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>>>This is a thread for complaining about all things NEW ZEALAND<<< https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYvMeT2GC14 quote:gently caress New Zealand
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Jan 19, 2012 13:27
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Politics In November 2011, New Zealand voted in a righter-than-the-last-centre-right Government. A glorious combination of voter apathy, left-wing incompetence and National just not really loving up as badly as anyone else gave them an overwhelming win the party vote stakes, but an absence of credible coalition partners almost saw the election almost result in a hung parliament. National: The Tories/Whigs/whatever you call people who are generally for the well-off but forsaken with varying degrees of social conservatism. Until recently, they've been relatively happy to just be back in power, but it's almost universally acknowledged that they're about to give the place more of a neoliberal vibe - asset bases, Euro stability and long-term economic strategy be damned. Basically was awarded the election for the exceedingly difficult task of not being gumpy gently caress-ups like the Labour Party. Even Muldoon looks pretty good compared to these guys. Labour: "poo poo, our leader is polling at half the approval rating of the woman he replaced three years ago and our party vote is dropping by three percent a month. We could take the smart route and roll him now and build a fresher brand around someone new...or, we could choose a list that places most of our new MPs below the electable threshold, attack well-known and widely loved New Zealanders, run attack lines on asset sales that ignore the fact we milked the public for dividends and pushed up power prices, ignore the reasons we got voted out in the first place and talk about stuff that matters, like the volume of TV commercials." *Blames low polling on landline proliferation* *Crashes to historic election defeat* *Changes leadership* *Does nothing* The Greens: Uncomfortably assuming the mantle as the most stable left-wing brand in politics. Gets attacked by Labour for 'white-anting policies' which really just means 'having no more policies for Labour to pinch' like the $15/hour minimum wage. Have indicated they may work with National on a case-by-case basis to further their own ends, which should trigger Catherine Delahunty's resignation but chances are she's just full of poo poo. Did well this election by selecting a fresh list, promoting upcoming talent and being able to stay on message. ACT or whatever they become once John Banks jumps ship to Colin Craig's Conservative Party - I don't want to have to edit this loving post again. ACT had a strong tradition of perk-busting and campaigning for lower government spending, but then Rodney got caught with his hand in the till and rolled by Don Brash, who then chose not to contest a seat. Then John Banks got caught playing footsies under the table with John Key in some cafe in Epsom and the party was almost wiped out. So Banks, the social conservative with a history of prejudicial comments against almost everyone and who knows gently caress all about economics is now the sole representative of the party that represented libertarian and semi-Paulite philosophies. Richard Prebble is spinning in his grave. NZ First survived the nuclear explosion by hiding in a stainless steel fridge. Annoyingly the left seem to embrace NZ First, even though they're more homophobic and xenophobic than ACT, and that's saying something. Of course it's easier to support 'Anyone but National' than get your own house in order. At least Winston is usually entertaining, and Smith won't take any poo poo from him, so Question Time might be kind of fun. Maori/Mana are lumped together because they're basically going to be the same loving thing next time around. Mana seem perfectly happy to marginalise themselves on the basis that they somehow gain some integrity (or...mana, I guess) from sticking to their positions, no matter how insane, and the Maori Party seem to want to play up cooperation angle to achieve their ends - but seem to be getting increasingly fewer votes at election time. It's not sustainable, but for now they seem happy to shoot themselves in the foot and bicker over pointless poo poo while still both pursuing manawhenua. United Future: Peter Dunne is both a whore who will cuddle up to whoever will give him his Revenue portfolio and pay lip service to families and yet also a nice guy who probably means well but has really yet to achieve anything other than shed United Future of its religious zealots. Look for his income splitting bill to be acknowledged by National, but don't be surprised if you don't hear about it ever again after that. At least we kept MMP, I guess?
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Jan 19, 2012 13:27
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Placeholder for blog links
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Jan 19, 2012 13:28
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ClubmanGT posted:Richard Prebble is spinning in his grave. Unless you know something I don't... Seriously though at this point I think the Labour party should just rename itself to the "Bellamy's Social Club" and be done with it. The absolute abandonment of the Ports of Auckland, with no attempt to have any sort of dialogue with the New Zealand public about what is really happening presumably because they don't want to spend political capital, would make their forefathers spin in their graves. I call it cowardice.
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Jan 19, 2012 23:49
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Yeah it's pretty shocking alright. At least the Greens have had something to say about it. It's a shame most people can't get beyond Greens=smelly hippies etc otherwise they might get more support as they seem to be the most sensible party right now. Edit: also it's pretty awesome that I haven't seen anything about the arrests of the Megaupload operators in NZ on Stuff or The Herald. Had to read about it in the LA Times. Project M.A.M.I.L. fucked around with this message at 00:15 on Jan 20, 2012 |
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Jan 20, 2012 00:13
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Uh... top of both of my RSS feeds right now... http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10779963&ref=rss http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/6288082/NZ-residents-arrested-in-internet-piracy-bust
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Jan 20, 2012 00:18
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exmachina posted:Uh... top of both of my RSS feeds right now... Now they are, hours ago they were not.
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Jan 20, 2012 00:30
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Midget Fist posted:Now they are, hours ago they were not. Yeah both sites, but esp nzherald are loathe to post webpages before the print edition is out
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Jan 20, 2012 00:34
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Midget Fist posted:Yeah it's pretty shocking alright. At least the Greens have had something to say about it. It's a shame most people can't get beyond Greens=smelly hippies etc otherwise they might get more support as they seem to be the most sensible party right now. I know many people who snicker whenever they hear about the Greens. "Have you seen Nandor Tanczos?" is all they usually say. Ugh, fuckers.
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Jan 20, 2012 00:43
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exmachina posted:Yeah both sites, but esp nzherald are loathe to post webpages before the print edition is out If it makes sense to them then who am I to question:) I just couldn't believe it when I read that they were arrested in Auckland and then when I checked Stuff and Herald, not a word was seen.
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Jan 20, 2012 00:45
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The Hamster Man posted:I know many people who snicker whenever they hear about the Greens. "Have you seen Nandor Tanczos?" is all they usually say. Ugh, fuckers. If it's not that it's "they hate farmers, blah blah have us live in caves blah blah" until your eyes glaze over because facts do not sway these people.
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Jan 20, 2012 00:47
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I guess this is the right place to post it. Remember the excellent Child Poverty documentary that aired last November? One of the NZ on Air board members raised concerns about the timing of its broadcast. The board member was Stephen McElrea, who also happens to be Key's electorate chairman and also holds the post of National's Northern region deputy chairman raising issues about NZ on Air's neutrality as well as accusations of political censorship by the National Party. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1201/S00086/tom-frewen-nz-on-air-spooked-by-political-interference.htm http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/6280476/NZ-on-Air-Nat-faces-accusations-of-bias Labour's already made some noise here, attacking NZ on Air over letting themselves get caught out in a situation where their neutrality is held up to the light and is found wanting, as well as having a dig at National and their concern over a documentary about child poverty in NZ. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1201/S00043/nz-on-air-should-be-politically-neutral-not-neutered.htm
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Jan 20, 2012 00:50
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exmachina posted:Unless you know something I don't... No, they sure haven't said a thing about it - certainly not on Red Alert and there has been absolutely no press release of any kind in the last couple of days. Nope. Not a one.
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Jan 20, 2012 00:52
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Midget Fist posted:If it makes sense to them then who am I to question:) I just couldn't believe it when I read that they were arrested in Auckland and then when I checked Stuff and Herald, not a word was seen. Yeah but also the NZ arrests would have been 4-6am NZT right? So you would expect them to be a little slow, they just printed...
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Jan 20, 2012 00:53
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exmachina posted:Yeah but also the NZ arrests would have been 4-6am NZT right? So you would expect them to be a little slow, they just printed... I still would have expected them by maybe 10am NZT, which is around when I saw the first article about it. Too busy trying to drum up support for some dog bannings or something I guess.
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Jan 20, 2012 00:57
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Vagabundo posted:No, they sure haven't said a thing about it - certainly not on Red Alert and there has been absolutely no press release of any kind in the last couple of days. Nope. Not a one. How brave of them, posting an opinion on their very own blog! I am a union delegate (SFWU not the ports of auckland) and the amount of misinformation out there in the public is staggering. Read nzh or stuff comments. $96,000 a year!  (working max allowable OT every week of the year)
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Jan 20, 2012 00:59
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exmachina posted:Yeah but also the NZ arrests would have been 4-6am NZT right? So you would expect them to be a little slow, they just printed... The NZ Police press release only came out at 10:25am this morning. It's possible that other authorities released details of the raids before we did, I guess. It's also not uncommon for the media to hold off until the police make a formal announcement with things like raids. http://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/30630.html
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Jan 20, 2012 01:01
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"Who gives a poo poo about that crap a minor celebrity has mentioned New Zealand being a nice place to visit holyfuckget it printednowfuckerrsssssss"
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Jan 20, 2012 01:02
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exmachina posted:How brave of them, posting an opinion on their very own blog! Nice to see you shifting the goalposts. "They haven't said anything about the PoA dispute!" -> "So what? They said it on their own blog!"
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Jan 20, 2012 01:11
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By the way,ClubmanGT posted:
Still true today. Every word.
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Jan 20, 2012 01:17
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Vagabundo posted:Nice to see you shifting the goalposts. "They haven't said anything about the PoA dispute!" -> "So what? They said it on their own blog!" exmachina posted:The absolute abandonment of the Ports of Auckland, with no attempt to have any sort of dialogue with the New Zealand public about what is really happening presumably because they don't want to spend political capital, A press release, I think, by definition would be a monologue e: 
exmachina fucked around with this message at 01:25 on Jan 20, 2012 |
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Jan 20, 2012 01:21
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Unilogue?Vagabundo posted:Nice to see you shifting the goalposts. "They haven't said anything about the PoA dispute!" -> "So what? They said it on their own blog!" The real problem is that it's Darien Fenton saying it. It would look a lot better coming from someone else.
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Jan 20, 2012 01:32
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ClubmanGT posted:Unilogue? Like David loving Shearer! I just realised i've never seen video of him speaking.
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Jan 20, 2012 01:38
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exmachina posted:Unless you know something I don't... No doubt I would love Labour to actually get loud about this (a few posts on Red Alert and a halfhearted press release about "WE SHOULDN'T SELL STATE ASSETS oh by the way there's a worker's dispute at the Ports of Auckland" aren't really worth much) but given how they're looking to steal votes from National this election, it's a damned-if-they-do-damned-if-they-don't situation - damned if they do because then National can start kicking up a fuss about Labour protecting the union workers who donated to them and being all biased (which would be rich as gently caress but you just know people would buy it), damned if they don't because their base sees them as cowering away from a confrontation they should be involved in. Pragmatically, it's better for them to do nothing. Which is a sad state of affairs.
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Jan 20, 2012 02:02
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What I want labour to do is go onto 3 news and say "This is not about "greedy workers" and is just an attempt to force workers to accept casualisation of their jobs! Would you like to work 80 hours one week and 5 the next? This whole conflict is caused by PoA CEO trying to increase acceptance of a private takeover so a good public body revenue stream can be captured by his mates" e: My favourite part of the whole argument are the people posting on nzh "Plenty of nzers would love to have that job at half your pay" from their computers in their air-conditioned offices in their secure 9-to-5 jobs. exmachina fucked around with this message at 02:32 on Jan 20, 2012 |
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Jan 20, 2012 02:26
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Sounds like they're getting ready to fire the lot of them to go through with hiring contractors. 330 of them, poor buggers. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10779988
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Jan 20, 2012 02:32
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Midget Fist posted:Sounds like they're getting ready to fire the lot of them to go through with hiring contractors. 330 of them, poor buggers. The blood of those lost jobs are on YOUR hands, David Shearer. Yours too, Len Brown.
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Jan 20, 2012 02:33
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http://www.munz.org.nz/ports-of-auckland-dispute/ has a pretty good roundup, which was great for someone like me who didn't know much about this. Interesting to read the way the Port is managed, still technically owned by the city but not really. They're trying as hard as they can to privatise it, which is such bullshit. What sort of powers does a mayor have in that situation? I thought the mayor was supposed to be a good guy?
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Jan 20, 2012 02:46
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This website is Something Awful and this post for good measure is the New Zealands awful stuff edition which foreign folk trapsing into the thread might be surprised to learn: New Zealand has one of the fastest rates of increasing income inequality over the last 30 years of any OECD nation. Its unprecedented foray into de-regulation and free market economics has lead some commentators to describe it as a 'consequence free society' - http://www.nzbusiness.co.nz/wa.asp?idWebPage=19201&idDetails=138 Child poverty is a thing. Inter-generational welfare dependancy is a thing. New Zealand has notable (maybe not moreso than other places but still) neo-nazi, white supremacist elements as well as noted multi-generational criminal gangs such as black power and the mongrel mob. Anti-immigrant sentiment and particularly xenophobic attitudes are noted towards asians with hate crimes and bullying infrequent occurrences. Our largest city Auckland has awful traffic and is the crappiest faux-cosmopolitan hole ever. Our internet is terrible. New Zealand has one of the worst rates of chlamydia in the OECD, as much as much as 6 times that reported in Australia and 4 times that reported in the UK - http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/117-1194/887/ (2004 source, but the trend is still the same AFAIK) New Zealand has the second largest prison population per capita among OECD nations only behind the USA - http://pundit.co.nz/content/new-zealands-strange-relationship-with-prisons. Vast quantities of young New Zealanders leave New Zealand to Australia/Europe/Elsewhere because of New Zealands limited opportunities and terrible wages. Contrary to what advertisements might have told you about being 100% pure, New Zealands environmental record is actually incredibly awful especially in per-person terms. We have comparably very large usage and waste of energy per person and large amounts of automobiles with crappy or no public transport in many places. The current government has plans to extract large quantities of low-grade filthy lignite coal as well to further poo poo up our nations environment . (Other stuff of course that I guess needs to be mentioned in good measure: New Zealand is ranked the least corrupt nation on earth, high ranking in terms of rule of law, internationally renowned human rights record and generally loved by all nations, excellent public healthcare system that in particular provides cheap pharmaceuticals. Due to ACC we have a largely litigation free society with some of the best health outcomes per dollar spent of any nation- ACC is literally ranked a world leader and worlds best system of its kind. We were also the first nation to give women the right to vote and considered by some to have been a pioneer in the womens movement). Here are a few pictures. http://keyhandshake.tumblr.com/        Some awful Kiwi memes: Always blow on the pie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7UX8KASASU Nek Minnit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq36Y-IN6fE Lemonus fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Jan 20, 2012 |
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Jan 20, 2012 03:39
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Lemonus posted:Vast quantities of young New Zealanders leave New Zealand to Australia/Europe/Elsewhere because of New Zealands limited opportunities and terrible wages. This needs expanding, because it's really really important: New Zealand houses cost as much (dollar for dollar) as they do in Australia. Package home loan rates are similar (6%) Wage differences can be as much as 30% in the same profession, and some times higher after tax (wage depending). Petrol costs $1.40 - $1.50 in Australia. Consumer credit and retail finance laws are far stricter in Australia. Australian students have to repay course fees, but are paid can be paid up to $400 a week in living and rent costs which they don't have to pay back. It is not uncommon for The Herald to print letters claiming students in New Zealand should surrender their passports until they've repaid their debts entirely. Australia's stronger unions have provoked their employers to automate as many positions as possible, thus giving them an absolute advantage in terms of productivity. For decades people have claimed Australian costs of living are higher. This is no longer true, in either directly comparative or relative terms. The answer is not just going to be 'lift the minimum wage' or 'cut tax' and we need to stop pretending that it is. Butt Wizard fucked around with this message at 04:19 on Jan 20, 2012 |
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Jan 20, 2012 04:17
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ClubmanGT posted:Unilogue? Yes, it is a major problem that the labour spokesperson made a statement about a labour dispute. Who do you think should have made it, the spokesperson for fisheries?
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Jan 20, 2012 05:33
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Just to re-quote my previous rant:quote:This makes me pretty mad to be honest; The latest is that Bob Parker and friends have decided to drop another $80,000 on a focus group to work out why they're so unpopular. I haven't protested in about 15 years but I'd encourage anyone and everyone to show up to the protest on Feb 1st, 12 noon at the CCC buildings. I'm getting some signs printed up, turnout will be pretty good given the amount of local publicity it's getting 
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Jan 20, 2012 05:57
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Can anyone tell me how much actual reconstruction has happened?
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Jan 20, 2012 06:21
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ClubmanGT posted:This needs expanding, because it's really really important: Since living in Aus and witnessing it for myself, I've come to the opinion that if you're a young person, and you want to get ahead, you're an idiot to continue living and working in NZ. The cost of living, and wages/salary ratios are hosed beyond belief there.
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Jan 20, 2012 06:54
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Varkk posted:Yes, it is a major problem that the labour spokesperson made a statement about a labour dispute. Who do you think should have made it, the spokesperson for fisheries? Someone who isn't seen as symptomatic of Labour's inability to select credible candidates and there purely by virtue of the union vote? Or, you know, the leader of the party.
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Jan 20, 2012 07:01
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Pararoid posted:Just to re-quote my previous rant: That's some pretty  poo poo right there. Or in other words: New Zealand Politics.
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Jan 20, 2012 08:18
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Halfpast_Yellow posted:Since living in Aus and witnessing it for myself, I've come to the opinion that if you're a young person, and you want to get ahead, you're an idiot to continue living and working in NZ. I'd do it without a thought if I wasn't so close to my parents, living in a different country from them isn't an option I'd consider. Also I'm scared to death of spiders. 
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Jan 20, 2012 08:26
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ClubmanGT posted:Someone who isn't seen as symptomatic of Labour's inability to select credible candidates and there purely by virtue of the union vote? This is a major opportunity for the left to stamp its brand on something straight out of the blocks with a new leader and both Len Brown and David Shearer have shifted uncomfortably and looked away. A blog post on Red Alert isn't enough. Skipping around the issue isn't enough. Labour: pro-worker, but only when it suits. I think it was NRT who wrote it best: 'I hate National but at least they believe in something" (paraphrase)
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Jan 20, 2012 08:43
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Halfpast_Yellow posted:Since living in Aus and witnessing it for myself, I've come to the opinion that if you're a young person, and you want to get ahead, you're an idiot to continue living and working in NZ. I'd still be a suicidal government worker if I hadn't moved. Or more likely, a decomposing ex government worker. I've just spent a month back here and I don't miss it at all. Except for Hell pizza and Whitlock's sauce.
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Jan 20, 2012 09:17
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Halfpast_Yellow posted:Since living in Aus and witnessing it for myself, I've come to the opinion that if you're a young person, and you want to get ahead, you're an idiot to continue living and working in NZ. I'm here until I'm qualified, and if I can find good work then I'll stay. But at the very least I'll be investing in Australian markets and businesses, and if I have kids they'll be growing up in Australia too. It'd be inhumane to send them to university here and expect them to pay it off on a New Zealand wage.
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Jan 20, 2012 09:47
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