How much security?

Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, November 24th, 2010 - 50 comments
Categories: human rights, International, war - Tags: ,

9/11 seems to have driven America crazy. The wars. The torture. The new surveillance powers and the roll back of civil rights. Most Americans, I think, don’t realise how much their country has changed around them. But one very visible manifestation of the change is getting right in the public’s faces, and finally provoking a mass reaction. That is, the new generation of security scanners that is being rolled out at airports across the country.

The new “backscatter X-ray” machines use a form of X-rays which scatter on the skin, thus “looking through” clothes to produce an image of the body beneath. It’s great for spotting weapons, but the resulting images are so clear that many are calling them “porno scanners”. The sample to the right is small and low resolution, but shows what is possible. (The negative image can be effectively converted into a nude photo by inverting the colours, one click in Photoshop). There are many concerns over the possible uses of images, particularly of children.

Air travellers — of whatever age or physical condition — must now choose between a scan and a highly invasive full body “pat down”. Horror stories of both options are beginning to circulate.

So this, finally, is an issue which has made the great American public wake up and take an interest. This report from USA Today is typical:

The nation’s Homeland Security chief asked for air travelers’ “cooperation” and “patience” with full-body scanning and pat downs this holiday season amid a growing public backlash that the airport tactics are intrusive.

“Each and every one of the security measures we implement serves an important goal,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano writes in a column for today’s USA TODAY, which asks the public to be a partner in defending against terrorism.

Or this from CNN:

A growing pilot and passenger revolt over full-body scans and what many consider intrusive pat-downs couldn’t have come at a worse time for the nation’s air travel system.

Thanksgiving, the busiest travel time of the year, is less than two weeks away. Grassroots groups are urging travelers to either not fly or to protest by opting out of the full-body scanners and undergo time-consuming pat-downs instead.

The revolution has produced its first folk hero:

The uprising began with a single warning in terminal 2 of the San Diego airport: “If you touch my junk, I’ll have you arrested,” John Tyner of Oceanside, Calif., warned a TSA agent on Saturday after refusing to enter the airport’s full-body scanner and opting for a full-body pat-down instead.

Tyner, who filmed and blogged the entire encounter, eventually chose to abandon his travel plans rather than submit to the pat-down, and has become a kind of folk hero to those who say the TSA’s increasingly invasive security checks have gone too far.

Amidst the popular outrage only a few, the usual voices of the left, are focusing on the underlying issue:

The Terrorists Have Won

‘Porno Scanner’ Scandal Shows the Idiocy of America’s Zero Risk Culture
By Richard Forno

The lede on the DRUDGEREPORT most of Monday showed a Catholic nun being patted down at an airport security checkpoint, with the caption starkly declaring that “THE TERRORISTS HAVE WON.”

He’s right.

Ten years after 9/11, Americans who fly are facing a Faustian choice between subjecting themselves to a virtual (and potentially medically damaging) strip search conducted in questionable machines run by federal employees or a psychologically damaging pat-down of their bodies. Osama bin Ladin must be giggling himself silly this week.

It would be nice to hope that this scanner issue would spur America on in to a real debate about how they have responded to 9/11. Ask what was justified and what was not, ask how far they should pursue the impossible goal of zero risk. But they won’t. The fuss will soon die down and everyone will get used to the brave new world. And soon the government will take the next step, removing more rights in the name of security. And the next, and the next, and the next….

50 comments on “How much security? ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. vto 1
    24 November 2010 at 8:05 am

    r0b, Americans struggle with war-time measures because they don’t seem to appreciate they are at war.

    You know, war, as in kill and be killed. Lots of it. The whole country is at war. Just like the poms who are also at war.

    Tough biccies I say to the people of America and the govts they have voted in to wage war. Just like the crappy measures the jews and plaestinians have to live with. Or the millions in Iraq and Afghanistan who have to live with similar measures. If anything, the Americans get off lightly – in fact so lightly that they complain when war-time measures touch their daily existence in such a lightweight manner. Strange.

    Wake up and grow up Americans.

    • Pascal's bookie 1.1
      24 November 2010 at 8:09 am

      The fuss will soon die down and everyone will get used to the brave new world.

      I dunno. I think they might just ditch this and go with racial profiling thing.

      @v Just like the poms who are also at war. (also, and too, us.)

      • vto 1.1.1
        24 November 2010 at 8:17 am

        Are we P’s b? Soldiers are in Afghanistan etc. Building bridges? Doing reccies? What is our official state – at war or not at war? I suspect you are correct however it is to an extent far far far removed from that of the US and UK. Just because there are soldiers in a country doesn’t mean the country is at war. We aren’t at war with Vanuata or Timor for example. Our situation is an entire world removed from US and UK situation.

        My point was however, that it has ‘amused’ me for some years now how people from the US and UK seem to carry on their lives as ifg they are not at war. Bizarre world.

        • Pascal's bookie 1.1.1.1
          24 November 2010 at 8:30 am

          Yeah, it’s weird all right.

          I reckon we are at war in that we have got the SAS over there, presumably blowing things up and killing people.

          I also reckon, that to a very large degree, US wars are not so much about foreign policy these days as domestic. If they weren’t in Afghanistan, they’d be in Yemen. What happens in the country they are ‘at war’ with is at best, a sideshow. A president needs to be at war, or at least have a war at some point, simply to demonstrate to the US electorate that s/he is prepared to demonstarate the strength and specialness of the empire to the world. That’s why US debates about war are less about the actual ‘enemy’ or the ‘threat’ or geoploitics, than they are about who ‘supports the troops’ and who pays to much to johnny limpwrist the filthy foreigner, or kowtows to the UN.

          Paying for the war, or having it affect the citzenry would kind of ruin the act.

          ‘We can wage war wherever we want, and get allies to bloody line up too if they know what’s good for them, don’t worry about it, go shopping!’

          • Pascal's bookie 1.1.1.1.1
            24 November 2010 at 8:31 am

            “…pays too much attention to johnny limpwrist… “

          • Vicky32 1.1.1.1.2
            24 November 2010 at 7:14 pm

            True… It permeates their culture… I don’t know if anyone else has noticed the plethora of “military sf” produced now?
            Opposing the militarism of the culture is simply too dangerous to do..
            Deb

  2. freedom 2
    24 November 2010 at 8:56 am

    Yes we must be vigilant in the everlasting fight against Terrorism, but the fact remains, humans are getting stripsearched as endless loads of cargo get processed without so much as a scan. The enhanced pat down is policy, not just for Americans but any traveller travellling to or transiting through any airport, regardless if they have the new scanners. Our Government, through their silence, is complicit in this attack on private citizens. Another question, Why are NZ travellers not being warned about the new procedures.?

    Yes you can opt out, but then you get the groping and if you say no, you might think you just leave the airport. No, new rules say you are detained and can face a $10,000 fine or a year in jail

    The head of TSA has said he next wants trains and subways to have the same processes applied.

    Freight is still sent through largely unchecked, and it has been admitted many express parcels do not get checked even according to measures in place before the recent escalation in passenger security. There are already numerous mobile scanner units that are being deployed on highways, at Public schools, Sports events and concerts. The purpose of these devices can not be justified by the protection against terrorism lines being spun at the airports. This is a deliberate escalation of the War against free citizens.

    The head of Homeland Security says the scanners do not store, transmit or print images, despite the manufacturer’s own product desription clealy stating they are designed for that very purpose

    The safety of the machines has not been verified as the health-risk assessment undertaken by the US government has not been made public and hence there is no way to counter the claims by many medical and science professionals that there is a definite cancer risk from the form of radiation used. They have already shown that the type of backscatter radiation being employed can cause severe ranges of cell damage including the ability to unzip the DNA strand

    Was it not only last week that content from this blog ended up in the hands of a Member of Parliament and was referenced in questions to Parliament. With the long accepted demise of the fourth estate, the junknews fascination of social networking, and the inherently short attention span of TV land, is it not the ability to show discourse on a blog that remains solely hopeful as a source of access and criticism for socially relevant news and information.

    Do we not know how to recognise the incremental advancement of the Police State being wrought upon Western Democracies. There are no shortage of historical truths to draw from when discussing how a Police State comes to be. One that cannot be denied is when a foreign Government is complicit in sanctioning the molestation of private citizens exercising their right to free movement.

    and for the record, NZ forces in Afghanistan are involved in a lot more than building bridges. Any who think they are solely there on an humanitarian mission need their head read. We are taking lives in an illegal War, the costs of this action are yet to be settled.

    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21112010/#comment-272688
    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-22112010/#comment-272883

  3. Tigger 3
    24 November 2010 at 9:02 am

    I can’t imagine Kiwibog or Whalespout linking to a site by a plus size fashion designer…this is why I heart The Standard…

  4. D14 4
    24 November 2010 at 9:06 am

    Found this in an aviation site.

    >>Scanner makers boosted lobbying

    companies with multimillion-dollar contracts to supply American airports with body-scanning machines more than doubled their spending on lobbying in the past five years and hired several high-profile former government officials to advance their causes in Washington, government records show.

    http://www.airportbusiness.com/publication/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=41083

    How come I am not surprised!!!

  5. jcuknz 5
    24 November 2010 at 9:11 am

    It is a screwed up country infecting the world with the best of intentions. It can kill thousands by actual warfare or simply pointless embargoes but kill off a few of its own people and the world and individual freedom suffers. Its security chief says he is paranoic, and his staff are paid to be likewise. They should be in a nuthouse, not airports. At least this nonsense is absent when you travel by Amtrak.

    • freedom 5.1
      24 November 2010 at 9:40 am

      “At least this nonsense is absent when you travel by Amtrak”

      Trains and Subways are next on Pistoli’s hitlist

    • insider 5.2
      24 November 2010 at 12:52 pm

      It’s fine paying people to be paranoid for you, but you don’t then give them signing authority to your bank accounts.They should propose measures to counter risks but the decision to implement needs to be in the hands of others.

    • Vicky32 5.3
      24 November 2010 at 7:49 pm

      The best of intentions? jcuknz, you are giving them far too much credit…
      Deb

  6. Sanctuary 6
    24 November 2010 at 9:17 am

    One British senior officer famously said of the IRA “We have to be lucky all the time; they just have to get lucky once”.

    The general population needs to be taken into the confidence of their leaders and told that the tactics of 9/11 will not work twice, but sometimes the bad guys will get through and we all have to live with that risk in the same way we live with all the other risks we live with in our lives.

    Treating adults like adults and not pretending we can ever reduce risk to zero in a free society means we can all get on with our lives without these hysterical doomed attempts to guarantee 100% safety.

    Maybe people just have to be told that our freedoms have never come for free, and one manifestation of that grim fact is that terrorists might manage to be able to (very, very, very rarely) bring down an airliner.

    • Pascal's bookie 6.1
      24 November 2010 at 9:41 am

      Exactly.

      All of this stuff is laughable. AQ openly laugh at this saying that all they need to do is invest a couple of grand and one footsoldier on a mission, and the mighty fearful Americans will respond by spending millions, and run around like chickenshit children.

    • freedom 6.2
      24 November 2010 at 9:47 am

      “One British senior officer famously said of the IRA “We have to be lucky all the time; they just have to get lucky once”.”

      This would be the same (now supposedly disbanded) IRA whose Second in Command was recently admitted to be a British Agent and then there is this bizarre speech from the House of Lords where a British Financier and Industrialist openly discusses the laundering of funds to the IRA over the previous decades

    • insider 6.3
      24 November 2010 at 12:47 pm

      Why not come up with a market solution.

      El Cheapo airlines with no security for those who want fast transit and have a high risk threshold and Supertight Air, where nothing ever gets through but the tickets cost 50%-100% more.

      People will soon choose. All the corporates will have to go for Supertight because otherwise employees won’t travel, and holidaymakers will go on El Cheapo, knowing the risk is low.

      • freedom 6.3.1
        24 November 2010 at 4:10 pm

        One of the very interesting aspects of this escalation of security measures by the TSA have highlighted that after the first two years the mandate of Homeland Security to install TSA in Airports is void. The Airports are free to ‘opt out’ and utilise whatever security they wish.

        http://www.networkworld.com/community/airport+opt-out+TSA+hire+private+screeners

        At last count there are reportedly seventeen major Airports looking to kick out the TSA from their operations and install private security. This is a double edged sword and care should be taken as the cure may be worse than the disease

        • Maynard J 6.3.1.1
          25 November 2010 at 4:14 am

          I’d rather the TSA owned and operated those scanners, rather than a private company.

          A private company would do it for a lot less, but you know what their other revenue stream would be.

          • freedom 6.3.1.1.1
            25 November 2010 at 7:41 am

            maynard, the revenue/costs are not the issue here, the srtipsearching of private citizens without due reason is the issue

            eg: maybe you don’t have a problem with your mother gettting stripsearched

  7. prism 7
    24 November 2010 at 9:17 am

    Why travel to the USA? At present there are alternative routes that avoid the dark planet. Though like a blackhole in space they have a way of sucking in the rest of the, now twilight, planet struggling to keep the lights on.

    The USA has become a virtual Disney scenic trip, looks good on the outside but behind the scenes there are people struggling and perspiring in their Mickey Mouse costume for not much recognition, pay or respect by management. And their employer will have few legal controls or benefits it has to pay to the hapless workers. They may even be able to sack them at will after utilising their skills as required then dropping them like a used tissue!

    • Colonial Viper 7.1
      24 November 2010 at 10:20 am

      ^ +1 THIS

      The top 1% of the US population now owns more wealth than the bottom 90% put together.

      The country has become a class driven caricature of what its founders envisioned.

  8. grumpy 8
    24 November 2010 at 9:20 am

    These measures were bought in to avoid racial profiling. The argument for racial profiling is getting stronger.

    And guess what, Muslim women have sought and got exemption from scanning and the \”pat down\”. They are now allowed to pat down themselves.

    So the ordinary american has all these invasive procedures but not the target group, truly the terrorists have won.

    • freedom 8.1
      24 November 2010 at 9:50 am

      sorry grumpy but it was only a request the answer from the TSA was emphatic,

      ‘”That person is not going to get on an airplane,” Pistole said in response to a question from Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., on whether the TSA would provide exemptions for passengers whose religious beliefs do not allow them to go through a physically revealing body scan or be touched by screeners. ”
      http://www.dailybreeze.com/latestnews/ci_16636299

      • grumpy 8.1.1
        24 November 2010 at 10:42 am

        Maybe not as you think “freedom”, see this link, Fox News and the Muslim community actually agreeing on this issue.

        http://video.foxnews.com/v/4425941/some-muslims-want-special-treatment-from-tsa

        • freedom 8.1.1.1
          24 November 2010 at 11:39 am

          i have seen that article, it does accurately discusses the head dress ‘self pat down’, where the hands of the subject are then swabbed but in no way does this exempt the subject from the rest of the screening process. The genital checking is still processed by a TSA agent and if refused by the subject then the law remains and the subject faces criminal charges, a $10,000 fine and being put on the no-fly list.

          yes the potential for exploding head scarves is a ‘clear and present danger’ but the TSA is not ‘letting muslims through’ as the tone of the MSM coverage is trying to suggest. That is simply a childish distraction so they do not have to educate people on how invasive and unwarranted the public strip search has become.
          http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-19/u-s-screening-all-airline-cargo-not-feasible-napolitano-says.html

          there are numerous reports on this and the few links on this page and others are only a selection of the detailed and disturbing events occuring in America
          ( and coming soon to a screening near you)

          regardless of whether a Muslim or any one else chooses to go through the new security systems, Is the threat of terror so severe it is justification for the strip search of a child?

          • grumpy 8.1.1.1.1
            24 November 2010 at 12:02 pm

            You are quite correct “freedom”. It is an issue that is uniting left and right and across religious divides.

            Clearly the US security system has lost the plot over this. The question is – “should the US and other countries now introduce racial profiling to limit the curtailment of the majority of citizen’s rights”?

        • Zorr 8.1.1.2
          24 November 2010 at 12:05 pm

          Soooooo…

          Racial profiling would stop another Oklahoma?

          • grumpy 8.1.1.2.1
            24 November 2010 at 12:33 pm

            Are you serious? Is that the only excuse you can find for not introducing racial profiling.

            Oklahoma has not been the catalyst for the increasingly intrusive security and travel security measures – they are all due to Islamic terrorism. How hard would it be to target that group ?

            • Zorr 8.1.1.2.1.1
              24 November 2010 at 12:40 pm

              Actually? Very difficult.

              A lot of Islamic extremists come from countries like Indonesia and Malaysia where they have an incredibly mixed religious culture. It would be all too easy for an Islamic extremist willing to pose as, say, a Christian in order to get past profiling. Racial profiling actually makes the US less safe, not more so. All it would take is someone to say “they are profiling these people as terrorists so what we want is Jim here to do this mission”.

              • Pascal's bookie …
                24 November 2010 at 12:52 pm

                So it’s africans, middle eastern types, those from the Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, Malaysia, southern europe, Richard Reid, and John Lindh. Easy.

                So you do all this and validate AQ’s propaganda at the same time.

                Awesome.

                • Zorr …
                  24 November 2010 at 1:42 pm

                  You left a few notables off your list there. Because if we are trying to stop the people that are destroying America from flying we better add people like Alan Grayson, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow and Jon Stewart to that list.

                  If they get to fly too then the terrorists win.

                  • freedom …
                    24 November 2010 at 4:15 pm

                    the profiling method used most succesfully is the behaviour based techniques from Israel, a country who know a fair bit about Police State security and spotting trouble.

                    The problem is the best application of the techniques is a hands-on operator who is on the front line, handling tickets, pushing buttons and generally interacting with the passenger. Instead the TSA adopted to position ‘watchers’ who have minimal to zero contact and usually only have sight based information and not the indepth communication from interacting with the passenger.

                    this leads to racial profiling which is counterproductive to the modern terror threats

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    24 November 2010 at 6:26 pm

                    lolz against the US Government its not the terrorists who have already won its the CAPITALISTS.

  9. freedom 9
    24 November 2010 at 10:00 am

    NZ Customs has bought backscatter radiation machines by the way, and with the new Search and Surveillence laws having removed most of our rights, i guess it only a matter of time before we see them deployed

    These are the machines we bought, it says so on the Company website
    http://www.as-e.com/american_science_and_engineering/index.asp
    http://www.as-e.com/products_solutions/z_backscatter.asp

  10. M 10
    24 November 2010 at 12:06 pm

    Might start a new trend of wearing a bikini or speedos to the airport but could be a bugger in New York in December.

    This will just be another nail in the coffin of the airline industry.

    Apparently in the Homeland Security Act citizens can also undergo forcible immunisation – secret method of removing those who question authority? The government would only need a waiting room, “treatment room” and disposal room all with interconnecting doors.

  11. roger nome 11
    24 November 2010 at 2:43 pm

    ermmm – can everyone please wake up and realise that it was all organised by people at the top of the state anyhow?

    There are simply too many red flags to ignore. Oh and if you don’t trust the wikipedia article, simply see the sources – they’re all there.

    The following is a list of all the operations being carried out on September 11 by the military:

    1. OPERATION NORTHERN VIGILANCE: This was planned months in advance of 9/11; On the morning of 9/11, where military resources were sent to Alaska in response to Russian military exercises. .[3]

    2. BIOWARFARE EXERCISE TRIPOD II: Rudolph Giuliani made referenced to Tripod 2 in his testimony to the 9/11 Commission. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) arrived in New York on September 10 to set up a command post located at Pier 29 under the auspices of a ‘biowarfare exercise scheduled for September 12. This explains why Tom Kenney of FEMA’s National Urban Search and Rescue Team, told Dan Rather of CBS News that FEMA had arrived in New York on the night of September 10. Giuliani was to use this post as a command post on 9/11 after he evacuated WTC Building 7. “We were operating out of there when we were told that the World Trade Center was gonna collapse,” Rudolph Giuliani told Peter Jennings of ABC News.[4]

    3. OPERATION VIGILANT GUARDIAN: This exercise simulated hijacked planes in the north eastern sector. Lt. Col. Dawne Deskins, NORAD unit’s airborne control and warning officer, was overseeing the exercise. At 8:40am she took a call from Boston Center which said it had a hijacked airliner. Her first words, as quoted by Newhouse News Service were, “It must be part of the exercise”.

    4. OPERATION NORTHERN GUARDIAN: The details of this exercise are still scant but it is considered to be part of Vigilant Guardian, relating to simulating hijacked planes in the north eastern sector.

    5. OPERATION VIGILANT WARRIOR: This was referenced in Richard Clarke’s book ‘Against All Enemies’. It is thought to have been the ‘attack’ component of the Vigilant Guardian exercise.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Guardian

    • freedom 11.1
      24 November 2010 at 4:31 pm

      my favourite quote was the Norad coms officer being told by a frantic NY Air Traffic controller that there are planes highjacked, someone better do something like send some f15s or something

      and the reply?
      “Is this real world or exercise?”

  12. hateatea 12
    24 November 2010 at 3:03 pm

    I really liked the suggestion that I read somewhere (I forget where so no link, sorry) which suggested that all countries who object to the new US anti-terrorist procedures should apply the intrusive procedures only to US citizens entering their countries. The sight of everyone else sailing through immigration with the minimum of fuss while those with US passports are subjected to the invasive procedures their government is imposing on all the rest of us should we choose to travel to their sacred soils.would raise a storm of protest far greater than that currently being made.

    That said, I fully recognise that fanatics are capable of striking anywhere and at anytime and that some measures need to be taken to minimise the risk to the majority. I venture to suggest that none of us would choose to be exposed to a very high risk of terrorist action but would comfortably live with a lower level of security for a slightly higher risk level than we seem to be being ‘over protected’ from by the recently introduced technologies.

    There would seem to be little chance of a de-escalation of the threat to personal safety by fanatics who have no respect for the rights of ordinary citizens of the world going about their lawful business so it is difficult to see and end to the state of alertness that we are faced with.

    Perhaps this is our generation’s World War

    • freedom 12.1
      24 November 2010 at 4:26 pm

      as the song goes, you aint seen nothing yet

      It is important that people acknowledge, process and react to what is being implemented. The world leaders are snarling dogs straining at the leash and hungry for War, do not feed them your liberty thinking they will calm down, it will only increase their taste for the flesh of freedom

  13. freedom 13
    24 November 2010 at 7:55 pm

    a great read that highlights the ridiculous illusion that is TSA security
    http://farmwars.info/?p=4672

    National Opt Out Day tomorrow in the USA
    http://www.optoutday.com/

    i hope it all goes peacefully, but you can guarantee it will not go quickly 😉

  14. freedom 14
    24 November 2010 at 8:10 pm

    New York City legislator’s seek ban on scanners
    http://council.nyc.gov/html/releases/11_18_10_greenfield_scanners.shtml

    in the meantime, here is a congressman at least showing a little interest in the people
    http://holt.house.gov/images/stories/updated_TSA_letter_11.19.2010.pdf

    there are so many facets being cut on this story that news is taking longer to verify
    such a shame we don’t have journalists anymore

  15. freedom 15
    25 November 2010 at 8:22 am

    The Wall Street Journal’s former Editor Paul Craig Roberts, on the TSA plans for a Police State
    http://www.infowars.com/tsa-gestapo-empire/

  16. freedom 16
    25 November 2010 at 12:10 pm

    ” Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal. “– Martin Luther King, Jr.

  17. freedom 17
    25 November 2010 at 12:58 pm

    It is being reported that TSA has ‘adjusted’ their security systems on the Eve of Thanksgiving.
    LAX reportedly turned off, and roped off its scanners for the Thanksgiving Eve rush
    http://bungalowbillscw.blogspot.com/2010/11/tweets-report-tsa-has-turned-off-naked.html

    This is an incredible action taken by an obviously rattled administration to prevent the ‘Opt Out Day’ actions from disrupting flights, though in doing so they simply create a larger question over the validity of the system.

    Surely the busiest day of the year for US Air Traffic is a prime terrorist target? Why would you not only reduce the amount of TSA security on that day, but turn off the very machines that yesterday were so vital to National Security? And supposedly will be again tomorrow.

  18. freedom 18
    25 November 2010 at 2:36 pm

    THIS IS NOT ILLUSION OR PARANOIA
    these truck units are real, they are being deployed in ever increasing regularity
    and NZ Customs has bought equipment off this company

    http://www.prisonplanet.com/4th-amendment-violating-mobile-x-ray-scanners-hit-the-streets.html

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    Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:Central Europe is reeling from the devastating effects of Storm Boris, which has so far caused 21 deaths and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    10 hours ago
  • Weekly Roundup 20-September-2024

    Welcome to the end of the week, as we head towards the spring equinox. Let us brighten your week with links to stories about how to make our city a little greater. This roundup is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew. If you’d like to support our work ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    10 hours ago
  • Three years of recession deeper than GFC

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September 20:New Zealand’s total GDP contracted less than expected in the June quarter, but per-capita GDP extended its three-year-long slump at a rate that is faster than ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • That’s Gangsta!

    The gang patch legislation finally passed in the House after a long period of fanfare from National. Gangs won’t be allowed to publicly display gang insignia on the body or in vehicles, and if they’re very naughty i.e. caught thrice, police will be able to enter private homes to search.How ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    11 hours ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 20

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-host talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including media coverage of extreme events and how big tech is gobbling up so much renewable power growth; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago
  • A very healthy distrust of how this Government is handling health across the board is needed…

    And alongside that, is the ultimate question for the public, and indeed Opposition Parties trying to appeal for enough of the public to support a change from this heinous direction of travel being imposed on us: how much of the damage here can even be stopped in time? Let us ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    21 hours ago
  • Hang up on him David, just stop

    There is a story I want to tell, but I'm not going to begin with it because it would be too abrupt. I'll start by telling you that I'm a big fan of the way Nicola Toki conveys her message. And Nicola Toki is a big fan of the way Jane ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Tax the rich!

    We already know that the rich people aren't paying their fair share. But it turns out its worse than that: we're a tax-haven! Our rich people pay lower taxes here than in any comparable country: Well-off New Zealanders are paying less tax than their peers in nine similar OECD ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Worse and worse

    Cancer Minister Casey Costello is in trouble again over her secret, magically appearing tobacco policy document. The Ombudsman has already found that she acted contrary to law in refusing requests for it; now she has been referred to the Chief Archivist over a possible breach of the Public Records Act ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • NZ’s lack of a capital gains tax means the richest here pay vastly less than elsewhere

    The lack of a capital gains tax means the richest Kiwis are sitting pretty compared to taxpayers overseas. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 19:New Zealand’s richest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Verrall to Levy: “Health NZ NDAs are North Korean – Get rid of it.”

    Open article. Note the video of the Health Select Committee excerpts starts at 1:22 In watching the Health Select Committee yesterday, it became clear to me why Margie Apa remains Health NZ CEO.During Levy’s testimony, Apa sat like a rock next to her boss. She nodded supportively, scribbled notes to ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 day ago
  • The Show Must Go On

    Empty spaces, what are we living for?Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and onDoes anybody know what we are looking for?Another hero, another mindless crimeBehind the curtain, in the pantomimeHold the lineDoes anybody want to take it anymore?The show must go onSongwriters: Brian May / Freddie Mercury ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Managing on-street parking for local benefit

    This guest post by Malcolm McCracken originally appeared on his blog Better Things Are Possible, and is republished here by kind permission. The case for Parking Benefit Districts: managing on-street parking for local benefit Parking is often the centre of debate in our cities; particularly on-street car parks, who gets ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    1 day ago
  • Doubling down?

    This is a re-post from And Then There's Physics I wrote a post a little while ago commenting on a Sabine Hossenfelder video suggesting that she was now worried about climate change because the Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (ECS) could be much higher than most estimates have suggested. I wasn’t too taken with Sabine’s arguments, and there were others ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago
  • Too much haste & waste in Simeon Brown’s need for speed

    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong story short, the Government’s myopia of only choosing transport policies that reduce travel times means we’re missing out on the health benefits of more cycling and walking, along with the health cost savings from fewer accidents, less pollution and mentally healthier ways of getting ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • What seemed so simple is now so complex

    The Health NZ rescue that seemed so simple back in July was presented to a Select Committee yesterday as a complex challenge that could take some years to sort out. In July, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Health NZ was on track to record a deficit of $1.4 billion for ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • The utterances of Shane Jones

    Let us consider the utterances of Shane Jones.Let us consider the derogatory terms of abuseNow is not the time for Green Wombles, it's black and white decision making.We will stand with the energy industry and ensure they are not monstered by Green Termites nibbling away at our economic capital.The Green ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Ukrainian militia receives defective shipment of pagers that just send and receive messages

    There’s been a major setback for one Ukrainian-backed militia on the Russian border, after the group ordered a large shipment of pagers to use as improvised explosive devices. The plan was to litter the pagers throughout abandoned homes and buildings in hopes of wounding Russian soldiers. But upon arrival of ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    2 days ago
  • A constitutional shitshow

    Last month, we learned that the government was half-arsing its anti-gang legislation, adding a significant, pre-planned, BORA-abusing amendment at the committee stage, avoiding all the usual scrutiny processes. But it gets worse. Because having done it once, they're now planning to recall the bill in order to add another such ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Political Round Up

    Note: An earlier version of this article noted Levy was a “party time Health NZ commissioner” - this has been updated - forgive my Freudian slip.Dr Lester Levy is charging $320,000 a year to be a part time Health NZ commissioner. Rachel Thomas reports that Levy is still teaching 2 ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Postcard from Sydney: Southwest and City Metro extension

    This is a guest post from Sydney reader Nik Clement After 2 years in Auckland I moved back to Sydney just over a year ago. While in Auckland, I went to the opening of Puhinui station and used it a fair bit, living in Manukau Central and being able ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • Tolling revolt brewing in National heartland

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, September 18:Locals gathered in Woodville last night to protest at the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s decision to toll the new road linking the Manawatu and Hawkes Bay, saying ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The doom spiral

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In his last post, Zeke discussed incredible warmth of 2023 and 2024 and its implications for future warming. A few readers looked at it and freaked out: This is terrifying and This update really put me in a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Government directs Te Puni Kōkiri to conduct Māori Language Week in English

    The coalition government has issued a directive to Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Māori Development, instructing them that – in the interests of clear communication – they are to conduct this year’s Māori Language Week primarily or exclusively in English. The directive is in line with the Government’s policy ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Government celebrates fact that New Zealand’s healthcare is so good people are queuing up for it a...

    At yesterday’s post-cabinet press conference, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, flanked by his Health Minister Shane Reti and someone we can’t independently verify was a real sign language interpreter, announced that he had some positive news for the country. “Alright team, I’m just going to hand over to uh, Dr. Shane, ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Heartwarming: Thoughtful driver uses indicator to tell you what they’ve just done

    It’s 4:10pm in the morning, and you’re in the middle lane heading north on the great southern motorway of our nation’s capital, Auckland. There are no cars directly in front of you, but quite a few in the lane to your left. Suddenly, without warning, a black ute enters your ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • NPC teams will now be allowed to actually use the Ranfurly Shield in play

    Following decades of controversy, the governing body of New Zealand rugby, New Zealand Rugby, has ruled that the team currently holding the Ranfurly Shield may once again use it in play during the National Provincial Championship (NPC). The ruling restores the utility of a prize that for many years was ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Climbing out of the hamster wheel

    I arrived home with a head full of fresh ideas about mindfulness and curbing impulsive aspects in my character.On the second night home I grabbed a piece of ginger and began swiftly slicing it on our industrial strength mandolin, the one I have learned through painful experience to treat with ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • More Notes From Stinky Town

    Good morning, folks. Another wee note from a chilly Rotorua morning that looks much clearer than yesterday. As I write, the pink glow in the east is slowly growing, and soon, the palest of blue skies should become a bit more royal.A couple of people mentioned yesterday that I should ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Make it make sense: why axe valuable local projects?

    Last week, Matt looked at how the government wants to pour a huge chunk of civic infrastructure funding for a generation  into one mega-road up North, at huge cost and huge opportunity cost. A smaller but no less important feature of the National Land Transport Plan devised by Minister of Transport ...
    Greater AucklandBy Jolisa
    3 days ago
  • Driving blind at higher speeds

    An open letter by experts about plans to raise speed limits warns the “tragic consequence will be more New Zealanders losing their lives or suffering severe injury, along with a substantial burden on the nation's healthcare and rehabilitation services”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • 2024’s unusually persistent warmth

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink My inaugural post on The Climate Brink 18 months ago looked at the year 2024, and found that it was likely to be the warmest year on record on the back of a (than forecast) El Nino event. I suggested “there is a real chance ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • National plan for 2000 more Kiwis a year in prison

    Open for allYesterday, Luxon congratulated his government on a job well done with emergency housing numbers, but advocates have been saying it‘s likely many are on the streets and sleeping in cars.Q&A featured some of the folks this weekend - homeless and in cars. Yes.The government’s also confirmed they stopped ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • I Found a Note in a Tree

    Hi,On most days I try to go on a walk through nature to clear my head from the horrors of life. Because as much as I like people, I also think it’s incredibly important to get very far away from them. To be reminded that there are also birds, lizards, ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Politicians need to lift their game

    Declining trust in New Zealand politicians should be a warning to them to lift their game. Results from the New Zealand Election Study for the 2023 election show that the level of trust in politicians has once again declined. Perhaps it is not surprising that the results, shared as part ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Police say they won’t respond to bomb threats anymore as ‘it’s never anything’

    Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says that New Zealand’s police force will no longer respond to bomb threats, in an attempt to cut costs and redirect police resources to less boring activities. Coster said that threat response and bomb disposal was a “fairly obvious” area for downsizing, as bomb threats are ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • A dysfunctional watchdog

    The reality of any right depends on how well it is enforced. But as The Post points out this morning, our right to official information isn't being enforced very well at all: More than a quarter of complaints about access to official information languish for more than a year, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: The threat of a good example

    Since taking office, the climate-denier National government has gutted agricultural emissions pricing, ended the clean car discount, repealed water quality standards which would have reduced agricultural emissions, gutted the clean car standard, killed the GIDI scheme, and reversed efforts to reduce pollution subsidies in the ETS - basically every significant ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Vegas Baby

    Good morning, lovely people. Don’t worry. This isn’t really a newsletter, just a quick note. I’m sitting in our lounge, looking out over a gloomy sky. Although being Rotorua, the view is periodically interrupted by steam bursting from pipes and dispersing—like an Eastern European industrial hellscape during the Cold War.Drinking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Why Entrust Needs New Leadership

    I am part of a new team running in the Entrust election in October. Entrust is a community electricity trust representing a significant part of Auckland, set up to serve the community. It is governed by five trustees are elected every three years in an election the trust itself oversees. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    4 days ago
  • London Bridge is falling down

    In the UK, London is the latest of council groups to signal potential bankruptcy.That’s after Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, went bankrupt in June, resulting in reduced sanitation services, libraries cut, and dimmed streetlights.Some in the city described things as “Dickens” like.Please, Sir, Can I have some more?For families with ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Govt may kick elderly out of hospitals

    The Government is considering how to shunt elderly people out of hospitals, and also how to cut their access to other support. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Getting the nephs off the couch

    The so-called “Prince of the Provinces”, Shane Jones, went home last Friday. Perhaps not quite literally home, more like 20 kilometres down the road from his house on the outskirts of Kerikeri. With its airport, its rapidly growing (mostly retired) population, and a commercial centre with all the big retail ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • De moralibus orcorum: Sargon of Akkad, Rings of Power, Evil, and George R.R. Martin

    I have noted before that The Rings of Power has attracted its unfortunate share of culture war obsessives. Essentially, for a certain type of individual, railing on about the Wokery of Modern Media is a means of making themselves a online livelihood. Clicks and views and advertising revenue, and all ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37

    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 8, 2024 thru Sat, September 14, 2024. Story of the week From time to time we like to make our Story of the Week all about us— and ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago
  • Salvation For Us All

    Yesterday, I ruminated about the effects of being a political follower.And, within politics, David Seymour was smart enough on Friday to divert attention from “race blind” policies [what about gender blind I thought - thinking of maternity wards] and cutting school lunches by throwing meat to the media. Teachers were ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • A warm embrace

    Far, far away from here lives our King. Some of his subjects can be quite the forelock tuggers, but plenty of us are not like that, and why don't I wheel out my favourite old story once more about Kiwi soldiers in the North African desert?Field Marshal Montgomery takes offence ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Literal clowns are running the place, we must put a timeout on this stupidity… right Aotearoa?

    These people are inept on every level. They’re inept to the detriment of our internal politics, cohesion and increasingly our international reputation. And they are reveling in the fact they are getting away with it. We cannot even have “respectful debate” with a government that clearly rejects the very ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    6 days ago
  • Fact brief – Does manmade CO2 have any detectable fingerprint?

    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Does manmade CO2 have any ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • Judge Not.

    Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY men and women professing the Christian faith would appear to have imperilled their immortal souls. ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago
  • Managed Democracy: Letting The People Decide, But Only When They Can Be Relied Upon To Give the Righ...

    Uh-uh! Not So Fast, Citizens! The power to initiate systemic change remains where it has always been in New Zealand’s representative democracy – in Parliament. To order a binding referendum, the House of Representatives must first to be persuaded that, on the question proposed, sharing its decision-making power with the people ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago
  • Looking For Labour’s Vital Signs.

    Flatlining: With no evidence of a genuine policy disruptor at work in Labour’s ranks, New Zealand’s wealthiest citizens can sleep easy.PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN has walked a picket-line. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has threatened “price-gauging” grocery retailers with price control. The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform situates it well to the left of Sir ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago
  • Forty Years Of Remembering To Forget.

    The Beginning of the End: Rogernomics became the short-hand descriptor for all the radical changes that swept away New Zealand’s social-democratic economy and society between 1984 and 1990. In the bitterest of ironies, those changes were introduced by the very same party which had entrenched New Zealand social-democracy 50 years earlier. ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago
  • Kōrero Mai – Speak to Me.

    Good morning all you lovely people. 🙂I woke up this morning, and it felt a bit like the last day of school. You might recall from earlier in the week that I’m heading home to Rotorua to see an old friend who doesn’t have much time. A sad journey, but ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Winning ways

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Street architecture adjustment, KolkataShare Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • 48 seconds on a plan that would reverberate for a million years

    Despite fears that Trump presidency would be disastrous for progress on climate change, the topic barely rated a mention in the Presidential debate. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Using blunt instruments and magical thinking to ignore evidence of harm

    The abrupt cancellations and suspensions of Government spending also caused private sector hiring, spending, and investment to freeze up for the first six months of the year. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThis week we learned:The new National/ACT/NZ First Coalition Government ignored advice from Treasury that it didn’t have to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power Episode 5 (Seaso...

    Another week of The Rings of Power, season two, and another confirmation that things are definitely coming together for the show. The fifth Episode of season one represented the nadir of the series. Now? Amid the firmer footing of 2024, Episode Five represents further a further step towards excellent Tolkien ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    7 days ago
  • In Open Seas; A Book

    The background to In Open Seas: How the New Zealand Labour Government Went Wrong:2017-2023Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand, published in 2020, proved more successful than either I or the publisher (VUP, now Te Herenga Waka University Press) expected. I had expected that it would ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 13

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the climate implications of the US Presidential elections; and special guests Janet ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Do or do not. There is no try

    1. Upon receiving evidence that school lunches were doing a marvellous job of improving outcomes for students, David Seymour did what?a. Declared we need much more of this sort of good news and poured extra resources and funding into them b. Emailed Atlas network to ask what to do next c. Cut ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Dangerous ground

    The Waitangi Tribunal has reported back on National's proposed changes to gut the Marine and Coastal Area Act and steal the foreshore and seabed for its greedy fishing-industry donors, and declared it to be another huge violation of ti Tiriti: The Waitangi Tribunal has found government changes to the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: National wants to cheat on Paris

    In 2016, the then-National government signed the Paris Agreement, committing Aotearoa to a 30 (later 50) percent reduction in emissions by 2030. When questioned about how they intended to meet that target with their complete absence of effective climate policy, they made a lot of noise about how it was ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Treasury warned Govt lower debt limits meant less ‘productivity-enhancing investment’

    Treasury’s advice to Cabinet was that the new Government could actually prudently carry net core Crown debt of up to 50% of GDP. But Luxon and Willis instead chose to portray the Government’s finances as in such a mess they had no choice but to carve 6.5% to 7.5% off ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Is the Media Complicit?

    This is a long read. Open to all.SYNOPSIS: Traditional media is at a cross roads. There is a need for those in the media landscape, as it stands, to earn enough to stay afloat, but also come across as balanced and neutral to keep its audiences.In America, NYT’s liberal leaning ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Black Friday

    It's Black Friday, the end of the weekYou take my hand and hold it gently up against your cheekIt's all in my head, it's all in my mindI see the darkness where you see the lightSong by Tom OdellFriday the 13th, don’t be afraid.No, really, don’t. Everything has felt a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 13-September-2024

    Ooh, Friday the thirteenth. Spooky! Is that why certain zombie ideas have been stalking the landscape this week, like the Mayor’s brainwave for a motorway bridge from Kauri Point to Point Chev? Read on and find out. This roundup, like all our coverage, is brought to you by the Greater ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #37 2024

    Open access notables Early knowledge but delays in climate actions: An ecocide case against both transnational oil corporations and national governments, Hauser et al., Environmental Science & Policy: Cast within the wide context of investigating the collusion at play between powerful political-economic actors and decision-makers as monopolists and debates about ‘the modern ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Tourism on the table for Pacific Ministers’ meet-up

    Tourism and Hospitality Minister Matt Doocey will meet with Trade and Tourism Minister of Australia Don Farrell and Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica in Rotorua this weekend for a trilateral tourism discussion. “Like in New Zealand, tourism plays a significant role in Australia and Fiji’s economy, contributing massively to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Young people report on family and sexual violence

    The Te Puna Aonui Expert Advisory Group for Children and Young People has presented its report today on improving family and sexual violence outcomes for young people, to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour.  The presentation at the Auckland event was an opportunity for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • $18 million being invested in the victims of crime

    The Government is putting more than $18 million towards improving the experience of the criminal justice system for victims, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Minister for Children Karen Chhour say. “No one should experience crime, but for those who through no fault of their own become victims, they need to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Landmark phonics check in te reo Māori

    For the first time, schools can use a purpose-built tool to check how a child is progressing in reading through te reo Māori. “Around 45 schools are trialling a New Zealand first te reo Māori phonics check, known as Hihira Weteoro. It will help kaiako (teachers) focus on what ākonga ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • New sea walls safeguard Ōpōtiki’s transformation

    Two new breakwater walls at Pākihikura (Ōpōtiki) Harbour will provide boats with safe harbour access to support the continued growth of aquaculture in Bay of Plenty, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones say. The Ministers and leaders from Tē Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea and other ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Kitmap to improve access to science infrastructure

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced an online platform to optimise the use of New Zealand’s science and technology research infrastructure and to link the public and private sector. “This country is home to world-class science, technology, and engineering expertise. Kitmap is set to empower Kiwi innovators, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Driving the uptake of low emission heavy vehicles

    The Government has launched the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund (LEHVF) to promote innovation and offset the cost of hundreds of heavy vehicles powered by clean technologies, Energy Minister Simeon Brown and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts say. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Speech on replacing the Resource Management Act

    Replacing the RMA Hon Chris Bishop: Good morning, it is great to be with you. Can I first acknowledge the Resource Management Law Association for hosting us here today. Can I also acknowledge my Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Simon Court, who is on stage with me. He has assisted me in establishing the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Replacement for the Resource Management Act takes shape

    Two new laws will be developed to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA), with the enjoyment of property rights as their guiding principle, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court say. “The RMA was passed with good intentions in 1991 but has proved a failure in practice. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Tough laws pass to make gang life uncomfortable

    Legislation passed through Parliament today will provide police and the courts with additional tools to crack down on gangs that peddle misery and intimidation throughout New Zealand, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “From November 21, gang insignia will be banned in all public places, courts will be able to issue non-consorting orders, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • New levy rates set to ensure continued funding of FENZ

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the rates for the redesigned levy that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) from July 2026.  “Earlier this year FENZ consulted publicly on a 5.2 percent increase to the levy. I was not convinced that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Police allocate Officers to Beat and Gang Units

    The Coalition Government welcomes Police’s announcement today to deploy more police on the beat and staff to Gang Disruption Units.  An additional 70 officers will be allocated to Community Beat Teams across towns and regional centres.  This builds on the deployment of beat officers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch CBDs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Consultation begins on significant updates to the biosecurity system

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