Why and who the hell would give John Bolton air time to talk about ANY foreign policy issue?, and especially North Korea….this is a man who still defends the invasion of Iraq as a success.
Most Liberal media seem to have adopted the strategy that any enemy of Trump instantly becomes an ally, even to the point now of giving oxygen to psychopathic nutters like Bolton..RNZ listens deserve and expect better balance than that.
What RNZ didn't bother pointing out in their segment is that Bolton goes on to say in his usual insane style " Bolton resumed his call for the US to consider military action against North Korea.",
Just take a read of this Guardian piece…The heading is of course highlighting the 'attacks Trump' part, and not the lets get into a war with North Korea part..WTF, no mention of Bolton undermining Trumps attempts to negotiate with N Korea with his infamous 'Libya model' statement.
We all want to see the end of Trump, but the my enemies enemies are my friends strategy is not the way to do this, and undermines all goodwill, moral highground and moral indignation that we have the right to feel and act upon in the efforts to bring people like Trump down…attacking him from the Left is the only winning strategy that will work in the longrun, Bernie Sanders has been showing the way on this since 2016.
Ummm… when you state "We all want to see the end of Trump" be aware that you do not state a fact. There is a significant section of the population who are okay with Trump. You and I might disagree with them but they do exist. Trying to pretend everybody thinks like you do is the height of intellectual arrogance.
The other thing is you seem to think RNZ should be a tool of the left. Why else would you write the following"…attacking him from the Left is the only winning strategy."?
The first part up to the end of the links was all I sent RNZ, what was written after was for the benefit of TS readers.
I don't think RNZ should come down on anyone's side, what I believe they have the obligation to do is provide fair and balanced reporting…nothing more nothing less.
Bernie Sanders has been showing the way on this since 2016.
Uhh, in 2016 Bernie got 13.2 million votes in the Dem primary. That was a mere 43% of the roughly half of the roughly 30% of the electorate that bothered to vote in the primaries and identify as Democrats. Yes, that nets down to just 6% of the electorate. And he only got there by hoovering up the entire share of people that really couldn’t take Hillary or just preferred someone else.
That’s hardly the stuff of a shining political future. This time around, there’s plenty of other options, which is why he’s fading to currently be somewhere around half to a quarter the support he got last time around.
What point is it that I am missing? Please clarify.
That you think points of view you disapprove of shouldn't be aired?
That there is some massive leftie majority out there just waiting to be awakened by the right messiah, that you just know is there despite there being precisely zero evidence for its existence?
That a media organisation having someone on to have their say automatically means they are endorsing and allying themselves with the view being expressed?
"Sanders began the campaign as an underfunded, septuagenarian, avowed democratic socialist, who was best known in Washington for decades of rants against free trade deals. He will end it a few million votes short of the nomination of a party in which he remains an outsider, a surprisingly close runner-up to arguably the most heavily favored non-incumbent candidate for a party nod in recent memory, Hillary Clinton."
Democrats, said Jared Bernstein, a liberal economist and former adviser to Obama and Vice President Biden, have moved away from talk of deficit reduction and "grand bargains" on safety net spending, and toward "a much more truly progressive agenda."
"Bernie very effectively tapped a progressive energy that's been building for a long time," Bernstein added. "Could that energy have coalesced behind someone else, like Sen. [Elizabeth] Warren? Probably. But Bernie's been an extremely effective and disciplined messenger."
I'm pretty sure this point, that Bernie has changed the political landscape, has been made on numerous occasions, by a number of folk on this site..however maybe you would feel a bit more comfortable to hear this point made by Bernstein who as the Chief Economist and Economic Adviser to Vice President Joseph Biden in the Obama Administration, can hardly be accused of being a self deluded 'Leftie'.
And I'm pretty sure the corporate Democrats wouldn't inch towards a more progressive standpoint, or atleast make vaguely progressive noises, unless they felt there was a wide demand for such a thing.
There is no certainty that either Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren will get the nomination for Democratic US Presidential candidate. Currently it 's not even a likelihood.
The Subpoena hearings may well push both Democrats and the wider electorate the other way, favoring simply the person most likely to simply get Trump out: Joe Biden.
Either way, there has been a large policy shift in the dems. Not all of it Bernie, by any means – resistance to the orange one has also mobilised a lot of people.
"favoring simply the person most likely to simply get Trump out: Joe Biden" are you mad? Biden is fucked, the guy is suffering from some sort of dementia. he will never make it all the way to the election, let alone the end of the primaries,
Warren has obviously now been anointed the new DNC saviour.
Well one of us is dead wrong because i had figured using an episode involving obvious Biden foreign political interference (possibly corruption), to attack Trump was a sure end to his campaign. The negative effects on Trumps campaign seem less than certain.
"Arguably Hillary was the leftie and Obama the centrist"
Holy hell you really are one deluded melonfarmer, both of them are liberal capitalists and have nothing (or very little) to do with the Left..that is just a plain fact..no argument or debate need be entered into.
Uhh, do you understand that if left" and "right" are to have meaning, it has to be with reference to where the political centre is? That you are not the centre of the political universe, rather you are so far out there that the centre is a tiny speck barely brighter than a star? And the fact that Obama won the office (twice) and Hillary failed makes a pretty clear marker for how far left a candidate can be and still be electable.
Gotta disagree with that last line – there are many more determinants of election victory than simply how "left" or "right" one is compared to the electorate.
Although yeah, most of any given population would stand well to the right of the promontory from where Adrian makes his proclamations of political validity. So far to the right that he finds it difficult to judge the distance between the people he his observing.
No, what you guys seem to have missed or just ignore (for whatever reason) is that the (Liberal) Left have dragged us all so far to the right over the past 25 or so years, that a so called centre leftist like Clinton or Obama or NZ Labour today for that matter would have been considered centre right then, infact all I am advocating for is a much needed realignment…
"President Obama said his economic policies are "so mainstream" he'd be considered a moderate Republican in the 1980s."
And compared with politicians 200 years ago both Clinton and Obama were centre left to extreme left.
But if we're talking about the US in 2008 and comparing Obama and Clinton's relative positions, then both my 200y.o. benchmark and your 30 y.o. benchmark are completely irrelevant.
@McFlock, I hardly think comparing political positions from within the life times of the people involved to that of political positions 200 years ago makes any sense or has any relevance to this conversation whatsoever.
Not sure the USA in 1995 was all that left wing. 3 strikes laws, Iraq, and all that.
And for NZ, 14% of current voters in NZ weren't even born 25 years ago, so not sure about "us all", either. And it was the height of the Bolger/Shipley governments.
I don't mind utopians – it's good to have goals.l But I think even your recollections are decidedly red-tinted.
But compared to, say, NZ politicians 45 years ago, yeah HC and Obama would probably be right wing. But that would be a pointless comparison, like comparing them to the US "founding fathers".
"some massive leftie majority out there just waiting to be awakened by the right messiah"
"Messiah" is a mischaracterisation of Sanders. At some rally when the crowd chanted "Bernie", he looked irritated and wagged his finger – "no no, it's not Bernie it's you". Near the end of Karl Stead's fabulous novel 'My Name was Judas' the narrator says, "Our friend was not the Messiah / Nor will there be one". Sanders, it seems to me, knows this instinctively, which is part of what makes him qualitatively different from all others in the race, and important historically, win or lose.
But it's absolutely clear to me that everyone on here reads into the situation in the US exactly what they want to. And that there is no point in commenting on it any more.
"I didn't realise when I set up Matrix Homes that vested interests would not want it to succeed," he says. "We were selling a two-bed house for $99k, and that doesn't help us when the industry is trying to explain why houses are 700-800k."
The building industry was resistant; so too was bureaucracy."
I wish they'd done something indepth on that rather than just interviewing the business owner. Looks interesting, but too short on detail to see what is going on. We've been so focused on the cost of purchasing, I'd really like to see more on the costs from council's post leaky building, and from the housing industry raking in profits. Also the banks and the conditions they put on mortgages. That thing about having to build larger houses is one I hear too often.
Exactly – why not write into The Detail or whoever is doing the in-depth stuff at Radionz and ask them to look into what you have outlined? They are trying hard and turning out some good background stuff I think. What do you think?
The problem with his business model – at a guess- is that the house is a prefab so he doesnt get paid anything till it goes on site. Thats a huge cashflow issue.
Dont see how the banks have an issue with small houses per se. they happily lend on small apartments.
The real problem is small sections, where the building- land ratio makes more sense with high land costs.
And my impression was that people think of these small houses as a sort minor dwelling at the back of an existing house. That can be a minefield as far as consents go. My guess is he didnt have a very good planners working with him to navigate these issues FIRST before starting construction.
Twyford can tell him all about wanting big numbers but only getting a trickle
"Dont see how the banks have an issue with small houses per se. they happily lend on small apartments."
Banks routinely refuse to lend on small builds, or make the conditions unattractive, afaik because they see small houses, especially if owner built or not a cookie cutter house, as a liability if it comes to a mortgagee sale. At least this is what I hear from people trying to get mortgages.
Banks (and everyone else with a finger in the pie, and that includes local and central gov) are seeking to protect their interest…consider if he had succeeded what would the effect have been.
Actually HNZ would have been the perfect client….but there was still risk. If they had supplied HNZ what was to stop them (or someone else) taking the model to the wider market?
only for the signee…the whole model is potentially too disruptive.A pity because there is so much potential to reduce housing costs but thats never really been the main concern
They've dispatched specialised protest-suppression personnel and kit with a command structure separate from the PLA, too.
Here's hoping cool heads prevail.
China has quietly more than doubled its deployment of mainland security forces in Hong Kong, according to foreign envoys and security analysts, in the most dramatic move yet by Beijing to prepare for a potential worsening of unrest in the global financial center.
There is a dreadful inevitability about the final outcome for Hong Kong and China Administration must not only win, but be seen to win. Otherwise what effect on the billion or so Chinese on the mainland. And the protestors? Top marks for persistence and courage but they cannot be allowed by the Chinese Mainland Admin, to succeed.
The monarch reportedly asked aides for first time in her reign just how and when should could dismiss a PM.
The Queen sought advice on the circumstances in which she could sack a prime minister ahead of Tuesday’s incendiary Supreme Court ruling, i has been told.
Boris Johnson will be dismissed by Queen if he tries to ignore court order to implement Benn Act, says Grieve
Dominic Grieve, one of the 21 Tories who had the whip removed after rebelling over Brexit and one of the MPs involved in drafting the Benn Act to rule out a no-deal Brexit on 31 October, has said he thinks the legislation is robust, and that ministers will not find loopholes in it.
In an interview with Sky News, Grieve said that if Boris Johnson tried to ignore the law, the courts could force him to comply.
[Johnson] would be taken to court and a writ of mandamus would be issued against him and he would be told, as a matter of law, that he has to write the letter [to the EU requesting a Brexit delay]. The case could go to the supreme court and I suspect the courts could deal with it very quickly.
Grieve also said that, if Johnson tried to ignore the courts, ultimately he could be dismissed as prime minister by the Queen.
A source …in Scotland…. asking about sacking a PM ?
Thats absurd , the only person she can ask for 'advice' is Johnson himself. The story says so at the end. Clearly just scuttlebutt which is typical of UK papers..the rest of the world calls it fake news
On the subject of a CIA whistleblower citing Trump abused his power by asking a favour of the Ukrainian president to dig dirt on Biden, Biden himself on camera told the story of how he insisted the Ukrainian government fire its attorney general before he/the US government would give it a billion dollar loan which seems like a pretty obvious abuse of power too. Biden visited the Ukraine 13 times over 25 months. George Galloway suggests Biden's son Hunter was acting as a proxy for Joe Biden. In other words, the Biden versus Trump feud seems to be more about a battle between equally corrupt adversaries.
Ever occur to you to look for perspectives beyond the recycled Repug talking points tailored to appeal to convergence moonbats peddled for clickbait by the likes of Jimmy Dore and Galloway?
And the prosecutor who was appointed to replace Shokin (he who was sacked because Biden said he was not pursuing corruption) actually finally closed down the Burisma investigation ….there were no calls for his sacking from Biden, in fact he (Lutsenko ) was in that position until last month.
Burisma was also under investigation in the UK for fraud and money laundering.The UK says the Ukrainians were dragging the chain . The Ukrainians say the UK prosecutors were.
Ukraine is an oligarchy, public officials are in the pocket of who has the ascendancy at the time
At the moment Kolomoisky (Zelensky has described him as his business partner) is back in the driving seat after having been demoted by Poroshenko.
The hellish nature of the Ukrainian oligarchy is covered in this Kyiv Post link
But given the choice between a domestic oligarchy and a Kremlin controlled one, it's not a difficult choice for the Ukraine to prefer their own. Nor would admitting a Putin appointee likely decrease corruption.
And the US is the absolute showpiece of corruption free democracy?
Nah, like Jimmy Carter says "Its just an oligarchy now "
Except we call them tycoons
With money and corporations running the show
Getting rid of Shokin did nothing to defeat corruption
And the Ukrainians, as is so startlingly clear, are not one people as much as the nationalists of Western Ukraine would like them to be .The people of the east twice voted Yanukovich in
And if the US is so keen to stamp out corruption (I mean really?)they would have made damned sure to avoid the bad optics of Biden and Archer being on the Burisma board being paid eye watering amounts ,shortly after Biden senior gets put in charge of Ukraine.You really think th e US gives a flying fuck about corruption??When they've backed the most corrupt, undemocratic countries on the planet?
Check out Latin America through the decades.
And if they were so keen on democracy , Pyatt and Nuland wouldn't been heard plotting over the phone on who should be PM
"Yats is the man "
The US has poured billions in to Ukraine with no reduction in corruption, but plenty of their own corporations like Monsanto reaping the benefits.Their money isn't conditional on anti corruption drives , rather on further deprivatisations so US companies can get in and make a profit.
And geopolitically the ruling elites stay aligned to US elite interests
The latest Conservative rabbits from the hat (The Sorting Hat – hopefully it contains enough magic to sort this lot out.)
Brexit: Government to reveal detailed plan for EU negotiations https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49881345
"Hollow Men" and its worthy successor "Utopia" are really good at mocking the language of senior bureaucrats and operatives. While it's Australian, it's a small shift to here, scaled down.
This one I particularly enjoyed for its grandiloquence brought down to the smell of the printed paper:
Actually Jones said bluntly just what other MPs slyly hint at. Why else would Bridges for instance offer bridges for some and not for others? Pretty blatant but not really up front. "Vote for our lot if you want bridges built," is the message though. All the time.
Why would Farrar spend so much time on focus groups if it wasn't to find out who to whom and to what to set the promise (bribe).
It's more concerning that net policy outcomes aren't much better than a tin-pot African nation, even though they represent a vast improvement over those of the previous government. Shane Jones is what he is, but given you were happy with Brownlee the Beast, your complaint is partisanship, not objectivity.
I agree that that someone needs to be held accountable for the CTV building that collapsed during the Christchurch Ruamoko. We lost A lot of good people in that desaster there whanau will be happy.
I say that the media needs to be held up to have honest content as they have a major influence on the way people behave I have seen some behaving badly.
Yes some tamariki and Mokopuna have bad teeth I made sure to my Tamariki looked after their nihor. One can jump up and down all they want but the horse won't drink Te Wai.
Its great that more putea is going into Maori health.
I think it is needed to have 18 years olds being kept in the youth justice. I say some don't grow up till quite long in the nihor.
Indigenous 100 interviewing 100 indigenous tangata Wehie isn't it reka that tangata whenua o Aotearoa are receiving more respect.
Moden Maori art is great there are some good artists rising from Maoridom some beautiful art to Kia Kaha.
Yes Te pro action against Papatuanuku Warming has started rolling against Te neanderthal who are to short sighted to see that there greed of money and power will cause A Papatuanuku wide tragedy now I can see that we the leftist of Te Papatuanuku are going to stop the BULLSHIT of the neanderthal lies and make the Papatuanuku a CARBON NEUTRAL PAPATUANUKU.
An unstoppable climate change movement takes hold
Climate chaos is playing out in real time from California to the Caribbean, and from Africa to the Arctic and beyond. Those who contributed least to the problem are suffering the most.
I called the Climate Action Summit to serve as a springboard to set us on the right path ahead of crucial 2020 deadlines established by the Paris Agreement on climate change. And many leaders – from many countries and sectors – stepped up.
A broad coalition – not just governments and youth, but businesses, cities, investors and civil society – came together to move in the direction our world so desperately needs to avert climate catastrophe.
The Summit also showcased ways in which cities and global industries like shipping can achieve major reductions in emissions. Initiatives to protect forests and safeguard water supplies were also highlighted.
More than 100 leaders in the private sector committed to accelerating their move into the green economy.
A group of the world's largest asset-owners – responsible for directing more than $2 trillion – pledged to move to carbon-neutral investment portfolios by 2050
This is in addition to a recent call by asset managers representing nearly half the world's invested capital – some $34 trillion – for global leaders to put a meaningful price on carbon and phase out fossil fuel subsidies and thermal coal power worldwide
The International Development Finance Club pledged to mobilise $1 trillion in clean energy funding by 2025 in 20 least developed countries
Too many countries still seem to be addicted to coal – even though cheaper, greener options are available already. We need much more progress on carbon pricing, ensuring no new coal plants by 2020, and ending trillions of dollars in giveaways of hard-earned taxpayers' money to a dying fossil fuel industry to boost hurricanes, spread tropical diseases, and heighten conflict
And I will make sure that the commitments that countries, the private sector and local authorities have made are accounted for – starting in December at the UN Climate conference in Santiago, Chile. The UN is united in support of realising these initiatives.
Climate change is the defining issue of our time
Science tells us that on our current path, we face at least 3C of global heating by the end of the century. I will not be there, but my granddaughters will
I refuse to be an accomplice in the destruction of their one and only home.
Young people, the UN – and a growing number of leaders from business, finance, government, and civil society – in short, many of us – are mobilising and acting. But we need many others to take climate action if we are to succeed
We have a long way to go. But the movement has begun.
António Guterres is Secretary-General of the United Nations
We need to stop all the plastic waste from entering our natural environment.
Stop producing the stuff stop using it all together we did not need plastic in the days of old. We used natural materials paper made from plant products
Glass bottles for our fluids don't let the pro carbon people's lies Te Tairawhitimate is going to fall on our heads if we choose to change the way we live to a non carbon closed loop system we're everything we use gets recycled.
That's the only way we are going to SURVIVE in my eyes care for our ENVIRONMENT care for others culture care and respect for everyone.
How worried should we be about microplastics?
Plastic is everywhere – in our food, air, water and oceans. But do we know enough to determine how harmful it is to our health?
If you enjoy a spot of food, like to breathe air and partake in the occasional drink of water (tap or bottled), then you’re almost certainly an unwitting consumer of microplastics.
People who use triangular nylon tea bags are the latest group to be shocked at their exposure to plastics. According to one study, they could be getting about 11bn or so particles of plastic with their Earl Grey or breakfast tea.
Microplastics have turned up pretty much everywhere that scientists have looked for them – from the bottom of the deepest parts of our oceans to the stomachs of whales, seabirds and in our own poo.
Those fancy tea bags? Microplastics in them are macro offenders
But should we be worried about our plastic diet – either for the sake of our own health or for the health of the environment?
What is microplastic?
There’s no agreed definition, but researchers have generally referred to pieces of plastic smaller than about 5mm as microplastic. However, the University of New South Wales’s Mark Browne, who has been researching plastics since 2004, says it’s better to think about plastics relative to the units they’re measured in. So microplastics are between one micrometre and 1,000 micrometres wide (there are 1,000 micrometres in one millimetre
What is it doing to our health?
“There’s an absence of science here,” says Browne. “We know that across particle sizes, plastics can cause issues. The critical issue now is what are the concentrations that people and wildlife are being exposed to. We don’t need more studies on which products emit plastics. We need studies that expose organisms or models to these doses to see if they cause problems
Lauren Roman, at CSIRO oceans and atmosphere, says that for all animals “the size of the plastic matters”.
“If the piece is too big, the animal won’t eat it or, in the case of seabirds, they will regurgitate it. If it’s very small then it can just pass straight through them.”
For larger pieces, Roman says there is some evidence that plastic accumulating in the stomachs of animals can suppress their appetite – known as the “dietary dilution effect” that could have knock-on effects Ka kite Ano link below.
A study that tells us that it's just common sense that everyone everywhere needs to plant trees to sequence carbon emissions from the Tawhirimate. Planting trees does not need huge investment just the will of the tangata and government. The can be grown from seed or to jump ahead a year take cutting off Mama trees cloning them planting them and caring for them. I don't think many place are like Aotearoa we're we can just plant tree keeping the weeds in check for 2 years and walar you have a forests growing
Massive Forest Restoration Could Greatly Slow Global Warming
The right trees, planted in the right locations, could store 205 gigatons of carbon dioxide.
The team has also created a planning toollinked to the map that will be open to the public starting July 5. Individuals and organizations can zoom in to any location to see where new forests could be started.
Crowther has not studied other carbon sequestration techniques that have been discussed a lot lately, such as ocean fertilization (growing algae to soak up carbon) or direct air capture (machines that pull CO2 from the atmosphere), but he thinks they would be much more expensive than growing trees. He estimates it might cost the world $300 billion to plant the 0.9 billion hectares. And new forests provide another strong benefit: they restore biodiversity, which is crucial because so many plant and animal species are disappearing. Crowther says he began to study reforestation because he was really looking for ways to stop species loss. Tremendous benefits beyond carbon sequestration "come from biodiversity—providing food, medicines, clean water and all sorts of things for humans," he says.
Chazdon cautions that replanting may not be as simple as it sounds, and she wonders if 0.9 billion new hectares will ever be possible, given competing priorities. More trees consume more water, and this could threaten agriculture or other human activities in dry areas. And local people may not want forests if they need to generate income from the land, say from farming or herding. Some prominent reforestation programs, such as ones in the Philippines, have failed "because there was no local involvement," she says.
The best places to start reforestation are where multiple benefits can readily be gained. In a July 3 Science Advances paper, Chazdon and colleagues identify a series of locations in the tropics that have higher-than-average potential for benefits as well as ease of getting started.
All the new tree work, Chazdon says, signals that "we're entering into the practicality stage" of smart reforestation. "We can bring a lot of interdisciplinary science to bear. I hope there will be more interaction between scientists and politicians, realizing that the tools we now have can guide reforestation that is the most cost-effective, and has multiple benefits and fewer tradeoffs."
Eco Maori was trying to organise the planting of 50.000 trees this year but there are too many hurdles to jump through Ma Te Wa the trees will be planted in 2020
I tau toko the protests against the action Zealanders signs being plasted around the Auckland university the person in charge of the university needs to pulled up about this
Yes people have to learn to be careful around Awa and Tangaroa as Wai is a powerful force that can take lives quickly.
Another problem with the Westcoast access rail last time it was a road problem it caused by Global warming some of the people still want to mine coal.
That's good that our government has stopped the banning of refugees from the Middle East and Africa.
250 years since Cook landed in Turangi A Kiwa I'm not sure about the weaveing together.
Let's hope not to much damage is caused by the big Bush fire in Australia the bushfire season started early there this year.
If he didn't want heaps of tamariki he should not have donated his dna.
The Glacier in France and most of the other Glacier around Papatuanuku are dissolving because of Human Caused Global Warming I see some storys about Climate Change are being muted.
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Pippa Coom was, until last October, an Auckland councillor, and a very good one indeed. I hope she will be again. She’s written this week on her site about the absolute state of things in Auckland civic governance. It’s clear and good. With her kind permission I’m running it here.It ...
These days, I make a point of reading the Herald for a particular reason – not, in order to get an accurate account of the day’s news, but to gain some insight into the mentality of those whose guiding principle is not accuracy or rationality but, rather, visceral hatred of ...
While there was no sign of an upswing in the wholemilk powder price at Fonterra’s latest Global Dairy Trade auction — the first of the new season — cheddar prices rose 7.4% to $US4,668/t . This confirmed the trend which Fonterra was exploiting last season.It told farmers in May ...
Buzz from the Beehive The weight being given to “Treaty of Waitangi” provisions in legislation drafted by the Labour government can be measured by a quick reading of the Emergency Management Bill. The bill has a Treaty clause. The legislation which it will replace – the Civil Defence Emergency Management ...
Since sport is our global religion, it isn’t surprising that the theocratic kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken the redemptive power of sportswashing very seriously indeed. To the point where the massive Saudi investment in all kinds of professional sport may be hoodwinking the West into overlooking the kingdom’s terrible ...
Walking down an Auckland street: the results of 30 years of magical thinking is far from magical in the housing, climate and poverty crises now threatening to overwhelm our hospital, justice and education systems. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has released its infrastructure policy for the election, opting ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Employment Relations (Protection for Kiwisaver Members) Amendment Bill (Tracey McLellan) The bill is a nice little minor amendment which would prevent employers from discriminating against Kiwisaver members, restoring a protection repealed ...
New Zealanders are supposed to be able to trust that there are adequate systems in place to ensure our politicians aren’t corrupt. There are mandatory systems of transparency requiring MPs and ministers to disclose all possible conflicts of interest, and yet we have learnt that this integrity system has fallen ...
How many of you think Michael Wood is corrupt? I don’t mean whether he broke the rules, he did, but whether he’s acted in a way that could see him personally gain?Probably not a lot. I don’t think even the MPs and media people demanding his immediate crucifixion think that. ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk There are many good reasons to burn less coal: It’s polluting, expensive, damaging to human health, and emits more carbon pollution than any other form of electricity. But an oft-overlooked factor is that burning fuel to generate electricity is astonishingly ...
Auckland Transport have just launched consultation on a cycleway for a route fairly close to my heart as it’s part of my regular ride to work – Hobsonville Rd. The corridor has seen a lot of growth in the last decade or so with all the development at Hobsonville Point, ...
Hi,I was an obsessive kid. If I liked something, I really liked it. Nothing came in halves with me. It was all or nothing. And throughout the 90s — and into some of the 00s — The X-Files was my obsession. It was one of the first shows on network ...
For those with long memories, the declaration in Wellington yesterday by the Prime Minister of Fiji that economic development in Pacific Island states depended on democracy might have seemed, at best, ironic. The PM is, after all, Major General the Honourable Sitiveni Rabuka CF, OBE, MSD and leader of ...
Is anyone feeling sorry for the Prime Minister? Here, confronted once more by an errant minister, he has had to use his disciplinary powers, but not to the satisfaction of Opposition parties. Michael Wood may have been one of the more effective ministers in the current administration, though that ...
News of the indigenization of New Zealand’s Space Policy (here) has reached Jerry Coyne, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago, whose analysis of it has been posted on Why Evolution is True(here). The National Space Policy (as Point of Order noted) ...
The numeral 30 comes from Latin, written as triginta. In our seaside village there are many aspirational people going forward in their utes and Audis but not all that many who had time for a classics education.So when the useless council put up this new sign, it seems most people ...
Yesterday Transport Minister Michael Wood was stood down after failing to properly declare a conflict of interest - namely his continued ownership of Auckland Airport shares while transport minister. Chris Hipkins and his Labour cronies tried to pass this off as Wood simply being forgetful, but this was somewhat undercut ...
Last year the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Solomon Islands signed a bilateral security agreement that includes police training and port visits by Chinese security advisors and naval vessels. This includes training in “crowd control” and protection of … Continue reading → ...
Yesterday’s revelation yesterday that Michael Wood’s ‘life admin’ got away on him and he didn't sell his Auckland Airport shares despite six warnings from the Cabinet Office was messy and 'unacceptable' enough for Hipkins to stand Wood down as Transport Minister until it was 'resolved'. Now it’s got even messier. ...
This is a guest post from Cameron Pitches is the former Convenor for the Campaign for Better Transport. These days he’s the Technology Manager at PortConnect It should be a surprise to nobody that cars are expensive to own and operate. Obviously they are an inherent part of the ...
You might’ve seen reports of the draft recommendations of the Electoral System review, released following a long public consultation. In this newsletter I’d like to offer some thoughts on those proposals, who they benefit, and a couple of other changes I think we need.It’s worth bearing in mind that these ...
Chris Hipkins must be starting to wonder whether any more Cabinet Ministers might embarrass him. The procession of Ministers this year making the headlines for the wrong reasons recalls the same sort of saga in the Key Government. Then, in 2014, Labour’s Chief Whip, Chris Hipkins said Key had ...
Hi,Thanks for the outpouring of advice and love over the weekend’s Wolves on the Roofpiece. I’m gonna throw some of your comments into a future newsletter, as I think there’s genuinely great advice in there for anyone suffering any kind of chronic pain, or battling the dark nighttime thoughts ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Socrates Takes The Rap: “Corrupting the youth”, the Athenian philosopher Socrates was convicted and executed for this offence more than 2,400 years ago. It is a sure sign of generational desperation: of the old order’s fear of the values and aspirations of its younger citizens; and of a generation no ...
Labour's "independent" review of the electoral system reported back today. You can read the full thing here, but most of it was basicly a rehash of the 2012 Electoral Commission review, and in response to the same questions, produced mostly the same answers: a lower threshold and removing the one-seat ...
ACT preens as party in waiting ahead of Election 2023, read an RNZ headline this morning. Foregone conclusions are totally the new black in election reporting this season. The article that followed was not quite so breathless, and concluded with the reminder that in the end it’s all up to the ...
ACT preens as party in waiting ahead of Election 2023, read an RNZ headline this morning. Foregone conclusions are totally the new black in election reporting this season. The article that followed was not quite so breathless, and concluded with the reminder that in the end it’s all up to the ...
Today transport Minister Michael Wood was stood down after failing to properly declare a conflict of interest. He'd bought shares in Auckland airport "as a teenager", hidden them in a trust when he became an MP, and failed to declare them for seven years, for three of which he was ...
Buzz from the Beehive At least one headline-grabbing ministerial announcement had not been posted on the government’s official website, when Point of Order checked early this afternoon. We learned from other sources that Michael Wood has been stood down as Transport Minister over over failing to properly disclose shares owned ...
Battered by storms, and soaring costs, New Zealand dairy farmers have countered by extracting higher production. As one commentator put it, end-of-season production “has been through the roof” . Westpac senior agri economist Nathan Penny notes in a report in the NZ Herald that we are probably looking at two ...
Not for the first time, David Seymour looks like an answer to a non-existent problem. Reportedly, ACT is promising to establish a Ministry of Regulations to cut through all that bureaucracy and red tape. Yep. To cut down on bureaucracy. Seymour is promising to create a whole new bureaucracy, presumably ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sara Peach In 1989, cartoonist Matt Groening told a reporter that his new television show, “The Simpsons,” would tackle the serious subjects in life. “It always amazes me how few cartoonists in print or animation go after the bigger issues, the kinds ...
This is a cross post from our friends at Bike Auckland. You can see the original post here.An Auckland for EverybodyIt’s 2024, and the Auckland Harbour Bridge is finally open and available to all modes of everyday transport. Using a dedicated lane protected from traffic, people walk, ...
It could be easy to shrug away Education Minister Jan Tinetti’s referral to the Privileges Committee as just another example of a Minister not following the rules of Parliament. But its significance should be recognised in the fact it is only the second time since 2008 that a Member of ...
Seeing is no longer believing. Surprisingly realistic – yet fake – images created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) are here. To date, most have seemed more like curiosities than genuine deception attempts. Last month, it was revealed that New Zealand’s National Party had used the AI image generation app Midjourney to ...
Young climate activists watch a livestream of Jacinda Ardern declaring a climate emergency in December 2020. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: There’s another call this morning to lower the voting age and to lower the threshold for parties to get into Parliament under MMP.Elsewhere, there’s news:most social homes ...
Interesting speech by Rowan Atkinson where he defends free speech. Timely too, as several countries are now facing the introduction of legislation which will be used to attack freedom of speech. New Zealand/Aotearoa is no exception. And this comes on top of actions of censorship, de-platforming and social pressure ...
The left has really been silent and allowed the traditional leftist commitment to free speech to erode and even fall out of favor. This has had an effect on a whole range of leftist issues, from journalism to environmental activism, worker’s rights, animal rights, etc. From June 17 to June ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – dominated today by announcements of who has been awarded King’s Birthday gongs – also carries news of a development in New Zealand’s relationship with Japan. This sits alongside the speech which Defence Minister Andrew Little delivered to the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue ...
The world is full of climate dashboards (and dashboards of dashboards), and so you might imagine that all datasets and comparisons are instantly available in whatever graphical form you like. Unfortunately, we often want graphics to emphasize a particular point or comparison, and generic graphs from the producers of ...
Not Even Close, Comrades! Occupy made it all the way to New Zealand, but its fate here did not differ substantially from its fate everywhere else around the world. The political praxis of identity politics, its extraordinary disintegrative power, made the organisation of any kind of credible threat to the ...
Take Me Home: Bowalley Road, North Otago. The long gravel road after which Chris Trotter’s blog is named. Near the road’s end is the farm where he spent the first nine years of his life.ONE OF THE JOYS of blogging is the instant feedback you get. Certainly, there are the trolls who ...
Steven Levitt, famous for his Freakanomics, shows that being an economist is not just mouthing supply and demand.Brian Easton writes – Anyone can call themselves an ‘economist’. Many do, despite having no qualifications in economics and hardly any formal training; they often make elementary errors. That is the ...
Today is New Zealand’s first King’s Birthday since 1951. It’s not Charlie’s actual birthday, any more than Queen’s Birthday was Liz’s, but it’s a public holiday nonetheless. Until the creation of Matariki, the monarch’s observed birthday marked the start of a black hole in New Zealand’s holiday calendar, stretching ...
All things change. Nations, sporting teams, individuals. All have a time of ascent, and, in time, of decline. Their time on the stage, in the spotlight - however brightly they shone, gone. A new generation in their place.We see it on this day, in what still sounds strange, King’s Birthday. ...
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for your invitation to speak with you today. Many of you will remember acutely the New Zealand that used to be in comparison to what we have become today. For reasons best known to themselves, some critics consider any reference to the past ...
The Independent Electoral Review out today has included a recommendation to ‘affect the Treaty of Waitangi and its Principles’ and make it one of the Act’s ‘explicit objectives’. What ‘principles’ are they talking about exactly? Our Electoral Act is the foundation of unwavering equality for every New Zealander ...
The Green Party are today launching a campaign asking for people to submit their stories of subpar, substandard and downright awful experiences of renting in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the draft report of the Independent Electoral Review and challenging all political parties to commit to implementing its final recommendations after the 2023 general election. ...
Today, Te Pāti Māori announce Takuta Ferris will contest the Te Tai Tonga seat at this year’s General Election. “Takura ran for the Te Tai Tonga seat for Te Pāti Māori in 2020. It takes tremendous courage and commitment to put your hand up for another round in the ring ...
Focussed immigration has always been essential to our future, but New Zealanders need to be aware of the immediate dire situation our government is putting us in with a predicted record of one hundred thousand new immigrants moving to New Zealand in this year alone. That means we will have ...
Today, President of Te Pāti Māori, John Tamihere has confirmed that Heather Te-Au Skipworth will stand for Te Pāti Māori in the Tukituki electorate this election. ...
During New Zealand First coalition negotiations our policy was to train and resource 1800 new frontline police. We secured this coalition policy win to ensure our streets had a police force that could tackle crime - after years of neglect. Remember those previous nine years of neglect saw a ‘tag ...
Katie Kenny from Stuff published an article today with a lazy attempt at so-called ‘fact checking’ my recent comments on the World Health Organisation’s concerning new regulations being developed. What is most surprising is that throughout this entire ‘fact checking’ process, Kenny never once rang me asking for my side ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce Jamie Arbuckle, Marlborough District Councillor, to stand as a candidate for the Kaikoura electorate at this year’s General Election. Jamie Arbuckle is an outstanding contributor to New Zealand First and his local community. Arbuckle, a local councillor for over 13 years, has represented ...
Good afternoon and thank you for taking the time to be here. Blenheim is at the heart of the Marlborough region and an important contributor to New Zealand’s wealth. We salute you for it. Today we launch the NZ First candidate Jamie Arbuckle, the highest polling local councilor, in whom ...
The National Party has released another confused and rushed policy that will only further worsen the inequality that is driven by unaffordable housing. ...
Welcome to sunny and calm Wellington, which I know those of you who are visiting would of course expect to be the case. It’s been a busy week since we put forward the 2023 Budget. Labour MPs have been out across the motu giving the good oil on the Budget. ...
Kia orana, Talofa lava, Mālo e lelei, Taloha ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Noa’ia e mauri, Ni sa bula vinaka, Kia ora, Tena Koutou Katoa. Labour Party President Jill Day, Prime Minister Hipkins, Party faithful, delegates and comrades, whānau and friends, it’s a privilege to be here today. I begin my ...
One of my kaumātua up North stood before the Waitangi Tribunal and said: ‘He aha kē ahau, te tangata kore hara i mua i te Atua, e tu nei kia whakawaatia e koe, te tangata tāhae, te tangata hara, te tangata kore tikanga?Ko koe kē te tika, kia tū ...
New Zealanders will be highly concerned that the World Health Organisation proposes to effectively take control of independent decision making away from sovereign countries and place control with the Director General. W.H.O International Health Regulations on future outbreaks of disease aim to give the Director General extraordinary and wide-sweeping powers. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take responsibility for reducing inflation by taxing wealth instead of leaving RBNZ to continue hiking the Official Cash Rate. ...
The Government is backing a significant expansion of Wellington Regional Hospital’s Emergency Department, Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall has announced. “Government funding to expand Wellington ED will enable Te Whatu Ora to progress plans for a new, larger, fit-for-purpose facility, featuring an additional 35 spaces. Enabling works are due to ...
Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor is welcoming the election of New Zealand’s candidate, Dr John Barker, as Director General of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) at a meeting this evening in Spain. “This is a very good day for our wine industry. Dr Barker’s election marks ...
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment, Priyanca Radhakrishnan, has announced the reappointment of George Reedy as chair of Peke Waihanga – Artificial Limb Service. Mr Reedy has been appointed as chair until the end of 2024. “Mr Reedy is an experienced Chair, and I am confident that he will ...
Tania June Warburton, Tania Margaret Sharkey and Ali’imuamua Sandra Alofivae have been appointed as District Court Judges, Attorney-General David Parker said today. The appointees will take up their roles in July, August and September respectively, replacing judges who are about to retire. Tania June Warburton, solicitor of Wellington, has ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Dr Duncan Webb has today announced the appointment of Anne Callinan as the new Deputy Chair at the Commerce Commission. “Anne Callinan is a senior commercial litigation partner and the Chair of Simpson Grierson. She has over 30 years’ experience in commercial litigation, acting as ...
Introduction – mihi whakatau “Mānawa maiea te putanga o Matariki, Mānawa maiea te ariki o te rangi, Mānawa maiea re Mātahi o te Tau” "Celebrate the rising of Matariki, Celebrate the rising of the Ariki of the sky, Celebrate the rising of the New Year." This invitation to join you ...
The next step in improvements to the building consent system gets underway with the sector and public encouraged to have their say on how it could be improved, Minister for Building and Construction Dr Megan Woods says. “Following last year’s consultation, we have developed options to get a more efficient ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Climate Minister James Shaw have met in Wellington with their Australian counterparts, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, for the inaugural Australia–New Zealand Climate and Finance Ministers’ meeting. The Ministers discussed areas of enhanced cooperation, supporting accelerated climate action and once-in-a-generation ...
The Government is making a start on a more sustainable forestry industry with investments into a bioenergy plant, research into biomass and better forestry practices, Forestry Minister Peeni Henare announced today. “The Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use recognised current forest harvest practices are not sustainable. In some parts of the ...
Freshwater farm plans to help farmers improve local waterways will be progressively phased in across the country, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Environment Minister David Parker said today. Cabinet has confirmed the freshwater farm plan regulations, which are part of the Government’s Essential Freshwater package, to improve freshwater health and ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson and Disability Issues Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan have wished the 39-strong New Zealand Special Olympics squad heading to Berlin the best of luck. The New Zealand athletes departed for Germany today and will begin competing from next week. “The athletes heading to the Special Olympics ...
A proposed temporary law change would enable rural Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti landowners dealing with masses of cyclone and flood debris to burn mixed waste so they can replant and return their land to productivity, Environment Minister David Parker said today. The proposed short-term law change would ensure that any ...
Legislation introduced in Parliament today will ensure New Zealand’s emergency management system learns the lessons of recent and previous responses to natural disasters, including severe weather events and other emergencies. The Emergency Management Bill replaces the two decades old Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002. “The strength of our emergency ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka met in Wellington this morning, reaffirming the strength and spirit of New Zealand and Fiji’s relationship, as outlined in the Duavata Relationship Statement of Partnership. “New Zealand and Fiji are connected by a kinship forged in Pacific culture, identity and interests, ...
Primary teachers have agreed to the Government’s pay offer which will see the top base salary step rise to $100,000 by December next year. The settlement will also see a number of improvements to primary teachers’ conditions, including more than double the classroom release time they currently have to ...
Associate Transport Minister Kiri Allan has announced the construction plan for the bridge on State Highway 25A that will reconnect the Coromandel peninsula, bringing more certainty to the region’s recovery efforts. “The Government is committed to reconnecting Coromandel communities quickly, and this plan to repair the damage along the highway ...
Tena koutou katoa and welcome to Parliament. It is a great pleasure for me to host you here today, for the second New Zealand Seafood Sustainability Awards. The awards started in 2020 and officially, are to be held every two years. But as with so many things, COVID got in the ...
Representation for women on public sector boards and committees is the highest it’s ever been with wāhine now making up 53.1 percent of public board and committee members,” Minister for Women Jan Tinetti said. Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women’s 2022 stocktake of public sector boards and committees shows for the ...
A new law enabling sole parents on a benefit to receive child support payments for their tamariki was passed in Parliament today. “This change is estimated to lift as many as 14,000 children out of poverty and give families a median of $20 extra a week,” said Social Development and ...
Crack down on disposable vapes No new vape shops near schools or marae Restricted descriptions for product flavours The Government is taking action to reduce the number of young people taking up vaping, Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall has announced. “Too many young people are vaping, which is why we’re ...
Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka will visit New Zealand this week, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. “Prime Minister Rabuka officially visited New Zealand in 1998, over 25 years ago, and we look forward to welcoming him here once again,” Chris Hipkins said. “New Zealand and Fiji have a long ...
The King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours List 2023 includes sporting stars and administrators who reflect the best of New Zealand’s sporting community. Sir Wayne Smith has been knighted for services to rugby. Sir Wayne was Assistant Coach of the All Blacks at the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups and ...
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa taki tini ‘My success is not mine alone, but that of the people” The King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours list 2023 celebrates Māori from all walks of life, reflecting the achievements of those who have made a significant contribution to ...
The strength and diversity of service in New Zealand is a standout feature of today’s King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours list, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said. “Each of today’s 182 recipients has contributed individually to our country. Viewed collectively, their efforts reflect an overwhelming commitment to service.” Chris Hipkins said. ...
The Defence Ministers of New Zealand and Japan have signed a statement of intent for closer defence cooperation between the two Pacific regional partners. Andrew Little and H. E. Yasukazu Hamada met to sign the ‘Statement of Intent on Defence Cooperation in Maritime Security, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief and ...
New Zealand’s most recent defence assessment identified climate change and geostrategic competition as the two greatest security challenges to our place in the South Pacific. To the first issue, partners engaging and re-engaging with Pacific Island Countries are finding that climate change is a security and existential threat in our ...
The government is continuing to support rangatahi in providing more funding into Maori Trades training and new He Poutama Rangatahi programmes across Aotearoa. “We’re backing 30 new by Māori for Māori Kaupapa employment and training programmes, which will help iwi into sustainable employment or progress within their chosen careers” says ...
Murihiku Marae was officially reopened today, setting a gold standard in sustainable building practices as well as social outcomes for the people of Waihōpai Invercargill, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan says. “The marae has been a central hub for this community since the 1980’s. With the support of $9.65 million ...
The first major public housing development in Whangārei for decades has reached completion, with 37 new homes opened in the suburb of Maunu today. The project on Tapatahi Crescent and Puriri Park Road, consists of 15 one-bedroom, 4 two-bedroom, 7 three-bedroom, 8 four-bedroom and 3 five-bedroom homes, as well as ...
Trade and Export Growth Minister Damen O’Connor will depart tomorrow for London to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Trade Ministers’ Meeting and then to Paris to vice-chair the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting. “My travel to the United Kingdom is well-timed, with the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (UK FTA) ...
The Fuel Industry (Improving Fuel Resilience) Amendment Bill would: boost New Zealand’s fuel supply resilience and economic security enable the minimum stockholding obligation regulations to be adapted as the energy and transport environment evolves. “Last November, I announced a six-point plan to improve the resiliency of our fuel supply from ...
The Government is making sure those on low incomes will no longer have to wait five weeks to get the minimum weekly rate of ACC, and improving the data collected to make the system fairer, Minister for ACC Peeni Henare said today. The Accident Compensation (Access Reporting and Other Matters) ...
A compulsory code of conduct will ensure school board members are crystal clear on their responsibilities and expected standard of behaviour, Minister of Education Jan Tinetti said. It’s the first time a compulsory code of conduct has been published for state and state-integrated school boards and comes into effect on ...
Tena koutou katoa and thank you, Mayor Nadine Taylor, for your welcome to Marlborough. Thanks also Doug Saunders-Loder and all of you for inviting me to your annual conference. As you might know, I’m quite new to this job – and I’m particularly pleased that the first organisation I’m giving a ...
The Government will enter into a funding arrangement with councils in cyclone and flood affected regions to support them to offer a voluntary buyout for owners of Category 3 designated residential properties. It will also co-fund work needed to protect Category 2 designated properties. “From the beginning of this process ...
The Government has announced changes to strengthen requirements in venues with pokie (gambling) machines will come into effect from 15 June. “Pokies are one of the most harmful forms of gambling. They can have a detrimental impact on individuals, their friends, whānau and communities,” Internal Affairs Minister Barbara Edmonds said. ...
The total Police workforce is now the largest it has ever been. Police constabulary stands at 10,700 officers – an increase of 21% since 2017 Māori officers have increased 40%, Pasifika 83%, Asian 157%, Women 61% Every district has got more Police under this Government The Government has delivered on ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Nanaia Mahuta met with Korea President Yoon, as well as Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna, during her recent visit to Korea. “It was an honour to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the first Korea – Pacific Leaders’ Summit. We discussed Pacific ambitions under the ...
The Government’s Research and Development Tax Incentive has supported more than $2 billion of New Zealand business innovation – an increase of around $1 billion in less than nine months. "Research and innovation are essential in helping us meet the biggest challenges and seize opportunities facing New Zealand. It’s fantastic ...
The next ‘giant leap’ in New Zealand’s space journey has been taken today with the launch of the National Space Policy, Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds announced. “Our space sector is growing rapidly. Each year New Zealand is becoming a more and more attractive place for launches, manufacturing space-related technology ...
As it works through the archive identifying further examples of syndicated stories published with “inappropriate editing” on its website, RNZ is now promising an external review of editing processes, and that its findings will be made public. At the latest count, the public broadcaster’s audit had turned up 15 examples ...
Jubi News The trial of three Papuan “free speech” students accused of treason has resumed at the Jayapura District Court this week. The defendants — Yoseph Ernesto Matuan, Devio Tekege, and Ambrosius Fransiskus Elopere — have been charged with treason for organising a free speech rally where they were accused ...
SATURDAY 10 JUNE 2023 NEW POLL: Centre Right would form Government while Greens see bump in support National increases 0.1 points on last month to 35.7% while Labour drops 0.9 points to 32.9%. ACT is unchanged on 12.7% while the Greens are up 2.7 ...
The Transport Agency has given out a quarter of a million dollars in bonuses, with much more of it going to its better-paid staff than to lower earners. ...
A new poll by Curia for the Taxpayers’ Union shows levels of support bedding in for the parties, with the exception of the Greens, who jump by 2.3 percentage points from a dismal showing last month to 9.7%. The combined support for National, up 0.1 points to 35.7% and Act, ...
The bard’s work is well and truly alive in Tāmaki Makaurau, with two very different new productions set to open next week. Shakespeare might be long dead, but his work is still well and truly alive. Just last week, the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival played in Wellington, to little media ...
As arcane as it is engrossing, competitive circle drawing has built a global fandom that borders on obsessive. And its global showpiece is about to be staged in Wellington. Le cercle, ça tourne. Almost everyone has heard the aphorism, but few could immediately pinpoint its origin. The words were ...
Fungi of Aotearoa: A curious forager’s field guide stormed the bestseller charts upon its release, clearly serving a local interest in the mushrooms around us. The following is an edited excerpt, along with some of the eye-poppingly beautiful photos you’ll find throughout the book. Fungi are medicine for usFungi ...
"A client in unmatching bra and knickers": God is always watching The front door is open, the impression of interior, dim. Along the right-hand wall the eye picks out the one solid fact, the fact of Connie, hunched over an industrial sewing machine, peering from garment to passing ...
Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, we looked at the magic numbers used to justify luring big, expensive events to a city, the places where bilingual signs are the norm, the great gaping holes in university funding, and men living on the fringes – how do ...
As part of a weekly showcase of future leaders and inspirational young New Zealanders from the Hyundai Pinnacle Programme, Isla Day wants to develop better connections between industry and academia in the field of drug development – and fight for climate justice | Content Partnership Although she calls herself a “science nerd”, ...
The doors to Pasture, a regular on local best restaurant lists, quietly closed last month, leaving many questions – and phone calls – unanswered. Visit Pasture’s Parnell Road site during opening hours this week and you’ll find the lights out and no sign of activity. A smattering of rubbish lies ...
This is The Detail's Long Read – one in-depth story read by us every weekend. This week, it's How Mike Wahrlich Became 'The Juggler', And The Lessons It Leaves Us, written by David Cohen and published on RNZ. Cohen has written extensively about the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry, and ...
By Finn Blackwell, RNZ News reporter and Jordan Dunn, RNZ intern Auckland councillors crossed swords, singling out one another and raising impassioned concerns on debt borrowing, rates and selling council’s shares in Auckland Airport before deciding on their annual budget. Elected members ended yesterday’s meeting undecided but council reconvened this ...
By Marjorie Finkeo in Port Moresby The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary “has a gap” in its accountability and governance in the organisation, warns Police Commissioner David Manning. And the missing gap needs to be filled. Manning said that during the launch of a workshop for Governance and Accountability when ...
Love or hate the national broadcaster, we deserve to know how it happened. “This story was edited inappropriately and has been corrected. RNZ is concerned and takes this matter extremely seriously. We are investigating and have taken appropriate action.” The heart of any editor sinks in appending such words to ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards.Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Democracy in New Zealand could and should be improved in so many ways. So it’s a pity that the Government has yet again produced a review of elections that has delivered a disparate and incomplete package of recommendations. Few ...
The ‘dead rat’ Auckland Council budget of 2023 showed how sometimes politics is just like pulling teeth “It’s easy to forget just how long and tortuous this process has been,” Brown said this week opening up a two-day governing body meeting that resulted in a decision that passed 14 to six ...
14 councillors voted through the new yearly budget in the culmination of a lengthy process that green-lights a compromise on the Mayor’s original vision Seven percent of Auckland Airport is up for grabs, as Auckland’s councillors voted Mayor Wayne Brown’s budget proposal through today with an amendment for only a partial sale ...
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Such a dumb descision…
Letter to RNZ this morning…
Bolton on RNZ morning news cycle?
Why and who the hell would give John Bolton air time to talk about ANY foreign policy issue?, and especially North Korea….this is a man who still defends the invasion of Iraq as a success.
Most Liberal media seem to have adopted the strategy that any enemy of Trump instantly becomes an ally, even to the point now of giving oxygen to psychopathic nutters like Bolton..RNZ listens deserve and expect better balance than that.
"Bolton says US considering Libya model for North Korean denuclearization"
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/30/asia/north-korea-bolton-libya-intl/index.html
"Is John Bolton the most dangerous man in the world?"
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/16/john-bolton-trump-iran-nuclear-deal-danger
"To Avoid an Iraq-Style Disaster Under Trump, Bolton Must Go'
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/skeptics/avoid-iraq-style-disaster-under-trump-bolton-must-go-52897
What RNZ didn't bother pointing out in their segment is that Bolton goes on to say in his usual insane style " Bolton resumed his call for the US to consider military action against North Korea.",
Just take a read of this Guardian piece…The heading is of course highlighting the 'attacks Trump' part, and not the lets get into a war with North Korea part..WTF, no mention of Bolton undermining Trumps attempts to negotiate with N Korea with his infamous 'Libya model' statement.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/sep/30/john-bolton-trump-north-korea-kim-jong-un
We all want to see the end of Trump, but the my enemies enemies are my friends strategy is not the way to do this, and undermines all goodwill, moral highground and moral indignation that we have the right to feel and act upon in the efforts to bring people like Trump down…attacking him from the Left is the only winning strategy that will work in the longrun, Bernie Sanders has been showing the way on this since 2016.
Ummm… when you state "We all want to see the end of Trump" be aware that you do not state a fact. There is a significant section of the population who are okay with Trump. You and I might disagree with them but they do exist. Trying to pretend everybody thinks like you do is the height of intellectual arrogance.
Fair point.
The other thing is you seem to think RNZ should be a tool of the left. Why else would you write the following"…attacking him from the Left is the only winning strategy."?
The first part up to the end of the links was all I sent RNZ, what was written after was for the benefit of TS readers.
I don't think RNZ should come down on anyone's side, what I believe they have the obligation to do is provide fair and balanced reporting…nothing more nothing less.
Bernie Sanders has been showing the way on this since 2016.
Uhh, in 2016 Bernie got 13.2 million votes in the Dem primary. That was a mere 43% of the roughly half of the roughly 30% of the electorate that bothered to vote in the primaries and identify as Democrats. Yes, that nets down to just 6% of the electorate. And he only got there by hoovering up the entire share of people that really couldn’t take Hillary or just preferred someone else.
That’s hardly the stuff of a shining political future. This time around, there’s plenty of other options, which is why he’s fading to currently be somewhere around half to a quarter the support he got last time around.
As usual you completely miss the point.
What point is it that I am missing? Please clarify.
That you think points of view you disapprove of shouldn't be aired?
That there is some massive leftie majority out there just waiting to be awakened by the right messiah, that you just know is there despite there being precisely zero evidence for its existence?
That a media organisation having someone on to have their say automatically means they are endorsing and allying themselves with the view being expressed?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/08/how-bernie-sanders-changed-the-democratic-party/
I'm pretty sure this point, that Bernie has changed the political landscape, has been made on numerous occasions, by a number of folk on this site..however maybe you would feel a bit more comfortable to hear this point made by Bernstein who as the Chief Economist and Economic Adviser to Vice President Joseph Biden in the Obama Administration, can hardly be accused of being a self deluded 'Leftie'.
And I'm pretty sure the corporate Democrats wouldn't inch towards a more progressive standpoint, or atleast make vaguely progressive noises, unless they felt there was a wide demand for such a thing.
Overton window blah blah whatever.
There is no certainty that either Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren will get the nomination for Democratic US Presidential candidate. Currently it 's not even a likelihood.
The Subpoena hearings may well push both Democrats and the wider electorate the other way, favoring simply the person most likely to simply get Trump out: Joe Biden.
Dunno that Biden is that person.
Either way, there has been a large policy shift in the dems. Not all of it Bernie, by any means – resistance to the orange one has also mobilised a lot of people.
Let alone the possibility of leftie over-reach and a repeat of 1972.
Unlike the centrist over reach that gave the world Trump…sorry, not the Russians.
Wow, the democratic establishment candidate has not even lost yet and your already out with the blame and excuses for the loss.
Like Hillary was? And really Joe has less to recommend him. His mum might vote for him, youth not so much.
the overton window on action on climate-change –
– has been upgraded from a window – to a set of french doors…
"favoring simply the person most likely to simply get Trump out: Joe Biden" are you mad? Biden is fucked, the guy is suffering from some sort of dementia. he will never make it all the way to the election, let alone the end of the primaries,
Warren has obviously now been anointed the new DNC saviour.
Well one of us is dead wrong because i had figured using an episode involving obvious Biden foreign political interference (possibly corruption), to attack Trump was a sure end to his campaign. The negative effects on Trumps campaign seem less than certain.
Before Sanders , there was Obama who seen as a'left wing' candidate in 2008
he got even closer to Clinton 48% with 47% of those voting
However he had the Super delegates ( 68%) and the Caucuses
Arguably Hillary was the leftie and Obama the centrist.
https://www.vox.com/2015/6/15/8779449/hillary-clinton-populist-record
not so much 'arguing' – as dancing on the head of a pin..?
obama the war-criminal vs clinton the wannabe war criminal..who is more left..?
right ho..!
also worth remembering that on any international ideological-spectrum..
the american democrat party is to the right of our tories…
so..y'know..there is 'left' and 'left'…
"Arguably Hillary was the leftie and Obama the centrist"
Holy hell you really are one deluded melonfarmer, both of them are liberal capitalists and have nothing (or very little) to do with the Left..that is just a plain fact..no argument or debate need be entered into.
Uhh, do you understand that if left" and "right" are to have meaning, it has to be with reference to where the political centre is? That you are not the centre of the political universe, rather you are so far out there that the centre is a tiny speck barely brighter than a star? And the fact that Obama won the office (twice) and Hillary failed makes a pretty clear marker for how far left a candidate can be and still be electable.
Gotta disagree with that last line – there are many more determinants of election victory than simply how "left" or "right" one is compared to the electorate.
Although yeah, most of any given population would stand well to the right of the promontory from where Adrian makes his proclamations of political validity. So far to the right that he finds it difficult to judge the distance between the people he his observing.
Just tryin' to keep it simple …
No, what you guys seem to have missed or just ignore (for whatever reason) is that the (Liberal) Left have dragged us all so far to the right over the past 25 or so years, that a so called centre leftist like Clinton or Obama or NZ Labour today for that matter would have been considered centre right then, infact all I am advocating for is a much needed realignment…
"President Obama said his economic policies are "so mainstream" he'd be considered a moderate Republican in the 1980s."
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/272957-obama-says-his-economic-policies-so-mainstream-hed-be-seen-as-moderate-republican-in-1980s
And compared with politicians 200 years ago both Clinton and Obama were centre left to extreme left.
But if we're talking about the US in 2008 and comparing Obama and Clinton's relative positions, then both my 200y.o. benchmark and your 30 y.o. benchmark are completely irrelevant.
@McFlock, I hardly think comparing political positions from within the life times of the people involved to that of political positions 200 years ago makes any sense or has any relevance to this conversation whatsoever.
Not sure the USA in 1995 was all that left wing. 3 strikes laws, Iraq, and all that.
And for NZ, 14% of current voters in NZ weren't even born 25 years ago, so not sure about "us all", either. And it was the height of the Bolger/Shipley governments.
I don't mind utopians – it's good to have goals.l But I think even your recollections are decidedly red-tinted.
But compared to, say, NZ politicians 45 years ago, yeah HC and Obama would probably be right wing. But that would be a pointless comparison, like comparing them to the US "founding fathers".
"some massive leftie majority out there just waiting to be awakened by the right messiah"
"Messiah" is a mischaracterisation of Sanders. At some rally when the crowd chanted "Bernie", he looked irritated and wagged his finger – "no no, it's not Bernie it's you". Near the end of Karl Stead's fabulous novel 'My Name was Judas' the narrator says, "Our friend was not the Messiah / Nor will there be one". Sanders, it seems to me, knows this instinctively, which is part of what makes him qualitatively different from all others in the race, and important historically, win or lose.
But it's absolutely clear to me that everyone on here reads into the situation in the US exactly what they want to. And that there is no point in commenting on it any more.
Indeed. But messiahs are much more about how their followers view them and how the followers react to criticism of their chosen one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW8fDw8VzKI
They do have their moments.
https://twitter.com/truthtotweet/status/1176169547872854016
News just in :
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2019/sep/30/donald-trump-news-today-live-impeachment-ukraine-whistleblower-latest-updates
Trump reportedly pushed Australian PM to investigate Mueller inquiry.
Not much detail yet.
As if the spineless Aussie PM would need much pushing.
"I didn't realise when I set up Matrix Homes that vested interests would not want it to succeed," he says. "We were selling a two-bed house for $99k, and that doesn't help us when the industry is trying to explain why houses are 700-800k."
The building industry was resistant; so too was bureaucracy."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/115369645/wellington-report-2019-why-the-matrix-is-not-always-about-the-future
housing (affordability) crisis?…..whose crisis?
Sounds enough to make you cry, sis!
I wish they'd done something indepth on that rather than just interviewing the business owner. Looks interesting, but too short on detail to see what is going on. We've been so focused on the cost of purchasing, I'd really like to see more on the costs from council's post leaky building, and from the housing industry raking in profits. Also the banks and the conditions they put on mortgages. That thing about having to build larger houses is one I hear too often.
Exactly – why not write into The Detail or whoever is doing the in-depth stuff at Radionz and ask them to look into what you have outlined? They are trying hard and turning out some good background stuff I think. What do you think?
The problem with his business model – at a guess- is that the house is a prefab so he doesnt get paid anything till it goes on site. Thats a huge cashflow issue.
Dont see how the banks have an issue with small houses per se. they happily lend on small apartments.
The real problem is small sections, where the building- land ratio makes more sense with high land costs.
And my impression was that people think of these small houses as a sort minor dwelling at the back of an existing house. That can be a minefield as far as consents go. My guess is he didnt have a very good planners working with him to navigate these issues FIRST before starting construction.
Twyford can tell him all about wanting big numbers but only getting a trickle
"Dont see how the banks have an issue with small houses per se. they happily lend on small apartments."
Banks routinely refuse to lend on small builds, or make the conditions unattractive, afaik because they see small houses, especially if owner built or not a cookie cutter house, as a liability if it comes to a mortgagee sale. At least this is what I hear from people trying to get mortgages.
Banks (and everyone else with a finger in the pie, and that includes local and central gov) are seeking to protect their interest…consider if he had succeeded what would the effect have been.
It's depressing to consider. You'd think Housing NZ could have followed through.
There could be issues we don't know about too.
Actually HNZ would have been the perfect client….but there was still risk. If they had supplied HNZ what was to stop them (or someone else) taking the model to the wider market?
They could have contracted a time period where that wouldn't be allowed?
only for the signee…the whole model is potentially too disruptive.A pity because there is so much potential to reduce housing costs but thats never really been the main concern
They've dispatched specialised protest-suppression personnel and kit with a command structure separate from the PLA, too.
Here's hoping cool heads prevail.
China has quietly more than doubled its deployment of mainland security forces in Hong Kong, according to foreign envoys and security analysts, in the most dramatic move yet by Beijing to prepare for a potential worsening of unrest in the global financial center.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/09/30/asia-pacific/china-doubled-troop-levels-hong-kong-envoys-estimate/#.XZJ2V2bRWUl
There is a dreadful inevitability about the final outcome for Hong Kong and China Administration must not only win, but be seen to win. Otherwise what effect on the billion or so Chinese on the mainland. And the protestors? Top marks for persistence and courage but they cannot be allowed by the Chinese Mainland Admin, to succeed.
What are they still protesting ? They forced the puppet Hong Kong leader to kill the extradition bill . Continuing to poke the dragon seems stupid.
Search on Hong Kong and "five demands". Four to go.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Hong_Kong_protests#Objectives
This could be a BFD.
The monarch reportedly asked aides for first time in her reign just how and when should could dismiss a PM.
The Queen sought advice on the circumstances in which she could sack a prime minister ahead of Tuesday’s incendiary Supreme Court ruling, i has been told.
https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/queen-sought-advice-on-sacking-prime-minister-source-claims-1-5013774
Boris Johnson will be dismissed by Queen if he tries to ignore court order to implement Benn Act, says Grieve
Dominic Grieve, one of the 21 Tories who had the whip removed after rebelling over Brexit and one of the MPs involved in drafting the Benn Act to rule out a no-deal Brexit on 31 October, has said he thinks the legislation is robust, and that ministers will not find loopholes in it.
In an interview with Sky News, Grieve said that if Boris Johnson tried to ignore the law, the courts could force him to comply.
Grieve also said that, if Johnson tried to ignore the courts, ultimately he could be dismissed as prime minister by the Queen.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/sep/30/brexit-latest-news-boris-johnson-conservative-conference-boris-johnson-groping-allegation-deeply-concerning-says-former-cabinet-minister-live-news?
That would be a facer for Boorish. Good one.
Cant be 'dismissed' by the queen. This is not Australia where the written constitution gives the GG such powers.
The last time a PM was sacked like that was the 1700's ( george Grenville)LOL
If the parliament has no confidence in the PM, they should vote so and give Boris an election. …which they dont want.
The Queen is between a rock and a hard place while the Commons wont vote no confidence in her PM
Surely you can see the obvious.
As I said, this could be a bfd.
But unlike others, I ain't no scholar of UK political convention so wtf would I know.
Eh, sport.
/
A source …in Scotland…. asking about sacking a PM ?
Thats absurd , the only person she can ask for 'advice' is Johnson himself. The story says so at the end. Clearly just scuttlebutt which is typical of UK papers..the rest of the world calls it fake news
Fascinating insights in this interview with a former CIA whistleblower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSG800M8n9c
On the subject of a CIA whistleblower citing Trump abused his power by asking a favour of the Ukrainian president to dig dirt on Biden, Biden himself on camera told the story of how he insisted the Ukrainian government fire its attorney general before he/the US government would give it a billion dollar loan which seems like a pretty obvious abuse of power too. Biden visited the Ukraine 13 times over 25 months. George Galloway suggests Biden's son Hunter was acting as a proxy for Joe Biden. In other words, the Biden versus Trump feud seems to be more about a battle between equally corrupt adversaries.
The relevant issue is that tRump solicited Ukranian officials to interfere in a US election. That's it.
Ever occur to you to look for perspectives beyond the recycled Repug talking points tailored to appeal to convergence moonbats peddled for clickbait by the likes of Jimmy Dore and Galloway?
Here's just one of many:
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/9/23/20879611/joe-biden-hunter-biden-ukraine-corruption-prosecutor-burisma-donald-trump-whistleblower-complaint
And the prosecutor who was appointed to replace Shokin (he who was sacked because Biden said he was not pursuing corruption) actually finally closed down the Burisma investigation ….there were no calls for his sacking from Biden, in fact he (Lutsenko ) was in that position until last month.
Burisma was also under investigation in the UK for fraud and money laundering.The UK says the Ukrainians were dragging the chain . The Ukrainians say the UK prosecutors were.
Ukraine is an oligarchy, public officials are in the pocket of who has the ascendancy at the time
At the moment Kolomoisky (Zelensky has described him as his business partner) is back in the driving seat after having been demoted by Poroshenko.
The hellish nature of the Ukrainian oligarchy is covered in this Kyiv Post link
https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/ihor-kolomoisky-still-throwing-his-weight-around.html
The overthrow of Yanukovich did not eliminate corruption in Ukraine, the looting spree goes on .
There is always an oligarchy.
But given the choice between a domestic oligarchy and a Kremlin controlled one, it's not a difficult choice for the Ukraine to prefer their own. Nor would admitting a Putin appointee likely decrease corruption.
The Whole US government has been working with Ukraine to stamp out corruption
https://nabu.gov.ua/en/tags/fbi
Its not an abuse of power to follow formal government policy over many US presidents regarding Ukraines corruption
NZ would do the same regarding our Aid to various places , especially some in pacific which are as broken as Ukraine is
Yep ,Kolomoisky is a prince
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-summit-kolomoisky/with-zelenskiy-in-charge-ukraine-tycoon-kolomoisky-sees-amicable-solution-on-privatbank-idUSKCN1VY1P8
And the US is the absolute showpiece of corruption free democracy?
Nah, like Jimmy Carter says "Its just an oligarchy now "
Except we call them tycoons
With money and corporations running the show
Getting rid of Shokin did nothing to defeat corruption
And the Ukrainians, as is so startlingly clear, are not one people as much as the nationalists of Western Ukraine would like them to be .The people of the east twice voted Yanukovich in
And if the US is so keen to stamp out corruption (I mean really?)they would have made damned sure to avoid the bad optics of Biden and Archer being on the Burisma board being paid eye watering amounts ,shortly after Biden senior gets put in charge of Ukraine.You really think th e US gives a flying fuck about corruption??When they've backed the most corrupt, undemocratic countries on the planet?
Check out Latin America through the decades.
And if they were so keen on democracy , Pyatt and Nuland wouldn't been heard plotting over the phone on who should be PM
"Yats is the man "
The US has poured billions in to Ukraine with no reduction in corruption, but plenty of their own corporations like Monsanto reaping the benefits.Their money isn't conditional on anti corruption drives , rather on further deprivatisations so US companies can get in and make a profit.
And geopolitically the ruling elites stay aligned to US elite interests
Another perspective on the UK and Europe.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/30/beach-towels-and-brexit-how-germans-really-see-the-brits
The latest Conservative rabbits from the hat (The Sorting Hat – hopefully it contains enough magic to sort this lot out.)
Brexit: Government to reveal detailed plan for EU negotiations
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49881345
.
Aljazeera in Manchester gathering people vox pop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SOSDNnIfoE
Swweet promises (? – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_corruption)
Sajid Javid says Tories aim to raise national living wage to £10.50 an hour – as it happened https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/sep/30/brexit-latest-news-boris-johnson-conservative-conference-boris-johnson-groping-allegation-deeply-concerning-says-former-cabinet-minister-live-news
"Hollow Men" and its worthy successor "Utopia" are really good at mocking the language of senior bureaucrats and operatives. While it's Australian, it's a small shift to here, scaled down.
This one I particularly enjoyed for its grandiloquence brought down to the smell of the printed paper:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud8ZisH2IYI
Hilarious
A bit like 100,000 houses…
It is like we are living in a tin-pot African nation when Shane Jones opens his mouth
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/116215895/shane-jones-issues-warning-to-forestry-companies–political-utu-is-a-dish-best-served-cold?fbclid=IwAR0u7eyGf61fyIC-6yvsu7f6d9yfZd1AaXwH8DdJMB7eRT0lrzJt4n-Upio
Ngaro- he was more explicit …diss us and you will get your (NGO) funding cut.
Actually Jones said bluntly just what other MPs slyly hint at. Why else would Bridges for instance offer bridges for some and not for others? Pretty blatant but not really up front. "Vote for our lot if you want bridges built," is the message though. All the time.
Why would Farrar spend so much time on focus groups if it wasn't to find out who to whom and to what to set the promise (bribe).
Well, bluntly expressing corrupt practise is generally considered to be worse than merely implying it.
BTW, "bridges" is just some of it. David Skeggs' recollections about the defunding of the Public Health Commission are pretty damning.
Shane Jones is a stupid, corrupt oaf. I really hope for a labgrn government next year.
It's more concerning that net policy outcomes aren't much better than a tin-pot African nation, even though they represent a vast improvement over those of the previous government. Shane Jones is what he is, but given you were happy with Brownlee the Beast, your complaint is partisanship, not objectivity.
A sad and timely reminder to vaccinate.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12272604
Kia Ora The Am Show.
I agree that that someone needs to be held accountable for the CTV building that collapsed during the Christchurch Ruamoko. We lost A lot of good people in that desaster there whanau will be happy.
I say that the media needs to be held up to have honest content as they have a major influence on the way people behave I have seen some behaving badly.
All the best to Bernie
Ka kite Ano
The Christchurch City Council are the body responsible for the loss of those lives.
They cleared the building for re-entry after the 4 Sept 2010 earthquake.
It withstood that earthquake but was mortally weakened with many reports from occupiers that it felt unstable between the two quakes.
I continue to be amazed at how the CCC is getting away with this!
These sandflys are sending PEE addicts after Eco Maori
Kia Ora Newshub.
Sea level rising
I think our power bills are quite expensive.
Justice for you is a great way to put that Wahine case.
Its time for a change in our society way of treating Papatuanuku.
A American Warbird crashed in America
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News
Yes some tamariki and Mokopuna have bad teeth I made sure to my Tamariki looked after their nihor. One can jump up and down all they want but the horse won't drink Te Wai.
Its great that more putea is going into Maori health.
I think it is needed to have 18 years olds being kept in the youth justice. I say some don't grow up till quite long in the nihor.
Indigenous 100 interviewing 100 indigenous tangata Wehie isn't it reka that tangata whenua o Aotearoa are receiving more respect.
Moden Maori art is great there are some good artists rising from Maoridom some beautiful art to Kia Kaha.
Ka kite Ano
Yes Te pro action against Papatuanuku Warming has started rolling against Te neanderthal who are to short sighted to see that there greed of money and power will cause A Papatuanuku wide tragedy now I can see that we the leftist of Te Papatuanuku are going to stop the BULLSHIT of the neanderthal lies and make the Papatuanuku a CARBON NEUTRAL PAPATUANUKU.
An unstoppable climate change movement takes hold
Climate chaos is playing out in real time from California to the Caribbean, and from Africa to the Arctic and beyond. Those who contributed least to the problem are suffering the most.
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I have seen it with my own eyes from cyclone-battered Mozambique to the hurricane-devastated Bahamas to the rising seas of the South Pacific.
I called the Climate Action Summit to serve as a springboard to set us on the right path ahead of crucial 2020 deadlines established by the Paris Agreement on climate change. And many leaders – from many countries and sectors – stepped up.
A broad coalition – not just governments and youth, but businesses, cities, investors and civil society – came together to move in the direction our world so desperately needs to avert climate catastrophe.
The Summit also showcased ways in which cities and global industries like shipping can achieve major reductions in emissions. Initiatives to protect forests and safeguard water supplies were also highlighted.
More than 100 leaders in the private sector committed to accelerating their move into the green economy.
A group of the world's largest asset-owners – responsible for directing more than $2 trillion – pledged to move to carbon-neutral investment portfolios by 2050
This is in addition to a recent call by asset managers representing nearly half the world's invested capital – some $34 trillion – for global leaders to put a meaningful price on carbon and phase out fossil fuel subsidies and thermal coal power worldwide
The International Development Finance Club pledged to mobilise $1 trillion in clean energy funding by 2025 in 20 least developed countries
Too many countries still seem to be addicted to coal – even though cheaper, greener options are available already. We need much more progress on carbon pricing, ensuring no new coal plants by 2020, and ending trillions of dollars in giveaways of hard-earned taxpayers' money to a dying fossil fuel industry to boost hurricanes, spread tropical diseases, and heighten conflict
And I will make sure that the commitments that countries, the private sector and local authorities have made are accounted for – starting in December at the UN Climate conference in Santiago, Chile. The UN is united in support of realising these initiatives.
Climate change is the defining issue of our time
Science tells us that on our current path, we face at least 3C of global heating by the end of the century. I will not be there, but my granddaughters will
I refuse to be an accomplice in the destruction of their one and only home.
Young people, the UN – and a growing number of leaders from business, finance, government, and civil society – in short, many of us – are mobilising and acting. But we need many others to take climate action if we are to succeed
We have a long way to go. But the movement has begun.
António Guterres is Secretary-General of the United Nations
Kia Kaha Antonio keep up the excitement mahi.
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/116296704/an-unstoppable-climate-change-movement-takes-hold
https://youtu.be/QAB6aXOfUmU
We need to stop all the plastic waste from entering our natural environment.
Stop producing the stuff stop using it all together we did not need plastic in the days of old. We used natural materials paper made from plant products
Glass bottles for our fluids don't let the pro carbon people's lies Te Tairawhitimate is going to fall on our heads if we choose to change the way we live to a non carbon closed loop system we're everything we use gets recycled.
That's the only way we are going to SURVIVE in my eyes care for our ENVIRONMENT care for others culture care and respect for everyone.
How worried should we be about microplastics?
Plastic is everywhere – in our food, air, water and oceans. But do we know enough to determine how harmful it is to our health?
If you enjoy a spot of food, like to breathe air and partake in the occasional drink of water (tap or bottled), then you’re almost certainly an unwitting consumer of microplastics.
People who use triangular nylon tea bags are the latest group to be shocked at their exposure to plastics. According to one study, they could be getting about 11bn or so particles of plastic with their Earl Grey or breakfast tea.
Microplastics have turned up pretty much everywhere that scientists have looked for them – from the bottom of the deepest parts of our oceans to the stomachs of whales, seabirds and in our own poo.
Those fancy tea bags? Microplastics in them are macro offenders
But should we be worried about our plastic diet – either for the sake of our own health or for the health of the environment?
What is microplastic?
There’s no agreed definition, but researchers have generally referred to pieces of plastic smaller than about 5mm as microplastic. However, the University of New South Wales’s Mark Browne, who has been researching plastics since 2004, says it’s better to think about plastics relative to the units they’re measured in. So microplastics are between one micrometre and 1,000 micrometres wide (there are 1,000 micrometres in one millimetre
What is it doing to our health?
“There’s an absence of science here,” says Browne. “We know that across particle sizes, plastics can cause issues. The critical issue now is what are the concentrations that people and wildlife are being exposed to. We don’t need more studies on which products emit plastics. We need studies that expose organisms or models to these doses to see if they cause problems
Lauren Roman, at CSIRO oceans and atmosphere, says that for all animals “the size of the plastic matters”.
“If the piece is too big, the animal won’t eat it or, in the case of seabirds, they will regurgitate it. If it’s very small then it can just pass straight through them.”
For larger pieces, Roman says there is some evidence that plastic accumulating in the stomachs of animals can suppress their appetite – known as the “dietary dilution effect” that could have knock-on effects Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/02/how-worried-should-we-be-about-microplastics
A study that tells us that it's just common sense that everyone everywhere needs to plant trees to sequence carbon emissions from the Tawhirimate. Planting trees does not need huge investment just the will of the tangata and government. The can be grown from seed or to jump ahead a year take cutting off Mama trees cloning them planting them and caring for them. I don't think many place are like Aotearoa we're we can just plant tree keeping the weeds in check for 2 years and walar you have a forests growing
Massive Forest Restoration Could Greatly Slow Global Warming
The right trees, planted in the right locations, could store 205 gigatons of carbon dioxide.
The team has also created a planning toollinked to the map that will be open to the public starting July 5. Individuals and organizations can zoom in to any location to see where new forests could be started.
Crowther has not studied other carbon sequestration techniques that have been discussed a lot lately, such as ocean fertilization (growing algae to soak up carbon) or direct air capture (machines that pull CO2 from the atmosphere), but he thinks they would be much more expensive than growing trees. He estimates it might cost the world $300 billion to plant the 0.9 billion hectares. And new forests provide another strong benefit: they restore biodiversity, which is crucial because so many plant and animal species are disappearing. Crowther says he began to study reforestation because he was really looking for ways to stop species loss. Tremendous benefits beyond carbon sequestration "come from biodiversity—providing food, medicines, clean water and all sorts of things for humans," he says.
Chazdon cautions that replanting may not be as simple as it sounds, and she wonders if 0.9 billion new hectares will ever be possible, given competing priorities. More trees consume more water, and this could threaten agriculture or other human activities in dry areas. And local people may not want forests if they need to generate income from the land, say from farming or herding. Some prominent reforestation programs, such as ones in the Philippines, have failed "because there was no local involvement," she says.
The best places to start reforestation are where multiple benefits can readily be gained. In a July 3 Science Advances paper, Chazdon and colleagues identify a series of locations in the tropics that have higher-than-average potential for benefits as well as ease of getting started.
All the new tree work, Chazdon says, signals that "we're entering into the practicality stage" of smart reforestation. "We can bring a lot of interdisciplinary science to bear. I hope there will be more interaction between scientists and politicians, realizing that the tools we now have can guide reforestation that is the most cost-effective, and has multiple benefits and fewer tradeoffs."
Ka kite Ano link below below
Eco Maori was trying to organise the planting of 50.000 trees this year but there are too many hurdles to jump through Ma Te Wa the trees will be planted in 2020
Kia Ora Newshub.
I tau toko the protests against the action Zealanders signs being plasted around the Auckland university the person in charge of the university needs to pulled up about this
Yes people have to learn to be careful around Awa and Tangaroa as Wai is a powerful force that can take lives quickly.
Another problem with the Westcoast access rail last time it was a road problem it caused by Global warming some of the people still want to mine coal.
That's good that our government has stopped the banning of refugees from the Middle East and Africa.
250 years since Cook landed in Turangi A Kiwa I'm not sure about the weaveing together.
Let's hope not to much damage is caused by the big Bush fire in Australia the bushfire season started early there this year.
If he didn't want heaps of tamariki he should not have donated his dna.
The Glacier in France and most of the other Glacier around Papatuanuku are dissolving because of Human Caused Global Warming I see some storys about Climate Change are being muted.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
I tau toko the tangata striking of a living wage I like to see management live on their workers low wage.
Huge slip on another road the one by Ohakune Global Warming has given Tawhirimate heaps of Mana.
Te Waiariki Wai safety is well needed organisation especially with our long Tangaroa lines and all our Awa and lakes in Aotearoa.
Ka kite Ano