Daily review 25/06/2020
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5:30 pm, June 25th, 2020 - 45 comments
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- Why Nicola Willis is door-knocking in Johnsonville
Sometime before the new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced that this year would be about “bread and butter issues”, National’s finance spokesperson Nicola Willis decided to move from Wellington Central and stand for Ohariu, which spreads across north Wellington from the central city to Johnsonville and Tawa. It’s an ...40 mins ago - “With great power comes great responsibility”: we’ve all heard that, but stepping up to it is ...
They say a week is a long time in politics. For Mayor Wayne Brown, turns out 24 hours was long enough for many of us to see, quite obviously, “something isn’t right here…”. That in fact, a lot was going wrong. Very wrong indeed. Mainly because it turns ...10 hours ago - The escalator rises again
One of the most effective, and successful, graphics developed by Skeptical Science is the escalator. The escalator shows how global surface temperature anomalies vary with time, and illustrates how "contrarians" tend to cherry-pick short time intervals so as to argue that there has been no recent warming, while "realists" recognise ...10 hours ago - Garrick Tremain’s view…
... 14 hours ago - Much excitement as Hipkins gets down to business – but can he defeat inflation with his devotion t...
A new Prime Minister, a revitalised Cabinet, and possibly revised priorities – but is the political and, importantly, economic landscape much different? Certainly some within the news media were excited by the changes which Chris Hipkins announced yesterday or – before the announcement – by the prospect of changes in ...16 hours ago - E-bike incentives work
Currently the government's strategy for reducing transport emissions hinges on boosting vehicle fuel-efficiency, via the clean car standard and clean car discount, and some improvements to public transport. The former has been hugely successful, and has clearly set us on the right path, but its also not enough, and will ...17 hours ago - Hipkins’ need to strengthen focus on “bread and butter” issues suggests the Ardern team was lo...
Buzz from the Beehive Before he announced his Cabinet yesterday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced he would be flying to Australia next week to meet that country’s Prime Minister. And before Kieran McAnulty had time to say “Three Waters” after his promotion to the Local Government portfolio, he was dishing ...18 hours ago - 24,000 employed under LabourThe quarterly labour market statistics were released this morning, showing that unemployment has risen slightly to 3.4%. There are now 99,000 people unemployed - 24,000 fewer than when Labour took office. So, I guess the Reserve Bank's plan to throw people out of work to stop wage rises "inflation", and ...18 hours ago
- Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Hipkins’ bread and butter reshuffle* Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular ...19 hours ago
- Bryce Edwards: Hipkins’ bread and butter reshuffle
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular reforms in water and DHB centralisation ...21 hours ago - 2023 More Reading: January (+ Old Phuul Update)
Completed reads for January Lilith, by George MacDonald The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Christabel (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, by Anonymous The Lay of Kraka (poem), by Anonymous 1066 and All That, by W.C. Sellar and R.J. ...2 days ago - Is Britain doomed (again)?
Pity the poor Brits. They just can’t catch a break. After years of reporting of lying Boris Johnson, a change to a less colourful PM in Rishi Sunak has resulted in a smooth media pivot to an end-of-empire narrative. The New York Times, no less, amplifies suggestions that Blighty ...2 days ago - After The Deluge.
On that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth.Genesis 6:11-12THE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS that dumped a record-breaking amount of rain on Auckland this anniversary weekend will reoccur with ever-increasing frequency. The planet’s atmosphere is ...2 days ago - Minister of Education (who might be replaced later today) left it to his ministry to apologise for i...Buzz from the Beehive There has been plenty to keep the relevant Ministers busy in flood-stricken Auckland over the past day or two. But New Zealand, last time we looked, extends north of Auckland into Northland and south of the Bombay Hills all the way to the bottom of the ...2 days ago
- The other ‘big one’: How a megaflood could swamp California’s Central ValleyThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters When early settlers came to the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers before the California Gold Rush, Indigenous people warned them that the Sacramento Valley could become an inland sea when great winter rains came. The storytellers described water filling the ...2 days ago
- Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The gamechanger PM and pollsDr Bryce Edwards writes – Last night’s opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins ...2 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: The Gamechanger PM and pollsLast night’s opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins has changed everything, and Labour is back ...2 days ago
- After the deluge – initial thoughts on the Auckland floods
Over the last few years, it’s seemed like city after city around the world has become subject to extreme flooding events that have been made worse by impacts from climate change. We’ve highlighted many of them in our Weekly Roundup series. Sadly, over the last few days it’s been Auckland’s ...2 days ago - Ani O’Brien: Luxon can’t afford to continue ‘small target’ politicsA ‘small target’ strategy is not going to cut it anymore if National want to win the upcoming election. The game has changed and the game plan needs to change as well. Jacinda Ardern’s abrupt departure from the 9th floor has the potential to derail what looked to be an ...2 days ago
- Shaking up scienceWhen Grant Robertson talks about how the economy might change post-covid, one of the things he talks about is what he calls an unsung but interesting white paper on science. “It’s really important,” he says. The Minister in charge of the White Paper — Te Ara Paerangi, Future Pathways ...2 days ago
- How we get a new Prime Minister – it’s a simple matter of vice-regal appointment without a swear...The news media were at one ceremony by the looks of things. The Governor-General, the Prime Minister and his deputy were at another. The news media were at a swearing-in ceremony. The country’s leaders were at an appointment ceremony. The New Zealand Gazette record of what transpired says: Appointment of ...3 days ago
- More bad faith from the spiesIn November last year, the SIS agreed to pay journalist Nicky Hager $66,000 for illegally spying on him. As part of the settlement, they agreed to publish an agreed statement about the settlement on their website. But two weeks later, it was gone. The New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties ...3 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on counting the ways Auckland was failed by its mayorI n some alternative universe, Auckland mayor Efeso Collins readily grasped the scale of Friday’s deluge, and quickly made the emergency declaration that enabled central government to immediately throw its resources behind the rescue and remediation effort. As Friday evening became night, Mayor Collins seemed to be everywhere: talking with ...3 days ago
- Mercury Energy’s hydro power generation has been boosted by a wet half-yearThey called it an “atmospheric river”, the weather bombardment which hit NZ’s northern region at the weekend. It exacted a terrible toll on metropolitan Auckland and the rest of the region. Few living there may have noted a statement from electricity generator Mercury Energy labelled “WET, WET, WET!” This was ...3 days ago
- When it rains it pours.
I know, that is a pretty corny title but given the circumstances here in the Auckland region, I just had to say it. The more oblique reference embedded in the title is to the leadership failures exhibited by Mayor Wayne Brown and his so-called leadership team when confronted by the ...3 days ago - Bryce Edwards: How authorities failed Aucklanders in an emergencyHow much confidence should the public have in authorities managing natural disasters? Not much, judging by the farcical way in which the civil defence emergence in Auckland has played out. The way authorities dealt with Auckland’s extreme weather on Friday illustrated how hit-and-miss our civil defence emergency system is. In ...3 days ago
- The Bewildering World of Christopher Luxon – Leadership, Labour vs National
Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The recent leadership change in the governing Labour party resulted in a very strange response from National’s (current) leader, Christopher Luxon. Mr Luxon berated Labour for it’s change of leader, citing no actual change.As ...4 days ago - 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #4A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 22, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 28, 2023. Story of the Week New Study Reveals Arctic Ice, Tracked Both Above and Below, Is Freezing Later Climate change is affecting the timing of both ...4 days ago
- Flooding flushes out more evidence of life in the BeehiveBuzz from the Beehive Yes, there’s life – and the hint of ministerial hum – in the Beehive. The latest announcement on the Beehive website deals with flood relief for Auckland: Government steps up to assist Auckland during flooding As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the ...4 days ago
- A calm look at public housing
Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.It was another ‘SHOCK! HORROR!’ headline from a media increasingly venturing into tabloid-style journalism:Andrea Vance’s article seemed to focus on the "million dollar sums from the Government as the country grapples with a housing ...4 days ago - Brian Easton: Christmas briefing papers — what was the PM reading in the runup to Election Year?Dr Brian Easton writes: It’s the summer break. Everyone settles down with family, books, the sun and some fishing. But the Prime Minister has a pile of briefing papers prepared just before Christmas, which have to be worked through. I haven’t seen them. Here is my guess at some ...5 days ago
- Christmas Briefing Papers
What Was the Prime Minister Reading in the Runup to Election Year?It’s the summer break. Everyone settles down with family, books, the sun and some fishing. But the Prime Minister has a pile of briefing papers prepared just before Christmas, which have to be worked through. I haven’t seen them. ...6 days ago - A significant loopholeIn case you hadn't noticed, FYI, the public OIA request site, has been used to conduct a significant excavation into New Zealand's intelligence agencies, with requests made for assorted policies and procedures. Yesterday in response to one of these requests the GCSB released its policy on New Zealand Purpose and ...6 days ago
- Farm leaders are watching whether O’Connor keeps Agriculture as the climate lobby presses for meth...Farming leaders are watching closely whether Damien O’Connor keeps the key portfolios of Agriculture and Trade when Prime Minister Chris Hipkins restructures his Cabinet. O’Connor has been one of the few ministers during Labour’s term in office who has won broad support for what he has done ...6 days ago
- Let the farmers pay for their own poor decisionsSouth Islands farmers are whining about another drought, the third in three years. If only we knew what was causing this! If only someone had warned them that they faced a drying climate! But we do know what is causing it: climate change. And they have been warned, repeatedly, for ...6 days ago
- Ministers are muted – or missing in action, maybeBuzz from the Beehive Nothing to report, folks. Other than Willie Jackson’s tribute on Wednesday to Titewhai Harawira, ministers of the Crown have posted nothing on the Beehive website since the day ...6 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on the bad outlook for fuel and transport costsOk, there’s good news and bad news in this week’s inflation figures, but bad > good. Our inflation rate held steady but hey, at a level below the inflation rate in Australia. The main reason for the so/so result here? A fall in petrol prices of 7.2% offset the really ...6 days ago
- Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Time for a sober discussion about toxicity and personality in p...Dr Bryce Edwards writes: Since her shock resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern has been at pains to point out that she isn’t leaving because of the toxicity directed at her on social media and elsewhere, rebutting journalists who suggested misogyny and hate may have driven her from office. Yet ...6 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Time for a sober discussion about toxicity and personality in politicsSince her shock resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern has been at pains to point out that she isn’t leaving because of the toxicity directed at her on social media and elsewhere, rebutting journalists who suggested misogyny and hate may have driven her from office. Yet there have been dozens of columns ...6 days ago
- Jung At Heart.The Clinical Magus: Of particular relevance to New Zealanders struggling to come to terms with the sudden departure of their prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is Jung’s concept of the anima. Much more than what others have called the feminine principle, the anima is what the human male has made out ...6 days ago
- Weekly Roundup 27-January-2023Kia ora. Welcome to January’s last (!) Weekly Roundup. The week in Greater Auckland Monday’s post raised the possibility of a Manukau Road light rail route. On Tuesday, Matt wondered what the outcomes of this year’s rail network shutdowns will be now that the first, from Ōtāhuhu to Newmarket, ...6 days ago
- Committee slashes broadcasting bill but it may be too lateThe Select Committee, considering the proposed RNZ-TVNZ merger, has come back with a report conceding many of the criticisms that were made of the original legislation. In what is one of the most comprehensive demolitions of a Bill submitted to a Select Committee, the Economic Development, Science and Innovation ...6 days ago
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Such are the 2020s, the age when no-one, it seems, actually respects the basic underpinnings of democracy. Even in New Zealand. This week, I stumbled across a pair of lengthy and genuinely serious articles, that basically argue that Something is Rotten in the state of New Zealand democracy. One ...6 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #4 2023Open access notables Some of our more esoteric discussions with geophysics rejectionists (aka "climate science deniers") involve warming of the upper troposphere. Resolving the 21st century temperature trends of the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere with satellite observations by Ladstädter, Steiner & Gleisner via Nature Scientific Reports brings in new orbital instrumentation and makes some important progress in quantifying ...6 days ago
- Garrick Tremain’s view …
... 7 days ago - Tribute has been paid to Titewhai Harawira but Beehive has missed govt response to the CPI and Crown...Buzz from the Beehive Hurrah. Today we found something fresh on the Beehive website, Beehive.govt.nz, which claims to be the best place to find Government initiatives, policies and Ministerial information. It wasn’t from Finance Minister Grant Robertson, whose reaction to the latest inflation figures would have been appreciated. So, too, ...7 days ago
- After Ratana.7 days ago
- Ominous Similarities.Extremism Consumes Itself: The plot of “Act of Oblivion” concerns the relentless pursuit of the “regicides” Edward Whalley and William Goffe – two of the fifty-nine signatories to King Charles I’s death warrant. As with his many other works of historical fiction, Robert Harris’s novel brings to life a period ...7 days ago
- You could dismiss co-governance critics as racist – or you could consult Thomas Cranmer (and see h...To challenge the Government’s promotion of co-governance, to share power between Maori and public authorities and agencies, is to invite accusations of racism. An example: this article by Martyn Bradbury on The Daily Blog headed Luxon’s race baiting hypocrisy at Ratana. The article was triggered by National leader Christopher Luxon, ...7 days ago
- Political Roundup: 26 January 2023RĀTANA, CO-GOVERNANCE, THREE WATERS Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): After Ratana Thomas Manch (Stuff): Could Three Waters be on the chopping block? Here’s what Prime Minister Chris Hipkins could do Ted Greensmith-West (Stuff): Co-governance is less controversial than Christopher Luxon makes out John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Luxon’s done Rātana. Is Rātana ...7 days ago
- Getting the full story about Ukraine
A very informative video discussion: Are we getting the whole story about Ukraine? | Robert Wright & Ivan Katchanovski Getting objective information on the situation in Ukraine and the cause of this current war is not easy. There is the current censorship and blatant mainstream media bias – which ...7 days ago - The Mayor on Light RailYesterday the Herald ran an op-ed from Mayor Wayne Brown titled “The case for light rail is lighter than ever” and a few things stood out. However, it’s getting more and more tricky to make a strong economic case for spending up to $29 billion on a single route of ...7 days ago
- Checklist: How to take advantage of brand-new clean energy tax creditsThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Samantha Harrington Imagine it’s a cold February night and your furnace breaks. You want to replace it with an electric heat pump because you’ve heard that tax credits will help pay for the switch. And you know that heat pumps can reduce ...7 days ago
- National goes back to BrashIn 2005, then-National Party leader based his entire election campaign on racism, with his infamous racist Orewa speech and racist iwi/kiwi billboards. Now, Christopher Luxon seems to want to do it all again: Fresh off using his platform at this week's Rātana celebrations to criticise the government's approach to ...1 week ago
- Inflation is not slowing down yet, so can Hipkins take a tip from Prebble and risk a snap election?Inflation is showing little sign of slowing down, posing a problem for freshly minted PM Chris Hipkins. According to that old campaigner Richard Prebble, Hipkins should call a snap election. If he waits till October, he risks being swept away. The dilemma for the new leader is that fighting an election ...1 week ago
- Alas, we must rely on the media to find what our leaders said while pitching for the Maori vote at R...Buzz from the Beehive A great deal has happened since January 19. Among other things, a new Prime Minister and deputy have been sworn in and our leaders (past, present and aspiring) have delivered speeches at Ratana. Newshub reported that politicians of all stripes had descended upon Rātana for the ...1 week ago
- Introducing Chippy, the new bloke
It’s a big day for New Zealand; our 41st Prime Minister has taken office and the new, “Chippy” era of politics is underway. Or, on the other hand, the Labour Party continues to govern with an overall majority and much the same leadership team in place. Life goes on and ...1 week ago - Thomas Cranmer: Chris Hipkins on co-governance – “No-one understands what it means”New Zealand has another Prime Minister who does not have a basic grasp of the three articles of the Treaty of Waitangi. THOMAS CRANMER writes: It is simply astonishing that New Zealand’s next Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, is unable to give even a brief explanation of the three articles ...1 week ago
- Graham Adams: Misogyny, the media and the martyrdom of Jacinda ArdernA statue of a semi-naked Nick Smith puts the misogyny debate into perspective. GRAHAM ADAMS writes … In the wake of Ardern’s abrupt resignation, the mainstream media are determined to convince us she was hounded from office mainly because she is a woman and had to fall on her sword ...1 week ago
- Chris Trotter: Does Chris Hipkins have the spinal steel to force a change in Labour’s course?A Different Kind Of Vibe: In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealand’s new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his party’s currently suicidal political course. If Chris “Chippy” Hipkins is ...1 week ago
- Political Roundup: 25 January 2023Items of interest and importance today RĀTANA AND CO-GOVERNANCE Luke Malpass (Stuff): Rātana mission complete for Christopher Luxon, but outshone by Chris Hipkins Felix Desmarais (1News): Analysis: Co-governance casts shadow over PM’s exit at Rātana Thomas Cranmer: Luxon talks co-governance at Rātana Pā Tova O’Brien (Today FM): All political parties ...1 week ago
- NIMBYs go BANANAs over young singles in their areaAn editorial in the NZ Herald last week, titled “Nimbyism goes bananas as housing intensifies“, introduced Herald readers to a couple of acronyms that go along with the now-familiar NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard): “bananas” (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone) “cave” dwellers (citizens against virtually everything). The editorial ...1 week ago
- What Robertson has learned from Covid and how it will define this election yearBack in the dark autumn of 2020, when the prospect of Covid was freaking the country out, Finance Minister Grant Robertson set himself and Treasury a series of questions about what a post-Covid economy might look like. Those were fearful days, and the questions in part reflected a series ...1 week ago
- The U.S. had 18 different billion-dollar weather disasters in 2022This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson The contiguous United States suffered 18 billion-dollar weather disasters in 2022, according to NOAA, tied for the third-highest number in inflation-adjusted data going back to 1980. Only 2020, with 22 billion-dollar weather disasters, and 2021, with 20, had more. NOAA ...1 week ago
- Our politicians have swarmed to Ratana where Hipkins may cause some buzz when he explains his co-gov...Buzz from the Beehive Yet another day has passed without Ministers of the Crown posting something to show they are still working for us on the Beehive website. Nothing new has been posted since January 17. Perhaps the ministers are all engaged in the bemusing annual excursion ...1 week ago
- Framing an election-winning budget a priority for Hipkins-led team — but will inflation erode an...Incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has already indicated he intends making the tax system “fairer”. That points to the route a government facing an election could take to tilt the odds towards winning in its favour, given Labour’s support in the last months of the Ardern era had been ...1 week ago
- Wage rises, not tax cutsNewsHub has a poll on the cost-of-living crisis, which has an interesting finding: the vast majority of kiwis prefer wage rises to tax cuts: When asked whether income has kept up with the cost of living, 54.8 percent of people surveyed said no and according to 58.6 percent of ...1 week ago
- Gordon Campbell On The Shrinking Of Labour’s VisionLabour has begun 2023 with the centre-left bloc behind in the polls and losing ground. That being so, did his colleagues choose Chris Hipkins as the replacement for Jacinda Ardern because they think he has a realistic shot at leading them to victory this year, or because he‘s the best ...1 week ago
- Political Roundup: 24 January 2023Items of interest and importance today GOVERNMENT, PARLIAMENT Simon Wilson (Herald): Chippy vs the donors de Luxe (paywalled) Rachel Smalley (Today FM): The power of vulnerability – Can Chris Hipkins heal our country? Henry Cooke: Nine thoughts on Prime Minister Chippy Branko Marcetic (Jacobin): Jacinda Ardern’s Leadership Was a Cautionary Tale ...1 week ago
- What Is Co-Governance?Two Flags, Two Masters? Just as it required a full-scale military effort to destroy the first attempt at Māori self-government in the 1850s and 60s (an effort that divided Maoridom itself into supporters and opponents of the Crown) any second attempt to establish tino rangatiratanga, based on the confiscatory policies ...1 week ago
- What are the Rail Network Shutdown Outcomes?The first of Kiwirail’s big network shutdowns to fix the foundations on our tracks is now well underway with the Southern Line closed between Otahuhu and Newmarket. This is following on from the network wide Christmas/New Year shutdown, during which Kiwirail say that nearly 1,300 people working across 69 different ...1 week ago
- Input to USDA about how to allocate IRA climate-smart agriculture fundsThis is a re-post from the Citizens' Climate Lobby blog In last year’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Congress included about $20 billion earmarked for natural climate solutions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for deciding how those funds should be allocated to meet the climate ...1 week ago
- The real reason Jacinda Ardern resigned
You’ve really got to wonder at the introspection, or lack thereof, from much of the mainstream media post Jacinda Ardern stepping down. Some so-called journalists haven’t even taken a breath before once again putting the boot in, which clearly shows their inherent bias and lack of any misgivings about fueling ...1 week ago - On the darkness behind the PM’s departure.Over the weekend I was interviewed by a media outlet about the threats that Jacinda Ardern and her family have received while she has been PM and what can be expected now that she has resigned. I noted that the level of threat she has been exposed to is unprecedented ...1 week ago
- When Sepuloni finds time to check on the latest benefit stats, perhaps she will explain what has bee...Buzz from the Beehive Again we must report that nothing fresh has been posted on the Beehive website since 19 January, when Jacinda Ardern announced the General Election will be held on 14 October and her resignation as Prime Minister. But we are eagerly awaiting the posting of a statement ...1 week ago
- Greens not on board with fossil fuel subsidy
The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...16 hours ago - Urgent action needed to support familiesThe tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...1 week ago
- Green Party writes to new Prime MinisterThe Green Party has written to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins outlining a plan for a fairer Aotearoa. ...1 week ago
- Green Party looks forward to working with Chris HipkinsThe Green Party welcomes Chris Hipkins as the sole nominee for leader of the Labour Party, and the next Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens recognise Prime Minister Ardern’s serviceThe Green Party is today acknowledging Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s service to Aotearoa. ...2 weeks ago
- Government and horticulture sector target $12b in exports by 2035
A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said. “Our food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealand’s economic security. We’re focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...16 hours ago - Cost of living support extended for families and businesses25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 – reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...17 hours ago
- More Kiwis in work as rising wages match inflationThe strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. “The Government’s economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,” ...18 hours ago
- Government boosts fund for Auckland floodingThe Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. “Cabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...2 days ago
- New Cabinet focused on bread and butter issuesThe new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “We need a greater focus on what’s in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...2 days ago
- Prime Minister to meet with PM AlbanesePrime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. “The trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,” Chris Hipkins ...2 days ago
- Government makes first payment to Auckland Flooding fundThe Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “We moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,” Kieran McAnulty ...5 days ago
- Government steps up to assist Auckland during floodingAs the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...5 days ago
- Poroporoaki: Titewhai Te Huia Hinewhare HarawiraKa papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...1 week ago
- Enhanced Task Force Green Approved following Cyclone HaleCarmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...1 week ago
- General Election to be held on 14 October 2023The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...2 weeks ago
- Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces resignationJacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...2 weeks ago
- Trade and Agriculture Minister to attend World Economic Forum and Global Forum for Food and Agricult...The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien O’Connor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...2 weeks ago
- Government funding relief for flood-affected Wairarapa farmers and growersThe Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. “We’re making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,” ...2 weeks ago
- Government provides support to flooded Tairāwhiti communitiesThe Government is making an initial contribution of $150,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Tairāwhiti following ex-Tropical Cyclone Hale, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “While Cyclone Hale has caused widespread heavy rain, flooding and high winds across many parts of the North Island, Tairāwhiti ...3 weeks ago
- Government support for flood-affected Gisborne Tairāwhiti farmers and growersRural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor has classified this week’s Cyclone Hale that caused significant flood damage across the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne District as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking Government support for farmers and growers. “We’re making up to $100,000 available to help coordinate efforts as farmers and growers recover from the heavy ...3 weeks ago
- We must protect what the cats drag in
'Where once the Karepiro chenier hosted dotterel and oystercatcher nests there could soon be sandcastles, and how many cats?' Pat Baskett looks at our ongoing contribution to the Sixth Extinction. It’s tempting to describe this breeding season of the tūturiwhatu (NZ dotterel) at Karepiro Bay on Auckland’s North Shore as a ...40 mins ago - The future must use less energy and have more of the things that really matter
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Greater funding overseas has Upcycled wallboard business Saveboard expanding rapidly into Australia. ...40 mins ago - Christopher Luxon absent as Chris Hipkins steps into the floodlights
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Loading...(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. ...2 hours ago - Daily crossword, Thursday 2 February
...2 hours ago - Treasure Island: Fans v Faves recap, week one
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- Warning: Scammers Look To Cash In On Devastating Floods...16 hours ago
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Interesting that Muller is “campaigning” in Tukituki today. With a majority of about 2.5k it’s a seat that could change hands if National’s vote is on the slide.
Polls showing good recovery for National. ACT is also on the rise. It has over taken NZ First as the fourth biggest party. We've only just started the election campaign as well.
For all those here who called the premature death of the ACT party you might want to start looking for something to wipe egg off of faces…
I don't know who predicted that but it would be silly. Bridges and Muller have given Seymour the chance to pick up Nat voters, it's no surprise that he has.
More surprising that NZF haven't picked some up, since Winston has been posing as internal opposition.
going to get close to 5% I think
When it gets to 5% rimmer gets to be head of a real party, presuming the caucus does not choose his replacement.
I expect most people have forgotten the last time ACT had a caucus. They were the best soap opera in town.
Roy challenged Hide, Franks annoyed everyone, Garrett had the most insane resignation story ever, whatsername from Dunedn came in, and then there was Brash and Banks and … people died of popcorn overdose.
Observer …..ha ha ha re the accurate description of the ACT party….. I have really enjoyed the range of comments you have made of late
You forgot Rodney dropping his dance partner and Brash walking the plank. First class comedy.
I haven't read many, if any, suggestions of ACT's demise recently, you might be mistaken by all the Right-Wing attacks that NZ1 will die (may or may not happen) so I feel you are making stuff up, are you proud to be a disseminator of Alternative Facts. Such a pathetic attack on commentators here.
Commentators say lots of different things. It's not a borg.
Observer …..ha ha ha re the accurate description of the ACT party….. I have really enjoyed the range of comments you have made of late
Gosman an thinks a party scoring. 3% is a success…….ha ha ha ha
This headline on stuff is harsh. Should we be asking for a more rational, kinder approach while we are feeling raw from events?
Jun.25/20 8.24 https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300041875/david-clark-throws-ashley-bloomfield-under-the-bus-while-bloomfield-looks-on
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300041875/david-clark-throws-ashley-bloomfield-under-the-bus-while-bloomfield-looks-on
Look carefully at the photo; Bloomfield is watching the media, unable to believe the garbage he's hearing and also realising how Labour politicians must feel when they are being attacked in partnership by National and the media. He'll be grateful to be a civil servant and not the Minister of Health.
I like SPC's comment on stuff and his one at 5.2 below:
XXXXXXX
SPC
"We went from no testing before release to a new regime requiring testing before release from June 9.
So local officials determined that to mean it applied only to those who arrived from June 9, not to those who arrived earlier but who were still in managed isolation. So for a week or so people were still leaving without a test. Some scandal.
The risk of community spread from that 1000 who did complete their 2 weeks, is no greater than the many thousands who have gone in and out of the 2 week quarantine in past months. And we went weeks then and still are without any community transmission.
How Muller can go from there is no spread go to level 1 now now now, to believing there is commmunity spread – given the same situation for one extra week … well it reminds me of the commentators on the Muppets. "
XXXXXXX
Any COVID found in the North Island I will blame on Michael Woodhouse and Todd Muller for the deliberate hiding of 2 women's real travel information to attack the Health Minister with in Q Time.
I was wrong about NZF but the rest was not hard to predict:
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-24-06-2020/#comment-1722385
The Greens have impressively loyal support. Very few headlines lately, but the core remains. A Labour-Green majority is the most likely outcome, as it has been for much of this term (with Northland the wild card).
Muller will be pleased, he's done the job he was put there for. The hard part is yet to come.
I hope you are right, but Peters is a master at election spikes.
As was predicted by TS commenters, the media are over-egging the gains made by National in the latest poll:
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/300042555/national-makes-enormous-recovery-in-new-poll
"Massive" is the word some are using.
It should be remembered that relative to Reid Research and UMR , CB polls have historically favoured the Right. That is, National and ACT.
Tomorrows headlines "Labour plummets!".
“Muller snatches victory from the jaws of defeat to unlosable position for winning Opposition!”.
And Coughlan goes with the narrative being parroted by the Herald and Newshub. Not an original amongst them.
The plain fact is, Bloomfield had already accepted responsibility, all by himself as head of the operational side of the partnership.
MSM, trying to pose as a cut above social media, when they often play herd spin to manipulate the public.
RNZ seem pretty keen to push the blame theme, not sure what's in it for them.
True, this afternoon RNZ used an ex-National employee (they did say so..) some Ben Jones guy, I think. But Jesse M then introduced him as somebody who should have a good grasp on the topic, and let him utter an entire National Party Propaganda piece on how horrible Clark had been to Bloomfield.
No attempt at balance – thanked him at the end, and moved on to another topic.
If I am not called in to work tomorrow, I think I will send him a complaint. It is utterly unbalanced presentation.
Ben Thomas Jones is a former National Partyy press officer
There's a post up now. Can you repeat the above? Too good to just left here. 🙂
Jun.25/20
Bayer bought out Monsanto or took it over. They are now paying out $10+ billion compensation. They must be expecting to make squids from somewhere. Where, what, why, how, when? Curious minds would like to know.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/419847/bayer-to-pay-10-point-9-billion-to-settle-weedkiller-cases
ACT on 4% is good news for most of us in here I would have thought. The votes behind their rise in the polls are coming from National anyway so no gain for the centre-right. Plus it puts an end to the free seat National has benefited from since Seymour won Epsom. And you’d have to think having ACT resurgent on their right flank would embolden the right wing lunatics in National which means more space for Ardern and Labour in the centre.
Not really, ACT has generally got enough party list votes for 1 seat.
It's real purpose to National is as a repository of right wing policies they keep at arms length – but get to chose which ones to adopt as part of a coalition deal. Charter schools etc/term limit welfare was rumoured to be the one after 2017. Maybe it will be the all in one faith based provider with term limt welfare that the US has – red cap and all).
“And you’d have to think having ACT resurgent on their right flank would embolden the right wing lunatics in National which means more space for Ardern and Labour in the centre.”
With the referenda coming up some socially conservative Labour voters may move too.
We are gonna hear a bit about euthanasia and pot during this campaign.
Cant qwite put my finger on why some folk are against de-funding police.
//
WILMINGTON — “We are just gonna go out and start slaughtering them fu—– ni—–. I can’t wait. God, I can’t wait.
These are the words of a now-former Wilmington Police Department officer Kevin Piner.
[…]
‘A civil war is coming’
The second of the two conversations that day happened after Piner received a phone call from Moore.
According to the summary, “Moore began telling Piner about an arrest he had made at work the day before. During that conversation, Moore refers to the female as a ‘negro’ and a ‘ni—-‘ on multiple occasions.”
He also referred to a magistrate judge, who is also black, as a ‘fucking negro magistrate.’
“At one point, Moore states, ‘she needed a bullet in her head right then and move on. Let’s move the body out of the way and keep going.’ Piner responds, ‘That’s what I have been trying to tell you,'” according to the documents.
After more derogatory comments about the arrestee and the magistrate, the conversation takes an even bleaker turn, as the two officers discuss an upcoming ‘civil war.’
“Piner tells Moore later in the conversation that he feels a civil war is coming and he is ‘ready.’ Piner advised he is going to buy a new assault rifle in the next couple of weeks. A short time later Officer Piner began to discuss society being close to ‘martial law’ and soon ‘we are just gonna go out and start slaughtering them fucking ni—–. I can’t wait. God, I can’t wait.’ Moore responded that he would not do that. Piner stated, ‘I am ready.'” according to the summary.
https://portcitydaily.com/local-news/2020/06/24/fired-wilmington-cop-we-are-just-going-to-go-out-and-start-slaughtering-them-f-ni-i-cant-wait-god-i-cant-wait-free-read/
Have you heard anything else about the spate of black men dying by hanging? I've looked thru Google and have only found reference to three events.
I seem to recall there were upwards of half a dozen of them.
The Brits need some Vitamin D to get their immune system strength up – they will have the virus for some time.
The older locals should be on Vitamin D supplements for the winter (oldies don't get as much from sun on the skin in summer as younger ones do)
UC Berkeley's newsstand displays the front pages of international newspapers.
http://archive.li/XmDsR/c072e2f89dfba779c87a4469940d65651e265d77.jpg
Update on my post from yesterday regarding me having not been tested during or after leaving mandatory isolation.
Today I called the Covid 19 hot line to say I was never tested and was never contacted by MoH. The guy tried to argue with me that I had to have been contacted all ready. I assured him I had not been and confirmed all the details I had given them at the time of me leaving the hotel.
I am being tested tomorrow. I have no answer as to why or how I slipped through the cracks
John, thanks for the update – good news that you're being tested.
Isn't it great John that there is a testing regime in NZ associated with quarantine. You will feel reassured if yours comes out negative. Most countries just quarantine for 14 days and then get an all clear without testing.
Ok John, well you have done the right thing. Good luck with the text and put your feet up being glad to that you are home.
Re the smoking room. In all the reading I have done, unless someone coughs over you with the virus, up to fifteen minutes in close contact with them is o.k.
It was just really strange that I had to enter the elevator alone to get to the smoking area but the smoking area was the size of two elevators but allowed up to 4 people in there. The rules were pretty patchwork. I tried smoking out the front where people took their walks and was easy to distance from others but they insisted I used the smoking area. Sometimes I would wait until after 10pm because they closed the smoking area at 10pm and you had to use the outside exercise area if you wanted to smoke.
A very weird situation.
a very weird, and new, unprecedented situation. Good on you John.
You should have smoked in your room, they would not have known – getting rid of the butts when going out for a walk.
Smoking indoors when alone is no threat to anyone, whereas getting the virus in a smoking room might well be.
Sure you will be fine. The testing is recent. But you could have found the contact details online earlier if you thought you had been missed.
I don’t really follow the news. It was my friend who brought it up to me a couple days ago that tipped me off that I should have been tested. I did everything I was told in isolation so thought I was fine
Odd comment