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May 1, 2021 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 01 May 2021

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General Debate

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Happychappy

A ‘balanced’ budget is on the way but not in the traditional sense.
This year- in the absence of another major Covid outbreak- there will only be one and there is a word you should expect to hear a lot of ” balanced “.
In other words if you are on the left of Politics don’t get your Hope’s upfor a big spending and transformative projects.
The budget will still keep operational spending at modestly expansionary levals while not trying to bake much more in.
This is a column by Luke Malpass the Political Editor at Stuff trying to convince a Nation that Grant Robertson is as prudent with the purse strings as John Key and Bill English but forgets to remind those Generations that will be paying this debt for years to come at the waste and extravagance that he has used to dish out Taxpayers money.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/124994681/a-balanced-budget-is-on-the-way-but-not-in-the-traditional-sense
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May 1, 2021 8:10am
- Maxx
  
  Robertson couldn’t even balance an excuse – he’s got no chance of producing an actual budget. His best hope is to have something impossible to properly quantify, with all sorts of wiggle room for excuses so he doesn’t have to think up crap excuses like not being definite enough.
  
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  May 1, 2021 8:55am
  - lilman
    
    Never like the lying prick after his actions over the girl who was saying sexual assault and when he informed the PM.
    Im a father and that sort of shit is inexcusable.
    
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    May 1, 2021 9:48am
    - igm
      
      Look at his background . . . what would you expect?
      
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      May 1, 2021 2:40pm
- Frank the tank
  
  Malpass tries to present himself as balanced however he’s almost as feckless as the majority of his peers. This puff piece just confirms this
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:07am
- WaveyDavey
  
  “…paying this debt for years to come…”
  
  Don’t care. Won’t be here. Not my problem.
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:25am
- kowtow
  
  On a global scale we should be very very worried about Creepy Joe’s spending too .
  
  very little commentary on what is really a world defeating , dangerous spend up .
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:36am
- James Stephenson
  
  Malpass seems to exist only to spin excuses for the government’s incompetence. The only departure from normal service in this piece is that it’s Robertson rather than Cindy that he’s genuflecting to.
  
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  May 1, 2021 10:49am
- Nickc2
  
  Luke Malpass is full of shit! IMO, he is nothing more than a Labour Party enabler like the rest of those leftist scribblers at Stuffed.
  
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  May 1, 2021 11:03am
- Suze Wainwright
  
  The govt still presents as a kind & caring one that the general populace still seem satisfied and contented with – kudos to their comms and media training department I guess.
  
  I note many of their social media apologists are altering their defense wording to valid attacks. Eg., for broken promises the ‘that was then, this is now’ line is getting used more than once. The other day when confronted with undeniable facts & figures about govt failure, one of their more prominent defenders even wrote ‘seriously, what would the National Party do that was any different?’
  
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  May 1, 2021 12:28pm
Swifty

“Dusties”, 1971.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwA9nDK8TUM

A great little piece of NZ social history of exactly 50 years ago this year.

For KBers generally, and especially those new to the country – how we used to live.

For those familiar with Wellington – how many places can you recognise?
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May 1, 2021 8:15am
- krazykiwi
  
  Those blokes knew about hard work. Today their equivalents are on welfare, while the ratepayer money that once paid them is spent on rainbow crossing, and outrageous cycle lanes.
  
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  May 1, 2021 8:51am
  - ldypen
    
    100% correct krazy, NZ has become a nation of soft co$ks
    
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    May 1, 2021 8:57am
- David Garrett
  
  Swifty: Brilliant…the best line for me: “Dusties are the cleanest people in New Zealand – we have a shower every day. Who else has a shower every day?”
  
  Times have certainly changed…I doubt you could get anyone to do the job as it used to be done today…those sacks must have been fucking horrible by the end of the day.
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:17am
  - David Garrett
    
    …and you can bet your arse none of those guys needed to go to a gym!
    
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    May 1, 2021 9:22am
    - krazykiwi
      
      A mate from school had an older brother who was a dustie. Thinking I was a pretty fit 14yr old I suggested the job wasn’t that tough, and to prove it I’d do a round with him one morning. Got picked up outside the depot where the boss wouldn’t see and set off. I lasted less than an hour and was well mocked as I bailed and walked home. Never challenge a dustie to a physical fitness test!
      
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      May 1, 2021 10:03am
    - igm
      
      We lived in Johnsonville and rubbish collection was privately operated by Arthur Hausman and his boys. Did these chaps and employees know how to work . . . today’s wokes would not be able to walk up most of the paths, let alone run,
      carrying sacks of smelly rubbish.
      
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      May 1, 2021 2:51pm
    - Sacha
      
      Being a dustie was regarded as top way to get fit for rugby. They liked the steps –
      We lived in Lyall Bay, and the dusties would jump over the side fences and empty about 4 bins before running down to the road to leave the full bag. We always left the side gate open on rubbish day and you’d hear the clang as they slammed the gate on the way through.
      
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      May 1, 2021 3:06pm
- artemisia
  
  Back in the day the coal men used to heave huge hundredweight sacks of coal on their shoulders round the back to the coal bin.
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:26am
  - gravedodger
    
    Great training for aspiring rugby and league hardmen.
    
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    May 1, 2021 10:19am
- Nookin
  
  Used to work on the rubbish cart over Varsity holidays. We didn’t use bags. Galvanised iron bins were emptied by banging them upside down against the top of the back of the truck and rubbish dropped down into the crusher.
  The truck maintained an even speed and the dusties ran along emptying bins as they went. The only breaks came when the truck headed off to empty. Got really fit.
  Bins full of ashes were generally returned in asymmetrical condition.
  I remember one troublesome Alsatian receiving a highly dissuasive clip around the ear with an empty bin.
  In some areas of town, some bins were very easy to handle. They were full of empty pet food cans. Not long after, the cost of pet food was increased to discourage human consumption.
  Some days were short – over by 9 am. Longer days finished mid- day, sometimes a bit later. Longs days were generally over the Christmas break when time was taken divvying up the beer left out beside the bin – usually on a seniority basis. The lone student received token acknowledgement.
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:30am
  - David Garrett
    
    Nookin: Yes, I remember the actual metal bins being put on the side of the street when I were a kid.
    
    There was ONE much worse job that this: what we called as kids “the toilie can man”. In our state housing block the one thing we had over the “privates” across the road was we had flush toilets, and they didn’t…they had an outside loo with a can under the seat…the cans were removed once a week by said “toilie can man”…I remember seeing them jogging along the road with a full can on their shoulder…and the contents slopping over the side.
    
    Imagine trying to get someone to do that job now? Impossible.
    
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    May 1, 2021 9:46am
    - fightingtemeraire
      
      What the Chinese called the Night Soil Man
      
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      May 1, 2021 10:16am
    - gravedodger
      
      Invariably the can contents ended at a market gardener, sometimes Chinese, as “natural fertilizer!
      
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      May 1, 2021 10:21am
    - Paulus
      
      We still have a galvanised bin which has been used for years for inside garage work and dry dog food etc.
      Now we are forcibly to have 4 bins (or 5) in Tauranga as well am puzzled what to do with the tin bin as have no dog any more.
      
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      May 1, 2021 10:47am
  - peterwn
    
    Wellington dusties used to collect from back door. They had large canvas bags which could hold about 4 bins worth and lugged these up and down steps. Fortunately they could often take short cuts from one bin to the next. Rugby players would work the carts to get fit.
    
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    May 1, 2021 9:56am
    - Inandout
      
      peter, I recall our dustbin had bugger all scraps and packaging was confined to weetbix or other serial packets. Well the bin was half the size of today’s plastic wheelies.
      
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      May 1, 2021 4:09pm
  - Jack5
    
    Nookin says:“Bins full of ashes were generally returned in asymmetrical condition.”
    
    Do you mean, Nookin, they aren’t accepted?
    
    In the south back in the 6o’s, ashes were the main part of the rubbish bin. Often they set the rubbish truck on fire.
    
    No face masks or goggles in those days, either, and the dusties arrived home ashed up, from eyebrows (they always wore hats) to boots.
    
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    May 1, 2021 12:59pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  The back door rubbish collection service was one of the glories of Wellington, along with zigzags and parking on the footpath of narrow streets.
  
  Personally, I think we’ve gone backwards.
  
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  May 1, 2021 10:38am
- NoCash
  
  Imagine the current day OSH inspectors would be having a field day seeing the dusties working back then.
  
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  May 1, 2021 1:18pm
- hookerphil
  
  I remember an article in the Sports Digest with Terry McCashin after he was picked as an All Black, 1968 of memory, he took up a job on the Wellington rubbish carts as a means of getting really fit. Seemed to work, he was selected.
  
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  May 1, 2021 1:53pm
  - MCos
    
    Have you looked on YouTube at those old games?
    Those blokes would be crushed by the ABs of today.
    
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    May 1, 2021 2:24pm
    - Inandout
      
      MCos, they were however very ‘nuggety’ and played with a leather ball that itself weighed a ton when wet, yet could still get kicked by a barefoot AB.
      
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      May 1, 2021 4:13pm
    - snowy
      
      And Mcos your point is ??
      
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      May 1, 2021 9:07pm
- Observer of Life
  
  Swifty: That was excellent. Thanks for that.
  
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  May 1, 2021 5:22pm
  - Swifty
    
    My pleasure.
    
    One of my memories from those days was my mother hurrying me to take a couple of big bots out to the ‘men’ leading up to Christmas to thank them for their efforts.
    
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    May 1, 2021 6:38pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Dear KB shooters,
just check that that Mallard mummy you are about to fire upon is not one of my grown babies.
I’ll will be most put-out if my current clutch of 9 are left motherless.
If the duck answers to “duckduck, send it home.
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May 1, 2021 8:25am
- JibberJabber
  
  “send it home”…with a nice Orange glaze? ?
  
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  May 1, 2021 8:35am
- RockyJ
  
  Love it Maggy
  
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  May 1, 2021 8:35am
- BeeJay
  
  Oh dear, Maggie! For a minute I thought you were talking about Trevor!!
  
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  May 1, 2021 8:47am
  - peterwn
    
    Chris Bishop opened fire on that Mallard before the season began.
    
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    May 1, 2021 9:57am
- Loddenthinks
  
  They’ll never be motherless with you to look after them Maggy.
  
  Also, a pro tip for shooters – if it answers to duckduck, it might be a goose 🙂
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:17am
  - Paulus Gnome
    
    It may be identifying as a goose . . .
    
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    May 1, 2021 12:38pm
- Paulus
  
  Wish Canada Geese could be shot (legally can any time) as we are inundated with them locally on small lakes and streams
  And the hundreds of poos over the paths and the poisonous quality of the water and lakes.
  The eels no longer are around.
  Council say Canada Geese nothing to do with them.
  
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  May 1, 2021 10:51am
- G152
  
  But Mallard has protection so long as he doesn’t duck out for a beer
  
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  May 1, 2021 10:57am
Antoine

Following Alwyn’s post on education yesterday I am left with worries and questions.

Millions of Kiwis have lost confidence in our education system.
We do not trust our children’s schools to teach them anything of value.
We don’t believe that New Zealand can have a prosperous future when educational attainment is falling year on year.
We want to see NZ’s decline in the PISA rankings stop and reverse.
We would like to see a return to the education system of the 1980s.
We don’t trust student-directed learning. We want teachers who actually teach things to our children.
We want kids to finish primary school able to read, write and do arithmetic.
We want kids to finish secondary school able to write good English and use math to solve real life problems.
We want our school leavers to be ready to enter a good university or do a good vocational qualification.
We want our universities to be of a world class standard.
We value Western civilisation. We want the Maorification of our education system to be stopped and rolled back.
We don’t want schools to be used to indoctrinate our kids with left wing ideas.
We don’t want our kids to come home scared about climate change.
We want the Ministry of Education gutted because it seems to produce nothing but bad ideas.

Where is the political party that shares these views?
How can we use our millions of votes to get our kids and grandkids properly educated?
Is there any chance that National will ‘get a clue’ on education?
The Key government was useless in this space, Hekia Parata was a disaster.
I don’t even know who National’s current education spokesperson is. I certainly don’t see them raising these kinds of problems or suggesting fixes.
I like the ACT party on some issues but I can’t see them fixing the NZ public education sector. It has to be National.

Where do we go from here?
Do we just have to give up on public education and use home schooling, private schools or tutoring for our own kids?
Where does that leave the country as a whole?

A.
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May 1, 2021 8:29am
- Tomtoddy
  
  The Charter Schools policy from ACT is a good start. The few that the Nats allowed worked extremely well and helped underprivileged kids as well as others.
  
  The tragedy was that National didnt push for more of these schools. As always the Nats are tinkerers – they just fiddle at the edges. They are not reformists even when reform is urgently needed.
  
  Education reform is a good place to start but it will take a suite of strong policies to turn this country from the basket case it is becoming.
  
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  May 1, 2021 8:56am
  - Antoine
    
    Not that interested in charter schools. Great for the kids that attend maybe, but I want the mainstream public education system fixed.
    
    A.
    
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    May 1, 2021 9:07am
    - Tomtoddy
      
      The great thing is that a few Charter schools will lift the standards for all schools.
      
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      May 1, 2021 9:30am
      - Alwyn Poole
        
        I noted yesterday why, in NZ’s milieu Charter Schools (although a good concept if well delivered) is not the answer – even for what you are hoping for Tomtoddy. A very well designed designated character school model would make a march larger and long lasting difference. Two key features:
        – authorised outside of the net-work/Ministry.
        – able to choose bulk funding.
        
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        May 1, 2021 11:26am
    - gravedodger
      
      Laudable Antoine, however the Charter schools took and successfully improved the prospects for those who were abject failures from the System you support. That in a nutshell exposed the one size fits all the Union delivers so was quickly ended by Chippy on his mummies advice.
      
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      May 1, 2021 10:26am
  - doggone7
    
    How come none of us went to charter schools and yet we turned out so brilliant that we know what schooling systems should look like and be like?
    
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    May 1, 2021 12:01pm
    - Tauhei Notts
      
      I only learned about the Luddites after I left school. Teachers in my day were not much good at teaching about the Luddites. Modern day teachers are a living case study of the Luddites.
      
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      May 1, 2021 3:02pm
      - Pateke
        
        I think that is quite the best repost I have ever read on Kiwiblog TN. Thank you so much.
        
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        May 1, 2021 5:27pm
  - MCos
    
    “The few that the Nats allowed worked extremely well”
    Didn’t some of them fail?
    
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    May 1, 2021 12:06pm
- Frank the tank
  
  Your 2nd to last sentence is unfortunately the future. Mainstream Education stopped being non political in the late 90s now the majority of it right the way through is pure brainwashing
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:10am
- Gravelroad
  
  @Antoine:
  This morning I posted on yesterday’s Neglecting our children etc thread.
  I went along to my 7-year-old grandson’s class open day to see for myself what the children were doing at their primary school.
  Maybe go and have a look at what I saw there.
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:18am
  - Antoine
    
    Yeah that sounded pretty good.
    
    How old was the teacher? I am guessing older generation.
    
    Has anyone looked in on a classroom at year 7 or higher and been pleased with what they saw?
    
    A.
    
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    May 1, 2021 9:28am
    - Gravelroad
      
      Teacher is a woman, maybe 40, originally from the UK.
      
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      May 1, 2021 9:51am
- Scott
  
  Great post Antoine.
  The education system is really struggling in my opinion. Teachers have lost control. Now that they’ve banned corporal punishment the students have no fear of the teachers and can do what they like. Some schools have the police there to keep order.
  
  We’ve lost confidence in what to teach so we teach the pseudo religions of climate change and biculturalism and gay rights.
  But it really comes back to the ordinary kiwi. Do you believe in God? Are you proud of your country? Are you raising up a family that will contribute to the nation?
  God and family and country. These are the values that we need to pass on to our children. These are the ideals that will make our country great.
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:23am
  - lilman
    
    Teachers lost control?
    They asked for it,its their fault.
    
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    May 1, 2021 9:51am
  - RichardX
    
    A teacher who needs students to fear them is a bad teacher.
    
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    May 1, 2021 10:31am
    - rockape
      
      No, my best teacher was a man called Roy Tully h, he taught me Physics, the only subjectI got an A at Alevel. He was a wartime submariner and wrestler. He used to punch students in the forehead if they got answers wrong. I will never forget him nor his mentoring and that was way back in 1965.
      
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      May 1, 2021 7:02pm
  - Swifty
    
    God and family and country.
    
    And guns, don’t forget the guns Scott.
    
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    May 1, 2021 11:03am
  - cha
    
    God and family and country.
    
    Yup, values.
    /
    
    Josh Duggar, who appeared alongside his parents and 18 siblings on the reality show “19 Kids and Counting,” faces charges of downloading and possessing child pornography, according to a federal indictment unsealed Friday.
    
    The news comes just days after Duggar, 33, and his wife Anna Duggar, announced they are expecting their seventh child.
    
    According to court documents, in May 2019, Duggar allegedly used the internet to download child pornography, some of which depicts the sexual abuse of children under the age of 12. He is charged with receiving and possessing child pornography.
    
    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/josh-duggar-19-kids-and-counting-child-pornography-charges-arkansas/
    
    https://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/duggar-family-republican-support-huckabee-santorum-molestation-118222
    
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    May 1, 2021 11:17am
- BeeJay
  
  A – you’ve raised totally relevant questions, but who is going to get us going in the right direction. And Right is the direction we need to be going! We have to stop the Maorification of New Zealand! There’s no country called Aotearoa, and there never should be. The tokenism of the media, and those in Government, pretending that they can speak the language of Maori by throwing a few phrases into their presentations. By giving all Government Depts Maori names that no one understands unless they are accompanied by the English name!
  And the education our children is the priority! My two youngest grandchildren (7 & 5) attend a decile 9 school which doesn’t appear to teach much in the way of numeracy or literacy as yet, but they do watch movies in the class and play and go to kapa haka if they want to! The school has a Maori Immersion class (my daughter tells me that all primary schools have them) where the teaching is focused on learning in Te Reo and you can apply to be in that class. (Sorry, only Maori can apply, and you have to pass a test! Not the student! The parents!) What about schools doing the same for the majority of the students, focusing on English literacy, and numeracy, and New Zealand history since 1840! My grandchildren are the 6th generation born in this country of ours, it’s about time we start to demand that the focus on education gets back on the right track! And I’m asking Antoine’s question again! Who is going to make it happen? Do we just sit on our hands until this excuse for a Government destroys what we had before they were elected, and began the destruction of NZ as we knew it!
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:26am
  - Antoine
    
    Right but it’s not clear to me that voting Labour out will even stop the slide
    
    A.
    
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    May 1, 2021 9:50am
    - Jack5
      
      And sadly the tiny alternative parties that spring up like weeds, don’t seem to have the vision to stop the slide.
      
      Excellent post, Antoine. I’d vote for you.
      
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      May 1, 2021 1:06pm
      - Antoine
        
        I would be no good. This needs someone cynical, conservative, forceful and with Cabinet experience
        
        A.
        
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        May 1, 2021 4:04pm
    - rockape
      
      Not as long as unions dominate the education system and therefore it’s too hard to sack useless teachers.
      
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      May 1, 2021 7:04pm
  - doggone7
    
    Could it be that your grandchildren’s school not appearing to teach literacy in numeracy is likely something to do with your perception not what is happening in the school.
    
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    May 1, 2021 12:04pm
    - BeeJay
      
      And is your question because you’re a teacher?
      We pick up the grandkids once or twice a week! I can tell you for a fact that whatever they are doing has little or no impact on them. We always ask them what they did that day!
      Did you do any writing? No!
      What about numbers? No?
      Reading? I’ve got a book in my bag that I have to read to Mum or Dad! Oh, that’s right, I’ve got my word group that I have to read at home!
      Well, what the f… did you do at school today? (Don’t actually use the word but want to!)
      The almost 8yo – “I can’t remember”!
      (oh, that must have been stimulating!)
      Grandad, what does stimulating mean?
      Oh, we went swimming, watched a movie, sang some songs!
      Maybe that’s all they do on a Wednesday?
      Maybe they don’t start teaching them anything important until they get to Intermediate! Might be too late by then!
      
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      May 1, 2021 1:21pm
      - doggone7
        
        No it is not. I know most stuff people learn (kids included) is not learned at school.
        
        And working out what important stuff kids have learned in a day can’t be reasonably ascertained by a prejudiced grandparent asking, “What did you do today?”
        
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        May 1, 2021 9:40pm
- Alwyn Poole
  
  “Go from here”?
  
  It has to be an issue day after day. A significant amount of the problems we see in adult society goes back to govt/Ministry/schools not taking their education mandate seriously. Under National they wanted two things constantly out of the press – Education and Health. The NZ public allowed it. The Charter School policy was so badly implemented and supported it had almost no systemic value – except to teacher unions as it allowed the population/press to be distracted and the majority of the other 2,600 schools to continue to lack accountability, focus and any deep level of aspiration for their children.
  
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  May 1, 2021 11:33am
krazykiwi

The last 12 months have confirmed to me that the old Right vs Left dichotomy has run it’s course. Clinging unthinkingly to this only perpetuates the slide into state-led authoritarianism.

We’ve endured 30 years of National working oh-so hard to be ever so slightly to the right of Labour as they romp leftwards. All the time the state is growing, and assuming more control over our lives, no matter the colour of the government.

I believe the real future of political discourse will be focused on statist vs libertarian ideals.
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May 1, 2021 8:42am
- Inandout
  
  krazy, the aim of socialism is to trap as many people as possible in a position of hopelessness where the state controls every aspect of your life. As Jacinda found during the many lockdowns it is quite easy to scare the shit out of people and throw money around to ‘ease the way’ for employers. The benefit trap works right up until the money runs out and then chaos ensues; we are at 23.55 hours on the debt clock.
  
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  May 1, 2021 8:57am
  - Bob
    
    You will learn on the 20th May this year that the money has ‘run out; actually we never had the money that Adern and Robertson have thrown around during the past three and half years.
    It is all borrowed and will condemn our grandchildren to a miserable life style to repay the debt of this COMMUNIST experiment.
    
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    May 1, 2021 10:14am
  - gravedodger
    
    Control the operative word.
    
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    May 1, 2021 10:27am
- Frank the tank
  
  I’d argue It will be globalist, shared ideology versus individualism, national identity more so with obvious calve outs for globalist pet projects such as indigenous rights
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:13am
  - Apropos of the Wet Snow
    
    It’s Globalism (no borders, no nations, no shared history, no common values, no ethnic core etc.) vs Nationalism (the antitheses of all the former). Eventually, nobody will need to go to Italy or Switzerland or America for a holiday, because all of those places will resemble all others. Ironically, the introduction of rampant diversity with regard to ethnicities, will result in the end of diversity with respect to distinct nations and their distinct populations.
    
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    May 1, 2021 9:49am
    - doublehappy
      
      Very true and very, very sad.
      
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      May 1, 2021 1:51pm
    - Scooter
      
      It looks to be heading in that direction and maybe Covid was the perfect catalyst. It has allowed countries in Europe to cancel century long festivals, cultural events, close museums, limit air travel etc. The next year should be very interesting.
      
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      May 1, 2021 3:22pm
- bythesea
  
  quite a good book from 20 years ago about statist (stasist) versus dynamic forces
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Future_and_Its_Enemies
  
  Single axis Right/left is very poor explainer.
  I am not sure even 2-D with statist/libertarian axis is sufficient.
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:28am
Tomtoddy

Compulsory unionism on the way back???

Labour are dead set useless at getting much done but they will find the energy and will to make this happen. It is urgently needed to fill their campaign coffers.
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May 1, 2021 8:59am
- burt
  
  I wonder if the new compulsory unionism will be like the compulsory unionism we had in the 80’s where it was only compulsory for low earners.
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:08am
- Paulus
  
  Soon there will be a Maori Union (there is already actually) and they will be able to override all others.
  
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  May 1, 2021 10:57am
Jack5

Timber prices are through the roof not only in New Zealand. In the United States, lumber is selling at highest prices ever. Meanwhile American log prices are well down, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Good chance for an NZ entrepreneur, perhaps, to import American logs.

A southern US tree plantation owner (“tree farmer” in America) told the newspaper the asset value of trees were falling while lumber prices are up. He said that in “real dollars”, he was earning less than he did 25 years ago.

There is a glut of pine trees in the southern states.

Meanwhile, lumber prices in America are “astronomical”, a merchant said. He attributed this to a housing boom; to people spending heavily on remodelling homes; and to restaurants and bars building decks “to survive”.

Another merchant attributed high lumber prices to a shortage of sawmills after earlier consolidation of the industry by big firms. In contrast to traditional family-owned factories, mills now were computerised and mechanised and expensive, and it took two years to set one up.
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May 1, 2021 8:59am
- I remember when
  
  Te Uru Rakau – NZ Forest Service: Future of Forestry: (Item MW highlighted recently)
  If Stuart Nash can achieve even some of his stated aims in the Forestry section he could be a success.
  There are plenty of competing interests for a Labour Government to balance which will make the task harder.
  Forestry is becoming an ever increasing part of the Labour/Green “climate change’ programme.
  
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  May 1, 2021 10:37am
  - sooty
    
    Stuart Nash and success, will never be in the same sentence!
    
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    May 1, 2021 11:08am
- BeeJay
  
  Our largest export market for logs is China, and our log prices (China A grade CFR US$ landed) have moved up from US$110/m3 in June 2020 to US$150/m3 at the end of Feb 2021. Now in late April prices have moved to a record high CFR price of US$173/m3.
  (Long may it continue!)
  Our exporters have commented that Chinese construction demand for both lumber and ply remains very strong. Inventory levels in China are down significantly on this time last year (COVID effect?). Their total inventory is around 1.2 million m3 lower than the same time last year.
  
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  May 1, 2021 10:42am
  - Jack5
    
    I wonder if China’s vast re-forestation will ever affect the economics of NZ selling Pinus radiata logs to the Chinese.
    
    Begun in 1978, by 2050, the new (or renewed) forests are projected to cover an area the size of Germany, says Bloomberg (and Germany has 32 per cent more land area than NZ).
    
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-14/china-s-40-year-billion-tree-project-is-a-lesson-for-the-world
    
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    May 1, 2021 12:41pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      As long as they don’t muddle up protection forestry with short-term production forestry, then there is no reason why they couldn’t run sustainable forest harvests on their own land… but for the foreseeable future (100 years or so), it will probably be cheaper for the PRC to bring in NZ softwoods for pulp and to oversee the rape of hardwood tropical forest throughout Asia, S. America and Central Africa.
      
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      May 1, 2021 1:28pm
I remember when

Suggestions in the news that Indian covid deaths could be up to ten times the stated ten.
It’s enough to make you suck your breath in and believe in ‘racial bias’.
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May 1, 2021 9:04am
- I remember when
  
  stated total.
  
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  May 1, 2021 10:09am
- MCos
  
  Do you believe that the official figures released by each country are true because not to do so would be racicist?
  To take that one step further do you believe the government of the People’s Republic of China is correct when they say everything is fine & dandy in the Xinjiang region?
  
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  May 1, 2021 2:37pm
Thought Criminal

Another day another Jacindelivery

https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/health/124999442/lancet-slams-ardern-and-new-zealand-for-soft-promises-and-missed-opportunities-on-cervical-cancer-screening
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May 1, 2021 9:12am
Northshoredoc

Slow news day for the Herald ?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/act-leader-david-seymours-embarrassment-cant-afford-to-buy-guy-has-an-interest-in-three-properties/H6PC3IOARTNTLTIKGBZP3NN34I/

Even by the Herald’s low standards this is pretty desperate stuff.
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May 1, 2021 9:13am
- kowtow
  
  And their cartoonist , again holding the opposition to account.
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:45am
- KiWombat
  
  So one day he might stand to inherit a slice of his grandmother’s beach house? Big deal.
  
  If every MP who has a mother or father, grandmother or grandfather who owns a house, had to declare a potential future pecuniary interest, then we would have to be flooded with disclosures very soon.
  
  Perhaps some even in exotic foreign places !
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:58am
- krazykiwi
  
  Seymour’s note to ACT members today:
  
  You may see a story in the Herald this morning about me having an interest in property. While sensationalized, the story is substantially accurate. Because you are a valued supporter of ACT, I thought I should give you a clear picture of the facts (for your own benefit and in case you just happen to want to put anyone you encounter straight on the matter).
  The key facts you may like to know are
  • Parliament has a register called the Register of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests, in which MPs have to declare their interests
  • In February I voluntarily corrected my earlier returns, to declare interests in some properties and a Kiwisaver account. I had not declared these before, as an honest mistake
  • In reality I have no legally enforceable rights in any of the properties, being a discretionary beneficiary in other people’s trusts that own them, but Parliament’s rules ask that such interests be declared
  • I lived overseas when Kiwisaver was established, but was opted in as part of a second job upon return (having opted out on my main job). When I discovered this, I had to call AMP to get access to the account (my superannuation is through a separate scheme, which I declare)
  • I have not benefited from these ommisions, and nobody forced me to correct the record. Nobody had detected these omissions in the nearly seven years I’ve been a Member of Parliament, if I’d stayed silent it’s likely nobody ever would have. Correcting the record was an entirely voluntary choice
  Everyone makes mistakes, the question is how you deal with them. I believe I’ve made the right choices, that ACT’s supporters would expect here.
  
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  May 1, 2021 10:22am
  - Happychappy
    
    Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
    David Seymour can dress it up in any way he wants but can’t target other people in Politics when you have blatantly hidden the facts yourself, a Trust is a way of hiding the facts David Seymour has done just that so to come out years after you have portrayed your self as not being able to able to afford a house is bit rich and given Jacinda Ardern the Prime Minister and her merry bunch of inept Ministers a bullet to keep firing.
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/act-leader-david-seymours-embarrassment-cant-afford-to-buy-guy-has-an-interest-in-three-properties/H6PC3IOARTNTLTIKGBZP3NN34I/
    
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    May 1, 2021 10:35am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      Nonsense. Technical default is common. If all MP’s were diligently investigated its likely half would be unknowingly delinquent.
      A discretionary beneficiary is at the Trustee’s discretion. Until recent changes in the law many such potential beneficiaries would be unaware.
      
      If you want to play these games have a look at the Biden family fiasco.
      
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      May 1, 2021 11:37am
      - I remember when
        
        Even then all the beneficiaries need to be told is that they are one. They don’t even need to be told what the actual assets are.
        And, in many trusts, even that was done with considerable misgivings by the Trustees.
        
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        May 1, 2021 3:21pm
    - doublehappy
      
      A lot of people won’t even know that they have an interest in a house. It is only under the new trust laws that came into effect in January, that in the future, beneficiaries have to be told that they are. Your talking bullshit, I think it qualifies as “fake News”.
      
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      May 1, 2021 2:08pm
      - Martin Williams
        
        And the dog ate my homework…
        
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        May 1, 2021 4:19pm
  - MCos
    
    “the story is substantially accurate.”
    
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    May 1, 2021 10:51am
- Martin Williams
  
  [Deleted – you can repeat your comment, without the crude name-calling next time. mod]
  
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  May 1, 2021 10:38am
  - Northshoredoc
    
    The pathetic Muttonbird of Thestandard – what a sad waste of carbon you are.
    
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    May 1, 2021 11:47am
  - Martin Williams
    
    How can we trust Seymour, having been found to have hidden interests?
    
    He himself regularly uses rule breaches by political opponents to attack them, yet he wants us to laugh this one off!
    
    Yeah, right.
    
    I think his self appointed hall monitor status is diminished after this extra-ordinary revelation and there should be a heavy fine for his dishonesty toward the hardworking taxpayer.
    
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    May 1, 2021 4:18pm
    - lilman
      
      Mr Williams,are you the same one who voted twice?
      Or was that some one else?
      Please tell?
      
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      May 1, 2021 7:41pm
      - Martin Williams
        
        I voted four times.
        
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        May 1, 2021 10:31pm
- doggone7
  
  Rubbish. If it were Mallard in the same circumstances these columns would be full of vitriol and anger and calls for the gallows to be readied.
  
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  May 1, 2021 12:05pm
  - backster
    
    I w0nder if the Maori members are declaring their interests in treaty settlement assets.
    
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    May 1, 2021 1:59pm
    - cha
      
      I w0nder if the Maori members are declaring their interests in treaty settlement assets.
      
      Indeed they do.
      
      Any more racist claptrap I can help you with?
      /
      
      Tamati Coffey (Labour, Waiariki)
      
      4 Beneficial interests in, and trusteeships of, trusts Tumu Kaituna 8B1 Trust (trustee)Tauhara Middle 4A 1J 11 Sub 17 and Tauhara Middle 4A 1J No 11 Sub 18 Ahu Whenua Trust (trustee
      
      […]
      
      Harete Hipango (National, Whanganui)
      
      4 Beneficial interests in, and trusteeships of, trusts Morikaunui Incorporation (beneficiary) Atihau-Whanganui Incorporation (beneficiary)
      
      […]
      
      Willow-JeanPrime(Labour, List)
      5
      Organisations and trusts seeking Government funding
      Waikare Marae Trustees –management of marae
      Waikare Māori Committee –management of hapū and community
      
      https://www.parliament.nz/media/6387/summary-report-2020-final.pdf
      
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      May 1, 2021 2:28pm
ABS4EVA

CCP Spy Base in Adelaide

https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6241860549001‘

To assist with the Future Invasion of Australia
and to gather information for the Upcoming
WAR in THE PACIFIC.

New Zealand their Favorite Spy Base in the Pacific.

That is being planned and WILL BE
IMPLEMENTED.

“In fact, experts tell us it’s almost certain that there are spying operations here looking at South Australian defence industries, research and development, the submarine project,” Mr Kenny said.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9048413/Chinese-spies-infiltrate-Australian-consulate-recruiting-firm-placed-western-embassies.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9432105/Trade-boss-backed-Chinese-consulate-Adelaide-urges-Australia-cut-economic-ties-China.html

1 0 0 0 CCP AGENTS operate on the ground in AUSTRALIA they are the PRE INVASION FORCE.

Confirmed by a Defector who is most likely also a plant.

1000 there are more than that and if not there are more now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdR-I35Ladk&t=1343s
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May 1, 2021 9:18am
- SB2
  
  To assist with the Future Invasion of Australia
  and to gather information for the Upcoming
  WAR in THE PACIFIC.
  
  Well rest assured the Japanese ( And Germans) came up really short. Otherwise a quality piece of paranoia.
  
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  May 1, 2021 9:48am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    You’re in the know again?
    
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    May 1, 2021 11:38am
I remember when

Eureka! Problem largely solved.
The ‘institutional racism’ that results in Maori having a ‘life expectancy at birth’ seven years lower than for non-Maori.
I wondered if it varied according to the percentage of non-Maori blood a Maori has. Does, for instance, being 50% Maori mean the expectancy lessens to 3.5 years.
Yesterday’s posting about the ‘life expectancy’ of Glaswegians lead to a little research.
Scottish men have a ‘healthy life expectancy at birth’ of 61.7 years.
So as Maori already can expect to live, on average, about 11.3 years long than a Scotsman – if you’re Maori don’t marry one. Just in case the problem is hereditary.
Stats NZ: Life expectancy increasing in all New Zealand regions. 28 July, 2015.
Nationally in 2012-14, a Maori was expected to live 7.1 years less than a non-Maori.
In OTAGO this gap was just 1.2 years.
Life expectancy at birth in Otago was 82.3 years for Maori women and 78.4 years for Maori males.
So obviously, all that is required to achieve better life expectancy for Maori is to move them all to Otago.
I expect Andrew Little will send me a letter thanking me for saving him from having to tunnel away to find the answer.
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May 1, 2021 9:39am
Rusty

So America doesn’t have a serious covid problem now since Joe Biden became president?

You would think so according to lack of reporting from our media to tell us either way.

After a year of this pandemic the news is now focused on India’s covid crisis — did India have a better health system than Americas until a few months ago?
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May 1, 2021 9:45am
Maggy Wassilieff

Our quiet epidemiologist
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/the-epidemiologist-you-havent-heard-of
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May 1, 2021 10:00am
- Inandout
  
  Maggy, WTF has a Maori name in bold letters got to do with science?
  https://www.tepunahamatatini.ac.nz/about-us/
  
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  May 1, 2021 10:10am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Do these people really exist or are they Klaus Shwab’s trans humans? Are they from Ferguson’s Fortran acolytes group?
    
    If they’re on the public payroll call the auditor.
    
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    May 1, 2021 11:48am
- gravedodger
  
  Maggy, you are a Gold standard Commenter here at KB, regards Murray
  
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  May 1, 2021 10:32am
- hookerphil
  
  ” She has also been the lead author on articles arguing for widespread mask use in New Zealand – which has since been partially but progressively adopted ”
  No thanks.
  
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  May 1, 2021 11:10am
  - Ed Snack
    
    Especially as, if she were actually a scientist and not a social activist, she would know that for diseases that spread like Covid and measles, masks are useless, and quite possibly worse than useless.
    
    The studies have been done, and the important part is studies in live populations, not theoretical ones dealing with transmission through masks in a laboratory. And the results at quite clear, MASKS DON’T WORK. Follow the science.
    
    Masks are a virtue signalling device and act primarily as a control mechanism to impart fear and encourage submission.
    
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    May 1, 2021 2:46pm
- SB2
  
  MW, indeed and from her contribution to the MZ Medical Journal article linked it appears the government is largely bangs on with their elimination strategies,
  
  https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal-articles/new-zealands-elimination-strategy-for-the-covid-19-pandemic-and-what-is-required-to-make-it-work
  
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  May 1, 2021 1:56pm
I remember when

While we are racing around solving ways to employ people and keep the economy moving – what about one of the big old problems.
Remember all those buildings that need earthquake strengthening.
Many of them do add to the attraction of the area and would be nice to retain, if possible.
‘The future of Feilding’s renowned Edwardian visage lies in the hands of building owners, many of whom must choose between seismic strengthening or demolishing by 2028.’
One building owner, Ken Smith, was advised it would cost $330,000 for a building records show was valued at 340,000 in 2019.
Arthur Morgenstern, owner of Seimic Performance, said “onerous, scary and difficult” financial and logistical stresses, plus the timing of the pandemic, could make building owners feel the best option is to walk away.
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May 1, 2021 10:03am
- Albert_Ross
  
  What are you proposing, exactly? Options are, to demolish the buildings; to have the taxpayer pay the cost of refurbishment; to impose the crippling financial cost on the building owners; to leave them as they are and live with the (probably uninsurable) risk that they will kill people in an earthquake. Which of these is your preference, or have you another option in mind?
  
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  May 1, 2021 11:55am
  - I remember when
    
    Not proposing anything. Merely pointing out that there is what is a major problem for many small towns with their older buildings.
    The clock is ticking and the problem is largely out of sight – seven years to go.
    It is not just a problem for the building owners, in many towns they are in the heart of the retail area.
    You didn’t mention the option where the owner leaves town and the unpaid rates bill eventually donates the building to the ratepayers.
    
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    May 1, 2021 3:13pm
lazza

A man I rate highly, one Jim Palmer, is leading apparently another! review of the NZLG sector (today’s news NZ Herald).

It is just perversely (ironically) possible that this arrogant-useless government might just stumble upon some real LG reforms … although their paranoid aversion to anything akin to performance targets and measurement (my business) …may be “a stretch”.

Where to next … one wonders.

see http://www.cprlifesaver.co.nz/marketing … for our latest tilt at the NZ Council performance … “windmill”.
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May 1, 2021 10:07am
Greg Ettridge

You really have to laugh at the idiocy of this so called pandemic.
The poor lady from the cooks gets locked up in WA to be tested coming from a zero covid country, so the people on the same plane from NZ are substantially more at risk to her and anyone else.
Question
Is is possible to have -1 cases of positive cases, this is what McGown is demanding?
Thursday in Brisbane.
This statement in the NZ Herald
“and the male toilet adjacent to Gate 79 between11.23am and 11.15pm when the toilet was cleaned,” the Ministry of Health said late last night in a statement.”
You have to wear a mask by law, but we will clean the toilets how many times a day?
This is just a disgraceful cesspit if true.
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May 1, 2021 10:10am
lazza

Steven Joyce in the NZ Herald today … Proposed Health Reforms.

BE VERY AFRAID.

I fear SJ is correct in his predictions of huge pain/disruption/shambolics etc of the proposed health reforms.

Unlike his MBIE reforms of 2011? … the health sector disruption will cost … “Lives”.
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May 1, 2021 10:15am
- kowtow
  
  Key sentence;
  
  “The govt’s record in executing complex policy objectives means there is a high likelihood health services will get worse rather than better”.
  
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  May 1, 2021 1:12pm
Fletch

Ex-gay Milo Yiannopoulos tosses his $150,000 engagement ring, (which he has dubbed the “sodomy stone”) into the sea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9ggFyrU6s
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May 1, 2021 10:24am
- Inandout
  
  Fletch, it has been said you can’t undo gay, unless of course it was not there to begin with. The Twitterati however will be incensed because this is not quite like gender bending, which they adore.
  
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  May 1, 2021 11:06am
Maggie Pie

I’ve only just emerged into the daylight to be honest. Beautiful day here.
My partner headed down to the farm to meet his mates yesterday for a 6:30 start this morning. Haven’t heard from him yet. He did say the estuary has been alive with water fowl for weeks. We’ve still got about 10 in the freezer from last time.
‘Opening Day’ doesn’t mean much when you can shoot all year round anyway. Will file another report once he gets home 🙂
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May 1, 2021 11:01am
JibberJabber

A bit of humour to see Champagne Stalinist Rod Emmerson caught plagiarizing Slaters BFDs cartoonist Sonovamin. ?
So typical of the Leftists, can’t create, so have to bludge off those who can.
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May 1, 2021 11:02am
- Inandout
  
  JJ, Rod Emmerson sounds like a piece of tableware.
  
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  May 1, 2021 11:07am
- Tony Stuart
  
  Indeed; he even stole the title line, just substituting National for Labour!
  
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  May 1, 2021 3:32pm
  - oldfella
    
    Sorry, Tony, downticked in error.
    
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    May 1, 2021 4:18pm
Waipuk

The trade deal with the UK is woke. Why oh why is there a cause in the deal regarding women. ?

https://youtu.be/lqQuSwOEdUQ

And Mahyar does not seem to be that impressed with Ardern.
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May 1, 2021 11:06am
cha

Trumps DOJ did it Rudi, Trump’s.
/

Rudy W. Giuliani
@RudyGiuliani
The DOJ in late 2019 covertly obtained access to my iCloud and never notified me.

They invaded the attorney client relationship as we were defending against the phony impeachment.

These prosecutors violated the laws, not me.

If again, nothing is done, you could be next.

https://twitter.com/RudyGiuliani/status/1387936804217753601
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May 1, 2021 11:06am
- Ed Snack
  
  And the DOJ at that time also prosecuted Manafort (but not his partners the Podestas) on old tax evasion charges, Roger Stone on lying to Congress (about the claim that he did have a conduit to Wikileaks, which he did not; and yet Clapper lied to Congress about covertly eavesdropping on Senators and was not charged), and tried to railroad Flynn on bogus charges. And that’s while also running a 3 year bogus “Russian Collusion” investigation that was a cover for an attempted coup.
  
  DOJ even under Barr was basically run by the swamp, and has made a mockery of impartial justice.
  
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  May 1, 2021 2:52pm
oldfella

Some new US conservative news websites to check out. For those so inclined. 😉
https://noqreport.com/2021/04/30/with-drudge-report-dead-here-are-four-sites-every-patriot-needs-to-check-out/
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May 1, 2021 11:18am
oldfella

Just spotted this comment on Te Reo over of BFD.
Nursing Council NZ has just released their updated RN education standards document. It states:
“All staff (academic and clinical) will have an annual performance appraisal, including development and continued development in kaupapa Māori, mātauranga Māori, te reo Māori, tikanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.”
Yep, when the bloodied, and dying from our next big quake, or volcanic eruption, get rushed to our local hospitals, make sure the nurses can communicate effectively with them in Te Reo.
24 2
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May 1, 2021 11:55am
- Nickc2
  
  Is there any indication this will also apply to imported nursing staff eg Philippinos, Indians, South Africans etc?
  An annual performance appraisal for Wokeness – ya gotta b jokin.
  
  16 2
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  May 1, 2021 1:12pm
- Inandout
  
  And they wonder why nurses flee this country and head across the ditch.
  
  19 3
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  May 1, 2021 1:48pm
- rockape
  
  I can see the problems now if nurses misunderstand because they are using a language they struggle in. Does anyone here know the words for “ cut off his right leg, as opposed to. Cut off his left leg” ?
  
  3 3
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  May 1, 2021 3:15pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

$4.2m per hundred metres for the cycle lane between Petone & Nauranga, which is similar to the costs for Transmission Gully.

The only thing worse is that the keen racing cyclist won’t even use it. Too constricting for the peleton.

Too much pandering to a tiny, noisy minority.
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May 1, 2021 11:58am
- SB2
  
  The problesm began back in 2012 when a Public-Private Partnership ( PPP) was implemented. Thats when things began to unravel with unrealistic expectations of costs,
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300281133/review-finds-transmission-gully-doomed-from-the-start-with-unrealistic-expectations-of-cost
  
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  May 1, 2021 2:11pm
kujira

I fully expect to see more media hit jobs on David Seymour – reason – he appears to be doing well and actually scoring some hits on useless Govt.
Therefore the $50mil media will be tasked with some muck-raking and negative stories.
26 2
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May 1, 2021 1:34pm
cha

Well, here’s the voter fraud Tumpkins have been looking for.

A Delaware County man was sentenced to five years of probation Friday after admitting he cast an illegal ballot last fall for former President Donald Trump in his dead mother’s name.

[…]

Last fall, Bartman used the driver’s license of his dead mother, Elizabeth Bartman, to register her to vote online, and then requested and filled out an absentee ballot in her name, prosecutors said. He repeated the process for Elizabeth Weihman, his deceased mother-in-law, using her Social Security number, though he did not cast a ballot for her.

The state’s system flagged the registration for his mother as belonging to a dead person — she died several years ago — but Bartman signed and sent back a letter asserting she was still alive.

https://www.inquirer.com/news/bruce-bartman-illegal-vote-delaware-county-trump-election-20210430.html
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May 1, 2021 2:10pm
- Mike
  
  Pretty clear that the US needs to clamp down on this rampant voter fraud….
  
  1 1
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  May 1, 2021 6:18pm
  - cha
    
    But only if you’re black….
    
    https://www.aclu.org/issues/voting-rights/fighting-voter-suppression/crystal-mason-thought-she-had-right-vote-texas
    
    1 1
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    May 1, 2021 7:53pm
Jack5

The dark side of Maori activism shows in an article today by Khylee Quince in the State-subsided Stuff newspapers.

Quince, a law lecturer at AUT, is writing about a moko (chin tattoo) worn by a former student of Quince on being sworn in as a district court judge, and on reactions to moko.

Quince’s article shows the Maorification drive in New Zealand links to the revolutionary world of Critical Race Theory, Marxism, and international “anti-colonialism”.

Quince on moko:

“These experiences are not unique to Maori. Critical thinkers Frantz Fanon and Paulo Freire wrestled with these ideas in the 1960s in relation to other colonised peoples around the globe – the decolonisation of the mind and body that was necessary to what Freire termed “being our own example”. As Fanon claimed, “Imperialism leaves behind germs of rot which we must clinically detect and remove from our land, but from our minds as well.”

Are Fanon and Freire, beacons of Critical Race Theory, the inspiration for Maorification of New Zealand?

Fanon, a Black psychiatrist, and Freire, an intellectual of the Latin American liberation movements (including Cuba), are intellectual beacons in Critical Race Theory. Both were Marxist (or neo-Marxists in that they built on Marx’s thought).

Josh Pallas, at the web site, Critical Legal Thinking, notes that in Fanon’s book, “Black Skin, White Masks,” Fanon says violence in ending colonial rule can be cathartic for the colonised. Fanon even suggests violence can rectify mental health problems caused by colonial rule on its subjects.

Freire built many of his ideas on Marxism, but was also influenced by Fanon and the Italian Communist, Gramsci. He has also been described as a Christian Marxist.

Freire helped spread literacy in Brazil, but also worked on spreading “political awareness”. He was exiled from Brazil after the coup of 1964. His writings are important in Critical Race Theory, especially as it applies to education.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/124983132/moko-kauae-a-mark-of-diversity-and-democracy
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May 1, 2021 2:17pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  Thanks – a good article:
  
  The importance of normalising of cultural practices such as moko kauae cannot be understated. As Mahuta says, “It says clearly when I’m sitting round a table that I do represent a certain way of thinking.” Diversity matters because democracy matters.
  
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  May 1, 2021 3:48pm
  - Jack5
    
    But what about diversity that erodes or opposes democracy – such as reserved council posts for members of one race?
    
    3 0
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    May 1, 2021 7:58pm
theoldbloke

In my 3 score years and 10 plus.
I have come to the conclusion that public opinion tends to be like a pendulum. Going to extremities then swinging the other way.

I am starting to think the Maorification of NZ has reached its zenith.
Many more articles in media starting to challenge the wokeness.

another example today
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/heather-du-plessis-allan-drive/opinion/andrew-dickens-are-maori-breaking-the-treaty/
12 2
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May 1, 2021 2:41pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  3 score + 10 and the children here still going wtf?
  Give them time – numbers are not that great with the left
  
  1 3
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  May 1, 2021 3:52pm
MCos

For anyone out there whose accomplishments in life haven’t been as perfect as smartarses we read about.
https://twitter.com/ai_memes/status/1382374419666976771?s=21
1 0
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May 1, 2021 2:55pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/125001745/complaints-about-influencers-increases-advertising-watchdogs-workload-by-78-per-cent
These sad people are not “influencers”.
They are “effluencers”.
1 2
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May 1, 2021 3:16pm
RockyJ

I just read Judith Collins’ address to the Northern Regional conference of the National party. Brilliant. Addressed the real issues facing New Zealand in an inspiring way.
Thank you Judith.
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May 1, 2021 3:23pm
Tony Stuart

Those waiting for National to make its position clear on the Government’s He Puapua document need wait no longer:

The Government has commissioned work on this in the form of the report: He Puapua. I suggest you all have a read of it.

This divisive government document spells out a clear vision for New Zealand in 2040 under a ‘two systems’ Treaty view.

It includes two systems for health.[2]

Two systems of justice.[3]

There would be Maori governance in resource management.[4]

Foreshore and seabed to Maori ownership.[1]

The 2019 document proposes separate Māori wards in councils, which Labour has now done.[2]

And, finally, and most importantly, constitutional reform to consider matters such as a Māori Parliament or upper house.

I need to say that again, the Labour Government document, He Puapua, contemplates a separate Māori Parliament or upper house – able to veto any decision of the New Zealand Parliament.[3]

So, my message to Labour is this: New Zealand cannot and will not accept the implementation of two systems by stealth.

If Labour believes that the Treaty intended two systems for everything, and that this is the model we want in 2021, then this is a fundamental change to our society. We cannot accept this via a health reform, via Māori wards, and via justice changes.

It has to be a national conversation – one that has honest, respectful and open debate. A debate where every voice is heard. A clear vision for where it leads, and one that goes to a referendum if needs be. It cannot be snuck through.

Labour’s vision for New Zealand will divide us and take us backwards. By contrast, National will present a positive vision that takes us forward.

https://www.national.org.nz/leaders-speech-to-2021-northern-regional-convention

You can read Collins’ full speech at the link just above. He Puapua will probably attract the most attention, but she has made a number of very strong statements, designed to differentiate National from Labour.

I’ll be attending the LNI Regional Conference next weekend. I’ve heard from people attended the Auckland region one today that the mood is positive, the debate is robust, and that at the grassroots as least, the party is in very good heart. That’s good to hear, because New Zealand needs a strong and united National Party, not the rabble of 2020.
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May 1, 2021 3:39pm
- Philview
  
  This is great to hear that Judith and National are going to fight for the future of this country. She is going to face an onslaught from the media and will need to be the Iron Lady Mark 2.
  
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  May 1, 2021 4:03pm
- Chuck
  
  Brilliant stuff… Collins and National need to stay strong on this. The woke media will no doubt compare this to Don Brash Orewa’s speech.
  
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  May 1, 2021 4:32pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

New York, New York……
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e08iJvtFQs
0 3
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May 1, 2021 4:00pm
- Inandout
  
  Steve, that once wonderful NY city has become a true shit hole. I can scarcely believe it was once a proud city that had crime well and truly under control. Thanks for that Rudy.
  
  3 5
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  May 1, 2021 4:23pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Here are the 10 most dangerous cities in the US:
    Anchorage, Alaska
    Albuquerque, New Mexico
    Memphis, Tennessee
    Wichita, Kansas
    Lubbock, Texas
    Detroit, Michigan
    Spokane, Washington
    Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana
    Corpus Christi, Texas
    Mobile, Alabama
    
    5 5
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    May 1, 2021 5:04pm
    - Jack5
      
      That list of dangerous cities varies from the CBS list, made on 9 November:
      
      https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-most-dangerous-cities-in-america/
      
      2 0
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      May 1, 2021 7:57pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Anchorage is not dangerous. Been twice
      
      0 0
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      May 2, 2021 9:17am
ABS4EVA

The Mariana Trench

The Super Highway for future invasion of the pacific and the next PACIFIC WAR

11,034 meters

https://www.livescience.com/chinese-submarine-record-dive.html#:~:text=The%20Chinese%20submersible%20Fendouzhe%20just,a%20state%2Drun%20news%20agency.

The Chinese submersible Fendouzhe just reached one of the deepest spots on the planet, reaching a dizzying (and dark) depth of 35,791 feet (10,909 meters), according to a state-run news agency.

This is a research Sub but its purpose is
CCP Navy Submarine Development

2016

A CCP Sub Surfaced basically in the middle of battle operations

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/history/chinese-submarine-appeared-in-the-middle-of-a-carrier-battle-group.html

When it goes off …. Kicks off

The New Pacific War

they will very quickly have nuclear subs
parked at Strategic Harbours like
SYDNEY

Ready to NUKE

Couple that with the fact that they are in the process of militarising SPACE

Most US satellites will be taken out in a coordinated Grab for Power.

The Next War will not be like Korea or Vietnam

There will be no Long Tan or Battle of the kapyong valley , where Australia prevented the world going
full Nuclear for little thanks

The First Waves will be Suicide Drone swarms

Like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVxAiBCDjRI

But Military like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eG_U98ACPc

It will be the Kamakazi again but on Steroids

The Next PACIFIC WAR is coming
and all the Future War technology will be used
with deadly effect

The Draught of nearly every CCP craft
like

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_22_missile_boat

is nearly always

Draught: 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)

This means they can pull up on any beach
off load anything and anyone pull out and re supply

I.E CCP Marines can jump of the side of these
wade assure and DO CCP Business

DEEP SEA PORTS are irrelevant in the inititial
stages of the NEW WAR COMING
but Australia has given them one anyway

The New Marine War in the Pacific
Waged to full Potential will be a
Blitzkrieg

NZ is now a CCP Proxy State
America has collapsed and
Australia is fully infilrated

Another Term of Labour in AUS ever

AND IT IS ALL OVER

Australia has a very limited time frame to PREPARE

https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/minister/lreynolds/media-releases/safer-and-stronger-australia-budget-2020-21

The increase in SPEND is BECAUSE

They KNOW

WAR IS COMING
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May 1, 2021 4:26pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/women-in-sport/300286969/live-blues-women-v-chiefs-women–firstever-super-rugby-womens-match
Maori wars re-enactment. Nice.
2 7
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May 1, 2021 4:35pm
- JerJer
  
  If it happens China will lose…..badly. Most of their military hardware doesn’t work, just like most things they manufacture.
  
  The military power they brag about it based on a party army.
  
  They are liars. Pure and simple….and they would be idiotic if they expected they would win a war against the west and they allies.
  
  School yard stuff.
  
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  May 1, 2021 5:10pm
Monique Watson

Fucking wow. Way to pull a Government down Labour and show your true Nanny state colors. Cabinet commissions the paper He Puapua which want to install a separate system of Government for Maori which has veto power. Ardern is about to get a taste of what her Anti Smacking moment will feel like courtesy of her own hubris perhaps inherited from the Clark era.
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May 1, 2021 5:27pm
ABS4EVA

Russia and ally of the CCP
Sends a message to AUSTRALIA

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/30/australian-military-alert-russia-bombers-indonesia-exercises

A CLEAR MESSAGE from XI
to anyone who will oppose him and anything
he intends to do

PREPARE FOR WAR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRVxo_ezHUE

There have been so many orders to the PLA
to prepare for WAR

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202104/1222399.shtml

If Australia resorts to provocative actions in China’s offshore areas, it is bound to face severe countermeasures from China.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202104/1222248.shtml

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/if-you-make-china-the-enemy-china-will-be-the-enemy-beijing-s-fresh-threat-to-australia-20201118-p56fqs.html

Nothing had changed diplomatically CHINA’s Military preparations now match their RHETORIC

The More Prepare they become
The more aggressive their statements will be

UNTIL

When they are prepared and when that day comes
and it is not too Far Away

WAR will be Waged like

NEVER BEFORE
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May 1, 2021 5:27pm
Martin Williams

Attitudes in the National Party and Kiwiblog toward censorship are beginning to align:

The Northern Convention’s members and local MPs had met to discuss that review.

“It’s really positive, everyone’s just engaging around the recommendations,” said National MP Mark Mitchell.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for our members to reflect on the election and have their voices heard,” said Simeon Brown.

Just apparently, as long as the voices aren’t heard by the media. As Newshub tried to take the pulse of the punters, we were quickly shut down. After we finished a different interview, we were approached by another party member and told to delete the footage.

I don’t think you can engage the public by being so defensive and distrustful.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/05/kelvin-davis-attacks-judith-collins-desperate-m-ori-governance-speech.html
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May 1, 2021 6:25pm
ABS4EVA

Charges against CHARLES M LIEBER

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/harvard-university-professor-and-two-chinese-nationals-charged-three-separate-china-related

These case are part of the Department of Justice’s China Initiative, which reflects the strategic priority of countering Chinese national security threats and reinforces the President’s overall national security strategy. In addition to identifying and prosecuting those engaged in trade secret theft, hacking and economic espionage, the initiative will increase efforts to protect our critical infrastructure against external threats including foreign direct investment, supply chain threats and the foreign agents seeking to influence the American public and policymakers without proper registration.

<
. Unbeknownst to Harvard University beginning in 2011, Lieber became a “Strategic Scientist” at Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) in China and was a contractual participant in China’s Thousand Talents Plan from in or about 2012 to 2017.
<
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May 1, 2021 6:57pm
- cha
  
  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
  Tuesday, January 28, 2020
  
  You’re up with current events there, sport.
  
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  May 1, 2021 7:47pm
Jack5

Karl du Fresne on Wellington City Council’s demolition of democratic representation:

“Democracy took centuries to build, but it’s being dismantled with frightening speed.”

https://karldufresne.blogspot.com/2021/05/joyous-hugs-and-kisses-as-democracy.html
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May 1, 2021 7:54pm
- Martin Williams
  
  Karl du Supremacist ignores the fact that only 40% turned out for the last election so democracy is already a shrivelled carcass.
  
  2 0
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  May 1, 2021 10:40pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Anchorage is not dangerous. Been twice
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May 2, 2021 9:18am
ABS4EVA

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-22/australia-china-belt-road-initiative-cancellation-viral-weibo/100086594

The Australia Government moving urgently
to scrap the Belt and Roads Communist Turd World DEBT Scam.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-07/nz-says-it-will-find-a-win-win-in-belt-and-road-strategy/11085564

Jacinda says it’s a WIN WIN

Yes they WIN WIN the next Pacific War
with Traitors liars cowards and USEFUL IDIOTS
in Charge of Australia and New Zealand.

As THICK as Two SHORT BRICKS.
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May 2, 2021 9:56am

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