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May 26, 2020 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 26 May 2020

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MT_Tinman

There is a story on Stuff.co.nz this morning that demonstrates, exactly, the value of Stuff.co.nz.

The story is an ancient one, 2001, of a now South Island mayor using dark make-up while portraying the great Louis Armstrong.

Stuff of course calls this “black-face. It ain’t!

Stuff of course, headlines this as “racist’.

The story describes that the mayor was part of a three person act and names the other two, one of whom is the well known leftie racist Taika Waititi.

The story is accompanied by a ‘photo showing Waititi wearing a blonde wig – obviously pretending to be white.

Stuff makes no comment on this.

Stuff, in it’s headlines and story, is not just being racist in the extreme but demonstrates it’s value, both as a “news” organisation and to NZ as a social commentator.

$1 was far too much!
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May 26, 2020 8:00am
- Jacinda is not a Princess, she's a very naughty girl
  
  Thanks for posting this. Having read the story now I can only conclude the Stuff editors and writers are complete f*$&w&ts.
  
  At least we know now and can make the appropriate decision to utterly ignore Stuff.
  
  Talk about an ‘own goal’!
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:30am
- Suze Wainwright
  
  Sorry mate, by definition, Maori can’t be racist…
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:34am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
    Not by most definitions of racism, which is about power and control.
    
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    May 26, 2020 8:47am
    - Suze Wainwright
      
      Ah, like cisgender = oppressive patriarchy, you mean…?
      
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      May 26, 2020 8:52am
    - Albert_Ross
      
      So if you took a Ku Klux Klan grandmaster and moved him to Kenya, where he’d have neither power nor control – but he otherwise remained the same person with the same thoughts and feelings – would he not be a racist any more?
      
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      May 26, 2020 9:39am
      - Phronesis
        
        Except that “minority” now means “not white”. So minority actually refers to the 90% majority of people who aren’t white.
        
        So black is white and white is black and once you accept that then you will accept anything.
        
        Similarly “power and control” actually means “being white”.
        
        So M&M’s comment should be read as:
        “Not by most definitions of racism, which is about being white”
        
        So unless you can stop being white then it doesn’t matter where you are you are still a racist.
        
        Curiously it is now acceptable to stop being a man or woman but it’s currently not allowed to stop being white.
        
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        May 26, 2020 10:01am
      - Kiwi Dave
        
        He would still be racially prejudiced, which makes him (a) racist according to dictionary definitions.
        
        Though mma’s definition is popular among academics, it reeks of special pleading which attributes moral virtue or vice to individuals because of a general group attribute of power which might be quite irrelevant to the specific situation, as your example illustrates.
        
        In the case of the Louis Armstrong fan, he was clearly paying tribute to a performer he admired by putting on a suit and blackface. How that can be racist, either as an exercise in power or prejudice, I don’t know.
        
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        May 26, 2020 10:12am
    - Odakyu-sen
      
      The problem is that the average member of the public is unaware of the Left’s definition of “racism” as being soley an artifact of “power and control.”
      
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      May 26, 2020 9:49am
      - kowtow
        
        These are the people who get to decide who rules , the so called soft centre.
        
        More like soft headed.
        
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        May 26, 2020 10:37am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        And how do we all get our head around a ‘Polynesian Jew” depicting Adolf Hitler?
        
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taika_Waititi
        
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        May 26, 2020 10:39am
      - Jack5
        
        Maggy W, the fact that half-Maori, half-Jewish Taika Waititi is always identified as Maori reflects the missing identity of the big section of New Zealand that is both Maori and White.
        
        Latin American countries like Mexico acknowledge their big Mestizo, or mixed-race, heritage. Here the pressure is to be one or the other, and at the moment the mood is to identify as Maori.
        
        The mixed ethnicity of a large section of our population is ignored as though it is racist to acknowledge more than one racial origin. That’s the real racism in NZ.
        
        Elsewhere in this thread someone posts about Wily-Willie Jackson’s cruel racist taunt about Paula Bennett, a fellow Maori-White mixture New Zealander.
        
        Wily-Willie apparently believes he didn’t identify as Maori until he was well into his teenage, but then went on the path that him to be the “super- Maori” activist who led the coup that took control of Radio NZ for Maoridom and led him into Parliament.
        
        This, his personal jump, apparently from identifying as White to identifying as Maori, is from Jackson’s story – link below:
        
        I was seventh form (year 13 if you prefer) when the Iwi Transitional Agency visited my high school in Christchurch. This forerunner of Te Puni Kokiri came as part of their regular end of year rounds to encourage Maori students to apply for scholarships to go on to higher education. Like all Maori students in our school, I was called to the library and encouraged to connect with my iwi and hapu throughout the country to see what support was available.
        
        There was only one problem: I didn’t know I was Maori.
        
        My life took a different path that day. For the last 26 years, I have taken a journey to reclaim our reo, to find my place in our whakapapa, to rebuild relationships and a role at our marae, to find land again for us on our turangawaewae and to raise our tamariki as the heirs to everything that was lost.
        
        The full story of Wily-Willie’s attack on Paula Bennett, originally linked to elsewhere in this thread:
        
        https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/06-05-2019/the-cruelty-behind-willie-jacksons-attack-on-paula-bennetts-maori-identity/
        
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        May 26, 2020 11:09am
      - Odakyu-sen
        
        There are no Maori (if “Maori” is strictlyt defined as being pure blood).
        There are only part-Maori.
        Or to look at it from a more pragmatic aspect, there are only “people who self-identify as Maori.”
        
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        May 26, 2020 11:30am
      - alwyn
        
        @Jack5
        As I read that link it was Graham Cameron who didn’t know that they were Maori. Cameron was the one who wrote the story.
        You appear to be crediting the story to Willy Jackson being in that position. Cameron wasn’t telling the story about Willy. He was telling it about himself.
        
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        May 26, 2020 12:03pm
      - Jack5
        
        Alwyn, you are correct. Sorry, that’s my mistake.
        
        Graham is telling his own mixed-race story. A mixed-race person suddenly realises he can identify as Maori. Jackson’s very surname indicates that he has some White ancestry, but he likely identified as Maori most or all of his life.
        
        There is no “identity” in New Zealand of “White-Maori”, the equivalent of Mestizo in Latin America. We need to have an “identity” for those who want to be identify as both White and Maori.
        
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        May 26, 2020 12:42pm
    - David George
      
      You can’t just choose your own definitions Milky.
      Sorry.
      
      racism rā′sĭz″əm►
      n. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
      n. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.
      n. The belief that each race has distinct and intrinsic attributes.
      
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      May 26, 2020 9:52am
      - tf78
        
        I am part of the human race does that make me wacist.
        
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        May 26, 2020 11:56am
      - Paulus Gnome
        
        If you are white, then yes, racist.
        
        If you are white and have blue eyes, then yes, double racist.
        
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        May 26, 2020 1:13pm
      - UrbanNeocolonialist
        
        over 95% of all sub-10s 100m runners are of west african descent. Is it racist to accept that is reality? Because it seems pretty clear that that amounts to a “distinct and intrinsic attribute”
        
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        May 26, 2020 4:51pm
    - Libertarians are right
      
      That is moronic. What power do white people have over Maori in this country? They don’t have any yet Maori have considerable power over everyone else. There are plenty of regulations and legislation which requires Maori involvement but the opposite doesn’t exist.
      
      You are confusing racism with discrimination by the way.
      
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      May 26, 2020 10:01am
    - trout
      
      So MM wants to extend the definition of ‘racism’ to ‘power and control’ . The ‘not by most’ preface in his comment is to claim the majority have somehow acceded to this distortion of the truth. The definition of racism is: ‘a person who shows or feels discrimination or prejudice against people of other races, or who believes that a particular race is superior to another’. Nothing more and nothing less.
      What we see here is an typical example of how the left re-engineer language to fit their identity politics agenda.
      
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      May 26, 2020 10:05am
      - Michael NZ
        
        m&M is an idiot if that is his criteria.
        
        Maybe I should just downtick him because of it?
        
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        May 26, 2020 3:54pm
- Loddenthinks
  
  I read that article with much the same thoughts. It was complete with the requisite lefty academic pronouncing it as “offensive and racist” and suggesting it was used to keep black people out of the entertainment industry, and of course it was “cultural appropriation.”
  
  Not to mention an “honour roll” listing 8 or 9 examples where people had been forced to cave in, back down and apologise for this most egregious of sins.
  
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  May 26, 2020 11:30am
Michael NZ

Winter is coming.
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May 26, 2020 8:01am
- Tony Stuart
  
  Indeed. And’s it’s shaping up as a Winter of Discontent that may even be beyond Grant Robertson’s $20b election slush fund…
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:23am
  - tui47
    
    All Labour cares about us getting re-elected so they are unlikely to be too concerned if the slush fund runs out after the election.
    
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    May 26, 2020 8:41am
    - lastmanstanding
      
      I almost feel sorry for the shumcks that are supporting Labour who have or are about the lose their jobs and or their businesses.
      
      There are none so blind than those who will not see.
      
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      May 26, 2020 9:38am
  - theoldbloke
    
    Can we all stop saying $20 billion.
    Start using $2000 million.
    Most financially uneductaed people will start say its only 20 somethings
    Most identify with a lotto win of $1 mill as being a lot and $10 mill as being a shitload.
    Imagine how they would describe $2,000 million.
    
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    May 26, 2020 3:04pm
    - seismac
      
      Opps $20 Billion is 20 thousand million not 2000 million
      Which is a bit bigger than a Lotto win but is a very very big debt if your grandchildren have to pay it back in 40years
      
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      May 26, 2020 3:56pm
    - alwyn
      
      I like to put it all in on occasion, right down to the cents.
      Don’t say $20 billion.
      Say $20,000,000,000.00
      
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      May 26, 2020 4:17pm
  - Michael NZ
    
    I sincerely hope so, even though that means such dislocation for so many families.
    
    PTPM Adhern and her lot need to be gone before they do irreversible damage to the economy and our freedoms.
    
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    May 26, 2020 3:56pm
- Ruawai
  
  Lucky everyone on a benefit gets to keep warm with the Government double energy payment.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:44am
  - Ian Boag
    
    Not forgetting the pensioners. Particularly the ones with other income. They deserve it.
    
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    May 26, 2020 8:49am
    - stigie
      
      “Particularly the ones with other income.”
      
      I’ve paid a shit load of tax over the years so won’t be paying back any winter energy payment that i have received to pleasure the Liarbour snowflakes !~
      
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      May 26, 2020 9:16am
      - lemuzz
        
        Yes. It’s not how much you earn but rather how you spend that determines whether you are rich and have savings to assist when you retire. I will also take the energy payment
        
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        May 26, 2020 9:43am
      - sooty
        
        They weren’t complaining when I paid 60c in the dollar tax!
        I’m taking it too!
        
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        May 26, 2020 9:57am
    - Nickc2
      
      You are either trying to be smart, or you have a bitch against anyone who is better off financially than yourself. I will assume you are tending towards the latter.
      
      People who receive additional income post-retirement have invariably protected themselves throughout their working lives for such an occasion and contributed vast amounts of tax in order that others less fortunate may also receive a pension.
      
      Get the chip off your shoulder Ian and you may find people take a better liking toward you than you currently perceive.
      
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      May 26, 2020 1:32pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        Fell free to assume anything that floats your boat and thanks for the psychological advice.
        
        I think it is a bad joke that the government gives me – a 75 year old with a solid business – anything at all. KBers whinge about dole bludgers, but are relaxed about pension bludgers.
        
        The vast amount of tax that today’s pensioners may have paid (I certainly paid plenty and continue to do so) went to support the pensions of their parents. None of it – even soot’s 60c – went into a “pension fund” for us. The kids are paying their shitload to do that. None of them are paying into a pension fund either.
        
        Actually the top in the 70’s was 66% not 60% (thanks Muldoon). I paid some of that too.
        
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        May 26, 2020 6:34pm
  - gorse
    
    I had my winter energy payment turned off. As soon as the benes got $25 per week extra, and retirees nothing, I got it turned for the first time. Felt cheated, I had worked all my life, the latter part of it on good money, so I had paid a lot of tax. I guess Jacinda thinks older folk don’t vote Labour (learned too much over their lifetime) so weren’t worth trying to bribe.
    
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    May 26, 2020 10:06am
mikenmildagain

Eighty years since the beginning of the evacuation from Dunkirk.

‘We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations.’ – Winston Churchill
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May 26, 2020 8:02am
- Simon
  
  Right now its like the Phoney War with the economy.
  
  Ardern is safely behind the Maginot Line, with mass government spending & on the left flank is the RBNZ ready to move into Belgium to purchase all new government debt.
  
  The German economic blitzkrieg is surely checked.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:28am
  - tui47
    
    Great analogy. But the non Jacinda fanatics know that the real war is coming and is only being delayed. The Government never rearmed sufficiently to deal with the upcoming conflict when they splashed all their cash pre Covid19. They were not prepared. Jacinda fanatics will only under stand when the blitz hits their homes. Until then they remain under the illusion that Jacinda will keep the peace.
    
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    May 26, 2020 8:50am
    - RW Capitalist
      
      and will we ironing her tea towel in readiness for a newly organized celebration/ err……commemoration of the mosque attacks?
      As she was, when she dropped the ball on the incoming covid 19 flu, it had already arrived by the time she “acted” and closed the boarders.
      
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      May 26, 2020 9:11am
      - oldpark
        
        I did hear that Ardern kept the borders open a bit longer because one of her relatives who lives overseas was coming to NZ for a holiday. Thus she didnt want the relly to be locked out . Just saying .
        
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        May 26, 2020 9:33am
      - Captain Mainwaring
        
        Sounds just like when Klark abolished the driving test for 80 year olds just before her parents hit 80.
        
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        May 26, 2020 9:58am
      - MarkF
        
        @OldP Mother and father I believe.
        
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        May 26, 2020 10:45am
  - MH
    
    the washing has been left out to dry
    
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    May 26, 2020 1:33pm
- Jack5
  
  If the gods of pandemics are the same as the gods of war, then they are smiling on Jacindarella Ardern.
  
  Even Fox News was impressed by her cool performance when she was on TV during the earthquake.
  
  https://www.foxnews.com/world/new-zealands-pm-ardens-response-to-earthquake-goes-viral
  
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  May 26, 2020 10:23am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    The comment section is sickening
    
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    May 26, 2020 11:17am
Maggie Pie

LEVEL 2. YAY!!

My partner took me out for a romantic dinner last night and we played footsie under the table while we were eating. He had the wagyu beef and I got toed in the hole.
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May 26, 2020 8:03am
- Left Right and Centre
  
  1) Why don’t you put a sock in it – arf arf.
  2) Sadly I caught a TV fast food ad ‘don’t like this option? You can *switch it out*’ – yeah, cool cuzzie.
  3) Did you see Jacinda was shaken up a bit? Yeah – Todd’s coming for ya!!
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:16am
- stephen2d
  
  What?? 🤣 I love you Maggie!
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:30am
- seismac
  
  Hope he was wearing his Jandals !!
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:32am
krazykiwi

Interesting to contrast two similar stories. Here in NZ the AWOL, mountain biking, and house moving Minister of Health is given a free pass by Ardern, and the rest of her MPs sit quietly by.

Meanwhile in the UK, Boris’ strategist Dominic Cummings is similarly caught breaking their lockdown rules. Boris stands by him. But, there is a now a growing Tory revolt in calling for his resignation.

I guess Boris’ MPs haven’t been bullied into submission as has been achieved by Ardern’s handlers.
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May 26, 2020 8:06am
- Jules99
  
  Sometimes I wonder whether there are simulations in different countries until they pick the best one.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:48am
- Brian Marshall
  
  Except he wasn’t breaking any rules was he? He moved his family to be closer to his wider family who were able to get food and groceries for them while he and his wife had symptoms of the Wu-flu. The sister dropped off groceries and his parents were prepared to pick up the kids if him and his wife were unable to care for the children. All of these things are allowable under the UK guidelines. Now the media scrum that surrounded him and his families car were however, not practicing social distancing. The media over their are getting a reaction. #ScumMedia has been trending on leftist platform twitter.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:19am
- Billy Collins
  
  The rules allow you to take your children to other family if you experience covid-19 symptoms.
  
  You know who was breaking the rules? All the reporters blocking his way to his car.
  
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  May 26, 2020 10:17am
Benedict Yu

So the Prime Minister thinks that a four day work week is a good idea because it will encourage domestic tourism.

https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/300020289/the-world-looks-to-new-zealand-for-the-prospect-of-a-fourday-week

It is idiotic on so many fronts. As Eric Crampton pointed out in Offsetting Behaviour last week, the idea defies basic economics. Overseas tourists bring their money with them. If we somehow convince New Zealanders to go for a holiday to Queenstown, it just means they have less money to spend on other things. As Eric pointed out, if the world stopped buying milk powder we could not save the economy by encouraging New Zealanders to drink all the milk.
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May 26, 2020 8:07am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Who’s going to work while the rest of NZ holidays?
  have the COL flipped their lids at last?
  They weren’t the bright bunch that Winstone let go on us, but this, real back bench quality.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:25am
  - Suze Wainwright
    
    Yeah but the symbolism might work a bit – Cindy does good symbolism…
    
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    May 26, 2020 8:39am
  - G152
    
    Working for 4 days means you stay home because you dont have the pay to do anything but
    
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    May 26, 2020 8:54am
    - WaveyDavey
      
      I think the idea was that you worked 4 but got paid for 5
      
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      May 26, 2020 9:14am
      - sooty
        
        Yer and who makes up the difference?
        The difference might be food on the table or not.
        Public servants take a pay cut and stay home?
        
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        May 26, 2020 10:02am
      - KevO'Brien
        
        Yes, It’s a 25% payroll wage cost increase.
        
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        May 26, 2020 11:13am
      - greybeard
        
        Is it supposed to be 40 hours worked over 4 days instead of 5 days ?
        Same weekly income but an extra day off ?
        This would only work for full-timers: how would part-timers and weekend & shift workers be treated ?
        
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        May 26, 2020 11:14am
- cmm
  
  That is certainly correct. Domestic tourism does not inject funds into the economy.
  
  However there is another way to look at this:
  In a socialised economy we’re going to pay those tourism workers whether they are busy or not.
  
  If they are busy, we pay them directly and get the fun of seeing new places.
  
  If they are not busy, we pay them anyway through taxes and get nothing.
  
  So we may as well pay them directly.
  
  Of course, since we are working 20% less hours we earn less and have no disposable income and thus cannot afford to go play tourist.
  
  Just remember that She does not meet or know people like you and I. She only knows government workers etc who are insulated from all the down sides. They are not going to lose 20% of their salaries.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:49am
  - Ian Boag
    
    I read the ‘four day week’ as 4×10 hours rather than 5×8. Did I miss something?
    
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    May 26, 2020 8:51am
    - donny
      
      I think its 4 x 8 hours. The idea is companies should put employees on less hours rather that making employees redundant. I don’t think it will work in practice most companies would prefer to make the poorest performing 20% of staff redundant than put everyone on 32 hours.
      I think the govt is accutely aware our walfare system is not capable of handling unemployment of 15 %. Our system will break.
      
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      May 26, 2020 9:01am
      - Kabull
        
        Like Ian, my understanding is that the proposal is 4×10 hours. If the total number of hours is less than 40, then a large increase in productivity will be needed to maintain the output of a 40 hr week. Does anyone really expect NZrs to increase productivity by 20% to achieve the same result? I don’t see it.
        
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        May 26, 2020 9:18am
    - MT_Tinman
      
      People work 8 hour days?
      
      Hell! Who knew?
      
      All of my life I’ve had to work the number of hours needed to get the job done.
      
      Next you’ll be saying people have set tea and lunch breaks and really disturb my day.
      
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      May 26, 2020 9:26am
    - cmm
      
      4×10 is nowhere near as productive as 5×8. After approx 6 hours, most people become way less productive. Cutting 8 productive hours per week and replacing with 8 unproductive hours is not going to help productivity.
      
      How would 4×10 work with kids etc? People already struggle with getting kids off to school in the morning and feeding tired kid in the evening. Stretching the day by an extra two hours is not going to lead to wellness.
      
      Fine, I suppose, for single income families or those with nannies, but huge problems for most people.
      
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      May 26, 2020 9:31am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      4×8 — What unions is going to tolerate 4×10?
      
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      May 26, 2020 11:14am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        And what about working mums/solo dads who are expected to do a 8am-6pm day?
        
        Who looks after their kids when school finishes at 3-30pm? …
        A 13-15 year-old isn’t going to enjoy being in after-school care until 6pm.
        
        When will the kids get fed if parents don’t finish work until 6-7pm, then have a half-hour commute home?
        
        10-hr working days are not family friendly, unless one parent works from home.
        
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        May 26, 2020 11:44am
      - Paulus Gnome
        
        Then, when working from home for ones 4 x 10, you pop out to collect the children, run the errands, cook the dinner and the rest of the domestic chores while telling your employer that you have been ”ard adit’ for 10 hours?
        
        Tell the boss you’ll make it up with extra hours means you will still be there at midnight by the time dinner is over, things cleared away, children put to bed.
        
        Yer havin’ a larf mate! It just isn’t going to happen.
        
        I did work at home for years, it requires a great deal of personal dedication o’wise the temptation just to hang out the washing, empty the dishwasher, go to the optician and a thousand ‘it’ll only be five minutes’ even convincing yourself of the lie. I fell off a roof when I was working from home . . .
        
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        May 26, 2020 1:31pm
    - Michael NZ
      
      As usual.
      
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      May 26, 2020 4:00pm
- Ruahine
  
  I believe a former Prime Minister also often stated that we cannot expect to get rich by buying and selling to ourselves.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:11am
  - James Stephenson
    
    As I say every time the “move the port and replace it with cafes” topic comes up – we can’t pay the bills by making coffee for each other.
    
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    May 26, 2020 11:20am
- Bevan
  
  Wonder if workers supporting a 4 day week will be so enthusiastic when they realise it comes with a 20% pay cut…
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:49am
- alloytoo
  
  In case princess hasn’t noticed, most of us are already on a 4 day week (or less) with our income correspondingly reduced.
  
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  May 26, 2020 11:18am
smttc

Would someone please ask the Prime Minister if she would have sacked Dominic Cummings.

I ask because Alastair Campbell just stated on Red Radio that he believes Jacinda Ardern would have sacked him if she had been the British Prime Minister.

Ummmm no. David Clark. David Clark. David Clark.

In fact she has never sacked anyone.

Campbell does not understand that it is not about leadership. It is all about kindness. Sigh.
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May 26, 2020 8:07am
- Suze Wainwright
  
  As far as Alistair Campbell is concerned, Javita Ardern is all things to all people…
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:42am
  - MT_Tinman
    
    Suze, I suspect you have it ass about face and Mr Campbell is the architect of the NZ house arrest.
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:28am
- Ruawai
  
  RNZ reporter should have said that actually ‘No’ JA did not sack her minister in similar circumstances an see what UK reporter said then.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:50am
- potato
  
  I listened to that as well and he caught him self out or they edited clip after he said “ Ardern would Have sacked him“ he back tracked and said or “made him say sorry” sounded dodgy
  
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  May 26, 2020 12:46pm
Benedict Yu

I’m going on a 7 day road trip in the South Island in August. I have rented a nice motor home. Wait for it. $49 per day.
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May 26, 2020 8:10am
- marcw
  
  Does that cover insurance? Comprehensive insurance cover will double that daily rate, else you are at risk of a $5000 excess even if an accident is not your fault.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:29am
  - stephen2d
    
    If the accident is not his fault then there is no excess to him – as long as the other party is insured.
    
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    May 26, 2020 8:32am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      Have you ever damaged a rental car without zero excess? Thousands come out of your credit card before lunch, regardless if it was your fault. If the other party has insurance you might get refunded one day. I’ll happily pay $99 per day for a motor home rather than $49 for peace of mind.
      
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      May 26, 2020 8:49am
      - lemuzz
        
        If you pay with your Mastercard Gold card or higher they pay your excess.
        
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        May 26, 2020 12:52pm
      - Benedict Yu
        
        Mastercard Gold limits your excess payment to $3000. The standard excess on a Motorhome rental is $7,500.
        
        I recognise that they make lots of money out of insurance, but I prefer peace of mind on an expensive rental. If it is damaged just hand the keys back and walk away. I’m willing to pay for that security. But everyone has different risk apetites 🙂
        
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        May 26, 2020 2:05pm
    - Hard Cheese
      
      Have you ever seen Motorway Patrol? There are enough losers out there with unwarranted cars and no licenses, let alone having any sort of insurance on the rust-buckets they’re driving.
      
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      May 26, 2020 7:18pm
  - Inandout
    
    And damage caused by Maori roadblocks are probably not covered and you are up for the excess. It is impossible to get that excess back from a faceless road block.
    
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    May 26, 2020 8:39am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
      What damage might a ‘roadblock’ do? So far as I can tell, these ‘roadblocks’ do not block the road or impede traffic in any way.
      
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      May 26, 2020 8:49am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        You need to read more widely, or watch the TV.
        
        https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northland-age/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503402&objectid=12333622
        
        https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/shane-jones-calls-iwis-reason-barring-access-cape-reinga-cultural-mumbo-jumbo
        
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        May 26, 2020 10:52am
      - zulumonster
        
        https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/national-mp-in-confrontation-members-local-iwi-after-being-refused-access-cape-reinga
        This roadblock is certainly impeding traffic … and the “guardians” of this particular roadblock certainly appear willing to do damage …
        
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        May 26, 2020 1:02pm
- seismac
  
  Oppps they are now on special for $29 per day a saving on the fish and chips
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:30am
- Colville
  
  Who did you get the motor home from???
  
  Last time I got a quote it was $400 a day!
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:39am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    My partner is taking care of it. I’ll get back to you.
    
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    May 26, 2020 8:50am
  - BeeJay
    
    I think both Maui and Britz were mentioned on TV last night. A 3 day package for under $150!
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:23am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    “Last time I got a quote it was $400 a day”
    
    Yes of course it was $400 per day. But there were not 2,000 idle vehicles parked out the back of Christchurch airport either 🙂
    
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    May 26, 2020 2:07pm
  - Michael NZ
    
    Colville
    Britz have a special for the next 8 weeks.
    
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    May 26, 2020 4:04pm
- Dougal10
  
  You do realize that a nice motorhome in the south island is a Toyota estima with a bucket for washing your dishes and maybe another one for using as a toilet.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:45am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    agh no this is not that.
    
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    May 26, 2020 8:50am
    - hookerphil
      
      The good thing about the South Island during August in a camper van is that you get to see a hoar frost up close and personal.
      
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      May 26, 2020 9:17am
      - Ed Snack
        
        Park up in Wanaka and (presuming that snow does arrive eventually), take in Treble for a few days on their cheap lift tickets.
        
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        May 26, 2020 9:50am
  - BeeJay
    
    And usually displaying the “ Self Contained” certificate!
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:21am
- tui47
  
  My daughter has been planning a South Island trip with her friends. The car hire price is too high at the moment so they had initially changed their mind. Then they saw the price of motor homes. They are now going to use a motor home as their vehicle.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:58am
  - Kevin Herlihy
    
    I flew out of Queenstown just before the lockdown and was amazed at how many camper vans and rentals that were parked up at Frankton. No exageration, must have been thousands of them. I’m sure rental companies would be keen to do a deal for those interested.
    
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    May 26, 2020 11:49am
- Ian Boag
  
  Running a business – small, medium or large – there are two things you have to look at. Profit/loss and cashflow. If the cashflow dries up, your business will go broke quite quickly. If the profit/loss goes bad it generally takes a bit longer, depending on how well capitalised the business is.
  
  Can be summarised as ‘go broke quickly’ or ‘go broke a bit slower’. End result is the same. Motorhome at $49/day is not a price that the operator can survive on for long …..
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:07am
  - Dougal10
    
    Probably long enough to pocket a non refundable deposit
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:18am
  - Ed Snack
    
    Yes but consider the fixed cost covering. If you are paying for the vehicle through a lease deal (probably all are leased) then anything you can get back will go towards covering that lease cost which you will be paying regardless.
    
    So correct about the quick death as opposed to a slow death, but the slow way might enable you to trade out of the problem. At least you have a chance.
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:52am
    - Jack5
      
      They could be out to minimise the loss rather than make a profit, but if I was them the goal would be first to get minimal cash flow to help survive a month or two.
      
      They will be hoping, or, if religious, praying for a bounce up in business from Aussie snow fans if NZ gets a trans-Tasman bubble up. Winter is imminent. Hurry up with the bubble, Jacinda.
      
      Until then any cash is better than none.
      
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      May 26, 2020 10:34am
    - Ian Boag
      
      Die tomorrow for sure (no cashflow) or in a few months maybe (no profit) ….
      
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      May 26, 2020 2:12pm
Kiwi_in_Paris

Get ready:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5584&v=6txiPiobpH0&feature=emb_logo
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May 26, 2020 8:10am
RiP NZ

Had the misfortune of stumbling across q+a last night.
Someone needs to tell Tame the ‘a’ stands ..presumably for answer. Muller let him interrupt constantly, exactly the same treatment of Bridges and unless Muller grows a pair …will appear weak.
Interesting how Bridges Maori heritage was never a feature of the leftist media narrative…now all of a sudden the questions are ‘why no Maori in the top 12 of National ‘
FYI Muller the ans6is we pick on talent, not race…..dont enter into a whole debate with leftist sops
Big fail from Muller..same trap, same game…same pitiful response.
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May 26, 2020 8:14am
- Inandout
  
  Jack will be trotting back happily to his flatmate.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:41am
  - oldfella
    
    Who’s the flatmate? A bloke I assume.
    
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    May 26, 2020 10:22am
    - oldfella
      
      So who is his flatmate?
      
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      May 26, 2020 11:34am
- Dougal10
  
  Why would you let that Jack fella interview you should be the question.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:49am
- BeeJay
  
  What an insulting question by Tame in Q&A last night regarding what appears to be absence of Maori in the National Party lineup! It is insulting to Maori specifically, as it appears from Tame’s Question in that he seems to think that all Governments in New Zealand must have Maori sprinkled throughout their Leadership to be representative! That’s tokenism, not representation by the best people available! New Zealand has had exceptional Maori in parliament over many years, as is the case with Pakeha, with examples of the unexceptional in Parliament from all ethnicity also well documented over years, and currently! Let’s elect the best people based on ability, not on race or gender, and get on with it!
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:54am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    Spot on BeeJay. Let’s not forget that when National DID have a deputy leader who was Maori, William Jackson suggested she “didn’t know whether or not she was Maori”
    
    https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/06-05-2019/the-cruelty-behind-willie-jacksons-attack-on-paula-bennetts-maori-identity/
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:17am
  - Clyde
    
    This maori nonsense must stop. It wasn’t all that long ago that the clearly white Labour MP, Jo Luxton, suddenly found out that somewhere back in her heritage there was someone who identified as a maori. Bing!! She is suddenly a member of the maori caucus. Not sure what she has achieved over her period in Parliament.
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:48am
  - Odakyu-sen
    
    To apoint someone to a position based on their race must surely be racist.
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:51am
    - Odakyu-sen
      
      Would a NZ-born Kiwi of pure Chinese ethnicity who spoke fluent Te Reo and had a sound understanding of Maori protocol and customs be excluded from the position?
      
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      May 26, 2020 12:42pm
- MCos
  
  I’m sure there was reference to Mr Bridges’ Māori heritage when he was leader on the National Party web site.
  Now there’s not even an acknowledgement that he was leader on his page!
  Neither is there reference to Ms Bennett’s Maori heritage.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:06am
- MCos
  
  I watched Q & A last night & listened to the Nine to Noon interview yesterday.
  My impression has been that Todd Muller is underprepared for his new roll.
  A more orthodox approach, particularly for the Nats, would have been for the leader to have resigned after the election and Muller to have thrown his hat in the ring at that stage.
  However.
  Those recent poll results indicate that under Bridges many Nat MP were going to lose their seats. Maybe as many as twenty. That would wipe out the list plus.
  So the pressure was on to save some jobs & a challenge, which may have been bubbling away was inevitable.
  Problem is there’s no policy to present to the public except our front bench, which is the remnants of the previous front bench plus a couple of newbies (minus Bridges) can be trusted to sort out the country.
  Todd Muller couldn’t give a straight answer to the perennial NZF question. About summed up the interviews.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:48am
  - Rachael Membery
    
    Yep he should have been a pregnant female and that all questions would have been soft.
    
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    May 26, 2020 6:25pm
- gorse
  
  Couldn’t agree more RiP, can’t see this leader leading National to victory allowing Tame to talk over him. Just needs to keep saying “let me answer the question” and then answer it. Not hard is it?
  
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  May 26, 2020 10:38am
- Surely Knott
  
  Yep. Seems their is a facebook campaign starting from Labour local campaigners, with pics of Nationals new line up labelling them tiptop white bread etc etc and the racist comments to follow. The hypocrisy is breath taking. The “Be Kind” campaign different kind of politics rhetoric is garbage. They won’t discuss the issues instead focused on race, hats or any other ad hominem attacks to distract from their failed economic thinking.
  
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  May 26, 2020 12:10pm
I remember when

The Great Wrong War: WW1
The virus swept across the world in four waves over four years. Although only two waves killed wholesale.
New Zealand and Samoa suffered some 17,000 deaths during the weeks around Armistice Day.
One in five people was killed in occupied Samoa. One in seven, a tally of over 8,000, died in Fiji.
One in twelve, a tally of about 2,000, died in Tonga.
A new wave in 1919 killed at least another 346 in New Zealand. Samoan deaths were not counted closely.
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May 26, 2020 8:17am
- Inandout
  
  IRW, yes as a kid I recall an old timer telling me that she saw bodies laid out in Albert Park, Auckland, caused by the flu.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:44am
RightNow

I have friends who believe everything the WHO says and have been telling me for months that masks are ineffective to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
It is now fun watching them try to process the fact they’re on the same side of the mask issue as Donald Trump.
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May 26, 2020 8:22am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  No one who wears as much make up as Trump could possibly wear a mask.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:52am
Tony Stuart

I’m waiting for all the usual suspects on the Left to pile on Laila Harre for her comment on Q&A last night that National’s front bench “looks like they’ve had an accident with the bleach”.

Isn’t it strange how the Left never acknowledged Simon Bridges and Paula Bennett as Māori (Willie Jackson even went as far as to suggest Paula Bennett wasn’t a real Māori), yet now that both are no longer on National’s front bench, the world is about to stop turning because said front bench is too white!

Person for person though, there’s plenty of competence in National’s line-up, and that’s what really matters. It’s game on from 2pm today!
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May 26, 2020 8:32am
- RiP NZ
  
  Harre is disgusting, her ethics were on full display during the dotcom fiasco and again with comments like that.
  That she is invited as a commentator says a lot about that show.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:51am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    That she is invited as a commie says a lot about that show.
    Fixed it.
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:21am
    - sooty
      
      I loved her Star Trek uniform!
      
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      May 26, 2020 11:59am
- Benedict Yu
  
  ““looks like they’ve had an accident with the bleach”.”
  
  What a horrifying comment. Competence is everything. I don’t care if Cabinet Ministers are white, brown, or red with little horns.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:56am
  - GoVege
    
    I thought Laila’s comment was quite funny.
    Later on my hubby innocently remarked that the two women on either side of Todd looked like sisters.
    I told him “that’s because they’ve both been into the same bleach”. 🙂
    
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    May 26, 2020 11:20am
- kevn
  
  @Tony…. Have a look at Ngai Tahu management. Looks like a lot of bleach used there as well. Because they just get it done.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:26am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    I had some dealings with the Ngai Tahu finance team six years ago. White folk. Every last one.
    
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    May 26, 2020 10:25am
    - hookerphil
      
      As it was in the 1990’s. They told me they wanted the best person for the job.
      
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      May 26, 2020 11:44am
- rockape
  
  How many parties has Harre been through. She backed Kim dot Com and that to me shows how much political sense she has.She was hated when she ran the nurses union, useless in her restaurant and a hypocrite over living wage when she doesn’t pay her own employees that. If she didnt have family money to keep bailing her out she would be a nobody. quite an ugly nobody in …[del. mod.] mind.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:48am
krazykiwi

I’m on the board of a small company that has made good use of a small Callaghan Growth grant. It did make a difference, and that company now has most of its revenue from offshore. It’s an export earner. I do feel a conflicted on this as I don’t think the government should be picking winners, however I’ve reasoned that helping the small guys is probably worthwhile.

What really sticks in my craw though is NZ-based, listed multi-nationals getting government money. Yesterday this popped up on my social media feed:

F&P Healthcare

“The [Callaghan] Growth Grant has been helpful
to us, but the R&D tax credit is going to be better again
due to the sheer amount of R&D we do”

Andrew Somervell, Products and Technology
VP, F&P Healthcare

Now this isn’t a bitch about F&P Healthcare. On the contrary. They are an outstanding company, delivering best-of-breed products onto the world stage. We should be proud of their achievements. My concerns is their eligibility for what amounts to government handouts to profitable, well capitalized, stable businesses.

F&P Healthcare is capitalized at $17 billion. Current guidance has their FY21 revenues at $1.24 billion with a forecast profit of $275 million. They employ 4,174 Staff and have offices around the world.

Remind me again why they need the government’s research grant and tax-relief assistance?
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May 26, 2020 8:34am
- cmm
  
  kk: I’m in agreement there.
  
  Callaghan’s is a rort. Apart from the picking of winners and losers, the thing that really winds me up is how much they splash out on offices etc.
  
  Callaghan’s are basically welfare. They don’t need anything more than a scruffy WINZ office.
  At least they have improved from the waterfront offices they had a few years back.
  
  I still cannot understand what R&D is not always written off, but is instead capitalised. Most R&D is highly speculative and it is difficult to attach a reasonable asset value anyway, so writing it off is way easier for all concerned – and does not bugger up cash flow.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:06am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  If you have a few minutes spare in your busy day, you might like to follow up on the recent $$$$ research handout to Apollo Foodstuffs mentioned here:
  https://pointofordernz.wordpress.com/2020/05/25/apollo-foods-moves-on-to-the-second-course-and-is-served-a-2-9m-helping-from-the-pgf/
  
  Now my Google search leads me to believe that Apollo Foods were part of T&G’s stable…and that T&G Global, in turn, is part of the German Mega-Food/Energy Giant…BayWa Atiengesellschaft.
  
  If this is the case, makes you wonder why NZ taxpayers are pouring $$$ into this Global giant.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:12am
  - cmm
    
    We do that all the time Maggy – local branches of international corps will scoop the trough where-ever they find it.
    
    In theory it is stimulating the local economy by creating jobs. In reality, the corporations just swallow up the developed IP and deploy it where ever they can.
    
    We see this in all sectors: Rocket Labs has soaked up (and maybe continues to soak up) huge amounts of funding – even to send people off to university to get PhDs. If you read the spin on Callaghan’s this is a huge Kiwi win.
    
    But now they’re rocketlabusa.com
    
    As someone in the technology sector I don’t have any problems with the development of this sector, but I do have a problem with bakers being taxed more, and their business made more precarious, so that high-fliers can drive around in Mercs.
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:44am
- cross threaded
  
  I am in a similar situation. When asked what will help make the business better we always say LESS TAX. Both parties have never listened to this. Nor have the MBIE bureaucrats whose job is dreaming up and administering the handouts. The grants are the only way an efficient NZ company developing new products can compete with lower tax regime resident competitors. New product development is expensive, but it is the only way we can overcome the tyranny of distance. If a forward thinking NZ government lowered company tax to 9% and then pulled all the grants we wouldn’t need the MBIE costs, we would keep good companies resident in NZ and we would encourage productivity. 25 years saying this and still waiting.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:13am
cmm

As I have said a few times, fear causes stupid decision making. It also creates opportunities for the, well, less scrupulous.

Take for example what to do with wine marc – the solid stuff left after pressing out the juice. This is a problematic material that is low value to process. It can be composted, it can be made into stock feed.

For centuries, one of the products has been the making of ethanol, especially brandies, grappa etc although the ethanol can be used for any purpose.

Well one company has found a way to exploit the fear and get some taxpayer funding: they’re looking at producing ethanol to feed into the hand sanitiser supply chain!

On the face of it, wonderful, OMG!!! They make sanitiser out of waste! Brilliant.

In reality they’re just exploring making ethanol from marc – something done millions of times before.

The fact that the ethanol is then used for hand sanitisers is completely irrelevant.

Ethanol can made in so many ways it is ridiculous – from gas, from sugar, from just about anything. Any of it would be good for sanitisers.

What these people have found is an irrelevant angle to plant their face in the trough.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/121595580/project-to-explore-turning-waste-into-hand-sanitiser
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May 26, 2020 8:39am
- Dougal10
  
  It’s only waste if they cart it to landfill otherwise they are just repurposing a resource.
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:56am
  - burt
    
    It’s also a waste if it needs a subsidy to be viable, and that is what this article is about. If there is good sense in turning a product that was waste into something useful then it will stand on it’s own two feet. We, tax payers, are not here just to fund peoples pet projects that wouldn’t stand a chance without our help.
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:31am
  - cmm
    
    The ethanol extraction does not make the waste go away. All the twigs and pips are still there.
    
    Think dairy is dirty? Then you have not seen wine production!
    
    Marc is hugely problematic because the muck that leaches out is terribly damaging to waterways etc.
    I’ve fished on dairy farms and wine farms with marc piles. I’ll take the cows, and even offal pits, first.
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:50am
- RW Capitalist
  
  and when this panic is over, and we find their is ZERO (or near zero) market for hand sanitizer.
  perhaps before Christmas.
  What will they do then?
  I remember a similar thing, when the price of scrap steel went through the roof. EVERYONE was becoming a scrap dealer, after a few months, the market for scrap crashed and they all went out of business.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:23am
  - cmm
    
    It’s not even sanitiser. It’s just ethanol alongside all the other ethanol used in industrial processes, fuel, making vodka, etc.
    
    But, hey, there’s a panic so let’s exploit it.
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:54am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      Ethanol is just that–I used to make 50L of 13% solution and distil it to 94%. Legal in NZ.
      
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      May 26, 2020 11:32am
burt

This … Just to make sure that struggling kiwi families can’t get cheap chips we need to make sure kiwi families pay “the right price” rather than the market price.

It’s OK people, a little bit of tax on the imports can make sure you don’t get a bargain.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/121616261/potato-industry-calls-for-limits-on-frozen-chip-imports
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May 26, 2020 8:48am
- Dougal10
  
  So you would be happy importing these potatoes cheap and then next year when the foriegners can’t supply at a cheap price and all domestic growers are on covid19 welfare the price can double and supply will be at the mercy of shipping companies.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:02am
  - burt
    
    Are potato growers a special class of employee in NZ and therefore they need extra protection in the form of artificially maintaining retail prices for food ?
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:14am
    - Dougal10
      
      I’m talking more about long term food security not just the prospect of getting a couple of cheap shipments of a short term oversupplied product.
      
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      May 26, 2020 9:24am
      - burt
        
        So you are anointed to pick who wins and who looses – wow, you must be a real economic guru.
        
        4 5
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        May 26, 2020 9:36am
      - burt
        
        I like chips, a lot of people do. But I suspect like most people the price I pay for them is a consideration. I don’t see why, when possibly 1,000 people a day are hitting the unemployment line some people think it’s right to smack consumers in the wallet to protect selected business operations. You can try and convince me otherwise, but to do so you’ll need to put up some numbers on the overall cost to consumers v the cost of having a few potato growers hit the wall like thousands of consumers are right now.
        
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        May 26, 2020 9:40am
      - Swifty
        
        There is no means yet devised by humankind that has done more to ensure food security than free markets and open trade.
        
        And there never will be.
        
        Free markets have produced an abundance and variety of nutritional foods that previous generations would never have dreamed about. NZers today have access to foods of a quality and quantity that were only available to Kings and Queens in earlier times. And yet some want to go back to the old days.
        
        Strange.
        
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        May 26, 2020 9:45am
      - rangitoto
        
        If the EU are dumping the product and paying the producers a subsidised price, then that isn’t free market. I have no problem with retaliating against such dumping.
        
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        May 26, 2020 10:52am
      - burt
        
        I have no problem with retaliating against such dumping.
        
        I have a problem with artificially inflating the price of food for NZ consumers.
        
        If people decide to buy local and are prepared to pay a premium to do that then that is their choice, it should not be mandated by government.
        
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        May 26, 2020 11:33am
      - Kevin Herlihy
        
        One of my favourite Pukekohe market gardeners , Hira Bhana, is an established family business producing potatoes from the legendary fertile soils found in the Pukekohe district.
        This family business has been in operation for over 50 years and is a big employer of locals as well as being a significant contributor to local sports clubs and charities.
        This company has over the years faced competition from imports and other suppliers dumping on the local market. They have survived and continued to prosper because they are good business people and are big and resilient enough to fight off the opposition. If there are any levers they can pull, they would because that’s business.
        
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        May 26, 2020 12:09pm
  - burt
    
    Venezuela had strong price controls – how has that worked out for the people in the country ?
    
    I do however acknowledge it is good for the groups chosen as winners by the socialist social engineering government.
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:19am
    - MCos
      
      Muldoon tried that.
      Didn’t work.
      
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      May 26, 2020 9:24am
      - burt
        
        It’s never worked anywhere – but if we try just one more time Comrade it will be glorious.
        
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        May 26, 2020 9:35am
  - Swifty
    
    Dougal10 – would you support British consumers paying more for their food and NZ food products through tariffs and quotas – in order to protect British suppliers at the expense of NZ producers
    
    Protectionism hurts consumers and families, subsidises producers, entrenches privilege, rewards inefficiency and distorts markets.
    
    We, of all countries as we are so dependent on trade, should shun protectionism. Our livelihoods depend on it.
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:32am
    - burt
      
      Exactly, it’s easy to see the small picture and see a few people wanting the privilege of artificially sustaining their market as reasonable – the big picture is what we need to look at here.
      
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      May 26, 2020 9:42am
      - Swifty
        
        That’s what the evidence leads me to believe burt.
        
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        May 26, 2020 9:47am
- Gravelroad
  
  So, Burt, how about the owners of the rural land where the potatoes are grown (often family businesses) sell that land and it be planted in pine trees.
  Then we could have cheap re-imported wood chips instead of “expensive” potato chips? Would that be better?
  The big “let’s buy local to help NZ growers and retain jobs and food security” campaign didn’t last long, did it?
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:29am
  - burt
    
    Why plant pine trees, cannabis would provide a much better return. If we’re picking winners and losers – who gets to pick?
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:45am
  - MT_Tinman
    
    The big “let’s buy local to help NZ growers and retain jobs and food security” campaign didn’t last long, did it?
    
    Thankfully no.
    
    Those of us a bit long in the tooth have experienced what that brings: Poorly made shoes, cars, rail, dairy products, clothes etc. at premium prices.
    
    Buy only the best value goods no matter where their origin – which will make NZ producers keep their standards up and their prices down.
    
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    May 26, 2020 12:26pm
  - chukar
    
    Gravel
    Saw NZ timber processors foresters asking for a tax on export log sales ( today ) so they can compete in the local market.
    Most wood processors are foreign owned as well.
    
    Your wood chips would be subsidised as well and very hard to digest.
    
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    May 26, 2020 4:57pm
- chaos
  
  All you do is bitch. Not long ago you were bitching that air nz was flying cargo overseas to wealthy people. Now you’re bitching about cheap chips being brought into the country. Make your mind up. Looks like no matter how it is cut you just don’t support kiwi businesses.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:41am
  - burt
    
    I support kiwi business, I just don’t support government deciding which are more important.
    
    Consumers do a good job of rewarding good product and service providers – government do a good job of protecting inefficient operations.
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:47am
  - burt
    
    Not long ago you were bitching that air nz was flying cargo overseas to wealthy people
    
    That’s a complete twisting of what I was saying, but I can’t be bothered correcting you. You keep believing my concern isn’t for the consumers while you lobby for the protection of big business with tax payers money.
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:56am
  - cmm
    
    chaos: We taxpayers were paying for crayfish to be flown overseas for rich pricks to eat.
    
    If that had not happened the crayfish would have been dumped.
    
    Of course they could have dumped them on the NZ market and people could have bought some cheap NZ crayfish – a nice little “buy local”.
    
    Instead we got to pay and got nothing in return.
    
    Sounds like out of all the outcomes, we managed to get the only one that was lose, lose for everyone.
    
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    May 26, 2020 10:01am
    - burt
      
      If that had not happened the crayfish would have been dumped.
      
      They could have also been sold on the domestic market. I understand that would mean less profit for the fisher-people.
      
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      May 26, 2020 10:08am
    - hilaryt
      
      Yes. We all said as a much when this was news at the start of the market routes closures.
      
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      May 26, 2020 6:01pm
Greg Ettridge

This really sums up the total fail in predictions.
Funeral workers in Australia are on Job saver because their trade has dropped dramatically.
So how does that work, thousands are going to die, but as with the ICU units, all is quieter than usual.
I guess business will pick up as the huge backlog in people refused treatment in empty hospitals, are treated, the consequences of which have been kicked down the road.
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May 26, 2020 8:56am
- cmm
  
  Yup, it isn’t CV19 that is causing problems. It’s the complete disruption of supply chains by the overreaction.
  
  The crazy thing is that those work shortages are even happening in places where there is no real supply issue.
  
  In Brazil, there’s a coffin shortage in some areas. This is not because people are dying faster but because the coffin makers are in lockdown and the transport networks are screwed up.
  
  In South Africa they have food queues up to 3km long. Why? The farmers are still producing food. People are not eating more. It is the supply chain that has been disrupted.
  
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  May 26, 2020 10:09am
rouppe

I heard that Tourism Holdings is renting their camper vans for $29 a day. Thought I’d have a look at it.

1. Start booking process for van. Discover they can only be picked up in Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown. I don’t live there or near there.
2. Consider flying into queenstown, pick up a van, drive to Christchurch fly home. Leave this Friday, return next Monday (queens birthday)
3. No flight Friday. Look at Saturday
4. Flight is at 2:20 so that’s Saturday wasted.
5. Give up
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May 26, 2020 9:00am
- MCos
  
  It’s always been possible to pick up a campervan from Queenstown and take it back to Auckland for pretty much nothing because tourists have tended to pick them up at Auckland and leave them at Queenstown.
  It’s the same in the US. Camper vans as big as small houses can be rented for peanuts and returned to point of origin.
  
  That was before the current troubles.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:21am
- Michael NZ
  
  I did the same for June..
  
  1 0
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  May 26, 2020 4:18pm
Maggie Pie

[Mod. Comment: this has been deleted – those with auto-posting are expected to show a higher standard than your posting met.]
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May 26, 2020 9:03am
- Inandout
  
  [InandOut: Sorry, your comment is deleted as the original post was considered offensive]
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:10am
- Maggie Pie
  
  Fair enuff Mod. To give it context, I guess you would have needed to see the interview on telly with one of Todd’s besties from his Te Puna school days 😀
  
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  May 26, 2020 11:02am
burt

It’s not slowing down is it ….

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/121625414/air-nz-flags-4000-job-cuts-to-keep-losses-down
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May 26, 2020 9:06am
- Inandout
  
  burt, I love the line at the bottom of the article; ‘more to come’.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:12am
  - MCos
    
    You “love” the line?
    I hope you don’t mean that?
    
    [The original post has been deleted. Mod.]
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:22am
    - sooty
      
      I hope that they are not running the business down to do a staff by out!
      
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      May 26, 2020 11:50am
burt

Effective immediately all work must be stopped as the risk is just not acceptable, we simply can’t keep putting earning an income ahead of lives.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300020440/man-dies-after-workplace-accident-in-aucklands-north-shore
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May 26, 2020 9:10am
RW Capitalist

So we were correct:
level 2 for another 2-4 weeks
Level 1 for around 4 weeks
then just 10 weeks to the election
She is using this to make covid19 the only subject of the election. Hoping we will forget the mess she made before covid19.
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May 26, 2020 9:16am
- RW Capitalist
  
  BTW Muldoon called a snap election 2/4/84
  election was on 14/6/84
  about 10 weeks, Lange won.
  National have much more time than that.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:36am
  - Ed Snack
    
    Muldoon wasn’t running at a 56% approval though. He went early because he thought he could get a bounce from that, but he underestimated the degree of dislike his policies had engendered.
    
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    May 26, 2020 10:01am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      Were you there?
      Muldoon called the election because Marilyn Waring denied his Govt their majority. It had been very difficult with only that one vote and with that gone it became impossible.
      
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      May 26, 2020 11:41am
  - WaveyDavey
    
    Do we have fixed-term parliaments?
    
    If they want to go early all they have to do is boot out NZFirst, become a minority government and we have an instant election when they love the vote of no confidence.
    
    Don’t for a moment imagine the election date is set in stone – they could go today
    
    And they will win with a landslide now or later
    
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    May 26, 2020 10:08am
  - Captain Mainwaring
    
    RW, just to correct your timing.
    Muldoon called the election on 14 June.
    It was held on 14 July.
    ONE MONTH.
    Yes, National certainly have a lot more time than that.
    
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    May 26, 2020 10:22am
    - MT_Tinman
      
      And he called the election because Waring refused to confirm she would vote with National thus giving them the continued majority of 1, it was never tested in Parliament.
      
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      May 26, 2020 12:32pm
Handyman

Mass crowding on public transport.
There is a picture on the Herald website this morning of an Auckland train crowded with all seats full and people standing shoulder to shoulder; in other words, normal public transport congestion.
The response from Auckland Transport is staggering. Straight out of the Ardern playbook it denies it is happening. It says the social distancing rules are in place and it is working well. There are even public address announcements. Nothing to see here.
I expect the Herald will get a call from the beehive later today. Government money is only to be used for responsible journalism and not for this sort of thing which is contrary to the “greater good”.
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May 26, 2020 9:20am
- burt
  
  It’s very lucky we have been able to shut down much of the roadside parking to make footpaths wider because if we didn’t do that the trains might not be as full.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:34am
oldpark

Message to the “Hoi Polloi” from “Auntie Cindy” control freak . On the Four week Level 2 Extension. Enjoy the special type of Agoraphobia whether you all like it or not.
Be kind . Even if it does cost you your sanity, and your means to put food on the table . Of course on $500,000 income per year as well as power and Covid-19 as an excuse over the “Hoi Polloi” by the present Control Freak whats the hurry . For some no need to worry.Yes power is the ultimate “Aphfrodiastic”.Just a perception of living in a fools paradise and being controlled by fools performing way above their pay scale looking after their own lives with little thought to the many NZs wishes for a fair go . By now many living their daily lives in despair and hope.
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May 26, 2020 9:28am
MrTips

Although Sinead Boucher (nee O’Hanlon) may not know what to say to young ladies at school, a story one remembered and a couple things might indicate where Stuff will go over the next few months/year.

After obtaining her glorious journo ticket from the hallowed Timaru academy (Mike HOSKING!!) in the early 90s (I think it was 92/93?), she went to London. No job. But then she scored after a tenacious and fraught interview, a job at the FT.

Only thing was, it wasn’t her interview, it was her flatmates (who had a better offer). Sinead had the gumption to go the interview in her flatmates place, show the editor her CV and take it over, without even applying. She got the job.

This sums Sinead up and is in line with what I remember about her. She sees opportunity and isn’t afraid to take it. She orchestrated the Christchurch Fairfax staff control of what eventually became Stuff and also has a business/study credential from Harvard no less.
Coupled with her good friendship with Carol Hirschfeld (she of RNZ Curran/Astoria infamy and now head of video at Stuff), her general distaste for all things Shayne Curry at NZME and pretty clear fan-girl club with Jacinda after a $50M media injection pot, it is my contention the following will happen.

Stuff will continue as now. MediaWorks and NZME are bleeding at the moment. Select journos/media will be asked to take part in the company funding. Major funding (apart from the pot allocation of the $50M above) will come from the govt via TVNZ taking a stake in Stuff. That’s right, the govt will help fund Stuff on the sly via TVNZ. Carol will help with that, the RNZ/Curran debacle shows what she’s capable of doing.

All of this is possible and EASY because as of 12pm Sunday night, Stuff will be NZ owned and no OIO or other oversight necessary to the degree it would from a usual sale.

My 2c and we live in interesting times.
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May 26, 2020 9:42am
- WaveyDavey
  
  Good day Mr Chips
  
  Not ex-FFX by any chance?
  
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  May 26, 2020 10:05am
  - MrTips
    
    Good God no!!
    
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    May 26, 2020 10:27am
    - WaveyDavey
      
      Haha with your username I was guessing your initials might have been BL
      
      Obviously not
      
      BTW I mentioned yesterday the “embellishment” of her cv with regards to her time in London – very much not as high-flying as she claims. But then FFX has form for that – Michael Richards & Mitchell Murphy being 2 cases in point
      
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      May 26, 2020 11:44am
- Jack5
  
  The State has moved into print media by funding regional reporters for them through Radio NZ.
  If the MrTips forecast is true we will have State-controlled TV, radio, and print media.
  
  National ought to be able to stir up a revolt against that.
  
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  May 26, 2020 1:51pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Tell me again that he will not win. Because of Coronavirus no rallies allowed on land, so the Americans hit the water. Second armada. That is a lot of boats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR_5UaVofIU&fbclid=IwAR2MR0BncpYvAZEKt2Am4JNg4yzmJPJ2M6SvvF_FCcZFozONEtu1jLL176g
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May 26, 2020 9:59am
- Critical Thinker
  
  Come on man! There’s no possible way that Trump can win against this stable genius: 😉
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x1wBGYWv5Y
  
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  May 26, 2020 10:16am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Dunno who is more fucked up, him or Pelosi
    
    3 3
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    May 26, 2020 10:44am
- mikenmildagain
  
  I see the dotard-in-chief is threatening to move the republican convention unless North Carolina guarantee that a mass rally will be allowed.
  
  1 11
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  May 26, 2020 12:00pm
  - Engelbert Humperdink
    
    It’s interesting that you call him a dotard in chief. I live in New Zealand not America, so I don’t have direct skin in the US game. But I also notice how much he has succeeded in doing in favour of the average citizen despite an unrelenting campaign against him even before he was in office. Frankly I wish there was someone in New Zealand who would take the side of the average net productive taxpayer instead of continually taxing us to buy subsidised votes from union-whiners, race-whiners, solo-breeders, horse-breeders, lazies, iwis, actors, posturers, subsidized industry magnates and media whores.
    
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    May 26, 2020 1:25pm
    - Batman
      
      Ask the 38 million who’ve lost their jobs and now find hardly any safety net and a chaotic healthcare situation working against them, if they think Trump has been great for them.
      
      Probably explains why he spent Memorial Day Weekend tweeting defamatory murder accusations, abusing veterans who are now elected officials, and generally displaying more mental instability than a Charles Manson devotee. He’s panicking.
      
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      May 26, 2020 1:55pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        I note Engelbert did not say what he thought Trump had done ‘in favour of the average citizen’.
        
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        May 26, 2020 4:39pm
      - Engelbert Humperdink
        
        I didn’t say what Trump had done in favor of the average citizen because Im not yer research monkey, Mikey. But you could use this Google thingy.
        
        The 38 million lost their jobs, BM, because the ChiComs exported 3 million virus-carrying ambassadors from Wuhan while stopping those same virsucarriers from traveling domestically. And each State was left open or shut by the State leadership not the POTUS.
        
        There, now you’re both better informed.
        
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        May 26, 2020 6:30pm
chaos

Saw this yesterday, was rather disgusting seeing people coming out with shopping trolleys full of Easter eggs. Wait until they see the use by date on them. Going to be a lot of people with unhealthy diets

* The Warehouse is selling all of its remaining Easter chocolates for just 1 cent each.

Because of the level 4 lockdown, the retailer was stuck with thousands of Easter eggs. As a result, all of its remaining Easter chocolates are on sale. The special applies to all remaining Easter goodies regardless of size or brand which means for $1 you could pick up 100 Easter eggs. *

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/lifestyle/2020/05/the-warehouse-is-selling-easter-chocolate-for-just-1-cent.html
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May 26, 2020 10:02am
- oldfella
  
  I’m sure plenty of dairy owners will be in there, loading up the cheap chocs, and then re-selling them. Don’t have to charge much to make a profit on one cent choc eggs.
  
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  May 26, 2020 10:45am
Swifty

For Maggy W:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/121617984/wellington-marae-had-decades-of-alarm-bells-before-nearfatal-fire
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May 26, 2020 10:09am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  As Bruce used to opine:
  There’s Law and there’s Lore.
  I know which one he opted for.
  
  4 0
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  May 26, 2020 11:48am
WaveyDavey

Question for the day:

The story about Air NZ losing 4,000 staff tucks an interesting tit-bit away.

The jet fleet is grounded until “at least the end of the year” – those hoping for a trans-Tasman bubble in the near future are shit out of luck.

Still enjoying your open-ended confinement?
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May 26, 2020 10:11am
- MCos
  
  Not being able to fly Oz, where I haven’t been in 20 years, doesn’t come under my definition of ‘confinement’.
  Furthermore I’ve never flown to Oz on AirNZ.
  
  2 8
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  May 26, 2020 10:53am
  - WaveyDavey
    
    Well your definition sucks then.
    
    Or you’re just too stupid for words.
    
    NZ is absolutely confined from the rest of the world in any sensible meaning of the word.
    
    No doubt, with your asinine stupidity, you’d argue that N Korea is also not confined as occasionally people escape.
    
    And that’s the rest of the world that is getting its shit together and reopening while we lock ourselves away
    
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    May 26, 2020 11:42am
    - Pharmachick
      
      Steady on Wavey,
      
      I’d say the US is about to be hit by a fairly nasty second wave if what I’ve seen this weekend is anything to go by. South America has now officially gone to the pack and Africa is lighting up like a Catherine wheel… Opening up is one thing, staying open will be another.
      
      Of *course* I’m concerned that PriNZess doesn’t have a plan for opening up, that lot are far too reactionary and not proactively planning, but that’s another issue.
      
      Right about now NZ and Iceland are about the best places to be – keep it that way dude and survive. (Oh yeah, and don’t take hydroxychloroquine).
      
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      May 26, 2020 2:34pm
      - WaveyDavey
        
        Cambodia and Vietnam look pretty good right now. As does Bali.
        
        Japan is opening for tourism, so is Sicily.
        
        We’ve been cowed into submission by stupidity
        
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        May 26, 2020 5:42pm
sharont

It may be just my perception but it seems to me that Cindy has shrunk somewhat since Todd came on the scene, and I’m not referring to her height. Coming up against someone who is older, she appears more inexperienced than she did against Bridges who is closer to her age group.
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May 26, 2020 10:16am
- MCos
  
  Winston Peters won’t be displeased at that in depth analysis of how the voters see the party leaders!
  
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  May 26, 2020 10:57am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    sharont will be delighted with the US presidential election!
    
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    May 26, 2020 11:59am
Sam Hill

Labour’s Diverse Frontbench

Jacinda – White
Kelvin – Maori
Grant – White
Phil – White
Megan – White
Chris – White
Andrew – White
Carmel – Tongan-Samoan
David – White
David – White

National have more women in the top 10 than Labour and if Bridges joins the frontbench they’ll have the same number of Maori. It’s not a big issue for me but the Labour argument about diversity really falls over when you look at their own team. Even their own MPs are sharing rubbish memes, yet Labour have more people named David in their top 10 than Maori.
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May 26, 2020 10:24am
- cmm
  
  But, but, but,… you’re missing the important bit I am sure….
  
  Any Maroi that goes with National is a RACE Traitor. That’s even worse than being white. Same for any Woman; they are GENDER Traitors. Also worse than being a white male.
  
  And the Males in Labour are all woke feminists, so they’re fully ok. They are all very pro-female so we can overlook their biological factors. You, know, like how it is totally fine that DiCaprio uses his private jet to go pick up environmental awards.
  
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  May 26, 2020 10:51am
- skyblue
  
  Using Joe Biden logic for Maori quota.
  ‘If you are associated with National you are not a Maori.’
  
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  May 26, 2020 10:56am
- greenfinger
  
  Did you forget to put an asterisk next to Grant’s name? Just saying…
  
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  May 26, 2020 12:42pm
chaos

Wait, what, you are getting $30,000 redundancy package and you want to go on the special unemployment benefit

* But Tina Barnett, 56, whose job as a table games supervisor for Sky City will end on June 19 after almost 17 years, will miss out on the new payment because she is getting a redundancy payout of more than $30,000.*

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12334608
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May 26, 2020 10:30am
- cmm
  
  See how much easier this would all be if we just had UBI.
  
  Sky city would not give her redundancy. Instead they’d donate the money to the UBI fund, then everyone just gets paid.
  
  #MustIThinkOfEverything!
  
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  May 26, 2020 10:52am
- Swifty
  
  Why spend you own money to support yourself when you can spend the money of others instead?
  
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  May 26, 2020 11:29am
- MH
  
  chips – to the value of.
  
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  May 26, 2020 11:35am
Raphael

So the Plandemic documentary…. personally haven’t seen it and not really interested, BUT Google has taken to applying it’s censorship rules and has been removing it from people’s personal Google drives folders.

Now regardless of whether or not you agree with the content of the documentary, Censorship like this, is bad.

Tim Pool covers the story here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVr45RQQrF4
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May 26, 2020 10:42am
- KevO'Brien
  
  If true, I’ll close down all my modest connections with Google. I need them less than they need me.
  
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  May 26, 2020 11:48am
oldfella

The Chinese government has warned Australia to “distance” itself from the United States amid growing tensions between the two countries, saying it would be “extremely dangerous” for Canberra to get involved.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12334690
Charming… I guess the same would apply to us if China thought we were getting too close to the US. The alternative? Move away from the US and snuggle up to China? Yeah, right!
Just remember what they say in Hong Kong, and increasingly in the rest of the world: ‘Don’t trust China, China is asshole.’
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May 26, 2020 10:42am
- oldfella
  
  Interesting that although China’s bullying of Australia is getting worse, the SMH has no mention of the new, and unpleasant development mentioned in my post above. Could the SMH be anti-US and pro-China? Say it ain’t so…
  
  7 2
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  May 26, 2020 11:33am
  - Engelbert Humperdink
    
    It is ‘interesting’ to note how after poisoning the world and trashing the global economy, the Chinese Communists are doubling down on bullying and saber-rattling. It’s almost as if they think we don’t already hate and despise them enough.
    
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    May 26, 2020 1:30pm
  - Nickc2
    
    The SMH is very much a leftie rag.
    
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    May 26, 2020 2:03pm
- oldfella
  
  I see Australia is trying to counter China’s influence in the Pacific Islands by sending the region some of Aussi’s top TV shows. https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/australian-shows-including-neighbours-masterchef-and-the-voice-to-be-broadcast-across-pacific-islands-in-bid-to-prevent-chinese-influence/news-story/7bad408724f4b9e5f1be6d9697abca3f
  Wow, I’ll bet that plan has sent China into a spin. Better not send ‘Shortland St’ to the Pacific Islands or China might declare war on us.
  
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  May 26, 2020 11:52am
  - Jack5
    
    Australia has the advantage of having English as its language, the world lingua franca.
    
    Most Pacific Islanders speak English plus their own Polynesian or Melanesian tongue. Very few speak Chinese.
    
    It would be interesting to know whether in, say Western Samoa, they would prefer NZ programmes in English or Maori (I presume Maori and Samoan are not mutually intelligible).
    
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    May 26, 2020 1:43pm
Jack5

The NZ Initative think tank is on to it.

We should now be learning and planning how we will cope with the next pandemic.

And we need to look at how three East Asian nations – Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea – coped well with Covid-19 – as well, of course eventually review what worked and didn’t work for NZ.

You can access the lessons NZ can learn from these countries here:

https://nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/reports/research-note-lessons-from-east-asias-covid-19-containment/
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May 26, 2020 10:46am
greenfinger

Bloody hell! Rob Fyfe obviously did not get Ardern’s memo?! Which part of the 4-day week did he not understand? What is this stuff him telling everyone about working harder to get somewhere in life? LMAO!
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May 26, 2020 10:49am
BeaB

The desperate pile-on about the MAGA cap is a reminder of the howling mob we’d have had to endure if Covid had happened under a National Government. Attack 0n democracy! Debt! Robbing us of civil rights! Poverty! Dictatorship! Fascism! Nazis! The list of outrage is endless.
Jacinda has enveloped us in a lovely peacefulness. The Left idolise and adore her so much they never utter a peep.
No wonder most of the worst dictatorships have been socialist ones. Who’d have thought the baying mob, the Extinction Rebellion, the Green warriors, the feminists, the cranks and zealots etc etc were actually so docile, so easily silenced, so easily led?
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May 26, 2020 10:55am
- graham
  
  Damn, it’s not STILL going on is it?
  
  I’d go back to what I said yesterday … let’s constantly raise the question where we can, why do they choose to focus on one … single … piece of political memorabilia rather than, for example, Todd Muller’s actual words from 27 July 2016, when Hillary Clinton won the nomination to run for president:
  
  DNC convention floor, 26/7/16. History made. It’s my eldest daughters birthday, may daughters everywhere see this and dream.
  
  Hit them with this. Hit them hard. Ask, where is their reporting on this? Ask, why do they not concentrate on Muller’s statement in support of Hillary Clinton? Or on his comments comparing the 2016 Democrat and Republican conventions:
  
  Todd has found the democrat convention more optimistic than the republican one in Cleveland last week.
  
  “For a start the (Republican) delegates were very white, older and in most cases very angry. Their view of America’s place in the world and where they would like to take it is a bit like looking into the rear vision mirror, trying to recreate an America perhaps of their nostalgic memory – as opposed to an America that’s competitive and able to participate in the global economy.
  
  “And then of course you come to Philadelphia and it’s like the rest of America turned up. African Americans, Hispanics, women, young people, old people, very much the fabric of the US.
  
  “It was a huge difference and the tone of all the speeches was optimistic and seeing American in a far better light than the Republican delegates and the Republican leadership and the Republican nominee Donald Trump. The contrast was just extraordinary.”
  
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  May 26, 2020 11:18am
  - oldfella
    
    I see Muller has finally bowed to lefty pressure re the MAGA hat. According to The Spinoff…
    
    — New National Party leader Todd Muller has had a change of heart about his divisive Make America Great hat, telling reporters at parliament this morning that he won’t be unpacking it after moving into his new office. On Saturday Muller defended the hat as merely being part of his collection of political paraphernalia. “Clearly for other people it has a greater personal meaning,” he told reporters this morning. “I respect that and I’m not focused on hats.”
    
    I’ll admit part of me would like to see him give two fingers to the trolls pushing the phony hat controversy. But this is probably the smarter move and it should take the heat out of the story.
    
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    May 26, 2020 12:10pm
    - Prince
      
      No, he needs to publicly burn it and renounce his Trump-love.
      Also apologise for appearing as though he sprayed his face with bleach, apologise for being a man, and fully approve of abortion on demand.
      Then and only then will the media consider what further steps he needs to take to atone for his sins.
      
      Shame, Shame, Shame.
      
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      May 26, 2020 12:48pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Bowing to the fake news media already? Grow a pair.
      
      6 2
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      May 26, 2020 1:01pm
      - Engelbert Humperdink
        
        Exactly. Well, I’ll do my best to make up by wearing my 2 MAGA caps (one at a time 🙂 ) around and about.
        
        One is authentic, bought in LAX.
        
        One is home made and spells out Make Ardern Go Away.
        
        The latter cops more venom from the wokies!
        
        6 0
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        May 26, 2020 1:32pm
      - Nickc2
        
        He has gone down in my estimation already!!
        
        4 1
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        May 26, 2020 2:15pm
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        Put on a tee as well EH. I do
        
        2 1
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        May 26, 2020 3:18pm
    - MH
      
      hat gone by lunchtime
      
      2 0
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      May 26, 2020 1:45pm
    - gorse
      
      Vote two ticks yellow, Seymour seems to be the only politician with any brains.
      
      9 0
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      May 26, 2020 1:52pm
    - Rachael Membery
      
      Media will smell blood and a win.
      
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      May 26, 2020 8:00pm
- kowtow
  
  Yeo cartoon in ODT today , likening it to KKK hood , Ryan Bridges “Catholic with Maga hat ” OMG !!!
  
  Pile on continues.
  
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  May 26, 2020 11:51am
  - Prince
    
    Yeah, Muller is so racist. Typical of the bloody Catholics !
    
    3 1
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    May 26, 2020 12:44pm
  - Sacha
    
    Speaking of Ryan Bridges – what a prat.
    A 32 year old prat.
    An arrogant 32 year old prat.
    A boringly arrogant 32 year old prat.
    His sign-off a couple of weeks ago:
    “I’m Ryan Bridges, and you’re not!”
    I wish he would stay on the morning show (which I don’t listen to) and that somebody less shouty would be chosen take over the drive show.
    And then there’s the chap who filled in for Sean Plunket today on Radio Magic – he was shouty too. I only managed about 10 minutes.
    
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    May 26, 2020 7:03pm
Maggie Pie

Right then. Beds made. Sheets on the line. Silver dipped. Time to relax again.
Was going to post earlier, that when we got home last night, we watched Q&A on 1+1. Wot a joke! Jack Tame would have known jolly well there was a time delasy delay between the Auckland and Wellington studios, yet kept over-talking the new LOTO with additional questions while he was still answering the previous one. Obviously it was with the intention to make Todd look hesitant and unable to provide a quick answer.
As my partner said, “It was just a total embarresment. Why does TV1 insist on sending a boy to do a mans job? “
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May 26, 2020 11:24am
- Prince
  
  TV1 will be very happy. Their boy did exactly the job they wanted him to do.
  
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  May 26, 2020 11:40am
  - kowtow
    
    The govt will be very happy. Their boy did exactly the job they wanted him to do.
    
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    May 26, 2020 12:13pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    You’re quite right of course Prince. And this is the same guy who on his 1zb show, admits to going to a Park and using the kids slide when he thinks no ones watching!
    
    (I just hope Todd doesn’t allow himself to get sucked in with all this cr*p and wises up quickly. Next thing you know, he’ll be telling people he’s got rid of his MAGA hat or something 🙁 )
    
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    May 26, 2020 12:53pm
    - Tall Man
      
      Or his toenails ……………..
      
      2 1
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      May 26, 2020 3:28pm
    - Gazza the Giant
      
      He told Tova O’Brien on Friday, when she kept asking a question he was not able to answer yet until Caucus met, he said stop asking that Tova or I will hang up , and that will do me
      
      1 0
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      May 26, 2020 9:19pm
Benedict Yu

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300020336/pair-jailed-for-kidnap-torture-and-murder-of-auckland-teenager-dimetrius-pairama

How can this not get you life without parole?

There have been several of these kidnap/torture/murder crimes in Australia. All of those that resemble this crime have resulted in life without parole.
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May 26, 2020 11:27am
- WaveyDavey
  
  Culture and ethnicity.
  
  7 0
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  May 26, 2020 11:53am
  - Tall Man
    
    Crap and stupidity 😉
    
    3 1
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    May 26, 2020 3:29pm
Pheobe

I get posts from the General Consensus, this one is worth a read.
https://www.facebook.com/398639190171686/posts/2950789114956668/
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May 26, 2020 11:55am
kowtow

On Peter Williams just now , Tova having a go at the Nats’ white front bench , they put up Paul Goldsmith as a Maori but PG has now said he ain’t.

First things first , why are the Nats playing the Media Party game of feeling guilty about being white?

Stuff also getting into them .

‘But taken together with the removal of Bridges himself, these changes have left Muller with a startlingly white front bench. None of his top 10 are Māori.’

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300020221/todd-mullers-cautious-reshuffle-reveals-deep-tensions-within-national-party
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May 26, 2020 12:01pm
- brett68
  
  National are fucking idiots.
  
  6 17
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  May 26, 2020 12:29pm
  - brett68
    
    Just say you appoint people based on merit, not skin colour and leave it at that.
    
    What you don’t do is stand there looking all gormless trying to justify your decisions, you will not win, especially on something like this.
    
    Basic, basic stuff yet somehow beyond the capabilities of the national MPs.
    
    Why are they so scared and timid?
    
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    May 26, 2020 1:07pm
    - alloytoo
      
      The search for excellence often yields diversity.
      
      The search for diversity yields a Labour cabinet.
      
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      May 26, 2020 6:35pm
- Jack5
  
  Red Radio – RNZ – on its web site is also firing racism accusations at the “diversity” of National’s front bench. The report is by two White women journalists. And RNZ is very diverse – from ultra-Left wing to (occasionally) Centre-Left.
  
  The journalists used the code word “diversity”.
  
  Diversity is infinitely expandable. White and Maori, but also women and men, then homosexual and heterosexual, the ever growing classifications of LGBTQ and its increasing variations, to healthy and disabled, until ultimately you get down to tall and short and left-handed and right-handed, and IQ levels.
  
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/417555/national-party-mps-contradict-each-other-over-diversity-in-front-bench
  
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  May 26, 2020 1:24pm
- gorse
  
  It’ll be a bit like his MAGA hat, he folded, now it’s gone. Give him a few days and he’ll fold and have Paula and SimOn on the front bench – two Maoris.
  
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  May 26, 2020 1:48pm
  - Tall Man
    
    Personally I’d like to see Simon’s take on Justice.
    
    4 2
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    May 26, 2020 3:24pm
- Gazza the Giant
  
  They are not playing the game , they were right , there is 3 maori including Goldsmith , his grand mother is Maori , end of story , he might not like being called a maori , but he clearly is
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:21pm
Swifty

I’m having a funk attack!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Y3NYs3WB4
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May 26, 2020 12:02pm
I remember when

Another earthquake! Probably the National Party trying to shake some sense into Labour!
Accidentally put National Government.
Do I have a crystal ball?
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May 26, 2020 12:37pm
I remember when

It must be very hard for the Labour Party when they have to criticize Donald Trump.
After all, they are using the same play book.
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May 26, 2020 12:44pm
cmm

Remember back when Mugabe left the scene and people were celebrating?

What did Uncle cmm tell you? Don’t count your chickens, especially in Africa.

Getting rid of one bastard normally just replaces them with someone as bad or worse.

Same deal in South Africa. Many celebrated the end of Zuma, only to find Ramaphosa is worse.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12334718
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May 26, 2020 12:46pm
curry4me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROnAfAeoceY
How the CCP manipulates the MSM.
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May 26, 2020 12:50pm
curry4me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6i7cxVZNS4
Kamala Harris shills for CCP on origin of Corona Virus.

[Mod note: Find something substantive to post yourself. Just posting Youtube links without any real thought will eventually see them in the trash bin for not actually adding anything to the conversation.]
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May 26, 2020 12:51pm
- Tall Man
  
  I disagree mod. As long as he states what they are so I can ignore if they don’t ring my bell and they’re in GD what’s the problem.
  
  None of us can scan everything everyday and sometimes he gets a goodie 🙂
  
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  May 26, 2020 3:22pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

https://babylonbee.com/news/biden-offered-position-as-staff-writer-at-the-babylon-bee?utm_content=buffer25bac&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwAR05c9RV7u2jBrV96jN-45WPQM6v1PJrJuXCvRtd2TAzSPPgYMGf7zDK2OQ
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May 26, 2020 1:04pm
Tony Stuart

Last week, I said some positive things about Labour List MP Kiri Allan, who, until today, had been one of the best of the 2017 intake.

That was until 7.14am this morning, when she tweeted this:

Kiri Allan
@KiriAllan
One went to school “with Māori”, another is the parent to a “Samoan & NZ European man”. Despite these proclaimed extensive links to “diverse communities”, this picture is a clear indicator of the voices the Opposition want, or think deserve, to be around the table rebuilding NZ.

https://twitter.com/KiriAllan/status/1264998368339611649

This is poor form from Ms Allan. She’s obviously misplaced Jacinda Ardern’s “Be Kind” memorandum. The only thing the National Party shadow cabinet and front bench needs to be judged on is its competence.
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May 26, 2020 1:07pm
- Chris Walden
  
  I hate identity politics with a passion.
  
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  May 26, 2020 1:53pm
- chaos
  
  When you’re shitting yourself because you know you are in trouble, you can’t stand on policy or success you move away from politics to playing the race and gender card.
  
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  May 26, 2020 2:04pm
Jack5

The Government is throwing out cash as though it was water in a play-fight.

It’s giving $37 million for development of a Wuhan flu vaccine in NZ, “and to join international efforts”.

Developing a new drug and bringing it through trials can cost billions of dollars, and with at least 70 Covid-19 vaccines under development, let’s hope the Government doesn’t blow tens of millions (more will surely follow) on a late-start and tiny NZ vaccine scheme.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12334887
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May 26, 2020 1:14pm
- MCos
  
  It’s not an influenza.
  I suspect the rest of your comment is similarly ignorant.
  
  1 2
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  May 26, 2020 5:15pm
  - Happychappy
    
    Talking of ignorance you need to take a god look at what you post , Mr I know everything.
    
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    May 26, 2020 6:37pm
  - Jack5
    
    Okay, MCOs, the Wuhan virus. I guess that really it’s the “Wuhan” part of “Wuhan flu” that upsets you. Relax, that can’t be racist, because the good citizens of Wuhan aren’t a race.
    
    Technically, Covid-19 virus isn’t one of the influenza viruses, but headline writers of the world are broadening the meaning of the useful short word “flu” to encompass Covid-19, and usage soon rules.
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:24pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/121626389/former-wellington-mayor-celia-wadebrown-running-for-green-party-in-wairarapa

“Keep a place for me at the Public Trough !
I can’t do anything else !”
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May 26, 2020 1:27pm
- Durden
  
  An example of a useless parasitic immigrant.
  
  Never earned a proper days income with her own hard work–failed IT consultant. And then jumped on the public gravy train — founded of Living Streets Aotearoa a lobby group which led to a stint as a useless councilor, scraped through as a Mayor against Pendergast with the help of the stupid STV voting system which not many voters understand, a CCP stooge with links set up during her Mayorality, teacher of English (including pronunciations with a lisp) to Chinese students, and general all round busybody who cannot keep out of the limelight for long.
  
  Oh…and the forcing through of the useless Island Bay cycleway which still has not seen any cycling growth. Hope the farmers of Wairarapa see her for what she is and give her the arsecard.
  
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  May 26, 2020 2:27pm
Benedict Yu

“Labour MP Kiri Allan said the new front bench “certainly lacked diversity” and this would hinder effective policy development.”

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300020726/nikki-kaye-wrongly-describes-paul-goldsmith-as-mori-as-pressure-over-nationals-diversity-grows

Yes because the Labour front bench is so good at “effective policy development” FFS.

“as pressure over National’s diversity grows”

WTF? What planet are these journalists on? It is inconceivable that you would get this crap in any other country. Does the Swiss government concern itself with “diversity” in their executive government? I bet you dollars to doughnuts that they value competence.
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May 26, 2020 1:27pm
- chaos
  
  Country needs to ask itself if it wants diversity or actually the best people for the job.
  
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  May 26, 2020 2:01pm
- Swifty
  
  “Labour MP Kiri Allan said the new front bench “certainly lacked diversity” and this would hinder effective policy development.”
  
  Horseshit. And we shouldn’t fall for that argument.
  
  Our representatives role is to listen to the community it serves and make policies and judgements as they see fit.
  
  Does the Board of Governors of the local old folks home need to be full of old wrinklies? No.
  
  Does the BoT of the local primary school need to be stacked with 8 year old kids with their front teeth missing? No.
  
  Must the doctor you’re seeing about treating your cancer need to be a cancer survivor herself? No.
  
  So, unless Kiri Allen can show us some hard evidence of her assertions, then what she says will remain just that. Assertions.
  
  I’ve heard for years that the ‘diversity’ of decision makers leads to ‘better’ decisions – and for years I’ve never seen a scrap of evidence offered by those making this claim that this is actually the case.
  
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  May 26, 2020 2:22pm
  - MCos
    
    There has been a certain amount of derision aimed at the Greens List on this forum recently because of the number of women in top spots.
    I also remember racist comments a while back about JAG.
    
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    May 26, 2020 5:11pm
    - Swifty
      
      So?
      
      2 0
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      May 26, 2020 6:19pm
- fightingtemeraire
  
  What she cannot understand is that the Nats front bench are chosen on TALENT.
  
  Not their complexion or their wedding tackle!!!
  
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  May 26, 2020 2:25pm
- Tall Man
  
  She means that the “fuckwits” and “numbnuts” quota has been ignored whereas labour ensure that they are very well catered for.
  
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  May 26, 2020 3:19pm
Jack5

Bob Jones puts a hard but accurate title on pokie machines: “a de facto tax on the brain dead.'”

He’s right. They cause hardship on low-level gambling addicts and the vulnerable poor. The machines are like horse-race betting, for example, which supports an industry, entertainment, and jobs.

Jones likes a punt, and tells a great story in this blog post about punting quarter of a million dollars on the Lewis-Tua fight.

https://nopunchespulled.com/2020/05/25/ban-the-pokies/#more-1371
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May 26, 2020 1:36pm
- Jack5
  
  Edit: The machines are unlike horse-race betting…
  
  2 0
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  May 26, 2020 2:02pm
- Tall Man
  
  Better
  
  https://nopunchespulled.com/2020/05/25/the-first-action-taken-if-i-was-a-dictator/#comments
  
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  May 26, 2020 3:15pm
- Tall Man
  
  What “brain dead” tosser downticked that comment?
  
  Have some balls and tell us why so we can all have a laugh.
  
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  May 26, 2020 3:17pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Sky City is sad. Main floor OK, well dressed. Clearly those in the pokies room should not be there.
  I may go once a year and spend no more that $20
  
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  May 26, 2020 3:23pm
kevn

Poor Nikki… crime of the century. The 50 million dollar (paid for) media should be able to feast on this for weeks.
Now, yawn, kiri allan… A voice from the closet. Go back there.
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May 26, 2020 1:44pm
- chaos
  
  And a large part of the money went to an area that even John key helped out in with the gfc, transmission fees
  
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  May 26, 2020 2:00pm
- Nickc2
  
  Kiri Allan eh? Lets not give oxygen to the dopy cow! Ignore her!
  
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  May 26, 2020 2:08pm
trout

The Labour party election strategy running at present is straight out of the Topham Guerin playbook. Take anything, no matter how trivial, that may create a bad impression of the National Party and its new leader, and plaster it over social media. Our ‘journalists’ are so lazy they will repeat the slander without analysis. The aim is, of course to put the Nats, and the leader off balance and distract from the real issues this country faces. The manufactured 47,000 negative responses on FB to Simon Bridges were a taste of what is coming
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May 26, 2020 1:55pm
- Philview
  
  I read an overseas company was used to attack Simon Bridges on Facebook. Facebook attack companies are often based in Russia and I can only think of one party leader with significant Russian connections.
  
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  May 26, 2020 4:12pm
  - Gazza the Giant
    
    50% of those comments came from Hong Kong
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:28pm
I remember when

I used to love it when the papers used to come in two parts.
Then I could at least hold half of the paper in each hand and at least I got some balance.
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May 26, 2020 2:00pm
I remember when

“Central Otago mayor apologises for blackface performance”.
Perhaps he is National front bench material.
He was doing Louis Armstrong for FS, and reasonably, that sounds easy enough to do without makeup.
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May 26, 2020 2:23pm
I remember when

Is it time for an IQ quota for all Political Parties.
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May 26, 2020 2:29pm
- Tall Man
  
  Spending time out and about in NZ today you may struggle to fill that quota, unless like labour you fill from the bottom.
  
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  May 26, 2020 4:46pm
gorse

Just watching QT. Muller didn’t do well against Adern. No better than Simon so far in my opinion.
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May 26, 2020 2:31pm
- Philview
  
  If he isn’t allowed to sound negative about the Government then it doesn’t leave a lot to talk about.
  
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  May 26, 2020 4:09pm
- theoldbloke
  
  Gorse. I agree. She batted him off quite easily I thought.
  His supplimentary questions were pre written…
  Unfortunately it inhibited his ability to respond to her satements about cashflows (ie tax rebates, loans etc etc) and responding to her heavy realiance on…but we gave pay support which made everyone sooooo happy.
  
  I would have thought a good response would have been. How many took the wages subsidy and have subsequently laid off said workers.
  
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  May 26, 2020 4:18pm
- chaos
  
  Of course the difference is bridges had been in that position for two years and muller has been in that position for one day
  
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  May 26, 2020 4:24pm
  - RiP NZ
    
    Chaos…he fkn wanted it, step up and own it.
    Absolute sht show pandering to Maori front bench bs.
    
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    May 26, 2020 6:54pm
- Gazza the Giant
  
  Rubbish, Ardern was on edge , and as usual did not answer
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:29pm
I remember when

I thought marc was what they made Orange Gin, Lemon Gin and Blackcurrant Gin from to not waste the last dregs of remaining alcohol.
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May 26, 2020 2:44pm
brett68

New National Party leader Todd Muller has already indicated it will fight the next election pledging to push up the age of eligibility progressively from 65 to 67 starting in 2037 and finishing in 2040.

Fucking hell, here we’ve got Cindy and Robertson throwing around money while Muller is going to campaign on raising the age of super.

I just can’t believe how bad at politics National is, the disconnect is something else.
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May 26, 2020 3:03pm
- Tony Stuart
  
  An increase in the age of entitlement for superannuation is inevitable. At least by signalling it 17 years out, it gives people the opportunity to plan.
  
  John Key wouldn’t touch this, and nor will Jacinda Ardern. Bill English raised it at the 2017 election, and it didn’t do too much damage to National’s vote. I commend Todd Muller for being prepared to address the elephant in the room.
  
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  May 26, 2020 3:41pm
  - brett68
    
    Good God Man, they’re trying to get elected, who in their right mind thinks raising the super age is a vote winner???
    This is something you’d look at if you won a second term, not when you’re in opposition.
    
    I repeat, National seems to have a serious disconnect with the average voter
    
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    May 26, 2020 4:20pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  I dunno, brett. Muller can promise, as his chances of implementing this policy are pretty low. More about rallying the troops than anything else.
  He also has insurance in that even if they poll substantially better than now, it seems highly unlikely that National would form a government without NZ First.
  
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  May 26, 2020 4:25pm
- Swifty
  
  Raising the age of eligibility is the responsible thing to do – in the face of a population which is living, working and earning longer.
  
  I vote for those who adopt a responsible stance.
  
  Why don’t you?
  
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  May 26, 2020 5:45pm
  - brett68
    
    You’re an old man so it doesn’t affect you.
    
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    May 26, 2020 6:17pm
    - Swifty
      
      Heh. How old am I brett68?
      
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      May 26, 2020 7:04pm
      - brett68
        
        I would have guessed 70+
        The point is you’re not going to win voters over with cod liver oil policies.
        
        Promise the fucking world, be bold, that’s the secret to winning elections, you have to capture people’s imaginations.
        
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        May 26, 2020 7:17pm
- trout
  
  What Muller suggests is the least of it. The massive debt burden hanging over the country will require a rethink of all Govt expenditure and Super is one of the largest expenses. There have already been murmurings about means testing; this along with higher tax rates,wealth taxes, stamp duty, CGT, will all be on the agenda; after the election of course.
  
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  May 26, 2020 5:53pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  It’s early days yet–will we have a NZ in 2037?
  
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  May 26, 2020 7:30pm
- Frank the tank
  
  What to actually have a policy that makes sense?
  
  How dare a politician propose something that puts the economy over political considerations. Don’t worry Cindy and the [del. mod.] will just put it on the card for later
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:08pm
Tall Man

Sad to report that the “supermarket survey” didn’t go well today, I was in Palmerston North though so that may explain it.

The checkout operator thought ardern had dome a good job and saved thousands and when I pointed out that his kids would be paying for it for decades to come his response ………. “Good”.

Now is it a Palmy thing or is he just an idiot?
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May 26, 2020 3:10pm
- Tall Man
  
  I assume the downticks are because I assumed there was a difference to being an idiot or from Palmy … Same thing, got it.
  
  Ex wife was from Palmy …….
  
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  May 26, 2020 4:39pm
- Michael NZ
  
  Both.
  
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  May 26, 2020 4:58pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

https://babylonbee.com/news/for-safety-the-scooby-gang-wont-unmask-the-swamp-beast-until-after-lockdown?utm_content=buffera3978&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwAR3pQvXhPpC2fdYE4ByYV6OGSSUL4rvryXhYsGqPNcxXKGyyh04uKyQ6iw8
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May 26, 2020 3:26pm
kevn

…and cue the (bought) MSM unflattering pics of Nikki Kaye.
Sooo predictable.
Pitiful really.
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May 26, 2020 3:27pm
- chaos
  
  Right and was the media brought during the gfc when National helped them out? Btw the largest chunk of that 50 million went to transmission fees. Bugger all went to print media. But hey let’s all just keep rabbiting on that the media was brought with this money and forget that National under key did the same thing.
  
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  May 26, 2020 4:23pm
graham

While Labour MP Kiri Allan has been busy complaining that National’s new front bench “certainly lacked diversity” and this would hinder effective policy development, I wonder if she has found time to talk about her coalition partner’s shining star, Mr Shane Jones (of Te Aupōuri and Ngāi Takoto descent, accoring to Wikipedia) who has said that the current Government has limited time and tolerance for “indigenous handbrakes”.

A group of iwi descendants of former owners of Rotorua Airport land have raised concerns about proposed developments. And that model of diversity, Shane Jones, has said he’s “allergic” to “iwi rubbernecking” every time he speaks about developments and then being dictated to by those “demanding to have powers of veto”.

Calling Kiri … still think “diversity” is all that matters?

I mean, c’mon … if ANY white MP said anything like that, they would be run out of town. They would be painted as the rising star of the National Front.

But Shane Jones says this, and … crickets.
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May 26, 2020 3:57pm
oldfella

Sky News in Aussie are right into how China is secretly getting its tentacles into the very lefty state of Victoria. China’s whole international Belt and Roads scheme is a shocker considering what’s going on with that country at the moment. Remember, ‘China is asshole’.
(Apologies, posting this from the BFD, but it’s a reasonable overview.)
https://thebfd.co.nz/2020/05/26/the-dong-who-helped-screw-victoria/
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May 26, 2020 4:18pm
ex-golfer

Hello DPF.
We need a new counter.
Announced job losses since March 26.
Surely this will be easy to compile given the multitude of announcements being made in the media – which seem to be shrugged off in level of importance in lieu of MAGA-hatgate.

So far – off the top of my head (major announcements):

Fletchers: 1000
AirNZ: 4000
Copthorne: 910
H&J Smith: 130

etc, etc.

These job losses need to be highlighted as a result of the lack of forward thinking by this tax/borrow and spend Government that thinks throwing money at people (rather than businesses that EMPLOY people) is the solution/bribe to keep them in power after Sept 19.
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May 26, 2020 4:24pm
- Ian Boag
  
  5000 of these are in tourist related stuff, so it would be good to know your solution ….
  
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  May 26, 2020 6:48pm
  - Frank the tank
    
    Don’t worry the rest will follow once the subsidy runs out and the 6 week cash flow hole from the lockdown hits in June.
    
    What will your answer be then?
    
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    May 26, 2020 8:12pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/new-york-times-why-does-the-u-s-military-celebrate-white-supremacy/
NZ Herald, you can repeat this, it is just soooo you
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May 26, 2020 4:27pm
oldfella

DF ran a post the other day about Tara Reade so he thinks it’s interesting. So do I. She’s the woman who was apparently sexually assaulted by Joe Biden. The NY Times sent Reade a list of intrusive questions seemingly designed to enable them to tear her to bits before the election. Nothing to do with whether or not she was actually digitally raped by Sleepy Joe. And nothing like the investigation the Times ran on Kavanaugh’s rape accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, who they basically forgot to question or investigate. Lefty bias anyone?
https://hotair.com/archives/john-s-2/2020/05/25/rose-mcgowan-questions-ny-times-sent-tara-reade/
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May 26, 2020 4:44pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  Whatever the truth of this particular matter, no one is going to vote for Trump because they think he has treated women more decently than Biden.
  
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  May 26, 2020 6:44pm
Lee C

So there we have it – the media attack-line (as if w didn’t se it coming)

National are racists.

Never seemed to be an issue when Bridges as in charge.

I mean, gosh, who would have seen that coming when they were plotting to stab Bridges in the back – that the media would just fin another pretext to degrade national’s brand.

The best political minds in the country, and all that… perhaps they might have done better to support Bridges?
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May 26, 2020 4:50pm
- kowtow
  
  ‘perhaps they might have done better to support Bridges?’
  
  They panicked on the polls . What happens if Muller’s poll is down next polls ?
  
  And with the unrelenting attcks from word go how can Team Muller get cut through.
  
  Fact is the Nats were doing really well under Bridge till the Covid jump and that was always going to drop like all her other bumps in the polls .
  
  I reckon the coup was a really , really bad move.
  
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  May 26, 2020 5:13pm
  - Lee C
    
    Agreed.
    
    Now we have a Nat team that looks like something out of the seventies.
    
    The kids are really gonna get excited about that.
    
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    May 26, 2020 6:33pm
    - Ian Boag
      
      Nah. Todd is not Rob … 🙂
      
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      May 26, 2020 6:45pm
  - Tall Man
    
    As you well know I was a fan of Simon Bridges both as leader and future Prime Minister of New Zealand but …. It was never going to happen with covid, the media and that tiny fraction of anti bridges Nat members that would rather stay home on 19/09.
    
    I was hopeful but he was effectively outplayed over the “covid committee” and pointblank refused to respond effectively to the media shit heaped on him at any opportunity. If Muller does no better then he too will be outplayed by the full media onslaught that is to come.
    
    However, I would also support any of the front bench that the caucus want to follow as we need to MAGA and anything but a National victory will not do that.
    
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    May 26, 2020 8:04pm
- Swifty
  
  I totally agree.
  
  Nat Rad tonight was a disgrace. A transparent attack on National and when you have never heard a similar attack on Labour for the years when National had Maori participation on the front bench far more than their representation in the community.
  
  Nat Rad damn National when they do and damn them when they don’t. National can’t win.
  
  Unless of course a Nat Rad staffer can point me to pieces where they have attacked Labour similarly.
  
  Waiting.
  
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  May 26, 2020 5:40pm
lifesgood

I didn’t watch QT today but have seen remarks on here that Muller wasn’t very good and couldn’t get the better of Ardern but I have also seen a number of remarks on twitter saying Muller was excellent and rang rings around Ardern who couldn’t answer simple questions. So which is it?
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May 26, 2020 5:01pm
- Inandout
  
  life, I would expect someone to analyse his remarks, personally I don’t watch parliament.
  
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  May 26, 2020 6:20pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  Your opinion would probably depend largely on your existing beliefs.
  Fans of Ardern would back her.
  Fans of Muller would back him.
  Fans of Bridges will be unimpressed by either.
  
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  May 26, 2020 6:40pm
- Ian Boag
  
  FFS. Day 1. New team. Get a grip.
  
  It will be another couple of weeks before anyone can make a sensible comment about this.
  
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  May 26, 2020 6:44pm
- Hard Cheese
  
  It was Ardern doing her usual ducking and weaving. Muller made her effectively admit (although she wouldn’t actually admit it) that the Government aren’t going to give direct grants to help small business outside the wage subsidy. It was a pretty good line of questioning – much better than the usual “Do you stand behind all your Government’s statements and actions?”, with a reply of “Yes, particularly….” followed by five minutes of Labour propaganda.
  
  What was very amusing at QT was Shane Reti’s dissection of Labour’s resident village idiot, Willie Jackson. That combination is going to provide many hours of comedy gold over the next few months.
  
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  May 26, 2020 7:26pm
- Gazza the Giant
  
  Ardern was on edge the whole time , Muller asked his questions , she refused to answer , if that makes Muller weak, then I don’t know what makes him tough
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:35pm
chaos

NZ first now trying to gain points in the polls from labour, not hard when you are up against a clown

* Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has cast the future of light rail into further doubt just hours after his fellow Cabinet minister said there would be spades in the ground “soon”.

The project – which was one of Labour’s flagship 2017 election policies – has been plagued with delays and much remains uncertain.

Pressed on what was going on with the $6 billion project this morning, Transport Minister Phil Twyford sounded upbeat….

It’s not going to happen in the immediate term,” Peters said on his way into the House this afternoon.

He said light rail was a plan which has had its costs blown out massively.*

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12335025
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May 26, 2020 5:26pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  They can fix that by using horses to pull the trams. They will need to be fitted with bags and corks to hold down their affects on the climate.
  
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  May 26, 2020 7:24pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/121634876/auckland-teacher-censured-following-third-drinkdriving-charge

No problem !
Give her a job in the Labour Party !
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May 26, 2020 5:31pm
- sooty
  
  Well, she will be a union member!
  
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  May 26, 2020 6:05pm
- chaos
  
  Right because no one in National ever had a drinking problem. Seriously this gets boring that any time a crime is committed the stupid people claim they should join the labour party. And then it is people like you that claim labour and their supporters are nasty, look in the mirror
  
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  May 26, 2020 6:07pm
  - chaos
    
    Btw, let me add, I had a best friend in school whose father was a National mp who used to beat the shit out of his kids. So drop this immaturity that makes you think that if someone commits a crime they are labour supporters.
    
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    May 26, 2020 7:49pm
Dougal10

@ burt if you want no border control at all be prepared for virtually no manufacturing or food production industry in nz . All flour ,grains and seeds will be imported as south America and eastern Europe grow things cheaper. Vegetables will come from china . All chicken and pork will be imported. Irrigation farmers will try and move back to meat production whice won’t pay the bills but while they are trying it will break all meat and wool production from the rolling downs and hill country. You may as well shut down the country and plant it in pine trees like the greens want to. No agriculture no jobs no jobs no economy.
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May 26, 2020 5:55pm
- chaos
  
  The one thing nz does well is that in an emergency we are fine because we are self sustaining with food, which is very important right now with the food shortages starting to hit around the world
  
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  May 26, 2020 6:05pm
  - Engelbert Humperdink
    
    Not disagreeing with you, but without imported oil and gas how the eff will we transport produce grown, around the whole country? Not in fucking Prii and Teslas that’s for sure.
    
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    May 26, 2020 7:02pm
    - chaos
      
      Although my comment was about food, the oil and gas we can also be very self sustaining with, but we need to move greens and labour out for that to happen. But the good news is the shortages are in food not oil and gas so don’t worry we can continue to import that
      
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      May 26, 2020 7:46pm
- Swifty
  
  That is one of the most ill-informed comments I’ve ever read on KB.
  
  NZ companies succeed in all sorts of ways, sectors and industries.
  
  “All flour ,grains and seeds will be imported as south America and eastern Europe grow things cheaper.”
  
  For but one example, do yo know approximately 40% of the worldwide market for carrot seed is filled from NZ?
  
  Would you care to speculate why this is?
  
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  May 26, 2020 7:20pm
  - Tall Man
    
    We have lots of rabbits?
    
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    May 26, 2020 7:55pm
Fletch

What a fkn load of bullshit!
Muller is being nailed on 1 News at the moment for the “lack of diversity” in his party. What a load of crap.

2019 called, they want their woke back.
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May 26, 2020 6:04pm
- Tall Man
  
  I don’t and won’t watch the “news”.
  
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  May 26, 2020 7:51pm
Kiwi_in_Paris

Victory!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMTNaFluT24
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May 26, 2020 6:31pm
dad4justice

Can anybody tell how much New Zealand is in debt?
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May 26, 2020 6:39pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  Shall I google that for you, D4J?
  
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  May 26, 2020 7:06pm
  - Tall Man
    
    Go for it, make a useful post for a change.
    
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    May 26, 2020 7:49pm
- chaos
  
  $5.58cents
  
  Grant brought a few Easter eggs.
  
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  May 26, 2020 7:42pm
- Jack5
  
  Hi D4J – we don’t hear much from you these days.
  
  Here are a couple of links to “Trading Economics” sites that will give you an idea of NZ debt up to 2019 – before the Wuhan flu emergency borrowing.
  
  Rather than outright amounts, the proportion of debt to GDP, both of the Government, and of the rest of us, give good ideas of how heavy or not debt load is.
  
  1. Government debt – as a proportion of GDP: https://tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/government-debt-to-gdp
  
  2. Household debt as a proportion of GDP:
  
  https://tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/households-debt-to-gdp
  
  An interesting thing to watch will be NZ’s government credit ratings, which come out regularly, from ratings agencies such as Standard & Poors and Fitch Ratings. Up to the pandemic the Government debt figure was pretty sound.
  
  At the following site you can even see headlines showing Fitch’s current (Covid-19) re-rating of NZ institutions, giving some a negative outlook, or even slight downgrades. The rating for “investor grade” varies from ratings agency to ratings agency, but for us lay folk, the direction is interesting.
  
  Fitch on NZ institutions:
  
  https://www.fitchratings.com/region/new-zealand
  
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  May 26, 2020 8:58pm
chaos

Simon Bridges side a bit butt hurting and trying to damage National?

*National MPs already leaking as new leadership team of Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye suffers disastrous first sitting day*

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/05/national-mps-already-leaking-as-new-leadership-team-of-todd-muller-and-nikki-kaye-suffers-disastrous-first-sitting-day.html
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May 26, 2020 6:52pm
- Tall Man
  
  Bullshit from tova.
  
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  May 26, 2020 7:20pm
- MrTips
  
  God, what a train wreck from Nikki Kaye. Not a good day. A real shame if Nat MPs are leaking – that’s pretty immature.
  
  Tova up to her usual shite.
  
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  May 26, 2020 7:39pm
  - Gazza the Giant
    
    Not really , Goldsmiths grand mother is Maori , that makes him part maori , she was jot wrong , he just does not want to be called a maori
    
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    May 26, 2020 9:38pm
    - MCos
      
      His grandmother is clearly not Maori if you listened to what he said
      
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      May 27, 2020 6:51am
- Prince
  
  As disastrous as the thousands Ardern turfed out of their jobs today ?
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:07pm
- Lee C
  
  It’s called the media purchasing marshmallows as they watch perfectly good party self-immolate, chaos.
  
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  May 27, 2020 7:01am
Frank the tank

Watching TVOne tonight was laughable – they couldn’t be more biased if they tried. Headline news was about National’s lack of diversity. 15 minutes in the stories started regarding job losses.

You have to laugh unless you will cry……
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May 26, 2020 7:01pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  I don’t have to watch that amateur biased drivel. Where’s the news?
  
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  May 26, 2020 7:20pm
- Tall Man
  
  As I said from day 1, the attacks will continue after Simon’s demise. They are against anyone who is against ardern.
  
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  May 26, 2020 7:24pm
- Prince
  
  I feel sick for the thousands who were made redundant today, and the main item on our country’s TV news was something about National having one less Maori on the front bench than Labour. And yesterday something about a hat.
  I don’t recall lead articles about this when National had two Maoris on the front bench.
  
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  May 26, 2020 9:06pm
  - Frank the tank
    
    Don’t worry the flood will become a tidal wave very soon.
    
    What no one is seemingly grasping is that there will be a 3 month cash hole for many businesses (i.e. a quarter of the year without funding) – 6 weeks without cash flow during the lock down and 6 weeks credit to business-to-business customers who pay on the 20th of the next month. This starts in June.
    
    Why do you think the banks are so quiet? Why do you think the banks didn’t lend money out to struggling businesses? Why do you think some retail hospitality businesses have not re-opened.
    
    Oh trust me it will be delicious when the media work out what is really happening out there……
    
    BTW the States has already gone through this phase of the economic cycle with unemployment >20% – every other Western economy will have to pay the piper at some stage…..
    
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    May 27, 2020 7:01am
mikenmildagain

A question for the mods:
Do you delete some posts completely without further comment? If so, would it not be better to delete the substance and provide guidance on how the comment has breached the policy?

[If you stopped the unwarranted and unjustified personal abuse I wouldn’t have to delete some of your posts. Someone who posts a thoughtful and genuine opinion deserves better than a flyby 2 or 3 word insult from a nasty prick like yourself. Mod.]
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May 26, 2020 7:22pm
- RichardX
  
  Was the deleted comment anything like calling someone a “nasty prick like yourself”?
  
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  May 27, 2020 7:32am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    No, it wasn’t.
    
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    May 27, 2020 7:44am
Komata

Dutymod@1922

Please Sir, as he is so rude, crude and generally-obnoxious, and evidently has no intention of reforming, why don’t you simply remove MM, and ban him permanently?

If nothing else it would lower your blood pressure, and also make your job considerably easier.

(Just asking)

Thank you.

[Mod. General Comment: This blog is for everyone to voice opinions – if you want to engage, discuss the opinion, don’t attack the poster. Read the rules]
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May 26, 2020 8:21pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Someone who posts a thoughtful and genuine opinion deserves better than a flyby 2 or 3 word insult from a nasty prick like yourself

Well-done Mod (at last)

A debate requires sincere exchanges

MMA’s modus operandi is to be a disrupter of debate and genuine communication.
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May 26, 2020 8:29pm
Kiwi_in_Paris

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNyWOVIpAn4&feature=emb_logo

{Mod. note: 52 minute video titled “The True Toll Of COVID 19”.]

[KIP, please at least give some indication of the content of your link, thank you.]
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May 26, 2020 10:02pm
- Kiwi_in_Paris
  
  Noted. Thanks.
  
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  May 26, 2020 10:10pm

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