It’s been great to see the specialists in Dunedin come out hard against Minister Coleman. Good timing for electoral purposes to find a public voice. But I’d like the cameras to interview willing patients as well. And I’d like the media to connect the crumbling service with the crumbling facilities.
I seriously get the impression Dunedin and Otago health never ever gets funding because it’s our last city to consistently vote Labour. Deliberate political neglect.
We need a new politics that gives expression to grassroots healthcare resistance. We want a party that pledges a free national health care system, a fully funded and caring health system, healthcare that we can be confident about again. The system is just not doing its’ job and we need a party that shows it will completely change it.
These are lofty goals but health is a bottomless pit $wise, and will only get worse. We will never solve it adequately, especially with so many boomers lining up, and all the sport /recreation accidents, and rampant diabetes, and drunk/drugged idiots, not to mention increasingly expensive medical procedures/drugs. I don’t think any party would be able to deliver what you are asking for, however there is room for improvement, just don’t expect a blank cheque.
Dealing with alcohol will reduce a lot of unnecessary costs.
‘• A 2009 study, applying a methodology endorsed by the World Health Organization, estimated harmful alcohol use cost New Zealand $4.9 billion in 2005/06 (Berl 2009). However, previous estimates have ranged from
$735 million to $16.1 billion (Law Commission 2009, p168).’
In May 2008, a study in the Hawke’s Bay Regional Hospital emergency
department found that alcohol contributed to 18.2% of injury presentations,
rising to 67% between midnight and 6am.XXI
• ACC estimates that up to 22% of all ACC claims had alcohol as a
contributing factor, suggesting that alcohol-related claims to ACC alone cost
around $650 million each year.XXII
Er, yes, if people didn’t use recreational drugs, health costs would go down. Which is like saying, if people stopped stealing things, crime costs would go down. The list of pointless contributions that could be made to a discussion is effectively infinite – perhaps it would be better not to do it?
I’m rather anti-drugs. Recreational whatever. And predictably I don’t drink much either. Nothing much good comes from any of it, and the only people really qualified to speak on the topic are the hospital EMTs who spend their nights cleaning up the mess.
Yet emphatically criminalisation is an utterly useless, counterproductive response to drug use. Whatever the reason a person uses any particular drug, in any social or addictive context, the legal system is always a wrong answer.
On the other hand the amoral scum who profit from the trade in drugs, who literally murder souls just to make money … well personally I’m with Hone Harawira.
Dunedin also marched by the thousands and stopped National stealing their neurology service.
Is the fraud from a few years ago part of why the DHB struggles financially? Both not having enough money and being punished for it?
Coleman on Campbell yesterday was gobsmacking. It’s like he was channelling Key. NZ has a serious problem if it lets those lies glide by while baying for beneficiary blood. But then we will get the govt we deserve.
The Listener article DIY Doctors, by Jessica McAllen in the latest Listener Aug 12-18
From documents released under the Official Information Act and covering the period between 2014 and 2016, the Listener has learnt that in the past two years, DHBs have identified hundreds of non-surgical grade items and removed them from use in operating theatres.
(Sorry, can’t get link.) Jonathan Coleman is speaking complete BS when he says that DHBs have enough money. He is downright lying, he knows it and we know it!
He must have taken the Hypocritic oath by mistake!
I have the magazine article in front of me; I am a paid up subscriber with full access to the website. For some reason McAllen’s article is not to be found on the website. Either they have not posted it yet, or they have toadied to people higher up in their commercialised chain who do not want the article aired any further.
I find it hard to see why the reasoning that the DHB gets the same as everyone else is considered reasonable and without question.
1. Do small capital purchases or maintenance come out of that budget? If buildings, equipment and plant are old then they will be requiring replacement, and the running costs will be higher?
2. Dunedin will have higher heating and transport costs compared to other DHB’s, that means that in order to provide the same service – they will require more money.
Essentially, the KPI’s given were to reduce costs not improve patient outcomes and reduce waiting times. Until the finances to do this are allocated, the DHB will be unable to offer their patients a quality service.
Intrigued how John Roughan seems to know what text messages Jacinda is getting. Either the rats are being totally open about their abuse of power and the security apparatus or they are just making shit up. Again. And need to called out on it. Again. And hard, just like Mark Richardson.
“Jacinda Ardern received some very good advice from Helen Clark by text from Europe this week: “Ignore the sexist attack and get on with the job.” Clark knew, as Hillary Clinton did not, that gender politics doesn’t work.”
But really it’s the patriarchy that learnt in 1999 – 2002 that gender politics doesn’t work. Bill English took National to a shocking 21% defeat at that election, due in a large part to the patriarchal attitude of their attack politics in that term. Bring it on guys, you can do it. Again
‘Yesterday Jacinda made a pretty speech in parliament about how she doesn’t like unfairness. One time she lived for a little while in a small forestry town plagued by poverty. Jacinda thinks poverty is unfair and she doesn’t like that. Most of all Jacinda doesn’t think it is fair that anything should get in the way of her ambition to be Prime Minister. She “didn’t come in to parliament to be in opposition,” she said.
Today she made it clear that under no circumstances would she be sticking her ambitious neck out to defend Green party co-leader Metiria Turei. For days on end Metiria has been under a barrage of right-wing attacks for getting a little extra allowance while trying to survive on a sole benefit in the 1990s. Jacinda showed her solidarity by sending a message to Metiria to fall on her sword, and that she would not be getting a cabinet position in a Labour-led government.
The vicious welfare cuts of the early ’90s made benefits impossible to live on. Metiria was not simply a student in a flatting situation, she had a child she was raising while studying law. Those benefit cuts were never reversed by Labour in government from 1999 to 2008. Jacinda hasn’t got anything to say about that unfairness.”
@Ed Yes, agreed, but Kelvin Davis bagging Metiria on breakfast TV was the worst. The MSM media gleefully reported it again and again-they take any opportunity to drive a wedge between the Greens and Labour. Davis really needs to be reigned in. Has he not heard of the MOU and growing the overall vote for the Left?
Over-the-top (and factually inaccurate) attacks on Green leaders are stupid and counterproductive. Another good reason to vote Green.
” The MSM media gleefully reported it again and again-they take any opportunity to drive a wedge between the Greens and Labour”.
And didn’t you see how happy Davis looked? That is exactly what the Labour Party want.
That is his job, after all. That is the sort of things leaders try and pretend they are above and palm off on their juniors. It is the job Trevor Mallard did for Helen Clark, isn’t it?
The Labour Party can see very clearly, and I suspect their polls are reinforcing the message, that the majority of the New Zealand population are opposed to what Turei has done. Did you not see the polls on whether they approved of MTs actions?
Davis is doing his very best to try and persuade the public that Metiria’s activities have nothing to do with Labour and that they will have nothing to do with her. She, and her acolytes are meanwhile doing everything they can to grasp Labour into their death clutch. They think, most wishfully that they, and Turei, can survive.
And didn’t you see how happy Davis looked? That is exactly what the Labour Party want.
And that is what keeps Labour out of government. But, then, you know that and is what you actually want.
Davis is doing his very best to try and persuade the public that Metiria’s activities have nothing to do with Labour and that they will have nothing to do with her.
Of course they are because admitting that they intend to keep the law broken by forcing people to break it probably isn’t a winning strategy.
Metiria’s actions most definitely have something to do with Labour in that they’re promising to keep the same punitive and unworkable laws in place.
Did you not see the polls on whether they approved of MTs actions?
15% in the polls where you ACT party mates don’t even register Alwyn.
The Greens are doing just fine and with Jacinda we are now looking at something like 34+14=48% which may be enough for Lab/Gr to rule alone, but only if Davis can engage his brain before speaking.
And Davis gleeful?? Give us a break – he is a show- pony who always tries to look gleeful. Seen him look serious and unhappy yet? (I guess he would if he lost his wallet.) Sorry – I have yet to be impressed by him.
Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?
by Andrew Geddis.
‘That then leaves the question of how much moral or political opprobrium to level at Turei for her actions. Well, I guess that depends how harshly you want to judge a late-40s person for the fun-at-the-time-but-dumb-in-hindsight mistakes made in their early 20s.
Treating the electoral system’s rules as a bit of a joke (she was in a political party called “McGillicuddy Serious”, for crying out loud) seems to me to be pretty much at the lower end of that stupid shit scale. It certainly ranks below “got pissed but drove home anyway” – a crime I’m pretty sure many of our current MPs committed in their youth, but you can bet will never ‘fess up to.
So Turei has to live with what she did some 24-years ago – and as I have been typing this, I see she’s accepted the price of those actions includes forgoing a ministerial role in any post-September alternative Government. That’s a pretty heavy personal cost for her to bear, given that she’s waited some 15 years to have a chance at actually making the changes she wants for New Zealand.’
The Jacinda effect almost knocked me off my feet yesterday.
My anti labour, john key voting, urban professional, city dwelling brother, rang yesterday. He’s been fence sitting since Key resigned. He’s voting labour this election and has signed up as a volunteer for Jacinda.
I almost fell over, so proud of him, he was raving about her. Love my brother so much but we’ve never agreed when it came to politics. He’s now encouraging everyone he knows to get out and vote this year and he knows so many many people, I’m buzzing out about it. Geez he was excited.
Not a shallow fool, rather someone who has been brainwashed by big business into believing that national were the only answer.
The manipulating way corporations go about ensuring their loopholes remain intact, brainwash management who then perpetuate it to the workers.
If the workers are uneducated re politics, and if they trust their management, they may well look towards them for advice on who to vote for.
Trickle down effect of persuasion.
With Key not around to feed the propaganda, and the reality being reported constantly in the media (housing crisis, dirty water etc etc), many have been stirred into realising… ‘what the f was i thinking, it’s time for a change’
Arrogant BM. Easy to quote Churchill’s aphorisms. Sign of an equally shallow fool, to my mind. You do not know Cinny’s brother, and should apologise.
I can also quote Bernard-Shaw: “Democracy stems from the failure of every other system.” Ha ha, very clever.
Democracy reflects the will of the people, the majority of whom are partially informed at best and largely susceptible to spin-bait. Small wonder Churchill added democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others.
Although my comment appeared under yours (not indented), it was a reply to BM, who was pushing the same barrow a day or two ago. It seems voters are only shallow when they don’t vote the way BM thinks they should. I find it especially funny in the context of the “Most New Zealanders think that…” comments that righties seem to love.
I have a sneaking suspicion that BM just might count himself as ‘Above Average.’ A bit like all the children at Lake Wobegon, if you have listened to Garrison Keillor..
similar experience here…5 people i know (who were never going to vote labour) have told me they are going to vote for Jacinda in the past couple of days….the test will be whether thats sustained for a few more weeks.
Those of us (and I’m sure I’m not the only one) who are immune to the “Jacinda effect” are looking for more from the new Labour leadership team in order to secure our vote.
Korero Pono is right… 😀https://thestandard.org.nz/i-too-am-not-resigning/#comment-1363099 in saying ….
” I am disappointed at her lack of steel, she should, at the very least defended the position that Metiria found herself in back in the 90s and highlighted the disadvantage faced by women and children every day, forcing many into making decisions that may well criminalise them. Instead Ardern bends to the dominant narrative, a narrative that primarily punishes women and does little to support her supposed feminist principles. This type of hypocrisy reinforces my disappointment in Labour because it suggests that we are simply going to get more of the same from them and let’s face it, Labour (along with National) have done very little over 30 plus years to alleviate the plight of the most vulnerable in this country, and if they (Labour) cannot even stand up for their supposed coalition partner, then more fool them because those missing million and those wavering between Labour and Greens will continue as they have done and that may mean another 3 years stuck with National.”
Jacinda is firmly putting a stake in the ground.
So think about it for a minute or two….
Jacinda totally represents the establishment and hence the status quo.
And further hence…those Nat and undecided voters who are currently infatuated with NZ politics’ latest charismatic ‘leader’ will have another think come polling day and decide that if it comes to a choice between a centre right or centre left government they may as well choose the evil we already live with.
Tautoko, Cinny. If we are sitting waiting for the party that suits our ideals exactly, then that will never happen. We need to change the government first to one which has some excellent, vocal and energetic young members who believe in the principles of social justice. We have had 9 years of economic considerations over-ruling all else. Many decisions made have pushed costs on to future generations. Short term savings by squeezing hospitals are now being exposed, the cost of a fence at the top of the cliff is a helluva lot cheaper than the cost of the cleanup at the bottom. The current government has been unable, or unwilling to consider costs as a whole.
Let’s be pragmatic. Step 1. Clean out this government .
Step 2. Start paying back social debt and environmental debt, which should take precedence over fiscal surpluses,.
Agree number 1 mission is to get rid of National, BUT opposition division is one of MSM’s biggest news stories, so maybe Labour and Greens should try to be kinder to each other (esp Kevin Davis) and NOT give MSM soundbites against each other. And to speak no ill of NZ First.
That way, MSM might just have to do articles about National their frauds, and their policies and prospects…
They sort of get it both ways, Kelve does give voice to those who think Turei just might be a bit slippery and untrustworthy. People who are a bit more ‘whatever it takes’ in their moral outlook can interpret his words that way.
Jacinda’s speeches are refreshingly unfiltered, unlike the glassy – eyed ramblings of our older right-wing politicians. Is this merely an index of her newness on the leadership scene? I hope not as her present mode should resonate (that word again!) with many of our younger non-voters.
Soundbite from this mornings The Nation, interview with paula bennett is hinting about national doing something to change drug laws…. dang this should be interesting. Will desperation for votes cause them to do another flip flop on their ideology. Show starts at 9.30am, paula also being asked about gun laws
While Time magazine recently chose President-Elect Donald Trump as its Person of the Year, CRISPR gene editing pioneers were a runner-up choice. Few innovations in the last millennium carry such transformative prospects as the ability to edit our own genome and make ourselves into fundamentally something else. Some experts think genetic editing might be the key to curing all disease and achieving perfect health.
Unlike other epic scientific advances—like the 1945 explosion of the first atomic bomb in New Mexico—the immediate effect of genetic editing technology is not dangerous. Yet, it stands to be just as divisive to humans as the 70-year proliferation of nuclear weaponry. On one hand, you have secular-minded China and its scientists leading the gene editing revolution, openly modifying the human genome in hopes of improving the human being. On the other hand, you have a soon-to-be broadly Republican US administration and Congress that appear to be strongly Christian—conservatives who often insist humans should remain just as God created them.
Really? That’s the binary?
Godless scientific Chinese, verses the US theists holding humanity back?
Note 4 out of 5 submitters to the euthanasia select committee were opposed. Not the casual polls on the matter, the opinion leaders and experts who fronted.
What is the difference between editing a gene for a therapy, and editing a gene for say eye colour, or gender, or skin tone? If you think there’s a therapeutic v cosmetic distinction, what about baldness, or obesity, or varicose veins, or athletic propensity, warts, or moles? There is nowhere to draw the line yet. It will be very hard to.
If scientists proceed ahead of society, they will be shut down by society. As they should.
Note 4 out of 5 submitters to the euthanasia select committee were opposed.
It was a real credit to the organisational capacity of the churches involved, but not useful in any wider sense.
If scientists proceed ahead of society, they will be shut down by society. As they should.
But they won’t. If a technology is known and feasible, society’s ability to prevent its adoption and use is minimal. Especially if there are a lot of countries where enforcement of regulations is a matter of who makes the better cash offer. This genie ain’t going back in the bottle, so best start figuring out how to regulate it.
It wasn’t just the churches. But good on them anyway.
Plenty of technologies have died. Plenty of others have been delayed until society caught up. Shutting down – or even hugely limiting – a technology with regulation is precisely the objective until ethics subjects technology.
Fair enough Ad the binary framing of the article only served as fluff to get attention. And attention from an American perspective at that.
Declaration of personal interest. Had this technology been available some decades ago I would absolutely have chosen to use it. At least three of the living members of my immediate family would have directly benefited.
Equally there is no question the Chinese (and at the moment they are the leaders in this area) will use their headstart to create new generations of workers, soldiers and intellectuals that are smarter, stronger and more enduring. It won’t be straight out of X-Men but it is the stuff of many a scientific dystopia. It will prove harder than expected to get the desired outcomes, but with time there is no question they will produce new, different humans. For all sorts of purposes.
Or at the very least I foresee the uber-wealthy gaining control over it, reserving it for the exclusive use of their cast. When money becomes useless, CRISPR will be the new wealth. I agree with PM. Regulation of the ordinary kind will be like locks, only good for keeping honest men out. Money will speak very loud.
Or imagine the issues that arise even with good intent. For example what if we can cure say psychopathy? Or a range of other sociopathic behaviours. Or reduce male testosterone levels even further in order to render them more co-operative and docile? Less inclined to violence and rape.
Or someone finds a way to render one particular species or race sterile altogether? There are so many possible uses and mis-uses.
Maybe a global regime, draconian and absolute which registered the DNA provenance of every living human, and exterminated anything illegal might work. But that’s another nightmare too.
The article quoted may have it’s flaws, but it is right on one thing. This could make nuclear weapons look relatively benign.
Andy Beckett’s long read on Thatcher and Blair and May in link from savenz
On Tony Blair: Most of his conference speech was vigorously applauded. But the passage on economics was received with solemn looks and silence. There was no heckling, as there had been when previous Labour leaders and chancellors delivered what they saw as home truths about the economy. Instead, there was a sense of resignation in the hall: an acceptance by a party of the left that the right had won the economic argument.
In that short silence, why couldn’t someone have stood up, and said (shocking everyone and making a huge reportable point):
“Jesus Tony, are you saying the UK government is going to abandon us all?”
That could have been said, and registered with all, before the security police dragged the person away. And given a bit of comfort to those between a rock and a hard place, and feeling bruised or worse.
It seems to me that in a Fair society, it would be OK to go for broke. Set a social sight high and ground breaking, then pay for it in the long term. Ignore the “Show me the money.” If for example we get the ambulance at the top of the cliff, society would be richer and huge money would be saved in the long run.
This National mob just dabble tiny bits just enough to plug gaps.
Will Labour/Greens go for broke? Hope so.
“The social sector supports all Kiwis by investing in their education, health and wellbeing so they can live fulfilling and productive lives. But some people need more support to thrive and enhance their quality of life.
People are at the centre of social investment.
It’s called social investment, not spending, because it’s about investing resources upfront to enable people in need to thrive over the longer-term.
Four elements of social investment
Use data smarter to better understand people’s current and future needs
Systematically measure the effectiveness of services in meeting people’s needs
Measure long-term outcomes for people over their lifetime and feeding back into decision-making
Understand the fiscal implications of better outcomes and help to manage the long-term costs to government.”
Sounds aspirational…such a pity National and their coalition partners have been trying to do this on the cheap.
And if one takes a gander at the backgrounds of “our people” at the Social Investment Unit….
As someone who has tried (and largely failed) to access government funding to assist in the support someone with very high disability support needs the purpose of their ‘data collection’ (read ‘inquisition’) appears to be to force applicants to exhaust their ‘natural supports’ and when the well is dry, threaten to incarcerate the person with the disability into a residential care facility. Which is paradoxically more expensive than funding a reasonable level of home based care provided by resident family. Unless of course, means and asset testing applies.
“I worry for the future of this country if you think we need a Green Government.
I have no problem with a Green Party, a proper Green Party.
The one we have though is a Communist Party masquerading as a Green Party.”
You are not the only one who is worried Greg, I am more than concerned about NZ after reading “In The Jaws Of The Dragon How China Is Taking Over New Zealand” by Ron Asher, and you are right it will end up as a communist state, a Chinese type communist state so don’t blame the Greens blame the rightwing fuckwits who thought it would be a bit of a “larf” if they destroyed the west’s industrial base for cheap and sometimes slave labour in China. Also at the same time for a cheap dollar and greed sell everything off so there is no added value for NZ. Of course the elitist who are behind this like Key, Shipley, don’t give a flying shit as it will not affect them as they will be classed as the same as the ruling communist elite of China.
Cannot quote passages from the book as the author has very strict rules written about copyright, but I suggest before you cast your vote and if you value the sovereignty, economic future and independance of NZ, get a copy from the library and see the shit that is really going on in this country, and don’t accuse the Greens
of being communists. Aim that at all the right wing fuckwits who have caused this situation.
Sorry that you haven’t found the full crown yet. Widen your reading so that it just doesn’t fuel your prejudices, and then go back and critique that book.
England will NOT get to negotiated trade agreements until they address their border with Ireland, Citizens rights and reconcile the bookkeeping. The 27 Prime Ministers meet in early October to review progress in Brexit negotiations
“…….we will decide together whether sufficient progress has been made on three key issues to allow the Brexit negotiations to proceed to the next phase.”
says Leo Varadkar, the Irish Taoiseach. He sound like he is ready to exercise his veto if the rest of the EU doesn’t beat him to it!
By all account the English cabinet couldn’t organise a piss-up in a champagne bar. The EU keeps telling them the clock is ticking, but the numpties just re-run their worn old slogans for the benefit of the Telegraph and Daily Mail readers.
How Neoliberals and Conservatives Came Together to Undo the Welfare State
[…]
This return to Elizabethan poor law principles was made possible, in part, because of an unlikely alliance between neoliberals and social conservatives. Despite their differences on virtually all other issues, neoliberals and social conservatives were in agreement that the bonds of family needed to be encouraged—and at the limit enforced—as a necessary counterpart to market freedom. Though it is often overlooked in the literature, economic liberalism is as much concerned with familial responsibility as it is with personal responsibility, and the neoliberal emphasis on familial relations as a substitute for public relief is an unappreciated, but critical aspect of free-market liberalism. More than anything else, this appeal to familial responsibility sealed the working relationship between free market liberalism and social conservatism, very much defining the shape of social welfare in the contemporary era.
Well, I guess that tells us how well things are likely to continue to go in the Middle East. But our beloved Govt has great confidence…. (or stupid ignorance.)
Well it helps when your Sister is called Betsy de Vos and hey, Price of Blackwater/XE is happy to come back to the US now that his company thugs are cleared of killing civilians left right and centre.
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Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
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. ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
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 ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
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 ...
Those profiled in the stamp series served on overseas deployments from 1995 onwards, and all have been awarded theNew Zealand Operational Service Medal. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shireen Morris, Associate Professor and Director of the Radical Centre Reform Lab at Macquarie University Law School, Macquarie University Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock Foreign interference in Australian democracy poses a growing risk to our national sovereignty. It refers to coercive, corrupt or ...
A defendant charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has pleaded guilty to four charges of obtaining by deception in relation to a mortgage fraud scheme. Sentencing has been scheduled for 14 August 2024. ...
What to say when pesky journalists ask gotcha questions like ‘can you name a single book you’ve ever read?’ and ‘did you read it, or did you just see the movie?’This week, Act Party arts spokesperson Todd Stephenson foolishly agreed to an interview with Newsroom’s Steve Braunias regarding his ...
Explainer - What will a ban on cellphones in schools achieve? Can students use them during lunch breaks? And what happens if you need to contact your child? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jodi Rowley, Curator, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology, Australian Museum, UNSW Sydney Jodi Rowley, CC BY-NC-ND In winter 2021, Australia’s frogs started dropping dead. People began posting images of dead frogs on social media. Unable to travel to investigate the deaths ...
In the year ended March 2024, 0.4 percent of home transfers were to people who didn’t hold New Zealand citizenship or a resident visa, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wasay Majid, Research Assistant , University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau New Zealand’s accommodation supplement scheme is facing scrutiny, with Social Development Minister Louise Upston recently saying “there is merit in considering whether the current settings are fair and sustainable long-term”. The ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor The first prime ministerial candidate has been announced in Solomon Islands and it is not Manasseh Sogavare. The man of the hour is Jeremiah Manele, the MP for Hograno/Kia/Havulei constituency in Isabel Province, who served as minister of foreign affairs in the last government. ...
Protesting the removal of bins by leaving piles of your dog’s shit for others to deal with doesn’t make you a hero – it’s precious and entitled behaviour. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve stood on the shoreline of Auckland’s Cheltenham beach, desperately trying to scoop increasingly liquid dog shit ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon will be alert to the factors driving the dire polling, but won't be waving the white flag just yet, RNZ political editor Jo Moir writes. ...
Writer, teacher and academic Vincent O’Sullivan died on Sunday 28 April. Here we gather tributes from friends, colleagues, and students who remember his extraordinary contributions. I went down to the garage tonight. There was a bird shrieking out in the bush, in the dark, maybe a kākā. Miraculously, through the ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a burnt-out corporate escapee explains how she gets by ‘working as little as possible’. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 31 Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: Contractor in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Schmidt, Professor of Chemistry, UNSW Sydney Albert Russ / Shutterstock The icebreaker of many a barbeque conversation is something like “what do you do for a crust?” “I teach chemistry at university,” is what we usually reply. Then silence. Our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Asher Flynn, Associate Professor of Criminology, Monash University Shutterstock Sexual harassment is often considered to be a person-to-person act, but new research shows Australians are also experiencing and perpetrating workplace harassment in large numbers through technology. Our latest study shows one ...
A petition signed by more than 16,500 people, demanding the government take stronger action to halt the genocide of Palestinians by the State of Israel, is being presented to the House of Representatives today by Hon Phil Twyford. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Burnett, Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University jenmartin/Shutterstock April has been a bad month for the Australian environment. The Great Barrier Reef was hit, yet again, by intense coral bleaching. And Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek delayed ...
Winston Peters might not give a ‘rat’s derriere’ about last night’s poll, but it revealed the unusual absence of a honeymoon period and little payoff for the government’s action plan approach, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marco de Jong, Lecturer, Law School, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Details released by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet under the Official Information Act reveal New Zealand officials have been considering involvement in AUKUS from the outset. ...
The government's treatment of Māori raised eyebrows, with countries saying New Zealand needed to do more to reduce health, education and justice inequities. ...
The age of criminal responsibility was one of numerous human rights issues raised during Aotearoa New Zealand’s UPR. Other key themes were racism and discrimination, the disproportionate representation of Māori in prison, and to uphold the UN Declaration ...
In a sitdown interview ahead of his final day at Parliament this week, the former Green Party co-leader tells RNZ about his lowest point during 2017's rough election campaign. ...
Is the fringe radio station really in a financial crisis, or is it just running a hyped-up donation drive? Fringe internet radio station Reality Check Radio was launched by the anti-vaccine mandates group Voices for Freedom in March 2023. For the next year, it undertook probably the most aggressive promotional ...
Above the Fold: On Monday, the biggest Māori screen production company faced down the biggest funder of Māori content at the High Court. It was an incredibly tense moment – then, just as quickly, it resolved. Duncan Greive breaks down a strange day in the screen sector.Yesterday morning, Māori ...
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It’s been great to see the specialists in Dunedin come out hard against Minister Coleman. Good timing for electoral purposes to find a public voice. But I’d like the cameras to interview willing patients as well. And I’d like the media to connect the crumbling service with the crumbling facilities.
I seriously get the impression Dunedin and Otago health never ever gets funding because it’s our last city to consistently vote Labour. Deliberate political neglect.
We need a new politics that gives expression to grassroots healthcare resistance. We want a party that pledges a free national health care system, a fully funded and caring health system, healthcare that we can be confident about again. The system is just not doing its’ job and we need a party that shows it will completely change it.
These are lofty goals but health is a bottomless pit $wise, and will only get worse. We will never solve it adequately, especially with so many boomers lining up, and all the sport /recreation accidents, and rampant diabetes, and drunk/drugged idiots, not to mention increasingly expensive medical procedures/drugs. I don’t think any party would be able to deliver what you are asking for, however there is room for improvement, just don’t expect a blank cheque.
Dealing with alcohol will reduce a lot of unnecessary costs.
‘• A 2009 study, applying a methodology endorsed by the World Health Organization, estimated harmful alcohol use cost New Zealand $4.9 billion in 2005/06 (Berl 2009). However, previous estimates have ranged from
$735 million to $16.1 billion (Law Commission 2009, p168).’
In May 2008, a study in the Hawke’s Bay Regional Hospital emergency
department found that alcohol contributed to 18.2% of injury presentations,
rising to 67% between midnight and 6am.XXI
• ACC estimates that up to 22% of all ACC claims had alcohol as a
contributing factor, suggesting that alcohol-related claims to ACC alone cost
around $650 million each year.XXII
http://www.ahw.org.nz/resources/Toolkit%202009/Fact%20Sheet%20Alcohol%20Harm%20in%20New%20Zealand%20final%202009.pdf
Er, yes, if people didn’t use recreational drugs, health costs would go down. Which is like saying, if people stopped stealing things, crime costs would go down. The list of pointless contributions that could be made to a discussion is effectively infinite – perhaps it would be better not to do it?
I’m rather anti-drugs. Recreational whatever. And predictably I don’t drink much either. Nothing much good comes from any of it, and the only people really qualified to speak on the topic are the hospital EMTs who spend their nights cleaning up the mess.
Yet emphatically criminalisation is an utterly useless, counterproductive response to drug use. Whatever the reason a person uses any particular drug, in any social or addictive context, the legal system is always a wrong answer.
On the other hand the amoral scum who profit from the trade in drugs, who literally murder souls just to make money … well personally I’m with Hone Harawira.
Dunedin also marched by the thousands and stopped National stealing their neurology service.
Is the fraud from a few years ago part of why the DHB struggles financially? Both not having enough money and being punished for it?
Coleman on Campbell yesterday was gobsmacking. It’s like he was channelling Key. NZ has a serious problem if it lets those lies glide by while baying for beneficiary blood. But then we will get the govt we deserve.
The Listener article DIY Doctors, by Jessica McAllen in the latest Listener Aug 12-18
(Sorry, can’t get link.)
Jonathan Coleman is speaking complete BS when he says that DHBs have enough money. He is downright lying, he knows it and we know it!
He must have taken the Hypocritic oath by mistake!
Wow, has the Listener removed all its old online content?
Is that quote behind a paywall?
Yes, in that RNZ interview Coleman shows himself to be a consummate liar like FJK.
I have the magazine article in front of me; I am a paid up subscriber with full access to the website. For some reason McAllen’s article is not to be found on the website. Either they have not posted it yet, or they have toadied to people higher up in their commercialised chain who do not want the article aired any further.
I find it hard to see why the reasoning that the DHB gets the same as everyone else is considered reasonable and without question.
1. Do small capital purchases or maintenance come out of that budget? If buildings, equipment and plant are old then they will be requiring replacement, and the running costs will be higher?
2. Dunedin will have higher heating and transport costs compared to other DHB’s, that means that in order to provide the same service – they will require more money.
Essentially, the KPI’s given were to reduce costs not improve patient outcomes and reduce waiting times. Until the finances to do this are allocated, the DHB will be unable to offer their patients a quality service.
Another white ring wing entitled member of the commentariat saying it’s ok to ask woman if they are going to have children.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11898826
Lolz the commentator is a man. Am sure if he could grow a child in his belly he would probably have a different opinion.
+100
Intrigued how John Roughan seems to know what text messages Jacinda is getting. Either the rats are being totally open about their abuse of power and the security apparatus or they are just making shit up. Again. And need to called out on it. Again. And hard, just like Mark Richardson.
“Jacinda Ardern received some very good advice from Helen Clark by text from Europe this week: “Ignore the sexist attack and get on with the job.” Clark knew, as Hillary Clinton did not, that gender politics doesn’t work.”
But really it’s the patriarchy that learnt in 1999 – 2002 that gender politics doesn’t work. Bill English took National to a shocking 21% defeat at that election, due in a large part to the patriarchal attitude of their attack politics in that term. Bring it on guys, you can do it. Again
Unless Team Ardern is leaking such things to promote the idea Ardern has Clark’s seal of approval?
An article worth reading.
‘Yesterday Jacinda made a pretty speech in parliament about how she doesn’t like unfairness. One time she lived for a little while in a small forestry town plagued by poverty. Jacinda thinks poverty is unfair and she doesn’t like that. Most of all Jacinda doesn’t think it is fair that anything should get in the way of her ambition to be Prime Minister. She “didn’t come in to parliament to be in opposition,” she said.
Today she made it clear that under no circumstances would she be sticking her ambitious neck out to defend Green party co-leader Metiria Turei. For days on end Metiria has been under a barrage of right-wing attacks for getting a little extra allowance while trying to survive on a sole benefit in the 1990s. Jacinda showed her solidarity by sending a message to Metiria to fall on her sword, and that she would not be getting a cabinet position in a Labour-led government.
The vicious welfare cuts of the early ’90s made benefits impossible to live on. Metiria was not simply a student in a flatting situation, she had a child she was raising while studying law. Those benefit cuts were never reversed by Labour in government from 1999 to 2008. Jacinda hasn’t got anything to say about that unfairness.”
All of the article here.
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2017/08/04/jacinta-redefines-fairness/
Oh wow, it says she went to a book presentation by Paul Henry and saw Blair speak at Eden Park. Shock! Horror!
Definitely earth shattering.
My votes going back to Labour…Peters will have to do without me.
@Ed Yes, agreed, but Kelvin Davis bagging Metiria on breakfast TV was the worst. The MSM media gleefully reported it again and again-they take any opportunity to drive a wedge between the Greens and Labour. Davis really needs to be reigned in. Has he not heard of the MOU and growing the overall vote for the Left?
Over-the-top (and factually inaccurate) attacks on Green leaders are stupid and counterproductive. Another good reason to vote Green.
” The MSM media gleefully reported it again and again-they take any opportunity to drive a wedge between the Greens and Labour”.
And didn’t you see how happy Davis looked? That is exactly what the Labour Party want.
That is his job, after all. That is the sort of things leaders try and pretend they are above and palm off on their juniors. It is the job Trevor Mallard did for Helen Clark, isn’t it?
The Labour Party can see very clearly, and I suspect their polls are reinforcing the message, that the majority of the New Zealand population are opposed to what Turei has done. Did you not see the polls on whether they approved of MTs actions?
Davis is doing his very best to try and persuade the public that Metiria’s activities have nothing to do with Labour and that they will have nothing to do with her. She, and her acolytes are meanwhile doing everything they can to grasp Labour into their death clutch. They think, most wishfully that they, and Turei, can survive.
And that is what keeps Labour out of government. But, then, you know that and is what you actually want.
Of course they are because admitting that they intend to keep the law broken by forcing people to break it probably isn’t a winning strategy.
Metiria’s actions most definitely have something to do with Labour in that they’re promising to keep the same punitive and unworkable laws in place.
Popularity != righteousness.
15% in the polls where you ACT party mates don’t even register Alwyn.
The Greens are doing just fine and with Jacinda we are now looking at something like 34+14=48% which may be enough for Lab/Gr to rule alone, but only if Davis can engage his brain before speaking.
And Davis gleeful?? Give us a break – he is a show- pony who always tries to look gleeful. Seen him look serious and unhappy yet? (I guess he would if he lost his wallet.) Sorry – I have yet to be impressed by him.
Agree entirely-he was made D-PM to destroy the Maori Party
Someone should remind Davis about glasshouses and throwing stones…
Mr not so squeaky clean.
Hate to say it ,but I told you all that Davis is a prick.
Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?
by Andrew Geddis.
‘That then leaves the question of how much moral or political opprobrium to level at Turei for her actions. Well, I guess that depends how harshly you want to judge a late-40s person for the fun-at-the-time-but-dumb-in-hindsight mistakes made in their early 20s.
Treating the electoral system’s rules as a bit of a joke (she was in a political party called “McGillicuddy Serious”, for crying out loud) seems to me to be pretty much at the lower end of that stupid shit scale. It certainly ranks below “got pissed but drove home anyway” – a crime I’m pretty sure many of our current MPs committed in their youth, but you can bet will never ‘fess up to.
So Turei has to live with what she did some 24-years ago – and as I have been typing this, I see she’s accepted the price of those actions includes forgoing a ministerial role in any post-September alternative Government. That’s a pretty heavy personal cost for her to bear, given that she’s waited some 15 years to have a chance at actually making the changes she wants for New Zealand.’
https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/who-breaks-a-butterfly-upon-a-wheel
The Jacinda effect almost knocked me off my feet yesterday.
My anti labour, john key voting, urban professional, city dwelling brother, rang yesterday. He’s been fence sitting since Key resigned. He’s voting labour this election and has signed up as a volunteer for Jacinda.
I almost fell over, so proud of him, he was raving about her. Love my brother so much but we’ve never agreed when it came to politics. He’s now encouraging everyone he knows to get out and vote this year and he knows so many many people, I’m buzzing out about it. Geez he was excited.
Rock on Jacinda ! 😀
Your brother sounds like a shallow fool.
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
Winston Churchill
Not a shallow fool, rather someone who has been brainwashed by big business into believing that national were the only answer.
The manipulating way corporations go about ensuring their loopholes remain intact, brainwash management who then perpetuate it to the workers.
If the workers are uneducated re politics, and if they trust their management, they may well look towards them for advice on who to vote for.
Trickle down effect of persuasion.
With Key not around to feed the propaganda, and the reality being reported constantly in the media (housing crisis, dirty water etc etc), many have been stirred into realising… ‘what the f was i thinking, it’s time for a change’
Arrogant BM. Easy to quote Churchill’s aphorisms. Sign of an equally shallow fool, to my mind. You do not know Cinny’s brother, and should apologise.
I can also quote Bernard-Shaw: “Democracy stems from the failure of every other system.” Ha ha, very clever.
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”
Says the man who claims he doesn’t care what happens with this election.
The thing is though, Weka, BM is right…. the average voter is a dipstick. Joe Bloggs doesn’t give a rat’s arse about politics.
That’s why we have commercial advertising.
Democracy reflects the will of the people, the majority of whom are partially informed at best and largely susceptible to spin-bait. Small wonder Churchill added democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others.
There you go again, pretending that the average voter didn’t vote for National and Key for the past three elections.
+111
No pretence at all, -spin generated by Crosby Textor was highly effective compelling the ‘unthinkings’ to lap up National and their erstwhile leader.
Although my comment appeared under yours (not indented), it was a reply to BM, who was pushing the same barrow a day or two ago. It seems voters are only shallow when they don’t vote the way BM thinks they should. I find it especially funny in the context of the “Most New Zealanders think that…” comments that righties seem to love.
Winston Churchill was an idiot in many ways.
You mean apart from Gallipoli, concentration camps, and his open admiration for Benito.
So BM. The average voter is also you?
I have a sneaking suspicion that BM just might count himself as ‘Above Average.’ A bit like all the children at Lake Wobegon, if you have listened to Garrison Keillor..
similar experience here…5 people i know (who were never going to vote labour) have told me they are going to vote for Jacinda in the past couple of days….the test will be whether thats sustained for a few more weeks.
Good buzz Pat. Personally am really looking forward to voters feelings and feedback from the leaders debates
Interested in what james has to say.I reckon he might be coming across the divide about now. Welcome if you are james. No hard feelings -and all that.
With any luck James got himself banned. So many good decisions lately..
Are we really that fickle Cinny?
I hope not.
Those of us (and I’m sure I’m not the only one) who are immune to the “Jacinda effect” are looking for more from the new Labour leadership team in order to secure our vote.
Korero Pono is right… 😀https://thestandard.org.nz/i-too-am-not-resigning/#comment-1363099 in saying ….
” I am disappointed at her lack of steel, she should, at the very least defended the position that Metiria found herself in back in the 90s and highlighted the disadvantage faced by women and children every day, forcing many into making decisions that may well criminalise them. Instead Ardern bends to the dominant narrative, a narrative that primarily punishes women and does little to support her supposed feminist principles. This type of hypocrisy reinforces my disappointment in Labour because it suggests that we are simply going to get more of the same from them and let’s face it, Labour (along with National) have done very little over 30 plus years to alleviate the plight of the most vulnerable in this country, and if they (Labour) cannot even stand up for their supposed coalition partner, then more fool them because those missing million and those wavering between Labour and Greens will continue as they have done and that may mean another 3 years stuck with National.”
Jacinda is firmly putting a stake in the ground.
So think about it for a minute or two….
Jacinda totally represents the establishment and hence the status quo.
And further hence…those Nat and undecided voters who are currently infatuated with NZ politics’ latest charismatic ‘leader’ will have another think come polling day and decide that if it comes to a choice between a centre right or centre left government they may as well choose the evil we already live with.
Are we really that fickle?
I guess that all depends on peoples circumstances, their wants and needs. It’s all connected, and everyone thinks differently.
Some prioritise their own needs, some look at the bigger picture in a less selfish manner.
Politics etc etc should be taught and discussed in schools, education would help so many to make a well informed choice.
All I want is a change of government (so sick of so many suffering), everything else will come in due course.
Tautoko, Cinny. If we are sitting waiting for the party that suits our ideals exactly, then that will never happen. We need to change the government first to one which has some excellent, vocal and energetic young members who believe in the principles of social justice. We have had 9 years of economic considerations over-ruling all else. Many decisions made have pushed costs on to future generations. Short term savings by squeezing hospitals are now being exposed, the cost of a fence at the top of the cliff is a helluva lot cheaper than the cost of the cleanup at the bottom. The current government has been unable, or unwilling to consider costs as a whole.
Let’s be pragmatic. Step 1. Clean out this government .
Step 2. Start paying back social debt and environmental debt, which should take precedence over fiscal surpluses,.
Stuck with it now. U know where u turns lead.
Agree number 1 mission is to get rid of National, BUT opposition division is one of MSM’s biggest news stories, so maybe Labour and Greens should try to be kinder to each other (esp Kevin Davis) and NOT give MSM soundbites against each other. And to speak no ill of NZ First.
That way, MSM might just have to do articles about National their frauds, and their policies and prospects…
They sort of get it both ways, Kelve does give voice to those who think Turei just might be a bit slippery and untrustworthy. People who are a bit more ‘whatever it takes’ in their moral outlook can interpret his words that way.
That is fantastic!
Jacinda’s speeches are refreshingly unfiltered, unlike the glassy – eyed ramblings of our older right-wing politicians. Is this merely an index of her newness on the leadership scene? I hope not as her present mode should resonate (that word again!) with many of our younger non-voters.
Soundbite from this mornings The Nation, interview with paula bennett is hinting about national doing something to change drug laws…. dang this should be interesting. Will desperation for votes cause them to do another flip flop on their ideology. Show starts at 9.30am, paula also being asked about gun laws
Thought about whether I would listen to Bennett or have a hot chilli enema.
The enema won.
Glenn, whatever floats your boat dude, lola
Don’t suppose she brought up her spell on benefits.
Now here is a whole new can of worms:
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/ezp8me/genetic-editing-could-cause-the-next-cold-war
Really? That’s the binary?
Godless scientific Chinese, verses the US theists holding humanity back?
Note 4 out of 5 submitters to the euthanasia select committee were opposed. Not the casual polls on the matter, the opinion leaders and experts who fronted.
What is the difference between editing a gene for a therapy, and editing a gene for say eye colour, or gender, or skin tone? If you think there’s a therapeutic v cosmetic distinction, what about baldness, or obesity, or varicose veins, or athletic propensity, warts, or moles? There is nowhere to draw the line yet. It will be very hard to.
If scientists proceed ahead of society, they will be shut down by society. As they should.
Note 4 out of 5 submitters to the euthanasia select committee were opposed.
It was a real credit to the organisational capacity of the churches involved, but not useful in any wider sense.
If scientists proceed ahead of society, they will be shut down by society. As they should.
But they won’t. If a technology is known and feasible, society’s ability to prevent its adoption and use is minimal. Especially if there are a lot of countries where enforcement of regulations is a matter of who makes the better cash offer. This genie ain’t going back in the bottle, so best start figuring out how to regulate it.
It wasn’t just the churches. But good on them anyway.
Plenty of technologies have died. Plenty of others have been delayed until society caught up. Shutting down – or even hugely limiting – a technology with regulation is precisely the objective until ethics subjects technology.
Fair enough Ad the binary framing of the article only served as fluff to get attention. And attention from an American perspective at that.
Declaration of personal interest. Had this technology been available some decades ago I would absolutely have chosen to use it. At least three of the living members of my immediate family would have directly benefited.
Equally there is no question the Chinese (and at the moment they are the leaders in this area) will use their headstart to create new generations of workers, soldiers and intellectuals that are smarter, stronger and more enduring. It won’t be straight out of X-Men but it is the stuff of many a scientific dystopia. It will prove harder than expected to get the desired outcomes, but with time there is no question they will produce new, different humans. For all sorts of purposes.
Or at the very least I foresee the uber-wealthy gaining control over it, reserving it for the exclusive use of their cast. When money becomes useless, CRISPR will be the new wealth. I agree with PM. Regulation of the ordinary kind will be like locks, only good for keeping honest men out. Money will speak very loud.
Or imagine the issues that arise even with good intent. For example what if we can cure say psychopathy? Or a range of other sociopathic behaviours. Or reduce male testosterone levels even further in order to render them more co-operative and docile? Less inclined to violence and rape.
Or someone finds a way to render one particular species or race sterile altogether? There are so many possible uses and mis-uses.
Maybe a global regime, draconian and absolute which registered the DNA provenance of every living human, and exterminated anything illegal might work. But that’s another nightmare too.
The article quoted may have it’s flaws, but it is right on one thing. This could make nuclear weapons look relatively benign.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/aug/04/how-britain-fell-out-of-love-with-the-free-market
Andy Beckett’s long read on Thatcher and Blair and May in link from savenz
On Tony Blair:
Most of his conference speech was vigorously applauded. But the passage on economics was received with solemn looks and silence. There was no heckling, as there had been when previous Labour leaders and chancellors delivered what they saw as home truths about the economy. Instead, there was a sense of resignation in the hall: an acceptance by a party of the left that the right had won the economic argument.
In that short silence, why couldn’t someone have stood up, and said (shocking everyone and making a huge reportable point):
“Jesus Tony, are you saying the UK government is going to abandon us all?”
That could have been said, and registered with all, before the security police dragged the person away. And given a bit of comfort to those between a rock and a hard place, and feeling bruised or worse.
Global warming.
Extreme heat warnings issued in Europe as temperatures pass 40C
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/04/extreme-heat-warnings-issued-europe-temperatures-pass-40c
Less than 2 °C warming by 2100 is unlikely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PERCDA7CQjY&feature=youtu.be
http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate3352.html
It seems to me that in a Fair society, it would be OK to go for broke. Set a social sight high and ground breaking, then pay for it in the long term. Ignore the “Show me the money.” If for example we get the ambulance at the top of the cliff, society would be richer and huge money would be saved in the long run.
This National mob just dabble tiny bits just enough to plug gaps.
Will Labour/Greens go for broke? Hope so.
That sounds very Social Investment there ianmac….https://siu.govt.nz/about-us/our-people/
“The social sector supports all Kiwis by investing in their education, health and wellbeing so they can live fulfilling and productive lives. But some people need more support to thrive and enhance their quality of life.
People are at the centre of social investment.
It’s called social investment, not spending, because it’s about investing resources upfront to enable people in need to thrive over the longer-term.
Four elements of social investment
Use data smarter to better understand people’s current and future needs
Systematically measure the effectiveness of services in meeting people’s needs
Measure long-term outcomes for people over their lifetime and feeding back into decision-making
Understand the fiscal implications of better outcomes and help to manage the long-term costs to government.”
Sounds aspirational…such a pity National and their coalition partners have been trying to do this on the cheap.
And if one takes a gander at the backgrounds of “our people” at the Social Investment Unit….
As someone who has tried (and largely failed) to access government funding to assist in the support someone with very high disability support needs the purpose of their ‘data collection’ (read ‘inquisition’) appears to be to force applicants to exhaust their ‘natural supports’ and when the well is dry, threaten to incarcerate the person with the disability into a residential care facility. Which is paradoxically more expensive than funding a reasonable level of home based care provided by resident family. Unless of course, means and asset testing applies.
On Open Mike 4/08/17 Greg wrote this.
“I worry for the future of this country if you think we need a Green Government.
I have no problem with a Green Party, a proper Green Party.
The one we have though is a Communist Party masquerading as a Green Party.”
You are not the only one who is worried Greg, I am more than concerned about NZ after reading “In The Jaws Of The Dragon How China Is Taking Over New Zealand” by Ron Asher, and you are right it will end up as a communist state, a Chinese type communist state so don’t blame the Greens blame the rightwing fuckwits who thought it would be a bit of a “larf” if they destroyed the west’s industrial base for cheap and sometimes slave labour in China. Also at the same time for a cheap dollar and greed sell everything off so there is no added value for NZ. Of course the elitist who are behind this like Key, Shipley, don’t give a flying shit as it will not affect them as they will be classed as the same as the ruling communist elite of China.
Cannot quote passages from the book as the author has very strict rules written about copyright, but I suggest before you cast your vote and if you value the sovereignty, economic future and independance of NZ, get a copy from the library and see the shit that is really going on in this country, and don’t accuse the Greens
of being communists. Aim that at all the right wing fuckwits who have caused this situation.
Sorry that you haven’t found the full crown yet. Widen your reading so that it just doesn’t fuel your prejudices, and then go back and critique that book.
Greens have done their job to squeeze out any competitor for the hard left vote. It’s 10%.
No crossover potential.
But at least won’t go backward, Stops any foolish bleed to Mana or other commies.
10% is fine.
The NRA included the #ClenchedFistOfTruth hashtag and Dana’s having a wee cry because she said FISK, not Fist.
https://twitter.com/NRATV/status/893230656125149185/video/1
England will NOT get to negotiated trade agreements until they address their border with Ireland, Citizens rights and reconcile the bookkeeping. The 27 Prime Ministers meet in early October to review progress in Brexit negotiations
“…….we will decide together whether sufficient progress has been made on three key issues to allow the Brexit negotiations to proceed to the next phase.”
says Leo Varadkar, the Irish Taoiseach. He sound like he is ready to exercise his veto if the rest of the EU doesn’t beat him to it!
By all account the English cabinet couldn’t organise a piss-up in a champagne bar. The EU keeps telling them the clock is ticking, but the numpties just re-run their worn old slogans for the benefit of the Telegraph and Daily Mail readers.
Here is Varadkar’s Belfast speech.
https://sluggerotoole.com/2017/08/04/leo-varadkar-we-need-to-build-more-bridges-and-fewer-borders/
Third – wayism.
All in the Family Debt
How Neoliberals and Conservatives Came Together to Undo the Welfare State
[…]
This return to Elizabethan poor law principles was made possible, in part, because of an unlikely alliance between neoliberals and social conservatives. Despite their differences on virtually all other issues, neoliberals and social conservatives were in agreement that the bonds of family needed to be encouraged—and at the limit enforced—as a necessary counterpart to market freedom. Though it is often overlooked in the literature, economic liberalism is as much concerned with familial responsibility as it is with personal responsibility, and the neoliberal emphasis on familial relations as a substitute for public relief is an unappreciated, but critical aspect of free-market liberalism. More than anything else, this appeal to familial responsibility sealed the working relationship between free market liberalism and social conservatism, very much defining the shape of social welfare in the contemporary era.
http://bostonreview.net/class-inequality/melinda-cooper-all-family-debt
The Blackwater thugs who killed 14 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in 2007 have had their convictions overturned.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/murder-conviction-in-blackwater-case-thrown-out-other-sentences-overturned/2017/08/04/a14f275c-792e-11e7-9eac-d56bd5568db8_story.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisour_Square_massacre
Well, I guess that tells us how well things are likely to continue to go in the Middle East. But our beloved Govt has great confidence…. (or stupid ignorance.)
Well it helps when your Sister is called Betsy de Vos and hey, Price of Blackwater/XE is happy to come back to the US now that his company thugs are cleared of killing civilians left right and centre.
Echo Papa’s latest venture.
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/13193/blackwater-founder-thinks-his-private-air-force-can-help-afghanistan
https://theintercept.com/2016/04/11/blackwater-founder-erik-prince-drive-to-build-private-air-force/
yep, i read that.
sad, innit?
If the media do not press Paula Bennett on her time on a benefit, then clear bias is being taken by them.
+ 100