Hard News: That Buzzing Sound
757 Responses
First ←Older Page 1 … 7 8 9 10 11 … 31 Newer→ Last
-
I suspect they're mostly worried that Manakau will go and spend all that it invested/saved in Auckland Airport etc on something like swimming pools or some other local amenities before the rest of Auckland can get their hands on it
-
In light of today's various tramplings, that's just priceless.
Once more, I wonder if TPTB at Parliament should dump the opening prayer and start sessions with readings of the Tales of Chicken Little and The Little Shepherd Boy Who Cried Wolf instead.
That is all.
-
Using urgency frequently to circumvent due process and pass controversial Bills is undemocratic. Discuss.
-
I am guessing that this bill is being passed under urgency as otherwise there'd not be enough time for the transition board to do all its work before the 2010 election.
However, there are some big issues with it:
1) It does create a fait accompli situation where an "Auckland Council" is locked in as an entity, which limits the options available in part 2 of the Auckland reorganisation.
2) The transition board seems to have very little oversight of it, and will be able to limit what councils can to do a pretty extreme extent.
I'm not a fan of urgency, but at the same time I feel suspicious that even bills that go to a select committee won't end up actually having much changed from the input of public submissions. I await to be hopefully proven wrong with regards to the RMA Amendment bill.
-
Hey if it was one Bill I wouldn't have a problem - just seems to be becoming a bit of a habit, is all. It's not kosher no matter who's doing it.
-
Some levity. Elections on in Ireland at the moment ....
In todays Indo (from the same stable as the Herald)
"Who to vote for in the upcoming elections? Well, if you're in Limerick you could do worse than independent candidate Pat O'Sullivan. We haven't a clue what his policies are, other than he seems extremely pissed off with everything, but he is running under the best campaign slogan of all time -- 'Pat O'Sullivan, He Might Be A Gobshite, But You Can Always Kick Him Out Next Time If You Don't Like Him.' "
-
Wow. Away for a day, and what do I miss?
Any thread with a "pull my finger” joke just has to be fun…
Best quip of the day was from Shay:
When was the planet destroyed?
You missed a bitchin' party.Classic.
-
Going back to Craig:
All Lee had to do was front up and refute the allegations. She didn't.
I hope Lee knows the difference between refute and deny, Scotty. And if you know anything about the 'media game', then you might have heard the idea that the worse thing to do with false allegations is to give them the oxygen of your attention. Which is why the Wishart analogy is perfectly appropriate: Clark has consistently said that she would not dignify any of the man's allegations with a nano-second of her time. And good on her.Except that these allegations have had plenty of oxygen anyway. Helped by Lee’s actions of agreeing to appear on Campbell, then withdrawing. (And did Clark ever agree to be interviewed for Investigate?)
Graeme mentioned:
If by "discussion" you exclude a debate between DPF and former broadcasting minister Trevor Mallard on the appropriateness and legality of the matter, then I suppose this might be accurate…
Yeah let’s look at that. Here’s the salient part, were Mallard was summarizing the issues (my emphasis): “… Two the involvement of Ms Lee in the production of an election special. Three the donation of her company resources to the making of a video and whether that was properly declared. And four whether the expense in the ad was properly declared by the national party and/or Pansy Wong. Actually all pretty simple factual issues and easily cleared up if she did no wrong and fronted. The fact that she ran away from an interview yesterday certainly left a terrible impression of a candidate with something to hide.”
-
Oh, and Stephen Walker,
(I think so)
is this a new anti-Greens religion?Is this the Greens idea of a clever come-back?
how is it limited and contained? who is going to indemnify?
and lots of research can be done without release. just get NASA to build a research farm on Mars.It’s good to see you acknowledge the absurdity of your position.
-
Yeah let’s look at that. Here’s the salient part, were Mallard was summarizing the issues (my emphasis): “… Two the involvement of Ms Lee in the production of an election special. Three the donation of her company resources to the making of a video and whether that was properly declared. And four whether the expense in the ad was properly declared by the national party and/or Pansy Wong. Actually all pretty simple factual issues and easily cleared up if she did no wrong and fronted. The fact that she ran away from an interview yesterday certainly left a terrible impression of a candidate with something to hide.”
Well, Steve, as those "simple factual issues" are now the subject of complaints to the Electoral Commission and NZ On Air perhaps a little STFU from Lee would be rather wise. If I wanted to be a little bitchy, I would suggest that Mallard was not returning media calls when certain "simple factual issues" around an alleged assault, which hardly was ipso facto proof of his guilt.
(And did Clark ever agree to be interviewed for Investigate?)
No, Steve, which is my point. Of course, to a certain wing-nut consistuency that means she had something to hide. I'm of the school that suspects she decided that she had better things to do with her time.
Using urgency frequently to circumvent due process and pass controversial Bills is undemocratic. Discuss.
Sacha: I'd actually like to see severe limits on the circumstances under which urgency can be used, and supermajorities required to pass urgency motions in the first place. But I'm trying to get out of the habit of busting a blood vessel every time an outcome in Parliament is not to my liking. Unless I'm very much mistaken, the Prime Minister can't just shove the House into urgency because he wants to get home early.
-
WH,
John Armstrong compares Paula Bennett's decision to appoint Christine Rankin to the Families Commission to Helen Clark's use of Geoffrey Palmer on the Law Commission.
That seems fairly charitable. Paula is no Helen, Rankin is no Palmer, and the Families Commission is no Law Commission.
I'm all about the austerity today. In three years New Zealand will be nothing but a mosquito infested lake and some pylons.
-
That seems fairly charitable. Paula is no Helen, Rankin is no Palmer, and the Families Commission is no Law Commission.
And I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a good friend of mine. And you, Sir, are no Jack Kennedy. :)
Meanwhile, another somewhat interesting report in Teh Harold:
Labour MPs yesterday accused Ms Lee of unethical behaviour and misuse of taxpayer funding. Labour leader Phil Goff said she had not disclosed she was a candidate when she applied for - and got - a further $1.2 million for Asia Down Under in September last year. However, NZ on Air's Ms Wrightson rejected suggestions Ms Lee had not disclosed she was standing for Parliament.
Hum... so is Goff going to call Wrightson a liar (not under privilege, of course) or apologise to Lee before the by-election?
-
Hum... so is Goff going to call Wrightson a liar (not under privilege, of course) or apologise to Lee before the by-election?
And to answer my own questions: Come here so I can slap you, silly naive munchkin.
-
Morning Report is a hoot today. Lee told a public meeting last night that the new overground route in Mt Albert would be good for the area because it would provide a barrier that would keep South Auckland criminals out of the area.
She's awesome.
-
Using urgency frequently to circumvent due process and pass controversial Bills is undemocratic. Discuss.
54 Urgency
(1) A Minister may move, without notice, a motion to accord urgency
to certain business.
(2) A motion for urgency may not be moved until after the completion
of general business.
(3) There is no amendment or debate on the question, but the Minister must, on moving the motion, inform the House with some articularity why the motion is being moved.If some 'some particularity why the motion is being moved' genuinely explained why a bill couldn't be debated in normal session I have much more confidence in the process.
-
@Russell - I can only think she was using the arguement to tie the route to the law and order line she'd like to run with. A thinking on her feet point in what sounds like a heated meeting and obviously not fully thought through.
365 houses at risk - I only see National knowing it can't win here...
-
The explanation is that the staff members who made the campaign video did so on their own time, which is mighty charitable of them.
But doesn't it make it messy that Lee is now being spoken for by her campaign manager, who actually is the Minister of Broadcasting?
-
The explanation is that the staff members who made the campaign video did so on their own time, which is mighty charitable of them.
Well, Russell, why don't you just decloak and tell us who you think is lying and why?
-
Well, Russell, why don't you just decloak and tell us who you think is lying and why?
Why Craig, how could I say when even Ms Lee is having memory issues about the whole thing?
Lee on Checkpoint yesterday:
LEE: Well we were doing a launch, you know, for the Asian campaign and I thought it might be a good, fun thing to actually have a video to put onto Youtube or Facebook, I can’t actually remember exactly how it happened and I needed some assistance with the camera and I asked my staff if they wanted to help me and, you know, told them they are certainly allowed to say no, you know. It’s not like I forced them to do it.
Jesse Gunarathan, on the other hand, seems to recall events more clearly.
-
From Not PC's report of last night's candidates meeting:
Most of what every mainstream candidate had to say on the night was both instantly forgettable and intended only for short-term political advantage. But there was one thing one candidate said that is now going to dog her through the rest of the campaign. Maybe longer. It will probably be the meeting’s headline tomorrow morning. I say “her” because the foot in the mouth belonged to Melissa Lee.
Asked to explain how the new motorway would most help the good people of Mt Albert, she expained that it would stop the bad people of South Auckland driving to Mt Albert to burgle people’s homes. Asked to clarify by a questioner, she repeated the claim. Showing she’s truly not one to stop digging when she creates a big hole for herself — a hole as big as the number of open mouths in the room — she insisted that the local police commander had told her this very morning that the biggest issue with which he has to deal is the number of South Aucklanders driving to Mt Albert to burgle people’s homes.
I swear I am not making this up. It’s true that the likely winner of the by-election, David Shearer, grew up in South Auckland . . . and in being Labour’s “machine candidate” he could be said to be burgling the seat . . . but what the hell she was talking about, only Melissa Lee herself would know. Probably.
It was as incongruous and frankly ludicrous as Jenny Shipley’s comment in Parliament several years ago (apropos of nothing relevant) that Polynesians tend “to climb in the windows of other New Zealanders at night.” And it deserves to be treated with equal contempt.
-
Ms Lee is obviously wrong - the new motorway will make it easier for .....
-
Lee told a public meeting last night that the new overground route in Mt Albert would be good for the area because it would provide a barrier that would keep South Auckland criminals out of the area.
Distract from allegations against your integrity by calling attention to your monumental stupidity: check.
-
would provide a barrier that would keep South Auckland criminals out of the area.
Those South Auckland criminals are renowned for their inability to negotiate a two dimensional traffic matrix.
Do they have specially marked off ramps for other suburbs
to help criminals find their way?In Chch we have large blue signs and a search route which help one find P...
staff members who made the campaign video did so on their own time, which is mighty charitable of them.
is the issue use of public money?
surely it also comes under campaign funding - and was it a declared donation by these charitable souls - are donations quantified by cash or kind, as donations of time and equipment use have a value to the end user (in money NOT spent) or am I being naive?365 houses at risk
Well there's your Fundraising Calendar : )
phew - three more impossible things and I can have breakfast
yrs the White Queen
-
Well there's your Fundraising Calendar : )
The motorway advent calendar... somebody please get on it.
-
Lee told a public meeting last night that the new overground route in Mt Albert would be good for the area because it would provide a barrier that would keep South Auckland criminals out of the area.
Is Melissa Lee a Labour Party plant?
Post your response…
This topic is closed.