Climate change: I think that we are f&*ked

Written By: - Date published: 11:02 am, October 13th, 2022 - 88 comments
Categories: climate change, Environment, farming, labour, national, political parties, science - Tags:

This week a few climate news related interesting things have happened or are predicted.

  • It was reported that Greenland is facing temperatures 20 degrees above the norm.
  • Polar air from Antarctica surging north will cause temperatures about 10-15C below average for this time of year across swathes of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts have gone into liquidation.  An unseasonal warm and wet winter washed away the snow.  There may be a business model to get RAL up and running again but the prospects look grim.  The prospects of unseasonally warm and wet winters in the future are far too high.

The RAL experience is interesting.  An industry dependent on predictable cold winters and weather patterns is now facing the inevitable conclusion of a warming planet.

This is also the week when the Government released for consultation its plans for pricing of farmhouse emissions.

The main points are:

  • Modelling shows Government’s proposal should meet Zero Carbon Act 2030 methane reduction target
  • Government largely adopts farming sector’s proposal to price emissions at the farm level, giving farmers control over their own farming systems with the ability to reduce costs
  • Revenue recycled back into agriculture sector through new technology, research and incentive payments to farmers
  • Consultation to work through sequestration, levy setting process, and transition assistance. Consultation open from now until 18 November 2022.

The associated Cabinet Paper noted that the previous National Government’s failure to price farm emissions had cost the sector time and made the transition more difficult.

James Shaw was concerned that the proposal does not provide sufficient certainty that Aotearoa will achieve it climate change and because the funds raised were going to be recycled the proposal was not equitable with the approach taken to emissions pricing for other sector.  He was also concerned that emissions reduction targets will be traded off against other considerations when price setting decisions are made.

The farming sector is worried about sequestration credits.  A simplified scheme is proposed for the introduction of the scheme.  Forested areas of more than one hectare is proposed to be taken into account.  Anything smaller than this will increase administration costs substantially.

Beef and Lamb boss Andrew Morrison said this:

We need to further analyse these changes carefully, but one area of immediate concern is the proposed changes to sequestration, which is of real importance to sheep and beef farmers,” says Andrew Morrison, chairman of Beef+Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ).

“We know we have a role to play in addressing climate change and our farmers are among the first to feel the effects of it.

“However, if farmers are to face a price for their agricultural emissions from 2025, it is vital they get proper recognition for the genuine sequestration happening on their farms.”

I do not know what difference enhanced sequestration would make but I suspect it would not make much difference.  There is a complex paper setting out the Government analysis of the situation but the results are not immediately clear to me.

Federated Farmers are also concerned.

From Radio New Zealand:

Andrew Hoggard said the government’s proposal was disappointing, and would be a “massive concern”.

“I guess it’s mainly down to the outcomes they’re predicting from this and the modelling and they’re predicting … a 16 to 20 percent hit on sheep and beef incomes and, you know, potentially a 20 percent reduction in terms of sheep meat, a 5 percent reduction across dairy output.

And National has trashed the fragile consensus that had previously been building up.

From Radio New Zealand:

While the government accepted most of the recommendations, a key difference is that Cabinet will set the levies farmers will pay, rather than an independent group with some members selected by the industry.

National Party leader Christopher Luxon said the government’s plan undermined the industry consensus.

“We acknowledge that we have to reduce agriculture emissions,” Luxon told Morning Report.

“What we’ve said is we would support introducing agricultural pricing.

“The question of how you do that is really important. You have to pace that with the technological advances that are coming and then synch it up with that.”

“The thing that I find really, really disturbing is that we’re going to get rid of one-fifth of our sheep and beef farmers by 2030, in less than seven years,” Luxon claimed.

The government acknowledges the plan will be harder for beef and sheep farmers – and it could possibly lead to a 21 percent decrease in revenue by 2030.

Pressed on whether National, if put into government next year, would bring the levy in by 2025, Luxon said he would support what farmers want.

“We want the industry to be able to develop its own solution. We will support whatever the industry wants.

“I trust farmers. I understand that they get this issue.

“What the government proposed yesterday is utterly, utterly unacceptable.”

His comments are even more extreme than National’s formal response to the announcement.  Spokesperson Barbara Kuriger said:

“National is committed to emissions targets, including reaching carbon Net Zero by 2050, the Paris Climate Agreement and reductions in agricultural emissions.

“National recognises New Zealand farmers’ significant contribution to the economy. Agriculture earns half this country’s export revenue.

“We are concerned that today’s announcement puts consensus at risk. The Government’s own figures indicate:

  • Sheep and beef farming could reduce by 20 per cent and dairy by 5 per cent by 2030
  • Two-thirds of the reduction in emissions in New Zealand will be undone by higher emissions overseas as jobs and production shift offshore
  • The plan does not allow farmers to earn extra income from some forms of on-farm planting and carbon capture.

“Worryingly, the large falls in sheep production in New Zealand could lead to higher global emissions as more sheep production moves overseas to less-efficient farms.

Reducing stock numbers is inevitable if we are going to reduce the amount of meat that we eat, which is one of the most beneficial things we can do to reduce climate change.  The old “New Zealand emissions are lower” claim suggests that we should never do anything because someone somewhere else is emitting more greenhouse gas that we would.  Either the world gets on top of this problem or it will be trashed.  Waiting for someone else to improve their greenhouse gasses has strong vibes of being a fast follower rather than a leader in climate change.

The consultation will be interesting.  I expect that it will engender a great deal of heat.  And very little light.

And what is the chances of New Zealand sticking to a programme that will ensure we reach our goals?  I think that as a country we are f*(ked.

88 comments on “Climate change: I think that we are f&*ked ”

  1. Craig H 1

    Not only is it short-sighted environmentally, it's also short-sighted economically. Given the agriculture sector is a major contributor to NZ's exports and foreign exchange earnings, that aspect of the sector needs to be protected. Ideally NZ would move away from that over time, but we haven't made much progress despite it being a strategic priority for governments for decades. Tourism isn't much of a replacement because it's also very prone to emissions issues and likely to plateau or reduce as carbon charges affect profitability of flight routes.

    My observation of world trade is that agriculture is fiercely protected by most of our major trading partners and we have found it hard to make much headway in reducing tariffs on NZ agricultural exports. Not to say that it has never happened, but it's hard. We get concessions in trade agreements, but as we saw in the EU FTA, agriculture is usually the last bastion of tariffs.

    For a country that wants to protect its agricultural sector from NZ exports, or at least give the appearance of doing that, imposing carbon tariffs are a politically safe way to achieve that. Exempting the NZ agricultural sector from our own regime (either completely or functionally through very low charges or very high credits) is just giving those countries cover to squash NZ exports with carbon tariffs. It would also be a simple reason for other countries to refuse including NZ agriculture in any future FTAs e.g. USA, India (not that they are particularly keen, but this avoids having to even debate the point or make other concessions elsewhere).

  2. KJT 2

    Dame Anne Salmond: Seeing the Wood For the Trees | Newsroom

    Given that this is a new category in the ETS; that the ETS is already largely dedicated to funding pine trees; and that it would allow many farmers to gain an income from native bush around waterways and eroding gullies, this made perfect sense. That is, until a group of carbon farming lobbyists got busy and changed Cabinet’s minds for them – quite how, no one is certain.

    So much for our brave talk of ‘kaitiakitanga’ for native plants and animals. Once again, New Zealand’s ‘clean green image’ is being trashed.

    • Incognito 2.1

      Aotearoa, The Land Of the Tall Green Pine.

      I guess swamp kauri takes too long to harvest and sell off overseas.

  3. Jack 3

    I think the Op Ed headline is best applied to Labour rather than the whole on NZ.

    Anyone who thinks taxing New Zealand farmers out of existence, transferring production offshore and thereby increasing global emissions is a good idea must have rocks in their head.

  4. Incognito 4

    The user-pays principle is always applied selectively when it comes to the Holy Cow of farming and the Goose with the Golden Eggs that is tourism.

    The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment estimated the tourism industry produces approximately 12.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2), translating into a cost of $820m per year.

    It [i.e. an increase the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy from $35 to $200] would have raised up to $444m annually to fund investment in tourism, conservation, and to help tackle climate change.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/130139207/tourism-minister-proposes-international-visitor-levy-increase-to-200-cabinet-says-no

    My feeling is that Government’s timidity has turned into jittery [apologies to the grammar police].

  5. satty 5

    It's still possible to top the stupid argument "it's better to farm here than elsewhere":

    UK fracking and oil drilling good for environment, claims climate minister

    Sounds familiar:

    He called the fossil fuel extraction pioneered by Shell and BP in the North Sea “world-leading”.

    “Producing [oil and gas] domestically creates only half the emissions around production and transportation than importing it from around the world,” he said. “In terms of the economy and the environment, domestic production is a good thing and we should all get behind it … it is good for the economy, good for jobs and stops us giving money to dubious regimes.”

    The committee corrected Stuart on the issue of gas imports. The UK produces 45% of its gas domestically, and imports 38% not from a dubious regime, but from Norway, which has the highest standards in the world for gas extraction and decades ago banned flaring – where the gas is burned off, producing methane emissions and air pollution. Flaring still takes place in North Sea extraction.

    So the argument is "it's better to burn our fossil fuels than other countries fossil fuel"… while burning any fossil fuel is actually the problem.

    Soon someone has to tell the NZ car drivers (petrol / diesel) that their "way of (polluting) life" has to stop, which can't be too many years away. That's a much larger group than farmers.

    • gsays 5.1

      "Soon someone has to tell the NZ car drivers (petrol / diesel) that their "way of (polluting) life" has to stop, which can't be too many years away. That's a much larger group than farmers."

      You hit the nail in the head there, the pollies of any hue can say what they want. We can all bicker and debate but it is what we do (or more accurately what we stop doing) that determines our response to CC.

      It is going to involve a fair bit of inconvenience.

      • arkie 5.1.1

        What has perpetuated the pollution of our environment is the way fossil-fueled society has addicted us to convenience, almost entirely to the financial benefit of a shrinking few. We have become more 'productive' but are paid less and as such need to spend more of our lives working and then have to rely on said convenience to be able to have a halfway tolerable existence. We need to reclaim our time.

  6. Poission 6

    This week a few climate news related interesting things have happened or are predicted.

    Science by Guardian is troublesome at best.

    At present weather systems are globally affected by 2 climate drivers the Indian Ocean dipole and the third la nina,Running significant interference is the effects of the Hunga Tonga eruption and the ballistic injection of water vapour into the stratosphere, effecting tropospheric weather due to radiative heating.This also causes a significant ozone imbalance in the stratosphere with disrupted transport to the poles with an enhanced polar vortex.

    https://twitter.com/ryans_wx/status/1577029708486959104?cxt=HHwWgIDT6cKK3uIrAAAA

    https://acd-ext.gsfc.nasa.gov/Data_services/met/qbo/mls_h2o_qbo_lat_26hPa.png

    https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2022GL099381

  7. Drowsy M. Kram 7

    I trust farmers. I understand that they get this issue." – Luxon

    Climate change: I think that we are f&*ked

    Seems about right. Despite and/or because of their "big brains", some of the human passengers on spaceship Earth seem unwilling or unable to change their behaviours.

    "He is a really prodigious talent, he's got really complementary skills, he's got a big brain and he does a great work ethic. So he's going to be taking it to Grant Robertson."

    "That's the sort of stuff that we've really go to get into and put a big brain to, to clarify and articulate our position incredibly strongly about that."

    Only when Govts lack the wherewithal to buffer citizens against negative consequences of global warming will these 'trustworthy' fellow travellers realise that, for all that they might 'get' the issue (global warming -> climate change), they may have left their run a little late.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Limits_to_Growth [1972]

  8. Ad 8

    Pretty easy fail by Cabinet.

    It would not have killed Cabinet to agree farmers could nominate a couple onto the pricing board, as the group all agreed.

    The government has already legislated similar for the Fonterra pricing board.

  9. PsyclingLeft.Always 9

    "This is our nuclear moment for farming."

    Groundswell New Zealand co-founder Bryce McKenzie was referring to the world-first scheme that will require farmers to pay for agricultural emissions in some form by 2025 which went out for consultation this week.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/476584/emissions-pricing-rural-nz-ready-to-protest

    "Nuclear moment for farming" !? Has the idiot got no sense of irony? Or just no sense? If we dont do something…there will BE no farming. Well, farming as these dinosaurs know it.

    Fools.

  10. adam 10

    Just more protection for capitalism at all costs, till it kills us all.

    There is no planet b

    • Ad 10.1

      Well sure except that it's 81% of our exports that keep us a viable country.

      New Zealand food and fibre exports leap to a $53.3 billion result | Beehive.govt.nz

      • Poission 10.1.1

        It only lets us repay debt,the foremost economic problem at present is we are in a worse state then the UK with our current account deficit,as our average debt length is shorter then the UK (17 years)

        The IIF suggests a 22% correction in the dollar is necessary due to the KIWI being overpriced.

        https://twitter.com/RobinBrooksIIF/status/1575473504887136257?cxt=HHwWgoCzvcazmt0rAAAA

        Thats the problem with bullshit borrowing for internal growth,and aligning policy with failed states such as Europe.

        • Ad 10.1.1.1

          Whoever the IIF is can shut the fuck up.

          • Poission 10.1.1.1.1

            Its the international association of banks and financial organisations.They provide modelling studies based on the flows of finance (its where Andrew Bailey dropped the limit bomb on insurance and pension funds with margin calls in the UK gilt market)

            NZ treasury bonds as new issues today,were up .75 from 2 months ago,huge renewals next year in time for the budget,and no mention of constraint in fiscal remedies to constrain inflation by the government.

            • adam 10.1.1.1.1.1

              In other words we should compear ours selves to Sri Lanka and not the UK. Because we don't have their large finical resources to kick back, so it would be way more ideologically pure.

              Or in Christian speak, they going to rob the poor to feed the greedy, again.

  11. Leighton 11

    "We will support whatever the industry wants" says Luxon. Never a truer word spoken.

    • Leighton and…
      "Trust".. that small word with a big meaning.

      They don't trust their own.. Groundswell, Leadership and Uncle Tom Cobbley and all.

      However, their reluctance and grudging behaviour in the face of all the help they have had, and are offered to get through this, is indicative of their "My way or the Highway" attitudes, and may cause some to rethink their plans to vote these fools in.

      How many red stickered homes? how many insurance costs? how many refusals to fund marginal land for any purpose? will it take to peel the dollar signs off eyes?

      The Right think this is a winning issue for them. It could be their nemesis both ways.

      The young know there is no "Planet B" and our society breakdown is being encouraged by groups wanting to "Be Ungovernable" and "Misinformation".

      As during the Pandemic we needed to work together, and in the face of Climate Change, once again National are pandering to factional interests rather than to the greater good.

  12. Cricklewood 12

    We are fucked, NZ tinkering around with farm emmisions is basically moving the deck chairs on the titanic.

    Unless humanity suddenly stops building new coal fired power plants and dial back the existing, stops searching for ever more supply of oil/gas and extraction of it, stops burning tremendous amounts fuel fighting stupid wars and stops rampant over consumption.

    Basically those things are not going to happen, now we need to turn towards resilience and stop pretending this ship can be turned.

  13. MickeyBoyle 13

    There is not the political or societal will to make the changes necessary to limit or stop humans contributions towards climate change.

    Learn to adapt, because we aren't stopping anything.

    • AB 13.1

      We need both emissions reduction and effects mitigation. Either one of them without the other is a fail. Oh – and probably atmospheric-capture, removal and storage of CO2 as well. A holy trinity.

      We'll most likely risk everything by leaving it all till the last minute – the point at which "virtues are forced upon us by our impudent crimes".

    • Ad 13.2

      If you were in government would you bail out Ruapehu Alpine and save Ohakune and Raetehi and Taumaranui and Ruapehu Council?

      • Grey Area 13.2.1

        "Save?" How? The skifields are on the way out. Help the transition away from a climate-based economy as some there appear to be doing, yes. But bail out RLA why? Skifields are a sunset industry.

        • Ad 13.2.1.1

          I remember when farming was a sunset industry, film and television was a sunset industry, tourism was barely a thing, and one of our strongest industries was in ceramics.

          The transition that company needs is towards an all-season offering filled with offroad bikes, spa treatments and US$1,200-per-night lodges. Wanaka figured that out a while ago.

          If the government can invest in a 100% inland salmon farm as they did today, they can invest in transitioning Ruapehu Inc.

  14. Keith Christie 14

    Those who oppose the emission targets need to look and study carefully to get to know the Bangladesh cricketers, because the way things are going if we along with others do not do something then we may see 10s of millions of climate refugees from the Ganges delta trying to reach the safety of our shores.

  15. Tiger Mountain 15

    Micky Sav is correct. Tipping points have been reached. Bend over and kiss your collective, and your kids arses goodbye.

    What too few talk about is that it has to be an anticapitalist campaign to have any chance of rescuing our one planet.

  16. John J Harrison 16

    FACT, New Zealand farmers are the most efficient in the world in turning grass into fibre.

    FACT, Ardern has driven this ruinous scheme to be “ The World Leader “ in taxing farmers.

    FACT, All overseas media have ridiculed this mad socialist scheme to tax the worlds most efficient food producers.

    FACT, On TV 3 the hapless O’Conner confirmed that not all the modeling used to implement this nutty scheme could be accurate.

    FACT, O’Conner could not say by how much this would benefit global emissions.

    FACT, Ardern is the greatest asset for the opposition going into the election. If she stays as leader Labour will be extremely lucky to retain 15 seats.

    Cannot wait for the Curia poll tomorrow.

    • Mike the Lefty 16.1

      FACT: What you claim is not fact at all but just your opinion.

    • KJT 16.2

      No wonder why we have problems.

      When so many people think they can turn their unsubstantiated opinions into FACT, simply by writing FACT! in front of them.

    • observer 16.3

      "All overseas media" is my favourite FACT on that wacky list. All of them. He's done his own research. FACT.

    • Ad 16.4

      I'd hazard Labour 32% Greens 10% on tomorrow's poll.

      At some point the Labour caucus must figure 65 seats now down to 43 seats (approx) means 22 people on $170,000+ are goneburger unless something changes.

    • Shanreagh 16.5

      FACT: None of your facts are fact John J Harrison.

      RECKONS: All the sentences with FACT at the beginning in John J Harrison's post.

      FACT John J Harrison cannot spell the surname of NZ’s Minster of Agriculture.

      HYPOTHESIS: That a person not able to spell the name of a key proponent of an argument may also not have a grip on the rest of the argument.

      CONCLUSION: Demonstrated in 16 QED

    • Anne 16.6

      FACT : David Farrar who owns Curia is a DP linked Nat and his polls are always balanced in such a way to favour the Nats.

      FACT: John J Harrison is an idiot.

    • AB 16.7

      FACT, Many people are stuffed to the gills with dangerous denialist delusions

      FUCT, all of us, I fear

    • DB Brown 16.8

      FACT – you're a clown.

      • Shanreagh 16.8.1

        I can't understand why John J Harrison has not been back to address the reasoned and sometimes funny responses to his unreasoned and humourless post. I really can't.

        smileywink

  17. Stuart Munro 17

    The QMS is a monumental failure – no government action.

    The rivers run with poo – no government action.

    Lakes become eutrophic, then anoxic, then toxic – no government action.

    DoC runs electric vehicles off diesel generators and helicopters Indonesian coal into alpine huts. Huntly burns Indonesian coal. Hydrogen bullshit is tolerated, maybe even incentivized. Nitrate levels are horse traded up into the blue baby zone. And so much more.

    Did anybody really expect anything different? Neolibs are soulless destroyers – it's all they know. Just wait till we get a summer like Europe's – our farms are not ready for it. And one is coming, count on it.

    • gsays 17.1

      I bet yr fun at parties. wink

      The current government action is enough to make 'em look like they are being effective. The delicate balancing act of looking busy enough but not too busy that you don't get re-elected.

      • Stuart Munro 17.1.1

        So they imagine, no doubt. But no-one’s going to mistake that plan for a weasel even if they do stick a tail on it.

        Why can't they just try to do a good job for once in their trivial lives?

        It would give them a clear point of difference from the opposition.

        • gsays 17.1.1.1

          At the risk of upsetting a few with their red pom-poms…

          I feel when looking back on this administration, in the years to come, 'squandered' will be a common description. Wasted opportunity after wasted opportunity.

          ('Scuse me while I struggle up on to a favorite hobby horse) Where is the harm, the downside, the vote loser in settling the nurses pay parity negotiations?

          • Stuart Munro 17.1.1.1.1

            I feel when looking back on this administration, in the years to come, 'squandered' will be a common description.

            Pretty much every administration in my lifetime come to that.

  18. lprent 18
    • Polar air from Antarctica surging north will cause temperatures about 10-15C below average for this time of year across swathes of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

    For those who still get confused about how cold air going north in the southern hemisphere can indicate a warming climate. Try this experiment.

    Go and shut your windows and doors. Turn off aircond and heating, Then open the doors to fridge and freezer.

    Over the course of the next few hours, the warmer air inside your house will cool and the cold and frozen items in the fridge and freezer will warm up.

    The 'doors' to Antarctica and the Arctic are the air streams (jetstreams) that usually tightly lock in the cold air over those regions. But the jetstreams are highly responsive to changes in temperature – differences between regions of hot and cold what gives them their energy.

    As the differences increase, the jetstreams oscillate more than usual because they have more energy to dissipate. So the jetstreams move oscillate closer towards the equator. That unlocks the fridge doors and let more cold air go towards the equator.

    Which means that a warming earth climate, causes a cold air to spill out of the fridge to temporarily cool the room – while the freezer loses its cold.

  19. observer 19

    The global problem is self-evidently as serious as the OP suggests, but I think it is too pessimistic about NZ public opinion.

    Here's a summary of the latest polling (more details can be downloaded):

    https://iag.co.nz/newsroom/news-releases/climate-poll-2022-release

    There are large and growing majorities for action on climate change issues. It is not 2008 any more (the last time National came into power). There is no way National can go into the election promising to pander to ACT on climate change. If they win (not on policy but simply because incumbents lose on the swing to "Other") then they will be signing their own suicide note if they go backwards in government.

    Not for one election, but for a generation.

  20. arkie 20

    We can wail and gnash our teeth about the fates our collective inaction have weaved for us all, or we can try to positively contribute to improving our governmental response. First by submitting on this plan, and second, by elected the party that has been asking us to do more for the last 32 years:

    https://twitter.com/jamespeshaw/status/1580014058253668354

    https://twitter.com/NZGreens/status/1579600775726366720

  21. Binders full of Women 21

    I feel for Wairoa. Firstly- firstly carbon farming is turning perfect farms into forests owned by polluting giants like Ikea that will never harvest. Secondly the HWEN clusterfuck will mean 20% of farms cease trading. The freezing works will close, hundreds of skilled jobs will go in a Maori town. There will be no replacement Green jobs. P will take over, gangs and shootings. Urban elite Greenies won't care cos they got the feelz of cycling to their comms jobs.

    • Ad 21.1

      Go through every single town outside of Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin: those are where the Greens get their votes. So they're fine at 10%. They can criticise Cabinet all they like.

      But everywhere outside them is now fertile field for National and Act to keep cutting Labour down from 33% into the 20% range.

    • Shanreagh 21.2

      Wairoa got hacked to pieces in the environmental restructuring way back in the late 1980s/90s. Up until then there were jobs sufficient to support, for want of a better word, a middle class of both Maori & Pakeha (teachers, working in branches & sub-branches of Maori Affairs, Post office, stock firms. All of these had regular changes of people as they transferred in and out. We had, as well, jobs in the works, jobs on large sheep farms/stations, fishing boats and in Forestry.

      After 1987 etc, no Forestry with Forest managers living on site and employing locals. The foreign owned owned Forestry companies had no on site workers, pruning, thinning and other seasonal jobs were done by workers who were flown/driven in as gangs from other places and then just as quickly flown/driven out and onto another place in NZ.

      We lost our rail. We have the same Forestry companies thinking that the best way to export is to export a commodity, so logs come down from the Wairoa hinterland over fragile roads on trucks too large for the roads to cope with. There is no secondary processing. We have forestry buying up formerly productive farm and putting the countryside to sleep. No small country towns/settlements. No small schools so kids a bussed in for miles to schools.

      Also with a large Maori population and others who have been there for generations and don't want to upsticks and move leaving their Turangawaewae so are stuck.

      Wairoa is out on a limb. Difficult to get to.

      Even though I was born and brought up there (so vested interest), I believe the strikes at Wairoa have been of a greater magnitude than other small towns that at least may have a decent road in and out. One where you don't have to grit your teeth and drive so as not to be put off by logging trucks cutting corners or not allowing traffic past.

      P is encroaching now. We have the sons and grandsons, gt grandsons of upstanding Wairoa families in gangs. We even had one these fleeing Chch recently. The family is well known and is/was respected.

      The neolib experiment was a blight on Wairoa when it happened and continues to this day.

      I somehow think though that any Green jobs would be welcome. Bringing back planting, pruning jobs for Forestry instead of having mobile gangs could make a difference and even a wood processing plant if we had rail. Choosing to sequester in pines is so unimaginative. There must be other growing plants that could be used.

      • Binders full of Women 21.2.1

        Thanks for that Shan— I would disagree on one point and offer a slant on the trees. Disagreement– rail.. Wairoa is connected to Napier by rail but it's been an expensive folly. I think the initial repair was $6Mil.. and that bought about 6 train trips in the first year. The Wairoa north to Gisborne line is completely blown out and a repair would be 000s of millions… adding millions per year- it's now been wrecked a decade. I find the logging trucks really courteous and easy to pass.. if you are patient. Re the trees..never mind the 'no secondary processing' most of the new stuff won't even be primary processed ie carbon banks that grow old and die and fall over. The regions are screwed — to the urban academic elites 100,000 beneficiaries between Wairoa and East Cape means nothing and can be forgotten as long as we can brag on the world stage. Te Urewera is now a neglected possum shit covered backwater but that's a different story

  22. Mat Simpson 22

    " Life on Earth on brink of catastrophe with one million species 'at risk of extinction' "

    Wildlife populations have fallen nearly 70% globally since 1970, the World Wildlife Fund’s latest Living Planet Report reveals – equivalent to a wipe-out of everyone in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Oceania and China.

    https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/one-million-species-risk-extinction-28223916

    " Severe marine heatwaves, as well as hotter, more acidic waters are on the rise in the latest stocktake of New Zealand's marine environment "

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/476583/marine-heatwaves-and-rising-sea-levels-report-details-impact-on-nz

    " Plastic waste and microplastics were a major problem – with increasing evidence microplastics were widespread throughout the marine environment "

    “The report tells a decades-long story of government neglect when it comes to the health of our oceans.

    “The health of our oceans is deteriorating at an alarming rate, and we’re at risk of losing precious habitats forever. Politicians have known about this for decades and many have had a chance to stop it "

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/130159043/costal-communities-biodiversity-at-risk-as-ocean-hit-by-climate-change-and-pollution

    To quote Mickey Savage our future environment and future generations who will be reliant on the condition of the planet to survive are f****d

    The only thing that we give protection and care to is CAPITALISIM , GREED , PROFIT.

  23. barry 23

    The farmers' groups have played exactly the same game as always. When presented with the knowledge that something will happen they engage and negotiate to get the minimum change possible. At the same time they continue to undermine even that in the hope that an incoming National government will roll it back.

    At the same time they ask for assistance to recover from climate-change induced disasters, and then criticise the government for not doing enough when they get it.

    • Ad 23.1

      As the most effective lobby in New Zealand, the farmers will win on this one.

      • No, I think farmers' internal divisions will show, and people will have greater expectations of them re climate.

        We are witnessing freakish weather all over the planet, and producing food working with nature is being better understood, yet becoming more risky.

        The greed of some was on display with the feed lots, the cows up to their stiffle joints in mud….

        Most Farmers do NOT agree with Groundswell.

        • barry 23.1.1.1

          Most Farmers do NOT agree with Groundswell.

          But they won't say it in public. How many farmers will be out opposing the protests?

    • Hunter Thompson II 23.2

      Some farmers are digging (or should that be have dug?) their own graves.

      One thing is certain; we are all in this together. It is humanity as a species that is threatened by climate change, so it matters not if you are Maori or Mongolian, Inuit or Indian.

  24. The old “New Zealand emissions are lower” claim suggests that we should never do anything because someone somewhere else is emitting more greenhouse gas that we would. Either the world gets on top of this problem or it will be trashed. Waiting for someone else to improve their greenhouse gasses has strong vibes of being a fast follower rather than a leader in climate change.

    I don't agree we should do this to be a leader but because it an inherently good and far-sighted thing to do to. Something that is right for our country and its citizens including those to come, who deserve a bright future just as our parents hoped we would have.

    We need to keep hold of the idea of doing something because it is the right thing to do?

    I am sure that the Liberal Govt* (NB in charge of the breaking up of the great land estates, subdividing and re-offering in smaller one person farms) ) in the 1890s and the Labour Govt in the 1930s did not get themselves all tied up in knots because

    um ……we may be moving ahead of the rest of the world

    um ……some people may not like it

    um ……"it's better to farm here than elsewhere": (from Satty above)

    *The 1890 New Zealand general election was one of New Zealand's most significant. It marked the beginning of party politics in New Zealand with the formation of the Liberal Government, which was to enact major welfare, labour and electoral reforms, including giving the vote to women. (wiki)

  25. Stephen D 25

    There is a scene in Lord of the Rings where Sauron laud waste to the Southlands using fire to turn it into Mordor. Apocalyptic.
    My immediate thought was this is exactly what will happen to our planet if fuckwits like Luxon have their say.

  26. Hi Mickey S. I agree.

  27. aj 27

    Just flew on the direct ANZ flight Auckland to Invercargill today.

    The most scenic flight in New Zealand on a good day, it was only clear from Mt Taranaki south (Auckland cloud and rain!)

    The aircraft comes down just off the West Coast with stunning views of the Southern Alps, and Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers and the snowfields that feed them. I recall visiting both glaciers in the 70's and 80's and they are now in a spectacular and accelerating retreat.

    This short video shows "The Mer de Glace, one of the most famous glaciers in the Alps. In 1985 a gondola was built to access the glacier. Unfortunately, like many others, this glacier is shrinking. Each year, steps must be added to walk down to it. Here we are at the level of the glacier when I was skiing down the Vallée Blanche before the installation of the gondola. A few more years and there will be no ice left in this part of the valley"

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MG4n2mEdvA&t=1s

  28. why us xi jinping and the chinese communist party not being held to account for that countries atrocities perpetrated on the global environment?

  29. georgecom 29

    2003 a research levy was proposed on farming for research into reducing farming Emissions. The farming lobby and National under dishonest Don Brash opposed it and complained about it. 2008 the rest of the economy went into the Emissions Trading Scheme whilst agriculture was exempt. 9 years of nothing from 2008-2017 under a do nothing John Key National Goverment. 2 decades later a new scheme proposed, more complaining and opposition from elements of the farming lobby and the National Party. Climate change hasn't been resolved in those 2 decades, things haven't gotten better. 2 decades of respite from the costs of agriculture emissions. No more road to kick the can down.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Anzac Commemorative Address, Buttes New British Cemetery Belgium
    Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service.  It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Anzac Commemorative Address – NZ National Service, Chunuk Bair
    Distinguished guests -   It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders.   Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Anzac Commemorative Address – Dawn Service, Gallipoli, Türkiye
    Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia.   Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • PM announces changes to portfolios
    Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New catch limits for unique fishery areas
    Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Minister welcomes hydrogen milestone
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Urgent changes to system through first RMA Amendment Bill
    The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Overseas decommissioning models considered
    Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Release of North Island Severe Weather Event Inquiry
    Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Justice Minister to attend Human Rights Council
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order.  “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Patterson reopens world’s largest wool scouring facility
    Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech to the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective Summit, 18 April 2024
    Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing  At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin    Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho    Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today.    I am delighted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government to introduce revised Three Strikes law
    The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • New diplomatic appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions.   “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says.    “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Humanitarian support for Ethiopia and Somalia
    New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today.   “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Arts Minister congratulates Mataaho Collective
    Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale.  “It is good ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Supporting better financial outcomes for Kiwis
    The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Trade relationship with China remains strong
    “China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says.   Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • PM’s South East Asia mission does the business
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Opinion: It’s time for an arts and creative sector strategy
    I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-04-26T13:33:59+00:00