"Same old tired ideas" (tax cuts for the rich, boot camps for the not so rich) – tick.
Time for choleric Christopher to look in the mirror? Tick tick tick!
On Christopher Luxon’s Trashing Of The Poor [23 March 2022]
“If you want to have a go, and you want to make something of yourself — we don't just do bottom feeding and just focus on the bottom. We focus on people who want to be positive and ambitious.”
Given most of the councillors are streets ahead of Mayor Brown, I find his attempt to silence them outrageous. He comes across as a Kiwi version of Trump – an ignorant, narcissist bully boy. I hope the councillors don't allow him to blackmail or bully them into submission. He needs calling out at every turn.
Have you not been following the Auckland Floods/Brown fiasco?.
He is pursuing this idea in spite of the fact that he was MIA and the void in leadership was competently covered by several councillors and several MPs. Aucklanders were lucky that there were people of the calibre of the ones who did step up.
The phrase 'closing door etc' springs to mind but also what does a person expect would happen if they do not lead from the front when it is expected of them.
You are not seriously thinking that Brown did a good job during the floods are you?.
Even Luxon send a tweet asking for a Declaration to be made, albeit just a little bit after it was made but he has said he also communicated this by text privately to Brown.
You know it is always good to be able to say an improvement is needed instead of making yourself look a bit silly by being so one-eyed.
He was attempting to silence them. Its called 'reading between the lines' and those who are closest to him (city councillors in this case) would know exactly what he was doing. Hence the response by Chris Darby.
Now, what if Councillor Darby had been defending Brown's lack of action. Maybe along the lines that… he [Brown] was understandably upset about missing out on his game of tennis and it temporarily took his mind off the ball? (tongue-in -cheek)
Would Brown be sending such an email/text? You bet he wouldn't.
Completely wrong as you have been mislead by an inaccurate story
The full email says he encourages councillors , and they must talk about ‘their local issues’.
as he said before the election
'I’m not here to be loved or liked. I don’t see myself as warm or friendly. I see myself as a fixer. I’m an engineer and I build things and that’s why I’m standing for the mayoralty of Auckland because I and I alone have got the knowledge to get things done. I’ve done it before in Auckland and I can do it again.'
Yes I agree about the deteriorating quality of this column.
A week ago I said this about the same column
Now I used to see lots of Garrick Tremain cartoons and had the odd laugh. They seem quite waspish/sarcastic/heavy handed now. I wonder if some of these will grace the walls of the National Library in an exhibition? Not many perhaps.
How long has this been happening?
The site Points of Order says it is a follow on from TransTasman.
I used to enjoy TransTasman and I am still grateful to have a link to waspish RW thought. No-one can say the columns, and particularly Garrick Tremain's cartoons, are a must read though.
Looking a bit further at Garrick Tremain I find that he was the cartoonist with the cartoon about the measles epidemic in Samoa in 2019. Distinctly unfunny and tone deaf.
I don't mind the written stuff so much as I mind the terrible, awful, etc ……. cartoons.
They seem to pop up leading the posts. If there was some way of the written stuff being linked to and as an adjunct, once the written stuff is on screen the cartoons appear then that would be OK with me.
The cartoon that alerted me to the falling standard of the cartoons was the one linking WEF with former PM JA. This has been an ad nauseam part of the anti vaxx play list and so I was a bit surprised to see it in an ostensibly legit feed. I couldn't really care if she does go to WEF/Davos but there are a number of 'far-out' conspiracy theories about WEF
Another pointless exercise to score a point in your silly one-upmanship games. You sound like Wayne Brown in your diversionary comparison with Lower Hutt and your irrelevant whataboutisms, strawmen, and red herrings.
never heard of Hydrology have you. if you did you would know that monthly rainfall is completely irrelevant for pluvial flooding.
A lot of claims for Aucklands rainfall were the ‘biggest’ in relation to the flooding. It was higher again (24hrs) 175 years ago and higher again in Hutt Valley.
Its a media ‘hook’ when they want pointscore and click bait, but thats fine by me, maybe not good enough for you.
Tell me more about point scoring and Wayne Brown ?
It will fill columns for the next 3 years
also a consideration is how much water is in the landscape (hence the previous month does matter). I don't know Auckland's catchment but in other areas this is definitely an issue. When the ground is waterlogged, the ability of the landscape to receive water is diminished.
many flood victims mention how the 'water suddenly rose very quickly' which is what happens for creeks and streams when theres heavy rain and the TC is what matters and from there the level the water rises ( as the design objective is to have the house floor level above that – and you wont get it approved by council unless you can show that. A side issue is the methods the TC can be increased to slow the flood level rise down)
For a stream its in the order of an hour or less. Thats where the 1 hr or 24 hr hour falls come in. Thats pluvial
For larger rivers it might be weeks, eg Waikato. But some shorter rivers like the Buller a few days
For the Mississippi you would interested in monthly rain falls, but thats fluvial floods not pluvial for almost all rivers
It looks like you’re point scoring and counter-point scoring all by yourself, for yourself, with yourself – why don’t you start your own blog with comments closed except for yourself?
Up to this point, you focussed on rainfall, mainly in Auckland, and some pointless comparisons, Auckland with Auckland itself, about the wettest month vs. “only the second wettest Auckland day ( 24 hrs) since records were kept” [your emphasis]. Talking of trivial point scoring! Rainfall is meteorology, AFAIK, not hydrology. Only a mind reader would have known that you were thinking of “pluvial flooding”, in Auckland, and that your poorly made point was in fact about the flooding in Wellington in 1976 in comparison.
Up to this comment, not a single mention/link to ‘lots of claims’. It is a strawman, inside your head.
The ‘media hook and clickbait’ is another strawman.
Assuming it is ‘not good enough for me’ is another strawman. Are you a beta version of a brainless chat-bot because it makes no sense to me.
And then ‘Wayne Brown’ comes riding out of nowhere and makes an appearance in this thread out of the blue!? It is whataboutism, but then again, you are a Wayne Brown apologist, we have noticed. In fact, you were willing to die on that hill in October when you also dug in and copped a 1-month ban. Because it is Election Year, moderation will be a lot more stringent. Make of that what you will – I have wasted enough time on you.
It was not the topic nor any imaginary disinterest in it – the topic of weather events causing flooding and major damage is highly pertinent.
You chatbots lack self-awareness and understanding of your actions and consequences. Your chatbot comments lack clarity, intention, and meaning aka pointless.
Chatbots never understand when they are missing the point, they just keep replying with inane replies.
Occasionally, chatbots are defeated and respond with a does-not-compute, as you did, QED.
Bogus audio to go with the bogus documents, images, and videos.
Marvelous.
On January 23, ElevenLabs — an AI startup founded by former Google and Palantir employees — announced two things: a $2 million funding round, and the release of a beta for a AI voice generator called Eleven, described in a company press release as an "AI speech platform promising to revolutionize audio storytelling."
"The most realistic and versatile AI speech software, ever," reads the venture's website. "Eleven brings the most compelling, rich and lifelike voices to creators and publishers seeking the ultimate tools for storytelling."
Now, a little over a week later, ElevenLabs is already being forced to reckon with, as they put it in a Monday Twitter thread, "an increasing number of voice cloning misuse cases." And though the company didn't clarify any details about said misuse, a Motherboard deep dive into the 4Chan gutters found that a number of the site's chaos monsters strongly appear to have abused the tech to produce phony clips of celebrities saying racist, violent, or otherwise terrible things.
Shocking stuff, we know. Surely nobody could have seen this coming.
Someone will have to explain this to me. Are the alternate bus routes not laid out? Or the authorities don't have a map yet of flooded routes? Because this looks dangerous in a number of ways.
It seems apparent that AT had not (despite the Friday incidents of buses doing much the same thing) – given bus drivers any information on how to handle flooded roads, or directions about safe driving in flooded conditions. Or given them authority to abandon scheduled routes and either turn back, or find a way around the flood.
Bus drivers are not exactly given agency in choosing their routes, and are penalized for missing timing targets. So they are, perhaps, inclined to try and get through, rather than turn back, or around.
AT have also been called out over not acting quickly enough to post updates about road closures due to flooding, and signal alternative routes. [Where are the road cones, and their deliverers, when you need them!]
Yeah, I think so. The Friday ones were where the bus was effectively 'trapped' – in a bus lane with no way out – or water rising rapidly around it.
And the situation was new to the drivers – no one (at least in Auckland) had experienced anything like the rapidity of the water rise in areas which are not normally prone to flooding [Our flooding, in the past, has tended to be tide or storm surge related and/or water pipes bursting]
This was several days later (so plenty of time for AT to have done some coms with their drivers), and after possible flooding had already been signalled (this particular street was also flooded on Friday) – so they had time to plan for route changes.
I don't think that the monolithic organizations are coming out of this well. Organizations that devolve decision-making to local level (thinking fire-service, etc.) and local community/volunteer groups (surf-lifesaving did a sterling job rescuing people) – have been outstanding. Organizations which try to make all decisions at the top level, much less so.
Dave Letele (for example) has called out Auckland Council/Emergency Management for designating the South Auckland emergency refuge centre at Manurewa (miles away) – rather than in Mangere (close to where it was needed).
I assume with all the damage in Auckland it has become more likely that Wayne Brown will push ahead with selling off assets such as Auckland Airport shareholding to pay for the repairs and all that. Those shares have increased by about 22% from around the local minimum at the time Brown was elected in October last year.
TBH, IDK. I believe Council is split pretty tightly across the middle and each vote could therefore easily go either way. The Budget vote will be a biggie, of course. I don’t think Brown has the required people and lobbying skills and prefers brute force and bullying tactics.
Other commenters will undoubtedly have better informed views on the fault line(s) in Auckland Council.
Auckland rents will now rise as remedial work to flood-damaged properties affects supply and demand in the market, an investors body says.
President of the Auckland Property Investors Association Kristin Sutherland said it was not a case of landlords using recent flooding to make more profit, but rather market forces at work.
…
"I'm not in a position to say whether it's fair or not. It's the same in any market when the supply and demand changes. I don't think landlords are out there to make an extra buck.
This 'investor group' spokesperson seemingly completely misunderstands the purpose of investment. As well as a poor understanding of 'market forces' and their lack in the NZ housing 'market'
Trade Me property data shows rental prices have returned to a record high.
…
That was despite the oversupply of rental properties on the market.
Of course a major part of the lack of housing..and the increase of land..lords (some with major property portfolios) : sir John Key, mass immigration (for why/what reason?), banks lending to same etc etc…
Anyway maybe..we could see a final end to that BS lie of the "philanthropy of land..lords".
For the last ten years rent prices have been increasing faster than incomes. That means rent makes up a larger portion of renters incomes, making escaping the broken rental market harder than ever.
Metro's Dubious Achievements 2019 [9 January 2020]
The Empty Pink Piggy Bank for Embarrassment in Banking goes to David Hisco, John Key and ANZ.
It’s not as if Aussie bankers, whose misconduct was laid bare in a scathing royal commission report, are in line to win any popularity contests at the best of times. And on this side of the Tasman they face a degree of resentment over that honking great pipe they’ve constructed to siphon money out of the New Zealand economy and back to the Lucky Country. But in an industry of complete and utter bankers, David Hisco managed to stand out, leaving his $3 million-plus-a-year job at the helm of ANZ New Zealand under a cloud following allegations he “mischaracterised” a measly $50,000 or so of personal expenses — including wine storage and the use of chauffeur-driven cars — as business expenses.
It was later revealed ANZ sold Hisco’s wife the couple’s luxury pile in St Heliers for well under its value, and without making the required disclosures. As ANZ chairman, former prime minister Key had to front over Hisco’s departure and to deny any link between the expense investigation and the embarrassment the bank and board suffered when ANZ was given a dressing-down by the Reserve Bank a month or two earlier over failings in the way it managed its capital adequacy. As a side issue, the chairman also faced questions about the departing boss having in 2018 bought Key’s Omaha beach house for $3.1 million. Now we think of it, the Omaha house — in Success Court, no less — would make a great location for a TV dramatisation of the whole sorry saga. Your move, MediaWorks.
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It’s Friday and time for another roundup of things that caught our attention this week. This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers and fans. If you’d like to support our work, you can join ...
Note: This Webworm discusses sexual assault and rape. Please read with care.Hi,A few weeks ago I reported on how one of New Zealand’s richest men, Nick Mowbray (he and his brother own Zuru and are worth an estimated $20 billion), had taken to sharing posts by a British man called ...
The final Atlas Network playbook puzzle piece is here, and it slipped in to Aotearoa New Zealand with little fan fare or attention. The implications are stark.Today, writes Dr Bex, the submission for the Crimes (Countering Foreign Interference) Amendment Bill closes: 11:59pm January 16, 2025.As usual, the language of the ...
Excitement in the seaside village! Look what might be coming! 400 million dollars worth of investment! In the very beating heart of the village! Are we excited and eager to see this happen, what with every last bank branch gone and shops sitting forlornly quiet awaiting a customer?Yes please, apply ...
Much discussion has been held over the Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB), the latest in a series of rightwing attempts to enshrine into law pro-market precepts such as the primacy of private property ownership. Underneath the good governance and economic efficiency gobbledegook language of the Bill is an interest to strip ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Green Party has welcomed the provisional ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, and reiterated its call for New Zealand to push for an end to the unlawful occupation of Palestine. ...
The Green Party welcomes the extension of the deadline for Treaty Principles Bill submissions but continues to call on the Government to abandon the Bill. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has delivered a refreshed team focused on unleashing economic growth to make people better off, create more opportunities for business and help us afford the world-class health and education Kiwis deserve. “Last year, we made solid progress on the economy. Inflation has fallen significantly and now ...
Veterans’ Affairs and a pan-iwi charitable trust have teamed up to extend the reach and range of support available to veterans in the Bay of Plenty, Veterans Minister Chris Penk says. “A major issue we face is identifying veterans who are eligible for support,” Mr Penk says. “Incredibly, we do ...
A host of new appointments will strengthen the Waitangi Tribunal and help ensure it remains fit for purpose, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka says. “As the Tribunal nears its fiftieth anniversary, the appointments coming on board will give it the right balance of skills to continue its important mahi hearing ...
Almost 22,000 FamilyBoost claims have been paid in the first 15 days of the year, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The ability to claim for FamilyBoost’s second quarter opened on January 1, and since then 21,936 claims have been paid. “I’m delighted people have made claiming FamilyBoost a priority on ...
The Government has delivered a funding boost to upgrade critical communication networks for Maritime New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand, ensuring frontline search and rescue services can save lives and keep Kiwis safe on the water, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “New Zealand has ...
Mahi has begun that will see dozens of affordable rental homes developed in Gisborne - a sign the Government’s partnership with Iwi is enabling more homes where they’re needed most, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. Mr Potaka attended a sod-turning ceremony to mark the start of earthworks for 48 ...
New Zealand welcomes the ceasefire deal to end hostilities in Gaza, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Over the past 15 months, this conflict has caused incomprehensible human suffering. We acknowledge the efforts of all those involved in the negotiations to bring an end to the misery, particularly the US, Qatar ...
The Associate Minster of Transport has this week told the community that work is progressing to ensure they have a secure and suitable shipping solution in place to give the Island certainty for its future. “I was pleased with the level of engagement the Request for Information process the Ministry ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour says he is proud of the Government’s commitment to increasing medicines access for New Zealanders, resulting in a big uptick in the number of medicines being funded. “The Government is putting patients first. In the first half of the current financial year there were more ...
New Zealand's first-class free trade deal and investment treaty with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been signed. In Abu Dhabi, together with UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, New Zealand Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, witnessed the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and accompanying investment treaty ...
The latest NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion, which shows the highest level of general business confidence since 2021, is a sign the economy is moving in the right direction, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “When businesses have the confidence to invest and grow, it means more jobs and higher ...
Events over the last few weeks have highlighted the importance of strong biosecurity to New Zealand. Our staff at the border are increasingly vigilant after German authorities confirmed the country's first outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in nearly 40 years on Friday in a herd of water buffalo ...
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee reminds the public that they now have an opportunity to have their say on the rewrite of the Arms Act 1983. “As flagged prior to Christmas, the consultation period for the Arms Act rewrite has opened today and will run through until 28 February 2025,” ...
Complaints about disruptive behaviour now handled in around 13 days (down from around 60 days a year ago) 553 Section 55A notices issued by Kāinga Ora since July 2024, up from 41 issued during the same period in the previous year. Of that 553, first notices made up around 83 ...
The time it takes to process building determinations has improved significantly over the last year which means fewer delays in homes being built, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “New Zealand has a persistent shortage of houses. Making it easier and quicker for new homes to be built will ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the annual list of New Zealand’s most popular baby names for 2024. “For the second consecutive year, Noah has claimed the top spot for boys with 250 babies sharing the name, while Isla has returned to the most popular ...
Work is set to get underway on a new bus station at Westgate this week. A contract has been awarded to HEB Construction to start a package of enabling works to get the site ready in advance of main construction beginning in mid-2025, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“A new Westgate ...
Minister for Children and for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is encouraging people to use the resources available to them to get help, and to report instances of family and sexual violence amongst their friends, families, and loved ones who are in need. “The death of a ...
Asia Pacific Report A co-founder of a national Palestinian solidarity network in Aotearoa New Zealand today praised the “heroic” resilience and sacrifice of the people of Gaza in the face of Israel’s ruthless attempt to destroy the besieged enclave of more than 2 million people. Speaking at the first solidarity ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Neale Daniher, a campaigner in the fight against motor neurone disease and a former champion Essendon footballer, is the 2025 Australian of the Year, Himself a sufferer from the deadly disease Daniher, 63, who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Peter Dutton has chosen a dark horse in naming David Coleman for the key shadow foreign affairs portfolio, in a reshuffle that also seeks to boost the opposition’s credentials with women. Coleman has been ...
By Harry Pearl of BenarNews Vanuatu’s top lawyer has called out the United States for “bad behavior” after newly inaugurated President Donald Trump withdrew the world’s biggest historic emitter of greenhouse gasses from the Paris Agreement for a second time. The Pacific nation’s Attorney-General Arnold Loughman, who led Vanuatu’s landmark ...
ACT leader David Seymour is being slammed for his "extreme right-wing policies" after saying Aotearoa needs to get past its "squeamishness" about privatisation. ...
By Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor, RNZ Pacific manager RNZ International (RNZI) began broadcasting to the Pacific region 35 years ago — on 24 January 1990, the same day the Auckland Commonwealth Games opened. Its news bulletins and programmes were carried by a brand new 100kW transmitter. The service was rebranded as RNZ ...
If you believe Prime Minister Chris Luxon economic growth will solve our problems and, if this is not just around the corner, it is at least on the horizon. It won’t be too long before things are “awesome” again. If you believe David Seymour the country is beset by much greater ...
Opinion: New Zealand’s universities are failing to prepare students for the entrepreneurial realities of the modern economy. That is a key finding of the Science System Advisory Group report released Thursday as part of the Government’s major science sector overhaul.The report highlights major gaps in entrepreneurship and industry-focused training. PhD ...
I first met Neve at a house party in Mount Maunganui. She was tall, blonde and tanned. An influencer typecast. She wore a string of pearls and a shell necklace that sat around her collarbones, and a silk dress that barely passed her crotch. Her hair was in tight curls—I ...
The Angry LeftSummer in New Zealand, and what does Christopher Luxon do about it? He goes fishing. Unbelievable.And worse, he does it in a boat. How tone-deaf is that? There he is, fishing, at sea, in a boat that would be better put to some practical use, like housing. How ...
A Complete Unknown may be fictionalised but it gets the key parts right. What is biography for? Especially the biopic, in which years and people and facts must be compressed into a mass-audience-friendly, sub-three-hour format. And what does biography do with an artist as immortal, inimitable and unwilling as Bob ...
The pool is a summery delight for swimmers and a smart move from the mayor. Last week I walked through Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter, commando and braless. After smugly setting off that morning for my second swim at the Karanga Plaza pool, dubbed Browny’s Pool by mayor Wayne Brown, I realised ...
Following his headline act in the Christchurch Buskers Festival, Alex Casey chats to Sam Wills about spending two decades as the elusive Tape Face. It’s a Thursday night at The Isaac Theatre Royal in Ōtautahi, and the fly swats, rubbish bags, and coat hangers littered across the stage make it ...
In my late 50s, I discovered long-distance hiking – and woke up to a new life infused with the rhythms of nature. The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous support of our members.It began innocuously, just before my ...
The comedian and actor takes us through his life in television, including the British sitcom that changed his life and the trauma of 80s Telethons. You may know him best as Murray from Flight of the Conchords, or Stede Bonnet from Our Flag Means Death, but Rhys Darby is taking ...
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Analysis: Try as they might, Christopher Luxon and his partners in NZ First have been unable to distance themselves from the division caused by the Treaty Principles Bill, hampering the potential for further progress in areas where the Prime Minister believes the Crown and tangata whenua can collaborate.While the celebration ...
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"New leader" – tick.
Same National – tick.
"Same old tired ideas" (tax cuts for the rich, boot camps for the not so rich) – tick.
Time for choleric Christopher to look in the mirror? Tick tick tick!
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/131122167/leaked-emails-reveal-auckland-mayor-wayne-brown-trying-to-gag-councillors-amid-flood-response
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-floods-mayor-wayne-brown-tells-councillors-i-will-take-care-of-the-big-picture/5ULYL7MO7ZC37IUEIVZCZBPHYU/
But he doesn’t talk to media cos he thinks they’re all drongoes. Small man syndrome?
Oops, just noted he's quite tall.
I was thinking you were talking about his complex, not the physical reality.
It was both but not made clear.
Given most of the councillors are streets ahead of Mayor Brown, I find his attempt to silence them outrageous. He comes across as a Kiwi version of Trump – an ignorant, narcissist bully boy. I hope the councillors don't allow him to blackmail or bully them into submission. He needs calling out at every turn.
Not silencing. Its just saying the mayors job is to speak for Auckland and its best if one voice. It was a request in the email not a command
Thats the mayors job description on the council website- Speak for Auckland
Notice its what party leaders do as well, speak for their party.
Welcome to how it works in the real world.
The Standard is the opposite of course as it doesnt have one voice ( or any as posters speak for themselves) , thats by design
Brown has 180,000 votes to say he speaks for Auckland Council
Have you not been following the Auckland Floods/Brown fiasco?.
He is pursuing this idea in spite of the fact that he was MIA and the void in leadership was competently covered by several councillors and several MPs. Aucklanders were lucky that there were people of the calibre of the ones who did step up.
The phrase 'closing door etc' springs to mind but also what does a person expect would happen if they do not lead from the front when it is expected of them.
You are not seriously thinking that Brown did a good job during the floods are you?.
Even Luxon send a tweet asking for a Declaration to be made, albeit just a little bit after it was made but he has said he also communicated this by text privately to Brown.
You know it is always good to be able to say an improvement is needed instead of making yourself look a bit silly by being so one-eyed.
180,000 votes and not a single peep from Brown. He lost his credibility and blew his mandate, Mr Nix-it.
Who stopped the rain?
He was attempting to silence them. Its called 'reading between the lines' and those who are closest to him (city councillors in this case) would know exactly what he was doing. Hence the response by Chris Darby.
Now, what if Councillor Darby had been defending Brown's lack of action. Maybe along the lines that… he [Brown] was understandably upset about missing out on his game of tennis and it temporarily took his mind off the ball? (tongue-in -cheek)
Would Brown be sending such an email/text? You bet he wouldn't.
Completely wrong as you have been mislead by an inaccurate story
The full email says he encourages councillors , and they must talk about ‘their local issues’.
as he said before the election
'I’m not here to be loved or liked. I don’t see myself as warm or friendly. I see myself as a fixer. I’m an engineer and I build things and that’s why I’m standing for the mayoralty of Auckland because I and I alone have got the knowledge to get things done. I’ve done it before in Auckland and I can do it again.'
https://www.metromag.co.nz/society/wayne-brown-the-gunslinger
Again, I ask why the Standard is providing a platform for this nasty right wing rubbish? Do you not read the feed on the side of your own blog?
https://pointofordernz.wordpress.com/2023/01/16/garrick-tremains-view-4/
I agree
Me too – it is very unfunny as well
Yes I agree about the deteriorating quality of this column.
A week ago I said this about the same column
I used to enjoy TransTasman and I am still grateful to have a link to waspish RW thought. No-one can say the columns, and particularly Garrick Tremain's cartoons, are a must read though.
Looking a bit further at Garrick Tremain I find that he was the cartoonist with the cartoon about the measles epidemic in Samoa in 2019. Distinctly unfunny and tone deaf.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/118272681/unrepentant-cartoonist-garrick-tremain-continues-to-lampoon-editor
Tremain's cartoons have very seldom been funny and he has always favoured the Right.
It was good news when the ODT dumped him after (yet another) racist effort
I quite liked his cartoons in NZ Farmer, more quirky than political. He seems to miss the mark politically.
Shanreagh…you might have missed his racist (IMO very ! ) snips at Nanaia Mahuta..and of course the attacks on Jacinda Ardern. (IMO misogynistic).
Ol' Garrick quite often combined the 2…
And..I am not going to link any. As..I do NOT want to give oxygen to the ass.
You could google…
I have seen the latest offerings and am not impressed hence my earlier query about Point Of Order.
The only cartoons of Garrick Tremain that I can deal with are the ones from The Farmer.
His cartoon at the time of the measles epidemic in Samoa was just awful.
Possibly passed his best? Another grumpy old man a la WB?
I will have another look at when i get on a desktop again. It was centre- right but analytical when I last looked at it.
BTW: Any suggestions for other sites i can take a rss feed from?
I don't mind the written stuff so much as I mind the terrible, awful, etc ……. cartoons.
They seem to pop up leading the posts. If there was some way of the written stuff being linked to and as an adjunct, once the written stuff is on screen the cartoons appear then that would be OK with me.
The cartoon that alerted me to the falling standard of the cartoons was the one linking WEF with former PM JA. This has been an ad nauseam part of the anti vaxx play list and so I was a bit surprised to see it in an ostensibly legit feed. I couldn't really care if she does go to WEF/Davos but there are a number of 'far-out' conspiracy theories about WEF
The Juice Media
Daily Kos
Jonathan Pie
Needs to be New Zealand.
Ah right. Some really good stuff happening on Substack. RSS feeds are at {blogname}.substack.com/feed
David Farrier: Webworm
Bernard Hickey: The Kākā
David Slack: More than a Feilding
Nick’s Korero
Mostly the material on substack requires a login to see more than the come-on. I'll try them out.
They came up ok
Great! Thanks.
🙂
Have to be small enough number of items per day to not overwhelm the column.
Juice media is perfect (and I love those ads).
Daily Kos has a multitude per hour. Would require an extra column.
The Jonathon Pie looks ok on youtube as well.
I'll try those two out
Updated: The RSS on youtube are munted.
Wellington beat Aucklands record rainfall of 249mm in 24 hr, but it was back in 1976.
Lower Hutt rain gauge 264 mm in 24 hrs. I think most of Petone was fully underwater
https://hwe.niwa.co.nz/event/December_1976_Wellington_Flooding
NIWA says similar to Dec 1939 rain event
What is the point of your pointless comment?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/weather-news/300798265/auckland-has-just-had-its-wettest-month-in-history-niwa-says
Are you making a point of making pointless comments on TS? Your comments used to be better than that.
Its Daily Review my friend . Theres doesnt have to be a point- that you approve of .
It is what it is . Not the most 24 hr rainfall in a major city in the last 50 years.
I think the Hutt was more badly affected than Auckland , which had pepper pot flooding issues here and there.
NIWAs also saying its only the second wettest Auckland day ( 24 hrs) since records were kept. The days rainfall have more impact that a months
Another pointless exercise to score a point in your silly one-upmanship games. You sound like Wayne Brown in your diversionary comparison with Lower Hutt and your irrelevant whataboutisms, strawmen, and red herrings.
never heard of Hydrology have you. if you did you would know that monthly rainfall is completely irrelevant for pluvial flooding.
A lot of claims for Aucklands rainfall were the ‘biggest’ in relation to the flooding. It was higher again (24hrs) 175 years ago and higher again in Hutt Valley.
Its a media ‘hook’ when they want pointscore and click bait, but thats fine by me, maybe not good enough for you.
Tell me more about point scoring and Wayne Brown ?
It will fill columns for the next 3 years
go on then, explain how monthly rainfall is completely irrelevant for pluvial flooding. Especially in relation to hydrology.
Time of concentration .
many flood victims mention how the 'water suddenly rose very quickly' which is what happens for creeks and streams when theres heavy rain.
For a stream its in the order of an hour or less. Thats were the 1 hr or 24 hr hour falls. Thats why they are called pluvial
For larger rivers it might be weeks, eg Waikato. But some shorter rivers like the Buller a few days
For the Missippi you would interested in monthly rain falls, but thats fluvial floods not pluvial
also a consideration is how much water is in the landscape (hence the previous month does matter). I don't know Auckland's catchment but in other areas this is definitely an issue. When the ground is waterlogged, the ability of the landscape to receive water is diminished.
Thanks for asking questions Time of concentration
many flood victims mention how the 'water suddenly rose very quickly' which is what happens for creeks and streams when theres heavy rain and the TC is what matters and from there the level the water rises ( as the design objective is to have the house floor level above that – and you wont get it approved by council unless you can show that. A side issue is the methods the TC can be increased to slow the flood level rise down)
For a stream its in the order of an hour or less. Thats where the 1 hr or 24 hr hour falls come in. Thats pluvial
For larger rivers it might be weeks, eg Waikato. But some shorter rivers like the Buller a few days
For the Mississippi you would interested in monthly rain falls, but thats fluvial floods not pluvial for almost all rivers
It looks like you’re point scoring and counter-point scoring all by yourself, for yourself, with yourself – why don’t you start your own blog with comments closed except for yourself?
Up to this point, you focussed on rainfall, mainly in Auckland, and some pointless comparisons, Auckland with Auckland itself, about the wettest month vs. “only the second wettest Auckland day ( 24 hrs) since records were kept” [your emphasis]. Talking of trivial point scoring! Rainfall is meteorology, AFAIK, not hydrology. Only a mind reader would have known that you were thinking of “pluvial flooding”, in Auckland, and that your poorly made point was in fact about the flooding in Wellington in 1976 in comparison.
Up to this comment, not a single mention/link to ‘lots of claims’. It is a strawman, inside your head.
The ‘media hook and clickbait’ is another strawman.
Assuming it is ‘not good enough for me’ is another strawman. Are you a beta version of a brainless chat-bot because it makes no sense to me.
And then ‘Wayne Brown’ comes riding out of nowhere and makes an appearance in this thread out of the blue!? It is whataboutism, but then again, you are a Wayne Brown apologist, we have noticed. In fact, you were willing to die on that hill in October when you also dug in and copped a 1-month ban. Because it is Election Year, moderation will be a lot more stringent. Make of that what you will – I have wasted enough time on you.
This is unintelligible. Its daily Review, any topic can be bought up.
if something doesnt interest you, let it go
This is unintelligible. Its daily Review, any topic can be bought up.
if something doesnt interest you, let it go.
It was not the topic nor any imaginary disinterest in it – the topic of weather events causing flooding and major damage is highly pertinent.
You chatbots lack self-awareness and understanding of your actions and consequences. Your chatbot comments lack clarity, intention, and meaning aka pointless.
Chatbots never understand when they are missing the point, they just keep replying with inane replies.
Occasionally, chatbots are defeated and respond with a does-not-compute, as you did, QED.
Bogus audio to go with the bogus documents, images, and videos.
Marvelous.
On January 23, ElevenLabs — an AI startup founded by former Google and Palantir employees — announced two things: a $2 million funding round, and the release of a beta for a AI voice generator called Eleven, described in a company press release as an "AI speech platform promising to revolutionize audio storytelling."
"The most realistic and versatile AI speech software, ever," reads the venture's website. "Eleven brings the most compelling, rich and lifelike voices to creators and publishers seeking the ultimate tools for storytelling."
Now, a little over a week later, ElevenLabs is already being forced to reckon with, as they put it in a Monday Twitter thread, "an increasing number of voice cloning misuse cases." And though the company didn't clarify any details about said misuse, a Motherboard deep dive into the 4Chan gutters found that a number of the site's chaos monsters strongly appear to have abused the tech to produce phony clips of celebrities saying racist, violent, or otherwise terrible things.
Shocking stuff, we know. Surely nobody could have seen this coming.
https://futurism.com/startup-4chan-voice-cloning-ai
Someone will have to explain this to me. Are the alternate bus routes not laid out? Or the authorities don't have a map yet of flooded routes? Because this looks dangerous in a number of ways.
https://www.facebook.com/debbie.burrows033/posts/pfbid02bktjJqpVcAEQifBwT4AZ7gA76rjxzn9Kb35Xx4fT4Ve5y5gxk3dXG9FBepucUtHGl
link not showing, try this,
https://media.scribblelive.com/2023/1/31/4d8566b4-b65f-4215-9136-9a00c5b22918.mp4
good lord, have to resort to TV news,
https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/02/01/bus-driver-filmed-taking-on-auckland-floodwaters/
Yeah, it's been called out as pretty dangerous.
It seems apparent that AT had not (despite the Friday incidents of buses doing much the same thing) – given bus drivers any information on how to handle flooded roads, or directions about safe driving in flooded conditions. Or given them authority to abandon scheduled routes and either turn back, or find a way around the flood.
Bus drivers are not exactly given agency in choosing their routes, and are penalized for missing timing targets. So they are, perhaps, inclined to try and get through, rather than turn back, or around.
AT have also been called out over not acting quickly enough to post updates about road closures due to flooding, and signal alternative routes. [Where are the road cones, and their deliverers, when you need them!]
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/20-auckland-buses-flood-damaged-at-hails-drivers-bravery-refuses-to-say-what-drivers-were-told/F2BWQSYRONEQDCADTL2NID7Y2U/
another reasonably important system failure.
I'm assuming the bus this morning wasn't in an emergency situation like on Friday?
Yeah, I think so. The Friday ones were where the bus was effectively 'trapped' – in a bus lane with no way out – or water rising rapidly around it.
And the situation was new to the drivers – no one (at least in Auckland) had experienced anything like the rapidity of the water rise in areas which are not normally prone to flooding [Our flooding, in the past, has tended to be tide or storm surge related and/or water pipes bursting]
This was several days later (so plenty of time for AT to have done some coms with their drivers), and after possible flooding had already been signalled (this particular street was also flooded on Friday) – so they had time to plan for route changes.
I don't think that the monolithic organizations are coming out of this well. Organizations that devolve decision-making to local level (thinking fire-service, etc.) and local community/volunteer groups (surf-lifesaving did a sterling job rescuing people) – have been outstanding. Organizations which try to make all decisions at the top level, much less so.
Dave Letele (for example) has called out Auckland Council/Emergency Management for designating the South Auckland emergency refuge centre at Manurewa (miles away) – rather than in Mangere (close to where it was needed).
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/483350/auckland-flooding-mangere-residents-say-they-felt-abandoned-and-traumatised
I assume with all the damage in Auckland it has become more likely that Wayne Brown will push ahead with selling off assets such as Auckland Airport shareholding to pay for the repairs and all that. Those shares have increased by about 22% from around the local minimum at the time Brown was elected in October last year.
won't that be a full council decision?
Yes, absolutely and it will be voted on. The process is described here:
https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/plans-projects-policies-reports-bylaws/our-plans-strategies/budget-plans/Pages/budget-decision-making.aspx
how much support does he have from the councillors?
TBH, IDK. I believe Council is split pretty tightly across the middle and each vote could therefore easily go either way. The Budget vote will be a biggie, of course. I don’t think Brown has the required people and lobbying skills and prefers brute force and bullying tactics.
Other commenters will undoubtedly have better informed views on the fault line(s) in Auckland Council.
I'd rather see the Government do a deal to fix some of Auckland's infrastructure issues and 'buy' the city's AIA shareholding in return.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/483472/auckland-rents-to-go-up-after-flooding-property-investors-body-says
This 'investor group' spokesperson seemingly completely misunderstands the purpose of investment. As well as a poor understanding of 'market forces' and their lack in the NZ housing 'market'
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/479433/rents-on-rise-again-as-landlords-pass-on-costs
Rent freeze to counter rising living costs now!
Of course a major part of the lack of housing..and the increase of land..lords (some with major property portfolios) : sir John Key, mass immigration (for why/what reason?), banks lending to same etc etc…
Anyway maybe..we could see a final end to that BS lie of the "philanthropy of land..lords".
Landlords provide housing like scalpers provide tickets
Has ex-Parliamentary ticket scalper Trevor Mallard rented out his place in Wainuiomata then?
I don't care. That’s irrelevant.
Rent freeze now
https://rentersunited.org.nz/
https://rentersunited.org.nz/rentcontrolsnow/
Stop trolling
If you must indulge in property speculation, here's how you do it