At a time when we are inundated with news of the end of the world, ideas of the way through are crucial. This one is brilliant – legislation that would enable all the things we need for Transition to happen. The great potential here is for change in a climate-meaningful timeframe.
Polly Higgins was a British lawyer who did extensive work on getting ecocide codified as a crime. Here Transition Towns founder Rob Hopkins shares Higgins’ idea of a Transition Enabling Act. – weka.
Why it’s time to revisit the idea of the Transition Enabling Act
Sometimes the very best ideas need to bide their time before they get picked up and adopted. I want to share one such idea which I was reminded about the other day and which I really think deserves renewed attention and focus. I think it could be one of the seminal and transformative ideas of our time. I’m posting it here to see what you think, for your reflections.
First, a short bit of history. In December 2010, Transition Finsbury Park and Transition Highbury organised a great event called Confronting Change, at the South Bank Centre in London. The speakers were Michael Meacher MP, the lawyer and originator of the concept of Ecocide Polly Higgins (both since sadly lost to us), and myself. In the conversation that followed our talks, Polly suggested the idea of what she called a ‘Transition Enabling Act’, a kind of yin to Ecocide’s yang, if you like, focusing on accelerating the good stuff rather than just stopping the bad stuff.
You can see the moment that the idea first came to her at 3:30 in the video below [2mins]:
She then goes on to elucidate the idea further at 5:45 in this video [1 min] and from 8:02 in this one [1 mins 30]
I love it when she describes it as “the biggest job creation scheme in world history”, because that’s exactly what it would be. The Transition Enabling Act (TEA) is a brilliant idea whose time, I think, has come. Here’s what I wrote at the time:
“Polly suggested that, in the same way that certain key pieces of enabling legislation have led to great advances in the past, perhaps the time is right for a Transition Enabling Act, designed not to ban lots of things, but positive legislation that enables all that needs to happen in order for Transition to scale up rapidly over the next 5 years”.
The idea was, as Polly explained, inspired by the Canal Enabling Acts of the Victorian times, which set out everything that needed to be changed in order to remove all of the obstacles to the rapid creation of the canals.
It is clearly possible to use legislation to unlock different approaches to development and economic change. The UK government’s current legislation on how to rapidly accelerate the creation of Freeports is one example of identifying the obstacles to something and creating legislation that removes all of those obstacles (enabling, in the case of the Freeports, a really dreadful thing to happen).
The morning after the Confronting Change event, Polly wrote to me. “My head has been spinning all night on this! How an umbrella ET Act could open the door to food/community land trusts, guerilla gardening/incredible edible, education/ transition universities, training, jobs – oh just oodles of things”.
I was reminded of these conversations with Polly about the TEA (as I will now call it) when last I week, in France, I was sat in a meeting in Muzillac in France with local officials and the local MP discussing Transition and how to accelerate it in their area. The local MP said something to the effect that “these are great ideas, and we’d love to do them, but there is so much regulation in place that stops these things from happening, so I’m not sure how possible it is”.
The meeting with local officials in Muzillac.
I replied that it would be so so tragic if our civilisation were to destroy itself simply because it didn’t have the regulations in place that would enable it to save itself. It was then that the idea of the TEA came back to me, and as I talked about it, I could see the MP scribbling furiously, inspired by the idea of being the one who brought such an idea before parliament.
Polly’s idea was that this law should be Open Sourced. She felt that all of the movements already trying to change things, community energy groups, sustainable food campaigns, land rights activists, community-led development groups, new economists, etc etc, should be asked two key questions:
1. What have you been unable/hindered in doing to create successful transitioning in your community?
2. If you are able to say, what would enable your proposal to happen?
(You can see how readers of my blog at the time answered those questions here).
The core question with a TEA, she wrote, is “whose rights take supremacy? Big business or the wider earth community (which includes humanity) … . our existing laws, which are predicated primarily in property not trusteeship laws, protect the rights of those who have the money to buy land and property over and above community use and stewardship”.
She added, “What I am doing here with the TEA is shifting the balance of rights in favour of the community so that the community can then determine what they want over and above the might of corporate and council decisions. At the moment, the onus is still on the community to prove their case each time. With a TEA … the shoe is placed firmly on the other foot – instead a council would have to justify why a supermarket should open if it could not satisfy the overarching principle of guaranteeing the good health and well-being of the community, i.e. why it is not sourcing all its food locally etc; a building development that was not using locally sourced energy and locally sourced materials etc would have to justify why it was failing to use local and sustainable materials that are low carbon etc. In other words, the unsustainable businesses/developments would suddenly become the exception, not the rule”.
A month later, she came back to me having given it more thought, with a more fleshed-out idea
Transition Enabling Act Overview
1. Ecological well-being for current and future generations is primary obligation
Welfare of the community:
Transition by communities to a cleaner, non-polluting lifestyle requires more than the proposed rights set out in the forthcoming Localism Bill (Rob’s note: the Localism Act was passed in 2011) the LB sets out, amongst other things, the community right to express an interest in decision-making (which can be rejected), the right to bid and the right to engage in referenda. To transition a community to a non-fossil fuel dependent, resilient and flourishing economy will require certain enabling provisions to be put in place, thereby embedding certain presumptions and prioritizing certain determinants that favour the transitioning community. For true resilience to be achieved, the intrinsic values of ecological and community well-being are the bedrock of a Transition Enabling Act.
By setting the highest standards for energy requirements, transport infrastructure, food and building materials etc. transitioning communities can be enabled to take action in a resilient direction when faced with times of crisis.
We do not yet have embedded in international law the freedom of a clean and healthy environment, which is a freedom that arises out of two rights: 1. the right not to be polluted, 2. the right to restorative justice. When both rights are applied, the result is the freedom of a healthy and clean environment. Many lawyers now increasingly believe that such rights should apply not only to people; they also apply equally to the natural environment as a whole. Some countries, such as the Philippines, have specified as a duty of the State to uphold the citizen’s rights to well-being, to health and a balanced and healthful ecology.
Philippines Constitution
Section 15, Article II: The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.
Section 16, Article III: The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature.
Governance:
Statements of rights are not in themselves sufficient to protect and ensure adherence. Leverage is required to ensure governance over those who fail to uphold the rights of another. For instance, high costs and the threat of vexatious litigation mounted by corporations can easily silence many eco-whistle blowers and citizens who would otherwise speak out when there is a failure to uphold standards. In April 2010 the Philippines implemented their Environmental Rules of Procedure. In so doing, they put in place various provisions to protect their citizen’s rights to ecological and community well-being. These include Environmental Protection Orders (EPO’s), waiving of court fees for those who act as Environmental Guardians ad litems and protection of the citizen against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (anti-SLAPP provisions). All of these provisions and more could be enacted under a Transition Enabling Act to enable transitioning communities in the UK to embed and provide protection of both their rights as well as local council and local business responsibilities to ecological and community well-being.
The UK Environment Agency will not take cases to court to prevent and/or halt and/or seek damages for environmental damage and destruction where it amounts to less than £0.5 million. Thus, without the ability for the community to self-police, this opens the door to accelerated damage, destruction and pollution. By enabling the community to police the situation on their territory, the government can effectively decentralize governance to the people (and save money). The above provisions and others listed below will open that door.
2. Local production of food is a necessity.
Current laws (e.g. international world trade rules, anti-competition laws) have created a legal presumption in favour of large-scale corporate production and supply. This has to be challenged if local communities are to be empowered to create their own supply networks and infrastructure to build resilience for the future. Local communities must have the right to self-determine how their food should be supplied in accordance with the primary obligation to ensure ecological and community well-being.
3. Transport and energy for community use and public well-being.
Transport and energy policy currently favours private ownership; e.g. single ownership of car and centralized supply of energy into homes. The shift of presumption from being in favour of private ownership to community stewardship enables shared use of resources especially important at times of scarcity. It also encourages the creation of community assets, such as community energy initiatives whereby the community can collectively bid for renewables to be bought in for the community as a whole.
Infrastructure for heating, lighting and movement within communities who are at risk of being adversely affected by fossil-fuel shortages has to be prioritized. Current legal presumptions favour centralized and private ownership, to the detriment of community ability to self-determine projects to protect their well-being. Nordic countries have laws that provide for decentralized energy systems to be put in place for communities; such mechanisms can be adopted here.
4. Land and buildings for community use and public well-being.
Provisions to enable communities to use land and buildings for the greater good of their community e.g. land for food growth, buildings for skill workshops etc. Land and buildings that are unused or infrequently used (e.g. empty office space, empty warehouses, churches) to be requisitioned/used part-time for community use. Community and ecological use and protection take precedence over and above commercial considerations.
Rental value of land (Land Value Taxation) can be implemented for community use buildings and land, thereby providing stable rent whilst creating an incentive for the community to create added value from the land and/or buildings. This would mitigate and may even eliminate chronic local economic problems by regenerating local economies and incentivizing relevant job creation schemes.
5. Enabling provisions checklist:
The Rights & Freedom
1. the right not to be polluted
2. the right to restorative justice
3. the freedom of a healthy and clean environment
The Responsibilities
4. duty of care by local councils for their communities’ health and ecological well-being
5. obligations to ensure ecological justice and provision for future generations.
Other
6. Communities to self-determine collectively by referendum (under new powers set out in the Localism Bill) whether to apply the Transition Enabling Act.
Enabling legislation required
7. Land Value Taxation for rental of land used for community purpose;
8. provision of services by local councils for transitioning communities, such as priority access to suppliers of low carbon sourced building materials and priority access to suppliers of local renewable energy schemes;
9. low carbon food incentives, such as priority procurement and subsidies for local low carbon food growing initiatives;
10. community first refusal over land and property use for food and energy purposes;
11. 10% tithe tax on local business for transition community purposes and for creating food and transport infrastructure;
12. Environmental Rules of Procedure to include Environmental Protection Orders, waiving of court fees, anti-SLAPP provisions and application of the Precautionary Principle;
13. simplification of setting up Community Land Trusts (see recent Scottish reform provisions for land use), Community Interest Companies and Charitable Incorporated Organisations (due late Spring 2011);
14. Community Training and Assistance Orders.
Bizarrely instead of removing barriers to action what seems to be being proposed here is more heavy handed regulation that would restrict people doing things that could actually lead to less environmentally damaging activity.
Take this notion of encouraging local food production as if this is a better approach to large scale global integrated food supply chains. NZ is a prime example of how many of the food that we produce has a lower carbon footprint EVEN taking in to account the cost of transporting to markets half way across the World. However the "Local is better" approach that would be part of this Transition Enabling Act would likely mean it would be difficult (if not impossible) to allow people in places like Europe to buy our products.
Lower carbon isn't enough Gosman. Consider a house fire and whether using 'more' water to put it out is sufficient, if the whole house is on fire and you decided to use buckets instead of a fire fighting hose connected to the mains water supply.
That we can produce beef with less climate/eco impact than US CAFOs is fairly meaningless if we still can’t put the fire out. (and the CAFO standard isn’t hard to beat).
We have targets, they give us a % chance of averting disaster. We need to meet those targets not hand wave vaguely towards them.
We absolutely won't be able to export food to Europe in the way we do now. Look at the carbon foot print of the whole supply chain to get lamb from Otago to London. It's not possible to do that without fossil fuels.
The big conversation there is how can NZ run an economy to keep us with a decent standard of living as well as meeting climate targets? And what is a decent standard of living in a climate emergency world?
The other factors here are food shortages. If we grow our own food in ways that are resilient, we can survive. If we instead rely on the global food supply system then we risk going hungry if/when it collapses. This is not fringe theory, this is mainstream concern now about climate impacts on crops, as well as the interruptions we have seen recently from pandemics and war.
None of that means we can't export anything. It means we need to rethink what food security is and how to build it in a climate world.
We absolutely won't be able to export food to Europe in the way we do now. Look at the carbon foot print of the whole supply chain to get lamb from Otago to London. It's not possible to do that without fossil fuels.
So what happens about food supply to Africa? We've already seen food shortages/famine as a result of the disrupted Ukraine wheat supply. Local agriculture there is problematic for a whole host of reasons (climate and political instability – both likely to get worse – among them).
If NZ no longer exports agricultural products – that's a huge swathe of our export economy gone. What do we use for foreign exchange for the stuff that we need – and can never produce/supply locally?
[I heard a snippet on the radio the other day, saying that NZ grows and supplies the vast majority of the carrot seed used worldwide – the inter-connectedness of our economies continues to astound me]
NZ is (or can be) reasonably self-sufficient in food terms (we might be eating more potatoes than pasta – but we will have something to eat). Meat and 3 veg might well be returning to our base menus.
It's all of the other things that we need to be a first world economy that we can't supply locally. Many of them we will never be able to produce (we lack the raw materials).
No-one is going to have a first world economy the way we conceive of it now. It's just not possible. This doesn't mean we become third world economies, it means we change how we do the whole thing. See Doughnut Economics for how that might work.
I didn't say NZ can't export anything. In fact I specifically said in the last paragraph we can.
Food for Africa should come from:
local food
regional food
food that can be transported longer distances with low emissions
Local and regional food increase food security even in continents like Africa. One of the problems some of the places in Africa have is they have been economically forced into cash cropping for the global supply chain instead of growing their own food. This means if the crop fails they have no money to pay to buy in food. This is absolutely insane. Consider what is going to happen when crops fail in a mass scale, do you think people being able to grow their own food are going to be better or worse off? Again, this isn't fringe theory, this is mainstream understanding of what is about to happen. The UN is promoting local food.
If NZ no longer exports agricultural products – that's a huge swathe of our export economy gone. What do we use for foreign exchange for the stuff that we need – and can never produce/supply locally?
Exactly, this is the conversation we need to have pronto. What would transition look like for NZ? How can we make more the things we need locally? How can we afford the imports of things we can't provide ourselves? This isn't an insurmountable problem once one gets past TINA and the way the global economy works now.
[I heard a snippet on the radio the other day, saying that NZ grows and supplies the vast majority of the carrot seed used worldwide – the inter-connectedness of our economies continues to astound me]
Imagine then what happens in a bad year, or a bad five years, if the NZ carrot see crops fail. It's a madness to put all eggs in one basket.
"We absolutely won't be able to export food to Europe in the way we do now. Look at the carbon foot print of the whole supply chain to get lamb from Otago to London. It's not possible to do that without fossil fuels."
Is this still current? I remember reading that about 20y ago, before the adoption of vertical orchards and forests, and advances in aquaculture. We don't just want the lesser of two evils, we want the actively good.
Behaviour also has something to do with it too – out of season food (that is necessarily organic, sunshine-fed, spring-watered etc) is as a fundamental right to many.
Gosman's thinking of BAU and comparing one polluter with a somewhat lesser polluter. We have so many ways of producing food regeneratively now. Making money out of it beyond people making a living and feeding that into the local economy is a different matter (one which I suspect drives Gosman's thinking).
I like this,
We don't just want the lesser of two evils, we want the actively good.
There is no such thing as actively good human activity. EVERYTHING we do has an negative impact on the environment at some level. The question is really is can the effects be mitigated and minimised to the extent it can be decreed to be sustainable.
Although that's a good point, does that always have to be the case? Are you saying there's no possibility of leaving the place better than we found it (better in terms of ecological/biodiverse value)?
The definition of "better" is a value judgement. Who decides what is environmentally better? Removing all people from NZ and allowing the countryside to revert back to nature might be regarded by some as better than doing what we are doing but it isn't really practical. Even the concept of regenerative farming is vague and open to criticism that it doesn't do what is promised (see: https://thecounter.org/regenerative-agriculture-racial-equity-climate-change-carbon-farming-environmental-issues/).
the people complaining about there being no definition of regenag, don't actually do regenag. There are some issues of accounting and research, but in terms of the actual growing, people just got on with it. And they know what it means.
Who decides what is environmentally better?
I don't know what you are getting at here. Do you accept that we (humans) know what climate change is, what is causing it, and what would slow it down and avert the worst disaster?
We will improve on what we have now and our limits for improvement will be up to us. Some injuries have been inflicted and can't be healed, but a great deal can be restored, revitalised and made more dynamic than ever before, because we are clever and can increase the speed at which nature "turns over" to the benefit of all. Case in point, coppicing.
There is no such thing as actively good human activity. EVERYTHING we do has an negative impact on the environment at some level. The question is really is can the effects be mitigated and minimised to the extent it can be decreed to be sustainable.
This is an incredibly cycnical pov. But also, it suggests that you don't understand what regenerative or sustainable is. This is enlightening for me, because now I get why the attachment to BAU is so strong. If you can't conceive of humans living as part of nature and being a benefit, then all that leaves is the death cult. This is sad.
(mitigating negatives effects doesn't make something sustainable)
Good and bad are not terms that serve discussions well. I prefer "energised" or "vital", maybe even "active" in discussing what to do and by those words I mean the sort of energy pollinating insects exhibit as they go about their activities, the behaviour of electrons as they whizz in orbit of nuclei, the sound water makes as it flows over the scales of a fast-swimming salmon, the sum of the percussions made by hail falling onto the surface of a lake, and so on. We need to break the deadlock language has set on our thinking and imaginations, in order to be able to create new ways of being, behaviours to recommend and pathways to follow 🙂
The suggestions would be more useful if they related to what we are already doing here.
As the EU has shown, the modern state can legislate all it likes but even in aggregate form it's not strong enough to manage a 'disorderly decarbonisation', which is what the EU looks like and it is the most prepared for the energy challenge of any set of states.
Just to focus on energy for a moment, in the next 48 hours we are about to go through a cold snap that Transpower is saying will test the grid.Vector in mid September also warned about expanding power from solar and wind without also investing in digital tech to manage peak time demand – for example when everyone is charging vehicles.
By mid December this year we will know whether New Zealanders are ready for accelerated renewables in large zones. In their absence and in a lack of demand-side measures the network isn't going to cope. All of those costs of transition are currently going to be found added to your power bills.
By 2023 there is mandatory reporting on climate risk by large companies, banks, insurers, Fonterra, you name it. It sure ain't going to be cured with back yard gardens that are tbh far more cost and trouble than they are worth.
We certainly need an Energy Transition Ministry to do what the EA can't do. But I'd struggle to see which politicians other than Shaw would have the ability to lead it. At the moment we are struggling to merge two public media entities.
By election 2023 we will see whether NZ business can really report so that everyone with investment in the outcomes ie pension fund holders can really see real change occurring. At that point Polly should pop over and take notes.
The suggestions would be more useful if they related to what we are already doing here.
I agree. I'll probably do a post about the NZ situation, this one was about the idea, and it was conceived of and written about by Brits. I hope you join in with some proactive ideas because you have a lot of experience and knowledge in the pragmatics of NZ's economy.
Just to focus on energy for a moment, in the next 48 hours we are about to go through a cold snap that Transpower is saying will test the grid.
In a sane climate response, the government and local authorities would be putting put public messaging for the past week advising people to save power and how to do that. This is not rocket science, and it's not difficult. It does conflict with profit making models and the current mindset about how things have to work.
Vector in mid September also warned about expanding power from solar and wind without also investing in digital tech to manage peak time demand – for example when everyone is charging vehicles.
Limits of growth. We can learn a new set of skills. Instead of trying shoehorn BAU capitalism and growth into a fantasy of green tech climate response. We don't have to let personal EVs drive the transition, it can be a smaller part.
By 2023 there is mandatory reporting on climate risk by large companies, banks, insurers, Fonterra, you name it. It sure ain't going to be cured with back yard gardens that are tbh far more cost and trouble than they are worth.
this really is an incredibly ignorant statement. Local food is backyard, growing for one's neighbours, town wide box schemes, urban farms, regional food growing and distribution systems, the Longwood Loop. Fonterra exists to support our planet destroying standard of living. We don't need Fonterra to eat. We do need resilient food systems, and we need to set them up now rather than waiting for the food shortages.
By election 2023 we will see whether NZ business can really report so that everyone with investment in the outcomes ie pension fund holders can really see real change occurring. At that point Polly should pop over and take notes.
Polly Higgins died in 2019. Which you would know if you had read the post properly.
Tax high earners, use that to replace the relentless commercial advertising of crap with more positive pROpAgNDa? It feels like there's plenty of will, but it's difficult for the disparate elements to cohere amid the grotesque consumerism reinforced by advertisement overload.
Is that why we have kids who really want to make a difference, but can't live without the latest phone or Tikitok, or that climate girl flying to Fiji. We want out but can't find the exit.
"It sure ain't going to be cured with back yard gardens that are tbh far more cost and trouble than they are worth."….disagree……sure initial outlay but you let some of your crop seed……you plant seed inside to get going…and you water and weed and rotate the crops………..instead of sitting in front of the goggle box……and you can preseve….freeze…….dehydrate and eat fresh…..grow your own and you won't a commercial vege again…….tomatoes that taste ….well… like tomatoes and as the song goes……"teach your children well"……
Do I garden? Yes. Does my garden contribute significantly towards my food intake over a year? Not really.
Yes, I grow fruit and veges (and have a very nice herb garden). And supplement my diet with those, rather than buying them.
Is it cheaper? Probably not. When I have tomatoes in season, they're also at their cheapest at the greengrocer. But, I agree, home-grown do taste good.
Can I freeze, dry, preserve them? Yes. But I also recognize that I come from a place of privilege there: I can afford a large freezer, can afford the electricity required to process and store, have the knowledge about how to water-bath preserve, etc., have space to store the preserved results.
Do I have the time? Yes. Again, that's a privilege. I have the time (and so far) the physical fitness required to spend time in the garden planting, weeding and harvesting. It's also preference. Gardening isn't everyone's cup of tea, and/or idea of how to spend their time well.
Do I have the space? Yes. A real privilege, here in Auckland – where most new townhouse developments have a 'garden' consisting of a pocket-handkerchief-size lawn. And, of course, apartments don't even have that.
Backyard gardening can be a nice supplement to your diet – but, for most people, and certainly most city people, it's very unlikely to be a significant contributor.
The days of the 'quarter-acre paradise' are gone.
Backyard gardening's supplementing of your diet is a minor consideration, it's the transforming of your thinking that's to be valued.
The message plants carry to the observant gardener is the one needed for transforming your thinking, outside of the complex.confusing, contradictory exchanges of ideas we are seeing on this thread 🙂
Given that I've been gardening for over 30 years – it seems to be taking a long time to kick in!
Reality is that people garden for a whole lot of reasons: family heritage (my mum would kill me if I bought lemons); convenience (I love my herb garden, and just being able to have thyme on hand, when I want it); taste (home-grown raspberries); curiosity (I wonder what these heritage beans taste like, and if I can grow them here); mental health (being outside, hands in the earth – even weeding is therapeutic – 'take that! oxalis'); contributing to the table (smug satisfaction of growing your own); educating kids (look what happens when we plant our peas, we can eat the strawberries when they're red, we can scrabble for new potatoes); even one-upping the neighbours! (yes, of course you can have some rosemary)
I agree that anyone pushing backyard gardening as if it is a viable and significant plank in what needs to happen in the next 5 years is barking up the wrong tree.
I just got it! I think it's the people who can't see the unwaged economy. If you can't count it in conventional economic terms, then it's just some marginal thing we shouldn't bother with.
They're probably also not aware of the very large movement in NZ of home gardening, community gardens, school gardens, small scale market gardens, farmers markets, and food forests! So many people I know produce excess from their garden and they give it away. Invisible economy.
I'm so grateful to have grown up on a 1/4 acre with most of the land not occupied by a house/shed/garage either in trees, shrubs or a large vegetable garden. Definitely bigger than the lawn we had to play on. Deep body memory of how it works.
I agree that anyone pushing backyard gardening as if it is a viable and significant plank in what needs to happen in the next 5 years is barking up the wrong tree.
Think about the resources needed to ship lettuces internationally compared to being able to harvest from one's garden, or neighbourhood. This is quite simple to understand. Run the whole process in your mind:
Growing
fertiliser (imported)
seed (imported)
ploughing (direct GHG emissions)
water use
Refrigerated storage
Packaging (including the whole process used to create that plastic)
Shipping
Domestic transport
Waste (of embodied energy, and waste to be disposed of)
It's bonkers that we think this is secure, viable, and not damaging to the environment.
Perhaps something with a longer shelf life than lettuces would be a better example. I've never bought (or even seen) an internationally shipped lettuce in NZ.
But, setting that aside. The only way to prevent off-season crops being imported would be to ban the import. No more California cherries in May.
No more bananas, ever (apart from the tiny % grown here).
Which runs into Trade deal issues. And risks reciprocation against our own agricultural produce being exported (not really 'risks' it would be just about guaranteed).
The alternative is to load on the $$$ for every stage of the 'carbon' process. Making imported goods so prohibitively expensive that only the truly wealthy can afford them.
I can't say that that's a scenario that I feel comfortable with (even if I was one of the people who could afford off-season cherries)
Part of the problem, I think, is that our international trade connections are so widespread. And, there are plenty of figures showing that NZ lamb (for example) uses less carbon (even when shipping is counted) than local production.
My point weka is that focussing on backyard gardening in particular, in the next 5 years, is a misallocation of resources.
Community or other wider gardening exercises is a different issue, because those things can actually scale to provide a meaningful amount of food.
My parents manage to provide probably about 1/2 of their vegetable needs, averaged over a year, from their garden – a significant feat. But they've been at it for 30+ years, they have all the skills, tools, experience, land and time to do it.
NZ produces such a huge amount of food – and we will continue to do so for the foreseeable future – that spending time fussing about at the margins with backyard gardening is a waste of time. In other countries like the UK and the US, and large Australian cities, it's a sensible and important thing to do. But NZ isn't those countries (thankfully).
In NZ we need to focus on sustainable farming methods, permaculture etc.
I think you are missing the point here Belladonna. Look at the whole systems. If 20% of people in a city grow half their own food, there are multiple benefits for them personally but it also means that that amount of food doesn't have to be grown and transported in highly carbon polluting ways. Now multiply that across NZ.
Now, put that alongside all the other things happening: community gardens and orchards and food forests, school gardens, urban farms. Then market gardening on the outskirts of the city. Compare that to shipping all that food long distances and the packaging and waste, power and water consumption.
I seriously doubt that anyone in a city is going to grow half their own food (well, I suppose if you count the rural areas of Auckland – but really, that's not 'city' or 'suburb')
I don't have an issue with buying local (though defining 'local' is a bit of a challenge – there is no such thing as a real farmers market in Auckland, for example – we're just too far away from actual market gardens). But expecting any significant contribution from backyard gardens (or community gardens – which only seem to operate in the wealthiest of suburbs), or school gardens (more of an education/science project than actual food contribution) – is not something that I can see working.
I guess, that you're saying that even a tiny contribution is better than nothing…. But I don't see it as transformational.
I can see Robert's point of personal gardening changing people's perspective as being more realistic.
I seriously doubt that anyone in a city is going to grow half their own food (well, I suppose if you count the rural areas of Auckland – but really, that's not 'city' or 'suburb')
Totally agree. As I said in a comment above, my parents can grow about 1/2 of all of their vegetable needs, averaged over a year, from their surburban garden. But they've been doing it for 30+ years, and have the experience, time and land to do it.
Note that I said vegetables. They still have to buy meat and fruit. And that's also averaged over a whole year – in Christchurch in winter there isn't a lot of edible food coming from the garden.
I can see Robert's point of personal gardening changing people's perspective as being more realistic.
exactly AND you grow it and control what goes into it with the result tastier and healthier food and you can go have a cup of tea with ya neighbour and give them a cauli
Unless you are on a quarter acre and own the property and are mostly retired, gardening for vegetables is just a very long virtue signal.
All those endless covers and pages of women's magazines with smiling bougies holding their baskets of greens and telling how they are changing the world is just a fat lie.
Annabelle Langbein for example, queen of all that homemade faux-working class chambray-shirted nonsense, lives on five acres with a full view of Lake Wanaka on title over $6m with a multimedia empire worth millions.
Just because you are irritated by wealthy celebrities who garden, or retirees on a certain square-meterage of land doesn't mean that your claim that gardening is "a very long virtue signal" is correct.
It is not.
Real food is produced by real people for real reasons, all over the motu.
Even people without gardens of any outdoor sort, can grow valuable food to supplement that which they have to buy. Sprouting seeds (sunflower, mung, lentils, peas etc.) on the kitchen bench then eating them fresh or processed in hummus and so on, is a real action that benefits those who take it and the carbon-wasting networks they don't use as a result.
Now it's just wilful ignorance. Maybe a reflection of your social circles. I know so many people that grow some or a large part of their fresh produce. Probably the majority of people I know, certainly too many to count. This includes people who rent and people who work. People garden for all sorts of reasons, including health, financial, and yes climate/ecology.
But sure, if the people you are following are Langbein, I can see why you don't understand what is going on. Don't want to diss AL, anyone who gardens is helping the world. Even wealthy upper middle class people.
I know people who provide a significant amount of the food from their own garden also. And I know that that is simply not achievable for 80%+ of the population.
Noting that this isn't the only example in this thread of people arguing against things that haven't been said.
So, to clarify (and I have said this already more than once), local food isn't only gardening, it's all the things,
home gardening
community gardens/orchards
school gardens
urban farming
small scale market gardens
large scale market gardens
cropping around cities
None of that precludes transporting food over greater distances, what it does is take the weight off those larger, more cumbersome and less resilient systems. People in Southland can still eat avocado, just get it from Nelson rather than Australia. People in Auckland can still eat oats, just get it from Otago rather than Canada.
For home gardening the skillset / knowledge has almost been entirely lost to the most recent generation especially in our cities.
Crop rotation, Variety selection, Seed collection and storage, Planting timing and even the means to preserve crops post harvest.
For most people a productive garden at home costs more than buying from the supermarket etc.
Small scale market gardens are in a similar situation with generational change, rapidly increasing capital / input costs combined with increasing crop losses (severe weather) making it less and less viable by the year.
I think the simplistic message is to eat seasonally.
Based on the current performance, if they had 1 billion to spend, they'd shut down the whole network while they upgraded it….for about 5 years or so…..
Auckland has had literally years of rolling stoppages – while Kiwirail and AT try to get their act together over train and track quality and maintenance. And now, train users are about to have another couple of years worth. It beggars belief that AT couldn't have been upgrading this piecemeal over the last 5 years – and now want to shut down the line, so they can do it in one operation.
It's very difficult to build support for a train network with this sort of continual disruption.
The destruction of much of the inner city business environment due to the CRL – has also informed a lot of the resistance to the government's light rail proposals. People see up close just what that kind of major disruption looks like – and don't want a bar of it.
The law (as discussed) seemed to be enabling legislation rather than prevention legislation. So my guess would be 'no'
The answer would be 'no'.
So let me get this straight
The law (as discussed), would ‘enable’ more wind turbines, more PV power stations, and more electric cars. But the law as discussed) would not prevent more coal mines being dug, or more fossil fuel industries being commissioned, or more oil wells being drilled, and more fossil fuels being burnt.
….perhaps the time is right for a Transition Enabling Act, designed not to ban lots of things, but positive legislation that enables all that needs to happen in order for Transition to scale up rapidly over the next 5 years”.
The idea was, as Polly explained, inspired by the Canal Enabling Acts of the Victorian times, which set out everything that needed to be changed in order to remove all of the obstacles to the rapid creation of the canals.
Unfortunately reading the above, I would have to agree with Belladonna that 'no' – the law as discussed) would not prevent more coal mines being dug, or more fossil fuel industries being commissioned, or more oil wells being drilled, and more fossil fuels being burnt.
With respect Weka, if you have any other interpretation, I would like to hear it;
She added, “What I am doing here with the TEA is shifting the balance of rights in favour of the community so that the community can then determine what they want over and above the might of corporate and council decisions.
At the moment, the onus is still on the community to prove their case each time. With a TEA … the shoe is placed firmly on the other foot – instead a council would have to justify why a supermarket should open if it could not satisfy the overarching principle of guaranteeing the good health and well-being of the community, i.e. why it is not sourcing all its food locally etc; a building development that was not using locally sourced energy and locally sourced materials etc would have to justify why it was failing to use local and sustainable materials that are low carbon etc.
In other words, the unsustainable businesses/developments would suddenly become the exception, not the rule”.
This seems a key point of the Act. To set a framework of values for transition. The Greens have been pushing the idea that each piece of legislation must be parsed through a climate emergency lens. This is a step further.
To go back to your original question about the government bailing out AirNZ, we have to bear in mind how critical it is to have a national airline given how far away from other countries we are (I assume this doesn't need explaining, I'm not talking shopping trips to Sydney). There is an obvious public good in keeping the airline going.
But I think what we can do is look at the concept and initial framework of the TEA and put out ideas on how it could be created. It's not set in stone, Higgins didn't write it for NZ, that's for us to decide how it would work here.
It's been interesting watching the response in this thread, the amount of naysaying effort that has gone into comments instead of looking at how it might work.
Even if you taxes the bejeesus out of international travel, it would only affect cattle class volumes a bit. For international travellers it's a rounding error.
Also if Kiwirail didn't teach you anything over the last 24 hours, it's throwing billions of dollars into an irreversibly sick industry. Every ticket you buy to get from Henderson to Auckland central is 70% paid for by everyone else, more if you count the CAPEX.
The transport bailouts per citizen on rail could buy AirNZ every year.
Also, I can't think of any price increase which would stop the super-rich flying their private jets (a much greater per-person impact than the poor slobs in cattle class).
After all, price is the capitalist way of rationing things.
The regional fuel tax for example was imposed as a disincentive to private car use.
The age of mass passenger air travel only really began in the '70s with introduction of the first wide body jets. Before that time, air travel was expensive.. As a result most people still used surface transport.
The amount of passenger air travel compared to today was miniscule. As was it's carbon footprint.
'The Jet Set'
Stop subsidising air travel, bring back the Jet Set, it's the capitalist way
The term 'Jet Set' once referred to that tiny minority of rich people with enough money to be able to afford to fly. You don't hear the term 'Jet Set' anymore, because of course millions of us fly. The term 'Jet Set' sounds oddly quaint and old fashioned almost from an other age, yet it is within living memory. Austin Powers generation would have used it.
(Yeah I know, fictional character and all that. But you get the meaning).
Yeah. Not greatly happy with entrenching privileges for the wealthy (or for politicians – who would still get their freebies, no doubt. Currently, the Speaker is on a junket through Latin America, with Ricardo Menéndez March from the Green Party in tow)
I don't know that we do a lot of ongoing subsidising of air travel. The 2 issues you've quoted were for crisis points – where (I understand) the Government bought a stake in the company, which was then repurchased over time.
So not a gift, or an ongoing subsidy (when the airline made profits, the Government got dividends, just like all other shareholders).
NZ governments seem to have believed that it's critical to the country to have an airline which is guaranteed to fly into NZ. That certainly paid dividends during the Covid disruption of air freight – when it was only Air NZ which was flying in and out of Auckland.
The regional fuel tax had zero success in reducing private car use (because most people don't have alternatives). Nor, do I believe that that was it's intended purpose. It was (and is) purely a cash cow for local government to use in funding transport projects.
A regional fuel tax provides a way for regional councils to raise revenue to fund transport projects in their region that would otherwise be delayed or not funded.
what!!….Kiwirail is more virtue singing huh?……..you would be appalled at what our roads would be like without rail and with carbon reduction big on the menu it is a necessity ….not to mention the heart and soul its employess put into it.
“We know the virus in New Zealand is a genetic match to a virus which caused illness in Sweden in 2020 and 2021. That illness had a possible link to frozen berries from Serbia.
The incidence of monkey pox in NZ is entirely due to the movement of people around the globe.
I was pointing to the equivalence of your "Global food supply" in the outbreak of HepA
HepA, Global food supply = Monkey pox, Global people supply.
Regardless of whether it's a food-borne infection, or a people-transmitted infection, our global world will see intercontinental spread of disease (as we all have recent familiarity with Covid)
It wold be an unusual multicellular animal that didn't travel with a few (trillion) "mostly harmless" passengers. The original Survivors series was gripping, with a great title sequence – the less long-lived 2008 'not a remake' wasn't bad either.
It seems like a really good idea to me. All those unadopted sustainable technologies – hemp & harakeke fibre, aquaculture & aquaponics, najeon chilgi, flood zone riparian crop trees & bushes, impact absorbing roadside planting – that have languished from want of interest for generations until we are well behind what were once much more degraded ecologies, could finally be brought to fruition.
Wait though, for the non-performing economists whose idea of growth is low quality mass migration and real estate inflation squeal that it can never work.
It's a nice, skilled, sustainable industry (paua shell & lacquer work for the non-Korean speakers – though turban shell is also used) – we can grow the trees, and it's a logical avenue of expression for some Maori art. Got a depressed area with no decent paying work? This might help – no greenstone required.
It demonstrates, once again, that there are answers but a lack of political will.
By political will, I mean individually as well as our employees in Wellys. Every dollar anyone spends is a political decision.
The notion that the supermarket is preferred over locally grown produce is all about convenience and turning a big blind eye to the diesel miles embedded in all that they sell. Also being willfully ignorant of the duopoly's treatment of the primary producers that sell through them.
The middle class needs to overcome it's addiction to convenience for us to rebuild economies.
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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. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
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 ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University Oleg Ivanov IL/Shutterstock Waiting times for public hospital elective surgery have been in the news ahead of this year’s federal budget. That’s the type of non-emergency surgery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Beaglehole, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago niphon/Getty Images The number of people accessing medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Aotearoa New Zealand increased significantly between 2006 and 2022. But the disorder is still under-diagnosed and ...
To celebrate the start of New Zealand music month, we look back at the best local tuneage that managed to weasel its way into Hollywood productions. There’s nothing quite like the thrilling zap of recognition when New Zealand weasels its way into a glamorous Hollywood production. Crack open a Tui ...
People trust other people more than institutions. So how can the media gain that trust through journalists without losing what’s important about the institution? Anna Rawhiti-Connell reflects on two years of curating the news for The Bulletin.Amonth ago, armed cops descended on my neighbourhood as calls to “lock your ...
A warning – suicide is discussed in this podcast New Zealand’s own long-running soap Shortland Street doesn’t hesitate to kill off its much-loved characters. But would TVNZ dare to kill off our favourite soap? That’s the fear as times get tough in television – even though it’s been pointed out ...
Essay: If the Crown harms children, how do you hold it accountable? Analysis by Aaron Smale in light of the Waitangi Tribunal court decision. The post The Crown versus Māori Children appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: PFAS – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are a class of thousands of man-made chemicals used widely in everyday consumer items such as textiles, packaging, and cookware, popular for their water, grease and stain-repellent properties. However, the very properties that make PFAS so attractive to manufacturers are also what ...
NONFICTION 1 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)’ This is the hottest book in New Zealand, number one with a bullet in its first week, selling more than any overseas title, and demand is so huge that it’s already been reprinted. A ...
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Perhaps this is the (hidden/not given) reason for the Government's movement toward reforming local government/TAs/regional councils?
Preparation for transition.
Bizarrely instead of removing barriers to action what seems to be being proposed here is more heavy handed regulation that would restrict people doing things that could actually lead to less environmentally damaging activity.
Take this notion of encouraging local food production as if this is a better approach to large scale global integrated food supply chains. NZ is a prime example of how many of the food that we produce has a lower carbon footprint EVEN taking in to account the cost of transporting to markets half way across the World. However the "Local is better" approach that would be part of this Transition Enabling Act would likely mean it would be difficult (if not impossible) to allow people in places like Europe to buy our products.
Lower carbon isn't enough Gosman. Consider a house fire and whether using 'more' water to put it out is sufficient, if the whole house is on fire and you decided to use buckets instead of a fire fighting hose connected to the mains water supply.
That we can produce beef with less climate/eco impact than US CAFOs is fairly meaningless if we still can’t put the fire out. (and the CAFO standard isn’t hard to beat).
We have targets, they give us a % chance of averting disaster. We need to meet those targets not hand wave vaguely towards them.
We absolutely won't be able to export food to Europe in the way we do now. Look at the carbon foot print of the whole supply chain to get lamb from Otago to London. It's not possible to do that without fossil fuels.
The big conversation there is how can NZ run an economy to keep us with a decent standard of living as well as meeting climate targets? And what is a decent standard of living in a climate emergency world?
The other factors here are food shortages. If we grow our own food in ways that are resilient, we can survive. If we instead rely on the global food supply system then we risk going hungry if/when it collapses. This is not fringe theory, this is mainstream concern now about climate impacts on crops, as well as the interruptions we have seen recently from pandemics and war.
None of that means we can't export anything. It means we need to rethink what food security is and how to build it in a climate world.
So what happens about food supply to Africa? We've already seen food shortages/famine as a result of the disrupted Ukraine wheat supply. Local agriculture there is problematic for a whole host of reasons (climate and political instability – both likely to get worse – among them).
If NZ no longer exports agricultural products – that's a huge swathe of our export economy gone. What do we use for foreign exchange for the stuff that we need – and can never produce/supply locally?
[I heard a snippet on the radio the other day, saying that NZ grows and supplies the vast majority of the carrot seed used worldwide – the inter-connectedness of our economies continues to astound me]
NZ is (or can be) reasonably self-sufficient in food terms (we might be eating more potatoes than pasta – but we will have something to eat). Meat and 3 veg might well be returning to our base menus.
It's all of the other things that we need to be a first world economy that we can't supply locally. Many of them we will never be able to produce (we lack the raw materials).
No-one is going to have a first world economy the way we conceive of it now. It's just not possible. This doesn't mean we become third world economies, it means we change how we do the whole thing. See Doughnut Economics for how that might work.
I didn't say NZ can't export anything. In fact I specifically said in the last paragraph we can.
Food for Africa should come from:
Local and regional food increase food security even in continents like Africa. One of the problems some of the places in Africa have is they have been economically forced into cash cropping for the global supply chain instead of growing their own food. This means if the crop fails they have no money to pay to buy in food. This is absolutely insane. Consider what is going to happen when crops fail in a mass scale, do you think people being able to grow their own food are going to be better or worse off? Again, this isn't fringe theory, this is mainstream understanding of what is about to happen. The UN is promoting local food.
Exactly, this is the conversation we need to have pronto. What would transition look like for NZ? How can we make more the things we need locally? How can we afford the imports of things we can't provide ourselves? This isn't an insurmountable problem once one gets past TINA and the way the global economy works now.
Imagine then what happens in a bad year, or a bad five years, if the NZ carrot see crops fail. It's a madness to put all eggs in one basket.
"We absolutely won't be able to export food to Europe in the way we do now. Look at the carbon foot print of the whole supply chain to get lamb from Otago to London. It's not possible to do that without fossil fuels."
Ummm…
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/countrylife/audio/2018843682/a-milestone-marked-for-meat-industry
Is this still current? I remember reading that about 20y ago, before the adoption of vertical orchards and forests, and advances in aquaculture. We don't just want the lesser of two evils, we want the actively good.
Behaviour also has something to do with it too – out of season food (that is necessarily organic, sunshine-fed, spring-watered etc) is as a fundamental right to many.
Gosman's thinking of BAU and comparing one polluter with a somewhat lesser polluter. We have so many ways of producing food regeneratively now. Making money out of it beyond people making a living and feeding that into the local economy is a different matter (one which I suspect drives Gosman's thinking).
I like this,
There is no such thing as actively good human activity. EVERYTHING we do has an negative impact on the environment at some level. The question is really is can the effects be mitigated and minimised to the extent it can be decreed to be sustainable.
Although that's a good point, does that always have to be the case? Are you saying there's no possibility of leaving the place better than we found it (better in terms of ecological/biodiverse value)?
https://www.boredpanda.com/brazilian-couple-recreated-forest-sebastiao-leila-salgado-reforestation/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
https://sea.mashable.com/social-good/15087/indonesian-man-plants-a-forest-with-11000-trees-all-by-himself
https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/12/26/572421590/hed-take-his-own-life-before-killing-a-tree-meet-india-s-forest-man
Farm based on respecting the ecosystem is sheltered from the changing market amid global food insecurity. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/3/the-lebanese-farm-regenerating-soil-for-a-healthier-future
The definition of "better" is a value judgement. Who decides what is environmentally better? Removing all people from NZ and allowing the countryside to revert back to nature might be regarded by some as better than doing what we are doing but it isn't really practical. Even the concept of regenerative farming is vague and open to criticism that it doesn't do what is promised (see: https://thecounter.org/regenerative-agriculture-racial-equity-climate-change-carbon-farming-environmental-issues/).
"EVERYTHING we do has an (sic) negative impact on the environment at some level."
Surely that's a value judgement as well, Gosman?
"Who decides what is environmentally better?"
You, it seems, decides what's "negative", yes?
Tricky discussion.
the people complaining about there being no definition of regenag, don't actually do regenag. There are some issues of accounting and research, but in terms of the actual growing, people just got on with it. And they know what it means.
I don't know what you are getting at here. Do you accept that we (humans) know what climate change is, what is causing it, and what would slow it down and avert the worst disaster?
We will improve on what we have now and our limits for improvement will be up to us. Some injuries have been inflicted and can't be healed, but a great deal can be restored, revitalised and made more dynamic than ever before, because we are clever and can increase the speed at which nature "turns over" to the benefit of all. Case in point, coppicing.
This is an incredibly cycnical pov. But also, it suggests that you don't understand what regenerative or sustainable is. This is enlightening for me, because now I get why the attachment to BAU is so strong. If you can't conceive of humans living as part of nature and being a benefit, then all that leaves is the death cult. This is sad.
(mitigating negatives effects doesn't make something sustainable)
Good and bad are not terms that serve discussions well. I prefer "energised" or "vital", maybe even "active" in discussing what to do and by those words I mean the sort of energy pollinating insects exhibit as they go about their activities, the behaviour of electrons as they whizz in orbit of nuclei, the sound water makes as it flows over the scales of a fast-swimming salmon, the sum of the percussions made by hail falling onto the surface of a lake, and so on. We need to break the deadlock language has set on our thinking and imaginations, in order to be able to create new ways of being, behaviours to recommend and pathways to follow 🙂
The suggestions would be more useful if they related to what we are already doing here.
As the EU has shown, the modern state can legislate all it likes but even in aggregate form it's not strong enough to manage a 'disorderly decarbonisation', which is what the EU looks like and it is the most prepared for the energy challenge of any set of states.
Just to focus on energy for a moment, in the next 48 hours we are about to go through a cold snap that Transpower is saying will test the grid.Vector in mid September also warned about expanding power from solar and wind without also investing in digital tech to manage peak time demand – for example when everyone is charging vehicles.
By mid December this year we will know whether New Zealanders are ready for accelerated renewables in large zones. In their absence and in a lack of demand-side measures the network isn't going to cope. All of those costs of transition are currently going to be found added to your power bills.
By 2023 there is mandatory reporting on climate risk by large companies, banks, insurers, Fonterra, you name it. It sure ain't going to be cured with back yard gardens that are tbh far more cost and trouble than they are worth.
We certainly need an Energy Transition Ministry to do what the EA can't do. But I'd struggle to see which politicians other than Shaw would have the ability to lead it. At the moment we are struggling to merge two public media entities.
By election 2023 we will see whether NZ business can really report so that everyone with investment in the outcomes ie pension fund holders can really see real change occurring. At that point Polly should pop over and take notes.
I agree. I'll probably do a post about the NZ situation, this one was about the idea, and it was conceived of and written about by Brits. I hope you join in with some proactive ideas because you have a lot of experience and knowledge in the pragmatics of NZ's economy.
In a sane climate response, the government and local authorities would be putting put public messaging for the past week advising people to save power and how to do that. This is not rocket science, and it's not difficult. It does conflict with profit making models and the current mindset about how things have to work.
Limits of growth. We can learn a new set of skills. Instead of trying shoehorn BAU capitalism and growth into a fantasy of green tech climate response. We don't have to let personal EVs drive the transition, it can be a smaller part.
this really is an incredibly ignorant statement. Local food is backyard, growing for one's neighbours, town wide box schemes, urban farms, regional food growing and distribution systems, the Longwood Loop. Fonterra exists to support our planet destroying standard of living. We don't need Fonterra to eat. We do need resilient food systems, and we need to set them up now rather than waiting for the food shortages.
Polly Higgins died in 2019. Which you would know if you had read the post properly.
How do we generate enough action?
Tax high earners, use that to replace the relentless commercial advertising of crap with more positive pROpAgNDa? It feels like there's plenty of will, but it's difficult for the disparate elements to cohere amid the grotesque consumerism reinforced by advertisement overload.
Is that why we have kids who really want to make a difference, but can't live without the latest phone or Tikitok, or that climate girl flying to Fiji. We want out but can't find the exit.
The exit has a large sign that's been flashing for quite a while now!
"It sure ain't going to be cured with back yard gardens that are tbh far more cost and trouble than they are worth."….disagree……sure initial outlay but you let some of your crop seed……you plant seed inside to get going…and you water and weed and rotate the crops………..instead of sitting in front of the goggle box……and you can preseve….freeze…….dehydrate and eat fresh…..grow your own and you won't a commercial vege again…….tomatoes that taste ….well… like tomatoes and as the song goes……"teach your children well"……
The change will happen first, inside of our skulls.
Gardening is one of the most likely activities to bring on this in-skull change.
Until that happens, little valuable progress will be made, therefore, gardening is critical to our shared futures.
Do I garden? Yes. Does my garden contribute significantly towards my food intake over a year? Not really.
Yes, I grow fruit and veges (and have a very nice herb garden). And supplement my diet with those, rather than buying them.
Is it cheaper? Probably not. When I have tomatoes in season, they're also at their cheapest at the greengrocer. But, I agree, home-grown do taste good.
Can I freeze, dry, preserve them? Yes. But I also recognize that I come from a place of privilege there: I can afford a large freezer, can afford the electricity required to process and store, have the knowledge about how to water-bath preserve, etc., have space to store the preserved results.
Do I have the time? Yes. Again, that's a privilege. I have the time (and so far) the physical fitness required to spend time in the garden planting, weeding and harvesting. It's also preference. Gardening isn't everyone's cup of tea, and/or idea of how to spend their time well.
Do I have the space? Yes. A real privilege, here in Auckland – where most new townhouse developments have a 'garden' consisting of a pocket-handkerchief-size lawn. And, of course, apartments don't even have that.
Backyard gardening can be a nice supplement to your diet – but, for most people, and certainly most city people, it's very unlikely to be a significant contributor.
The days of the 'quarter-acre paradise' are gone.
Backyard gardening's supplementing of your diet is a minor consideration, it's the transforming of your thinking that's to be valued.
The message plants carry to the observant gardener is the one needed for transforming your thinking, outside of the complex.confusing, contradictory exchanges of ideas we are seeing on this thread 🙂
Goodness! Has my thinking been transformed by backyard gardening?
How would I know?
You would know.
Seems it hasn't 🙂
Don't give up!
Given that I've been gardening for over 30 years – it seems to be taking a long time to kick in!
Reality is that people garden for a whole lot of reasons: family heritage (my mum would kill me if I bought lemons); convenience (I love my herb garden, and just being able to have thyme on hand, when I want it); taste (home-grown raspberries); curiosity (I wonder what these heritage beans taste like, and if I can grow them here); mental health (being outside, hands in the earth – even weeding is therapeutic – 'take that! oxalis'); contributing to the table (smug satisfaction of growing your own); educating kids (look what happens when we plant our peas, we can eat the strawberries when they're red, we can scrabble for new potatoes); even one-upping the neighbours! (yes, of course you can have some rosemary)
Then is seems obvious it has kicked in…
…only you don't know it 🙂
Ah, so because I grew up gardening, I came into it with those attitudes already in place – no wonder I don't notice anything different 🙂
On a side note, you never dared complain that you were 'bored' in our house growing up – my Mum had a list of garden jobs just waiting to go!
The only thing the old man ever gave me was something to do.
I agree that anyone pushing backyard gardening as if it is a viable and significant plank in what needs to happen in the next 5 years is barking up the wrong tree.
"a viable and significant plank"
Whatever do you mean?
Backyard gardening's great value lies in empowering, encouraging and, in part, feeding, the gardener and their family.
Why are you so dismissive?
I just got it! I think it's the people who can't see the unwaged economy. If you can't count it in conventional economic terms, then it's just some marginal thing we shouldn't bother with.
They're probably also not aware of the very large movement in NZ of home gardening, community gardens, school gardens, small scale market gardens, farmers markets, and food forests! So many people I know produce excess from their garden and they give it away. Invisible economy.
I'm so grateful to have grown up on a 1/4 acre with most of the land not occupied by a house/shed/garage either in trees, shrubs or a large vegetable garden. Definitely bigger than the lawn we had to play on. Deep body memory of how it works.
Think about the resources needed to ship lettuces internationally compared to being able to harvest from one's garden, or neighbourhood. This is quite simple to understand. Run the whole process in your mind:
Growing
Refrigerated storage
Packaging (including the whole process used to create that plastic)
Shipping
Domestic transport
Waste (of embodied energy, and waste to be disposed of)
It's bonkers that we think this is secure, viable, and not damaging to the environment.
Perhaps something with a longer shelf life than lettuces would be a better example. I've never bought (or even seen) an internationally shipped lettuce in NZ.
But, setting that aside. The only way to prevent off-season crops being imported would be to ban the import. No more California cherries in May.
No more bananas, ever (apart from the tiny % grown here).
Which runs into Trade deal issues. And risks reciprocation against our own agricultural produce being exported (not really 'risks' it would be just about guaranteed).
The alternative is to load on the $$$ for every stage of the 'carbon' process. Making imported goods so prohibitively expensive that only the truly wealthy can afford them.
I can't say that that's a scenario that I feel comfortable with (even if I was one of the people who could afford off-season cherries)
Part of the problem, I think, is that our international trade connections are so widespread. And, there are plenty of figures showing that NZ lamb (for example) uses less carbon (even when shipping is counted) than local production.
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/52447-Carbon-Footprint-of-New-Zealand-Beef-and-Sheep-Exported-to-Different-Markets-public-summary
How is is better to protectively legislate for a local product which uses *more* carbon?
My point weka is that focussing on backyard gardening in particular, in the next 5 years, is a misallocation of resources.
Community or other wider gardening exercises is a different issue, because those things can actually scale to provide a meaningful amount of food.
My parents manage to provide probably about 1/2 of their vegetable needs, averaged over a year, from their garden – a significant feat. But they've been at it for 30+ years, they have all the skills, tools, experience, land and time to do it.
NZ produces such a huge amount of food – and we will continue to do so for the foreseeable future – that spending time fussing about at the margins with backyard gardening is a waste of time. In other countries like the UK and the US, and large Australian cities, it's a sensible and important thing to do. But NZ isn't those countries (thankfully).
In NZ we need to focus on sustainable farming methods, permaculture etc.
I think you are missing the point here Belladonna. Look at the whole systems. If 20% of people in a city grow half their own food, there are multiple benefits for them personally but it also means that that amount of food doesn't have to be grown and transported in highly carbon polluting ways. Now multiply that across NZ.
Now, put that alongside all the other things happening: community gardens and orchards and food forests, school gardens, urban farms. Then market gardening on the outskirts of the city. Compare that to shipping all that food long distances and the packaging and waste, power and water consumption.
I seriously doubt that anyone in a city is going to grow half their own food (well, I suppose if you count the rural areas of Auckland – but really, that's not 'city' or 'suburb')
I don't have an issue with buying local (though defining 'local' is a bit of a challenge – there is no such thing as a real farmers market in Auckland, for example – we're just too far away from actual market gardens). But expecting any significant contribution from backyard gardens (or community gardens – which only seem to operate in the wealthiest of suburbs), or school gardens (more of an education/science project than actual food contribution) – is not something that I can see working.
I guess, that you're saying that even a tiny contribution is better than nothing…. But I don't see it as transformational.
I can see Robert's point of personal gardening changing people's perspective as being more realistic.
Totally agree. As I said in a comment above, my parents can grow about 1/2 of all of their vegetable needs, averaged over a year, from their surburban garden. But they've been doing it for 30+ years, and have the experience, time and land to do it.
Note that I said vegetables. They still have to buy meat and fruit. And that's also averaged over a whole year – in Christchurch in winter there isn't a lot of edible food coming from the garden.
Agreed.
exactly AND you grow it and control what goes into it with the result tastier and healthier food and you can go have a cup of tea with ya neighbour and give them a cauli
Unless you are on a quarter acre and own the property and are mostly retired, gardening for vegetables is just a very long virtue signal.
All those endless covers and pages of women's magazines with smiling bougies holding their baskets of greens and telling how they are changing the world is just a fat lie.
Annabelle Langbein for example, queen of all that homemade faux-working class chambray-shirted nonsense, lives on five acres with a full view of Lake Wanaka on title over $6m with a multimedia empire worth millions.
Get real.
Nonsense!
Just because you are irritated by wealthy celebrities who garden, or retirees on a certain square-meterage of land doesn't mean that your claim that gardening is "a very long virtue signal" is correct.
It is not.
Real food is produced by real people for real reasons, all over the motu.
Even people without gardens of any outdoor sort, can grow valuable food to supplement that which they have to buy. Sprouting seeds (sunflower, mung, lentils, peas etc.) on the kitchen bench then eating them fresh or processed in hummus and so on, is a real action that benefits those who take it and the carbon-wasting networks they don't use as a result.
Now it's just wilful ignorance. Maybe a reflection of your social circles. I know so many people that grow some or a large part of their fresh produce. Probably the majority of people I know, certainly too many to count. This includes people who rent and people who work. People garden for all sorts of reasons, including health, financial, and yes climate/ecology.
But sure, if the people you are following are Langbein, I can see why you don't understand what is going on. Don't want to diss AL, anyone who gardens is helping the world. Even wealthy upper middle class people.
I know people who provide a significant amount of the food from their own garden also. And I know that that is simply not achievable for 80%+ of the population.
Who said the goal was 80%+? I certainly didn't and I haven't seen anyone in this thread say that (might have missed it).
Noting that this isn't the only example in this thread of people arguing against things that haven't been said.
So, to clarify (and I have said this already more than once), local food isn't only gardening, it's all the things,
None of that precludes transporting food over greater distances, what it does is take the weight off those larger, more cumbersome and less resilient systems. People in Southland can still eat avocado, just get it from Nelson rather than Australia. People in Auckland can still eat oats, just get it from Otago rather than Canada.
For home gardening the skillset / knowledge has almost been entirely lost to the most recent generation especially in our cities.
Crop rotation, Variety selection, Seed collection and storage, Planting timing and even the means to preserve crops post harvest.
For most people a productive garden at home costs more than buying from the supermarket etc.
Small scale market gardens are in a similar situation with generational change, rapidly increasing capital / input costs combined with increasing crop losses (severe weather) making it less and less viable by the year.
I think the simplistic message is to eat seasonally.
live in the city??….use the roof…….planters on the balcony…..guerilla gardening in green spaces,…………..
"gardening for vegetables is just a very long virtue signal",,,,,,then i am indeed most virtuous ….
My question is this;
Would the proposed TEA make it illegal for the government to 'lob' $1 billion to high emitting Air New Zealand?
Would the proposed TEA encourage the government to 'lob' at least a similar amount to rebuild the passenger rail transport network?
Would the proposed TEA incentivise passenger rail, and other low emitting forms of national and international transport?
Would the proposed TEA discourage long distance car trips and short haul commuter flights?
Based on the current performance, if they had 1 billion to spend, they'd shut down the whole network while they upgraded it….for about 5 years or so…..
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/475963/auckland-train-lines-to-close-for-network-track-upgrades-ahead-of-city-rail-link-opening
Auckland has had literally years of rolling stoppages – while Kiwirail and AT try to get their act together over train and track quality and maintenance. And now, train users are about to have another couple of years worth. It beggars belief that AT couldn't have been upgrading this piecemeal over the last 5 years – and now want to shut down the line, so they can do it in one operation.
It's very difficult to build support for a train network with this sort of continual disruption.
The destruction of much of the inner city business environment due to the CRL – has also informed a lot of the resistance to the government's light rail proposals. People see up close just what that kind of major disruption looks like – and don't want a bar of it.
But would such a law forbid a government subsidising a high emitting company like Air New Zealand?
The law (as discussed) seemed to be enabling legislation rather than prevention legislation. So my guess would be 'no'
The answer would be 'no'.
So let me get this straight
The law (as discussed), would ‘enable’ more wind turbines, more PV power stations, and more electric cars. But the law as discussed) would not prevent more coal mines being dug, or more fossil fuel industries being commissioned, or more oil wells being drilled, and more fossil fuels being burnt.
Is that correct?
Do I have that right?
No you don't. Did you read the post Jenny?
I did read the post.
Unfortunately reading the above, I would have to agree with Belladonna that 'no' – the law as discussed) would not prevent more coal mines being dug, or more fossil fuel industries being commissioned, or more oil wells being drilled, and more fossil fuels being burnt.
With respect Weka, if you have any other interpretation, I would like to hear it;
This bit seems relevant,
This seems a key point of the Act. To set a framework of values for transition. The Greens have been pushing the idea that each piece of legislation must be parsed through a climate emergency lens. This is a step further.
To go back to your original question about the government bailing out AirNZ, we have to bear in mind how critical it is to have a national airline given how far away from other countries we are (I assume this doesn't need explaining, I'm not talking shopping trips to Sydney). There is an obvious public good in keeping the airline going.
But I think what we can do is look at the concept and initial framework of the TEA and put out ideas on how it could be created. It's not set in stone, Higgins didn't write it for NZ, that's for us to decide how it would work here.
It's been interesting watching the response in this thread, the amount of naysaying effort that has gone into comments instead of looking at how it might work.
Even if you taxes the bejeesus out of international travel, it would only affect cattle class volumes a bit. For international travellers it's a rounding error.
Also if Kiwirail didn't teach you anything over the last 24 hours, it's throwing billions of dollars into an irreversibly sick industry. Every ticket you buy to get from Henderson to Auckland central is 70% paid for by everyone else, more if you count the CAPEX.
The transport bailouts per citizen on rail could buy AirNZ every year.
Also, I can't think of any price increase which would stop the super-rich flying their private jets (a much greater per-person impact than the poor slobs in cattle class).
So what, it would stop most of us.
After all, price is the capitalist way of rationing things.
The regional fuel tax for example was imposed as a disincentive to private car use.
The age of mass passenger air travel only really began in the '70s with introduction of the first wide body jets. Before that time, air travel was expensive.. As a result most people still used surface transport.
The amount of passenger air travel compared to today was miniscule. As was it's carbon footprint.
'The Jet Set'
Stop subsidising air travel, bring back the Jet Set, it's the capitalist way
The term 'Jet Set' once referred to that tiny minority of rich people with enough money to be able to afford to fly. You don't hear the term 'Jet Set' anymore, because of course millions of us fly. The term 'Jet Set' sounds oddly quaint and old fashioned almost from an other age, yet it is within living memory. Austin Powers generation would have used it.
(Yeah I know, fictional character and all that. But you get the meaning).
Yeah. Not greatly happy with entrenching privileges for the wealthy (or for politicians – who would still get their freebies, no doubt. Currently, the Speaker is on a junket through Latin America, with Ricardo Menéndez March from the Green Party in tow)
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2209/S00176/diversity-and-inclusion-in-focus-for-upcoming-latin-american-delegation.htm
I don't know that we do a lot of ongoing subsidising of air travel. The 2 issues you've quoted were for crisis points – where (I understand) the Government bought a stake in the company, which was then repurchased over time.
So not a gift, or an ongoing subsidy (when the airline made profits, the Government got dividends, just like all other shareholders).
NZ governments seem to have believed that it's critical to the country to have an airline which is guaranteed to fly into NZ. That certainly paid dividends during the Covid disruption of air freight – when it was only Air NZ which was flying in and out of Auckland.
The regional fuel tax had zero success in reducing private car use (because most people don't have alternatives). Nor, do I believe that that was it's intended purpose. It was (and is) purely a cash cow for local government to use in funding transport projects.
https://www.transport.govt.nz/area-of-interest/revenue/regional-fuel-tax/
what!!….Kiwirail is more virtue singing huh?……..you would be appalled at what our roads would be like without rail and with carbon reduction big on the menu it is a necessity ….not to mention the heart and soul its employess put into it.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/10/04/pams-frozen-berries-recalled-after-7-hospitalised-with-hep-a/
Global food supply.
The meningitis outbreak seen in Norway and NZ in the 90's has a genetic match to the Somali outbreak in refugee camps.
Monkey pox.
Global people supply….
would you mind using whole sentences because I don't understand what you are trying to convey.
Likewise Poission.
The incidence of monkey pox in NZ is entirely due to the movement of people around the globe.
I was pointing to the equivalence of your "Global food supply" in the outbreak of HepA
HepA, Global food supply = Monkey pox, Global people supply.
Regardless of whether it's a food-borne infection, or a people-transmitted infection, our global world will see intercontinental spread of disease (as we all have recent familiarity with Covid)
It wold be an unusual multicellular animal that didn't travel with a few (trillion) "mostly harmless" passengers. The original Survivors series was gripping, with a great title sequence – the less long-lived 2008 'not a remake' wasn't bad either.
It seems like a really good idea to me. All those unadopted sustainable technologies – hemp & harakeke fibre, aquaculture & aquaponics, najeon chilgi, flood zone riparian crop trees & bushes, impact absorbing roadside planting – that have languished from want of interest for generations until we are well behind what were once much more degraded ecologies, could finally be brought to fruition.
Wait though, for the non-performing economists whose idea of growth is low quality mass migration and real estate inflation squeal that it can never work.
You got it! So much is waiting for us to wake up.
I have to ask, Stuart, why you included najeon chilgi in your list???
It's a nice, skilled, sustainable industry (paua shell & lacquer work for the non-Korean speakers – though turban shell is also used) – we can grow the trees, and it's a logical avenue of expression for some Maori art. Got a depressed area with no decent paying work? This might help – no greenstone required.
It fits nicely with contemporary tech https://mystickorea.com/products/najeon-cell-phone-case or art furniture https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/1280949258/amazing-korean-traditional-mother-of?click_key=15e65e2d5f177f264ef74cdd986a0e8798681d51%3A1280949258&click_sum=48b30d8c&rec_type=ss&ref=landingpage_similar_listing_top-1&cns=1&sts=1
It has health properties too: https://www.shokunin-japan.com/blogs/news/the-antibacterial-properties-of-lacquer#:~:text=One%20of%20its%20advantages%20is,as%20a%20healthy%20alternative%20dishware.
Great post weka, thanks.
It demonstrates, once again, that there are answers but a lack of political will.
By political will, I mean individually as well as our employees in Wellys. Every dollar anyone spends is a political decision.
The notion that the supermarket is preferred over locally grown produce is all about convenience and turning a big blind eye to the diesel miles embedded in all that they sell. Also being willfully ignorant of the duopoly's treatment of the primary producers that sell through them.
The middle class needs to overcome it's addiction to convenience for us to rebuild economies.