Posts by Mikaere Curtis
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What really concerns me about Key is that he not only appears to utter whatever vacuous message he thinks is current audience wants, but that he'll do exactly the same when scrutinised, and that the MSM are happy let him get away with it.
Which means that if/when National form a government, we'll have an virtually mendacious PM providing cover for a group of ministers from the 90s, and I have yet to see any evidence that they aren't going to restart their failed agenda from back then.
They'll be able to do a lot of damage while Key presents them as government that delivers all things to all people. It'll be another National-led trainwreck that Labour/Greens will have to fix up.
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arrgh !
and I hope you'll do the same with Media 7.
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Good stuff Russell, can't wait to watch it. Means I'll have to get Freeview or rely on teh internets.
When it launched, I though Mediawatch was fresh and insightful, and I hope to do the same with Media 7.
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No. But Worik was speculating on the foreshore's value based on its potential for economic exploitation via mining and fish-farming.
Got it now. My reading of Worik's post was that this economic exploitation was something he thought the government had it's eyes one, not iwi.
IIRC, the message from iwi with regard to the property rights associated with the FS&SB amounted to "great, now we can protect our taonga". Of course, the discussion did not get much further than this because the narrative quickly became one of analysing the government's proposals rather than developing a way forward that respected both hapu rights and those of ordinary beach-loving Kiwis.
It's worth noting that Telecom's property rights have also been legislated over in the name of the public good in recent years. The difference is, they go to go to court first ...
The case for unbundling the local loop was crystal clear, and Telecom had years to prove the government wrong. The succinct version of the case for extinguishing hapu rights to FS&SB is thus: FUD.
I'm not averse to property rights being extinguished per se, but clearly the bar needs to be much higher than we saw in the FS&SB debacle.
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You cited fish-farming and mining on the stretch of beach between high and low tide in your first post: what would your reaction be if anyone else asserted a property right to pursue those activities around a majority of the national shoreline? Would that really be in the public interest?
Russell, are you really saying that hapu should have property rights taken away, in case they misuse their property ?
I agree that there was a role for the government in this in terms of finding a mutually agreeable way forward. But I do not agree that this role is best fulfilled by what amounts to a large-scale property rights confiscation purely on the basis of race.
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I'd have preferred to see it go through the courts and wind up in something similar to the Ngati Porou deal, but the angry rhetoric wasn't only coming from one side
Agreed, it's easy to crank out a slogan.
But your position does not reflect the excellent solution-building that was taking place amongst Maori groups who were serious about finding a compromise that we all could live with.
One such proposition was an act that disabled any right to subdivide or otherwise sell FS&SB land, keeping it iwi/hapu-owned in perpetuity, plus some kind of negotiated kaitiaki arrangement (I do concede that aboriginal title would have given Maori an upper hand in the negotiations, but is that such a bad thing ?).
Instead, we now face the prospect of a future government being able to sell off our coastline.
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The position had to be clarified. Whether right or wrong in the status that was created by the act it allows easier acces to redress and as such it should be looked at as a vehicle for solution rather than a land grab.
The Court of Appeal's position was quite clear: Iwi could take a claim to the Maori Land Court.
Over time, tests would have been developed and common law would have been established.
I would prefer property rights over "redress" any day. Wouldn't you ? Instead of a partnership-based resolution to this issue, we got an authoritarian property rights confiscation in climate of outright racist rhetoric.
I/S is correct, this dismal law has done much to damage relations between iwi and the Crown.
I thought Maori TVs coverage yesterday was great, and they didn't buy into the awful MSM meme of endemic conflict at Waitangi. The review of the political debate wherein MPs from most parties were asked to outline their positions on the Maori seats was illuminating.
It was good to see NZ First state that although they thought the seats should go, it was up to Maori to decide. Jeanette good a cheer for the Green's position (they stay until Maori want them removed).
At least John Key was up front about a policy position: they'll ditch them first chance. His reasoning was flakey - the Maori seats were no help in the Foreshore & Seabed Bill - ergo the seats are useless - was plainly desperate.
Parekura predictably indicated Labour's continued support, and I don't think any other party was there.
I certainly hope that National never get the numbers to remove the seats. Being forcibly disenfranchised from guaranteed (and quality) representation in parliament would seriously annoy me.
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It may be a beautiful pad and a crap photo.
Could be, could be...
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The aspect of the modern "bach" that I find most striking is that they have lost any respect for their environment. There hardly seems to be any attempt to fit in, other than to maximise sea views.
There seems to be a lack of context, but perhaps spartan != contextual, or is that merely a cultural artifact from a more modest era ?
Still, nothings going to stop me giving my villa a thorough schoolin' when the time (and money) comes. Not open-plan though - can't stand the classical L shaped kitchen-dining-living-with-indoor-outdoor-flow-to-the-patio. Villas have zones and work better if you use them.
Big ups to Craig for doing what Ed wanted - that people carry on his life's work - an actually ponying up for the Himalayan Trust.
I've trekked in the Khumbu (Everest region), and in 2006 attended the 40th anniversary of the opening of the hospital at Khunde. Ed changed the lives of entire villages, it's as simple as that.
One of the kids how attended the school in the 60s (a three hour walk each way from his home), and is now the head doctor at the hospital. How cool is that ?
So when I hear all these suggestions for renaming mountains, having a holiday, raising a statue etc I can't but think: "he had a plan, it worked, still works, wants us to keep it going...FFS, let's just do what he wants"
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chiropractic is to back care what tyre black is to automotive repair.
Does that mean you get a free chiropractic session whenever you take yourself in for a yearly medical ?
Never tried a chiropractor, but I do rate osteopathy and acupuncture.