sustainability
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Regrets, John Key’s had a few *
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, April 6th, 2018 - 43 comments
or more accurately one. A failed vanity flag referendum.
Labour aims to make transport system more sustainable
Written By: - Date published: 1:03 pm, April 4th, 2018 - 89 comments
The Government has released a draft Government Policy Statement on Transport for consultation. A radical shake up of the Transport system is being proposed.
Climate 2050
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, March 30th, 2018 - 11 comments
Highlights from the Climate 2050 event in Wellington last night.
Megan Woods’ speech to the Petroleum Conference
Written By: - Date published: 12:49 pm, March 29th, 2018 - 18 comments
The text of Energy Minister Megan Woods’ speech to the recent petroleum conference where she outlined the Government’s approach to the oil industry and the Government’s intention to achieve sustainable change.
Julie Anne Genter: Working for Women’s Rights on the World Stage
Written By: - Date published: 6:08 am, March 27th, 2018 - 71 comments
The Minister for Women on her recent trip with the NZ delegation to the UN.
The Birds.
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, March 24th, 2018 - 23 comments
Yup. It’s okay to be a bit scared.
Activists bring Mataura River poo to the Environment Southland
Written By: - Date published: 6:28 am, March 22nd, 2018 - 26 comments
“Epic #ShowDontTell action”
Ardern suggests that oil exploration may cease
Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, March 20th, 2018 - 83 comments
The Government is reconsidering the future of New Zealand’s block offer process which releases exploration permits to the oil industry for exploratory drilling.
Simon Bridges’ not very good first week
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, March 4th, 2018 - 44 comments
In this very important first week Simon Bridges has committed two major blunders. He has claimed he was environmentally friendly when any view of his Ministerial history would confirm that this is not the case. And he forgot his Government oversaw the stripping of democratic rights from all prisoners, and adjusted his position when his error was pointed out.
Some Trash.
Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, March 1st, 2018 - 27 comments
Being anti-plastic is all the rage these days. How might business respond?
Hey Stuart Nash Maui’s Dolphins are approaching extinction
Written By: - Date published: 2:16 pm, February 15th, 2018 - 74 comments
Bio-fuels.
Written By: - Date published: 2:15 pm, February 11th, 2018 - 35 comments
Biofuels and fossil. The difference?
Two Labour Governments, two coal mines
Written By: - Date published: 12:38 pm, February 7th, 2018 - 13 comments
The New Zealand Government has rejected the OIO’s proposal to allow Bathurst to purchase DOC land for coal mining purposes. And in Australia the Queensland Labor Government is working out how it can back out of an agreement to permit the Adani coal mine to proceed.
Climate activists threatened with “draconian” Anadarko Amendment
Written By: - Date published: 6:36 am, February 1st, 2018 - 41 comments
“We can’t burn existing fossil fuel reserves if we are to avoid climate catastrophe.” – Russell Norman.
Greening the government: economics
Written By: - Date published: 7:39 am, January 29th, 2018 - 92 comments
In his State of the Planet speech, James Shaw lays out the Green Party’s bold vision and plan for a truly sustainable economy to replace the crumbling architecture of the last 30 years.
(image from Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics)
Cape Town
Written By: - Date published: 4:39 pm, January 20th, 2018 - 9 comments
A 100 day count down.
Local Bodies: Climate Change Just Got Personal
Written By: - Date published: 6:15 am, January 19th, 2018 - 27 comments
“At 46 degrees latitude south, New Zealand’s southern most city has regularly been experiencing similar temperatures to cities near the equator. When we were sizzling at 32 degrees, we equaled Cairns, were 2 degrees warmer than Jakarta and Suva and 6 above Nairobi. These cities are used to such temperatures and their ecosystems have adapted to it, it has been a severe shock to ours.”
Teggtalk: Trump-Like Climate Science Meddling by NZ Ministers
Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, December 22nd, 2017 - 29 comments
Denis Tegg has been responsible for showing that the previous Government stonewalled and hid a report prepared by the Ministry for the Environment which warned local bodies of the threats posed by sea level rises caused by climate change.
Let’s stop kidding ourselves.
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, December 18th, 2017 - 131 comments
The “Adapting to Climate Change in NZ” report.
James Shaw: a stocktake on climate change action in Aotearoa – livestream announcement 11am
Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, December 15th, 2017 - 33 comments
Spoiler alert: We need to do better.
World Bank to stop funding oil and gas exploration
Written By: - Date published: 6:15 am, December 14th, 2017 - 29 comments
It is time for all of the institutions, countries, investors and individuals who are still in the Paris Agreement to stop funding fossils – once and for all.
– Stephen Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International
Guest Post: Monbiot, Attenborough and Soper on environmental collapse
Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, December 6th, 2017 - 44 comments
Guest post by Ed about the intellectual rigour of George Monbiot and David Attenborough and the rater strange response of Barry Soper.
Progress from the Labour led government
Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, November 30th, 2017 - 44 comments
Just over one month in the new Labour led Government and it is time to measure progress.
Up the spout, round the bend and down the tubes.
Written By: - Date published: 11:43 am, November 28th, 2017 - 34 comments
It’s no longer really working out (kicking the AGW can down the road), but we seem to be hooked into a peculiar form of madness even as everything appears to be coming apart at the seams. It’s beyond me…
Queensland State Election and Coal
Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, November 22nd, 2017 - 9 comments
The Queensland election is turning into one of those rare and weird ones in which a large-scale environment-versus-economy fight looms largest.
Minister puts sustainability, and government’s reputation at risk
Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, November 15th, 2017 - 33 comments
A guest post by Christine Rose on Fishing Minister Stuart Nash’s strange decision to delay the implementation of video surveillance on fishing ships and the implications for endangered Maui’s dolphins.
Auckland’s impending environmental crisis
Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, November 2nd, 2017 - 12 comments
Unless Auckland Council finds more funding for the environment the predictions for what will happen are dire.
Climate Change and the Actual Challenge to This New Government
Written By: - Date published: 1:49 pm, October 30th, 2017 - 10 comments
A new report from the Deep South National Science Challenge highlights the infrastructure issues and that adaptation could require significant and expensive changes to stormwater and wastewater networks.
The Green Party on 1080 and predator control
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, October 29th, 2017 - 197 comments
Let’s clear up some misconceptions about the Green Party’s Conservation Policy.
Overseas land sales, Landcorp land sales, and the environment
Written By: - Date published: 6:28 am, October 27th, 2017 - 194 comments
Our land needs threefold protection.
The Great Australian Bight honest Government ad
Written By: - Date published: 4:30 pm, October 25th, 2017 - 4 comments
The Australian Government just released this ad about the Great Australian Bight and it’s surprisingly honest and informative. 
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- National, Labour blame each other – but is the Reserve Bank responsible for GDP fall?
The last two quarterly figures for the economy are the worst since the late 2021 Covid-19 lockdowns. ...1 week ago - New Zealand Economy In Freefall While The Government’s Books Burn
...1 week ago - Survey Shows Government Lacks Mandate To Repeal Live Export Ban
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Koskie, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Media and Communications, University of Sydney In the space of three weeks, South Korea has seen a brief declaration of martial law, its sudden repeal and the impeachment of its president, Yoon Suk Yeol. One ...1 week ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Thorpe, Professor in Sociology of Sport and Gender, University of Waikato Getty Images On the face of it, New Zealand’s new high-performance sport funding model announced yesterday is an increase on the previous round. But it is ultra-focused on already ...1 week ago
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- Menstrual cups are safe and sustainable – but they can be tricky for first-time users, our new stu...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Hennegan, Senior Research Fellow; Co-Head, Global Adolescent Health Working Group, Burnet Institute Iryna Inshyna/Shutterstock Many young women and other people who menstruate are turning to menstrual cups to manage their periods. In 2021, my colleagues and I surveyed 15- ...1 week ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rick Sarre, Emeritus Professor in Law and Criminal Justice, University of South Australia 20th Century Studios/IMDB It’s the time of year when many of us return to our favourite Christmas fables to get into the festive spirit. While film often ...1 week ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Summerell, Lecturer, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide Shutterstock While the holiday season is supposed to be a happy time, evidence suggests it’s one of the worst times of year for domestic and family ...1 week ago
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Looking back at the events that made headlines around the globe in 2024. This is an excerpt from The World Bulletin, our weekly global current affairs newsletter exclusively for Spinoff Members. Sign up here. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be hard pressed to think of a grimmer year than ...1 week ago - Government to change free speech rules for universities
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milena Bojovic, PhD Candidate, Macquarie University William West/AFP via Getty Images New Zealand’s dairy sector faces an uncertain future due to several challenges, including water pollution, high emissions, animal welfare concerns and market volatility. All of these issues are building ...1 week ago
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Espresso this, Not Like Us that. There will be only one true song of Aotearoa’s summer: Harty Māori Stylez by Te Kura Reo Rua o Waikirikiri. This summer, as you cruise coast to coast, you’re going to need an anthem to soundtrack your movements. A song that encapsulates the feeling ...1 week ago
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Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) last week completed another two days with Ministers, political leaders, Ministries and primary sector leaders sharing science knowledge, societal concerns, economic impacts and trade findings. ...1 week ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daswin de Silva, Professor of AI and Analytics, Deputy Director of the Centre for Data Analytics and Cognition, La Trobe University cybermagician/Shutterstock In 2024, artificial intelligence (AI) continued taking large and surprising steps forward. People started conversing with AI “resurrections” ...1 week ago
- Fifty years ago, Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin. The lessons from it have still not been learnt
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Farram, Associate Professor in North Australian and Regional Studies (History), Charles Darwin University It is hard to comprehend the force with which Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin early on Christmas Day, 1974. It was so ferocious that it killed 66 people, partly ...1 week ago
- Australia has an ongoing GP shortage. Why can’t we just train more GPs?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Harrison, Senior Lecturer, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney NotarYES/Shutterstock If you have Australia is critically short of GPs – and the shortfall is growing, predicted to be 8,600 GPs by 2048. So why can’t we just train ...1 week ago
- Could NZ’s two kākā subspecies actually be remnants of a more diverse species? Here’s why we n...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Knapp, Associate Professor in Biological Anthropology, University of Otago Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images As many Wellingtonians will know, kākā can be trouble. New Zealand’s pesky forest parrots have expanded throughout New Zealand’s capital city since they were reintroduced 22 ...1 week ago
- More than 1,300 Hajj pilgrims died this year when humidity and heat pushed past survivable limits. I...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Ramsay, Research Affiliate in Climate Adaptation, Monash University Every year, hundreds of thousands of Muslims undertake the Hajj –the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca. In 2024, the pilgrimage took place in mid-June, the start of the Saudi summer. But this year, ...1 week ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marcus Harmes, Professor in Pathways Education, University of Southern Queensland Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland. Roman Babakin/Shutterstock Sending a letter to Santa can be difficult as no one can agree on where exactly Santa lives. Several countries are competing to ...1 week ago
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Watch: "Have a good Christmas, 'cos you'll need it sunshine," the NZ First leader said in a rowdy final debate in the house. ...1 week ago
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High Performance Sport New Zealand will invest $162.8m into 36 national sporting organisations and athletes over the next four years, up from $131m in the four years leading up to this year’s Paris Olympics.From March next year, nearly $41 million per annum will go directly to national sports organisations for ...1 week ago
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Te Pāti Māori had to "get past ourselves" and is figuring out working with Labour. Labour says collaboration is still "casual", but the Greens say they'll be meeting regularly. ...1 week ago
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From malls to gods, woke foods to putrid stenches, the year’s greatest hits had a bit of everything. A tip: to create a perfect summer reading list (albeit with a crowded browser), click the headline of every story you missed to open it in a fresh tab. The 10 most ...1 week ago
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