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notices and features - Date published:
5:30 pm, February 26th, 2020 - 67 comments
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The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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Our current govt is totally dropping the ball on decarbonising NZ's transport. https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2020/02/26/1052384/this-generations-nuclear-free-moment
Someone (Shaw?) is saying that the feebate thing is delayed not scrapped. Hope that's not just a ploy from NZF to avoid election year criticism.
I'm getting sick of the lack of clear information though.
Everything is merely 'delayed' if they can get Winston out of the picture.
How do you mean?
Any policy not enacted now can be swiftly resurrected by a future Lab/Grn govt if Winston was really the obstacle.
Ah. I didn't think that's what was meant (more that NZF/L/G were still in process of discussion), but what you say is true and fingers crossed.
Differences between 'flu vs coronavirus /COVID-19 Nice article from Taiwan News. FYI running nose/sore throat more likely the ‘flu.
And because I like them, here is the latest update from Chris Martenson. The comments below the video are always interesting.
Government looking for easy political climate gains by restricting log/ coal fires….a gutless and disgraceful alternative to restricting the real culprit
but its a nice green wash for those that want to not do much but need to be seen as doing something. Also those plebs that thought they could heat with wood, buy that darn electric heater and pay that electricity. Profit needs to be made.
exactly…an easy target with little vested interest impact…and one that has minimal impact on CC
Longstanding issue with air quality and health in many towns/cities.
Scheme is to let people keep using existing burner, but when they need to be replaced, they won't be allowed a coal one, and a wood one will need to be more efficient.
Pah..bollocks..its a sop
You think we shouldn't be improving air quality? Chch did this a long time ago for this very reason.
I think it is exactly as I described it (no confusion for most)…it is a sop, a cheap shot that does sweet bugger all but will be promoted for all its worth…they are nothing but wankers
I listened to your RNZ link and it was mostly about air quality in small towns, and what the scheme is (replacement not a ban).
Which is probably why Mahuta (MoE) is dealing with it instead of Shaw (CC).
Likewise ODT, air quality.
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/govt-moves-ban-old-style-wood-and-coal-burners
of course it is…dont restrict flying, or buying and fueling private vehicles. build some more roads, pour a shite load more concrete with your crap housing….but we can restrict heating options for the poorest.
Thats CC equity for you….on ya Greens
any time you want to explain exactly how the GP could change all that, have at it.
In the meantime, a *Labour MP announces a clean air policy, and you're blaming the Greens for it being a sop re CC.
We all get that not enough is being done. I just don't see how lashing out at the wrong people and wrong things helps. I think it makes it worse. The only parliamentary hope we have this year is more Green MPs and no NZF in govt. The left slamming the Greens for the failure of others will make that less likely not more.
"That Labour are using this as a sop instead of addressing CC? "
"exactly…an easy target with little vested interest impact…and one that has minimal impact on CC"
26 February 2020 at 7:33 pm
think I have made it pretty clear
You've certainly made it clear that you believe Labour are using this as a sop. I don't see any evidence that they actually are doing that (as opposed to it simply being an air quality policy).
Here's the announcement, nothing about climate change in it.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2002/S00170/proposed-new-measures-to-improve-aotearoas-air-quality.htm
What do you mean by "with little vested interest impact”?
"Although New Zealand's air quality is already fairly high, Associate Environment Minister Nanaia Mahuta said there were still areas of the country where there were issues, particularly during winter."
"To tackle the issue, the Government is looking at getting rid of all solid-fuel fires – such as older style wood and coal-fueled fireplaces"
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12311829
I will rescind the onya Greens…Mahuta is Labour…the rest stands
the rest being what? That Labour are using this as a sop instead of addressing CC? I'm not getting it.
we see what we want to see…I see yet another sop, you obviously choose not to
Not really. I looked for evidence (so was open to it being true), but I didn't find any.
such is politics
Linky? (did you mean the UK govt?)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018735916/govt-proposes-phasing-out-smokey-wood-coal-burners
thanks. Sounds like a replacement scheme rather than an outright ban. I'm guessing they're not looking at ultra efficient woodstoves though. Nor looking at regenag forestry replacement for firewood. I can feel a post coming on.
Re CC, they should lead by replacing the coal/gas fired aspect of our electricity generation.
Yes that is what I heard too – phasing out the most polluting solid fuel burners to improve winter air quality. Nothing to do with climate change that I heard. Christchurch had a push in this direction and it took many decades for the consenting process to be accepted and several major earthquakes (knocking down chimneys) for it to become a reality. Before that, some nights were appalling if there was a frost and still air trapping the particulates and stinky poor combustion products (all the fogeys damping down their fires at night).
The coal ban seems a no brainer to me. Not sure why NZ has never gone down the ultra-effficient woodburner path though. Lots of places in the South Island where wood is the best heating option and the air quality and CC concerns can be solved by stove tech, passive heating, and regen forestry.
https://www.ecan.govt.nz/data/authorised-burners/
"Burning wood pellets releases as much or even more carbon dioxide per unit of energy as burning coal, so in order for burning pellets to be carbon-neutral the carbon emitted into the atmosphere has to be recaptured in regenerated forests, Abt says. Residual wood, such as tree thinnings and unused tree parts left over at timber mills, is the best material for wood pellets, says Abt. But he and others say that not enough of such waste wood exists to feed the growing demand for wood pellets."
https://e360.yale.edu/features/wood_pellets_green_energy_or_new_source_of_co2_emissions
I know this is yesterday's discussion but the above criticism of pellet fires doesn't really apply to NZ. Here we use sawmill waste so no natural forests are cut down and no importing of pellets. They are pretty efficient and very clean burning – no smoke and no stink – and I am sceptical that they would be equal to or more polluting than coal per energy released for space heating purposes.
Untreated waste wood shavings, sawdust and off-cuts are transported from nearby sawmills and timber product manufacturers to our state-of-the-art (yeah, it’s really big and shiny) pellet plant in Taupo. Once there this material is screened, ground, and dried, then pelletised by passing it through a die (much like an old fashioned mincer!) at high pressure, and this process releases naturally occurring lignin, which binds the pellets and gives them their shiny appearance. No harmful glue or additives required!
Our wood pellets contain only 5-10% moisture which means they burn longer, hotter and more efficiently than firewood or wood chips which typically have a much higher moisture content (anywhere from 25-80%).
Once the pellets have been formed and they have cooled, they are either packaged into 15kg bags for distribution to our retail network, or put into one tonne bags for bulk delivery to our commercial customers. Some pellets are kept aside and loaded into our delivery trucks for transport to those schools and businesses that can receive their fuel ‘loose’.
https://www.naturesflame.co.nz/shop/Wood+Pellet+Fuel.html
add up the transport, processing and packaging carbon emissions (never mind the export miles if they are exported. and some are imported) and you may wish to reconsider
…and the fires are useless without power
Nothing nazi about these people according to the TS Repug cheerleading squad: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rules-mexican-parents-can-t-sue-border-patrol-n1142486
Murder's OK. Court ruled it so, you know, diddums, right?
Yeah – unbelievable! T's appointees doing their job.
I guess if a Mexican shot a US border guard from across the border then, that should be ok too – since they would not be in the US, and therefore bound by the Constitution.
So sad. Golriz Ghahraman has been diagnosed with MS.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/119838474/green-mp-golriz-ghahraman-reveals-she-has-multiple-sclerosis
Oh dear – that is sad news.
Here is the 3 min interview: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2020/02/green-party-mp-golriz-ghahraman-reveals-multiple-sclerosis-diagnosis.html
She points out that her prospects are not dismal and she is well-placed to use the experience to further the interests of other disabled New Zealanders.
Is it any wonder, with all the abuse she was copping over social media and via other channels. It would have taken a toll on her.
I hope John Drinnan is proud of leading the hate fest. The guy would have burned her for witchcraft if he could.
I'm sure it makes a difference. Why can't people be nice? Nice is undervalued.
So is kind.
Sorry to hear. Such a champion.
It's only MS – she can still do her job. Heck, she wants to do the job, and she will keep doing her job well.
The things she needs is responsible accommodation from parliament and the green party. I'm sure she will get it from the Greens. Parliament, well the track record is a bit crappy – but it's not exactly the hardest thing in the world they have to do.
I have no worries she will continue to do her roll, and do it well. As every other disabled person does in this country.
Thanks for coming out in the open about it Golriz – Keep up the good work.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018735910/nz-super-costs-up-as-nz-retirees-on-dollar100k-passes-30-000 I want to highlight this. I have had lots of different jobs in the health and disability sector at various levels of hands-on, coordination or management and never earned $100,000/ year in my life. I currently work for a millionaire. She’s 86 years old and her family pays a team of workers living wage ($21.50/hour) to work up to 24 hours per shift (occasionally more – usually 10-14 hours per shift) to care for her while they travel the world, buy $250K cars, buy property and generally live a great life spending her millions). She gets $700 a week super. Is this fair? Before I got this job I was legitimately medically unable to work and as a sickness beneficiary (or jobseeker – medical exemption – thanks, National), I got $340/ week (in the hand, all entitlements included). I have very cheap rent. It was still over 66% of that income. No one can survive like that. Our government needs to rectify this. We had high hopes for transformation under Labour. NZ First has proved to be a snake in the grass and a big fat dead rat. We must return a majority for Labour in 2020. I’m as disgusted as every other leftie that benefits for one have risen by such pittance. Mine went up net $0.31 their first tranche of changes. An insult. The most recent ‘increases’ are insult upon injury. Before we give up on them, please, everyone… do what you can to return a majority for the left this election and Let’s Do Something About This!
For a genuinely left-focused government, please vote Green so that Labour does not need Winston's support next time. Voting Labour gets their own caucus right-wingers as well, without any balancing force from the outside.
And it's unlikely that Labour have any intention of raising benefits even if NZF is out of the picture. Only a large Green presence is going to make that happen.
those on 100k are paying more than their pension take in taxes.
Increase all taxes on the rich amd imcrease benefits. That's my position: no need to pitch one benefit against another. Increase the size of the pie.
"those on 100k are paying more than their pension take in taxes"
What happens if they don't draw down on Super? Wouldn't that money be freed up for someone else?
Yeah, but if they restructure their wealth so they're not paying that tax, sooner or later it will cost more money than it "saves", they'll still get the pension, and that's without including means testing costs.
It's not as simple as writing "$20k times 30kppl = $600mil saved" on the back of an envelope. There are loads of different variables. But "increase tax take by $10bil" basically has "how will people try to evade it" as the only significant other variable.
so apart from the principle of universality, the main reason for not means testing Super is because rich people will just hide their income and assets?
We'd also spend a lot, probably more than would be saved trying to enforce the means test. There were studies doing the rounds in 70's and 80's when means testing super was a proposal that showed that, hence the the idea got parked. Also wound up oldies somewhat so lots of votes in not going there.
It's sort of like Bill English's welfare policies, spend heaps of money gathering data to 'target' benefits so the government doesn't have to spend as much on welfare, only to spend more on the data, and increase the poverty problem.
Seems far more likely that was the main reason – and still is.
More that evasion is the first additional factor to come to mind. Then there's regularly means-testing three quarters of a million pension recipients and the costs that entails. And reviewing the appeals from people who got fucked by work and income. Creates employment, I guess.
My point is that saying "600million" is arguing for policy based on one number, when really the full thing needs to be looked at before a change like this.
In addition to the fact it's a big threshold. Once the limit is $100k, the limit can be changed to $20k.
Do we really want to open the door for superannuation to be the last ladder kicked away by people who had the full benefit of cradle to the grave social assistance?
They already pitched one benefit against the other.
Because of the way benefits are calculated, many disabled will actually receive less each week. They are basically collateral damage so that everyone else can have a bit more including those 30K on Super who can clearly fend for themselves, and also those with high cash assets who are on another core benefit.
Wish I was mistaken, but I assure you I am not.
Sick of the attitude that disabled are bludgers, but Supers paid their taxes so they have the right to take, as does everyone with high cash assets…who have “worked”..blah blah blah.
This entire system needs a total overhaul.
yeah, that's true, too.
Ok everyone. So we avoid the costs of means-testing people and pissing off the ‘oldies’ and losing their votes. My employer provides living wage employment to four staff, at full to part time living wage. Is that an acceptable trade-off, given ‘living wage’ is actually barely enough for the kind of people doing this work? (Single women). I.E. NOT subsided in wages by Working for Families, Best Start, or Families Package? I could say more….
I’ll just add, it was below living wage til I came along and started activating
what's the trade-off?
The trade-off I referred to was super paid by the government in relation to jobs/employment/tax revenue earned
How is that a trade-off? It's a cycle: people pay taxes to government, government uses those taxes to pay people, rinse and repeat.
"She gets $700 a week super."
That would be $700 a fortnight I think.
Even so there are so many unfair cases.
My figure is based on an overheard conversation between she and a daughter. Something about her being a widow- it was definitely $709 per week. I’m relying on anonymity on this site not to be breaching confidentiality, I admit it’s close to the line. But important transparency in this important year. I could say more…
A word of caution meant as friendly advice.
Plenty of elderly die in state funded care with maggots embedded in their flesh as a result of underfunding, understaffing and otherwise negligent circumstances. Are you saying we are not allowed to talk about the inequality?
You need to enter your User Name, and email address the same each time you comment otherwise the system thinks you are a new person and holds your comment back for approval. Pay attention to typos and punctuation.
You obviously completely misunderstood my intention but feel free to carry on as you see fit.
Beautiful anthem for the dispossessed, an amazing song.
A good background to the council interactions regarding Ihumātao from Sandra Coney at Newsroom.
"The Ōtuataua Stonefields were a treasure in their own right but also had the added value of being linked geologically, culturally and historically to a good number of other volcanic features and landmarks of Manukau. Puketutu Island, the magnificent two-coned Mangere Mountain, Ambury Regional Park are also on the lava field and packed full of middens, stone structures and lava caves. Like Ōtuataua, the Ambury land was confiscated after the New Zealand Wars. It came into public ownership as part of the Manukau Sewerage Scheme which carved a large sewer through this landscape, then 30 years later, a petroleum line.
There are fossil forests at the end of Renton Road and geologists can show you the easily-identifiable fossilised remains of rimu leaves that were stripped off the trees when Maungataketake (Elletts Mountain) erupted 80,000 years ago. Further east are Pukaki Lagoon, an explosion crater once used, in the way of Auckland, as a speedway. In 1993 the crater floor was vested in the Pukaki marae committee and in 2007 the rim was purchased by MCC. The watery beauty of Crater Hill is still in private ownership and is still being quarried. In public land on the foreshore at Puhinui are still more craters.
Beginning in 1992, MCC began developing what it called the Mangere Gateway Heritage Programme focused on the area north of the airport and west of George Bolt Drive, the main access to the airport. It was aimed at providing a tourism destination, building iwi capacity and stimulating economic activity. While there were some odd faux aspects, such as alternate groves of exotic and native trees on the Gateway route, everything appeared to be heading in the right direction.
In the early years of the 21st Century, MCC went feral. In 2006 it came out with a suite of radical changes to the regional and district plans. It asked the ARC to move the MUL or Metropolitan Urban Limit, the planning line that marked the boundary between urban and rural. At that time the MUL stopped short of a large swathe of land on the Manukau. MCC’s proposal meant that the MUL would end at the coastal edge or Ōruarangi Road, while an area of 85.5 hectares would be rezoned as Mangere Gateway Business and would be available for business development, right up to Ōruarangi Creek. The much-touted food bowl idea, predicated on the premium quality of the soil, now included a proposal for Lion Nathan to move its brewery and bottling plant from Newmarket to Ihumātao. Over 100 hectares of airport designated land was to be brought within the MUL.
Archaeologists and landscape architects consulted by the ARC were aghast at the scale of the proposal. With regard to the Wallace block, which was initially proposed for some residential housing, they said it was “very evidently an extension of the stonefields landscape. They have the same patterns of settlement and allow views to and from the reserve…” Development would sever the connection between papakainga and the stonefields. MCC’s own consultants said it should be kept as open space or rural.
The Mangere Gateway Heritage Area had now shrunk to the four blocks of land surrounding the stonefields. In its suite of planning changes MCC initiated Notice of Requirements for the four blocks. A NOR is a planning tool that protects land for future stated purposes – in this case, for passive public open space and landscape protection – preventing other development. MCC accepted by doing so it had an obligation to buy the land. But the designation constrained the value of the land and some of the owners, including Gavin H Wallace Ltd, owner of the Wallace block, appealed to the Environment Court.
In 2011 the Environment Court began hearing the case, with Auckland Council taking over the roles of the legacy MCC and ARC. Makaurau Marae Maori Trust Board also appeared supporting the NOR and stating it wanted no development on the Wallace block.
To the considerable shock of Council planners and archaeologists, Environment Court Judge Whiting and his team came down on the side of Gavin H Wallace Ltd, agreeing with their argument that the zoning obstructed their economic needs and wellbeing. Judge Whiting argued “sensitive development” was possible, and, to add insult to injury, the Environment Court subsequently awarded $57,000 costs against the Council. In terms of the original vision for a large heritage area, this was a discouraging development.
The following history is well known. The Wallace block was sold to Fletcher Residential for housing and the Auckland Council designated it a Special Housing Area. Makaurau Marae Maori Trust Board and Te Kawerau a Maki Iwi Authority negotiated with Fletchers for an area of open space and further papakainga housing, and basically, at this point, Auckland Council threw in the towel."
The whole article is worth the read to understand the failure of institutional processes in this situation.