“The chief reason that we are waking up to our entanglement with the world we have been destroying, Morton says, is our encounter with the reality of hyperobjects – the term he coined to describe things such as ecosystems and black holes, which are “massively distributed in time and space” compared to individual humans. Hyperobjects might not seem to be objects in the way that, say, billiard balls are, but they are equally real, and we are now bumping up against them consciously for the first time.
Global warming might have first appeared to us as a bit of funny local weather, then as a series of independent manifestations (an unusually torrential flood here, a deadly heatwave there), but now we see it as a unified phenomenon, of which extreme weather events and the disruption of the old seasons are only elements.”
No brighter future for those workers and their families.
Interesting that some RWNJs want to blame the Grenfell fire on the tenants instead of the owners. They’re that same sort who blame workers for their own deaths.
A bit like the ‘ unsinkable ‘ Titanic’ and J Bruce Ismay, – president of the company that built the Titanic, who jumped into one of the half filled life boats and sat with his back to the Titanic as it went down…
Titanic builder J Bruce Ismay: doomed the moment he jumped ship … http://www.telegraph.co.uk › Culture › Books
‘ Same as it ever was , same as it ever was ‘…
Always reminds me of this song :
Talking Heads – Once In A Lifetime (Full Length Version) (1980/ 2013 …
There will always be jobs that involve danger and if people forget or don’t follow procedure, they end up badly injured or dead, this is why there’s such a push for automation.
Unfortunately, human beings are rather suspectable to life-threatening lapses of judgement.
Sooner these types of jobs are replaced by robots or unmanned units the better.
Yep. As night follows day I knew there’d be one of them blaming the worker instead of the procedure. Even though it is incumbent upon the employer to ensure the worker is in a safe environment.
I wasn’t blaming the worker, I have no idea how she died or what caused her death.
Just pointing out that working around large moving machinery is inherently dangerous and because of that, these sort of jobs should be automated out of existence.
‘ Just pointing out that working around large moving machinery is inherently dangerous and because of that, these sort of jobs should be automated out of existence.’
I can understand that sentiment. Ive worked in construction most of my life – as a grunt.
Six years in the ARA as a ‘ Headworks assistant’ in the Waitakere Ranges ( I was proud of those years 🙂 ) whereby we often used 19th century equipment to get the job done in rugged back country so all the townies could enjoy the wonderful scenery – while not giving a thought to who maintained it.
Whats a frog? …
No… its not an animal that croaks on a lily pad,… its a U shaped 80 pound iron instrument with a thread that you place a bar ( no – not a BAAAA – that’s what sheep do ) into to lever it to bend the rail line with. Then you use a dogging hammer ( nothing to do with disciplining a sheep dog with when its snuck off with the workers lunch ) to drive a dog ( its a type of 4 – 6 inch spiked ‘nail ‘ – so take it easy all you animal activists- relax ! ) into the sleeper ( again – not a worker who takes a nap at work after a hard night out on the piss … )
We literally poured tonnes and tonnes of concrete in the most primitive of bush conditions.
Later on , I became a qualified Painter and Decorator. Still working with my hands and still bloody hot sweat type work on a construction site.
The point of all this,… is that there are many many times… when automation , although desirable, is not feasible. Perhaps in a yard where events are predictable , a flat ground operation , or even a quarry or factory situation. But there are many occupation where it is simply not and never will be.
AND THAT ,… is precisely the POINT.
That automation is NO PANACEA for human diligence and regulation.
And if those who are in charge or responsible for a situation in which large loss of life has occurred – despite ‘ automation’ – then ‘automation’ should NOT BE USED as a diversion to their negligence or incompetence.
I don’t mind BM, I can see a little of where he / shes coming from.
The difference is I’m a nationalist. Not an opportunist or a globalist . And that’s not inferring BM ‘s an opportunist or a globalist , either.
I just believe we need to moderate and regulate the excesses of human greed so all can have a jolly good outlook.
If that means the rising of taxation brackets , so be it. If that means the rising of wages , so be it. Not all can be innovators, not all can be business owners,… but for those who are not,- they should not be fiscally penalized because of their station in life though they help to produce that wealth , either. Nor should those who through infirmity , age or circumstance be excluded from the benefits of a prosperous society .
The world is divided up into society’s and communities whether we like to admit it or not , and the proper ideal is the strong providing for the weak in all situations. And despite the protestations of the aberrant to those principles , we are , as human beings , reliant on those very same principles of group security as when we first formed the earliest of society’s in Sumeria…
Nothing, … has ever changed throughout the millennia…
Fleetwood Mac – Dreams [with lyrics] – YouTube
Video for fleetwood mac when the rain washes you clen youll know you tube▶ 4:14
‘ There will always be jobs that involve danger and if people forget or don’t follow procedure, they end up badly injured or dead, this is why there’s such a push for automation.’
* Very true. However , under our Health and Safety laws it is up to both party’s – Employers and employees / contractors to follow procedures in a way that minimizes risk. And all too often – as in Pike River – we see that principle abused. And as at Pike River , the fault lay squarely with company management. To which in this country NO ONE was ever prosecuted , – simply a deal done with Peter Whittalls Insurance by WORKSAFE for Whittall to buy his way out of prosecution.
And its that sort of weasel like elitist culture that breeds the sort of cynicism and calls for vengeance from the average worker every time these right wing wankers try that shit on.
As for the push for automation?… so whats the answer for compensation in causing the mass unemployment of hundreds of thousands of people in society’s worldwide ? Can you honestly tell me the elite are suddenly going to come over all gushy , grow a conscience and become conciliatory and consent to paying higher taxes to ensure a UBI?
Or even start pay the taxes they SHOULD have been paying for decades and haven’t ?
And the wages they SHOULD have been paying but haven’t?
I think not.
And as for this :
” Sooner these types of jobs are replaced by robots or unmanned units the better.”
Have you really thought that statement through to its final conclusion?
Really?
Then good luck at getting a robot to crawl up and down a high rise building construction site without some sort of human control , then.
Then good luck at getting a robot to crawl up and down a high rise building construction site without some sort of human control , then.
Which is why I also mentioned unmanned units.
Saw an interesting video of a chap operating some sort of forestry delimbing machinery by remote control.
Looked a hell of a lot safer having him at the top of the hill out of harm’s way while the machinery he was controlling was doing the business down at the bottom of this steep bank.
There’s a point in automation – its always been around, always will be. We enjoy many benefits from technology , no doubt.
It can be a great labour saving device and definitely increase safety, no doubt.
But there are many areas where it just isn’t feasible. Again… the robots at Pike River. Not a good example but pretty illustrative. There are many industry’s where there is no way around having boots on the ground.
And I guess that there will always be an interface between the robot and human control. A simple illustration is the guy on the bulldozer versus the guy using the shovel.
But there are other times whereby an industry or company is in its infancy and simply cannot afford automation. And the human quotient is still the most efficient one.
Now here’s the rub :
Hypothetically at least , and taken to its extreme, – if all was automated and an excess of product entered the markets – it would , eventually , decrease profits to the point where because of the glut of market produce available… the question then would be,… are the profits derived equal to the costs of the raw materials extracted needed to produce that product?
And if there is no UBI , would there be the consumer base left remaining to be able to sustain the produce so manufactured by the virtue of consumerism ?
How many fridges, heaters, cars, laptops, flat screen TV’s and houses of quality are those in the third world renowned for be able to purchase to illustrate the point even further ?
But all of that is a different beast to what we are talking about than some rich fat privileged prick trying to weasel their way out of accepting culpability for blame and instead trying to pin the blame on residents of a burnt out building or a worker who will never come home to their family’s in the evening…
Good answer,… and indeed , interesting times ahead.
However, I suspect that what we will see,… is a relocation to the third world of many of the production and manufacturing jobs currently undertaken in the west, – including the IT jobs, – meanwhile… mass un employment occurring in the west and large scale social unrest.
Some occupations, a ‘skeleton’ of its former self ,… so to speak ,… will always be needed for maintenance, and basic services. I should imagine a shift in the west towards the FIRE economy , but even that will not assuage the unrest of by – then decimated middle classes .
I see a general unrest in the intended resetting of the economy ( predictions are September 2017 –
or later in an effort to dislodge Trump- which is predicted to make the Great Depression look like a mere ripple in economic history and to which Trump will ot be able to control ) redistribution of wealth of the global economy and the introduction of the cashless society. Following that , martial law introduced by increments to quell disquiet about the loss of civil freedoms and adherence to the requirements of the state.
However it will not be the requirements of a sovereign ‘ nation state’.
It will be the requirements of a supranational and internationalist ‘globalist cabal’ that uses regional ‘ free trade deals ‘ to enforce by manner of corporate laws such things as the Investor-State Dispute Settement’s .
THIS IS WHERE this is all heading.
And one of the more blatant groups who hide this in plain sight are this group :
Have a wee listen , then my old mate.
Bilderberg Elites Panic As Trump Dismantles Climate Change Hoax …
Video for climate change bilderberg you tube▶ 7:48
Caught a bit of Full House on Netflix just now. The family were going out and Michelle (Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen) asks why the family were taking two cars. Danny (Bob Saget) explains that they couldn’t all fit in one car to which Michelle replies, ‘we could all fit on the Subway and that’s better for the planet.’
Circa 1992.
Were those writers ahead of their time? Not on the US seaboards perhaps, but safe to say none of it got through to the National Party government.
Can’t quite work out Katie Hopkins here except to say she’s an unhinged shock jock who I hope has suddenly turned a corner.
She’s spent a lifetime attacking the very types of people who lived and died in the Grenfell building but now seems to have had an epiphany.
She seems to be advocating for corporate manslaughter law, which I must say is a welcome change in attitude from her. The language in this article is straight out of a left wing activist’s manual.
So I guess the right wing wankers will have no more need for all the imported Filipino workers to work for slave labour in the rural sector anymore , then , eh?
I guess Bulldust English is hoping he is happily retired on a governmental pension by that time…
Too many questions , Old Boy , too many questions…
latest poll
When it comes to seats in the House, National is set to get 58. With its three support partners, it reaches the required 61 to govern.
For the Labour/Green alliance set to get 48 seats total.
Even if it got New Zealand First’s 12 seats, the Left would only get to 60
Greens 12.5%, Labour 26.4% http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/06/poll-labour-crumbles-falling-towards-defeat.html
I reckon National could actually get an outright majority under Bill English.
Safe solid dependable, that appeals to an all mighty chunk of New Zealanders.
Little cannot compete against English they’re far too similar.
No , no , no,… BM … your starting to sound like all the other desperate wide eyed leftist fanatics about climate change here…
The numbers dont add up simply on the strength of the ‘ rouge ‘ polls numbers presented by Enough is Enough… who sadly is still thinking in terms of FPP.
That’s precisely the type of thinking that led to the virtual wiping out of Teresa May.
This is not England , it is New Zealand.
And here we have Labour , NZ First and the Greens.
Which , by sheer mathematical equation , means that a Labour led govt is a certainty. Despite the waning fortunes of the Maori party , Peter Dunne and ACT, the latter which is of course… a zombie walking…
Nay ,… tis not so much ‘ personality politics’ but those temporary media personality mercenary’s paid for and stationed deliberately by the Rupert Murdoch MSM CEO’s to influence our opinions…
As for a ‘ Trump tweet ‘… I assure you ,… it is the product of a real, live undead human being expressing their opinions,… un – choreographed, un scripted , and yes,… spontaneously constructed. With all its faults and fallibility’s.
The ‘ media personality mercenary’s paid for and stationed deliberately by the Rupert Murdoch and other MSM CEO’s to influence our opinions’ often use personality politics as their method.
Have to laugh at ACT more than doubling support by increasing by 0.5% but still not breaking 1%. Truely a party no one likes yet has still not been put out of its misery.
Or even 0.69% which is what they got in 2014. The rest is publicity (I love the Coq), parliamentary support (the suicide bill being picked ‘randomly’), and dirty politics (Farrar’s lobby group blogging).
Epsom voters not having an independent bone in their body.
They’ll still worried about Banks’ prophecy that brown people are going to come through their windows at night.
Where’s Banks now? Embroiled in a 40 year old paternity case. Through to courts on corruption charges. Separated from the wife who defended him. Still a racist fuck.
Then you get to Jamie White. An evil ideologue which New Zealand should be deporting back to Her Majesty’s Britain.
joe90 …
15 June 2017 at 11:40 pm
And the Jews are in on it, too. Am I right?.
Your pathetic suggestions , not mine.
edit: btw, other than grammar corrections, editing without annotating verges on dishonesty
* btw, other than grammar corrections
** that should read ‘ grammatical ‘ corrections for a start. I was not aware I was in the presence of a grammar NAZI who lacks formal education in correct grammatical prose. I am so humbly sorry for your first year degree lack of inadequacies … but still ,… no fault of mine.
* ‘ editing without annotating verges on dishonesty’
** You can gaff on as much as you like but The Guardian itself has outed you. So again … are you some sort of closet fascist?
You have failed the test despite your attempts at academic / intellectual superiority. Which was always so easily , yes so easily ,… seen right through for what it is…
Come back when you’ve put a few years more fat on your political / academic growth, please. Lightweights are an embarrassment to have to belt around.
The corporate media want you to think that.
Switch them off.
Use social media and bypass the right wing billionaires who own the media and control their filters.
You know it's not going to be good when your told to write your name on you helmet before you go in! pic.twitter.com/qToYAXa1k8— Mick (@crispymick) June 14, 2017
Hi Mick, can we use this image on our site please?— The Sun Picture Desk (@SunPictureDesk) June 14, 2017
Nope… Not in in your shitrag— Mick (@crispymick) June 14, 2017
The landlord of Grenfell Tower had already been given legal warnings over fire safety in two other tower blocks.
‘The landlord in charge of Grenfell Tower, where a fire broke out in the early hours on Wednesday 14 June, had been issued legal warnings over fire safety in two other tower blocks prior to the blaze that engulfed the West London property.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) is the landlord of Grenfell Tower. The 24-storey tower block with 120 flats was reported to be on fire at 12.54am on Wednesday 14 June. At the time of publishing, 50 people had been taken to hospital and six people had been confirmed dead.
Previous history
But this is not the first fire in a KCTMO-managed tower block. Because the London Fire Brigade (LFB) had previously issued it with two legal enforcement notices over fire safety, as a result of another fire.
In October 2015, a fire broke out in Adair Tower and 50 people had to be rescued from their flats. As a result, LFB issued an enforcement notice not only on Adair Tower but on the neighbouring Hazelwood Tower. And it shows a catalogue of failings.
A catalogue of failings?
The LFB notice said KCTMO had shown a:
Failure to make a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment.
Failure to apply the principles of prevention to the implementation of the preventative and protective measures identified by the risk assessment.
Failure in the effective management of the preventive and protective measures.
Failure to eliminate or reduce, so far as is reasonably practicable, dangerous substances present in or on the premises.
Failure to provide and/or maintain adequate and clearly indicated emergency routes and exits that lead to a place of safety.
Failure to establish an appropriate emergency plan.
Failure to ensure that the premises and any facilities, equipment and devices are maintained in an efficient state, in effective working order and in good repair.
A similar notice was issued for Hazelwood Tower.’
Blogger gagged by council after warning about Grenfell Tower fire threat
‘A blogger who warned the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council of the dangers lurking in Grenfell Tower was threatened by local officials for writing about problems in the building.
Home to over 600 people, Grenfell Tower, in the Lancaster West estate, west London, was engulfed in flames in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The true scale of the tragedy is only gradually becoming clear.
As early as 2013, a man named Francis O’Connor, a member of the Grenfell Action Group (GAG), urged councillors and landlord Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization (KCTMO) to address the fire safety risks that new works on the building would cause.
GAG had several times tried to warn the council and the landlord that the building of a school and gym next to the estate would restrict emergency services’ access, including firefighting vehicles.
But a leaked letter reveals that officials at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea tried to silence the campaigners, sending a lawyer to threaten O’Connor.’
Pilgrim Tucker, of #GrenfellTower Action details how residents concerns over safety have been treated. All for profit.
UTTERLY SHOCKING. Pilgrim Tucker, of #GrenfellTower Action details how residents concerns over safety have been treated. All for profit. pic.twitter.com/QUnGAAua0v
‘The cladding that might have led to the horrifying blaze at Grenfell Tower was added partly to improve its appearance.
During a refurbishment aimed at regeneration last year, cladding was added to the sides of the building to update its look. The cladding then seems to have helped the fire spread around the building, allowing it to destroy almost the entirety of the structure and kill people inside.
And that cladding – a low-cost way of improving the front of the building – was chosen in part so that the tower would look better when seen from the conservation areas and luxury flats that surround north Kensington, according to planning documents, as well as to insulate it.’
Don't politicize the Grenfell Fire.. people are literally screaming in the streets we told you so!!!! pic.twitter.com/UvHwn2zsrf— ARTIST TAXI DRIVER (@chunkymark) June 14, 2017
Don't politicize the Grenfell Fire.. people are literally screaming in the streets we told you so!!!! pic.twitter.com/UvHwn2zsrf
‘Theresa May’s new Police and Fire Minister, Nick Hurd, was among the 72 Tory MPs – who are also residential landlords – that voted against a motion to make homes “fit for human habitation.”
Many people have been reposting articles about the debate in Parliament last January in light of today’s tragedy at Grenfell Tower.
Labour submitted an amendment to the Government’s Housing and Planning Bill designed to ensure all rental properties were “fit for human habitation.”
The need to improve fire prevention was explicitly set out by then Shadow Housing Minister Teresa Pearce. Proposing the amendment, she said:
“New clause 53 is about safety and would introduce a requirement for landlords to undertake electrical safety checks. Many organisations from across the sector support the measure, such as the Local Government Association, the London fire brigade, Shelter, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, British Gas, Crisis and the Fire Officers Association. They have all given their support in the past to measures that will see the introduction of mandatory electrical safety checks.
“It is estimated that electricity causes more than 20,000 house fires each year, leading to about 350 serious injuries and 70 deaths across the UK. Carbon monoxide, gas leaks and other fires and explosions cause fewer deaths and injuries, with 300 injuries and 18 deaths—these risks remain serious and it is right that we should continue to monitor them, but that shows what is at stake as regards electrical fires in the home.”
Labour’s amendment was defeated with the help of the 72 Tory MPs who top up their Parliamentary salaries as landlords.’
Grenfell Tower fire is ‘corporate manslaughter’ and arrests must be made, MP David Lammy says
‘We should call it what it is, it’s corporate manslaughter, that’s what it is and there should be arrests made, frankly,’ the Tottenham MP said
Yes … it wouldn’t take much for those indentured contractors CEO’s to consult with local business heads to know EXACTLY what the weak points of that building was… we read that the tower was surrounded by affluent property owners with an eye to increasing the values of their already existing property’s…
We cant have a bunch of dark skinned / poor white trash holding up progress and our pecuniary gain , can we now , old bean ?
Time to move them on , time to move them on… without any fuss, quietly and quite justifiably so… just a nudge , a short sharp shock and they’ll never do it again…
Short Sharp Shock – YouTube
Video for pink floyd a short sharp shock you tube▶ 0:24
Even fellow right wing journalist Stacey Kirk manages to do a decent bit of reporting, unlike Jenna Lynch. Here she has done some actual research work instead of sitting with the Newshub video editor all day trying to mock Andrew Little.
Tories, voting in their own best interests forever.
/
At least 71 of the Tory MPs who voted against an amendment to force landlords to make sure their properties are “fit for human habitation” are private landlords themselves.
The Conservatives voted against a Labour amendment to the current Housing and Planning Bill to ensure houses were kept to a decent standard by 312 votes to 219, a majority of 93.
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Michael SchulsonWhen Shane Burcaw flies on an airplane, he brings along a customized gel cushion, a car seat, and about 10 pieces of memory foam. The whole arsenal costs around $1,000, but for Burcaw it’s a necessity. The 27-year-old author and speaker — who, alongside his fiancée, Hannah ...
We are very pleased to publish this submission is from Lucinda Stoan. She is a social justice activist, mother, and educator, based in Washington State in the US. This detailed and comprehensive source-linked overview of trans issues and what is at stake will be useful for many people, especially in ...
New Zealand's Underarm Banker: It bears recalling that the “independence” of the Reserve Bank Governor was for decades held up by neoliberal capitalists as the most compelling justification for passing the Reserve Bank Act. Interesting, is it not, how the ruling class’s support for the Bank’s independence lasted no longer than ...
Rubbish In, Rubbish Out: Put all this together, and it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that anyone who responds positively to a pollster’s request to “answer a few questions” is just ever-so-slightly weird. Desperately lonely? Some sort of psephological train-spotter? Political party member primed to skew the poll for or against ...
“Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty we are free at last.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. A long and bitter court feud between former Conservative Party leader Colin Craig and Jordan Williams has been settled, with an apology and compensation from Williams. On Tuesday, Craig sent out ...
Samuel Becher, Victoria University of Wellington and Jessica C Lai, Victoria University of WellingtonEarlier this year, the New Zealand-based pizza chain Hell Pizza offered a limited-edition “Burger Pizza”. Its customers weren’t told that the “meat” was plant-based. Some customers complained to the Commerce Commission, which enforces consumer law in ...
Some people seem to want to close down any critical discussion of the current research into the relationship between water fluoride and child IQ. They appear to argue that claims made by researchers should not be open to critical review and that the claims be accepted without proper consideration ...
The government has been congratulating itself over the passage of the Zero Carbon Act, which sets out long-term emissions targets. Meanwhile, Climate Action Tracker has the shameful reality: those targets are insufficient:While New Zealand is showing leadership by having passed the world’s second-ever Zero Carbon Act in November 2019, under ...
The government introduced a Racing Industry Bill today. As an urban who horse racing as pointless-to-cruel, and gambling as a tax on stupidity and/or hope, this isn't normally a bill which would interest me in the slightest, beyond grumpiness at more government money for a dying industry. But there is ...
Check. Check. One, two, three, four. Is this thing ON? Hello readers, I logged in last night (yeah, it’s been a while) to mark THE END of the landmark legal case, Jordan Williams v Colin Craig, which (gulp) reached The Supreme Court, in which New Zealand’s most-defamed man was suing the politician he ...
Before The Birth: Israel’s most fervent supporters set their clocks ticking in Biblical times. They cite the kingdoms of David and Solomon as proof that, in the words of the Exodus movie’s theme-song: “This land is mine.” The majority of Israel’s backers, however, start their clocks in 1933 – the year Adolf ...
In an unreliable, strange and confusing world, Public Address is proud to present a measure of comfort and stability by annually asking everyone what words or phrases sum up the year that's been – and then giving some of them consumer goods as prizes for being clever or simply lucky.Well, ...
Both my parents are pretty handy – and they seem to have the right tools for most jobs in the garage and they know how to fix practically anything. A similar story could be told about their generation’s experience in the workforce – being a generalist was not unusual and ...
When it was revealed that NZ First had tried to enrich itself from public office via the Provoncial Growth Fund, the Prime Minister assured us that everything was OK as Shane Jones, the Minister responsible for the fund, had recused himself. Except it seems that that recusal came very late ...
Today is a Member's Day, and probably the last one of the year. After the marathon of the End of Life Choice Act, most of the bills up for debate today are uncontentious. First up is the second reading of Chlöe Swarbrick's Election Access Fund Bill. This will be followed ...
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee has reported back on the government's odious and tyrannical control orders bill. As expected, the fraudulent select committee process has made no significant changes (partly because they couldn't agree, but mostly because it was a stitch-up from the start, with no intention of ...
Yesterday, the government released its draft Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, which will be put to a non-binding referendum at the next election. I'm not a drug policy expert, but Russell Brown is, and he thinks its pretty good. And pretty obviously, it will be a massive improvement on the ...
As you're probably aware, the draft bill outlining the proposed legal cannabis regime to be put to a referendum late next year was published yesterday, and has already attracted a flurry of comment. It's notable that a good deal of the comment is about proposals that aren't actually new.A minimum ...
One of the big problems in New Zealand climate change policy is the government working at cross-purposes with itself. It wants to reduce fossil fuel use, but encourages oil and gas exploration. It wants to reduce transport emissions, but then builds enormous new roads. The problem could be avoided if ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzAccording to the United Nations, food shortages are a threat ...
Last year, the government announced it was ending offshore oil exploration by no longer issuing new permits. The idea was that the industry would then die off as permits expired. Except almost immediately the government revealed its bad faith, by saying they would extend permits and alter conditions to keep ...
The government introduced the Education and Training Bill to Parliament yesterday. Its a massive bill, which replaces both existing Education Acts, as well as various other bits of legislation (including some which are still proceeding through the House). I'll leave the serious analysis to teachers and people who actually know ...
Amelia SharmanThere’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to micro-credentials, those bits of bite-sized learning that can help workers stay on top of technological change. What’s a micro-credential? While definitions vary, micro-credentials can be understood as short courses that allow people to learn new skills or have an existing competency recognised. ...
All Smiles Now: Claire Szabo is taking up her presidential role after serving as the CEO of Habitat For Humanity. Which is absolutely perfect! After KiwiBuild was so comprehensively mismanaged by Phil Twyford, the party has not only elected a new president from a thoroughly respectable not-for-profit, but one who ...
While much of the NZ left has transitioned to postmodern and identity politics in relation to transgender ideology, there are some very good articles about that deploy Marxist methodology in relation to this subject. The one below is from the British marxist group Counterfire and appeared on their site here ...
by Daphna Whitmore At Golden Oaks, a luxurious country retreat in the Hudson Valley, pregnant women have the best care money can buy. From the organic food, personalised exercise programmes, private yoga instruction and daily massages Golden Oaks looks like a country lodge for the upper class. Set some time ...
When Labour was running for election in 2017, it felt it needed to demonstrate "fiscal responsibility" and signed itself up to masochistic "budget responsibility rules". It was a fool's errand: the sorts of voters who demand fiscal responsibility are also the sorts of voters who believe that labour can never ...
Writing in Stuff, Joel MacManus looks at what we need to do to meet the Zero Carbon Act's targets. The core of it:1. Convert 85 per cent of vehicles on the road to electric. 2. Eliminate fossil fuels from all industrial heating up to 300 degrees Celsius. 3. Double our ...
Professors Janet Hoek and Richard Edwards, Emeritus Professor Phil Gendall, Jude Ball, Dr Judith McCool, Anaru Waa, Dr Becky FreemanRecent media reports have presented conflicting evidence on youth vaping in NZ. While some NZ school principals report concerns about increasing vaping on school grounds and confiscating vapes, ASH Year ...
“America the Beautiful!”, staunch defender of democracy, freedom and… a whole lot of despotic tyrants that play nice with what is called “the Washington Consensus.” America is indeed capable of immense good, but like any Nation, and most assuredly any aspirant to the mantle of Empire, great, immense evil. All ...
Image credit:The beginner’s guide to blogging I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is ...
1080 is used to control pests in NZ. Its use is contested by a noisy few. A new report claims high levels of 1080 in rats washed up on a beach. Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa (F&F) won’t name the laboratory that did their testing. It has sparked a hunt ...
What Kind Of Empire? The thing for Kiwis to decide is what kind of empire they want to belong to. The kind that, while offering its own citizens democratic rights, demands absolute obedience from its “friends”? Or, the kind that, while authoritarian at home, takes a relaxed attitude to the ...
It hasn't been a good week for the Conservatives, pollwise. All major recent polls are showing their lead shrinking.Comparing each pollster's current (between 29/11 and 22/11) and previous most recent poll.Com Res - Conservative lead down 3 points.You Gov - Conservative lead down 1 point.Kantar - Conservative lead down 4 ...
Within quick succession, Countdown maths wizard and twitterer Rachel Riley, alleged comedian David Baddiel and prominent lawyer Andrew Julius have all expressed very similar opinions / ideas:
These #3billboards are going round London today, organised by ex-Labour people, horrified by what their party has become. Their principles haven’t changed, they’re ...
So, there have been a bunch of bad polls out for Labour, and even the Leftie's friend, Survation, have recently given the Conservatives a rip-snorting 11% lead. You Gov's much vaunted MRP poll - which pretty much nailed the result in 2015 - is currently predicting a comfortable majority for ...
New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball’s bill introducing a six-month minimum sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its first reading in Parliament. Mr Ball said the new offence of "injuring a first responder or prison officer with intent" would target people who attacked paramedics, police, firefighters, and corrections ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters gave his final interview for 2019 on The Country to tell farmers they have never had it better under the current coalition Government. “Here you've got these record returns [for farmers]. These returns would be nothing like a record if the currency under the ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said that New Zealand's Cook Islands High Commissioner, Tessa Temata, has died over the weekend. Ms Temata, 52, died in Palmerston North and had returned to New Zealand for medical treatment. She was the first New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands of Cook Island ...
A new defence report has mapped out how New Zealand's soldiers will navigate rising seas, and a year after the Defence Force announced its need to prepare for climate change. In the “Responding to the Climate Crisis” report, the Force restates its operational plan and sets goals to tackle climate ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First spokesperson for Primary Industries, Mark Patterson, has called for awareness to be raised and more stringent biosecurity checks to be put in place for African Swine Fever (ASF), a widespread virus that is uncontrolled in most of Asia and a serious ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Human Rights A critical step has been taken to end gender based violence against women and girls in Parliament this evening. New Zealand First Spokesperson for Human Rights Jenny Marcroft MP has welcomed the passing of the first reading of the Crimes (Definition of Female ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says it's time to recognise market forces haven't led to the expected reduction in Māori smoking rates and try a new approach. The Party had recently invoked the agree to disagree clause in their Coalition Agreement with the Labour Party, and will not support ...
Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...
The Coalition Government will be banning foreign donations to political parties and candidates, ahead of next year’s general elections. Legislation will be introduced to Parliament and passed under urgency – emphasising the need for such restrictions to safeguard our democracy. The bill introduces a new requirement that party secretaries and ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones opened Taipā's $19 million bridge recently, improving transport infrastructure in the Northland region. The two-lane bridge is 107m long with a 2.5m-wide shared walking and cycling path, and will reduce the congestion that the old one-lane bridge was notorious for. The project had also included ...
The Overseas Investment Office have rejected the application of Mercury Agriculture LP, which is 92 per cent controlled by Canadian interests, to purchase more than 2000 hectares of South Canterbury and Otago land. Mercury wanted to buy 2000ha at Rangitata, 1494ha near Ashburton, 816ha near Cromwell and 212ha near Temuka. ...
This weekend was Labour's 103rd Party Conference! We welcomed over 500 of our Labour whānau in red to Whanganui, where we reflected on the last two years in Government, and looked ahead to 2020 and beyond. We know the long-term challenges facing New Zealand won't be tackled overnight, but we're making ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced that the Provincial Growth Fund will invest $9.6 million to seal the final unsealed section of State Highway 43 from Stratford to Taumarunui. The Minister said sealing the 12-kilometre gravel section of the highway – also called the “Forgotten World Highway” - through ...
Former Finance Minister and former chair of the Tax Working Group, Sir Michael Cullen, has voiced his support for New Zealand First’s decision to oppose the planned increase in tobacco excise tax. In an interview with The Weekend Collective, he said that increasing the price was no longer effective in ...
Māori are natural storytellers. On the marae we use stories to tell our history, to teach the next generation life lessons and to let people know, in our most creative of ways, who we are and where we have come from. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First has invoked the ‘Agree to Disagree’ provisions of the Coalition Agreement because it cannot support the announced 11.46 percent increase in the tobacco excise from 1 January 2020. “Studies show that the automatic tobacco excise increases are having less effect ...
Taupō-based company Geo40 has made a breakthrough in extracting near battery-grade lithium from geothermal fluid which its says could be a gamechanger. Its chief executive John Worth said the earth mineral was highly prized, with battery-grade lithium selling for US$10,000 (NZ$15,600) a tonne. Geo40 was founded in 2010 to find ...
Crown research institute AgResearch Ltd, as part of its Future Footprint plan, had intended to relocate top scientists and support staff — particularly those focused on sheep genetics and genomics — from Invermay to Lincoln. However, those plans seem to have been shelved at the request of the Coalition Government. ...
Ten engineering firms in Southland are receiving a total of $2.13 million in Provincial Growth Fund funding to lift productivity and create new jobs. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced in Invercargill that the 10 engineering and manufacturing firms would receive funding to assist them with buying equipment that ...
The number of new residents to New Zealand is the lowest it has been in nearly two decades and it has earned the ire of the immigration industry. The industry alleges that 'Trump-style extreme vetting' is being put in place aimed at keeping a lid on immigration numbers. June Ranson, ...
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is one step closer to modernising its fleet after the United States State Department recently approved the sale of five new C-130J Hercules aircraft to New Zealand. Arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, in Fort Worth, Texas, will provide the aircraft, but as a "foreign military ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of DefenceTērā te haeata takiri ana mai i runga o Pukaha!Ara tai uru, whai uru, whai uru!Ara whai ato, whai ato, whai ato!Ara rā tini, ara rā tini, ara ri!The rays of the morning sun strike a new dawn upon Pukaha ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced today the appointment of diplomat Sarah Lee as New Zealand’s High Commissioner to South Africa. She will be the first female Head of Mission to represent New Zealand in Africa. “New Zealand’s relationship with South ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones wants to create a log barging facility at Hicks Bay and turn the area into a Special Economic Zone. The move would be part of protecting New Zealand's forests from being depleted by India and China, he said. It follows his announcement last week to strengthen ...
New Zealand First supports the changes recommended by the Winter Grazing Taskforce to improve animal welfare outcomes through the winter months, and the establishment of a pan-sector action group to implement them. New Zealand First Primary Industries Spokesperson Mark Patterson says the report highlights areas of concern about the animal ...
Former prime ministers Helen Clark and Sir John Key, formerly from the Labour and National parties respectively, have joined forces in support of New Zealand First’s plan to relocate Auckland's port to Whangārei. While Ms Clark and Sir John spent their political careers on opposite sides of the political divide, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is in Japan for the Foreign Ministers' meeting of the G20 grouping of countries as one of nine "invited" countries. He has used the opportunity to cast a spotlight on the plight of Pacific countries, calling out countries which still offered subsidies or Government assistance to ...
The days of vulnerable consumers falling victim to loan sharks, truck shops and other predatory lenders are numbered, following the Credit Contracts Legislation Amendment Bill passing its third reading tonight. “Too many Kiwis are being given loans that are unaffordable and unsuitable, trapping them in debt and leaving their families ...
A Bill that prevents terrorism and supports the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas has passed its third reading, Justice Minister Andrew Little says. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill is a carefully targeted response to manage the risk posed by a small number of New Zealanders who have ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio will travel to Samoa on Friday, where New Zealand medical teams are helping Samoa respond to an outbreak of measles. “New Zealand has been working closely with the Government of Samoa and offering our assistance from the ...
The Government has changed the law to improve student safety and welfare in university halls of residence and other student accommodation. The Education (Pastoral Care) Amendment Bill passed its third reading this afternoon and details of an interim Code of Practice setting out the Government’s expectations of tertiary providers have also been released. ...
A new tool to help councils fund and finance infrastructure could mean some housing developments happen a decade earlier than currently planned, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said today. “This new tool, developed by the Government in partnership with industry and high-growth councils, will allow councils to access private debt ...
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has welcomed the release of a bold new vision for the country’s vital food and fibre sector. “I’m delighted that New Zealand’s major farmer and grower organisations are today supporting the Primary Sector Council’s vision – Fit for a Better World,” he said. “The international consumers ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has congratulated the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Bougainville Government for completing a well-conducted referendum on the future political status of Bougainville. “New Zealand supported the referendum process by providing technical advice through the New Zealand Electoral Commission and leading a Regional Police ...
In light of Cabinet’s position that freight operations on prime land in downtown Auckland are no longer viable, the Government will now embark on a short work programme to enable decision-making in the first half of next year, Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones says. Minister Jones is today releasing the ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter has received the report back from a surgical mesh restorative justice process undertaken by Victoria University. The process heard stories, either in person or online submission, from more than 600 people affected by surgical mesh. “The report made for heart-breaking and confronting reading,” says ...
The Water Services Regulator Bill – Taumata Arowai , introduced to Parliament today, is a milestone for drinking water safety in New Zealand and will help improve environmental outcomes for urban waterways, rivers and lakes. “This is a breakthrough for New Zealanders in terms of providing safe drinking water throughout ...
Kia ora koutouE ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā matā wakaTēnā koutou katoaHaere ngā, moe maiKoutou ma ngā Rangatira Ko Anaru ahauKo au te Minita mo ngā TureHe Honore tino nui kei roto I ahau No reira tena koutou katoa Today, we are releasing two reports that are the ...
The Government is looking to turn around the long-term challenges of criminal justice by taking a new approach to break the cycle of offending to ensure there are fewer victims of crime. Justice Minister Andrew Little released two reports today, Turuki! Turuki! from Te Uepū Hāpai I te Ora, and ...
New Zealand firms expanding beyond the start-up phase are set for more support after today’s passage of the Venture Capital Fund Bill, Associate Finance Minister David Parker said. The Bill, which establishes a $300 million Venture Capital Fund, puts in place a key initiative of the Wellbeing Budget’s economic package. ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, e ngā rau rangatira mā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Señora Presidenta, Excellencies, Delegates. International action A common thread that runs through the Paris Agreement is the commitment we have made to each other to do what we can to ...
The Government is lifting capital investment to the highest level in more than 20 years as it takes the next step to future-proof New Zealand. Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced $12 billion of new investment, with $8 billion for specific capital projects and $4 billion to be added to ...
The Government is forecast to run $12 billion worth of surpluses across the four years to 2023/24 as the economy continues to grow. The surpluses will help fund day-to-day capital requirements each year. These include fixing leaky hospitals, building new classrooms to cover population growth and take pressure off class ...
Budget 2020 will continue the Coalition Government’s focus on tackling the long-term challenges facing New Zealand while also investing to future-proof the economy. When the Government took office in 2017 it was left with crumbling infrastructure, severe underinvestment in public services, degraded rivers and lakes, a housing crisis and rising ...
The Minister responsible for the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (te Takutai Moana Act 2011), Andrew Little has welcomed the launch of an online geospatial tool that provides data-rich, dynamic coastline maps that will significantly boost research and evidence-gathering under the Act. Te Kete Kōrero a Te ...
The Chief Victims Advisor to Government Dr Kim McGregor, QSO, has been reappointed in her role for a further two years. Dr McGregor has held the role since it was established in November 2015. She provides independent advice to government on how to improve the criminal justice system for victims. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare have today announced the deployment of a network of DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) buoys. “New Zealand and the Pacific region are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. It is vital we have adequate warning systems in place,” ...
DART Buoys Announcement Aotea Wharf, 9.30am 11 December 2019 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements to Minister for Civil Defence Hon Peeni Henare also here today. White Island It is with regret that this event shadows the tragic natural disaster two days ago. The volcanic eruptions on White Island have claimed 5 lives, ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has welcomed the first reading of the Racing Industry Bill in parliament today. This is the second of two Bills that have been introduced this year to revitalise New Zealand’s racing industry. “Our domestic racing industry has been in serious decline. The Government is committed to ...
Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni, is pleased to announce that $291,321 is to be awarded to national and local community initiatives to maintain and promote the use of New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). “New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world where Sign Language is an ...
Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has announced today the Coalition Government’s initial response to work completed by the independent statutory body, the Veterans’ Advisory Board. “When Professor Ron Paterson completed his review of the Veterans’ Support Act in 2018, he made a number of recommendations, including one which I referred ...
The Government will fund the bulk of the cost of a rural water supply for the Ohakea community affected by PFAS contamination, Environment Minister David Parker announced today at a meeting of local residents. This new water scheme will provide a reliable and clean source of drinking water to the ...
I have had the opportunity to be briefed on the details of the volcanic eruption of Whakaari/White Island, off the coast of Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty. The eruption happened at 2.11pm today. It continues to be an evolving situation. We know that there were a number of tourists ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare have today confirmed initial Government support of $100,000 for communities affected by the severe weather that swept across the South Island and lower North Island over the weekend. The contribution will be made to Mayoral relief funds across the ...
New Zealand's High Commissioner to the Cook Islands, Tessa Temata, died in Palmerston North over the weekend, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said today. Ms Temata, 52, had recently returned to New Zealand for medical treatment. "On behalf of the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, we extend ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today announced construction is underway on Wellington commuter rail upgrades which will mean more frequent services and fewer breakdowns. The upgrades include converting the Trentham to Upper Hutt single track section to a double track, with a new signalling system, upgraded stations and level crossings, and ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark and Minister for Climate Change James Shaw have announced the release of a Defence Climate Change Implementation Work Plan, titled Responding to the Climate Crisis: An Implementation Plan. The plan sets out a series of recommendations based on the 2018 New Zealand Defence Assessment, The ...
A medium-scale adverse event has been declared for the South Canterbury district, which will see up to $50,000 in funding made available to support farming communities which have been significantly affected by recent heavy rain and flooding in the area, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “Two weeks of solid rain ...
Thank you Professor Juliet Gerrard and your team for the comprehensive and extremely helpful report and recommendations. Thank you too to all the stakeholders and interested parties who have contributed ideas and thinking to it. “Making best practice, standard practice” is a great framework for change and the action plan ...
The Government will phase out more single-use plastics following the success of its single-use plastic bag ban earlier this year and the release today of a pivotal report for dealing with waste. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed the Rethinking Plastics in Aotearoa New Zealandreport, released by her Chief Science Advisor ...
International education continues to thrive as the Government focuses on quality over quantity, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. The tuition revenue from international education increased to $1.16 billion last year with the average tuition fee per student increasing by $960. The total number of international students enrolled in New Zealand ...
I want to talk about one of the most pressing issues in our national life: the housing crisis and the poor performance of our cities. The argument I want to make to you is that generations of urban land use policy have lacked a decent grounding in economics. The consequences ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says new appointments to DHBs represent a significant changing of the guard, with 13 new chairs including four Māori chairs. Today 76 appointments have been announced to complement elected board members, as well as eight elected members appointed as either chair or deputy chair. Four ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Fletcher Tabuteau, is travelling to Germany, Poland, Austria, and Spain next week to bolster New Zealand’s political and trade relationships in Europe. While in Spain, Mr Tabuteau will represent New Zealand at the 14th Asia-Europe (ASEM) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Madrid. “New Zealand strongly supports ...
“I’ve spoken to Minister Faafoi, who has apologised for his poor handling of this issue,” Jacinda Ardern said. “I have confidence in Kris as a hardworking and effective Minister, but this should have been dealt with in a much clearer manner, and I’ve made my views on that very clear ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters met with Tongan Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa in Wellington today. The pair signed a Statement of Partnership setting out joint priorities for cooperation out to 2023. “We welcomed Prime Minister Tu'i'onetoa on his first visit to New Zealand as Prime Minister. Tonga ...
The Minister of Police Stuart Nash says his sympathies are with the family of a man who died after being shot by Police in Kurow. “Initial reports are that Police were called by a family member to help the man who was threatening to harm himself,” Mr Nash says. “However ...
A report released by the Chief Victims advisor Kim McGregor advising there needs to be an Independent Victims body is being welcomed by Victim Rights lobby group Sensible Sentencing Trust. National spokesperson Jess McVicar says the trust have ...
For the third time in five years, the United Kingdom has gone to the polls today. From the summer islands of New Zealand, join The Spinoff as we follow the results rolling in.9.30am: So, with polls about 90 minutes away from closing, the top line is this – we’ve got ...
Winston Peters will back an NZME proposal to buy Stuff with a 'Kiwishare' guarantee the merged news company will keep regional news and separate websites for at least two years. ...
The Executive Director of Dapaanz (Addiction Practitioners’ Association Aotearoa New Zealand), Sue Paton says the announcement that Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment court would become permanent immediately, following successful pilots in Auckland ...
Online marketplace Sidekicker is taking advantage of people who have little choice but to juggle multiple low-paying jobs to make ends meet, writes artist and freelancer Ben Markley.After graduating early this year with one of the least vocational degrees, I didn’t expect the largest array of job prospects. Nevertheless, I ...
National is vowing to bring back and expand health sector targets dropped by the current Government and mulling whether to scrap elected District Health Boards. ...
More than 10,000 people have signed a petition launched a week ago, calling for better support and funding for community midwives. The 10k figure was reached after the first four days. Chief executive of the College of Midwives, Alison Eddy, said last ...
Information obtained by animal rights organisation SAFE has revealed rodeo organisers are refusing to halt calf-roping events in rodeo, despite the Government’s animal welfare advisors’ recommendation that they do so. ...
Subject; Deputy PM said quote; “New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has challenged his Cabinet colleagues for the delay over a Northport decision, criticising it as "paralysis by analysis". https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/405385/paralysis-by-analysis-winston-peters-assessment-of-the-delay-over-northport ...
If the Productivity Commission's report on local government funding, released yesterday, had been relied on by NASA as the basis for getting astronauts to the moon, its greatest achievement by now would have been launching a $2 skyrocket 40 feet into the air ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Mayne, Molecular biologist and bioinformatician, CSIRO Humans have a “natural” lifespan of around 38 years, according to a new method we have developed for estimating the lifespans of different species by analysing their DNA. Extrapolating from genetic studies of species with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Evans, Professor of Governance and Director of Democracy 2025 – bridging the trust divide at Old Parliament House, University of Canberra A new, ongoing survey on how young Australians understand and imagine their democracy is already challenging long-held stereotypes. The survey ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francesco Paolucci, Associate Professor; Head of Health Policy Program, Sir Walter Murdoch School of Public Policy and International Affairs, University of Newcastle Private health insurance has come under intense scrutiny in recent months, as it becomes clear health insurers are failing to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Zaphir, Researcher for the University of Queensland Critical Thinking Project; and Online Teacher at Education Queensland’s IMPACT Centre, The University of Queensland This is the second of two essays exploring key theories – cognitive load theory and constructivism – underlying teaching ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW On Monday the Australian government will release the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO). This will – as required by the Charter of Budget Honesty – provide an update on the key assumptions made in this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia It seems like every time we switch on the idiot box we are confronted with news footage of another disaster. Bushfires in Australia. A hurricane in North America. A tsunami ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Andrew Little indicates justice system changes after reports, Auckland buses back on the road, and National release health proposals. Two significant reports for the justice sector were released yesterday. The first was Turuki! Turuki! Transforming our Criminal Justice System from the Chester Borrows-led Safe and ...
On Wednesday, the government announced a $12 billion infrastructure package. It turns out that scrapped National Party roading projects are back in consideration for funding under the scheme. ...
Andy Ruiz Jr pulled of a massive shock by KO’ing Anthony Joshua in New York. And then delivered another stunning moment when he stepped onto the scales in Saudi Arabia. ...
What happens when your work is the victim of attempted sabotage by a group of slow-moving middle-aged men? Author and journalist Michelle Duff reveals all.Initially, it was kind of unclear what I was looking at. The disembodied hand loomed from the shaky first-person footage, flipping the cover of the book ...
The National Party leader sits down with Alex Braae to talk political rhetoric, misinformation, and whether he’ll have any dance partners after next year’s election.How cynical is Simon Bridges? It’s a question that has dogged National’s leader over the past year.Being an opposition leader is, of course, a difficult job ...
Sharon Brettkelly calls home to the Bay of Plenty to give us an insight into what Whakatane locals are thinking in the wake of Whakaari-White Island's eruption ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison is picking up that Australia’s devastating, prolonged fires are producing a soured, anti-government mood among many in the community. It may not be entirely rational for people to turn on politicians in such ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katharine Kemp, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, UNSW, and Co-Leader, ‘Data as a Source of Market Power’ Research Stream of The Allens Hub for Technology, Law and Innovation, UNSW Today, the federal government responded to the recommendations of the Australian Competition and ...
Winston Peters hopes mergers of NZME and Stuff and RNZ and TVNZ will save local journalism. Bernard Hickey argues they are more likely to again prove costly diversions. ...
The foreign affairs minister Winston Peters will be travelling to Samoa tomorrow to visit hospitals and medical teams dealing with the ongoing measles outbreak. ...
Andrew Little says the justice system is “taking wrecked lives and wrecking them just a little bit more”, but will the Govt cough up with what's needed for transformative change? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lidia Morawska, Professor, Science and Engineering Faculty; Director, International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health (WHO CC for Air Quality and Health); Director – Australia, Australia – China Centre for Air Quality Science and Management (ACC-AQSM), Queensland University of Technology Bushfire smoke ...
Winston Peters is bemoaning how long a decision on Northport is taking, saying if you're faced with inevitability, you should act. But Cabinet ministers have put off making a call until next year. ...
A review of the ANZ Bank New Zealand's missteps over the past year has found complacency at the most senior level, leading to the departure of its long serving chief executive. ...
Dr Bryce Edwards.In his big-spending infrastructure announcement yesterday, Grant Robertson reinforced what many political commentators say about him – he’s electorally smart, but way too conservative to be a genuine leftwing minister of finance. Robertson does what is right for winning votes, but not necessarily what is in the ...
Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) says the announcement today of three changes to the Arms Bill should be the start of a large-scale rewrite, or even eventual abandonment. ...
The failure of high-growth councils to supply enough infrastructure to support housing development has led to some serious social and economic problems, the NZ Productivity Commission states in a local government funding and financing report released today. ...
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) says that while the Budget Policy Statement 2020 promises to extend Budget 2019’s 'Wellbeing' framework and states "reducing child poverty and improving child wellbeing" as a priority, spending plans don’t ...
The National Party's new health platform includes $50 million a year for cancer drugs, a boost to Pharmac funding and the reintroduction of National Health Targets. ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is lamenting the lack of courage shown in the Productivity Commission’s Local Government Funding Report, saying that while it makes many worthy recommendations, its play-it-safe-approach relegates the report ...
Wellington 12 December 2019: The Government’s announcement to future-proof New Zealand with a $12billion investment in infrastructure is a positive sign for the country’s future. ...
19-year-old Benee’s track ‘Glitter’ is climbing international charts thanks to being given a TikTok dance. How does that work? Josie Adams explains what a TikTok dance is, and how this social media app is the new MTV.Who is Benee?Benee has had a huge 2019, with the Aucklander riding sparkling pop ...
Newsroom has asked the district court to end a defamation action by business site NBR over a news story discussing NBR and ex National MP Steven Joyce. ...
Today, at a meeting of Auckland Council’s Governing Body, councillors voted unanimously for a series of resolutions that will require greater direct involvement in resolving the ongoing dispute between unions and NZ Bus from Auckland Transport and the Minister ...
“Important policy and legislative developments have landed today which could enable a bolder, more streamlined way of delivering new infrastructure for the benefit all New Zealanders,” says Infrastructure New Zealand CEO Paul Blair. ...
The Public Service Association welcomes the announcement of a new strategic direction for the justice system, but says union members want to be properly included in designing the system they will eventually implement. ...
The success stories of people with extra struggles may not get awards and trophies, but they’re worth celebrating all the same, says Jai Breitnauer.It’s the time of year for awards assemblies and prize-givings, for clubs and teams handing out certificates and trophies. It’s traditional, as we approach Christmas and the ...
Millions of dollars worth of New Zealand fruit and grapes were at risk of rotting on the branch due to a shortage of local pickers. So a visionary group of Central Otago growers. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Gibney, NHMRC early career fellow, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity The pacific island nation of Samoa has been making headlines over the past month due to a significant measles outbreak. At last count, 4,995 measles cases had been ...
Two newspaper reports illustrate the contrasting involvements of science and spiritual beliefs in the aftermath of the White Island eruption. Meanwhile several iwi have placed rāhui over their customary coastal areas. This effectively represents a customary prohibition on all maritime activities for the whole of the Eastern Bay of Plenty ...
From Middle Earth to outer space, New Zealand business has covered a lot of ground in the last 10 years. Business editor Maria Slade looks back.As the world emerged blinking from the chaos of the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, New Zealand began the 2010s in relatively good shape. We’d recovered ...
The Spinoff’s cartoonist Toby Morris chats and draws with New Zealand’s doodlers in the webseries Two Sketches. This episode, Toby is the guest of Sir Michael Hill… Jeweller.To close out the season, and potentially the series, Toby boards the super yacht of jeweller, entrepreneur, rich lister and, now, cartoonist, Michael ...
Today's release of Turuki Turuki will be welcome news for people in prison and all those working in the criminal justice system. But its most important message is that all sides need to come together. Turuki Turuki is a call for political ...
The New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says the coalition Government agrees RNZ and TVNZ need protecting at a time when media industry is in dire straights. ...
When Barbara Cox joined a football team in 1973, she was one of the first women in the country to do so. She’s still fighting for women in the sport to get the respect they deserve. Auckland women didn’t play football in 1972. Auckland women cooked and cleaned and looked after ...
Richard MacManus meets Aimee – the digital assistant with a human touch. For years we’ve been worried about robots taking our jobs, but in fact it’s “digital humans” that are increasingly joining the workforce. At least, that seems to be the case in customer service. Southern Cross Health Society, New Zealand’s ...
Election rallies ain’t what they used to be. Boris’s election eve shindig was an invitation-only event for party faithful. The location (at a smallish venue in the London Olympic park) was disclosed to attendees only on the day (presumably to head off the risk of protest).The set-up is for ...
New Zealanders waiting for hip and knee surgery and other medical procedures, and families struggling to put food on the table will be funding increased profits for banks and corporate investors following Finance Minister Grant Robertson's $12 billion ...
Business is Boring is a podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Campbell Ellison from Callaghan Innovation and Alexandra Allan, CEO of Food Bowl.One of the ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has published the 2019 ‘Public Sector CEO Rich List’ at www.taxpayers.org.nz/ceo_rich_list Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “This year taxpayers will pay $62 million in salaries for just 140 people. ...
Daily Review 15/06/2017 
Legendary in my own mind, I mean. All times are NZ, which is an hour10.00am (NZ) There's about an hour to go until the exit poll is released. At that point, half of the British voting public will devastated, and the other half celebrating wildly. Unless everyone is simply confused.Turnout seems ...49 mins ago
Forlorn Hope: When the call came down to make Corbyn unelectable, the Establishment's journalists and columnists rose to the challenge. Antisemitism was only the most imaginative of the charges levelled against the old democratic-socialist. There were many more and, sadly, they appear to have worked. Boris Johnson may not be much ...3 hours ago
If you want to study propagandist techniques, you are typically told to study Dictatorships. Not unfair, but what’s always been more interesting to me is so-called “democratic” countries and their broader information systems. Why? Because people opt for it, even as they decry “totalitarian regimes!”.. It’s quite an eye ...18 hours ago
Introducing legislation which shits on the public's right to know seems to have become a daily occurrence for this government. Today's example is the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Bill. The bill establishes a framework for the establishment of "special purpose vehicles" (SPVs) to hide debt from local government balance sheets ...20 hours ago
Below is the longlist of words and phrases generated in the korero phase of Public Address Word of the Year 2019, with some editorial moderation. Now it's time to vote. As you'll doubtless be able to see, you get three ranked choices. Use your power wisely. Or frivolously, whatever.As usual, ...21 hours ago
by Daphna Whitmore This week 800 unionised bus drivers in Auckland were suspended from work after they refused to collect fares as part of a campaign of industrial action. Drivers working for Auckland’s largest bus company NZ Bus are asking for more pay and better working conditions after being offered ...1 day ago
As details emerge about what unfolded on Whakaari / White Island two days ago, my thoughts go out to all the families affected by this terrible event. My thoughts are also with the first responders who worked in perilous circumstances to assist and protect those affected. Both local and ...1 day ago
I love data. It’s amazing the sort of “discoveries” I can make given a data set and computer statistical package. It’s just so easy to search for relationships and test their statistical significance. Maybe relationships which ... 3 days ago
The state of the United Kingdom is fractured, torn up, shredded. The Empire is gone, it died a long time ago. And yet, the country is still tracking with a lead in favour of the ones who play to the ingrained, class-bound division for political gain. It is a disgrace ...6 days ago
It should be obvious by now but let’s be clear: The same folk who regularly traffic in disinformation, misinformation and “fake news” are also those who most strongly claim that their freedom of expression rights are being violated when moves are made to curb hate speech (as opposed to protected ...6 days ago
“Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty we are free at last.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. A long and bitter court feud between former Conservative Party leader Colin Craig and Jordan Williams has been settled, with an apology and compensation from Williams. On Tuesday, Craig sent out ...1 week ago
While much of the NZ left has transitioned to postmodern and identity politics in relation to transgender ideology, there are some very good articles about that deploy Marxist methodology in relation to this subject. The one below is from the British marxist group Counterfire and appeared on their site here ...1 week ago
“America the Beautiful!”, staunch defender of democracy, freedom and… a whole lot of despotic tyrants that play nice with what is called “the Washington Consensus.” America is indeed capable of immense good, but like any Nation, and most assuredly any aspirant to the mantle of Empire, great, immense evil. All ...2 weeks ago
Image credit: The beginner’s guide to blogging I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is ... 2 weeks ago
New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball’s bill introducing a six-month minimum sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its first reading in Parliament. Mr Ball said the new offence of "injuring a first responder or prison officer with intent" would target people who attacked paramedics, police, firefighters, and corrections ...2 days ago
Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...1 week ago
The days of vulnerable consumers falling victim to loan sharks, truck shops and other predatory lenders are numbered, following the Credit Contracts Legislation Amendment Bill passing its third reading tonight. “Too many Kiwis are being given loans that are unaffordable and unsuitable, trapping them in debt and leaving their families ...18 hours ago
A report released by the Chief Victims advisor Kim McGregor advising there needs to be an Independent Victims body is being welcomed by Victim Rights lobby group Sensible Sentencing Trust. National spokesperson Jess McVicar says the trust have ...35 mins ago
For the third time in five years, the United Kingdom has gone to the polls today. From the summer islands of New Zealand, join The Spinoff as we follow the results rolling in.9.30am: So, with polls about 90 minutes away from closing, the top line is this – we’ve got ...54 mins ago
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
Winston Peters will back an NZME proposal to buy Stuff with a 'Kiwishare' guarantee the merged news company will keep regional news and separate websites for at least two years. ...1 hour ago
National wants all Kiwi kids running for 15 minutes a day; and Auckland Council stops issuing urgent property reports until the New Year. ...2 hours ago
National is vowing to bring back and expand health sector targets dropped by the current Government and mulling whether to scrap elected District Health Boards. ...2 hours ago
ACC admits it has fallen short in the way it has dealt with surgical mesh patients as a report into their experiences is released. ...2 hours ago
A high-risk mission to recover the bodies left behind after Monday's deadly eruption on Whakaari-White Island is now underway. ...4 hours ago
On Wednesday, the government announced a $12 billion infrastructure package. It turns out that scrapped National Party roading projects are back in consideration for funding under the scheme. ...4 hours ago
The infrastructure industry is pleased, but wants more detail. ...5 hours ago
Andy Ruiz Jr pulled of a massive shock by KO’ing Anthony Joshua in New York. And then delivered another stunning moment when he stepped onto the scales in Saudi Arabia. ...5 hours ago
Sky Sport News' Kate King and Ravinder Hunia wrap up another stellar week for Kiwi sportswomen ...5 hours ago
A wildly entertaining - and expert - guide to the best kids books of 2019 by bookseller and author Hera Lindsay Bird. ...5 hours ago
Dr Julie Deslippe and Justyna Giejsztowt discuss the ways we can tackle the threats climate change poses to our native alpine plants. ...5 hours ago
We need to look after our precious brains, argues Dr Malvindar Singh-Bains of the University of Auckland. ...5 hours ago
Sharon Brettkelly calls home to the Bay of Plenty to give us an insight into what Whakatane locals are thinking in the wake of Whakaari-White Island's eruption ...6 hours ago
Winston Peters hopes mergers of NZME and Stuff and RNZ and TVNZ will save local journalism. Bernard Hickey argues they are more likely to again prove costly diversions. ...12 hours ago
Andrew Little says the justice system is “taking wrecked lives and wrecking them just a little bit more”, but will the Govt cough up with what's needed for transformative change? ...15 hours ago
Light rail along Dominion Rd is further behind than many might have thought. ...15 hours ago
The Environmental Defence Society has launched an insightful, bold and practical roadmap for reforming our resource management system. ...17 hours ago
A review of the ANZ Bank New Zealand's missteps over the past year has found complacency at the most senior level, leading to the departure of its long serving chief executive. ...17 hours ago
The National Party's new health platform includes $50 million a year for cancer drugs, a boost to Pharmac funding and the reintroduction of National Health Targets. ...18 hours ago
Newsroom has asked the district court to end a defamation action by business site NBR over a news story discussing NBR and ex National MP Steven Joyce. ...19 hours ago
A building developer is asking the Christchurch City Council to cordon off his defective multi-storey block in the main shopping zone. ...20 hours ago
Millions of dollars worth of New Zealand fruit and grapes were at risk of rotting on the branch due to a shortage of local pickers. So a visionary group of Central Otago growers. ...20 hours ago
Two newspaper reports illustrate the contrasting involvements of science and spiritual beliefs in the aftermath of the White Island eruption. Meanwhile several iwi have placed rāhui over their customary coastal areas. This effectively represents a customary prohibition on all maritime activities for the whole of the Eastern Bay of Plenty ...20 hours ago
The New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says the coalition Government agrees RNZ and TVNZ need protecting at a time when media industry is in dire straights. ...22 hours ago
Election rallies ain’t what they used to be. Boris’s election eve shindig was an invitation-only event for party faithful. The location (at a smallish venue in the London Olympic park) was disclosed to attendees only on the day (presumably to head off the risk of protest). The set-up is for ...23 hours ago
Nice, but longish read, about the relationship between the Anthropocene Era and philosophy:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/15/timothy-morton-anthropocene-philosopher
“The chief reason that we are waking up to our entanglement with the world we have been destroying, Morton says, is our encounter with the reality of hyperobjects – the term he coined to describe things such as ecosystems and black holes, which are “massively distributed in time and space” compared to individual humans. Hyperobjects might not seem to be objects in the way that, say, billiard balls are, but they are equally real, and we are now bumping up against them consciously for the first time.
Global warming might have first appeared to us as a bit of funny local weather, then as a series of independent manifestations (an unusually torrential flood here, a deadly heatwave there), but now we see it as a unified phenomenon, of which extreme weather events and the disruption of the old seasons are only elements.”
Here’s alink to a Doug Lain interviewing Timothy morton. It’s a bit old but worth a listen.
http://douglaslain.net/diet-soap-podcast-197-hyperobjects-neurotic-ecology/
Also this lecture series is also really good
https://archive.org/details/Romanticism1
Poor audio quality but
Woman dead after accident at industrial site in Hastings
Another death at work in what was obviously dangerous machinery without the proper safeguards.
Will the shareholders and directors be held properly to account for this?
Was that today? There was another in Penrose.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11876742
No brighter future for those workers and their families.
Interesting that some RWNJs want to blame the Grenfell fire on the tenants instead of the owners. They’re that same sort who blame workers for their own deaths.
A bit like the ‘ unsinkable ‘ Titanic’ and J Bruce Ismay, – president of the company that built the Titanic, who jumped into one of the half filled life boats and sat with his back to the Titanic as it went down…
Titanic builder J Bruce Ismay: doomed the moment he jumped ship …
http://www.telegraph.co.uk › Culture › Books
‘ Same as it ever was , same as it ever was ‘…
Always reminds me of this song :
Talking Heads – Once In A Lifetime (Full Length Version) (1980/ 2013 …
There will always be jobs that involve danger and if people forget or don’t follow procedure, they end up badly injured or dead, this is why there’s such a push for automation.
Unfortunately, human beings are rather suspectable to life-threatening lapses of judgement.
Sooner these types of jobs are replaced by robots or unmanned units the better.
Dance on her grave all you like, BM.
Yep. As night follows day I knew there’d be one of them blaming the worker instead of the procedure. Even though it is incumbent upon the employer to ensure the worker is in a safe environment.
I wasn’t blaming the worker, I have no idea how she died or what caused her death.
Just pointing out that working around large moving machinery is inherently dangerous and because of that, these sort of jobs should be automated out of existence.
Oh, so it was just sheer innocent coincidence that you elected to share these victim-blaming insights in response to DtB’s comment?
On the one hand I’m disgusted, but not surprised, that you sink so low, and on the other it’s always worth being reminded what the National Party is.
‘ Just pointing out that working around large moving machinery is inherently dangerous and because of that, these sort of jobs should be automated out of existence.’
I can understand that sentiment. Ive worked in construction most of my life – as a grunt.
Six years in the ARA as a ‘ Headworks assistant’ in the Waitakere Ranges ( I was proud of those years 🙂 ) whereby we often used 19th century equipment to get the job done in rugged back country so all the townies could enjoy the wonderful scenery – while not giving a thought to who maintained it.
Whats a frog? …
No… its not an animal that croaks on a lily pad,… its a U shaped 80 pound iron instrument with a thread that you place a bar ( no – not a BAAAA – that’s what sheep do ) into to lever it to bend the rail line with. Then you use a dogging hammer ( nothing to do with disciplining a sheep dog with when its snuck off with the workers lunch ) to drive a dog ( its a type of 4 – 6 inch spiked ‘nail ‘ – so take it easy all you animal activists- relax ! ) into the sleeper ( again – not a worker who takes a nap at work after a hard night out on the piss … )
We literally poured tonnes and tonnes of concrete in the most primitive of bush conditions.
Later on , I became a qualified Painter and Decorator. Still working with my hands and still bloody hot sweat type work on a construction site.
The point of all this,… is that there are many many times… when automation , although desirable, is not feasible. Perhaps in a yard where events are predictable , a flat ground operation , or even a quarry or factory situation. But there are many occupation where it is simply not and never will be.
AND THAT ,… is precisely the POINT.
That automation is NO PANACEA for human diligence and regulation.
And if those who are in charge or responsible for a situation in which large loss of life has occurred – despite ‘ automation’ – then ‘automation’ should NOT BE USED as a diversion to their negligence or incompetence.
EVER.
I would get stuck into bm too but I have showered already this evening.
You feel dirty engaging with some folk.
I don’t mind BM, I can see a little of where he / shes coming from.
The difference is I’m a nationalist. Not an opportunist or a globalist . And that’s not inferring BM ‘s an opportunist or a globalist , either.
I just believe we need to moderate and regulate the excesses of human greed so all can have a jolly good outlook.
If that means the rising of taxation brackets , so be it. If that means the rising of wages , so be it. Not all can be innovators, not all can be business owners,… but for those who are not,- they should not be fiscally penalized because of their station in life though they help to produce that wealth , either. Nor should those who through infirmity , age or circumstance be excluded from the benefits of a prosperous society .
The world is divided up into society’s and communities whether we like to admit it or not , and the proper ideal is the strong providing for the weak in all situations. And despite the protestations of the aberrant to those principles , we are , as human beings , reliant on those very same principles of group security as when we first formed the earliest of society’s in Sumeria…
Nothing, … has ever changed throughout the millennia…
Fleetwood Mac – Dreams [with lyrics] – YouTube
Video for fleetwood mac when the rain washes you clen youll know you tube▶ 4:14
Repulsive views, as ever..
Cyber Scum. They exist.
‘ There will always be jobs that involve danger and if people forget or don’t follow procedure, they end up badly injured or dead, this is why there’s such a push for automation.’
* Very true. However , under our Health and Safety laws it is up to both party’s – Employers and employees / contractors to follow procedures in a way that minimizes risk. And all too often – as in Pike River – we see that principle abused. And as at Pike River , the fault lay squarely with company management. To which in this country NO ONE was ever prosecuted , – simply a deal done with Peter Whittalls Insurance by WORKSAFE for Whittall to buy his way out of prosecution.
And its that sort of weasel like elitist culture that breeds the sort of cynicism and calls for vengeance from the average worker every time these right wing wankers try that shit on.
As for the push for automation?… so whats the answer for compensation in causing the mass unemployment of hundreds of thousands of people in society’s worldwide ? Can you honestly tell me the elite are suddenly going to come over all gushy , grow a conscience and become conciliatory and consent to paying higher taxes to ensure a UBI?
Or even start pay the taxes they SHOULD have been paying for decades and haven’t ?
And the wages they SHOULD have been paying but haven’t?
I think not.
And as for this :
” Sooner these types of jobs are replaced by robots or unmanned units the better.”
Have you really thought that statement through to its final conclusion?
Really?
Then good luck at getting a robot to crawl up and down a high rise building construction site without some sort of human control , then.
Then good luck at getting a robot to crawl up and down a high rise building construction site without some sort of human control , then.
Which is why I also mentioned unmanned units.
Saw an interesting video of a chap operating some sort of forestry delimbing machinery by remote control.
Looked a hell of a lot safer having him at the top of the hill out of harm’s way while the machinery he was controlling was doing the business down at the bottom of this steep bank.
There’s a point in automation – its always been around, always will be. We enjoy many benefits from technology , no doubt.
It can be a great labour saving device and definitely increase safety, no doubt.
But there are many areas where it just isn’t feasible. Again… the robots at Pike River. Not a good example but pretty illustrative. There are many industry’s where there is no way around having boots on the ground.
And I guess that there will always be an interface between the robot and human control. A simple illustration is the guy on the bulldozer versus the guy using the shovel.
But there are other times whereby an industry or company is in its infancy and simply cannot afford automation. And the human quotient is still the most efficient one.
Now here’s the rub :
Hypothetically at least , and taken to its extreme, – if all was automated and an excess of product entered the markets – it would , eventually , decrease profits to the point where because of the glut of market produce available… the question then would be,… are the profits derived equal to the costs of the raw materials extracted needed to produce that product?
And if there is no UBI , would there be the consumer base left remaining to be able to sustain the produce so manufactured by the virtue of consumerism ?
How many fridges, heaters, cars, laptops, flat screen TV’s and houses of quality are those in the third world renowned for be able to purchase to illustrate the point even further ?
But all of that is a different beast to what we are talking about than some rich fat privileged prick trying to weasel their way out of accepting culpability for blame and instead trying to pin the blame on residents of a burnt out building or a worker who will never come home to their family’s in the evening…
ISN’T IT .
Who’s going to buy all the stuff the robots make in your grave-dancing future?
No idea, interesting times ahead.
Good answer,… and indeed , interesting times ahead.
However, I suspect that what we will see,… is a relocation to the third world of many of the production and manufacturing jobs currently undertaken in the west, – including the IT jobs, – meanwhile… mass un employment occurring in the west and large scale social unrest.
Some occupations, a ‘skeleton’ of its former self ,… so to speak ,… will always be needed for maintenance, and basic services. I should imagine a shift in the west towards the FIRE economy , but even that will not assuage the unrest of by – then decimated middle classes .
I see a general unrest in the intended resetting of the economy ( predictions are September 2017 –
or later in an effort to dislodge Trump- which is predicted to make the Great Depression look like a mere ripple in economic history and to which Trump will ot be able to control ) redistribution of wealth of the global economy and the introduction of the cashless society. Following that , martial law introduced by increments to quell disquiet about the loss of civil freedoms and adherence to the requirements of the state.
However it will not be the requirements of a sovereign ‘ nation state’.
It will be the requirements of a supranational and internationalist ‘globalist cabal’ that uses regional ‘ free trade deals ‘ to enforce by manner of corporate laws such things as the Investor-State Dispute Settement’s .
THIS IS WHERE this is all heading.
And one of the more blatant groups who hide this in plain sight are this group :
Have a wee listen , then my old mate.
Bilderberg Elites Panic As Trump Dismantles Climate Change Hoax …
Video for climate change bilderberg you tube▶ 7:48
Why is this kind of repugnant trolling permitted by the mods? If the answer is it’s ok by the policy then the policy is an ass.
No
Caught a bit of Full House on Netflix just now. The family were going out and Michelle (Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen) asks why the family were taking two cars. Danny (Bob Saget) explains that they couldn’t all fit in one car to which Michelle replies, ‘we could all fit on the Subway and that’s better for the planet.’
Circa 1992.
Were those writers ahead of their time? Not on the US seaboards perhaps, but safe to say none of it got through to the National Party government.
Can’t quite work out Katie Hopkins here except to say she’s an unhinged shock jock who I hope has suddenly turned a corner.
She’s spent a lifetime attacking the very types of people who lived and died in the Grenfell building but now seems to have had an epiphany.
She seems to be advocating for corporate manslaughter law, which I must say is a welcome change in attitude from her. The language in this article is straight out of a left wing activist’s manual.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4604942/KATIE-HOPKINS-Jail-blame-Grenfell-fire.html
Can we say that RWNJs are never, ever brought to the table on social issues until they are forced to, often by loss of life?
Change the government in September.
A newly-developed robotic rover could become the workhorse of New Zealand’s fruit industry (video)
Article
They’re saying about two years before it’s in the field.
So I guess the right wing wankers will have no more need for all the imported Filipino workers to work for slave labour in the rural sector anymore , then , eh?
I guess Bulldust English is hoping he is happily retired on a governmental pension by that time…
Too many questions , Old Boy , too many questions…
latest poll
When it comes to seats in the House, National is set to get 58. With its three support partners, it reaches the required 61 to govern.
For the Labour/Green alliance set to get 48 seats total.
Even if it got New Zealand First’s 12 seats, the Left would only get to 60
Greens 12.5%, Labour 26.4%
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/06/poll-labour-crumbles-falling-towards-defeat.html
Clearly a rouge poll. There is no way labour can be going backwards
I wonder if this poll will get its own thread….
Wonder Girl Ardern sounds like she is ready to throw in the towel. This poll certainly won’t help.
Going by the sexist BS in that comment you must be a National voter.
Do you care about child poverty?
http://www.childpoverty.co.nz/
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/93583589/unicef-report-wellbeing-of-kiwi-kids-languishes-behind-other-developed-countries
I hear all the cool kids are sporting rouge polls.
/
YES ,… I quite like the idea of being part of a ‘ rouge ‘ poll… sounds exciting !!!
What the dickens is a ‘ rouge’ poll???
Did you mean a ‘ rogue’ poll?
What do you think?
I reckon National could actually get an outright majority under Bill English.
Safe solid dependable, that appeals to an all mighty chunk of New Zealanders.
Little cannot compete against English they’re far too similar.
“that appeals to an all mighty chunk of New Zealanders”
Really?
https://infogr.am/after_the_next_general_election_which_outcome_do_you_most_want
I love the way your hubris means you assume you can speak for others,
No , no , no,… BM … your starting to sound like all the other desperate wide eyed leftist fanatics about climate change here…
The numbers dont add up simply on the strength of the ‘ rouge ‘ polls numbers presented by Enough is Enough… who sadly is still thinking in terms of FPP.
That’s precisely the type of thinking that led to the virtual wiping out of Teresa May.
This is not England , it is New Zealand.
And here we have Labour , NZ First and the Greens.
Which , by sheer mathematical equation , means that a Labour led govt is a certainty. Despite the waning fortunes of the Maori party , Peter Dunne and ACT, the latter which is of course… a zombie walking…
BM’s puppet master has given him his lines to repeat fore the day.
If he can bore the younguns out of the will to vote, and Bingles is the go to guy for that.
Personally politics.
That’s all you neoliberals know.
Sad.
That could be close to a trump tweet lol
Nay ,… tis not so much ‘ personality politics’ but those temporary media personality mercenary’s paid for and stationed deliberately by the Rupert Murdoch MSM CEO’s to influence our opinions…
As for a ‘ Trump tweet ‘… I assure you ,… it is the product of a real, live undead human being expressing their opinions,… un – choreographed, un scripted , and yes,… spontaneously constructed. With all its faults and fallibility’s.
What would you rather have?
The ‘ media personality mercenary’s paid for and stationed deliberately by the Rupert Murdoch and other MSM CEO’s to influence our opinions’ often use personality politics as their method.
Lol I just meant the word sad at the end but please do carry on
Typo..personality politics.
Have to laugh at ACT more than doubling support by increasing by 0.5% but still not breaking 1%. Truely a party no one likes yet has still not been put out of its misery.
Yet they get so much coverage…….much more than 1%
Or even 0.69% which is what they got in 2014. The rest is publicity (I love the Coq), parliamentary support (the suicide bill being picked ‘randomly’), and dirty politics (Farrar’s lobby group blogging).
Mora’s Panel has a lot of support from ACT ideologues.
Epsom voters not having an independent bone in their body.
They’ll still worried about Banks’ prophecy that brown people are going to come through their windows at night.
Where’s Banks now? Embroiled in a 40 year old paternity case. Through to courts on corruption charges. Separated from the wife who defended him. Still a racist fuck.
Then you get to Jamie White. An evil ideologue which New Zealand should be deporting back to Her Majesty’s Britain.
Are libertarians deluded ideologues or pragmatic thieves?
100% Globalists and lackeys of the anti sovereign New World Order of which George Bush Senior so often liked to include in so many of his speeches…
And to which President Trump has just dealt a kick in the nuts to when he pulled out of the Paris Accords…
George H.W. Bush New World Order Speech – YouTube
Video for george bush senior speeches about the new world order you tube▶ 1:14
Fake.
Oh really … another one uneducated and in denial…
Read this then , … you fool.
How Bush’s grandfather helped Hitler’s rise to power | World news …
https://www.theguardian.com › World › Second world war
And in case you are wondering how… copy and paste the whole title to google. Are you some sort of closet fascist sympathizer ?
And the Jews are in on it, too. Am I right?.
edit: btw, other than grammar corrections, editing without annotating verges on dishonesty
joe90 …
15 June 2017 at 11:40 pm
And the Jews are in on it, too. Am I right?.
Your pathetic suggestions , not mine.
edit: btw, other than grammar corrections, editing without annotating verges on dishonesty
* btw, other than grammar corrections
** that should read ‘ grammatical ‘ corrections for a start. I was not aware I was in the presence of a grammar NAZI who lacks formal education in correct grammatical prose. I am so humbly sorry for your first year degree lack of inadequacies … but still ,… no fault of mine.
* ‘ editing without annotating verges on dishonesty’
** You can gaff on as much as you like but The Guardian itself has outed you. So again … are you some sort of closet fascist?
You have failed the test despite your attempts at academic / intellectual superiority. Which was always so easily , yes so easily ,… seen right through for what it is…
Come back when you’ve put a few years more fat on your political / academic growth, please. Lightweights are an embarrassment to have to belt around.
Oh dear, the semi literate cretin fancies himself.
And the vain victim of their superiority complex doesn’t even realize their own mental prison.
As I said… come back when you’ve grown up a little bit more… lightweight.
Cubs have Momma bear to protect them… so who’s your Daddy?
Don’t waste my time.
The corporate media want you to think that.
Switch them off.
Use social media and bypass the right wing billionaires who own the media and control their filters.
Yes but the problem , old boy , is that MSM is horrific in getting it wrong these days…
And according to Enough is Enough , … this is the findings of a ‘ rouge ‘ poll… whatever that is…
Winston will go with Labour and the Greens will too… and that means a Labour led govt despite Peter Dunne’s protestations…
Mick is a London firefighter.
https://twitter.com/crispymick/status/874999483326754817
good for him.
The landlord of Grenfell Tower had already been given legal warnings over fire safety in two other tower blocks.
‘The landlord in charge of Grenfell Tower, where a fire broke out in the early hours on Wednesday 14 June, had been issued legal warnings over fire safety in two other tower blocks prior to the blaze that engulfed the West London property.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) is the landlord of Grenfell Tower. The 24-storey tower block with 120 flats was reported to be on fire at 12.54am on Wednesday 14 June. At the time of publishing, 50 people had been taken to hospital and six people had been confirmed dead.
Previous history
But this is not the first fire in a KCTMO-managed tower block. Because the London Fire Brigade (LFB) had previously issued it with two legal enforcement notices over fire safety, as a result of another fire.
In October 2015, a fire broke out in Adair Tower and 50 people had to be rescued from their flats. As a result, LFB issued an enforcement notice not only on Adair Tower but on the neighbouring Hazelwood Tower. And it shows a catalogue of failings.
A catalogue of failings?
The LFB notice said KCTMO had shown a:
Failure to make a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment.
Failure to apply the principles of prevention to the implementation of the preventative and protective measures identified by the risk assessment.
Failure in the effective management of the preventive and protective measures.
Failure to eliminate or reduce, so far as is reasonably practicable, dangerous substances present in or on the premises.
Failure to provide and/or maintain adequate and clearly indicated emergency routes and exits that lead to a place of safety.
Failure to establish an appropriate emergency plan.
Failure to ensure that the premises and any facilities, equipment and devices are maintained in an efficient state, in effective working order and in good repair.
A similar notice was issued for Hazelwood Tower.’
https://www.thecanary.co/2017/06/14/landlord-grenfell-tower-already-given-legal-warnings-fire-safety-two-tower-blocks-video/
Blogger gagged by council after warning about Grenfell Tower fire threat
‘A blogger who warned the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council of the dangers lurking in Grenfell Tower was threatened by local officials for writing about problems in the building.
Home to over 600 people, Grenfell Tower, in the Lancaster West estate, west London, was engulfed in flames in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The true scale of the tragedy is only gradually becoming clear.
As early as 2013, a man named Francis O’Connor, a member of the Grenfell Action Group (GAG), urged councillors and landlord Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization (KCTMO) to address the fire safety risks that new works on the building would cause.
GAG had several times tried to warn the council and the landlord that the building of a school and gym next to the estate would restrict emergency services’ access, including firefighting vehicles.
But a leaked letter reveals that officials at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea tried to silence the campaigners, sending a lawyer to threaten O’Connor.’
https://www.rt.com/uk/392272-council-grentfell-blogger-fire/
Pilgrim Tucker, of #GrenfellTower Action details how residents concerns over safety have been treated. All for profit.
Grenfell Action Group warned the local authority that their estate was at risk of fire.
From 2016 –
https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/2016/11/20/kctmo-playing-with-fire/
https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/
Criminal.
And as with the CTV building and Pike River, dollars to donuts they’ll get away with it, too.
Pike River.
Our Grenfell.
David Lammy says ‘We should call it what it is, it’s corporate manslaughter,
Did they die so the rich would have a nicer view?
‘The cladding that might have led to the horrifying blaze at Grenfell Tower was added partly to improve its appearance.
During a refurbishment aimed at regeneration last year, cladding was added to the sides of the building to update its look. The cladding then seems to have helped the fire spread around the building, allowing it to destroy almost the entirety of the structure and kill people inside.
And that cladding – a low-cost way of improving the front of the building – was chosen in part so that the tower would look better when seen from the conservation areas and luxury flats that surround north Kensington, according to planning documents, as well as to insulate it.’
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/grenfell-tower-cladding-fire-cause-improve-kensington-block-flats-appearance-blaze-24-storey-west-a7789951.html
Dude says it all.
edit:
‘Theresa May’s new Police and Fire Minister, Nick Hurd, was among the 72 Tory MPs – who are also residential landlords – that voted against a motion to make homes “fit for human habitation.”
Many people have been reposting articles about the debate in Parliament last January in light of today’s tragedy at Grenfell Tower.
Labour submitted an amendment to the Government’s Housing and Planning Bill designed to ensure all rental properties were “fit for human habitation.”
The need to improve fire prevention was explicitly set out by then Shadow Housing Minister Teresa Pearce. Proposing the amendment, she said:
“New clause 53 is about safety and would introduce a requirement for landlords to undertake electrical safety checks. Many organisations from across the sector support the measure, such as the Local Government Association, the London fire brigade, Shelter, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, British Gas, Crisis and the Fire Officers Association. They have all given their support in the past to measures that will see the introduction of mandatory electrical safety checks.
“It is estimated that electricity causes more than 20,000 house fires each year, leading to about 350 serious injuries and 70 deaths across the UK. Carbon monoxide, gas leaks and other fires and explosions cause fewer deaths and injuries, with 300 injuries and 18 deaths—these risks remain serious and it is right that we should continue to monitor them, but that shows what is at stake as regards electrical fires in the home.”
Labour’s amendment was defeated with the help of the 72 Tory MPs who top up their Parliamentary salaries as landlords.’
https://politicalscrapbook.net/2017/06/new-fire-minister-was-among-72-tory-landlords-who-voted-against-homes-fit-for-human-habitation/
Grenfell Tower fire is ‘corporate manslaughter’ and arrests must be made, MP David Lammy says
‘We should call it what it is, it’s corporate manslaughter, that’s what it is and there should be arrests made, frankly,’ the Tottenham MP said
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/grenfell-tower-fire-corporate-manslaughter-arrests-david-lammy-mp-labour-london-kensington-a7790911.html
Yes … it wouldn’t take much for those indentured contractors CEO’s to consult with local business heads to know EXACTLY what the weak points of that building was… we read that the tower was surrounded by affluent property owners with an eye to increasing the values of their already existing property’s…
We cant have a bunch of dark skinned / poor white trash holding up progress and our pecuniary gain , can we now , old bean ?
Time to move them on , time to move them on… without any fuss, quietly and quite justifiably so… just a nudge , a short sharp shock and they’ll never do it again…
Short Sharp Shock – YouTube
Video for pink floyd a short sharp shock you tube▶ 0:24
Even fellow right wing journalist Stacey Kirk manages to do a decent bit of reporting, unlike Jenna Lynch. Here she has done some actual research work instead of sitting with the Newshub video editor all day trying to mock Andrew Little.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/93710597/migrants-coming-into-new-zealand-at-a-faster-rate-of-knots-compared-to-other-countries-figures
Tories, voting in their own best interests forever.
/
At least 71 of the Tory MPs who voted against an amendment to force landlords to make sure their properties are “fit for human habitation” are private landlords themselves.
The Conservatives voted against a Labour amendment to the current Housing and Planning Bill to ensure houses were kept to a decent standard by 312 votes to 219, a majority of 93.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/full-list-landlord-tory-mps-who-voted-against-making-properties-fit-human-habitation-1537725?
There are words for people like this.
Yes and unfortunately , it has nothing to do with people humorously sung about in songs like this :
Irish Rovers – Patsy Fagan – YouTube
Video for patsy fagan irish rovers you tube▶ 2:01