So: no feebate scheme; no deadline on importing fossil fuel vehicles; no using the Government's purchasing power to incentivise EV uptake; no scrappage scheme or even FBT exemptions.
What's left? Besides a bit more interest in investing in public transport and cycle lanes, all the Government has to offer is Road User Charge exemptions for electric vehicles, $6 million a year for charging stations and crossing their fingers and hoping that the ETS saves them.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
"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"
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.
"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."
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’.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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….
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…
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?
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"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.
Buzz from the Beehive Politicians keen to curry favour with Māori tribal leaders have headed north for Waitangi weekend. More than a few million dollars of public funding are headed north, too. Not all of this money is being trumpeted on the Beehive website, the Government’s official website. ...
Insurers face claims of over $500 million for cars, homes and property damaged in the floods. They are already putting up premiums and pulling insurance from properties deemed at high risk of flooding. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: This week in the podcast of our weekly hoon webinar for paying subscribers, ...
Our Cranky Uncle Game can already be played in eight languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. About 15 more languages are in the works at various stages of completion or have been offered to be done. To kick off the new year, we checked with how ...
The (new) Prime Minister said nobody understands what co-governance means, later modified to that there were so many varying interpretations that there was no common understanding.Co-governance cannot be derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It does not use the word. It refers to ‘government’ on ...
It’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump on this link for our chat about the week’s news with special guests Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick and Auckland City Councillor Julie Fairey, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which ...
In March last year, in a panic over rising petrol prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the government made a poor decision, "temporarily" cutting fuel excise tax by 25 cents a litre. Of course, it turned out not to be temporary at all, having been extended in May, July, ...
This month’s open thread for climate related topics. Please be constructive, polite, and succinct. The post Unforced variations: Feb 2023 first appeared on RealClimate. ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two fresh press releases had been posted when we checked the Beehive website at noon, both of them posted yesterday. In one statement, in the runup to Waitangi Day, Maori Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis drew attention to happenings on a Northland battle site in 1845. ...
It’s that time of the week again when I’m on the site for an hour for a chat in an Ask Me Anything with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump in for a chat on anything, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which are set to cost insurers and the Government well over ...
Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers (left) has published a 6,000 word manifesto called ‘Capitalism after the Crises’ arguing for ‘values-based capitalism’. Yet here in NZ we hear the same stale old rhetoric unchanged from the 1990s and early 2000s. Photo: Getty ImagesTLDR: The rest of the world is talking about inflation ...
A couple of weeks ago, after NCEA results came out, my son’s enrolment at Auckland Uni for this year was confirmed - he is doing a BSc majoring in Statistics. Well that is the plan now, who knows what will take his interest once he starts.I spent a bit of ...
Kia ora. What a week! We hope you’ve all come through last weekend’s extreme weather event relatively dry and safe. Header image: stormwater ponds at Hobsonville Point. Image via Twitter. The week in Greater Auckland There’s been a storm of information and debate since the worst of the flooding ...
Hi,At 4.43pm yesterday it arrived — a cease and desist letter from the guy I mentioned in my last newsletter. I’d written an article about “WEWE”, a global multi-level marketing scam making in-roads into New Zealand. MLMs are terrible for many of the same reasons megachurches are terrible, and I ...
Time To Call A Halt: Chris Hipkins knows that iwi leaders possess the means to make life very difficult for his government. Notwithstanding their objections, however, the Prime Minister’s direction of travel – already clearly signalled by his very public demotion of Nanaia Mahuta – must be confirmed by an emphatic ...
Open access notables Via PNAS, Ceylan, Anderson & Wood present a paper squarely in the center of the Skeptical Science wheelhouse: Sharing of misinformation is habitual, not just lazy or biased. The signficance statement is obvious catnip: Misinformation is a worldwide concern carrying socioeconomic and political consequences. What drives ...
Mark White from the Left free speech organisation Plebity looks at the disturbing trend of ‘book burning’ on US campuses In the abstract, people mostly agree that book banning is a bad thing. The Nazis did us the favor of being very clear about it and literally burning books, but ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has undergone a stern baptisim of fire in his first week in his new job, but it doesn’t get any easier. Next week, he has a vital meeting in Canberra with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, where he has to establish ...
As PM Chris Hipkins says, it’s a “no brainer” to extend the fuel tax cut, half price public subsidy and the cut to the road user levy until mid-year. A no braoner if the prime purpose is to ease the burden on people struggling to cope with the cost of ...
Buzz from the Beehive Cost-of-living pressures loomed large in Beehive announcements over the past 24 hours. The PM was obviously keen to announce further measures to keep those costs in check and demonstrate he means business when he talks of focusing his government on bread-and-butter issues. His statement was headed ...
Poor Mike Hosking. He has revealed himself in his most recent diatribe to be one of those public figures who is defined, not by who he is, but by who he isn’t, or at least not by what he is for, but by what he is against. Jacinda’s departure has ...
New Zealand is the second least corrupt country on earth according to the latest Corruption Perception Index published yesterday by Transparency International. But how much does this reflect reality? The problem with being continually feted for world-leading political integrity – which the Beehive and government departments love to boast about ...
TLDR: Including my pick of the news and other links in my checks around the news sites since 4am. Paying subscribers can see them all below the fold.In Aotearoa’s political economyBrown vs Fish Read more ...
TLDR: Including my pick of the news and other links in my checks around the news sites since 4am. Paying subscribers can see them all below the fold.In Aotearoa’s political economyBrown vs Fish Read more ...
In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...
In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...
Transport Minister and now also Minister for Auckland, Michael Wood has confirmed that the light rail project is part of the government’s policy refocus. Wood said the light rail project was under review as part of a ministerial refocus on key Government projects. “We are undertaking a stocktake about how ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...
Tomorrow we have a funeral, and thank you all of you for your very kind words and thoughts — flowers, even.Our friend Michèle messaged: we never get to feel one thing at a time, us grownups, and oh boy is that ever the truth. Tomorrow we have the funeral, and ...
Lynn and I have just returned from a news conference where Hipkins, fresh from visiting a relief centre in Mangere, was repeatedly challenged to justify the extension of subsidies to create more climate emissions when the effects of climate change had just proved so disastrous. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
Lynn and I have just returned from a news conference where Hipkins, fresh from visiting a relief centre in Mangere, was repeatedly challenged to justify the extension of subsidies to create more climate emissions when the effects of climate change had just proved so disastrous. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
The 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 ...
Another night of heavy rain, flooding, damage to homes, and people worried about where the hell all this water is going to go as we enter day twenty two of rain this year.Honestly if the government can’t sell Three Waters on the back of what has happened with storm water ...
* 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 ...
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 ...
Hi,It’s weird to me that in 2023 we still have people falling for multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs for short). There are Netflix documentaries about them, countless articles, and last year we did an Armchaired and Dangerous episode on them.Then you check a ticketing website like EventBrite and see this shit ...
Nanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...
Nanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...
Shortly, the absolute state of Wayne Brown. But before that, something I wrote four years ago for the council’s own media machine. It was a day-in-the-life profile of their many and varied and quite possibly unnoticed vital services. We went all over Auckland in 48 hours for the story, the ...
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. ...
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 ...
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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 ...
This 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 ...
Wayne Brown managed a smile when meeting with Remuera residents, but he was grumpy about having to deal with “media drongos”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: In my pick of the news links found in my rounds since 4am for paying subscribers below the paywall:Wayne Brown moans about the media and ...
Wayne Brown managed a smile when meeting with Remuera residents, but he was grumpy about having to deal with “media drongos”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: In my pick of the news links found in my rounds since 4am for paying subscribers below the paywall:Wayne Brown moans about the media and ...
Dr 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 ...
Hipkins’ aim this year will be to present a ‘low target’ for those seeking to attack Labour’s policies and spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Anyone dealing with Government departments and councils who wants some sort of big or long-term decision out of officials or politicians this year should brace for ...
Hipkins’ aim this year will be to present a ‘low target’ for those seeking to attack Labour’s policies and spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Anyone dealing with Government departments and councils who wants some sort of big or long-term decision out of officials or politicians this year should brace for ...
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 has changed everything, and Labour is back ...
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 ...
And so the first month of the year draws to a close. It rained in Auckland on 21 out of the 31 days in January. Feels like summer never really happened this year. It’s actually hard to believe there were 10 days that it didn’t rain. Was it any better where ...
A ‘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 ...
When 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 ...
The clean up has begun but more rain is on the way. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Auckland’s floods over the last three days are turning into a macroeconomic event, with losses from Aotearoa’s biggest-ever climate event estimated at around $500 million and Auckland’s schools all closed for a week until ...
The clean up has begun but more rain is on the way. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Auckland’s floods over the last three days are turning into a macroeconomic event, with losses from Aotearoa’s biggest-ever climate event estimated at around $500 million and Auckland’s schools all closed for a week until ...
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 ...
I 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 ...
They 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 ...
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 ...
How 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 ...
TLDR: Here’s the key news links and useful longer reads I’ve spotted since 4 am this morning, including:calls for a more ‘spongey’ urban infrastructure after Auckland’s floods;demands for an inquiry into Auckland Council’s communications failure;the latest on Chris Hipkins’ plans for Three Waters; inside the PR trainwreck that is Wayne ...
TLDR: Here’s the key news links and useful longer reads I’ve spotted since 4 am this morning, including:calls for a more ‘spongey’ urban infrastructure after Auckland’s floods;demands for an inquiry into Auckland Council’s communications failure;the latest on Chris Hipkins’ plans for Three Waters; inside the PR trainwreck that is Wayne ...
Mayor Wayne Brown, under fire for his communication failures, quietly visited the scene of the fatal Remuera slip on Sunday, with his staff taking photos for social media updates. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: The cleanup and the post-mortem have begun, even though the rain just keeps falling in Auckland after ...
Mayor Wayne Brown, under fire for his communication failures, quietly visited the scene of the fatal Remuera slip on Sunday, with his staff taking photos for social media updates. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: The cleanup and the post-mortem have begun, even though the rain just keeps falling in Auckland after ...
We’ve just announced a massive infrastructure investment to kick-start new housing developments across New Zealand. Through our Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, we’re making sure that critical infrastructure - like pipes, roads and wastewater connections - is in place, so thousands more homes can be built. ...
The Green Party is joining more than 20 community organisations to call for an immediate rent freeze in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, after reports of landlords intending to hike rents after flooding. ...
When Chris Hipkins took on the job of Prime Minister, he said bread and butter issues like the cost of living would be the Government’s top priority – and this week, we’ve set out extra support for families and businesses. ...
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. ...
The 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. ...
Over $10 million infrastructure funding to unlock housing in Whangārei The purchase of a 3.279 hectare site in Kerikeri to enable 56 new homes Northland becomes eligible for $100 million scheme for affordable rentals Multiple Northland communities will benefit from multiple Government housing investments, delivering thousands of new homes for ...
A memorial event at a key battle site in the New Zealand land wars is an important event to mark the progress in relations between Māori and the Crown as we head towards Waitangi Day, Minister for Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis said. The Battle of Ohaeawai in June 1845 saw ...
More Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 54 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. The graduation ceremony for Recruit Wing 362 at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua was the first official event for Stuart Nash since his reappointment as Police ...
The Government is unlocking an additional $700,000 in support for regions that have been badly hit by the recent flooding and storm damage in the upper North Island. “We’re supporting the response and recovery of Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Northland, and Bay of Plenty regions, through activating Enhanced Taskforce Green to ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has welcomed the announcement that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will visit New Zealand this month. “Princess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief, to ...
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 ...
25 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 ...
The 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,” ...
The 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 ...
The 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 ...
Prime 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 ...
The 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 ...
As 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 ...
Ka 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 ...
Carmel 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 ...
The 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 ...
Jacinda 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 ...
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 ...
The 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,” ...
It’s been exactly a decade since Seven Sharp first appeared on our screens. Remember the first episode? We’ve unearthed the tapes. On this day in 2013, a bombshell was thrown into the New Zealand television landscape. “Time for us to make way, because you’re here to see what everyone’s talking ...
MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris has fronted endless media requests and live crosses this week. Is he getting it right? Lewis Ferris is trying to find his weather map. “This week’s been so insane” he mutters as he closes multiple tabs on the three screens across his Wellington desk. He’s ...
After four years, executive director Max Tweedie has stepped down from Auckland Pride. He tells Sam Brooks about shepherding the festival through a tumultuous few years, and where he’s going from here.This year’s Auckland Pride Festival is set to be the biggest one yet. Over the course of more ...
A flailing mayor was only the public face of a multifaceted flooding communications failure. Duncan Greive examines the mess, and asks what can be done to improve it.It’s a chilling timeline. Stuff’s Kelly Dennett catalogued, beat-by-beat, the 12 hours in which Auckland was pummelled by a catastrophic deluge, interspersing ...
The Dunedin branch of the Green Party has selected Francisco Hernandez as its candidate for the Dunedin electorate in this year’s general election. Francisco Hernandez was the Otago University Students Association President in 2013. He has held a number ...
Waitangi organisers are trying to push political leaders to the side at Sunday's pōwhiri, but Labour's deputy leader says it's not for them to decide who speaks. Te Tai Tokerau MP and Labour’s deputy leader, Kelvin Davis, says the Prime Minister will speak at Sunday’s pōwhiri at Waitangi, in defiance of local ...
Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, we spoke to an aid worker who had made the trip to the war zone in Ukraine, looked at why Carmel Sepuloni was picked to be the new deputy prime minister, visited the flood-torn streets of Titirangi in West ...
Schools play an integral but often unrecognised and unacknowledged role in helping communities respond to and recover from disastersOpinion: Schools in Auckland and other flood-affected areas are about to re-open after a delayed start to the new school year. Students will return to school having experienced wide-ranging impacts. While some ...
A very short story for Waitangi weekend The pā is a lonely place nowadays. Gorse has marched on it like the British troops of old, consuming the hills and leaving the marae looking a bald patch on the head of the earth mother herself. Even the roads have worn thin, ...
This is The Detail's Long Read - one in-depth story read by us every weekend. This week, it's The School Away From School written by Bill Morris and published in NZ Geographic's January/February 2023 issue. You can find the entire article, with photos from Lottie Hedley, on the NZ Geographic website. One hundred years since its ...
COMMENTARY:By Kayt Davies in Perth I wasn’t good at French in my final year of high school. My classmates had five years of language studies behind them. I had three. As a result of my woeful grip on the language, I wrote a terribly bad essay in my final ...
RNZ Pacific Journalist Victor Mambor, who is the chief editor of the West Papuan newspaper and websiteJubi, has received the Oktovianus Pogau Award from the Indonesian-based Pantau Foundation for courage in journalism. The foundation’s Andreas Harsono said Mambor’s decision to return to his father’s homeland and defend the rights ...
RNZ News Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick is brushing off concerns a temporary rent freeze in flood-hit Auckland would just see landlords hike rents even more when the controls were lifted — arguing they should stay permanently. More than 20 organisations have signed a letter urging Minister for Auckland Michael ...
Iwi leaders have accused National and ACT of "fanning the flames of racism", urging the prime minister to be brave and not walk away from partnership on three waters. ...
About this time last week it had become apparent that Auckland was in for a bit more than just a wet Friday. While the state of emergency remains in place for another seven days, it appears the worst should now be behind us. Last night, Niwa shared a fascinating thread ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra ShutterstockIndigenous Australians are respectfully advised that the following includes the names and images of some people who are now deceased. The Reserve Bank of Australia ...
The government has confirmed the money will be spent in Northland, including unlocking greenfields land and transport upgrades like a new bridge in Kamo. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabrielle Appleby, Professor, UNSW Law School, UNSW Sydney Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that sometime between August and November this year, the Australian people will go to a referendum for the first time since 1999. We’ll be asked whether we support ...
Viewers across the United States were today shown a slice of New Zealand, with a reporter for Good Morning America broadcasting live from Rotorua. Robin Roberts, a co-anchor for the popular morning TV show, has been touring the country this week. During her visit to Rotorua’s Te Puia centre, she ...
They can be environmentally unsound and are a symbol used to shame millennials, but everyone still loves an avo. I love avocados, always have, always will. The buttery golden-green flesh from a perfectly ripe avocado is a culinary blessing. Today I’d love to simply wax poetic about twisting open a ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (Penguin Press, $50) The beautiful ...
A new poem by Robin Peace. To the kahikatea I see from my bed Thinking inside the square, the ellipse, the round of what life is, I only see the trees. Not only as if that were the only thing I see, but only as if the tree matters more. ...
A week ago, Elton John’s first Auckland show was called off at the last minute. What was it like getting there, being there, and trying to return home afterwards?Elton John has long been a blessing for our ears, but in recent years his Auckland shows have been cursed. His ...
For Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, sorry seems to be the hardest word to say The mayoral chains must have been heavy this week for Auckland’s Wayne Brown, as his response to last week’s flood garnered its own veritable torrent of scandals and media scrutiny. Almost exactly one week on from ...
For Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, sorry seems to be the hardest word to say The mayoral chains must have been heavy this week for Auckland’s Wayne Brown, as his response to last week’s flood garnered its own veritable torrent of scandals and media scrutiny. Almost exactly one week on from ...
Ours Not Mines is cautiously excited about reporting that the Government is drafting legislation to ban new mines on conservation land. The anti-mining group's spokesperson, Morgan Donoghue says: "The Government has been promising us some action for ...
People who enjoy the outdoors for recreation, fishing and hunting will lose rights under the Natural and Built Environments Bill. Fish & Game New Zealand chief executive Corina Jordan says the proposed replacement for the Resource Management ...
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has conceded he “dropped the ball” during last Friday’s major flooding event. The state of emergency in the super city has today been extended for a further seven days, though Brown said he expects it will be lifted early. After a week of defensiveness over his ...
As the reality TV juggernaut returns for a new season, Tara Ward steps into the minds of the show’s relationship experts to assess the compatibility of this year’s brides and grooms. Married at First Sight: Australia returns on Monday night, and by season ten, you’d think the show’s relationship experts ...
Auckland’s state of emergency is expected to be extended for another seven days, according to the Herald. It was due to expire overnight after being declared a week ago, the day of the worst flooding in the super city. While weather conditions have improved, the city is continuing to experience ...
Proposed pay equity claim settlements for school librarians and science technicians have been reached between the Ministry of Education and NZEI Te Riu Roa, Secretary for Education, Iona Holsted and NZEI Te Riu Roa president, Mark Potter, announced ...
Members of NZEI Te Riu Roa negotiating on behalf of school librarians, library assistants and science technicians are excited to announce that proposed pay equity settlements are ready to be voted on by their colleagues. They include pay increases of up to ...
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) is calling for Michael Wood, the Minister of Transport, and now Auckland, to cancel the light rail project immediately. Auckland Light Rail was never going to happen, as our group has repeatedly said dozens of ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has been asked to intervene following confirmation today that the Government plans to implement a ban on all extractive sector activities on the conservation estate. Wayne Scott, CEO of the Aggregate and Quarry Association, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Getty Images The heated (and often confused) debate about “co-governance” in Aotearoa New Zealand inevitably leads back to its source, Te Tiriti o Waitangi. But, as its long-contested meanings demonstrate, very little ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Hunter, Lecturer in Art and Performance, Deakin University Jodie Hutchinson/Red StitchReview: Wittenoom, directed by Susie Dee, Red Stitch Deep in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia, the town of Wittenoom lies empty, desolate … and contaminated. Wittenoom ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Oliver Bown, Postdoctoral fellow, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock The past few years have seen an explosion in applications of artificial intelligence to creative fields. A new generation of image and text generators is delivering impressiveresults. Now AI has also found ...
New Zealand’s egg shortage is hitting cruise ships too – forcing the crew of one vessel to hatch a poaching plan. This story was first published on Stuff. On the hunt for eggs, a crew from a luxury cruise ship got cracking and hatched a cunning plan. Earlier this week, Stuff ...
Now demolished, the First Church of Christ Scientist was a masterclass of architectural imagination. Kate Linzey visits the site on which it once stood, to learn more. The object is delicate and small. Small enough to sit in the palm of my hand and weighing less than 300 grams. It ...
When your food parcel arrives before the emergency alert, you know something’s not working properly.This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. I’ve spent the last week desperately and at times fruitlessly attempting to drain and then sweep my whānau home of knee-deep water, pull up ...
Drongo-gate continues for another day with the Herald reporting that Auckland’s mayor has been caught out using the slang term for a second time. It comes this time from a former minor mayoral candidate, Mike Kampkes, who said he received a message from Brown in response to a media release ...
How does Aotearoa stop relying so heavily on agriculture to prop up our economy? Online tax and accounting service Hnry just raised $35m to grow its software on-demand service across the globe. Bernard Hickey talks with AirTree partner Jackie Vullinghs about how venture capitalists are funding Aotearoa’s fastest growing, least-polluting ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Guastella, Professor and Clinical Psychologist, Michael Crouch Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health, University of Sydney Shutterstock With childcare and schools starting the new year, parents might be anxiously wondering how their child will adapt in a new ...
I am delighted to announce the appointment of John Price ONZM as the new Director Civil Defence Emergency Management and Deputy Chief Executive Emergency Management for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). John has been a member of the ...
Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki are calling on the new Prime Minister and new Minister of Conservation Willow Jean Prime to immediately implement the 2017 promise to ban new mining activity on conservation lands. “ The mining industry group Straterra ...
How does Aotearoa stop relying so heavily on agriculture to prop up our economy? Online tax and accounting service Hnry just raised $35m to grow its software on-demand service across the globe. In the latest episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks with AirTree partner Jackie Vullinghs about how ...
There’s a fear that highlighting menopause will undermine women, especially at work. But what have centuries of secrecy achieved for us? Are you sick of hearing about menopause? Kim Hill is. The living legend of Aotearoa broadcasting told actor Robyn Malcolm (also a legend) on her Saturday Morning show on RNZ ...
Dunedin city council has reached an agreement to save Foulden Maar from commercial mining. The maar is the site of a crater lake from 23 million years ago with the diatomite of the lake preserving fossils and a climate record covering 100,000 years from that period. It is fantastic news for Otago University ...
Some are speculating whether the Auckland Mayor's leadership is circling the drain. James Elliott hopes they're right. There’s never been a week quite like it. It was the week when the rains came. All of them. Even the rain from Spain that was supposed to fall mainly on the plain, came. ...
The Bus and Coach Association supports the Government’s decision to continue half-price fares on public transport services. The fare reduction was set to expire on 31 March 2023, but will now continue to 30 June 2023. “Half-price fares have cost ten-times ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Hipkins’ bread and butter reshufflePolitical scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. 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 ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Chris Hipkins hires a lobbyist to run the BeehiveNew Zealand Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, speaking when Minister of Education, at NZEI Te Riu Roa strike rally on the steps of the New Zealand Parliament, 15th August 2018. Image; Wiki Commons. New Zealand is ...
New Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. Items of interest and importance todayCO-GOVERNANCE, WAITANGI, THREE WATERS Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Blowing Off The Froth: Why Chris Hipkins Must Ditch ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brian Tweed, Senior lecturer, Massey University Shutterstock/Renata Apanaviciene As we approach another Waitangi Day, we should be thinking again about what Te Tiriti o Waitangi means. As the late Moana Jackson commented, the meaning of Te Tiriti will be ...
Even prime ministers get caught in bad weather. It’s a week on from the devastating flooding that hit Auckland and Northland and Chris Hipkins has been forced to drive north for the start of Waitangi weekend commemorations after his plan was turned away from Kerikeri airport (twice). Today will see ...
Less than a year ago, co-governance had a future, at least as potentially accepted terminology. Now some iwi leaders want the label removed and replaced, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
“The decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to not replace the late Queen with Charles on the Aussie $5 note should indicate to our Reserve Bank that it’s time to change the NZ $20 note” said Lewis Holden, campaign chair of New ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Wolf, Associate Professor, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Australian National University Somchat Parkaythong/Shutterstock Black holes are bizarre things, even by the standards of astronomers. Their mass is so great, it bends space around them so tightly that nothing can escape, even ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Revell, Associate Professor in Environmental Physics, University of Canterbury Getty Images The ozone layer is on track to heal within four decades, according to a recent UN report, but this progress could be undone by an upsurge in rocket ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Clune, Honorary Associate, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney At the New South Wales election on March 25 a 12-year-old Coalition government will be seeking re-election. Hoping to return as premier is Liberal leader Dominic Perrottet – a political conservative ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Trauer, Associate Professor, Monash University Anastelfy/Shutterstock The XBB.1.5 subvariant, known informally as “Kraken”, is the latest in a menagerie of Omicron subvariants to dominate the headlines, following increasing detection in the United States and United Kingdom. But there ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madeline Combe, Doctoral student, University of Technology Sydney Shutterstock As the economist Herman Daly pithily said, the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment – not the reverse. Nature makes our lives possible through what scientists call ecosystem ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Jefferson, Lecturer in Education, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock Grit. Don’t quit. That’s the mantra many parents may have in mind when they, like me, spend what feels like years ferrying children to a seemingly endless variety of sports and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Humphery-Jenner, Associate Professor of Finance, UNSW Sydney Sam Shere/Wikimedia Commons A few weeks ago, Gautam Adani was indisputably India’s richest man. Now his fortune is slipping away as the stocks of his many companies crash, thanks to the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Divna Haslam, Senior Research Fellow, Queensland University of Technology Shutterstock Have you ever found yourself scrolling through social media and noticed you felt a bit down? Maybe a little envious? Why aren’t you on a yacht? Running a startup? Looking ...
The science of ‘event attribution’ is growing, with researchers working to accelerate their assessments. A leading NZ climate scientist tells Toby Manhire how it works, how climate change impacted the ‘off the chart’ weekend downpours, and why we can’t put a number on it tomorrow. Brutal, unexpected, record-breaking, destructive, tragic. ...
Those lockdown vibes are back – and maybe they never really went away. We were supposed to be organised. For a while there, we were. A uniform, purchased across a frenzied weekend dashing between specialist stores, was spread out over our son’s bed. Tags removed, shirts folded, socks in balls, ...
Establishing a Truth, Reconciliation and Justice Commission and recognising Māori tino rangatiratanga are among several recommendations in two pivotal reports released today (Friday 3 February) by Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission. The ...
By extending the fuel excise duty cut, the Government is encouraging people to drive more, which will only worsen the climate challenges we face in the very near futureOpinion: By most accounts, the storms that have been wreaking havoc in Auckland and Northland are fuelled by climate change. The ...
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.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLQ4by3lUJo
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.