If National wins ...

[fungus pudding]

EZ, you are poorly informed. While I am not privy to Nationals plans - there are a number of technologies which could easily resolve the predator problem within less than 30 years and at quite modest cost. Have a look at this wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneti...odified_insect and do some research before calling the government's plans a joke.

I don't believe eZ will be poorly informed on possum controls. His paranoia will have had him searching for all relevant information since this policy was announced .eZ will be well aware of GM insects and other advances in pest control. But it doesn't suit his purpose or his selective memory to mention that.
Anyway, he's busy at present trying desperately to throw more mud at Paula Bennett. He will not be mentioning Materia Turei and her admitted benefit fraud.

[BlackPeter]

NZ doesn,t make the top 10

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...-a7654701.html

A few surprises in that list

westerly

I didn't talk about the 2017 UN best countries to live in list - didn't I? There is a zillion of lists using lots of different and frequently highly subjective views, and no - NZ (nor any other country) ends up always in the top 10. Better check the criteria I did talk about: public debt, unemployment, health system, education system, welfare system. But sure, even these assessments are highly subjective - i.e. I am sure you will find no country which is in all existing hit lists in the top 10.

By the way - just google "best country to live in" and you will find that somebody puts us on place 8 :
https://www.thetoptens.com/best-countries-live-in/

Ah yes - and somebody put us on place 4:
https://www.lifestyle9.com/worlds-be...-live-in-2017/

Oh - and here is another place 4:
http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/t...the-world.html

Well, I could go on like that, but unfortunately, westerly, you are outvoted ... I guess that's what is always going to happen with the Left - trying to move forward with their eyes firmly at the rear mirror.

NZ is very well positioned and has a great government which brought it there. But sure - we could always have a bit more liberal influence - was this your point ?

[RGR367]

Okay. Both Paula Bennett and Metiria Turei are now both trending on Twitter. One is being accused of benefit fraud and the other one is self confessed benefit fraudster. Which one will you choose?
No wonder young people got no stomach for politics when our leaders above are the examples.

[fungus pudding]

Okay. Both Paula Bennett and Metiria Turei are now both trending on Twitter. One is being accused of benefit fraud and the other one is self confessed benefit fraudster. Which one will you choose?
No wonder young people got no stomach for politics when our leaders above are the examples.

There is no evidence of Bennett defrauding, and she vehemently denies it, which I doubt she would do if it were true: simply because it would be the stone end of her if outed.

[BlackPeter]

Okay. Both Paula Bennett and Metiria Turei are now both trending on Twitter. One is being accused of benefit fraud and the other one is self confessed benefit fraudster. Which one will you choose?
No wonder young people got no stomach for politics when our leaders above are the examples.

Paula Bennett is not more "accused" than anybody else in our society. Who knows - maybe EZ or you are benefit fraudsters? It could be, couldn't it -
who knows? Sure, there is no evidence, but if you deny it, then you must be guilty as charged. Can you prove that you are innocent? See, this is how a smear works.

Funnily - this is similar to the way Labour wants to develop our justice system. As soon as somebody accuses you, you are guilty unless you can prove that you are innocent. That's what Little and some other Lefties are asking for: http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2017/05/la..._innocent.html

I agree that our young people have every right to be appalled by such a collection of sick minds and smearers. I hope that they will vote for openness, honesty and justice instead of for dirty smearers and supporters of lynch "justice".

[Bjauck]

...
Funnily - this is similar to the way Labour wants to develop our justice system. As soon as somebody accuses you, you are guilty unless you can prove that you are innocent. That's what Little and some other Lefties are asking for: http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2017/05/la..._innocent.html...

Labour wants to investigate law reform in relation to how rape cases are investigated and prosecuted to investigate if there can be improvements to ensure victims are not further victimised (i.e. they are looking forward and do not wish to be hamstrung by the past, if positive reform will improve the delivery of justice). Similarly, I believe they do not wish to victimise defendants/accused.

They are suggesting a serious review weighing up pros and cons. Review of how things are performed is part of being a civilised society.

When the defence of insanity is raised to a criminal charge there is a reversal of the onus of proof. I can imagine that the development of that defence had its conservative opponents. I don't think Labour is suggesting that the further development of the "defence of consent" should be recklessly pursued without caution and thorough legal reviews.

Part of the proposed Labour reform how rape cases were handled involved a possible change to an inquisitorial system (reducing the adversarial system's ruthless cross examinations of victims). A reform that I think Simon Power put to a commission, but which Collins rejected.

[BlackPeter]

Labour wants to investigate law reform in relation to how rape cases are investigated and prosecuted to investigate if there can be improvements to ensure victims are not further victimised (i.e. they are looking forward and do not wish to be hamstrung by the past, if positive reform will improve the delivery of justice). Similarly, I believe they do not wish to victimise defendants/accused.

They are suggesting a serious review weighing up pros and cons. Review of how things are performed is part of being a civilised society.

Reviewing our justice system might be "part of being a civilised society". Proposing to change the onus of proof clearly is not. Interesting as well that you talk about the right of "victims". In the stage of the process we are talking about would this be "alleged victims". It is people who claim that they are victims of a crime and they may or may not be liars. I don't want to see a system where people alleging to be victims of a non existing crime get the right to throw others for 20 years behind bars, and exactly this is what some Labour candidates (including Little) asked for.

[elZorro]

I don't believe eZ will be poorly informed on possum controls. His paranoia will have had him searching for all relevant information since this policy was announced .eZ will be well aware of GM insects and other advances in pest control. But it doesn't suit his purpose or his selective memory to mention that.
Anyway, he's busy at present trying desperately to throw more mud at Paula Bennett. He will not be mentioning Materia Turei and her admitted benefit fraud.

I think if you bother to listen to the radio interview, FP, you'll hear that there are major impediments to gene or CISPR technology. It may work fine in a secure lab, but would you want to release it outside? How long would it last, what other animals or species could it effect, and how long would it take to know for sure? There are plenty of scientists who would love to be involved in this research, because they'd be on the job for the rest of their lives, them and their teams. That's the name of the game - papers to publish, heaps of scientific work for the next decades or so, an unlimited funding drawdown. Just consider the birth rate of mustelids and rats when they have heaps of food available. If the gene doctoring attenuates at all, it can't work as an eradication. As that guy said, any serious talk about pest control in NZ will be about reduction of harm, keeping their numbers down, at a low cost per ha. So what National has proposed for $28mill is not science, it's science fiction.

I thought Metiria Turei did well on TV1 this morning, she'd thought long and hard about the ramifications of what she revealed, and is quite happy to pay back anything WINZ think is due. At least everyone knows that the Greens presented a new policy, and why they think it's important. It's probably not as important as the zero net carbon by 2050, but it's more immediate I guess, for voters.

[macduffy]

Twenty-four years is probably about long enough to think hard about the ramifications, one of which is to finally ease one's conscience?

[westerly]

I didn't talk about the 2017 UN best countries to live in list - didn't I?


Well, I could go on like that, but unfortunately, westerly, you are outvoted ... I guess that's what is always going to happen with the Left - trying to move forward with their eyes firmly at the rear mirror.

NZ is very well positioned and has a great government which brought it there. But sure - we could always have a bit more liberal influence - was this your point ?

"No , you suggested your criteria would find NZ in the top 10 counties of the world.
I quoted a list from a reputable source in which NZ didn't figure.
Most of the so called disciplines you quote have been achieved by a do nothing Govt. who with a little more effort and less concern for reducing taxes and services could alleviate many of the problems NZ faces. Not so much liberal as more liberterian

As for looking in the rear mirror --- ""Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it."
Winston Churchill "

westerly