“””The recent Fed Farmers survey is a shocker – worst farmer confidence since 2009 when the Global Financial Crisis was biting hard. While international issues like Brexit and potential trade wars are causing concern most of the pessimism is resulting from Govt policies like:
– Cancelling Crown Irrigation funding
– Halving R&D funding
– Increased union access
– Fertiliser tax
– Water tax
– Restricted hill country cropping
– Regulated winter grazing
– Failing to support Taratahi””
Found this on Facebook from guy .what’s true and what’s bull
The only one I agree with so far is the failure to support taratahi while bailing out city ucols.
It was great pathway to a good life for kids who like it outside.
Cinny
A bad situation still for Taratahi and Telford. The very mainstay of our country’s enterprise, the agricultural sector, having agricultural education treated as if its product had little value and could be abandoned as just another private enterprise profit-maker.
Taratahi had a give a little page which raised about $5,700 from 48 donors, not a huge purse of support from the farming community during its nine days from January 14-23rd. It’s hard to warm to farmers at the moment, as they don’t show their communitys’ support for matters that would seem to benefit them most.
I understood that the whole purpose of introducing business thinking into government and governance management was to ensure that the public sector didn’t get moribund. Now it’s gone to the level that making a profit and meeting tough and possibly unrealistic targets have become the main priorities for anything government-oriented.
It has shown how dangerous it is to listen to clever bums on seats, who might have been brought up on farms, but don’t have the necessary commitment to devising policies for a smart, fairly run, intelligence, and experientially-based, business and workforce. Evidence-based policy would put paid to most of the lala land stuff from economists and private business’ PR- merchants who think they can walk on water.
The good news is that the government is bailing Taratahi or Telford or both out for this year and it comes under the umbrella of the Southern Institute of Technology. But there is not absolute certainty about its future. (Seems another dropped goal as a result of being fiscanally retentive.) https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/110387166/editorial-over-the-bills-and-farm-away
The final point asks a question – …[we’re left] wondering aloud whether the likes of the Tertiary Education Commission, NZQA and Tertiary Education Union might have quietly contributed a measure of helpfulness.
Is it a case of advisors and bureaucrats with desk-sized viewpoints and future visions, taking a leading role in shredding us along their dotted lines?
So it’s coming under S.I.T instead that’s got to be the start of a good thing for those wanting to learn the farming trade.
Something else caught my eye today re tertiary institutions and bad management.
Wintec and their spend up…
Wintec’s new boss, who was on big-spending trips to Asia with former chief executive Mark Flowers, won’t explain where taxpayers’ money was spent.
” So far the publicly funded polytech has spent more than $500,000 on lawyers, spin doctors, security guards and reports over three years, during which time Flowers refused to be interviewed.
Meanwhile, the woman who led Wintec Council during the time of the travel spending says taxpayers got “value for money”, while Wintec bosses’ wined and dined on the public purse during business trips to Asia.”
I’m left wondering if the prior government encouraged institutes to over inflate a focus on overseas students. And as a result institutions were ‘banking’ on more students than they should, maybe even spending more money than they should trying to lure overseas students.
how much of this ‘confidence’ is because of the unknown?
it must be a tad unnerving to have a new regime in that is making noises about tackling climate change and cleaning up water ways.
i realise that farmers aren’t the only cause of those two issues, but the ag and horticuture sectors seemed well protected by keys mob; not fully involved in the workplace health and safety reforms, not part of the ETS…
Hawkesby has her answer to why voters don’t like Simon Bridges, just watch his ridiculous shouty rant in parliament today, By contrast the PM was superb and Winston could easily have been channeling Spike Milligan. I hope Winston is around for another term or two, he seems just like a good malt to get better with age.
I make no comment on TDM, except the level of PR again has no mention of health issues being gathered around the globe…
In Australia there will be at least 3 core 5G networks all requiring vast raw materials to biild the infrastructure, and each with their own sites to mount the radiative antennae…public sites like lamposts etc..
OPTUS
TELSTRA
VODAFONE
TPG have pulled back citing non availability of Huawei gear in Australia
5G is disturbing but it was clearly planned for a decade in advance. I always wondered why there were poles on the motorway every few hundred meters massively overspec for anything we had like cameras, cellsites.
All ya gotta do is get yerself a 5G device, make sure it’s charged, turn it on. Put it where it gets the best signal strength, get some glass bottles or jars full of water, and stack them around your device. Leave it for a week or so and it will absorb the full spectrum of harmful emanations, vibrations and radiations into the innate intelligence of the water.
Mix all the water from the different containers into one big one and mix it thoroughly. Shaken, not stirred. Get a fresh container and mostly fill it with a measured amount of fresh water, and mix in 1/100 of the measure from your batch of water that’s been absorbing the harmful essence, and mix it thoroughly. Again, shaken, not stirred. Repeat another nine times.
Voila. Here’s your very own homeopathic protection from the evils of 5G.
Any time you feel the need of a top-up on your protection, take another dose. When it gets low, just top it up and mix thoroughly. Shaken, not stirred. The beauty of this homeopathic stuff is every time you have to top it up, the protection gets even more powerful.
That is correct, Andre…your comment says you don’t understand….
Multiple paragraphs of, trying to be funny was it….you’ve been called out before about just how poor you are when trying to be funny…among other things…
If you would like to discuss digital networks, design, security, risks, regulatory capture, frequencies, public health issues, and the already volumous data archives of damage caused east to west…by existing technologies…off you go…
Then we can also discuss the damage… next generation wireless technology, military grade weapons, the proposed (being deployed) IoT will be impart into humans, animals and the environment…
Start with mm wave pulse tech and small cell…we can pick it up from there…
In short, microwaves in the frequency ranges being considered for 5G carry their energy on photons with individual photon energies of .01milli-eV up to 0.2milli-eV.
It’s generally considered that electromagnetic radiation has no known health effects until the individual photons are carrying enough energy to actually start ionising atoms that absorb them. This generally requires around 12 eV or more, ie the photons need to be around 60 000 times more energetic. Photons with energy 12 eV and above are more commonly known as UV light.
So yeah, nah. I’m not bovvered about maybe catching maybe a maximum of 10W/m^2 (if I stand right next to a tower antenna) of microwaves that are too feeble to cause harm by a factor of 1/60000. Especially not when I’m copping something like 40W/m^2 of actually harmful UV radiation every time I’m exposed to that great thermonuclear reactor in the sky.
I really do wish these people talking about 5G would stop intoning “radiation” in ominous tones as if there’s a bit of essence of Chernobyl in every device. Electromagnetic radiation in the form of visible light, microwaves, radio waves etc really isn’t scary and has absolutely nothing to do with radioactivity.
I really do wish these people talking about 5G would stop intoning “radiation” in ominous tones as if there’s a bit of essence of Chernobyl in every device.
Radiation emitting in the form of EMFs from transmitting devices are a form of radiation…or are you saying you do not understand what is well documented, and agreed upon?
Electromagnetic radiation in the form of visible light, microwaves, radio waves etc really isn’t scary and has absolutely nothing to do with radioactivity.
Yes, Andre…it does…just not the false equivalence you have attempted to dismiss it as being compared to chernobyl…or the sun…
You’re not bovvered (cool saying)…that’s fine…you won’t need to keep replying…
Radiation as a word has a very broad meaning – in its most general sense it means just about anything travelling outward from a source. It could even be used to refer to, say, the radiation outwards of an introduced pest species from its point of introduction.
In electromagnetics, as in radiation of radio waves or microwaves or light or x-rays or gamma rays, it means electromagnetic energy travelling outwards from a source at the speed of light, with the energy carried by particle-like zero-mass photons with defined relationships between the wavelength, frequency, and energy carried by each photon. At low photon energies, the only detectable effects of these photons is heating whatever absorbs them. At higher energies, above around 12 eV per photon, an atom absorbing a photon generally gets an electron knocked free and then becomes chemically reactive. DNA damage etc. 12 eV per photon corresponds to UV light. As the photon energy increases, the spectrum shifts into X-rays and then gamma rays.
Radiation as in Chernobyl style radioactivity refers more to atoms with unstable nuclei. These unstable nuclei decay by emitting alpha particles (basically a helium nucleus), beta particles (electrons) and gamma rays (photons carrying huge amounts of energy). This kind of radiation is really bad juju biologically because not only are there ionising particles getting released to cause weird chemical reactions in weird places, but also with alpha or beta decay, the original atom has turned into a different kind of atom. Which really fucks up the biological process it was a part of. For instance, Iodine is really important in thyroid function, and unstable Iodine 131 is really common in nuclear fallout. Iodine 131 typically beta and gamma decays to Xenon 131, which is a completely inert noble gas.
The only thing linking electromagnetic radiation with radioactivity radiation is some radioactivity radiation is a very specific, highly dangerous type of electromagnetic (photon) radiation with very limited highly specialist uses (such as inspecting pipeline welds).
BTW One Two, this really isn’t for your benefit. It’s in case any lurkers are interested.
Andre, I’ve got no reason to doubt your comments about the safety of 5G technology/radiation as far as biological systems go, but suppose it’s possible that some deleterious effects might be found (going forward), once the experiment is underway on a large scale, simlar to the public offering of Merck’s Vioxx.
I’d like to see evidence of some balance and caution on the part of 5G advocates – too much gun-ho hype for me. Three decades ago, who would have thunk that global insect populations might collapse any time soon?
How necessary is the 5G rollout? It seems like a form of growth – what sort of physical resources (space and materials) will be consumed (as opposed to recycled) for the rollout? Many/most of us may eventually become reliant on a 5G network – is 5G more or less reliant/secure than the current network? And how soon before 6G?
“Let me be very clear: Five years from now your smartphone will be using 4G almost all the time, even when you’ve got a 5G phone in a 5G city.”
In the case of Vioxx, Merck actually had enough information that they should have talked through with the FDA pre-release and if it was still approved, should have included a shitload of contra-indication information. That they failed in their duty of disclosure was the basis for the legal pummeling they rightly took. (Disclosure: my grandmother passed down a chunk of Merck shares I still own)
In the case of potential health effects of 5G, there’s no known mechanisms for the microwaves at the proposed frequencies and power levels to actually cause harm. Nor is there any credible empirical evidence of actual harm being caused by previously unknown mechanisms. Furthermore, the extremely rapid attenuation of the 60GHz signal by atmospheric oxygen means the signals will be less present in areas away from towers, in case you’re wondering if there’s anything to the idea the insects are getting scrambled by all the radio and microwave signals we’re sending around already.
So in this case, invoking the precautionary principle because of a very nebulous ‘we don’t know everything’ is at a level where it could be invoked against absolutely every action and non-action ever contemplated.
Thanks Andre, I’ll take “there’s no known mechanisms” as an acknowledgement that we cannot be certain about the effects (positive or negative) of widespread 5G networks on biological systems. (Disclosure: I’m not a cellphone user, so am unlikely to benefit directly from any 5G rollout, but acknowledge that there will be costs and benefits.)
It’s the routine acknowledgement of the limits of knowledge that most scientifically minded people make when looking at a new situation.
It’s not in any way a suggestion to take seriously some random that decides they don’t like something new and has no facts or generally accepted theory to back up their objection so they just make up a whole bunch of maybes and dress it up in pseudoscientific gobbledygook. (DMK, I’m not accusing you of this. Others, yes, but not what you’ve written). Particularly when past very similar objections to similar new situations have been thoroughly examined and found meritless.
“Nor is there any credible empirical evidence of actual harm being caused by previously unknown mechanisms.” – it’s not the previously unknown mechanisms that I’m speculating about.
Are you sure about your recipe?
I have heard that it only works if you alternate between shaking and stirring. First dilution shake. Second time stir. And so on.
That’s what I have been doing. Perhaps that is why it hasn’t been working for me?
I actually have compliment Farrar at this point because he put a post up this morning on this very story and nowhere did he lie like Hosking and alwyn have by saying these houses were “on the open market”
The right wing were cock-a-hoop when they settled upon ‘Angry Andy’ as their special descriptor for Andrew Little. It had the advantage of being easy to grasp which was perfect for them.
JA indirectly coined a phrase, ‘Simple, Simon’ but it is one which we on the socially conscious left, being shy of such phrases, won’t pursue because it is harmful for people with learning disabilities to be compared with Simon Bridges.
After seeing pictures of Simon’s desperate finger pointing in Parliament today I couldn’t help but think he is every bit as angry as Andrew Little was purported to be, and equally as pumped up as the ponytail-puller when accusing Labour of supporting rapists.
So why not create a moniker for Simon Bridges? Here’s a few:
Racist Simon Whoops, not alliteration.
Stroppy Simon
Unbuilt Bridges
Quarrelsimon
Lying Simon
Bumbling Bridges Dead man walkingSorry, we don’t know that at this stage
Barking Bridges
Dickhead
That’s all I got. I also do birthdays and bar mitzvahs.
You are trying far to hard.
That and the fact that you don’t have any truly imaginative or witty options.
Why don’t you take lessons from the master of putdowns. Learn from the lycra clad Speaker of the House. Admire the skill of the “Right Honourable” Trevor Mallard.
In one simple aside he produced the only nickname that will outlive both him and the subject of the slur.
“Silly Little Girl” or, abbreviated SLG.
He announced his description in Parliament. He claimed he had heard it said by someone on his deaf side but it was clearly all his own work. No-one else ever heard it and try as they could it was never detected on the tapes of business in the house. Short and sweet. Widely used by the subjects friends(?) and foes. Absolutely fitting because of the accuracy of the description.
Still, it will live for the remaining 20 months of his targets political career, and of his own. Simple but memorable. It will last in the same way that “Piggy” defined Muldoon. Short, simple and a perfect summary of its subject.
Learn from the master oh diesel soaked seagull. Your puerile attempts here really don’t qualify.
How ironic that on Huawei the Ardern government has sided with Trump’s US at their request, and the Bridges opposition is siding with the Communist Party of China.
What a strange world.
Perhaps Simon should take a trip to Beijing to speak directly to the CPC on how to ‘resolve’ this issue…
There are some signs that Kiwiblog is creaking under the strain of National falling in the polls under the leadership of Simon Bridges. I suspect David Farrar is very busy right now.
Several days in the last two weeks have been missing a general debate thread, unannounced, much to the chagrin…
Kiwiblog’s General debate is certainly more popular than the one here though isn’t it MB?
As of 9.00am today the General debate there for 13/02 had received 84 comments.
The one here had only 3.
Even some of the most dedicated contributors to this site are commenting much more frequently in Kiwiblog. I guess they just want an audience.
Perhaps you are right.
On the other hand Open Mike here today had received 35 comments as at 7.30pm.
General Debate on Kiwiblog had 480 at the same time.
I think you have to look at the demographic of the average KB commenters.
Angry, white, middle-aged, lonely and retired. People with a significant amount of time on their hands to get worked up and say awful things about Jacinda Ardern.
That’s literally what those 480 comments are about – misogynistic and racist venting.
That’s all right.
I am willing to wager that it accurately describes most of the people who comment on this site.
Except for Jacinda Ardern of course. To most of the people who comment on this site she is an amalgam of Saint Teresa, Madame Curie, Gina Lollobrigida and Hillary Clinton. I’ve chosen a bunch of oldies as I think the term “late” middle-aged is appropriate.
On the other hand they don’t seem to realise that, like Elvis, John Key has left the building. The demented raging about him never ceases to amaze me.
I think you are a bit unfair to the Kiwiblog commentators though. At least half of them seem to be reasonably rational.
It is the right wing comments on Whaleoil that most resemble the Left wing ones here. Crazy all of them.
I’d say about 15% are “reasonably rational”. 2/3rds are unhinged and abusive people with some serious personality disorders, and then there’s at least another 15% who appear to be very dangerous psychopaths.
Have you amended your incorrect assertion that the six Wanaka Kiwibuild houses are now “on the open market”?
Wow, I assume you have no training in psychiatry.
Your judgement never was terribly good. You still seem to be one of those suffering from a very bad case of Key Derangement Syndrome.
Incorrect assertion about the Kiwibuild houses?
You seem to be about the only person in New Zealand who believes your claim
I think Stuff got it absolutely right when they created the headline for this article. https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/110468062/six-wanaka-kiwibuild-houses-on-open-market
You, on the other hand told some real porkies about Kiwibuild.
Was it not you who claimed that three bedroom homes were always going to be about $650,000?
Yes it was. You didn’t even blush when it was proved that you were lying about the matter.
Give it up. Your favourite idiot, Phool Twitford has stuffed this up royally.
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Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
Claire Mabey reviews the haunting and sexy debut novel from Sinéad Gleeson, who is about to touch down in Aotearoa for a string of live events.When Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson was in Aotearoa in 2018 with her spectacular collection of essays, Constellations, she told me she was working on ...
PNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...
Where some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game.Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.”Some think that’s ...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...
Jamie Arbuckle, the district councillor who became an MP but decided to keep getting paid for both roles, will instead donate one salary to charity. ...
Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an 18-year-old who’s studying and working in hospo shares their approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Transmasc Age: 18 Ethnicity: Pākehā/Māori Role: Student, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Resources Minister Shane Jones has reportedly asked officials for advice on whether oil and gas companies could be offered “bonds” as compensation if drilling rights offered by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Gleeson, Associate Professor of Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock The Albanese government is weighing up the costs of delivering an election promise to protect religious people from discrimination in Commonwealth law. Such protections were relatively uncontroversial when included in state anti-discrimination ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio Dementia is often described as “the long goodbye”. Although the person is still alive, dementia slowly and irreversibly chips away at their memories and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judy Bush, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Adam Calaitzis/Shutterstock I met with a friend for a walk beside Merri Creek, in inner Melbourne. She had lived in the area for a few years, and as we walked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Throsby, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Macquarie University Arts companies and individual artists in Australia are supported by government arts agencies, philanthropists, industry bodies, private donors and patrons. However, it is frequently overlooked that a major source of support for the arts ...
Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa, a new incorporated society dedicated to ending harmful drug policies, officially launched today, seeks a new fit-for-purpose drug law for Aotearoa New Zealand, rooted in science, experience and evidence. ...
The Corrections Minister admits he "muddied the water" after he and the Prime Minister repeatedly provided incorrect information about a $1.9 billion prison spend-up. ...
It took a post-post-cabinet statement to confirm that 810 new beds will be built at Waikeria, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Lili Tokaduadua was only 15 when she left her family in Fiji to pursue her netball dream in New Zealand. She’d been playing the sport for 10 years and was offered a netball scholarship at Auckland’s Howick College. Now, in her first year out of high school, the 19-year-old defender ...
The beloved local grocers lost a legal challenge to stop a new cycleway outside their store. Joel MacManus reports. In the annals of New Zealand legal history, there are a few brave people who have dared to stand up to the powers that be, no matter how bleak the odds ...
How what we produce and what we eat connects us to the world beyond our shores, visualised. Walking around a supermarket or vege shop, it might be obvious that everything on the shelves came from somewhere. But you might ...
Professor Jemma Geoghegan, of the University of Otago, Otakou Whakaihu Waka, co-leads a Te Niwha project aimed at understanding how and where avian influenza could affect Aotearoa New Zealand, as the highly infectious H5N1 virus spreads globally. The virus has now spread to all continents except Oceania and was recently ...
Thirty years on from Rwanda’s genocide, is guilt over the atrocities is blinding the world to the true nature of its current leadership? The post The repressive underside of Rwanda’s regime appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: Last week, important recommendations for our criminal justice system were made by the international community. Every five years, each member of the United Nations has its human rights practices reviewed. This rolling event – the Universal Periodic Review – is the culmination of a government reporting on its human ...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza – H5N1, or bird flu – has been flying around the world since the late 1990s. New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands are so far free of it, but now it’s been discovered in mainland Antarctica and scientists say it’s only a matter of time ...
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The following interview with auto electrician and former caver Stu Berendt, 68, of Charleston on the West Coast, came about because he was part of the caving team that found the rare and amazing fossil remains of the giant Haast eagle, the subject of one of the year’s best books, ...
“””The recent Fed Farmers survey is a shocker – worst farmer confidence since 2009 when the Global Financial Crisis was biting hard. While international issues like Brexit and potential trade wars are causing concern most of the pessimism is resulting from Govt policies like:
– Cancelling Crown Irrigation funding
– Halving R&D funding
– Increased union access
– Fertiliser tax
– Water tax
– Restricted hill country cropping
– Regulated winter grazing
– Failing to support Taratahi””
Found this on Facebook from guy .what’s true and what’s bull
https://www.national.org.nz/headwinds_affecting_farmers_confidence
The only one I agree with so far is the failure to support taratahi while bailing out city ucols.
It was great pathway to a good life for kids who like it outside.
How much money did Taratahi need for their bail out?
Wonder why they needed bailing out?
Could it be a result of bad management, a bit like nathan guy with micro plasma bovis and other bio-security issues that happened on his watch?
Edit…
Found some info…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/110008671/low-student-numbers-and-mounting-debts-sunk-taratahi-agricultural-training-centre
Cinny
A bad situation still for Taratahi and Telford. The very mainstay of our country’s enterprise, the agricultural sector, having agricultural education treated as if its product had little value and could be abandoned as just another private enterprise profit-maker.
Taratahi had a give a little page which raised about $5,700 from 48 donors, not a huge purse of support from the farming community during its nine days from January 14-23rd. It’s hard to warm to farmers at the moment, as they don’t show their communitys’ support for matters that would seem to benefit them most.
I understood that the whole purpose of introducing business thinking into government and governance management was to ensure that the public sector didn’t get moribund. Now it’s gone to the level that making a profit and meeting tough and possibly unrealistic targets have become the main priorities for anything government-oriented.
It has shown how dangerous it is to listen to clever bums on seats, who might have been brought up on farms, but don’t have the necessary commitment to devising policies for a smart, fairly run, intelligence, and experientially-based, business and workforce. Evidence-based policy would put paid to most of the lala land stuff from economists and private business’ PR- merchants who think they can walk on water.
The good news is that the government is bailing Taratahi or Telford or both out for this year and it comes under the umbrella of the Southern Institute of Technology. But there is not absolute certainty about its future. (Seems another dropped goal as a result of being fiscanally retentive.)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/110387166/editorial-over-the-bills-and-farm-away
The final point asks a question – …[we’re left] wondering aloud whether the likes of the Tertiary Education Commission, NZQA and Tertiary Education Union might have quietly contributed a measure of helpfulness.
Is it a case of advisors and bureaucrats with desk-sized viewpoints and future visions, taking a leading role in shredding us along their dotted lines?
https://educationcentral.co.nz/hipkins-great-outcome-for-telford-students/
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/south-otago/work-secure-future-just-beginning
https://www.taratahi.ac.nz/
This from Wairarapa 7 Feb 2019 : https://times-age.co.nz/its-gone/
Thanks for explaining Grey.
So it’s coming under S.I.T instead that’s got to be the start of a good thing for those wanting to learn the farming trade.
Something else caught my eye today re tertiary institutions and bad management.
Wintec and their spend up…
Wintec’s new boss, who was on big-spending trips to Asia with former chief executive Mark Flowers, won’t explain where taxpayers’ money was spent.
” So far the publicly funded polytech has spent more than $500,000 on lawyers, spin doctors, security guards and reports over three years, during which time Flowers refused to be interviewed.
Meanwhile, the woman who led Wintec Council during the time of the travel spending says taxpayers got “value for money”, while Wintec bosses’ wined and dined on the public purse during business trips to Asia.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/110527766/former-wintec-chair-says-taxpayers-got-value-for-money
I’m left wondering if the prior government encouraged institutes to over inflate a focus on overseas students. And as a result institutions were ‘banking’ on more students than they should, maybe even spending more money than they should trying to lure overseas students.
how much of this ‘confidence’ is because of the unknown?
it must be a tad unnerving to have a new regime in that is making noises about tackling climate change and cleaning up water ways.
i realise that farmers aren’t the only cause of those two issues, but the ag and horticuture sectors seemed well protected by keys mob; not fully involved in the workplace health and safety reforms, not part of the ETS…
Hawkesby has her answer to why voters don’t like Simon Bridges, just watch his ridiculous shouty rant in parliament today, By contrast the PM was superb and Winston could easily have been channeling Spike Milligan. I hope Winston is around for another term or two, he seems just like a good malt to get better with age.
Kat LOL
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6652665/The-60-Australian-suburbs-access-5G-mobile-coverage-did-make-list.html
Optus Australia 5G human/environment testing…
I make no comment on TDM, except the level of PR again has no mention of health issues being gathered around the globe…
In Australia there will be at least 3 core 5G networks all requiring vast raw materials to biild the infrastructure, and each with their own sites to mount the radiative antennae…public sites like lamposts etc..
OPTUS
TELSTRA
VODAFONE
TPG have pulled back citing non availability of Huawei gear in Australia
The comments section is worth a look.
5G is disturbing but it was clearly planned for a decade in advance. I always wondered why there were poles on the motorway every few hundred meters massively overspec for anything we had like cameras, cellsites.
Dunno why yer getting worried about it.
All ya gotta do is get yerself a 5G device, make sure it’s charged, turn it on. Put it where it gets the best signal strength, get some glass bottles or jars full of water, and stack them around your device. Leave it for a week or so and it will absorb the full spectrum of harmful emanations, vibrations and radiations into the innate intelligence of the water.
Mix all the water from the different containers into one big one and mix it thoroughly. Shaken, not stirred. Get a fresh container and mostly fill it with a measured amount of fresh water, and mix in 1/100 of the measure from your batch of water that’s been absorbing the harmful essence, and mix it thoroughly. Again, shaken, not stirred. Repeat another nine times.
Voila. Here’s your very own homeopathic protection from the evils of 5G.
Any time you feel the need of a top-up on your protection, take another dose. When it gets low, just top it up and mix thoroughly. Shaken, not stirred. The beauty of this homeopathic stuff is every time you have to top it up, the protection gets even more powerful.
Dunno why yer getting worried about it
That is correct, Andre…your comment says you don’t understand….
Multiple paragraphs of, trying to be funny was it….you’ve been called out before about just how poor you are when trying to be funny…among other things…
If you would like to discuss digital networks, design, security, risks, regulatory capture, frequencies, public health issues, and the already volumous data archives of damage caused east to west…by existing technologies…off you go…
Then we can also discuss the damage… next generation wireless technology, military grade weapons, the proposed (being deployed) IoT will be impart into humans, animals and the environment…
Start with mm wave pulse tech and small cell…we can pick it up from there…
Well OneTwo – One thing’s for sure, he’s a helluva lot funnier than you.
Well, here’s a good discussion of the actual physics around the likelihood of the electromagnetic energy from 5G causing any health effects.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4629874/
In short, microwaves in the frequency ranges being considered for 5G carry their energy on photons with individual photon energies of .01milli-eV up to 0.2milli-eV.
It’s generally considered that electromagnetic radiation has no known health effects until the individual photons are carrying enough energy to actually start ionising atoms that absorb them. This generally requires around 12 eV or more, ie the photons need to be around 60 000 times more energetic. Photons with energy 12 eV and above are more commonly known as UV light.
So yeah, nah. I’m not bovvered about maybe catching maybe a maximum of 10W/m^2 (if I stand right next to a tower antenna) of microwaves that are too feeble to cause harm by a factor of 1/60000. Especially not when I’m copping something like 40W/m^2 of actually harmful UV radiation every time I’m exposed to that great thermonuclear reactor in the sky.
I really do wish these people talking about 5G would stop intoning “radiation” in ominous tones as if there’s a bit of essence of Chernobyl in every device. Electromagnetic radiation in the form of visible light, microwaves, radio waves etc really isn’t scary and has absolutely nothing to do with radioactivity.
I really do wish these people talking about 5G would stop intoning “radiation” in ominous tones as if there’s a bit of essence of Chernobyl in every device.
Radiation emitting in the form of EMFs from transmitting devices are a form of radiation…or are you saying you do not understand what is well documented, and agreed upon?
Electromagnetic radiation in the form of visible light, microwaves, radio waves etc really isn’t scary and has absolutely nothing to do with radioactivity.
Yes, Andre…it does…just not the false equivalence you have attempted to dismiss it as being compared to chernobyl…or the sun…
You’re not bovvered (cool saying)…that’s fine…you won’t need to keep replying…
Radiation as a word has a very broad meaning – in its most general sense it means just about anything travelling outward from a source. It could even be used to refer to, say, the radiation outwards of an introduced pest species from its point of introduction.
In electromagnetics, as in radiation of radio waves or microwaves or light or x-rays or gamma rays, it means electromagnetic energy travelling outwards from a source at the speed of light, with the energy carried by particle-like zero-mass photons with defined relationships between the wavelength, frequency, and energy carried by each photon. At low photon energies, the only detectable effects of these photons is heating whatever absorbs them. At higher energies, above around 12 eV per photon, an atom absorbing a photon generally gets an electron knocked free and then becomes chemically reactive. DNA damage etc. 12 eV per photon corresponds to UV light. As the photon energy increases, the spectrum shifts into X-rays and then gamma rays.
Radiation as in Chernobyl style radioactivity refers more to atoms with unstable nuclei. These unstable nuclei decay by emitting alpha particles (basically a helium nucleus), beta particles (electrons) and gamma rays (photons carrying huge amounts of energy). This kind of radiation is really bad juju biologically because not only are there ionising particles getting released to cause weird chemical reactions in weird places, but also with alpha or beta decay, the original atom has turned into a different kind of atom. Which really fucks up the biological process it was a part of. For instance, Iodine is really important in thyroid function, and unstable Iodine 131 is really common in nuclear fallout. Iodine 131 typically beta and gamma decays to Xenon 131, which is a completely inert noble gas.
The only thing linking electromagnetic radiation with radioactivity radiation is some radioactivity radiation is a very specific, highly dangerous type of electromagnetic (photon) radiation with very limited highly specialist uses (such as inspecting pipeline welds).
BTW One Two, this really isn’t for your benefit. It’s in case any lurkers are interested.
Andre, I’ve got no reason to doubt your comments about the safety of 5G technology/radiation as far as biological systems go, but suppose it’s possible that some deleterious effects might be found (going forward), once the experiment is underway on a large scale, simlar to the public offering of Merck’s Vioxx.
I’d like to see evidence of some balance and caution on the part of 5G advocates – too much gun-ho hype for me. Three decades ago, who would have thunk that global insect populations might collapse any time soon?
How necessary is the 5G rollout? It seems like a form of growth – what sort of physical resources (space and materials) will be consumed (as opposed to recycled) for the rollout? Many/most of us may eventually become reliant on a 5G network – is 5G more or less reliant/secure than the current network? And how soon before 6G?
“Let me be very clear: Five years from now your smartphone will be using 4G almost all the time, even when you’ve got a 5G phone in a 5G city.”
https://www.cio.co.nz/article/647482/why-5g-will-disappoint-everyone/
In the case of Vioxx, Merck actually had enough information that they should have talked through with the FDA pre-release and if it was still approved, should have included a shitload of contra-indication information. That they failed in their duty of disclosure was the basis for the legal pummeling they rightly took. (Disclosure: my grandmother passed down a chunk of Merck shares I still own)
In the case of potential health effects of 5G, there’s no known mechanisms for the microwaves at the proposed frequencies and power levels to actually cause harm. Nor is there any credible empirical evidence of actual harm being caused by previously unknown mechanisms. Furthermore, the extremely rapid attenuation of the 60GHz signal by atmospheric oxygen means the signals will be less present in areas away from towers, in case you’re wondering if there’s anything to the idea the insects are getting scrambled by all the radio and microwave signals we’re sending around already.
So in this case, invoking the precautionary principle because of a very nebulous ‘we don’t know everything’ is at a level where it could be invoked against absolutely every action and non-action ever contemplated.
Thanks Andre, I’ll take “there’s no known mechanisms” as an acknowledgement that we cannot be certain about the effects (positive or negative) of widespread 5G networks on biological systems. (Disclosure: I’m not a cellphone user, so am unlikely to benefit directly from any 5G rollout, but acknowledge that there will be costs and benefits.)
“…no known mechanisms …”
It’s the routine acknowledgement of the limits of knowledge that most scientifically minded people make when looking at a new situation.
It’s not in any way a suggestion to take seriously some random that decides they don’t like something new and has no facts or generally accepted theory to back up their objection so they just make up a whole bunch of maybes and dress it up in pseudoscientific gobbledygook. (DMK, I’m not accusing you of this. Others, yes, but not what you’ve written). Particularly when past very similar objections to similar new situations have been thoroughly examined and found meritless.
“Nor is there any credible empirical evidence of actual harm being caused by previously unknown mechanisms.” – it’s not the previously unknown mechanisms that I’m speculating about.
🙂
Are you sure about your recipe?
I have heard that it only works if you alternate between shaking and stirring. First dilution shake. Second time stir. And so on.
That’s what I have been doing. Perhaps that is why it hasn’t been working for me?
Succussion, good sir. It must be succussion and only succussion.
However, the flaws introduced into your preparation by your unfortunate stirring are sufficient to account for the content of your commentary here.
They still suck at housing particularly disabled with multi year waiting lists and in certain regions generally but yeah pretty good result.
Yes well 11 in Whangarei today. Multi year…. so not during this Goverments’ time?
Here is a further lie from the RWNJs. Hosking now promoting complete untruths about Kiwibuild.
He also claims the houses which weren’t able to be sold in the original ballot are now “on the open market”.
They are not “on the open market” because any buyer must be Kiwibuild eligible.
Someone really needs to take these clowns to task on this but I expect the government is too busy soaring in the polls…
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12202920
I actually have compliment Farrar at this point because he put a post up this morning on this very story and nowhere did he lie like Hosking and alwyn have by saying these houses were “on the open market”
Good for him.
Good cop; bad cop? Bit cynical of me eh?
Alliteration game.
The right wing were cock-a-hoop when they settled upon ‘Angry Andy’ as their special descriptor for Andrew Little. It had the advantage of being easy to grasp which was perfect for them.
JA indirectly coined a phrase, ‘Simple, Simon’ but it is one which we on the socially conscious left, being shy of such phrases, won’t pursue because it is harmful for people with learning disabilities to be compared with Simon Bridges.
After seeing pictures of Simon’s desperate finger pointing in Parliament today I couldn’t help but think he is every bit as angry as Andrew Little was purported to be, and equally as pumped up as the ponytail-puller when accusing Labour of supporting rapists.
So why not create a moniker for Simon Bridges? Here’s a few:
Racist SimonWhoops, not alliteration.Stroppy Simon
Unbuilt Bridges
Quarrelsimon
Lying Simon
Bumbling Bridges
Dead man walkingSorry, we don’t know that at this stageBarking Bridges
Dickhead
That’s all I got. I also do birthdays and bar mitzvahs.
I like ShoutySimon”
Bad-timin’ Simon?
You are trying far to hard.
That and the fact that you don’t have any truly imaginative or witty options.
Why don’t you take lessons from the master of putdowns. Learn from the lycra clad Speaker of the House. Admire the skill of the “Right Honourable” Trevor Mallard.
In one simple aside he produced the only nickname that will outlive both him and the subject of the slur.
“Silly Little Girl” or, abbreviated SLG.
He announced his description in Parliament. He claimed he had heard it said by someone on his deaf side but it was clearly all his own work. No-one else ever heard it and try as they could it was never detected on the tapes of business in the house. Short and sweet. Widely used by the subjects friends(?) and foes. Absolutely fitting because of the accuracy of the description.
Still, it will live for the remaining 20 months of his targets political career, and of his own. Simple but memorable. It will last in the same way that “Piggy” defined Muldoon. Short, simple and a perfect summary of its subject.
Learn from the master oh diesel soaked seagull. Your puerile attempts here really don’t qualify.
The Seven Per Cent Solution.
(Since downgraded to “The Five Per Cent Solution.”)
Well that one is certainly better than any of the ones the titi one came out with.
Thanks Alwyn. Love your work, by the way.
Slick don’t need no steenkin nickname mutty.
Sidekick Simon.
Sinking Simon
Soymin – he’s as wobbly as the major ingredient of Malah Dofu, and he seems to be quietly sinified.
There is also the rather apt Simony – which those who’ve read Dante will recall is the sin of selling holy offices and roles.
Speaking of ‘wobbly’ –
Tacoma Bridges
“Fortunately, the only casualties were a car stored on the bridge, and a dog.”
How ironic that on Huawei the Ardern government has sided with Trump’s US at their request, and the Bridges opposition is siding with the Communist Party of China.
What a strange world.
Perhaps Simon should take a trip to Beijing to speak directly to the CPC on how to ‘resolve’ this issue…
There are some signs that Kiwiblog is creaking under the strain of National falling in the polls under the leadership of Simon Bridges. I suspect David Farrar is very busy right now.
Several days in the last two weeks have been missing a general debate thread, unannounced, much to the chagrin…
…do you know what? Who cares!
Kiwiblog’s General debate is certainly more popular than the one here though isn’t it MB?
As of 9.00am today the General debate there for 13/02 had received 84 comments.
The one here had only 3.
Even some of the most dedicated contributors to this site are commenting much more frequently in Kiwiblog. I guess they just want an audience.
Quantity has a quality all its own.
I guess you’re projecting.
Perhaps you are right.
On the other hand Open Mike here today had received 35 comments as at 7.30pm.
General Debate on Kiwiblog had 480 at the same time.
I think you have to look at the demographic of the average KB commenters.
Angry, white, middle-aged, lonely and retired. People with a significant amount of time on their hands to get worked up and say awful things about Jacinda Ardern.
That’s literally what those 480 comments are about – misogynistic and racist venting.
That’s all right.
I am willing to wager that it accurately describes most of the people who comment on this site.
Except for Jacinda Ardern of course. To most of the people who comment on this site she is an amalgam of Saint Teresa, Madame Curie, Gina Lollobrigida and Hillary Clinton. I’ve chosen a bunch of oldies as I think the term “late” middle-aged is appropriate.
On the other hand they don’t seem to realise that, like Elvis, John Key has left the building. The demented raging about him never ceases to amaze me.
I think you are a bit unfair to the Kiwiblog commentators though. At least half of them seem to be reasonably rational.
It is the right wing comments on Whaleoil that most resemble the Left wing ones here. Crazy all of them.
I’d say about 15% are “reasonably rational”. 2/3rds are unhinged and abusive people with some serious personality disorders, and then there’s at least another 15% who appear to be very dangerous psychopaths.
Have you amended your incorrect assertion that the six Wanaka Kiwibuild houses are now “on the open market”?
Wow, I assume you have no training in psychiatry.
Your judgement never was terribly good. You still seem to be one of those suffering from a very bad case of Key Derangement Syndrome.
Incorrect assertion about the Kiwibuild houses?
You seem to be about the only person in New Zealand who believes your claim
I think Stuff got it absolutely right when they created the headline for this article.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/110468062/six-wanaka-kiwibuild-houses-on-open-market
You, on the other hand told some real porkies about Kiwibuild.
Was it not you who claimed that three bedroom homes were always going to be about $650,000?
Yes it was. You didn’t even blush when it was proved that you were lying about the matter.
Give it up. Your favourite idiot, Phool Twitford has stuffed this up royally.
I’ve acknowledged I got that figure wrong even though $600K was a 2017 figure and house price increases easily allow for the difference.
You however are determined to spread the untruth that the houses are on the open market and seem incapable of backing away from that blatant lie.
You’ll get a lot of credit here if you manage to suck it up, be brave, and apologise for your mistake.