Sunday, September 22, 2013

Cunliffe names shadow cabinet

Labour leader David Cunliffe has laid out what he is calling a "formidable lineup" of MPs for his new shadow cabinet.
Continuing his war talk, he called the new cabinet a "formidable fighting unit" which will "sharpen our attack as we build for the 2014".
Among those given a change of role is Jacinda Ardern who swaps Social Development for Children, Police, Corrections and Arts, Culture and Heritage.
Mr Cunliffe says Ms Ardern's new portfolios were based on her preferences and she dropped Social Development because the roles were "too large" to perform at the same time.
Nanaia Mahuta and Sue Moroney have also been welcomed to the front bench. Ms Mahuta picks up Treaty Negotiations and Maori Development while Ms Moroney, who was last week named Chief Whip, also takes over Social Development.
Former leader David Shearer doesn't miss out and has picked up Foreign Affairs and also Energy and Resources.
Shane Jones, who made a run for the leadership, is the spokesperson for Economic Development, Maori Affairs, Forestry, Building and Construction, Associate Fisheries and Associate Finance.
Mr Cunliffe says the line-up is based on merit and says the new team will bring a "tremendous depth of experience".
The reshuffle brings "significant fresh blood" and there are a number who will be "adjusting" to their new roles, he says.
Among those who have moved down the list is Clare Curran who was 18th and spokesperson for ICT and does not feature in the new-look team. David Clark moved from 12 to 20 and Darien Fenton has moved from 16 to 25.
Mr Cunliffe says every MP has the opportunity to work their way up into the shadow cabinet.
Labour's new cabinet:
  • 1 - David Cunliffe: Leader, Security and Intelligence, Regional Development, ICT
  • 2 - David Parker: Deputy Leader, Finance, Attorney-General
  • 3 – Grant Robertson: Shadow leader of the House, Employment, Skills and Training, Tertiary Education, Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage
  • 4 – Annette King: Health
  • 5 – Shane Jones: Economic Development, Maori Affairs, Forestry, Building and Construction, Associate Fisheries and Associate Finance.
  • 6 – Jacinda Ardern: Children, Police, Corrections, Arts, Culture and Heritage
  • 7 – Clayton Cosgrove: State-Owned Enterprises, Commerce, Earthquake Commission, Associate Finance
  • 8 – Chris Hipkins: Education, Early Childhood Education
  • 9 – Nanaia Mahuta: Treaty Negotiations, Maori Development (Post-settlement Issues), Associate Regional Development, Associate Innovation, Research and Development
  • 10 – Sue Moroney: Senior Whip, Social Development
  • 11 – Phil Twyford: Housing, Auckland Issues, Associate Environment (Cities)
  • 12 – Maryan Street: State Services, Associate Foreign Affairs (ODA/ Human Rights), Disarmament and Arms Control, Caucus Secretary (nominee)
  • 13 – David Shearer: Foreign Affairs, Energy and Resources
  • 14 – Su'a William Sio: Pacific Island Affairs, Local Government, Interfaith Dialogue, Associate Social Development
  • 15 – Phil Goff: Defence, Trade, Ethnic Affairs, Veterans' Affairs, Associate Foreign Affairs
  • 16 – Louisa Wall: Youth Affairs, Community and Voluntary Sector, Associate Social Development, Associate Auckland Issues (South Auckland), Associate Sport and Recreation
  • 17 – Andrew Little: Justice, Labour
  • 18 – Moana Mackey: Environment, Climate Change, Associate Health, Science
  • 19 – Damien O'Connor: Primary Industries, Fisheries, Biosecurity, Food Safety
  • 20 – David Clark: Revenue, Small Business, Associate Finance, Associate Health
  • 21 – Iain Lees-Galloway: Junior Whip, ACC, Associate Health
  • 22 - Kris Faafoi: Broadcasting, Associate ICT, Associate Pacific Island Affairs
  • 23 – Carol Beaumont: Women's Affairs, Consumers Rights and Standards, Associate Labour
  • 24 – Megan Woods: Innovation, Research and Development, Associate Transport, Associate Education (Christchurch), Associate Tertiary Education
  • 25 – Darien Fenton – Transport, Tourism, Associate Labour, Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage, Associate Immigration
3 News

Online Reporter
Monday 23 Sep 2013 3:14p.m.

  • I'm sorry to say that the toilet bloggers and their potty mouths have come out to play again, Chris having a little tantrum as he watches the National Party lose support month after month.
    I wish the right would stop using words it seems to barely be able to comprehend as well, to quote a right winger who is obviously misinformed here:
    Keanne Lawrence.
    ___________________________________________________________________________________
    Added to this is a ground swell away from the socialist political doctrine throughout the world as a better educated, more enlightened level of voter looks for results rather than plattitudes and outlandish promises. The "formidable fighting unit" looks to lack the right ammunition and there might be more "whittling" than "sharpening" going on before the 2014 election. It will be interesting then to see who has a seat when the music stops playing.
    ___________________________________________________________________________________
    This coming from someone that doesn't even know how to spell platitudes? I mean really, I almost spat my coffee out reading that narcissistic nonsense.
    Obviously it wasn't the Socialists ripping off little old ladies and their pensions as they stole Trillions from the worlds financial markets now was it boys.


    onsos
    • 38 minutes ago

    I'm no great fan of Labour, and it is clearly lacking depth, but National would kill to have line-up as talented as this.
  • Avatar

    Keanne Lawrence
    • 39 minutes ago

    No great surprises in the new line up. Clare Curren will have to wait to get her rewards in heaven and a couple of others slipped down the list rankings. Certainly not the the sort of mix the majority of voters would want to see running the country. No matter how much shuffling goes on it can only be subjective since it will only be with the Greens help that they might cross to the other side of the house. That level colaberation from the Greens will come at a price and they will want a share of the front bench without even getting a single member elected. A frightening prospect that will surely be the cause of many voters thinking seriously before placing their valuable choices at the polls.
    Added to this is a ground swell away from the socialist political doctrine throughout the world as a better educated, more enlightened level of voter looks for results rather than plattitudes and outlandish promises. The "formidable fighting unit" looks to lack the right ammunition and there might be more "whittling" than "sharpening" going on before the 2014 election. It will be interesting then to see who has a seat when the music stops playing.
    • Avatar

      onsos Keanne Lawrence
      • 5 minutes ago

      Your comment doesn't say anything, Keanne.
      You say the majority of voters won't support this line-up, for instance, but won't say why, or who is the problem. Perhaps this is because the majority of voters haven't supported a single party in several decades?
      You want to raise fears about the impact of the Greens, but ignore what both Labour and the Greens have said on the issue.
      You raise the idea of a voter who won't be impressed by platitudes, but cannot spot them in your own writing.

  • Avatar

    Chris
    • an hour ago

    What a joke, a narcissistic lying millionaire leading a bunch of lazy academics and corrupt Unionist who would not have clue how to run a a successful economy.
    Labour were suppose to represent the poor and working class - this is a joke
    Who are Labour trying to represent ?
    Despite the rhetoric about the early Labour Government being “socialist”, there was
    nothing genuinely socialist about them. It was all phony propaganda.
    Most of the means of production in industry, agriculture and
    transport were, and still are, privately owned. What existed was a
    degree of state capitalism, not socialism – the capitalists and not
    the workers were still the ruling class, and the working class was
    still the exploited class which Labour exploited nicely. Reforms like social security, the basic
    wage, and the forty-hour week, gave rise to the description, “The
    Welfare State”. This was taken seriously by bourgeois and petty
    bourgeois sociologists who tried to present it as a new form of
    society. The 1984-1990 Labour introduced GST
    initially at 10 % then later raised to 12.5 % was
    another gift to the capitalist class and a blow to the workers.
    Working class people already on tight budgets were hard hit by the extra 12.5 %
    cost on everything.
    Under the fifth labour Govt. the rich saw their wealth increase by 75 %
    Poverty remained endemic, especially child poverty. The number of people living in “extreme hardship” had risen from 5 % of the population to 8 % under the past Labour administration.
    Labour’s particular brand of socialism was and is a sham which continues to this very day.

    • Avatar

      onsos Chris
      • 40 minutes ago

      Reading Chris's comments will make you dumber; I can't imagine what writing them is doing to him. His comments, including this one, are spam. In this case, he is a concern troll. His comment is unrelated to the current issues.
      His presence here is a waste of space. He makes the other right-wing comments look stupid by association; just sharing ideas and beliefs with the person who makes these comments makes you look stupid.
      • Avatar

        alison onsos
        • 31 minutes ago

        He can appear to be a very silly boy sometimes but forgive his inadequacies as hes not a happy camper like the rest of us. All doom and gloom. Its a good strong lineup I think and look forward to some real debate in parliament. Chris just sounds like hes upset Nationals going to be shown up and I hope they now will be held to account for some of the dodgy decisions. I dont remember children having third world disease in the numbers that is prevalent today when Labour were in govt nor the huge demand for food banks that there is today. Labours ongoing surplus whilst National still trys to achieve one and the thought of job creation is going to lift the peoples spirits.

    • Avatar

      chinkodaki Chris
      • an hour ago

      A narcissistic lying millionaire leading a bunch of lazy academics and
      corrupt Unionist who don't have a clue how to run a successful
      economy? why are you talking about John Key and National, this is about David Cunliffe and Labour.

      • Avatar

        Guest chinkodaki
        • 32 minutes ago

        I'm sorry to say he isn't even a millionaire, just some escaped mental health patient with absolutely no respect for anyone.. not even himself, if he had respect for himself or the National Party he wouldn't even post.
        He's just some potty mouth that's throwing his toys out of the crib as he watches the National party go down in flames.

  • Avatar

    Wolfman NZ
    • 2 hours ago

    New line up? Whatever, looks like the same bunch of clowns they have always had, just reshuffling the deck chairs on the titanic.
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Saturday, September 14, 2013

National partners won't back RMA changes

The National Party's flagship policy to change the Resource Management Act could be sinking after the Maori Party and United Future pulled their support for it.
In a joint statement released today, the two support parties have decided they "cannot support" the Government's latest proposed changes to the Act. They have written to Environment Minister Amy Adams to outline their concerns, saying they cannot vote for it in its current form.
Without the support of the parties, the Government will not have enough votes for the legislation to pass.
But Prime Minister John Key is remaining relatively upbeat about the opposition and says more discussions will be needed to gain their support.
The current Act requires environmental impacts to be considered above and before any economic imperatives before an application is granted. The proposed reforms join the environmental and economic impacts into one section, which United Future and the Maori Party say will water down the Act's focus on protecting the environment.
The parties' leaders say the changes do more than rejig the Act to make consent procedures more efficient.
They say removing the emphasis on maintaining and enhancing the quality of the environment "put[s] a spanner in the works of the legal system that will take years of litigation to fix up".
"I'm concerned about proposed nature of those changes. I want to see the hierarchy preserved so there's a clear pattern against which decisions have to be made. At the moment the risk is that they'll all get blurred into one," Mr Dunne says.
"The Resource Management Act was designed to ensure that our use of natural resources is sustainable. Changes to part two, which enshrine the driving principles, undermine the whole purpose of the Act," Ms Turia says.
Mr Dunne, who was involved in drafting the original RMA, does not believe commercial interests should be placed above the environmental principles of the Act.
Since it was passed more than 20 years ago, the environment is in a worse state in nearly every measure possible, he says.
"The Government's proposed changes to facilitate development will make matters worse."
While there could be improvements made to tidy up the process issues in the legislation, changes to part two of the Act will "create a level of uncertainty which will be counter-productive", he says.
Bill in early stages – Key
Mr Key says the legislation is still in an embryonic stage and has not been drafted yet. More discussion will be needed with both parties to gain their support.
"That's in the nature of being a minority government. You do have to make compromises and talk to other political parties and we'll be continuing to do that.
"We've got a pretty good history of working things out in the end and after a bit of give and take we tend to get support and can build a majority so we'll have to work on that now."
He does not believe the reforms put economics over environment.
But the clauses in the current bill which the parties oppose is holding back the supply of land and making house prices less affordable, he says.
"We are acutely aware of our environmental responsibilities and of course we're trying to balance that up with our economic opportunities."
'Drop the bill' - Opposition
Fish & Game has congratulated the parties' on their stance on the changes, saying the announcement is a "win for Kiwi values".
Chief executive Bryce Johnson says it shows "in the clearest terms that the proposed amendments were too extreme and skewed the balance too far in favour of development and resource exploitation at the expense of the environment".
The organisation is concerned the proposed changes are a Trojan horse to meddle with the fundamental principles of the Act.
Meanwhile Labour and the Green Party believe the Government needs to scrap the changes altogether.
Greens environment spokeswoman Eugenie Sage says National has tried to con the public into accepting changes that undermine environmental law.
"National’s proposed changes will cause confusion and undermine existing case law. Its RMA changes are all about quick decisions, not sound and lasting answers.
"[Their] approach to the environment is recklessly short-sighted. Our economy depends on the environment," she says.
Labour's environment spokesperson Maryan Street says the reforms do nothing to encourage preservation and protection of the environment.
The party will repeal any legislation the Government passes which weakens safeguards for the environment, she says.
Sir Geoffrey Palmer QC, who prepared a report into the effect of the changes, says changes to Part 2 will "significantly and seriously undermine environmental protection under the RMA".
The changes are mostly unnecessary and will lead to greater uncertainty and cost in the application and interpretation of the Act, he says.
United Future and the Maori Party have previously supported other parts of National's package of RMA reforms, helping the Resource Management Reform Bill 2012 pass its third reading in Parliament last month.
3 News

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Protesters fight for right to protest

Around 70 protesters met outside Parliament with tape over their mouths and pots and pans in their hands fighting for the right to oppose exploratory oil drilling.
The protest is in response to the Government’s proposal to change the law so applications by oil companies go through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but will be non-notified meaning the public will not get to have a say.
The proposal is to be introduced to the Marine Legislation Bill through a Supplementary Order Paper and not through a select committee.
Climate change group 350 Aotearoa organised the protest and say the proposed change will remove the right for the public to make submissions on exploratory deep-sea drilling for oil and gas.
The group says the process only allows for a "quick rubber stamping" of the applications by the EPA.
"They [the Government] say it is justified to rush the process because drilling an exploratory well takes 4-6 weeks, so it is unfair to make companies go through more than a very quick sign-off," a spokesperson says. 
However, the timing is not the issue. Rather it is the potential damage and risk that comes with exploratory drilling that needs more consideration, the group says.
3 News
Thursday 05 Sep 2013 3:30p.m.

Simon Wong 3 News Online Reporter
Online Reporter
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Art installation fin-ishes Shark Week


Art installation fin-ishes Shark Week

 One hundred shark fins were bobbing in the lagoon near Frank Kitts Park today to raise awareness about shark finning
http://www.3news.co.nz/Art-installation-fin-ishes-Shark-Week/tabid/1125/articleID/313126/Default.aspx
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Thursday, September 5, 2013

Seal slaying trial begins in Nelson

A Massey University lecturer says it is “unlikely” a group of seals could have all been rendered unconscious in one blow and would have likely felt pain before they died.
The evidence was heard at a trial for Jemaal Peter Roy Large, a 38-year-old Marlborough man, who is accused of killing 23 protected seals using a galvanised pipe at Ohau Point, near Kaikoura on November 26, 2010. Fifteen were adult males or female and eight were pups, some of which were days old.
The seals were bashed to death with the pipes under the cover of darkness. Large and co-accused Jason Trevor Godsiff used headlamps and metal pipes to kill the seals on their way back to Marlborough from Canterbury. At the time, Large told police he believed killing the seals was like killing rabbits or possums.
He argues he should not be charged for their deaths because he was legally hunting them.
The trial before Judge Peter Hobbs began in the Nelson District Court today and is set down for three days.
Dr Stuart Hunter, a lecturer of wildlife health told the court he found it “difficult to believe” a person could knock out all 15 of the adult seals with one blow. 
“Some seals would have to have multiple blows to render them unconscious.”
He says if a seal was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head and subsequently died it would not feel any pain. However, if it was still moving it would feel some degree of pain or distress. 
“The fact the seal was still moving indicates there’s a level of consciousness and if an animal is conscious it can feel pain or suffering.”
“The brain starts to swell after an injury. It’s painful, disorientating.”
It is not possible to knock out a bull in one blow because they can weigh up to 150kgs, he says.
Seals’ heads ‘pulverised’
Earlier today, a Department of Conservation ranger recounted the day he found the fur seals whose heads were “completely pulverised” by metal pipes.
Michael Morrissey, a DOC worker for 46 years, says he and a group of other workers found the dead seals while conducting research at Ohau Point on December 1.
The group noticed the first dead male which Mr Morrissey says was “out of the ordinary”, but continued their work because they did not want to scare the other seals away.
However, during processing of the live seals Mr Morrissey went back to the first seal to check its injuries. He found the skull had been smashed on both sides which would have needed at least two blows to create.   
He stopped checking the seals’ injuries after the body count reached 12, because it was “quite easy to see the heads were quite mushy” indicating their skulls had been crushed.  
When asked by defence counsel David Clark what he would do if euthanising a seal with a .22 rifle, it remained alive, Mr Morrissey said he would shoot it again immediately to make sure it was dead.
And while he had experience with seals injured by cars or shot, Mr Morrissey had not seen seals which had been clubbed to death before the incident.
Mr Morrissey says the seals would be quiet at night and is possible to “walk right up to them and around them and they generally just stay there”.
DOC conservation services manager Phil Bradfield was with Mr Morrissey when they discovered the dead seals.
He noticed two injured bulls and believes they had been hit with the same weapon which killed the 23 other seals.
“In those large colonies bulls fight so they have injuries consistent with fighting, but one had an eye hanging out of its socket. I’d find it hard to believe that had been caused by fighting.”
Law to be reviewed
Large was originally charged with wilfully ill-treating 23 seals by clubbing them to death, along with co-accused Jason Trevor Godsiff, but the Crown applied to change the charges.  
Those charges were replaced with three representative charges under the Animal Welfare Act of killing two adult males, 13 females and eight seal pups. The Crown needs to prove at least one of each kind of seal was ill-treated.
Large earlier argued for the charges to be dropped in the Blenheim District Court and the High Court because he was legally hunting the animals – both were dismissed.
The Animal Welfare Act says nothing in the Act “makes it unlawful to hunt or kill” any animal in a wild state or any wild animal or pest. An amendment to the Act is currently before Parliament and passed its first reading last week. The proposed change is partly a response to this case and further defines what ill-treatment of a wild animal means.
The seals became a protected species in 1978.
Godsiff was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting the killings in 2011, but the sentenced was reduced to eight months’ home detention on appeal.
The trial continues.
3 News
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