"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 appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
"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