Wild weather

Written By: - Date published: 6:22 am, May 15th, 2015 - 46 comments
Categories: climate change, disaster, food, global warming - Tags: , , ,

All the best to those coping with the wild weather or its aftermath.

With talk of Wellington being “cut off” some are using it as an excuse to politic over Transmission Gully, but there’s nothing that we can build that isn’t vulnerable to nature.

With extreme weather events set to increase in frequency and power, the sensible thing to do would be to take immediate action to reduce the causes of climate change. But you will not hear this point made in any of the media coverage of the latest storms.

46 comments on “Wild weather ”

  1. Paul 1

    And will the MSM actually use the term ‘climate change’ whilst reporting this?

    • Maui 1.1

      That’s the last thing they want to say, don’t talk about stuff that would inhibit the capitalist regime. TV1 news I think has 3 different spots to talk about weather in their news hour, and I don’t I can ever remember them relating the weather to climate change.

      • esoteric pineapples 1.1.1

        Yes, they talk about the upcoming weather report, then do a report on the weather we have had, and later on do a report on the weather we are going to have. It’s called holding the viewer long enough to get as much advertising revenue as possible.

    • mary_a 1.2

      @ Paul

      NO! Because admitting the reality of climate change is likely to interfere with the almighty game of profit at the end of the day!

  2. The Chairman 2

    Capital’s insufficient infrastructure highlighted by wild weather

    Kilbirnie Cres resident Niru Patel said the street flooded every time there was heavy rain for an hour or more. And it had been the case since 1993.

    Council spokesman Richard MacLean said Wellington’s drainage system was constantly being upgraded, but there was a limit to what it could do without “breaking the bank”

    Newtown Residents’ Association president Claire Pettigrew said the council needed to look at its spending priorities.

    “It is unfair for the council to say that there’s a limit to what it could do to reduce the frequent flooding that has an impact on residents’ and businesses without ‘breaking the bank’ when they are proposing investing ratepayer funds in things like additional convention centres and museums.”

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/68081391/no-quick-fix-for-wellingtons-floodprone-spots.html

    Thoughts?

    • Paul 2.1

      We need to plan ahead for more regular extreme weather events.

      • The Chairman 2.1.1

        One would like to think councils do.

        But seeing as a street in the Capital has been flooded (every time there was heavy rain for an hour or more) and it has been going on from as far back as 1993, one has to question their priorities.

        How much chaos and cost could have been avoided if we had better drainage in place?

        • dukeofurl 2.1.1.1

          ‘Every time there was HEAVY rain”- Sounds like the drainage system is doing what it is supposed to do.

          The standard urban design for stormwater is at the 20% peak storm , sometimes called a 1 in 5 year storm.

          That sounds like every time there is heavy rain to me.

          The real problem for urban areas is intensification, more roofs and driveways etc. This leads to more runoff directly to the stormwater system.

          The usual answer to this is things like retention tanks for householders and business to slow down the roof runoff. They are like smaller water tanks but they have a restricted outlet to let the roof flow much lower rate.

          So theres your answer Newtown, get to work

        • dukeofurl 2.1.1.2

          The standard urban design for stormwater is at the 20% peak storm , sometimes called a 1 in 5 year storm.

          That sounds like every time there is heavy rain to me.

          The real problem for urban areas is intensification, more roofs and driveways etc. This leads to more runoff directly to the stormwater system.
          The usual answer to this is things like retention tanks for householders and business to slow down the roof runoff. They are like smaller water tanks but they have a restricted outlet to let the roof flow much lower rate.

          So theres your answer Newtown, get to work

        • Maui 2.1.1.3

          I would say there’s little we can do now. We’ve covered the landscape with hard surfaces like tarseal roads, concrete driveways & footpaths, pavers and tin roofs for decades, and with increasing amounts of it. None of that water has a chance to drain into the ground and it has to go somewhere. We’ve built in places that we probably shouldn’t have too.

          I was near the Hutt river yesterday where a stream feeds into it. I watched as a digger had to continuously scoop out debris from infront of a grate leading into a culvert. Out the other side of the culvert, the river was so high the water couldn’t escape properly and looked like it was boiling on the top.

          • The Chairman 2.1.1.3.1

            There is plenty we are able and require to do.

            Upgrades are constantly taking place. However, in this instance ratepayers have been waiting (putting up with flooding whenever there is an hour or more of hard rain) for improvements for over 20 years.

        • dukeofurl 2.1.1.4

          That is the normal design standard for stormwater drains, for 20% of the peak storm, sometime called once every 20 years.
          Whats probably changed is intensification with more driveways and roofs etc and the answer is detention tanks for roof runoff.

          Get to work Newtown

    • Sabine 2.2

      we need more convention centres and museums and gambling places and and and, we know that. really.

      flood protection? thats for wussies, and the lunatic green fringe.

      Infrastructure it’s just not sexy.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpzvaqypav8

      and who ever thougth that in the age of rising sea levels it would make sense to have the only railway and the only motorway going in to the city right next to the beach strip is a moron and should go back to school and take some environmental studies.

      At some stage, i expect those that studied stuff like urban planning, and engineering and architecture and stuff to actually say something and do something that would mitigate the effect storms will have on our lives.
      Banana Republic.

      • Molly 2.2.1

        “At some stage, i expect those that studied stuff like urban planning, and engineering and architecture and stuff to actually say something and do something that would mitigate the effect storms will have on our lives.”

        In the course of volunteer work I was doing – I met the current planning head of the Unitary Plan in Auckland, along with another senior planner.

        A few years ago now, just after the amalgamation, but both looked at me with a mixture of pity and distaste after I asked what proposals had been put in place to deal with climate change.

        This is in regards to a plan that supposedly looks 30 years ahead.

        No meaningful provisions seem to have been made or accommodated since that time.

        • Pasupial 2.2.1.1

          Molly

          I was at the public consultation for the Otago Regional Council long term plan (30 year) this week. They factor in a SLR of 0.3m – 0.5m over that time, which seems very optimistic. The ORC certainly weren’t keen on increasing rates to cover the preparation for climate change effects. Which will of course cost more in the long run.

          • Macro 2.2.1.1.1

            I guess they base that projection on the Gluckman Policy Paper issued in 2013

            The New Zealand Ministry for the Environment guid-
            ance for local government currently recommends
            that a base level of sea level rise (0.5m relative to
            1980-1999) be considered in planning and decision
            timeframes out to the 2090s. It also indicates that
            the impact of a potentially greater change (0.8m),
            and consideration of local infrastructure and storm
            surge levels should be included in risk assessments.

            http://www.pmcsa.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/New-Zealands-Changing-Climate-and-Oceans-report.pdf (page 12)

            • Pasupial 2.2.1.1.1.1

              That might be it, but they were rather nonspecific about their source for that prediction:

              [section 3.2 page 3] Studies have shown that there will be a possible sea level rise of between 0.3 and 0.5 metres over the next 30 years. Sea level rise may generate additional flooding and drainage risks, particularly for the Taieri and Lower Clutha flood and drainage schemes, which are close to sea level. Council will investigate the effects of sea level rise on agreed levels of service. We believe capital works may be required to mitigate that risk, so that we continue to maintain and provide the agreed levels of service. Investigation works have been budgeted for, and once known, capital budgets will be prepared for any works needed.

              http://forourfuture.orc.govt.nz/pdf/ORC%20LTP%20Infrastructure%20Strategy.pdf

              At the public meeting, the ORC wasn’t any more forthcoming about the specifics of these; “Studies”, nor the timeframe of the investigation.

              The plan as is seems to be to build ever higher floodbanks and pumping stations on the Clutha River which had detailed plans to 2045. The Leith River/ Waters in Dunedin also has plans going out to 2045. The Lower Taieri River schedules consultation on floodbanks in 2018, with plans only to 2025. At Milton, the Tokomairiro River has no Plans beyond 2017 consultation and 2025/30 bridge work. As for anything in coastal Otago north of Dunedin (Waitati, Waikouiti, Palmerston, Moeraki etc), there doesn’t appear to be any plans whatsoever other than letting the ocean take them.

              • Hateatea

                It isn’t just that sea levels will rise but salt water incursion into lagoons, rivers, streams has flow on effect to the flora and fauna that live, eat and breed in these fragile ecosystems. The species that will experience this the most are the indigenous tuna (eel), kokopu, koaro, inanga and many of the wading birds that feed of them. The salt water incursion is already being seen in those areas north of Dunedin but also in many other places along the east coast of Te Wai Pounamu.

                That it will continue to worsen seems inevitable. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment released a report only last year so at least one branch of our civil service is sounding the alarm bells but our politicians at national, regional and local levels are, for the most part, ignoring her.

                http://www.pce.parliament.nz/publications/all-publications/changing-climate-and-rising-seas-understanding-the-science

          • Molly 2.2.1.1.2

            There is some reference to SLR, but as we all know, that only one aspect of climate change.

            In particular infrastructure models such as stormwater and sewage, needs to cope with increased frequent deluges. The simple act of allowing housing that requires private transportation for residents, contributes to ongoing difficulties in the years ahead. Making planning about streamlining consents for the conventional housing types that have average life-spans of 35 years, and don’t take into account the resource wastage of this approach…

            Given the increasingly negative outlook, the planners are in an optimal position to put down a new attitude to development and lifestyles, and I would be heartened to see that manifest in NZ. I don’t have high expectations that it will however.

      • Pasupial 2.2.2

        Sabine

        I’ve been mulling over these maps recently:

        http://www.musther.net/nzslr/Maps/Local/10mSLR-Wellington.jpg
        http://www.musther.net/nzslr/index.html#interactive

        The Wellington map shows the 10m sea level rise that is possible this century if marine methane is released leading to rapid temperature rises and consequent ice-sheet collapse. There’s no key, but the railway seems to be the alternating blue and white lines (electrified lines?) to Upper Hutt and Waikanae where it turns dark blue.

        Land routes seem likely to be severed at Porirua and Petone. The ferry terminal looks set to be submerged if not relocated, and the airport may not be usable either. At that, Wellington gets off relatively lightly (thanks to the hills), compared to; Christchurch, Invercargill & Blenheim (I tend to focus on the South – Napier is not looking too habitable in this scenario either).

        Sea level rise definitely needs to be addressed by the country’s infrastructure planners.

        • Sabine 2.2.2.1

          when it happens, not if, when it happens there will be a lot of unhappy campers, with their multi million dollar homes and batches that are either directly being washed out, or washed down a hill due to landslides.

          In saying that, when next in auckland on the road to the famous bridge to the northshore, look up to your left and see the houses precariously clingling to their hills. And look at the new motorway for west auckland …they raised it a bit, but will it be enough?

          It seems to me that the term Kiwi Ingenuity and Do it Yourself will be much en vogue again in about 20 – 30 years, if we have that long. Cause the government won’t be here to help you, or me or anyone but themselves.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.3

      This is why the budget for councils needs to be fully democratic. When people vote for what council funds should be spent on then a) they don’t get to complain about how high the rates are and b) stuff that they don’t want such as convention centres won’t get any funding.

      • Macro 2.3.1

        hmmmm not so sure about that Draco – have recently visited the States where essentially what you propose is just what they do! Surprising how many don’t want to vote money for schools and roading (just the bit outside their house!). My cousin in Ohio was lamenting the fact that public schools are so poorly funded as a result.

        • Colonial Rawshark 2.3.1.1

          Yep. In many communities, libertarian right wing philosophy has taken a strong hold. These people would vote directly against their own best interests. The classic are photos of old people on walking frames at Tea Party rallies denouncing the unaffordability of Medicare and demanding cuts. Their walking frames provided by Medicare.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.3.1.2

          IMO, such comes about from lack of information. Democracy needs to be more than just voting, it needs to be engagement. So people get access to the information to make the decisions as well as the ability to vote on those decisions. Part of that information will be about how not helping others negatively affects them.

          And as I don’t think that we should just go to full democracy at all levels we ease into it. Start at the ward level and build up.

          • Molly 2.3.1.2.1

            +100. Grassroots engagement that informs and promotes discussion.

            I think that the Yes movement in Scotland, was the reason SNP took so many votes. The voters in Scotland are informed now in a way that has long been missing from political discussions. They are less likely to be influenced by rhetoric and MSM bias, and will demand accountability (in the old dictionary sense of the word, not the current crop of unspeak))

  3. RBG 3

    We should be hearing ‘these weather events are consistent with what we can expect as a result of climate change’. We are told about the huge amount of rain that has fallen, but not that a warmer atmosphere holds more water.

  4. Ron 4

    One would think that Wellington would be spending on basic infrastructure such as roads before they decide to waste 40+ million dollars just so they can get rid of the Trolley Bus fleet.

  5. jenny kirk 5

    oh – by the way – apparently the government is running a series of public meetings on climate change this week – and next. Auckland on Monday, Wellington on Tuesday – that is, if the flooding has gone down. Not much in the way of advertising these so-called public meetings – last night it was in Whangarei at 5.30pm – we heard about it at 6.30pm – a notice on FB !
    Does anyone know anyone who has gone to any of these so-called public meetings, let alone heard about them ? ? ?

    • adam 5.1

      NO and please Jenny where in Auckland – you would hope at least 4 in Auckland – but I won’t hold my breath.

      Yeap usual approach from Wellington – One meeting auckland – hence auckland covered.

        • adam 5.1.1.1

          Yeap it’s a big bugger off – to Auckland and Aucklanders with this one.

          This government is pathetic – It takes more time to get across town some days than it does to drive from Dunedin to Invercargill – and yet they only hold one meeting to cover almost a 1/3 of the population and call it a consultation.

          This is offensive. Narrow minded and in the beltway, and/or anti-auckland – or maybe they are just are that dumb.

          Over a one million people. and one tiny meeting in the centre of town – at snobs villa, and they think that is consultation. This is just another example of a National government in this country with complete disregard for people – utter disregard. We may as well be chopped liver, for all they care.

          Just more right wing Political Correctness. Funny how that make me feeling like I’ve just been sold something dodgy.

    • Sans Cle 5.2

      This in email from Gareth Hughes yesterday:
      “Green supporters in Nelson and Gisborne came out in force yesterday to demand a climate plan that New Zealanders can be proud of.

      Last week, after public pressure, the Government announced a series of public meetings to talk about what New Zealand’s climate target should be.

      Our well-informed group navigated a poorly-managed Government consultation process, riddled with excuses for inaction, to demonstrate overwhelming support for ambitious measures to tackle climate change.

      We have had a great start, now we need to make sure the message for action on climate change is heard at every meeting around the country.

      Find a public meeting near you. 

      Yesterday’s meetings were an embarrassing start for the Government as officials were forced to apologise for the poor publicity of their meetings.

      Less than a week’s notice was given for the first set of events, which are only running from 13 until 21 May.

      Take this chance to let the Government know you support an ambitious plan to tackle climate change. RSVP to attend a public meeting”

      • weka 5.2.1

        Wow, two meetings in the South Island. Two. Some big gaps up north too looking at the map.

  6. Joe Jones 6

    It’s all John Key’s fault

    • adam 6.1

      Wow, that really is pathetic trolling.

      Next you’ll be saying. I’m not a scientist so I can’t make policy on this.

  7. swordfish 7

    Cheers, Anthony. I think we probably got the worst of it here in the People’s Republic of Porirua. Mayhem at Midday, yesterday. Weird, because although it was preceded by thunder and lightning, it really didn’t feel like the kind of torrential downpour that’d cause this sort of flash-flooding.

  8. mary_a 8

    The money being spent to decide a new flag design for NZ, could go some way towards replacing or upgrading the nation’s existing weakening infrastructure to cope with the ever increasing challenges of climate change!

    The silence of government yesterday, when our capital city’s infrastructure and services were struggling as the result of some pretty ferocious weather, was deafening!

    It could be said Key fiddled, while the good folk of the Wellington region were drowning!

  9. aerobubble 9

    Is govt promising that transmission gully wont get slips or be blocked in an earthquake, because that’s what a commenter implied when they said if only trans gully had been built.

    • b waghorn 9.1

      Transmission gulley will be built on land that is part of planet key as soon as you enter transmission gulley the sun will come out and you will actually here angels sing. There are no slips or earthquakes in planet key.

    • Maui 9.2

      Transmission Gully is going to have something in the order of 25 bridges on it! So it could well be the most stuffed route in and out of Wellington.

      • aerobubble 9.2.1

        Cry-key. Media commenariat again, stuff an nonsense passes as comment.

        Wellington is a great place for a fortress that is hard to attack from land.

    • johnm 10.1

      Hi RA

      Yes, it’s strange. I’m 66 unmarried no children maybe only another 9 years to my personal nthe yet I find this message devastating it sort of freaks me out a bit. People deny just so they can keep effective in everyday life, it’s human nature. I know you despise that but there’s naught we can do now it’s set to play out.

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    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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