Covid-19 and climate change

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, May 3rd, 2020 - 55 comments
Categories: climate change, Economy, Environment, public transport, science, transport - Tags: ,

Things have been different recently. Auckland has been clearer and more vibrant than it has for decades. The skies are mostly blue and the forest in Titirangi has been as green as I can remember.

And life has been slower. People are buying less and driving less. Each afternoon when I have gone for my regular walk I have seen many others doing the same.

The lack of air travel is pronounced. The international barriers are well and truly up. A Luthanza air low flight over Auckland on April 10 was a particularly poignant way to remind us that things are changing.

These features, a simplified life, reduced driving and the dramatic cessation of international air travel are the sorts of measures the world has discussed for decades as being necessary if we are to avert the worst excesses of climate change.

The effects already are pronounced. Crude oil is pretty well unsalable right now with storage facilities full and the world’s normal consumption of 100 million barrels a day has plummeted. This will have a flow on effect. Canada’s tar sand industry must now be dead in the water. Good riddance. Less profitable oil rigs will be closed down hopefully for ever. And new off sea oil drilling projects will surely be shelved. OMV’s earlier announcement that it was shelving its last remaining oil and gas exploration plans in the Taranaki Basin will hopefully be the first of many to be cancelled.

Greenhouse gas generation has also taken a hit. It was estimated that for a time earlier this year China’s output of CO2 was reduced by a quarter. And Simon Evans at Carbonbrief believes that the reductions this year could be the greatest ever.

From his article:

This updated tentative estimate is equivalent to around 5.5% of the global total in 2019. As a result, the coronavirus crisis could trigger the largest ever annual fall in CO2 emissions in 2020, more than during any previous economic crisis or period of war.

Even this would not come close to bringing the 1.5C global temperature limit within reach. Global emissions would need to fall by some 7.6% every year this decade – nearly 2,800MtCO2 in 2020 – in order to limit warming to less than 1.5C above pre-industrial temperatures.

To put it another way, atmospheric carbon levels are expected to increase again this year, even if CO2 emissions cuts are greater still. Rising CO2 concentrations – and related global warming – will only stabilise once annual emissions reach net-zero.

Subsequent IEA analysis suggests that this year’s reduction could be as high as 8%.

Congratulations World, it looks like this year at least we have given ourselves some breathing space.

But it took a global pandemic to achieve this. And we are going to have to repeat these reductions year after year for the next decade to ameliorate rather than avoid the effects of climate change.

Weka analysed Greenpeace’s request for a Green Covid response in this earlier post. The proposals are all worthy contenders for inclusion.

Which is why the Government’s listing and fast tracking of “shovel ready” projects is so important. To create employment it is preparing to spend large amounts of money quickly getting a variety of construction projects under way.

From Radio New Zealand:

Cabinet has approved the fast tracking of large shovel ready projects, largely by-passing the Resource Management Act.

The announcement this morning, from Environment Minister David Parker, comes as the government continues to identify projects which could be begin sooner with a large injection of public money.

The aim is to boost the economy as it enters a sharp downturn brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The new act, due to be passed in June, would take away the ability of the public and councils to have an input in to whether projects proceed and instead hand this power to small panels of experts, chaired by an Environment Court judge.

Parker said the sorts of projects that would benefit from quicker consenting included roading, walking and cycling, rail, housing, sediment removal, new wetland construction, flood management works, and projects to prevent landfill erosion.

Parker said projects that include transport, environmental benefits, and housing will be prioritised under the plan.

The Government is concentrating on job rich construction proposals in its list of projects it wishes to accelerate. There are plenty of job rich projects that are also creating climate resilient futures. The Waitakere Ranges Local Board’s Greenways plan is one.

Transport has not been an issue during the Covid-19 lockdown. Streets have been empty and congestion a thing of the past. The only demand has been for safer walking and cycling facilities and in getting ready for a post carbon world these should be prioritised.

I can imagine an intense battle in Cabinet right now between those with an environmental bent and those (looking at you Shane Jones) who love roads.

I hope the environmentalists win. If we a a country are going to do our bit in reducing our carbon output by 8% a year for the next decade then they have to succeed.

55 comments on “Covid-19 and climate change ”

  1. Adrian 1

    Is that fair on Shane Jones, all he seems to be after is equity for those areas like Northland and Gisborne to have the same access to roads and railways that are fit for purpose, safer and of the standard of more fortunate areas.

  2. Maurice 2

    Institute permanent lock down for all 'non-essential' persons

    Vigorously institute full euthanasia and abortion practices to reduce population

    The legislation is already there …….

    P.S. Only Green politicians are 'essential' …..

    [lprent: On this site people are to be regarded as being essential. Well apart from those whose behaviour marks them out as trolls, and euthanasia enthusiasts like you. They’re essentially both non-essential and deserve punishment that fits their crimes. It is going to be interesting what happens when you get past your small honeymoon. Please read the policy, and note the section on self-martyrdom offenses. This is your warning. ]

  3. Tony Veitch (not etc.) 3

    I know Guy McPherson is persona non grata around here, but he said in an opinion piece that an economic downturn would accelerate climate change because:

    1) there are already several decades of Co2 up in the atmosphere still to have an effect and

    2) the masking effect of industrial pollution would be gone.

    Can't find the reference, sorry.
    Not sure if I agree with him (or what to think to be honest) but just putting this up to be shot down.

    • barry 3.1

      It is expected that there will be a short term warming from reduced pollution (especially jet contrails) and hysteresis in the weather systems, but over time (if emission reductions persist) the reduced level of CO2 should predominate and slow warming.

    • lprent 3.2

      https://www.skepticalscience.com/co2-residence-time.htmCan't be bothered looking it up. Who is Guy McPherson and why should I want or not want to listen to him?

      But his first point is just bullshit. The average residence time of a CO2 molecule in the atmosphere is about 4 to 5 years. Now admittedly, what you get is a swap from water – usually ocean. However it could be decades or even centuries since that went into the water system. And of course we've been adding extra fossil carbon into that for centuries.

      So in the short-term, CO2 levels in the atmosphere will fall if there is a permanent reduction, but then they'll start rising again to reflect the previous stupidity of adding CO2 to the oceans.

      The second one is more relevant but problematic. I'm assuming he is talking about particulate pollution rather than gases. But that is regional and an effect largely confined to low altitudes. Mostly if you're in some smallish areas in the northern hemisphere, where cloud formation is triggered by particulate pollution at low levels in the atmosphere – you'll get warmer at the surface because more sunlight is getting through. But overall the retained heat effect inside the whole atmosphere isn't any different because you were getting that heat anyway from reflections between the smog and the usual cloud layers.

      Remember that the only thing to look at there is the amount of energy escaping back to space. Munters use the 'common-sense' approach – but since they are terrestrial beings of the lower atmosphere – they have no common-sense for atmospheric nuances. So their usual analogy is looking at the albedo effects of ice surfaces with clear air above them – but outside of the poles and deserts this is rare. Most places have multiple layers of cloud of varying levels of opacity. Most of that higher level cloud doesn't appear to get formed by particulate pollution down in the bottom kilometres of the atmosphere..

      Offhand the only loss of heat from a particulate effect I can think of (outside of volcanoes) would be from having fewer aircraft flying. The cruising altitude of passenger jets is at about 10km or so above sealevel. More sunlight and heat created at that layer of the atmospheric column will cause less generated heat further down the atmospheric column. So if everything stops flying, then a few years (residence time up there is pretty long – look at volcanic effects) , there will more energy getting lower in the column.

  4. RedLogix 4

    Mickey.

    While I totally understand the motives you're writing with here, and they're all good, the conclusion "I hope the environmentalists win" is insufficient at best.

    Given that our economies (from a global perspective, which is the only one that matters here) are still linked to fossil fuel use, then if the greenies do indeed win, you are arguing for reductions in economic activity in the order of 25 – 50% in order to achieve any meaningful or useful CO2 reductions.

    If you are going to vote against human development, then you need to acknowledge this also votes for unwinding all the social gains of the past 200 years. If we are going to unwind back to pre-industrial, photosynthesis only economies (which is what unwinding fossil fuel use implies) then I'd argue it's highly probably we'd also regress to the social mores and customs that prevailed in those eras. There is every reason to expect chattel slavery to return for instance.

    Imagine the environmentalists do win, and begin locking in the economic shutdown of the past few months permanently. In what world do you imagine the human development ramifications of this will go unchallenged?

    • Sacha 4.1

      reductions in economic activity in the order of 25 – 50% in order to achieve any meaningful or useful CO2 reductions

      Changing the type of activity does not mean killing the economy. Does require overturning current patterns of wealth accumulation and what counts as valuable, sure.

    • pat 4.2

      Some very emotive assumptions there.

      I doubt even you would argue that the purposes of much of that activity is useful in any way other than providing private profit and/or employment…..nor does an "environmentalist win" preclude human development, though hopefully it will reprioritise it.

      While fossil fuels may currently be the basis of our production that dosnt mean we cannot use that fuel to transition to a means of production that does not (certainly to any unsustainable degree) require it…indeed logic suggests we must do such for the alternative is to waste that energy on fripperies instead of your oft promoted progress.

      Not to mention its suicidal not to.

      • RedLogix 4.2.1

        I'm not disposed to argue against opportunities to better organise the economic life of the top golden 1b. We can indeed be more efficient and we could direct our energies to more socially valuable purposes.

        But our historically remarkable standard of living is nonetheless entwined with our industrial economies. Hand waving off this fundamental link is wishful thinking, sustained only because so many people really have little personal experience with the massive complex of materials and technologies that underpin it.

        For instance, next time you are at the dentist, look about with a thoughtful eye and contemplate just a few of the many objects that make this treatment safe, painless and effective. And then if you can think about extraordinary chain of human endeavour that made each one of these objects possible.

        And they all require energy.

        • pat 4.2.1.1

          indeed they do….and nobody ( effectively) is arguing for a return to the dark ages rather a much more efficient and effective use of those resources we have….something laissez faire (market economy) has proven itself incapable of.

          • RedLogix 4.2.1.1.1

            rather a much more efficient and effective use of those resources we have

            If you pre-suppose a fixed amount of resource, then whether it's consumed fast or slowly, merely changes the date at which you consume them all.

            At that point you are back to the photosynthesis Dark Ages anyway.

            • pat 4.2.1.1.1.1

              Of course it changes the date at which they are consumed….thats the point.

              Does humanity wish to have a short term or a long term future? (even if you wish to ignore the environmental impacts)

              • RedLogix

                Whether we crawl slowly to the precipice of energy extinction, or madly rush over it, the terminal fall is the same.

                In my view humanity has no worthwhile, meaningful future of any kind, if go through all of this, merely to arrive back at the Dark Ages.

                • pat

                  "Whether we crawl slowly to the precipice of energy extinction, or madly rush over it, the terminal fall is the same"

                  That is where your logic deserts you….we dont know what we dont know.

                  We currently are incapable of solving this crisis but who knows what we may discover in the future (if we have one)….maximum efficiency provides one thing we cannot manufacture nor buy…time.

                  Or we can rush headlong over the cliff…our choice.

                  • RedLogix

                    Nowhere have I advocated bau ‘rushing over the cliff’. Scaling back our excesses may well buy useful time.

                    But for what?

                    In terms of energy there are only three options we know of. The immediate one is extending solar and wind renewables, but with a clear eyed sense of their limitations. The medium term is next generation nuclear fission; highly achievable and well understood, but faces almost insurmountable and irrational political hurdles. And longer term we should continue to work to crack the nuclear fusion puzzle, but while everyone loves the principle, it's by no means a certain bet we can make it work in global, real world settings.

                    And yes you're entitled to hope for another altogether different energy option, but while a positive constructive outlook is one thing, pure hopium is quite another.

                    • pat

                      there is one thing we do know for certain….what we are doing is suicidal on many levels….everything else can be as you describe "hopium"

                      What do you prefer?

                    • RedLogix

                      I've outlined the constructive options open to us above. It's not a case of what I prefer, it's what can be achieved.

                    • pat

                      What you have outlined are political choices….as we live in a democracy it is indeed a case of what you prefer

            • Poission 4.2.1.1.1.2

              At that point you are back to the photosynthesis Dark Ages anyway.

              Since life both simple cells and photosynthesis has been operating on earth,the sun (independently) has increased its output by around 30%,the increase in photosynthetic radiation,has resulted in a decrease in the earth surface temperature.

              Not all climate fixes are mechanical engineering,we also need to look at land use changes,and sink efficiencies (the later being a fast rectifier)

              • Andre

                Gee, I wonder what else changed during that time the sun's output increased and temperatures decreased? Could it possibly be that thing that has suddenly recently started massively increasing again that is very closely correlated with recently rising temperatures again?

                • Poission

                  Missed the point again,you cannot look at emissions only,without looking at potentials in the sink capacity ie the ability to remove co2,without the use of FF,and LUC.

                  The role of chance (and opportunity ) are also often looked,for example when we look back in time,the obvious analogous state was the Pliocene.

                  Here we see a divergent branching in the tree of life with two near related species of Australopithecus ,One suffered from a biological invasion,causing arthritis and had to become a ground dweller,the other became extinct.

                  The emergent ground dweller also needed to be able to adapt to climate change,where Co2,and temperatures (along with spreading of savanna and decrease in forests) were similar to today.In addition nearby supernovas and reduced the ozone layer,so they (lucy and here daughters) had to adapt to increased UV.One adaption was to stand upright (reducing exposure and decreasing water loss,)

          • Drowsy M. Kram 4.2.1.1.2

            RedLogix advocates the hyper-energisation of human society – he envisions a future where available clean energy is a modest ten times current global generation, opening the current paradise of the ‘golden billion‘ to all.

            There's no denying it's a seductive dream of transformation, not the least because it requires no sacrifice, sharing or other (behavioural) changes on the part of the golden billion. I'm just not sure that 'more' is the answer; maybe it really is possible to have too much of a good thing?

            Policy design for the Anthropocene
            Today, more than ever, ‘Spaceship Earth’ is an apt metaphor as we chart the boundaries for a safe planet. Social scientists both analyse why society courts disaster by approaching or even overstepping these boundaries and try to design suitable policies to avoid these perils. Because the threats of transgressing planetary boundaries are global, long-run, uncertain and interconnected, they must be analysed together to avoid conflicts and take advantage of synergies. To obtain policies that are effective at both international and local levels requires careful analysis of the underlying mechanisms across scientific disciplines and approaches, and must take politics into account. In this Perspective, we examine the complexities of designing policies that can keep Earth within the biophysical limits favourable to human life.
            https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330290940_Policy_design_for_the_Anthropocene

            • pat 4.2.1.1.2.1

              Too much of a good thing?…perhaps.

              I have my views on what is likely and/or desirable in the future as does everyone (including RL) but I reiterate any future vision requires us first getting there….we can then look back and say 'told you so' or 'didnt expect that' then.

              If we're lucky.

            • RedLogix 4.2.1.1.2.2

              I like that word 'hyper-energisation'. I'm just so going to have to steal it. wink

              There's no denying it's a seductive vision of transformation, not the least because it requires no sacrifice, sharing or other (behavioural) changes on the part of the golden billion.

              I'm happy to engage with that theme at length if you wish, and the observant will have noted I've been quietly doing that here for years. With probably only limited success, but hell you have to start somewhere.

              The short answer is yes, you are absolutely right on that point. The medium sized version explores the relationship between technological change and social change and how the two are interdependent both driving each other in positive feedback loops.

              The much longer version explores themes of universality, trustworthiness, and the nature of the sanctified society. But please not on this thread … smiley

        • Robert Guyton 4.2.1.2

          The next time you're at the dentist, think about sugar…

          • Incognito 4.2.1.2.1

            Sugar in itself does not cause tooth decay. Many healthy foods contains sugar (carbohydrates), which can cause plague build up and acid attacks on your enamel, which is mainly responsible for tooth decay.

    • mickysavage 4.3

      Thanks RL but I am more afraid about what happens if the Environmentalists lose …

      This feels like jumping off a cliff and hoping to glide down and landing on a 20c piece. Missing it is not an option …

  5. Ad 5

    I am really disappointed by this government getting ready to circumvent the existing Resource Management Act.

    I am particularly disappointed that it is Minister Parker leading the charge.

    I get that people want to get the diggers going, and we need to employ thousands more people within months, not a year or two. That is big.

    But fact is, if a major project gets appealed these days from the 95% of proposals that don't, well they probably should kill it right there. And they know it.

    It is wrong to relegate the role of the judiciary, wrong to minimise scrutiny from the public, and wrong to break decades of precedent that the RMA has produced. The RMA is in many ways the closest citizens get to a second chamber of parliamentary scrutiny.

    There are plenty of ways to really speed up these processes that don't require changing the law. These include:
    – when a large project sets up an ongoing committee dialogue with a Council consenting team to closely rehearse every element,
    – setting up a Kaitiaki Engagement group well before hearings and
    – a stakeholder group before the court requires you to so you know exactly what they want before it's evidence,
    – involving likely opponents in the concept design,
    – call-in procedures,
    – doing the optioneering in parallel with the consent hearings,
    – other actual smart stuff that eliminates the threat of appeals from locals putting the guilts on you so you chuck a few mil their way in mitigation responses.

    This RMA reform move looks like precisely the crap Labour criticised National for when the reformed the RMA themselves. Hypocritical and dumb.

    This infrastructure spend from government is getting closer and closer to the kind of Ministerial thumb-suck command-and-control government you see in much weaker sates like Papua New Guinea or Fiji.

    • Sacha 5.1

      Labour were quite ready to change the RMA when they came into office – see Twyford's public statements agreeing with Act that land usage regulations were a major barrier to affordable housing (ignoring financial factors etc). At least unlike the Nats they are not proposing to throw away the Act's principles or all the case law.

      • Sacha 5.1.1

        Though Winston First do love them some 1970s pork-barrelling free of pesky regulations.

    • Dennis Frank 5.2

      Yeah but, Ad, it ain't just rightists who have been chafing at the bureaucratic stranglehold. Plenty of folk have seen that problem for years. Latest example: masks etc. Govt ministers telling us on the headline news how many thousand are available, already in our system, followed by clinic staff & public testifying that they can't get them. Distribution by bureaucrats. Checkmate.

      • Incognito 5.2.1

        I can’t see anything in Ad’s comment about bureaucracy and I have tried. In any case, it think it is lazy and simplistic labelling. Unless you mean by “bureaucratic stranglehold” issues with efficient and effective logistics and communication within and across a distributed network in which power, control, and responsibility are part-delegated. The pandemic response has highlighted issues with coordination between the 20 DHBs; PPE and flu shots are symptoms (outcomes) thereof.

        • Dennis Frank 5.2.1.1

          It was a reference to the perennial complaint of business about the RMA, as featured in media/headlines regularly for more years than I care to remember. I did agree with Palmer's original rationale, but there have been sufficient intstances of bureaucratic over-reach (little hitler syndrome) in the intervening years to open my mind to the possibility of sensible reform.

          The surgical strike through bureaucracy's red-tape gordian knot seems an heroic use of the govt scalpel, but time will tell how wise it is. I still rate Parker quite highly so I have interim faith in the intelligence of his design…

          • Incognito 5.2.1.1.1

            Parker is just one person and the State is a machinery with many cogs, as we have seen with MoH over the past month or so. He could be just one mountain-bike ride away from losing his portfolio, all we know. For example, Shane Jones may hold it in the next Government, who knows. I’m quite concerned about the possible implications this may have for (re-)zoning of land and urban boundaries, etc. Imagine if National leads the next Government; they will have a field day. It would also mean we would have a different ‘gatekeeper’. Who appoints the panel of expert? I also wonder about capacity issues. I believe these were also plaguing KiwiBuild. It looks like concentrating power closer to central government and the big end of town. It may have a ‘good’ rationale but it may also have many (?) unintended consequences.

            AFAIK, your example of PPE has got nothing to do with the RMA or businesses constantly complaining about it and is a false equivalence at more than one level IMO.

            • Dennis Frank 5.2.1.1.1.1

              AFAIK, your example of PPE has got nothing to do with the RMA or businesses constantly complaining about it and is a false equivalence at more than one level IMO.

              So you have yet to encounter analogic thinking?? There's a wikipedia page you could peruse…

              Or reflect on the fact that bureaucracy frustrates the intent of legislators at many levels of governance, and plenty of folks see the general pattern. And I agree with you about that other stuff.

    • RedBaronCV 5.3

      Disappointed that's very moderate of you- I'm closer to furious. Looks like we can see that Labour's changes are all going to skew towards the big business end of town. We've all done the hard yards willingly because it's in our own interests. Looks like only the few interests get to design the next step.

      The public frequently make some pretty decent suggestions but apart from that some shovel ready projects could do with some basic reassessment or being put on hold because the underlying game that made them useful has changed. Roads to airports would be high on the list.

      There are projects around Wellington ( & some major changes being sort by the council to make some areas developer heaven) that have been successfully fought off over decades because they are basically useless or there are better options not favoured by the local property developers.

    • RedBaronCV 5.4

      And is this likely to deal with one of the housing constraints in that land that has been rezoned as residential has been hoarded by the few with the profits from the rezoning being privatised rather than used to install the infrastructure that the area needs?

      That's likely to be a "no".

  6. Sacha 6

    The Government is concentrating on job rich construction proposals in its list of projects it wishes to accelerate.

    Big roading projects are far from 'job rich'. Expensive machinery replaces human labour. One reason financiers love that sort of project.

  7. Andre 7

    Well, we've dropped the easy discretionary activities down to a small fraction of what they were and achieved an emissions reduction of … drumroll…5% to 8%. That takes us back to where emissions were in what – 2010? 2005? The remaining emissions come from maintaining even a fairly minimal pared-back lifestyle – it's from food, shelter, electricity, water etc and the infrastructure that makes it possible.

    So, are we all going to go with the anarcho-primitivist ideal and keep paring back further and further and keep progressively giving up things and activities that make life enjoyable? Most people would be utterly shocked at how much paring back would have to be done, coupled with a dramatic population reduction, in order to turn around climate change.

    Or do we recognise the enormity of the task in front of us and hop to it to decarbonise our technological – industrial infrastructure? There's easy ones to fully achieve first, such as de-emissioning our electricity supply and land transport sectors, but that shouldn't slow us down from cracking on with more difficult sectors like industrial process heat, food production, shipping, what little might remain of long-haul air travel.

    https://grist.org/climate/the-world-is-on-lockdown-so-where-are-all-the-carbon-emissions-coming-from/

    • pat 7.1

      It is worth recognising that those projections (and that is all they are) are annual, on the back of approximately 6-8 weeks effect….what would the reduction be if that effect was for the full 52 weeks?

      • Andre 7.1.1

        Go ahead and look at it that it's really a 30% plus (pick a number) reduction if we all stayed at our currently reduced level.

        It's still a diversion from the point that all the excess lifestyle choices that have currently been pared back are only a small part of the problem.

        • pat 7.1.1.1

          depends upon your definition of small…and not all excesses (or their underlying supply) has been removed…indeed the lag effect will be pronounced….airlines are a good examples to examine, yes they are largely grounded but many flights continue for say repatriation etc and a number of those flights are near empty….once the repatriations have been completed will air miles raise or lower?…have super yachts stopped sailing?…are factories still producing millions of 'happy meal' toys?…I'd suggest much 'inefficient' energy use continues unabated, especially given the short period to date (it may feel like forever but it is a blip so far in production terms)….and then there is vehicle use, reduced, yes but still highly carbon emitting….and we've seen what happens as the restrictions relax….all variables that make drawing conclusions from a projection problematic.

    • RedLogix 7.2

      Most people would be utterly shocked at how much paring back would have to be done, coupled with a dramatic population reduction, in order to turn around climate change.

      Thank you; that needs saying over and over.

      And that only applies to the top golden 1b people on earth; how do we face the other 7b or so and tell them they have to remain poor?

      I've not been hammering this point here for months, just to make myself unpopular. My love of the natural world started as a young man, was born as I tramped and climbed about the NZ wilderness. Those experiences have only become sharper and more meaningful to me as I get older.

      I've looked at current pictures of the Godley Glacier, contemplated how I travelled over this terrain in my own lifetime, and then compared the modern view with despair.

      I first read about climate science in the late 70's while sitting in a Physics Dept tearoom reading New Scientist. And then asking a real geo-physicist what it might mean. Not a lot has fundamentally changed in the intervening years from his brief and blunt summation.

      Then I've watched this profoundly deep science story alternatively hijacked and tainted by political extremists of all types. I've seen the question of overpopulation used as a thin veil covering up for some deeply anti-human, nihilistic sentiments. I've seen people reducing this most global of all stories to dull nationalistic boundaries, in the hope that the full implications of what this means for humanity can be conveniently ignored. Yet I remain hopeful because all other alternatives have been tried and proven worse.

      Put bluntly, we must both de-carbonise AND accelerate human development at the same time. Both are necessary, neither is sufficient without the other.

  8. barry 8

    Given that the RMA forbids consideration of climate change effects it needs amendment anyway. If the new act includes a statement about initiatives being aligned with the government climate goals (and clean water etc) it could be an improvement. Need to see the details.

  9. This year's largest ever annual fall of 8% in CO2 emissions would get offset by the largest ever increase in CO2 emissions in 2021 or even in the 2nd half of 2020. The government would not budge until a COVID-19 like pandemic happen with the environment.

  10. Hope this crisis never comes again.

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  • Cross-party consensus: there’s no pipeline without good faith

    There’s been a lot of talk recently about a cross-party agreement to develop a pipeline for infrastructure, including transport. Last month, outgoing CRL boss Sean Sweeney talked about the importance of securing an enduring infrastructure programme. He outlined the high costs of the relentless political flip-flopping of priorities, which drives ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    13 hours ago
  • Voters love this climate policy they’ve never heard of

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The Inflation Reduction Act is the Biden administration’s signature climate law and the largest U.S. government investment in reducing climate pollution to date. Among climate advocates, the policy is well-known and celebrated, but beyond that, only a minority of Americans ...
    13 hours ago
  • ACC wants to administer inflation at more than double the RBNZ’s target rate

    ACC levies are set to rise at more than double the inflation rate targeted by the RBNZ. Photo: Lynn GrievesonKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 12:The state-owned monopoly for accident insurance wants ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • Harris vs Trump

    We’ve been selected to rock your asses 'til midnightThis is my term, I've shaved off my perm, but it's alrightI solemnly swear to uphold the ConstitutionGot a rock 'n' roll problem? Well we got a solutionLet us be who we am, and let us kick out the jams, yeahKick out ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    15 hours ago
  • Treaty Bill “a political stunt”

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon appears to have given ACT Leader David Seymour more than he has been admitting in the proposals to go forward with a Treaty Principles Bill.All along, Luxon has maintained that the Government is proceeding with the Bill to honour the coalition agreement.But that is quite specific.It ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    16 hours ago
  • An average 219 NZers migrated each day in July

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, September 11:Annual migration of New Zealanders rose to a record-high 80,963 in the year to the end of July, which is more than double its pre-Covid levels.Two ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • What you’re wanting to win more than anything is The Narrative

    Hubris is sitting down on election day 2016 to watch that pig Trump get his ass handed to him, and watching the New York Times needle hover for a while over Hillary and then move across to Trump where it remains all night to your gathering horror and dismay. You're ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • National’s automated lie machine

    The government has a problem: lots of people want information from it all the time. Information about benefits, about superannuation, ACC coverage and healthcare, taxes, jury service, immigration - and that's just the routine stuff. Responding to all of those queries takes a lot of time and costs a lot ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Christopher Luxon: A Man of “Faith” and “Compassion” Speaks on the Treaty Pr...

    Synopsis: Today - we explore two different realities. One where National lost. And another - which is the one we are living with here. Note: the footnote on increased fees/taxes may be of interest to some readers.Article open.Subscribe nowIt’s an alternate timeline.Yesterday as news broke that the central North Island ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 day ago
  • Member’s Day

    Today is a Member's Day. First up is the third reading of Dan Bidois' Fair Trading (Gift Card Expiry) Amendment Bill, which will be followed by the committee stage of Deborah Russell's Family Proceedings (Dissolution for Family Violence) Amendment Bill. This will be followed by the second readings of Katie ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Northern Expressway Boondoggle

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has been soaring high with his hubris of getting on and building motorways but some uncomfortable realities are starting to creep in. Back in July he announced that the government was pushing on with a Northland Expressway using an “accelerated delivery strategy” The Coalition Government is ...
    2 days ago
  • Never Enough

    However much I'm falling downNever enoughHowever much I'm falling outNever, never enough!Whatever smile I smile the mostNever enoughHowever I smile I smile the mostSongwriters: Robert James Smith / Simon Gallup / Boris Williams / Porl ThompsonToday in Nick’s Kōrero:A death in the Emergency Department at Rotorua Hospital.A sad homecoming and ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Question Two of The Kākā Project of 2026 for 2050 (TKP 26/50)

    Kia ora.Last month I proposed restarting The Kākā Project work done before the 2023 election as The Kākā Project of 2026 for 2050 (TKP 26/50), aiming to be up and running before the 2025 Local Government elections, and then in a finalised form by the 2026 General Elections.A couple of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Why is God Obsessed with Spanking?

    Hi,If you’ve read Webworm for a while, you’ll be aware that I’ve spent a lot of time writing about horrific, corrupt megachurches and the shitty men who lead them.And in all of this writing, I think some people have this idea that I hate Christians or Christianity. As I explain ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Inside the public service

    In 2023, there were 63,117 full-time public servants earning, on average, $97,200 a year each. All up, that is a cost to the Government of $6.1 billion a year. It’s little wonder, then, that the public service has become a political whipping boy castigated by the Prime Minister and members ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • New Models Show Stronger Atlantic Hurricanes, and More of Them

    This is a re-post from This is Not Cool Here’s an example of some of the best kind of climate reporting, especially in that it relates to impacts that will directly affect the audience. WFLA in Tampa conducted a study in collaboration with the Department of Energy, analyzing trends in ...
    2 days ago
  • Where ever do they find these people?

    A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, is how Winston Churchill described the Soviet Union in 1939.  How might the great man have described the 2024 government of New Zealand, do we think? I can't imagine he would have thought them all that mysterious or enigmatic. I think ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Motorway madness

    How mad is National's obsession with roads? One of their pet projects - a truck highway to Whangārei - is going to eat 10% of our total infrastructure budget for the next 25 years: Official advice from the Infrastructure Commission shows the government could be set to spend 10 ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Our transport planning system is fundamentally broken

    Ever since Wayne Brown became mayor (nearly two years ago now) he’s been wanting to progress an “integrated transport plan” with the government – which sounded a lot like the previous Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) with just a different name. It seems like a fair bit of work progressed ...
    3 days ago
  • Thou Shalt Not Steal

    And they taught usWhoa-oh, black woman, thou shalt not stealI said, hey, yeah, black man, thou shalt not stealWe're gonna civilise your black barbaric livesAnd we teach you how to kneelBut your history couldn't hide the genocideThe hypocrisy to us was realFor your Jesus said you're supposed to giveThe oppressed ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • How mismanagement, not wind and solar energy, causes blackouts

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections In February 2021, several severe storms swept across the United States, culminating with one that the Weather Channel unofficially named Winter Storm Uri. In Texas, Uri knocked out power to over 4.5 million homes and 10 million people. Hundreds of Texans died as a ...
    3 days ago
  • The ‘Infra Boys’ Highway to Budget Hell

    Chris Bishop has enthusiastically dubbed himself and Simeon Brown “the Infra Boys”, but they need to take note of the sums around their roading dreams. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Media Link: “AVFA” on the politics of desperation.

    In this podcast Selwyn Manning and I talk about what appears to be a particular type of end-game in the long transition to systemic realignment in international affairs, in which the move to a new multipolar order with different characteristics … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    3 days ago
  • The cost of flying blind

    Just over two years ago, when worries about immediate mass-death from covid had waned, and people started to talk about covid becoming "endemic", I asked various government agencies what work they'd done on the costs of that - and particularly, on the cost of Long Covid. The answer was that ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Seymour vs The Clergy

    For paid subscribers“Aotearoa is not as malleable as they think,” Lynette wrote last week on Homage to Simeon Brown:In my heart/mind, that phrase ricocheted over the next days, translating out to “We are not so malleable.”It gave me comfort. I always felt that we were given an advantage in New ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Unstoppable Minister McKee

    All smiles, I know what it takes to fool this townI'll do it 'til the sun goes downAnd all through the nighttimeOh, yeahOh, yeah, I'll tell you what you wanna hearLeave my sunglasses on while I shed a tearIt's never the right timeYeah, yeahSong by SiaLast night there was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Could outdoor dining revitalise Queen Street?

    This is a guest post by Ben van Bruggen of The Urban Room,.An earlier version of this post appeared on LinkedIn. All images are by Ben. Have you noticed that there’s almost nowhere on Queen Street that invites you to stop, sit outside and enjoy a coffee, let alone ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    4 days ago
  • Hipkins challenges long-held Labour view Government must stay below 30% of GDP

    Hipkins says when considering tax settings and the size of government, the big question mark is over what happens with the balance between the size of the working-age population and the growing number of Kiwis over the age of 65. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Your invite to Webworm Chat (a bit like Reddit)

    Hi,One of the things I love the most about Webworm is, well, you. The community that’s gathered around this lil’ newsletter isn’t something I ever expected when I started writing it four years ago — now the comments section is one of my favourite places on the internet. The comments ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Seymour’s Treaty bill making Nats nervous

    A delay in reappointing a top civil servant may indicate a growing nervousness within the National Party about the potential consequences of David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill. Dave Samuels is waiting for reappointment as the Chief Executive of Te Puni Kokiri, but POLITIK understands that what should have been a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #36

    A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 1, 2024 thru Sat, September 7, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is about how peopele are not born stupid but can be fooled ...
    4 days ago
  • Time for a Change

    You act as thoughYou are a blind manWho's crying, crying 'boutAll the virgins that are dyingIn your habitual dreams, you knowSeems you need more sleepBut like a parrot in a flaming treeI know it's pretty hard to seeI'm beginning to wonderIf it's time for a changeSong: Phil JuddThe next line ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Six.

    The “double shocks” in post Cold War international affairs. The end of the Cold War fundamentally altered the global geostrategic context. In particular, the end of the nuclear “balance of terror” between the USA and USSR, coupled with the relaxation … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Buried deep

    Here's a bike on Manchester St, Feilding. I took this photo on Friday night after a very nice dinner at the very nice Vietnamese restaurant, Saigon, on Manchester Street.I thought to myself, Manchester Street? Bicycle? This could be the very spot.To recap from an earlier edition: on a February night ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies, Excerpt Five.

    Military politics as a distinct “partial regime.” Notwithstanding their peripheral status, national defense offers the raison d’être of the combat function, which their relative vulnerability makes apparent, so military forces in small peripheral democracies must be very conscious of events … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Leadership for Dummies

    If you’re going somewhere, do you maybe take a bit of an interest in the place? Read up a bit on the history, current events, places to see - that sort of thing? Presumably, if you’re taking a trip somewhere, it’s for a reason. But what if you’re going somewhere ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Home again

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Dead even tie for hottest August ever

    Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:The month of August was 1.49˚C warmer than pre-industrial levels, tying with 2023 for the warmest August ever, according ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 7

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the debate about how to responde to climate disinformation; and special guest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Have We an Infrastructure Deficit?

    An Infrastructure New Zealand report says we are keeping up with infrastructure better than we might have thought from the grumbling. But the challenge of providing for the future remains.I was astonished to learn that the quantity of our infrastructure has been keeping up with economic growth. Your paper almost ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago
  • Councils reject racism

    Last month, National passed a racist law requiring local councils to remove their Māori wards, or hold a referendum on them at the 2025 local body election. The final councils voted today, and the verdict is in: an overwhelming rejection. Only two councils out of 45 supported National's racist agenda ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Homage to Simeon Brown

    Open to all - happy weekend ahead, friends.Today I just want to be petty. It’s the way I imagine this chap is -Not only as a political persona. But his real-deal inner personality, in all its glory - appears to be pure pettiness & populist driven.Sometimes I wonder if Simeon ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • Government of deceit

    When National cut health spending and imposed a commissioner on Te Whatu Ora, they claimed that it was necessary because the organisation was bloated and inefficient, with "14 layers of management between the CEO and the patient". But it turns out they were simply lying: Health Minister Shane Reti’s ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • The professionals actually think and act like our Government has no fiscal crisis at all

    Treasury staff at work: The demand for a new 12-year Government bond was so strong, Treasury decided to double the amount of bonds it sold. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 6-September-2024

    Welcome to another Friday and another roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. As always, this and every post is brought to you by the Greater Auckland crew. If you like our work and you’d like to see more of it, we invite you to join our regular ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    7 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies; Excerpt Four.

    Internal versus external security. Regardless of who rules, large countries can afford to separate external and internal security functions (even if internal control functions predominate under authoritarian regimes). In fact, given the logic of power concentration and institutional centralization of … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    7 days ago
  • A Hole In The River

    There's a hole in the river where her memory liesFrom the land of the living to the air and skyShe was coming to see him, but something changed her mindDrove her down to the riverThere is no returnSongwriters: Neil Finn/Eddie RaynerThe king is dead; long live the queen!Yesterday was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • Bright Blue His Jacket Ain’t But I Love This Fellow: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power E...

    My conclusion last week was that The Rings of Power season two represented a major improvement in the series. The writing’s just so much better, and honestly, its major problems are less the result of the current episodes and more creatures arising from season one plot-holes. I found episode three ...
    7 days ago
  • Who should we thank for the defeat of the Nazis

    As a child in the 1950s, I thought the British had won the Second World War because that’s what all our comics said. Later on, the films and comics told me that the Americans won the war. In my late teens, I found out that the Soviet Union ...
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #36 2024

    Open access notables Diurnal Temperature Range Trends Differ Below and Above the Melting Point, Pithan & Schatt, Geophysical Research Letters: The globally averaged diurnal temperature range (DTR) has shrunk since the mid-20th century, and climate models project further shrinking. Observations indicate a slowdown or reversal of this trend in recent decades. ...
    1 week ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm

    Photo by Jenny Bess on UnsplashCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with special guests:5.00 pm - 5.10 pm - Bernard and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Media Link: Discussing the NZSIS Security Threat Report.

    I was interviewed by Mike Hosking at NewstalkZB and a few other media outlets about the NZSIS Security Threat Report released recently. I have long advocated for more transparency, accountability and oversight of the NZ Intelligence Community, and although the … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • How do I make this better for people who drive Ford Rangers?

    Home, home again to a long warm embrace. Plenty of reasons to be glad to be back.But also, reasons for dejection.You, yes you, Simeon Brown, you odious little oik, you bible thumping petrol-pandering ratfucker weasel. You would be Reason Number One. Well, maybe first among equals with Seymour and Of-Seymour ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • A missed opportunity

    The government introduced a pretty big piece of constitutional legislation today: the Parliament Bill. But rather than the contentious constitutional change (four year terms) pushed by Labour, this merely consolidates the existing legislation covering Parliament - currently scattered across four different Acts - into one piece of legislation. While I ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Nicola Willis Seeks New Sidekick To Help Fix NZ’s Economy

    Synopsis:Nicola Willis is seeking a new Treasury Boss after Dr Caralee McLiesh’s tenure ends this month. She didn’t listen to McLiesh. Will she listen to the new one?And why is Atlas Network’s Taxpayers Union chiming in?Please consider subscribing or supporting my work. Thanks, Tui.About CaraleeAt the beginning of July, Newsroom ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Inflation alive and kicking in our land of the long white monopolies

    The golden days of profit continue for the the Foodstuffs (Pak’n’Save and New World) and Woolworths supermarket duopoly. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 5:The Groceries Commissioner has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The thermodynamics of electric vs. internal combustion cars

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler I love thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is like your mom: it may not tell you what you can do, but it damn well tells you what you can’t do. I’ve written a few previous posts that include thermodynamics, like one on air capture of ...
    1 week ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Three.

    The notion of geopolitical  “periphery.” The concept of periphery used here refers strictly to what can be called the geopolitical periphery. Being on the geopolitical periphery is an analytic virtue because it makes for more visible policy reform in response … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • Venus Hum

    Fill me up with soundThe world sings with me a million smiles an hourI can see me dancing on my radioI can hear you singing in the blades of grassYellow dandelions on my way to schoolBig Beautiful Sky!Song: Venus Hum.Good morning, all you lovely people, and welcome to the 700th ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • I Went to a Creed Concert

    Note: The audio attached to this Webworm compliments today’s newsletter. I collected it as I met people attending a Creed concert. Their opinions may differ to mine. Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago
  • Government migration policy backfires; thousands of unemployed nurses

    The country has imported literally thousands of nurses over the past few months yet whether they are being employed as nurses is another matter. Just what is going on with HealthNZ and it nurses is, at best, opaque, in that it will not release anything but broad general statistics and ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago
  • A Time For Unity.

    Emotional Response: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon addresses mourners at the tangi of King Tuheitia on Turangawaewae Marae on Saturday, 31 August 2024.THE DEATH OF KING TUHEITIA could hardly have come at a worse time for Maoridom. The power of the Kingitanga to unify te iwi Māori was demonstrated powerfully at January’s ...
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again

    National's tax cut policies relied on stealing revenue from the ETS (previously used to fund emissions reduction) to fund tax cuts to landlords. So how's that going? Badly. Today's auction failed again, with zero units (of a possible 7.6 million) sold. Which means they have a $456 million hole in ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Two.

    A question of size. Small size generally means large vulnerability. The perception of threat is broader and often more immediate for small countries. The feeling of comparative weakness, of exposure to risk, and of potential intimidation by larger powers often … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • Nicola Willis’s Very Unserious Bungling of the Kiwirail Interislander Cancellation

    Open to all with kind thanks to all subscribers and supporters.Today, RNZ revealed that despite MFAT advice to Nicola Willis to be very “careful and deliberate” in her communications with the South Korean government, prior to any public announcement on cancelling Kiwirail’s i-Rex, Willis instead told South Korea 26 minutes ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Satisfying the Minister’s Speed Obsession

    The Minister of Transport’s speed obsession has this week resulted in two new consultations for 110km/h speed limits, one in Auckland and one in Christchurch. There has also been final approval of the Kapiti Expressway to move to 110km/h following an earlier consultation. While the changes will almost certainly see ...
    1 week ago
  • What if we freed up our streets, again?

    This guest post is by Tommy de Silva, a local rangatahi and freelance writer who is passionate about making the urban fabric of Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland more people-focused and sustainable. New Zealand’s March-April 2020 Level 4 Covid response (aka “lockdown”) was somehow both the best and worst six weeks of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    1 week ago

  • New Bill to crack down on youth vaping

    The coalition Government has introduced legislation to tackle youth vaping, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No 2) is aimed at preventing youth vaping.  “While vaping has contributed to a significant fall in our smoking rates, the rise in youth vaping ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Interest in agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review welcomed

    Regulation Minister David Seymour, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, and Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard have welcomed interest in the agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review. The review by the Ministry for Regulation is looking at how to speed up the process to get farmers and growers access to the safe, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Bill to allow online charity lotteries passes first reading

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government is moving at pace to ensure lotteries for charitable purposes are allowed to operate online permanently. Charities fundraising online, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust and local hospices will continue to do ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Tax exempt threshold changes to benefit startups

    Technology companies are among the startups which will benefit from increases to current thresholds of exempt employee share schemes, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Revenue Minister Simon Watts say. Tax exempt thresholds for the schemes are increasing as part of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2024-25, Emergency ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Getting the healthcare you need, when you need it

    The path to faster cancer treatment, an increase in immunisation rates, shorter stays in emergency departments and quick assessment and treatments when you are sick has been laid out today. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has revealed details of how the ambitious health targets the Government has set will be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Targeted supports to accelerate reading

    The coalition Government is delivering targeted and structured literacy supports to accelerate learning for struggling readers. From Term 1 2025, $33 million of funding for Reading Recovery and Early Literacy Support will be reprioritised to interventions which align with structured approaches to teaching. “Structured literacy will change the way children ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Survivors invited to Abuse in Care national apology

    With two months until the national apology to survivors of abuse in care, expressions of interest have opened for survivors wanting to attend. “The Prime Minister will deliver a national apology on Tuesday 12 November in Parliament. It will be a very significant day for survivors, their families, whānau and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Rangatahi inspire at Ngā Manu Kōrero final

    Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini kē - My success is not mine alone but is the from the strength of the many. Aotearoa New Zealand’s top young speakers are an inspiration for all New Zealanders to learn more about the depth and beauty conveyed ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Driving structured literacy in schools

    The coalition Government is driving confidence in reading and writing in the first years of schooling. “From the first time children step into the classroom, we’re equipping them and teachers with the tools they need to be brilliant in literacy. “From 1 October, schools and kura with Years 0-3 will receive ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s misleading information is disappointing

    Labour’s misinformation about firearms law is dangerous and disappointing, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says.   “Labour and Ginny Andersen have repeatedly said over the past few days that the previous Labour Government completely banned semi-automatic firearms in 2019 and that the Coalition Government is planning to ‘reintroduce’ them.   ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Govt takes action on mpox response, widens access to vaccine

    The Government is taking immediate action on a number of steps around New Zealand’s response to mpox, including improving access to vaccine availability so people who need it can do so more easily, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. “Mpox is obviously a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Next steps agreed for Treaty Principles Bill

    Associate Justice Minister David Seymour says Cabinet has agreed to the next steps for the Treaty Principles Bill. “The Treaty Principles Bill provides an opportunity for Parliament, rather than the courts, to define the principles of the Treaty, including establishing that every person is equal before the law,” says Mr Seymour. “Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government unlocking potential of AI

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced a programme to drive Artificial Intelligence (AI) uptake among New Zealand businesses. “The AI Activator will unlock the potential of AI for New Zealand businesses through a range of support, including access to AI research experts, technical assistance, AI tools and resources, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government releases Wairoa flood review findings

    The independent rapid review into the Wairoa flooding event on 26 June 2024 has been released, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced today. “We welcome the review’s findings and recommendations to strengthen Wairoa's resilience against future events,” Ms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Promoting faster payment times for government

    The Government is sending a clear message to central government agencies that they must prioritise paying invoices in a timely manner, Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Andrew Bayly says. Data released today promotes transparency by publishing the payment times of each central government agency. This data will be published quarterly ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Acknowledgement to Kīngi Tuheitia speech

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