Colmar Brunton poll looks like a Colmar Brunton. Always seems to be about 3% leaned towards the Nats. Hard to make much of it, but bless Jessica Mutch Mackay, she's trying to spin it like we finally have a poll we can rely on.
I'm beginning to think, based on the poll results post debate, and the stuff I read Collins saying, that a substantial percentage of NZers actually like violence, and seeing people hurting other people.
You'll have about an hour of hope on election night.
7 pm: Greens 5%. 10 pm: Greens 6-7%.
Two weeks later, the result: Greens 8-9%.
It's always fun to watch National supporters fail to understand how counting votes actually works. Key won a single party majority 3 times, as long as you went to bed early.
Nothing special, just evidence-based analysis of Labour's cautious positioning, and the clear incentive for Labour left voters to back the coalition partner, both tactically (i.e. above threshold) and philosophically (more progressive government).
The previous CB poll had polling on the referendums, and I expect this one might too. TV networks always pad out several days' worth of coverage from the polls, to get their money's worth.
Agree with that. Also, remember the only important poll is your vote. Forget what the media is wanting you to hear or think.
Also, I say to anybody thinking of voting for the right aren't we lucky to have had an incompetent administration of the coalition of losers who didn't know what they were doing that stopped you from getting the virus and kept you safe so you can now vote for some other party which is more concerned about greed than peoples welfare.
As someone said many times "You don't know how lucky you are" or if National supported by that gun lobbying prat Rimmer get in "were"
Yip the coalition has been so useless I am going on holiday next week visiting friends and family across the north island and having meals in cafes while having adventures.
News must be new, so shifts of one percentage point are presented as up/down movement, supposedly more "interesting" than a reporter explaining the margin of error.
The real take from tonight's poll is confirmation and consolidation from other polling: no, the Greens haven't been hurt (and don't wait for the commentators to re-assess their doom-laden predictions), but NZF are gone and ACT's gain is real.
I see National has scored 3 percentage points since last week's poll. I reckon its due to Collins performance at the first leader's debate.
As someone pointed out to me last week… what's the matter with Jacinda? She can sock it to them in the debating chamber and gets kudos for it so why can't she do it in a TV debate.
My comment from before stands. Seriously, it seems like Judith Collins would gain 10% for National if she assaulted Jacinda Adern live on telly during the debate.
Well then why does she 'sock it to them' in the House? I could have put it this way… she needs to counter Judith's bullying behaviour and untruths by calling her out on it.
Why do people assume that socking it to bullies is somehow wrong? That is why they get away with so much because people let them.
She doesn't need to get dragged into a mudfight, but she does need to engage with Collins better. Just rebut with calm, direct questions, instead of letting Collins rewrite history:
"So what does that mean, Judith? You supported zero carbon act / gun control / the lockdown (etc) Do you regret that?".
Don't rely on the moderator to do that job for her, which was the problem in the TVNZ debate. Collins' whoppers went unchallenged. A post-debate fact-check is useless, it needs to be in real time.
"That's as true as your five dollar cheese, Judith …".
She doesn't need to get dragged into a mudfight, but she does need to engage with Collins better. Just rebut with calm, direct questions, instead of letting Collins rewrite history.
Which is pretty much what I was trying to say. 🙂
Have been watching the youth debate courtesy of TVNZ online. What a treat.
They reminded me of the public meetings and debates of yesteryear – lively, lots of fun, a bit raucous at times but the two ingredients which were missing… nastiness and bully boy/girl behaviour.
Bravo to all who took part. A great debate ably managed by Jack Tane.
Labour + Greens is the same in this poll as the last CB, they just traded a percentage point with each other. That’s good right? Isn’t it what most commenters in here wanted?
Nats + ACT look to have clawed a bit back from the minors.
I'd be happier with a higher GP vote obviously but a L/G coalition withhout NZF is a really good result for the left. Would be great for the Mp to get a seat or two as well, they've ruled out supporting Nat.
What Mutch Mckay and others aren't factoring in is Overseas votes. Always favour the left, bound to overwhelming favour Jacinda Ardern especially as we are not charging in the main for quarantine.
I will check out how many votes this usually off. This latest poll may serve a purpose of getting Labour voters out to vote.
Another factor as community transmission fades away, this will help Labour too
For all the hype about what a political wunderkind Swarbrick is, the miserable polling results on such a no-brainer as the cannabis referendum is quite an abject failure. (h/t James at 3.3 for link)
Prob'ly much the same forces that legalisation advocates have had to overcome in all the other places in the world where legalisation actually passed. Often resoundingly.
Because for too many people, they go with their feels and reckons and "other ways of knowing", rather than facts and evidence, when making their decisions.
Winston says a lot of things. Many of them so weaseled it’s an art form.
his party say exactly what winny tells them to. So it’s not surprising they are all saying the same thing.
I guess we will wait for the SFO – but it sounds like it’s close (or they know it’s going to be after the election so they can lie their pants off before hand)
Those parroting oil industry propaganda dismissing hydrogen are being premature. Still the most promising sustainable technology for long haul ships. Nothing else comes close. Except for fusion, which looks a lot less likely than solving the issues with hydrogen. I've been following the research closely, being "in the business".
When shipowners, not noted for wasting money, commute serious money to something they expect a return
Thats fine as long as you accept that it is totally unsustainable especially in a world where energy is in short supply….as will the world be when it no longer uses fossil fuels (for whatever reason)
0.25 seems a wee bit harsh. I've seen some figures as good as 0.5, including compressing the hydrogen. Admittedly from hydrogen optimists.
The piece below from InsideEVs gives a good illustration of the losses, even if their general tone is inline with their other articles of being a bit over-pessimistic on hydrogen. Nevertheless, their figure for EROI goes as high as 0.35.
Weeell, if the choice is doing without shipping (and aviation), and massively overbuilding renewable electricity to be able to make hydrogen for those applications even at an EROI of 0.25, I'm picking the hydrogen route will happen.
But I'm also picking that if the world ever comes to its senses and puts a high enough price on fossil fuels that reflects the damage they do, then shipping will go to small nukes, and long haul aviation will go to liquid biofuels.
The rooskies did a working prototype more than three decades ago with the Tu-155. Just a minor downside was the tank, that only fed one of the three engines for a short flight, took up a hefty fraction of the passenger area in the fuselage.
I'd also like to hear good atmospheric physicists comment on the effects of leaking significant quantities of hydrogen into the stratosphere just below the ozone layer.
Well at least they went one better than the poms, as the poms give up designing a Hydrogen powered plane (like it did with its 1960's version of its Joint Strike Fighter as it became a dog of an Aircraft on paper) as a became a monster of an aircraft as the old adage of aircraft design of power vs weight vs drag = more power vs more weight = more drag and on it went upwards.
Tony Butlers Book, British Secret Projects Hypersonics, Ramjets & Missiles.
Chatper 11, Fuel and Materials for Hypersonic Flight
It may take slightly more than that. London has run hydrogen buses for over a decade – but, although a handful of new doubledeckers are in prospect, there has been no move to swap any significant fraction of the fleet to hydrogen, even as scheduled replacements. They are a vanity project at this time.
Then in the US they're looking at their massive fleets of school bus to go battery electric and then be vehicle to grid when needed. It's actually a reasonably good fit for smoothing the output from massive PV installations.
can you explain what Labour and Ngai Tahu said today then?
Is Ardern talking about manufacturing hydrogen in Bluff, to use for the long haul road fleet in NZ? Which means freighting hydrogen from Bluff all over NZ?
And O'Regan is talking about using Manapouri to manufacture hydrogen and sell it overseas? Or is there something else about export I am missing?
I think the only concrete thing to come out of today's event was that the current government wants there to be a controlled transition from an aluminium smelter in Southland to something else over 3-5 years.
The hydrogen proposal may be a viable alternative. It may also be a dead cat. I'm inclined to go with the dead cat.
Don't worry about the ouvea waste either as we can; dig a hole, burn it or hope there is another flood. But the solution is "MOVE" it to other sites. That is a long term solution ?? As there was no comment regarding this I wonder if our government has been outmanoeuvre AGAIN.
"New Zealand Aluminium Smelters and Rio Tinto have regularly reaffirmed their March 2018 commitment to the $4 million plan alongside local authorities and the government to move the waste from Mataura and other sites around Southland over six years."
yes, but she was talking about Ngai Tahu's idea about Tiwai and I thought an engineering bod here might get past their antipathy for the idea and explain what she meant.
Sounds like Ngai Tahu are simply floating an idea, whether it has any Gov support isnt stated…what Ardern described is what is covered in the links posted re Taranaki
What I do know about is research into hydrogen as a cargo ship fuel.
If the storage issues can be sorted, which seem much more technically feasible, and closer to solutions than the long awaited nuclear fusion, hydrogen has the energy density to replace hydrocarbons for shipping.
It can also be extracted from water using sustainable electricity.
As has been noted, currently the return is not as good as using the electricity directly, but there are several promising technologies to improve that.
Anyone who thinks shipping is going to go away, is not aware of how much of their food and necessities is transported around NZ alone.
That is the problem, Labour trades on the Cult of Personality. Should Labour win this election that will mean that since the transition of NZ in 1984. Labour will have been in power longer than National. I wonder who then takes responsibility for where NZ will be in 2-3 years time.
No matter how well or what good intentions JA has, she is only the leader of Labour and is still bound by the party.
I went through a phase when I found Tolstoy quite readable. But oddly, really not memorable. I really can't recall anything about his works, and don't feel any desire to reread them to refresh my memory. Unlike some other authors I keep getting drawn back to, because there's fresh nuance and subtleties I find every time I go back.
Bwaghorn – it takes some doing but is a treasure once you've learned the language. Give it time. One evening, as you drop off to sleep, you'll feel your brain aligning itself to Joyce's style. New day, you're off!
Yep. One of the greatest things ever written. First time through don't try too hard to understand it. Treat it like poetry. Then find a decent companion or exegesis and read it a second time.
In 1963, my English Teacher chose not Ulysses to inflict upon us, but 'Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man'. I read it OK, maybe not understanding it as well as if I had been older, but it was OK, and may be an easier Intro to James Joyce..
Judith is only 2% away from her personal aspirational target of 35%. I know she can do it! In any case, just like Merv, she will cling on to Leadership like shit sticks to a blanket; it is the National way and pretty legal too.
I’d be quite happy if the Māori Party picked up a seat from Labour and maybe an extra list MP too. But the polling out tonight in the Māori seats doesn’t look very promising for that.
So Labour + Greens looks the most likely government combo at this stage. Though I see that the Nact and ACT fanbois are juggling all sorts of crazy scenarios on the old Twitter.
Just watched the online Young voters debate with Jack Tame. One rep from each Party. Plus a few from Party groups around the Hall.
Pretty good. Questions specific with some follow up. 3 were sitting MPs. It was much more watchable that the Leaders Debate with John.
Taking part in the debate were:
Kiri Allan – Labour
Simeon Brown – National
Chlöe Swarbrick – Greens
Robert Griffith – NZ First
Brooke van Veldon – Act
The more I see of Collins, the less impressed I am. I had thought that she was sharp, good at cutting through others' arguments and someone for getting real points across clearly. However, as leader, she seems to be spouting nonsensical buzz-words, and often tailing off at the end of sentences, having lost track of exactly where she was going. After the debate, she was constantly trying to remember figures and tripping over her own tongue, and when she was asked about whether she hadn't neglected her own policy somewhat, she reeled off a few policies, before saying, 'It's only an hour and a half, if only it was two-and-a-half, I could have got… done any more [nervous smile and '…yeah…', like she's trying to make small-talk when visiting her mother-in-law for the first time, and pretending she doesn't hate the slightly stale date scones that were clearly cut on a board normally used for garlic].'
Then, today at the Grey Power meeting, there was, 'I don't think for a moment that these [Labour politicians] know how many cents there are in a dollar, except they do know that your dollar should be their dollar.' That's a non-sequitur of John-Key-ish proportions; just stringing together lazy, right-wing clichés with no thought for whether they even fit together to form a statement. It reminds me a lot of Melissa Lee, too, who, when put on the spot campaigning for a seat, ended up spouting a whole lot of stuff that either didn't make any sense, or seemed to mean something that she really should not have said.
Witness, too, the line at the same meeting, 'I know you might love Miss Ardern, but actually, I'm all over her.' So she loves her even more than they do? Riiiight…. Okay, we all know what she meant, but even then: is she trying to say that there was a time when she thought was wildly enthused by Ardern, or something? All in all, if you imagine a lot of what Collins says being said by the rhetorically hapless George W Bush, it really doesn't seem too far out of place.
Susie Ferguson didn't do a bad job on Morning Report the other day of pulling her up on her bumbling replies about their fiscal errors, but honestly, presenters should be halting her constantly, and asking her, 'Wtf… you just said what?… and what was it even supposed to mean?' and people should be putting together montages of her gaffes accompanied by a laughing track.
Fully agree, Hanswurst – her language ability is limited, and she will need compliant, helpful Media to help her again if she is to repeat her questionable "success" of that first TV debate.
Mind you, I thought both John Key and Bill English mangled the English language, and found it hard to believe that Bill English was really a graduate in English! Todd Muller had big problems with language too.
Better if I don’t say what I thought of Simon Bridges as an alleged graduate of Harvard in Law, etc… “The medicine is worse than the cure.” Lord save us!
I fully agree, especially on Key, but the thing is that Key was mangling the language in his fabled capacity as a freewheeling, self-taught financial wizard, while English built his political persona around the image of 'barbecue Bill', the amateur pugilist and Dipton farmer. Part of the problem for Bridges and Collins is that they have built their political images as clever lawyers, Collins as a hard-nosed battler for conservative principles, Bridges (rightly or wrongly) as a precocious hot-shot prosecutor. It's much harder for them to defuse a situation by grinning and saying, 'Aw shucks!'
It reminds me a lot of Melissa Lee, too, who, when put on the spot campaigning for a seat, ended up spouting a whole lot of stuff that either didn't make any sense, or seemed to mean something that she really should not have said.
Like her commentary during the Mt Albert byelection campaign of some years back when she made her claim about criminals from South Auckland stopping off in Mt Albert on their way to West Auckland. No-one knew what that had to do with the price of fish but the local wits and cartoonists did try to unravel her thoughts on the matter… much to everyone's enjoyment.
Not sure Collins could ever beat that pearler but you never know.
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The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
With criticism from National piling on over the property market, the prime minister has detailed when the government will make housing announcements. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marco Rizzi, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Western Australia Some Australians could be receiving a COVID-19 vaccine within weeks. Amid the continued spread of the virus and emergence of highly contagious variants, the federal government has accelerated the start of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Australia’s Threatened Species Strategy — a five-year plan for protecting our imperilled species and ecosystems — fizzled to an end last year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Lecturer, General Dentist & PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Baby teeth, or milk teeth, act like lighthouses to guide the adult ones to their correct destination. A baby tooth will become wobbly and fall out because the adult tooth ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Simon Coley, co-founder of All Good and Karma Drinks.Bananas are one of the ...
Tackling topics such as rugby and body image, Stuff’s latest podcast shines a much-needed light on Aotearoa’s complex relationship with masculinity, writes Trevor McKewen, author of the book Real Men Wear Black.I wasn’t sure what to think when two episodes of the new local podcast He’ll Be Right landed in ...
The Rainforest Alliance reveals that 68%* of Kiwis say the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more conscious about environmental and social sustainability issues. Seventy two percent* state that they have been trying to make more sustainable purchasing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University The inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, has raised concerns that Australia’s proposed News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code could fundamentally break the internet as we know it. His concerns ...
ANALYSIS:By Scott Lucas, University of Birmingham Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path Two weeks after the storming of the US Capitol by the followers of his predecessor, in the middle of an out-of-control pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Cantrell, Lecturer, Creative Writing & English Literature, University of Southern Queensland Described as “the world’s greatest storyteller”, Roald Dahl is frequently ranked as the best children’s author of all time by teachers, authors and librarians. However, the new film adaptation of ...
Peak housing body, Community Housing Aotearoa (CHA) welcomes the updated Public Housing Plan announced today by Minister Woods, and the commitment by this Government to fix New Zealand’s housing crisis. The 8,000 additional homes are a significant ...
Having recently walked much of the South Island stretch of Te Araroa, Kirsten O’Regan reflects on the magnificent landscapes and interesting characters she encountered along the way.On our 36th day of walking, we climb through the fire-blackened hills above Ohau, stopping to examine heat-disfigured trail markers. Fresh green shoots have ...
Miss Torta in central Auckland is putting the spotlight on a snack that’s commonplace in Mexico, but until now relatively unknown in New Zealand.You’ve heard of a torta, but what is it, exactly? Well, depending on the cuisine it can mean a flatbread, cake, tart, sweet pie, savoury pie or ...
Two of three ministerial statements from the Beehive have been released in the name of the PM over the past two days. The more important, insofar as it involves political action that will affect the wellbeing of significant numbers of Kiwis, was the release of the government’s Public Housing Plan ...
Jacinda Ardern has reminded Labour MPs "ongoing vigilance" will be required in 2021 to avoid another Covid outbreak, admitting she held her breath over the summer break. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University Despite many young Australians having a deep interest in political issues, most teenagers have a limited understanding about their nation’s democratic system. Results from the 2019 National Assessment Program – Civics and ...
Pinged $65 for overstaying 10 minutes in a parking block? Put away your hard-earned cash and read this first.Hopefully, by now, I’ve already established myself at The Spinoff as the resident tightarse, determined to avoid all unfair and unnecessary punishments (see: oversize baggage charges). Today, I’m focusing my attention on ...
Nuclear weapons states and their allies risk reputational ruin if they flout a new UN Treaty, Carolina Panico argues The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will come into force this month, on January 22, 2021, turning nuclear weapons into illegal objects. It is an achievement that ...
How does one turn into a rabid extremist over the description of a children’s bike? Emily Writes looks at Facebook comments so you don’t have to.You’ve been there, I know it. You’re scrolling along, trying to avoid QAnon conspiracy theories and Trump apocalypse memes when a story catches your eye. ...
Joe Biden is now the President of the United States and many people across America and throughout the world will consequently be breathing more easily. But while the erratic, unpredictable and irresponsible years of the Trump Presidency may be over, ...
Tough border testing for New Zealand honey imports to Japan is re-igniting the conversation about the use of the weed killer glypohsate in New Zealand. ...
The Taxpayers Union should be aware of the law and of the history of ACC. The ACC is a legal system introduced in 1974 to replace the common law right of accident victims to sue for damages for personal injury sustained as a result of negligence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne Terrorism, political extremism, Donald Trump, social media and the phenomenon of “cancel culture” are confronting journalists with a range of agonising free-speech dilemmas to which there are no easy answers. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Associate Professor of the Sydney Pharmacy School, University of Sydney You’ve just come from your monthly GP appointment with a new script for your ongoing medical condition. But your local pharmacy is out of stock of your usual medicine. Your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna D’Alessandro, Professor & ARC Future Fellow, University of Sydney On Wednesday this week, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was measured at at 415 parts per million (ppm). The level is the highest in human history, and is growing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Renwick, Professor, Physical Geography (climate science), Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington It might be summer in New Zealand but we’re in for some wild weather this week with forecasts of heavy wind and rain, and a plunge in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University Despite many young Australians having a deep interest in political issues, most teenagers have a limited understanding about their nation’s democratic system. Results from the 2019 National Assessment Program – Civics and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle O’Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University Last week, the McIver’s Ladies Baths in Sydney came under fire for their (since removed) policy stating “only transgender women who’ve undergone a gender reassignment surgery are allowed entry”. The policy was ...
There are good grounds for optimism after the guardrails of American democracy held firm through to Joe Biden's inauguration today as President, writes Stephen Hoadley Pessimism abounds about the perilous condition of American democracy. Commentators and headline writers proffer memes such as ‘broken and divided nation’, ‘the threat from within’. ...
*This article was originally appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. Donald Trump will forever be remembered as the president who was impeached twice - and for his rhetoric that struck a chord so deep in America that it will take years to dissipate. Donald Trump leaves Washington with the lowest approval ...
A new plan shows how and where the Government will build 8,000 new state housing places it funded in Budget 2020, Marc Daalder reports Jacinda Ardern has kicked off the political year with a major announcement, promising hundreds of new state housing places in regional centres across the country. With ...
This is the full transcript of President Joe Biden's speech after being sworn in at his inauguration this morning in Washington DC Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, and my distinguished guests, my fellow Americans, this is America's day. This ...
Analysis: President Donald Trump has left the White House, and his deputy chief of staff confirms he is withdrawing his candidacy to lead the OECD. New Zealander Christopher Liddell withdrew his nomination to be Secretary-General of the powerful 37-member OECD and was one of the last members of the Trump Administration to depart ...
Kate Wills is facing stage four cancer with the same fierce approach she takes into her ocean swimming - never say can't. Even on the mornings Kate Wills feels wretched from her fortnightly chemotherapy treatment, she drags herself up at 5am and goes swimming. “I have to. It’s my job – to ...
Some costs associated with meetings speak for themselves, others are less conspicuous. Victoria University of Wellington's Val Hooper lays those costs out, making suggestions on where we can rein them in. Meetings – when last did we count the costs? And so it’s back to work and one of the ...
Andrew Paul Wood assesses the best-selling picture book by Grahame Sydney It's no great secret the commercially very successful Grahame Sydney has a long-standing beef that his work doesn’t receive more critical and institutional approval. I sympathise about the lack of critical attention, but I can understand why. The Discourse™ ...
This story was produced in collaboration with the Center for Public Integrity and Columbia Journalism Investigations. It was originally published by Public Integrity, Mother Jones, The Arizona Republic and Orlando Sentinel. It is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the ...
Analysis: It has been easy to ignore anyone daring to criticise or even question any aspect of the government’s Covid-19 response. Their voices have rarely been heard, and when they have been raised they have been quickly and decisively howled down by the favoured coterie of academics. ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s US presidential inauguration live blog: inauguration news, analysis and reaction, updated through Wednesday and Thursday. The inauguration ceremony begins at 5.15am Thursday, NZ time, and Joe Biden takes the oath of office around 6am. 7.25am: And what about Trump?In the early hours of this morning, NZ ...
In 10 x 100, we survey a group of 100 people via Stickybeak and ask them 10 questions. Last month we quizzed Wellingtonians. Today, we ask NZ drivers how they’ve found a holiday period without international tourists, and what they get up to while they’re on the road.Across Aotearoa roads ...
Emmanuel Macron's anti-separatist policies have garnered backlash from the international Muslim community. Now, a global coalition has complained to the UN. ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden as they go on an odyssey of women’s rage, and find out how we can channel our anger into good. First published September 15, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by ...
By Lorraine Ecarma in Cebu City The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) will continue to stand against any threats to human rights, chancellor Clement Camposano has declared in response to the termination of a long-standing accord preventing military incursion on campus. In a Facebook post, Camposano said the academic ...
ANALYSIS:By Jennifer S. Hunt, Australian National University Every four years on January 20, the US exercises a key tenant of democratic government: the peaceful transfer of power. This year, the scene looks a bit different. If the last US presidential inauguration in 2017 debuted the phrase “alternative facts”, the ...
By Lulu Mark in Port Moresby In spite of Papua New Guinea’s mandatory mask-wearing requirement under the National Pandemic Act 2020, many public servants attending a dedication service in Port Moresby have failed to wear one. They were issued masks before entering the Sir John Guise Indoor Complex but took ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Moro, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond University How do scabs form? — Talila, aged 8 Great question, Talila! Our skin has many different jobs. One is to act as a barrier, protecting us from harmful things in the ...
US President Donald Trump is pardoning former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who is accused of fraud in a case involving funds for the border wall. ...
Joel Little with Lorde, Dera Meelan with Church & AP, Josh Fountain with Maala and Randa and Benee – producers make good songs great. Now a new fund from NZ on Air is putting the focus on them.Six months ago it looked like the music industry was on the brink ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denise Buiten, Senior Lecturer in Social Justice and Sociology, University of Notre Dame Australia On average, one child is killed by a parent almost every fortnight in Australia. Last week, three children — Claire, 7, Anna, 5, and Matthew, 3 — were ...
This commendable and realistic decision again underlines that it is the police, not government, who are largely responsible for the reduction in cannabis prosecutions over the past 15 years, writes Russell Brown.The news that New Zealand police have discontinued the annual Helicopter Recovery Operation, which has, each summer for more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ilan Noy, Professor and Chair in the Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington We will not be able to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us until the world’s population is mostly immune through vaccination ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s US inauguration live blog: inauguration news, analysis and reaction, updated throughout Wednesday and Thursday, NZ time. Reach me at catherine@thespinoff.co.nz.4.00pm: What will Trump be doing tomorrow?It’s pretty well known by now that outgoing president Donald Trump intends to throw out the rulebook when it comes to ...
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is calling out Mayor Phil Goff for his undignified comment that the claim made by Councillor Greg Sayers asking why Auckland Council is funding yoga classes is “bullshit.” Yesterday, Councillor Greg Sayers penned ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne At 4am Thursday AEDT, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be inaugurated as president and vice president of the United States, replacing Donald Trump and Mike Pence. What follows is ...
*This article was originally published on RNZ and is republished with permission. New Zealanders flocked to beaches and lakes this summer, but it wasn't enough to fill the gap left by international tourists in other regions. The tourism industry is struggling to fill a $6 billion hole left by international tourists ...
Summer reissue: Chef Monique Fiso joins us for a chat about Hiakai – her acclaimed Wellington restaurant, and the title of her stunning new book.First published November 3, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn ...
A new trough was brought to our attention this morning, although ethnicity will limit the numbers of eligible applicants. If you are non-Maori, it looks like you shouldn’t bother getting into the queue – but who knows?We learned of the trough from the Scoop website, where the Kapiti ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Britta Denise Hardesty, Principal Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, CSIRO Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing costs economies up to US$50 billion globally each year, and makes up to one-fifth of the global catch. It’s a huge problem not only for the ...
Police stopping major cannabis eradication operations has given the green light to drug dealers and gangs to expand operations, make more profit, and continue to wreak havoc on the most vulnerable in our society, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. ...
Varieties of merino wool footwear are emerging faster than Netflix series about British aristocracy. Michael Andrew takes a look at the rise of the shoe that almost everyone – including his 95-year-old grandma – is wearing.Some might say it all started with Allbirds. After all, to the average consumer, it ...
A new report from New Zealand’s Independent Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) highlights the realities and challenges disabled people faced during the COVID-19 emergency. The report, Making Disability Rights Real in a Pandemic, Te Whakatinana i ngā Tika ...
The Maritime Union is questioning the reasons provided for ongoing delays at the Ports of Auckland. Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Craig Harrison says there is a need for an honest conversation about what has gone wrong at the ...
As New Zealand faces a dire shortage of veterinarians, a petition has been launched urging the Government to reclassify veterinarians as critical workers so we can Get Vets into NZ. “New Zealand desperately needs veterinarians from overseas to counter ...
New Zealand is fast developing a reputation as a South Pacific vandal, says Greenpeace, as the government continues to fight against increased ocean protection. At the upcoming meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), ...
The Department of Internal Affairs and Netsafe are urging parents and caregivers to be mindful of the online content their tamariki may be consuming in the lead up to the inauguration of president-elect of the United States of America Joe Biden ...
Care is at the centre of Auckland Zoo’s mandate, and it’s clear to see when you witness the staff doing their day-to-day jobs up close. Leonie Hayden went behind the scenes to talk to two people who would do anything for the animals they look after. “We were having this ...
The Game Animal Council (GAC) is applying its expertise in the use of firearms for hunting to work alongside Police, other agencies and stakeholder groups to improve the compliance provisions for hunters and other firearms users. The GAC has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Verica Rupar, Professor, Auckland University of Technology “The lie outlasts the liar,” writes historian Timothy Snyder, referring to outgoing president Donald Trump and his contribution to the “post-truth” era in the US. Indeed, the mass rejection of reason that erupted in a ...
The internet ain’t what it used to be, thanks to privacy issues, data leaks, censorship and hate speech. But a group of New Zealanders are working on a way to give power back to the people. A flood of headlines over the last week made it clear: the internet has become ...
First past the post is the winner in a horse-race, right? Politics in New Zealand is a horse-race, right??
The kings horse always wins.
If it was our minister of racing would be polling a lot higher than 1%.
Colmar Brunton poll looks like a Colmar Brunton. Always seems to be about 3% leaned towards the Nats. Hard to make much of it, but bless Jessica Mutch Mackay, she's trying to spin it like we finally have a poll we can rely on.
Labour should coalesce with ACT – Rimmer has worked hard, earned the respect – Jacinda! Choose Seymour!
I'd rather not see that to be honest. ACT has a policy of doing away with the place I work, so I'm not keen on that.
It’s the trends that count. Not ideal direction for labour.
I'm beginning to think, based on the poll results post debate, and the stuff I read Collins saying, that a substantial percentage of NZers actually like violence, and seeing people hurting other people.
On election day it's the number (of votes) that counts – that number is looking less than "ideal" for National
National’s time will come again, but it won’t be this time – they need to get past their obsession with shitty low blows first.
Indeed not looking awesome for National at the moment. But if the greens fall below 5% then labour no mates isn’t looking quite as comfortable.
Expect Green party support will keep them in parliament – Labour look dependable regardless.
You'll have about an hour of hope on election night.
7 pm: Greens 5%. 10 pm: Greens 6-7%.
Two weeks later, the result: Greens 8-9%.
It's always fun to watch National supporters fail to understand how counting votes actually works. Key won a single party majority 3 times, as long as you went to bed early.
It takes a special kinda person to believe the greens are going to land at 8-9%.
I’m not surprised you’re one of them.
Nothing special, just evidence-based analysis of Labour's cautious positioning, and the clear incentive for Labour left voters to back the coalition partner, both tactically (i.e. above threshold) and philosophically (more progressive government).
Wow you just convinced me that I need to part vote green .
Keep up the good work
The trend is that Labour + Greens have not moved. There aint no trend.
I'm still amazed that around 35% Nat & Act voters – are not voting as if their life depends on it. Because them opener borders would not be good.
I am curious though, we we are not getting any polling on the referenda? Is that not allowed?
Spliffer? It's curious, isn't it! Will those who vote "left", because the right is so crap, protest-vote against cannabis reform, for "balance"?
That's what I reckon's happening.
The previous CB poll had polling on the referendums, and I expect this one might too. TV networks always pad out several days' worth of coverage from the polls, to get their money's worth.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/1-news-colmar-brunton-poll-support-cannabis-legalisation-dropping-end-life-choice-remains-steady-v1
there you go.
looking good for a no on cannabis.
I don't think our side is going to win.
And ACT and National govt might just come through.
They won't come through – as long as voters … vote. Which doesn't mean a "like" on social media.
With an average turnout, Ardern will win a second term comfortably, with the Greens.
But a low turnout is a real risk, and Collins' only hope. Let's do all we can to encourage people to get out, as soon as advance voting starts.
Millsy, last election I said "Don't despair", I say it again
Vote early. Shut out the noise, as you have done your best.
Agree with that. Also, remember the only important poll is your vote. Forget what the media is wanting you to hear or think.
Also, I say to anybody thinking of voting for the right aren't we lucky to have had an incompetent administration of the coalition of losers who didn't know what they were doing that stopped you from getting the virus and kept you safe so you can now vote for some other party which is more concerned about greed than peoples welfare.
As someone said many times "You don't know how lucky you are" or if National supported by that gun lobbying prat Rimmer get in "were"
Yip the coalition has been so useless I am going on holiday next week visiting friends and family across the north island and having meals in cafes while having adventures.
News must be new, so shifts of one percentage point are presented as up/down movement, supposedly more "interesting" than a reporter explaining the margin of error.
The real take from tonight's poll is confirmation and consolidation from other polling: no, the Greens haven't been hurt (and don't wait for the commentators to re-assess their doom-laden predictions), but NZF are gone and ACT's gain is real.
I see National has scored 3 percentage points since last week's poll. I reckon its due to Collins performance at the first leader's debate.
As someone pointed out to me last week… what's the matter with Jacinda? She can sock it to them in the debating chamber and gets kudos for it so why can't she do it in a TV debate.
I concur. Pull your socks up Jacinda.
My comment from before stands. Seriously, it seems like Judith Collins would gain 10% for National if she assaulted Jacinda Adern live on telly during the debate.
Why does Jacinda have to sock it to anybody?
Well then why does she 'sock it to them' in the House? I could have put it this way… she needs to counter Judith's bullying behaviour and untruths by calling her out on it.
Why do people assume that socking it to bullies is somehow wrong? That is why they get away with so much because people let them.
She doesn't need to get dragged into a mudfight, but she does need to engage with Collins better. Just rebut with calm, direct questions, instead of letting Collins rewrite history:
"So what does that mean, Judith? You supported zero carbon act / gun control / the lockdown (etc) Do you regret that?".
Don't rely on the moderator to do that job for her, which was the problem in the TVNZ debate. Collins' whoppers went unchallenged. A post-debate fact-check is useless, it needs to be in real time.
"That's as true as your five dollar cheese, Judith …".
Which is pretty much what I was trying to say. 🙂
Have been watching the youth debate courtesy of TVNZ online. What a treat.
They reminded me of the public meetings and debates of yesteryear – lively, lots of fun, a bit raucous at times but the two ingredients which were missing… nastiness and bully boy/girl behaviour.
Bravo to all who took part. A great debate ably managed by Jack Tane.
Labour + Greens is the same in this poll as the last CB, they just traded a percentage point with each other. That’s good right? Isn’t it what most commenters in here wanted?
Nats + ACT look to have clawed a bit back from the minors.
So no change really.
I'd be happier with a higher GP vote obviously but a L/G coalition withhout NZF is a really good result for the left. Would be great for the Mp to get a seat or two as well, they've ruled out supporting Nat.
What Mutch Mckay and others aren't factoring in is Overseas votes. Always favour the left, bound to overwhelming favour Jacinda Ardern especially as we are not charging in the main for quarantine.
I will check out how many votes this usually off. This latest poll may serve a purpose of getting Labour voters out to vote.
Another factor as community transmission fades away, this will help Labour too
For all the hype about what a political wunderkind Swarbrick is, the miserable polling results on such a no-brainer as the cannabis referendum is quite an abject failure. (h/t James at 3.3 for link)
snort, is that the Ad school of politics? What forces do you think have been brought to bear on the vote?
Prob'ly much the same forces that legalisation advocates have had to overcome in all the other places in the world where legalisation actually passed. Often resoundingly.
except the places where they haven't been overcome.
Lots of people don't want to legalise cannabis. Might help to understand why.
Because for too many people, they go with their feels and reckons and "other ways of knowing", rather than facts and evidence, when making their decisions.
yep. For others, they don't have the time or inclination to educate themselves.
Hooten saying on Twitter that the SFO investigation into NZ First is set to be released. They reckon it clears them all.
Winston says a lot of things. Many of them so weaseled it’s an art form.
his party say exactly what winny tells them to. So it’s not surprising they are all saying the same thing.
I guess we will wait for the SFO – but it sounds like it’s close (or they know it’s going to be after the election so they can lie their pants off before hand)
For the ignorant pontificating about hydrogen being a waste of time.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/airbus-unveils-concepts-for-hydrogen-powered-plane
the time for gloating is when theres a working prototype and proven safety…you may be a little premature
Those parroting oil industry propaganda dismissing hydrogen are being premature. Still the most promising sustainable technology for long haul ships. Nothing else comes close. Except for fusion, which looks a lot less likely than solving the issues with hydrogen. I've been following the research closely, being "in the business".
When shipowners, not noted for wasting money, commute serious money to something they expect a return
EROI of 0.25
Depends on the source.
You can name a source with a better EROI?….preferably at least 10 fold more efficient
Like rail. The return has to factor in the costs of not having it. Such as climate collapse from continued fossil fuel use.
Thats fine as long as you accept that it is totally unsustainable especially in a world where energy is in short supply….as will the world be when it no longer uses fossil fuels (for whatever reason)
0.25 seems a wee bit harsh. I've seen some figures as good as 0.5, including compressing the hydrogen. Admittedly from hydrogen optimists.
The piece below from InsideEVs gives a good illustration of the losses, even if their general tone is inline with their other articles of being a bit over-pessimistic on hydrogen. Nevertheless, their figure for EROI goes as high as 0.35.
https://insideevs.com/news/406676/battery-electric-hydrogen-fuel-cell-efficiency-comparison/
0.5 still dont cut it does it.
Weeell, if the choice is doing without shipping (and aviation), and massively overbuilding renewable electricity to be able to make hydrogen for those applications even at an EROI of 0.25, I'm picking the hydrogen route will happen.
But I'm also picking that if the world ever comes to its senses and puts a high enough price on fossil fuels that reflects the damage they do, then shipping will go to small nukes, and long haul aviation will go to liquid biofuels.
And if both or either of those things happen they will be tightly restricted, chronically expensive and sparingly used.
The rooskies did a working prototype more than three decades ago with the Tu-155. Just a minor downside was the tank, that only fed one of the three engines for a short flight, took up a hefty fraction of the passenger area in the fuselage.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/TU-155-Liquid-Hydrogen-Aircraft-Design-Tupolev-2009_fig12_235113427
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-155
The "proven safety" aspect is a bit lacking, tho.
I'd also like to hear good atmospheric physicists comment on the effects of leaking significant quantities of hydrogen into the stratosphere just below the ozone layer.
And Archie Blue built a mini that ran on onboard electrolysis in the 1970s…..where are all these hydrogen powered vehicles now?
In the Museum of Wonderful Inventions that would Save the World that the Oil Industry Bought and Suppressed to Protect their Profits.
They didnt…he died poor
They obviously paid what it was worth.
they paid nothing…and didnt need to for the same reason noted above…the EROI is unworkable.
… what it was worth.
and the museum is empty
Well at least they went one better than the poms, as the poms give up designing a Hydrogen powered plane (like it did with its 1960's version of its Joint Strike Fighter as it became a dog of an Aircraft on paper) as a became a monster of an aircraft as the old adage of aircraft design of power vs weight vs drag = more power vs more weight = more drag and on it went upwards.
Tony Butlers Book, British Secret Projects Hypersonics, Ramjets & Missiles.
Chatper 11, Fuel and Materials for Hypersonic Flight
It may take slightly more than that. London has run hydrogen buses for over a decade – but, although a handful of new doubledeckers are in prospect, there has been no move to swap any significant fraction of the fleet to hydrogen, even as scheduled replacements. They are a vanity project at this time.
Not what you would deem a roaring success.
Against nearly half a million battery electric buses? Yeah, nah.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-10-08/china-dominates-electric-bus-market-us-getting-board
Then in the US they're looking at their massive fleets of school bus to go battery electric and then be vehicle to grid when needed. It's actually a reasonably good fit for smoothing the output from massive PV installations.
https://www.axios.com/electric-school-buses-vehicle-to-grid-power-19f7b6b1-662b-4501-a96e-dcf3fd57a886.html
can you explain what Labour and Ngai Tahu said today then?
Is Ardern talking about manufacturing hydrogen in Bluff, to use for the long haul road fleet in NZ? Which means freighting hydrogen from Bluff all over NZ?
And O'Regan is talking about using Manapouri to manufacture hydrogen and sell it overseas? Or is there something else about export I am missing?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/122908649/election-2020-ngi-tahu-pushes-for-green-hydrogen-transition-at-tiwai-point
Would be good to understand this in the NZ context.
I think the only concrete thing to come out of today's event was that the current government wants there to be a controlled transition from an aluminium smelter in Southland to something else over 3-5 years.
The hydrogen proposal may be a viable alternative. It may also be a dead cat. I'm inclined to go with the dead cat.
ok, shall I take it that no-one knows what Ardern or O'Regan mean at all?
https://www.interest.co.nz/business/107254/labour-aims-three-five-year-extension-life-southland-smelter-including-supporting
that doesn't explain it.
It gives all the explanation provided to date
Don't worry about the ouvea waste either as we can; dig a hole, burn it or hope there is another flood. But the solution is "MOVE" it to other sites. That is a long term solution ?? As there was no comment regarding this I wonder if our government has been outmanoeuvre AGAIN.
"New Zealand Aluminium Smelters and Rio Tinto have regularly reaffirmed their March 2018 commitment to the $4 million plan alongside local authorities and the government to move the waste from Mataura and other sites around Southland over six years."
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12363030
Nothing would surprise
It doesn't talk about Ngai Tahu at all, and it doesn't cover Ardern's statement this afternoon.
Ardern made a subsequent statement re Tiwai?…you have a link?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/122908649/election-2020-ngi-tahu-pushes-for-green-hydrogen-transition-at-tiwai-point
I've been asking what this means,
"We are creating a freight link for refuelling freight in New Zealand"
I assume she means that hydrogen would be manufactured at Tiwai and then shipped to fueling stations across NZ.
As i understand it. that is the Taranaki hydrogen plant.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/113153482/joint-venture-green-hydrogen-project-tipped-as-beginning-of-hydrogen-industry-in-taranaki
https://www.hiringa.co.nz/
Export would appear to be this
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c350d6bcc8fedc9b21ec4c5/t/5de5b6665be571035175c34b/1575335526810/New+Zealand+Hydrogen+Association+-+Media+Release+-+LOI+-+28+November+2019+FINAL.pdf
yes, but she was talking about Ngai Tahu's idea about Tiwai and I thought an engineering bod here might get past their antipathy for the idea and explain what she meant.
Sounds like Ngai Tahu are simply floating an idea, whether it has any Gov support isnt stated…what Ardern described is what is covered in the links posted re Taranaki
I don't think one of the worlds largest shipping companies, who are noted for being tight arses, would invest tens of millions, in a "dead cat".
Don't know anything about the Tiwai proposal.
What I do know about is research into hydrogen as a cargo ship fuel.
If the storage issues can be sorted, which seem much more technically feasible, and closer to solutions than the long awaited nuclear fusion, hydrogen has the energy density to replace hydrocarbons for shipping.
It can also be extracted from water using sustainable electricity.
As has been noted, currently the return is not as good as using the electricity directly, but there are several promising technologies to improve that.
Anyone who thinks shipping is going to go away, is not aware of how much of their food and necessities is transported around NZ alone.
Hands up (even tiny ones) if you spend 100X more a year on your hair than you pay in tax.
72% of Kiwis approve of Jacinda Ardern (tonight's poll).
Keep up the snide, the snark, the personal insults, Judith. You're reading the room so well.
That is the problem, Labour trades on the Cult of Personality. Should Labour win this election that will mean that since the transition of NZ in 1984. Labour will have been in power longer than National. I wonder who then takes responsibility for where NZ will be in 2-3 years time.
No matter how well or what good intentions JA has, she is only the leader of Labour and is still bound by the party.
Yep…when Ardern is 60 in 2040 she may retire gracefully….then National may have a chance of the Treasury Benches.
Non political question?
I just started James joyce's Ulysses.
Should I bother carrying on ?
does he learn to write a sentence that makes sense at some point . ?
Or am I missing something?
How far in have you got?
I made it 3 sentences before deciding I would take the zero for that part of my seventh form English assessment.
About 10 pages and have not the foggiest in what's going on.
Jaeezzuss! 10 Pages!
I am not worthy to roll in your spittle.
1 once read anna karenina start to finish .that's a feat I I'm still very proud of.
I went through a phase when I found Tolstoy quite readable. But oddly, really not memorable. I really can't recall anything about his works, and don't feel any desire to reread them to refresh my memory. Unlike some other authors I keep getting drawn back to, because there's fresh nuance and subtleties I find every time I go back.
Quality outcome – 7 more pages than me.
I couldn't figure out why I wanted to live in some guy's head when he went to the bog – I think that was what was going on anyway.
Tolstoy IMHO is a lot more readable but I was very upset by he ending of war & peace when i was younger.
Your teacher was a sadist.
Bwaghorn – it takes some doing but is a treasure once you've learned the language. Give it time. One evening, as you drop off to sleep, you'll feel your brain aligning itself to Joyce's style. New day, you're off!
Aagh I see I bit like watching the romeo and juliet movie
Ok when I'm not so busy and tired of an evening I will attempt again.
Yep. One of the greatest things ever written. First time through don't try too hard to understand it. Treat it like poetry. Then find a decent companion or exegesis and read it a second time.
In 1963, my English Teacher chose not Ulysses to inflict upon us, but 'Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man'. I read it OK, maybe not understanding it as well as if I had been older, but it was OK, and may be an easier Intro to James Joyce..
Judith is only 2% away from her personal aspirational target of 35%. I know she can do it! In any case, just like Merv, she will cling on to Leadership like shit sticks to a blanket; it is the National way and pretty legal too.
@weka 7.1
I’d be quite happy if the Māori Party picked up a seat from Labour and maybe an extra list MP too. But the polling out tonight in the Māori seats doesn’t look very promising for that.
So Labour + Greens looks the most likely government combo at this stage. Though I see that the Nact and ACT fanbois are juggling all sorts of crazy scenarios on the old Twitter.
Just watched the online Young voters debate with Jack Tame. One rep from each Party. Plus a few from Party groups around the Hall.
Pretty good. Questions specific with some follow up. 3 were sitting MPs. It was much more watchable that the Leaders Debate with John.
Taking part in the debate were:
Kiri Allan – Labour
Simeon Brown – National
Chlöe Swarbrick – Greens
Robert Griffith – NZ First
Brooke van Veldon – Act
@bwaghorn 14.
Just give it away. Everybody else does.
I didn't. Once you've finished, there's the art of Pablo Picasso, start to finish.
Merv's still hanging around?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/427117/nats-official-who-allegedly-goes-by-merv-still-in-leadership
tried researching how many overseas votes there were last election 2017. But to date unable to find it.
Anybody know what percentage voted from overseas? Swordfish?
65,000 overseas votes.
It's on the election website.
.
anker
61,524
= 2.34% of all votes (incl informal & disallowed).
= 2.37% of valid votes only.
Which is equivalent to 2.84 MPs in Parliament and heaps more than ACT’s share of the total vote.
The more I see of Collins, the less impressed I am. I had thought that she was sharp, good at cutting through others' arguments and someone for getting real points across clearly. However, as leader, she seems to be spouting nonsensical buzz-words, and often tailing off at the end of sentences, having lost track of exactly where she was going. After the debate, she was constantly trying to remember figures and tripping over her own tongue, and when she was asked about whether she hadn't neglected her own policy somewhat, she reeled off a few policies, before saying, 'It's only an hour and a half, if only it was two-and-a-half, I could have got… done any more [nervous smile and '…yeah…', like she's trying to make small-talk when visiting her mother-in-law for the first time, and pretending she doesn't hate the slightly stale date scones that were clearly cut on a board normally used for garlic].'
Then, today at the Grey Power meeting, there was, 'I don't think for a moment that these [Labour politicians] know how many cents there are in a dollar, except they do know that your dollar should be their dollar.' That's a non-sequitur of John-Key-ish proportions; just stringing together lazy, right-wing clichés with no thought for whether they even fit together to form a statement. It reminds me a lot of Melissa Lee, too, who, when put on the spot campaigning for a seat, ended up spouting a whole lot of stuff that either didn't make any sense, or seemed to mean something that she really should not have said.
Witness, too, the line at the same meeting, 'I know you might love Miss Ardern, but actually, I'm all over her.' So she loves her even more than they do? Riiiight…. Okay, we all know what she meant, but even then: is she trying to say that there was a time when she thought was wildly enthused by Ardern, or something? All in all, if you imagine a lot of what Collins says being said by the rhetorically hapless George W Bush, it really doesn't seem too far out of place.
Susie Ferguson didn't do a bad job on Morning Report the other day of pulling her up on her bumbling replies about their fiscal errors, but honestly, presenters should be halting her constantly, and asking her, 'Wtf… you just said what?… and what was it even supposed to mean?' and people should be putting together montages of her gaffes accompanied by a laughing track.
Fully agree, Hanswurst – her language ability is limited, and she will need compliant, helpful Media to help her again if she is to repeat her questionable "success" of that first TV debate.
Mind you, I thought both John Key and Bill English mangled the English language, and found it hard to believe that Bill English was really a graduate in English! Todd Muller had big problems with language too.
Better if I don’t say what I thought of Simon Bridges as an alleged graduate of Harvard in Law, etc… “The medicine is worse than the cure.” Lord save us!
I fully agree, especially on Key, but the thing is that Key was mangling the language in his fabled capacity as a freewheeling, self-taught financial wizard, while English built his political persona around the image of 'barbecue Bill', the amateur pugilist and Dipton farmer. Part of the problem for Bridges and Collins is that they have built their political images as clever lawyers, Collins as a hard-nosed battler for conservative principles, Bridges (rightly or wrongly) as a precocious hot-shot prosecutor. It's much harder for them to defuse a situation by grinning and saying, 'Aw shucks!'
Like her commentary during the Mt Albert byelection campaign of some years back when she made her claim about criminals from South Auckland stopping off in Mt Albert on their way to West Auckland. No-one knew what that had to do with the price of fish but the local wits and cartoonists did try to unravel her thoughts on the matter… much to everyone's enjoyment.
Not sure Collins could ever beat that pearler but you never know.
A useful rapid testing option, if we take the trouble to develop it. Sniffer dogs can detect Covid apparently.