General Debate 8 September 2019

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artemisia

So non-union teachers can negotiate their contracts directly with their BoT. Who knew? Not the teachers it seems. And it’s not like the BoT can freely negotiate anyway, with limited time frame and prior approval from the Min of Ed required.
What did BoTs know and what did they tell their non-union staff?

Good for Mr Lindsay for getting stuck in, investigating And now going to the Human Rights Commission on discrimination grounds. Well done that man.

Non-union teachers now have a window to negotiate. Will they? And what are the chances of the Min of Ed approving and funding terms better than those of union members?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12265580
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September 8, 2019 8:04am
- MCos
  
  “And what are the chances of the Min of Ed approving and funding terms better than those of union members?”
  
  Zero
  
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  September 8, 2019 8:29am
artemisia

Auckland – record number of housing consents but …

As Mr Twyford said while in opposition – can’t live in a consent.

Especially people can’t live in a consent in one of the 49 Auckland apartment developments that were planned to actually deliver last year and didn’t – abandoned, deferred, sites sold (Colliers).

And in the Herald 7 September, Martin Dunn from City Sales, apartment specialists –

Dunn estimated only 500 new apartments would hit the Auckland market in the next year, while as many as 50,000 new residents would settle in the city.

Year to June over 4,000 consents for Auckland apartments were issued. To be fair some of them might be contracted for Kiwibuild delivery in 2025. (OK maybe not. Contracts don’t seem to be what they used to be.)

Data is not apples and apples, but such big differences in numbers give cause for concern in this year of delivery. Yet the media releases from government and Auckland local government is all about the record number of consents, so selectively chosen.

If delivery does not happen as trumpeted, there surely is an Auckland housing crisis well on the way.
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September 8, 2019 8:12am
- Albert_Ross
  
  It is of course true that you can’t live in a consent; but it’s also true that you can’t sell one to a homebuyer. I am puzzled as to why a developer with consent to build accommodation in Auckland wouldn’t then go ahead and build the accommodation. What would be the point of going to the trouble and expense of obtaining consent for something you didn’t intend to build?
  
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  September 8, 2019 8:32am
  - artemisia
    
    According to Colliers, as I mentioned, they were abandoned, deferred or the site sold. It is a fair guess that expected finance and/or sales of the plans did not happen in a way that allowed the development to proceed without undue risk.
    
    The Kiwibuild failure was intended to provide some underpinning by way of the underwrite to allow developers to proceed. Maybe some of the 49 involved Kiwibuild, maybe not But clearly the developers decided not to go ahead.
    
    My key point was that there seems to be a disconnect between crowing about record consents granted and what actually happens. Using apartments as an example.
    
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    September 8, 2019 9:40am
    - Albert_Ross
      
      I completely agree that there seems to be a disconnect between number of consents and housing actually appearing. Tony Stuart below shows that this may even be getting worse. But again – why? In an economic environment where we are told there is a shortage of housing and more and more people wanting to buy, why would developers and their financiers be fearful that they wouldn’t be able to sell?
      
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      September 8, 2019 12:25pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Price
        No demand for the location
        Banks lending criteria
        
        The ‘real’ housing crisis is a shortage of rental stock and the costs of building houses.
        
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        September 8, 2019 4:02pm
    - GJM
      
      I have been in the technical design end of construction for 20 years. A number of my apartment projects have died in the last 2 years. Some got to consent but more never got that far. A combination of costs vs selling price and lending finance. Some smaller ones were just to hard or expensive for resource consent. The time taken by councils and the RMA and building consents is huge – much longer than the actual building time.
      
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      September 9, 2019 9:05pm
- Tony Stuart
  
  According to this story from the Herald of 6 July 2017, some 28,000 houses were built in the year ended 31 March 2017, the last full year of the previous National-led government:
  
  To answer this, Stats NZ has produced new experimental statistics. The test figures show that while almost all building consents turn into homes over time, it can take almost a year from the time a consent is issued before the house-warming starts.
  
  The estimates suggest that at a national level:
  •;About 97 per cent of dwelling consents lead to a home being finished, though it dropped to about 93 per cent during the 2008 global financial crisis.
  
  •It currently takes about 10 months for a new home to be built after a dwelling consent is issued. The lag was about six months in 1998, and 12 months in 2008.
  
  •About 28,000 new dwellings were completed in the year ended March 2017. Just under 31,000 dwellings were consented during the same period.
  
  •About 1.84 million private dwellings were available in New Zealand at March 2017, comparable to the official Dwelling and Household estimates.
  
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11886958
  
  It would be interesting to see the comparative figures for the year ended 31 March 2019.
  
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  September 8, 2019 8:53am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    Maybe not figures that the most open and transparent govt ever would want collected or published.
    
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    September 8, 2019 10:37am
kevn

hipkins stain is widening. What a mess.
Imagine the Polytech reforms underway. A clusterf*ck. We just know it will be.
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September 8, 2019 8:16am
- tranquil
  
  I agree. He is my second-most despised MP (after “Princess FairyDust” herself).
  
  I will never forgive him for closing the charter schools. Schools that the students and parents loved, and which seemed to be doing an **excellent** job in giving a good education to the children they were most aimed at – Maori and Pasifika children.
  So much for Hipkins saying that “one size does not fit all” when it comes to schools.
  
  Here is the video in which Ardern herself admits that the unions were “worried” about charter schools so Labour got rid of them –
  https://www.facebook.com/davidseymourACT/videos/3110160162342324/
  
  That video proves once and for all that it was **always** about ideology when it came to charter schools. Labour simply did the bidding for their union masters.
  
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  September 8, 2019 1:38pm
  - Humble Capitalist
    
    You know were in trouble when Little and Twyford arent even in your top 2
    
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    September 8, 2019 2:38pm
  - trout
    
    Worth a read – from the NBR:
    Knowledge is the answer: New Zealand should take a lesson from remarkable UK partnership schools.
    By Briar Lipson
    
    [Mod : one would normally expect this to be done as a link + possibly a summary]
    
    Michaela children come from some of the most deprived backgrounds in the UK, with 56% speaking English as their second language compared to 17% nationwide, yet have some of the best results in the country
    Michaela children come from some of the most deprived backgrounds in the UK, with 56% speaking English as their second language compared to 17% nationwide, yet have some of the best results in the country
    During a visit to a new London charter school in 2015, then-Mayor Boris Johnson sparred with a 12-year-old over the year the Roman Empire converted to Christianity (313 AD). Johnson was wrong (by a year) and dumbstruck by the knowledge of the inner-city children. As the future prime minister put it, the Michaela Community School showed “the way forward for our city and our country.”
    
    Michaela is a remarkable state secondary school, one that would not exist without England’s free (partnership) school movement or its incredible Kiwi-born founder and principal Katharine Birbalsingh.
    Last week, four years since Johnson’s visit, Michaela received its first national assessment results – GCSEs – and confirmed his impression.
    Of all exams entered from Michaela, 18% achieved the top grade of 9, compared with 4.5% nationwide; 54% of all entries were graded 7–9 (what used to be A or A+), compared with just 22% nationwide; 91% of pupils passed maths and 90% English, compared with 60% and 62% nationwide.
    This would be newsworthy as it is, but is even more remarkable considering the school’s basic facilities (a renovated 1960s office block with no playing field) and the background of the children it serves. Michaela children come from some of the most deprived backgrounds in the country, with 56% speaking English as their second language compared with 17% nationwide and 47% eligible for free school meals in the past six years, compared with 29% nationwide.
    Michaela is not the only free school making waves. This year’s analysis has yet to be published but last year, free schools outperformed all other types of state schools in pupil progress. Although free schools represent just 0.2% of all schools with results, they accounted for four of the 10 top-performing schools in the country in the crucial Progress 8 measure.
    The story is similar at A Level (the qualification completed by 18-year-olds and associated with university entrance). Michaela does not yet have A level results but last year, Kings Maths School – a free school sponsored by Kings College London – was ranked second in The Times’ league table of A level results. This made it the only non fee-paying school in the top 10. This year, a remarkable 26% of Kings’ students secured places at Oxford or Cambridge. The London Academy of Excellence did similarly well, with 93% of all grades achieved by students being A+ to B, and more than 25 students taking up places to study medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine. This is remarkable considering 70% of the cohort come from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and 70% speak English as a second language.
    Michaela students learn conservative values such as duty, hard work, personal responsibility and gratitude Statistics such as these illustrate the power and potential of a movement that frees up educators, parents, business people and communities to do things differently.
    But for many, including Michaela, “differently” does not mean innovatively. Birbalsingh – who The New Zealand Initiative brought to New Zealand last year to speak to education and business audiences – is an evangelist for ‘small c’ conservative values such as duty, hard work, personal responsibility and gratitude; for ditching digital devices; and for passing on knowledge.
    At her school, instead of being pitied or coddled with excuses, children are taught to be grateful to the world around them. It is deeply and profoundly empowering. As American educator Doug Lemov put it after a visit to the school: “to express gratitude is to give something to someone. And to give is to be in a place of power.” [emphasis added]
    Birbalsingh runs digital detox workshops for her pupils and their parents. Painfully aware of just how addictive technology has become, she tells parents that once they allow a device to control their child, their chances of convincing them to read books will be all but gone.
    At a time when New Zealand schools are rolling out bring your own device (BYOD) regimes for thousands of pupils, Birbalsingh’s transformational school is begging parents to take devices away.
    Another area where ‘innovative’ does not wash is the curriculum, which privileges transmission of subject knowledge. All pupils study five Shakespeare plays in three years. They rote-learn and recite poetry during lunchtime and read silently on the Tube.
    In a recent interview with Australia’s Herald Sun, Birbalsingh said: “only by having knowledge at their fingertips can children write, speak and learn with confidence.”
    Such an obvious point should not need stating but it does in New Zealand where the national curriculum is so dismissive of subject knowledge.
    At The Initiative, we are worried about the impact of New Zealand’s permissive curriculum and the associated push to teach “skills for the future.”
    Only last year, the NZ Qualifications Authority had to agree to be lenient when hundreds of NCEA Level 3 history candidates complained they did not know the meaning of the word “trivial” when it cropped up in an exam. Recent polling commissioned by the Auckland Holocaust Memorial Trust found similar serious gaps in Kiwis’ basic knowledge of the Holocaust.
    These and other worrying signs have made The Initiative dig a little deeper. Our national poll is shedding light on our level of general knowledge. Some of the findings reassured us. For example, most Kiwis can correctly name the capital of Australia. But The Initiative is concerned that 43% of adults could not calculate how much money they would have after one year if they put $100 in a savings account at 2% interest ($102).
    The full results of the survey will be published soon in a research note about knowledge and the New Zealand curriculum. Meanwhile, New Zealanders would do well to reflect on what Johnson identified at Michaela.
    That remarkable free school, and increasing numbers like it, is doing exactly what it set out to do: dramatically change the life chances of some of the most disadvantaged children in society and prove that all children can succeed.
    Free (partnership) schools teaching discipline and knowledge are indeed the way forward for London and England. When New Zealand comes to its senses, they can be transformational here too.
    
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    September 8, 2019 6:11pm
    - tranquil
      
      Excellent stuff! Thanks for that, trout!
      
      I did a web-search and found these links about the school –
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michaela_Community_School
      
      https://mcsbrent.co.uk/
      
      I particularly like this part of the article –
      Quote – “Birbalsingh runs digital detox workshops for her pupils and their parents. Painfully aware of just how addictive technology has become, she tells parents that once they allow a device to control their child, their chances of convincing them to read books will be all but gone.
      At a time when New Zealand schools are rolling out bring your own device (BYOD) regimes for thousands of pupils, Birbalsingh’s transformational school is begging parents to **take devices away**.”
      
      Good stuff! No more children texting their mates non-stop in class!
      
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      September 8, 2019 6:42pm
    - David George
      
      Katharine Birbalsingh is an absolute treasure (and brought up in New Zealand) I watched a superb talk with her and Dave Rubin. https://youtu.be/DXc46-NlOyw
      
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      September 9, 2019 5:49am
    - artemisia
      
      NBR articles are paywalled so a link is not feasible on a blog like this.
      
      Articles from NZ Initiative do usually get posted free to read on their website, but not right away.
      
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      September 9, 2019 7:06am
Happychappy

It is not just the President that needs to take stock of this bulling and sexual harassment with the Labour Party the Prime Minister is is also up to her eyeballs with deceit also.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/115592299/young-labour-abuse-victims-barred-from-parliament-offices
These are the same people including Trevor Mallard that made a song and dance over Simon Bridge’s handling of the Jamie Lee Ross affair and that was one person , Labour has more than a dozen complainants and are still trying to lie their way out of very bad situation of Sexual harassment and bulling.
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September 8, 2019 8:16am
- Rich Prick
  
  Dear victims, the Party is supremely important and you are not. Now please stay the fuck away while we tidy this under Cindy’s rug. Yours, Labour.
  
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  September 8, 2019 9:13am
  - AlphaWhiskey
    
    When I read about this situation the only thing that kept popping up to me was “party this, party that”. My obvious take away was that the Party was more important than the individual- the norm for fascists, socialists and communists everywhere.
    
    I do hope that those political groups that occupy the more individual-responsibility and conservative part of the spectrum do not think this way. I apologise for my stupid optimism!
    
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    September 8, 2019 1:37pm
    - Rich Prick
      
      You’re right about that, on the left the collective machine trumps the individual. That’s why they have so little regard for their victims and do all to protect the a Party – even the Police have trouble getting a look in where crimes might be involved.
      
      The right is into personal responsibility and just look and see how quickly those who fail to take responsibility for their actions are dispatched. I know which I prefer.
      
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      September 8, 2019 2:12pm
- alloytoo
  
  “These are the same people including Trevor Mallard that made a song and dance over Simon Bridge’s handling of the Jamie Lee Ross affair and that was one person “
  
  More precisely Ross was the problem, not the victim.
  
  It’s entirely consistent with Labour’s behaviour to protect Ross.
  
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  September 8, 2019 10:14am
  - igm
    
    Peters also treats him like a saviour . . . he is a disgusting disgrace.
    
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    September 8, 2019 12:20pm
    - Tony Stuart
      
      They’re only doing that because of the possible damage Ross can still do to National. None of them is protecting Ross; they are using him, and will cast him to the wolves when he ceases to be useful.
      
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      September 8, 2019 2:57pm
- rightoverlabour
  
  The Labour Party – I have copied and Pasted their Principles below:
  What are our values and principles?
  In the Labour Party, our principles and values define what we do. They are codified by the Labour Party Constitution:
  
  Principles
  
  All political authority comes from the people by democratic means including universal suffrage, regular and free elections with a secret ballot.
  The natural resources of New Zealand belong to all the people and these resources, and in particular non-renewable resources, should be managed for the benefit of all, including future generations.
  All people should have equal access to all social, economic, cultural, political and legal spheres, regardless of wealth or social position, and continuing participation in the democratic process.
  Co-operation, rather than competition, should be the main governing factor in economic relations, in order that a greater amount and a just distribution of wealth can be ensured.
  All people are entitled to dignity, self-respect and the opportunity to work.
  All people, either individually or in groups, may own wealth or property for their own use, but in any conflict of interest people are always more important than property and the state must ensure a just distribution of wealth.
  The Treaty of Waitangi is the founding document of New Zealand and that the Treaty should be honoured in government, society and the family.
  Peace and social justice should be promoted throughout the world by international co-operation and mutual respect.
  The same basic human rights, protected by the State, apply to all people, regardless or race, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religious faith, political belief or disability.
  
  They need to add these: This is the Place for Perverts and sexual deviants. We will endeavour to ensure that secrecy and silence underline your deviant behaviour and we will ensure the complicity of the police and judiciary.
  
  Actually reading some of those especially around property ownership is quite alarming! Communists, through and through ( and perverted ones at that)
  
  https://www.labour.org.nz/party_info
  
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  September 8, 2019 10:51am
- tranquil
  
  @Happychappy – it is **fantastic** to see that the “cat is out of the bag” at last!
  
  I **really** hope that some of the abuse victims take a lawsuit against the Labour Party. I *despise* the Left and I want to see Labour hung out to dry over this.
  
  If I were involved in the Nats’ election campaign, not only would I list the disasters that Labour have created but I’d mention (in passing) the deeds of Rudi Dutschke and his urging of the Left to do the “long march through the institutions”. It is very largely because of him and his followers that the West is in the state that it is today. Governments, councils, media, universities, schools, teacher training colleges – all of them controlled by leftists.
  
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  September 8, 2019 1:51pm
Tricati

I see in Stuff Andrea Vance and Ali Mau putting the boot into Labour over their handling of the Parliamentary abuse (sex) scandal.
Not a good look for labour, especially when the sisterhood get pissed off.
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September 8, 2019 8:18am
- Doubledimp
  
  Wait until a Trans activist wanders in their changing room, then you will really see the fur fly.
  
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  September 8, 2019 9:30am
  - Rich Prick
    
    I love your imagery.
    
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    September 8, 2019 1:37pm
    - sooty
      
      Took a long time for Andrea Vance and Ali Mau to get wound up! Were they been hiding, did they have their heads up their arse?
      
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      September 8, 2019 2:32pm
      - Humble Capitalist
        
        Been to busy on the streets protesting
        
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        September 8, 2019 2:40pm
      - Tony Stuart
        
        Better late than never, I guess sooty. I can only speculate that it’s reached the point where they could no longer be silent and retain any integrity.
        
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        September 8, 2019 2:41pm
      - GJM
        
        No they got handed their arse, especially Mau on Twitter and everywhere else she popped up. It got so it was to obvious to ignore and might damage her brand, which is everything to media luvvies
        
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        September 9, 2019 9:11pm
- niggly
  
  Kudos to Andrea Vance and Alison Mau for writing about this topic of institutionalised sexual abuse cover ups in the Labour Party that many other MSM journalists have dared not to.
  
  I note that Alison Mau (in her NZ MeToo role) used to get quite a bit of abuse on the likes of Twitter for seemingly not wanting to tackle the subject but in hindsight no doubt she required more information (and time to investigate, with Andrea Vance) and has concluded “Labour, you have a problem”.
  
  How the Labour Party continues to mis-manage this (and the recent) sexual harassment and abuse cases is appalling. Heads need to roll.
  
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  September 8, 2019 10:02am
  - Monique Watson
    
    Good too there is bipartisan consensus on this on here. Big ups to Mau and Vance.
    
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    September 8, 2019 1:45pm
- the deity formerly known as nigel6888
  
  Most interesting, the sycophants have had enough? Although I find it hard to believe that those two have had a sudden attack of integrity…
  
  Or maybe they’ve been tipped the wink that State funding of media is off the table – in which case, no need to be nice anymore?
  
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  September 8, 2019 11:24am
- AlphaWhiskey
  
  Yep – it seems to me that they were shamed into it: even these two Chardonnay socialists couldn’t handle the hypocrisy any more
  
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  September 8, 2019 1:43pm
Souvlaki

Jacinda Ardern …donkey deep in deceit & devious dissembling of the truth!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/115592299/young-labour-abuse-victims-barred-from-parliament-offices?cid=app-android
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September 8, 2019 8:21am
Tony Stuart

A damning indictment of the Labour Party and it’s “toxic culture” from Andrea Vance. She opines that Party President Nigel Haworth must resign, and states clearly that this is a problem for the PM, despite the party’s efforts to distance Ardern from this alleged sexual abuse:

Ardern largely escaped criticism over the summer camp incident because Haworth kept her in the dark.

In this latest episode, she has been protected by the halo effect that dominates most assessments of her premiership.

Her team has also emulated an old John Key trick by distancing Labour’s parliamentary wing from the party’s activities.

But they are not two separate entities. The particular details of the case and the duties of those involved blur those lines in a way that is deeply awkward for Labour.

Ardern can no longer pretend that sexual harassment is someone else’s problem.

It will be a painful realisation, but Labour must accept that it has a toxic culture and does not look after its young members.

The first step in addressing that is to fire Haworth, the man who badly failed all the complainants.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/115593917/why-labour-president-must-resign-over-sexual-assault-allegations

A must-read on this cold, wet morning…
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September 8, 2019 8:23am
- kowtow
  
  ‘Her team has also emulated an old John Key trick ….’
  
  Still can’t resist a hit though.
  
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  September 8, 2019 8:53am
  - Inandout
    
    kowtow, the media are still begging for government financial help so they are obliged to add these digs at Key.
    
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    September 8, 2019 9:01am
    - septic skeptic
      
      True. And the Nats should cut ALL the public money for various media whenever they get back in. It’s crazy to have the state support media that advocates so strongly for one side. The state funded media should know that if they go in to bat for one side and lose, then they are out with begging bowls until their chosen side gets back in.
      
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      September 8, 2019 9:59am
  - harvey wilson
    
    Couldn’t help themselves with a snide remark about Key, at the same time ignoring the fact thats the third time theres been charges over a kid being sexually assaulted at their neverland ranch.
    
    The standard and the spinoff have refused to mention this which is a fair reflection of their integrity.
    
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    September 8, 2019 9:04am
    - the deity formerly known as nigel6888
      
      Correction: Third time it was serious enough to reach the attention of the public!
      
      How many people were told to harden up and take one for the team?
      
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      September 8, 2019 11:25am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    Actually, it was Helen Clark who first played the “two hats” trick, when she dodged the issue of Jim Anderton leaving the Alliance in the early 2000’s to for the Progressive Party. The then-coalition should have collapsed, but Clark danced so well on the head of a pin she kept her majority until the next election.
    
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    September 8, 2019 11:37am
  - kloyd0306
    
    The left’s favourite trick: Moral equivalency.
    ………but, but, look what National did!
    The media AND the left, but I repeat myself.
    
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    September 8, 2019 12:31pm
    - oob
      
      The precise term you’re reaching for chap is argumentum tu quoque, the logical fallacy of appeal to hypocrisy.
      
      And you’re absolutely correct, it’s very regularly employed by the Left.
      
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      September 8, 2019 5:32pm
  - AlphaWhiskey
    
    My thought exactly
    
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    September 8, 2019 1:46pm
- Happychappy
  
  Didn’t Andrew Kirton take the fall for the way he and Haworth handle the start of the Young Labour Summer Camp sexual assault allegations. So the Leadership of Labour should be taking the fall for this. Jacinda Ardern is up to her eyeballs in the viscous way this has been handled.
  
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  September 8, 2019 9:30am
  - niggly
    
    Did Andrew Kirton really take the fall? No statement or apology was issued. Nek minnit he’s working for Air NZ. So did he take the fall or resigned and got out before (knowing) the next lot of Labour shenanigans will be hitting the fan?
    
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    September 8, 2019 10:41am
    - Tony Stuart
      
      A job was created for him at Air NZ, most likely. So he could leave Labour without hurty feelings, etc etc.
      
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      September 8, 2019 11:38am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        And be in a position to come back onto the Labour List in the next election?
        
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        September 8, 2019 1:06pm
      - Tony Stuart
        
        2023, I should think Maggy. 2020 might be a bit soon for him.
        
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        September 8, 2019 2:59pm
oldpark

There is something happening here,when a picture of M/s Ardern and Labour Party President, Mr Haworth appear side by side on the front page of the unofficial Labour/Green Party news outlet. The Sunday Star Times.
This time not good news for the rank and file of Peters selected Labour Party and M/s Ardern as NZs PM .
Allegations of a sexual abuse coverup is not a good look. Seems #MEETOO has not arrived in that unfortunate and abysmal Political Party.
Even two paragons of virtue Alison Mau ,and Andrea Vance have also got involved. They are asking the hard questions about the Ardern led Labour Government and their policy on sexual abuse of their members in that parties Bowen House offices.
It is a bloody indictment and an abomination against the complaining women ,when the Labour Party President Nigel Haworth tells the complaining Women to stay away from Bowen House.
Maybe a few please explains from M/s Ardern on the matter,and perhaps even a few hugs of the sadly emotionally affected Women ,would not be out of order. After all charity begins at home . Nuff said.
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September 8, 2019 8:33am
- Scooter
  
  She’ll just deny knowing about it.
  
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  September 8, 2019 6:27pm
KevO'Brien

Royal Society and other get their comeuppance for abandoning care for science. Global warming is global ignorance…
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/09/07/propagation-of-error-and-the-reliability-of-global-air-temperature-projections-mark-ii/
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September 8, 2019 8:38am
- stephieboy
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  Anthony Watts is certainly ignorant,
  
  Anthony Watts
  
  As is typical of media weathercasters, Watts (a college dropout) has no academic training in the physics of climate or related disciplines. Unencumbered by scientific expertise he works by intuition, and intuitively he could not bring himself to accept the documented increase in the U.S. surface temperature record. There had to be a problem with the instrumentation or book keeping — somewhere. Watts explained his story to Glenn Beck. At first he speculated that the composition of new weather shelter paint had interfered with the measuring system:[…”
  
  https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Anthony_Watts
  
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  September 8, 2019 9:06am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Once again you fail to recognise that the article referenced is not by Anthony Watts (who is cruising in Arctic waters at the moment).
    
    It is a guest post by Professor Pat Frank – giving a layman’s account of his recently published paper
    https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2019.00223/full
    
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    September 8, 2019 9:43am
    - Swifty
      
      Day after day after day after day, he shows why his title here is richly deserved.
      
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      September 8, 2019 10:14am
  - rightoverlabour
    
    Fuck you are a twat. He didn’t write the piece, he only posted it. Anyway Watts knows more about climate that you will ever know about anything.
    
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    September 8, 2019 10:55am
  - David George
    
    “Anthony Watts is certainly ignorant”
    As opposed to your heroes Al Gore with a PhD in bullshit and mentally compromised schoolgirl Greta Thornburg?
    BTW if you’re looking for balanced information then don’t bother with Wikipedia, Rationalwiki or use Google as your search engine; all corrupt. The Wiki climate change editor is a dyed in the wool alarmist.
    
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    September 8, 2019 4:52pm
- Kabull
  
  I love these statements:
  There is no valid physical theory of climate able to predict what CO₂ emissions will do to the climate, if anything. That theory does not yet exist.
  
  The analysis upsets the entire IPCC applecart. It eviscerates the EPA’s endangerment finding, and removes climate alarm from the US 2020 election. There is no evidence whatever that CO₂ emissions have increased, are increasing, will increase, or even can increase, global average surface air temperature.
  
  All the anguished adults; all the despairing young people; all the grammar school children frightened to tears and recriminations by lessons about coming doom, and death, and destruction; all the social strife and dislocation. All the blaming, all the character assassinations, all the damaged careers, all the excess winter fuel-poverty deaths, all the men, women, and children continuing to live with indoor smoke, all the enormous sums diverted, all the blighted landscapes, all the chopped and burned birds and the disrupted bats, all the huge monies transferred from the middle class to rich subsidy-farmers.
  
  All for nothing.
  
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  September 8, 2019 10:57am
  - rightoverlabour
    
    The premise of the Alarmist IPCC position is that there is a significant increase in temperature concomitant with an increase in CO2 concentrations. (The thermostat of the Atmosphere, to use Gore speak). Sceptics argue at different lengths that this increase has been overstated and that although CO2 increases may have some effect on temperature, the controls of the temperature of the atmosphere are far more complicated than that simple premise. Of course, idiots like Stephieboy et al don’t understand the physics behind climatology and will continue to sprout the IPCC dogma ad nauseum, and use the old trick of vilifying anyone that disagrees, rather than engage in rational debate.
    
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    September 8, 2019 12:48pm
- bill ramsay
  
  Hello.
  
  I am naturally suspicious of anything that comes up in WUWT and/or the GWPF, Nigel Lawson’s think tank.
  
  So I followed the link and had a look at the paper that was posted by Dr. Frank. I didn’t understand much of it.
  
  So I thought that I would have a look to find if anyone else has had a look at it. And there is, complete with a video response at:
  
  https://patricktbrown.org/2017/01/25/do-propagation-of-error-calculations-invalidate-climate-model-projections-of-global-warming/
  
  Patrick Brown is a real climate scientist, and he takes issues with the ‘points’ that Brown raises. There’s a spirited exchange in the comments section, but Brown comes off second.
  
  I know that most people on this site are desperate to find someway to knock over climate science and will grab at any straws that may be found. However, trusting in WUWT etc., is in the long run, pointless.
  
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  September 8, 2019 7:46pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    It would help if you could write clear English:
    
    Patrick Brown is a real climate scientist, and he takes issues with the ‘points’ that Brown raises. There’s a spirited exchange in the comments section, but Brown comes off second.
    
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    September 8, 2019 10:16pm
  - All_on_Red
    
    Congratulations bill
    Your ‘search’ succeeded in satisfying your confirmation bias
    
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    September 8, 2019 11:10pm
  - David George
    
    “Brown comes off second”. I assume you mean Franks but unless you’re competent in high level physics that’s a very presumptuous claim, bill.
    However, the fundamental problem remains unexplained by Brown: why have the projections based on the AGW theory failed to materialise after over thirty years.
    In light of that, why is a climate theory that has failed still given sufficient credence to justify the complete retooling of our transport, agricultural and energy infrastructure and an associated shock doctrine of fear. There is a deeply unhealthy fear for the future based on nothing but pure conjecture; there are people afraid to have children FFS.
    
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    September 9, 2019 6:31am
Komata

Tony S@0823

So according to Vance ‘It will be a painful realisation, but Labour must accept that it has a toxic culture and does not look after its young members… and must protect them – and not turn away’.

Not a chance!!

The hitherto ‘Oh so pro-feminist, equality for all especially women’ PM simply DOESN’T want to know and on that basis is willfully condoning what has happened and is, indeed, still happening, a stance aided and abbetted by both the MSM and her leftist cronies such as Mau, the latter being very conspicuous in her silence…

It seems that the ‘Concerned frowny face’ is only reserved for media sessions and photo-ops, can be turned on and off as required, and that in reality she simply doesn’t care…

On that basis, don’t expect anything to change; it’s all to do with image and status; the proles don’t matter…
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September 8, 2019 8:44am
- Tony Stuart
  
  There’s also this story on Stuff today, co-written by Andrea Vance and Alison Mau, who to her credit has broken her silence:
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/115592299/young-labour-abuse-victims-barred-from-parliament-offices
  
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  September 8, 2019 8:47am
  - harvey wilson
    
    Considering labours massive issues with rape culture that response was like being mauled by a dead sheep. It’s taken far too long too.
    
    I’m going over to the standard to see if they actually even mentioned any of this, alot of them believe the neverland young labour retreat groper was actually a national party plant sent to discredit labour.
    
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    September 8, 2019 8:57am
    - kevn
      
      @harvey… Why [Deleted – Mod] they think that? Odd
      
      10 2
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      September 8, 2019 9:03am
      - harvey wilson
        
        Because admitting labour has a rape culture problem is impossible for them. Here’s one poster on the standard claiming it, there are others on other threads too but their search function is useless.
        
        https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-14-03-2018/#comment-1460799
        
        Compare and contrast the media response to Chris Bishops snapchats and Keys hair pulling . Our media is still pulling its punches over this , pathetic but expected.
        
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        September 8, 2019 9:47am
      - Swifty
        
        Hahahahaha! Thanks harvey wilson.
        
        You have reminded me of how much of a total doofus that Muttonbird was (regarding the Labour sex camp):
        
        ‘There’s more to come on this. None of it good for National. Just saying.’ and when pressed for evidence he quickly responded with:
        
        ‘Please. I can’t reveal my sources.’
        
        And for the biggest laugh chris73 then put him in his place (as to where Muttonbird was getting his information from:
        
        https://imgur.com/gallery/zIb676w
        
        Bwahahahaha!!!
        
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        September 8, 2019 12:36pm
      - Tony Stuart
        
        Thanks for taking one for the team Harvey.
        
        7 0
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        September 8, 2019 3:04pm
  - David Garrett
    
    Too little and way too late…
    
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    September 8, 2019 10:39am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    Several months late to the party. Has only put pen to paper because she can no longer afford not to without losing all credibility on the topic.
    
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    September 8, 2019 10:42am
Lee C

I think the important thing is that the Government will be able to point to a reduction in official tobacco sales and prove they are delivering better health outcomes and ‘wellbeing’.
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September 8, 2019 8:56am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Meanwhile vaping is being promoted by the tobacco suppliers to maintain trade. A new generation of youth to be captured as nicotine addicts. Health benefits?
  
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  September 8, 2019 9:05am
  - Albert_Ross
    
    Vaping is better for your health than smoking traditional cigarettes, and worse for your health than not smoking anything at all. So whether there is an overall health benefit to the population as a whole, depends on whether people who vape would be (a) smoking cigarettes, or (b) not smoking anything, if they weren’t vaping; and where exactly vaping sits on the spectrum of health disbenefits between not smoking and smoking cigarettes. These are the facts that need to be established for informed opinion.
    
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    September 8, 2019 9:58am
- the deity formerly known as nigel6888
  
  Good point! Statistical proof of the success of our policy Comrade!
  
  A few more wrinklies and kids dying of cold or third world communicable diseases will improve the benefit and hospitalisation stats too!
  
  You can’t make an omlette without breaking eggs comrade! Onward to the Glorious Future!
  
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  September 8, 2019 11:27am
Fletch

The Trump economy doing wonders in the U.S. Unemployment is at an historic low, setting it’s 21st record under Trump. America now has almost full employment – as close to full employment as you can get.

(CNSNews.com) – The number of people employed in the United States hit a record 157,878,000 in August, the 21st record set under President Donald Trump, according to the employment report released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That’s an increase of 590,000 from the record 157,228,000 employed in July.

The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7 percent. For blacks, the unemployment rate dropped to a record low of 5.5 percent last month. And for Hispanics, the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in August, which ties the record low set earlier this year.

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/record-157878000-employed-august-21st-record-under-trump

Typically, the black unemployment rate will be double the white, but the gap is closing.

The unemployment ratio has averaged around 2 to 1 or so for decades, meaning the black unemployment rate is typically twice the white unemployment rate. In good times, the unemployment rate of whites and blacks falls but the gap remains. And in bad times, the unemployment rate for whites and black rises, but black unemployment typically remains around twice that of white employment.

A year ago, the black unemployment rate stood at 6.6 percent while the white unemployment rate was 3.4 percent, meaning black unemployment was 185 percent of white unemployment.

In August, the gap narrowed so that black unemployment was under 162 percent of white unemployment. That is the smallest gap ever in records going back to January 1972.

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2019/09/06/black-unemployment-hits-record-low-black-white-unemployment-gap-shrinks-to-smallest-ever/

Ps, United States Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says he doesn’t expect the country to be heading into a recession “at all”.

“We’re not forecasting or expecting a recession,” Powell said. “The most likely outlook is still moderate growth, a strong labor market and inflation continuing to move back up.”

“Our main expectation is not at all that there will be a recession,” he added.

The media and the Dems can’t seem to celebrate though. They are all doom and gloom and predicting recession (or longing for one to bring down Trump). They just can’t stand it.
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September 8, 2019 8:57am
- Inandout
  
  Fletch, an outstanding result and nothing to with hapless Obama. Having a businessman in charge can bring results as we saw with Key. The US is striding ahead while NZ flounders.
  
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  September 8, 2019 9:05am
  - Rob2
    
    Doesn’t auger well for a govt. of the Nats then, Lawyers and assorted odd bods again.
    Where is the business leader in their new lot?
    
    3 6
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    September 8, 2019 11:31am
    - AlphaWhiskey
      
      I too am concerned. At least Labour tries to live up to its awful founding values. National seems to have little concern for the individual or the benefits of unshackling independent innovation. I truly despair and feel that it is ACT or Conservative for me.
      
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      September 8, 2019 1:54pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  The USA stats are as dubious as ours and as believable as daily climate change reports
  .
  Subverting real data has gone too far. Pres. Trump actually thinks the high DOW index has economic significance. People at the top have been enriching themselves playing with numbers.
  
  Who is going to take responsibility when the realities appear? Most manipulation has a long term negative outcome. At present savers are being robbed–that must be time limited.
  
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  September 8, 2019 9:16am
  - Jules99
    
    “Pres. Trump actually thinks the high DOW index has economic significance”
    
    Don’t ever play poker with Trump – you will lose, lose again and lose some more. LOL, just like the Democrats will in 2020.
    
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    September 8, 2019 11:02am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      I don’t have to play poker with Trump. He’s an economic illiterate and is hazardous. The stats seem to reflect the desires of the current policymakers. What is the real CPI in the USA?
      
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      September 8, 2019 6:19pm
  - kloyd0306
    
    What’s the bet that you think the NZ economy is going gangbusters.
    
    NZ led by a socialist fish and chips wrapper.
    US led by a billionaire business tycoon.
    
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    September 8, 2019 12:37pm
  - AlphaWhiskey
    
    The DOW does have significance. It is an indicator of confidence and stability. These two bell weathers are primary reasons why people start businesses and invest in human capital.
    
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    September 8, 2019 1:56pm
    - KevO'Brien
      
      The DOW is an average of 30 topcap stocks. It measures changes in the money supply much more than anything else. When the FED creates another 20Bn or more that increases stock prices without affect on production.
      We are living in times of “Financial Engineering” when the numbers count more than reality.
      These times do not continue for ever.
      
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      September 8, 2019 6:27pm
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  the difference always grows as unemployment rises because it is largely a statistical bell-curve based effect, with blacks having a lower mean ’employability’ than whites in USA, which makes the curve steeper for blacks than whites in the locus of normal employment rates – their rates change faster than for whites as overall employment rates change. There is nothing that can be done to close that gap because it is baked in by genetic factors.
  
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  September 8, 2019 10:49am
  - MCos
    
    What is ‘baked in by genetic factors’ supposed to mean? Are people of darker complexions inherently predestined to find employment more difficult to come by in white dominated societies?
    
    2 2
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    September 8, 2019 12:31pm
    - UrbanNeocolonialist
      
      IQ tests show very clear and large difference between means for african americans, asians, and europeans.
      
      If you want to pretend it is somehow about family deprivation or wealth then consider: African american kids from richest families perform worse on average in SAT (a reasonable proxy for IQ, and an even better indicator of employability) than white kids from poorest families:
      https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/1995-SAT-Income2.png
      
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      September 8, 2019 2:50pm
      - Odakyu-sen
        
        One explanation of the way the “East, South and Southeast Asian; and Pacific Islander” curve overtakes the “White” curve in the higher Family Income categories is that the poorer family income groups are mostly South Asian (Cambodian, Philippino, etc.) and Pacific Islander families, whereas the high-earning families in this group will tend to be Korean, Japanese and Chinese (all East Asian) who are known for their high scores on IQ tests.
        
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        September 8, 2019 3:35pm
      - MCos
        
        A person’s income has only a vague, if any, relation to their IQ when compared across different countries.
        For example, I worked with people in Bangkok who were just as intelligent & produced work of similar quality to people in NZ, but earned maybe half the salary or less.
        
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        September 8, 2019 5:30pm
  - stephieboy
    
    “ baked by genetic factors” ??
    
    Which marker genes are missing in an African American’s brain that is present in yours?
    
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    September 8, 2019 12:44pm
    - All_on_Red
      
      Delete your account racist.
      
      6 1
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      September 8, 2019 3:54pm
      - stephieboy
        
        All on Red, boo hoo! Keep rattling the cot sides!
        
        Odakyu-sen, you seem to suggest ( unlike UN) that there are strong cultural factores contributing to IQ scores?
        
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        September 8, 2019 5:46pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        You’re the little baby racistboy
        
        3 1
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        September 8, 2019 11:03pm
    - KevO'Brien
      
      It’s well known in the tropics that even white migrants slow down and go “troppo”. It’s an adaptation to the heat. It probably protects the brain by reducing the work load and consequent heat output. Over time genetics remembers the change.
      
      Population IQ differences are real.
      
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      September 8, 2019 6:31pm
      - stephieboy
        
        Thus Singaporean IQs are lower than ours?
        
        0 6
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        September 8, 2019 7:32pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Stephie
        Your IQ is lower than EVERYONES
        
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        September 8, 2019 11:02pm
stephieboy

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Islamaphobia is apparently alive and well in NZ I would add on KB and various right leaning parties,

Think tank group targets Muslim council candidates

“A former ACT MP says she was unaware of derogatory and xenophobic remarks towards Muslims on a Facebook group she set up.

The Facebook group for political think tank New Zealand Centre for Political Research has several threads taking aim at Muslim candidates standing in the local government elections.
Former ACT MP Muriel Newman founded the think tank in 2005.
Dr Newman said she did not know about the comments on its Facebook group.
The threads were largely in relation to two Christchurch-based Muslim community board candidates, Zahra Hussaini and Gamal Fouda.
Comments on the group called on people to not trust Muslims, and also discussed conspiracy theories about the Christchurch terror attack in March which left 51 Muslims dead….”

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/398336/think-tank-group-targets-muslim-council-candidates
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September 8, 2019 8:58am
- KevO'Brien
  
  It is proper to attempt to keep Muslim political influence out of Councils. They have their own variety of extremism which is not compatible with regular NZ.
  Religious fervour compels Muslims to promote Sharia which is simply unacceptable to non-Muslims.
  NZ is not a Muslim state.
  
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  September 8, 2019 9:21am
  - Albert_Ross
    
    Dp
    
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    September 8, 2019 12:30pm
  - igm
    
    Look what that goon Sadiq Khan has done London?
    Even though Ardern would like to declare us a caliphate, there are still enough with a brain to say “No”.
    
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    September 8, 2019 6:30pm
- David George
  
  A few comments on a blog doesn’t constitute widespread “Islamaphobia” any more than recent MSM commentators wanting fewer male Councillors and board members constitutes widespread misandry. Red radio trying to hype something out of nothing is simply intended to wind up the gullible Stephie. Get a grip.
  
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  September 8, 2019 9:21am
  - Monique Watson
    
    Nicely said.
    
    8 0
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    September 8, 2019 1:47pm
  - Albert_Ross
    
    Absolutely. It’s very wrong to judge an entire community by the words and actions of a few.
    
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    September 8, 2019 2:11pm
- Rich Prick
  
  Don’t trust = Islamaphobia? Yeah what the fuck ever. The more they squeal Islamaphobia over such things, the more we shall ignore them. Pathetic.
  
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  September 8, 2019 9:22am
  - igm
    
    Phobia = fear.
    There is now way any follower of Islam scares, or ever will, scare me.
    
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    September 8, 2019 6:32pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  @stephieboy
  Perhaps you would like to explain your recent disgusting display of racism to us on KB.
  
  Why should we be consoled that the rapist/killer of Teresa Cormack was of Hungarian descent and not a Maori?
  https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2019/09/bye_bye.html#comment-2551228
  
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  September 8, 2019 9:56am
  - stephieboy
    
    MW, many KB posters often seem to feel ones ethnic / racial background is vitally important especially if the vile offender happens to be a Maori ( Murri).
    
    A sad fact of life on this blog.
    
    1 19
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    September 8, 2019 12:13pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Apart from you stephieboy, I have never in my life seen or heard anyone express the view that it is better that a child is raped and killed by a person of one race as opposed to another.
      
      I cannot conceive of the crap that races around in your head, but you do yourself no favours trying to slur KB commenters with your perverted views.
      
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      September 8, 2019 2:42pm
    - All_on_Red
      
      You’re such a liar Ralph.
      
      7 1
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      September 8, 2019 3:53pm
- Swifty
  
  Hmmmmm, let me see……
  
  Here we have a person who believes the following:
  
  There is such a thing as a god, who sent to Earth a representative called an angel, and who whispered to an illiterate 7th Century Arabian camel train jockey a whole lot of stories and who was then able to repeat these stories word for word perfect to others who wrote them down – and which proclaim the camel jockey to be this god’s messenger and should be obeyed or else suffer eternal burning in a place called the hellfire. Subsequently the camel jockey went hacking his way through other local communities to spread his control, got about and flew great distances on a winged-horse, split the moon in two and then upon death ascended to a place called heaven to live with this thing called a god for eternity.
  
  Suspiciously, large parts of these supposedly-narrated stories are identical to earlier Jewish stories and which have been subsequently proven as untrue and merely fables, legends and myths.
  
  And this man, living in the 21st Century South-Pacific has a full-time job of repeating these myths, fables and legends as facts and that we’d better believe what he says or we’ll suffer eternal torment by his god.
  
  AND HE WANTS NEW ZEALANDERS TO VOTE FOR HIM TO THE CHRISTCHURCH COUNCIL?
  
  The man is clearly suffering from extreme delusion.
  
  If we weren’t such tolerant and welcoming types here in NZ, the man would be slapped in a straight jacket and committed to the local loony bin.
  
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  September 8, 2019 10:03am
  - stephieboy
    
    cmm , unless you and others make it so there is no religious or belief qualification ( fundamentalist or not) to stand for local body or parliamentary elections.
    
    Unless you and the deluded like minded make it so.
    
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    September 8, 2019 12:18pm
    - Swifty
      
      WTF?????
      
      13 0
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      September 8, 2019 1:24pm
    - cmm
      
      No wonder they want to spend another $6m!
      
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      September 8, 2019 2:53pm
  - lilman
    
    Islam Phobia?
    
    I just dont like anyone who thinks Women are possessions.
    I just dont like anyone who forces FGM on any Woman.
    I just dont like anyone who says that society must live under these rules because a make believe god person says you must under threat of death.
    
    So I guess Im Phobic, but only to POS that believe in this crap.
    
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    September 8, 2019 1:09pm
    - Odakyu-sen
      
      A phobia is an irrational fear. If the fear is grounded in fact, then how can it be called a “phobia” unless by someone for whom English is not their first language.
      
      6 1
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      September 8, 2019 4:32pm
      - stephieboy
        
        Odakyu-sen, I would say there is in fact an irrational fear of Muslims amongst certain posters on KB. Maybe including you!
        
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        September 8, 2019 5:42pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        @stephieboy,
        yet another unsubstantiated slur against a KB commenter.
        
        If you can’t produce evidence that Odakyu-sen is an Islamaphobe, you are just using this forum to launch nasty hits on individuals.
        
        6 1
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        September 8, 2019 6:40pm
    - stephieboy
      
      “I just dont like anyone who forces FGM on any Woman.”
      
      Who says Islam does?
      
      Who says Muslims don’t obey and follow our laws?
      
      1 10
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      September 8, 2019 5:40pm
- the deity formerly known as nigel6888
  
  Is that the best Squirrel Labour could come up with?
  
  Well I suppose it is the weekend – random squirrels locked and loaded before the week crew head off the local Comrades convention to self critique themselves?
  
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  September 8, 2019 11:31am
-D

I actually feel sorry for Jacinda Ardern. The accidental Prime Minister.

Although I can’t stand her and she’s clearly in over her head, it’s only fair to acknowledge she stepped into a gap no one else on her side was qualified to fill either. It is virtually certain her mind was actually distracted by other things at the time, but she came to the crease, however opportunistically, to take one for the team.

So, the embarrassing spectacle of this government’s ineptitude isn’t really her fault. The terrible coalition is the creation of one truly vindictive, selfish individual who had more than enough nous to know he wasn’t doing the best for his country.

We must constantly remind ourselves (and others) that this is manifestly the ‘Winston Peters’ Government.
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September 8, 2019 9:05am
- kowtow
  
  ‘ I actually feel sorry for Jacinda Ardern.’
  
  I don’t . She has a far left agenda and is smashing whole sections of this country.
  
  Oil and gas , tax payers , licensed firearms holders , now farmers.
  
  This regime will leave a bitter toxic legacy , but because our media are also left wingers she gets a free pass as she nods and smiles .
  
  The media and commentariat were happy to dub Key as ‘smile and wave’ , well where’s the same rude disregard for this extremely destructive far left activist woman ?
  
  In New Zealand , in 2019 , police are raiding homes asking citizens what their view of the prime minister is. That is the Ardern legacy. And where’s the media on those outrages against our ancient rights as a free people ?
  
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  September 8, 2019 10:35am
- David Garrett
  
  D: I agree fully with that comment…everyone has forgotten – even most of us here I suspect – that under Little Labour was heading for oblivion…while it wasn’t exactly a consensus, the majority view among the punditry was that they could not survive another shellacking under yet another leader (was it five they went through after Clark??)
  
  Ardern’s role was quite literally to try and savfe them from annihilation, not become PM…no-one, least of all she, dreamed they would be forced by the Great Charlatan to form a government. The poor woman is quite literally completely out of her depth, and it’s becoming more and more obvious.
  
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  September 8, 2019 10:45am
- Jules99
  
  No one in their right mind would have been planning a family at the same time as becoming PM. She had years ahead of her to go for that role and I think that was her plan. Still, it’s what is needed to see the collapse of Labour for good. They can’t blame the leader or the media for not having popular appeal. Turns out that wasn’t enough.
  
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  September 8, 2019 10:55am
- the deity formerly known as nigel6888
  
  She’ll take credit for anything, and will ruthlessly suppress anyone who gets in her way.
  
  A socialist in Lippy is still a socialist, Comrade!
  
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  September 8, 2019 11:32am
- Faroffsound
  
  I have some sympathy for Jacinda as well. She obviously had no idea what she was letting herself in for and being naive is unfortunate but it’s not a crime.
  
  As you say the person responsible for the whole debacle is the Rt Hon Winston Peters.
  
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  September 8, 2019 1:44pm
  - sooty
    
    She is certainly showing the toll that been the accidental PM has!
    What is she going to look like at this time next year, even been sheltered by the duck and media. All of them holidays in the sun and shopping trips and working part time is not working
    
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    September 8, 2019 3:01pm
- cmm
  
  “I actually feel sorry ”
  
  I don’t.
  She can take her hand out of the $500k+benefits cookie jar any time she wants.
  
  I know she has just committed to a huge mortgage with a virtual beach bum, but she has a healthy daughter and the potential makings of a happy life.
  
  I understand though that the rush of power is stronger than cocaine and, as Dunning and Kruger observed, stupid people don’t realise how stupid they are.
  
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  September 8, 2019 3:00pm
kevn

@septicboy… Too early for your ramblings.
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September 8, 2019 9:05am
Monique Watson

How’s the housing Cluster going? First consented for two townhouses in 2002. Guess how that’s going?
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September 8, 2019 9:11am
Fletch

ps, Trump currently beating the Dem candidates in favourites polling.

The in-depth, comprehensive poll from The Economist and YouGov, taken between September 1-3, showed 43% of respondents with a favorable response to Trump; 29% had a “very favorable” reaction and an additional 14% had a “somewhat favorable” response.

Among the three leading Democrats, only 40% had a favorable reaction to Biden, with a paltry 17% of respondents having a “very favorable” reaction and an additional 23% with a “somewhat favorable” reaction.

Warren got a total of 39% of respondents giving her a favorable reaction, 20% of whom had a “very favorable: reaction and 19% with a “somewhat favorable” reaction. Sanders got the most favorable reaction of the three top candidates as he barely edged out Biden with 41% of respondents having a favorable reaction, but he still ranked 2% behind Trump. 18% of voters gave Sanders a “very favorable” rating while 23% gave him a “somewhat favorable” response.

Another piece of evidence with good news for Trump: asked whether their candidate would defeat or lose to Trump in 2020, Biden was 10% underwater, with 32% of voters agreeing he would probably beat Trump but 42% saying he would probably lose. Warren fared even worse, at 16% underwater; 28% thought she would probably win and 44% thought she would probably lose, while Sanders brought up the rear at 17% underwater, as 29% of voters thought he would probably win but 46% thought he would probably lose. (Just a note: Senator Kamala Harris lagged far behind the top three candidates at a whopping 24% underwater.)

https://www.dailywire.com/news/51452/major-poll-has-great-news-trump-hank-berrien

https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/3gj4ffirhi/econTabReport.pdf
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September 8, 2019 9:17am
Doubledimp

It looks like Boris is becoming increasingly isolated on Brexit. Can’t get a bill passed to call an election, and a bill passed forcing him to request an extension from the EU.

Are there any other options available to him? I would be tempted to claim that the EU extension bill is illegal as it is out of the scope of the whole parliament and instead is for the ruling party but I guess that was legislated on by Gina Miller. There musts be another way to drown this in legislation until the 31 Oct (isn’t that what lawyers spend half their time doing – creating work to justify their existence?)

I will be watching BBC news very closely for the next 7 weeks.
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September 8, 2019 9:35am
- Fletch
  
  The EU is increasingly becoming the Hotel California. “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave….”
  
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  September 8, 2019 9:41am
- artemisia
  
  The Conservatives do have some options, possibly erring on the Machiavellian side but permitted by complex parliamentary rules and conventions.
  
  Options have been traversed in the media, a few of which media see Mr Johnson as winning so far. Not least because the party has rid itself of a monstrous regiment (in the Brexit eyes).
  
  I would not underestimate the Conservatives – there are a lot of them, a lot of experience, and a lot of time to have worked through some well signalled road blocks.
  
  But yes, fascinating.
  
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  September 8, 2019 9:54am
- oob
  
  Don’t.
  
  Tune in to Nigel Farage’s radio show on LBC and George Galloway’s ‘Mother of All Talk Shows’ on Sputnik instead.
  
  Both simulcast to Youtube, Facebook and Twitter.
  
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  September 8, 2019 9:59am
- All_on_Red
  
  Absent a new GE, Boris controls the Government
  ‘… there is extensive precedent of Governments asking the Queen to not sign legislation they don’t approve. Anti-Brexit spokesman Tony Blair himself used this power on a number of occasions to “quell politically embarrassing backbench rebellions”. Perhaps most notably to block a bill by Tam Dalyell in 1999 that aimed to give MPs a vote on military action against Saddam Hussein.
  Going further back, Labour PM Harold Wilson used the Queen’s veto to kill off two “politically embarrassing bills” about peerages and Zimbabwean independence, in 1964 and 1969 respectively’
  https://order-order.com/2019/09/02/labour-governments-forced-queen-block-numerous-bills/
  
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  September 8, 2019 10:03am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    HM’s intervention would be proper. The Commons are out of control and her PM is sound. I expect she will not sign assent to any Act that he believes to be politically futile.
    
    The UK is powerless to wag the EU dog’s tail. I understand Boris has rights in the Euro talkies setup to actually attend and vote on the very matters in contention. He has to do little but let time take it’s course. No UK Court has power over HM’s PM.
    
    The residual matters are comparatively small. Commerce is still expected and no one wants Ireland partitioned. Agreement will be quickly reached after Brexit for practical relations to continue.
    
    The more people attempt to stretch the severance out the worse it will be for all. Boris is correct the inevitable should be faced and dealt with. Some people may prefer to remain but the EU has ceased to be a trade alliance but become a system of political and legal control by Brussel’s Eurocrats. Toxic to UK freedom (or anyone else’s).
    
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    September 8, 2019 10:38am
    - All_on_Red
      
      Could be wrong but I don’t think it even needs to get to the Queen.
      Boris could just ignore it.
      He controls the Govt and the Govt decides which Bills get enacted.
      Don’t like that?
      Then agree to a General Election.
      
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      September 8, 2019 12:12pm
      - MCos
        
        Boris can’t legally ignore an act of parliament.
        The time honoured response in such situations as he finds himself is to call an early election. Unfortunately his predecessor Cameron changed the law to gain the support of the LibDems to form a previous government.
        What goes around comes around, you might say.
        BoJo has two options. Resign now or figure things out with the EU.
        What a shambles.
        
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        September 8, 2019 1:51pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Your options aren’t options.
        It’s not an Act until it’s enacted and given Royal Assent.
        At the moment it’s a Bill which has had its first reading.
        As noted above. Boris controls the Govt. The Govt controls whether it gets enacted or vetoed.
        Tick tock to the 31st and they’re out. (There is an argument that the last Article 50 extension was not valid and they’re actually out already)
        
        He’d like an Election. But Labour and the 22 defectors won’t allow it. They should move No Confidence and call an Election.
        But they won’t because the defectors know they’ll lose their seats and Labour will lose big time.
        Eventually I think Boris will move a vote of No Confidence and there will be one.
        Let’s see what happens. It’s an interesting battle.
        
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        September 8, 2019 3:47pm
- Inandout
  
  Double, I suggest your watch other sources as well as BBC, just for balance.
  
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  September 8, 2019 10:26am
- the deity formerly known as nigel6888
  
  I wouldnt be watching BBC, except to see how “concern frowny” the luvvies are getting.
  
  This is a very high stakes game of chicken! I hope Boris doesn’t blink.
  
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  September 8, 2019 11:33am
All_on_Red

“It’s been a terrible week for Boris Johnson” – @BBCNews

Yeah, nah.
Westminster voting intention:
CON: 35% (-)
LAB: 21% (-4)
LDEM: 19% (+3)
BREX: 12% (+1)
via @YouGov, 05 – 06 Sep

Funny that the more remainers who leave the Conservatives, the higher the Tories go in the Polls…
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September 8, 2019 9:39am
- septic skeptic
  
  Farage is in a very powerful position. If he stands against the Tories they will get wiped out and a Corbyn Lib Dem SNP coalition seems likely. If he works with them they should get a comfortable majority.
  But will the Tory remoaners, LD and SDP unite behind Corbyn and form a new government from within this parliament? That might be a step too far I think.
  
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  September 8, 2019 10:12am
  - All_on_Red
    
    Farage has just said he wants to do a deal.
    He won’t stand against the Tories if they won’t stand against them when take on Labour held seats in Leave voting constituencies.
    
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    September 8, 2019 12:14pm
- MCos
  
  Just a comment on the UK parliamentary system.
  They have FPP which is much different to MMP. A minor party can appear to have substantial support, but this can translate to few seats.
  In 1984 Bob Jones party won no seats in the NZ election although it won 12.25% of the popular vote.
  Social Credit won 2 seats with 7.63% of the vote and Labour won the election in a landslide (59% of the seats) with 42.97% of the votes.
  It was this sort of thing that convinced the public to switch to MMP.
  
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  September 8, 2019 5:48pm
  - All_on_Red
    
    I think we all remember how FPP works
    
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    September 8, 2019 11:14pm
lastmanstanding

Ive just read yesterdays blog on rail and roads. One of the posters commented on the problem of building more roads in some areas.

Those who have been to Bangkok know the solution. Double decker roads.

As other posted rail is good for moving goods but no so much for moving people.

With self drive EVs on the horizon much better to put in more roading infrastructure to allow door to door travel.
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September 8, 2019 9:48am
- Captain Mainwaring
  
  Rail is only good for moving bulk goods from source to end use/port. When it has to be moved by truck to and from railhead it kind of defeats the purpose.
  
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  September 8, 2019 10:27am
  - Rob2
    
    Well, two of the experts in moving freight, namely Mainfrieght does not agree with you.
    
    Should we believe you or Don Braid and Stan Semenoff?
    
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    September 8, 2019 11:43am
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  boring company is aiming to build tunnels for autonomous ev’s. One tunnel with two lanes of computer controlled cars can carry as much traffic as an 8 lane motorway. All for 10million/km. At those prices ~$50-100/year per city resident can cover capital costs of enough tunnels to fix all congestion problems forever.
  
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  September 8, 2019 10:53am
  - Ed Snack
    
    I think you’ll find that the prices quoted are bare bones, that is just they “hole”. Typically in tunnelling the fit out more than doubles the cost.
    
    I’ve seen analyses that suggest that TBC tunnels are no cheaper and less practical than ordinary tunnelling in the end. I wouldn’t be relying on it myself.
    
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    September 8, 2019 7:49pm
- the deity formerly known as nigel6888
  
  Indeed, and some clown started spouting off about HSR.
  
  All wonderful if you live on a flat country, with wide gauge, and about 15 million people.
  
  For a strung out windy, bumpy swampy and geologically unstable country with a shitty narrow gauge system. Good luck.
  
  Hamilton’s “HST” to Auckland will take 2 hours to get to Papakura. Good luck with selling that to actual workers.
  
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  September 8, 2019 11:35am
- Biscuit
  
  lastman, I used to happily drive on the lower deck of a double-decker road.
  
  A bridge, actually.
  
  Then, one day, the top deck collapsed in an earthquake and killed one person.
  
  An astonishingly-small number, all things considered…
  
  October 17 1989
  San Francisco
  
  Never again…
  
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  September 8, 2019 3:25pm
- Ian Boag
  
  Double deck Lake Road?
  
  Really?
  
  Can I have some of what you smoke?
  
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  September 8, 2019 5:56pm
tedbear

I’m wondering where the populace will be getting their electricity from in years to come.
Now that Parker has decreed that the environment must be protected, then ..
more hydro is out
more wind farms are out unless you can instal a windmill on your roof and same scenario for solar panels applies.
Thus nothing can be built to make electricity unless the mechanism is above ground.
Oops, no that’s incorrect. The environment includes the air.
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September 8, 2019 9:49am
Happychappy

Just a point on Loan Sharks and the interest they charge ,while I have know time for them or their business it is not all there fault. While I commend Kris Faafoifor his for his stand he could also help the families that mostly get in these situations out by closing down the gambling that happens in places like Porirua every night involving hundreds if not thousands of dollars. This is one of the major reasons people need to borrow at high rates.
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September 8, 2019 9:52am
- the deity formerly known as nigel6888
  
  I agree, Pokies are disgusting, no redeeming features whatsoever, it is cynically preying on the weak, the poor and the foolish – look at where they cluster!
  
  Then add in church tithing, gang tithing, HP, payday loans, and the State taxing tobacco and other small escapes at outrageous prices, what do you expect.
  
  Do the Churches and Banks offer loan clubs and budgeting services? – and if not, why not. Loan Sharks will disappear overnight if there is an alternative that costs less and is accessible.
  
  These people are cut off in a ghetto of benefits and no access to the formal financial service – they are penned up like chum in the water. No wonder the sharks cruise in.
  
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  September 8, 2019 11:40am
secondcumming

A talk back caller recently described *Simon Bridges* as,
“Likely to be viewed by the Chinese as being someone in the same mold as previous
prime minister John Key. Soft on immigration, vulnerable, and easily exploited”

He certainly hasn’t struck me that way. Time will tell I guess…..
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September 8, 2019 9:56am
Tauhei Notts

I see where Ireland beat Wales at rugby union and are now rated the leading rugby union playing country in the world.
So I looked at a betting site where bets of AUD2,391,700 have been matched, that is, a quite significant sum; and Ireland, the highest rating country in the world are a measly fourth favourite at $11.50 for the World Cup.
I get the impression that world rugby ratings are done by a Green Party acolyte, or somebody with the nouse of a Green Party acolyte.
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September 8, 2019 10:52am
- Colville
  
  Indeed the ratings are a weird scheme. But its a bit of a laugh to see the mind games of Hansen pushing pressure onto others like Schmitd trying to deflect it.
  
  Personally I cant see the Northern teams keeping up on the hard fast tracks in Japan. We obviously have picked a squad to play at pace so its the lungs in the last 20 will tell the tale.
  
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  September 8, 2019 12:23pm
- Biscuit
  
  Belgium are FIFA’s No One-ranked side, TN.
  
  That makes almost as much sense as the Irish being World Rugby’s No One.
  
  Again I would point out that Ireland has NEVER won a Knock-out game at a Rugby World Cup – and given that they will run into South Africa or New Zealand in a Quarterfinal at this Rugby World Cup I’d wager quite happily it won’t do so in 2019 either!
  
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  September 8, 2019 12:48pm
  - rockape
    
    England are Number one now since they beat Wales.
    
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    September 8, 2019 2:40pm
    - Biscuit
      
      Tongue-in-cheek, rockape?
      
      The ‘system’ is only of any use to you if you are a team capable of beating someone ranked higher than you at the time.
      
      Hence the ludicrosity (it is so a word! I just made it up) or, in three different weeks, three different No. One teams.
      
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      September 8, 2019 3:19pm
Swifty

Where this fellow, and others, sees ‘poverty’ – I see parental neglect or at the very least parental ambivalence.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/115587902/auckland-boy-13-on-a-mission-to-reduce-poverty

As long as we blindly (or wilfully) misdiagnose the real causes or our problems, we will continue to suffer the effects of these problems.
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September 8, 2019 11:32am
- Swifty
  
  *I would add that for as long as we can remember we have believed that it is better to teach a man to fish rather than give a man a fish.
  
  For generation after generation humanity has realised and agreed the wisdom and virtue of this position.
  
  I seems however that, under Labour, it is now deemed much better to give a man or woman or child a fish day after day after day – denying them and society the benefit of become a great fisherman themselves.
  
  Who knew that Labour are more smart than centuries of people that came before us?
  
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  September 8, 2019 11:52am
- GoVege
  
  Don’t you remember what it’s like to be broke, Swifty?
  We didn’t smoke/drink or gamble when our kids were little.
  I shopped at the op-shop and we still struggled to make ends meet.
  Its true there are selfish parents who spend their kids’ benny money, but now we pay anybody to drag up kids, there’s not much we can do about it.
  
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  September 8, 2019 12:03pm
- Odakyu-sen
  
  Social welfare is a safety net; not a hammock.
  
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  September 8, 2019 6:30pm
Maggie Pie

Sooo pleased to see Serena blown off the court this mornin by the 19yo Canadian girl!
Serena’s big bum along with her on & off-court antics have really been getting on my rag lately. Watch for the excuses in the next few months as to why she wont be here for the ASB Classic 🙁
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September 8, 2019 11:47am
GoVege

Womens refuges are STILL bullying already abused women.
(Well at least they investigate it these days.)
A manager comes out of a meeting referring to the residents as “skanks and slags”, donated gifts are purloined by staff.
Theres only one thing to do: get a man in.
Women don’t like to look bad in front of men, and tend to behave better in their presence.
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September 8, 2019 11:49am
Happychappy

It looks like Jacinda and David Clark are trying to to take the air out of the bad press they have had this morning from the bulling and sexual harassment complaints leveled at senior members of the Labour Party. They announced that another $6 million will be invested in Mental health around the country.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/government-pledges-6-million-mental-health-targeting-gp-providers
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September 8, 2019 12:59pm
- tranquil
  
  Yep. Definitely a diversionary tactic – “look over there! More money for mental health!”
  
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  September 8, 2019 2:05pm
- rockape
  
  Maybe like charity it should start at home!
  
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  September 8, 2019 2:39pm
- cmm
  
  Every Labour policy is a fuck up.
  
  If Labour make mental health a flagship policy then we can all expect to have our own Black Dog following us about by the end of the year.
  
  I guess this explains the increasing suicide rates – now to be driven through the roof!
  
  Please Labour stop trying to fix things. You 19-year-old Comrade polsci students know nothing and are not as clever as you think you are.
  
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  September 8, 2019 2:39pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  We have 20 DHBs, but only 7 are recipients of this extra funding for mental health services.
  
  Tuff titties for most of the South Island and Middle NI.
  
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  September 8, 2019 3:08pm
  - Komata
    
    Maggy W@1508
    
    It all depends on where your voter base lies….
    
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    September 8, 2019 5:15pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Yep, looks that way to me…
      
      South Dunedin might be a pissed off.
      
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      September 8, 2019 5:36pm
    - stephieboy
      
      Of in another political courage to rationalise and amalgamate eg Southland DHB merged with Otago DHB etc.
      
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      September 8, 2019 5:36pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Labour need to look at the mental health in their own party before getting involved with public metal health.
  Liberalism is a mental disorder
  
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  September 8, 2019 4:15pm
  - stephieboy
    
    And what is Conservatism?
    
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    September 8, 2019 5:37pm
    - KevO'Brien
      
      It keeps overly enthusiastic, inexperienced, young things in check.
      
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      September 8, 2019 6:43pm
      - stephieboy
        
        Like Boris?
        
        LOL!
        
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        September 8, 2019 7:42pm
Komata

Happychappy@1259

Proving once again the value of a Comms degree from UoW.

Divert, distract and dissemble.

PriNZess seems to have at least learnt THAT well…
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September 8, 2019 1:54pm
James Stephenson

I found my way to this article via Delingpole, and despite being Brexit-focussed, I thought it had great relevance to us here. There are plenty of places where changing the word “Conservative” for “National” will have you nodding your head in agreement.

The result of the Conservatives having abandoned conservatism is the unintentional creation of a philosophical void. It has meant that the Conservatives, upon taking office, have found themselves unable to forge political direction for the country.

https://countrysquire.co.uk/2019/03/29/post-brexit-tory-doom/
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September 8, 2019 2:07pm
- Tauhei Notts
  
  Thank you for bringing that wonderful article to our attention.
  
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  September 8, 2019 4:29pm
cmm

Another Labour flagship policy, another fuck up!

A third of “Free Fees” students failed to complete first year, compared to only 15 to 20% of normal students. They’re failing at twice the rate.

Huh.

These were all supposed disadvantaged students desperate to make the most of any opportunity they were given. Just give them some “free fees” and they’ll zoom ahead and become the professionals we need.

Cynical me thought students (and everyone for that matter) make better decisions and fare better when they have some skin in the game.

We already pay about 80% of uni expenses anyway. Making the students pay that last 20% adds a wee bit of motivation.

If we were going to hand out “free fees” then it should be to final year students, or prorata: 20% in first year, 30% in second year and 50% in third year.

This was never really for the students, but rather a pay-off to the university lecturers etc who are the only people to really benefit from this.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12265116
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September 8, 2019 2:36pm
- tranquil
  
  The Nats **must** keep a list of all of Labour’s stuff-ups. Such a list would be absolute gold for the election campaign.
  So would the video I posted earlier in which Ardern herself admits closing the charter schools “because the unions wanted it.”
  
  Heck, there is hardly a warehouse **big enough** to store all of the ammo that Labour is giving to the Nats.
  
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  September 8, 2019 3:16pm
  - Komata
    
    Tranquil@1516
    
    But who will deliver these to gain best advantage?
    
    Simon certainly won’t, an in fact seems to agree with a lot of what the COL is doing.
    
    Which leaves only….?
    
    And THAT is the problem…..
    
    Thanks.
    
    4 2
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    September 8, 2019 5:13pm
  - DigNap15
    
    A good idea,
    But they’d need to buy a big hard drive.
    There are a few lists floating around.
    They need to be collated!
    
    4 1
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    September 8, 2019 5:15pm
    - Tony Stuart
      
      The Nats’ social media team has been in overdrive over the last few weeks chronicling Labour’s stuff-ups, of which there are plenty. The latest one, which ends “You can’t trust Labour on Transport” is a cracker; simple, but very effective:
      
      https://www.facebook.com/NZNATS/videos/2383531688412739/
      
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      September 8, 2019 5:37pm
      - tranquil
        
        That’s **very good!**
        Simple, clear, right to the point!
        
        If they did a similar one – say, where Labour’s long list of disasters are items on a list that are revealed, one by one – that too could be very hard-hitting!
        
        What about an ad that quotes Hipkins saying “one size does not fit all” (in relation to education).
        Then a rubber-stamp – “Charter schools axed”.
        Another stamp “Don’t trust Labour”.
        Something like that…… 🙂
        
        Well done to the Nats! Much more of this please!
        
        8 0
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        September 8, 2019 6:25pm
- kowtow
  
  Remember the Princess declared “this one’s on me”
  
  No darling, it’s on the long suffering tax payer .
  
  Funny how the Media Pardy never challenged her highness on that.
  
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  September 8, 2019 3:30pm
Maggie Pie

My partner and his best mate shot off down to the farm early this morning armed to the teeth. He wanted to make sure ducks weren’t destroying the crops.
He retweets:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EDpvxyyXkAE00Rn?format=jpg&name=900×900
16 0
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September 8, 2019 2:59pm
- Tony Stuart
  
  LMAO!
  
  8 0
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  September 8, 2019 3:06pm
  - stephieboy
    
    Sick!
    
    1 9
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    September 8, 2019 5:33pm
- Tauhei Notts
  
  What sort of crops would ducks be able to damage in early September?
  March, or April, I would believe, but early September!
  
  4 0
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  September 8, 2019 3:57pm
tranquil

Just had a really nice half-hour or so having a couple of lattes at the Ekor Bookshop and Cafe (College St here in Wellington).
Great little place – quiet, cosy and small.
Quite “funky and different” being a bookshop and a cafe.
Good coffee and food.
Very much recommended!
5 0
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September 8, 2019 3:12pm
Brian McDonald

Reading through the comments on rugby great Chester Williams I saw this: Mooi loop my broer (nice walk brother). It seems Chester crossed more lines than the try line at the 95 World Cup. His smile was even quicker than his pace on the outside.
2 1
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September 8, 2019 3:14pm
BrownSnake

A Basic Fact or Reality to Consider

Europe is cold
Europeans Systems since the Ice Age have struggled to deal with this issue.

The ability to store food and fuel to last winter.

Without that you die.

Ice age Europeans had already developed a
prototype graphic system of Communication.

The European Bee is the best equivalent of the European System they all work they all cooperate
and they are all armed.

Anything that disrupts that natural system
has been and will be a disaster.

As it will be in NZ.

Study the Holodomor and communist collective farms – total disaster

New Zealanders have been disarmed so their
farms can be collectivised for communists.

I DO NOT STOP WORKING
outside of Work

European Bees work day and night
Like Me

I breed them

Very good ones

They are essential like hard working European
People for European Food Production.

Trust me I can make places food productive

Edmond Hillary Kept Bees

Thomas Edison’s Apiary Still operates

The Ukraine produces more honey per head
of population

Yes they beat NZ

with Winters of -26

The Cossacks still are the best
bee keepers in the world

Cossack means

Free Man

If you go to Europe and do not understand
the above Winter will take you out.

All the theoretical political bs you talk will do you
no good what so ever.

Proverbs 24:13-14 English Standard Version (ESV)
<
My son, eat honey, for it is good,
and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
14 Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
if you find it, there will be a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
4 10
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September 8, 2019 3:50pm
- stephieboy
  
  Your point escapes me.
  
  5 13
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  September 8, 2019 4:57pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Any point escapes you!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9t_KDGqOmE
    
    11 1
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    September 8, 2019 5:37pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Perhaps you should study Proverbs 24.
    
    Verse 28 is of particular interest
    
    Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.
    
    7 1
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    September 8, 2019 5:59pm
  - Ian Boag
    
    I don’t think he/she actually has much in the way of a point. Hard to extract from the waffle.
    
    8 0
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    September 8, 2019 6:02pm
  - BrownSnake
    
    Because you can not think
    
    0 2
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    September 9, 2019 1:02am
- Captain Mainwaring
  
  Call the paramedics……
  
  6 0
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  September 8, 2019 5:22pm
rangitoto

The Donald definitely has a good sense of humour:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1170546650651271169
5 3
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September 8, 2019 5:26pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Likes pussies too
  
  3 3
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  September 8, 2019 5:44pm
Komata

Catty..!
2 1
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September 8, 2019 5:50pm
Maggie Pie

~ ALERT ~
Just a frendly reminder to the group – new series of MAFS starts tonite 8:30 on Three straight after the auction final of The Block at 7. I’ve already had dinner and off now for a early shower.
Talk tomorrow 🙂
3 1
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September 8, 2019 6:06pm
- Nostradamus
  
  Maggy:
  
  new series of MAFS starts tonite
  
  Do you know if MAFS will feature “two beautiful young daughters dressed in modern western tight jeans and blouses , revealing lovely supple body proportions , including small but ample breasts”? If not, then Stephieboy will probably go to bed early 🙂
  
  5 2
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  September 8, 2019 7:45pm
chiz

25 years on, new witnesses have come forward to the Bain family murders. Maybe it was really Robin Bain in a mask pretending to be be David. Yeah that must be it.
7 1
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September 8, 2019 7:10pm
surfing

Why must the media keep reporting on Millie Holmes?

She is complaining now of being abused by her boyfriend… is that the gang member one?

Better life choices I think.
6 1
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September 8, 2019 7:48pm
Hugh Pavletich

HONG KONG PROTESTS …

… Housing inflation / Poverty creation … …

… Better sort out new housing supply … and fast …

Behind Hong Kong’s chaos lie deep-seated social problems … Ecns.cn

http://www.ecns.cn/news/2019-09-08/detail-ifzntuwi2502180.shtml

Kwong loves the pure adrenaline rush he gets when he takes his motorcycle out on the weekends to light up his lackluster life.

The 35-year-old lives with his parents in an old and cramped apartment in the New Territories of Hong Kong. He has a girlfriend but is hesitant to get married and start a family.

“The rent is so high, and there is no way I can afford an apartment,” said Kwong, who earns 15,000 HK dollars ($1,950) a month. Renting a 30-square meter one-bedroom apartment would cost him about two-thirds of his salary.

“Future? I don’t think much about it, just passing each day as it is,” he said. … read more via hyperlink above …
.
.
Hong Kong protesters march to US consulate calling for support … Aljazeera

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/hong-kong-protesters-march-consulate-calling-support-190908060526852.html

… quoted within the Ecns.cn article above …

2019 15th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey

http://www.demographia.com/dhi.pdf
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September 9, 2019 2:13am

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