Planet Rugby Forum

Gordon Bennett

The Government is repealing FPAs. Fair enough they campaigned on it but I hope the next Labour government brings them back whenever they come back into power. Like the smokefree legislation (which also should be brought back), these laws were truly transformational. * run and hide before Mr Mike co...

Gordon Bennett

The maps aren't looking great for Ukraine at the moment. Russia making small gains all across the Eastern front lines. Maybe at high cost, but this year has shown that it won't necessarily be easy to get those small gains back without losses of their own. Really is vital to restore the flow of mater...

Gordon Bennett

Is this not selection bias? I've read a reasonable bit in various sources about how people from the Indian as well as Chinese diaspora have largely voted right-of-centre in the recent election. Particularly seen in any number of "speak to the voters" type articles both before and after the election...

Gordon Bennett

Dammed if you do, dammed if you don't. But maybe there's a way to have cake and eat it..... Rates rises higher because Three Waters was axed, mayors say ... Mayors across the country are warning of double-digit rates rises, with the only alternative being significant cuts to essential services. One...

Gordon Bennett

Second, a lot of Chinese immigrants voted for National / Act / NZF block. Why do they get a free pass per se while numerous comments have been directed at Pakeha who voted for this government as being racist and colonial? Is this not selection bias? I've read a reasonable bit in various sources abo...

Gordon Bennett

“Just listened to the opening speech of Dep PM Winston Peters. He spent most of his 17mins mainly lambasting media (but a nice shout out to Dale Husband at Waatea). He took big digs at Willie Jackson & rather insulting ones at Rawiri Waititi and Deb Ngarewa-Packer. Put the boot into the Greens too....

Gordon Bennett

As I recall from the pre-election chat, some people were voting/intending to vote for Winston/NZF in order to put some brakes on ACT/National in coalition. Just wondering if those who were considering it are still happy that's what they're going to get, with some of the most divisive rhetoric comin...

Gordon Bennett

As I recall from the pre-election chat, some people were voting/intending to vote for Winston/NZF in order to put some brakes on ACT/National in coalition. Just wondering if those who were considering it are still happy that's what they're going to get, with some of the most divisive rhetoric coming...

Gordon Bennett

That Badspin thing turned out to be a actual thing. But maybe not the thing he thinks it is https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/503703/health-nz-staff-member-investigated-for-covid-19-misinformation "What he is claiming is completely wrong and ill-informed and his comments demonstrate this," she sa...

Gordon Bennett

Amstrad CPC vs. Sinclair Spectrum vs. Commodore 64 was the game platform battle that I remember. I owned a C64. I worked during the school holidays and bought a C64, with video games being the biggest attraction to me. The Last Ninja game series was a favourite of mine. I probably spent way too muc...

Gordon Bennett

Amstrad CPC vs. Sinclair Spectrum vs. Commodore 64 was the game platform battle that I remember.

Gordon Bennett

New Zealand has reached very low levels of smoking through education and other measures , I would pursue those measures further, making it illegal, will not stop people smoking all it will do is create a black market and who controls that sort of operation? You are an egg. Smoking levels have been ...

Gordon Bennett

Throwing 100’s of millions at another school is stupidity , enough are trained but we are losing them . The proposed Waikato Medical School is indeed a massive money sink that could be used to increase training numbers through Auckland or Otago but without the massive investment in infrastructure. ...

Gordon Bennett

Top 5 artists

1. Magnolia Electric Co.
2. Songs: Ohia
3. Car Seat Headrest
4. Neutral Milk Hotel
5. Electric Light Orchestra

Not sure what #6 was - Electric Magnolia Co and Songs: Ohia are basically the same band

Gordon Bennett

Disestablishment of Te Pukenga to start in their first 100 days? WTF. Can't say I'm wholly surprised when Penny Simmonds has been appointed as Minister for Tertiary Education but the polytechnic sector was failing abysmally and with the cycle of mergers and loss of expertise they've just gone throug...

Gordon Bennett

Generally, Nats policy on tertiary education in the last two decades has been to freeze funding for Arts/Business and increase funding for Science/Engineering/Agriculture. Surprised there’s nothing like that in this agreement. Much more culture warsy stuff like ‘tertiary providers must commit to fre...

Gordon Bennett

The way it should have been from day one, I can’t believe it was ever year one. What is the 'final year' can be quite tricky to define, varies by qualification and is going to need a lot more bureaucracy to monitor at a national level due to student transfers, cross-crediting and the like. I suspec...

Gordon Bennett

As I said, no everyone is supposed to attend a tertiary education system and if you are, great you’ll be rewarded if you stick at it. I do totally agree with this. But more from a University vs. Polytech/ITO perspective. Vocational training is historically undervalued in NZ. The recent push for mor...

Gordon Bennett

I read that they’re changing it to being final year fees free rather than first year. That ‘incentive to complete’ thing is pretty cynical, but still not abolishing it entirely. The way it should have been from day one, I can’t believe it was ever year one. It is really quite simple. 1) It encourag...

Gordon Bennett

I agree , I'm no fan of the Gnat's tax cut 'carrot' nor am I opposed to 'big' government , provided there is tangible benefit. But given the bombshell revelations of ethics, or lack thereof , of PWC in Australia and some of the gobshite I've read over the past 10 years writen by the 'Big 5' consult...

Gordon Bennett

The foreign buyer tax has gone so to pay for tax cuts to the wealthy, Nicola Willis is going after first year tertiary students. By scrapping fees free, she will literally have 18 year old kids who want to get ahead pay high income earners thousands of dollars (7-9 thousand each) before they even t...

Gordon Bennett

The foreign buyer tax has gone so to pay for tax cuts to the wealthy, Nicola Willis is going after first year tertiary students. By scrapping fees free, she will literally have 18 year old kids who want to get ahead pay high income earners thousands of dollars (7-9 thousand each) before they even t...

Gordon Bennett

Great coalition deal. Agree with pretty much all of it but the tax cuts. Increasing the thresholds are fine but cuts are better spent elsewhere. Especially like the Superannuation staying at 65 and Protect the freedom of speech by ruling out the introduction of hate speech legislation. and Independ...

Gordon Bennett

Haha, good to see you getting your excuses in early, will be interesting to see your mental gymnastics when/if Winnie turns on the Nats/Act. Also it was National that came up with the coalition of chaos catchphrase , just about every time Mr Luxon opened his mouth that'd come out,guess you don't li...

Gordon Bennett

Just reflecting on Winston's previous stints in Govt it has only been the Ardern Govt/Greens that have complained about him. Both Helen Clark and Jim Bolger worked well with him. So who's opinion do you value more? Accomplished, successful Prime Ministers like Bolger and Clark or muppets like Hipki...

Gordon Bennett

Edwards is from that anti-Maori, anti-Trans white conservative NZ. He gets paid by the media for his reckons but the funding for his political vehicle from which he is able to publish, The Democracy Project, he continues to keep secret, despite using VUW branding. Seems pretty scathing about the cu...

Gordon Bennett

Fantastic voice. My earliest memory would be his voice as the Black Rabbit of Inle in Watership Down. Christ, was that him? So many excellent actors in that, John Hurt, Harry Andrews, Ralph Richardson, Zero Mostel, Hordern etc. Richard Briers, Denholm Elliott, Roy Kinnear, Simon Cadell, Nigel Hawth...

Gordon Bennett

Fantastic voice. My earliest memory [edit: of him, that is - it'd be a pretty dark earliest memory overall] would be his voice as the Black Rabbit of Inle in Watership Down.

Gordon Bennett

So bitesized summary for last couple weeks? Short/ medium term trends? Think biggest thing in Putin's mind and probably to some extent Zelenskys is demographics. Russia going to be fkd if this goes on. Ukraine facing an exestential threat so demographics are secondary. If Russia continues could bec...

Gordon Bennett

Best show I've seen was Iron Maiden at the Roskilde Festival. Not my kind of music, but massively entertaining and the music was spot on. Musically, Neutral Milk Hotel in a small venue in Wellington was incredible. All the brass, the singing saw and the fragility perfectly presented on stage. Also h...

Gordon Bennett

Anyone have any more information on the resources now on the left bank? I have seen a couple of postings including one from ISW claiming a battalion sized force now. Often they are a little behind on this but have they a way to move APCs over there yet? There was a picture of *something* heavy on a...

Gordon Bennett

Why didn't he go out without a helmet, face a ball and then call for a helmet. He wasn't facing Malcolm Marshall or Sylvester Clarke I suspect he didn't expect to be cravenly timed out. If the option was given, I'm sure he would have opted to face a delivery with the busted helmet and then wait for...

Gordon Bennett

I'd put money on a few recounts taking place. Particularly Labour's Rachel Boyack has won in Nelson by 29 votes & The Tāmaki Makaurau seat has flipped from Labour’s Peeni Henare to newcomer Takutai Natasha Kemp, who has won by an incredible four votes. Mt Albert is also incredibly close. Melissa Le...

Gordon Bennett

:lol: Booji - you nearly had me believing. But in the end, you and the National lads have let me down. :x :lol: As Enz, Auckman and UncleFB kept telling us, Chippy is still Prime Minister and Grant Robertson attending the game, with all the associated negativity he brings, can't have helped. And no...

Gordon Bennett

booji boy wrote: ↑Sat Oct 14, 2023 10:29 pm
Gordon Bennett wrote: ↑Sat Oct 14, 2023 10:26 pm
booji boy wrote: ↑Sat Oct 14, 2023 10:17 pm

Dead on analysis.
I'll only believe this if the rugby results continue in this direction for, say, the next couple of weeks.

Booji - you nearly had me believing. But in the end, you and the National lads have let me down.

Gordon Bennett

What time do we mean by late afternoon? 4pm-ish at Baylands? I must have missed the cabal where there was a fight. Every one I've been to has been pleasantly convivial. That'll work. Do you want a lift? Cheers Ted. Bit late now - I’ll make my own way there. Missed your message as I’ve been doing in...

Gordon Bennett

What time do we mean by late afternoon? 4pm-ish at Baylands?

I must have missed the cabal where there was a fight. Every one I've been to has been pleasantly convivial.

Gordon Bennett

Baylands might be worth a go. Happy with late afternoon or early evening. Whatever suits others.

Gordon Bennett

Saturday night, Petone. I'm in for that.

Gordon Bennett

Key publicly disliked the idea of co-governance on Te Urewera. I've tried to find any comment from any Nat MP on either Waikato or Te Urewera governance since settlement and it's hard to find anything directly relevant. Finlayson makes comment. I posted it earlier this year. Or do you mean a curren...

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