I have several thousand hectares of soon to be productive land an easy commute from McMurdo to sell you if youre interested…..and all for less than a majority shareholding in a Silicon Valley Tech Co.
Had an Malaysia A400 fly over the house this morning which might do the tick as it can do the the return trip on a tank of gas, as for the para jump in I’m not too keen on (if I got too the UK in the late 90’s I was going to look into joining the Paras if my 3 other choices got knock back)
Unbelievable. In 117 years of records here in central NL, the hottest day had a 24h average of 27.1°C.On Thursday, the record leaped to 27.7°C.And yesterday, it rocketed to 29.8°C, over 2 full degrees warmer than any day before!Terrifying, even. pic.twitter.com/zaCjZxTs1F— Kees van der Leun (@Sustainable2050) July 28, 2018
Well it’s not surprising considering there are wild fires within the Arctic Circle aka Northern Sweden and Finland atm which are unheard in modern times. Hell even I’m starting to think our build up has started a couple of mths early here in Darwin as there been an awful lot of big black fluffy clouds rolling and the humidity hitting the high 60’s/ Low 70’s already which we expect to to see around October/ November.
That’s interesting map and thank you whoever put it up. Btw is there a link to the whatever that site is? As it poses some interesting questions IRT to Antarctic Region IRT the Antarctic Land claims suspend under the Antarctic Treaty and the Arctic Sea claims around the Nth Pole.
Its actually an old map but being reproduced as the European Heatwave is topical right now
but here is a link to Big Think where you can read all about it:
Cheer guys, it will give me something to ponder when I’m reading one of DR Geoffrey Tills books on Maritime Security etc while I listen to roar of the jets taking from Darwin during Ex Pitch Black 18 as I listen for Indian AF https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-30MKI as I need my dose “As I feel the need for speed” in the morning.
Government seeks public input on well-being indicators
“Our nation’s well-being is not a number on a GDP chart, and our government, this government, recognises that,” Mr Shaw said. “The economy is obviously important but GDP is not the be all, end all.”
Mr Shaw said this was about understanding the real picture of success and well-being that went beyond just productivity and turnover and throughput.
“Most people will tell you that the security of their job, the health of their kids and their ability to pay the power bill is more important to them.”
There was an exchange during Question Time today which was interesting considering Peter Goodfellow’s recent comments.
Hon Simon Bridges: (comment at the end of supplementary question) All he can do is come down to the House and make jokes about it?
Rt Hon Winston Peters: (starts answer with) Look, I can’t win the jokes stakes; I’m looking at one, in terms of his ambition.
Hon Gerry Brownlee: A point of order, Mr Speaker. If it’s parliamentary to refer to a member as being a joke, would it not equally be parliamentary to refer to a member as being drunk?
Mr Speaker: My view is that one is a matter of fact and the other is a matter of opinion. If the member is seriously suggesting the latter in the House and he is inaccurate, he is making a gross breach of privilege.
Hon Gerry Brownlee: Speaking to the point of order—
Mr Speaker: No, there is no point of order. The member will resume his seat
Hon Gerry Brownlee: Well, I’m entitled to an explanation, surely.
“Roller doors have fallen across shops in Three Kings, Mt Albert and Birkenhead forcing frightened residents to shop in locked-down malls, while those with jobs live behind the walls of heavily-guarded, gated communities.”
But these are not scenes from The Hunger Games, they are featured in an Auckland Council document which sets out the city’s blueprint for the next 30 years …
But Best of All! – “The equality of the 1970s is a distant memory that shows no sign of returning. There is an obvious divide between those with homes and work, and those without,” the report reads…..
Hmm… hows its taken this long to work that out! And/or, Coming to a place near You .. Next!
The NASA-funded HANDY model offers a highly credible wake-up call to governments, corporations and business – and consumers – to recognise that ‘business as usual’ cannot be sustained, and that policy and structural changes are required immediately.
Although the study based on HANDY is largely theoretical – a ‘thought-experiment’ – a number of other more empirically-focused studies – by KPMG and the UK Government Office of Science for instance – have warned that the convergence of food, water and energy crises could create a ‘perfect storm’ within about fifteen years. But these ‘business as usual’ forecasts could be very conservative.
Yes, I bought his book when it came out. The collapse scenario is realistic (based on complexity theory) but the problem with indeterminacy is that folks always adhere to the status quo. The inertial effect of paradigms (belief systems) entrains believers and keeps them on track. So preparation for disaster is restricted to those in the power structure who are authorised to do contingency-planning and recommend strategies to the governing elites.
Quantitative easing proved to be an effective such strategy. It saved capitalism from the crisis (gfc), demonstrating the resilience of the system. Escalating natural crises produced by global warming challenge the managerial competence of both governments and elites. Synchronicity of several such is indeed likely within a few years. Insurance is already becoming a non-viable industry: that trend become terminal. Can’t really insure against Gaia.
Christian fundamentalists will claim it’s God’s will, instead, and the rapture is coming soon. I haven’t heard of Mohammed prophesying global warming bringing an end to civilisation, so could be Islamists will realise he was short-sighted?
Interesting. Was in a meeting with the eventual Unitary Plan General Manager, right at the beginning of the consultation process and he actually laughed at my suggestion that included in the Unitary Plan should be mechanisms to help transition due to climate change.
Not surprising that, foregoing any choice regarding actual transition planning – they decide instead to reluctantly ‘accept’ a scenario of a divided Auckland. You would think that even the suggestion would get them working on planning so that does not happen.
A mansplaining chart that could really help some people.
“Mansplaining may seem like a trivial issue in isolation, but how we communicate tells other people how much or little they are valued. And in my experience, humans feel better, work more effectively, and behave better when we feel valued ourselves.”
That’s a very well-designed chart! But I think you could sum up the behavioural tendency she targets by including empathy-deficity with paternalism.
Speaking of which reminds me long ago I learned to handle guys like that. You kind of reflect it back to them in a way that makes them feel out of their depth. Being paternalistic to a paternalist establishes reciprocity, but including an insight into the situation that is obviously highly-relevant yet demolishes their stance has a remarkable effect on their body language (think of a dog slinking away, tail between its legs). Such insights seem to pop into my head in a fraction of a second in those situations. Hubris must be promptly eliminated, of course.
Anybody who believes that LinkedIn ‘networks’ and ‘endorsements’ mean anything, or that LinkedIn itself is any more that an idiotic, conformist pile of crap, is delusional.
An appropriate act of revolt would be for everybody to wake up tomorrow and delete their LinkedIn profiles – after all, we only have them because everybody else does. But I guess nobody wants to jump first.
I agree with you on Linkedin. Unfortunately her being caught out regarding the dates of the endorsments just gives someone like Mike Hoskings shit to stir up and try to make them look bad.
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 9, 2025 thru Sat, March 15, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. We are still interested ...
Max Harris and Max Rashbrooke discuss how we turn around the right wing slogans like nanny state, woke identity politics, and the inefficiency of the public sector – and how we build a progressive agenda. From Donald Trump to David Seymour, from Peter Dutton to Christopher Luxon, we are subject to a ...
The Government dominated the political agenda this week with its two-day conference pitching all manner of public infrastructure projects for Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories shortest in our political economy this week: The Government ploughed ahead with offers of PPPs to pension fund managers ...
You know that it's a snake eat snake worldWe slither and serpentine throughWe all took a bite, and six thousand years laterThese apples getting harder to chewSongwriters: Shawn Mavrides.“Please be Jack Tame”, I thought when I saw it was Seymour appearing on Q&A. I’d had a guts full of the ...
So here we are at the wedding of Alexandra Vincent Martelli and David Seymour.Look at all the happy prosperous guests! How proud Nick Mowbray looks of the gift he has made of a mountain of crap plastic toys stuffed into a Cybertruck.How they drink, how they laugh, how they mug ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is waste heat from industrial activity the reason the planet is warming? Waste heat’s contribution to global warming is a small fraction of ...
Some continue to defend David Seymour on school lunches, sidestepping his errors to say:“Well the parents should pack their lunch” and/or “Kids should be grateful for free food.”One of these people is the sitting Prime Minister.So I put together a quick list of why complaint is not only appropriate - ...
“Bugger the pollsters!”WHEN EVERYBODY LIVED in villages, and every village had a graveyard, the expression “whistling past the graveyard” made more sense. Even so, it’s hard to describe the Coalition Government’s response to the latest Taxpayers’ Union/Curia Research poll any better. Regardless of whether they wanted to go there, or ...
Prof Jane Kelsey examines what the ACT party and the NZ Initiative are up to as they seek to impose on the country their hardline, right wing, neoliberal ideology. A progressive government elected in 2026 would have a huge job putting Humpty Dumpty together again and rebuilding a state that ...
See I try to make a differenceBut the heads of the high keep turning awayThere ain't no useWhen the world that you love has goneOoh, gotta make a changeSongwriters: Arapekanga Adams-Tamatea / Brad Kora / Hiriini Kora / Joel Shadbolt.Aotearoa for Sale.This week saw the much-heralded and somewhat alarming sight ...
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom3, NZ Herald, Stuff, BusinessDesk-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT-$, WSJ-$, Bloomberg-$, New York Times-$, The Atlantic-$, The Economist-$ ...
By international standards the New Zealand healthcare system appears satisfactory – certainly no worse generally than average. Yet it is undergoing another redisorganisation.While doing some unrelated work, I came across some international data on the healthcare sector which seemed to contradict my – and the conventional wisdom’s – view of ...
When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he knew that he was upending Europe’s security order. But this was more of a tactical gambit than a calculated strategy ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Over the last year, I’ve been warning about Luxon’s pitch to privatise our public assets.He had told reporters in October that nothing was off the cards:Schools, hospitals, prisons, and ...
When ASPI’s Cyclone Tracy: 50 Years On was published last year, it wasn’t just a historical reflection; it was a warning. Just months later, we are already watching history repeat itself. We need to bake ...
1. Why was school lunch provider The Libelle Group in the news this week?a. Grand Winner in Pie of The Yearb. Scored a record 108% on YELP c. Bought by Oravida d. Went into liquidation2. What did our Prime Minister offer prospective investors at his infrastructure investment jamboree?a. The Libelle ...
South Korea has suspended new downloads of DeepSeek, and it was were right to do so. Chinese tech firms operate under the shadow of state influence, misusing data for surveillance and geopolitical advantage. Any country ...
Previous big infrastructure PPPs such as Transmission Gully were fiendishly complicated to negotiate, generated massive litigation and were eventually rewritten anyway. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesLong stories shortest: The Government’s international investment conference ignores the facts that PPPs cost twice as much as vanilla debt-funded public infrastructure, often take ...
Woolworths has proposed a major restructure of its New Zealand store operating model, leaving workers worried their hours and pay could be cut. Public servants are being asked how productive their office is, how much they use AI, and whether they’re overloaded with meetings as part of a “census”. An ...
Robert Kaplan’s book Waste Land: A World in Permanent Crisis paints a portrait of civilisation in flux. Drawing insights from history, literature and art, he examines the effect of modern technology, globalisation and urbanisation on ...
Sexuality - Strong and warm and wild and freeSexuality - Your laws do not apply to meSexuality - Don't threaten me with miserySexuality - I demand equalitySong: Billy Bragg.First, thank you to everyone who took part in yesterday’s survey. Some questions worked better than others, but I found them interesting, ...
Hi,I just got back from a week in Japan thanks to the power of cheap flights and years of accumulated credit card points.The last time I was in Japan the government held a press conference saying they might take legal action against me and Netflix, so there was a little ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including Donald Trump’s wrecking of the post-WW II political landscape; andHealth Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Lisa ...
Hi,I just got back from a short trip to Japan, mostly spending time in Tokyo.I haven’t been there since we shot Dark Tourist back in 2017 — and that landed us in a bit of hot water with the Japanese government.I am glad to report I was not thrown into ...
I’ve been on Substack for almost 8 months now.It’s been good in terms of the many great individuals that populate its space. So much variety and intelligence and humour and depth.I joined because someone suggested I should ‘start a Substack,’ whatever that meant.So I did.Turning on payments seemed like the ...
Open access notables Would Adding the Anthropocene to the Geologic Time Scale Matter?, McCarthy et al., AGU Advances:The extraordinary fossil fuel-driven outburst of consumption and production since the mid-twentieth century has fundamentally altered the way the Earth System works. Although humans have impacted their environment for millennia, justification for ...
Australia should buy equipment to cheaply and temporarily convert military transport aircraft into waterbombers. On current planning, the Australian Defence Force will have a total of 34 Chinook helicopters and Hercules airlifters. They should be ...
Indonesia’s government has slashed its counterterrorism (CT) budgets, despite the persistent and evolving threat of violent extremism. Australia can support regional CT efforts by filling this funding void. Reducing funding to the National Counterterrorism Agency ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Resource Management (Prohibition on Extraction of Freshwater for On-selling) Amendment Bill (Debbie Ngarewa-Packer) The bill does exactly what it says on the label, and would effectively end the rapacious water-bottling industry ...
Twilight Time Lighthouse Cuba, Wigan Street, Wellington, Sunday 6 April, 5:30pm for 6pm start. Twilight Time looks at the life and work of Desmond Ball, (1947-2016), a barefooted academic from ‘down under’ who was hailed by Jimmy Carter as “the man who saved the world”, as he proved the fallacy ...
Foreign aid is being slashed across the Global North, nowhere more so than in the United States. Within his first month back in the White House, President Donald Trump dismantled the US Agency for International ...
Nicola Willis has proposed new procurement rules that unions say will lead to pay cuts for already low-paid workers in cleaning, catering and security services that are contracted by government. The Crimes (Theft by Employer) Amendment Bill passed its third reading with support from all the opposition parties and NZ ...
Most KP readers will not know that I was a jazz DJ in Chicago and Washington DC while in grad school in the early and mid 1980s. In DC I joined WPFW as a grave shift host, then a morning drive show host (a show called Sui Generis, both for ...
Long stories shortest: The IMF says a capital gains tax or land tax would improve real economic growth and fix the budget. GDP is set to be smaller by 2026 than it was in 2023. Compass is flying in school lunches from Australia. 53% of National voters say the new ...
Last year in October I wrote “Where’s The Opposition?”. I was exasperated at the relative quiet of the Green Party, Labour and Te Pati Māori (TPM), as the National led Coalition ticked off a full bingo card of the Atlas Network playbook.1To be fair, TPM helped to energise one of ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkGood data visualizations can help make climate change more visceral and understandable. Back in 2016 Ed Hawkins published a “climate spiral” graph that ended up being pretty iconic – it was shown at the opening ceremony of the Olympics that year – and ...
An agreement to end the war in Ukraine could transform Russia’s relations with North Korea. Moscow is unlikely to reduce its cooperation with Pyongyang to pre-2022 levels, but it may become more selective about areas ...
This week, the Government is hosting a grand event aimed at trying to interest big foreign capital players in financing capital works in New Zealand, particularly its big rural motorway programme. Financing vs funding: a quick explainer The key word in the sentence above is financing. It is important ...
In a month’s time, the Right Honourable Winston Peters will be celebrating his 80th birthday. Good for him. On the evidence though, his current war on “wokeness” looks like an old man’s cranky complaint that the ancient virtues of grit and know-how are sadly lacking in the youth of today. ...
As noted, early March has been about moving house, and I have had little chance to partake in all things internet. But now that everything is more or less sorted, I can finally give a belated report on my visit to the annual Regent Booksale (28th February and 1st March). ...
Information operations Australia has banned cybersecurity software Kaspersky from government use because of risks of espionage, foreign interference and sabotage. The Department of Home Affairs said use of Kaspersky products posed an unacceptable security ...
The StrategistBy Linus Cohen, Astrid Young and Alice Wai
One of the best understood tropes of screen drama is the scene where the beloved family dog is barking incessantly and cannot be calmed. Finally, somebody asks: What is it, girl? Has someone fallen down a well? Is there trouble at the old John Key place?One is reminded of this ...
The ’ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia, plays a significant role in the global cocaine trade and is deeply entrenched in Australia, influencing the cocaine trade and engaging in a variety of illicit activities. A range of ...
In the US, the Trump regime is busy imposing tariffs on its neighbours and allies, then revoking them, then reimposing them, permanently poisoning relations with Canada and Mexico. Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs on agricultural goods, which will affect Aotearoa's exports. National's response? To grovel for an exemption, ...
Troy Bowker’s Caniwi Capital’s Desmond Gittings, former TradeMe and Warehouse executive Simon West, former anonymous right wing blogger / Labour attacker & now NZ On Air Board member / Waitangi Tribunal member Philip Crump, Canadian billionaire Jim Grenon who used to run vaccine critical, Treaty of Waitangi critical, and trans-rights ...
The free school lunch program was one of Labour's few actual achievements in government. Decent food, made locally, providing local employment. So naturally, National had to get rid of it. Their replacement - run by Compass, a multinational which had already been thrown out of our hospitals for producing inedible ...
New draft government procurement guidelines will remove living wage protections for thousands of low-paid workers in Aotearoa New Zealand, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff. “The Minister of Finance Nicola Willis has proposed a new rule saying that the Living Wage no longer needs to be paid in ...
The Trump administration’s effort to divide Russia from China is doomed to fail. This means that the United States is destroying security relationships based on a delusion. To succeed, Russia would need to overcome more ...
Māori workers now hold more high-skilled jobs than low-skilled jobs with 46 percent in high-skilled jobs, 14 percent in skilled jobs, and 40 percent in low-skilled jobs. Resource teachers of literacy and Te Reo Māori are “devastated” by a proposal from the Education Minister to stop funding 174 roles from ...
Knowing what is going on in orbit is getting harder—yet hardly less necessary. But new technologies are emerging to cope with the challenge, including some that have come from Australian civilian research. One example is ...
This is a guest post by Malcolm McCracken. It previously appeared on his blog Better Things Are Possible and is shared by kind permission. New Zealand’s largest infrastructure project, the City Rail Link (CRL), is expected to open in 2026. This will be an exciting step forward for Auckland, delivering better ...
“The reality is I'm just saying to you I'm proud of the work we're doing. We're doing a great job”, said Luxon, pushing back at Auckland Council’s reports of rising homelessness and pleas for help. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories shortest:Christopher Luxon denies his Government caused a ...
Should I stay, or should I go now?Should I stay, or should I go now?If I go, there will be troubleAnd if I stay, it will be doubleSo come on and let me knowSongwriters: Topper Headon, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Joe Strummer.Christopher,Tomorrow marks seventeen months since the last election. We’re ...
Homelessness in Auckland has risen by 53% in 4 months - that’s 653 peopleliving in cars, on streets and in parks.The city’s emergency housing numbers have fallen by about 650 under National too - now at record lows.Housing First Auckland is on the frontlines: There is “more and more ...
A growing consensus holds that the future of airpower, and of defense technology in general, involves the interplay of crewed and uncrewed vehicles. Such teaming means that more-numerous, less-costly, even expendable uncrewed vehicles can bring ...
Only two more sleeps to the Government’s Jamboree Investor Extravaganza! As a proud New Zealander I’m very much hoping for the best: Off-shore wind farms! Solar power! Sustainable industry powered by the abundant energy we could be producing!I wonder, will they have a deal already lined up, something to announce ...
After decades of gradual decline, Australia’s manufacturing capability is no longer mission-fit to meet national security needs. Any whole-of-nation effort to arrest this trend needs to start by making the industrial operating environment more conducive ...
Back in October 2022, Restore Passenger Rail hung banners across roads in Wellington to protest against the then-Labour government's weak climate change policy. The police responded by charging them not with the usual public order offences, but with "endangering transport", a crime with a maximum sentence of 14 years in ...
Luxon’s popularity continues to fall, and a new survey shows voters rank fixing the health system as the top priority. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesLong stories shortest in Aotearoa’s political economy this morning: National’s pollster finds Christopher Luxon has fallen behind Chris Hipkins as preferred PM for the first ...
The CTU is calling for an apology from Nicola Willis after her office made a false characterisation of CTU statements, which ultimately saw him blocked from future Treasury briefings. New data shows that Māori make up 83% of those charged under new gang laws. Financial incentives are being offered to ...
Australia’s cyber capabilities have evolved rapidly, but they are still largely reactive, not preventative. Rather than responding to cyber incidents, Australian law enforcement agencies should focus on dismantling underlying criminal networks. On 11 December, Europol ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters Finally, there’s some good news to report from NOAA, the parent organization of the National Hurricane Center, or NHC: During the highly active 2o24 Atlantic hurricane season, the NHC made record-accurate track forecasts at every time interval (12-, ...
The Australian government has prioritised enhancing Australia’s national resilience for many years now, whether against natural disasters, economic coercion or hostile armed forces. However, the public and media response to the presence of Chinese naval ...
It appears that Auckland Transport is finally set to improve Auckland’s busiest non-frequent bus route, the 120. As highlighted in my post a month ago on Auckland’s busiest bus routes, the 120 is the busiest route that doesn’t already run frequently all day/week and carries more passengers than many other ...
Economists have earned their reputation for jargon and tunnel vision, but sometimes, it takes an someone as perceptive as Simplicity economist Shamubeel Eaqub to identify something simple and devastating. As he pointed out recently, the coalition government is trying to attract foreign investment here to generate economic growth, while – ...
Opinion & AnalysisSimeon Brown, left, and Deloitte partner David LovattIn September 2024, Deloitte Partner David Lovatt, was contracted by the National Government to help National ostensibly understand “the drivers behind HNZ’s worsening financial performance”.1 i.e. deficit.The report shows the last version was dated December 2024.It was formally released this week ...
This cobbled-together government was altogether more the beneficiary of Labour getting turfed out than anything it managed to do itself. Even the worthless cheques they were writing didn't buy all that much favour.How’s it all looking now?Shall we take a look at a Horizon poll?The Government’s performance is making only ...
There's horrible news from the US today, with the Trump regime disappearing Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student, for protesting against genocide in Gaza. Its another significant decline in US human rights, and puts them in the same class as the authoritarian dictatorships they used to sponsor in South ...
Shane Jones’ display on Q&A showed how out of touch he and this Government are with our communities and how in sync they are with companies with little concern for people and planet. ...
Labour does not support the private ownership of core infrastructure like schools, hospitals and prisons, which will only see worse outcomes for Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is disappointed the Government voted down Hūhana Lyndon’s member’s Bill, which would have prevented further alienation of Māori land through the Public Works Act. ...
The Labour Party will support Chloe Swarbrick’s member’s bill which would allow sanctions against Israel for its illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territories. ...
The Government’s new procurement rules are a blatant attack on workers and the environment, showing once again that National’s priorities are completely out of touch with everyday Kiwis. ...
With Labour and Te Pāti Māori’s official support, Opposition parties are officially aligned to progress Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick’s Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in Palestine. ...
Te Pāti Māori extends our deepest aroha to the 500 plus Whānau Ora workers who have been advised today that the govt will be dismantling their contracts. For twenty years , Whānau Ora has been helping families, delivering life-changing support through a kaupapa Māori approach. It has built trust where ...
Labour welcomes Simeon Brown’s move to reinstate a board at Health New Zealand, bringing the destructive and secretive tenure of commissioner Lester Levy to an end. ...
This morning’s announcement by the Health Minister regarding a major overhaul of the public health sector levels yet another blow to the country’s essential services. ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill that will ensure employment decisions in the public service are based on merit and not on forced woke ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ targets. “This Bill would put an end to the woke left-wing social engineering and diversity targets in the public sector. ...
Police have referred 20 offenders to Destiny Church-affiliated programmes Man Up and Legacy as ‘wellness providers’ in the last year, raising concerns that those seeking help are being recruited into a harmful organisation. ...
Te Pāti Māori welcomes the resignation of Richard Prebble from the Waitangi Tribunal. His appointment in October 2024 was a disgrace- another example of this government undermining Te Tiriti o Waitangi by appointing a former ACT leader who has spent his career attacking Māori rights. “Regardless of the reason for ...
Police Minister Mark Mitchell is avoiding accountability by refusing to answer key questions in the House as his Government faces criticism over their dangerous citizen’s arrest policy, firearm reform, and broken promises to recruit more police. ...
The number of building consents issued under this Government continues to spiral, taking a toll on the infrastructure sector, tradies, and future generations of Kiwi homeowners. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Prime Minister to rule out joining the AUKUS military pact in any capacity following the scenes in the White House over the weekend. ...
The Green Party is appalled by the Government’s plan to disestablish Resource Teachers of Māori (RTM) roles, a move that takes another swing at kaupapa Māori education. ...
The Government’s levies announcement is a step in the right direction, but they must be upfront about who will pay its new infrastructure levies and ensure that first-home buyers are protected from hidden costs. ...
The Government’s levies announcement is a step in the right direction, but they must be upfront about who will pay its new infrastructure levies and ensure that first-home buyers are protected from hidden costs. ...
After months of mana whenua protecting their wāhi tapu, the Green Party welcomes the pause of works at Lake Rotokākahi and calls for the Rotorua Lakes Council to work constructively with Tūhourangi and Ngāti Tumatawera on the pathway forward. ...
New Zealand First continues to bring balance, experience, and commonsense to Government. This week we've made progress on many of our promises to New Zealand.Winston representing New ZealandWinston Peters is overseas this week, with stops across the Middle East and North Asia. Winston's stops include Saudi Arabia, the ...
Green Party Co-Leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick have announced the party’s plans to deliver a Green Budget this year to offer an alternative vision to the Government’s trickle-down economics and austerity politics. ...
At this year's State of the Planet address, Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick announced the party’s plans to deliver a Green Budget this year to offer an alternative vision to the Government’s trickle-down economics and austerity politics. ...
The Government has spent $3.6 million dollars on a retail crime advisory group, including paying its chair $920 a day, to come up with ideas already dismissed as dangerous by police. ...
The Green Party supports the peaceful occupation at Lake Rotokākahi and are calling for the controversial sewerage project on the lake to be stopped until the Environment Court has made a decision. ...
ActionStation’s Oral Healthcare report, released today, paints a dire picture of unmet need and inequality across the country, highlighting the urgency of free dental care for all New Zealanders. ...
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A senior public servant has been criticised for de-emphasising statements about the essential need to clean-up freshwater in court evidence.Martin Workman, chief of staff at the Ministry for the Environment, was the first Crown witness in the Ngāi Tahu case being heard in the Christchurch High Court. Te Rūnanga o ...
When an athlete goes through a spell of feeling like they’re wearing an invincibility cloak, they believe they can fly.Pole vaulter Imogen Ayris has literally been flying – relishing a superwoman sensation throughout the European indoor season, setting two new personal bests in three days in France.“I felt invincible leading ...
Next Monday in Wellington, some 150 people will attend the Roxy Cinema for a niche documentary film festival. But they won’t be the usual film festival crowd of movie buffs – they’ll be lawyers, police officers, bankers, and anyone else whose work deals with scams or fraud.The Fraud Film Festival, ...
The story so far: Tony Fomison was made artist in residence at the Rita Angus Cottage in Wellington in 1985. In his new biography of the great painter, Mark Forman traces his journey from Christchurch as fame, genius and alcoholism follow him north…In preparation for the shift from his Christchurch ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Cyclone Alfred will cost the March 25 budget at least A$1.2 billion, hit growth and put pressure on inflation, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says. In a Tuesday speech previewing the budget, Chalmers will also say that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his travelling delegation has touched down in New Delhi, greeted by the heat and a colourful cultural display. ...
Asia Pacific Report A former US diplomat, Nabeel Khoury, says President Donald Trump’s decision to launch attacks against the Houthis is misguided, and this will not subdue them. “For our president who came in wanting to avoid war and wanting to be a man of peace, he’s going about it ...
Pacific Media Watch Paris-based global media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has recalled that 20 journalists were killed during the six-year Philippines presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, a regime marked by fierce repression of the press. Former president Duterte was arrested earlier this week as part of an International Criminal ...
Unilateral moves by the UN will not solve this conflict; only sincere negotiations between the affected parties will. We must call for dialogue and negotiation, not sanction. ...
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan in Hagatna, Guam Debate on Guam’s future as a US territory has intensified with its legislature due to vote on a non-binding resolution to become a US state amid mounting Pacific geostrategic tensions and expansionist declarations by the Trump administration. Located closer to Beijing than Hawai’i, Guam ...
Analysis: Not many saw it.But when applause built at a Unity Week hui on the anniversary of the Christchurch terror attack, and Prime Minister Chistopher Luxon joined in, it seemed photo-worthy.Abdur Razzaq, of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ), introduced Luxon to the hui by noting the ...
Do BetterKing Luxon saddled his mighty war steed TitanicAnd rode out to inspect his realm.The King passed by the Mayoress of King’s LandingSitting on a burst water pipe.“Lame-O”, scoffed the King.The King passed by a pile of burning offalSurrounded by weeping school urchins.“Get a Marmite sandwich,” snorted the King.The King ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – In Bislama, they say, “Wan nambanga i foldaon“. A great tree has fallen. The nambanga, or banyan tree, is the centrepiece of many a Vanuatu village. Its massive network of boughs provides shade, shelter and strength. I’ve only ever seen ...
COMMENTARY:By Greg Barns When it comes to antisemitism, politicians in Australia are often quick to jump on the claim without waiting for evidence. With notable and laudable exceptions like the Greens and independents such as Tasmanian federal MP Andrew Wilkie, it seems any allegation will do when it comes ...
By Emma Andrews, RNZ Henare te Ua Māori journalism intern Māori contributions to the Aotearoa New Zealand economy have far surpassed the projected goal of “$100 billion by 2030”, a new report has revealed. The report conducted by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) and Te Puni Kōkiri, ...
A global renewable energy developer backing one of New Zealand’s last standing offshore wind farm proposals says it would be “difficult” to cohabit with seabed mining.Danish developer Michael Hannibal, a partner in Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is visiting New Zealand for the Government’s infrastructure investment summit. His firm and the NZ ...
A wide-ranging conversation with the opposition spokesperson on foreign affairs. Even before the second Trump term began, the world was a volatile place. But since January 20, across eight whiplash weeks, the pace of change has been astonishing. Donald Trump’s America First geopolitics, melding expansionist and isolationist instincts, has created ...
Surviving terror can be isolating, trauma expert Jo Dover says.Dover – a Brit who is in New Zealand to hold resilience workshops with the Muslim community, speak publicly, and meet government officials – has supported people affected by terrorism, conflict and war for almost three decades. She arrived in Christchurch ...
Two trade experts based in Delhi expressed some mild optimism about Luxon's chances, but with a major caveat: NZ would have to abandon hope of including dairy in any deal.. ...
MONDAYAt precisely 0300 hours I gave last-minute instructions to a team of crack troops who had sworn their allegiance in the war against woke left-wing social engineering and diversity targets in the public sector. They assembled in the basement bunker at the Beehive. It was built to withstand nuclear radiation. ...
It’s been six years since a lone gunman opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch, killing 51 people, shattering the country’s innocence and changing lives forever.Now a young Afghan-Kiwi couple, who were praying in another mosque in the Garden City that fateful day, is releasing a film in remembrance of ...
Gabi Lardies for now, Mad Chapman next week. Despite allegations they’re filled with shit books, I cannot pass by a little library without having a peek inside. Two weeks ago, stretching my legs from a hard morning sitting on my non-ergonomic wheely chair, I spied two curious spines in the ...
Poet Kate Camp learned to swim late in life. Now it’s a defining component of her identity. But why won’t she write about it? I learned to swim in a 15 metre pool in the backyard of Mandi’s place in Paraparaumu. That’s not true. I learned to swim in a ...
The highs, lows and silver linings of single-parenting a toddler. He lay there prone, unmoving, his dark eyes glassy and fixed on the ceiling above. My daughter looked at him, then at me. “Is that… Daddy?” I sighed. “No, darling, that’s not Daddy.” I grabbed the man to whom her ...
The star of Secrets at Red Rocks takes us through his life in television, including being duped by the Goodnight Kiwi and botching a song on Shortland Street. Whether he’s musing over a murder mystery as a cop in One Lane Bridge or in the midst of a surprise tandem ...
With the passenger seat withdrawn like this, for extra leg room, it occurs to Llew that someone has been having sex in this car. He and Nancy haven’t had sex since Waiheke. Barely even a kiss. Nancy shields her nipples with a forearm now out of the shower and Llew’s ...
With five regular season games remaining, the Wellington Phoenix women are still in with a great chance of finishing in the top six of the A-League and making the business end of this season’s competition.This Saturday night, they travel across the Tasman to face bottom of the table Sydney FC, ...
SPECIAL REPORT:By Giff Johnson, editor of the Marshall Islands Journal and RNZ Pacific correspondent in Majuro The late Member of Parliament Jeton Anjain and the people of the nuclear test-affected Rongelap Atoll changed the course of the history of the Marshall Islands by using Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior ship to ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown rejected advice from officials to lower the bowel screening age to 58 for the general population and 56 for Māori and Pacific people, just-released documents show. ...
Much was made in the build-up about the bipartisan spirit of the summit, with both government and opposition aware of the need to see through projects beyond election cycles. ...
COMMENTARY:By Gavin Ellis New Zealand-based Canadian billionaire James Grenon owes the people of this country an immediate explanation of his intentions regarding media conglomerate NZME. This cannot wait until a shareholders’ meeting at the end of April. Is his investment in the owner of The New Zealand Herald and ...
The leader of the opposition, Simon Bridges calls his deputy ‘Paula Benefit’ in a live interview!!!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/105892634/simon-bridges-accidentally-calls-paula-bennett-paula-benefit
😂
Doh!~
Aww and after she’d been so nice about him in her conference speech.
How would I go about buying an acre or two in Antarctica ?
I have several thousand hectares of soon to be productive land an easy commute from McMurdo to sell you if youre interested…..and all for less than a majority shareholding in a Silicon Valley Tech Co.
LOL!
If only i was joking
Would you chuck a bridge to get there in as well .
could probably manage a seat on a Hercules, one way for the the right buyer
Better hope it isn’t RNZAF one as they would ran out of hrs by then.
Then shall be a RNZAF Herc by request…parachute optional
Had an Malaysia A400 fly over the house this morning which might do the tick as it can do the the return trip on a tank of gas, as for the para jump in I’m not too keen on (if I got too the UK in the late 90’s I was going to look into joining the Paras if my 3 other choices got knock back)
ROFL, this is so funny.
Baking in the Netherlands.
Well it’s not surprising considering there are wild fires within the Arctic Circle aka Northern Sweden and Finland atm which are unheard in modern times. Hell even I’m starting to think our build up has started a couple of mths early here in Darwin as there been an awful lot of big black fluffy clouds rolling and the humidity hitting the high 60’s/ Low 70’s already which we expect to to see around October/ November.
That’s interesting map and thank you whoever put it up. Btw is there a link to the whatever that site is? As it poses some interesting questions IRT to Antarctic Region IRT the Antarctic Land claims suspend under the Antarctic Treaty and the Arctic Sea claims around the Nth Pole.
Its actually an old map but being reproduced as the European Heatwave is topical right now
but here is a link to Big Think where you can read all about it:
https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/what-the-world-will-look-like-4degc-warmer
Here’s the New Scientist article but I’m buggered if I can find a way round the paywall.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2165418-just-half-a-degree-less-global-warming-would-avert-food-shortage/
Cheer guys, it will give me something to ponder when I’m reading one of DR Geoffrey Tills books on Maritime Security etc while I listen to roar of the jets taking from Darwin during Ex Pitch Black 18 as I listen for Indian AF https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-30MKI as I need my dose “As I feel the need for speed” in the morning.
So I can tick that off in plane spotters book along with the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_JAS_39_Gripen and the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Rafale
Government seeks public input on well-being indicators
“Our nation’s well-being is not a number on a GDP chart, and our government, this government, recognises that,” Mr Shaw said. “The economy is obviously important but GDP is not the be all, end all.”
Mr Shaw said this was about understanding the real picture of success and well-being that went beyond just productivity and turnover and throughput.
“Most people will tell you that the security of their job, the health of their kids and their ability to pay the power bill is more important to them.”
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/363044/government-seeks-public-input-on-well-being-indicators
On that note, lets start with taking count of the number of power bills that are missed annually.
The number of suicides.
The number of hardship grants.
The number of thefts/robberies, violent crime.
The number of Homelessness/NZ Housing waiting list.
The above are a number of measurable indicators to start things off.
What measurable indicators would you add to the list?
Housing costs exceeding 60% of household income.
There was an exchange during Question Time today which was interesting considering Peter Goodfellow’s recent comments.
Hon Simon Bridges: (comment at the end of supplementary question) All he can do is come down to the House and make jokes about it?
Rt Hon Winston Peters: (starts answer with) Look, I can’t win the jokes stakes; I’m looking at one, in terms of his ambition.
Hon Gerry Brownlee: A point of order, Mr Speaker. If it’s parliamentary to refer to a member as being a joke, would it not equally be parliamentary to refer to a member as being drunk?
Mr Speaker: My view is that one is a matter of fact and the other is a matter of opinion. If the member is seriously suggesting the latter in the House and he is inaccurate, he is making a gross breach of privilege.
Hon Gerry Brownlee: Speaking to the point of order—
Mr Speaker: No, there is no point of order. The member will resume his seat
Hon Gerry Brownlee: Well, I’m entitled to an explanation, surely.
Mr Speaker: The member will resume his seat.
Auckland 2050: Council report paints dystopian future for the city
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/105888488/Auckland-2050-Council-report-paints-dystopian-future-for-the-city
“Roller doors have fallen across shops in Three Kings, Mt Albert and Birkenhead forcing frightened residents to shop in locked-down malls, while those with jobs live behind the walls of heavily-guarded, gated communities.”
But these are not scenes from The Hunger Games, they are featured in an Auckland Council document which sets out the city’s blueprint for the next 30 years …
But Best of All! – “The equality of the 1970s is a distant memory that shows no sign of returning. There is an obvious divide between those with homes and work, and those without,” the report reads…..
Hmm… hows its taken this long to work that out! And/or, Coming to a place near You .. Next!
The inevitable conclusion of capitalism.
This is why it has always failed.
Yes, I bought his book when it came out. The collapse scenario is realistic (based on complexity theory) but the problem with indeterminacy is that folks always adhere to the status quo. The inertial effect of paradigms (belief systems) entrains believers and keeps them on track. So preparation for disaster is restricted to those in the power structure who are authorised to do contingency-planning and recommend strategies to the governing elites.
Quantitative easing proved to be an effective such strategy. It saved capitalism from the crisis (gfc), demonstrating the resilience of the system. Escalating natural crises produced by global warming challenge the managerial competence of both governments and elites. Synchronicity of several such is indeed likely within a few years. Insurance is already becoming a non-viable industry: that trend become terminal. Can’t really insure against Gaia.
Christian fundamentalists will claim it’s God’s will, instead, and the rapture is coming soon. I haven’t heard of Mohammed prophesying global warming bringing an end to civilisation, so could be Islamists will realise he was short-sighted?
So that’s what they’re aiming for.
Interesting. Was in a meeting with the eventual Unitary Plan General Manager, right at the beginning of the consultation process and he actually laughed at my suggestion that included in the Unitary Plan should be mechanisms to help transition due to climate change.
Not surprising that, foregoing any choice regarding actual transition planning – they decide instead to reluctantly ‘accept’ a scenario of a divided Auckland. You would think that even the suggestion would get them working on planning so that does not happen.
Bob the Builder just doesn’t get it!
“It’s simple, everything’s there, ….It ticks all the boxes as far as I can see.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/105877331/irrigators-group-revives-reservoir-scheme-as-alternative-to-waimea-dam
A mansplaining chart that could really help some people.
“Mansplaining may seem like a trivial issue in isolation, but how we communicate tells other people how much or little they are valued. And in my experience, humans feel better, work more effectively, and behave better when we feel valued ourselves.”
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180727-mansplaining-explained-in-one-chart
That’s a very well-designed chart! But I think you could sum up the behavioural tendency she targets by including empathy-deficity with paternalism.
Speaking of which reminds me long ago I learned to handle guys like that. You kind of reflect it back to them in a way that makes them feel out of their depth. Being paternalistic to a paternalist establishes reciprocity, but including an insight into the situation that is obviously highly-relevant yet demolishes their stance has a remarkable effect on their body language (think of a dog slinking away, tail between its legs). Such insights seem to pop into my head in a fraction of a second in those situations. Hubris must be promptly eliminated, of course.
Men can’t read it if it’s stapled to their foreheads marty.
Staple to their foreskin then…
Tracey Martin got destroyed in question time yesterday…not a good look.
Anybody who believes that LinkedIn ‘networks’ and ‘endorsements’ mean anything, or that LinkedIn itself is any more that an idiotic, conformist pile of crap, is delusional.
An appropriate act of revolt would be for everybody to wake up tomorrow and delete their LinkedIn profiles – after all, we only have them because everybody else does. But I guess nobody wants to jump first.
I agree with you on Linkedin. Unfortunately her being caught out regarding the dates of the endorsments just gives someone like Mike Hoskings shit to stir up and try to make them look bad.
Yep – agree Jimmy, sadly you are right
She’s probably right though. It all looks a bit Cunliffe-lettery. Unless you know of some business or social interactions that haven’t come to light?