Posts by Bart Janssen
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
The really strange thing about all this is not that the National Party are doing this shit. They always come into power and do this shit, every time. It is exactly what National stalwarts expect from their party and for the most part the real National supporters actually want this kind of shit and believe it will somehow be "better for New Zealand".
What is strange and, in that train wreck kind of way, fascinating, is that otherwise normal healthy sensible New Zealanders who had benefited tremendously from the absence of the National Party from policy decisions, chose to vote for this insanity.
With just a little luck Emma's predictions will remain fiction, maybe. With a little luck New Zealanders will remember this year when it comes time to vote again. With a little luck the damage won't be so bad that a sensible government can't fix it.
-
I keep expecting Brownlee to be embarrassed
He promises to be embarrassed after his lunch meeting ... no need to wait.
-
Great Barrier? Open Bay Islands?Rakiura? Rekohu?
Anywhere where the living is a bit hard, and politicians are out of their comfort zone, without their usual support (except for electronic) networks-And make them walk to and from their electorates to parliament. Or they could use the national cycleway.
-
Labour MP David Shearer decries the poverty of vision.
Maybe Mr Shearer would like to STFU given the way his party strangled science funding and channelled what little money we put into research into end stage development using other peoples discoveries instead of discovering new things for ourselves. Labour's handling of science during it's term was atrocious.
-
The University of Otago has campuses in Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. Massey University not the only one doing the franchise-y thing.
Which raises the whole issue of the value to New Zealand of allowing Universities (and technical institutes) to compete for students.
But as Russell would say that's a whole other topic.
-
ah, homeopathic remedies are wonderfully uniquely totally batshit reliable at not producing any effect (aside from the placebo) at all
My friend sent me this on How to summarise the evidence as to how Homeopathy works
-
OK Craig
Let's assume the National ministers are honest and have the best interests of New Zealand as a whole as their prime motivator.
Can you please explain (showing some proof) how mining will benefit New Zealand?
The reason for asking you to do that is because thus far the numbers given by the National Party ministers appear to be wildly optimistic (wrong).
If you can't do that can you please offer an alternative explanation as to why those ministers would consider damage to our environment if, as current estimates appear to suggest, there is no tangible benefit to New Zealand.
If you can do any of the above I'll stop believing the alternative which is that the Nationnal Party ministers are NOT honest and DO NOT have the best interests of New Zealand at heart.
-
A couple of hundred years ago some folks got their knickers in a knot over something they called taxation without representation.
Taxation and rates are social contracts between the populace and those who spend that money. What seems to be being attempted here is to take the money as rates from Aucklanders and spend that money to benefit New Zealanders. If I were an Aucklander I might get a bit annoyed about that ... oh wait I am an Aucklander.
How about we take Dunedin city rates and spend them on new public toilets in Auckland? Or Christchurch rates and use them to fund a competitive Auckland Rugby team?
That of course sets aside the issue of representation in the CCOs themselves.
-
Robyn Malcolm. What she says
"The National Government's draconian plans for our National Parks seem like something from another age..."
She's wrong sadly. There is nothing anachronistic about greed. Every age has had people who were willing to sacrifice other people and the environment for their own benefit.
What I still would like to know is exactly how the National Govt politicians are lining their own pockets as a result of this deal. Will it be a spot on the board of directors of some mining company? Or a consultancy? Hopefully someone will be able to expose it, but these er people are pretty good at hiding their tracks.
-
I guess I'm still left wondering just how stupid folks are or more accurately how stupid National expects folks to be.
Does National really expect to get away with mining conservation land by putting up Gt Barrier as a distraction? One really really stupid idea to cover up the just plain stupid ideas.
Does National expect Nikki Kaye will win over central Auckland by valiantly expressing her personal (meaningless) opposition. Oh she is such a nice gal for opposing the mining I guess I'll vote for her anyway even though her party just destroyed some precious National parks?
And in the end I'm left wondering just who is going to get rich from this. It won't be New Zealand, 99.99999% of the money will go overseas. The mining jobs will be few and not that well paid. The companies won't pay any tax. But still the fat guy in the suit is keen ... so just who is it that he knows that will get rich?
This whole thing seems so corrupt that it makes my skin crawl.