flockofewes2 216 Report post Posted August 23, 2019 1 hour ago, 100 1 said: This will certainly bring down Jacinda. I believe John Key's legacy will be left in tatters as will previous governments. NZ has been controlled for a long time. https://mailchi.mp/martingeddes/thestorm-how-to-prepare-for-a-global-corruption-purge I agree with most . The last really decent POTUS was Eisenhower, who was Supreme Allied Commander in WW2...his warnings about the 'military/industrial complex' have been realised. Can't really see how a narcisscist like Trump could be inspired to challenge the deep state financial cartel.He will have his price,they all seem to. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,341 Report post Posted August 23, 2019 Credit Luke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruff 2,790 Report post Posted August 23, 2019 8 hours ago, flockofewes2 said: A 7y.o that has had 54 starts and never won over the distance …..thanks anyway=start without me! This post has confirmed an earlier suspicion, how can anyone take your opinions seriously when you don’t do your homework? This horse is no past the post cert but the available RECENT information to all suggests hang on...but not you? Did you find it odd I introduced this ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruff 2,790 Report post Posted August 23, 2019 I love Stats, they can do for the user anything you like depending on your agenda.... I remember an aged Gaelic skipper heading over for the interdoms (this was a while ago so hey) I’m sure he was a C8 at the time and close to ten years and went brilliantly . Stats said stay at home . pinch of salt, open your eyes Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flockofewes2 216 Report post Posted August 23, 2019 3 hours ago, Gruff said: This post has confirmed an earlier suspicion, how can anyone take your opinions seriously when you don’t do your homework? This horse is no past the post cert but the available RECENT information to all suggests hang on...but not you? Did you find it odd I introduced this ? No..nothing odd about it at all.I just stated my opinion which clearly differs from yours.I would choose to 'invest' on a different race/horse. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,341 Report post Posted August 24, 2019 The $3.5 Billion Handbrake on the Economy By Christie o, I am not talking about this woeful government. They are most certainly a major handbrake on the economy, but they are going to cost us much more than $3.5 billion. Yes, really. But there is another major handbrake on the economy, and it is going to cost us all big time, particularly in the major cities. That ‘handbrake’ is the cancellation of National’s road-building projects. New Zealanders are feeling the pain of billions of dollars in fuel taxes, but not reaping the benefits of better roads, and that could be putting the brakes on the economy. With National’s 10 “Roads of National Significance” effectively in a holding pattern, Treasury is concerned that NZTA is unable to spend all the money it taxes, which is dragging down economic growth. Yes. It would be funny if it wasn’t so serious. One of the first things that this government did was to cancel many of the previous government’s major roading projects; the ‘Roads of National Significance’. One of the next things they did was to impose fuel taxes for transport projects such as the Auckland Light Rail plan, which might be a ‘nice to have’, but it won’t get many people to work and it hasn’t even been started yet. The $2 billion the NZTA collects in fuel taxes is usually spent on building new roads. I can’t believe the nerve of Jacinda Ardern as she stood in front of the cameras and told everyone that motorists here are being fleeced. Of course we are… by a greedy government that is gathering money for transport projects it probably has no chance of ever delivering. In the meantime, much-needed roads, many of which would have been well underway by now, are never to be completed, and congestion is getting so bad, the country is rapidly becoming gridlocked everywhere. But the new Government’s decision to redirect money into road safety and public transport has meant $3.5 billion less will be spent on new state highways, according to documents released under the OIA. It’s also stalled its building programme for “12 to 18 months” while it comes to terms with the Government’s changes. Infometrics economist Brad Olsen said the transport spending was a “brake on the economy”. And Treasury agrees lower spending is concerning. It said industry was concerned about the 12 to 18-month stall in construction projects while the new Government was revising its transport priorities. Probably waiting for another working group and in the meantime, motorists are paying up to 11 cents per litre in additional fuel taxes for absolutely nothing. There are 12 large roading projects which Treasury says are “market-ready”, but these have been effectively scrapped under the new Government’s pivot away from highway investment, although only two of the ten Roads of National Significance were fully funded before the election. This is your classic ‘chicken and egg’ situation. This government wants to focus on public transport projects, but such projects take years, if not decades to complete. In the meantime, people still have to get to work, and the best way they can do that, with grossly inadequate public transport in most major cities (and definitely in most of the smaller towns) is to drive. But the government does not want us to drive. It wants us to use public transport, so it won’t build any more roads and on and on it goes. The NZTA’s accounts also show that it’s struggling to spend all the money it collects. While it’s managed to collect nearly $1.5 billion in fuel taxes this year, it has struggled to spend anything near what it planned to. Honestly, this is scandalous. Impose the taxes, force people to pay, but have no idea when their new transport projects will even be started, let alone ready to use. Such is the madness of this hopeless government. New infrastructure investment acts as economic stimulus, as the money spent works its way through the economy and better infrastructure improves productivity. But if the Government collects this money in taxes without spending it properly, it acts as a drag on the economy, slowing growth. New infrastructure also helps to absorb the impact of a growing population. This is something New Zealand has struggled to do for a decade. It is going to struggle much more with the witless Phil Twyford in charge, along with Julie Anne Genter, who describes people who want to get to work on time as ‘car fascists’. Olsen said the problem isn’t so much the money that’s been promised, it’s the lack of projects that are ready to go. He said there needed to be more emphasis on getting projects “shovel-ready”. “Where is the plan for now?” he said. The Government’s announced on Thursday that its Auckland light rail plan will not be considered by Cabinet until 2020, which means construction on the $6 billion project will be pushed out beyond the current Parliament. National’s Transport spokesperson Chris Bishop said that the slashing of the state highway budget was starting to have real effects on the economy. “Important projects, many of them ready to go, have been pushed off to the never-never – all for a light rail project the start date for which has been delayed yet again,” he said. STUFF In the meantime, in Wellington at least, the bus timetable has been turned on its head, and many services cancelled because there are not enough drivers; the trains seem to regularly go off the rails, and we have no new roads. Actually, that is not true. Transmission Gully is going to go live next year but because two Hutt Valley roading projects have been shelved by this government, there is likely to be a 30% increase in the number of vehicles on SH2 going into Wellington via Transmission Gully. Gee, I can’t wait. I live up the hill from the Melling intersection which is one of the projects that has been shelved by Twyford and his motley crew until 2029. Just another failure by the Coalition of Total Losers. It is hard to keep up with the number of things that they have talked up massively, but haven’t done. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,341 Report post Posted August 25, 2019 Hmmmm There must be a trip to the UN coming up so their disciple went and had a dress up for another photo opportunidy The #parttimepm Likes to Play Dress-ups By Christie acinda was missing from several sessions in the house last week but was found at the weekend at the Islamic Women of New Zealand’s annual conference, wearing a hijab. Now, okay. There are those that defended her for donning a hijab after the terrible Christchurch mosque massacres, saying that it was all part of her ‘they are us’ mantra. Well, maybe. I still consider the hijab to be a strong symbol of the oppression of women, at which, as a feminist, Jacinda Ardern should be disgusted, but I had decided to forgive her just that one time. Now, however, I am convinced that she just likes playing dress-up. After all, everyone knows that non-Muslim women are in no way required ever to wear a hijab unless they are in a mosque. So why does she do it? Is it to show solidarity with Muslim women? What about the Muslim women who are forced to wear what they see as a symbol of subjugation? We all know exactly how much she loves to play dress-ups though, don’t we? Remember this? And this? Not to mention this, of course. Kiwi covered: Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand So now we know that Jacinda would rather go and play dress-ups with a group of Muslim women than be at parliament dealing with matters of importance and actually governing the country. She is in good company though… remember this? It seems that her old mate, Justin Trudeau, likes playing dress-ups too. All we need now is to see Emmanuel Macron deal with the gilets jaune in a Superman outfit and the brat pack in costumes will be complete. What a pathetic apology for politicians these people really are. How can anyone ever respect them when they behave like kindergarten children at a party? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flockofewes2 216 Report post Posted August 25, 2019 plenty of photos of Key Govt ministers in ethnic attire if you look Ted.Dozens of them. jack and Memphis2 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flockofewes2 216 Report post Posted August 25, 2019 On 8/23/2019 at 6:33 PM, Gruff said: This post has confirmed an earlier suspicion, how can anyone take your opinions seriously when you don’t do your homework? This horse is no past the post cert but the available RECENT information to all suggests hang on...but not you? Did you find it odd I introduced this ? Last ,beaten over 30 lengths... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flockofewes2 216 Report post Posted August 26, 2019 On 8/24/2019 at 1:28 PM, rdytdy said: The $3.5 Billion Handbrake on the Economy By Christie o, I am not talking about this woeful government. They are most certainly a major handbrake on the economy, but they are going to cost us much more than $3.5 billion. Yes, really. But there is another major handbrake on the economy, and it is going to cost us all big time, particularly in the major cities. That ‘handbrake’ is the cancellation of National’s road-building projects. New Zealanders are feeling the pain of billions of dollars in fuel taxes, but not reaping the benefits of better roads, and that could be putting the brakes on the economy. With National’s 10 “Roads of National Significance” effectively in a holding pattern, Treasury is concerned that NZTA is unable to spend all the money it taxes, which is dragging down economic growth. Yes. It would be funny if it wasn’t so serious. One of the first things that this government did was to cancel many of the previous government’s major roading projects; the ‘Roads of National Significance’. One of the next things they did was to impose fuel taxes for transport projects such as the Auckland Light Rail plan, which might be a ‘nice to have’, but it won’t get many people to work and it hasn’t even been started yet. The $2 billion the NZTA collects in fuel taxes is usually spent on building new roads. I can’t believe the nerve of Jacinda Ardern as she stood in front of the cameras and told everyone that motorists here are being fleeced. Of course we are… by a greedy government that is gathering money for transport projects it probably has no chance of ever delivering. In the meantime, much-needed roads, many of which would have been well underway by now, are never to be completed, and congestion is getting so bad, the country is rapidly becoming gridlocked everywhere. But the new Government’s decision to redirect money into road safety and public transport has meant $3.5 billion less will be spent on new state highways, according to documents released under the OIA. It’s also stalled its building programme for “12 to 18 months” while it comes to terms with the Government’s changes. Infometrics economist Brad Olsen said the transport spending was a “brake on the economy”. And Treasury agrees lower spending is concerning. It said industry was concerned about the 12 to 18-month stall in construction projects while the new Government was revising its transport priorities. Probably waiting for another working group and in the meantime, motorists are paying up to 11 cents per litre in additional fuel taxes for absolutely nothing. There are 12 large roading projects which Treasury says are “market-ready”, but these have been effectively scrapped under the new Government’s pivot away from highway investment, although only two of the ten Roads of National Significance were fully funded before the election. This is your classic ‘chicken and egg’ situation. This government wants to focus on public transport projects, but such projects take years, if not decades to complete. In the meantime, people still have to get to work, and the best way they can do that, with grossly inadequate public transport in most major cities (and definitely in most of the smaller towns) is to drive. But the government does not want us to drive. It wants us to use public transport, so it won’t build any more roads and on and on it goes. The NZTA’s accounts also show that it’s struggling to spend all the money it collects. While it’s managed to collect nearly $1.5 billion in fuel taxes this year, it has struggled to spend anything near what it planned to. Honestly, this is scandalous. Impose the taxes, force people to pay, but have no idea when their new transport projects will even be started, let alone ready to use. Such is the madness of this hopeless government. New infrastructure investment acts as economic stimulus, as the money spent works its way through the economy and better infrastructure improves productivity. But if the Government collects this money in taxes without spending it properly, it acts as a drag on the economy, slowing growth. New infrastructure also helps to absorb the impact of a growing population. This is something New Zealand has struggled to do for a decade. It is going to struggle much more with the witless Phil Twyford in charge, along with Julie Anne Genter, who describes people who want to get to work on time as ‘car fascists’. Olsen said the problem isn’t so much the money that’s been promised, it’s the lack of projects that are ready to go. He said there needed to be more emphasis on getting projects “shovel-ready”. “Where is the plan for now?” he said. The Government’s announced on Thursday that its Auckland light rail plan will not be considered by Cabinet until 2020, which means construction on the $6 billion project will be pushed out beyond the current Parliament. National’s Transport spokesperson Chris Bishop said that the slashing of the state highway budget was starting to have real effects on the economy. “Important projects, many of them ready to go, have been pushed off to the never-never – all for a light rail project the start date for which has been delayed yet again,” he said. STUFF In the meantime, in Wellington at least, the bus timetable has been turned on its head, and many services cancelled because there are not enough drivers; the trains seem to regularly go off the rails, and we have no new roads. Actually, that is not true. Transmission Gully is going to go live next year but because two Hutt Valley roading projects have been shelved by this government, there is likely to be a 30% increase in the number of vehicles on SH2 going into Wellington via Transmission Gully. Gee, I can’t wait. I live up the hill from the Melling intersection which is one of the projects that has been shelved by Twyford and his motley crew until 2029. Just another failure by the Coalition of Total Losers. It is hard to keep up with the number of things that they have talked up massively, but haven’t done. RONS...new road to your exclusive holiday home for National supporters and donors. Most expensive per Kilometre cost in the WORLD...onya Natz. 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crustyngrizzly 1,700 Report post Posted August 26, 2019 Problem is when the COL realise sometime in the future that the road is needed,it will be twice the price. Just ask Mayor Robbie about his light rail at a cost of $12m. Think for the future,don't live in the past,once its built its built. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,341 Report post Posted August 26, 2019 1 hour ago, crustyngrizzly said: Problem is when the COL realise sometime in the future that the road is needed,it will be twice the price. Just ask Mayor Robbie about his light rail at a cost of $12m. Think for the future,don't live in the past,once its built its built. Twyford’s Train Set Blows 10-year Transport Budget Documents released by Treasury reveal why vital new roads across the country are being scrapped or stalled – because Labour’s trains have swallowed up the transport budget for the next ten years, National’s Transport spokesman Chris Bishop says. “The next decade will be tough for Kiwis who drive because they won’t be getting much in the way of new highways from this government, despite paying billions in new taxes. “Recently-released Budget documents show Labour, the Greens and NZ First have – in just two years – fully committed the transport budget for the next decade to pay for their extravagant pre-election rail promises. “In other words, if their investment in a handful of rail projects goes ahead, it will mean no new highways for ten years.” “Since becoming Transport Minister, Phil Twyford has plundered the fund topped up by motorists’ fuel taxes and road user charges to the point where $3.5 billion less will be spent on state highways over the next six years, according to Treasury. “Over the next decade, $5 billion less will be available to build the safer, high-quality highways this country desperately needs. “This explains why a dozen new highways that were progressing under National have either been cancelled or pushed back until the 2030s, including the Mill Road Corridor and Penlink in Auckland, the Tauranga Northern Link, Otaki to Levin north of Wellington, and Christchurch to Ashburton. “This has stalled NZTA’s building programme for up to 18 months, prompting warnings from Treasury that there won’t be any projects ready to go when National’s roads are finished. “This would be devastating for the economy as the workforce on these projects may leave construction, or move to Australia where they’re spending $100b on transport infrastructure. “Motorists will feel justifiably angry. This government has milked $1.7b out of them through fuel tax hikes and extra GST, but they’re getting no new infrastructure in return. “That’s because the government can’t make rail stack up economically. Labour thought Auckland’s light rail to Mangere would cost $2b before the last election, now it’s heading towards $7b with no start date in sight. “National will rebalance the transport budget if elected in 2020, providing a wider variety of transport infrastructure that ensures all Kiwis can get around the country quickly and safely.” The full Treasury report can be found here Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flockofewes2 216 Report post Posted August 26, 2019 Public transport in a congested world against...private transport=simple really..isn't it?Its not about the provinces . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,341 Report post Posted August 26, 2019 An unmarried mother wearing a Hijab is rather an interesting concept don't you think. By JC Hijacking the Hijab When visiting a newspaper online I came across a picture of woman, whose face is unfortunately familiar to me, dressed all in white. I thought for a moment that it was her wedding day as I had heard she was engaged. The thought then occurred to me that, bearing in mind the position that this woman had gifted to her if it was her wedding day her compliant friends in the media would have been more than thrilled to let us, her plebs, know about it. The next thing that happened was a flashback. Surely I had seen this single mother dressed up in similar attire somewhere before? Of course, it was our beloved prime minister who had once again hijacked the hijab. There she was smiling away, addressing the Islamic Women’s Council National Conference. Allowing for the fact that the hijab was a poor fit and some of her hair was showing she looked a picture of loveliness. The hijab certainly served to give her mane a tidier appearance than usual. The weather had already ruined my Sunday morning constitutional so I thought I might as well ruin it further and listen to the video provided. It was three minutes fifteen seconds of waffle, commiserating on the one hand and suggesting political boot camps on the other. My ears pricked up at that suggestion! A couple of other names she mentioned rang a bell – Carol Beaumont and Jan Logie. I hadn’t realised they were also Muslims. Where was Golriz Ghahraman, I asked myself. What I really took from it was the fact that it illustrated where this woman’s talent, if you can call it that, lies. Going along to a religious meeting, dressing up in their garb, and putting forward dubious ideas like political boot camps. No doubt her heroes are Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. This type of suggestion fits in neatly with her overall political thrust which is akin to that of the United Nations and the European Union. Running a country might be beyond her but running a dangerous and subversive agenda to try and achieve World Government with the comrades in charge obviously is not. Forewarned is forearmed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,341 Report post Posted August 26, 2019 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flockofewes2 216 Report post Posted August 26, 2019 Reminds one of a nuns outfit..eh Ted. rdytdy 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,341 Report post Posted August 26, 2019 35 minutes ago, flockofewes2 said: Reminds one of a nuns outfit..eh Ted. Looks like at least you agree that all this dressing up in the hijab is becoming a habit...……. meomy 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
100 1 1,386 Report post Posted August 26, 2019 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,341 Report post Posted August 27, 2019 By Christie Jacinda’s Popularity in Freefall It had to happen. She may have a nice smile and seem like a decent enough person, but Jacinda is simply not prime minister material, and it is finally beginning to show. Her inability to answer questions because she simply does not know the answers is becoming legendary. Her absences from the house have seen her labelled as the #partimepm. Her tendency to dash off overseas at every opportunity and leaving the mess behind her, is an obvious ploy. Dare I say, her other trick, of wheeling out the baby every time she is in trouble, is becoming extremely obvious too. Her popularity would have waned sooner, had it not been for the Christchurch massacre. Whilst no one would have wanted it to happen, the mosque shootings were a godsend for Jacinda. The whole world praised her for her empathy and compassion. She handled the situation well but her knee jerk reaction to ban semi-automatic weapons has shown her up for the amateur she really is. In a supposed attempt to make everyone feel safer, she has given us all reason to feel much less safe than we did before, as law-abiding citizens give up their guns; but the gangs, of course, do not. Matthew Hooton believes her popularity has fallen by 16 points, to 35%. Sure, it is still a long way ahead of Simon Bridges’, but it is a very big drop in popularity in a very short time. It seems that people are finally starting to see through her. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says losing some of her popularity is the result of taking on serious challenges in Government. “When it comes to the personal ratings what I equally accept is that when you are in Government and taking on big challenges and difficult conversations and hard debates there are going to be people who disagree with you,” Ardern said. “We are not going to make progress on some of these big difficult issues unless we are willing to confront hard conversations. “If you simply govern just to maintain popularity it probably means you are not taking some of those big issues on.” But she is not taking on any of the big issues. Kiwibuild is a big failure. Mental health has a lot of money allocated to it, but with little or no progress so far. Child poverty and homelessness get worse and worse and, this week, we found out that suicide rates are the highest ever. Ever. Did she mean that telling Fletchers to stop working at Ihumateo, putting a commercial agreement and property rights at risk and then boarding a plane to go to the islands and leaving everyone else to sort out the mess is her idea of dealing with the ‘big issues’? Ardern’s government has moved on the controversial issues like abortion and climate change and has ploughed money into mental health, which she describes as one of the long-term challenges facing New Zealand. Stuff Wasting billions of dollars on “climate change” when we contribute less than 1% of global emissions is madness; and most people know it. Many people, while agreeing that abortion should be removed from the Crimes Act, do not want to see late-term abortions, and they are horrified at the prospect. As for the money being ‘ploughed’ into mental health, the latest suicide statistics would suggest that this is just another case of allocating money but having no idea how to spend it – which is something that this government is famous for. So Jacinda is dreaming if she thinks her popularity is in freefall because she is tackling the ‘hard issues’, because she isn’t tackling any of the hard issues at all. She wouldn’t know where to start. It is much more likely that people are seeing her for what she really is – a decent enough person, but someone who is way out of her depth, who does not understand some of the basic concepts of government, and should never have been put where she is in the first place. That is the truth about our prime minister. We all know it, and she probably does too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
weasel57 429 Report post Posted August 27, 2019 On 8/23/2019 at 1:48 PM, flockofewes2 said: I agree with most . The last really decent POTUS was Eisenhower, who was Supreme Allied Commander in WW2...his warnings about the 'military/industrial complex' have been realised. Can't really see how a narcisscist like Trump could be inspired to challenge the deep state financial cartel.He will have his price,they all seem to. And his successor JFK got dealt to in Nov 1963 after promising to destroy the CIA and "scatter it to the winds". Kennedy had been embarrassed by the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion to overthrow Castro in Cuba. JFK's policy on Cuba and Vietnam changed dramatically from 1962-3, when he realised the hawks in the military were quite cavalier about a preemptive first strike (using nukes) to control the Russians/Cubans. JFK no saint - and clearly a sex maniac - but he still managed to keep a cool head when it mattered most (Oct 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis).Read James Douglass, JFK and the Unspeakable (2008) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,341 Report post Posted August 29, 2019 Just more stupidity pouring fourth never directly answering the question: Mike: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is with us this Tuesday morning – a very good morning to you. Jacinda: Good morning. Mike: Have you got Father’s Day under control? Jacinda: No. (Laughs) Mike: What are you going to do about it? Jacinda: Well, Clarke’s away, so that lets me off the hook a little bit. I don’t think he even realised but he’s missing out this year so he’ll get a text message. Mike: Did you see his tweet about all your um… legislation you’ve passed or haven’t passed? Jacinda: I don’t actually spend time on twitter um… Mike: Good, nor should you. Jacinda: …as a general rule of thumb… very rarely do I go on there so… Mike: You’ve got a country to run, ah… well he’s been on there claiming you passed more legislation than any other government ever, and everyone’s saying it simply isn’t true. Jacinda: I heard about this after the fact. Um… so regardless of the fact that I was I… I… I played no part in his ah… tweet as an independent citizen. Ah… it actually is true… I’m happy to explain the difference though… Mike: Please don’t – I am so bored by it. I just couldn’t believe that you guys spend so much time wasting your time arguing over crap. It’s about the splitting of legislation, isn’t it? Jacinda: It is. You are exactly right. Mike: And… and you may be right if you do count it or don’t count it but you passed a lot of legislation. Do you regard the passing of legislation as being good government? Jacinda: Well, the National Party was claiming it was a proxy for saying that we weren’t busy. I disagree with that – I haven’t particularly engaged in the debate. In fact, you will see that it’s not something I’ve raised, commented on or got stuck into. Mike: No, fair enough. Jacinda: I don’t think it’s a… to claim that we hadn’t was wrong, but I actually don’t think it’s a good measure, so there you go. Mike: Okay. Government, I asked you about this last week and you defended them. Do you still defend all your government departments given we can now add to the Corrections stats, NZTA/CAA culture? Jacinda: Um, I do defend them. I think, you know by and large our government departments do hard work and good work. Um, CAA you will see obviously there that… ah… there’ve been issued raised around allegations of… of bullying and the… Minister Twyford… I don’t know whether or not you’ve managed to get on since we last spoke here… Mike: He doesn’t talk to me Jacinda, despite your recommendations he still refuses to come on. Jacinda: I will still give him…. I… I actually passed onto him that I’d encouraged him to go on the show… Mike: Well, you’ve got no cut through with him clearly, have you? Jacinda: If you’d want him to talk about CAA, perhaps I’ll give him a little nudge because… Mike: Nah, but then what would happen I’d get him in on the CAA and I’d sucker puncher him with a CRL question, and he’d hate me even more. Jacinda: Well… you’re … and you’re free to do both. Mike: Oh, good. Right. Jacinda: But CAA he has actually asked the chair… well, free to ask questions – not sucker punch people, Mike. But he has asked the CAA to… to… um CAA chair to step down. He does think that new leadership is required. Mike: How do you explain ministry of culture then, I mean, in this era in which you would have thought that security online was paramount, they didn’t seem to take it seriously? Jacinda: Yeah, well actually, keeping… keeping in mind here, and this is… this is not an excuse because this actually points again, actually highlights something that any business person will be sitting and listening to and having the same concerns. So, the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage themselves, as you would expect – small department – doesn’t have IT capabilities to that extent within it. So, when they were working on the Tui Commemorations they contracted someone to provide that service. Ah… and then in that ah… provision of that service is where we have seen that failing has occurred. They are going back now and looking, of course, at whether we correctly drafted the contract, what expectations were set around privacy. Of course, common sense should prevail here, an expectation that people when they are uploading data for applications, they should have been kept private and safe. Um… but that is something they are looking at – exactly how that has happened in that process. But again, how many companies out there are thinking well we contract to provide these services all the time? Mike: It’s not who you contract, it’s whether they do a good job or not. We all contract people, but do they do a good job or not? Jacinda: Indeed, and actually one of the… what we are now saying as a government – as of yesterday we put in an immediate interim step that people only use um… certified um… providers from a list of providers that we can have some certainty are putting the right protections in place. Um… that’s what we are doing for now and you know, again, there will be IT companies out there saying “Oh but the way you construct your list is a bit bureaucratic so we need to make sure that we fix that issue too. But ultimately, I’d say as a nation, um Mike, we move… have moved… we’re a digital age and I’m concerned that actually data security, as a nation, we need to prioritise. Mike: As regards what the Nats said yesterday, are you thinking of dropping the company tax rate or no? Jacinda: No, no we haven’t. You know, I will… I will say though that the progressive… so Australia has this differentiated um… company tax rate so if you are a small business you pay a bit less. We actually did ask the Tax Working Group to look at ideas like that. They came back and… and rejected it um… you know, they’ve endorsed the simplicity of our system um… as one reason and also you know, their view I think it encouraged gaming of the system but it was something we asked them to look at because I was interested in the way they treated small businesses in Australia. Mike: Is Julie-Anne Genter dangerous wanting to ban cars? Jacinda: She doesn’t want to ban cars. Mike: She wanted to ban combustion engines. Jacinda: I think… I think what’s more dangerous is… ah you know claims that when something is… so the productivity commission came up with this um… suggestion ah when we were looking at what we could do to encourage more fuel-efficient vehicles in NZ the Ministry of Transport put it into a draft paper. It was removed and nixed. So, I think… I think what’s more dangerous is you know, when you get a bit of politics being played and misleading statements are made about what government’s doing. We are not considering banning combustion engines in NZ. Mike: Good. The Green’s control of the roading programme in this country – why do they have so much influence given so many roads have been cancelled, the pipeline is drying up and you are going to see workers move to Australia? Jacinda: Well, again I would, I would quite honestly reject the premise of that statement. We are putting $17 billion um um transport in NZ. Mike: Yeah but that’s not right, that’s transport, that’s trains and stuff. Jacinda: It includes roads, um what… what you are seeing a difference is, of course, when we came in, we said that we were concerned we were spending a large amount on roads, the majority of New Zealanders do not use, and that regional and local roads were being um neglected. And so, we did change up the priorities there, we also wanted the cost benefit analysis to really hold for some of those projects and it has meant that a few that were announced but not funded by the last government were canned as a result. Mike: Treasury is telling you it puts a handbrake on the economy, info metrics is saying the same thing – are you rejecting their advice? Jacinda: Ah, so you are saying some of the projections over what’s likely… Mike: In terms of roads and infrastructural spend, treasury and info metrics both say that you gotta spend and you gotta build roads, we want roads, in fact your prime ministerial business committee in their first report said we need more roads. Jacinda: Sorry, sorry… if you are referring to the need for infrastructure is the way to stimulate the economy, in fact… Mike: No, specifically roads. Jacinda: Well, ah it’s not just roads though. Ah in fact, um my understanding is that, you know, investment in, for instance, building hospitals, um… building houses, um… those of course have a… an impact on stimulating the economy as well… Mike: But the argument around roads is you’ve got a pipeline currently of $4.5 billion that’s coming to an end, $3.5 billion worth of roads has been cancelled, you’ve got an ongoing pipeline of $1 billion that leaves a lot of workers without work – they all go to Australia, plus we don’t get the spend on the roads, plus the economy doesn’t move because of it. Jacinda: We are not spending less on roading… on… transport infrastructure. Mike: You are spending less on roads. Jacinda: The second… the second point where actually I am going to agree with you is the idea of infrastructure pipeline. So, I’d say it’s not just about transport, um one of the things that we think we lack in NZ is long term infrastructure planning which goes beyond political cycles, beyond the three years. We’ve created something that they use in Australia, they use an infrastructure commission to try and have… take a bit of the politics out of big, big long term projects and try and get a little bit more continuity in our planning so um ah we’ve already announced um the commission that’s… that work’s already starting ah and it means that, for instance, if we have a recommendation around something big like, you know, a big transport project, that hopefully we don’t get a bit of back and forth. We lock it in as a country, we are able to then have long term planning for companies that contract for them and so on, and so I agree with you on that, and that’s something that we are looking to fix. Mike: Suicide numbers. Yesterday $2 billion into mental health. Do you not see the juxtaposition with the same government who wants to legalise cannabis? Jacinda: We have said of course that um ah drug and alcohol addiction um is linked to mental health. Mike: And so, you want to sell more of it therefore cause more mental health problems. Why would you want to do that? Jacinda: Well, we already have problems… Mike: Yeah, but you want to make more problems. Jacinda: Well, I haven’t taken a position… Mike: But your government has. They’re pro the referendum and you want them to vote yes. The Green Party want you to vote yes, they are part of the government. Jacinda: We are pro people having their own decision on this. We obviously have ah um prohibition now and we have issues now, so it will be up to individuals to determine whether or not they think that bringing it out into the open will enable communities to deal with its better um that is a decision for them. Um, the decision for us actually is to address that actually this goes well beyond cannabis. Methamphetamine is a major issue; alcohol is a major issue and we are investing in drug and alcohol treatment as a… as a way to address that contribution to mental health. Mike: Appreciate your time, prime minister Jacinda Ardern. Get Phil to give me a call. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flockofewes2 216 Report post Posted August 29, 2019 Hosking is so partisan he's incredible.Used to suck Key and Joyce and ask only patsy questions. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdytdy 5,341 Report post Posted August 29, 2019 By JC It’s Now Beyond a Joke. The time has come to say it. The prime minister and her government is a joke. She would appear to have no intention of trying to do her job properly. Lucky for her she has an out. Even if she had the firmness of purpose to do so, the simple reality is that the task is beyond her. Way, way beyond her. Alas, the mental capacity required for the position that was stupidly thrust upon her, she does not possess. What most of us have known from the outset, and one Alan Jones more recently, is becoming more apparent by the day. When Newstalk ZB’s morning host Kerre McIvor has a negative rant about you as prime minister its time to realise that the game is just about up. Much of what Kerre said was harsh but justified. From the PM down this government is out of its depth. Kerre listed a whole range of failures including Kiwibuild, the Census, the Treasury fiasco and now the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage shambles not to mention Labour’s internal problems. Kerre cut the government some slack by saying that they were probably doing the best they can. Well, that’s as maybe but that falls way below what we as taxpayers expect. We are talking about running a country here, not playing a game of tiddlywinks. I doubt very much if this lot are even capable of winning at that. Kerre says the previous National government felt more like they were in control of the steering wheel. A good observation Kerre, which is why National is traditionally thought of as better stewards of the economy. What we have currently is the wheels falling off. Good government requires strong leadership as does any other business. A school needs a good head. A company needs a good CEO. Unfortunately, this is where Jacinda fails. She is NOT a Helen Clark or a John Key. There is more to the job than cover shoots, dressing up, hugging people and organising political boot camps for Muslim women. She needs to be leading from the front, giving advice when needed, having influence over ministers, and being across all fiascos. The last-mentioned alone, with her government and party, is a full-time job. Not so evidently. Hubby to be, aka Pedro the fisherman, is off to Tahiti for a week with what looks like more baggage than the Labour Party carries. Putting all that on a plane won’t do much to help the planet but never mind, the Left is allowed to do hypocrisy and they do it very well. Meanwhile, it seems she who should be in charge will be missing in action looking after Neve. Not sure about catching the fish but the chickens are sure coming home to roost. This is getting beyond the pale. It’s past time Jacinda decided which hat she wants to wear. From what I’ve observed to date it would appear that being a stay at home Mum is better suited to her talents. There is ample room in that role for kindness, hugging, and later on, even dressing up. Without wishing to labour the point, she’s green at her job and often appears to have a reluctance to put New Zealand first. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flockofewes2 216 Report post Posted August 29, 2019 Alan Jones and Kerre Woodham/McCivor 2 radio jocks past their use bys trying to be relevant/controversial. Kerre has been shrinking Leightons market dramatically. Soon redTed will be the only listener. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripple alliance 1,023 Report post Posted August 30, 2019 9 hours ago, flockofewes2 said: Hosking is so partisan he's incredible.Used to suck Key and Joyce and ask only patsy questions. Thomass , please , even you must be in shock at the continual failures of what is the worst government this country has ever seen , just look at that no hoper , green mp jenter yesterday . Treasury produced a document proving a proposed tax on larger new vehicles was a waste of time as it would achieve almost nothing , she went into complete denial and refused to accept overwhelming facts stating treasury just don't get it . This government is all about ideology , logic and facts don't matter . This pack of losers will be history next time around ., Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...