"New Zealand is one of the highest per capita energy users on the planet. We waste a lot of energy to do things that are unnecessary for our fundamental wellbeing."
The author doesn't provide evidence for the assertion you quote.
He concludes with a conservative trusim:
"Various trends in the past century have created expectations that whatever we wish for we are entitled to. The magic of fossil fuels, along with a trillion dollar a year marketing and advertising industry, has made those manufactured wishes feel like needs."
Just a few points would show that NZers cope with major change better than expected:
Television news, printed newspapers, landlines, books, and mail and receding very rapidly
Cash is receding to nothing
Whole sectors working and learning from home, permanently
Rapid managed retreat from coastlines is occurring and enforced by nature
Traffic across the Auckland Harbour Bridge has stalled in number for over a decade
Manufacturing with heavy energy use has stalled and likely to recede
National and Labour are proposing massive accelerations of renewable energy generation, with the national target of 100% national generation by 2030 which is just 7 years away
Of course the biggie in New Zealand is transport fuel use which is very hard to decrease for all our small vehicles outside 2 urban centres of Auckland and Wellington.
Did myself the opposite of a solid and read the first linked report…..if thats what you are reading then your attitude is unsurprising….it is entirely materials blind and an example of the magical thinking that pervades yet states….
"It is important to view the scenarios developed for the BEC2050 project not from the perspective of whether you believe they will occur, but whether it is believable that they could occur."
Perhaps then need to take their own advice.
Consequently I wont waste my time on the subsequent links unless you wish to direct me to one that isnt similarly flawed
Wind and solar are slowing the rise in power sector emissions. If all the electricity from wind and solar instead came from fossil generation, power sector emissions would have been 20% higher in 2022. The growth alone in wind and solar generation (+557 TWh) met 80% of global electricity demand growth in 2022 (+694 TWh). Clean power growth is likely to exceed electricity demand growth in 2023; this would be the first year for this to happen outside of a recession. With average growth in electricity demand and clean power, we forecast that 2023 will see a small fall in fossil generation (-47 TWh, -0.3%), with bigger falls in subsequent years as wind and solar grow further. That would mean 2022 hit “peak” emissions. A new era of falling power sector emissions is close…."
Yes it needs a whole post, rather than a set of bullshit reckons from one non-applicable academic.
If I get a moment over the weekend I will go through the Climate Commission, MBIE generation outlook, BusinessNZ Energy Council future demand scenarios, and Electricity Authority generation outlook.
All of the facts are pretty well understood in those forecasts,
…that dosnt mean magical thinking has disappeared, merely that it is diminishing.
You wish! Old magical thinking is merely replaced by new magical thinking with a different name.
A YT clip that is 1 hour 12 mins and 37 secs long. “All the evidence needed” for what? Sounds like Gospel to me. What understanding, if any, is one supposed to gain from watching something about metal mining?
As you are well aware (or should be as a long time participant and moderator of this site) that link is to the work of Simon Michaux, one of the few or possibly the only person who taken the time to evaluate the wherewithal to replace/reduce fossil fuel energy….work that has been presented and discussed here on many occasions previously.
What is anyone to gain from 'something about metal mining'?….perhaps the knowledge that to create something you first need sufficient materials to do so, nevermind technical ability political will or public acceptance.
Your brief explanation about the ‘learning outcome’ from watching the YT clip is helpful and might save my friend from having to watch the whole clip or may pique his interest to watch the whole thing.
FYI, the YT clips don’t embed and one has to click and open the link to find out what it is about. A little pre-explanation commentary goes a long way, but as a long-term commenter of this site you already knew this.
And obviously as your friend knew it was "something about metal mining" he;she would have also seen the authors name prominently listed and his/her interest may have been piqued…..even it hadnt been on the numerous previous occasions.
My friend did not recognise the name and prefers to read past misleading headlines, empty slogans, fancy titles associated with internet fame & fads. So, no, nothing obvious about it, I’m afraid.
Anyway, you’d be surprised how many friends visit this site every day and whom you have never heard of and likely never will.
Well for those friends here is a brief (5 min read) for their perusal which quotes Michaux's work
"All of these incontestable realities highlight the fact that our dreams of a renewable powered boom are illusory. We need a different conversation than fossil fuelled business as usual or a Green New Deal.
Michaux has offered some starters.
“We need frank discussion about what minerals we think we need versus what we’ve got,” he said in an excellent interview with Nate Hagens on his podcast, The Great Simplification. “And then we’re going to realize that what we got won’t work with the existing plan.”
Fundamentally, we need to talk about a future of less instead of a future of more.
Society will have to build simple products that last and that can be easily recycled.
“And we will scale back our needs and our society will simplify,” adds Michaux.
That is the conversation we should be having now. The one we continue to avoid."
It drives me nuts that things break down so quickly nowadays and nobody and no company does any repairs anymore – they’ll ‘happily’ replace if it is still under warranty and the user was not at fault.
Coincidentally, I went online today to find replacement parts for a device and found it with the help of Bing AI. Although I saved myself some $$, the greatest satisfaction for me was that I can continue using the device without having to throw it in the rubbish bin and buy a brand new one that does exactly the same thing but has more bells & whistles than I want and need.
In Auckland they are now delivering compost bins to households but they still have a long way to go compared to recycling efforts in some European places. In my neck of the woods people love dumping their household crap and even garden waste – it is a sad view and an indictment on society.
"The 2020 study examined updated quantitative information about ten factors, namely population, fertility rates, mortality rates, industrial output, food production, services, non-renewable resources, persistent pollution, human welfare, and ecological footprint, and concluded that the "Limits to Growth" prediction is essentially correct in that continued economic growth is unsustainable under a "business as usual" model
The study found that current empirical data is broadly consistent with the 1972 projections and that if major changes to the consumption of resources are not undertaken, economic growth will peak and then rapidly decline by around 2040"
To answer, the phrase Club of Rome stirred up embedded ancient negative detritus, but jumping onto Wikiped updated my faint twinge.
Been remembering recently a conversation with my friend Annette in the early 80s, telling me that her lecturer claimed "global warming will be critical by 2020 if we do nothing now!" She wasn't even doing sciences, but womens' studies. Lo and behold! Hmm.
"You can pick any gender identity and sexuality you wish and exclude any you choose… just as long as it isn’t male,” DJ Lippy remarked to Reduxx. “It’s like opening an all you can eat vegan buffet but sneaking salami into all the dishes. When you complain, they kick you out and call you a pork exclusionary radical vegan."
It is a homophobic, anti women – human females of all ages, anti child, pro heterosexual / fetishistic / pornified/ pro commercial sex / pro commercial child birth government funded authoritarian Patriarchy males rights movement.
These trans identified males and females have been yelling at same sex attracted people for a while now for their refusal to fuck these trans identified individuals.
Also, see the vitriol that is extended to women – human females, who would rather divorce their now 'dead' husbands before having to pretend to be a lesbian to please their 'wifes'.
This movement is anti everything that does not comply immediatly to their wishes.
It is a pity for the LGB community, the transsexual community, and women in children as they well i guess they are collateral damage. But that too was always thus.
Yes people think they are supporting the Rainbow Community in supporting Trans rights, but actually many lesbians have been ostricized and smeared by the community they helped establish.
If you're talking about HER, the lesbian, queer and non-binary dating site started more than 10 years ago, they were not very impressed with being taken down off Twitter by trans exclusionary activists on World Lesbian Visibility Day a few days ago.
They point out no one is forcing users of the site to hook up with anyone they don’t want to.
First, the headline – "Slap" – a sudden or direct blow.
Tolls have been signalled for almost the last 20 years for penlink. The headline is misleading, designed for an emotional rather than a rational response.
"…Public consultation in 2006 by the former Rodney District Council showed 90% of the public supported a tolled Penlink. However, results from a second consultation last year have not been released on Waka Kotahi's website… …Residents of the Whangaparāoa Peninsula have previously told Stuff they felt was unfair they would have to pay a toll on top of a regional fuel tax, when other infrastructure projects around the country weren't tolled…"
So: The last time they were asked, 90% suported a toll. However, some un-named randoms felt it was "unfair" – an emotional response to the only fact, which is 90% supported a toll when last asked. Still, who is interest in facts when someone is upset it is unfair?
So who actually is upset?
"…Albany ward councillors John Watson and Wayne Walker previously said public mood on tolls had shifted since the regional fuel tax was introduced in 2018, calling it “double charging”…"
So it turns out it probably just a couple of local right wing councillors and their mates.
This sort of emotional driven, post truth, negative bias MSM stuff has consequences. Citizens have nowadays been totally trained & encoouraged by the MSM to respond emotionally to news stories rather than rationally. A loaded story on Penlink to Tucker Carlson is on the same continuum. When the MSM sits about pretending to be puzzled about the rise of anti-vax sentiment or Trumpism, their complicitly is never really examined.
The only people that will pay these tolls are the ones that can not write them off as a cost of doing business. Trucking companies will not care one bit. Ditto for any other company car, lease plan car etc.
The worker that will need to use this road for what ever reason, or the traveler that wants to go on holiday will pay the full price. I hope that the Tolls reflect this.
The $3 toll is to cover $1mi pa maintenance costs. The new road saves 20 min of drive time.
Assuming this is at 80 kmp on the old road, the distance saved is 25 km. A Nissan Micra uses 6.7 L/100 km, which is at the low end of fuel consumption. 6.7 L x 25/100 x $1.90/L = $3.20. Already saved the toll. Savings for most cars and heavy vehicles will be more, apart from e-cars, of course.
TG: We are paying the construction company making this road $1.2 bi, which includes a 25 year maintenance cost. It saves 27 km, plus stops and starts, along the Pukerua-Porirua highway.
Three dollar every day both ways quickly makes a big dents. Something like almost 30 bucks a week on a min wage is a big expense which will effectively only be paid for by the end user .
Commercial users of this road will write this cost off as a business expense and reduce their taxable income by the cost of their expenses. So in essence the high users will still not pay for this road. They will have that expense returned to them courtesy of the tax system, and they will be fully subsidized by the tax payer.
That is the only fact that really matters. Unless of course we are happy for other people to spend 40 min more in traffic because they can't afford the new shiny Toll road.
edit, i have no issues with Toll roads, but if you want commercial users to pay for that road you need to remove that tax benefits that come with commerical vehicles.
I note, however, there are no proposed tolls on the most recently opened expressway – Kapiti.
Would that be because it's in Wellington, and politicians are just more sensitive to local opinion there?
Thanks SPC, those were interesting links. Biden is turning out to be an excellent orator, resilient in working a crowd, even a negative, Republican one. Loved the Brandon glasses/persona at the end, defusing the dog-whistle right-wing meme by owning it.
Britain once risked a reputation as the weak link in the trilateral AUKUS partnership. But now the appointment of an empowered senior official to drive the project forward and a new burst of British parliamentary ...
Australia’s ability to produce basic metals, including copper, lead, zinc, nickel and construction steel, is in jeopardy, with ageing plants struggling against Chinese competition. The multinational commodities company Trafigura has put its Australian operations under ...
There have been recent PPP debacles, both in New Zealand (think Transmission Gully) and globally, with numerous examples across both Australia and Britain of failed projects and extensive litigation by government agencies seeking redress for the failures.Rob Campbell is one of New Zealand’s sharpest critics of PPPs noting that; "There ...
On Twitter on Saturday I indicated that there had been a mistake in my post from last Thursday in which I attempted to step through the Reserve Bank Funding Agreement issues. Making mistakes (there are two) is annoying and I don’t fully understand how I did it (probably too much ...
Indonesia’s armed forces still have a lot of work to do in making proper use of drones. Two major challenges are pilot training and achieving interoperability between the services. Another is overcoming a predilection for ...
The StrategistBy Sandy Juda Pratama, Curie Maharani and Gautama Adi Kusuma
As a living breathing human being, you’ve likely seen the heart-wrenching images from Gaza...homes reduced to rubble, children burnt to cinders, families displaced, and a death toll that’s beyond comprehension. What is going on in Gaza is most definitely a genocide, the suffering is real, and it’s easy to feel ...
Donald Trump, who has called the Chair of the Federal Reserve “a major loser”. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories shortest from our political economy on Tuesday, April 22:US markets slump after Donald Trump threatens the Fed’s independence. China warns its trading partners not to side with the US. Trump says some ...
Last night, the news came through that Pope Francis had passed away at 7:35 am in Rome on Monday, the 21st of April, following a reported stroke and heart failure. Pope Francis. Photo: AP.Despite his obvious ill health, it still came as a shock, following so soon after the Easter ...
The 2024 Independent Intelligence Review found the NIC to be highly capable and performing well. So, it is not a surprise that most of the 67 recommendations are incremental adjustments and small but nevertheless important ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkThe world has made real progress toward tacking climate change in recent years, with spending on clean energy technologies skyrocketing from hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars globally over the past decade, and global CO2 emissions plateauing.This has contributed to a reassessment of ...
Hi,I’ve been having a peaceful month of what I’d call “existential dread”, even more aware than usual that — at some point — this all ends.It was very specifically triggered by watching Pantheon, an animated sci-fi show that I’m filing away with all-time greats like Six Feet Under, Watchmen and ...
Once the formalities of honouring the late Pope wrap up in two to three weeks time, the conclave of Cardinals will go into seclusion. Some 253 of the current College of Cardinals can take part in the debate over choosing the next Pope, but only 138 of them are below ...
The National Party government is doubling down on a grim, regressive vision for the future: more prisons, more prisoners, and a society fractured by policies that punish rather than heal. This isn’t just a misstep; it’s a deliberate lurch toward a dystopian future where incarceration is the answer to every ...
The audacity of Don Brash never ceases to amaze. The former National Party and Hobson’s Pledge mouthpiece has now sunk his claws into NZME, the media giant behind the New Zealand Herald and half of our commercial radio stations. Don Brash has snapped up shares in NZME, aligning himself with ...
A listing of 28 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 13, 2025 thru Sat, April 19, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. The formatting is a ...
“What I’d say to you is…” our Prime Minister might typically begin a sentence, when he’s about to obfuscate and attempt to derail the question you really, really want him to answer properly (even once would be okay, Christopher). Questions such as “Why is a literal election promise over ...
Ruth IrwinExponential Economic growth is the driver of Ecological degradation. It is driven by CO2 greenhouse gas emissions through fossil fuel extraction and burning for the plethora of polluting industries. Extreme weather disasters and Climate change will continue to get worse because governments subscribe to the current global economic system, ...
A man on telly tries to tell me what is realBut it's alright, I like the way that feelsAnd everybody singsWe are evolving from night to morningAnd I wanna believe in somethingWriter: Adam Duritz.The world is changing rapidly, over the last year or so, it has been out with the ...
MFB Co-Founder Cecilia Robinson runs Tend HealthcareSummary:Kieran McAnulty calls out National on healthcare lies and says Health Minister Simeon Brown is “dishonest and disingenuous”(video below)McAnulty says negotiation with doctors is standard practice, but this level of disrespect is not, especially when we need and want our valued doctors.National’s $20bn ...
Chris Luxon’s tenure as New Zealand’s Prime Minister has been a masterclass in incompetence, marked by coalition chaos, economic lethargy, verbal gaffes, and a moral compass that seems to point wherever political expediency lies. The former Air New Zealand CEO (how could we forget?) was sold as a steady hand, ...
Has anybody else noticed Cameron Slater still obsessing over Jacinda Ardern? The disgraced Whale Oil blogger seems to have made it his life’s mission to shadow the former Prime Minister of New Zealand like some unhinged stalker lurking in the digital bushes.The man’s obsession with Ardern isn't just unhealthy...it’s downright ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is climate change a net benefit for society? Human-caused climate change has been a net detriment to society as measured by loss of ...
When the National Party hastily announced its “Local Water Done Well” policy, they touted it as the great saviour of New Zealand’s crumbling water infrastructure. But as time goes by it's looking more and more like a planning and fiscal lame duck...and one that’s going to cost ratepayers far more ...
Donald Trump, the orange-hued oligarch, is back at it again, wielding tariffs like a mob boss swinging a lead pipe. His latest economic edict; slapping hefty tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada, has the stench of a protectionist shakedown, cooked up in the fevered minds of his sycophantic ...
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...
One pill makes you largerAnd one pill makes you smallAnd the ones that mother gives youDon't do anything at allGo ask AliceWhen she's ten feet tallSongwriter: Grace Wing Slick.Morena, all, and a happy Bicycle Day to you.Today is an unofficial celebration of the dawning of the psychedelic era, commemorating the ...
It’s only been a few months since the Hollywood fires tore through Los Angeles, leaving a trail of devastation, numerous deaths, over 10,000 homes reduced to rubble, and a once glorious film industry on its knees. The Palisades and Eaton fires, fueled by climate-driven dry winds, didn’t just burn houses; ...
Four eighty-year-old books which are still vitally relevant today. Between 1942 and 1945, four refugees from Vienna each published a ground-breaking – seminal – book.* They left their country after Austria was taken over by fascists in 1934 and by Nazi Germany in 1938. Previously they had lived in ‘Red ...
Good Friday, 18th April, 2025: I can at last unveil the Secret Non-Fiction Project. The first complete Latin-to-English translation of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s twelve-book Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricem (Disputations Against Divinatory Astrology). Amounting to some 174,000 words, total. Some context is probably in order. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) ...
National MP Hamish Campbell's pathetic attempt to downplay his deep ties to and involvement in the Two by Twos...a secretive religious sect under FBI and NZ Police investigation for child sexual abuse...isn’t just a misstep; it’s a calculated lie that insults the intelligence of every Kiwi voter.Campbell’s claim of being ...
New Zealand First’s Shane Jones has long styled himself as the “Prince of the Provinces,” a champion of regional development and economic growth. But beneath the bluster lies a troubling pattern of behaviour that reeks of cronyism and corruption, undermining the very democracy he claims to serve. Recent revelations and ...
Give me one reason to stay hereAnd I'll turn right back aroundGive me one reason to stay hereAnd I'll turn right back aroundSaid I don't want to leave you lonelyYou got to make me change my mindSongwriters: Tracy Chapman.Morena, and Happy Easter, whether that means to you. Hot cross buns, ...
New Zealand’s housing crisis is a sad indictment on the failures of right wing neoliberalism, and the National Party, under Chris Luxon’s shaky leadership, is trying to simply ignore it. The numbers don’t lie: Census data from 2023 revealed 112,496 Kiwis were severely housing deprived...couch-surfing, car-sleeping, or roughing it on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on a global survey of over 3,000 economists and scientists showing a significant divide in views on green growth; and ...
Simeon Brown, the National Party’s poster child for hubris, consistently over-promises and under-delivers. His track record...marked by policy flip-flops and a dismissive attitude toward expert advice, reveals a politician driven by personal ambition rather than evidence. From transport to health, Brown’s focus seems fixed on protecting National's image, not addressing ...
Open access notables Recent intensified riverine CO2 emission across the Northern Hemisphere permafrost region, Mu et al., Nature Communications:Global warming causes permafrost thawing, transferring large amounts of soil carbon into rivers, which inevitably accelerates riverine CO2 release. However, temporally and spatially explicit variations of riverine CO2 emissions remain unclear, limiting the ...
Once a venomous thorn in New Zealand’s blogosphere, Cathy Odgers, aka Cactus Kate, has slunk into the shadows, her once-sharp quills dulled by the fallout of Dirty Politics.The dishonest attack-blogger, alongside her vile accomplices such as Cameron Slater, were key players in the National Party’s sordid smear campaigns, exposed by Nicky ...
Once upon a time, not so long ago, those who talked of Australian sovereign capability, especially in the technology sector, were generally considered an amusing group of eccentrics. After all, technology ecosystems are global and ...
The ACT Party leader’s latest pet project is bleeding taxpayers dry, with $10 million funneled into seven charter schools for just 215 students. That’s a jaw-dropping $46,500 per student, compared to roughly $9,000 per head in state schools.You’d think Seymour would’ve learned from the last charter school fiasco, but apparently, ...
India navigated relations with the United States quite skilfully during the first Trump administration, better than many other US allies did. Doing so a second time will be more difficult, but India’s strategic awareness and ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi is concerned for low-income workers given new data released by Stats NZ that shows inflation was 2.5% for the year to March 2025, rising from 2.2% in December last year. “The prices of things that people can’t avoid are rising – meaning inflation is rising ...
Last week, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment recommended that forestry be removed from the Emissions Trading Scheme. Its an unfortunate but necessary move, required to prevent the ETS's total collapse in a decade or so. So naturally, National has told him to fuck off, and that they won't be ...
China’s recent naval circumnavigation of Australia has highlighted a pressing need to defend Australia’s air and sea approaches more effectively. Potent as nuclear submarines are, the first Australian boats under AUKUS are at least seven ...
In yesterday’s post I tried to present the Reserve Bank Funding Agreement for 2025-30, as approved by the Minister of Finance and the Bank’s Board, in the context of the previous agreement, and the variation to that agreement signed up to by Grant Robertson a few weeks before the last ...
Australia’s bid to co-host the 31st international climate negotiations (COP31) with Pacific island countries in late 2026 is directly in our national interest. But success will require consultation with the Pacific. For that reason, no ...
Old and outdated buildings being demolished at Wellington Hospital in 2018. The new infrastructure being funded today will not be sufficient for future population size and some will not be built by 2035. File photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short from our political economy on Thursday, April 17:Simeon Brown has unveiled ...
The introduction of AI in workplaces can create significant health and safety risks for workers (such as intensification of work, and extreme surveillance) which can significantly impact workers’ mental and physical wellbeing. It is critical that unions and workers are involved in any decision to introduce AI so that ...
Donald Trump’s return to the White House and aggressive posturing is undermining global diplomacy, and New Zealand must stand firm in rejecting his reckless, fascist-driven policies that are dragging the world toward chaos.As a nation with a proud history of peacekeeping and principled foreign policy, we should limit our role ...
Sunday marks three months since Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president. What a ride: the style rude, language raucous, and the results rogue. Beyond manners, rudeness matters because tone signals intent as well as personality. ...
There are any number of reasons why anyone thinking of heading to the United States for a holiday should think twice. They would be giving their money to a totalitarian state where political dissenters are being rounded up and imprisoned here and here, where universities are having their funds for ...
Taiwan has an inadvertent, rarely acknowledged role in global affairs: it’s a kind of sponge, soaking up much of China’s political, military and diplomatic efforts. Taiwan soaks up Chinese power of persuasion and coercion that ...
The Ukraine war has been called the bloodiest conflict since World War II. As of July 2024, 10,000 women were serving in frontline combat roles. Try telling them—from the safety of an Australian lounge room—they ...
Following Canadian authorities’ discovery of a Chinese information operation targeting their country’s election, Australians, too, should beware such risks. In fact, there are already signs that Beijing is interfering in campaigning for the Australian election ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). From "founder" of Tesla and the OG rocket man with SpaceX, and rebranding twitter as X, Musk has ...
Back in February 2024, a rat infestation attracted a fair few headlines in the South Dunedin Countdown supermarket. Today, the rats struck again. They took out the Otago-Southland region’s internet connection. https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360656230/internet-outage-hits-otago-and-southland Strictly, it was just a coincidence – rats decided to gnaw through one fibre cable, while some hapless ...
I came in this morning after doing some chores and looked quickly at Twitter before unpacking the groceries. Someone was retweeting a Radio NZ story with the headline “Reserve Bank’s budget to be slashed by 25%”. Wow, I thought, the Minister of Finance has really delivered this time. And then ...
So, having teased it last week, Andrew Little has announced he will run for mayor of Wellington. On RNZ, he's saying its all about services - "fixing the pipes, making public transport cheaper, investing in parks, swimming pools and libraries, and developing more housing". Meanwhile, to the readers of the ...
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?W.B. Yeats, The Second Coming, 1921ALL OVER THE WORLD, devout Christians will be reaching for their bibles, reading and re-reading Revelation 13:16-17. For the benefit of all you non-Christians out there, these are the verses describing ...
Give me what I want, what I really, really want: And what India really wants from New Zealand isn’t butter or cheese, but a radical relaxation of the rules controlling Indian immigration.WHAT DOES INDIA WANT from New Zealand? Not our dairy products, that’s for sure, it’s got plenty of those. ...
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...
Yesterday, 5,500 senior doctors across Aotearoa New Zealand voted overwhelmingly to strike for a day.This is the first time in New Zealand ASMS members have taken strike action for 24 hours.They are asking the government tofund them and account for resource shortfalls.Vacancies are critical - 45-50% in some regions.The ...
For years and years and years, David Seymour and his posse of deluded neoliberals have been preaching their “tough on crime” gospel to voters. Harsher sentences! More police! Lock ‘em up! Throw away the key. But when it comes to their own, namely former Act Party president Tim Jago, a ...
Judith Collins is a seasoned master at political hypocrisy. As New Zealand’s Defence Minister, she's recently been banging the war drum, announcing a jaw-dropping $12 billion boost to the defence budget over the next four years, all while the coalition of chaos cries poor over housing, health, and education.Apparently, there’s ...
I’m on the London Overground watching what the phones people are holding are doing to their faces: The man-bun guy who could not be less impressed by what he's seeing but cannot stop reading; the woman who's impatient for a response; the one who’s frowning; the one who’s puzzled; the ...
You don't have no prescriptionYou don't have to take no pillsYou don't have no prescriptionAnd baby don't have to take no pillsIf you come to see meDoctor Brown will cure your ills.Songwriters: Waymon Glasco.Dr Luxon. Image: David and Grok.First, they came for the Bottom FeedersAnd I did not speak outBecause ...
The Health Minister says the striking doctors already “well remunerated,” and are “walking away from” and “hurting” their patients. File photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short from our political economy on Wednesday, April 16:Simeon Brown has attacked1 doctors striking for more than a 1.5% pay rise as already “well remunerated,” even ...
The time is ripe for Australia and South Korea to strengthen cooperation in space, through embarking on joint projects and initiatives that offer practical outcomes for both countries. This is the finding of a new ...
Hi,When Trump raised tariffs against China to 145%, he destined many small businesses to annihilation. The Daily podcast captured the mass chaos by zooming in and talking to one person, Beth Benike, a small-business owner who will likely lose her home very soon.She pointed out that no, she wasn’t surprised ...
National’s handling of inflation and the cost-of-living crisis is an utter shambles and a gutless betrayal of every Kiwi scraping by. The Coalition of Chaos Ministers strut around preaching about how effective their policies are, but really all they're doing is perpetuating a cruel and sick joke of undelivered promises, ...
Most people wouldn't have heard of a little worm like Rhys Williams, a so-called businessman and former NZ First member, who has recently been unmasked as the venomous troll behind a relentless online campaign targeting Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle.According to reports, Williams has been slinging mud at Doyle under ...
Illustration credit: Jonathan McHugh (New Statesman)The other day, a subscriber said they were unsubscribing because they needed “some good news”.I empathised. Don’t we all.I skimmed a NZME article about the impacts of tariffs this morning with analysis from Kiwibank’s Jarrod Kerr. Kerr, their Chief Economist, suggested another recession is the ...
Let’s assume, as prudence demands we assume, that the United States will not at any predictable time go back to being its old, reliable self. This means its allies must be prepared indefinitely to lean ...
Over the last three rather tumultuous US trade policy weeks, I’ve read these four books. I started with Irwin (whose book had sat on my pile for years, consulted from time to time but not read) in a week of lots of flights and hanging around airports/hotels, and then one ...
Indonesia could do without an increase in military spending that the Ministry of Defence is proposing. The country has more pressing issues, including public welfare and human rights. Moreover, the transparency and accountability to justify ...
Former Hutt City councillor Chris Milne has slithered back into the spotlight, not as a principled dissenter, but as a vindictive puppeteer of digital venom. The revelations from a recent court case paint a damning portrait of a man whose departure from Hutt City Council in 2022 was merely the ...
The Government must support Northland hapū who have resorted to rakes and buckets to try to control a devastating invasive seaweed that threatens the local economy and environment. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill that would ensure the biological definition of a woman and man are defined in law. “This is not about being anti-anyone or anti-anything. This is about ensuring we as a country focus on the facts of biology and protect the ...
After stonewalling requests for information on boot camps, the Government has now offered up a blog post right before Easter weekend rather than provide clarity on the pilot. ...
More people could be harmed if Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey does not guarantee to protect patients and workers as the Police withdraw from supporting mental health call outs. ...
The Green Party recognises the extension of visa allowances for our Pacific whānau as a step in the right direction but continues to call for a Pacific Visa Waiver. ...
The Government yesterday released its annual child poverty statistics, and by its own admission, more tamariki across Aotearoa are now living in material hardship. ...
Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting ...
The Green Party is proud to have voted down the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, an archaic piece of legislation that sought to attack the nation’s founding agreement. ...
A Member’s Bill in the name of Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter which aims to stop coal mining, the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill, has been pulled from Parliament’s ‘biscuit tin’ today. ...
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Members Bill to make the law simpler and fairer for businesses operating on Easter, Anzac and Christmas Days has passed its first reading after a conscience vote in Parliament. ...
Nicola Willis continues to sit on her hands amid a global economic crisis, leaving the Reserve Bank to act for New Zealanders who are worried about their jobs, mortgages, and KiwiSaver. ...
Today, the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill has passed its third and final reading, but there is one more stage before it becomes law. The Governor-General must give their ‘Royal assent’ for any bill to become legally enforceable. This means that, even if a bill gets voted ...
Abortion care at Whakatāne Hospital has been quietly shelved, with patients told they will likely have to travel more than an hour to Tauranga to get the treatment they need. ...
Thousands of New Zealanders’ submissions are missing from the official parliamentary record because the National-dominated Justice Select Committee has rushed work on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...
Today’s announcement of 10 percent tariffs for New Zealand goods entering the United States is disappointing for exporters and consumers alike, with the long-lasting impact on prices and inflation still unknown. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fiona Macdonald, Policy Director, Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute and Adjunct Principal Research Fellow, RMIT University Lordn/Shutterstock The Fair Work Commission has found award pay rates in five industrial awards covering a range of female-dominated occupations and industries ...
Greenpeace spokesperson Amanda Larsson says, "There comes a time when we have to stand up to the forces that conspire to put life on Earth at risk, and this is one of those moments. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthis Auger, Research Associate in Physical Oceanography, University of Tasmania NASA ICE via Flickr, CC BY Beneath the surface of the Southern Ocean, vast volumes of cold, dense water plunge off the Antarctic continental shelf, cascading down underwater cliffs to the ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone Pope Francis has died after using his Easter Sunday address to call for peace in Gaza. I don’t know who the cardinals will pick to replace him, but I do know with absolute certainty that there ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Carr, Associate Professor, Strategy and Australian Defence Policy, Australian National University In 2024, the National Defence Strategy made deterrence Australia’s “primary strategic defence objective”. With writing now underway for the 2026 National Defence Strategy, can Australia actually deter threats to ...
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 22, 2025. How will a new pope be chosen? An expert explains the conclaveSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University Following the death of Pope Francis, we’ll ...
New Zealand First is pushing for the term "woman" to be defined in law as "an adult human biological female" as the party vows to fight "cancerous social engineering" and "woke ideology". ...
The What is a woman? campaign last year called for ‘woman’ to be defined as ‘an adult human female’ in all our laws, public policies and regulations and was signed by more than 23,500 people and presented to Parliament last August. We are still ...
We break down the smorgasbord of streaming services available in Aotearoa. We’re spoiled for choice when it comes to streaming services in New Zealand, but as more and more services put their subscription prices up, it’s easy to wonder: who deserves my hard earned dollar? Which platform has the best ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University Following the death of Pope Francis, we’ll soon be seeing a new leader in the Vatican. The conclave – a strictly confidential gathering of Roman Catholic cardinals – is due to meet in a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic O’Sullivan, Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University and Adjunct Professor Stout Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington and Auckland University of Technology., Charles Sturt University Te Pāti Māori’s Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke lead a haka with Eru Kapa-Kingi outside ...
John Minto says the United Nations has repeatedly said there are no safe places in Gaza for Palestinian civilians, where even so-called “safe zones” are systematically attacked as Israel terrorises the population to flee from the territory. ...
The bill’s primary objective was to stoke racial divisions as a means of diverting social anger in the working class over the government’s escalating attacks on living standards and public services. ...
The New Zealand Flag should be flown at half-mast all day on Tuesday 22 April and again on Wednesday 23 April 2025. The Flag should be returned to full mast at 5pm Wednesday 23 April 2025. ...
The discovery that thousands of British women were brought out to Aotearoa as servants – considered ‘surplus’ to the empire’s requirements at home – propelled journalist Michelle Duff’s new short fiction collection, which explores how women’s bodies are valued.MilkIt is the month after I have my first baby. ...
The occupation follows a five-day protest camp of over 70 people, including tamariki and kaumātua, on the Denniston Plateau, the site of Bathurst’s proposed coal expansion. ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a 20-year-old second-year university student explains her approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female. Age: 20. Ethnicity: NZ European. Role: I’m a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Naomi Oreskes, Professor of the History of Science, Harvard University President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that would block state laws seeking to tackle greenhouse gas emissions – the latest salvo in his administration’s campaign to roll back United States’ ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Duncan Ian Wallace, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Monash University f11photo/Shutterstock If you’ve ever heard the term “wage slave”, you’ll know many modern workers – perhaps even you – sometimes feel enslaved to the organisation at which they work. But here’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Senior Lecturer in Politics, School of Social Sciences, Monash University More than 18 million Australians are enrolled to vote at the federal election on May 3. A fair proportion of them – perhaps as many as half – will ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Houlihan, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, University of the Sunshine Coast Jorm Sangsorn/Shutterstock If you ever find yourself stuck in repeated cycles of negative emotion, you’re not alone. More than 40% of Australians will experience a mental health issue ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Penny Van Bergen, Associate Professor in the Psychology of Education, Macquarie University If you have a child born at the start of the year, you may be faced with a tricky and stressful decision. Do you send them to school “early”, in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Golding, Professor and Chair of the Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Lucasfilm Ltd™ Premiering today, the second and final season of Star Wars streaming show Andor seems destined to be one of the pop culture defining ...
With global tariffs threatening NZ’s economy, the PM is in the UK advocating for free trade while Nicola Willis prepares for a challenging budget at home, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.A PM abroad Prime minister ...
Residents of a seaside suburb in Auckland have been campaigning to reverse the reversal of speed limit reductions on their main road, for fear the changes may end in a fatality. The Twin Coast Discovery Highway passes through a number of suburbs on the Hibiscus Coast. Like all major roads, ...
The former Labour leader’s entry into the race makes life more difficult for Tory Whanau, but there are silver linings for her campaign. Andrew Little launched his campaign, a new political party insisted it wasn’t a political party, and the Greens found a new star candidate. It’s been a big ...
After Easter, an obscure kind of resurrection. West Virginia University Press has announced the reissue of a book they claim is “the earliest known work of urban apocalyptic fiction”, The Doom of the Great City (1860), by British author William Delisle Hay, set in…New Zealand.The narrator tells ofthe destruction ...
A close friend and business associate of Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, has gone from being an unpaid volunteer in the mayoral office, to a contractor paid more than $300,000 a year.Chris Mathews had managed Brown’s successful 2022 election campaign, and is now employed via his own company, to provide “specialist ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 22 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s billed as the passport to the economy, but a cross-section of New Zealand’s population can’t access one.It’s the humble bank account, a rite of passage for most Kiwis, but for prisoners, refugees, and the homeless, among other vulnerable marginalised people, it’s in the too-hard basket.So, in a bid to ...
"New Zealand is one of the highest per capita energy users on the planet. We waste a lot of energy to do things that are unnecessary for our fundamental wellbeing."
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/green-growth-approach-to-climate-change-will-do-more-harm-than-good
Understanding is beginning to spread
The author doesn't provide evidence for the assertion you quote.
He concludes with a conservative trusim:
"Various trends in the past century have created expectations that whatever we wish for we are entitled to. The magic of fossil fuels, along with a trillion dollar a year marketing and advertising industry, has made those manufactured wishes feel like needs."
Just a few points would show that NZers cope with major change better than expected:
Of course the biggie in New Zealand is transport fuel use which is very hard to decrease for all our small vehicles outside 2 urban centres of Auckland and Wellington.
Plenty of optimism
All the evidence needed ….
"Understanding is beginning to spread"…that dosnt mean magical thinking has disappeared, merely that it is diminishing.
Lordie how tiring.
This is like Alexander Bell complaining that it will be impossible to replace the telegraph because Starlink hasn't had enough launches yet.
Of course it is the case that existing technology requires a volume of mineral resources.
Whether that is a limitation to the energy revolution required for replacing oil combustion is not examined.
That is not a reason to be pessimistic that the energy revolution cannot be attained, or even that there are too few mineral resources to achieve it.
Understanding needs quality assurance.
word salad for lunch today
Stop bringing bananas to a knife fight.
Knife fight?….how then did you manage to shoot yourself in the foot?
Do yourself a solid and read the following to get yourself a relevant opinion:
https://www.bec.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/BEC-Report.pdf
https://www.climatecommission.govt.nz/our-work/advice-to-government-topic/inaia-tonu-nei-a-low-emissions-future-for-aotearoa/
https://www.ea.govt.nz/news/eye-on-electricity/new-zealands-electricity-future-generation-and-future-prices/
https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/energy-statistics-and-modelling/energy-modelling/new-zealands-energy-outlook/
https://www.mbie.govt.nz/assets/1597b02644/nz-energy-outlook-electricity-insight.pdf
Did myself the opposite of a solid and read the first linked report…..if thats what you are reading then your attitude is unsurprising….it is entirely materials blind and an example of the magical thinking that pervades yet states….
"It is important to view the scenarios developed for the BEC2050 project not from the perspective of whether you believe they will occur, but whether it is believable that they could occur."
Perhaps then need to take their own advice.
Consequently I wont waste my time on the subsequent links unless you wish to direct me to one that isnt similarly flawed
A reason to be optimistic…
"…2022 may be “peak” power emissions
Wind and solar are slowing the rise in power sector emissions. If all the electricity from wind and solar instead came from fossil generation, power sector emissions would have been 20% higher in 2022. The growth alone in wind and solar generation (+557 TWh) met 80% of global electricity demand growth in 2022 (+694 TWh). Clean power growth is likely to exceed electricity demand growth in 2023; this would be the first year for this to happen outside of a recession. With average growth in electricity demand and clean power, we forecast that 2023 will see a small fall in fossil generation (-47 TWh, -0.3%), with bigger falls in subsequent years as wind and solar grow further. That would mean 2022 hit “peak” emissions. A new era of falling power sector emissions is close…."
Yes it needs a whole post, rather than a set of bullshit reckons from one non-applicable academic.
If I get a moment over the weekend I will go through the Climate Commission, MBIE generation outlook, BusinessNZ Energy Council future demand scenarios, and Electricity Authority generation outlook.
All of the facts are pretty well understood in those forecasts,
None of it has much cause for anxiety for NZ.
You wish! Old magical thinking is merely replaced by new magical thinking with a different name.
A YT clip that is 1 hour 12 mins and 37 secs long. “All the evidence needed” for what? Sounds like Gospel to me. What understanding, if any, is one supposed to gain from watching something about metal mining?
As you are well aware (or should be as a long time participant and moderator of this site) that link is to the work of Simon Michaux, one of the few or possibly the only person who taken the time to evaluate the wherewithal to replace/reduce fossil fuel energy….work that has been presented and discussed here on many occasions previously.
What is anyone to gain from 'something about metal mining'?….perhaps the knowledge that to create something you first need sufficient materials to do so, nevermind technical ability political will or public acceptance.
Thank you.
I was asking for a friend.
Your brief explanation about the ‘learning outcome’ from watching the YT clip is helpful and might save my friend from having to watch the whole clip or may pique his interest to watch the whole thing.
FYI, the YT clips don’t embed and one has to click and open the link to find out what it is about. A little pre-explanation commentary goes a long way, but as a long-term commenter of this site you already knew this.
And obviously as your friend knew it was "something about metal mining" he;she would have also seen the authors name prominently listed and his/her interest may have been piqued…..even it hadnt been on the numerous previous occasions.
My friend did not recognise the name and prefers to read past misleading headlines, empty slogans, fancy titles associated with internet fame & fads. So, no, nothing obvious about it, I’m afraid.
Anyway, you’d be surprised how many friends visit this site every day and whom you have never heard of and likely never will.
Well for those friends here is a brief (5 min read) for their perusal which quotes Michaux's work
"All of these incontestable realities highlight the fact that our dreams of a renewable powered boom are illusory. We need a different conversation than fossil fuelled business as usual or a Green New Deal.
Michaux has offered some starters.
Fundamentally, we need to talk about a future of less instead of a future of more.
Society will have to build simple products that last and that can be easily recycled.
That is the conversation we should be having now. The one we continue to avoid."
https://www.resilience.org/stories/2023-04-10/the-rising-chorus-of-renewable-energy-skeptics/
Those friends may note a certain similarity to the original article posted this morning from Newsroom .
Yes, that’s very helpful intro, thank you.
It drives me nuts that things break down so quickly nowadays and nobody and no company does any repairs anymore – they’ll ‘happily’ replace if it is still under warranty and the user was not at fault.
Coincidentally, I went online today to find replacement parts for a device and found it with the help of Bing AI. Although I saved myself some $$, the greatest satisfaction for me was that I can continue using the device without having to throw it in the rubbish bin and buy a brand new one that does exactly the same thing but has more bells & whistles than I want and need.
In Auckland they are now delivering compost bins to households but they still have a long way to go compared to recycling efforts in some European places. In my neck of the woods people love dumping their household crap and even garden waste – it is a sad view and an indictment on society.
https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/rubbish-recycling/food-scraps-collections/Pages/default.aspx
https://www.simonmichaux.com/
The short version, synopsis in 60 s of scrolling.
Mentions the 1972 Club of Rome 'Limits to Growth' project as a cornerstone for assumptions about peak everything. Hmm.
"The 2020 study examined updated quantitative information about ten factors, namely population, fertility rates, mortality rates, industrial output, food production, services, non-renewable resources, persistent pollution, human welfare, and ecological footprint, and concluded that the "Limits to Growth" prediction is essentially correct in that continued economic growth is unsustainable under a "business as usual" model
The study found that current empirical data is broadly consistent with the 1972 projections and that if major changes to the consumption of resources are not undertaken, economic growth will peak and then rapidly decline by around 2040"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Limits_to_Growth
Guess we kinda think that pessimistically on our bad days.
What does “hmm” mean?
To answer, the phrase Club of Rome stirred up embedded ancient negative detritus, but jumping onto Wikiped updated my faint twinge.
Been remembering recently a conversation with my friend Annette in the early 80s, telling me that her lecturer claimed "global warming will be critical by 2020 if we do nothing now!" She wasn't even doing sciences, but womens' studies. Lo and behold! Hmm.
White rabbits!
Just in case there is anyone here who still doubts that Gender Ideology is homophobic.
https://reduxx.info/from-her-to-him-the-downfall-of-a-lesbian-dating-app/
"You can pick any gender identity and sexuality you wish and exclude any you choose… just as long as it isn’t male,” DJ Lippy remarked to Reduxx. “It’s like opening an all you can eat vegan buffet but sneaking salami into all the dishes. When you complain, they kick you out and call you a pork exclusionary radical vegan."
It is a homophobic, anti women – human females of all ages, anti child, pro heterosexual / fetishistic / pornified/ pro commercial sex / pro commercial child birth government funded authoritarian Patriarchy males rights movement.
These trans identified males and females have been yelling at same sex attracted people for a while now for their refusal to fuck these trans identified individuals.
Also, see the vitriol that is extended to women – human females, who would rather divorce their now 'dead' husbands before having to pretend to be a lesbian to please their 'wifes'.
This movement is anti everything that does not comply immediatly to their wishes.
It is a pity for the LGB community, the transsexual community, and women in children as they well i guess they are collateral damage. But that too was always thus.
Yes people think they are supporting the Rainbow Community in supporting Trans rights, but actually many lesbians have been ostricized and smeared by the community they helped establish.
If you're talking about HER, the lesbian, queer and non-binary dating site started more than 10 years ago, they were not very impressed with being taken down off Twitter by trans exclusionary activists on World Lesbian Visibility Day a few days ago.
They point out no one is forcing users of the site to hook up with anyone they don’t want to.
I wasn't talking about HER
Post truth news in the MSM example #9785:
Government to slap toll charge on new $830m road north of Auckland
First, the headline – "Slap" – a sudden or direct blow.
Tolls have been signalled for almost the last 20 years for penlink. The headline is misleading, designed for an emotional rather than a rational response.
"…Public consultation in 2006 by the former Rodney District Council showed 90% of the public supported a tolled Penlink. However, results from a second consultation last year have not been released on Waka Kotahi's website… …Residents of the Whangaparāoa Peninsula have previously told Stuff they felt was unfair they would have to pay a toll on top of a regional fuel tax, when other infrastructure projects around the country weren't tolled…"
So: The last time they were asked, 90% suported a toll. However, some un-named randoms felt it was "unfair" – an emotional response to the only fact, which is 90% supported a toll when last asked. Still, who is interest in facts when someone is upset it is unfair?
So who actually is upset?
"…Albany ward councillors John Watson and Wayne Walker previously said public mood on tolls had shifted since the regional fuel tax was introduced in 2018, calling it “double charging”…"
So it turns out it probably just a couple of local right wing councillors and their mates.
This sort of emotional driven, post truth, negative bias MSM stuff has consequences. Citizens have nowadays been totally trained & encoouraged by the MSM to respond emotionally to news stories rather than rationally. A loaded story on Penlink to Tucker Carlson is on the same continuum. When the MSM sits about pretending to be puzzled about the rise of anti-vax sentiment or Trumpism, their complicitly is never really examined.
Watson and Walker are just fucking idiots.
"Heavy vehicles will pay double those rates".
Heavy vehicles, especially trucks, cause around 1000 times the road damage of a family saloon. Tolls should reflect this.
The only people that will pay these tolls are the ones that can not write them off as a cost of doing business. Trucking companies will not care one bit. Ditto for any other company car, lease plan car etc.
The worker that will need to use this road for what ever reason, or the traveler that wants to go on holiday will pay the full price. I hope that the Tolls reflect this.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018888241/toll-confirmed-for-new-whangaparaoa-penlink-road
The $3 toll is to cover $1mi pa maintenance costs. The new road saves 20 min of drive time.
Assuming this is at 80 kmp on the old road, the distance saved is 25 km. A Nissan Micra uses 6.7 L/100 km, which is at the low end of fuel consumption. 6.7 L x 25/100 x $1.90/L = $3.20. Already saved the toll. Savings for most cars and heavy vehicles will be more, apart from e-cars, of course.
Initial announcement of PublicPrivate Partnership for Transmission Gully
TG: We are paying the construction company making this road $1.2 bi, which includes a 25 year maintenance cost. It saves 27 km, plus stops and starts, along the Pukerua-Porirua highway.
Three dollar every day both ways quickly makes a big dents. Something like almost 30 bucks a week on a min wage is a big expense which will effectively only be paid for by the end user .
Commercial users of this road will write this cost off as a business expense and reduce their taxable income by the cost of their expenses. So in essence the high users will still not pay for this road. They will have that expense returned to them courtesy of the tax system, and they will be fully subsidized by the tax payer.
That is the only fact that really matters. Unless of course we are happy for other people to spend 40 min more in traffic because they can't afford the new shiny Toll road.
edit, i have no issues with Toll roads, but if you want commercial users to pay for that road you need to remove that tax benefits that come with commerical vehicles.
I note, however, there are no proposed tolls on the most recently opened expressway – Kapiti.
Would that be because it's in Wellington, and politicians are just more sensitive to local opinion there?
Biden ruminates and journalists release methane at the White House Correspondents dinner.
The Daily Show's token black male leads the response
Blame Rupert Murdoch and Fox for Iraq, Trump, and The Big Lie
I like how the du(n)ce from act thinks taxing the greedy is tall poppy syndrome.
Like your that dumb to fall for that lie.
Thanks SPC, those were interesting links. Biden is turning out to be an excellent orator, resilient in working a crowd, even a negative, Republican one. Loved the Brandon glasses/persona at the end, defusing the dog-whistle right-wing meme by owning it.