"In my previous article I set out how the eco-socialist movement is fixated on the claim that we can’t have exponential growth on a finite planet. I argued they are wrong.
Ultimately though it was a technical answer to a stupid question. In this article I will set out why I think the question is stupid, and what I think the important conversations are to have"
"I don’t want to speak for a whole profession here, so I will speak for myself. That said, I think many economists would agree with what I have to say.
I completely accept we live on a planet with finite resources. Thankfully I doubt we will ever use them all because they eventually become too expensive to extract. And usually, thanks to the wonders of human ingenuity, alternatives become available.
Nonetheless, there are two ways that exponential growth is possible even with limited resources: productivity growth and inflation."
Er, yes – we do. It looks like you don't agree that productivity growth and inflation allow exponential growth within a finite system, but he's provided a lengthy explanation for his claim that it does, whereas you've just provided an assertion: "underwhelming….indeed a non event." That doesn't give us much to go on for why you think he's wrong.
he has provided nothing except an unsubstantiated opinion….and contradicts himself into the bargain.
Kindly point to where he has demonstrated that critical resources are not finite or that their extraction can continue ad infinitum or even demonstrated viable substitutes for said critical resources?
"The eco-socialist movement argues that we can’t have exponential growth on a finite planet"….does not refer to finacialisation (as he must know, though given the quality of the articles perhaps he does not) but real resources that underpin the lives and systems of the human economy.
i swear i had read that same creed already, especially this line here '
Capitalism definitely needs a rest, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
and that phrase along to me indicates taht while he spins a nice yarn (and hopefully gets paid by the word for it) he is still advocating that nothing much should be done, lest we throw out captialism with the bathwater.
What stands out is that the the Eurozone is growing at a very modest 1.6%, while it's the developing nations (lead almost certainly by China, India and parts of Africa) that are leading the charge with growth rates over 4%.
This makes sense, as I said before it's not the top 'golden' 1b people who are expanding rapidly, it's the other 6b who are rapidly catching up. Are you going to go and tell them they have to remain poor?
The other factor that is often overlooked is that the demographics of most developed nations are heavily weighted towards older people, who typically consume less than younger people building families, homes and careers. And overall it's now thought that total human population will peak within a century and decline thereafter. Human growth … once we achieve a certain threshold of development … is absolutely not 'exponential' or 'unlimited'.
Uncritically parroting 'unlimited growth on a finite planet' is a simplistic and inadequate slogan; growth is neither unlimited, nor are resources finite. The far more interesting questions is … what kind of progress do we want?
Because progress and growth are not the same thing. Up until this point in human history because most people were so deeply impoverished, they were usually tightly linked … more of something almost always meant a progressive improvement. Catch one animal good, catch two … feast time! It's bit of instinctive calculus that's deeply embedded in us.
In the past 400 years however a potent mix of science, tech and capitalism have largely solved the impoverishment problem. This means that growth and progress are no longer necessarily so closely coupled. Now it's possible to have too much of what was once considered a good thing. But our instincts and social systems have yet to catch up.
This is the political conversation Geoff is touching on, what do we really mean by progress, and how should we measure it? Especially when 'growth' is no longer the best measure of it.
The conversation I got from Simmons was that the New Zealand economy can look forward to stagnation, so chin up, look at Japan – they haven't grown for decades and the sky hasn't fallen in. If you wanted us to address the economic and therefore chronic social problems in your town, you're out of luck.
In that I suspect Simmons is being a tad pessimistic, of all the developed nations NZ is unusual in three respects; one is that we still have a rectangular demographic pyramid, in other words we still have enough young people to sustain current levels of activity for at least another generation or two.
The other is Kiwisaver; it's impact is cumulative and with time it's impact is going to be felt more deeply on the local economy over the next few decades.
The third factor is our high comparative political and social stability; we will be increasingly seen as a desirable , reliable and trustworthy nation. This is probably our biggest asset.
Still either way you cut it, growth for it's own sake is no longer the ideal. In this I think everyone, Simmons and everyone here would agree. But what do we replace it with? Certainly the Japanese have shown it's possible to have an advanced and functioning society with little to no overt growth; and in that light it would be interesting to see in what ways they have managed to progress in these decades? Did they simply mark time, or have they improved life in other ways?
If growth is no longer the priority, then shifting attention to our chronic social problems could well become a higher priority.
Japan’s Himawari8 satellite (ひまわり/ sunflower) steadily documents the smoke from Australia’s bushfires drifting across the southwestern Pacific, creating uncanny skies many miles away. https://t.co/mJLPt21ziWpic.twitter.com/8B3yrDXvGa
Could it be said that entire species have been lost because of refusal to fund firefighters in rural areas + acknowledge climate change/climate manipulation? I think so.
Heck, ever thought how NZ will fare in a fire like that? Cause our rural fire fighters for the most part are unpaid under appreciated voluntary fire fighters.
And the animals that died, died because of Greed for the most part. The rural vollies just can't keep up. Even if they showered money on them today it would not change a thing.
But then i guess its cheaper for government to expect the population to pick up the slack privatly, hold bake sales for new trucks and such rather then employ, train, and pay them. You can have tax cuts or you can have funded, well trained and well equipped emergency services.
Had a little taster with the recent Nelson Tasman Pigeon Valley fire in February, thousands evacuated and volunteer firefighters brought in from all over.
My partner is a volly 🙂 and we are literally just hanging on barely. One reason so far we got lucky is that we in NZ now tend to throw all resources at a fire to prevent it from spreading. And so far luck has been on our side. So far.
One hopes that the Australian Navy is coming along to the party to help evacuate these people. Cause the only way out for them – it seems – is via the water.
Can't bear to look at your first link A @ 4. Too distressing.
Yesterday Scott Morrison made the most appalling speech ever… apart from his gaffe about the bushfires being a back-drop to the cricket, he also said this – and I quote from memory:
"whether these fires were caused by lightening strikes or some other cause…”
Still denying Climate Change! What is wrong with the Aussie voters. Take your collective heads out of the sand and stop voting neanderthals into power.
Three years back we were driving down the relatively remote Henty Highway in VIC on an extreme fire day. At one point we stopped near a farm gate, I remember leaning on it; it was too hot to touch. The Grampians were barely a km away, yet in the heat driven wind and dust we could barely see them. The eucalypt forest behind us stank of volatile oils; we had this very strong sense we should not be there, one slight spark and it was going to explode. It's not an experience you could have in NZ.
Here is a particularly good article on the conditions that lead up to extreme bushfire days.
It's the best parts of Australia that are burning down … we visited the SE Coast a year or so back; we have very fond memories of it. Places like Mallacoota are much loved gems and seeing this happen is tough. And I suspect the sheer intensity of these fires is causing irreparable damage; the landscape is not going to recover quickly or easily.
Still Australians have grown up with bushfires. It's remarkable working with them how unconcerned they can be about them, even ones that are quite local. I remember standing outside our factory looking at one burning about 10km away … no-one was wildly interested. Australia does burn … it's a fact of life here.
What is hard to convey is that the nature of the fire is changing, in scale, intensity and length of season. Some years are just going to be worse than others and there isn't a fixed pattern. Is this year going to be a tipping point? A lot will depend on how well the media handle the aftermath; if they can convince that these fires are not 'normal' and follow up intelligently I think it will be.
Is this year going to be a tipping point? A lot will depend on how well the media handle the aftermath; if they can convince that these fires are not 'normal' and follow up intelligently I think it will be.
I don't think so. There have been worse bushfires. 2009 springs to mind. Bear in mind that Australia accounts for only 1.3% of global emissions so climate change won't be seriously affected by whatever Australia does. If the biggest emitters like China, India, Russia, Japan and the US get their act together, then progress might be possible. But that probably won't happen anytime soon.
Like everything to do with climate change … that 1.3% number is complicated.
I agree no-one can claim unequivocally that this year’s fires will change the political landscape; but there is no doubt that the ground has shifted in the decade since 2009.
Depending on how one arbitrarily groups hundreds or thousands of fires over the season, deadliest is one thing – and like in most types of disasters, the death toll has been reduced due to those hard-earned lessons.
The scale of the fires this season seems to be about the largest on record, though. And that's the bit related to climate change, in all reasonable probability.
Coal is mined in every state of Australia. Mining occurs mainly in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.[citation needed] About 75% of coal mined in Australia is exported, mostly to eastern Asia,[1] and of the balance most is used in electricity generation. Coal production in Australia increased 13.6% between 2005 and 2010 and 5.3% between 2009 and 2010.[2] In 2016, Australia was the biggest net exporter of coal, with 32% of global exports (389 Mt out of 1,213 Mt total), and was the fourth-highest producer with 6.9% of global production (503 Mt out of 7,269 Mt total). 77% of production was exported (389 Mt out of 503 Mt total)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_in_Australia
Pretty much all of the mines are open cut with some underground. so unlike peat bog fires I fail to see how these current bush fires would be bigger.
A lot will depend on how well the media handle the aftermath; if they can convince that these fires are not 'normal' and follow up intelligently I think it will be.
Yes, the Aussie media have a big role to play now. Lets hope they are up to it without fear nor favour.
I recall you telling us that story of the drive through a tinder dry Victoria. If I remember correctly you jumped in the car and got out of there poste haste, hearts in your mouths wondering if you were going to make it.
Yes, there has been complacency in the Aussie psyche over bushfires – the "she'll be right mate. We've been having them since God made little apples. We know how to handle em."
What they have got face up to is there is a new and terrifying element to them now. To begin with, they are going to happen on this scale more frequently than has been the case in the past and – as you rightly point out – over an increasingly lengthy bushfire season. It will eventually reach the point when they are occurring almost all year round.
The first thing they've got to do is toss out this Liberal led govt. Their mindset is such they are not equipped to even understand the situation, let alone take the actions necessary to minimise the effects.
Aussie media have been playing their part all along.
So you know #ScottyFromMarketing is in trouble when the Murdoch media, in every state capital, offer him a free advertisement to tell us all to cheer up. No new policy. Just “don’t worry, be happy.” pic.twitter.com/9B48KFoXJz
When everyone realised that the phrase "hopes and prayers" was blatantly code for SFA … let's put it this way, it's not just cooked koalas, ScoMo's burned up a lot of political capital these last few weeks.
You can get conditions like that here Red. In 2001 in Marlborough our the fire index hit the mid 1100s, similar to as bad as Australia gets, it is a measure of humidity, fuel, heat, wind and a few other things. On Boxing Day there was two quite large fires, both started by muppets the first one was a out of townie arriving at his block and deciding to mow it with a tractor, something a local would not do in a million years and the biggest one was a casual cigarette butt which took 4 days to control and weeks to extinquish completely.
Our saving grace is that we do not have gum tree forests, which are essentially petroleum fires as it is the oil/air mixture burning ahead of the fire's ground front and that generally we rarely have "dry " thunder storms to start them, as well as a fair few brilliant helicopter pilots to get to them quickly.
BTW, in the biggie US satellite pictures identified the sq metre it started in and the car the cigarette came from but as we don't have number plates on car rooves there wasn't enough evidence for a stupidity charge.
This chart shows what the news told you about the world this year.
We are publishing https://t.co/W3jYzkv76R because much of what is most important you don’t find in the news: we cover the persistent global problems and the slow-moving changes that transform our world. pic.twitter.com/FHWs1LuIsf
I was looking at https://ourworldindata.org/ just yesterday. Much of what they are saying underpins the case I've been making here for a while now:
Poverty, disease, hunger, climate change, war, existential risks, and inequality: The world faces many great and terrifying problems at the same time. It is these large problems that our work at Our World in Data focuses on.
…
To contribute to positive change, we need to know our world as well as possible. We cannot know our world from the daily news alone. Because the news focuses on current events it largely fails to report the long-lasting, forceful changes that reshape our world, as well as the large, long-standing problems that continue to confront us.
This is a vital point; too much of our political debate is shaped by a media with a warped agenda, driven not by principles or truth, but clicks and eyeballs. Outrage, sex and crime sell advertising dollars, but fail miserably to inform us.
This kind of data is now available in quite a few places, and it will take a bit of time to discover how trustworthy they are. All sources have their biases, even if what they say is true, often its what they leave unspoken which is harder to spot.
Still in principle this is how I see the great debates of the next decade being shaped, driven by global scale data, intelligently analysed and well presented.
Just quietly wondering how many people will see your link and reckon to themselves that you're some kind of Russian stooge spinning Putin fake news. Won't be believed unless and until it's reported by such august bodies as the BBC, CNN, WaPo or NYT…at which point, anything being reported will be believed 🙂
And sorry if that wee speculative observation and rant detracts from you sign posting yet another example of how we've fucked up this wonderful rock in space that's been our world.
I don't actually believe in any of the 'fake news ' bullshit as all news has some aspect of truth to it, and then it has an ideological spin to it. And rather then discuss the actual news we are supposed to discuss the political spin. And i can take your comment and turn it around and say it has to be reported on RT or what nots as some wont believe CNN et al. 🙂
And for what its worth, someone considering me a "Russian stooge spinning Putin fake news' would be a nice counterpoint to the 'globalists' 'killary supporter' indentity politics supporter (aka woman) and all the other shit that some here have thrown at me, simply because what i say might not support their own narrative or simply because outspoken people that don't subscribe to people worship and party worship are 'verboten'.
So i post my links, and people can click on it, read it, believe their own eyes or wait for someone to confirm their biases.
The precarious nature of water flow in the Panama Canal has been known for a long time, item below from 2014, and can remember reading about it being a limiting factor when the expansion was happening.
The reasoning behind my comment (if "reasoning" is the right word) was, that like Sabine, I'm completely over the crap of people evaluating the veracity of stuff solely on whether or not it comes from a source that they can connect (in their own minds) back to a Russia/Kremlin/Putin source…before using whatever supposed "Russian connection" they can jig up as a smear against the person presenting "Russian tainted" information/news.
You'll see it all through reactions posted to the standard if a link is from Russia Today, or if an argument/point of view has also, and even coincidentally, been aired by Russia Today or Sputnik or MintPress etc.
Meanwhile, many of those same people will uncritically and forcibly push even the most ridiculous lines that come from any "anonymous sources" used, shared, boosted and merry-go-rounded by the BBC, CNN, Washington Post, NYT Guardian et al
When people cite/quote (here), they’re required to attribute to their source for a number of (good) reasons. One downside, however, is others choosing to disregard and dismiss the content/message for no other reason than the source/messenger.
It far too often goes way beyond simply "ignoring" (which would be fine btw) and is used to launch off on personal attacks and smears that pull in 'support' from a second person and a third person because (and this is an important part of the dynamic) the target is not sufficiently and/or ideologically aligned with the gathering mob, who see an opportunity to gas light and goad that (they hope) will get a reaction that will result in the target copping a ban and never coming back.
I've seen it happen over and over and over again. And protecting a person who is being set upon like that is well nigh impossible. I know that, because I've tried, both as a commentator and as a moderator.
Mob behaviour and pile-on are impossible to predict (except in hindsight!) and control. Yet, they are hugely problematic, as you say, and I find them intensely frustrating.
Because I’m usually not au fait (i.e. completely out of my depth and thus out of my comfort zone) with the topics that are mostly associated with these behaviours, I stay out of these threads, as a commenter and as Moderator.
Banning the usual suspects, who tend to be the mob/mob-leaders and regulars here, would stifle the flow of comments and could kill the TS community. I’m not keen on a totalitarian approach to moderation.
It’s a reoccurring problem that feeds on past exchanges, i.e. there’s usually (a) history and some commenters ‘have form’.
I confess that sometimes it is easiest for me as a Moderator to remove the single commenter (even when they are/play the ‘victim’) from the equation to restore some peace here. I know it is not (always) the right thing to do but ‘pragmatic’ reasons take over sometimes.
Weka also mentioned recently her (unsuccessful) attempts to induce a culture shift and I guess appealing to/for self-moderation is fruitless 🙁
Maybe we should try to discuss it in the back-end. Moderation is very hands-off (light & lenient) and I’d like to think we are in the ‘sweet spot’ but there’s always room for improvement.
Banning the usual suspects, who tend to be the mob/mob-leaders and regulars here, would stifle the flow of comments and could kill the TS community.
The flip side of that coin being that allowing their continued presence has diminished the scope and breadth of political opinion presented on these pages over the years. (Go back and look at the comments beneath old posts. You'll see a marked difference in the quality of individual comments and the vitality of the comments sections in general)
Many commenters of/on this site have been here for a long time and the pool of Authors is smaller too, I reckon. Do we need fresh blood?
I don’t know where we have gone ‘wrong’, if at all, or what we could do better, if anything.
Judging by the comments on other (NZ) blog sites I’d like to think that TS is still (!) one of the better ones – maybe it’s a sign of the times; civic-political engagement, in both numbers and level, is also dwindling and not just here in NZ.
And protecting a person who is being set upon like that is well nigh impossible. I know that, because I've tried, both as a commentator and as a moderator.
Same experience here, it's intensely frustrating and disappointing. The other aspect I always struggled with, that while as a left-wing site, right wingers were always going to face a head wind … in the end it became a scything machine. All but one or two are gone.
I always believed moderation had to be even-handed, in that it must treat people the same regardless of their political orientation or opinions. Or at least to the extent reasonable, perfection being impossible. Certainly I would defend anyone commenting here in good faith, even if I disagreed with them intensely. Can anyone remember the indefatigable 'burt' who could play comment ping pong for days if needed. Aggravating as hell, but he played his end of the game well and it's a shame we've lost people like him.
Or Wayne Mapp, we're fortunate indeed to have someone with his background even bother to comment here, yet far too often the response to him is surly and dismissive, with no attempt to engage the point. Or the ghastly pile-on's that Pete George gets almost every time; again no-one has to agree with him, but he's a long standing blogger in good faith. Yet some people see his name in the thread and behave like dogs fighting over a bloody chunk of meat.
Another way this shows up, extremist comments, sometime advocating violence or mass punishment, from so-called lefties slide under the radar with little to no response. An equivalent comment from a right winger would get jumped on.
Even-handedness is an important aspect of fairness and too often we’ve fallen short.
I’m guilty of the things you mention and I’m not proud of it 🙁
Moderators can’t be everywhere all the time and some things are easier to spot than others (yeah, I know this is a weak ‘excuse’).
Sometimes, others point out bad behaviour/comments and make moderators pay attention. I’ve found this helpful but I know that it has also been used to try shut up others.
I’d like to think that we are quite alert to comments inciting violence but mass punishment is ambiguous to me; can you please provide an example(s)?
I might give this some more thought and possibly do some experimenting with moderation – I have no illusions though as this cannot be solved by one person.
@RL…and I'm not even going to mention he who eventually (in comments, not in real life) filled the monster's shoes many around here fashioned for him to wear. lol – see how self censorship works? 🙂
And that's exactly the type of bullshit and imprecise comment that's not needed. Generally speaking, it's neither smart nor funny to suggest someone is insane or may have succumbed to lunacy. You might contend that what someone says is nuts (and back it up in some way 😉 ), but that's entirely different from seeming to wholesale throw them into a jar marked "lunatic", yes?
If it’s the case you were trying to allude to the lunacy of on-line communities, then really, you need to be more clear on that front given the nature of what you’re saying.
Before I rebuked Burt, I did look into his recent history here, including moderation, as I did not recognise him as a commenter. In other words, I took my lead from other Moderators …
I suspect burt was channeling the infamous Michael Cullen remark from at least a decade ago using the same words. Burt was probably being too clever by half and his reference lost in the mists of time, which is why it looked so out of place … just suggesting.
Roll another one,
Just like the other one.
You been holding onto it,
And I sure would like a hit!
Anyone 21 and over can now buy and possess recreational marijuana in Illinois. Some residents wasted little time lining up. “I couldn’t believe that many people came out so early,” said Cal Marek, who captured video outside a dispensary in suburban Chicago https://t.co/KMKt9f3Qvcpic.twitter.com/ZgCeaIx7Gd
Which leads me to question, how is it something considered safe and saleable in one place be dangerous and requiring possible jail in another perhaps the law is an ass.
And further in a country such as our with the usage being quite common that none of those responsible for maintaining law were not at some function this festive season and not see a number of the group step out , form a circle and pass around a smoke, did they just turn away and deny that its happening, yet later this year take pleasure in destroying the life of some young person doing the same thing .
I find this quite confusing in a country that prides it's self on the low level of corruption.
Ah, but which law is the ass – the one legalising, or the one prohibiting?
The "low level of corruption" thing is a joke – we have loads of it, we just are "perceived" as having low levels. Not just mj, but everything from under-the-table contractors to big companies being let off charges because they're also big political donors. Small companies get pummelled for shit large companies have done for decades, and at worst view the (bargained-down) fines as still being cheaper than running an honest and safe operation.
I'm getting tired of seeing yet another National Review screed about how liberal colleges are brainwashing the rising generation of college students…
Oops, my bad, this paragraph is from from the "Mission Statement" that opened the inaugural, Nov. 19, 1955 edition of the NR. pic.twitter.com/9rCZrI0RRG
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Winston Peters - Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the NZ First PartyWe all know that politics can be pretty messy at times. Just look at the Dirty Politics saga in New Zealand, the misgovernment of the Australian bushfires or the recent Trump impeachment debacle in the US. In a ...
Last Monday SpaceX launched another clutch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, bringing up to 300 the number of these units intended to bring 5G internet to the whole globe. In this post I present a movie showing how all 300 such satellites will be zipping around our planet over ...
The recent floods in Southland have highlighted the issue of Rio Tinto's illegal toxic waste dump in Mataura. But according to Newsroom, there's an even worse mess in Ruakaka near Whangarei:A Northland property stockpiled one million litres of flammable and toxic chemicals. Almost two years since the situation came to ...
It’s amazing just how many attack ads $100,000 buys you these days. The National Party has really been going to town lately, with their latest Twitter campaign making a number of questionable and blatantly false assertions, one being that poverty has worsened under the Labour led Government.The National Party's claim ...
OMV's exploratory drilling in the Great South Basin has failed to find oil. Good. Firstly, because we can't afford to burn the oil and gas we've already found, so there's just no point looking for more. And secondly, because offshore, deep-water drilling poses a risk of an environmental catastrophe, which ...
The government has announced it will strengthen whistleblower protections. The major change is "allowing people to report serious wrongdoing direct to an external authority if they wish", which fixes one of the big flaws in the Act. At present, whistleblowers must generally make their disclosure direct to the body they ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bruce Lieberman CARLSBAD, CA. – When it comes to paying the electric bill, most people don’t give it a second thought – it’s something that in effect is “baked in.” But across California and several other states, local governments increasingly are ...
Excerpts from Being and Being Bought, by Kajsa Ekis Ekman, Spinifex Press, 2013. Part 4 Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book. This is the fourth part of a synopsis and brief commentary of the book by Daphna ...
The Democracy Virus: China’s authoritarian political system enables a level of social surveillance and control that liberal democratic societies cannot match. The Chinese Government makes full use of the latest digital technology to both punish – and reward – its citizens. The plans it formulates cannot be challenged, or hindered. Where ...
Another day, another IPCA report on criminal conduct by policy. This time they kicked a child in the head when he was handcuffed:Police chased him and yelled out for him to stop. When he turned to face the police, he threatened them with a hammer. That's when the officers tasered ...
The investigation of two of the five parties in Parliament for fraud around their election donations has pushed the issue of party funding back into the spotlight. And while there are obvious things we can do to tighten up the donations regime - a much lower declaration threshold, realtime disclosure ...
While the south of New Zealand has been struggling with too much rain in recent days, here in the north we are so very short of it (though Saturday’s forecast looks promising). Basically, we have had almost none since Christmas.As someone who relies on rain to wash the car, ...
Former National Party MP Jami-Lee RossIt comes as no surprise that Jami-Lee Ross has been named as one of the defendants in the X2 $100,000 National Party donations case currently before the courts. Click bait journalists who were chaffing at the bit to discredit the former senior whip had already ...
Stand Clear! Winston Peters is encouraging voters to think of RNZ as belonging to “The Media Party”. He wants them to see it as a politically partisan institution with its own, vicious attack-dogs in the electoral fight. If he succeeds, it will be, and probably should be, the end of ...
"You're going to need a longer runway" Gratton et al explore the ongoing effects of upward-creeping temperatures on aviation in Greece in the period since 1955 at a range of airports in that country. For longer runways impacts are measurable but with little impact on operations. For airports with shorter runways, ...
In mid-December the Israeli secret police, the Shin Beit, revealed it had arrested dozens of Palestinian left-wing activists, including members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in the previous few months. Among those arrested was one of the central leaders of the PFLP, Khalida Jarrar. As ...
Former National Party chief whip Jami-Lee Ross is one of the four people charged over National's multiple fraudulent donations. How unsurprising. Meanwhile, just days ago National leader Simon Bridges was trying to pretend the charges were nothing to do with his party. Yeah, right. When your chief whip effectively publicly ...
If you've been watching FYI for a while, you'll have noticed that the police have a bad habit of demanding ID from requesters. They have apparently been repeatedly told to stop doing this by the Ombudsman, but we all know what law enforcement thinks of the law, so thye keep ...
Collateral Damage: For the Green Phoenix to be reborn, the funeral pyre so patiently assembled by its identity politicians over the course of many fractious years – but with growing intensity over the past three – first has to be ignited. The terrible probability, of course, is that, in setting ...
If you follow politics in New Zealand you've likely noticed that the right wing have been going on and on about the Coalition Government failing to reduce poverty. In fact they’ve been incessantly claiming, in the absence of any conclusive data, that poverty has been getting worse.Yesterday, NewstalkZB reported:Mike Hosking: ...
The Herald reported over the weekend that an Auckland business owner is being targeted with asset forfeiture laws over a workplace death:A workplace fatality has seen police use a law usually associated with drugs and organised crime to seize millions of dollars in assets from a business owner because of ...
Just days after talking about how people feel "squeezed" and promising tax and service cuts as a "solution", National is talking about cancelling a rise in the minimum wage if elected: National is considering scrapping the Government's planned minimum wage increase if it wins this year's election, the party's finance ...
Nobody thinks about the next century anymore. That at least is Sci-Fi writer William Gibson’s observation (in this BBC 4 short interview, starting at 1:43:50 ). He calls it “Futures Fatigue”, but isn’t judgemental about it. Gibson notes that in the 20th century speculation about the 21st (and beyond) was common. Now ...
A Labour government desperate for the numbers crawls into bed with Winston Peters. Winston ignores the law and secretly takes money under the table from someone. When it is exposed just months out from an election, he is investigated by the Serious Fraud Office. That's what happened back in 2008. ...
So the Serious Fraud Office has another secret $100,050 National Party donation before the Courts in a major scandal that looks set to quash any chances Simon Bridges had of winning the 2020 election.Yesterday, Newsroom reported:The Serious Fraud Office prosecution of four people over donations to the National Party involves ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Iceberg twice the size of Washington, D.C., breaks off Pine Island glacier in Antarctica Story Highlights: The Pine Island ...
Prof Philippa Howden-ChapmanHousing policy is building up to be the key election issue again. In this blog I reflect on the importance of the role of the New Zealand Government in improving access to affordable housing. I look at what the Government has been doing to increase quality public housing ...
Writing on The Spinoff, Danyl Mclauchlan argues that we have a vacuum in our political system, in that there is no longer an anti-establishment party anymore:I think there’s a vacuum in our political system. There are obvious problems with the status quo but no real critics offering reform. It’s a ...
Stuff today has a piece about the government discovering it has been oversubsidising polluters for a decade under the Emissions Trading scheme:The Government is pledging to urgently fix an issue within the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), after it emerged some polluters are likely being over-compensated with taxpayer-funded carbon credits. [...] ...
The Marlborough District Council, tired of public scrutiny, wants to increase the amount it charges for LGOIMA requests:The cost of requesting official information from Marlborough's government agency could almost double after a jump in "fishing expeditions". Charges could be raised from $60 to $100 an hour for information supplied by ...
When Winston Peters was caught money laundering donations and stalking journalists, the Greens were conspicuous by their silence. It was another example of how getting along with their government partners was eroding their values and their own reputation. It was obviously unsustainable, and so now James Shaw has finally spoken ...
I am among the most pro-free speech people I know. I don’t doubt there are others more strident than me, but I’m certainly up there. And my support for freedom of expression isn’t limited to opposition to government-imposed restrictions. It extends to a belief that employers should have limited powers ...
With over 69,000 confirmed cases and 1,600 deaths, here’s your round-up of the latest coronavirus news. New disease and virus have now officially been named On the 11th February, the WHO Director General announced a new name for the disease: COVID-19 which is short for coronavirus disease 2019. The naming ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Feb 9, 2020 through Sat, Feb 15, 2020 Editor's Pick ANALYSIS-Climate change opens up 'frontier' farmland, but at what cost to the planet?Climate change could expand farmland globally by ...
After cross-examination Jones knew he would lose the defamation case he took against film maker Renae Maihi. That’s why he threw in the towel. The weight of evidence was clearly against the old tycoon with the defense presenting fifty articles to confirm Jones’ racist views.Being unable to harass somebody into ...
Sprung! Former NZ First president, Lester Gray, chats with RNZ's Guyon Espiner in the carpark of a Tauranga shopping centre.(Photo supplied anonymously to NZ First and The BFD.)IT’S CLEAR THAT an important aspect of Jacinda Ardern’s political success is her willingness to seek – and take – advice. This ...
Ruth Cunningham, Charlotte Paul, Andrew MoorePublic health responses to infectious diseases such as COVID-19 require us to draw on our common humanity and be explicit about our values. Recognising this will help us make good decisions in difficult situations so that, for example, the need to impose restrictive measures ...
The Helen Clark Foundation has released its report on the housing crisis, and found that house-hoarders are to blame for it:Property investors are to blame for New Zealand's high house prices, a new research paper published by the Helen Clark Foundation says. [...] McArthur said previous attempts to address housing ...
The Abortion Legislation Committee has reported back on the Abortion Legislation Bill and recommended that it be passed with some amendments. Unfortunately, the latter include even more hoops to jump through for those seeking abortions after 20 weeks, including a time-wasting requirement to consult a second doctor. No-one casually seeks ...
Brexit is likely to be a disaster for the UK (how sad, never mind). But now that they're out of the EU, the latter has finaly taken the opportunity to blacklist one of their key tax havens:The Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory, is to be put on an EU ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, New Zealand First Deputy Leader A total delivery of 2,000 new Police Officers has been achieved. New Zealand First Deputy Leader, Fletcher Tabuteau attended the latest police graduation of Recruit Wing 335 in Porirua today. Mr Tabuteau said, “Increasing police numbers and boosting their resources was one of ...
Taupō District mayor David Trewavas has welcomed today’s announcement from regional economic development minister Shane Jones outlining $5.87m of funding for the re-development of the Taupō Airport. The bulk of the investment ($5 million) will come from the Provincial Growth Fund, while the rest will be from the New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has defended multi-million dollar provincial growth fund money for Northland water storage. The New Zealand First leader, along with Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones, were recently in Dargaville to announce up to $12.745 million PGF funding top-up for water storage initiatives in the ...
One of our most immediate priorities upon forming Government was to get people out of sleeping in cars, garages, or on the street and into safe and warm housing. Since then, we've made major progress towards breaking the cycle of homelessness, including expanding Housing First, building more state houses, and ...
Kids learn better with a full stomach. That's why we launched our Lunches in Schools programme, which is already providing free and healthy school lunches to thousands of children so they can focus on what's important - learning. ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP based in Clutha-Southland This afternoon to a crowd of over 100 people in Mataura -- Mark Patterson, New Zealand First List MP based in Clutha-Southland launched a parliamentary petition regarding the aluminium dross issue in Mataura, Southland. The petition asks that the ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Spokesperson for Finance, Fletcher Tabuteau has welcomed Statistics New Zealand’s latest report as a timely reminder of the value that this Coalition Government brings to every day New Zealanders: “This Coalition Government has meant a ...
Today New Zealand First made a pledge to campaign at the election to fund St John Ambulance the 90 per cent it has asked for. Government funding would allow St. John’s to achieve fully funded status. Leader of New Zealand First, Rt Hon Winston Peters publicly declared his determination to deliver ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order Newly released Police data shows once again the number of fleeing drivers have continued to skyrocket with a record 512 incidents occurring in December – almost tripling the number of incidents occurring just ten years ago, says New Zealand First Law and ...
While the Provincial Growth Fund has provided $2 million to set up temporary water supplies in Kaikohe and Kaitaia, Regional Economic Minister Shane Jones said he is greatly concerned that there are “issues” in implementing the projects. The Minister said the immediate solution was to pipe water from a bore ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP for Clutha-Southland NZ First is calling on Rio Tinto to accept its responsibilities to the Southland community and enable the immediate removal of the toxic Aluminium Dross from the Mataura Paper Mill site. New Zealand First List MP for Clutha-Southland, Mark Patterson ...
The Coalition Government has announced that a further $500,000 will be given to help residents in Southland and Otago to speed up recovery efforts from the floods. It follows prior government assistance of $200,000 earlier this month where the Southland Mayoral Relief Fund received $100,000 to support communities impacted by ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones was on RNZ’s Morning Report talking about the recent droughts in the Northland region and what the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is doing to alleviate its impact. The PGF recently announced a funding of $2 million for temporary water supplies to Kaikohe and Kaitaia, ...
Speaking to The Country’s Jamie Mackay, New Zealand First MP and Cabinet Minister Shane Jones talks water storage, plant-based meat imitation, and superstar Hollywood director James Cameron. While water storage may have its critics, Minister Jones defended the scheme by saying: “unless we invest and continue to invest” in this ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones is accusing northern iwi leaders of selling out Māori by voting for ideologically-driven court cases rather than practical steps to increase water supply. “I just think that iwi leaders who think that water issues are going to be solved by perpetually fighting in the ...
A dairy owner in St Kilda, Dunedin was delighted to hear that an attempted robbery of his establishment was foiled by a government-funded security system. Sean Lee was delighted at how well the anti-theft smoke system worked. When a knife-wielding man entered the store, the shop assistant immediately pressed a ...
Customs says it stopped more than three tonnes of illegal drugs coming into New Zealand last year. This includes 1,180kg of methamphetamine, 329kg of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine precursors, which could have been converted into 246kg of methamphetamine, 739kg and 6469 pills of MDMA or Ecstasy and 60kg of cocaine. Offshore, ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development Up to $2 million will be allocated from the Provincial Growth Fund to set up temporary water supplies in Kaikohe and Kaitaia where drought is biting hard, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. Drought conditions in Northland have led to ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Law and Order New Zealand First welcomes the deployment of an Eagle Police helicopter in Christchurch in what is a step towards fulfilling its long-standing goal to increase the use of police helicopters for the front line, particularly in addressing the scourge of fleeing drivers. Christchurch leads ...
It may have been the first sitting week of 2020, but our Government is already in full-swing - managing a strong economy, investing in infrastructure, and working to break the cycle of homelessness. Read below for all that, and more... ...
In a heated debate in Parliament, National's Deputy Leader Paula Bennett claimed that “nearly 1600 patched gang members have been added” since the Coalition Government took power. To illustrate her point, she altered a chart used by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to show her government’s progress in housing to instead ...
Speech by the Rt Hon Winston Peters at Parliament’s Opening 2020 "We all need insurance" This year New Zealanders are going to have a clear choice to make That choice is between: Optimism versus pessimism; More progress versus back to the future; Investment versus divestment; Unity versus division. New Zealand ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has slammed the Board of Auckland Airport following the airport's runway closing twice within two weeks due to maintenance. Around 2,000 passengers were affected by last week’s runway closures, according to 1NEWS. Another maintenance closure on January 24 saw two international flights and three domestic flights ...
A milestone has been reached with the graduation of more than 2,000 new Police officers since the Coalition Government took office in October 2017. Police Minister Stuart Nash says the graduation today of Wing 335 marks a surge of 2,023 new officers, and coincides with some significant breakthroughs against organised ...
Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister, Kris Faafoi, and the Minister of Education, Chris Hipkins, have welcomed a new cyber security qualification as a step towards countering cyber threats and keeping New Zealanders safe. Attending the launch of the new Level 6 Diploma of Cyber Security at Auckland’s Unitec Institute ...
Government Ministers today celebrated 20 years of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park/ Ko te Pataka kai o Tikapa Moana/ Te Moananui a Toi, and recognise there is much to celebrate and so much more to do to give nature a helping hand. Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage said “New Zealanders care deeply about nature.I want to ...
Prepared remarks on coronavirus by Finance Minister Grant Robertson to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and Massey University. Good morning ladies and gentlemen, The topic of this speech is the Budget 2020 priorities. But, given the considerable interest that I imagine is in the room about COVID-19 coronavirus, I do ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, e ngā rau rangatira ma. Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. Ni sa bula vinaka. Namaste Thank you Shamima, Hon. Minister Vuniwaqa, community leaders and Women’s Crisis Centre staff for your warm welcome. It’s an honour and privilege to officially ...
The Government has released a comprehensive response to ensuring New Zealanders get a fairer deal at the petrol pump. This follows the Commerce Commission fuel market study which found motorists were paying more than they should for petrol and includes: Fuel Market Bill drafting, to pass mid-year Industry consultation in ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, e ngā rau rangatira ma Tēnā koutou katoa Ni sa bula vinaka As-salaam alaikum It is a privilege to be here today. Thank you for welcoming us to your house of prayer. Thank you for your warmth. Thank you for greeting ...
Taupō Airport is to be upgraded and expanded through a $5.9 million Government funding boost, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. “Taupō Airport is the gateway to the Central North Island. It is essential for both keeping local people and businesses connected, but also to bring more people ...
The Minister of Housing Megan Woods has confirmed the Government is working with Rotorua Lakes District Council and Te Arawa for the second place-based assessment to better understand the housing and urban issues affecting the city. “Every New Zealander has a right to a warm, safe and secure place to ...
19 new community homes (in addition to 14 opened in December) delivered in Takanini, Auckland 500 people housed by CORT Housing Trust by end of March 2,290 new public housing homes delivered in Auckland (November 2017 – December 2019). Another nineteen new public housing homes are being delivered in Auckland, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker met today with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to discuss ways to strengthen ties between New Zealand and India. “India is a priority relationship for New Zealand. We share common democratic traditions, growing two-way trade, extensive people-to-people links, ...
Speech to the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) Delhi, India Wednesday 26 February 2020 [CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY] The Indo-Pacific: from principles to partnerships Distinguished guests, good afternoon and thank you for your invitation. It is good to be here at a time where New Zealand needs less of an introduction than ...
Tihei mauri ora Te Whare e tu nei Te Papa e takoto Tēnā korua No reira tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa Ni sa bula Vinaka It is a real pleasure to be here today, and to have the honour of addressing you all. If you’ll indulge me I’m ...
Improved air quality to support better health and environmental wellbeing is the focus of proposed amendments to air quality regulations, says the Associate Minister for the Environment, Hon Nanaia Mahuta. “Although our air quality is good in most places, during winter certain places have spikes in air pollution, mainly from ...
The remote eastern Bay of Plenty community of Raukokere will receive a Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) investment of $10.6 million for a water storage facility, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says. “This is great news for the rural community. The landowner, Te Whānau a Maruhaeremuri Hapū Trust, will use ...
The Lake Ōkaro lakebed has transferred to Te Arawa Lakes Trust, Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis announced today. Kelvin Davis joined Te Arawa at Te Papaiōuru Marae in Rotorua to celebrate the reinstatement of Te Arawa Lakes Trust as a key decision maker over the bed ...
New legislation is being proposed which aims to reduce the stress and financial hardship caused by late payments to small businesses. The Minister for Small Business Stuart Nash is considering stricter rules around payment practices between businesses. “Late payments from large organisations to smaller suppliers can be crippling for these ...
A new partnership programme between the New Zealand Police and Fiji Police will focus on combatting transnational organised crime and enhancing investigative skills, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on the first day of her visit to Fiji. The programme will see: · New Zealand Institute of Environmental Science and Research ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama met today in Suva, and renewed their commitment to continue to strengthen Fiji-New Zealand relations on a foundation of shared values and equal partnership. The Prime Ministers acknowledged the kinship between Fijians and New Zealanders, one that has endured over ...
A $19.9 million investment from the Provincial Growth Fund will help develop essential infrastructure for an industrial hub in the Bay of Plenty town of Kawerau, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says. “The funding will go to three projects to further develop the Putauaki Trust Industrial Hub, an industrial ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing $8.3 million on a roading package for Mahia that will lead to greater and wider economic benefits for the region and beyond, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced at an event in Mahia today. The $8.3 million announced consists of: $7 ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed new reporting showing the Coalition Government is on track to meet its child poverty targets, with 18,400 children lifted out of poverty as a result of the Families Package. Stats NZ has released the first set of comprehensive child poverty statistics since the Government ...
Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter today announced that Bikes in Schools facilities have been rolled out to 20,000 more kiwi kids under this Government. She made the announcement at the opening of a new bike track at Henderson North School in Auckland. “Bikes in Schools facilities give kids ...
Benefit settings rise in line with wages as of 1 April Main benefits will increase by over 3 percent, instead of 1.66 percent, on 1 April with the Government’s decision to annually adjust benefit rates to increases in the average wage. The Minister for Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni, said ...
Strengthening New Zealand’s political and business ties with India will be the focus of Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters’ and Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker’s visit to India this week. The Ministers are co-leading a high level business delegation to India to support increased people and economic engagement ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio continues to champion for greater Pacific participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers with the announcement of the Toloa Awards, with 8 recipients of the Toloa Community Fund and 13 Toloa Tertiary Scholarships. “The Toloa Programme encourages more Pacific peoples ...
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage has extended the date for people to have their say on proposed changes to improve management of whitebait across New Zealand. Submissions were due to close on 2 March 2020 but will now remain open until 9am on Monday 16 March 2020. “I have ...
The endangered toroa/Antipodean albatross has new international protection for its 100,000km annual migration, thanks to collaborative efforts led by New Zealand, Australia and Chile. Today, 130 countries agreed to strictly protect Antipodean albatross at the Conference of Parties on the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild ...
No sales to under-18-year-olds No advertising and sponsorship of vaping products and e-cigarettes No vaping or smokeless tobacco in smokefree areas Regulates vaping product safety comprehensively, - including devices, flavours and ingredients Ensure vaping products are available for those who want to quit smoking Vaping regulation that balances ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little will travel to Berlin tomorrow to represent New Zealand at a high-level summit on nuclear disarmament. This year, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) celebrates 50 years since it entered into force. “New Zealand’s proud record and leadership on nuclear disarmament is unwavering, so it’s important we are present ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will visit two of New Zealand’s most important Pacific partners, Fiji and Australia, next week. The visit to Fiji will be the first by a New Zealand Prime Minister in four years and comes during the 50th anniversary of Fijian independence and diplomatic relations between our ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little and New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball, have today announced the appointment of the Chief Commissioner of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the location, and the membership of the Establishment Advisory Group. Colin Carruthers QC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of the CCRC for an ...
Māori Development Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta and Agriculture Minister Hon Damien O’Connor co-announced the first horticultural finalists for the Ahuwhenua Trophy celebrating excellence in the Māori agricultural sector. The three finalists are Ngai Tukairangi Trust from Mt Maunganui, Otama Marere Trust from Tauranga, and Hineora Orchard Te Kaha 15B Ahuwhenua ...
A new kete of resources to strengthen support for students with dyslexia will provide extra tools for the new Learning Support Coordinators (LSCs) as they start in schools, Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin announced today. The Minister launched the kete in Wellington this morning, at the first of three induction ...
The Government continues to make progress on a fairer and more secure rental market for renters and landlords with the First Reading of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill and its referral to the Social Services and Community Select Committee. “Now is the opportunity for landlords, tenants and others who want ...
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Hon James Marape will visit New Zealand from 21-25 February, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “New Zealand and Papua New Guinea have a warm and friendly relationship. I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Marape here and strengthening the relationship between our two countries,” ...
Thousands of children have begun receiving a free lunch on every day of the school week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. The Government’s free and healthy school lunch programme is under way for 7,000 students at 31 schools in Hawke’s Bay / Tairāwhiti and Bay of Plenty / Waiariki, extending ...
The Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni today announced a new approach that continues to broaden the Government’s social sector focus from a narrow, investment approach to one centred on people and wellbeing. Minister Sepuloni said redefining the previous approach to social investment by combining science, data and lived experience ...
The Government is strengthening the Protected Disclosures Act to provide better protection for whistle blowers, Minister of State Services Chris Hipkins said today. “The Protected Disclosures Act is meant to encourage people to speak up about serious wrongdoing in the workplace and protect them from losing their jobs or being ...
Nǐn hǎo (Hello in Mandarin). Xīn Nián Kuài Lè (Happy New Year in Mandarin) Néi Hóu (Hello in Cantonese). Sun Nin Fai Lok (Happy New Year in Cantonese) Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you for your invitation to attend this celebration today. I would like to acknowledge ...
Sky Sport News presenters Kate King and Goran Paladin deliver the latest news of Kiwi sporting women at home and around the globe. *WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE* Hurdler Portia Bing has reinvented herself in a bid to make the Tokyo Olympics and take another step towards putting last year's disqualification at ...
Embarrassingly for the Department of Conservation, a scheduled ministerial announcement last year was postponed. David Williams reports A much-delayed project to better protect the Mackenzie Basin’s stunning landscapes and bolster biodiversity has a new boss. In the 2018 Budget, Conservation and Lands Minister Eugenie Sage announced $2.6 million to find ...
Trying to reduce drownings - and bring on a new generation of surfers - the Wave Warriors teach kids from low-decile schools water safety wrapped in a surf lesson. Eight-year-old Athena Talavai is less than half the height of the surfboard she’s expected to stand on, and probably only a quarter of the weight. She ...
The decision to give Ihumātao the highest heritage listing available sends a strong signal to the Government and Auckland Council, write Dr Frances Hancock and Nicola Short Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (HNZPT) has upgraded the heritage listing of the Ōtuataua Stonefields Reserve and included adjacent and long-contested land at ...
An anonymous Department of Conservation staff member, who wishes to be known only as the Carefree Vigilante, provides a handy guide to dealing with menstruation, and menstrual products, in the wild.This post was first published on the Department of Conservation blog.I’ve got six or seven rational fears and about 900 ...
There is a surge of cases of the virus outside China. Australia says it expects Covid-19 to turn into a global pandemic. We cannot afford to panic in New Zealand. But we must prepare, writes Dr Siouxsie Wiles.It’s now clear to me that the new coronavirus responsible for Covid-19 is ...
The Serious Fraud Office is once again investigating a headline-generating case. But is it prosecuting the right crimes - or just the winnable ones? Compared with previous famous finance company collapses involving hundreds of millions of dollars the numbers are small; sitting MP Jami-Lee Ross and three Auckland businessmen face SFO charges ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government would be looking for the private sector to put in four or five times as much as it invests in research and development of particular technologies to reduce emissions, Energy Minister Angus Taylor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Two issues are currently presenting the Morrison government with fast-moving targets. One is the fallout from the coronavirus, where the picture has been altering on a near-daily basis. The other is very different – the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The federal government has activated its emergency response plan to deal with a spread of the coronavirus locally, in anticipation of it becoming a “pandemic”. It is also considering limited assistance for those hardest hit ...
In an apparent change of tune, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expects to raise the topic of climate change with Australian counterpart Scott Morrison tomorrow. ...
The Government says it wants to protect small businesses from getting shafted by big companies who don’t or won’t pay their bills on time. The move can’t come too soon. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Muecke, Clinical senior lecturer in Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Adelaide Humans are physiologically hardwired to love and seek out sweet things. It’s an ancient survival mechanism that evolved to prepare our bodies for periods of fasting when food supplies ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marilyn McMahon, Deputy Dean, School of Law, Deakin University The NSW government has just introduced a bill that will, among other significant reforms, make it easier for a jury to be informed about the prior convictions of a person on trial for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marilyn McMahon, Deputy Dean, School of Law, Deakin University The NSW government has just introduced a bill that will, among other significant reforms, make it easier for a jury to be informed about the prior convictions of a person on trial for ...
By RNZ Pacific Jacinda Ardern has paid tribute to the three Fijians who died in last year’s Christchurch mosque shootings. Ardern spoke today at Lautoka Mosque as part of her trip to Fiji to remember Imam Hafiz Musa Patel, Ashraf Ali Razak and Ashraf Ali, who died almost a ...
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Dr Bryce Edwards.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won power in 2017 on the basis of statements such as “My goal is to eradicate child poverty in New Zealand”. The Government’s progress on child poverty will be under scrutiny at this year’s general election, but progress is slow, and many are claiming ...
New Zealand King Salmon has had a better-than-expected first half, driven by record prices for its fish products. The Marlborough-based salmon farmer's net profit rose nearly 38 percent to $20.8 million in the six months to December, with the average sale price up 6.6 percent. However, revenue of $84.2m was ...
Reform of superannuation is overdue, with new figures showing more than 30,000 superannuitants are earning more than $100,000 per year. This number is growing fast as more people keep working past 65. More than 126,000 superannuitants (17% of the total) are earning ...
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Police acknowledge the findings of the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) in relation to decision-making in a sexual assault investigation in Palmerston North. The IPCA found that the decision-making was sound, and there was no conflict of interest ...
Thursday, February 27: Greenpeace has published an open letter calling on the organisers of music festival WOMAD to dump oil industry sponsorship. Todd Energy and Austrian oil giant OMV are on the bill again this year, despite persistent criticism from ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Beirman, Senior Lecturer, Tourism, University of Technology Sydney The coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) has now reached more than 80,000 recorded cases, largely concentrated in China, with a death toll over 2,700 and rising. There are few signs the epidemic is abating. In ...
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Open mike 02/01/2020 
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Well that was underwhelming….indeed a non event.
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/103141/top-leader-geoff-simmons-wants-us-focus-meaningful-issues-when-we-talk-about
Would you like to share why it's no good.
Hes making good sense to me .
Capitalism is just a tool for getting things done we just need government to set good boundaries and find ways to redistribute the goodies.
Why?….
"In my previous article I set out how the eco-socialist movement is fixated on the claim that we can’t have exponential growth on a finite planet. I argued they are wrong.
Ultimately though it was a technical answer to a stupid question. In this article I will set out why I think the question is stupid, and what I think the important conversations are to have"
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/103140/top-leader-geoff-simmons-argues-eco-socialist-claim-we-cant-we-cant-keep-growing
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/103141/top-leader-geoff-simmons-wants-us-focus-meaningful-issues-when-we-talk-about
"I don’t want to speak for a whole profession here, so I will speak for myself. That said, I think many economists would agree with what I have to say.
I completely accept we live on a planet with finite resources. Thankfully I doubt we will ever use them all because they eventually become too expensive to extract. And usually, thanks to the wonders of human ingenuity, alternatives become available.
Nonetheless, there are two ways that exponential growth is possible even with limited resources: productivity growth and inflation."
…..you need to ask?
Er, yes – we do. It looks like you don't agree that productivity growth and inflation allow exponential growth within a finite system, but he's provided a lengthy explanation for his claim that it does, whereas you've just provided an assertion: "underwhelming….indeed a non event." That doesn't give us much to go on for why you think he's wrong.
he has provided nothing except an unsubstantiated opinion….and contradicts himself into the bargain.
Kindly point to where he has demonstrated that critical resources are not finite or that their extraction can continue ad infinitum or even demonstrated viable substitutes for said critical resources?
"The eco-socialist movement argues that we can’t have exponential growth on a finite planet"….does not refer to finacialisation (as he must know, though given the quality of the articles perhaps he does not) but real resources that underpin the lives and systems of the human economy.
Good grief
Why ? it had some salient points and was not meant to be an economic thesis
i swear i had read that same creed already, especially this line here '
and that phrase along to me indicates taht while he spins a nice yarn (and hopefully gets paid by the word for it) he is still advocating that nothing much should be done, lest we throw out captialism with the bathwater.
and not one of those points addressed exponential growth on a finite planet
Take a look at the tables on this page, particularly where it breaks down the numbers between the advanced/eurozone/developing economies:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_world_product
What stands out is that the the Eurozone is growing at a very modest 1.6%, while it's the developing nations (lead almost certainly by China, India and parts of Africa) that are leading the charge with growth rates over 4%.
This makes sense, as I said before it's not the top 'golden' 1b people who are expanding rapidly, it's the other 6b who are rapidly catching up. Are you going to go and tell them they have to remain poor?
The other factor that is often overlooked is that the demographics of most developed nations are heavily weighted towards older people, who typically consume less than younger people building families, homes and careers. And overall it's now thought that total human population will peak within a century and decline thereafter. Human growth … once we achieve a certain threshold of development … is absolutely not 'exponential' or 'unlimited'.
Uncritically parroting 'unlimited growth on a finite planet' is a simplistic and inadequate slogan; growth is neither unlimited, nor are resources finite. The far more interesting questions is … what kind of progress do we want?
Because progress and growth are not the same thing. Up until this point in human history because most people were so deeply impoverished, they were usually tightly linked … more of something almost always meant a progressive improvement. Catch one animal good, catch two … feast time! It's bit of instinctive calculus that's deeply embedded in us.
In the past 400 years however a potent mix of science, tech and capitalism have largely solved the impoverishment problem. This means that growth and progress are no longer necessarily so closely coupled. Now it's possible to have too much of what was once considered a good thing. But our instincts and social systems have yet to catch up.
This is the political conversation Geoff is touching on, what do we really mean by progress, and how should we measure it? Especially when 'growth' is no longer the best measure of it.
The conversation I got from Simmons was that the New Zealand economy can look forward to stagnation, so chin up, look at Japan – they haven't grown for decades and the sky hasn't fallen in. If you wanted us to address the economic and therefore chronic social problems in your town, you're out of luck.
In that I suspect Simmons is being a tad pessimistic, of all the developed nations NZ is unusual in three respects; one is that we still have a rectangular demographic pyramid, in other words we still have enough young people to sustain current levels of activity for at least another generation or two.
The other is Kiwisaver; it's impact is cumulative and with time it's impact is going to be felt more deeply on the local economy over the next few decades.
The third factor is our high comparative political and social stability; we will be increasingly seen as a desirable , reliable and trustworthy nation. This is probably our biggest asset.
Still either way you cut it, growth for it's own sake is no longer the ideal. In this I think everyone, Simmons and everyone here would agree. But what do we replace it with? Certainly the Japanese have shown it's possible to have an advanced and functioning society with little to no overt growth; and in that light it would be interesting to see in what ways they have managed to progress in these decades? Did they simply mark time, or have they improved life in other ways?
If growth is no longer the priority, then shifting attention to our chronic social problems could well become a higher priority.
Orange glow and hazy yellow skys.
It seems that the smog from OZ is creeping up the North Island.
And up into the Pacific
Half a billion animals perish in Australian fires and now one hell of a picture of a humanitarian crisis as thousands have been given 24hr notice to leave – no food, water, or power
Could it be said that entire species have been lost because of refusal to fund firefighters in rural areas + acknowledge climate change/climate manipulation? I think so.
Heck, ever thought how NZ will fare in a fire like that? Cause our rural fire fighters for the most part are unpaid under appreciated voluntary fire fighters.
And the animals that died, died because of Greed for the most part. The rural vollies just can't keep up. Even if they showered money on them today it would not change a thing.
But then i guess its cheaper for government to expect the population to pick up the slack privatly, hold bake sales for new trucks and such rather then employ, train, and pay them. You can have tax cuts or you can have funded, well trained and well equipped emergency services.
Had a little taster with the recent Nelson Tasman Pigeon Valley fire in February, thousands evacuated and volunteer firefighters brought in from all over.
yep.
My partner is a volly 🙂 and we are literally just hanging on barely. One reason so far we got lucky is that we in NZ now tend to throw all resources at a fire to prevent it from spreading. And so far luck has been on our side. So far.
WE should all be scared.
One hopes that the Australian Navy is coming along to the party to help evacuate these people. Cause the only way out for them – it seems – is via the water.
Can't bear to look at your first link A @ 4. Too distressing.
Yesterday Scott Morrison made the most appalling speech ever… apart from his gaffe about the bushfires being a back-drop to the cricket, he also said this – and I quote from memory:
Still denying Climate Change! What is wrong with the Aussie voters. Take your collective heads out of the sand and stop voting neanderthals into power.
Three years back we were driving down the relatively remote Henty Highway in VIC on an extreme fire day. At one point we stopped near a farm gate, I remember leaning on it; it was too hot to touch. The Grampians were barely a km away, yet in the heat driven wind and dust we could barely see them. The eucalypt forest behind us stank of volatile oils; we had this very strong sense we should not be there, one slight spark and it was going to explode. It's not an experience you could have in NZ.
Here is a particularly good article on the conditions that lead up to extreme bushfire days.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-24/what-makes-a-horror-fire-danger-day/10685918
It's the best parts of Australia that are burning down … we visited the SE Coast a year or so back; we have very fond memories of it. Places like Mallacoota are much loved gems and seeing this happen is tough. And I suspect the sheer intensity of these fires is causing irreparable damage; the landscape is not going to recover quickly or easily.
Still Australians have grown up with bushfires. It's remarkable working with them how unconcerned they can be about them, even ones that are quite local. I remember standing outside our factory looking at one burning about 10km away … no-one was wildly interested. Australia does burn … it's a fact of life here.
What is hard to convey is that the nature of the fire is changing, in scale, intensity and length of season. Some years are just going to be worse than others and there isn't a fixed pattern. Is this year going to be a tipping point? A lot will depend on how well the media handle the aftermath; if they can convince that these fires are not 'normal' and follow up intelligently I think it will be.
Is this year going to be a tipping point? A lot will depend on how well the media handle the aftermath; if they can convince that these fires are not 'normal' and follow up intelligently I think it will be.
I don't think so. There have been worse bushfires. 2009 springs to mind. Bear in mind that Australia accounts for only 1.3% of global emissions so climate change won't be seriously affected by whatever Australia does. If the biggest emitters like China, India, Russia, Japan and the US get their act together, then progress might be possible. But that probably won't happen anytime soon.
https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/each-countrys-share-co2-emissions
Like everything to do with climate change … that 1.3% number is complicated.
I agree no-one can claim unequivocally that this year’s fires will change the political landscape; but there is no doubt that the ground has shifted in the decade since 2009.
Do you mean the 2009/10 fire season that was something like 15% the size of fires this year?
I'm surprised you're unsure of what bushfires I'm referring to, the deadliest in Australian history. But, yes, there have been others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Saturday_bushfires
https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2011/11/the-worst-bushfires-in-australias-history/
Depending on how one arbitrarily groups hundreds or thousands of fires over the season, deadliest is one thing – and like in most types of disasters, the death toll has been reduced due to those hard-earned lessons.
The scale of the fires this season seems to be about the largest on record, though. And that's the bit related to climate change, in all reasonable probability.
And yet Australia is the largest exporter of coal
If they left it lying around the fires could be even bigger! 🙂
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_in_Australia
Pretty much all of the mines are open cut with some underground. so unlike peat bog fires I fail to see how these current bush fires would be bigger.
Smiley means smile.
Yes, the Aussie media have a big role to play now. Lets hope they are up to it without fear nor favour.
I recall you telling us that story of the drive through a tinder dry Victoria. If I remember correctly you jumped in the car and got out of there poste haste, hearts in your mouths wondering if you were going to make it.
Yes, there has been complacency in the Aussie psyche over bushfires – the "she'll be right mate. We've been having them since God made little apples. We know how to handle em."
What they have got face up to is there is a new and terrifying element to them now. To begin with, they are going to happen on this scale more frequently than has been the case in the past and – as you rightly point out – over an increasingly lengthy bushfire season. It will eventually reach the point when they are occurring almost all year round.
The first thing they've got to do is toss out this Liberal led govt. Their mindset is such they are not equipped to even understand the situation, let alone take the actions necessary to minimise the effects.
Aussie media have been playing their part all along.
When everyone realised that the phrase "hopes and prayers" was blatantly code for SFA … let's put it this way, it's not just cooked koalas, ScoMo's burned up a lot of political capital these last few weeks.
You can get conditions like that here Red. In 2001 in Marlborough our the fire index hit the mid 1100s, similar to as bad as Australia gets, it is a measure of humidity, fuel, heat, wind and a few other things. On Boxing Day there was two quite large fires, both started by muppets the first one was a out of townie arriving at his block and deciding to mow it with a tractor, something a local would not do in a million years and the biggest one was a casual cigarette butt which took 4 days to control and weeks to extinquish completely.
Our saving grace is that we do not have gum tree forests, which are essentially petroleum fires as it is the oil/air mixture burning ahead of the fire's ground front and that generally we rarely have "dry " thunder storms to start them, as well as a fair few brilliant helicopter pilots to get to them quickly.
BTW, in the biggie US satellite pictures identified the sq metre it started in and the car the cigarette came from but as we don't have number plates on car rooves there wasn't enough evidence for a stupidity charge.
Measuring the meme moments,signal to noise.
I was looking at https://ourworldindata.org/ just yesterday. Much of what they are saying underpins the case I've been making here for a while now:
This is a vital point; too much of our political debate is shaped by a media with a warped agenda, driven not by principles or truth, but clicks and eyeballs. Outrage, sex and crime sell advertising dollars, but fail miserably to inform us.
This kind of data is now available in quite a few places, and it will take a bit of time to discover how trustworthy they are. All sources have their biases, even if what they say is true, often its what they leave unspoken which is harder to spot.
Still in principle this is how I see the great debates of the next decade being shaped, driven by global scale data, intelligently analysed and well presented.
oh look, it seems like the panama canal is broken. Its running out of water
https://sputniknews.com/amp/latam/202001011077917429-panama-canal-reportedly-suffering-from-major-water-shortage-lacks-over-40-of-needed-volume/?__twitter_impression=true
Just quietly wondering how many people will see your link and reckon to themselves that you're some kind of Russian stooge spinning Putin fake news. Won't be believed unless and until it's reported by such august bodies as the BBC, CNN, WaPo or NYT…at which point, anything being reported will be believed 🙂
And sorry if that wee speculative observation and rant detracts from you sign posting yet another example of how we've fucked up this wonderful rock in space that's been our world.
I don't actually believe in any of the 'fake news ' bullshit as all news has some aspect of truth to it, and then it has an ideological spin to it. And rather then discuss the actual news we are supposed to discuss the political spin. And i can take your comment and turn it around and say it has to be reported on RT or what nots as some wont believe CNN et al. 🙂
And for what its worth, someone considering me a "Russian stooge spinning Putin fake news' would be a nice counterpoint to the 'globalists' 'killary supporter' indentity politics supporter (aka woman) and all the other shit that some here have thrown at me, simply because what i say might not support their own narrative or simply because outspoken people that don't subscribe to people worship and party worship are 'verboten'.
So i post my links, and people can click on it, read it, believe their own eyes or wait for someone to confirm their biases.
“All news has an aspect of truth to it” except for the moon landings never happening because they were filmed in a studio !
Here's a more "worthy" rendering of the same report, presume AFP will suffice.
https://www.france24.com/en/20191231-panama-marks-20-years-in-charge-of-canal-faces-climate-threat
The precarious nature of water flow in the Panama Canal has been known for a long time, item below from 2014, and can remember reading about it being a limiting factor when the expansion was happening.
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/aug/14/climate-change-panama-canal-water-shipping-closures
Oh. I know it's been reported by various outlets.
The reasoning behind my comment (if "reasoning" is the right word) was, that like Sabine, I'm completely over the crap of people evaluating the veracity of stuff solely on whether or not it comes from a source that they can connect (in their own minds) back to a Russia/Kremlin/Putin source…before using whatever supposed "Russian connection" they can jig up as a smear against the person presenting "Russian tainted" information/news.
You'll see it all through reactions posted to the standard if a link is from Russia Today, or if an argument/point of view has also, and even coincidentally, been aired by Russia Today or Sputnik or MintPress etc.
Meanwhile, many of those same people will uncritically and forcibly push even the most ridiculous lines that come from any "anonymous sources" used, shared, boosted and merry-go-rounded by the BBC, CNN, Washington Post, NYT Guardian et al
When people cite/quote (here), they’re required to attribute to their source for a number of (good) reasons. One downside, however, is others choosing to disregard and dismiss the content/message for no other reason than the source/messenger.
Yeah, nah.
It far too often goes way beyond simply "ignoring" (which would be fine btw) and is used to launch off on personal attacks and smears that pull in 'support' from a second person and a third person because (and this is an important part of the dynamic) the target is not sufficiently and/or ideologically aligned with the gathering mob, who see an opportunity to gas light and goad that (they hope) will get a reaction that will result in the target copping a ban and never coming back.
I've seen it happen over and over and over again. And protecting a person who is being set upon like that is well nigh impossible. I know that, because I've tried, both as a commentator and as a moderator.
Very good points, thank you.
Mob behaviour and pile-on are impossible to predict (except in hindsight!) and control. Yet, they are hugely problematic, as you say, and I find them intensely frustrating.
Because I’m usually not au fait (i.e. completely out of my depth and thus out of my comfort zone) with the topics that are mostly associated with these behaviours, I stay out of these threads, as a commenter and as Moderator.
Banning the usual suspects, who tend to be the mob/mob-leaders and regulars here, would stifle the flow of comments and could kill the TS community. I’m not keen on a totalitarian approach to moderation.
It’s a reoccurring problem that feeds on past exchanges, i.e. there’s usually (a) history and some commenters ‘have form’.
I confess that sometimes it is easiest for me as a Moderator to remove the single commenter (even when they are/play the ‘victim’) from the equation to restore some peace here. I know it is not (always) the right thing to do but ‘pragmatic’ reasons take over sometimes.
Weka also mentioned recently her (unsuccessful) attempts to induce a culture shift and I guess appealing to/for self-moderation is fruitless 🙁
Maybe we should try to discuss it in the back-end. Moderation is very hands-off (light & lenient) and I’d like to think we are in the ‘sweet spot’ but there’s always room for improvement.
Banning the usual suspects, who tend to be the mob/mob-leaders and regulars here, would stifle the flow of comments and could kill the TS community.
The flip side of that coin being that allowing their continued presence has diminished the scope and breadth of political opinion presented on these pages over the years. (Go back and look at the comments beneath old posts. You'll see a marked difference in the quality of individual comments and the vitality of the comments sections in general)
Yes, I know what you mean, I think.
Many commenters of/on this site have been here for a long time and the pool of Authors is smaller too, I reckon. Do we need fresh blood?
I don’t know where we have gone ‘wrong’, if at all, or what we could do better, if anything.
Judging by the comments on other (NZ) blog sites I’d like to think that TS is still (!) one of the better ones – maybe it’s a sign of the times; civic-political engagement, in both numbers and level, is also dwindling and not just here in NZ.
And protecting a person who is being set upon like that is well nigh impossible. I know that, because I've tried, both as a commentator and as a moderator.
Same experience here, it's intensely frustrating and disappointing. The other aspect I always struggled with, that while as a left-wing site, right wingers were always going to face a head wind … in the end it became a scything machine. All but one or two are gone.
I always believed moderation had to be even-handed, in that it must treat people the same regardless of their political orientation or opinions. Or at least to the extent reasonable, perfection being impossible. Certainly I would defend anyone commenting here in good faith, even if I disagreed with them intensely. Can anyone remember the indefatigable 'burt' who could play comment ping pong for days if needed. Aggravating as hell, but he played his end of the game well and it's a shame we've lost people like him.
Or Wayne Mapp, we're fortunate indeed to have someone with his background even bother to comment here, yet far too often the response to him is surly and dismissive, with no attempt to engage the point. Or the ghastly pile-on's that Pete George gets almost every time; again no-one has to agree with him, but he's a long standing blogger in good faith. Yet some people see his name in the thread and behave like dogs fighting over a bloody chunk of meat.
Another way this shows up, extremist comments, sometime advocating violence or mass punishment, from so-called lefties slide under the radar with little to no response. An equivalent comment from a right winger would get jumped on.
Even-handedness is an important aspect of fairness and too often we’ve fallen short.
I’m guilty of the things you mention and I’m not proud of it 🙁
Moderators can’t be everywhere all the time and some things are easier to spot than others (yeah, I know this is a weak ‘excuse’).
Sometimes, others point out bad behaviour/comments and make moderators pay attention. I’ve found this helpful but I know that it has also been used to try shut up others.
I’d like to think that we are quite alert to comments inciting violence but mass punishment is ambiguous to me; can you please provide an example(s)?
I might give this some more thought and possibly do some experimenting with moderation – I have no illusions though as this cannot be solved by one person.
@RL…and I'm not even going to mention he who eventually (in comments, not in real life) filled the monster's shoes many around here fashioned for him to wear. lol – see how self censorship works? 🙂
I don't know about a burt on here but used to see a burt online somewhere else. I don't if he/she is still there or the lunacy got her/him.
Burt has been here recently (if it is the same Burt) and received a rebuke (from me – was fed up): /open-mike-14-12-2019/#comment-1673197.
@ Peter.
And that's exactly the type of bullshit and imprecise comment that's not needed. Generally speaking, it's neither smart nor funny to suggest someone is insane or may have succumbed to lunacy. You might contend that what someone says is nuts (and back it up in some way 😉 ), but that's entirely different from seeming to wholesale throw them into a jar marked "lunatic", yes?
If it’s the case you were trying to allude to the lunacy of on-line communities, then really, you need to be more clear on that front given the nature of what you’re saying.
Yes, good comment, Bill!
Before I rebuked Burt, I did look into his recent history here, including moderation, as I did not recognise him as a commenter. In other words, I took my lead from other Moderators …
This song from 1973 by the Scottish group Stealers Wheels immediately springs to mind .
Posting for the enjoyment of all moderators this hot sunny afternoon:
Ta 🙂
@Incognito. Good grief man … your doing a fine job, better than I managed.
[deep bow]
Oh and I looked at that Burt comment you hammered /open-mike-14-12-2019/#comment-1673197.
I suspect burt was channeling the infamous Michael Cullen remark from at least a decade ago using the same words. Burt was probably being too clever by half and his reference lost in the mists of time, which is why it looked so out of place … just suggesting.
No-one expects moderators to be omniscient 🙂
Roll another one,
Just like the other one.
You been holding onto it,
And I sure would like a hit!
Which leads me to question, how is it something considered safe and saleable in one place be dangerous and requiring possible jail in another perhaps the law is an ass.
And further in a country such as our with the usage being quite common that none of those responsible for maintaining law were not at some function this festive season and not see a number of the group step out , form a circle and pass around a smoke, did they just turn away and deny that its happening, yet later this year take pleasure in destroying the life of some young person doing the same thing .
I find this quite confusing in a country that prides it's self on the low level of corruption.
Ah, but which law is the ass – the one legalising, or the one prohibiting?
The "low level of corruption" thing is a joke – we have loads of it, we just are "perceived" as having low levels. Not just mj, but everything from under-the-table contractors to big companies being let off charges because they're also big political donors. Small companies get pummelled for shit large companies have done for decades, and at worst view the (bargained-down) fines as still being cheaper than running an honest and safe operation.
Sometimes, buying time is the best option.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/117059423/kauri-dieback-11-waitkere-ranges-tracks-to-open-this-summer
Single issue nutters.
Nothing on [the] BBC, CNN, WaPo or NYT …
/
https://sputniknews.com/viral/202001011077917612-cigar-shaped-ufo-video-arizona/
…oh..
/
While PM Scott Morrison plays with his balls at the Cricket, Australia burns.
Yothu Yindi – Timeless Land
(Music Video)
Scott Morrison criticised for hosting cricket match while fires rage.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2020/01/australia-bushfires-scott-morrison-criticised-for-hosting-cricket-match-while-fires-rage.html
Kia Ora Newshub.
Condolences to all the Tangata who lost Whanau in the Bush fires.
Flooding in Indonesia climate change global warming.
It looked like the Great White Shark was caught in a net I could see the lines on its head from the net there are callous people everywhere.
Some tourists are quite careless while on holiday in Aotearoa.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
I could smell fire a few days ago.????
The Cook Islands experiencing flooding global warming is part of the cause.
That's the way Origin Earth selling milk the old way in Glass bottles.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Newshub.
That's awesome people saving Torohara.
I remember that hailstorm. Maybe in times of plenty they should donate some 2 grade fruit to the poor people.
That's great the endangered blackbilled Gull making a colony in a Ahurri estuary.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Wainakua great idea big whare were all whanau can live together.
The Chinese were treated badly by the Crown in the early days. Yes Maori Culture and Chinese Culture has a lot in common.
Korone marae having a whanau day they had a Pa Wars sports event at Pokai I wanted to go but no.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Newshub.
I got a tx and photo from Taramaki Makaru of the black out from the smoke.
We only have one environment.
Looks like PEE fueled hate going down in Tauranga.
The way that they fixed the Railways in Wellington is awesome. That's how all road work should be run.????.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Yes we must look after our mother Earth's environment.
Its good to see the Australian natives waiata.
Kawarau sounds like they need to up grade there town water supply infrastructure.
That’s a good idea a charity for the tamariki in need up North.
Ka kite Ano