tripple alliance 1,026 Report post Posted September 29, 2018 59 minutes ago, jack said: Oops they did it again…National pulls Carpool Karaoke rip-off promo amid copyright fears Move over James Corden and Adele, there are some new carpool karaoke divas on the scene in the form of National leader Simon Bridges and MP Chris Bishop - but the promotional stunt may land them in legal strife. Dashcam footage of the National Party colleagues driving to Parliament was uploaded to Simon Bridges' Facebook page on Wednesday, and it provides a brief insight into the musical tastes of the pair. But, the video intended to showcase more of the personal side of the senior National MPs may land their Party in copyright hot water, as a string of famous tunes are played through the stereo of Bishop's fully electric Nissan LEAF. Within the three minute clip, songs from music industry heavyweights Elton John, Pearl Jam and Franz Ferdinand are played. When contacted by the Herald today, National's chief press secretary Michael Fox said they had now taken down the video as a "precaution". "Our view is the songs were covered under the fair use and incidental use provisions in the Copyright Act because the music was being played in the background and only for the purposes of review," Fox said. But Copyright lawyer Kevin Glover said there was no such thing as a "fair use" defence in New Zealand and the more appropriate defences would be "incidental copying" or "fair dealing". Glover said the music - chosen by Bridges - appeared to have been deliberately included in the recording so would not meet the standard for "incidental copying". Glover said the "fair dealing" defence could apply, as it allowed exceptions for those who were offering a critique or review of music, so as to allow short excerpts and commentary about the music. "The risk on this is, I suppose, they are not talking about the merits of the music but their memories," Glover said. Baldwin's copyright lawyer Paul Johns agreed any copyright defence based on "incidental use" was flimsy. "In my view if you're playing a song, even if it's at a background level but you're doing so deliberately, then there's a pretty good argument that's going to be an infringement, because it's not incidental to have the sounds there on purpose, that's the opposite of incidental, that's deliberate," Johns said. "I don't think that posting video for obviously political purposes, trying to make themselves more relatable perhaps - they're not reviewing or criticising, they are trying to improve their public image. "They could argue it, but I don't think they would be able to win on that one. "The other aspect of this is, because it's political a lot of musical artists don't like their work to be used for political purposes, no matter where you sit on the political spectrum, and that was an element in the Eminem case." In October 2017, the National Party was found guilty of breaching copyright by using Eminem's track Lose Yourself for a 2014 election ad and ordered to pay $600,000. The High Court awarded Eight Mile Style, the publisher of the hit song, damages, plus interest from June 28, 2014. Bridges' and Bishop's carpool playlist In the latest incident, the three minute video begins with Bridges announcing "we're in the Chris-mobile mate" which Bishop assures in true Blues Brothers fashion has "quite good pickup". The first song Bishop has playing on his stereo is Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out, and it instantly triggers a memory from Bridges' wild days at Oxford University where he completed a Bachelor of Civil Law in the early 2000s. "Franz Ferdinand, now this takes me back to Oxford University 2004," Bridges says. "I lived next to all these crazy guys. The guy on one of my sides, he just played this non-stop 24/7 and it annoyed me. "I used to have to bang on his door to tell him to turn it down about 3am. But now today, funnily enough it gives me good memories. Good times, simpler times, in life." For Bishop to the tune was a fixture of his youth. "See I remember it, that was my first year at uni, 2003, 2004," Bishop says. Bridges interjects: "You're younger than you look. "I am younger than I look," Bishop laughs. "I remember it, first year uni, this was the song you would go out dancing and stuff, or the clubs and stuff. It was big. Can you play it on the drums?" Bridges can, and demonstrates. Also on the playlist is Blue Eyes by Elton John, which Bridges "has always loved' but Bishop doesn't even know. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12133635 Jack , please if that's all ya got you got nothing , try worrying about $3 a litre for fuel and the effect it will have on cindys less well off and the whole economy . Because of cindys increased taxes and skyrocketing living costs , inflation will raise it's head which means interest rates will rise , housing prices will collapse but don't think the less well off will be able to buy at lower prices , they won't be able to put food on the table never mind buy a house , this lot hasn't got a clue . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack 431 Report post Posted September 30, 2018 23 hours ago, tripple alliance said: Jack , please if that's all ya got you got nothing , try worrying about $3 a litre for fuel and the effect it will have on cindys less well off and the whole economy . Because of cindys increased taxes and skyrocketing living costs , inflation will raise it's head which means interest rates will rise , housing prices will collapse but don't think the less well off will be able to buy at lower prices , they won't be able to put food on the table never mind buy a house , this lot hasn't got a clue . National’s 18 new taxes WrittenBy: ANTHONY R0BINS - Date published:9:35 am, September 4th, 2017 - 14 comments Categories: national, spin, tax - Tags: hypocrisy, national's new taxes, spin, tax National is well in to panicked negative campaigning now. One of their main attacks is to try and spread fear about Labour and tax. Good to see them called out on it: Bill English promises no new taxes National has introduced an average six new taxes every term over the last nine years, but Bill English is promising there won’t be any more. The party has been attacking Labour’s tax policy – or lack of it – hard over the past few weeks, calling their opponents’ promise of a tax working group “vague and confused” and taking every opportunity to claim they’ll introduce a bevy of new taxes. … Since taking the reins in 2008, National has introduced at least 18 new taxes and levies – six of them on petrol. Others include: • raising GST (after promising not to) • a tax on employer KiwiSaver contributions • new student loan and Family Court fees • the bright line capital gains tax on flipping houses • a border clearance levy • including GST on digital purchases • removing tax refunds for kids doing part-time work. … Here’s a list from 2014 with more detail. And here’s another excellent analysis: Brian Fallow: National Scrooge v Labour spendthrift? No, not really … Labour’s fiscal plan commits it to spend $14.5 billion more than the present Government has budgeted over the four years to June 2021. This is operating expenditure and does not include capital items like resuming contributions to the Cullen fund earlier than National or priming the pump of KiwiBuild. The bulk of it is in the three big-ticket items in any Budget: $4.7b more for health; $3.8b more for social security and welfare; and $3.7b more for education, including the tertiary education package it announced this week. Because it has a slightly higher debt track, it also has to allow for $600 million more in interest costs over the next four years. So where is the extra $15.1b to come from? Nearly half of it ($7.4b) comes from a higher revenue track, 85 per cent of which is the result of scrapping the tax threshold adjustments that Finance Minister Steven Joyce announced in May and which are scheduled to kick in on April 1 next year. … [Labour’s] revenue would be $7.4b, or 1.6 per cent higher. That does not look like an increase under the weight of which the economy would crumple. Ah, but that does not take into account any changes arising from Labour’s planned review of the tax system, its critics would say. It is, of course, a bit rich of National to be scornful of the plan for a tax working group, when that is exactly what it did in 2009. Hypocrites. And if you think the tax system needs some significant changes – and it does – then it makes sense to be a bit careful about how to go about it. The tax working group approach of picking all the best brains and publishing the advice from officials, academics and tax practitioners ahead of any final report and political decisions is simply good process. It should not be subverted by shoving microphones in front of Jacinda Ardern and asking her to rule out this or that and, if she does not, going “Aha! That must be the sinister secret plan! Labour must come clean.“ I’ve put that in bold because it’s the best comment ever written on the level of reporting on the issue so far. It is axiomatic that the broader the base, the lower rates can be, and New Zealand’s tax base is too narrow. In any case, changes to the tax system would have to be accommodated within the fiscal rules Labour and the Greens have agreed. … That suggests changes to the tax system would be broadly revenue neutral, a matter of redistributing the tax burden – hopefully to something fairer and less distortionary – rather than increasing it relative to the size of the economy. In short, National’s attacks on Labour over tax are pure hypocrisy and spin. View image on Twitter Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,343 Report post Posted September 30, 2018 acinda’s glorious triumph in NYC, all on film and YOU paid for it by Cameron Slater on October 1, 2018 at 8:00am Jacinda Ardern thinks her speech to an empty General Assembly is so grand it warrants the hiring of a foreign film crew to record her parade through NYC with Clarke and Neve. After demanding privacy for her baby, she rolled out Neve for full face photos and video for foreign media. She needed the baby pics to complete her triumph. What is most disgusting and shameless about all of this is that she used taxpayer funds to pay for it all. The film footage is already being deployed in Labour party advertising and the anointed one is telling us that the footage will also be used for their election campaign for 2020. Quote: Jacinda Ardern hired an advertising agency to photograph and film her New York trip. In the past, New Zealand Prime Ministers have had a staffer from their offices take photos, but Ardern had a crew of three from agency Augusto’s New York office. They have been used on social media and Ardern told the Herald on Sunday some would also be used for campaign purposes. But the Opposition has accused her of breaching the rules around campaign spending. End quote: Not only a breach of campaign spending but also a breach of parliamentary funding. What is interesting is the use of Augusto, the Labour party’s own ad agency. They feature Jacinda Arden on their website as well. That was the so-called viral ad about putting New Zealand on the map. Perhaps the reality of that video was that it was also Labour party marketing paid for by the taxpayer. For her part, Jacinda Ardern is defending the hiring of a foreign film crew to record her triumph. Augusto donated $18,274 to Labour’s campaign when Jacinda became the leader last year. When Oravida had a photo of the prime minister on their website and gave a donation to National the Labour party called this corruption. Strangely they are now justifying the same actions. The main difference between the two cases is Oravida got nothing in return for their donations and Augusto has just scored some taxpayer cash to promote Jacinda Ardern. Quote: Ardern defended the decision to contract the agency. She said Augusto’s fee would be paid for out of Labour’s Leaders’ Budget, a pool of taxpayer-funding which political parties can use for communications purposes. “They did social media for us, they did a bit of work on the last campaign and so they’re doing work for us now, helping build up our stock footage and stuff. Campaign stuff.” End quote. So why is the taxpayer footing the bill then? This is pretty murky stuff. Quote: The footage and photos – including for some occasions to which media had no access – were also made available for media to use, including the Herald. End quote: Who dutifully, and perhaps unwittingly, have used it to promote the Labour party. Quote: The Augusto crew were not part of the formal delegation, Ardern said, and because they were based in New York, the costs did not include air travel or accommodation. Ardern said she did not know what the fee was for Augusto’s work. “I haven’t looked at what the cost is, but we have a limited Leader’s Budget so it won’t be excessive. We wouldn’t have done it if it was significant. It was cheaper than bringing someone here.” End quote: If you don’t know what the fee was how can you say it wasn’t excessive? More dissembling from the prime minister. This is a disgrace, imagine the howls of outrage if John Key had hired a film crew to follow him around? The accusations of being like an emperor would have been all over the media and left-wing social media. For a woman who claims to have wanted privacy for her daughter she sure uses the wee child shamelessly when it suits. Never before have I seen a politician so willing to pimp herself and her daughter to the media for political purposes. tripple alliance 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripple alliance 1,026 Report post Posted September 30, 2018 1 hour ago, jack said: National’s 18 new taxes WrittenBy: ANTHONY R0BINS - Date published:9:35 am, September 4th, 2017 - 14 comments Categories: national, spin, tax - Tags: hypocrisy, national's new taxes, spin, tax National is well in to panicked negative campaigning now. One of their main attacks is to try and spread fear about Labour and tax. Good to see them called out on it: Bill English promises no new taxes National has introduced an average six new taxes every term over the last nine years, but Bill English is promising there won’t be any more. The party has been attacking Labour’s tax policy – or lack of it – hard over the past few weeks, calling their opponents’ promise of a tax working group “vague and confused” and taking every opportunity to claim they’ll introduce a bevy of new taxes. … Since taking the reins in 2008, National has introduced at least 18 new taxes and levies – six of them on petrol. Others include: • raising GST (after promising not to) • a tax on employer KiwiSaver contributions • new student loan and Family Court fees • the bright line capital gains tax on flipping houses • a border clearance levy • including GST on digital purchases • removing tax refunds for kids doing part-time work. … Here’s a list from 2014 with more detail. And here’s another excellent analysis: Brian Fallow: National Scrooge v Labour spendthrift? No, not really … Labour’s fiscal plan commits it to spend $14.5 billion more than the present Government has budgeted over the four years to June 2021. This is operating expenditure and does not include capital items like resuming contributions to the Cullen fund earlier than National or priming the pump of KiwiBuild. The bulk of it is in the three big-ticket items in any Budget: $4.7b more for health; $3.8b more for social security and welfare; and $3.7b more for education, including the tertiary education package it announced this week. Because it has a slightly higher debt track, it also has to allow for $600 million more in interest costs over the next four years. So where is the extra $15.1b to come from? Nearly half of it ($7.4b) comes from a higher revenue track, 85 per cent of which is the result of scrapping the tax threshold adjustments that Finance Minister Steven Joyce announced in May and which are scheduled to kick in on April 1 next year. … [Labour’s] revenue would be $7.4b, or 1.6 per cent higher. That does not look like an increase under the weight of which the economy would crumple. Ah, but that does not take into account any changes arising from Labour’s planned review of the tax system, its critics would say. It is, of course, a bit rich of National to be scornful of the plan for a tax working group, when that is exactly what it did in 2009. Hypocrites. And if you think the tax system needs some significant changes – and it does – then it makes sense to be a bit careful about how to go about it. The tax working group approach of picking all the best brains and publishing the advice from officials, academics and tax practitioners ahead of any final report and political decisions is simply good process. It should not be subverted by shoving microphones in front of Jacinda Ardern and asking her to rule out this or that and, if she does not, going “Aha! That must be the sinister secret plan! Labour must come clean.“ I’ve put that in bold because it’s the best comment ever written on the level of reporting on the issue so far. It is axiomatic that the broader the base, the lower rates can be, and New Zealand’s tax base is too narrow. In any case, changes to the tax system would have to be accommodated within the fiscal rules Labour and the Greens have agreed. … That suggests changes to the tax system would be broadly revenue neutral, a matter of redistributing the tax burden – hopefully to something fairer and less distortionary – rather than increasing it relative to the size of the economy. In short, National’s attacks on Labour over tax are pure hypocrisy and spin. View image on Twitter raising GST (after promising not to) • a tax on employer KiwiSaver contributions• new student loan and Family Court fees• the bright line capital gains tax on flipping houses• a border clearance levy• including GST on digital purchases• removing tax refunds for kids doing part-time work. Yes GST increased in 2010 , that's 8 years ago . Student loan and court fees , whoopi that's really serious, . Brightline capitol gains tax , that's it , hardly earth shattering . A boarder fee , so what , GST on digital purchases , again trivial . Removing kids tax refunds , what you really mean is stopping parents from using their kids to avoid tax . So the reality is National tax less and managed the economy well , their tax alterations were harmless to the less well off as opposed to what's happening today . Today the less well off are getting hammered by cindy , sure a few got an extra $60 a week via welfare but that's well and truly gone with the rent , petrol and living cost increases and the worrying part is this is just the beginning , food parcels have never been higher and the homeless numbers are growing , child poverty is still increasing and drug use is surging , the only thing yet to be documented is the number of young solo parents , the number of those were at record lows when Winston appointed cindy, I suspect we will see a reversal of that in the near future. This is what happens when a party with only 37% support comes to power , the majority of voters didn't want cindy and still don't . rdytdy 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,343 Report post Posted October 1, 2018 Greens don't have one brain cell among them: 'Get out of office': Duncan Garner slams 'completely incompetent' Marama Davidson The AM Show host Duncan Garner has called on Marama Davidson to "get out of office". The Green Party co-leader appeared on the show on Monday morning to discuss her party's commitment to raising benefits by 20 percent, but was unable to say how much it would cost. Greens have no idea how much welfare overhaul will cost Ms Davidson said if New Zealand can spend $100 million of taxpayer money on the America's Cup, then it can pay its poorest a bit more. "Too many people are struggling to make ends meet at the moment, and that's not good enough," she told him, but had no idea the costs involved. "I am staggered by the lack of facts and detailed knowledge that she showed in her interview with me this morning," Garner said after the interview. "No detail at all. She's exposed herself as being underdone at best, and completely incompetent at worst. It's called flaky. I wonder how much longer [co-leader] James Shaw can actually put up with this. "She knew how much it cost for the America's Cup, but not about the welfare system which she wants to change. Honestly, get out of office. That's what I say." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,343 Report post Posted October 1, 2018 Socialist Cindy is desperate to follow the UN mantra's. Read into her speech and refer to the UN's mantra Agenda 21. It appears that she is following it to the letter. Do some research on the net into Agenda 21 and Iclei. NZ suffers to provide brag points for Ardern’s UN speech by SB Cindy makes a speech at the UN While NZ burns Photoshopped image credit: Boondecker I think I know now why Ardern made so many Captain’s calls and didn’t bother to follow due process. She did it to provide bragging points for her speech to the UN which she may have considered a job interview of sorts. The speech had little of substance when compared to President Trump’s speech. Her achievements were all Captain’s calls that signalled how virtuous little old New Zealand is while under her slipper of ” kindness.” quote. In New Zealand we are determined to play our part. We will not issue any further offshore oil and gas exploration permits. We have set a goal of 100% renewable energy generation by 2035, established a green infrastructure fund to encourage innovation, and rolled out an initiative to plant one billion trees over the next 10 years.[…] For us, that has meant taking action to address degradation, like setting standards to make our rivers swimmable, reducing waste and phasing out single-use plastic bags, right through to eradicating predators and protecting our biodiversity.[…] If I could distil it down into one concept that we are pursuing in New Zealand it is simple and it is this. Kindness. end quote. Close analysis of her speech revealed the following: She believes that a country should put ” Global” interests before it’s own self-interest and economic wealth for the “collective” good and for the sake of the environment. Quote. […] there is a hesitance we can ill afford. A calculation of personal cost, of self-interest. But this is not the only challenge where domestic self-interest is the first response, and where an international or collective approach has been diluted at best, or rejected at worst. […] the challenge I wish to issue today is this – together, we must rebuild and recommit to multilateralism. […] The race to grow our economies and increase wealth makes us all the poorer if it comes at the cost of our environment. end quote. There was a strong flavour of Socialism running through the entire speech. Quote. The correct response to this is not to repeat mistakes of the past and be seduced by the false promises of protectionism. Rather, we must all work to ensure that the benefits of trade are distributed fairly across our societies. […] end quote. She spoke of building and sustaining international peace and security by defending an open, inclusive, and rules-based international order based on universal values (whatever those are.) In contrast with patriotic president Trump, prime minister Ardern did not appear to love her country or be proud of it because of its unique culture and values. Instead, she took pride in being part of a collective. Quote. I am an incredibly proud New Zealander, but much of that pride has come from being a strong and active member of our international community, not in spite of it. end quote Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack 431 Report post Posted October 2, 2018 ... Simple Soymon has found the LEAK!! https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12135542 National MP Jami-Lee Ross takes break from Parliament for 'personal health issues' National's Botany MP Jami-Lee Ross will take a few months off from Parliament to deal with some "personal health issues". "There are times in life where you have to put your own health and family first. As a husband and a father I need to do that at this time," he said in a statement today. "That is why I have asked to have some time off on medical leave for a few months." In a separate statement, National leader Simon Bridges said the decision was "unrelated to the ongoing leak investigation" into his travel expenses. READ MORE: • National MPs sign privacy waiver as leak probe continues • Speaker Trevor Mallard calls off inquiry into leak of Simon Bridges' expenses • Inquiry to be launched into Simon Bridges' leaked expenses Bridges told reporters that Ross's health issue was a "very private and personal" matter. The Botany MP had first raised the "serious" matter with Bridges last week. "I am, and he is, focused on his wellbeing... on getting better and his young family," the National leader said. There had been no discussion about Ross resigning as an MP. "I hope he does come back." Asked what Ross's return to Parliament would hinge on, Bridges said: "Now it's in his hands to focus on himself and then come back refreshed and well." National deputy leader Paula Bennett said she was in charge of National's inquiry into the leak and investigator PriceWaterhouseCoopers was still seeking all relevant data from Parliamentary Service. Bridges said he expected Ross would make himself available to answer any necessary questions as part of the leak inquiry. "We don't know who is responsible [for the leak]," Bridges told reporters. Bridges' travel expenses were leaked to media earlier this year. Parliament's Speaker Trevor Mallard announced an independent inquiry, but this was dropped when the leaker revealed they were associated with the National Party and indicated they had mental health issues. National is continuing with its own inquiry into who leaked details of Bridges spending $113,973 on travel and accommodation between April and June, with MPs asked to sign a privacy waiver. Ross, 32, said Bridges had been "very understanding and agreed to this along with my request that my transport and infrastructure portfolios be reallocated and that I step back from my front bench role". "I look forward to returning to Parliament in the future to re-join our caucus." National MP Nikki Kaye, who took time off from Parliament as she battled breast cancer, said it was a sensitive time and she was thinking of him. "I have had very serious health issues and I'm thinking for him and feeling for him and his family." Education Minister, and Leader of the House, Chris Hipkins said it was important for MPs to take time off every once in a while. Hipkins himself was on Parliamentary leave, following the birth of his second child. "Sometimes people do a better job as MPs if they take a bit of time out. If he needs to take a bit of time out in order to regroup and do a good job as an MP, he should do so." Hipkins said he would not get into why Ross might have taken time off and that it was a matter for the National Party Whether or not he was paid during his time was also a matter for National, but there were no processes in place to stop him being paid. MPs did not get annual or sick leave, he said. Ross' transport portfolio will be picked up by Paul Goldsmith and his infrastructure responsibilities by Judith Collins. Paul Goldsmith's revenue portfolio will be picked up by Andrew Bayly, Bridges said. Ross is the MP for Botany and entered Parliament in 2011. He is a former Manukau City and Auckland councillor for Howick between 2004 and 2011. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,343 Report post Posted October 4, 2018 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohokaman 5,844 Report post Posted October 4, 2018 She obviously thinks fancy photos equate with experience, competence and achievement.... The "plan" is to use these in social media at the next election.......wonder if the kid is involved too...the mugs will lap it up. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12135986 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,343 Report post Posted October 4, 2018 Jacinda a standout performer? by Christie <img class="aligncenter wp-image-376534" src="https://i2.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Jacinda-crying.png?resize=630%2C631&ssl=1" alt="" width="630" height="631" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Jacinda-crying.png?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1 300w, https://i2.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Jacinda-crying.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i2.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Jacinda-crying.png?w=474&ssl=1 474w" sizes="(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" data-recalc-dims="1"/> The fluff pieces continue… but this particular fluff piece from a newspaper seems to me to have no factual basis at all. I really do think that the media just make stuff up sometimes but see what you think of this: quote: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is seen by many CEOs as the standout performer in the Coalition Government. Just one year into the country’s top job, her charismatic persona, youthfulness and communication skills have marked her prime ministership. CEOs in the 2018 Herald survey marked trustworthiness as her leading attribute — rated at 3.17/5 on a scale where 1=not impressive and 5=very impressive — among a range of other attributes. end quote. You will note that this article is very vague about who is actually claiming that she is so good. ‘CEOs’ gives me no confidence. How about actually naming someone? Oh, here we are. quote: A banking boss says Ardern has been a far better Prime Minister than expected. “Labour inherited a country that had been neglected for nine years. She is an amazing communicator and front person for the Government.” end quote. A ‘banking boss’? Who is it exactly? Someone from the Bank of Islamabad? Either these Jacinda fans don’t actually exist, or they are not prepared to be identified. So, I have a very good reason to think that this article has just been completely made up. quote: But there have been incidents lately that have knocked her political capital, which some respondents to the Mood of the Boardroom survey say she should be cognisant of. Though Ardern is given credit for making the best of the cards she was dealt on election night, her Coalition management skills have been found wanting. Business leaders say she must do better when it comes to managing the relationship of the Coalition partners and ministers, and make the “hard calls” when necessary and rated that attribute 2.74/5. end quote. So, she is a standout, but… her coalition management skills are lacking and she can’t make the ‘hard calls’. Doesn’t sound like a standout leader to me at all. quote: ICBC NZ chair Don Brash says Ardern has a very tough job “being in a position where NZ First holds the whip hand on every issue not specifically covered in the coalition agreement.” end quote. Ah. So finally we have named someone and he said that Winston Peters is running the show. Not a standout leader then, is she? quote: Ardern’s natural ability to communicate was frequently raised by chief executives, but they have concerns her aspirational messages can raise expectations without necessarily transferring into operational performance. end quote. In other words, with absolutely no apologies to Lizzie Marvelly, she is guilty of ‘too much hui, not much doey’, as Christopher Luxon has already pointed out. Where is all this ‘standout’ stuff then? quote: Of the attributes CEOs were asked to rate, Ardern’s strategy for New Zealand received the lowest rating of 2.16/5. end quote. Really standout. quote: “It would be good to see a stronger decisive approach to the ‘bigger’ issues — infrastructure, health, housing, education — than jumping on the bandwagon of populist policy,” says Mainfreight CEO Don Braid. end quote. Ah. Another one named… and he has nothing good to say about her at all, does he? quote: Says another CEO: “The smile got her into government, but she is deeply inexperienced and is taking New Zealand down a dangerous path. Sloganism is a terrible way to run a nation.” end quote. Let me just correct you on that one, Mr A. N. Other. Winston Peters got her into government. Nothing else. quote: But a company director says we need to give the Prime Minister room to breathe: “I think you have to admire her, whatever your political perspective. Being Prime Minister, being female, being young, means she will be under attack more than others would be. end quote. I disagree with this, yet another unnamed commentator. First of all, I don’t admire her in any way whatsoever. Secondly, there is no reason at all why the fact that she is young and female means she will be under attack more than other leaders. If she was competent, she wouldn’t be constantly under attack for a lack of management skills or for the fact that she can talk the talk, but that’s all. All of those criticisms listed above are totally valid and to me, that means the headline of the article is completely misleading. No… wait. The headline is not misleading. It is misspelt. They did not mean she was a standout performer. They meant she was a standup performer. Well, I can’t argue with that. gary1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripple alliance 1,026 Report post Posted October 5, 2018 Danger signals on the horizon , it won't be long before we see real panic in the collection of losers , the economy is in danger . First the government desired collapse of the NZ dollar v USA , in the last couple of years the norm has been $1NZ =.72cUS , today $1NZ =.645 US that's a big drop and makes imports much more expensive , especially fuel , then we have crude today $84.84 a barrel , the two year norm has been just over $50US a barrel and third the don , Trump , he has the USA economy flying and interest rates are up again , the 3rd time this year , this is having the effect of drawing money to the US making it harder for us to encourage investment and more expensive for us to borrow , the result will be interest up here as well. Then we have the governments ambition to see housing values fall , it's happening , housing down 6% in AK so far and if rates go up prices will fall further , how can that be any good ? mums and dads life investment deliberately undermined and then this lot's wages policy , 150 made redundant yesterday at a plastics firm , they are relocating off shore . It won't be long (about 6 months) and we will be in big trouble and perhaps some one can tell me how this helps cindys preferred people , the less well off A little extra , I see the criminal history of NZF mp Clayton Mitchel has been published , it will be interesting to see winstons response , not pretty . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack 431 Report post Posted October 7, 2018 National's internal polling which has Bridges' internal favourability collapsing". Political Roundup: An embarrassing week for National 5 Oct, 2018 4:25pm 8 minutes to read "Embarrassing" is the word of the week for the National Party. Photo / Mark Mitchell By: Bryce Edwards Bryce Edwards is a lecturer in Politics at Victoria University online-editor@nzherald.co.nz@bryce_edwards https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12137692 COMMENT: "Embarrassing" is the word of the week for the National Party. Leader Simon Bridges applied the term in various ways to MP Jami-Lee Ross, when explaining that Ross' personal circumstances required his temporary departure from Parliament. Bridges described Ross' personal situation as "perhaps actually embarrassing. A lot embarrassing, potentially". It was then Bridge's turn to be embarrassed when the focus quickly shifted to why Bridges insisted on using that term, before later retracting it. Some saw it as a sign of incompetence and a lack of empathy for the beleaguered Ross, and others saw it as a sign that Bridges was somehow signalling that the departing MP is in fact connected with the leak inquiry, or is suffering from mental health issues. As most commentators have said, the timing of Ross' departure and the leak inquiry is either unfortunate or very telling. It's natural that speculation has fallen on Ross as being the leaker within National who was trying to undermine his leader. And Audrey Young reported that "Jami-Lee Ross is among a handful of National MPs who have been quietly suspected as a potential leaker among colleagues for some time", and therefore "the timing of his time-out from politics is cruel. Because if he is not the leaker, many people are left wondering whether he is" – see: Timing of Jami-Lee Ross' departure from Parliament raises questions. Bridges had no choice, according to Young, but to announce in his press conference that Ross' departure is unrelated to the inquiry, regardless of whether he is under suspicion. But she points out that if it turns out Ross is eventually announced as being involved in the leak, then "he would be in the best place to endure the fallout – away from potentially unforgiving colleagues and the limelight." It seems possible, therefore, that Bridges' repeated use of the term "embarrassing" about Ross was consciously or unconsciously designed to intimate that, although Bridges was formally saying that his departure was unrelated, it was in fact highly-related. There has been a backlash against Bridges for his use of the word "embarrassing". According to Newshub's Duncan Garner, Jami-Lee Ross was also very unhappy about it. Garner says: "A senior source inside the National Party got hold of me yesterday to say Jami-Lee Ross, who stood down for personal reasons, is 'highly pissed off' with Bridges for saying the matter was embarrassing" – see: Jami-Lee Ross 'pissed off' with Simon Bridges' 'embarrassing' comment – source. According to Garner, "The source went on to say what is embarrassing is National's internal polling which has Bridges' internal favorability collapsing". Who`s Mini Me now !! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripple alliance 1,026 Report post Posted October 7, 2018 8 hours ago, jack said: National's internal polling which has Bridges' internal favourability collapsing". Political Roundup: An embarrassing week for National 5 Oct, 2018 4:25pm 8 minutes to read "Embarrassing" is the word of the week for the National Party. Photo / Mark Mitchell By: Bryce Edwards Bryce Edwards is a lecturer in Politics at Victoria University online-editor@nzherald.co.nz@bryce_edwards https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12137692 COMMENT: "Embarrassing" is the word of the week for the National Party. Leader Simon Bridges applied the term in various ways to MP Jami-Lee Ross, when explaining that Ross' personal circumstances required his temporary departure from Parliament. Bridges described Ross' personal situation as "perhaps actually embarrassing. A lot embarrassing, potentially". It was then Bridge's turn to be embarrassed when the focus quickly shifted to why Bridges insisted on using that term, before later retracting it. Some saw it as a sign of incompetence and a lack of empathy for the beleaguered Ross, and others saw it as a sign that Bridges was somehow signalling that the departing MP is in fact connected with the leak inquiry, or is suffering from mental health issues. As most commentators have said, the timing of Ross' departure and the leak inquiry is either unfortunate or very telling. It's natural that speculation has fallen on Ross as being the leaker within National who was trying to undermine his leader. And Audrey Young reported that "Jami-Lee Ross is among a handful of National MPs who have been quietly suspected as a potential leaker among colleagues for some time", and therefore "the timing of his time-out from politics is cruel. Because if he is not the leaker, many people are left wondering whether he is" – see: Timing of Jami-Lee Ross' departure from Parliament raises questions. Bridges had no choice, according to Young, but to announce in his press conference that Ross' departure is unrelated to the inquiry, regardless of whether he is under suspicion. But she points out that if it turns out Ross is eventually announced as being involved in the leak, then "he would be in the best place to endure the fallout – away from potentially unforgiving colleagues and the limelight." It seems possible, therefore, that Bridges' repeated use of the term "embarrassing" about Ross was consciously or unconsciously designed to intimate that, although Bridges was formally saying that his departure was unrelated, it was in fact highly-related. There has been a backlash against Bridges for his use of the word "embarrassing". According to Newshub's Duncan Garner, Jami-Lee Ross was also very unhappy about it. Garner says: "A senior source inside the National Party got hold of me yesterday to say Jami-Lee Ross, who stood down for personal reasons, is 'highly pissed off' with Bridges for saying the matter was embarrassing" – see: Jami-Lee Ross 'pissed off' with Simon Bridges' 'embarrassing' comment – source. According to Garner, "The source went on to say what is embarrassing is National's internal polling which has Bridges' internal favorability collapsing". Who`s Mini Me now !! Jack , don't be silly , this is garbage , a complete beat up , trivia , this is the sort of thing the media would do to Trump and we all can see how successful that lefty tactic has been . Headlines over one word , that's desperate . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack 431 Report post Posted October 7, 2018 1 hour ago, tripple alliance said: Jack , don't be silly , this is garbage , a complete beat up , trivia , this is the sort of thing the media would do to Trump and we all can see how successful that lefty tactic has been . Headlines over one word , that's desperate . .... Look closer , It`s not a " Cut , Copy And Paste " .. It`s actually REAL NEWS and NOT FAKE NEWS !! ( Winston got it right... Gone before the next election) https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12137692 https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/107491740/winston-peters-attacks-simon-bridges-and-national-in-conference-speech Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,343 Report post Posted October 7, 2018 Pretty weak Jack by the left wing media we have. Read this and get some perspective or do just want fluffies about nothing also. Why the media beat-up on Simon Bridges? by Christie <img class="aligncenter wp-image-367106 size-large" src="https://i1.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Simon-Bridges.jpg?resize=630%2C355&ssl=1" alt="" width="630" height="355" srcset="https://i1.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Simon-Bridges.jpg?resize=630%2C355&ssl=1 630w, https://i1.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Simon-Bridges.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i1.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Simon-Bridges.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i1.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Simon-Bridges.jpg?w=828&ssl=1 828w" sizes="(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" data-recalc-dims="1"/> When you have the most incompetent government in decades, it really surprises me that the media pack seems to be closing in on the leader of the opposition for incompetencies that are, in the overall scheme of things, relatively minor. Yes, I know a large number of readers wanted Judith Collins as the leader, and that may happen yet, but the way the media are decrying Simon Bridges and describing him as a ‘dead man walking’ is just way over the top for the things he has done. Sure, it wasn’t smart to insist on an inquiry into who leaked his travel expenses, but he probably found himself between a rock and a hard place. If he had done nothing, he would have been seen as weak. What he did was unfortunate, as it has been dragged out for weeks, with speculation on the identity of the leaker still being rife. But is that really as bad as an MP physically assaulting one of her staff and the Maori caucus all standing by her, thus effectively condoning workplace abuse? No one has called Meka Whaitiri a ‘dead woman walking’ so far, have they? No journalist is calling for her resignation from Parliament because of the way she treats her staff. Here is the latest in a long line of anti-Simon Bridges articles, designed to destabilise him even further. quote: Winston Peters says Simon Bridges will not last until the election. Wishful thinking with a touch of hyperbole. But I suspect Bridges will never be Prime Minister. There is no suggestion he is finished just yet. His caucus remain loyal and there is no hint of a leadership challenge. end quote. Winston Peters also said he would abolish the Maori seats and cut immigration by half and they were things he had some control over. Anyone who listens to anything Peters says is a fool. quote: But the brouhaha over who leaked National’s travel expenses was a crisis of his own making. And his handling of Jami-Lee Ross’ sick leave was excruciating. Both events show he lacks two skills vital to holding the premiership: strong leadership and smooth communication. end quote. At least he isn’t just all talk, like Jacinda, who seems to have completely forgotten how she said the government would house all homeless people this winter. Why isn’t the media all over that? quote: On paper, he looks great: young, photogenic, Maori, real world and ministerial experience. But his media appearances lack weight and authority and he often gets tangled up in word salads. And the harder he tries, the less authentic he appears. And he’s a bit too slick to play well in the rural heartland. But, while Bridges lurches from one gaffe-laden press conference to the next, his MPs are making the most of opposition. end quote. ‘His media appearances lack weight’ when we have the flakiest, most lightweight prime minister of all time in residence at the moment? quote: Two years out from an election, the policy work has started. Business leaders, NGOs, experts are coming regularly to the Parliament’s opposition corridors for consultation on climate change, conservation, health, agriculture. Winston is very wrong when he says the National party is “moribund.” They are not making the mistakes of Labour’s shambolic, successive terms on the Opposition benches. And the issues they champion are getting cut-through: the increasing costs of living; government-by-working-group; ministerial scandals. end quote. Most of those issues are being given very gentle treatment by the media. Why are they not screaming about the effect of rising fuel prices on those on low incomes? Why are they not up in arms about all those ‘redacted’ documents released as a result of OIA requests? Crickets… quote: And, without any viable coalition partners, they need a charismatic figure at the top. The name that keeps cropping up in certain circles is Air NZ boss Christopher Luxon, seen as the ‘next’ John Key. (What, you didn’t think Shane Jones’ attacks were motivated solely by concern for air passengers!?). end quote. Christopher Luxon? He isn’t even in politics. How silly can this woman be? The last time I looked, he was another Jacindaphile, hanging on to her every word as she formed yet another working group, this time to improve business confidence. I will admit that Bridges did not handle either the issue of the leaked expenses or Jamie-Lee Ross’s departure on medical leave very well. He could have done better on both counts but that doesn’t make him a ‘dead man walking’. Marama Davidson can hold a press interview about increasing welfare without the foggiest idea of how much her proposals would cost, and no one is describing her as a ‘dead woman walking.’ I think it is time the media made an effort to hold the government to account. Writing fluff pieces about Jacinda meeting Anne Hathaway and possums at Premier House just doesn’t cut it. 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rdytdy 5,343 Report post Posted October 7, 2018 Why does this horrible woman keep popping up? More taxpayers money down the dunny. Helen Clark promoting Helen Clark by Deb Andrea Vance reports on Stuff: Quote: Cocktail parties and wine-fuelled film screenings to promote a Helen Clark documentary to foreign VIPs have cost taxpayers more than $33,000. End of quote. Wow, $33,000. That’s a lot of school lunches. I guess fixing child poverty isn’t such a high priority after all. Quote: Embassies around the world have been hosting events with the former PM to show off My Year With Helen, a fly-on-the-wall film about her failed bid for the top job at the United Nations. The hospitality bill comes on top of the $870,000 taxpayer-funded NZ on Air and the Film Commission contributed to make the film. End of quote. So we’ve already stumped up close on $900k towards making the documentary, about Helen’s bid for the UN which was a failure, and now we are putting our hands in our pocket for another $33k for cocktail parties to re-live the failure. Quote: […] “Some travel and accommodation assistance has been provided to Ms Clark and Ms Preston,” a spokeswoman for MFAT said. “The Ministry has procedures in place to ensure that the allocation of funding to support our public diplomacy efforts is well-directed and well-managed, including where overseas travel by former Prime Ministers can be of assistance in supporting New Zealand’s interests.” End of quote. Really? Promoting New Zealand’s interests? I just don’t see how showing the documentary of a failed UN bid can be seen to promote New Zealand’s interests. Helen Clark’s interests are more like it. Quote: She added: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has supported the promotion of the film My Year With Helen in a number of countries because of the valuable role the film, supported by the availability of Ms Clark, can play in promoting New Zealand’s interests. As a former Prime Minister and Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ms Clark has a high global profile, and her availability when the film is shown and at associated events has attracted the attendance of senior government and non-government guests.” End of quote. Oh, except in Turkey, where no ministers bothered to show. Quote: Not all the events were as successful as they hoped. Only half the theatre in Ankara was filled and no Turkish ministers appeared, as it was the height of an election campaign. End of quote. Sounds like money well spent then. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack 431 Report post Posted October 7, 2018 19 minutes ago, rdytdy said: Pretty weak Jack by the left wing media we have. Read this and get some perspective or do just want fluffies about nothing also. Why the media beat-up on Simon Bridges? by Christie "https://i1.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Simon-Bridges.jpg?resize=630%2C355&ssl=1" "https://i1.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Simon-Bridges.jpg?resize=630%2C355&ssl=1 https://i1.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Simon-Bridges.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 https://i1.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Simon-Bridges.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 https://i1.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Simon-Bridges.jpg?w=828&ssl=1 ... Hey Ted , Whaleoil is the Right-Wing Blogger for The National Party ... Flufflies aside he and christie ain `t MSM , just Right-wing Propaganda Advocates ... Have A Nice Day Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,343 Report post Posted October 8, 2018 9 hours ago, jack said: ... Hey Ted , Whaleoil is the Right-Wing Blogger for The National Party ... Flufflies aside he and christie ain `t MSM , just Right-wing Propaganda Advocates ... Have A Nice Day Despite what you think not true. Do some research and find out what has been written about John Key and Bill English and now Simon Bridges. Hardly ringing endorsements Your princess is completely out of her depth as has been show over the past year. Tell us exactly what she has achieved. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,343 Report post Posted October 8, 2018 Never mind Jack not a lot it seems: Government’s honeymoon just about over by Christie <img class="aligncenter wp-image-409466 size-full" src="https://i2.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Jacinda-Ardern.jpg?resize=619%2C349&ssl=1" alt="" width="619" height="349" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Jacinda-Ardern.jpg?w=619&ssl=1 619w, https://i2.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Jacinda-Ardern.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i2.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Jacinda-Ardern.jpg?resize=480%2C270&ssl=1 480w" sizes="(max-width: 619px) 100vw, 619px" data-recalc-dims="1"/> In the 2018 Herald Mood of the Boardroom survey, business leaders have had their chance to rate the new government, and in spite of some in the media trying to put a positive spin on it, the results are not spectacular at all. A newspaper reports: quote: The Coalition has worked to expectations according to 59 per cent of survey respondents; 15 per cent feel it is working even better than expected. end quote. Of course, no one is saying what those expectations were. It is quite possible that some business leaders expected things to be really bad with this government, and are therefore not surprised by anything they do. Although how anyone could have expected the blindside to the oil and gas industry is beyond me. quote: Several respondents throughout the survey have suggested they expected the influence of NZ First and Winston Peters would be problematic. But others point to NZ First as a potentially moderating influence when it comes to acknowledging the harmful impact on business confidence from union-led employment law reforms. Chen Palmer managing partner Mai Chen points out the Coalition Government is leading innovations like the Wellbeing Budget and climate change initiatives which will change the focus of the country for the better. end quote. We can already see how the government that is bringing kindness back is working out. No houses, homeless people dying on the street and Jacinda hiring a PR company to follow her around New York. Is that the kind of wellbeing they mean? quote. “I didn’t have great expectations, so although they aren’t doing a good job, actually they are doing better than I thought they would,” says GlaxoSmithKline NZ general manager Anna Stove. end quote. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, is it? quote. Chief executives recognise a new government brings with it speed bumps. But says a banking boss,”I’m surprised at how little depth and capability there is.” “There is not enough experience in the Cabinet. While they have great ideas, there are some very basic mistakes happening which don’t give much confidence at this stage,” says a consulting firm head. end quote. Speed bumps, yes but they should be up to speed by now. They have been in government for a year, and have achieved almost nothing. quote. A healthcare boss said his hopes were not high to begin with: “Unfortunately this is one thing they have delivered on. “We need them to provide certainty on various aspects and engage properly with the business community.” end quote. It is all due to the fact that business hates Labour governments. Didn’t you know that? . “Too many committees — not enough action” was the message from CEOs, over the Coalition’s rising number of working groups. “We are waiting for outcomes from working groups set up to review numerous policy initiatives,” says a legal chief. end quote. Yes. The number of working groups provides increasing uncertainty. No one knows what they will come up with, and different groups will report at different times, with the probability of conflicts in some areas. quote: “The Coalition Agreement is clear around a range of outputs,” says NZ Local Government Funding Agency chair Craig Stobo. “What is uncertain is everything else that arises outside that agreement!” But making decisions without adequate consultation — such as the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration — had unsettled business, and created uncertainty in a way that was not anticipated by business leaders in the early days of the Government. There is also concern the Coalition has too many initiatives and “feel good positions” — rather than tangible, clear positions. end quote. Funny how they can simply blindside an entire industry with one ‘captain’s call’, but everything else requires a myriad of working groups, all beavering way for months on end. quote: “This Government came into office with hugely ambitious goals, particularly in the social space. “However, they have allowed expectations to develop on how quickly they can deliver, which is creating pressure and leading to a number of fumbles,” says a residential construction CEO. end quote. When you run an election campaign on building 10,000 much-needed houses a year, there is an expectation that you will deliver. It is now obvious that this government is going to fail to deliver just about everything that they promised – unless those promises were made to unions. It is time for the media to actually start holding the government to account. They are not performing, and it is high time that the media started to report on it. It is good to see that the business community is not fooled. Even though the only reason that their confidence is down is because they hate Labour governments… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,343 Report post Posted October 8, 2018 The hypocrisy of Jacinda Ardern by Christie It is a terrible shame that many politicians will not sign up to good policies because they dislike the people championing them. The latest example of this is one that our prime minister should be deeply ashamed of, but ideology always trumps policy (pun absolutely intended) with this shambles of a government. Stuff has published an article, written by Damien Grant on Jacinda’s drug policy. quote: One of what I consider to be the most irresponsible pieces of journalism in this country occurred in 2014 when John Campbell led then Minister Peter Dunne around Naenae to witness the harm done by the sale of synthetic cannabis. Dunne, who now appears to support cannabis legislation, rushed through a legislative change to ban the manufacture of these products. Well done to all concerned. The legitimate manufactures left the industry, and the back-yard cooks rushed to fill the vacuum. According to the coroner between 40 and 45 people died in the last year as a result. end quote. And getting worse by all accounts. That is the trouble with prohibition. quote: Meanwhile, our Prime Minister, basking in the glory of the international media, thumbed her nose at the American plan to expand the decades-long failure that is the War on Drugs, preferring a ‘health approach’ to the issue. Excellent. Perhaps she can have a chat with her Health Minister David Clark who wants to re-classify synthetic cannabis as a class A drug. end quote. Jacinda just refuses to sign up to anything promoted by Donald Trump. The fact that his policy just might work and the drug problem could be reduced for millions of people, including many New Zealanders, doesn’t bother her in the slightest. If it is Trump policy, then she won’t support it. The policy requires the countries which sign up to develop plans to reduce the demand for illicit drugs, cut off supply at their borders and strengthen international cooperation. Can’t see anything wrong with that. But Jacinda hates Trump. So we will do nothing to cut off supply at the borders or to work with other countries to reduce drug supply and all of our addicts can just go to hell in a handcart. quote: If a drug is legal, someone like Pfizer will make it. Your children will take it. They will get sick, but in the morning you can collect them from the hospital rather than the morgue. When they become illegal respectable firms leave the industry, and unscrupulous and incompetent cooks produce batches of illicit poison. end quote. Yep. That is exactly what happens. Prohibition never actually stops anything but it sure works well for opportunists. quote: Both Peter Dunne and Helen Clark argue for legislation once they no longer need to face the electorate and anyone who’s spent over a quarter of a century covering current affairs should understand this basic truth. While in the United States, Ardern spoke of a new style of leadership. Fine. But saying one thing on the international stage while practising something else isn’t leadership. It is hypocrisy. end quote. Total hypocrisy. But hypocrisy is one thing that this government is really strong on. quote: Now that John Campbell once again has a bully pulpit worthy of his talents, perhaps he can revisit this issue and try to atone for the incalculable harm his foray into Naenae caused. end quote. I doubt that John Campbell realised the damage his article would eventually do. I did watch that video and it was clear that having ‘legal highs’ being sold in a busy shopping centre was doing nothing for the community, which I think was his point. He probably never thought the whole thing through. But it is not John Campbell that disgusts me, it is our prime minister who, because of her venal hatred of Trump has pretended that she has a better system of dealing with the drug problem in New Zealand. She doesn’t. She just doesn’t want to sign up to the Global Call to Action on the World Drug Problem because Donald Trump initiated it. No other reason. That tells you everything you need to know about our vain, vacuous prime minister. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,343 Report post Posted October 8, 2018 Homeless man dies on Auckland street by Christie <img class="aligncenter wp-image-413598 size-full" src="https://i1.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/homeless-man.jpg?resize=610%2C343&ssl=1" alt="" width="610" height="343" srcset="https://i1.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/homeless-man.jpg?w=610&ssl=1 610w, https://i1.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/homeless-man.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i1.wp.com/www.whaleoil.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/homeless-man.jpg?resize=480%2C270&ssl=1 480w" sizes="(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px" data-recalc-dims="1"/> TVNZ reports: quote: A homeless man who died alone on the streets of Auckland is understood to have been kicked out of Australia just months before his death. The Australian Border Force will not confirm his deportation for privacy reasons and New Zealand immigration authorities said they did not hold any information. But those who knew Gregory Cameron, 57, said Australian Immigration dumped him at Auckland Airport with nothing. end quote. Once they have boarded the plane, Australia has no further responsibility for deportees to New Zealand. But, in this government of kindness, why is there no state help for people who have recently been sent back here, many of whom have no family or support base in New Zealand? quote: Police confirmed they attended a sudden death of a 57-year-old man on Tangihua Street on Monday night. Other homeless people in the area said Mr Cameron had not been living on the street for long and he died of pneumonia. end quote. Other homeless people? Why are there any homeless people in New Zealand at all? If you are wondering why I am asking that question, then you need to cast your mind back to May this year. An extreme far left newspaper (article published 4 May 2018) reports: quote: The New Zealand government has promised to get the country’s homeless population off the streets and into shelter in time for winter. In a joint announcement on Friday, housing minister Phil Twyford and prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced a NZ$100m emergency housing package to tackle the ballooning problem. An estimated 40,000 people live in cars, tents and garages amid a chronic housing shortage in the nation of 4.7 million people. “We’re pulling out all the stops to support people in need and urgently increase housing supply this winter,” said housing minister Phil Twyford. “Our government will make sure everyone is helped to find warm, dry housing this winter.” end quote. I see this policy has worked just about as well as all the others, particularly those that Twyford is involved in. His Kiwibuild programme to build 10,000 houses a year is building ski chalets in Wanaka, and not a single house has been finished yet. The policy to provide at least temporary shelter for all homeless people is clearly working out well too. quote: New Zealand has the highest rates of homelessness in the OECD, with more than 40,000 people living on the streets, in emergency housing or in substandard conditions. Per capita New Zealand’s homeless population is almost twice as bad as Australia, which is placed third on the list. More than half of New Zealand’s homeless population live in Auckland but it is also growing in smaller cities such as Rotorua, Tauranga, Queenstown and Wellington. “We’ve really made a plea today, any marae, any seasonal housing that might be available, please contact us, we’ll work alongside you,” said Ardern. end quote. I see that this policy has worked out well for Greg Cameron, hasn’t it? This government is a total disgrace. They make these noble announcements, the media praises them incessantly, then they walk away from the cameras and forget all about it. Because the media fawns over them all the time and writes nothing but fluff pieces, nobody ever bothers to do any investigations into whether or not they actually bother to keep their promises. Clearly they have failed miserably on this one. This is the government that is supposed to be bringing kindness back but the project to rehouse the homeless had to be put in hold because Jacinda needed a PR group to follow her around New York at the taxpayers’ expense. Oh, and she needed a private plane to fly her to Nauru because she was breastfeeding. You can see what her priorities are and, in spite of what they say, looking after the homeless is clearly not one of them. chevy86 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohokaman 5,844 Report post Posted October 8, 2018 Now they are going to act because the NZ motorist is being "ripped off by the oil companies." Probably true, but adding their own fuel taxes has hardly helped the average Joe has it ? Talk about cynical. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,343 Report post Posted October 8, 2018 The heat is going on them because of the prices and she is trying to deflect the blame. Probably get another working group. Fuel taxes, gst and a weakening NZ dollar (wonder who has caused that). Mirror mirror on the wall is where you should be looking Cindy. Catalano 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crustyngrizzly 1,702 Report post Posted October 8, 2018 With this move she can now be labelled a '''populist politician'''' along with Winnie. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,343 Report post Posted October 8, 2018 11 hours ago, Ohokaman said: Now they are going to act because the NZ motorist is being "ripped off by the oil companies." Probably true, but adding their own fuel taxes has hardly helped the average Joe has it ? Talk about cynical. Government ‘concerned’ about petrol prices… by Christie The government that increased petrol prices significantly by imposing fuel levies in July has decided to rush through legislation to look into petrol price margins… you seriously could not make this stuff up. Stuff reports: quote: The Government will rush through changes to the Commerce Act to allow the competition watchdog to investigate the margins on fuel, as the pump price hits a record high. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the move at her post-cabinet press conference, saying consumers were being “fleeced” at the pump. end quote. Yes. Like the unfortunate sheep that we are, we are being fleeced all right. We are being fleeced by this government – first of all, because of their fuel levies and GST, and secondly by an incompetent government that has caused a fall in business confidence which has flowed on to a dollar that has dropped significantly, causing further hikes in the price of imported fuel. And don’t forget the decimation of our own oil industry. It may not be directly responsible for this, but it definitely doesn’t help. They are also a government that hates business, so it must all be the fault of the fuel companies. quote: The previously-announced legislation will be passed in the first two weeks of sitting in late-October. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will then nominate that the retail fuel industry is the first to be investigated by the Commerce Commission. end quote. The thing is, we have been here before, it is nothing more than a cynical move by the princess to take the heat off the government by pretending they are going to do something about it. They won’t. quote: “The study I anticipate will report back next year and I will prioritise a response to it,” Ardern said. end quote. Next year? Will that be January? July? November? See what I mean? It is months away. quote: “I am hugely concerned at the level of price that consumers are currently paying at the pump for fuel.” end quote. Then roll back the petrol taxes. That will make a big difference and do something about the falling dollar because that will make a big difference too. quote: “In 2008 we had one of the lowest pre-tax costs for fuel in the OECD. Today we have the highest in the OECD.” end quote. We also have the highest rate of fuel taxes and levies that we have ever had. Funny how that just gets brushed aside. quote: Ardern said the importer margin on petrol climbed from 7 per cent of the price of petrol in 2008 to 16 per cent in early 2018. “That increase represents a transfer of wealth from petrol consumers to producers to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year,” Ardern said. end quote. 2008 was the beginning of the GFC. Everything was in freefall. What about the ‘transfer of wealth’ to a government that is robbing us blind? Nothing to see here. Move along. quote: “Consumers, in my book, are being fleeced.” end quote. Oh yes, we are, Princess, and it is not just by the fuel companies. quote: National leader Simon Bridges described the move as “yet another inquiry” and called on the Government to axe its fuel tax increases. “She’s saying consumers are being ‘fleeced’ while her Government is driving up fuel prices and taking hundreds of dollars from Kiwi households through higher taxes on fuel.” Bridges added that “National supports another look at the practices of fuel companies”. end quote. Don’t forget, that as fuel prices rise, so does the GST take on petrol as it is charged at 15% of the final pump price. This all represents an unexpected windfall to the government. Jacinda is very good at talking the talk, but that is the only thing she can do. She held a press conference, looked concerned, pretended she cared, and then walked away and the results won’t be known for months on end. This is the government that is bringing kindness back. The trouble is, those on low incomes will never benefit from it. Maybe she is looking at nationalising the fuel companies. That worked really well in Venezuela, didn’t it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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