How To Get There 7/4/19

Written By: - Date published: 6:55 am, April 7th, 2019 - 12 comments
Categories: Deep stuff - Tags:

 

This post is a place for positive discussion of the future.

An Open Mike for ideas, solutions and the discussion of the possible.

The Big Picture, rather than a snapshot of the day’s goings on. Topics rather than topical.

We’d like to think it’s success will be measured in the quality of comments rather than the quantity.

So have at it!

Let us know what you think …

12 comments on “How To Get There 7/4/19 ”

  1. WeTheBleeple 1

    Do (virtually) nothing garden.

    The biggest issue for urban gardeners is typically time. The biggest time consumer for maintaining productivity in a garden is weeding. Thus, it stands to reason eliminating the bulk of weeding is desirable.

    One method of weed free gardening I’ve had great success with is using raised garden beds filled with woodchip mulch. The garden surrounds are logs, the garden fill is the chipped up smaller stuff off the tree/s the logs came from. These beds look great as well as perform like troopers.

    You need: unwanted trees, lots of cardboard/newspaper, chainsaw, woodchipper, compost, stable sweepings or manure if you can get it, minerals, plants including trees to replace those cut down, plus extra trees/shrubs for in the garden beds, optional drip irrigation.

    You begin with locating/growing undesirable woody tree species e.g. privet, wattle, unwanted tree… These are cut into logs and the rest chipped into mulch, with larger offcuts/gnarly bits used for firewood/fill for hügelkultur/banana pits, char production…

    Cut and mulch the greenery at your garden site. Add any minerals e.g. gypsum on clays, lime or crushed shells/rockdust type stuff on top of the cut greenery. Lay down cardboard in the shape you want your garden with wide overlaps to block all light and prevent weed penetration. Lay out the log surrounds defining your garden borders over the cardboard. Add stable sweepings/manures if you have them and spread out over the card base interior of the bed. Fill in with woodchips.

    Many advise waiting for several months then planting. The idea is waiting for the chips to start composting. They start immediately if damp… To plant immediately:

    Plant trees, berries etc level with the woodchip level so they are slightly off the ground but their roots are connected to it. To do this cut into the cardboard for trees making a hole to fit the tree rootball. Slightly raising trees is especially useful in clays for any trees that don’t like wet feet. Add minerals around the tree site so exploratory roots find them. Flower and vegetables/small plants, pull back the chips making a hole, use a trowel to jab a slit in the card and add a generous double handful of compost then plant seedlings directly into the compost. Pull chips back to cover. Optional: Lay out drip irrigation close to plants and conceal beneath mulch if desired.

    I use fruit trees, natives, flowers, herbs and vegetables in these beds to create highly productive areas with a beautiful yet clean landscaped look. I did not bother with drip irrigation for most as woodchip holds moisture really well. This summers drought made me rethink irrigation, especially for people who are time poor. Irrigation goes on a timer to make it even easier, and moisture sensors are available if you want to go high tech and avoid overwatering.

    After this, the maintenance required is harvesting food and replacing plants that come out (fill in the gaps and food keeps being produced). Occasionally I pull a stray weed as I collect dinner. Very few. I’ve never had to specifically go out and weed, though next spring I’ll roll my logs surround over, and spend a bit of effort bashing any wannabe kikuyu invasion under them.

    I never spray or fret over critters, mildews etc. I go for lots of variety and hope as more goes in over time pest damage is minimised/balanced out. I get to eat nearly all the stuff that grows, and losing the odd thing is of no real concern except if I might learn something from it.

    These gardens will become more fertile over time and require no additional inputs after establishment of your first plants. Using a bit of compost when planting makes plants establish faster and helps the overall bed over time. Top up mulch every couple of years.

    A garden can save you thousands of dollars annually, but if you don’t pick it, and know how to cook it so it is at least as good as what you are used to… you may go off it and neglect to keep planting the gaps thus maintaining supply. Lots of herbs helps tremendously for taste, but it is cooking (and then preserving) skills that will separate the hobby gardener from the serious saver.

  2. greywarshark 2

    On a large scale learning how to do growing better. Talking about Australia but their drought and heat problems are going to be repeated here. 4mins
    Deceit and greed he says is the problem and we need to ‘grow the pie to share’.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj4nwzscuZ0

  3. greywarshark 3

    Tagasaste called tree lucerne. Good stock fodder and leguminous – nitrogen fixing.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BubxVJZ6MhY

    https://treecrops.org.nz/crops/shelter/tagasaste/
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytisus_proliferus
    (Note Tree crops say proper title is Chamaecytisus proliferus var palmensis.
    Allied species are C. stenopetalus (yellow flowers) and C. Palida (white flowers))
    https://thisnzlife.co.nz/tagasaste-useful-tree-lifestyle-block/

    Agroforestry
    Growing trees on farms as a mixed crop 28 mins
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqujm_MsZlU
    A figure of 30% less production when the animals and land is not protected from conditions by trees. And that the trees do not lessen carrying capacity.

    An example of need to take on Natural Sequence Farming shows up halfway on
    in the video. So lots to learn for all of us, farmers and townies too.
    People learning from each other – French and Australians here.
    NZ and Australians? Can we get some more benefit from our neighbours.

    They are selling trees as young logs, eucalypts tall power poles as part of their cycles.
    and radiata softwood, serving paper manufacturing, and thinking carbon sequestration,
    and they refer to faulty carbon system lacking government attention.
    Special timbers forestry expert says that some can be combined with honey production.

    Also thinking of thinnings for various purposes and reduces fire risk.

  4. cleangreen. 4

    24 people have died on our roads during the last single week, the worst statistic NZ has ever seen.

    We have been advocating to Government since 2001 in Napier, since 2001 in support for rail.

    So now we advocate to restore rail passenger and freight throughout all NZ regions, to reverse the skyrocketing road fatalities.

    No to more roads.

    This is not the way forward, as will only bring yet more trucks.

    So we ask the PM Ardern; – please stop this truck madness.

    Private vehicles are seriously over- subsiding all of those private truck freight industries and this must stop.

    More money needs to be reverted towards restoring all NZ provincial rail services, as 24 people have died on our roads during the last single week, the worst statistic NZ has ever seen.

    The cost of private vehicle use is just to high now and Government must act to save lives and rail in NZ.

    This last week’s fatalities was the latest evidence that there is a horrific cost of subsidies spent by private vehicle users given to Government to prop up a failing costly truck freight industry that is killing many on our roads and making roads unsafe and very costly to repair now so stop this ‘un-sustainable truck freight subsidy by the public users of our public roads’.

    https://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/niwa.co.nz/files/import/attachments/chc2006_6.pdf
    Published in “Environmental Science and Policy” Vol 9 (2006) pp 55-66 TRANSPORT COST ANALYSIS: a case study of the total costs of private and public transport in Auckland. Astrid Jakob1 , John L. Craig1 and Gavin Fisher2 1. University of Auckland, School of Geography and Environmental Science, Tamaki Campus, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand 2. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, 269 Khyber Pass, Newmarket Auckland, New Zealand.

    EXTERNAL COST OF TRANSPORT To estimate the total cost of transport, it is necessary to look at indirect or external costs simultaneously. External costs are not born by the public and private transport users – they are paid by others, generally the society as a whole, but also the environment. These mainly comprise: external accident, air pollution, climate change, external parking, congestion costs and others (Becker, 2002; Litman, 2002). Of all transport related external costs evaluated in the literature, external accident, air pollution and climate change are the three largest (Maddison, 1996), comprising 77% of the overall costs (Becker, 2002). Therefore these three costs are considered in this chapter. One has however to keep in mind that the degree of confidence varies between these three costs. Whereas accident costs, like property damage, can be calculated quite precisely, climate change costs are less certain. For this reason a very conservative approach has been applied which is discussed in more detail throughout this section. The literature suggests several techniques to quantify and monetise external effects of motor vehicle transport such as damage cost method, control or prevention cost method, hedonic compared to contingent valuation method. These methods are described in detail in Bruce (1995), Himmel (1999), Litman (2002). None of these methods can be used to estimate all motor vehicle related external costs without uncertainties. For each impact a different approach according to its nature has therefore been applied and uncertainties stated which has likewise been done in Becker (2001), Litman (2002), Maddison (1996) or Maibach (2002).

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1903/S00323/the-hidden-trucking-industry-subsidy.htm

    The Hidden Trucking Industry Subsidy
    Sunday, 31 March 2019, 2:07 pm
    Quote;
    Freight trucks cause 99% of wear-and-tear on US roads, but only pay for 35% of the maintenance. This $60B subsidy causes extra congestion and pollution, and taxpayers pay the bill.
    SO; ‘WE GIVE ‘PUBLIC’ SUBSIDY TO TRUCKS WHY NOT RAIL’?

    Recap; History of truck subsidies in NZ.

    Private vehicles are wrongly over- subsidising truck freight as far back as 2007 according to a highly respected organisation in NZ called (IPENZ).

    We now see that perhaps we need to request that Central Government now structure both transport infrastructure links in the same manner to avoid distortions in the financial integrity of both modal operations for the next 50yrs as Lawrence rightly suggests we do plan for.

    Perhaps we can begin tolling roads for commercial freight companies due to the high freight carrying and high road wear?

    The toll can be adjusted to the wear and repair costs generated so thereby self funding our roads?

    Private vehicles then can their costs of their wear of the roads by using the IPENZ estimated costs in their road use costing report.

    The last IPENZ report shows that of both road & rail costing of contributions from each transport mode;

    Rail pays 77% of their total cost of maintaining the rail.

    Private road users pay 66% of their cost of maintaining the roads.

    Truck transport pays 54% of their cost of maintaining the roads.

    These figures may change as the demographics change over time.

    Either both modes use equal cost structural mechanisms such as the” Pot” of funding or we find another type of similar equal funding vehicle for both modes.

    The attached IPENZ review warns that careful consideration must be made when deciding closure of rail as often it is not later reversible.

    http://www.productivity.govt.nz/sites/default/files/Sub%20025%20-%20IPENZ%20Submission_0.pdf

    2.4 RAIL

    IPENZ is supportive of the Government’s Turnaround Plan for KiwiRail to upgrade rail infrastructure and rolling stock to help increase New Zealand’s economic productivity and growth. IPENZ also recognizes that elements of the network are uneconomic and may need to be closed. The decisions to close particular lines need to be taken with care – these decisions are often irreversible, and closure can erode wider network profitability. Line closures also impact on other components of the supply chain such as ports. Page 6 of 8

    3. EFFICIENCY OF INTERFACES BETWEEN COMPONENTS

    Question 57. Should decisions on investments in ports and in the associated infrastructure links to ports be left to the judgements of the individual suppliers of the separate components? Or would some sort of overall strategic plan provide useful guidance and some assurance that complementary investments will happen?

    The major regional councils undertake multimodal transportation modelling and planning and these play a major part in designing the transport networks in metropolitan areas. This modelling includes specific localised freight analyses. Modelling is a sophisticated planning tool that uses a range of criteria to design and future proof (through scenario testing) a desirable and integrated transport network. Through this process the network can be designed to seek to achieve a range of objectives including those enabling regional economic growth, the efficient use of public capital, affordability, improving accessibility, and minimising environmental impacts.

    Therefore a regional transport plan that recognises the freight supply chain’s interdependent components, developed in an inclusive way, can provide a context for development by both public and private infrastructure providers, and are a valuable tool for assisting with commercial investment decision making.

    Similarly the Ministry of Transport undertook the National Freight Demands Study in 2008. This provided valuable information on existing and future freight demands.

    Thus information and analysis by public agencies can be very useful for the private sector.

    An interesting suggestion in the 2004 Infrastructure Stocktake recommended to Cabinet the concept of “facilitated discussions” between by central government, local government and private sector and infrastructure users and providers. This could be effective in bringing together the common issues – freight infrastructure development is driven by similar growth demands.

    4.1.1 Pricing.

    Many argue that if the prices are right (including externalities and the cost of capital), this will drive economically efficient outcomes. Each of the transport modes have different environmental impacts – noise, water quality, air quality and pricing mechanisms could capture these differences. The Ministry of Transport undertook the Page 7 of 8

    Surface Transport Costs and Charges study in 2007 but this did not extend to sea transport. In theory pricing would place all transport modes on a level playing field. The Productivity Commission should consider whether improving pricing signals is feasible across all modes in the medium term. It seems that there is increasing acceptance of toll roads, but any form of congestion pricing or road network pricing would appear to be some years away.

    4.1.2 Neutrality of public funding

    Roads and rail are often competing modes for the freight business and this raises the problematic issue of the different government support for road and rail to meet the demands of the growing “freight task”. Recognising the issues with implementing pricing mechanisms, the Commission must consider whether Government (and local government) funding mechanisms are neutral and do not favour one mode over the other.

    Further, commercial disciplines, investment decision making and financial reporting mechanisms (including balance sheets) are not applicable to the roading network. As a result of this and the acknowledged difficult funding allocation issues, there are inevitably cross subsidies between light vehicles and freight transport

    So then this question arises; – ‘can their higher costs given to Government of their wear of the roads (being far less than truck transport) since 2007 now be used to fund rail instead’?

    The IPENZ (Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand) estimated costs in their ‘road use costing report’ suggested this in 2007.

    The last IPENZ report shows that of both road & rail costing of contributions from each transport mode;
    Rail pays 77% of their total cost of maintaining the rail.
    Private road users pay 66% of their cost of maintaining the roads.
    Truck transport pays 54% of their cost of maintaining the roads.
    These figures may change as the demographics change over time.
    Either both modes use equal cost structural mechanisms such as the” Pot” of funding or we find another type of similar equal funding vehicle for both modes.
    The attached IPENZ review warns that careful consideration must be made when deciding closure of rail as often it is not later reversible.

    Government must review the statements below made clear by IPENZ in 2005 to the Clark Government of the importance of our rail system.

    Government must work with cabinet to resolve these issues now of overuse of public funding of only roads, roads, and more roads just for freight trucks.

    ‘As the NZ Government offers a subsidy to buy an electric car’ why not also for ‘Electric locomotives’ also?

    We hope Government will include our input here in your plans for finishing the Zero Carbon Bill and use the EY report here also.

    https://www.kiwirail.co.nz/uploads/Publications/The%20Value%20of%20the%20Rail%20in%20New%20Zealand.pdf

  5. Would be interesting to see some accurate cost/benefit analysis on trucks vs rail including the costs of road deaths ?

    Obviously our rail networks require some upgrades to be able to compete with trucking however heavy trucks are chewing up our poorly built roads these days ?

    • greywarshark 5.1

      The road deaths are becoming to horrific proportions just recently. We should be alarmed. Roads are jammed with injudicious tourism, Chinese apparently preferring self-drive rather than tours run by their own people, for their own people, and not getting much chance to mingle and absorb the New Zealandishness! Then there are more trucks, more super-trucks, and cycling is becoming a major sport with more on the roads as well as off.

      Then there is the cellphone/texting saga. The demands of the economy caused by bringing in a long hours, low wage, diminishing real wages, sky-aimed housing costs (now attached to NZ rockets so can go even higher – till we don’t call the builder but – Rocket Man) situation, means that people are forced by economic necessity and habit to be on call, informed, all the time.

      Helping them to install appropriate technology to handle those messages through an app in their car that comes on when they slip their cellphone into a holder in the car would be the answer to lessened road crashes. IDEA HERE. Would someone notice and initiate a techno fix starting Now. We are so fucking slow, so full of talk, and have so much to do with a backlog to catch up on that isn’t going away, unless large numbers of us are wiped out and then the numerous small fixes won’t be needed. Problem gone – fix redundant.

  6. gsays 6

    I have been getting excited, planning and gathering resources for making charcoal in a retort.
    As explained in this clip, the term collier was taken and given to coal miners in the 1550’s. These folk are earning it back.
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ML-xGY6an8Q

    The potential to collect, clean and reuse the woodgases is exciting too.

  7. greywarshark 7

    Note – the site went down about 1.30 pm Sunday and was out till late night- early morning Monday. So that explains why we didn’t get many commenters here. The aim is always to have something of value to learn about that helps for coping practically or to think about new ways of doing readying for a greener future for everyone, and what we would need to change to achieve that.

  8. WeTheBleeple 8

    The do (virtually) nothing garden MKII

    This is Robert’s area of expertise, but he’s having a hootenanny/hui.

    A food forest is the ultimate system but it can take considerable time, up front effort, and knowledge. Once established, however, you’re laughing insofar as food security goes.

    I am slowly building/prepping a food forest out back. Being in an urban setting my front yard efforts are also diverse, but more aesthetic as described above (1.0).

    Here’s an Aussie master on the subject.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCJfSYZqZ0Y

  9. cleangreen 9

    greywarshark;

    Our roads are just goat tracks, not designed for big trucks and all other traffic you discuss on 5.1.

    “The road deaths are becoming to horrific proportions just recently. We should be alarmed.”

    I discussed this with Tony Friedlander the retired National MP from New Plymouth when he was in 2001 the President of the “Road transport forum” and he said “Ken we need our own dedicated four lane road for trucks”

    So 18 years later with three times the number of trucks on our single lane each way roads this is what we have got now.

    It was bound to happen this way since they took most freight off rail and out it on our public roads.

    Minister of transport has a big job putting it back on rail again now.

  10. greywarshark 10

    How To Get There… and like where you have got to means that there must be some love person to person as well as to the birds animals soil etc. Not authoritarianism but following the strong leadership of individual hearts and souls working together with time for laughter and passing rude remarks about each other in a non PC way!

    Here’s a song with a bit of love in it for trotting out when people feel down.
    Carole King You’ve Got a Friend.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcJbzuyp6VY

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    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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