Daily Review 14/08/2015
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6:00 pm, August 14th, 2015 - 40 comments
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- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2025
Open access notables Recent intensified riverine CO2 emission across the Northern Hemisphere permafrost region, Mu et al., Nature Communications: Global warming causes permafrost thawing, transferring large amounts of soil carbon into rivers, which inevitably accelerates riverine CO2 release. However, temporally and spatially explicit variations of riverine CO2 emissions remain unclear, limiting the ...10 hours ago - Whatever Happened to Cactus Kate?
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After stonewalling requests for information on boot camps, the Government has now offered up a blog post right before Easter weekend rather than provide clarity on the pilot. ...13 hours ago - Release: Inflation rises and families feel the squeeze
Inflation is rising again and it’s landing hardest on families already stretched thin. ...14 hours ago
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Families already stretched by rising costs will struggle with the news food prices are going up again. ...2 days ago
- Release: Mental health staff and patients at risk without plan
More people could be harmed if Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey does not guarantee to protect patients and workers as the Police withdraw from supporting mental health call outs. ...4 days ago
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The Government’s proposal to change driver licensing rules is a mixed bag of sensible and careless. ...4 days ago
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The Government is continuing to sit on its hands as students struggle to pay rent due to delays with StudyLink. ...7 days ago
- Release: More must be done to stop children going hungry
More children are going hungry and statistics showing children in material hardship continue to get worse. ...7 days ago
- Greens continue to call for Pacific Visa Waiver
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The Government yesterday released its annual child poverty statistics, and by its own admission, more tamariki across Aotearoa are now living in material hardship. ...7 days ago
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New Zealanders have waited longer to get an appointment with a specialist and to get elective surgery under the National Government. ...7 days ago
- Ka mate te Pire- Ka ora te mana o Te Tiriti o Waitangi me te iwi Māori
Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting ...1 week ago
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- Ka mate te Pire, ka ora Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Treaty Principles Bill dead, Te Tiriti o Waitangi m...
The Green Party is proud to have voted down the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, an archaic piece of legislation that sought to attack the nation’s founding agreement. ...1 week ago
- Member’s Bill an opportunity for climate action
A Member’s Bill in the name of Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter which aims to stop coal mining, the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill, has been pulled from Parliament’s ‘biscuit tin’ today. ...1 week ago
- Release: Bill to make trading laws fairer passes first hurdle
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Members Bill to make the law simpler and fairer for businesses operating on Easter, Anzac and Christmas Days has passed its first reading after a conscience vote in Parliament. ...1 week ago
- Release: Reserve Bank acts while Govt shrugs
Nicola Willis continues to sit on her hands amid a global economic crisis, leaving the Reserve Bank to act for New Zealanders who are worried about their jobs, mortgages, and KiwiSaver. ...1 week ago
- Release: Property Law Amendment Bill pulled from ballot
A Bill to protect first home buyers and others from bad faith property vendors has been drawn from the Member’s Ballot. ...1 week ago
- Release: More children at risk of losing family connections
Karen Chhour is proposing to scrap Oranga Tamariki targets which aim to connect more children under state care with family and their culture. ...1 week ago
- Release: David Parker made a difference – Hipkins
The Labour Leader today acknowledged and celebrated David Parker’s 23-year contribution to the Labour Party and to Parliament. ...1 week ago
- Release: David Parker to step down from Parliament
Long-serving Labour MP and former Minister David Parker has today announced his intention to leave Parliament. ...1 week ago
- Release: Flaws in Govt’s climate strategy will cost us money
The Government’s plan to achieve our climate goals falls short, and will cost New Zealanders money and jobs. ...1 week ago
- Green Party differing view on the Treaty Principles Bill
Read the Green Party's differing view on the Treaty Principles Bill, prepared by Tamatha Paul. ...2 weeks ago
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Today, the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill has passed its third and final reading, but there is one more stage before it becomes law. The Governor-General must give their ‘Royal assent’ for any bill to become legally enforceable. This means that, even if a bill gets voted ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Abortion care quietly shelved amid staff shortage
Abortion care at Whakatāne Hospital has been quietly shelved, with patients told they will likely have to travel more than an hour to Tauranga to get the treatment they need. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Govt guts Kāinga Ora, third of workforce under axe
The gutting of Kāinga Ora shows public housing is not a priority for this Government as it removes a third of the roles at the housing agency. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Thousands of submissions excluded from Treaty Principles Bill report
Thousands of New Zealanders’ submissions are missing from the official parliamentary record because the National-dominated Justice Select Committee has rushed work on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Uncertainty remains over the impact of tariffs
Today’s announcement of 10 percent tariffs for New Zealand goods entering the United States is disappointing for exporters and consumers alike, with the long-lasting impact on prices and inflation still unknown. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Worst February for building consents in over a decade
The National Government’s choices have contributed to a slow-down in the building sector, as thousands of people have lost their jobs in construction. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour supports Willie Apiata’s selfless act
Willie Apiata’s decision to hand over his Victoria Cross to the Minister for Veterans is a powerful and selfless act, made on behalf of all those who have served our country. ...2 weeks ago
- Te Pāti Māori MPs Denied Fundamental Rights in Privileges Committee Hearing
The Privileges Committee has denied fundamental rights to Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, breaching their own standing orders, breaching principles of natural justice, and highlighting systemic prejudice and discrimination within our parliamentary processes. The three MPs were summoned to the privileges committee following their performance of a haka ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Govt health and safety changes put workers at risk
Changes to New Zealand’s health and safety laws will strip back key protections for small businesses and put working Kiwis at greater risk. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Kiwis worse off this April thanks to Govt choices
April 1 used to be a day when workers could count on a pay rise with stronger support for those doing it tough, but that’s not the case under this Government. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Three more years for Interislander ferries
Winston Peters is shopping for smaller ferries after Nicola Willis torpedoed the original deal, which would have delivered new rail enabled ferries next year. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Myanmar junta must stop the airstrikes
The Government should work with other countries to press the Myanmar military regime to stop its bombing campaign especially while the country recovers from the devastating earthquake. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: National failing to deliver on supermarkets
National is paying lip service to its promises to bring down the cost of living, failing to make any meaningful change in the grocery sector. ...3 weeks ago
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- Grattan on Friday: Peter Dutton’s tax indexation ‘aspiration’ has merit – so why didn’t we...
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Solar bill will help power NZ’s transition to green economy
It will be interesting to see what National and Act do but I’m reasonably certain that they’ll both come down on the side of the new private owners of electricity generation.
The Māori Party and Dunne’s Future may come down on the side of the people.
The Greens seem to be always one step behind on it Draco. Selling power back to the grid isn’t the way to go, that really only works out financially when the Govt mandates an artificially high feed-in tariff like they do in Aus.
For the average householder its better to figure out ways to use the surplus solar power rather than send it to the grid. That’s not as hard as people might think; just needs a few smarts, some habit changes and a bit of research.
Two five minute showers in the morning will use about 4kW/hrs of power. With a 2kW water heater that’s two hours to reheat the water after our morning showers. Typically we’d use that power from the grid, the solar panels will barely have started generating power by the time the water is back to temperature.
It doesn’t make a lot of sense to buy 4kW/hrs off the grid in the morning & then sell it back later in the day at a lower rate. 4kW/hrs is about $1 worth of power and we’re unlikely get more than 50% on feed-ins so we’d be spending $1 per day and receiving back less than 50c from the solar generation.
Put a timer on the water heater so it turns on around 11am and you’d reduce the feed-in on a 3Kw solar system to bugger all most days. Work out other items you can turn on with a timer, such as washing machine, dishwasher, drier etc, and you’d pretty much dispense with the bother of feed-in tariffs.
I don’t view it as a feed in tariff – I view the present set up as the power companies looking to make a profit from other peoples investment and work while those people still lose money.
You right that the Greens are going about it the wrong way though. The correct way would be to have it so that households and businesses are charged the same rate* for electricity and are paid that amount back for any power that they produce. This has two benefits:
1. People aren’t ripped off by the power companies as they are now
2. Households will be far better off financially giving a boost to other areas of the economy
* Businesses are charged about a third of the rate of households but both use the total same amount so it’s obviously not a question of scale. What this means effectively is that households are subsidising business to a huge amount. Fully two thirds of the power companies income comes from households.
Very timely for us as we are trying to decide whether or not to go solar electric. A 3kw unit would cut usage by about 44% and by going onto low user charges the cut in line charges would help. A lot of money though as a capital outlay. About $11,000! To get a guaranteed buy back price would help and later efficient battery storage would also help. Go the Greens Amendment. To be continued.
You’d really want to shop around a bit more there ianmac. $11k is quite outrageous for a 3kW system, it also makes solar rather uneconomic.
If you funded it by adding to the mortgage $11k over 20yrs is about $900 annually. You’d need the panels to generate more than $900 of power each year to make it worthwhile.
A typical solar system will generate around 1100 kW/hrs annually per Kw of panels, that’s 3300 units for a 3kW system. If you’re feeding it back to the grid at 10c unit that’s only $330 worth of power generated annually. Use that solar power and it’s $825 worth of power at 25c unit.
You should be able to buy a 3kW system for closer to $5k which is only $400 per year to pay off. Then it starts to add up but only if you use the power.
We have an installed solar system, and we get about 8% return. Mind you we have a17cent buy back.
Who gives you a 17 cent buy back dv?
Contact- got in before their reduction to 7c
You might be right DH.3.16kw $11400 incGST,percent of bill covered 43.09%, annual savings $840. annual output 4666kwh. Return on investment7.37%. Using the Micro System. What do you think DH?
(I think Solar water is about $5,000.)
Solar panels are definitely worth it if you’re going to be in the same house for a long period ianmac, well as long as you get it all for a reasonable price anyway. You just need to do the quiet research; get to know what you’re buying & what you’re getting for your dollar.
$11k would either be top brands or an unreasonable profit margin (or both). The top brands don’t really gain you much and you need to weigh up the risk/reward picture between the expensive German & Japanese stuff and reasonable Chinese manufactured equipment at half that price.
Apparently you can remove to panel to your next house- about 1k I was told
Yes dv. Wondered about that. In time we could advertise a house for sale excluding solar unit. Then offer it to the house buyer at cost price or take it to the new house. On the other hand a house with solar installed would sell for more and more easily.
Draco, I think the power providers argue that they want to charge buyback at the same rate that they buy on the wholesale market, which they say, is about 7cents.
That’s correct ianmac, and the Govt is very unlikely to force them to buy back at above cost. I respect the Greens efforts on this but I can’t see it going anywhere.
IMO it’s best to think of the grid more as a load balancer and work to export as little back to the grid as possible. It does take some thinking and a little bit of work but it also makes us more aware of power and how we use it which is a good thing IMO.
Thinking of the grid as a load balancer is the best reason to make it a government monopoly that maintained and expanded via taxes as it would become an integral part of the necessary infrastructure of the country and competition in it would cost too much – same as roads really.
I don’t see it that way. Grid-tie is only a temporary measure that we use because it works & makes for the lowest capital cost.
Solar is already way cheaper than mains power, its the cost of storing electricity that presently costs too much. So we use the grid, but that’s not a permanent thing. When a cheap battery (finally) comes on the market we’ll ditch the grid-tie inverter and swap it for an inverter/charger.
Longer term we’ll be getting off the grid completely. There’s no inflation on sunshine, there is inflation on electricity generation, so there’s only one logical direction this can go.
Ah, false economics.
Everyone having a battery is going to cost more, in real terms, than having the grid and not using the hydro stations. The hydro stations become the battery. We can point to wind farms as well as they, too, can be turned off.
Maintaining and upgrading the grid and even the huge power generators doesn’t really cost that much. In fact, I suspect that it would cost less than the maintaining and replacement of millions of batteries.
This is the problem when people view themselves in isolation rather than as a functioning society. More resources get used up rather than it being cheaper but it’s all seen as good as there’s more profit in it.
It’s your economics which are flawed Draco. It does cost that much to maintain and upgrade the grid, and each year it costs more. That’s what inflation does, it increases prices. Sunlight has zero inflation.
Actually, increasing productivity means that it costs less.
Increasing productivity means that, if all else remains the same, prices should decrease.
So why do monetary prices keep going up when real costs keep going down?
Can anyone explain to me why the death of Connor Morris led the news tonight? Morris was a two bit street hoodlum totally inculcated to the ways of a destructive criminal organisation that has contributed precisely nothing constructive to society.
That a slightly more than ordinary member (it appears his father was/is also a senior member of this gang) of a criminal organisation that relies on casual violence and intimidation should be killed in the utterly banal circumstances of a pointless and squalid drunken street brawl concerns me not a jot; It appears the only point of marginal interest is that his tragically stupid girlfriend of precisely no personal importance is the daughter of a long deceased broadcaster.
And that is enough for it to lead the news? Really? tell me it isn’t so!
‘Tis the (Elder) Holmes effect I would think.
Does my head in.
Me too. Haven’t watched the news since the trial began. I think of the many victims of murderous crimes and how few people cared a hoot about them – especially if they were Maori. But just because this one involved a former celebrity’s daughter we have to endure endless false and cloying stories relating to her every word and deed. If Ms Elder was someone of maturity and integrity she would have sent the media wolves packing a long time ago.
If she was any of that she wouldn’t have been hanging out with the Head Hunters.
Drug dealer two the elite of Auckland plus the soap opera value of Paul’s daughter being invloved , at a guess!
Soap opera news
Soap opera news…yes. I call it easynews. News papers are especially culpable with big visuals and little text. Not evil but not a lot of professional effort required .
Nope, can’t tell you that because that’s exactly what it appears to be.
The question that I raised tonight was: Would it have been reported to this depth if it was the person Conner Morris was beating up had died?
Because I’m pretty sure that the answer to that question would be: Hell NO!!!
And for the same reason that this one was so massively over reported.
Gerry dear – now listen here –
‘Tis very sad to see
The troubles mounting daily
For your precious EQC.
Do not blame the builders –
For it may come to pass
That some of them were members
Of your High School woodwork class!
The fault lies so much nearer –
Just accept it like a man,
And plead for our forgiveness
‘Ere more sh%t hits the fan.
To us it is so obvious-
You are in it to the hilt –
And your legacy will long remain
In houses Gerry-built.
anon
Brilliant!
Another guest post?
TS is getting quite lyrical …
LoL+
(an exchange from twitter just now)
– “Glad we got beef tonight cos we didn’t want lamb, those suckers are all in Saudi Arabia anyway” – John Key, Warehouse Gala dinner #TWGgala
– NO! He didn’t really make that joke? Did he?
– honest he did. He’s now making a case for flag change
Sanders overtakes Hillary in New Hampshire polling, was unthinkable a couple of months ago:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/us_politics/2015/08/poll_bernie_sanders_surges_ahead_of_hillary_clinton_in_nh_44_37
heh
Meme the Bern
@MemeTheBern
“Bernie for the future” #Bernie2016 #BernieSanders #FeelTheBern #BernBabyBern
https://twitter.com/MemeTheBern/status/618644901450788864/photo/1
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL1zrFOWUAAlp6H.jpg
Andrew Little’s brewing skills!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/drinks/71131326/beervana-gets-a-taste-of-andrew-littles-brewing-skills#comments
A nasty headline in a British on line paper. Russia ‘preparing for war’ against Britain and Nato as Ukraine conflict escalates
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/597746/russia-nato-war-michael-fallon-ukraine
Is followed by a couple of paras talking about an organisation called a think tank (with apparently the name ‘The European Leadership’), outside the government, which is talking up war with Russia.
A leading European think tank has said a Russian military exercise in March demonstrated that Russia “is actively preparing for a conflict with Nato”.
The European Leadership network also claimed a similar exercise by Nato in June indicated that the two powers were training their forces to get to grips with each other’s strengths and military plans.
Further down there was a picture of the Defence Secretary who should be called Fatuous Fallon, looking smug as if he has just made a good play in golf.
Questions:
Do these politicians take their job seriously?
Does that job include conducting politics so as to maintain strength, co-operate as much as possible with other countries, and limit moves that involve avoidable conflict?
Do they have to do some sort of political studies at uni which involve international relations and conflict deflation?
And does government discourage the role of outside advisors who are not beholden to the people, and have their own agendas different from those of the taxpayers?
The most informative piece on the Ukraine story is still the counterpoint article in 2014 by Wayne Brittenden.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2588325/wayne-brittenden%27s-counterpoint
I wish he would return to Radio NZ.The best we have had.
agree abt Wayne BRITTENDEN.