How To Get There 9/6/19

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 9th, 2019 - 42 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 …

42 comments on “How To Get There 9/6/19 ”

  1. WeTheBleeple 1

    WARNING: May Contain Hope.

    "The desert disappeared, and nature was restored in all its splendor".

    "Their income tripled, and their days of poverty were over".

    This is 40 mins. Click the 'CC' button for subtitles. Enjoy.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC_Y1ZTZXQ4

    • RedLogix 1.1

      I've personally seen something similar in Colombia. Land that just seven years prior was desolate tailings from a mining operation, now lush and highly productive food forest. Their guardian families now escaping poverty and living dignified lives.

      It was a genuine privilege to spend some hours walking around, everyone was proud of what was achieved and what their future held.

      • WeTheBleeple 1.1.1

        Nice one RL. In the documentary they bring desert to production crops in five years. That's pretty amazing stuff.

        One point that is continually stressed is that there are four areas to restore:

        Inspiration (like you had when walking that site). Without inspiration humans (labor and investors) are not engaged.

        Social structures. Jobs, education, community, belonging, purpose. I was part of the farming community back in the day where we all mucked in and shared labor and equipment. This was community. Not the poisoning and pumelling of the landscape by behemoth machines driven by men in hazmat suits like we see today.

        Ecology. Without functioning ecology there is no economy, period. Our air, water, food, medicines, materials…. Economists are feckless idiots. Ecology is our wealth while modern agriculture will be our downfall.

        Economy. Upon restoring lands yields might be obtained. Managed correctly the land's fertility will increase over time and the soil more friable and easier to work. Thus returns improve with time. Todays current model provides diminishing returns for more investment in salts and machinery that harm the land.

        A restoration economy based on ecology, community and inspiration. A significant contribution to our way out of this (climate change) mess.

        • Robert Guyton 1.1.1.1

          In our local council, there is a young woman who came to Southland from the UK where she was researching the restoration of mining "dross" using fungi. She's presently leading the team that manages biosecurity and biodiversity in the region. In other departments, there are scientists with outstanding knowledge of systems such as wetland and estuaries, hydrology and soil; our communities are rich with clever, learned people who think deeply and widely about their chosen "missions" and who could, if enabled, surge into restoring the environments we have been so careless with. This will be true up and down the country and likely true in other counties.

          • WeTheBleeple 1.1.1.1.1

            I've got a metal detox model here that incorporates plants, fungi and bacteria allowing succession (and even harvests) to proceed as detox does. I should meet your expert sometime we'd have much to discuss. I still want six more months in the data bases to tie it all together and provide sufficient proof of concept via other work of similar nature.

            The country has a lot of talent for sure. Now let's see leadership assign them to restorative ecology, not fiddling around green washing industry.

            • Robert Guyton 1.1.1.1.1.1

              I find the scientists here to be sincere and enlightened, studying far wider than their job requires and well aware of the need to act decisively and quickly. Like us, they're hindered by everyday constraints but also like us, they seek opportunities to influence thinking and act wherever possible. There's a weight of potential everywhere. Hence my plea for people to email the council chairman asking him to support the proposal to declare a climate emergency, as Christchurch City Council, Nelson City Council, Dunedin City Council and Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury) have done. His name is Nicol Horrell and his email address is:

              Nicol.Horrell@es.govt.nz

              I've written a letter to The Southland Times asking the public to do the same. It's an unprecedented strategy and I'm bound to raise eyebrows and maybe ire at the council, but as Jenny so often says here, ya gotta get on and do something!

              smiley

              • WeTheBleeple

                Absolutely agree. I love scientists as a group they're switched on and extremely interesting. The corporate hijacking of science unfortunately gives them all a bad name when the majority are there trying to help.

                Nice move on the letter to the paper. Hope you survive it not get a large conspiracy against you from investor types who see you as an upstart.

                • Robert Guyton

                  Enjoyed that you didn't say, "young upstart" smiley

                  Right now, I'm listening to this:

                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_vagt8ZmcQ

                  It's plain, but he's sensible; all about growing perennial vegetables.

                  It's actually very good, imo.

                  • WeTheBleeple

                    Just got my first lot of sorrel gifted this week. I thought I'd divide it some up front for me, some close to the chooks for them and the wild birds. The kale I planted right outside the coop is big enough they can browse it through the mesh now…

                    Laziness promotes great design.

                    • Robert Guyton

                      Non-intervention, rather than laziness, says a non-interventionist man smiley

                      Is your sorrel, French? That's a lovely zingy leaf, great to nibble-on while out wandering the garden and delicious in salads. Perennial and pretty. The mashua tubers are ready for harvesting right now; plump and crisp. I ate some flowers recently; nasturtium family is peppery to taste, but these were sweet as well, very sweet, filled with nectar as they were; a wonderful surprise and new taste sensation!

                    • WeTheBleeple

                      My sorrel is exactly as pictured in your link (red, as the link picture could also be beets). I do not know its pedigree.

                    • Macro

                      We have plenty of that red sorrel growing as well – let it seed and you will never be without it – excellent all year round in salads. Same with french sorrel which is growing vigourisly here.

        • greywarshark 1.1.1.2

          'Economists are feckless idiots.' WtB 1.1.1

          While looking up the records-destroyer Canadian ex-Prime Minister Stephen Harper, so popular that he remained in for a decade, I noticed that he was an economist. I see he comes from Toronto, a city that is tainted with electing a buffoon and then his brother to Mayor. Not a good look for the people of that region. Also Harper now fronts a body that purports to represent Democratic urges where they still show their faces. But what faces, perhaps that of Dorian Gray?

          Stephen Joseph Harper PC is a Canadian economist, entrepreneur, and retired politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada for nearly a decade, from February 6, 2006, to November 4, 2015. Harper has served as the leader of the International Democrat Union since February 2018. Wikipedia

          If I come across a story about economists and their attempts at wisdom and guidance I will try to put up a brief note about it. Some of their results will be good, it's just a pity that they fall so easily into their own fables and become full of grandiose ideas of their complete irrefutability. Something goes wrong and their response is 'If only you had followed the instructions correctly.'

          (This in relation to a better future? If we are to even get on the right path to 'There' we need to get second opinions from non-economists about all their schemes. At present we seem to be locked into an Economists Cult which is a bit like Scientology don't you think? And that doesn't seem a healthy path even though it has celebrity successes as show ponies for it.)

  2. Robert Guyton 2

    Living in a forest garden, food forest, woodland or any treed space that provides shelter and food for those who manage it, has an effect greater than you might expect; something to do with reconnecting with personal true purpose and that of humanity at the same time. If ever there was an opportunity to re-establish links to other living things, the wild garden must be one of the best. In my experience and opinion.

    • WeTheBleeple 2.1

      Merely visiting a wild place can be healing. Bringing the wild to your door lends healing to your trip to the letterbox.

      "But the good news is that even a small amount of time in nature can have an impact on our health. A two-hour forest bath will help you to unplug from technology and slow down. It will bring you into the present moment and de-stress and relax you. Numerous studies I've conducted have shown that shinrin-yoku has real health benefits."

      https://time.com/5259602/japanese-forest-bathing/

      • Robert Guyton 2.1.1

        Forest bathing?

        I'm soaking in it, as Marge famously (almost) said.

        We'd like to open forest garden up to people in need of a healing dip in a wild garden forest. Even a day spent amongst the trees here would soothe the savage breast (or beast). I'd give forest-bathers here plants to plant wherever they chose, giving them the opportunity to "become" the garden and also increase the random element of the design, such as it is, of the man-made forest, bringing it a little closer to its best form.

    • phantom snowflake 2.2

      Hi Robert. Somehow I'm increasingly taken with the idea that "Our" (the biosphere) salvation lies at the intersection of environmentalism and indigenous spirituality. And so, the following was the most encouraging piece of "news" I've read in a long time. In the light of a comment of yours yesterday, ("I'm studying communication between trees and forests and other beings") I'm curious about your response to the idea of communication between Kauri and Tohorā. (Whales) [To the atheist/materialist contingent: "Sorry not sorry."]

      A Northland woman says a recent experiment she conducted to treat kauri dieback has had remarkable results. Lynn Butterworth, a student of Māori medicinal expert Tohe Ashby, tested the possibilities of using to rongoā Māori to treat the tree disease. Butterworth has been practising traditional Māori medicine for two years now and has been investigating a possible treatment for the devastating disease."In 2017, I was doing a level 4 rongoā course with Tohe and we were talking about kauri dieback and we knew there was something quite not right with our trees," says Butterworth, "He had some rongoā for me to use and we went through the steps of how to prepare it and how to apply it."Since their trial, she and Ashby have seen the trees within the forest grove in Northland that they work in replenish over time.
      Ashby, who is an expert on kauri trees and understanding the Māori tikanga around treating the disease explains how they formulate the medicine."We gather the fat of the whale and use also the bone of the whale, we mix both elements and then apply it on the bark of the tree. Within this process, we deliver our karakia."

      https://teaomaori.news/rongoa-cure-kauri-dieback?_ga=2.72746967.594849199.1559789581-533857030.1559789581

      • Robert Guyton 2.2.1

        Hi Phantom; firstly, I've something odd to say smiley

        When I stayed on Waiheke Island, I was gifted something unusual and special; a piece of kauri bark in the shape of a tohorā!

        I found the article you quoted very interesting and didn't baulk at any of it. I thought this:

        "Since their trial, she and Ashby have seen the trees within the forest grove in Northland that they work in replenish over time. "

        worth highlighting; results, after all, are important places to work back from when looking for causality. Your second sentence, "Somehow I'm increasingly taken with the idea that "Our" (the biosphere) salvation lies at the intersection of environmentalism and indigenous spirituality." has my full support and the example you've given certainly supports your idea. It's interesting to think that some folk might pooh-pooh the idea that the methods used by indigenous people for curing a native tree might be suspect, if in fact there are some that do think that. I'd give credence, even before knowing the details, to the idea that humans living in an environment for centuries longer than the secondary wave of colonisers have, have more intimate knowledge of the living things they shared the space with for so long. I believe there's a plethora of examples of this phenomenon, but here and elsewhere in the world, to support that notion. If you know of more, I'd love to hear them.

        • WeTheBleeple 2.2.1.1

          I tried to get this conversation going and all I got was Gosman being a facetious disrespectful fucktard.

          I studied the plant pathology side of Kauri dieback for a considerable time as it was to be a doctorate till my team started falling over. If someone with knowledge of rongoa wants to discuss this with a plant pathologist, I'm right here and I am dead keen to learn.

          • Robert Guyton 2.2.1.1.1

            I recall he dragged homeopathy out and gave it a bit of a disrespectful thrashing. He's a funny old trout, but lacking nuance on many issues.

            • WeTheBleeple 2.2.1.1.1.1

              I can be a kneejerk dick on things spiritual too. Not anyone's fault 'cept the FEAR OF GOD upbringing I had. no

              Am a fan of meditation, not a great practitioner but when I do it it is very helpful. I like to do it as the ambulance teeters on the clifftop.

  3. James Thrace 3

    The ongoing debacle that is fast becoming public transport in NZ has left me wondering whether the better thing to do is have a centralised agency that pays and organises for employees, equipment, etc.

    I would call it KiwiBus.

    It's main responsibility would be to hire drivers, source equipment, and supply both those things to the regional/local councils that need them for public transport.

    Having a central body, heck, a monopoly, providing PT throughout the country offers economies of scale and henceforth a better ability to be able to pay drivers appropriately.

    The current PTOM model would have to be scrapped. At last count there were roughly 15 companies vying for public transport operator services. It is ridiculous having that many companies operate in the sector. How any of them can make money without screwing the workers is beyond me.

    KiwiBus would still operate like an SOE, turn a profit etc, but at least being a central agency, with NZ wide responsibility, means that at least people could go between cities and use one payment network (I think Snapper as it's far more user friendly than AT Hop) no matter where in the country you are.

    Councils then having to deal with just one agency for PT timetables and a faster ability to scale up/down services as needed would be much more beneficial. Additionally, a central body is able to adequately plan for the long term and would be able to invest in better buses and the like, as it would not have the fear of losing the next tender round…

    The disgustingness that was NZ Bus being told to upgrade their fleet (which they did) only to then lose the tender for many routes was a complete dogs breakfast.

    There's a lot to be said for a monopoly for a public good. Public Transport is one that should be a monopoly as a public good. Right up there with electricity.

    • greywarshark 3.1

      I want to comment about buses concerning those providing services through limited-term contracts perhaps in rural areas. I read of one bus owner, might only have had one bus, who provided school transport. Had complied with all the regulations, kept the bus to standard, might have installed seat belts – I think they were recommended but not mandatory at the time. Anyway had provided the service, provided the bus, and got undercut by another when tenders were called again.

      It was hard to bear for the owner who had not been in it to make a profit but was a local doing a local service and trying to make it pay for itself and provide a wage – money in the local economy. I thought how wasteful of capital this business of tendering is, and it opens the way to big firms gaining a monopoly, building up a business and then selling it off to foreigners so basic needs and the profit from providing them wafts off out of the country.

      Keeping up standards is important, and long-term providers can get sloppy and cut corners, and costs need to be checked against industry statistics. But constant tendering is disruptive to the local provision and business and leaves the locals prone to sharp practices. The favourite example used tends to be the monorail salesman in The Simpsons! A very clever series not to be forgotten.

    • Brigid 3.2

      But why does it need to turn a profit?

      • greywarshark 3.2.1

        It is wise to aim at a small profit to show that the enterprise is being run efficiently and to allow for funds for future maintenance or replacement. This can be done in a not-for-profit business way that just covers the necessary costs and provides a safe and efficient service at the most reasonable price for that time.

  4. Blazer 4

    'To arrive where you are, to get from where you are not,
    You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.

    In order to arrive at what you do not know
    You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.

    In order to possess what you do not possess
    You must go by the way of dispossession.

    In order to arrive at what you are not
    You must go through the way in which you are not.

    And what you do not know is the only thing you know
    And what you own is what you do not own
    And where you are is where you are not.

    ― T.S. Eliot

  5. Robert Guyton 5

    "Talk to Sandy Haidekker about insects that live in streams and rivers, and her face lights up, her smile broadens and her hands become so animated as to appear beyond her control.

    Talk to her about climate change and her shoulders slump, her eyes darken and she exhales in a way that suggests she's taken her last breath.

    The German-born freshwater scientist who's called Hawke's Bay home for 11 years, like others in her field, knows the fate that awaits these tiny important creatures and despairs at the lack of attention they get."

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/113030981/tiny-creatures-doing-big-work-in-rivers-and-streams-are-threatened-by-climate-change

  6. CHCoff 6

    There is a big price to be paid, & it probably hasn't really started to be paid yet, or that is just starting, on NZ account but it will be impossible to completely avoid.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/113303677/mark-reason-new-zealand-rugby-must-put-people-before-greed

    That's still no reason to keep digging though. In making the best of blundering idiocy, even if it may have totally screwed the proverbial pooch in some ways, i'd say

    -Go back to the NPC, in what was one of the best sporting comps in the world
    -Out of Super rugby
    -1st division NPC players receive a 'livable' wage
    – All Blacks can only be NPC players
    -Free to air television
    -Rugby union continuously lobbys the NZ democratic political system for support of club rugby development as a social/community good
    -Provincal clubs operate similar structure approach to below

    -top 7 NPC team squads by individual vote the All Black coaching team
    -top 7 NPC coaches vote/pick the main appointments of Rugby CEO and other important national body organisation roles

    -For player safety, & removing the mindless grunt that has overtaken the talent, in sporting spectacle, there should be weight muscle mass standards/limitations introduced to get away from the UBER bodybuilding bouncer type being the end all of the game, brute force while has its part should be limited to get back to skill, speed, and to give real talent (individual & team) it's full due again…..also i would note, the sport of bodybuilding itself is a non contact sport, the polar opposite of rugby.

    • greywarshark 6.1

      It would be good if sport can be more enjoyable instead of starkly competitive. A bit of enjoyment watching the kids play rugby in the weekned rather than fights breaking out on the sidelines. A bit of turning to the person beside you and saying hello. A lot of people arrive in a group, mix with the group, stay with the group. Not much community get together when that happens, it's very lonely when you are part of a group yet apparently invisible, of no account; you aren't one-of-us.

    • WeTheBleeple 7.1

      No way! I thought at least comedians jobs were safe.

      Got a series of sketches about robots stealing our jobs, but no jokes… yet.

      Robbie the robot's gonna get it.

      Every time I tell a joke that's not funny – the robot wrote it.

      Rhys Darby's job should be safe. He can pretend to be a robot.

      • greywarshark 7.1.1

        I put that up thinking of you. You're fast off the mark.

        • WeTheBleeple 7.1.1.1

          It's fascinating. They have a thing 'class clowns' where schoolkids get comic mentors and do comedy as part of the festival, always seemed such an abstract thing to me: comedy, teachable?

          Like Borat learning comedy – NOT!

          That was funny.

          That robot sucks. cheeky

  7. Robert Guyton 8

    From the Post Carbon Institute:

    "Last year Richard Heinberg shook things up, as he so often does, with a manifesto (http://noapp4that.org/) that questions the relationship between technology and morality in this age of climate change, overpopulation, and biodiversity loss. “Technology isn’t saving us from climate change, overpopulation, or collapsing biodiversity. While solutions have been proposed, some of which are technically viable, our problems are actually getting worse rather than going away, despite the existence of these ‘solutions.’” http://www.postcarbon.org/team-human-podcast-theres-no-app-for-that-with-richard-heinberg/Douglas Rushkoff (of Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus (http://www.rushkoff.com/books/throwing-rocks-at-the-google-bus/) fame) invited Richard on to his popular podcast, Team Human, to talk. As you might imagine, the conversation (http://www.postcarbon.org/team-human-podcast-theres-no-app-for-that-with-richard-heinberg/) was very interesting."

  8. greywarshark 9

    Desert and plantings and Africa and Morocco solar array

    Some interesting vids and climate info.

    Multi here: https://interestingengineering.com/video/8000km-green-wall-of-trees-and-plants-will-provide-food-security-for-millions-of-people

    and

    Clever and practical scientific thinking trumps political machination! (my heading.) Build Green Infrastructure Not a Wall, Says Leading Scientists

    An ambitious green energy park has been proposed by a consortium of leading U.S engineers and scientists as an alternative to a security wall on the U.S/Mexico border.

    SEE ALSO: CLIMATE CHANGE COULD HIT THE ‘POINT OF NO RETURN’ IN 2035 WARN SCIENTISTS

    Algeria

    Map Bou Saada in north https://www.mapsofworld.com/algeria/maps/algeria-map.gif

    Bou Saada was the scene of a great tree planting pilot scheme in the 1960's by a New Zealander Wendy Campbell Purdie who had gone to Britain and been inspired by St Barbe Baker and his Men of the Trees visionary group working for remediation of land with tree planting.

    Twenty years ago (1959) an Englishwoman, Wendy Campbell-Purdie, having heard Richard St. Barbe Baker say that the spread of deserts could be stopped by a green wall of trees, bought a one-way ticket to North Africa and set to work planting trees. On forty-five acres of desert in Morocco (Tiznit), she planted 2,000 trees, and four years later they were twelve feet high. She proved that this manmade strip of oasis would change the climate (increase the surface humidity) by growing wheat and barley in the shelter the trees provided.

    Then she went to Algeria, where a reluctant government, gave her a 260-acre dump. The seedlings she set out there did so well that the astonished Algerian officials promised her help. She went home to England to raise some money, and eventually she formed the Bou Saada Trust to wage biological warfare against the Sahara. A few years later the 130,000 trees she had planted at Bou Saada (in Algeria) were flourishing and the fertile area they created was growing vegetables, citrus, and grain. Plans were then made to invade the great desert with the green things growing.

    Wendy Campbell-Purdie has recently formed a registered trust called Tree of Life to continue this project and undertake similar ones…The Tree of Life evolved directly from the work of the Bou Saada Trust in Algeria. This successful pilot reforestation scheme has now been incorporated in one of the world's most ambitious tree-planting programs–the thousand-mile protective "green wall" right across Algeria. The first task of the Tree of Life is to set up similar pilot projects, in cooperation with the Governments concerned, to continue the green wall along the entire northern edge of the Sahara Desert….

    Since the beginning of 1966 the United Nations/FAO World Food Program has also been assisting the Government of Algeria in large-scale reforestation and land reclamation operations through the Chantiers populaires de reboisement. Begun in 1962 under the Christian Committee for Service in Algeria, this work is directed at the eventual economic development not only of northeast Algeria but of other regions. Forestry operations in this desperately poor area provide work for thousands of workers and their families, who are paid in the form of food provided by the World Food Program. …

    Up to the end of the 1965/66 planting season a total of some 30 million trees were planted on about 28,000 hectares. Species used included Eucalyptus globulus, E. camaldulensis, Pinus pinea, P. radiata, P. pinaster and P. halepensis, Cupressus sempervirens and C. atlantica. Samples of seed from other Mediterranean countries are being procured for future trials.

    http://www.primitivism.com/tree-of-life.htm

    I hope this photo will come out – I am not good enough with image transfer to smoothly get results.

    <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotos-g1074167-Bou_Saada_M_Sila_Province.html#99928655"><img alt="" src="https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/05/f4/ca/4f/bou-saada.jpg"/></a><br/>This photo of Bou-Saada is courtesy of TripAdvisor

    Details about Bou Saada in wikipedia. It is saddening that there is no mention of the extreme effort of Wendy Campbell-Purdie and the people in 1960's planting more than 100,000 trees to reclaim desert area and stop sand encroaching. It was a massive undertaking, yet doesn't register now!

    More about her and also the women like her with get up and go and fire to do great stuff.
    http://internationaltreefoundation.org/women-heart-men-trees/
    Wendy Campbell-Purdie: She left Algeria in 1970, when her health broke down. She died in Athens on 20/1/1985, aged 59. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Campbell-Purdie

    Morocco

    https://i1.wp.com/moroccoshinydays.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Morocco-Desert-Tour.jpg

    Showing thick trees in a hollow – evidence of desert fertility given a chance. And note white painted roofs on dwellings huddled together in the dunes.

    https://img.theculturetrip.com/x/smart/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/desert.jpg Single tree apparently encroached on by shifting sands but still growing and flourishing.

    Solar array in Morocco

    https://fortunedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/gettyimages-508443538.jpg

    https://cdn.technologyreview.com/i/images/power.plantx2760.jpg?sw=2760

    Africas Green Wall that was envisaged by St Barbe Baker and Wendy Campbell-Purdie's work.

    https://theconversation.com/africas-got-plans-for-a-great-green-wall-why-the-idea-needs-a-rethink-78627

    The idea of a Great Green Wall has come a long way since its inception. Its origin goes back to colonial times. In 1927, the French colonial forester Louis Lavauden coined the word desertification to suggest that deserts are spreading due to deforestation, overgrazing and arid land degradation. In 1952 the English forester Richard St. Barbe Baker suggested that a “green front” in the form of a 50km wide barrier of trees be erected to contain the spreading desert.

    and https://www.zmescience.com/ecology/climate/great-green-wall-04232/ More than 20 African countries are planting a 8,000-km-long ‘Great Green Wall’

    Heavy grazing, deforestation, and numerous droughts have degraded the once lush Sahel, making it easy pickings for the Sahara’s expansion. In order to stave off an ecological disaster across the continent…..The Great Green Wall.

    Videos:

    (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9MV5CgPgIQ See the green climbers go up with David Attenborough's presentation.

    (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xls7K_xFBQ

    (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI_nRHg-0l4

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Campbell-Purdie

  9. greywarshark 10

    I can't remember whether Bill's A Confession post was noted here but it has a wide ranging discussion and very interesting so am including the link here to bring it into the fold, so to speak.

    https://thestandard.org.nz/a-confession-2/

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    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    9 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    10 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    11 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    14 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    14 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    15 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    16 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    17 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    19 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    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
  • 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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
    12 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
    14 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
    15 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
    1 day 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
    5 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
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  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
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