Greenpeace: Luxon’s threat to roll back climate action at odds with emissions targets

Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, November 4th, 2023 - 32 comments
Categories: Christopher Luxon, climate change, national - Tags:

Press Release from Christine Rose at Greenpeace 1/11/23

_______________________________________________________________

Greenpeace Aotearoa is calling on Prime Minister-elect Christopher Luxon to commit to real climate action, as reports reveal New Zealand is now at risk of not meeting its Paris Agreement emissions reduction targets. 

“It’s not enough for New Zealand to have targets – we need real action to meet them if we are to prevent further catastrophic climate change,” says Greenpeace campaigner Christine Rose.

“The reason that New Zealand is not on track to meet its emissions reduction targets is because the country’s major climate polluters have been left unchecked for years. Fonterra has been named New Zealand’s worst climate polluter for three years running, and still there is no real measure to cut dairy emissions.

“New Zealanders are already paying the price of climate inaction, with increasing cyclones, storms, and droughts. Failure to reduce emissions will also mean that we have to spend taxpayers’ money on ineffective overseas offsets in order to meet those targets.

“What’s even more concerning is that Prime Minister-elect, Christopher Luxon has committed to rolling back measures designed to cut climate pollution – from pricing agricultural emissions, the ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration to subsidised public transport.

“Our leaders should be doing everything in their power to stop the climate crisis from worsening. The commitments that Luxon has made on the campaign trail will do the opposite,” says Rose.

“New Zealanders are concerned about climate change, and we want our leaders to take real action. That means continuing the ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration and regulating the country’s worst climate polluter, intensive dairy.”

Greenpeace is calling on the Government to take four key actions to cut climate pollution from the intensive dairy industry, outlined in its ‘Climate Action Plan’. These are to phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and imported feed, support farmers to shift to more plant-based regenerative organic agriculture and halve the dairy herd.

Synthetic nitrogen fertiliser is responsible for 6% of the country’s climate pollution and also enables the intensive dairy industry to support a dairy herd size of approximately six million cows. Dairy cattle alone are responsible for 23.5% of New Zealand’s climate pollution.

32 comments on “Greenpeace: Luxon’s threat to roll back climate action at odds with emissions targets ”

  1. Alien Observer 1
    4 November 2023 at 11:48 am

    Lots of people say we are too small to have an impact on climate change. This is probably true, but it carries the risk that a major trading partner or contract buyer (Nestlé maybe) will use us to make a point.

    Our dairy industry is not huge on a world scale, but it's massive for us. What if half of it disappeared on the lack of climate action?

    Canceling our imports wouldn't make a big, inflationary, difference to the buyers market, but would be catastrophic for us. We are not too big to fail. As a small nation, can we take the risk?

    Reply
    • Ghostwhowalks 1.1
      4 November 2023 at 12:00 pm

      Thats a false argument to say we are too small . Its a shared thing , like when we pay our dues to EQC for disaster insurance . Everyone pays the same rate no matter the location – High risk locations pay the same as low risk northern North Island

      Same situation in WW2 little NZ provided its share

      Reply
    • Incognito 1.2
      4 November 2023 at 12:51 pm

      Dairy co-operative Fonterra has been named the sixth-largest dairy company in the world for the third consecutive year, according to a Rabobank report.

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/473139/fonterra-named-world-s-sixth-largest-dairy-company-rabobank-report

      Fonterra has been ranked eighth out of 350 in the World Benchmarking Alliance Food and Agriculture Benchmark. In addition to this overall ranking, the Co-op was first in the animal protein category and seventh among food and beverage processors.

      This benchmark measures the progress of the world's 350 most influential Food and Agriculture companies towards the United Nations Sustainable Business Development Goals. This is based on a company's commitments and reported achievements in governance and strategy, environment, nutrition, and social inclusion.

      https://www.nzmp.com/global/en/news/world-benchmark-alliance-2021.html

      Your argument about relative size as a reason to be a prime mover or not move at all in a meaningful way is fraud & flawed for many reasons.

      The fact is that we all are in this together. Therefore, all countries have a responsibility and an opportunity to contribute to a solution, irrespective of their size or impact.

      Given that everything and everybody is linked in this world, one way or another, we should balance the interests and values of all people, not just our own. This means that smaller countries should not use their relative size or contribution as an excuse to avoid taking action, but rather as a motivation to join the global effort and seek cooperation and support from larger countries.

      Smaller countries should not only consider the economic costs and benefits of taking action, but also the moral and social implications of not taking action.

      Climate change is not a zero-sum game, in which one’s gain is someone else's loss, but rather it’s a positive-sum game, where actions can create value for individual countries and for others.

      The bigger picture is to try to increase the value for all countries and people(s), not just redistribute it. Thus, we should look beyond our borders (the ‘here’) and look (out for) the global community and future generations (aka our children and grandchildren) (the ‘now’).

      You can see from the above that clearly, the political Right will have to do more ‘heavy lifting’ and it’s already apparent that the Government-to-come is not prepared to do this.

      PS I haven’t read the OP yet and I’m just responding to this particular comment because it promulgates the usual RW talking points and encapsulates the usual denial and refusal to act, now, later, or ever – après moi, le deluge.

      Reply
      • Ghostwhowalks 1.2.1
        4 November 2023 at 1:31 pm

        Im not saying we dont do anything

        Im saying your claims about worlds largest milk powder exporters have no relevance when top 16 incl NZ production 550 mill tons of milk per year

        we are 4% of world milk production. Thats not to say we shouldnt do something but enough of the false claims about 'largest anything'

        Reply
        • Incognito 1.2.1.1
          4 November 2023 at 1:43 pm

          wrong tree?

          Reply
          • Ghostwhowalks 1.2.1.1.1
            4 November 2023 at 3:35 pm

            "Your argument about relative size as a reason to be a prime mover or not move at all in a meaningful way is fraud & flawed for many reasons."

            Which isnt something I said at all. Its so hard to to have this sort of discussion when your keyboard warrior instinct kicks and make up stuff about what others think

            The relative size is about others saying thinking we are biggest… something.

            The farm emission reductions stand on their merits.

            Reply
            • Incognito 1.2.1.1.1.1
              4 November 2023 at 3:46 pm

              Definitely, the wrong tree, again.

              Do you know how to follow nested comment threads?

              My comment @ 1.2 was a reply to the comment by Alien Observer @ 1.

              Reply
      • AB 1.2.2
        4 November 2023 at 3:37 pm

        “it promulgates the usual RW talking points”

        Yeah, there are a few delusions involved:

        • That NZ would get away with freeloading on other people's emission reductions without the world noticing or responding because we are relatively small
        • That if one small nation reneges, then other small nations won't also renege, and precipitate a collapse of the collective commitment to do anything
        • That other countries that are bigger producers of dairy (like India) will take a knife to their own national food security by allowing NZ's lower-emissions production to supplant their own higher emissions production – on the grounds that this is a rational climate change response at a global level.
        Reply
        • Incognito 1.2.2.1
          4 November 2023 at 3:53 pm

          Well said.

          To the last bullet point, the knife cuts both ways, i.e., if smaller nations wait for the big one(s) to move first, and the big one(s) wait for the smaller ones to be take their first step or at least be very fast followers then we’ll get those weird kind of stalemate at those weigh-ins before boxing bouts where the first one to blink loses. They’re hilarious, unlike the inaction re. climate change.

          Reply
          • bwaghorn 1.2.2.1.1
            4 November 2023 at 4:29 pm

            If Joe farmer halved his heard tomorrow, could he access ets or carbon reduction money?

            Reply
            • Incognito 1.2.2.1.1.1
              4 November 2023 at 6:01 pm

              I believe that the short answer is “No”, because farmers aren’t paying anything yet, which would have started in 2025 but National has indicated it would push back to 2030.

              Reply
            • mikesh 1.2.2.1.1.2
              5 November 2023 at 10:50 am

              Brian Bruce mentioned in his latest documentary, on food, that NZ's self sufficiency in wheat was sacrificed to make way way for increased dairying. I think it would be good policy to reverse that, and return that land to wheat growing once again.

              Reply
              • pat …
                5 November 2023 at 2:44 pm

                "The decline in NZ wheat production has been attributed to the inability of the NZ product to compete with imported wheat in terms of quality consistency and Changes in the Wheat Industry price, especially in the North Island. In the deregulated trading environment, food processors have tightened their flour specification requirements and because of a lack of product consistency millers have not always been able to meet these requirements using NZ wheats alone. As well as this, the cost of transporting wheat from the South Island to North Island mills has been high, and North Island mills have been able to land wheat from Australia at more competitive prices."

                https://www.agronomysociety.org.nz/files/SP8_1._Changing_face_of_wheat_industry.pdf

                The problem existed long before the rise of dairying in Canterbury as this 1992/3 paper notes

                Reply
                • weka …
                  5 November 2023 at 3:35 pm

                  that's a comment on the export economy, right? Which is different from domestic food resiliency.

                  Reply
                  • pat …
                    5 November 2023 at 4:20 pm

                    The two are not seperate….especially when you wish to consider the ability of the needs of the financially challenged (an increasing cohort).

                    Long before the dairy boom in Canterbury it was cheaper to ship milled wheat from Australia to the North Island market than to supply from the South Island (which may say something about our transport system) nevermind the fact that production per hectare was higher here.

                    Much of the wheat grown in NZ is consumed by livestock (dairy, finishing cattle, poultry) and because of our high stocking ratios supplements imported feed, so if we use our production to supply more milling wheat to the North Island we may well end up importing even more PKE (and the like) from offshore.

                    There are a multitude of reasons (many environmental) to reduce dairy in Canterbury but milling wheat isnt really one of them…..and if we reduce dairy herd numbers nationally we need to either replace that offshore income and/or reduce the level of imports…indeed we need to do that anyway.

                    And resilience is no good if only the wealthy can access that which remains available.

                    Reply
            • Tricledrown 1.2.2.1.1.3
              5 November 2023 at 6:33 pm

              I keep up to date with Farming news and the big news is farming profitability is now marginal in virtually all sectors. Costs for inputs are rapidly rising profits are down .So farmers who use sustainable methods will be more profitable those who follow traditional methods will go bankrupt in large numbers because fuel fertilizers pesticides weed killers and Labour are all trending up,faster than inflation banks will be reluctant to finance farming.So farming will change to more profitable sustainable methods whether farmers like it or not.

              Reply
              • Graeme …
                5 November 2023 at 9:38 pm

                Farmers with little to moderate debt will probably be able to pivot to a more sustainable system, financially and environmentally.

                The people and companies that supply the fuel, fertiliser pesticides weed killers machinery and finance (often all the same company) might find the transition bit more challenging. Along with the farmers those companies have got mortgaged to the hilt to have the pivot, 1000 cows and the new tractor, which unfortunately is a very large proportion of farmers. When it all unwinds it could get messy.

                Hence the angst in the industry.

                Reply
    • Bearded Git 1.3
      5 November 2023 at 11:26 am

      Rishi Sunak said the UK was responsible for less than 1 per cent of the world's carbon emissions when he dumped many climate friendly measures a couple of months ago.

      It's no excuse.

      Reply
  2. Ad 2
    4 November 2023 at 12:00 pm

    Alien, NZ is the largest exporter of milk powder in the entire world. NZ Dairy CO2 and methane is waaaaaay disproportionate to our geographic or human population size.

    Per capita we are one of the largest polluters in the world.

    Cars and milk, however, is what this new government lives for.

    Reply
    • Ghostwhowalks 2.1
      4 November 2023 at 12:05 pm

      Largest exporter of milk powder yes. But our dairy milk production is around 21 mill tonnes per year

      EU dairy production is 143 mill tons. India and US are around 100 mill per year each

      The climate doesnt care where the milk comes from by country

      https://www.statista.com/statistics/268191/cow-milk-production-worldwide-top-producers/

      Reply
    • pat 2.2
      4 November 2023 at 12:21 pm

      "Cars and milk, however, is what this new government lives for."

      It may be more accurate to say 'cars and milk is what the people of NZ live by'.

      We (increasingly) need to import and we have no available transport alternatives.

      Reply
      • mikesh 2.2.1
        5 November 2023 at 10:55 am

        we have no available transport alternatives.

        This is patently untrue. We should be beefing up our public transport options; particularly electrified public transport options.

        Reply
        • pat 2.2.1.1
          5 November 2023 at 1:59 pm

          Key word 'available'.

          We should indeed be providing alternatives and not just for public transport but also freight….but unfortunately mikesh the statement is patently correct.

          Reply
    • Alien Observer 2.3
      4 November 2023 at 12:54 pm

      Yeah. So when did you last live on milk powder? Most major dairy nations process their production, making more money and lowering the chances of their contracts being canceled.

      You are arguing with me by making my point stronger. Which nation has won the dinosaur award for doing the least climate change work? Quick hint – you live in it.

      Reply
      • Ghostwhowalks 2.3.1
        4 November 2023 at 1:24 pm

        Thats because a lot of other countries changes have come from the reductions in fossil fuel for power generation

        Which nation was already at 80% and often higher ( right now is 94%) renewable energy and doesnt have the low hanging fruit generation change remaining

        Most other countries dont include agriculture in their gross emissions either

        So we shouldnt be compared to everyone else

        Reply
      • Tricledrown 2.3.2
        5 November 2023 at 6:40 pm

        Australia is way ahead of us more cars more distance traveled,massive mines including very large coal mines then 80% of Australia's electrical supply comes from brown coal.

        Reply
  3. Ad 3
    4 November 2023 at 12:24 pm

    We care where it comes from, because as an agricultural economy we are the most climate vulnerable developed economy in the world.

    All politics is local.

    Reply
  4. Sanctuary 4
    4 November 2023 at 12:45 pm

    The extent National has allowed culture war considerations like owning the libs to become the core plank of its climate policy is astonishing and is to the great discredit of the Trumpist adjacent faction in the party/caucus. It isn't all just cozying up to big dairy, that doesn't explain axing the clean car discount for example. You would think a "traditional" conservative party would embrace initiatives to replace ICE vehicles just on balance of payments grounds alone! After all, conservatives should be all about preserving the environment if only to protect the countryside for fox hunting.

    Reply
    • AB 4.1
      4 November 2023 at 5:16 pm

      "…conservatives should be all about preserving the environment…"

      That makes the Greens the real conservatives, and National the myopic champions of a radically destructive project. I think that's about right.

      Reply
  5. Drowsy M. Kram 5
    4 November 2023 at 6:24 pm

    Luxon's "slower to go faster" has paid off – for now. It's "back to the drawing board"!


    https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0309/S00040/images-farmers-fart-tax-protest-at-parliament.htm [4 Sept 2003] “Images from the National Party media unit.”

    The ‘flickering’ of Earth systems is warning us: act now, or see our already degraded paradise lost [31 Oct 2023]
    In the 2030s, 40s or 50s, when the climate crisis has manifested itself in global catastrophe, some wretched politician will be running round in circles whimpering: “Nobody told us it would be this bad.”

    "ACT now" sad Re per capita GHG emissions, NZ punches above it's weight – we're milking it! This graph shows where our emissions came from in 2018 – three years later (2021) transport generated 40% of CO2 emissions, and livestock 89% of 'our' methane.GHG levels in spaceship Earth's atmosphere continue to increase, and, together with declining aerosols, will lock in the imbalance between energy captured from the sun and energy lost to space for future generations. We were slow to (re)act – sorry.

    Earth Reacts to Greenhouse Gases More Strongly Than We Thought
    [3 Nov 2023]
    Climate scientists, including pioneer James Hansen, are pinning down a fundamental factor that drives how hot Earth will get

    “We’re in the process of muddling through — we’re in a period where climate change is gonna be painful for a while, it’s gonna hurt a lot of people in a lot of places, but we can get out the other side,” he [Oppenheimer] said. “I think we can get there. But will we?”

    Hansen echoed his sentiments in starker terms.

    He wrote that he’s been surprised by “the increase of anti-science know-nothing thinking in our politics.”

    “That's why I focus on young people,” he added. “They need to understand the situation and take control.”

    But young people taking control now sounds waaay too scary – their time will come.


    https://gml.noaa.gov/aggi/

    Reply

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    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago

  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    3 days ago

  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The stupidest of stupid reasons
    One of the threats in the National - ACT - NZ First coalition agreements was to extend the term of Parliament to four years, reducing our opportunities to throw a bad government out. The justification? Apparently, the government thinks "elections are expensive". This is the stupidest of stupid reasons for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • A website bereft of buzz
    Buzz from the Beehive The new government was being  sworn in, at time of writing , and when Point of Order checked the Beehive website for the latest ministerial statements and re-visit some of the old ones we drew a blank. We found ….  Nowt. Nothing. Zilch. Not a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • MICHAEL BASSETT: A new Ministry – at last
    Michael Bassett writes – Like most people, I was getting heartily sick of all the time being wasted over the coalition negotiations. During the first three weeks Winston grinned like a Cheshire cat, certain he’d be needed; Chris Luxon wasted time in lifting the phone to Winston ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Luxon's Breakfast.
    The Prime Minister elect had his silver fern badge on. He wore it to remind viewers he was supporting New Zealand, that was his team. Despite the fact it made him look like a concierge, or a welcomer in a Koru lounge. Anna Burns-Francis, the Breakfast presenter, asked if he ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL:  Oranga Tamariki faces major upheaval under coalition agreement
     Lindsay Mitchell writes – A hugely significant gain for ACT is somewhat camouflaged by legislative jargon. Under the heading ‘Oranga Tamariki’ ACT’s coalition agreement contains the following item:   Remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 According to Oranga Tamariki:     “Section ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record. Brian Easton writes – 1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Cathrine Dyer's guide to watching COP 28 from the bottom of a warming planet
    Is COP28 largely smoke and mirrors and a plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel? Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: COP28 kicks off on November 30 and up for negotiation are issues like the role of fossil fuels in the energy transition, contributions to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Monday, Nov 27
    PM Elect Christopher Luxon was challenged this morning on whether he would sack Adrian Orr and Andrew Coster.TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am on Monday November 27, including:Signs councils are putting planning and capital spending on hold, given a lack of clear guidance ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the new government’s policies of yesteryear
    This column expands on a Werewolf column published by Scoop on Friday Routinely, Winston Peters is described as the kingmaker who gets to decide when the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded but equally important role as the ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • The New Government’s Agreements
    Last Friday, almost six weeks after election day, National finally came to an agreement with ACT and NZ First to form a government. They also released the agreements between each party and looking through them, here are the things I thought were the most interesting (and often concerning) from the. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • How many smokers will die to fund the tax cuts?
    Maori and Pasifika smoking rates are already over twice the ‘all adult’ rate. Now the revenue that generates will be used to fund National’s tax cuts. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The devil is always in the detail and it emerged over the weekend from the guts of the policy agreements National ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • How the culture will change in the Beehive
    Perhaps the biggest change that will come to the Beehive as the new government settles in will be a fundamental culture change. The era of endless consultation will be over. This looks like a government that knows what it wants to do, and that means it knows what outcomes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • No More Winnie Blues.
    So what do you think of the coalition’s decision to cancel Smokefree measures intended to stop young people, including an over representation of Māori, from taking up smoking? Enabling them to use the tax revenue to give other people a tax cut?David Cormack summed it up well:It seems not only ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 19, 2023 thru Sat, Nov 25, 2023.  Story of the Week World stands on frontline of disaster at Cop28, says UN climate chief  Exclusive: Simon Stiell says leaders must ‘stop ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Some of it is mad, some of it is bad and some of it is clearly the work of people who are dangerous ...
    On announcement morning my mate texted:Typical of this cut-price, fake-deal government to announce itself on Black Friday.What a deal. We lose Kim Hill, we gain an empty, jargonising prime minister, a belligerent conspiracist, and a heartless Ayn Rand fanboy. One door closes, another gets slammed repeatedly in your face.It seems pretty ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • “Revolution” is the threat as the Māori Party smarts at coalition government’s Treaty directi...
    Buzz from the Beehive Having found no fresh announcements on the government’s official website, Point of Order turned today to Scoop’s Latest Parliament Headlines  for its buzz. This provided us with evidence that the Māori Party has been soured by the the coalition agreement announced yesterday by the new PM. “Soured” ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • The Good, the Bad, and the even Worse.
    Yesterday the trio that will lead our country unveiled their vision for New Zealand.Seymour looking surprisingly statesmanlike, refusing to rise to barbs about his previous comments on Winston Peters. Almost as if they had just been slapstick for the crowd.Winston was mostly focussed on settling scores with the media, making ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • When it Comes to Palestine – Free Speech is Under Threat
    Hi,Thanks for getting amongst Mister Organ on digital — thanks to you, we hit the #1 doc spot on iTunes this week. This response goes a long way to helping us break even.I feel good about that. Other things — not so much.New Zealand finally has a new government, and ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • Thank you Captain Luxon. Was that a landing, or were we shot down?
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Also in More Than A FeildingFriday The unboxing And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Cans of Worms.
    “And there’ll be no shortage of ‘events’ to test Luxon’s political skills. David Seymour wants a referendum on the Treaty. Winston wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Labour’s handling of the Covid crisis. Talk about cans of worms!”LAURIE AND LES were very fond of their local. It was nothing ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Disinformation campaigns are undermining democracy. Here’s how we can fight back
    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Misinformation is debated everywhere and has justifiably sparked concerns. It can polarise the public, reduce health-protective behaviours such as mask wearing and vaccination, and erode trust in science. Much of misinformation is spread not ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record.1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is not even an entry in Wikipedia. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago

  • The New Government: 2023 Edition
    So New Zealand has a brand-spanking new right-wing government. Not just any new government either. A formal majority coalition, of the sort last seen in 1996-1998 (our governmental arrangements for the past quarter of a century have been varying flavours of minority coalition or single-party minority, with great emphasis ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    7 days ago

  • The unboxing
    And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the tree with its gold ribbon but can turn out to be nothing more than a big box holding a voucher for socks, so it ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • A cruel, vicious, nasty government
    So, after weeks of negotiations, we finally have a government, with a three-party cabinet and a time-sharing deputy PM arrangement. Newsroom's Marc Daalder has put the various coalition documents online, and I've been reading through them. A few things stand out: Luxon doesn't want to do any work, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Hurrah – we have a new government (National, ACT and New Zealand First commit “to deliver for al...
    Buzz from the Beehive Sorry, there has been  no fresh news on the government’s official website since the caretaker trade minister’s press statement about the European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement. But the capital is abuzz with news – and media comment is quickly flowing – after ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Christopher Luxon – NZ PM #42.
    Nothing says strong and stable like having your government announcement delayed by a day because one of your deputies wants to remind everyone, but mostly you, who wears the trousers. It was all a bit embarrassing yesterday with the parties descending on Wellington before pulling out of proceedings. There are ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Coalition Government details policies & ministers
    Winston Peters will be Deputy PM for the first half of the Coalition Government’s three-year term, with David Seymour being Deputy PM for the second half. Photo montage by Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: PM-Elect Christopher Luxon has announced the formation of a joint National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government with a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • “Old Coat” by Peter, Paul & Mary.
     THERE ARE SOME SONGS that seem to come from a place that is at once in and out of the world. Written by men and women who, for a brief moment, are granted access to that strange, collective compendium of human experience that comes from, and belongs to, all the ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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