energy
Categories under energy
- peak oil (39)
Whose interests are the Nats working for?
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, April 22nd, 2013 - 82 comments
Why are National and the Right pitching a fit at the prospect of the Crown and foreign institutions losing superprofits when that’s the price of households and businesses getting lower power prices? Real businesses are looking forward to paying less for power but National says ‘stuff them, we’re looking out for the Crown’s stealth tax and Origin Energy’s profits’.
The “socialist” vs capitalist PR war: NZ Power
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, April 21st, 2013 - 123 comments
The Key government and its allies are playing the “red scare” gambit, the Greens get to the heart of the reason for NZ Power, Parker goes Third Way, while Bernard Hickey and Matt McCarten weigh in to support the (alleged) “socialist” NZ Power policy. Bomber Bradbury adds some words of caution. [updated title]
Rentiers on notice
Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, April 20th, 2013 - 36 comments
The Green/Labour NZ Power announcement is a clear warning to the owners of electricity companies that their days of rentier profits are coming to an end. Joyce cries for the declining value of their shares but that fall tells us that the market thinks Labour and the Greens will govern, NZ Power will work, and it will knock hundreds of millions off power bills.
Reaction to NZ power
Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, April 20th, 2013 - 98 comments
The Labour / Green electricity proposals picked up very significant support from Vector CEO Simon Mackenzie. Other analysts and commentators have weighed in with support, while some of the reaction from the business community has been (like the Nats) bordering on the unhinged.
Poverty Watch – Special edition on fuel poverty
Written By: - Date published: 7:06 am, April 20th, 2013 - 6 comments
Given the drama surrounding the Labour / Green electricity policy it seems appropriate for this week’s Poverty Watch to explore the topic of fuel poverty in NZ. It’s a killer, and it’s long past time that something was done.
Do the lights ever go out on Planet Key?
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 pm, April 19th, 2013 - 33 comments
John Key says that the Labour-Green Power policy is “barking mad” and will take people back to the power cuts of the 1970s. Another John Key brainfade, or just being “clueless”? I look at power cuts and fuel poverty since the 1990s.
Nats panicking on NZ Power
Written By: - Date published: 7:33 am, April 19th, 2013 - 347 comments
National’s reaction to the Labour/Greens NZ Power announcement was telling. They panicked. There was no genuine critique, just ‘won’t someone think of the shareholders’. The funniest bit was when National tried to say that it is a North Korean idea. In truth, it’s South Korea that has a Single Buyer like NZ Power. And their power prices have fallen while ours have risen.
NZ Power
Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, April 18th, 2013 - 223 comments
At noon today Labour and the Greens jointly announced new energy policies. “NZ Power” is big and it’s bold. It will completely restructure the way the electricity sector is run, and result in lower power prices for both domestic and business consumers.
Key’s power price record
Written By: - Date published: 7:48 am, April 17th, 2013 - 78 comments
Spooked by tomorrow’s joint announcement by Labour and the Greens on policy to cut power prices, National is trying to claim they have solved the problem. Get real. In the past year, household electricity prices rose an average of 5%, that’s over six times the rate of general inflation. By my reckoning, the average power bill has risen 16%, or about $300 a year under Key.
Labour’s electricity reforms will be bold
Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, April 16th, 2013 - 59 comments
A joint Labour / Green announcement on plans for the electricity sector will be made on Thursday. My prediction is that the plan will be bold.
Caveat emptor 2
Written By: - Date published: 6:46 am, April 15th, 2013 - 104 comments
Labour’s put out a release saying power prices are too high and “signalling that the future Labour Government will make changes to the sector so that New Zealanders considering purchasing shares in Mighty River Power, which go on sale tomorrow, are aware of that before investing”. In other words, ‘we’re gonna cut power prices, and the electricity companies’ profits will be hit’.
Caveat emptor
Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, April 3rd, 2013 - 15 comments
Analysts are apparently ‘not worried’ about the impact of the increasingly likely-looking closure of Tiwai Point on the price of electricity and, hence, on the value of the assets National is trying to hock. A 12% reduction is all one analyst sees in Mighty River’s price is Meridian floods the market with some of the cheapest power going. The analysts have missed the politics.
Rio Tinto ups the ante
Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, April 2nd, 2013 - 166 comments
Our “let’s make a deal” PM is outclassed on this one. I actually have some sympathy this time, the government is between a rock and a hard place. But while most of us worry about Southland, I suspect the Nats’ concerns will be a little closer to home…
The Sexing of Politics
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, March 30th, 2013 - 59 comments
Today, Fran O’Sullivan argues that Key has lost his edge & his ministers are using dubious tactics in dealing with Rio Tinto over Tiwai Point. O’Sulllivan implies that sharp, savvy and successful deal-making & leadership are masculine qualities.
Pacific Renewables
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, March 25th, 2013 - 21 comments
There is a summit on renewable energy in the Pacific happening in Auckland. McCully acknowledges climate change, the PM focuses on investment opportunities, the EU hopes for clean energy to aid poverty reduction. What’s best for Pacific island communities?
What a surprise
Written By: - Date published: 1:19 pm, March 21st, 2013 - 12 comments
Government MPs vote down a request for an enquiry into Solid Energy.
NRT: Insanity
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, March 19th, 2013 - 7 comments
I/S at No Right Turn on the insanity of scrapping the home insulation programme.
Has John Key jumped the shark?
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, March 18th, 2013 - 50 comments
Micky savage of Waitakere News looks at John Key’s involvement in the Solid Energy fiasco. National’s undeserved reputation as sound economic managers takes another hit…
The big dry
Written By: - Date published: 10:17 am, March 13th, 2013 - 77 comments
We’re now experiencing the worst drought in the North Island in recorded history. It comes just five years after the previous severe drought and there was a lesser one in between. Let’s not beat around the bush, it’s climate change. Bill English came very close on Monday to admitting that climate change induced-droughts will make bailouts unsustainable.
You pays your money & you takes your chances
Written By: - Date published: 10:53 am, March 9th, 2013 - 97 comments
Analysts are talking about risks of investing in Mighty River Power in the media today. Weather, electricity demand, overseas expansion. I’ll tell you what would make me think twice: everyone acknowledges the power companies over charge. Right now, the government has 400m reasons a year not to do anything about it. But that’s about to change.
Strategic blunder
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, March 6th, 2013 - 40 comments
Amidst the froth of predatory “excitement” about the sale of our power generation assets, it was refreshing to read in The Herald yesterday a single lone voice who was thinking long term.
The green economy
Written By: - Date published: 12:28 pm, February 11th, 2013 - 90 comments
There’s a lot of talk about the benefits of moving to a green, sustainable economy but details on what that looks like in practice in New Zealand are often frustratingly thin. Greenpeace is releasing a report – The Future is Here – that puts meat on the bones. The main thing is getting us off expensive, polluting, imported oil and on to clean, local energy.
Time for Joyce to end the pipe-dream
Written By: - Date published: 12:13 pm, January 16th, 2013 - 62 comments
The oil and gas industry employs fewer people than have lost their jobs in manufacturing every 4 months under National. Yet, Joyce devotes all his efforts to doing favours for the foreign oil companies and ignores our local manufacturers. Now, another of the foreign oil companies has packed their bags. It’s a reminder that a […]
Upcoming talk on Canadian student uprising
Written By: - Date published: 3:44 pm, January 11th, 2013 - 6 comments
This Sunday hip hop artist and political activist Darius Mirshahi will be speaking in Auckland about the political situation in Canada and how the left are organising to resist Neo-Liberalism. Later he will be performing material which has lead to attention from Glen Beck and the Canadian police.
If
Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, December 20th, 2012 - 221 comments
If you and I were told that (variously) our sons and daughters, grandchildren, nieces and nephews were going to be killed tomorrow, would I be right to suspect that we might sit up and take notice?
Well done
Written By: - Date published: 5:16 pm, December 18th, 2012 - 83 comments
This is one of a series of posts I hope to write over the summer based to some extent or other on a recent presentation by Kevin Anderson: Professor of Energy and Climate Change, University of Manchester, Tyndall Centre.
2 storms and a rocket
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, December 14th, 2012 - 42 comments
With the GFC, changing climate and resource depletion, the struggles of the powerless get over-looked. Asia-Pacific has been described as the focal point of a new cold war. Storms in Samoa and the Philippines, a rocket launch from North Korea. How should we respond?
AA wakes up to Peak Oil
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, December 6th, 2012 - 49 comments
“It can only get worse from here.” – that’s the Automobile Association’s numbers man on petrol prices. It’s quite a revelation because, until now, the AA has been firmly part of the dinosaur establishment that has been insisting petrol prices will ‘soon’ fall to ‘normal’. Mark Stockdale also gets the logical response to peak oil – stop building sprawl, reduce consumption.
Nats get desperate on asset sales
Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, October 24th, 2012 - 64 comments
The Nats have decided to try to lean on the judiciary to get asset sales handled the way they want. The Judge is ‘Red Ron’. The Court shouldn’t try to decide water rights at a level of general principle. The Maori Council mustn’t get legal aid. The case should be kicked straight up to the Supreme Court and settled before March. It’s not working. It’s not going to work. And the costs are mounting. Updated
Treasury’s spin fail on electricity numbers
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, October 16th, 2012 - 2 comments
Treasury is trying to tell us that private power companies don’t charge more than SOEs to justify privatisation. Of course, a moment’s thought tells you that private owners, with higher costs of capital, need larger profits than public ones. And private owners always complain the SOEs don’t charge enough. Moreover, Treasury’s spin is a complete fail.
- As Australia privatises nature repair, the cheapest approach won’t save our threatened species
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Penny van Oosterzee, Adjunct Associate Professor James Cook University and University Fellow Charles Darwin University, James Cook University Shutterstock Australia is a world-leader in species extinction and environmental decline. So great is the problem, the federal government now wants to harness ...5 days ago - Dozens of refugees are still stranded in precarious situations in PNG – and support from Australia...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Nethery, Senior Lecturer in Politics and Policy Studies, Deakin University After nearly a year without basic income and support services, 42 refugees and asylum seekers remaining in Papua New Guinea will soon begin receiving a meagre allowance of 900 kina (A$338) ...5 days ago
- David Seymour criticises Maipi-Clarke’s haka on eve of Treaty hīkoi’s arrival at Parlia...
The ACT leader and Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have spoken to reporters as a hīkoi against his controversial Treaty Principles Bill converges on Wellington. ...5 days ago - Financial stress and cultural differences make migrants particularly vulnerable to gambling harms. H...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Himanshu Gupta, Senior Research Fellow (Lived Experience), Rural and Remote Health, Flinders University Rose Marinelli/Shutterstock Australians lose around A$25 billion on legal forms of gambling each year, representing the largest per person losses in the world. Gambling harms – including financial, ...5 days ago
- New to streaming: What to watch on Netflix NZ, Neon and more this week
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you like big-budget sci-fi: Dune Prophecy (Neon, November 18) Set 10,000 years before Denis Villeneuve’s awe-inspiring Dune, the mysterious all-female sect the Bene Gesserit take centre-stage ...5 days ago - Select committee calls for repeal of Section 7AA of OT Act to be softened
A select committee led by coalition MPs has called for the proposed repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act to be softened. ...5 days ago
- What can we really expect from an expanded mining industry?
The minerals sector is highly volatile, highly competitive and changing rapidly, and the most obvious rationale for expansion – that it will provide a boost to national and regional economies – is certainly not a given. Shane Jones’s mining boosterism has regenerated a seemingly perennial debate around the industry and ...5 days ago
- Pacific profiles: Meet the Southside Aiga Midwives, who serve whānau in the heart of Māngere
The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Dinah Otukolo and Dianne Wihoni, two Southside Aiga Midwives. All photos by Geoffery Matautia. Tucked away at the edges of the Māngere ...5 days ago
- Federated Mountain Clubs Of New Zealand Stand Firm: Conservation Access For All, Not Just The Wealth...
On access issues, FMC represent Aotearoa’s passionate outdoor and conservation communities, dedicated to keeping natural spaces open for everyone—regardless of income or background. ...5 days ago - Fiji’s mainstream media fight for survival in social media era
By Georgia Brown, Queensland University of Technology Fijian newsrooms are under pressure to adapt as audiences shift away from traditional media such as newspapers, radio, and television, in favour of Facebook and other social media platforms. Asia Foundation research showed that Fijians ranked Facebook as their third most significant source ...5 days ago
- MFAT Decision To Ship $4 Million To Vanuatu Out-Of-Touch
The comments made by NZ’s delegation to COP 29, Mr. Croad discussing additional ‘pathways’ to forfeit more NZ tax dollars to Vanuatu are both out-of-touch & disrespectful to hardworking taxpayers, says Union Communications Officer, Alex Emes. ...5 days ago
- Public pressure mounts for Kiwisaver funds to invest ethically
A new campaign is targeting ASB due to its Kiwisaver funds having investments in Motorola, a company that supplies Israel’s military. Over three million New Zealanders have Kiwisavers across 350 funds, each with their own investment portfolio. According to the latest Kiwisaver annual report, the highest and fastest growing investment ...5 days ago
- The government wants to count blue carbon towards climate targets. But ocean carbon could cut both w...
NZ's enormous exclusive economic zone contains a huge amount of carbon in its ocean sediments, and releasing even a tiny proportion could undo any other climate benefits. ...5 days ago
- As AI and megaplatforms take over, the hyperlinks that built the web may face extinction
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dana McKay, Associate Dean, Interaction, Technology and Information, RMIT University Jakub Krechowicz / Shutterstock The original idea for the world wide web emerged in a flurry of scientific thought around the end of World War II. It began with a hypothetical ...5 days ago
- The latest COVID booster will soon be available. Should I get one? Am I eligible?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Bartlett, Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle Towfiqu barbhuiya/Pexels Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has recently approved a new COVID booster. The shot was developed by Pfizer and targets the JN.1 sub-variant of Omicron. This ...5 days ago
- Traditional owners and scientists worked together on ‘coral IVF’ projects. Here’s what we foun...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carly Randall, Senior Research Scientist, Benthic and Restoration Ecology, Australian Institute of Marine Science Coral Brunner/Shutterstock The Great Barrier Reef, which supports an estimated 64,000 jobs and has a social and economic value of around A$6.4 billion, is under threat due ...5 days ago
- Waiting for exam results can be awful. Our research shows how best to manage the stress
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Kalokerinos, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, The University of Melbourne Jan Faukner/Shutterstock It’s that time of year when students are waiting for school and university results that could change the course of their lives. Uncertain waiting periods are among ...5 days ago
- Would a mandatory five-day working week solve construction’s work-life balance woes?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Loosemore, Professor of Construction Management, University of Technology Sydney Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock Working practices in the construction industry have been labelled a relic of a bygone era – 64% of employees work more than 50 hours per week. Long working hours can ...5 days ago
- Another rushed migration bill would give the government sweeping powers to deport potentially thousa...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Associate Professor and Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney The Albanese government is looking to introduce laws that would give it unprecedented powers to forcibly remove non-citizens from Australia. The newly introduced Migration ...5 days ago
- We need a minister for big tech, and we need one now
We have a minister for racing, and for space. It’s utterly indefensible that we don’t have one in sole charge of dealing with large technology platforms. When you start looking, it’s all you see. Just last week, the Commerce Commission announced criminal charges against One NZ for advertisements around its ...5 days ago
- Live: Māori Queen to join hīkoi mō Te Tiriti to Parliament
The Treaty Principles Bill jeopardises Māori rights and sends a clear message Māori don't matter, Lady Tureiti Moxon says. ...5 days ago
- Maaori Queen Brings Message Of Kotahitanga To The Nation
Te Arikinui is urging all New Zealanders to embrace our shared identity and collective strengths to move forward together. will join the people of the nation as they Hiikoi to Parliament on Tuesday under the protection of Te Kahu o te Raukura, which represents ...5 days ago
- Treaties, truth and equality: how NZ, Australia and Canada are all struggling with colonial politics
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic O’Sullivan, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University The hīkoi (march) to protest NZ’s Treaty Principles Bill crosses Auckland Harbour Bridge, November 13. Getty Images With the ACT ...5 days ago
- The haka that circled the globe
A polarising haka has chalked up some gobsmacking numbers around the world, and it even pursued the NZ prime minister to Peru, writes Toby Manhire in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Half a billion views and counting On Thursday afternoon ...5 days ago
- The mistakes, inaccuracies and unchecked claims that led to Oranga Tamariki permanently uplifting a ...
Anna's granddaughter was taken from her by social workers in a matter of minutes. It took years for Oranga Tamariki to admit it should never have happened. ...5 days ago
- NZ to sign $4m climate reparations deal with Vanuatu
Vanuatu hopes funding from NZ will unlock additional money towards its anticipated loss and damage needs of US$177 million over the next decade The post NZ to sign $4m climate reparations deal with Vanuatu appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago - Committee draws short straw to work on Treaty Principles Bill
The Treaty Principles Bill has been handed over to the Justice Select Committee. It’s now up to them to shepherd it through a six-month debate. The post Committee draws short straw to work on Treaty Principles Bill appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- Govt to ramp up anti-scam efforts, bringing public sector and banking industry together
New Zealanders have lost nearly $200m in the last year to scammers, it has been revealed. ...6 days ago
- Hīkoi mō te Tiriti: Wellington commuters warned to expect hours-long delays when protest march arr...
There will be extra buses and train carriages to ease congestion, but it will still be "super busy". ...6 days ago
- Non-Māori lend their voices of support to the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti
Pākehā and tauiwi "need to make our stand clear about Te Tiriti", supporters say. ...6 days ago
- Treaty Principles Bill: Te Pāti Māori, ACT both claim victory over response to haka in Parliament
A video of MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke performing 'Ka Mate' has now been viewed hundreds of millions of times. ...6 days ago
- Ka tuku te rākau: Handing over the baton of protest to a new generation
As tens of thousands show their support for the hīkoi to parliament, the organisers are busy behind the scenes ensuring things run smoothly. For many, this is their first time leading a kaupapa of this scale – and it hasn’t all been easy. On August 31, an extraordinary hui was ...6 days ago
- Banks are grappling with a scam ‘crisis’ while Facebook profits from it
The CEOs of two major New Zealand banks say Facebook is rife with fraud – and that Meta is too busy making money from scam ads to try and stop them. Duncan Greive reports. The story would have been dystopian a few years ago, but is now routine, almost unremarkable. ...6 days ago
- The march on Wellington
A redoubt was built on Mr Clifford’s property on Thorndon Flat in anticipation of war in 1846. It was simply a square earthwork with a surrounding trench. All round the parapet were wood-framed loopholes for musket-fire. A more extensive work was constructed at the Te Aro end of the town as a ...6 days ago
- Daily crossword, Monday 18 November
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- Luxon faced with superpower struggle
Comment: The PM has left Lima with headaches waiting for him at home – and diplomatic challenges with China and the US to be navigated The post Luxon faced with superpower struggle appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- Is Fonterra selling up or selling out?
Business & investing: Fonterra ramps up case to farmers to divest its consumer brands The post Is Fonterra selling up or selling out? appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- No special treatment for NZ casinos in online gambling rules
‘Faceless’ offshore firms may outbid local casinos for online licences but minister says there’s nothing to be done The post No special treatment for NZ casinos in online gambling rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 18 November
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- Damning report on residential specialist schools as minister seeks advice
Study on NZ’s three residential specialist schools finally sees light of day The post Damning report on residential specialist schools as minister seeks advice appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
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