Greenland is melting – faster

Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, June 19th, 2019 - 82 comments
Categories: climate change, Environment, International, science - Tags: ,

Greenland holds a large store of fresh water. If fully melted, it will raise sea levels by roughly 7 metres. It is melting – fast. Last week, temperatures across Greenland about 22 degrees Celsius warmer than the normal for that time of year. It produced an extraordinary visual effect of dogs walking on water through surface melt over sea ice.

With their sled in tow, a pack of dogs trudge towards a distant mountain range in north-west Greenland.

With their sled in tow, a pack of dogs trudge towards a distant mountain range in north-west Greenland across surface melt water.

Mr Olsen and his team were retrieving equipment from a weather station in the Inglefield Fjord area. As they walked across the 1.2m (4ft) thick sea ice, water pooled on the surface.

On Twitter, his colleague at DMI Rasmus Tonboe later shared the image, telling followers “rapid melt” had occurred.

Because the sea ice is compact with almost no cracks, the image gives the impression the dogs are walking on water, Martin Stendel, senior researcher at the institute, told the BBC.

About half of Greenland had exceptional levels of surface melting last week, including over much of the thick glaciers. It was caused by a high pressure zone locking over Greenland creating warm sunny weather with little cloud. This has been an ongoing issue in the northern hemisphere in recent decades as the northern vortex jet stream pushes weather into unfamiliar patterns. It has pushed extreme cold further south or held hot air sitting in position over the US/ Canada and Russia. Further north, the cold air moving south causes melts.

That relatively warm (compared to ice) water goes somewhere – usually downwards under the glaciers. It raises the temperatures of the ice it is comes in contact with and ‘rots’ it. It makes it harder to refreeze into solid protective masses and means that next summer, the melt will accelerate even at less exceptional melting.

Just how very large sheet glaciers melt in Greenland (or anywhere else) isn’t that well understood. Efforts like the cyroegg sensors being inserted under the Greenland glaciers may help. However it isn’t hard to look at the available evidence and see that the IPCC projections are likely to be low.

For instance, that rain is becoming more frequent to fall in winter in Greenland. Now that just makes me shudder because the heat transfer into melting ice will accelerate into a year round experience. It isn’t quite as bad as having increased amount of snow falling in dry frozen desert of the East Antarctica ice sheet. But it is still pretty scary when you look at the climatic feed backs such changes make in accelerating the melt.

However just drowning coastal cities worldwide is the least of the issues. Personally I have no sympathy for people who invest in coastal property after the last 40 years of increasing evidence of human created climate change. People can just move and lose their bad investments as coastal dunes erode, sewer systems backup and the subways flood.

But the loss of that cooling block of ice in the northern hemisphere will change the balance of the working climate in the north. There is a lot of global food supply in the north susceptible to the movement of the jet streams. A combination of  colder weather moving southwards more rapidly punctuated by hotter summers, as it jams the atmospheric mixing systems, is going to play havoc with food production.

 

82 comments on “Greenland is melting – faster ”

  1. Dennis Frank 1

    Good report, but bad news. A decade ago the focus was on the crevices in the ice-cap, created by meltwater, that descended to bedrock. Researchers were theorising that meltwater would spread on the bedrock surface, lubricating any eventual slide into the ocean.

    This report rather ups the ante on that scenario. We await the first major fracturing of the ice-cap. Once that happens, all hell will break loose in the global media, because it will signal that the theory is being validated by fact.

    Caution: major fractures may not develop for years yet. Meltwater may cool on the bedrock surface, and even gell rather than forcing a lateral melt. Scientific evaluation of the physics and chemistry of the interface is now required.

    • marty mars 1.1

      only diehard idiots cannot see the writing on the wall now – if they don’t get it now I doubt they ever will

      • tc 1.1.1

        +100 marty, throw in the Ross Ice shelf and other antarctica observed situations the science community are screaming about now as enhanced satellite imagery etc destroy the old predictions.

        just about literally burning at both ends now.

        • WeTheBleeple 1.1.1.1

          Yep. The testing is (almost) pointless except where we'd like estimates for a timeline of these things playing out. As we're seeing, the timelines are being smashed along with heat records everywhere.

          It's on.

          Food security will replace people's economic anxiety as the new thing to worry about. When the global ocean conveyer belt breaks down it's anyone's guess what comes after.

          It won't be wine and roses.

          • Kevin 1.1.1.1.1

            Global military spending is on the increase. Everyone getting ready to protect their turf.

            • WeTheBleeple 1.1.1.1.1.1

              Yep. And it's the wrong way to go – kinda. It's normal to go into bunker mentality when under threat, but the threat is not the neighbors, it's the neighbors being displaced. The preventative measure is not conflict, but humanitarian.

              Forests, not firearms. Cooperation, not competition.

              A return to local manufacturing, energy and food production is where the spend would actually count for something other than more stupid wars.

              We can look after ourselves, so can many other nations. It's only an addiction to trinkets and the medias relentless psychology that has us think we're lacking..

              "We'll be left behind!" – Catch cry of the oblivious and ignorant.

              Slow down. Put down deep roots. Branch out into your community with purpose.

              We can survive and thrive together or die fighting over scraps.

              • Gosman

                Why would increasing inefficiencies in production (including energy inefficiencies) help tackle climate change?

                • WeTheBleeple

                  You're such a moron and not worth the effort to educate cos you are wilfully ignorant.

                  • Gosman

                    Or you just can't actually articulate why spending more resources and energy making things locally makes sense.

                • left_forward

                  We're not going to tackle climate change Gooseman – its too late now – we are going to have to adapt to the mindbogglingly huge impact of global warming. WTB has some very good broad suggestions on where our focus should be if human beings and other fellow species are going to survive it. Your measuring stick about whether this will be efficient or not is entirely irrelevant, because, its bleeding obviously not going to be efficient.

                  • Gosman

                    Why do you think a more localised approach to production would be beneficial as a result of the impacts of climate change?

                    • Pat

                      basic economics Gosman…if things are less efficient to produce less things are produced….now ask yourself how that may improve the environment.

                    • Gosman

                      Basic economics dictates that it pays for nations to specialise in the productions of something and trade the surplus. That would still hold true in any Climate Changed World.

            • tc 1.1.1.1.1.2

              Pentagon's had a department on this for probably a decade already.

              It's focus is on mass population migration due to climate change/food production etc and it's security aspects.

              • Kevin

                Yep. Living on a couple of islands at the bottom of the South Pacific has finally become a winner. Relatively speaking.

        • joe90 1.1.1.2

          Antarctic ice sheets are the elephant in any discussion about rising sea levels.

          https://twitter.com/sgascoin/status/1140735019255762944

          • lprent 1.1.1.2.1

            I'd agree – sort of.

            However just having the larger ice mass also slows down the melt. Big factor when looking at Greenland vs Antarctica.

            The differences between west and east Antarctica are so large that they really have to be treated as being completely separate ice packs and environments. West is teeny compared to East, and far more likely to melt based on what we can see in the geological history.

            The diagram kind of misses out the mountain range that largely separates the two parts, and makes a hell of a difference.

  2. Stuart Munro. 2

    Now is the time to take the battle to the diehard stupid – back Simon Bridges into a corner and have him explain what meaningful climate policies he has beyond Liberian carbon credits and similar scams.

    • Gosman 2.1

      Why do you care about Simon Bridge's policy on tackling climate change? He isn't in power. You should be more concerned with the current Government's policy.

      • WeTheBleeple 2.1.1

        Because he needs to fuck right off and let the adults talk.

        • Gosman 2.1.1.1

          No, you either need to learn to ignore him or counter him more effectively if you disagree with him.

          • Robert Guyton 2.1.1.1.1

            WTB is not a Member of Parliament; he doesn't "need to counter" Bridges. WTB's suggestion is bona fide.

        • Bewildered 2.1.1.2

          Need to chill WTB your going off the deep end again, It will save you having to apologise tomorrow😊 The Gos raises some points that deserve a reasoned response

      • Stuart Munro. 2.1.2

        Because, my little fruitbat, that wretched little fellow needs to grow into the role of providing smart well-reasoned opposition, including critique of the inadequacy of coalition responses to climate challenges when they occur.

        If, as his performance to date suggests, he is unable to lift his game to that point, circumstances require that he step down. We are facing a climate emergency, tolerance for blithering idiots declines.

        • Gosman 2.1.2.1

          Looks like you want the Greens to be in opposition rather than in government.

          • Stuart Munro. 2.1.2.1.1

            I have no opinion on the Greens, but the Gnats certainly need to grow the fuck up or gtfo.

        • Newview 2.1.2.2

          I’m not quite sure how any climate change actions are going to stop Greenland melting. I’m sure making Simon stand in the corner won’t help much. Unless any Coalition Government can organise existing occupied land infrastructure below 15mtrs, to be magically shifted to higher ground in the next few years there will be a shambles here and everywhere else around the world. Cutting out our small emissions and going zero carbon is good house keeping but that’s all. We couldn’t stop Simon breaking wind now. Maybe the idiots are those who think we can. King Canute and all that.

          • Stuart Munro. 2.1.2.2.1

            No, Greenland will melt irregardless.

            But putting the Gnats in their place will give the government greater freedom to respond quickly and substantially, instead of devoting their energies to parrying fatuous rubbish like Treasury leaks.

            No, carbon mitigation will not turn the corner on this, but the evidence seems to be of accelerating melting. That frees up a 20 odd metre sealevel rise for which we've made no prep, this century. Given the speed of government actions simply feeding and housing our population will be a big ask, on a par with wartime challenges.

            We ain't got time for the Gnat's usual pathetic shit – in truth we never did.

            • Newview 2.1.2.2.1.1

              I agree with you but I think the Coalitions pathetic shit will be an issue in itself. They haven’t exactly covered themselves with glory as regards housing, getting started with mental health initiatives etc. or maybe we can have a think tank and initiate climate change programs in the next five years. Oh please God no. In my view they are the Coalition. They need to pull the finger out of their own arse. Forget Simon.

              • Stuart Munro.

                Everyone has to get their shit together.

                From the dumb-as-dirt gotcha journalists to the feral corporations who are responsible for corrupting our MPs.

                But no – we go to Simon and make the ridiculous manchild grow up or get out. And if he mans up he can, as he's paid to do goddamnit!, hold the whip over the coalition.

                As it happens I don't think he has the stuff – no point in messing with the minor but vaguely positive actions of the coalition until this grievously stupid asshole and all his even stupider mates are out of the way.

              • greywarshark

                What's New about your view? Seems a repeat stated with great wisdom and confidence of what we have heard for ever.

                • Stuart Munro.

                  I don't claim it's new – though the urgency is now much more apparent – the big melt horizon is no longer the comfortably distant 2100, but appreciably likely in the next decade or two – too close for incumbent politicians to watch from a gilded retirement.

                  Perhaps you recall the TINA arguments the Rogergnomes used to foist their false necessity on the greater public? Should we scruple to turn them back on them now that there's a genuine issue? Since doing so will only have the RWNJ prioritise tax evasion over overdue mitigation strategies, I reckon not.

          • Pat 2.1.2.2.2

            or all the supposed inconsequential emitters could act and actually make some progress on reducing emissions instead of making the right noises but steadfastly increasing them.

            https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/17/ireland-to-unveil-bold-plan-to-tackle-climate-emergency

  3. left_forward 3

    Thanks for this update Lp.

    I found this talk by John Englander at the Royal Institution to be very articulate and enlightening, although potentially very depressing.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvqY2NcBWI8&t=10s

    • Brigid 3.1

      Thanks for that. The questions and answers were interesting too.

      Somebody asked if any government anywhere had responded to his talk. That stumped him a bit.

  4. RedLogix 4

    To complement Englander's excellent contribution above here is Prof Tim Naish talking in 2013. Naish's PhD work in the 80's looking at Wanganui Basin sediments provided the first hard evidence of how sea level changed in deep time:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uakayotCXO0

  5. johnm 6

    Will climate change kill everyone — or just lots and lots of people?

    Is climate change going to end human civilization for good, and so soon that we may as well not bother saving for retirement?

    That’s the theory put forward in a recent viral Vice post: “New Report Warns ‘High Likelihood of Human Civilization Coming to an End’ Within 30 Years.’”

    The Vice story summed up a new report from the Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration, an Australian think tank, arguing that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change analysis of the impacts of climate change understates how much harm it’ll do, and that in reality we face something much worse, with runaway feedback effects amplifying the initial warming until the Earth is “largely uninhabitable.” It doesn’t actually argue that the world will end in 30 years, but it suggests we’ll reach the tipping point by then.

    https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/6/13/18660548/climate-change-human-civilization-existential-risk

    • Pat 6.1

      it dosnt argue the world will end….but it does make a very good case that our socio-political organisations will collapse….imagine such a world and you may wish it had ended.

  6. WeTheBleeple 7

    As a scientist I am expected to use moderate language:

    There is a possibility that X may be associated with Y.

    Emotional language is frowned upon, and so, with stoic sedative voices we have screamed at the general public for decades.

    Even my scientific writing would put you to sleep. But I am well and truly over pretending there is some magic margin of error in the science that will save us

    THIS IS FUCKING SERIOUS, THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT IS COMING TO AN END.

    And that's the truth of it. Buckle up.

    • Pat 7.1

      Unfortunately the world "as we know it" is always coming to an end, change is always with us…..perhaps stating our part in this world is likely to cease PDQ may be more succinct

      • WeTheBleeple 7.1.1

        I wanted to include the 'as we know it'… or it'd sound straight out of Chicken Little's playbook. Now Disney's mangled that story maybe the metaphor's an ill fit?

        I got accused of being a conspiracy theorist today. The internet is so full of mindless voices I've little time for them anymore it's too urgent to try raise awareness to those capable of helping themselves. A critical mass capable of rapid change is required. A mass so great Government and Business are simply forced on board or they perish.

        I’m gutted the timeline of things is accelerating.

        I'm still hoping Aliens come and save us with their freeze rays.

        • Pat 7.1.1.1

          fair enough…I was being unnecessarily pedantic, but could just hear deniers saying"the world is always changing"

          • WeTheBleeple 7.1.1.1.1

            Oh no worries Pat, I didn't think you were being pedantic it was a good point. It illustrates the difficulty in relaying science accurately, being human and all that.

        • greywarshark 7.1.1.2

          Let's get someone over from Hong Kong over here on how to effectively protest, and perhaps do an evaluation of how we raise NZs of all ages to a real passion for good politics.

          • Stuart Munro. 7.1.1.2.1

            Some Koreans wouldn't hurt either – they haven't forgotten Chun Do Hwan murdering protesting students, nor the systems they created to break the military dictatorship. The Hankyoreh – a publicly subscribed newspaper company was one of these – breaking the government's pernicious media stranglehold.

    • infused 7.2

      just enjoy the ride.

  7. Cinny 8

    If it's fresh water… would that impact the sea as well…. like would it dilute it so much it would destroy marine life?

    • RedLogix 8.1

      Good question. Not directly, the ocean really is massively deep and even 20m of fresh water from the ice wouldn't significantly change the salinity overall, but it would have a major impact locally. Fresh water and salt water have a different density and don’t necessarily mix very quickly.

      BUT … and this is the big kicker, it has another much nastier impact. The oceans have a system of surface and deep currents that are all linked together. It's called the Great Oceanic Conveyor Current and it moves an immense amount of heat around the planet from the tropic into the temperate zones. It plays a major role in regional climates; yet it is vulnerable.

      Despite its enormous scope, the meridional overturning circulation is vulnerable. Places where deepwater currents are created comprise less than one percent of the ocean’s surface area. Should the temperature or salinity in these limited areas change, the creation of deep water could slow or even stop.

      There is strong evidence that such a shutdown has happened in the past, drastically altering the world’s climate in just a matter of years. Eleven thousand years ago, ice age glaciers were retreating. In central Canada, an immense glacial lake called Lake Agassiz occupied an area larger than all the Great Lakes. Suddenly the dams holding Lake Agassiz collapsed. The contents of the entire lake rushed into the North Atlantic by way of the St. Lawrence River. This massive infusion of fresh water diluted the polar seas to the point where the water was no longer dense enough to sink. The meridional overturning circulation likely ground to a stop. Called the Younger Dryas, this one thousand year period saw the temporary return of the ice age.

      We may soon face a similar although far less drastic situation. Scientists are predicting that rising temperatures will melt the Greenland ice sheet. Models suggest that the resulting influx of fresh melt water into the polar sea could weaken the meridional overturning circulation, although not as drastically as the events thought to have triggered the Younger Dryas period. Still it could slow enough to reduce the flow of warm tropical water north into the polar seas. Temperatures over northwestern Europe could drop as much five degrees Celsius.

      http://oceanmotion.org/html/impact/conveyor.htm

      • WeTheBleeple 8.1.1

        Also, the cold water is mineral rich and as it upwells on continental shelves and shores it creates oceanic food chains.

        Whales do some mixing and fertilising of waters, but they too rely on (and some follow) the food chains produced by the conveyor current.

        • Stuart Munro. 8.1.1.1

          There are a couple of other effects of warmer water too – the ability of water to retain dissolved oxygen falls off rapidly as it warms, which limits marine life density – it was this consequent decline in marine life that pointed out the El Nino part of the southern oscillation to traditional Latin fishermen. The toxicity of dissolved nitrates and ammonia compounds also rises dramatically with water temperature – leaks or discharges of dairy effluent for example, are likely to become even less desirable, and things like salmon farm density and stocking rates may have to be reviewed.

      • Brigid 8.1.2

        There's an anomaly that I wonder about.

        The increase of CO2 is making the ocean more acidic, because we're spewing tons into the air by the minute, but as the sea warms (because of greenhouse effect) it expels CO2. So could it be that ocean acidification may not be so much of a threat? Or is it cyclic? – ocean absorbs CO2, then expels it, but then reabsorbs and so both the ocean and atmosphere become overladen because we keep on spewing CO2 into the atmosphere.

        • lprent 8.1.2.1

          Several different parts of the issue.

          Firstly, acidification of the oceans isn’t a new issue. Changes in pH happen every time that we get decent climate shifts – and that usually happens frequently within 100’s of thousands of years. Similarly with temperatures, O2 levels, SO4 levels, sediment levels and the numerous other factors that all pour into the oceans over geological time.

          So damn near every species carries genes to deal with most of these changes already (except for really recently evolved species – like humans). Generally what you’d expect to see is that there are shifts in the domains that particular species cover. The changes in acidity will mostly impact species that depend on calcite shells until there is a really significant shift. Same as every other time that the oceans got mores acidic.

          Effectively what happens between the oceans and the atmosphere is that they move towards a steady state in time periods measured over hundreds of years. The ocean conveyors take between many decades and hundreds of years to move CO2 captured in the polar regions where it is colder and into the warmer tropics where it is mostly released back into the atmosphere.

          So what is happening at present is that well more than 90% of all fossil CO2 released into the atmosphere has gone into the deep ocean currents and most probably hasn’t been released yet. Something to look forward to? The only reason that we are able to see a CO2 increase at present is because we have already exceeded the oceans ability to suck it up faster than we are spewing it out of underground oils and gas sequestration.

          But you also need to be aware that oceans have far more CO2 in them than the atmosphere has by weight. The atmosphere is tiny in density compared to water and the same applies to its ability to concentrate CO2.

  8. johnm 9

    N.H. Like GM believes from the exponential climate disruption he is witnessing that our days as a species on this once beautiful and teeming with life Planet are now very limited. The immense sadness is we’ve destroyed what is possibly the most unique biosphere in this Galaxy, we’ll never know. And all we can do is distract ourselves and waffle on endlessly.As GM says we’re functionally extinct our habitat is disappearing: the vanishing face of Gaia.

    Kevin and Guy were joined by meteorologist Nick Humphrey for this pre-recorded show. We discussed the links between climate change, weather, and crop failures. You can support Nick via his Patreon page.

    http://prn.fm/nature-bats-last-06-12-19/

    • Robert Guyton 9.1

      john – your view is bleak and well-earned, it seems; you've done plenty of searching for the truth of the matter and ways to circumnavigate what you've come to believe. I reckon you're close, but missing some pieces of the puzzle. You say:

      "And all we can do is distract ourselves and waffle on endlessly." which is where I find myself disagreeing with you though I'm not going to talk you around, as that approach isn't going to reach you, I reckon. All I can do, as someone who's watched the same degradation you have, is say that I've come to a different conclusion than you and am not despairing; in fact, far from distracting myself from reality, I'm searching for signs of a pathway through, for all of us. How's that for waffle! smiley

    • WeTheBleeple 9.2

      If GM (GM is not a name, we don't know who these people are) says we're functionally extinct he doesn't know what he's talking about. What specifically is our ecosystem function? If it is to create desert we're doing bloody well.

      The founder of the site Gary Null sells a line of 'natural supplements' and is an anti-vax quack.

      There is a lot of this: where fringe types are jumping on the bandwagon using climate change denial to try justify all the other horseshit they trade in. The speakers just rehash news articles and scientific views we've all heard before. Commentary on cat posting and other forms of distraction ho hum.

      One of them had his ‘road to Damascus’ moment during a hurricane. A localised event. not the science data… nooo, cos science is all a conspiracy to silence their truth unless it aligns with their opinions!

      • In Vino 9.2.1

        WTB – I think GM refers to Guy McPherson. Google him if you don't already know..

        • WeTheBleeple 9.2.1.1

          Cheers.

          Interesting character. Nut or seer? Bit of both methinks.

          Ecology’s a good background to start a Doomsday Cult of late.

  9. johnm 11

    'Canary in the Coal Mine': Experts Warn of Climate Tipping Point as Scientists Find Permafrost Thawing 70 Years Ahead of Schedule

    "It's very likely that this phenomenon is affecting a much more extensive region."

    https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/06/19/canary-coal-mine-experts-warn-climate-tipping-point-scientists-find-permafrost

    The scientists found the change as they visited the Arctic region. According to Reuters:

    Diving through a lucky break in the clouds, Romanovsky and his colleagues said they were confronted with a landscape that was unrecognizable from the pristine Arctic terrain they had encountered during initial visits a decade or so earlier.

    The vista had dissolved into an undulating sea of hummocks—waist-high depressions and ponds known as thermokarst. Vegetation, once sparse, had begun to flourish in the shelter provided from the constant wind.

  10. johnm 13

    “Day Zero” has arrived for 100 million Indian people as reservoirs dry up and people queue in long lines with temperatures of more than 50 deg C 122 deg F

    http://www.thebigwobble.org/2019/06/day-zero-has-arrived-for-100-million.html

  11. Exkiwiforces 14

    Here’s an interesting article when they compared a Cold War Spy pic’s from the 1970’s to the present day in the Himalayas which is also known as the third pole due to the amount of ice in the Himalayas.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-20/cold-war-era-images-show-glaciers-are-melting-fast/11226838

    Here another one on the Himalayas Climate

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-20/mount-everest-expedition-to-collect-environmental-data/11219992

  12. Velcro 15

    Before everyone gets too excited, one must point out that the huge Jacobshavn glacier, and several other major Greenland glaciers draining the ice cap have, in the past few years, stopped shrinking and are now expanding. In the case of the Jacobshavn for the last three years. The amount of ice lost from the Greenland ice cap in the last two decades is a trivial fraction of 1% of the total mass; and as the similar shrinkage of the 20's-30's shows, can readily reverse. Similarly, although it does not affect sea level, the Arctic sea ice minimum was at its smallest extent in 2012, with its area at the annual minimum every year since being approximately 1/3 greater. The global tide gauge reference set sea level rise is steady at 1.8mm per year, as it has been for the past century ( that also applies to NZ). The satellite sea level data measures something rather different, its 'apples and pears' to the tide gauge data, and should not be linked directly onto it.

  13. Velcro 16

    Well what do you know! 2012 was the lowest Arctic sea minimum.

    2016 was the lowest since then, about 1/3 greater.

    Eat your words, RedLogix

    https://ads.nipr.ac.jp/vishop/#/extent/&time=2019-06-24%2000:00:00

    • WeTheBleeple 16.1

      Moderators might want to can the links containing viruses and dangerous content from Velcro's 'contributions'.

      • Velcro 16.1.1

        No viruses. Just factual information, presented in easy to assimilate graphical form. Although it would seem as if factual information is like a deadly virus to WTB. Perhaps WTB’s plea to the moderator would be better applied to himself, since he is the one who appears to be trying, by means of misrepresentation and slur, to suppress information which does not tally with his own preconceptions.

    • RedLogix 16.2

      with its area at the annual minimum every year since being approximately 1/3 greater.

      Picking 2016 as the one single year that was higher is blatant cherry picking and total dishonest as usual. 2017 was almost as low as 2012 and 2019 is on track to another very low year.

      BPIOMASIceVolumeAnomalyCurrentV2.1_CY

  14. Velcro 17

    Sorry RedLogix, the JAXA link I gave clearly states and shows that 2016 was the second lowest year after 2012. That is, all years subsequent to 2012 are higher than 2016, which itself was ~30% higher than 2012 (which we seem to agree was the lowest). Before slinging around unwarranted charges of dishonesty, it might help in future if you actually looked at the information provided first.

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    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    7 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    21 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    1 day ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Funding hole for tax cuts growing by the day
    The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Luxon’s brave climate change promise
    The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles  and that ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
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    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
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    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
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    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
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    5 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
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    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
    This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti.  Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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