true bennett

So Paula Bennett the minister just made up the 'Flying squads' going around tapping on car windows to try and help the many homeless people living in their cars. She told the useless john key, he repeated it to show how useless the homeless were - didn't even bloody WANT help. Now the truth has come out that it was all bullshit. What an absolute disgrace of a person and if you want to see her real side watch this video - nasty, nasty, nasty!!!

The truth is many people are really struggling with the situation of no place to live - only very desperate people live in cars or vans. Māori are over-represented and everyone is suffering. Listen to this interview to hear the resilience and strength of some of our people.

People are helping as best they can but this is a structural issue that has to be fixed from top to bottom.

Does this government and its ministers care and are they going to do something? Nah better to have some more guns ($20b - yep that is billions) to shoot the desperate climate refugees soon to show up on our coastline...

key dirties water

John Key says no one owns water yet the corporates and farmers can take it for free and the corporates can bottle it and sell it for a profit. No one owns the water? Wrong. Water is taonga and protected under the Treaty of Waitangi. Water is protected but is not protected because the governments, this and that one, have disregarded the rights of Māori to have taonga protected. The governments have pretended that there was no Treaty. The governments have sold rights to water they didn't own, they have allowed pollution for dairy profit and unspeakable shit dumped into rivers and waterways. They have allowed rivers and streams to be dug up, diverted, dammed and degraded just so they and their mates can earn some profit. They have allowed species within water ecosystems to die and deteriorate. 

These governments have taken water, and the land near it, off Māori and they have polluted this water and when Māori have gotten some of their rights back to protect these waterways and rivers and streams they get blamed for not looking after it in the first place. They get no money to help, they get no support unless a boating club or something is on the waterway. NZ Society - you don't deserve to look after water, you have shown a dismal inclination to protect waterways unless it is in some personal interest. NO!!!!!

It is time to manifest water as taonga and Māori as kaitiaki. It is time to give voice to the Treaty and the protection of taonga, all taonga but especially water - water is life, access to water is a human right, a right for everyone not just a right for the moneybag corporates or farmers or politicians like the disgraceful dirtkey or collins.

ht Micky @ The Standard

the win in winston

Unintended consequences has been a concept on my mind recently - some thoughts on the recent by-election in Northland.

The election of Winston Peters in Northland will have unintended negative consequences for the left I think. The left as a whole and the individual parts of the left and I'll start with Labour.

As I've mentioned before I think the way Labour went about the Northland by-election was a mistake. The number of times I heard Labour people say - we can't win, we won't win, this un winnable - was depressing. Whether it was true or not is beyond the point - don't forget the big man key said Winston could and would never win - yet he did.

Okay let's assume that Labour could and never would win - what to do? Yes one option is to help Winston win with the view that giving National a 'bloody nose' is valuable because it will erode the win-meme attached to Key and Joyce and lead the way to a victory for Labour next election - that is certainly the line being used and now that Winston has won it will be interesting to see this meme develop. At this stage Key and Joyce are just pretending that they never lost and that it doesn't matter. Key is spinning it, "well I got it wrong and didn't expect Labour to capitulate and send their people to Winston" and Joyce is going, "yep you win some and lose some, that's politics..." I think their spin will work - it certainly has worked up to now with the almost continuous lying from Key and the almost continuous support he still receives. Time will tell on this one but it by no means certain that the winkeymeme is over or even really dented.

Labour missed a big opportunity to go hard, push Little out there and their candidate, push their policies, push their alternative Government meme - but they decided not to. Sure Prime will get a nice list placing and in 2.5 years is much more likely to get into Parliament. But Little and Labour have snapped a couple of arrows in their quiver - the moral high-ground over deals in Epsom around ACT and the Dunne electorate too. Everytime they go down that 'moral' road, Northland will be chucked in their face - even if it wasn't a deal and not really comparable to what National does - I just don't think the movable voter will care about those details. So Labour are going to have to do more of this 'strategic' dealing and i just can't see it going well for them - mainly because I do think they have more morals than National and as we've seen with Northland - it is difficult to front up and say it like it is especially when innuendo and nudge nudge are easier to do.

Andrew Little will need to be careful with Winston - their can be only one leader of the opposition and although Labour have the numbers, Winston has the ego, experience and wind in his sails after this win. He will get offended very quickly and dish out some smartarse remarks likely to get up Little's nose. The 2 of them are not going to get on I think - sure they'll pretend for a while but before too long the truth will out and that truth is that they are political rivals in a very direct way. Winston's age may be bought in but I would be careful about that because everyone's getting older. I'm calling that Winston will end up disliking Little as much as he does Key and that will be significant if the negotiations need to happen in 2.5 years.

Labour have let a wolf into the henhouse - National have received their bloody nose but they will heal. Labour may not heal from the win of Winston.

look over here not over there

A revealing article on Stuff about Tikorangi – ” the most heavily explored and developed oil and gas area in New Zealand”

key spoke to 100 in Inglewood

“On Thursday he told an audience that the amount of wealth that exploration could release meant it was in everyones best interests to build respectful relationships with the oil companies.”

No key it is not in everyones best interest just the greedy and money-hungry exploiters best interest.

On Tuesday the council’s request to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment that urban areas and land near New Plymouth Airport to be excluded from future oil exploration was turned down flat.

Yes they will be drilling near where people live and the effects of that are serious

Greymouth has stated it is drilling just one well but has applied to drill eight. It has also bought 30 hectares of land despite only needing 1.4ha.

Any assurances from them are worthless when the truth is obvious

Like so many other media-shy companies, Greymouth requires questions in writing which are answered in kind.

Just like Key - what a surprise, not.

Todd Energy, the other big player in Tikorangi oil and gas and operator of the massive Mangahewa C production site, has started issuing full-colour community updates.
Featuring pictures of smiling rig workers and the top-echelon management team casually splayed out on a grass bank at Womad…

Manipulation is easier when it comes in a nice glossy full colour update

“The fact of the matter is the easy oil is gone, and now exploration is being brought closer to humans,” Todd Energy operations general manager Mr Clennett says.
“Our main focus is how we can build a sustainable operation within the community. Because the skills we are building here, we want to be able to use in other places."

Easy oil is gone and fracking and other destructive practices are just kicking on and they will be used here and in other places as desperation grows.

Mr Clennett’s frankness, the printed updates, the millions in funding to the Len Lye Centre and support for other community projects have another bottom-line benefit for Todd. In a world market scrapping over a limited supply of oil and gas experts, reputation is money.

key and these companies are singing from the same songsheet and they are raising their voices in a cacophony of manipulation designed to drown out opposition to their exploitation, but it won’t work because they ignore people.

“This doesn’t feel like home anymore,” he told his parents Clare and Alan.
“The noise. The rigs. The powerlines. All the lights. It’s taken away the night sky. It’s pretty sad really.”

Expect plenty of glossy brochures and smiling pictures to come because that is all they have got to counter the truth of their activities.

planning to exploit

The government are ramping up the oil exploitation and have recently made an area the size of Te Waipounamu available for this, that is a total of 1,500 square kilometres of onshore exploration territory and 190,000 sq kms of offshore territory. When you look at the map of these areas being opened up you can really see how big their plans are. 

Prime minister key has said that he thinks the regulations will keep the cowboys out and Economic Development Minister steven joyce has said that the poorest regions of this country, the 'backwater regions' should rethink their opposition to mining and get on board because it will boost economic growth. Well firstly key is a liar and cannot be trusted so anything he says must be taken with many grains of salt - gives us something to rub into the wounds and as for joyce, I'm afraid he is cut from the same cloth - cannot be trusted and he proves this with his myopic focus on the mythical benefits of growth. This government is only concerned with making more money for them and their mates - do not be under any illusion - and the absurd aspect is that the potential growth is just that, potential and not even likely, just made up numbers that bolster the exploitation and potentially increase the profits of the international mining companies.

The opposition to these moves will need to remain focused to stop them and we must stop them because as shell says it would take 14 days to cap a major oil leak but remember the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico  took 87 days to contain and the Montara oil spill and gas leak in the Timor Sea, off the northern coast of Western Australia took 74 days to contain so those assurances mean little, they are just dreams and hopes. My dream and hope is that tangata whenua with like-minded people will work together to halt their plans.

We will not listen to their bland promises of growth or environmental protection, we will fight them all the way. I look at that map and see how close to Farewell Spit Nature Reserve they will drill and I am very concerned, very concerned indeed because that beautiful, important area will not be able to take 70 days of oil spewing near it. The only way to ensure protection of Onetahua is to make sure they are not able to begin.

the headlights get bigger

The pressure on John Key is showing as it does for all liars that get caught. He is starting to slide down the rabbit hole now, and funny as that is, it has awful consequences for some groups in our society. The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) has been naughty. They have illegally spied on NZ citizens because they didn't agree with the legislation that governed them or they just interpreted the very clear words incorrectly. The Kitteridge Report has shown how low things have got to. Changes have to be made says key so he is going to make their illegal spying legal and then it will all be good. And now he has come out with the most pathetic excuse - WMD's - weapons of mass destruction!!!

TVNZ

there have been covert attempts to acquire New Zealand science and technology for programmes relating to weapons of mass destruction or weapons delivery systems.

Terrorists!!!

While the terrorism threat in New Zealand has remained low, there are people within our country who have links to off-shore terrorist groups

OMG!!! key has just rattled off the same lying meme that killed so many in their wars.

But it isn't funny because middle NZ will believe him. They will lap it all up and ask for more because it suits their often do-nothing, selfish attitude. They won't remember the last time the terrorism word was used in anger and the devastation to community, to peoples lives, to the innocent charged and dragged before the court system and to the political prisoners who did their time as a protest against the system that wrongfully imprisoned them. They forget but we don't forget, because the groups that will be spied on are us, they are Māori, and all others who oppose so much that is happening - those against the mining, the political corruption, the dirty TPPA deal. Those groups who care, include indigenous rights activists, fighters against poverty, injustice, inequality and fight for the disadvantaged and the environment. These are the people who get spied on for all sorts of reasons, very few of them valid. The branding of terrorist will begin and the sullying of reputations will begin and the eternal battle for mana will continue. All of this nastiness began because John Key is trying to hide and bluster his way out of his lies. And yes, he really is that low.

the cut key

Prime Minister John Key has been caught telling lies. It sounds bad and it is bad. Politicians are often circumspect with the truth, they weave and dodge as the case may be - but lying is bad form and being caught lying, even worse, and then telling more lies to get out of the first lie, oh dear things start unwinding then. That is what is happening to John Key at the moment, he is under pressure, so much so, that he has taken a desperate gamble - He has said he will no longer take anything other that written questions lol - he has packed a real sad.

Stuff

he will no longer answer questions about his actions without warning, following controversy over his role in the appointment of spy boss Ian Fletcher.

During an interview on Radio Live, Key described those reporting on the story as ''knuckle heads'' and said he would change his approach to answering questions both in Parliament and to the media.

Without warning? What is that - the sound of one hand clapping. That just shows he is vacuous, vain and full of hubris, he is.

Denying accusations that he had lied by omission, he said he had only had ''15 seconds, with no warning, on a process that happened 18 months ago'' and he should have taken time to research the answer.

''What I should have done, and what I will be doing in the future, is saying, well, the member needs to put that down to me in writing, and I'll be doing that to the journalists as well,'' Key said.

''Coz if you want perfection of everything I have done, two, three, four, five years ago, I will get you all that information for you, but I'll get you the whole lot and give it to you,'' he said.

Hey! we aren't talking about 2, 3, 4 years ago, remember your mate, the one you rang to let him in on the job as our top spy? Remember how you said you knew him vaguely but then we find out you've sat and ate with him three times, and you were pushing for him to be in on a top job in 2009? And we're not going to forget Kim Dotcom.

I hope the public take a long hard long at our Prime Minister because as they will see the truth about him, that will tilt their ship enough that we can stop there exploitative agenda and force them to back down on so many important issues.

I think The Standard have done a great job with revealing details and facts to really question the appointment entirely. Eddie with Cronyism got it rolling, plus Vance asks the right questions on Key cronyism and then Karol posted some really good ones, The CV of a Spy Boss, then, Rennie: Key vetoed the shortlist?, and Fletcher GCSB Change Manager - and QLD.

Rob too with Key needs time to egt his story straight. That is the way to deliver the information and all of it quality. The Standard is one of my favorite sites - the debate is robust and sometimes very funny, identities get irritated by each other and sometimes end up if feuds, then a post comes along when you find enemies agreeing on something else and away it goes again. There are the fact finders, the stirrers, the trolls, and the regulars, semi-regulars and the many lurkers. A lot of fun and jeepers you learn a lot, most of it very interesting. So if you don't already, go visit the site I recommend it.

I also saw a really good roundup  in NBR by Bryce Edwards in NZ Political Daily on the scenario that unfolded. Highly recommend that one, although I was disappointed that The Standard wasn't even mentioned yet others were, who were frankly not really up to it. Bryce misses a few key bits that are there when you read The Standard bloggers. Anyway, don't want to give any that visit here a swell head and all that, it can often be irritating and can make you really shake your head..

The latest where Key is only going to take written questions is laugh out loud funny - he can't get out of it easily anymore. It is embarrassing in so many ways, to have him as the Prime Minister of this country. We can't right the wrongs with this type of person there. He tells lies in parliament, on camera and to everyone. He pretends to himself. It is not good enough to have a PM who does that and says he will only take written questions thus bringing into ridicule the whole office of PM. Come on, this emperor has no clothes.

Yhanks to all th journalists who's articles I linked to and to Blip for their extensive list of lies from key on The Standard,

just business

Sometimes an event just sums it all up and those of you who have been reading the last few posts will know that I have been showing the connection between a number of actions by the prime minister john key and his government and the bigger picture of what they are after. Deliberate ignorance, court case on water, PR push by oil and gas exploiters, reduction of protection for conservation areas against exploitation. The digging up of Papatūānuku and the desecration through exploitation is a large part of their end game IMO. 

So what is the latest? At the world’s largest conservation summit a motion to protect the world’s rarest dolphins and porpoises, including New Zealand’s Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins was passed by 576 for and 2 against - and one of the 2 against was this country - New Zealand.

Scoop

Karli Thomas, Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner, said: "Our government is letting minority business interests ride rough shod over the values of ordinary New Zealanders. By voting against this call to protect our most endangered dolphin, New Zealand has arrogantly dismissed international concern and has severely tarnished our global reputation.”

Shameful? Disgusting? yes for sure all of that but why? Well it's a pain to issue exploitation certificates when pesky dolphins live in the area you want to dig up. Simple really those glorified fish have to go and we can't shoot them so let's keep getting them killed with nets and fishing and destroying their environment. Shameful? Disgusting? Yep and if you think like that, like me, then we just don't understand - it's not personal, it's business.

we know why

Further evidence of the long game of prime minister john key which I have been discussing over the last 3 posts. Deliberate ignorance, court case on water, PR push by oil and gas exploiters and now this - "The Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill which will ensure that all land classified as a National park, Nature Reserve etc in future is automatically included in Schedule 4." That appears to be good but as I/S says it weakens the protection on that land so they can mine it. The proof is right there in front of us, as I/S states

No Right Turn

At present, decisions on whether to permit mining on Schedule 4 land are made by the Minister of Conservation, and strictly on conservation grounds. The bill would change that, inserting the Minister of Energy as a joint decision-maker, and adding an economic benefits test. So, the question of whether to dig up a National Park will be a question of "balancing" conserving the area with the projected economic benefits of destroying it.

This is not happening by chance - it is planned and not even hidden. Part of the strategy is to overwhelm, create a tsunami of information, events, and issues that people care about. They hope it all just becomes too much for people but as usual they are overconfident of their own opinions and judgements of human nature - they think everyone is like them - greedy and self obsessed. But people aren't like that all. They are wrong and that is how we stop their nefarious plans.

Hattip - No Right Turn

undo the gag

What a half-wit John Key the Prime Minister is - do you think this remark is off the cuff?

NZH

On his way into caucus at Parliament this morning he was asked about the unity around the water issue at the national hui last week called by King Tuheitia.

He suggested that from the media reports he had seen there wasn't unity.

"There are kind of more positions than Lady Gaga's got outfits."

I don't, I think it was deliberate. The point of the comment? To trivialise Māori and their belief systems. You see I don't agree with sharples that key is culturally ignorant - I mean of course he is, but like the banks affair, he is choosing to be. He isn't ignorant - no it is much worse than that - he is deliberately ignorant or choosing to be ignorant. And why would someone do this? It's all about the court case now - the hui that noone will attend, the public statements and the quips - he even says it here, it is a strategy. Key is a bankster he gets a buzz from riding the edge and he is going to ride this one all the way in. So why is he a half-wit? His deliberate ignorance is not an advantage it is a weakness and the more he speaks, the more that weakness is revealed. He thinks he is smarter than he really is - but he isn't.

dear john

Below is Hone Harawira's open letter to Prime Minister John Key. It sums up everything really well.

NZH

Kia ora, John

I'm down at Turangawaewae for the water hui, and I just wanted to clear up a few things before I go in. You see John, there's quite a bit of confusion about how Maori are being pushed to help you with your asset sales problem, but there doesn't seem to be much of a push from your side to help Maori with any of our problems - like poverty, low wages, massive unemployment, poor housing, benefit cuts ... you know the rest.

We know things are hard for your Government right now, what with trying to sell off power companies when you don't own the water that drives them - but really John, that's something your officials should have sorted out a long time ago.

The consultation hui earlier this year showed clearly that Maori don't support asset sales, there was that huge march on Parliament against it, and there's that petition on the street right now with 250,000 signatures and growing, opposing asset sales as well.

And you must have known John, that Maori would take action to protect their water rights under the Treaty of Waitangi.

That's why Maori were so upset when you ridiculed the idea of a claim to the Waitangi Tribunal, then belittled the New Zealand Maori Council for daring to take the claim in the first place, and then said that the Tribunal wasn't worth listening to anyway.

You see John, the Tribunal is one of the only avenues we have to present our claims in our own way. In fact it's the only place where what our kaumatua and kuia have to say has any meaning. It's deeply flawed of course, but it has a special place as the nation's only specialist judicial body on Treaty issues.

That's why when the Tribunal said that "government would be in breach of the Treaty if it proceeded with its asset sales programme before Maori water rights had been settled", we really hoped that you might do the right thing and let the judicial process run its course.

So when you decided to simply defer the sale, and engage in behind-closed-door deals with selected iwi leaders, you can imagine how ... upset ... we got.

Because this is an important issue John, to all of us. This is about water, and in particular Maori interests in that water.

And water really is a taonga to us John, a treasure. It's hard to explain in English but water is something to cherish, to care for, to respect and to protect for future generations. Moana Jackson says "every tribe has a river" and the people of Whanganui have a saying: "I am the river and the river is me". Water is part of who we are.

And Maori water rights need to be understood in that context, John. Not as a tradeable commodity, but as part and parcel of our very existence.

Even Pakeha people get that; I think that might be why so many of them oppose asset sales too.
The Tribunal has confirmed those rights (with the support of a number of your own Crown witnesses), and the Council has quite rightly asked the Tribunal to consider the extent of those rights and how best to recognise them in stage two of the hearings.

That's not to deny hapu and iwi their rightful claims to waterways in their territories, but the issue of Maori water rights calls for a nationwide discussion and commitment to standards and expectations far greater than what can be achieved by small groups meeting behind closed doors.

John, this is one of the biggest decisions Maori will ever make, and five weeks just isn't enough time to do it justice.

So where do we go from here?
Well ... if I were the Prime Minister John, I think I'd:
•Set aside the asset sales programme for a while.
•Give the Tribunal time to complete stage two of the hearings.
•Give Maori time to go back and share all that information with our kaumatua and our kuia, our cousins, our kids, and yes even our mokos as well, because the decisions we make today will affect them and their mokos too. And time, too, for hapu and iwi to consider the wider implications for them as well.
•Give the rest of the country time to give their views too, because on this issue, every New Zealander should have a say.
•And then I'd call everyone back to the table in 12 months, and see if we could come up with a solution that works for all.

Anyway, gimme a bell some time and let's have a cup of tea and a chat.

Yours sincerely,
Hone Harawira

I quite like these open letters, it gives a real chance to get the points across, it gives a little control, and it drives the recipient up the wall. Keep this good stuff going Hone - it is effective and inspirational and we need lots of that.

Hattip: Tiger Mountain commenting on the Standard

water and a seal

There is a lot on at the moment, I've got 3 assignments due at the end of the week so head down time. It interesting how sometimes we try to make life easier and we end up making it a bit tougher. I thought I'd do a couple of double semester papers to ease the load... and I've managed to end up with a lot more to do this semester, as in 5 papers. Doh! 

Perhaps prime minister key is thinking the same as his desire to sell off our assets hits the immovable wall of Māori rights. I am sure he thought he was making life easier for himself and his mates - you know, to make more money. The Waitangi Tribunal have stated, that the government request to hurry up their process of deliberation, is "unusual and inappropriate". Sums it up well.

I came across this photo from a while ago. What a beautiful animal. Popoiangore - The Leopard Seal

me moralise d land

Eddie on The Standard has highlighted a very good point about the water debate. Prime Minister key doesn't even have a clue.

The Standard

The Waitangi Tribunal has noted it has the power to make binding recommendations over memoralised land. Key doesn’t think Mighty River has any memoralised land. Yes, it does.

As Eddie notes this is the flagship policy for key, this is the one they are pushing through against all opposition and this is the one where key doesn't even know the slightest about the law or Māori rights. Mei Chen calls keys optimism that 'she'll be right',  "misplaced" and that is the mildest thing you could say.

I have posted on The Standard thread that

My big worry is the Maori Party, because key will be applying the instruments of displeasure to them soon and they will not like it. They will fold into the narrative key and his minions have constructed, and before you know it they will have justified it all away. I hope my fears are unrealised.

If that does happen, we will see Māori deliberately pitted against Māori. Keeping on top of the issues and making sure sunlight is liberally applied are the answers. If we know their game, we can defeat them.

Hattip The Standard

slipping on water

Great news from the Waitangi Tribunal – they have issued an interim decision, that the government , “not go ahead with its proposed partial privatisation of power generating SOE until the Tribunal has at least had a chance to issue its full decision on stage one of this Inquiry”. They have been direct in their language which I take as a pointed challenge to big mouth key. 

For instance in in the conclusion they state in point 59 that

Scoop

In the interests of the Maori-Crown relationship, and all New Zealanders, the issues raised in this stage of the inquiry are serious ones that warrant measured consideration.

And in point 61

We therefore conclude that the Crown ought not to commence the sale of shares in any of the Mixed Ownership Model companies until we have had the opportunity to complete our report on stage one of this inquiry and the Crown has had the opportunity to give this report, and any recommendations it contains, in-depth and considered examination. (my emphasis)

Key is a bit stuck now and this will get nasty make no mistake about that – this was not planned for and the lie about what was said at the infamous meeting between the Maori Party and key will now be tested. Key will never listen to Māori, never. It is not in his interest to. So the slippery one is about to coat himself in grease and start being even more slippery and we will be watching.

sullied waters

So The Maori Party and John Key the Prime Minister had their meeting last night and the Maori Party are pleased. It is interesting to look a little closer at this.

NZH

Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples had previously indicated the meeting was called to discuss Mr Key's comments which they said undermined the Waitangi Tribunal which is currently hearing the Maori Council's bid to halt the sale of Mighty River Power until Maori rights and interests in water are defined.

However after emerging from the meeting late last night Mrs Turia said "the main issue was that this Government would treat our people in the same way the Labour Party did by legislating away their rights".

Hmmm they seem like totally different issues to me. Key's comments have morphed into something Labour did years ago - but what they did affected Tariana significantly. She continues to try and exact revenge but I'd suggest she go to New York and get into Helen if she is so hellbent on retribution.

Mrs Turia was asked whether that meant that should a court decision subsequent to the tribunal find that Maori did have proprietary type right over water, the Government would not legislate against that.

She said: "That was what they told us tonight".

'They' - not nice Mr Key, or The Prime Minister, or Johnny - no it is they. I wonder who 'they' are. The use of 'they' implies wriggle room to me but who will do the wriggling, I'm not too sure. To date I have not heard key say it or agree with Tariana's statement.

Meanwhile in a joint statement issued by Mrs Turia, Dr Sharples and Mr Key, they said that both parties had agreed that when the Waitangi Tribunal report on the Maori Council's claim was issued that, "as part of developing their respective responses, the two parties will jointly discuss the matter".

Nice, a joint statement and key is happy to put his mark to this one. I wonder why. Could it be the slamdunk statement that they will, "jointly discuss the matter" - jeepers expect the shit to fly NOT.


So what have we got really? Joint discussions and that is it. Until I hear the words out of key's mouth about not legislating against any decision I won't believe it - and if he does say it i will still be unconvinced - key will not do it - they will not let him, and he doesn't want to anyway.

the drip continues

It has indeed been interesting watching the debate about the indigenous rights of Māori and water. Key the prime minister calls the claim by The Māori Council, "opportunistic" and that shows what a dim he is - hey key, how long have Māori been fighting for equality? Don't bother answering bankster I wouldn't believe what you say anyway. Perhaps key should heed Annette Sykes advice that key should, "either get a law degree or stay quiet about Maori water rights issues". 

Yes STFU because this following comment from key is outrageous

NZH

and I think that there's no merit in the case that the Maori Council is bringing.

No merit? How the fuck would you know key. Read all the evidence already have you?

The pressure is building on The Maori Party.  Maanu Paul

Maori Council spokesman Maanu Paul said it was "crunch time" for the party and co-leaders Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples, who have argued they need to stay at the Cabinet table to make a difference.

and

“In a Maori world, they should act like Maori – defend their mana, not the money.”

and from Annette Sykes

I beg Tariana, who I've got the hugest respect for, to sit back and reflect and in the spirit of Che Guevera who obviously influenced her last week, position herself for freedom and the rights of our people rather than to take money as a Prime Minister's friend at the table.

Initially i thought they would never walk but now I dunno, they actually could and I hope they do - for all of us.

 

Key has made a blunder with this whole fiasco and part of that blunder was to insult Tariana and Pita by not seeing them sooner. But i'm not worried about them, they have made their bed and if they did resign from their agreement with national, well that would be good, a final positive to add to the mix.

 

The wheels are starting to fall off - time to up the pressure!

noisy now

There is an agenda afoot to sell off this country and recently we have seen three developments that are connected to that agenda. The selling of state assets, the TPP and the opening up of exploitation of oil and gas seem to have a momentum that is relentless. They really want to push these through - why is that I wonder.

A great speech by Hone regarding the government selling of our assets. Now is the time to sign the petition and keep the pressure on. 

Scoop

But the really surprising thing to me, is how long it has taken us to wake up to the fact that selling off resources and assets and services built up by generations of New Zealanders will leave our children and our mokopuna with a future almost too bleak to contemplate.And yet such is the future that this bill and this government, offers us all.

Mr Speaker, MANA opposes this bill to sell off 49% of the shares in Mighty River, Meridian, Genesis and Solid Energy

The opposition is widespread but the fasttracking of the legislation shows the government can't afford to give way on this. If they did their TPP dirty deals mas suffer for instance, and they are dirty indeed. Gordon Campbell has an awesome post on the TPP, as he concludes


Scoop

Right. In sum, the public has very good reason to feel concerned about (a) the adequacy of the TPP investor state dispute panels (b) the secrecy in which the TPP discussions are being pursued and (c) the emptiness of the Trade Minister’s assurances that everything will be hunky dory. If there is nothing to fear, why the secrecy? Can Groser at least give an assurance that before a document that will bind present and future New Zealand governments is signed, it is submitted to Parliament for scrutiny – and if not, why not?

They will also find it stickier trying to sell off the exploitation rights to oil and gas. As the ODT says

Oil and gas exploration companies have until October to submit exploration work programme bids for one or more of the 23 areas, covering just over 40,000sq km of offshore seabed and more than 3300sq km of land in Waikato, Taranaki, Tasman, the West Coast and Southland. 

These developments are connected, as well as many more that struggle to see the light of day. We have seen the backdown with teacher/student ratios, but these issues are more hidden and have less direct impact on averagekiwi. Key knows this and he has to hold the line - unless we force him not to. Time to up the ante and disturb key's comfort zone and the best way to do that is noise - visual and auditory, consistant and focused. We can do it, we can stop them - we will stop them.

as deep as a dollar

The prime minister has said that

"Plenty of women go back to work when their baby is a year old and it makes financial sense to do so"

 and that shows what a lowlife he is. Of course he never asks the obvious question of why. Yes a number of women go back to work and some of them may even want to, but many are also forced to because "it makes financial sense". If they didn't then there would not be enough money to pay the bills or create a life for themselves and their families and even for many that do work, the money isn't enough. Welcome to capitalism 101.

Of course the other implication of keys statement is that raising a child is not work which is utter bullshit. A good post on the standard shows the truth of keys lies. As that post shows, key is only looking at one side of the equation and mr moneybags never adds in the cost of working for any parent, let alone a single mum. That's just the monetary values not even getting into the social and moral values of having parent/s around raising young children. The comments on the post also mention - what happens when the child gets sick, or is disabled, or there are 2 or more children - why mention all of these factors when all he can focus on is money. 

The attitudes of key and bennett are the cause of most of the ills of our society.

they are us

The latest announcements regarding welfare reform are indeed beneficary bashing as Hone points out and Paula Bennett is an absolute bloody hypocrite as Hone has stated. The programs attack those who need support and they are not about any reform or improvement at all, they are all driven by a warped mentality that blames people for their situation. Only a very small percentage of the unemployed are recidivist most are there because of circumstance and it takes a very mean spirit indeed to attack those people but this attack is only the beginning of the program to drive people to desperation. No point building new prisons unless you have the bodies to put in them, is there.

NZH

From October, the 30,000 people on the domestic purposes, widow's or woman-alone benefits will have to be work-tested for part-time employment once their youngest child turns 5, and for full-time roles when their youngest child turns 14.

Having an extra child while on a benefit will bring only a 12-month reprieve from these obligations _ a disincentive to having more children. Private agencies will also be employed to manage the benefits of unemployed youth and teen parents.

Not just Mana and Hone are speaking out

Stuff

Child Poverty Action Group spokesman Mike O'Brien said children were invisible in the changes although they would be "profoundly affected". "At the very time the Government is consulting on vulnerable children, it is about to blow a huge hole in the safety net provided to thousands of children whose parents are on a benefit.

"The minister argues on the one hand that her first priority is the protection of vulnerable children so she needs to explain how the interests of children and so-called vulnerable children in particular are enhanced by these moves."

Auckland Action Against Poverty described the changes as a "nasty piece of work".

Spokeswoman Sue Bradford said the Government failed to understand two basic work concepts.

"The first is that there has to be jobs to go to before people can get paid work.

"The next is that bringing up children on your own is very important work in its own right."

Both key and bennett say, "there are jobs for beneficiaries" but Hone again slams them with this

Mana Party leader Hone Harawira said the Government wasn't creating jobs but taking them away.

He pointed to recent announcements of job losses at government departments including; 50 at the Maori Affairs Ministry Te Puni Kokiri, 305 from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and 70 from Housing New Zealand.

So their lies are outed but only those affected or those who know someone affected will notice, the 'middle' who voted for the gnats will carry on with their head in the sand attitude, until they are forced to see by the inevitable downside of these changes - the increased desperation, the increased crime and the increased poverty. 

The people who need our help are our brothers and sisters, our family, our whānau - they are us and we are them. A pox on the instigators of these policy changes and their lackies.

the slippery snake slithers away

So key ran from Waitangi because he couldn’t be heard – good job I say and well done to the protestors, who at personal risk fronted him, and let him know in no uncertain terms what some of us feel about him. This protest was legitimate and necessary because the state and its representatives are treating tangata whenua disrespectfully as evidenced by the announcements this week of the proposed removing of clause 9 in the new legislation flogging off state assets and the job loses at TPK orchestrated by The Māori Party and the gnats.

Key wants to control the narrative and he wasn’t able to and that is great. This is the way to do it because his narrative oppresses Māori and reiterates inequality and unfairness. Some argue that it is better to be nice but where has nice got Māori?

Some argue it has played into key’s hands by solidifying support from middle NZ against horrid Māori but that doesn’t matter because they are already at that place. If it has played into his hands then THAT is what should be addressed – the fact that he has an anti-Māori agenda and sinister intentions towards tangata whenua. The protestors got it right by forcing the slippery snake to slither away.