Andrew Little on climate change

Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, August 12th, 2015 - 51 comments
Categories: Andrew Little, climate change, Environment - Tags: , ,

Always a topic for robust discussion here at The Standard – here’s part of a speech the Labour Leader gave to the Environmental Defence Society conference today.

Let’s start with climate change.

It’s happening, it will get worse before it gets better, and it demands a response in keeping with the scale of the problem we face. It is the biggest environmental and economic challenge facing the planet.

According to the latest IPCC report, without additional mitigation, we are now facing average global temperature rises of 3.7 to 4.9 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels by the end of this century.

That’ll mean more extreme weather events, rising and warming seas, more crop failures, unknown impacts on biodiversity and more human hardship.

We face a carbon-constrained future, and we must try and reduce our emissions and accelerate our adaptation.

That’s not a matter of choice. That’s inevitable.

As President Obama put it recently, “we’re the first generation to feel the impact of climate change, and the last generation that can do something about it.”

This isn’t just a technical challenge.

It’s a test of our most fundamental values because how we choose to respond to climate change will affect every facet of our ecosystem, our economy and our daily lives.

The stakes are huge.

If we get this wrong, our environment will be degraded, our economy will suffer, the costs of transition will be much higher and we will leave our children with fewer opportunities than we inherited.

This is something I’ve given a lot of thought to.

As you would expect I would have, given I led the EPMU – the union of miners, oil workers, and aviation for more than a decade.

I know that we need a just transition, that not only meets our responsibilities to the planet, but gives people opportunities to build good lives for themselves and their families.

We have to meet this challenge.

And we have to do it in a way that protects our way of life and the opportunities we want our people to enjoy.

And as a global citizen, we cannot shirk from our mutual responsibilities to the people of other nations.

Sadly, the current government has its head in the sand, which is especially worrying right now because the sea level is rising.

National says that we’re too small to address this problem.

Instead of a leader on the world stage, they say they want us to be a fast follower.

They tell us addressing climate change is someone else’s job.

I simply don’t accept that.

That isn’t who we are.

When we sit on the sidelines all we do is give comfort to the deniers of climate change.

We’re a better country than that.

Seven years into John Key’s government, its record on the environment and climate change is clear.

New Zealand’s emissions per capita were the 5th highest out of 40 developed nations in 2012.

A recent Global Action Network survey found we had slipped to 43rd out of 58 countries when it comes to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

National gutted the Emissions Trading Scheme by removing agriculture which accounts for half of our emissions, leaving it ineffectual.

They’ve put public money into subsidising big emitters by giving them a free ride while taking money out of environmental research programmes.

They’ve watered down our emissions targets to the point where international watchdogs now list New Zealand as a laggard.

Just ask our Pacific neighbours.

Even a modest change in the sea level can flood the supply of fresh water in nations like Tuvalu or Kiribati, making their islands uninhabitable.

Their very survival requires the world, including New Zealand, to take serious action on climate change.

This government’s ‘I’m alright, Jack’ attitude to addressing climate change helps seal the fate of some of our country’s closest friends.

That’s an awful legacy to leave.

That short-termism is something that defines this government. They govern day-to-day, without an eye on the horizon.

51 comments on “Andrew Little on climate change ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. AmaKiwi 1
    12 August 2015 at 4:22 pm

    Thank you, Andrew. Good speech.

    I want a Labour Party which is in full agreement with the Greens about the imperative to take strong action on climate change.

    There are huge job and business opportunities in preparing our country to cope with climate change. (Bill Clinton has spoken frequently on this.) Instead National wastes billions on motorways.

    National on climate change: out of date, wasteful, and dangerous.

  2. Draco T Bastard 2
    12 August 2015 at 4:39 pm

    On topic as far as environmental defense goes: Earth is halfway to being inhospitable to life, scientist says

    Swedish scientist claims in a new theory that humanity has exceeded four of the nine limits for keeping the planet hospitable to modern life, while another professor told RT Earth may be seeing an impending human-made extinction of various species.

    Environmental science professor Johan Rockstrom, the executive director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden, argues that there are nine “planetary boundaries” in a new paper published in Science – and human beings have already crossed four of them.

    Although I suspect that’s more inhospitable to humanity than inhospitable to life. The bacteria and the cockroaches will still be here.

    • weka 2.1
      12 August 2015 at 5:06 pm

      Thanks, important stuff.

      Life is all about the relationships, cycles and systems. We need to be looking at not just what species will die or live, but the relationships between them all. If the bacteria and cockroaches get to live but most of the mammals, bird, reptiles and plant life dies, can we meaningfully say that life will be ok? This is the critical shift that needs to happen with modern thinking. Individual species are part of ecosystems that are interdependent. It’s very hard for one thing to be affected and not everything else. Yes, nature can adjust to many things, but there are too many tipping points happening too fast for this to be ok.

      “biodiversity has dropped to 84% in parts of the world such as Africa”

      I’d hazard a guess that in parts of the Canterbury Plains it’s much lower than that. And getting worse, with the dairying and tree clearance and land flattening we are really creating huge problems far beyond water quality (which is bad enough).

      • Draco T Bastard 2.1.1
        12 August 2015 at 5:34 pm

        If the bacteria and cockroaches get to live but most of the mammals, bird, reptiles and plant life dies, can we meaningfully say that life will be ok?

        Yes, we can. Life on Earth started as single celled organisms ~500m years ago and evolved to the diversity that we see today. If all animals, plants and insects died the bacteria would just start process again and in a few hundred million years a new species would evolve to start asking if they’re alone in the universe.

        Please also note that life on Earth has been through a few Extinction Events before with the worst being the Permian Mass Extinction which is the only know such event where insects also suffered mass extinction. It took ~10m years for diversity to recover.

        So, yeah, life will be fine.

        • weka 2.1.1.1
          12 August 2015 at 10:48 pm

          Thanks for completely ignoring what I said.

          • marty mars 2.1.1.1.1
            12 August 2015 at 10:58 pm

            lol – Draco de factoid

          • Lanthanide 2.1.1.1.2
            12 August 2015 at 11:17 pm

            Draco is completely right, “life” will be fine.

            You should have said “extant species” instead of “life”.

            • weka 2.1.1.1.2.1
              13 August 2015 at 8:23 am

              Draco’s argument is that life is ok because if someone murders you, your family and most of your extended family and friends, multiple generations, but leaves a couple of people alive to breed, your family will be ok. That’s insane. It treats life as a series of mechanical units.

              “You should have said “extant species” instead of “life”.”

              Thanks to you for also completely missing wht I was saying. You should take some time to figure out what I am actually talking about. My whole point is it’s not just about extant species. That there are only two options here (extant species or the general process of evolution), or that it’s only about mass destruction of life vs saving humans, is the kind of thinking that both got us into this situation and is stopping us from getting out of it. I don’t want that kind of thinking getting to define what life is, because it’s that kind of thinking that devalues life so we treat it like shit. It’s basically saying it doesn’t matter if we kill off everything except the cockroaches and the bacteria, but we need to pay attention to how humans can survive, as if humans are somehow separate from the rest of life.

              Thankfully even biological sciences understand the systems thinking I am talking about. And many human cultures on the planet have understood the interconnectedness of things and the inherent value of that. And how they fit into it.

              • Lanthanide …
                13 August 2015 at 8:50 am

                You were replying to Draco’s comment, that the earth might be inhospitable to humans, but it would still be fine for plenty of other types of life.

                Effectively you’ve changed the subject by now taking a very specific near-term view, vs Draco’s very broad view of “well all the humans might die off but life will still exist”.

                Hence Draco and my replies.

                • weka …
                  13 August 2015 at 9:03 am

                  Draco brough in the inhosptable to humans not life aspect. I was responding to both that and the article he linked. My view isn’t about the near or short term.

                  “Effectively you’ve changed the subject by now taking a very specific near-term view, vs Draco’s very broad view of “well all the humans might die off but life will still exist”.”

                  No, that’s not what I am saying, but thanks for moving on from ignoring what I said to miscontruing it.

                  You want to define life in a certain way. I’m challenging that and I’ve made a decent opening argument about why that’s important. Please at least get to grips with what I am actually saying before you deny it.

                  • Draco T Bastard …
                    13 August 2015 at 10:09 am

                    Draco brough in the inhosptable to humans not life aspect

                    And I brought that up because the article I linked to made the statement that Earth will become inhospitable to life but that’s wrong – life will be fine. The major plants and animals probably won’t be unless we actually stop burning fossil fuels and producing other GHGs.

                    No, that’s not what I am saying, but thanks for moving on from ignoring what I said to miscontruing it.

                    If people misconstrued what you said then perhaps you didn’t say it well enough. Remember, this is a text format and we’re missing all the body language and tone that would be there in a face to face and thus missing about 75% of the communication. In text, you have to be very precise.

                    You want to define life in a certain way.

                    Actually, it seems to me that you’re the one who’s trying to redefine life. Life isn’t just the animals and plants. No matter if you like it or not bacteria is also life. They also have their life cycles and systems and will evolve to cover niche positions in those systems.

        • Incognito 2.1.1.2
          12 August 2015 at 11:24 pm

          ”Life on Earth started as single celled organisms ~500m years ago and evolved to the diversity that we see today.”

          I think you might be at least 3 billion years out! I was just reading on how oxygen came to be in the atmosphere and it seems this was brought about by the earliest (known) life forms on Earth called cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae.

          Happy to provide citations but Google is your friend (and it’s getting late!).

      • Bazza 2.1.2
        13 August 2015 at 9:19 am

        Can you please show me where a scientific peer reviewed shows bio diversity has decreased by 84%. The way they count bio-diversity is to pick a field, count the insects in it by hand & at a later date redo the count. The human error factor in such research would be enormous & would not take into account natural changes.

    • Pat 2.2
      12 August 2015 at 8:12 pm

      yep..although its avast improvement on previous Labour statements it still greatly understates the reality

  3. weka 3
    12 August 2015 at 5:09 pm

    That’s a pretty good speech from Little. Not as hard hitting as some would like, but it seems like a good building block between the mainstream and the people on the cutting edge.

  4. Bill 4
    12 August 2015 at 5:12 pm

    Through the link, we have Andrew saying…

    Often, you will hear some politicians say we can have a pristine environment, or we can have a growing economy, but we can’t have both.

    Well, I reject that.

    Rejected is it? Good O. All that science – I mean, like I agree, fuck the politicians and even the economists – but all that science that simply cannot crunch the numbers on necessary CO2 emissions and come up with a result that would allow economic growth…rejected.

    Business as usual from Labour then. Great.

    It’s going to get worse before it gets better

    Erm, no. It’s going to get worse, then it’s going to get a lot of a fuck worse than that. And it won’t get ‘better’ for…well, a thousand years would be an optimistic punt.

    • Colonial Viper 4.1
      12 August 2015 at 9:55 pm

      Yeah, probably its gonna rough for a few thousand years, assuming the biosphere doesn’t get totally fucked off with us and decide to sulk for a million or two million years before coming right again.

    • Lanthanide 4.2
      12 August 2015 at 11:20 pm

      Tens of thousands potentially, if the ice caps melt etc. If the gulf stream shuts down, that could even kick off an ice age.

  5. Draco T Bastard 5
    12 August 2015 at 5:25 pm

    And we have to do it in a way that protects our way of life and the opportunities we want our people to enjoy.

    Protecting our way of life doesn’t appear to be a good idea as it’s our way of life that’s causing the problem.

    Now, protecting a good living standard is probably a good idea but we should probably define that living standard and then look if it can be done within environmental limits and if it can’t then we would need to update that standard.

    I know that we need a just transition, that not only meets our responsibilities to the planet, but gives people opportunities to build good lives for themselves and their families.

    Here’s the point that Little and many others seem to get. We could easily transition to an economic system that wasn’t dependent upon fossil fuels. That’s easy as the technology is already available so we know what we need to do. All that needs to be done is that the government acts on doing it. It could do this by the simple expedient of directing the necessary resources from our own land to do it.

    It could do this but National, Labour and even the Greens seem to be more interested in protecting the present socio-politcal-economic system than doing what needs to be done. In other words, they’re looking to protect Business As Usual and that can’t be done and bring about the necessary changes.

    Even a modest change in the sea level can flood the supply of fresh water in nations like Tuvalu or Kiribati, making their islands uninhabitable.

    Their very survival requires the world, including New Zealand, to take serious action on climate change.

    Tuvalu, Kiribati and other low lying atolls are probably already fucked. What we need to be doing there is planning their evacuation which, in many cases, will probably mean moving them to NZ.

    • Macro 5.1
      12 August 2015 at 7:01 pm

      I can’t agree that Green Economic Policy is “Business as Usual” Draco. see here:
      https://home.greens.org.nz/policy/economic
      Now I’m sure you will find areas that you disagree with – but I hardly think that the vision espoused is BAU.

    • maui 5.2
      12 August 2015 at 11:14 pm

      And we have to do it in a way that protects our way of life and the opportunities we want our people to enjoy.

      Yep, from what he’s saying, somehow I can’t imagine Andrew Little digging over the community garden, skinning rabbits to eat, collecting eggs, biking to work and being part of the local economy. All of which is probably going to be needed at some point.

  6. Robert Atack 6
    12 August 2015 at 5:41 pm

    I think I’ve got a 30 min recording (if not 2) of Andrew talking to that ‘Afewknowthetruth guy, from a couple of years back.
    That kind of makes Andrew one of the few )

    • Lanthanide 6.1
      12 August 2015 at 11:21 pm

      The guy who told us the large numbers of people would be literally starving to death in Auckland this year.

  7. AmaKiwi 7
    12 August 2015 at 6:24 pm

    “Protecting our way of life doesn’t appear to be a good idea as it’s our way of life that’s causing the problem.”

    Yes. But politicians have to sell change as something manageable.

    I’m giving Andrew the benefit of the doubt because no one will vote for him if he says, “You will no longer be allowed to own a car and if you can prove it is essential, you might get a government permit to fly to Australia but it will cost you $10,000 to fly to Sydney.”

    So we vaguely define “our way of life” as meaning I still have a home (but smaller), a job (but it’s different), friends, and a family.

  8. maui 8
    12 August 2015 at 7:01 pm

    It’s all very good talking about it, but whose going to volunteer to give up the 50-100 energy slaves they have that does their daily work for them. I know some people already have done and live a much simpler life, but for society in general to do this I think is wishful thinking. The only way I can see us changing is with our whole system imploding and petrol costing $10 a litre, then all of a sudden you would see a big dropoff in emissions. I think this is only a matter of time as we slide down the back half of the steep peak oil curve, or find something goes even more horribly wrong in the middle east and our supplies are threatened.

    • RedLogix 8.1
      12 August 2015 at 7:26 pm

      but whose going to volunteer to give up the 50-100 energy slaves they have that does their daily work for them.

      Kevin McCloud (him of the Grand Designs series) is doing spin off that’s showing on ABC at the moment, visiting families who have chosen to leave Britain and make new homes in various wild places in the world.

      Kevin’s a perceptive and eloquent guy, and what most fascinated him is not just the physical buildings these families create – but their motivations, challenges and rewards. So far I’ve only seen the first two episodes, one in Tonga, another in Belize. Both have in common an extraordinary level of sheer hard work and drive. Loosing those energy slaves has a very real impact alright.

      Yet equally they have expressed absolutely certainty that they have made the right choice and could NEVER go back home again. It’s typical McCloud and done well. And can be strongly argued as a glimpse of what post-carbon life may well look like.

      • Draco T Bastard 8.1.1
        12 August 2015 at 8:33 pm

        One thing I’ve learned over the years is that you really don’t need all the goods that advertising tells you that you need. I stopped watching TV years ago and the desire for a whole lot of shit went with it and so did a lot of stress.

        • Lanthanide 8.1.1.1
          12 August 2015 at 11:25 pm

          It boggles my mind how much money people spend on crap constantly.

          I’m on a very good salary, and I just look at all the flash stuff in shops and think “I can’t really justify paying that amount of money for that thing”.

          And yet those ‘things’ are sold to hundreds of thousands of people less well-off than me in this country every day.

      • maui 8.1.2
        12 August 2015 at 9:26 pm

        Cool, sounds really interesting, I’ll have to check it out. Thanks.

      • marty mars 8.1.3
        12 August 2015 at 11:01 pm

        sounds good – thanks red

    • Bill 8.2
      12 August 2015 at 7:41 pm

      In the video link I embedded in my post from the other day, it’s argued how a 70% reduction in emissions from cars can be achieved within 8 years. (caveat – that was a UK scenario)

      There is also the fact that a small cut in power at the delivery end of our electricity grid translates into a substantial drop in necessary generation. (For NZ, that could make a shift to 100% ‘green’ supply a short term possibility)

      Then there’s the contention, reflected in available data apparently, that 1-5% of our population is responsible for around 40-60% of emissions.

      So the necessary changes in individual behaviour aren’t necessarily as widespread and radical in the short term as many envisage. There’s a lot of low hanging fruit.

      I’ve said it before, but the idea of having a job/career and saving for retirement is (s’cuse the pun) redundant. We need to vet our jobs on their social contribution and dump the ones that don’t stack up.

      That allows for a transition away from current expectations/behaviours as ‘jobs’ become replaced with ‘socially necessary and valuable work’ that isn’t simply a ‘something’ to be coveted and used as a self measure and a comparative measure against others.

      Throw in a UBI. Throw the problems at ourselves and allow the space for innovative and creative solutions freed from the rusty ball and chain of ‘profit at all costs’.

      • Draco T Bastard 8.2.1
        12 August 2015 at 8:40 pm

        So the necessary changes in individual behaviour aren’t necessarily as widespread and radical in the short term as many envisage. There’s a lot of low hanging fruit.

        I bought some stuff the other day online. The store I bought sent me a survey which I filled in. It asked about they could do better so I told them to drop the next day delivery as it would save considerable amounts in CO2 emissions. I also told them to get rid of their physical stores as that would also drop CO2 emissions.

        As you say, there’s actually a lot of low hanging fruit that could easily be changed/dropped that would save a hell of a lot and physical retail centres is one of them.

    • Draco T Bastard 8.3
      12 August 2015 at 8:30 pm

      The only way I can see us changing is with our whole system imploding and petrol costing $10 a litre, then all of a sudden you would see a big dropoff in emissions.

      IMO, Part of the reason why the RWNJs oppose carbon taxes is that they know that consumption will go down dropping profit. Another reason is because wages would have to go up to compensate for the added cost of transport so that people could actually afford to work (which also drops profit – get the hint?).

      It’s a large reason as to why I think that businesses should actually pay for the transport and time for people to go to and from work. You watch at just how fast that they’ll support good public transport, denser cities and free broadband on that PT. They sure as hell won’t be hiring people living in Warkworth or Hamilton to work in the Auckland CBD.

  9. AmaKiwi 9
    12 August 2015 at 8:19 pm

    “The earth has enough for every man’s need, but not for every man’s greed.” Ghandi

    Poverty has a way of separating the essential from the trivial.

    I look at the extreme weather we have had here in the past few years and think, “Increase this by a magnitude of 2 or 3 or 4 and my local community will be reeling.”

    I’m thinking of roads washed away, buildings flattened, prolonged power and water outages, etc. Sort of Christchurch after the quakes but there is no outside help because the whole country is a wreck and there’s no insurance money.”

    Mother Nature might focus our attention on the essentials of life and leave the trash halls (a.k.a. shopping malls) without any credit card consumers. That would change our environmental footprint big time.

    • Draco T Bastard 9.1
      12 August 2015 at 8:44 pm

      “The earth has enough for every man’s need, but not for every man’s greed.” Ghandi

      Actually, in today’s world it’s entirely possible that we don’t have enough for everyone’s need.

  10. SPC 10
    12 August 2015 at 8:46 pm

    Our problem

    1. with a growing population hydro capacity has needed to be supplemented – thus our relative position has fallen even though we still use more renewable energy than most other nations.

    2. we are dependent on exporting agricultural products.

    Thus our performance on the measures used are going to be poor whatever we do.

    • Draco T Bastard 10.1
      13 August 2015 at 5:21 pm

      Wrong.

      1. We can build wind, solar and wave power generation to supplement hydro so we don’t need fossil fueled generation.
      2. We don’t need to be. In fact, we’d be far better off if we weren’t dependent upon trade at all.

      Thus our performance is what we choose it to be and, ATM, we’re choosing to have poor performance.

  12. Ad 12
    12 August 2015 at 9:31 pm

    “I know that we need a just transition, that not only meets our responsibilities to the planet, but gives people opportunities to build good lives for themselves and their families.”

    Little is going to front up to that statement tomorrow when Solid Energy and all its hundreds of workers get their careers destroyed with the demolition of Solid Energy.

    Union families, poor towns, very little hope, and no government plan for their lives or regions. Incredibly dark days ahead – and a tightrope for Little and Labour’s proud history.

  13. Chooky 13
    12 August 2015 at 10:48 pm

    Good Andrew Little is speaking out on to Climate Change issues. This issue should not just be left to the Greens..I see Megan Woods is spokesperson for Climate Change as well as Environment and other things

    imo Labour really needs to make Climate Change one of its most important and proactive issues both at home and internationally. ( jonkey nactional has really dropped the ball and let down New Zealand badly on this issue) . The spokesperson should be a high profile position and tied in with the Economic Development portfolio… (someone with a very strong economics background like David Cunliffe would be ideal cf. Kevin Rudd in Australia)

    Megan Woods could pick up Conservation to go with Environment

  14. Smilin 14
    12 August 2015 at 11:48 pm

    The main problem with Nationals attitude is simply their adherence to the free market which is their excuse to do nothing about climate change
    they think flashy pissed serenity advertising will keep people believing in the bs of that rather than looking at the real truth outside the mainstream media indoctrination of our consciousness in regards to what we all should be doing as individuals on day to day basis to reduce climate change

  15. leftie 15
    13 August 2015 at 1:29 am

    “Often, you will hear some politicians say we can have a pristine environment, or we can have a growing economy, but we can’t have both.

    Well, I reject that.”

    Andrew Little is right to reject that assumption of it’s either one or the other, as it is possible to have a pristine environment AND a growing economy at the same time.

  16. Robert Atack 16
    13 August 2015 at 8:13 am

    How dose all that Andrew is saying fit into Kiwi Saver?
    As I’m sure Andrew knows Kiwi Saver is based on continued economic growth.
    Can he, or any labour/green politician say with their hands on their hearts that Kiwi Saver is a good thing for the environment?
    I would love to hear their explanation, of how continued destruction of the environment, for say the life time of a new kiwi Saver ie something like 47 years, is good? Or survivable.
    “Get some guts” …………….. just a backbone would be nice.
    Silence on this issue, makes every politician a liar, and 100% untrustworthy.
    The king has no clothes and 99% of you are happy with that, I hope you all have children – fools

  17. JanMeyer 17
    13 August 2015 at 9:37 am

    I couldn’t find the expression “zero by 50” anywhere. Or is he perhaps suggesting a less radical response which might be described as broadly similar to the current government’s approach (once you look behind the Obamaspeak)?

  18. Poission 18
    13 August 2015 at 11:32 am

    According to the latest IPCC report, without additional mitigation, we are now facing average global temperature rises of 3.7 to 4.9 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels by the end of this century.

    Quoting incorrect numbers in attribution statements is not a good start for any debate.

    The IPCC (ar5) states that ECS Is 1.5-4.5C.

    The equilibrium climate sensitivity quantifies the response of the climate system to constant radiative forcing on multicentury time scales. It is defined as the change in global mean surface temperature at equilibrium that is caused by a doubling of the atmospheric CO2 concentration. Equilibrium climate sensitivity is likely in the range 1.5°C to 4.5°C (high confidence), extremely unlikely less than 1°C (high confidence), and very unlikely greater than 6°C (medium confidence)

Recent Posts

  • Can taxpayers be confident PIJF cash was spent wisely?
    Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    5 hours ago

  • EGU2024 – An intense week of joining sessions virtually
    Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 hours ago

  • Submission on “Fast Track Approvals Bill”
    The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    8 hours ago

  • The Case for a Universal Family Benefit
    One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    9 hours ago

  • A who’s who of New Zealand’s dodgiest companies
    Submissions on National's corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law are due today (have you submitted?), and just hours before they close, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has been forced to release the list of companies he invited to apply. I've spent the last hour going through it in an epic thread of bleats, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    11 hours ago

  • On Lee’s watch, Economic Development seems to be stuck on scoring points from promoting sporting e...
    Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    12 hours ago

  • New Zealand has never been closed for business
    1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    13 hours ago

  • Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    16 hours ago

  • Melissa Lee and the media: ending the quest
    Chris Trotter writes –  MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    17 hours ago

  • The Hoon around the week to April 19
    TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    17 hours ago

  • The ‘Humpty Dumpty’ end result of dismantling our environmental protections
    Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    18 hours ago

  • Nicola's Salad Days.
    I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    19 hours ago

  • Study sees climate change baking in 19% lower global income by 2050
    TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    19 hours ago

  • Weekly Roundup 19-April-2024
    It’s Friday again. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered at the government looking into a long tunnel for Wellington. On Wednesday we ran a post from Oscar Simms on some lessons from Texas. AT’s ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    20 hours ago

  • Jack Vowles: Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  The data is from February this ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    22 hours ago

  • Clearing up confusion (or trying to)
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    23 hours ago

  • How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log iPhone Without Computer
    How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A Step–by–Step Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and third–party applications. So, let‘s dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. That‘s why they introduced the “Recently Deleted“ folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Here‘s how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the “Recents“ tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on “Edit“. Select “Show Recently Deleted“. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose “Recover“ to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Here‘s how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose “Erase All Content and Settings“. Follow the on–screen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup“ during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore Third–Party Apps (with Caution): ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
    Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
    Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
    Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
    The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago

  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago

  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    2 days ago

  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    2 days ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    2 days ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research.   “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-04-19T15:54:10+00:00