"Bishop" Tamaki claims he has been tested for Covid and its come back negative. He is refusing to reveal whether he is vaccinated or not. I'll wager a bet he's fully vaccinated!
@ Anne (1.1) … come to think of it, the Apostle Bishop has been out of circulation for a couple of weeks! If he hasn't got/had Covid, then I think we can guarantee he and Mrs T have both been vaccinated!
So here's what voting for the political left and right promises us:
So far, the climate pledges that countries have submitted to the United Nations' registry of pledges put the world on track for 2.7-C of warming.
The International Energy Agency said Thursday that new promises announced at the COP26 summit – if implemented – could hold warming to below 1.8C… It remains to be seen whether those promises will translate into real-world action.
Warming of 2.7C would deliver "unliveable heat" for parts of the year across areas of the tropics and subtropics. Biodiversity would be enormously depleted, food security would drop, and extreme weather would exceed most urban infrastructure's capacity to cope, scientists said.
The difference between 1.5C and 2C is critical for Earth's oceans and frozen regions. "At 1.5C, there's a good chance we can prevent most of the Greenland and west Antarctic ice sheet from collapsing," said climate scientist Michael Mann at Pennsylvania State University.
That would help limit sea level rise to a few feet by the end of the century – still a big change that would erode coastlines and inundate some small island states and coastal cities. But blow past 2C and the ice sheets could collapse, Mann said, with sea levels rising up to 10 metres – though how quickly that could happen is uncertain.
Warming of 1.5C would destroy at least 70 percent of coral reefs, but at 2C more than 99 percent would be lost. That would destroy fish habitats and communities that rely on reefs for their food and livelihoods.
Please forgive me for posting this here when it's a diversion from the topic you've posted on here. I just wanted to increase the chances you'd see this by spotting my reply to your post.
Have you ever seen this brilliant little animated clip of Taranaki Maunga's geological history? I came across it last year (or perhaps it was early this year) and have been sending it on to Taranaki-ites I encounter ever since, becos many of them too find it so fascinating.
I already knew the Egmont Volcano (as I think volcanologists still call it) is considered most unusual for the number of times it has destroyed & rebuilt itself in the place, but to see the process by which Taranaki province has been actually built by explosions & outpourings from the firey depths is awesome, imo.
That's terrific! Thanks Gezza. The museum here has a more sedate version which I saw in my first year back here – you know how tourists push a button nowadays to run the vid for themselves? Didn't have some of the excellent detail in yours.
Incidentally, my prof career was as video editor so I know a good product when I see one due to having made television commercials (in the '70s/'80s) then new & current affairs stories ('90s).
Didn't know about the three collapses of Mt Taranaki, nor how recent the most recent rebuild happened (around the start of the Iron Age). Did you notice the linear trajectory of the total eruption timeline commencing with the Sugar Loaves? West to East. Similar to Hawaii although that is a longer path with a few more eruption centers (all now islands) and heads SE from memory.
Since I did Geology I as part of my physics degree (which included geophysics) I explain this effect via plate tectonics. Magma emerges sporadically from a common origin below the slowly shifting crust, breaks through that at intervals. Thus the linear pattern of volcanoes with oldest at one end and youngest at the other.
Yes Dennis. I’d always climb Paritutu (part of the sugarloaves, I believe) forcthe exercise & the view on every trip back to my turangawaewae & I knew also that the Kaitaki & Puakai ranges are remnants of earlier volcanos.
Although I have done no formal study in the field I’ve had a strong amateur interest in volcanalogy, geology & seismicity ever since I left school.
I’ve done a lot of investigation into Welly’s earthquake history & geology. This place has some layered beach rock formations that are now at right angles to how they were originally laid down as classic sedimentary layers. That’s how much Wellington has been sqeezed & twisted by the awesome forces of nature.
Indeed it is. Peculiar how the local authorities call it a rock, when it towers over nearby Mt Moturoa, which they call a mountain! Seems double the height.
Reminds me of that other traditional local govt nonsense here: calling Te Henui a stream when anyone can see at a glance that it is actually a river. Colonial imbeciles casting a long shadow…
Certainly a river by the time it gets to town & comes out at East End. The mouth is a 15-20 min brisk walk down the beach from Fitzroy & I often walked there. It’s a very beautiful river in town, too.
My late uncle had a home 2 houses up from the Northgate Bridge & I often walked the Te Henui riverbank there, heading East.
The nearby Lemon Street Cemetery just over the road from his place is very old & I think datescback to the earliest Pākehā settlerment. There’s a colonial soldiers’ plot in it.
My dad once pointed out to me how many of the gravestones were for people who died young, & drowned. He said that was because, in the early days, many people couldn’t swim & were swept away in flooding times fording the many different streams & rivers radiating out in all directions from Mt Taranaki.
We left NP just after my 13th birthday, August '62. Some political memories from childhood in the 1950s: front door of our house slamming with a crash when one set of grandparents exited after a political argument with the other set.
Of course the women primarily contributed ineffectual attempts at peacemaking. The roosters escalated it into a yelling match each time. My mother's father was a hardline Labour Englishman, had the gift of the gab & could run verbal rings around anyone. My father's father was a pillar of the colonial infrastructure, a hardline National supporter. He ran the railways for the entire province of Taranaki in the 1960s but the prior decade of arguments he was merely station master at NP.
Dear Lord Dennis that reminds me of my Christmas's in the past as a wee one. My grandparents were much the same, Dad's side were "business" and Tory through and through, my mother's were poms who came out in steerage and were dirt poor all their lives. Granddad was a master gardener and kept homesteads in pristine condition, Grandma was always the cook. In service it was called and it reigned here just fine through the early part of the 20th C.
On the day we had to separate them, one set in the front room room and the other in the back room. The two Grandma's weren't too bad and would tuck into the sherry and swop notes but it would truly get out of hand if we didn't subdue the two couples. Oh it was happy days for us kids.
Smiling as I remember it, but my dear paternal granddad, Pop, a retired Taranaki country village police sergeant, and a dyed in the wool Labour supporter, once threw one of my visiting maternal uncles – a priest – out of his house for making some remark or other supportive of the National government of the time.
Can’t now remember if it was during Holyoake’s or Muldoon’s administrations. Whatever his offence was I was a very young teenager & it was over my head. I’d never ever before seen him so angry.
Mum eventually smoothed thing over & harmony between the two families was restored, but those two never discussed politics with each other again.
That was smart of them. Peaceful coexistence can be achieved via evasion of controversy like that. I always seem to prefer catharsis instead! Either I lance the boil with precision, and everyone reacts by floundering around because it never occurred to them such a thing was possible, or I provoke a godalmighty clash so everyone is forced to thrash the thing out & dispose of it.
I was always very dark-haired & very tanned in Summer, spending as much time as I could outside walking the Tasman-pounded beach or playing or exploring along the nearby Waiwhakaiho river.
So my family nickname (as was dad’s, in his boyhood) was Rangi.
Pop always greeted me when I walked in with “Tena koe, Rangi”. (I just heard it as “Tenarkway” before I knew anything about te reo. Māori wasn’t spoken much when & where I grew up.
Was years before I realised that, as a Taranaki country cop, Pop was used to interacting with local Māori & had much respect for their culture.
Really interesting Gezza. I went to a series of lectures by Jim Healy in Rotorua on Taupo in 1973 and this brought back memories. He would have loved the video lol we used an overhead projector.
I trained & got a certificate in operating a variety of 16 mm film projectors, Patricia.
They were finicky things compared to videos & players today or even a decade ago.
They used a constantly moving mechanical ratchet claw to drag several frames past the projector light; used to surprise me how smooth the projected images were in motion.
“If you continue to vote for the business as usual parties, don’t feel guilty. You can’t help it if you were born to be [a retard] normal.”
……………………………………………….
I’ve tried very hard to follow & understand the arguments of climate change skeptics because there’s always the danger in the scientific world of group think & govt funding turning conclusions the funding provider wants to see.
But I’ve given up that endeavour now, because, imo, there’s just far too much visible evidence that inexorable global warming is happening & producing all sorts of weird & damaging climatic & weather events, often on some very large scales, that don’t seem to happened with anything like the frequency we are seeing all over the globe now.
But – who to vote for? Arrrghh! The Greens? I dunno. Too many purists, perhaps, & we really need to see some thinking & new technologies advanced asap as well as reestablishing some older less damaging practices for humans’ daily living.
I did read a bunch of books by climate sceptics about a decade back, own several. Made a few good points. Eventually realised weight of evidence invalidated their overall stance. Re Greens, two problems. First, they're shackled by the system (democracy); second, they've allowed identity politics and political positioning to become severe handicaps.
All three factors working together stop folks seeing them as the solution. I've voted Green for 11 successive general elections but currently they just irritate me. I was an office holder for a few of the earliest years but tribal identification has become tenuous!
Too many purists, perhaps, & we really need to see some thinking & new technologies advanced asap as well as reestablishing some older less damaging practices for humans’ daily living.
Yes. That's pretty much my vision too. We will muddle through making some terrible mistakes and then stumble into magnificence almost by accident.
Right now it's the hated capitalists who're busy doing the actual de-carbonising, while the purity point collectors here sit about moralising to their keyboards.
How did we come to this? A country that has always prided itself on its ability and willingness to work together has fractured.
Bill Ralston in yesterday’s Herald proclaimed that the country has been divided by the delta outbreak, and he might seem therefore to have been making my point for me. But he is referring to the various and differential ways in which the pandemic and its consequences have impacted on us – geographically, for example, and in our readiness or otherwise to get vaccinated.
I am talking about a different phenomenon – the increasingly obvious tendency in some parts of society to allow political convictions to dictate attitudes to the pandemic in a very particular way.
The people I have in mind are those who do not merely allow their political preferences to determine their approval or otherwise of the government’s response to the pandemic (though that is all too obviously true in many cases).
No, I am drawing attention to something more unexpected and, for that reason, noteworthy. There has, sadly, emerged a body of opinion which – asked to choose whether they would wish to see the government succeed in its attempt to bring the pandemic under control – would rather see the delta variant continue to prosper amongst us.
Surely not, you may say. Surely everyone would have as a top priority that the pandemic should stop wreaking its havoc amongst us. Surely, we would wish to see the vulnerable protected, and life return to normal.
For the people I have in mind, however, such a normally desirable outcome would be bought at too high a price, if the consequence was that the government should earn some kudos. They would, it seems, prefer that the pandemic should proceed unchecked, rather than that the government should be able to claim that it has navigated a way through the crisis.
Some of those people would go even further. They would actively try to frustrate the government’s efforts by, for example, refusing vaccination or the wearing of masks or scanning. These attitudes, and the priority accorded to political goals rather than the general welfare, demonstrate just how extreme are the views of this part of society. How sad that the government is having to fight not just the virus but some of our own fellow-citizens as well.
I agree that it's remarkable for Gould (a typical mainstreamer) to marvel when he suddenly becomes aware that partisans exist. They have been amongst us all our lives, Bryan, so how come you only just discovered this part of reality??
One would think that a successful political career within the British Labour Party would have alerted him to the fact much earlier in life.
DF, partisan? A strong supporter of a cause or a person. contrarian more like. A person who rejects or goes against public opinion.
Rude, implying that someone should have known about a situation prior to it happening as you did with Brian.
Discussion point. Why this is happening after the earlier successes?
Robert posted this for us to discuss the content. Many of us knew there were contrarians out there, but not the number or the depth of malice which is fracturing society. Do you know why this has increased? Personally I think people have been brainwashed by rubbish on the internet, or in their social circle. It is serious, as families split and take sides over health mandates to the point of destroying our progress.
There is nowhere in this entire area that the land is not confiscated
From Mokau to Maxwell.
Parihaka (on the north island of Aotearoa/New Zealand) is seen by many nationally and internationally as a symbol of non-violent resistance, and a Maori struggle for contemporary and historical justice . Speaking of the history of Parihaka and Taranaki through stories of key events in the struggle to retain Maori lands and culture, Te Miringa Hohaia (Taranaki iwi – Kaitiaki of the Te Paepae o Te Raukura meeting house and marae at Parihaka Paa) chronicles the early period of the British invasion, settlement, and series of attacks upon Parihaka and the resistance to these colonizing efforts. Many conflicts are repelled led by the likes of Riwha Titokowaru, (1823-1888), and through the Parihaka leadership of Te Whiti o Rongomai (1815-1907), and Tohu Kākahi, (1828-1907), the struggle is transformed into a non-violent resistance movement peppered with sophisticated armed resistance when necessary. Some of the systematic, oppressive techniques used by the proto-nationalist government forces and subsequently the New Zealand government to wrest control of the land and the attempts to disenfranchise the Maori people are illustrated. This general history is made specific and personal and then woven back to reflect the imperatives of agency, of resisting, and of carrying constructive actions forward into peace.
Michael Bassett writes – I’m not sure that it’s much comfort to anyone to know that the post-Covid surge in violent crimes, gang activity, ram raids, random shootings, thuggery and stabbings is occurring in other countries as well as New Zealand. These days, wagging school, out-of-control welfare and ...
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Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
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Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
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I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
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Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
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Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
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TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
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I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
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. ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
An Australian Strategic Policy Institute report says Pillar Two could raise the industry to state of the art capability - or "crush" it "under the weight of the globe's biggest player". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marlene Longbottom, Associate Professor, Indigenous Education & Research Centre, James Cook University ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the violence experienced by First Nations people in encounters with the Australian carceral system. It also contains references to ...
“Instead of following along countries that are investing in death and better ways of killing people faster, we need to invest in life and in making Aotearoa a fair, just and equitable place where everyone has what they need for a dignified life.” ...
MARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI, TPM MP FOR TAI TOKERAU This Government will not waver in its mission to exterminate Māori. CHRISTOPHER LUXON Oh well look you know I don’t think that hard-working Kiwis want to hear language like that. It’s just really unhelpful rhetoric. My Government is genuinely committed to advancing outcomes ...
The body positivity movement started with women confronting the unrealistic expectations and unrepresentative portrayals of them in media and advertising. Men weren’t part of it … their bodies hadn’t been sexualised to the same extremes and they didn’t really need it. But now that’s changed. And in a warped sort ...
The New Zealand comedy legend takes us through her life in television, including the time she hugged Elton John and the unshakeable legacy of a girl named Lyn. In 1981, Ginette McDonald stood on the stage of Auckland’s St James Theatre and directly addressed Queen Elizabeth II. It was a ...
An essay by Lily Duval from the just-released anthology Otherhood: Essays on being childless, childfree and child adjacent.I was 22 when my friend Alice gave birth in the living room of our pokey Addington flat. She laboured in the blow-up pool for hours. Garish fish swam along the inflated ...
Ella Borrie on the best books about motherhood she’s come across so far. Over the past few years I’ve been drawn to books about motherhood. I’m fascinated by the joys and horrors of becoming a parent. The question of children also feels more pressing than it used to. It’s like ...
Out of gift ideas for mum? You can’t go wrong with a bottle of toilet cleaner and a new squeegee. Emily Writes is the writer and editor of Emily Writes Weekly. This week marks five years since I published a post on The Spinoff about Mother’s Day marketing titled ‘A ...
My husband is posted overseas for 12 months and I’m armed with an expensive, newfangled vibrator. Will I miss him? The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.A few days after my husband leaves, a new sex toy arrives at the front door. Nestled ...
Jaimie Baird’s new book Here Today Gone Tomorrow is a record of four decades of graffiti and street art in Wellington, told through more than 1,200 photographs. He spoke with Joel MacManus about what inspired the book. How did you first get interested in photographing street art? I remember ...
Editor Madeleine Chapman looks back at a busy week where food of all political leanings dominated. Sometimes you’re just going about your week thinking you’ve got a good handle on what might be coming as far as news topics and then someone (usually a politician) says something so ridiculous that ...
A banner notification alerts me to the fact that I’ve received an Instagram message from @felicity.loves. She always comments on my posts. I shouldn’t have opened the message, but clicked on the notification before rationalising this. OMG! Are you in Wellys? X I debate not replying, but Instagram will inform ...
In Melbourne’s hardscrabble western suburbs where AFL – Aussie rules football – is a state religion, Callum Donaldson has been quietly grafting away, four months into an odyssey that he hopes will take him to another promised land: the NRL. It was a solid 2023 for the softly spoken 20-year-old ...
In a week of cold rain and frost, the climate in courtroom four upstairs at the Invercargill courthouse was simmering with restrained indignation. At times it felt like the famous Mexican standoff scene from Reservoir Dogs, or, as someone watching the proceedings described it, there was so much throwing of ...
Pacific Media Watch Television New Zealand Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to investigative journalism and Pacific communities in a ceremony at Government House, reports 1News. She has been the Pacific correspondent for 1News since 2002, breaking many ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Tuesday’s budget will respond to the deepening public agitation over Australia’s housing shortages by pouring new money into crisis accommodation for women and children, social housing and infrastructure. A specially-convened national cabinet late Friday ticked ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
Aldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
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 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Corderoy, Medical doctor and PhD candidate studying involuntary psychiatric treatment, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney shop_py/Shutterstock Picture two people, both suffering from a serious mental illness requiring hospital admission. One was born in Australia, the other in Asia. Hopefully, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Treby, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RMIT University P.j.Hickox, Shutterstock Peatlands store more carbon per square metre than any other ecosystem on Earth. These waterlogged, mossy bogs beat even dense rainforests for their ability to act as carbon reservoirs. Under the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
New Zealand's largest electricity distributor is warning the country to hurry up with controls around charging electric vehicles or face unnecessary bills running into the billions. ...
New Zealanders have been asked to conserve energy this morning to combat a possible electricity shortfall, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A call to conserve power New Zealand is facing a possible electricity shortfall, with people up ...
Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams?The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...
Wellington City Council should keep its 34% ownership share in Wellington International Airport, argue Unions Wellington spokespeople Finn Cordwell and Ashok Jacob. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Wellington City Council (WCC) is yet again proposing to dispose ...
New Zealand’s largest book publisher has undergone drastic changes this week, leaving its future role in local publishing uncertain. Two of the most recognisable local publishers in New Zealand are among those restructured out of Penguin Random House, it was announced this week. Head of publishing Claire Murdoch will leave ...
In 2021 the Public Interest Journalism Fund launched the Te Rito Journalism project, a $2.4 million initiative to boost diversity in New Zealand’s newsrooms. The initiative was in response to the decades-long shortage of Māori and Pacific journalists in the media industry. It was billed as New Zealand’s ...
The Black Ferns Sevens appeared to be a mile behind Australia at the halfway point of the 2023-24 SVNS international circuit. Winless in three tournaments, a cup quarter-final exit in Perth was one of their worst results. To add insult to injury, talismanic skipper Sarah Hirini had been ruled out ...
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Destiny Church protester gets Covid, and a reminder to re-read his Bible:
Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, chapter 6: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
"Bishop" Tamaki claims he has been tested for Covid and its come back negative. He is refusing to reveal whether he is vaccinated or not. I'll wager a bet he's fully vaccinated!
@ Anne (1.1) … come to think of it, the Apostle Bishop has been out of circulation for a couple of weeks! If he hasn't got/had Covid, then I think we can guarantee he and Mrs T have both been vaccinated!
It was his destiny.
"Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you, it will.” – Jedi Master Yoda.
@ observer (1) … hee hee, love it
So here's what voting for the political left and right promises us:
If you continue to vote for the business as usual parties, don't feel guilty. You can't help it if you were born to be
a retardnormal.Hi Dennis
Please forgive me for posting this here when it's a diversion from the topic you've posted on here. I just wanted to increase the chances you'd see this by spotting my reply to your post.
Have you ever seen this brilliant little animated clip of Taranaki Maunga's geological history? I came across it last year (or perhaps it was early this year) and have been sending it on to Taranaki-ites I encounter ever since, becos many of them too find it so fascinating.
I already knew the Egmont Volcano (as I think volcanologists still call it) is considered most unusual for the number of times it has destroyed & rebuilt itself in the place, but to see the process by which Taranaki province has been actually built by explosions & outpourings from the firey depths is awesome, imo.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GljllvKlTac
That's terrific! Thanks Gezza. The museum here has a more sedate version which I saw in my first year back here – you know how tourists push a button nowadays to run the vid for themselves? Didn't have some of the excellent detail in yours.
Incidentally, my prof career was as video editor so I know a good product when I see one due to having made television commercials (in the '70s/'80s) then new & current affairs stories ('90s).
Didn't know about the three collapses of Mt Taranaki, nor how recent the most recent rebuild happened (around the start of the Iron Age). Did you notice the linear trajectory of the total eruption timeline commencing with the Sugar Loaves? West to East. Similar to Hawaii although that is a longer path with a few more eruption centers (all now islands) and heads SE from memory.
Since I did Geology I as part of my physics degree (which included geophysics) I explain this effect via plate tectonics. Magma emerges sporadically from a common origin below the slowly shifting crust, breaks through that at intervals. Thus the linear pattern of volcanoes with oldest at one end and youngest at the other.
Yes Dennis. I’d always climb Paritutu (part of the sugarloaves, I believe) forcthe exercise & the view on every trip back to my turangawaewae & I knew also that the Kaitaki & Puakai ranges are remnants of earlier volcanos.
Although I have done no formal study in the field I’ve had a strong amateur interest in volcanalogy, geology & seismicity ever since I left school.
I’ve done a lot of investigation into Welly’s earthquake history & geology. This place has some layered beach rock formations that are now at right angles to how they were originally laid down as classic sedimentary layers. That’s how much Wellington has been sqeezed & twisted by the awesome forces of nature.
*Pouakai (I thought that looked wrong somehow).
*seismology (not seismicity) – same.
https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/taranaki/places/egmont-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/pouakai-range-tramping-tracks/
The amazing Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust park is in the Pouakais, & is well worth a visit when the rhodos are in full bloom.
Paritutu (part of the sugarloaves, I believe
Indeed it is. Peculiar how the local authorities call it a rock, when it towers over nearby Mt Moturoa, which they call a mountain! Seems double the height.
Reminds me of that other traditional local govt nonsense here: calling Te Henui a stream when anyone can see at a glance that it is actually a river. Colonial imbeciles casting a long shadow…
Certainly a river by the time it gets to town & comes out at East End. The mouth is a 15-20 min brisk walk down the beach from Fitzroy & I often walked there. It’s a very beautiful river in town, too.
My late uncle had a home 2 houses up from the Northgate Bridge & I often walked the Te Henui riverbank there, heading East.
The nearby Lemon Street Cemetery just over the road from his place is very old & I think datescback to the earliest Pākehā settlerment. There’s a colonial soldiers’ plot in it.
My dad once pointed out to me how many of the gravestones were for people who died young, & drowned. He said that was because, in the early days, many people couldn’t swim & were swept away in flooding times fording the many different streams & rivers radiating out in all directions from Mt Taranaki.
We left NP just after my 13th birthday, August '62. Some political memories from childhood in the 1950s: front door of our house slamming with a crash when one set of grandparents exited after a political argument with the other set.
Of course the women primarily contributed ineffectual attempts at peacemaking. The roosters escalated it into a yelling match each time. My mother's father was a hardline Labour Englishman, had the gift of the gab & could run verbal rings around anyone. My father's father was a pillar of the colonial infrastructure, a hardline National supporter. He ran the railways for the entire province of Taranaki in the 1960s but the prior decade of arguments he was merely station master at NP.
Dear Lord Dennis that reminds me of my Christmas's in the past as a wee one. My grandparents were much the same, Dad's side were "business" and Tory through and through, my mother's were poms who came out in steerage and were dirt poor all their lives. Granddad was a master gardener and kept homesteads in pristine condition, Grandma was always the cook. In service it was called and it reigned here just fine through the early part of the 20th C.
On the day we had to separate them, one set in the front room room and the other in the back room. The two Grandma's weren't too bad and would tuck into the sherry and swop notes but it would truly get out of hand if we didn't subdue the two couples. Oh it was happy days for us kids.
Nice to hear Kate. Yeah my two sets did manage to steer clear of the controversy some visits, and uneasy truce prevailed.
Smiling as I remember it, but my dear paternal granddad, Pop, a retired Taranaki country village police sergeant, and a dyed in the wool Labour supporter, once threw one of my visiting maternal uncles – a priest – out of his house for making some remark or other supportive of the National government of the time.
Can’t now remember if it was during Holyoake’s or Muldoon’s administrations. Whatever his offence was I was a very young teenager & it was over my head. I’d never ever before seen him so angry.
Mum eventually smoothed thing over & harmony between the two families was restored, but those two never discussed politics with each other again.
That was smart of them. Peaceful coexistence can be achieved via evasion of controversy like that. I always seem to prefer catharsis instead! Either I lance the boil with precision, and everyone reacts by floundering around because it never occurred to them such a thing was possible, or I provoke a godalmighty clash so everyone is forced to thrash the thing out & dispose of it.
I was always very dark-haired & very tanned in Summer, spending as much time as I could outside walking the Tasman-pounded beach or playing or exploring along the nearby Waiwhakaiho river.
So my family nickname (as was dad’s, in his boyhood) was Rangi.
Pop always greeted me when I walked in with “Tena koe, Rangi”. (I just heard it as “Tenarkway” before I knew anything about te reo. Māori wasn’t spoken much when & where I grew up.
Was years before I realised that, as a Taranaki country cop, Pop was used to interacting with local Māori & had much respect for their culture.
🙄 *Here’s the missing close bracket ) for para 3
Hate it when I do that. 😠
Proof-reading is a reflex for me now. Rangi = sky.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangi_and_Papa
Really interesting Gezza. I went to a series of lectures by Jim Healy in Rotorua on Taupo in 1973 and this brought back memories. He would have loved the video lol we used an overhead projector.
I trained & got a certificate in operating a variety of 16 mm film projectors, Patricia.
They were finicky things compared to videos & players today or even a decade ago.
They used a constantly moving mechanical ratchet claw to drag several frames past the projector light; used to surprise me how smooth the projected images were in motion.
Oh. Just realised I didn’t your comment properly.
An overhead projector? How dull, in comparison 😕. Big ups to video animations.
👍🏼 😀
🙄 😠 *read your comment properly.
“If you continue to vote for the business as usual parties, don’t feel guilty. You can’t help it if you were born to be [a retard] normal.”
……………………………………………….
I’ve tried very hard to follow & understand the arguments of climate change skeptics because there’s always the danger in the scientific world of group think & govt funding turning conclusions the funding provider wants to see.
But I’ve given up that endeavour now, because, imo, there’s just far too much visible evidence that inexorable global warming is happening & producing all sorts of weird & damaging climatic & weather events, often on some very large scales, that don’t seem to happened with anything like the frequency we are seeing all over the globe now.
But – who to vote for? Arrrghh! The Greens? I dunno. Too many purists, perhaps, & we really need to see some thinking & new technologies advanced asap as well as reestablishing some older less damaging practices for humans’ daily living.
I did read a bunch of books by climate sceptics about a decade back, own several. Made a few good points. Eventually realised weight of evidence invalidated their overall stance. Re Greens, two problems. First, they're shackled by the system (democracy); second, they've allowed identity politics and political positioning to become severe handicaps.
All three factors working together stop folks seeing them as the solution. I've voted Green for 11 successive general elections but currently they just irritate me. I was an office holder for a few of the earliest years but tribal identification has become tenuous!
Too many purists, perhaps, & we really need to see some thinking & new technologies advanced asap as well as reestablishing some older less damaging practices for humans’ daily living.
Yes. That's pretty much my vision too. We will muddle through making some terrible mistakes and then stumble into magnificence almost by accident.
Right now it's the hated capitalists who're busy doing the actual de-carbonising, while the purity point collectors here sit about moralising to their keyboards.
Yay, technology will save us all, just like the American cavalry. sarc.
Saved us for about 250,000 years.
Right on, brother. 👍🏼
Will be part of the solution this time too. It’s inevitable, imo.
Bryan Gould asks (in full):
Bill Ralston in yesterday’s Herald proclaimed that the country has been divided by the delta outbreak, and he might seem therefore to have been making my point for me. But he is referring to the various and differential ways in which the pandemic and its consequences have impacted on us – geographically, for example, and in our readiness or otherwise to get vaccinated.
I am talking about a different phenomenon – the increasingly obvious tendency in some parts of society to allow political convictions to dictate attitudes to the pandemic in a very particular way.
The people I have in mind are those who do not merely allow their political preferences to determine their approval or otherwise of the government’s response to the pandemic (though that is all too obviously true in many cases).
No, I am drawing attention to something more unexpected and, for that reason, noteworthy. There has, sadly, emerged a body of opinion which – asked to choose whether they would wish to see the government succeed in its attempt to bring the pandemic under control – would rather see the delta variant continue to prosper amongst us.
Surely not, you may say. Surely everyone would have as a top priority that the pandemic should stop wreaking its havoc amongst us. Surely, we would wish to see the vulnerable protected, and life return to normal.
For the people I have in mind, however, such a normally desirable outcome would be bought at too high a price, if the consequence was that the government should earn some kudos. They would, it seems, prefer that the pandemic should proceed unchecked, rather than that the government should be able to claim that it has navigated a way through the crisis.
Some of those people would go even further. They would actively try to frustrate the government’s efforts by, for example, refusing vaccination or the wearing of masks or scanning. These attitudes, and the priority accorded to political goals rather than the general welfare, demonstrate just how extreme are the views of this part of society. How sad that the government is having to fight not just the virus but some of our own fellow-citizens as well.
Bryan Gould
8 November 2021
https://bryangould.com/how-did-we-come-to-this-2/
[link added. It would help enormously if when you cut and paste, you also copy across the URL (not a difficult thing to do), thanks – weka]
I agree that it's remarkable for Gould (a typical mainstreamer) to marvel when he suddenly becomes aware that partisans exist. They have been amongst us all our lives, Bryan, so how come you only just discovered this part of reality??
One would think that a successful political career within the British Labour Party would have alerted him to the fact much earlier in life.
Chris Bishop…..d'oh.
Clearly Gould has not been reading The Standard.
DF, partisan? A strong supporter of a cause or a person. contrarian more like. A person who rejects or goes against public opinion.
Rude, implying that someone should have known about a situation prior to it happening as you did with Brian.
Discussion point. Why this is happening after the earlier successes?
Robert posted this for us to discuss the content. Many of us knew there were contrarians out there, but not the number or the depth of malice which is fracturing society. Do you know why this has increased? Personally I think people have been brainwashed by rubbish on the internet, or in their social circle. It is serious, as families split and take sides over health mandates to the point of destroying our progress.
I agree, Patricia, and have little sympathy with DF's sneering comment. It seems to me that we may have been divided and conquered …
I mean, I kinda agree. It sure looks like some people are eager to sabotage the pandemic response, for a variety of reasons.
But where's this a cut&paste from?
Bryan Gould's blog feed – just look over on the bottom right of this page.
link added.
mod note for you Robert.
From Mokau to Maxwell.
Parihaka (on the north island of Aotearoa/New Zealand) is seen by many nationally and internationally as a symbol of non-violent resistance, and a Maori struggle for contemporary and historical justice . Speaking of the history of Parihaka and Taranaki through stories of key events in the struggle to retain Maori lands and culture, Te Miringa Hohaia (Taranaki iwi – Kaitiaki of the Te Paepae o Te Raukura meeting house and marae at Parihaka Paa) chronicles the early period of the British invasion, settlement, and series of attacks upon Parihaka and the resistance to these colonizing efforts. Many conflicts are repelled led by the likes of Riwha Titokowaru, (1823-1888), and through the Parihaka leadership of Te Whiti o Rongomai (1815-1907), and Tohu Kākahi, (1828-1907), the struggle is transformed into a non-violent resistance movement peppered with sophisticated armed resistance when necessary. Some of the systematic, oppressive techniques used by the proto-nationalist government forces and subsequently the New Zealand government to wrest control of the land and the attempts to disenfranchise the Maori people are illustrated. This general history is made specific and personal and then woven back to reflect the imperatives of agency, of resisting, and of carrying constructive actions forward into peace.
See a second student tests positive for Covid at Auckland Grammar and the principal has closed the college for the year.
Too risky if Hipkins reopens schools for new entrant to year 10 this year.
The government are having to make some really hard decisions on a daily basis.
Mt Albert Grammar.