Kayte O'Neill, the chief operating officer at the Energy System Operator – the body overseeing the UK's electricity system – said: "There is a whole load of innovation required to help us ensure the stability of the grid. Keeping the lights on in a secure way."
A crucial technology providing that stability Kayte O'Neill spoke of is battery technology.
Dr Sylwia Walus, research programme manager at the Faraday Institution, said that there has been significant progress in the science of batteries.
"There is always scope for a new technology, but more focus these days is really how to make it more sustainable and cheaper in production," she said.
To achieve this the UK needs to become more independent of China in producing its own batteries and bringing in skilled workers for this purpose, she explained.
…..In 2010, some 25,000 New Zealanders marched down Queen Street to stop mining on our own conservation lands. Today, few would know that one unit of electricity in every ten they used early this year came from the destruction of someone else’s. According to Global Forest Watch, the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo, has lost nearly 3.5 million hectares of forest cover to timber and mining operations since 2001—that’s three and a half Fiordland National Parks.
The Kalimantan rainforests are among the most biologically rich in the world. Surveys show that, floristically, there’s nowhere else like them. Borneo has, by one count, 14,423 plant species. There are 8500 in all of Aotearoa.
But the two biomes do have something in common: coal. More than half a million hectares of East Kalimantan is pockmarked with pits. In 2020, according to the International Energy Agency, Indonesia produced around 529 million tonnes of coal, including more than one million tonnes sold to New Zealand…..
Q: So why is NZ still burning coal for power? No change in recent decades.
A: Because burning coal keeps the spot prices up, increasing the profitability of the privately owned Gentailers.
…..Solving one of the country’s biggest climate challenges would also give us healthier homes and cheaper power—and fortify communities against natural disasters.
…..spilling all that hydro-dam water, companies that generate and sell energy—“gentailers”—are incentivised to keep supply “on the precipice of shortage” so spot prices stay high, as Major Electricity Users’ Group chair John Harbord put it recently. It doesn’t suit their purposes to have you generating excess power on your roof.
…… the market sets power prices to match the most expensive generation needed to meet that last fraction of demand. If that last one per cent is supplied by Huntly coal, then that high price is locked in across all other electricity sources. That means hydro generators are laughing all the way to the bank, because they can sell their much cheaper hydro power at much higher coal prices. (It also favours wind farms.)
The massive infrastructure projects of Think Big hold some other lessons for us, too. They were supposed to make us more resilient, insulating our economy from international shocks. But ironically, big hydro and coal plants leave us vulnerable:
…..New Zealand won’t meet its climate targets without the engagement of New Zealanders. Top-down, one-way power monopolies must be replaced with active, equitable power-sharing local networks, with energy conservation as their central remit, not profit from production.
The sector must be fairer, supporting people to be a part of an energy revolution, and make sure they can afford the electricity they need to stay healthy.
How to fix: Electricity emissions
Written by Dave Hansford
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
…..In 1996, ECNZ was split again, with a new separate generation business,Contace Energy being formed. The Fourth National Government privatised Contact Energy in 1999. The Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998 required the separation of ownership between lines and energy businesses (either generation or supply).
Sure the answer is healthy homes – and beyond insulation, this includes solar panels and battery.
That and wind power – battery on the grid, reduces use of hydro dam power. And so this can be used less and provide spare low cost capacity (instead of the C of C plans for more expensive imported gas).
Innovation…and thinking outside the box. NZ is good at it. The present NACT1 govt with its determinedly anti Science and innate Climate denial notwithstanding. They like Dinosaur fuel..matches their Dinosaur brains
From waste to power: How floating solar panels on wastewater ponds could help solve NZ’s electricity security crisis
Also this. Is still a factor..
New Zealand may be held back by a misconception that solar panels work best in hot and sunny climates. In fact, solar panels harness the sun's energy – not its temperature – making New Zealand's cooler climate an ideal environment for efficient solar energy generation.
Sure the answer is healthy homes – and beyond insulation, this includes solar panels and battery.
That and wind power – battery on the grid, reduces use of hydro dam power. And so this can be used less and provide spare low cost capacity…..
I think SPC that you are missing the point being made by Dave Hansford.
There is no shortage of innovative solutions to carbon emissions.
The roadblock is the profit driven gentailers.
What is really missing is the political will from our political leaders to regulate the profit driven polluters, who without regulation, will always prioritise their bottom line ahead of the public good or the protection of the environment.
"Top-down, one-way power monopolies must be replaced with active, equitable power-sharing local networks, with energy conservation as their central remit, not profit from production." Dave Hansford
Without government regulation of the privately owned gentailers, or the return to public ownership, none of the innovative solutions put up by you or PsyclingLeft, or even Dave Hansford himself, will ever be realised.
Or if they ever are, only after permanent irreversible damage to the climate is a reality, maybe not even then.
Simply taking back ownership might not be electorally popular – the alternative is incentivising solar panel take up (as per healthy homes) – even requiring it of state housing and landlords. People get the benefit and at a much lower cost to the taxpayer than buying out shareholders.
The other matter is a regulatory requirement for power companies and Transpower to ensure stability via batteries to store wind power to reduce use of hydro.
I think SPC that you are missing the point being made by Dave Hansford.
There is no shortage of innovative solutions to carbon emissions.
The roadblock is the profit driven gentailers.
What is really missing is the political will from our political leaders to regulate the profit driven polluters, who without regulation, will always prioritise their bottom line ahead of the public good or the protection of the environment…..
……incentivising solar panel take up (as per healthy homes) – even requiring it of state housing and landlords. People get the benefit and at a much lower cost to the taxpayer than buying out shareholders.
The other matter is a regulatory requirement for power companies and Transpower to ensure stability via batteries to store wind power to reduce use of hydro.
Yes of course. But still, the point is this, and always has been, is that despite all these affordable, practical solutions for cutting emissions being available, despite all these available solutions, almost off the shelf – What is really missing is the political will to implement them.
This is the real nub of the problem.
Now the question is: how do we get over it, this lack of political will to take up these measures?
It seems as though something has gone wrong with the house designs in Auckland, which meet all of the healthy homes insulation targets. They're too hot. And now require air-conditioning/cooling to run during more than half the year.
Yep. The immediate environment around our houses is very important and has a symbiotic relationship to design and planning. Trees provide natural shade and cooling which would not be apparent in new build.
Not that Bananadonna has the capacity to consider that.
Design and planning is something which the CoC are keen to dispense with for what it's worth.
One interesting thing about tenancies is that because the profit motive is strong with amateur landlords, it's very important to cut all the trees down and have bare properties which are cheaper to manage, and fuck the stupid, weak tenants.
Designing and planning has resulted in this issue.
If you think that extensive tree planting is a feature of intensive housing in Auckland, you need a serious reality check. The planning process has resulted in rows of houses, jammed in tightly together, with minimal landscaping (let alone trees).
Have a look at the Kainga Ora new builds – not seeing many trees – or even much grass.
The problem is that the insulation standards (with which I don't have an issue), were implemented without taking ventilation requirements (a much greater issue in Auckland and parts north), into consideration. A building standards fail.
Is there a difference in landscaping requirements for MDH or intensive housing? Seems to be much the same to me. Not that there is any space for trees or landscaping in any of the MDH around Auckland.
And, sadly for your argument, the highly regulated building standards, have resulted in less livable housing.
I'm sorry, but this is rubbish. The fact that upper floors get hotter is well known, and has been for hundreds of years. There's a reason why the servants were relegated to the top floors of houses in Victorian England.
What seems to have happened is rigorous insulation requirements were implemented, which were unaccompanied by planning for passive cooling. Creating upper-story rooms with windows which don't open (or only open a tiny amount, with no cross-flow) has resulted in heat-box bedrooms, which are unusable without air-conditioning. The cost of retro-fitting this into existing builds in significant; as is, of course, the ongoing electricity bill.
Also the Talbot Steel Works in Wales creased steel production.
The Talbot Steel Works was the last to remaining Steel Works in the UK and it did specialise in steel armour plating for the Army & the manufacturing of steel for the RN Sub's among other high end steel production like rail tracks for High speed rail etc.
"Often the people best able to make a positive change in the lives of someone who is vulnerable or has complex needs is not the government itself, but often someone a bit closer to the community – be that an iwi provider, a social service provider, a charitable organisation – and so one of the roles Social Investment Agency is to ensure that the government works better with those organisations."
A multi-contract system.
This includes a focus on new approaches and innovation, including co-investment and collation of contracts with non-government organisations (NGOs).
Healthy Homes is cited as an example of an approach which had multiple benefits.
(why Labour named social investment – by its purpose – Well Being, such as viaFood in Schools etc)
Arthur Grimes noted
English's approach had "looked at it in terms of reducing government fiscal outlays in the future, as opposed to what's beneficial for society as a whole, so it had a much narrower focus, it was looking at how you save money for the government in the future".
And thus of course Investment (for profit) partners are to be involved
In her speech to Victoria University, Willis said the fund would be targeted towards "social impact bonds, social outcome contracts and other innovative ways of investing".
"Social bonds are an investment tool where private organisations, including investors, partner to fund and deliver services to improve social outcomes," she said.
"The positive or negative return for investors depends on the extent the agreed results are achieved…
A reactive dismissal of critics as from those focused on their ideology, rather than the focus of English-Willis on getting results.
"I know some will question this mixing of the public and private domains. I'm not interested in that rigidity. I want results. If private capital can be better deployed to help change the lives of more New Zealanders then I will not be afraid to use it. We must not allow ideology to get in the way of what works."
This will be great for businesses operating as consultants to government ministry (maintaining capacity with less of their own staff) – hiring up experienced and specialist workers who want to retain work from home rights.
One might well suspect a Ministry might well refers on workers disappointed by the government policy. Meeting staff cutback targets, if not saving any money overall.
And as the government loves going to non government organisations, everyone wins.
Why on earth Key's opinion on the US election should be front page news is beyond me, but it is, and I held my nose and took the bait.
“I think he's better for the economy.”
“He's likely to embrace a bit more market. He's likely to have less red tape and he's certainly going to have lower taxes. So that bit is good.”
But Sir John still thinks overall Trump is still the better choice.
“Well he certainly wants lower taxes. He probably wants more market based solutions. He's probably got a freer energy policy. There's a whole lot of different things.”
So- tax cuts. Some things never change.
Sir John says Kamala Harris has economic views that are radically left-wing and that she’s more aligned with Senator Bernie Sanders than President Joe Biden.
"Radically left-wing"???
America- take him, keep him, let him vote there. And hopefully he'll revoke his NZ citizenship at the same time, and our media will stop the fawning.
Sirkey has first and foremost represented International Capital and Finance Capital all his adult life, even while NZ Prime Minister…anyone remember the offshore Trusts debacle set up by his personal Lawyer? 10, 000 members of the parasite class departed virtually overnight once IRD required more than an A4 sheet on who was who, and other details of their trusts.
The beneficiaries of the orange tax cuts are pretty obvious, hence the Key support.
Within days of the release of the Panama Papers in April, the major players behind New Zealand's embattled foreign trust sector began a lobbying campaign that has helped to minimise changes that would identify their secret clients.
What stood out for me was Keys endorsement of trumps energy/climate change policies, trump would wind back laws put in place by Biden. Does Key not understand climate change? Under his governent NZ did FA about reducing emissions so he might not particularly care. Here's the point though Mr Key, without a solution to climate change we will have little or no economic growth, and more and more climatic shocks.
On another matter seemingly Casey Costello received "independent advice" on tax cuts for heated tobacco products. I am wondering who provided her that "independent advice", Rothamans or Pall Mall?
So much of the story leaps out as giving a coherence to the otherwise inchoate coalition currently governing NZ. In particular it highlights the global problem of the paranoia and deep unseriousness representative of the collapse of modern conservatism. Modern conservatism regards any kind of expertise as by definition a sort of special interest capture, so a minister can characterise his department’s officials as "…Guardian-reading pinkos…" (a similar attitude seems to define this government's attitude to the civil service) despite also observing that "…whatever their views were, they acted in line with (the governments) antipathy to ‘regulatory madness’…" and signalling the complete acquiescence and colonisation of the senior civil service by neoliberal conservative acolytes "…thoroughly acclimated to (their) department’s culture…"
The collapse of the MSM is also canvassed: "…The kind of local journalism that might have uncovered and campaigned against the problems at Grenfell… …is long dead…" and "…At the BBC, Kate Lamble produced a detailed weekly podcast throughout the hearings, though its insights rarely seemed to make it across to the corporation’s main news programmes. In an act of managerial malfeasance typical of the BBC, Lamble was made redundant a day or two after the inquiry reported…"
The whole piece is a meta-condemnation of the utterly exhausted late capitalist neoliberal project, a tired and discredited ideology so ingrained in the political and media class that it is difficult to "…‘make the water visible’. The phrase comes from the old story of one fish asking another ‘What’s water?’, a way of talking about conditions so pervasive they can no longer be perceived…"
What Chris Hipkins thought he could learn from talking to Kier Starmer – "a technocrat without a plan" https://unherd.com/2024/09/keir-starmer-a-technocrat-without-a-plan/ who project seems to largely consist of a continuation of the Conservative with austerity somehow done better and who was elected largely by gaming the first past the post electoral system and is surrounded by radical centrist liberals and grifters, is anyone's guess.
Biden's inability to alter Israel's direction towards multi-front war looks now at least as bad as Obama's loss of Syria to Russia and Iran, or Trump's loss of Afghanistan to the Taleban.
Hey Biden, with that volume of both aid and arms you are sending to Israel, who is the dog and who is the tail?
So close to the election, no party / candidate can work (fight) against the interests of AIPAC – American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Actually, it doesn't really matter much, if the election is close or not. You won't make it far in US politics if you piss-off AIPAC.
When has Syria not been in the Russia/Iran camp (since the Shah at least)?
The loss of Afghanistan was bi-partisan (and a mistake).
The western regime changes – removing secular left governments in Iran 1950's Afghanistan 1980's, Iraq and Libya 2000's and the failed one in Syria, as much one by Gulf states were wrong (and resulted in crimes against humanity).
The current problem in the region is that Iran has created a coalition front to destroy the Israeli state***. This is exploited by Israel as a cover for its WB occupation. This is a reprise of the 5 army war on the "1948 state" that prevented "the two states" being established at the same time.
As it turns out, the story author is personally deeply embedded into the trans-Atlantic project and it's unquestioning support for Israel – which is why he can apparently discuss the inability of the United States to influence Israel anymore whilst casually mentioning the United States has provided over ten billion dollars of weapons to Israel is the October 7th attack with seemingly being able to connect any dots.
Even Reagan got so pissed off with Israeli entitled attitude that he yelled at PM Menachem Begin and told him to stop bombing Beirut. When the US president yells at you, as opposed to bear hugs at every opportunity, along with continuesd assurrance that "we" stand by you whatever, its likely the next step is cessation of aid and arms.
Israel ceased bombing Lebanon the next day.
Biden hasn't even tried, or more likely, is comfortable with the current escalation because it fits with maintaining US hegemony. The iron fist making a statement.
1.Off whom? As a LofN mandate to develop the area for self government?
2.The British empire was not the first, nor the last, to occupy territory.
3.The IDF of 1948 was made up of settlers in Palestine. There are 2 million Arab citizens in Israel within the recognised 1948-49 border Israel today. All Jews living in the WB and Gaza were driven out by the armies of Egyptian and Jordan.
4.Where was the 1950 base located?
5.How do these US Jews punish the opposition you refer to?
6.Yes the West opposes the attempt by one state Russia to take land off another Ukraine, as they did in Kuwait (by Iraq).
Only one western nation has supported the annexation of the Golan Heights by Israel. the USA. Who supports the seizure of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and Crimea by Russia?
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon responds to attention on Wellington apartment sale
Just to repeat..he's wealthy.
"Let's be clear, I'm wealthy," he told Newstalk ZB's Heather du Plessis Allan this morning.
I've chosen to come into politics because I want to add back to New Zealand.
"If we're going to criticise people for being successful, let's be clear – I'm wealthy."
And yet..
Luxon came under pressure for claiming an allowance to live in the apartment. MPs based outside of Wellington are able to claim up to $52,000 for their accommodation while they need to be at Parliament. But few Prime Ministers have claimed it, with Luxon being the first in at least 34 years.
He initially defended the move by calling it an "entitlement" and "within the rules", but then U-turned, calling it a "distraction".
Wealthy people coming into government of a nation – the only one without a CGT in the OECD and one of only 12 (of 36) with no estate or inheritance tax.
The Greeks had the rich bribe the city by promising to spend their own money to get elected.
I have zero problem with people who are rich, and that's coming from someone at the bottom of the food chain. Unless that money came at the expense of low paid workers, the environment, house hoarding or crime/dishonesty.
I take issue with rich people who don't even pretend to understand how it is for everyone who, for whatever reason, were not ever going to amass that sort of money, and take that 'well if I can do it..' attitude.
And who lose all concept of reality because they are immune to everyday financial struggles.
Two things to add, those who are wealthy and prepared to pay a fair share of tax – eg a CGT on currently untaxed income – and who do not try and hang onto or enhance their power/privilege with false arguments and divisive campaigns like we are seeing from the neoliberal act/brash types and proxies.
Luxon bragging about his wealth. Up thread there's a link to a stuff interview with Key also published today. Key is sitting in front of his helicopter, another demonstration of wealth.
To obtain a pilot's license there's quite a bit of science study involved; meteorology & gas flow etc etc. During his infamous BBC interview with Stephen Sackur in 2011 he claimed scientists were like lawyers, he could always pay someone else for a different opinion. I'm hoping his flying examiner only accepted answers based on conventional science.
He says that he wants to add back to the country, which is an interesting choice of words.
What he does tell us is that he’d like to ‘add back’ to the people who enabled him to become wealthy, such as frequent-flying landlords and shareholders. What he’s also saying is that wealth creates wealth and that this is ok and the natural way of how things ought to work. What he really means is that inequality and inequity are part of the natural order and that the wealthy have earned every penny through enablement, entitlement, and embellishment. In other words, he smokes his own dope, which is why he supports the smoke & mirrors by Costello, BTW.
what he really means is that inequality and inequity are part of the natural order
Yea, the more that I know of Luxon and the NACT1 creeps, the more I see some quite disturbing elements of Social Darwinism : "Bottom Feeders" , less social welfare and help services / more prisons and punishments , Race baiting as a distraction / diversion whilst also destroying equality , and more….
I hesitate to call them evil….and maybe Dystopian… but IMO there is an element of that banality in them..that has lead to terrible things.
As I have said though, I see a lot of people protesting, being counted upon, and standing together. This is how we beat them.
Ukrainians who live in the occupied part of Luhansk region but refuse to receive 🇷🇺 passports will be included in the register of foreigners from January 1, 2025. Being included in this list will result in restrictions on receiving almost all payments, social and administrative services, such as banking, property registration and enrollment of children in educational institutions. This is part of a campaign aimed at forcing passportization of 🇺🇦 citizens.
This is part of a campaign aimed at forcing passportization of Unrainian citizens.
The choice being, no longer being citizens in their own homes and towns and eventually, facing displacement and forced expulsion, as foreigners. (Just like Palestinians, except that Palestinians don’even get that choice). Blue Sky Sunflowers
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The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
The Cook Islands PM is in Beijing to sign an agreement with China - but the government says he failed to consult with NZ on the matter, as is required. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katinka van de Ven, Alcohol and other drug specialist, UNSW Sydney Fewer young Australians are drinking. And when they do drink, they are drinking less and less often than previous generations at the same age. It’s a trend happening all around the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flavio Macau, Associate Dean – School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University Hitra/Shutterstock Coles is reducing its product range by at least 10%, a move that has sparked public backlash and renewed discussions about the role of supermarkets in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacinta Humphrey, Research Fellow in Urban Ecology, RMIT University Golf courses are sometimes seen as harmful to the environment. According to the popular notion, the grass soaks up too much water, is cut too short and sprayed with dangerous chemicals. But in ...
New Zealand has long championed a fair, stable, and resilient global order. As a nation with deep ties to the Pacific and beyond, we cannot afford to be passive in the face of these shifts. ...
Things are going to look a little different this year. Here’s what to expect.Good news, Shortland Street fans: after a well-earned summer holiday, New Zealand’s longest running drama returns to TVNZ2 and TVNZ+ tonight. Ahead of us is a fresh year of living, loving and laughing in the nation’s ...
The poll, conducted between 02 and 04 February, shows National up 2.3 points to 31.9 percent, while Labour has risen 0.4 points from last month to 31.3 percent. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina McFerran, Professor and Head of Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit; Director of Researcher Development Unit, The University of Melbourne New York Public Library Many of us take pleasure in listening to music. Music accompanies important life events and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina McFerran, Professor and Head of Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit; Director of Researcher Development Unit, The University of Melbourne New York Public Library Many of us take pleasure in listening to music. Music accompanies important life events and ...
The Cook Islands finds itself in a precarious dance — one between the promises of foreign investments and the integrity of our own sovereignty. As the country sways between partners China and Aotearoa New Zealand, the Cook Islands News asks: “Do we continue to haka with the Taniwha, our constitutional ...
A diplomatic scuffle with the Cook Islands. Plus: What went down at Waitangi. The Cook Islands prime minister, Mark Brown, has provoked the wrath of the New Zealand foreign minister with his decision to head to China to sign a new strategic deal. By failing to consult on the ...
The deputy chairperson of the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine, Dr Michael Connelly, said simply setting targets without "resourcing" them was a pointless exercise, as the number of patients - and their acuity - continuing to grow. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suvradip Maitra, PhD Student, Australian National University Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock Late last year, ChatGPT was used by a Victorian child protection worker to draft documents. In a glaring error, ChatGPT referred to a “doll” used for sexual purposes as an “age-appropriate toy”. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Niven Winchester, Professor of Economics, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Donald Trump has already made good on his threat to impose an additional 10% tax on Chinese goods, and is due to announce a 25% tariff on all steel and ...
Diplomatic tension between the Cook Islands and New Zealand is growing. Here's what it's about about, what China has to do with it, and why it matters. ...
Sick of human reality TV? Alex Casey has found a perfect solution in David Attenborough’s latest. I’m know I’m not alone when I say this: humans are bleaking me out at the moment. Turn on the news for the bleakest updates imaginable. Try to numb the pain with Married at ...
The Director of Public Health is a statutory role providing public health leadership across the Public Health Agency, within the Ministry of Health, and the National Public Health Service within Health NZ. ...
Zachary Forbes, a maths teacher from Whanganui, has started an unusual initiative on videogame streaming service Twitch. Shanti Mathias interviews him. “The people want First Samuel,” says the man who calls himself Brother Zac. Brown hair, headphones on, a wall behind him, he pauses and reflects on the comments he’s ...
Endless New Zealand politicians, including the present government, have pointed to our support for a rules-based international system, says PSNA National Chair John Minto. ...
In January, the reversals to speed limit reductions on the state highway network began. Councils have been asked to reverse all reduced speed limits since 2020 by July. A retired rural healthcare worker found something missing from the conversation – a maths equation she learned in high school. As told ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natarsha McPherson, PhD Candidate in Spatial Ecology, University of Adelaide Rob D / Shutterstock On the vast expanse of the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia, two very different creatures live side by side – but not always peacefully. One is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John White, Associate Professor in Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Deakin University Fire broke out in the Grampians National Park (Gariwerd) in December and raged for weeks. Then lightning strikes ignited fresh blazes late last month, which merged to form a mega-fire that’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karley Beckman, Senior Lecturer in Digital Technologies for Learning, University of Wollongong If you are a parent of a school student, you may have received a form seeking permission to use your child’s image on school social media accounts. It’s very ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Garritt C. Van Dyk, Senior Lecturer in History, University of Waikato The day he took office for his second term, United States President Donald J. Trump unveiled his “America First” trade policy, including tariffs on imported goods from Mexico, Canada (both of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack McGrath, Lecturer in Animation, University of Newcastle Netflix The 2025 Academy Awards could shape up to be a big one for stop-motion animation. Australian director Adam Eliott’s Memoir of a Snail (2024) has raked in a nomination for Best Animated ...
The UK is no longer burning coal for power.
A huge change in recent decades.
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/8db8/live/bacb9020-7f0d-11ef-b66d-034eed51208d.png.webp
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y35qz73n8o
'
NZ Cross Border international climate criminals:
Q: So why is NZ still burning coal for power? No change in recent decades.
A: Because burning coal keeps the spot prices up, increasing the profitability of the privately owned Gentailers.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Sure the answer is healthy homes – and beyond insulation, this includes solar panels and battery.
That and wind power – battery on the grid, reduces use of hydro dam power. And so this can be used less and provide spare low cost capacity (instead of the C of C plans for more expensive imported gas).
Innovation…and thinking outside the box. NZ is good at it. The present NACT1 govt with its determinedly anti Science and innate Climate denial notwithstanding. They like Dinosaur fuel..matches their Dinosaur brains
Also this. Is still a factor..
I think SPC that you are missing the point being made by Dave Hansford.
There is no shortage of innovative solutions to carbon emissions.
The roadblock is the profit driven gentailers.
What is really missing is the political will from our political leaders to regulate the profit driven polluters, who without regulation, will always prioritise their bottom line ahead of the public good or the protection of the environment.
"Top-down, one-way power monopolies must be replaced with active, equitable power-sharing local networks, with energy conservation as their central remit, not profit from production." Dave Hansford
Without government regulation of the privately owned gentailers, or the return to public ownership, none of the innovative solutions put up by you or PsyclingLeft, or even Dave Hansford himself, will ever be realised.
Or if they ever are, only after permanent irreversible damage to the climate is a reality, maybe not even then.
No.
Simply taking back ownership might not be electorally popular – the alternative is incentivising solar panel take up (as per healthy homes) – even requiring it of state housing and landlords. People get the benefit and at a much lower cost to the taxpayer than buying out shareholders.
The other matter is a regulatory requirement for power companies and Transpower to ensure stability via batteries to store wind power to reduce use of hydro.
Yes of course. But still, the point is this, and always has been, is that despite all these affordable, practical solutions for cutting emissions being available, despite all these available solutions, almost off the shelf – What is really missing is the political will to implement them.
This is the real nub of the problem.
Now the question is: how do we get over it, this lack of political will to take up these measures?
It seems as though something has gone wrong with the house designs in Auckland, which meet all of the healthy homes insulation targets. They're too hot. And now require air-conditioning/cooling to run during more than half the year.
Surely a massive own-goal for the planners.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/529228/some-newly-built-auckland-homes-too-hot-council-study-shows
For the developers and buyers perhaps but I doubt the onus is on planners to remind dopey pricks about how hot the sun is.
Not a building expert here, but surely it's the planners who set the rules for insulation and ventilation for new build houses.
Yup, lots of rules about insulation, heating, light penetration, ventilation, etc but afaik, not a sausage about how hot the sun is.
Planning for the current climate (let alone for increased warming), would seem to be a requirement.
Yep. The immediate environment around our houses is very important and has a symbiotic relationship to design and planning. Trees provide natural shade and cooling which would not be apparent in new build.
Not that Bananadonna has the capacity to consider that.
Design and planning is something which the CoC are keen to dispense with for what it's worth.
One interesting thing about tenancies is that because the profit motive is strong with amateur landlords, it's very important to cut all the trees down and have bare properties which are cheaper to manage, and fuck the stupid, weak tenants.
Western suburbs of Sydney.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12370879/Single-photo-exposes-huge-problem-facing-Australia-concerned.html
Designing and planning has resulted in this issue.
If you think that extensive tree planting is a feature of intensive housing in Auckland, you need a serious reality check. The planning process has resulted in rows of houses, jammed in tightly together, with minimal landscaping (let alone trees).
Have a look at the Kainga Ora new builds – not seeing many trees – or even much grass.
Ok, so you've pivoted away from suggesting the problem is insulation standards which is a National Party line (no surprise there).
Now it's the (council, I presume) planners fault, but nothing to do with developers cutting corners to maximise profit.
The thing is, if you want no mistake, liveable housing, more regulation and requirements are necessary rather than less.
I haven't said tree planting is a feature of MDH (you falsely call it intensive housing), but it needs to be.
The problem is that the insulation standards (with which I don't have an issue), were implemented without taking ventilation requirements (a much greater issue in Auckland and parts north), into consideration. A building standards fail.
Is there a difference in landscaping requirements for MDH or intensive housing? Seems to be much the same to me. Not that there is any space for trees or landscaping in any of the MDH around Auckland.
And, sadly for your argument, the highly regulated building standards, have resulted in less livable housing.
There is an urban planning issue. It is one of density. And is related to stormwater (where an area is too built up and has poor drainage) capacity.
It can occur with both higher density development, including large houses on small sections.
Basically the answer is less of the land being built on. More grass and trees.
Sydney has more serious issues (more heat than us).
https://www.landscapearchitecture.nz/landscape-architecture-aotearoa/2021/4/11/7lsk8ezuoko0g57gylbmj4q8yopwud
In Auckland it appears to be where the top level of duplexes get less shade and have to be designed and built with different features.
I'm sorry, but this is rubbish. The fact that upper floors get hotter is well known, and has been for hundreds of years. There's a reason why the servants were relegated to the top floors of houses in Victorian England.
What seems to have happened is rigorous insulation requirements were implemented, which were unaccompanied by planning for passive cooling. Creating upper-story rooms with windows which don't open (or only open a tiny amount, with no cross-flow) has resulted in heat-box bedrooms, which are unusable without air-conditioning. The cost of retro-fitting this into existing builds in significant; as is, of course, the ongoing electricity bill.
It's a planning failure.
What rubbish?
As I noted
That includes all sorts of issues. More grass and less housing on sections and the ability to plant trees. .
And this
Sure this has been a known since the 19th C.
One can guess the desire for more urban density is the reason, in this there is a building design issue/building criteria regulation factor.
And, my point. It's not an urban planning issue, it's a building planning one.
The link you gave 1.1.1.3 – says it is both.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/529228/some-newly-built-auckland-homes-too-hot-council-study-shows
Also the Talbot Steel Works in Wales creased steel production.
The Talbot Steel Works was the last to remaining Steel Works in the UK and it did specialise in steel armour plating for the Army & the manufacturing of steel for the RN Sub's among other high end steel production like rail tracks for High speed rail etc.
Tata's Indian owners … a bit like the Malaysians with their own mill and cheaper power closing down here.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/sep/11/blow-for-british-steel-industry-as-2500-jobs-go-at-port-talbot
The social investment approach
First principles
It is a diversion away from state provision.
A multi-contract system.
Healthy Homes is cited as an example of an approach which had multiple benefits.
(why Labour named social investment – by its purpose – Well Being, such as via Food in Schools etc)
Arthur Grimes noted
And thus of course Investment (for profit) partners are to be involved
A reactive dismissal of critics as from those focused on their ideology, rather than the focus of English-Willis on getting results.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/529489/social-investment-what-you-need-to-know
This will be great for businesses operating as consultants to government ministry (maintaining capacity with less of their own staff) – hiring up experienced and specialist workers who want to retain work from home rights.
One might well suspect a Ministry might well refers on workers disappointed by the government policy. Meeting staff cutback targets, if not saving any money overall.
And as the government loves going to non government organisations, everyone wins.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/09/30/hybrid-work-crackdown-may-not-work-as-intended-economist-warns/
Why on earth Key's opinion on the US election should be front page news is beyond me, but it is, and I held my nose and took the bait.
“I think he's better for the economy.”
“He's likely to embrace a bit more market. He's likely to have less red tape and he's certainly going to have lower taxes. So that bit is good.”
But Sir John still thinks overall Trump is still the better choice.
“Well he certainly wants lower taxes. He probably wants more market based solutions. He's probably got a freer energy policy. There's a whole lot of different things.”
So- tax cuts. Some things never change.
Sir John says Kamala Harris has economic views that are radically left-wing and that she’s more aligned with Senator Bernie Sanders than President Joe Biden.
"Radically left-wing"???
America- take him, keep him, let him vote there. And hopefully he'll revoke his NZ citizenship at the same time, and our media will stop the fawning.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350434743/why-sir-john-key-thinks-donald-trump-should-win-us-election
Sirkey has first and foremost represented International Capital and Finance Capital all his adult life, even while NZ Prime Minister…anyone remember the offshore Trusts debacle set up by his personal Lawyer? 10, 000 members of the parasite class departed virtually overnight once IRD required more than an A4 sheet on who was who, and other details of their trusts.
The beneficiaries of the orange tax cuts are pretty obvious, hence the Key support.
And sir Key …..
sir Key : money, is everything. That is all.
What stood out for me was Keys endorsement of trumps energy/climate change policies, trump would wind back laws put in place by Biden. Does Key not understand climate change? Under his governent NZ did FA about reducing emissions so he might not particularly care. Here's the point though Mr Key, without a solution to climate change we will have little or no economic growth, and more and more climatic shocks.
On another matter seemingly Casey Costello received "independent advice" on tax cuts for heated tobacco products. I am wondering who provided her that "independent advice", Rothamans or Pall Mall?
Only as something that prevents profit. IE money. His only reason to live.
Well, the flashing signs are pointing to Phillip Morris
The money only cares about more money and power.
Look at the outright crap musk is spreading on behalf of Trump, keys doing his bit as expected down here.
AKA red baiting. (surprised he didnt call her Marxist..or Commie!)
sir Key doing what he knows…and does best. Looking out for the money. Such a small character…..
Luxon's polling must be really bad if Key is being wheeled out to the media. He only comes out when Luxon needs a distraction.
No surprise nationals PR enablers (NZME) duly oblige with a soapbox.
Picture that locker room of herald opinionators Key, Joyce, Prebble Bennett…..need a shower ?
So he can put the boot into the reds under the bed if course, !!
This is Chris Luxon's favourite government and his model for governance.
James Butler's piece in the LRB on the Grenfell fire is a searing indictment of modern neoliberal Britain and well worth a close read.
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n19/james-butler/this-much-evidence-still-no-charges
So much of the story leaps out as giving a coherence to the otherwise inchoate coalition currently governing NZ. In particular it highlights the global problem of the paranoia and deep unseriousness representative of the collapse of modern conservatism. Modern conservatism regards any kind of expertise as by definition a sort of special interest capture, so a minister can characterise his department’s officials as "…Guardian-reading pinkos…" (a similar attitude seems to define this government's attitude to the civil service) despite also observing that "…whatever their views were, they acted in line with (the governments) antipathy to ‘regulatory madness’…" and signalling the complete acquiescence and colonisation of the senior civil service by neoliberal conservative acolytes "…thoroughly acclimated to (their) department’s culture…"
The collapse of the MSM is also canvassed: "…The kind of local journalism that might have uncovered and campaigned against the problems at Grenfell… …is long dead…" and "…At the BBC, Kate Lamble produced a detailed weekly podcast throughout the hearings, though its insights rarely seemed to make it across to the corporation’s main news programmes. In an act of managerial malfeasance typical of the BBC, Lamble was made redundant a day or two after the inquiry reported…"
The whole piece is a meta-condemnation of the utterly exhausted late capitalist neoliberal project, a tired and discredited ideology so ingrained in the political and media class that it is difficult to "…‘make the water visible’. The phrase comes from the old story of one fish asking another ‘What’s water?’, a way of talking about conditions so pervasive they can no longer be perceived…"
What Chris Hipkins thought he could learn from talking to Kier Starmer – "a technocrat without a plan" https://unherd.com/2024/09/keir-starmer-a-technocrat-without-a-plan/ who project seems to largely consist of a continuation of the Conservative with austerity somehow done better and who was elected largely by gaming the first past the post electoral system and is surrounded by radical centrist liberals and grifters, is anyone's guess.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2e12j4gz0o
It would have been worse without the inheritance tax receipts – now quickly rising – likely to be a good earner as the baby boomers die off.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/284325/united-kingdom-hmrc-tax-receipts-inheritance-tax/
Inheritance tax – 40% above £325,000.
https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax
John Keys' support of Trump is not surprising.
Nor Jacinda Adern's support for Kamala Harris.
I have a suspicion neither Key's nor Ardern's comments will decide the US Presidency
Biden's inability to alter Israel's direction towards multi-front war looks now at least as bad as Obama's loss of Syria to Russia and Iran, or Trump's loss of Afghanistan to the Taleban.
Hey Biden, with that volume of both aid and arms you are sending to Israel, who is the dog and who is the tail?
So close to the election, no party / candidate can work (fight) against the interests of AIPAC – American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Actually, it doesn't really matter much, if the election is close or not. You won't make it far in US politics if you piss-off AIPAC.
When has Syria not been in the Russia/Iran camp (since the Shah at least)?
The loss of Afghanistan was bi-partisan (and a mistake).
The western regime changes – removing secular left governments in Iran 1950's Afghanistan 1980's, Iraq and Libya 2000's and the failed one in Syria, as much one by Gulf states were wrong (and resulted in crimes against humanity).
The current problem in the region is that Iran has created a coalition front to destroy the Israeli state***. This is exploited by Israel as a cover for its WB occupation. This is a reprise of the 5 army war on the "1948 state" that prevented "the two states" being established at the same time.
A decision made earlier this year is pertinent.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/arab-league-ceases-labeling-hezbollah-terrorist-organization-/3261610 ***
For mine, the path forward is where the Arab League was to
1.persuade Iran to support a state of Israel within 1948-67 borders
2.get Hamas to do the same and join the PLO.
3.agree to work with the PA to control the Egypt-Gaza border and internal security within Gaza. This to facilitate future PA elections.
Otherwise the Israeli public will not divide from BN over the reaction to ***.
Assessment
a.BN is moving to ops vs Hezbollah and Iran (away from Hamas) to legitimise the WB occupation.
b.He has Biden snookered, because of support in the US for Israel – thus his focus is containment and winning the election.
c.BN expects to be restrained by Biden once the election result is known.
This NY Times headline sums up the United State's myopia and tunnel vision in relation to Israel to Israel:
"…Why the World’s Biggest Powers Can’t Stop a Middle East War
The United States’ ability to influence events in the Mideast has waned, and other major nations have essentially been onlookers…."
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/29/world/middleeast/middle-east-war-peace-nasrallah.html
As it turns out, the story author is personally deeply embedded into the trans-Atlantic project and it's unquestioning support for Israel – which is why he can apparently discuss the inability of the United States to influence Israel anymore whilst casually mentioning the United States has provided over ten billion dollars of weapons to Israel is the October 7th attack with seemingly being able to connect any dots.
Bit hard to stop what they've been defacto aiding and abetting for decades with military support.
So much support its on par with US forces capability as agreements mandate they get all the latest weapon's and missile defence systems.
Then theres the West Bank where even Ben and Jerrys have made a stand.
Even Reagan got so pissed off with Israeli entitled attitude that he yelled at PM Menachem Begin and told him to stop bombing Beirut. When the US president yells at you, as opposed to bear hugs at every opportunity, along with continuesd assurrance that "we" stand by you whatever, its likely the next step is cessation of aid and arms.
Israel ceased bombing Lebanon the next day.
Biden hasn't even tried, or more likely, is comfortable with the current escalation because it fits with maintaining US hegemony. The iron fist making a statement.
1919 Britain steals Palestine as France and Britain divi up the spoils after WW1.
Britain had been invading and stealing countries all around the world 300 years.
1948 Jews illegally invade and illegally occupy Palestine driving Palestinians out.
1950 USA establishes a huge military base in Israel to dominate 400 million Muslims.
All opposition to illegal Jew invadsion is brutally punished by USA backed Jews.
West supports Jewish genocide against Muslims but opposes Russian invasion.
Western political hypocrisy knows no bounds.
1.Off whom? As a LofN mandate to develop the area for self government?
2.The British empire was not the first, nor the last, to occupy territory.
3.The IDF of 1948 was made up of settlers in Palestine. There are 2 million Arab citizens in Israel within the recognised 1948-49 border Israel today. All Jews living in the WB and Gaza were driven out by the armies of Egyptian and Jordan.
4.Where was the 1950 base located?
5.How do these US Jews punish the opposition you refer to?
6.Yes the West opposes the attempt by one state Russia to take land off another Ukraine, as they did in Kuwait (by Iraq).
Only one western nation has supported the annexation of the Golan Heights by Israel. the USA. Who supports the seizure of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and Crimea by Russia?
7.Hypocrisy is everywhere.
Chris frickin wealthy Luxon….
Just to repeat..he's wealthy.
And yet..
Yep Chris..you are indeed a frickin example.
Wealthy people coming into government of a nation – the only one without a CGT in the OECD and one of only 12 (of 36) with no estate or inheritance tax.
The Greeks had the rich bribe the city by promising to spend their own money to get elected.
Do no harm medical practice as well.
I have zero problem with people who are rich, and that's coming from someone at the bottom of the food chain. Unless that money came at the expense of low paid workers, the environment, house hoarding or crime/dishonesty.
I take issue with rich people who don't even pretend to understand how it is for everyone who, for whatever reason, were not ever going to amass that sort of money, and take that 'well if I can do it..' attitude.
And who lose all concept of reality because they are immune to everyday financial struggles.
And who brag about it.
kind of my point….
Two things to add, those who are wealthy and prepared to pay a fair share of tax – eg a CGT on currently untaxed income – and who do not try and hang onto or enhance their power/privilege with false arguments and divisive campaigns like we are seeing from the neoliberal act/brash types and proxies.
That too
I like how he still sees himself as some kind of reincarnation of John Key, as if the comparision’s apt.
“Now I'm moving in, and I don't need the apartment, so I’m selling it. That’s what John Key did when he became prime minister.”
And, Luxon's such an unaware brown-noser, he probably doesnt realise sir Key really wishes he wasn't the heir apparent . Or even thinking same….
Luxon bragging about his wealth. Up thread there's a link to a stuff interview with Key also published today. Key is sitting in front of his helicopter, another demonstration of wealth.
To obtain a pilot's license there's quite a bit of science study involved; meteorology & gas flow etc etc. During his infamous BBC interview with Stephen Sackur in 2011 he claimed scientists were like lawyers, he could always pay someone else for a different opinion. I'm hoping his flying examiner only accepted answers based on conventional science.
That Key thinks Trump's the best person for the job "because of the economy" is a disgrace, too.
He says that he wants to add back to the country, which is an interesting choice of words.
What he does tell us is that he’d like to ‘add back’ to the people who enabled him to become wealthy, such as frequent-flying landlords and shareholders. What he’s also saying is that wealth creates wealth and that this is ok and the natural way of how things ought to work. What he really means is that inequality and inequity are part of the natural order and that the wealthy have earned every penny through enablement, entitlement, and embellishment. In other words, he smokes his own dope, which is why he supports the smoke & mirrors by Costello, BTW.
Yea, the more that I know of Luxon and the NACT1 creeps, the more I see some quite disturbing elements of Social Darwinism : "Bottom Feeders" , less social welfare and help services / more prisons and punishments , Race baiting as a distraction / diversion whilst also destroying equality , and more….
I hesitate to call them evil….and maybe Dystopian… but IMO there is an element of that banality in them..that has lead to terrible things.
As I have said though, I see a lot of people protesting, being counted upon, and standing together. This is how we beat them.
Banality, order, evil – it sounds you’re echoing Hannah Arendt.
When I went Social Darwinism..there it was. Elements anyway.
Anyway,unstable as they are, they might well have over-reached. Nice thought : )
NZ is not yet a banana republic and politicians get voted in by a mass of compliant supporters & voters. This is where the banality resides.
Tsar Poots' imperial war of conquest and colonisation.
Гюндуз Мамедов/Gyunduz Mamedov
@MamedovGyunduz
Ukrainians who live in the occupied part of Luhansk region but refuse to receive 🇷🇺 passports will be included in the register of foreigners from January 1, 2025. Being included in this list will result in restrictions on receiving almost all payments, social and administrative services, such as banking, property registration and enrollment of children in educational institutions. This is part of a campaign aimed at forcing passportization of 🇺🇦 citizens.
https://x.com/MamedovGyunduz/status/1840384174068228601
#Russification
This is part of a campaign aimed at forcing passportization of Unrainian citizens.
The choice being, no longer being citizens in their own homes and towns and eventually, facing displacement and forced expulsion, as foreigners. (Just like Palestinians, except that Palestinians don’even get that choice).
Blue Sky Sunflowers