Peters becoming Prime Minister.
Though I had not been articulated it as bluntly as Watkins has, it had been stuck in the back of my mind as well. Here and Here
But unlike Watkins I had not imagined that this would be a bauble that the Labour/Greens would be offering Peters, but instead would be a sweetener offered by the National/ACT/Peter Dunne cabal.
What form this would take would be hard to say. The most likely would be a power sharing arrangement where for the first half of the next government’s term John Key would remain Prime Minister to be replaced by the premiership of Sir Winston for the second half.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/80719055/arise-sir-winston-prime-minister-of-new-zealand
Given the venom exuded by the Key Government to de-seat Winston in 2008, it is hard to imagine National welcoming him back into the fold let alone as PM. But Politics is a weird pit. Have him in or loose the election. Mmmm.
When a week in politics is a long time, 2008 is somewhere in the Jurassic period.
Sure the Nats were sore at losing their previously safest of safe National electorates to Winston Peters.
But I am not aware of much venom coming from National toward Winston Peters these days.
Never-they might offer Peters deputy PM though.
Surely this is much more likely with a left based govt.
It is credible for the PM to come from a party on say 15%, with Labour on say 30%. But it would look ridiculous if the larger party was on 45%.
The idea of WP being the PM for say the first 18 months has been widely mooted, but almost invariably on a NZF/Labour coalition. I guess the Greens would get something, but nothing too substantial in such a deal.
If you are told not to report the pressing social issues in John Key’s New Zealand, this is what the corporate press finds to distract you.
‘US woman finds human remains in secondhand freezer’
‘Distinctive Porsche stolen from Sydney home”
‘The Bachelor’s Naz apologises to the nation video’
Go back to sleep New Zealand………
Let us not forget.
The media puppets are complicit in the crimes being perpetuated on the vulnerable of New Zealand today.
Paul
+1
In all the media in all the world, those items have to walk into ours. When can we concentrate on our learning about our own interesting little country.?
People internationally do, but we can’t think about our own lives and nation and analyse what to do, too much dull cultural cringe, and cargo culting waiting for the more advanced nations, we think, to bring us news from their home and to teach us their advanced ways.
But home is where the heart is. Media bring us news from our heart-land. Or get out of the country back to your owners in your corporate headquarters you bunch of toadies, mercenaries and confidence tricksters.
edited
Labour and the Greens say this (the MoU) is not a monogamous relationship.
Little said he would welcome any other party committed to changing the government.
Should the Mana Party accept this invitation?
Would Labour now be willing to work with Mana to ensure Hone wins Te Tai Tokerau?
Thoughts?
They didn’t help Hone last time, if he dumps the internet party he might get my vote.
If … and this may be the case…one of the motivations for the MoU was to effectively neuter the right wing within Labour’s caucus, then sure, why not?
This open invitation has put Labour in an interesting predicament.
As highlighted by b waghorn, Labour weren’t prepared to assist Hone last time, therefore, has this open invitation now changed that?
If so, then it could be an attempt to neuter the right within.
I’m surprised Hone hasn’t accepted this open invitation. It would get him and his Party back in the media spotlight while allowing him policy input.
I’m surprised Hone hasn’t accepted this open invitation.
Thing is – Hone isn’t a part of any parliamentary presence. And the ‘invitation’ would appear to extend no further than parliament.
”The ‘invitation’ would appear to extend no further than parliament.”
How did you come to that conclusion, Bill?
There has been a mention of non-parliamentary parties (NGOs or such like) being invited on board? If there has been, I missed it.
Little saying he would welcome any other party committed to changing the government sounds like an open invitation to me.
Any techies out there got advice on a cheapish basic laptop brand that would suit a cave man who only does basic stuff on it.
Cheers
get one with SSD. forget touch screen. try a second hand Macbook…
Ssd ?
SSD.
Cheers
My source says that SSD tends to be on the more expensive ones, but not always. Thought that would help
This looked packed with information. too much?
http://www.storagereview.com/ssd_vs_hdd
bwaghorn
I seem to remember that you are sheep oriented = a shepherd?
This was on Radionz this morning.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201803333
Philip Armstrong: sheep
9:05 AM.Kim Hill talks to the Head of the Department of English at the University of Canterbury, and co-director of New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies about his new book, Sheep.
There was interesting stuff about whether sheep are bright and if not why not. The clever ones are a problem and get put down. They have been seen rolling on their backs to get under an electric fence to better grazing.
Or lifting the bar on the gate to get in with the rest of the flock to the tasty vegetable garden. And I think rolling across a cattle stop.
On the road at the mo will listen if I get a chance.
My view is sheep and cattle are bright in their own way but easily panicked but as you say being overly clever/cheeky is likely to shorten their lives
Cheer’s for those who gave a few computer tips
These 2 look pretty good.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/1098036671
http://www.trademe.co.nz/1096885684
Dell XPS models always get good reviews. Never owned one myself.
They are both $799 refurbs. The first one has 256GB SSD (making it v. speedy), the other has a big 500GB HDD & a larger screen.
Can Mana be trusted not to fuck up mightily this time around?
I’m sure we can trust Mana are committed to changing the Government.
Bernie Sanders.
Live feed.
https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/videos/vb.142474049098533/1230235963655664/?type=2&theater
Gangnam Style
Thanks for comments on mine 2/6/16 on callous disdaining attitude to a young mother becoming pregnant a second time and being in dire conditions
Very good comment greywarshark, whenever I see this kind of comment from our less emphatic compatriots (“why do they have babies if they are poor/homeless/not me?”) I am reminded of this little clip from 30 Rock. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCYPqrmLwqs
That’s a cutting piece of social comment from 30 Rock. You may have heard the interview on Radionz today Saturday, about studies on how the effects of having much money and power distorts or demolishes the human connections between classes.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201803328 29.12 m
Dacher Keltner: power and corruption
8:12 AM.Kim Hill talks to the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center and professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, whose new book is The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence.
Then there was a description of how the bullying, callous attitudes of Australian politicians is formed, in special self-funded college within at one, (perhaps more), university which the institution can’t control. I thought of the recent hooligan behaviour at a NZ airport, of some boys from a sports team of an eminent education institution here where parents challenged its right to control their children’s behaviour to an accepted civil standard.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201803330 15.54 m.
Van Badham: privilege in Australia
8:45 AM.Kim Hill talks the Australian theatre-maker, novelist, social commentator, and columnist for Guardian Australia, who has written widely about privilege and politics.
The rise of the rich, the bowing to and encouraging of individualistic, self-centred, hedonism or simplistic narrow self-interest is behind the lack of concern by both men and women about others’ suffering here in NZ. And it is being taught and reinforced in elite educational establishments, and I expect soon, military schools. The lack of socialisation of these children shows up in the lack of respect for others and condoning assaults, sexual violations, stealing through fraud, corruption becoming common amongst the better-off.
(And can I ask that more people put a bracket in front of their youtube offerings. The posts being filled with black boxes, some without any comment or explanation is destructive to the worth of a discussion site.
edited
Thank you, interesting stuff.
I was hoping the ‘joke’ wasn’t too black…Slightly off topic but I can’t recommend Tina Feys book enough, I actually heard the audio book read by her, amazingly funny & political & fascinating & so, so honest.
I say the ‘jump back up your mother’, whenever I hear the ‘poor people shouldn’t have babies’ vacuous bile, simple pleasures are the best.
“…a really strong social welfare system that didn’t limit how high you could climb, but it did certainly stop how far you could fall”
I almost wept.
The New Bapsae
I haven’t read you before. I hope your comment at 15.2 is heartfelt, and not sarky – the quote would be my ideal for a social welfare system.
Teehee, God this is Brilliant.
He was a great athlete and anti war activist
RIP
59 Seconds of sound advise to win any argument for a Social democrat, Socialist or anarchist against any Tory.
OMG I’m at the Warriors game and they’re winning against the Broncos! Bookies getting wrinsed tonight.
We did them like dinner.
I think Labour are like the Warriors. A confidence team.
Amazing game tonight.
The Warriors are also energised by the Laboureen MOU 🙂
They is Playas tonight.
Meanwhile on Planet Key:
https://t.co/GLK7RH1ZeR, I can’t even be bothered to think, “FFS”
Mmm, the homeless should choose to play golf
But they might spoil the fun, and we can’t have that
JFK responds: “Look! At the end of the day, what is a million bucks? How many kids would that sort of chicken feed, feed? Ok! so it might buy 10 2 bedroom relocatable cabins with showers and full kitchen and stuff – enough to house the 8 carloads of people in one carpark sleeping in cars who don’t want to be helped. But think of the money my mates will make hosting a golf tournament. AND the photo ops! I could be famous shaking hands with a famous winner. It’s good to be seen with winners. And let’s face it – Hungry kids and homeless people are losers – no votes there.”