RaceCafe..#1...Tipsters Thread.... Share Your Fancies For Fun...Lets See Who The Best Tipsters Here Are.
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Jacinda Ardern

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1 hour ago, tripple alliance said:

Sorry people but a name change is going to happen . The name Crusader is like a bulls eye on the players backs .

Anyone game to get on a plane full of crusaders ? . 

Or Warriors, or Chiefs or Highlanders....??  Duh.....:rcf-sick-1:

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1 hour ago, Ohokaman said:

Or Warriors, or Chiefs or Highlanders....??  Duh.....:rcf-sick-1:

No those names have no religious connotations , the name Crusader does to millions of Muslims .

Education time .

The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups. In all, eight major Crusade expeditions occurred between 1096 and 1291. The bloody, violent and often ruthless conflicts propelled the status of European Christians, making them major players in the fight for land in the Middle East.

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1 hour ago, tripple alliance said:

No those names have no religious connotations , the name Crusader does to millions of Muslims .

Education time .

The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups. In all, eight major Crusade expeditions occurred between 1096 and 1291. The bloody, violent and often ruthless conflicts propelled the status of European Christians, making them major players in the fight for land in the Middle East.

They are all related to bloody killers of one type or another so are relevant.

How long ago were the Crusades for fuck sake.....???!!

No one has had a problem with the name since the franchise was formed....leave it alone.

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13 minutes ago, Ohokaman said:

They are all related to bloody killers of one type or another so are relevant.

How long ago were the Crusades for fuck sake.....???!!

No one has had a problem with the name since the franchise was formed....leave it alone.

Yep , expert killers and history is not forgotten , the rivalry still exists for many .

What you really mean is no one in NZ has had a problem with the name , the rest were unaware of the name until CH CH , that's all changed .

Just look at the security that was a necessity today , that's certainly a change and at Anzac Cove today , massive security , it's there because it's needed .

The unfortunate reality is there are huge dangers out there so why invite disaster , how many dead in Sri Lanka , close to 400 , you can fit 400 plus the Crusaders on one plane , I  wouldn't get on a plane with them , would you . 

 

 

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National has to make some major changes

by GP
 
bridge.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1 Cartoon credit: BoomSlang

Matthew Hooton’s article in a newspaper entitled Jacinda Ardern on track for triumph in 2020 makes for interesting reading. While his numerical facts cannot be argued some of his other comments are open to debate.

Matthew makes the point that Jacinda’s absolute rejection of a Capital Gains Tax is the reason she will romp to victory in 2020. Does Matthew expect us to believe that this woman of mediocre intelligence became an Albert Einstein overnight and decided to make one of her Captain’s Calls to ditch it?

Is he saying that Winston had nothing to do with the decision? Does he not think that but for Winston she would have brought it in? It was one of her flagship policies. As other commentators have noted, this is a big blow to her credibility.

Another point he makes is that as more centre voters realise National’s position is hopeless either Winston Peters or Shane Jones will be able to say that a vote for NZF will help to eliminate the Greens and their policies. While it would be great to eliminate the Greens the reality is that they are able to do little more than prop up the Coalition of Losers. Hardly any of their policies are being implemented.

Matthew also rightly points out that National can say that a vote for NZF is a vote for the Labour party. My view is that this will resonate more with the voters after what happened in 2017. Also part of the equation is how much trust Winston has lost among those who voted for NZF at the last election.

Matthew says Ardern never needed Winston’s support to promote a CGT in 2020. That may be correct, but we sure as heck needed him to stop it. My beef is that he didn’t put the nail in the coffin at the very start. What was going on behind the scenes? Winston could have saved the millions wasted on what was a pointless exercise.

A further point Matthew makes is that Ardern’s decision to permanently abandon the idea suggests that she recognises that, for all her popularity and ability to emote, she does not have the knowledge, background, intellect or skill to win a contentious policy debate. I CAN’T ARGUE WITH THAT! However, that comment would have to rate as the most depressingly accurate comment of this year.

If that comment is accurate then it means that most people in this country are happy to vote for a person lacking in all the necessary requirements to carry out her duties. In other words, the most hopeless PM we have ever had. And she is being paid how much? Matthew has managed to highlight what a debacle this is.

Matthew says the decision indicates that she intends more to preside over her own position than to take risks to emulate, Jim Bolger, Robert Muldoon or David Lange in building a policy legacy of some sort – whether substantial infrastructure investment, major social or economic reform or historic moves on race relations.

He says that her every utterance is devoid of content and that her government has no meaningful policy programme and that is how the median voter likes it.  If that is true as regards the median voter then we as a country will just drift along led by a totally incompetent, virtue signalling, photo op, dress up, snowflake person in charge. This is a frightening prospect, a potential nightmare of epic economic proportions.

back-to-the-kitchen.gif?resize=630%2C630 Cartoon credit: SonovaMin

While Matthew’s bleak prognostications might prove correct, I have somewhat more faith in the electorate than he does. We are just over halfway through the current electoral cycle and, as the saying goes, a week is a long time in politics. There is no guarantee that NZF or the Greens will be in the next Parliament.

Nevertheless National has to make some major changes in order for it to become a much more effective opposition. If National fails to do this we stand to be as doomed as Matthew suggests. Heaven forbid!

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1 hour ago, rdytdy said:

National has to make some major changes

by GP
 
bridge.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1 Cartoon credit: BoomSlang

Matthew Hooton’s article in a newspaper entitled Jacinda Ardern on track for triumph in 2020 makes for interesting reading. While his numerical facts cannot be argued some of his other comments are open to debate.

Matthew makes the point that Jacinda’s absolute rejection of a Capital Gains Tax is the reason she will romp to victory in 2020. Does Matthew expect us to believe that this woman of mediocre intelligence became an Albert Einstein overnight and decided to make one of her Captain’s Calls to ditch it?

Is he saying that Winston had nothing to do with the decision? Does he not think that but for Winston she would have brought it in? It was one of her flagship policies. As other commentators have noted, this is a big blow to her credibility.

Another point he makes is that as more centre voters realise National’s position is hopeless either Winston Peters or Shane Jones will be able to say that a vote for NZF will help to eliminate the Greens and their policies. While it would be great to eliminate the Greens the reality is that they are able to do little more than prop up the Coalition of Losers. Hardly any of their policies are being implemented.

Matthew also rightly points out that National can say that a vote for NZF is a vote for the Labour party. My view is that this will resonate more with the voters after what happened in 2017. Also part of the equation is how much trust Winston has lost among those who voted for NZF at the last election.

Matthew says Ardern never needed Winston’s support to promote a CGT in 2020. That may be correct, but we sure as heck needed him to stop it. My beef is that he didn’t put the nail in the coffin at the very start. What was going on behind the scenes? Winston could have saved the millions wasted on what was a pointless exercise.

A further point Matthew makes is that Ardern’s decision to permanently abandon the idea suggests that she recognises that, for all her popularity and ability to emote, she does not have the knowledge, background, intellect or skill to win a contentious policy debate. I CAN’T ARGUE WITH THAT! However, that comment would have to rate as the most depressingly accurate comment of this year.

If that comment is accurate then it means that most people in this country are happy to vote for a person lacking in all the necessary requirements to carry out her duties. In other words, the most hopeless PM we have ever had. And she is being paid how much? Matthew has managed to highlight what a debacle this is.

Matthew says the decision indicates that she intends more to preside over her own position than to take risks to emulate, Jim Bolger, Robert Muldoon or David Lange in building a policy legacy of some sort – whether substantial infrastructure investment, major social or economic reform or historic moves on race relations.

He says that her every utterance is devoid of content and that her government has no meaningful policy programme and that is how the median voter likes it.  If that is true as regards the median voter then we as a country will just drift along led by a totally incompetent, virtue signalling, photo op, dress up, snowflake person in charge. This is a frightening prospect, a potential nightmare of epic economic proportions.

back-to-the-kitchen.gif?resize=630%2C630 Cartoon credit: SonovaMin

While Matthew’s bleak prognostications might prove correct, I have somewhat more faith in the electorate than he does. We are just over halfway through the current electoral cycle and, as the saying goes, a week is a long time in politics. There is no guarantee that NZF or the Greens will be in the next Parliament.

Nevertheless National has to make some major changes in order for it to become a much more effective opposition. If National fails to do this we stand to be as doomed as Matthew suggests. Heaven forbid!

Take a look across the Tasman , Shortin was crusing to victory and then along came Scott Morrison , the decision to dump Turnbull and promote Morrison was spot on .

Morrison has Shortin on the ropes , as of last night the polls are getting very close and it's almost panic time for Labor , watch for the lefty screaming to start .

Morrison is brilliant in front of the camera which is where Bridges is failing badly , if your not liked on TV you are doomed , Bridges is clearly not liked on TV.  The fact is National should win by a landslide next time , everything cindys lot is doing is failing badly but without the right  person fronting National they will have a challenge to beat her .

National is still polling over 40% but Bridges is struggling at 5% , imagine what's going to happen if the National leader was on 35%   Bridges times up , get someone who has appeal on TV and it's bye bye cindy

 

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4 hours ago, rdytdy said:

National has to make some major changes

by GP
 
bridge.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1 Cartoon credit: BoomSlang

Matthew Hooton’s article in a newspaper entitled Jacinda Ardern on track for triumph in 2020 makes for interesting reading. While his numerical facts cannot be argued some of his other comments are open to debate.

Matthew makes the point that Jacinda’s absolute rejection of a Capital Gains Tax is the reason she will romp to victory in 2020. Does Matthew expect us to believe that this woman of mediocre intelligence became an Albert Einstein overnight and decided to make one of her Captain’s Calls to ditch it?

Is he saying that Winston had nothing to do with the decision? Does he not think that but for Winston she would have brought it in? It was one of her flagship policies. As other commentators have noted, this is a big blow to her credibility.

Another point he makes is that as more centre voters realise National’s position is hopeless either Winston Peters or Shane Jones will be able to say that a vote for NZF will help to eliminate the Greens and their policies. While it would be great to eliminate the Greens the reality is that they are able to do little more than prop up the Coalition of Losers. Hardly any of their policies are being implemented.

Matthew also rightly points out that National can say that a vote for NZF is a vote for the Labour party. My view is that this will resonate more with the voters after what happened in 2017. Also part of the equation is how much trust Winston has lost among those who voted for NZF at the last election.

Matthew says Ardern never needed Winston’s support to promote a CGT in 2020. That may be correct, but we sure as heck needed him to stop it. My beef is that he didn’t put the nail in the coffin at the very start. What was going on behind the scenes? Winston could have saved the millions wasted on what was a pointless exercise.

A further point Matthew makes is that Ardern’s decision to permanently abandon the idea suggests that she recognises that, for all her popularity and ability to emote, she does not have the knowledge, background, intellect or skill to win a contentious policy debate. I CAN’T ARGUE WITH THAT! However, that comment would have to rate as the most depressingly accurate comment of this year.

If that comment is accurate then it means that most people in this country are happy to vote for a person lacking in all the necessary requirements to carry out her duties. In other words, the most hopeless PM we have ever had. And she is being paid how much? Matthew has managed to highlight what a debacle this is.

Matthew says the decision indicates that she intends more to preside over her own position than to take risks to emulate, Jim Bolger, Robert Muldoon or David Lange in building a policy legacy of some sort – whether substantial infrastructure investment, major social or economic reform or historic moves on race relations.

He says that her every utterance is devoid of content and that her government has no meaningful policy programme and that is how the median voter likes it.  If that is true as regards the median voter then we as a country will just drift along led by a totally incompetent, virtue signalling, photo op, dress up, snowflake person in charge. This is a frightening prospect, a potential nightmare of epic economic proportions.

back-to-the-kitchen.gif?resize=630%2C630 Cartoon credit: SonovaMin

While Matthew’s bleak prognostications might prove correct, I have somewhat more faith in the electorate than he does. We are just over halfway through the current electoral cycle and, as the saying goes, a week is a long time in politics. There is no guarantee that NZF or the Greens will be in the next Parliament.

Nevertheless National has to make some major changes in order for it to become a much more effective opposition. If National fails to do this we stand to be as doomed as Matthew suggests. Heaven forbid!

Matthew 'says....Natz shill forever.

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Donald the friend & Jacinda the kind and fair

by Suze o
 
DonJac.jpg Image credit: Boondecker

Both leaders signalled their virtues in the lead up to possible re-election in 2020.

If you’ve watched Donald Trump in front of a crowd, he invariably describes those close to him as friends. He?s a friend of fellow politicians, colleagues, staff and other world leaders. Important people are always his friends.

It might seem sort of sweet and appealing until you realise that friendliness disguises powerful negotiating skills, honed over years of hammering out deals in boardrooms – and he is justifiably proud of them. His friendliness is actually a ploy to get what he wants. It’s not that he?s deliberately deceptive, friendliness is crucial in sealing a deal. Trump lives and breathes to make deals and his success in US trade, defense and business growth is probably because he runs the country as if it is his own personal business.

Trump recently described Chinese President Xi as his friend. They are in the middle of negotiating new trade deals so, on one hand, they are rivals and on the other, friends. I have some sympathy for the Chinese president because Trump is simply relentless. He never gives up and setbacks see him march back to the drawing board to figure out a workaround. He?s tough.

Jacinda Ardern talks a lot about ?fairness? and ?kindness? but has difficulty demonstrating those fine qualities.

After the Christchurch mosque attacks, she showed ?kindness? toward Muslims by donning a headscarf which was an ?unkind? gesture to overseas Muslim women in repressed cultures. Then she offended Christians, proud of their Christian heritage, by blasting a Muslim prayer through parliament that stated that Allah is the one true God. She may be blithely unaware of these two unkindnesses but it’s her business to do her homework.

Ardern said the CGT would bring ?fairness? to our tax system, until the Tax Working Group recommendations showed those disadvantaged in our tax system would be further disadvantaged by a CGT. 

The disconnect between Ardern?s self-proclaimed traits and her inability to demonstrate them compromises her credibility. She makes us nervous because what she says is not what we get.

Aside from vying for renewed leadership next year there?s little else these two have in common.

Trump is a battle-hardened negotiator, relentless and extremely agile on his feet. In contrast, Ardern mumbles aimlessly through interviews because she delegated the tough stuff to others and can’t quite get her head around it.

Trump is transparent, his motives very clear and his policies consistent – it?s always ?America First.? With Ardern, it’s hard to know exactly what she stands for, with policies all over the place and promises not kept.

We don’t need very much in a new leader to beat what we’ve currently got. Someone with a smidgen of Trump’s backbone and skill could do it, but unfortunately, political talent is thin on the ground here.

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Shit Ted you have cut and pasted some crap but the above is in fantasy land. 

Poor old Simple Simon they claim that the  Tories  need a dishonest liar like Trump. I wouldn't even put Crusher in that category.

 

 

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On 4/25/2019 at 8:50 PM, tripple alliance said:

Yep , expert killers and history is not forgotten , the rivalry still exists for many .

What you really mean is no one in NZ has had a problem with the name , the rest were unaware of the name until CH CH , that's all changed .

Just look at the security that was a necessity today , that's certainly a change and at Anzac Cove today , massive security , it's there because it's needed .

The unfortunate reality is there are huge dangers out there so why invite disaster , how many dead in Sri Lanka , close to 400 , you can fit 400 plus the Crusaders on one plane , I  wouldn't get on a plane with them , would you . 

 

 

So, in that case, its not safe for the crusaders or any All Black that is a crusader to fly overseas at all. Isis has been gotten rid of in Syria and now merged all over the world with Refugees so the attacks are going to ramp up world wide,too dangerous for our Rugby players to go anywhere. Do you really think changing their name is going to make them safe?

 

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8 hours ago, Midget said:

So, in that case, its not safe for the crusaders or any All Black that is a crusader to fly overseas at all. Isis has been gotten rid of in Syria and now merged all over the world with Refugees so the attacks are going to ramp up world wide,too dangerous for our Rugby players to go anywhere. Do you really think changing their name is going to make them safe?

 

Make what you like of this but don't confuse the All Blacks with the Crusaders , there's a big difference when the media reports the All Blacks are arriving or the Crusaders are arriving .

I'm sure the threat of isis is real , so why make a target of yourself , a name change is disappointing and seems to be an attack on freedoms but sometimes a little pragmatism is wise .

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Well well the cindy failures continue .

Pike River , she's off to have a feed with the locals tomorrow , this was to be a triumphant moment  , we are in , aren't I great , I know you all love me those naughty Nats were telling you porkies bla bla bla .

O crap we have to delay ,  I  can't back out now , a mouse must have nibbled on a hose or something , the reading we are receiving show it's not safe down there , where have I heard that before ?? .

 

  Little tells us it isn't SAFE , that's what we were told 7/8 years ago .Todays events confirm one thing , IT'S NOT SAFE DOWN THERE it's highly unstable and highly unpredictable , that's another $50 million down the drain .

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Yeh and Key told the relatives that he would get the miners out. When Erebus occurred there was a massive cost to recover the bodies which we rightly spent to return the dead to their loved ones. $50M spent on Pike River is far better spent than Key's flag folly of $27M.

Even with soldiers killed in Asia,  The Tories refused to bring bodies home, the miserable arseholes.

 

 

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24 minutes ago, bloke said:

Yeh and Key told the relatives that he would get the miners out. When Erebus occurred there was a massive cost to recover the bodies which we rightly spent to return the dead to their loved ones. $50M spent on Pike River is far better spent than Key's flag folly of $27M.

Even with soldiers killed in Asia,  The Tories refused to bring bodies home, the miserable arseholes.

 

 

First , where was winne when the delay was announced , lined up at the entrance with his back pack on I  suppose .

Now let's have some truth. Prime Minister John Key says the Government is willing to pay for an operation to recover the remains of 29 miners from the Pike River mine if it is credible and safe.  "We've never been presented with a proposal that's been credible in terms of safety," Mr Key said. "There's a lot of theories about what's possible and what's not in Pike River."  

So Bloke , safe and credible is still be the problem today . This was just union / labour politics , part of an election strategy , this is what Little thought of the situation before he became a politician .

'' After the first explosion the EPMU strongly defended the management of PRC.
EPMU National secretary Andrew Little (now a Labour MP)  told the New Zealand Herald on November 22  2010 that  there was "nothing unusual about Pike River or this mine that we’ve been particularly concerned about".

He told Close Up that underground mining was inherently unsafe and the risk of gas explosions, particularly on the West Coast, was high.
While the industry was aware of the risks and took the necessary precautions, unfortunately these kinds of incidents still happened, he argued.

On November 26, 2010 the Dominion Post  ran an article that denounced 'wild' rumours that the mine was not safe. It declared  that  "Any suggestion of obvious or known safety lapses does not find traction with unionised staff or union leader Andrew Little."

 
little2.jpeg

 

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Yes it has to be safe but Key did  make the unconditional  promise to recover the bodies in the days after the disaster. However,The Tories were mindful that any recovery may point the finger at their Government so did not put in much of an effort and they just wanted it to go away. The Tories will be shitting themselves that something will be disclosed from the mine.

The crooked Minister of Finance, Bill English who channelled rental income that he was not entitled to through his family Trust told the SOE that it needed to make bigger profits so they expanded at rapid pace and  went broke as well as building Pike River.  That useless prick English has to take some blame for what occurred.

 

 

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12 minutes ago, bloke said:

Yes it has to be safe but Key did  make the unconditional  promise to recover the bodies in the days after the disaster. However,The Tories were mindful that any recovery may point the finger at their Government so did not put in much of an effort and they just wanted it to go away. The Tories will be shitting themselves that something will be disclosed from the mine.

The crooked Minister of Finance, Bill English who channelled rental income that he was not entitled to through his family Trust told the SOE that it needed to make bigger profits so they expanded at rapid pace and  went broke as well as building Pike River.  That useless prick English has to take some blame for what occurred.

 

 

So you are saying Key said we will get them out no matter what the risk , Bloke this has been disproven , a few pieces left out of what he actually said , just more politics .

Now a few facts , this mine was approved and consented by Labour , May 2003 , it was a private company , nothing to do with any government . Government owned Solid energy took over the mine after the disaster , they bought it to make it possible for an attempt to recover the bodies , you can thank Key for that .

The sale of Pike River mine to state owned coal company Solid Energy has been welcomed by the West Coast community as a "giant step" towards retrieving the bodies of the 29 miners, trapped underground since the explosion in November 2010. 

An emotional Bernie Monk, spokesman for the families of the Pike River dead who lost his 23-year-old son Michael in the disaster, was "excited" by the sale decision.

He said today it brought families closer to recovering the bodies of the men inside the mine. 

 

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29 minutes ago, bloke said:

Yes it has to be safe but Key did  make the unconditional  promise to recover the bodies in the days after the disaster. However,The Tories were mindful that any recovery may point the finger at their Government so did not put in much of an effort and they just wanted it to go away. The Tories will be shitting themselves that something will be disclosed from the mine.

The crooked Minister of Finance, Bill English who channelled rental income that he was not entitled to through his family Trust told the SOE that it needed to make bigger profits so they expanded at rapid pace and  went broke as well as building Pike River.  That useless prick English has to take some blame for what occurred.

 

 

Wrong again Bloke as TA has shown above.

It was after the second explosion and subsequent expert advice that Key made the (correct) decision not to re-enter the mine due to safety concerns. 

Perhaps instead of pointing the finger at National for the disaster you had better turn it towards your mate Andrew Little. His role as head of the union and his public statements that the union had no concerns about safety at the mine despite the miners there telling the union differently.  Don't you think there is a conflict of interest of Little being "Head" of the Labour recovery team after he did nothing beforehand to ensure safety at the mine.

This attempted re-entry is entirely politically motivated.  I will ask the question, who will be held accountable if someone is subsequently badly hurt or killed in the re-entry process.

The general public of NZ are against any re-entry. Just yesterday on the AM Show those against it were at 71% as are the majority of the families who lost family members. You don't hear anything in the media about them, just the ones who want someone to go in.   

  

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'''I've been out of the limelight for a week and are having to answer tough questions about policy,so i got Clarke to propose to me.Shoud keep the press away from me for some time as i will not be available at question time as i do the rounds of the Womans  magazines.''

 

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On ‎5‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 12:57 PM, Trump said:

Guys, you have to realise that “Bloke” has form when it comes to deviating from the facts. 

You have form for protecting your old  shool who harboured  a Pedo

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On ‎5‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 9:24 AM, rdytdy said:

Wrong again Bloke as TA has shown above.

It was after the second explosion and subsequent expert advice that Key made the (correct) decision not to re-enter the mine due to safety concerns. 

Perhaps instead of pointing the finger at National for the disaster you had better turn it towards your mate Andrew Little. His role as head of the union and his public statements that the union had no concerns about safety at the mine despite the miners there telling the union differently.  Don't you think there is a conflict of interest of Little being "Head" of the Labour recovery team after he did nothing beforehand to ensure safety at the mine.

This attempted re-entry is entirely politically motivated.  I will ask the question, who will be held accountable if someone is subsequently badly hurt or killed in the re-entry process.

The general public of NZ are against any re-entry. Just yesterday on the AM Show those against it were at 71% as are the majority of the families who lost family members. You don't hear anything in the media about them, just the ones who want someone to go in.   

  

Gee Ted congratulations on making some comments which are not cut and paste. Yes the re entry is politically motivated just as the decision not to go into the mine is politically motivated because the Tories were worried as to what would be found. 

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59 minutes ago, bloke said:

Gee Ted congratulations on making some comments which are not cut and paste. Yes the re entry is politically motivated just as the decision not to go into the mine is politically motivated because the Tories were worried as to what would be found. 

So what will be found?

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1 hour ago, bloke said:

Gee Ted congratulations on making some comments which are not cut and paste. Yes the re entry is politically motivated just as the decision not to go into the mine is politically motivated because the Tories were worried as to what would be found. 

Bloke , the Nat's have nothing to be worried about , this mine was approved by Labour , it was a private company , the manager has been painted as the villain but it's the trade union  as well as labour who have as plenty to answer for , the union was heavily involved in health and safety decisions at the mine , labour did nothing for 9 long years when they governed  .

Have a read .

There will be critical scrutiny of the National Government's decision to disband the mines inspectorate.

But this column is written from the Left, so my focus will be on the party of the workers; the party whose founders came from the West Coast pits around Blackball; the party of the coalminers' trade unions; the party which for nine long years did nothing to prevent the tragedy which, in such a criminally deregulated environment, was only ever a matter of time. 

Labour took control of New Zealand's state apparatus on November 27, 1999, and relinquished it on November 8, 2008.

During that time three Labour MPs held the labour portfolio: Margaret Wilson (1999-2004), Ruth Dyson (2005-07) and Trevor Mallard (2007-08).

All three of these politicians came into Parliament with strong Left-wing credentials.

And all of them, I'm sure, wanted to do only good things for the people they represented.

How, then, are we to explain their inaction? Their failure to impose a state-of-the-art health and safety regime on New Zealand's coalmining industry?

 .

 

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29 minutes ago, crustyngrizzly said:

So what will be found?

Nothing , labours pledge to enter the mine  was made when they gave themselves no chance of winning the election , they  never expected to have to honour the pledge .

Labour  was just electioneering and are now stuck with it  , effectively making fools of the coasters and  costing  us $50 million in the process . Remember labour had 9 years in government to make changes , they did nothing and don't forget we have already had a royal commission into the disaster . DON'T IGNORE THE FACT LABOUR HAD 9 YEARS  TO CHANGE RULES , NOTHING .

'' When the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Pike River mining disaster issued its report  this week, the response of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) was immediate. It issued a press statement welcoming  the   report and is encouraging the Government to implement the recommended   changes as soon as possible. This report is a damning indictment of New Zealand’s deregulated health and safety regime. Pike River Coal Ltd should never have been allowed to operate in the way it did, and in other countries it wouldn’t have been allowed to.

 
The report makes clear that the tragic loss of life at Pike River could have been prevented with stronger regulations, an independent and well-resourced mine safety inspectorate and genuine worker involvement in health and safety. This statement represents a complete change of heart by the EPMU officialdom for it was never critical of  Pike River Coal (PRC) during the time that  the mine was open.   The EPMU represented approximately half of the 140 miners on the site.
After the first explosion the EPMU strongly  defended the management of PRC.

EPMU National secretary Andrew Little (now a Labour MP)  told the New Zealand Herald on November 22  2010 that   there was 'nothing unusual about Pike River or''
 

 

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The OCR hits rock bottom

by Christie 
 
1557267671503.jpg ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF
Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr

We have almost full employment. House prices are still crazy. We can’t get people to work in forestry, horticulture or agriculture. Petrol prices are the highest they have ever been yet the Reserve Bank, having long signalled that this was on the cards, cut the OCR today to 1.5%.

The reason? Inflation is still not within the range required, and the bank has limited tools in its arsenal to control this. Interest rates are still the best way… and so we are about to see lower deposit rates, lower mortgage rates and lower returns on cash based funds.

If there was ever a sign that the economy is in real trouble, this is probably it. quote.

A weakening job market and tepid inflation has led the Reserve Bank to cut the official cash rate (OCR) to an all time low.

On Wednesday the new monetary policy committee announced the OCR, which influences other domestic interest rates on loans and savings, was being cut by 25 basis points to 1.5 per cent, the lowest ever.

In response, the New Zealand dollar dropped sharply. Within minutes both ANZ and Kiwibank announced plans to lower mortgage and deposit rates in response to the news. end quote.

So our exports are now worth less, and mortgages are going to cost less too. What will this do to the housing market, as mortgage rates close to 3% now loom? Will it just push up house prices even further? The demand for housing is as strong as ever. quote.

In a press conference at the Reserve Bank on Wednesday afternoon, Orr revealed that the decision of the committee to cut interest rates was unanimous, meaning no vote was required.

The Reserve Bank statement pointed to slowing global and domestic economic growth.

“Domestic growth slowed from the second half of 2018,” the Reserve Bank said in a statement,” the bank said.
“Reduced population growth through lower net immigration, and continuing house price softness in some areas, has tempered the growth in household spending. end quote.

Something doesn’t quite make sense here. Immigration numbers are down, but not by much, and we have had record numbers over the last few years, so the problem points to one thing only. Kiwis are leaving the country… in droves. quote.

“Employment is near its maximum sustainable level. However, the outlook for employment growth is more subdued and capacity pressure is expected to ease slightly in 2019. Consequently, inflationary pressure is projected to rise only slowly.” end quote.

Something about this doesn’t seem quite right. If employment is “near its maximum sustainable level”, is that not usually a sign of economic strength? The outlook may be subdued, but the effect of that is not here yet… but the OCR has been cut anyway?

I do not know the answer, but Steven Joyce agrees with me.

Because the economic indicators at present would not normally result in a rate cut, I think Mr $11 Billion deficit is probably right. The government has recently shown another surplus, inflation is low and, as I have said before, unemployment is at record lows. So something else is wrong here.

Strangely enough, because Winston has tempered most of the government’s policies (including the Zero Carbon Bill, announced yesterday), I have been less alarmed by some government policies than I expected. Clearly though, not everyone feels that way.

Economic sentiment has not been strong since his government came into power, and now it is heading towards rock bottom. We should not be surprised of course. Those on the left will always tell you that business hates Labour governments. By the way things are heading now, clearly there is good reason for that.

Also, there is talk of further rate cuts. Things are becoming serious.

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