Well put, was listening to the whining on RNZ this morning, nothing funny at all about family and animal lives being disrupted…but, I have not heard the air raid siren wind up like that since Auckland Chamber of Commerce rep Michael Barnett and Queenstown business reps performances during COVID lockdowns.
A debate over transport included an emotional speech from Dunedin’s non-driving mayor Aaron Hawkins as he spoke about the impact of the Canterbury floods on people's lives…..
….In a nod to his own non-driving, Hawkins admitted it was inconvenient not to drive.
But that was less inconvenient than being separated from family, friends, business and social connections by the sort of weather events witnessed in Canterbury over recent days.
“Oh God, sorry,” the mayor said, visibly emotional,
He wanted to acknowledge those flood-affected communities, “because that is what we are talking about when we talk about seeing more frequent and more intense extreme weather events as a result of having a less stable climate”.
…..The projects in the 10-year-plan include park and ride facilities at Mosgiel and Burnside ($10.3 million), a parking management and guidance system ($9.5m), a harbour arterial route ($16.6m), a bus lane for Princes St ($6.6m), and bike hubs ($2.5m)
Worsening climate is baked in now whatever Hawkins does at a local level about emissions reduction. No reason not to do it of course – but a lot of money will have to go into mitigation and retreat. Otherwise we will have a social disaster as people can no longer afford insurance and are wiped out financially, physically and emotionally by floods, droughts, etc.
Hawkins popularity has gone right down because people don't like the reality of changing habits to mitigate climate change such as giving up heavy reliance on cars .
Most people are complaining about congestion and lack of car parks many who supported Hawkins just to keep the ultra right Vandervis out have now changed their allegiance.
Vandervis continues to play the victim in his obsessive drive to become mayor by being anti everything pulling every publicity stunt he can.
No it's because I know his politics his connections.Lee wants to sell off all council owned companies.
His over the top complaints cost rate payers millions in Deltas unauthorized developments in Queenstown and Christchurch forcing the council to sell of those developments at fire sale prices.
Don't know about "ultra right", but here's Dunedin city councillor and mayoral candidate Lee Vandervis on climate change (in 2013).
Dunedin Mayoral Hopefuls Do The (Climate) Denial Twist
Lee Vandervis couldn’t wait to show me his graph that explained the cyclic nature of global temperature patterns stretched out over 5 million years. “What we really should be worried about”, he said gravely, “is global freezing.”
People (and the climate) can change. Maybe Cr Vandervis is just misunderstood?
I know many hundreds of dunedinites from dunners and the mood has definitely changed.I have been involved in dunedin politics probably longer than you have been a live.
I’ll have to take your word for it and even though yours is a ‘ironclad argument’, it is in dire want and need of factual evidence to replace your anecdotal hearsay.
If you follow the news down here,that is what many folk are thinking.Hawkins is not up too it,may well move into central politics(Green party)with even less affect. As for Lee I think that boat has sailed,to disruptive.Their will be a new mayor and Deputy after next elections.
Give us a link with something more substantial, please. A poll, a survey, something a little more tangible. I have no idea what I should imagine with “many folk”; tens, hundreds, thousands, some, a few?
Google is your friend,their is plenty over the last couple of years,by the way when did a many become a few, do I have to school you about local body politics. But my point is my view and as I have little data per month* I wont be bothering to link,an further to that I'm not good at it,so mute point,sorry.
*.. only cell phone tethering.Oh I'm trying to learn,computers do my head in,so as stated above"sorry"
No , Google is not my friend; I can find whatever I like, based on all the info Google has on me. You didn’t give any helpful hints either to start a search.
I like to draw attention to the fact that stories, messages, memes and what have are started and spread on the internet by people with an agenda and/or personal bias. For this reason, I cannot take personal anecdote from an anonymous commenter seriously and nor should I or anybody else here, for that matter.
If someone wants to spout a personal opinion on Hawkins, they are free to do so, within the rules of this site. However, they cannot speak for or on behalf of others or make unsubstantiated claims about a ‘change of personal opinion’ as if these are facts!
Not sure Hawkins popularity has changed much. The water thing was a bit of a hit, but the griping about carparks from VdV and a couple of other councillors isn't making a dent.
I suspect Hawkins will do another term as mayor (to prove it wasn't luck) then go to central government.
"Good to hear a personal view……..I'm not going to get into an argument with (comment/mod),only too say read what was said and have a look at links already provided by others.
……..from somebody who actually lives in Dunners. Is that right
edit
Exactly right AB. Oh hell, can some authorities really grasp the enormity of problems, and make plans to help the unfortunates to make reasoned withdrawal plans? Some of these people's houses on low lying areas need to be used as rentals now, while the owners seek permanent places on higher ground, and prepare for a loss on their lower house when it must be abandoned.
The local councils could build expertise in helping larger houses be converted to two or three sub-units, build granny flats at rear, subdivide or cross lease larger sections.
But most of all check with Master Builders or other reliable source on your choice of builder. They are dropping out leaving people in deep trauma. I suggest have a small basic plan that allows for built-on rooms side or over, with Council approval so that foundations are secure. Think about privacy from close neighbours too, Council might not care.
It is notable that the Southland floods were preceded by months of drought, a phenomonen, which in the link you provided, is called the 'Noah Effect', but which I suspect will soon become to be called the 'New Normal'.
By ‘Noah Effect’ we designate the observation that extreme precipitation can be very extreme indeed, and by ‘Joseph Effect’ the finding that a long period of unusual (high or low) precipitation can be extremely long.
The government has been warned that closing down the country's only oil refinery could expose New Zealand to fuel security risks.
The Energy Minister said these risks are not significant, but a consultant's report to the government says the opposite.
The risks centre on reconfigured supply chain, meaning the country would hold significantly less fuel because it held no crude awaiting processing.
Let's NOT go for a system based on 'best practice', best efficiency, and without unexpected outcomes not allowed for, and a childish belief that everything will turn out all right if we just rely on our allies, friends and regular friendly business partners. Here is another opportunity to abandon the country's best interests gummint – leave us wide open as you so often do, no probs, we'll manage, the Little Smart Country with a big mouth!?
For us more risk averse older types, jettisoning the capability for local refining is a big step. The refinery will be decommissioned with various cleanups needed and no quick route back to refining crude. I am close to Marsden Pt by geography and personal contacts. Operators knew something was up last year when fresh catalyst vital to the process, and worth millions was not re-ordered. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalytic_reforming
One of Muldoon’s Think Big projects is basically going to be a storage unit with a pipe to Auckland. Marsden B was never fully commissioned, and the last recent Refining NZ CEO buggered off because the Board would not entertain revising B into solar and other green energy.
The retail petrol companies have certainly done well out of Refining NZ–gifted to them by one Roger Douglas and friends.
How we deal with roading will also be interesting… where will our bitumen come from?
Personally I believe it's a mistake as is stopping natural gas production.
What we should do is look to ban imports and have very tight nationalized production here with world leading environmental standards at the ability to use price control to reduce usage.
Stopping local production is effectively just 'off shoring' our emissions looks good on paper here globally speaking at absolute best neutral at worst we start importing say coal on a bunker oil burning ship…
Marsden Point's closure fits very well with the Government's climate change policies.
We will be entirely at the mercy of international markets and prices for all kinds of petroleum products from kerosene, aviation fuel, the different petrols, diesel, bunker oil, and all the way to plastics and tar. And TBF that's a good thing: those regular crises will be largely unhedged apart from some overseas reserve contracts – contracts which mean little in a genuine crisis a we've seen from the Covid vaccine distributions.
So every time there's an oil supply crisis or price spike, those combustion engine alternative debates get fresh alerts in neon lights.
We're in a completely different context to Think Big, which was all about increased energy self sufficiency following the oil spikes of the late 1970s.
Most Tier 1 construction companies are replacing their light truck fleets to prepare for the Climate Commission targets. Won't happen all this year, but they know that if they don't demonstrate they are going Net Zero, they just aren't going to win the next job.
Those are the people that use the trucks to transport those great wind farm components. I'm building one at the moment.
So no, your causal chain doesn't have any bearing on the reality on the ground.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said on Tuesday night that the virus was moving "faster than any other strain we've dealt with".
"We're seeing transmissions in settings and circumstances we've never seen before," he said.
His comments came as a new positive case was identified in a Victorian who had travelled to New South Wales and back again, prompting a whole raft of new exposure sites.
For the first time, health officials have seen four or five cases where people were infected by strangers by casual contacts.
Victoria's Covid-19 testing commander Jeroen Weimar said the interactions were "very fleeting contact" and quite different to what Australia is used to seeing…
"What we're seeing now clearly is people who are, they're brushing past each other in a small shop, they're going around a display home, they're looking at phones in a Telstra shop," he said.
So. if money supply tightened then inflation might go up? And might inflation being low be part cause of those without personal debt having a field day and those with debt in 'credit' cards, be most subject to the other inflation rise in housing and food?
It can be important to understand that terms may have different meanings in different contexts. As that piece explains the RBNZ has done a lot of spending to help make the govts deficit spending happen fluidly. This is called a cost, but in practice its only the RBNZ which issues these monies anyway. If you understand the RBNZ spending as the countries house hold chore roster, then that cost here means it has recorded more chores being completed recently. That should also align with the temporary decision to purchase a lot of output in the form of a wage subsidy, while the govt budget is typically mostly focused on buying public goods. The salient point for why this analogy is a better understanding of 'cost' here is that people understand that recording too many items on their chore roster doesn't bankrupt them into being unable to record additional chores.
In terms of inflation its going to be important to understand its a phenomenon of general price increases and not of relative changes in the price of different goods and services. Yes, this makes it contentious how to measure inflation as the aggregate price of which identified bundle of goods.
But it seems reasonable to expect inflation to go up only once the level of spending starts to push on productive capacity to deliver. At that point businesses might increase prices or they might further if wage increases cause a loss of their margins. The salient point being inflation will be caused by something which causes many businesses to decide to put their prices up.
It just doesn't seem that businesses pay much attention to the money supply when adjusting their prices.
Its more important to understand that the RBNZs bond purchases dont directly add money to the economy…and that any 'cost' depends upon what happens offshore and the relationship between the NZD and the major tradeable currencies…if and when those actions impact the cost of debt financing in the future are largely out of our hands.
"Its more important to understand that the RBNZs bond purchases dont directly add money to the economy…"
In what sense? These are the transactions,
1) the govt (usually the DMO) sells bonds to primary dealers, removing money from the economy in exchange for a bond and allowing the buyer to specify a price at which they buy.
2) the RBNZ buys these bonds on the secondary market, using its intrinsic spending capacity, and providing that money back to the bond seller. This usually happens at a small capital loss to the RBNZ so the primary dealers get a small profit for acting as intermediaries here.
3) At some similar time the treasury will spend the borrowed funds. If that happened before 1 then potentially the same funds were used for step 1 (in some sense).
But the point is that the RBNZ bond purchase directly put spending ability in the economies hands including a net profit on the DMO's initial borrowing.
Nic theNzer Could the Reserve Bank set up its own system for supplying credits to a government department or agency providing cheap housing loans to specific young adults rather than trying to influence banks in certain ways to do this. It is indirect and not very effectual. As the banks do not find it a good market, there is market failure here, and could the RB step up with a limited amount of capital to start to fill this gap?
Yes absolutely. I believe there are still provisions in the act where the finance minister can demand the RBNZ provides loans to the govt directly, for 6 months time frame. That the govt was not doing this was highlighted by Grant Robertson before QE was initiated.
Further with some changes in legislation the RBNZ could alternatively provide treasury with an unlimited overdraft on its account in the payments system.
But banks and other primary dealers seem quite willing to participate in this given the miniscule risk small profit terms.
Thats in terms of govt spending.
In terms of housing loans, yes, thats basically how student loans work. Though the govt would probably need to look at the credit conditions it lends on a lot closer. As the BNZ bank failure showed there should be an independent regulator somewhere in the mix.
The bond purchases are from institutional investors and increases their collateral but not their spending ability as that collateral remains within the RBNZ reserve accounts…the only spending capacity that leaks into the system is through the minimal commissions to the approved traders and increased private bank lending promoted by the reduced interest rates…assuming the economy can service the additional lending and has a purpose for it and the banks are confident their capital is not at risk.
On the Government side (fiscal) the increased borrowing capacity theoretically will lead to greater government spending into the economy but we know how slow that spending is getting out the door….especially when you have one eye on interest rates and debt serviceability.
And meanwhile you are reducing the spending capacity of savers with the reduced interest earnings on investment
So its in a M3 vs M1 sense. But even in this case those payments all increase spending power. If at step 2 the institution sells for a depositor then there is a credit to their M3 account. If its for the institution then that institution holds more cleared funds eventually if they are not spent that becomes profit to be paid out.
And of course 3 is crediting accounts also raising M3.
Finally M1 is a component of M3 anyway.
So your statement which I quoted is simply incorrect.
Sure along with money in circulation. But thats simply irrelevant to your claim. When the RBNZ makes a bond purchase the digital equivalent of cash becomes property of a non-government institution and its spending ability goes up. This refutes your statement.
Except as collateral in the reserve accounts it is not available to inject into the market.
You refute nothing….the RBNZ has bought approximately 50 billion in bonds in just over a year (roughly 15% of GDP) …..where is it? It is not circulating in the economy, it is sitting within the RBNZ reserve accounts….an asset swap, as the RBNZ themselves stated. Collateral.
Your being confused by monetary aggregates not behaving in the economy as expected. The turnover rate of money can and does change. For obvious reasons in the last year savings rates went up significantly and that is where the govt income boost ended up. It turned out in net that the balance was about right and there has only been a small decrease in employment. But knowing how these transactions work its absolutely clear non-govt institutions spending power went up. Just because your idea about how spending works is wrong doesn't mean the aggregates are wrong.
Thanks Nic the NZer. I'll read that a number of times, and pick up different points each time, and finally I won't see through the glass darkly as the saying goes.
If housing Cost's were put back in the CPI inflation would measured at 3 to 4% and the Reserve bank would have to put interest rates up to counter the oversupply of money.But then in an anaemic world economy it would make it harder for NZ to trade as our $ would go up as well. Making exports dearer.
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
It may have been a short week but there’s been no shortage of things that caught our attention. Here is some of the most interesting. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at public transport ridership in 2024 On Thursday Connor asked some questions ...
The East Is Red: Journalists and commentators are referring to the sudden and disruptive arrival of DeepSeek as a second “Sputnik moment”. (Sputnik being the name given by the godless communists of the Soviet Union to the world’s first artificial satellite which, to the consternation and dismay of the Americans, ...
Hi,Back on inauguration day we launched a ridiculous RFK Jr. “brain worms” tee on the Webworm store, and I told you I’d be throwing my profits over to Mutual Aid LA and Rainbow Youth New Zealand. Just to show I am not full of shit, here are the receipts. I ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump over Gaza and Ukraine.Health expert and author David Galler ...
In an uncompromising paper Treasury has basically told the Government that its plan for a third medical school at Waikato University is a waste of money. Furthermore, the country cannot afford it. That advice was released this week by the Treasury under the Official Information Act. And it comes as ...
Back in November, He Pou a Rangi provided the government with formal advice on the domestic contribution to our next Paris target. Not what the target should be, but what we could realistically achieve, by domestic action alone, without resorting to offshore mitigation. Their answer was startling: depending on exactly ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guest David Patman and ...
I don't like to spend all my time complaining about our government, so let me complain about the media first.Senior journalistic Herald person Thomas Coughlan reported that Treasury replied yeah nah, wrong bro to Luxon's claim that our benighted little country has been in recession for three years.His excitement rose ...
Back in 2022, when the government was consulting internally about proactive release of cabinet papers, the SIS opposed it. The basis of their opposition was the "mosaic effect" - people being able to piece together individual pieces of innocuous public information in a way which supposedly harms "national security" (effectively: ...
With The Stroke Of A Pen:Populism, especially right-wing populism, invests all the power of an electoral/parliamentary majority in a single political leader because it no longer trusts the bona fides of the sprawling political class among whom power is traditionally dispersed. Populism eschews traditional politics, because, among populists, traditional politics ...
I’ve spent the last week writing a fairly substantial review of a recent book (“Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we crushed the curve but lost the race”) by a couple of Australian academic economists on Australia’s pandemic policies and experiences. For all its limitations, there isn’t anything similar in New Zealand. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
ACT Party leader David Seymour said he wrote to police about the treatment of Philip Polkinghorne because it's an electorate MP's job to pass on the concerns of their constituents. ...
MEDIAWATCH:By Colin Peacock, RNZ Mediawatch presenter By the time US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on China and Canada last Monday which could kickstart a trade war, New Zealand’s diplomats in Washington, DC, had already been deployed on another diplomatic drama. Republican Senator Ted Cruz had said on social ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown says New Zealand is asking for too much oversight over its deal with China, which is expected to be penned in Beijing next week. Brown told RNZ Pacific the Cook Islands-New Zealand relationship was reciprocal. “They certainly did ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Byelections occurred on Saturday in the Victorian state seats of Prahran and Werribee. The Liberals gained Prahran from the Greens by a ...
A long time ago, Brian Turner wrote a poem in which, among the mountains, as he slept on a river flat … My speechless ancestors played like mice among my dreamsand he woke to the river running over my bed of stone. I have come to know that where a ...
Pacific Media Watch President Donald Trump has frozen billions of dollars around the world in aid projects, including more than $268 million allocated by Congress to support independent media and the free flow of information. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has denounced this decision, which has plunged NGOs, media outlets, and ...
Otago University professor of international relations Robert Patman says New Zealand should provide a robust response to Donald Trump's Gaza plan, and also "should stop tip-toeing" around Trump. ...
The new minister of transport has opened the door for public consultation on at least some of the speed limit changes the government said would be automatic. ...
Officially, they’re called ‘memecoins,’ but Kōura Wealth founder Rupert Carlyon says the crypto world has another name for them: ‘shitcoins’.In digital finance, that phrase is used for tokens that have no true value – in essence, a money-grab.A few days before his inauguration, US President Donald Trump launched his own ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. Guy Williams has made a whole show off the joke that he is a “volunteer” journalist. So getting publicly owned by David Seymour while trying to act as a journalist is a good and timely reminder not to underestimate the nuance and ...
Many of Sāmoa’s beloved dishes are the result of cultural collaboration, writes Madeleine Chapman. All photos by Jin FelletIf you ever find yourself at a barbecue in a Sāmoan home, there’s 99% chance that sapasui (chop suey) will be on the table. For the past century, sapasui has ...
The funnyman takes us through his life in television, including Jono and Ben mayhem, live Telethon flubs, and funnelling all those experiences into his new comedy Vince. There’s an inciting incident in Three’s new comedy Vince where morning television presenter Vince Walters (Jono Pryor) is visiting sick kids in hospital ...
People often claim they just want Waitangi Day to be a celebration. At Waitangi, away from the headlined political acrimony and the marae ātea, celebrating is what most people are doing. The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous ...
Is there anything more fashionable than a Māori get together? One of the best things about Northland is that nobody cares what they look like — probably because they’re all naturally more stylish than the rest of us, famously. Māori from the Far North, especially. In 27 degree heat, wearing ...
I’ve been in love with him since last July, but it’s only now in this tepid hotel room that I find myself wondering why. The first thing he does when we arrive is smoke a cone in the bathroom – he emerges, hacking up a lung, fists thrust into his ...
MONDAY“Name,” barked a representative of the lower orders.I regarded him with a look of stern disapproval, and told him from up high, “May I remind you that I have name suppression. I shall also thank you to ask with more respect as befits a former president of the Act Party, ...
Books of Mana: 180 Māori-Authored Books of Significance, edited by Jacinta Ruru, Angela Wanhalla and Jeanette Wikaira has just been released by Otago University Press. In this essay, Books are Taonga, Jeanette Wikaira explores her personal relationship to books and their value.For me, books are taonga. The knowledge ...
Get to know Tara, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Tara’s human for their support! Dog name: Tara Age: Two Breed: Mostly Border Collie and a little bit Catahoula Leopard dog If dog ...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...
Gail Duncan, Chairperson of the St Peter’s on Willis Social Justice Group, one of the organisations invited to submit on the Bill, says the Government’s actions are unprecedented. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amani Kasherwa, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland In late January, a rebel group that has long caused mayhem in the sprawling African nation of Democratic Republic of Congo took control of Goma, a major city of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yee-Fui Ng, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University An ad falsely depicting independent candidate Alex Dyson as a Greens member.ABC News/Supplied The highly pertinent case of a little-known independent candidate in the Victorian seat of Wannon has exposed a gaping ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Nik/Unsplash You might have heard that eating too many eggs will cause high cholesterol levels, leading to poor health. Researchers have examined the science behind this myth again, and ...
Everything you missed from the third day of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard four hours of oral submission. Read our recaps of day one of the hearings here, and day two here. Parliament was quiet on Friday for the third day of hearings on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Jeffries, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, Western Sydney University Tijana Simic/Shutterstock The news last week that three people in Sydney were hospitalised with botulism after receiving botox injections has raised questions about the regulation of the cosmetic injectables industry. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jens Blotevogel, Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader for Remediation Technologies, CSIRO Mino Surkala, Shutterstock Lithium-ion batteries are part of everyday life. They power small rechargeable devices such as mobile phones and laptops. They enable electric vehicles. And larger versions store ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edith Jennifer Hill, Associate Lecturer, Learning & Teaching Innovation, Flinders University Netflix Netflix’s new limited series, Apple Cider Vinegar, tells the story of the elaborate cancer con orchestrated by Australian blogger Annabelle (Belle) Gibson. The first episode opens with Gibson’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dee Ninis, Earthquake Scientist, Monash University Greece’s government has just declared a state of emergency on the island of Santorini, as earthquakes shake the island multiple times a day and sometimes only minutes apart. The “earthquake swarm” is also affecting other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Western Australian state election will be held on March 8. A Newspoll, conducted January 29 to February 4 from a sample ...
She’s back behind the wheel, and this time, she wants to find out what it is that makes us tick. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. After a prolific career on stage and screen, 83-year-old Miriam Margolyes is on the road again. ...
A new poem by Jordan Hamel. Real Poet Every word earned its place and so did he, so should you. Real poet lives in the capital but writes himself into the Mackenzie country golden hour, man of the paper land, he neglects to mention his pollen ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Understanding Te Tiriti by Roimata Smail (Wai Ako Press, $25) No better time to get ...
The committee has published this list to inform the public about its work, and to give clarity to submitters who have contacted the committee asking if they will be invited to make an oral submission. ...
Alex Casey and Gabi Lardies dissect their Laneway 2025 experience. Gabi Lardies: Hi Alex :))))))) Congratulations on not getting sunburnt. Everyone I talked to at Laneway yesterday was braving the sun for one thing. Charli XCX. How was your brat experience?Alex Casey: We will talk about the rest of ...
The US President's suggestion, which sparked enormous debate globally, has been labelled as a threat, not a proposal, by the Federation of Islamic Associations. ...
I guess thats it.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125308161/andrew-little-rejects-pike-river-families-plan-to-recover-more-evidence
No it clearly is not. The next steps will be to drill the bore holes and analyse the evidence.
So sorry… "should have added within the mine."
The Emperor has no clothes
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/political-beliefs-masquerading-as-science
That is a very penetrating article. Thanks.
Some related reading,
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=47506
Paul Krugman presents mainstream hubris.
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=47555
Why the present mainstream view still presents only a very narrow perspective on deficit hawks.
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=47579
What do deficit hawks think about criticism of their policy failures?
Interesting indeed.
More than interesting….fundamental.
IF confidence is lost there is nothing else to maintain that which underpins society
Waiting for the first Canterbury farmer to refuse ,"Socialistic" handouts from the ,"pretty socialist".
Waiting…..
Well put, was listening to the whining on RNZ this morning, nothing funny at all about family and animal lives being disrupted…but, I have not heard the air raid siren wind up like that since Auckland Chamber of Commerce rep Michael Barnett and Queenstown business reps performances during COVID lockdowns.
Wonder how those plains formed in the first place.
O yeah been happening for centuries.
Aren't they good stout English plains brought from Merrie England by good stout English Yeomen gentleman farmers then?
Internet comment of the day.
Though to be fair, there is going to have to be huge amounts spent on flood protection and proofing in the years ahead.
Maybe they could reinstate some of those wetlands that were drained…
Wonder who gets to pay for that..
Free market insurance companies will refuse to cover flood prone areas as they have done in the past
KJT, Lol Lol.
For every time there is a purpose under heaven,
A time to cry
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/300322473/oh-god-sorry-dunedin-mayor-gets-emotional-on-climate-change-and-floods
Dunedin 's cycleways around the harbour from Port Chalmers all the way around to Portobello are outstanding assets for its citizens.
Not if they get inundated by water as most of the cycle way is low laying.
They have been built up for sea level change this century.
You have a look at how high the tide gets around the harbour now it just needs a moderate wind and parts are covered at higher tides.
No cyclists on the road during those times.
I'm there tomorrow I'll have a look.
How much did they raise the path? High tide and the right wind used to see waves coming over the top at Mac Bay.
The rebuild looked like it was over a metre from the original.
I could just ask Fulton Hogan I guess.
I’d love to know. It was such a great thing to build, and am curious what they decided was optimal height.
Worsening climate is baked in now whatever Hawkins does at a local level about emissions reduction. No reason not to do it of course – but a lot of money will have to go into mitigation and retreat. Otherwise we will have a social disaster as people can no longer afford insurance and are wiped out financially, physically and emotionally by floods, droughts, etc.
Hawkins popularity has gone right down because people don't like the reality of changing habits to mitigate climate change such as giving up heavy reliance on cars .
Most people are complaining about congestion and lack of car parks many who supported Hawkins just to keep the ultra right Vandervis out have now changed their allegiance.
Vandervis continues to play the victim in his obsessive drive to become mayor by being anti everything pulling every publicity stunt he can.
Dunedin has ample car parking, and both the consultant who measured it and the Council are in agreement over that.
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/council-backs-parking-consultant
Everyone who cares about climate change has to be prepared to fight their councils on it, often for years at a time.
What is “ultra right” supposed to mean here? Is that a lazy term you use for people whom you dislike and/or disagree with?
No it's because I know his politics his connections.Lee wants to sell off all council owned companies.
His over the top complaints cost rate payers millions in Deltas unauthorized developments in Queenstown and Christchurch forcing the council to sell of those developments at fire sale prices.
Lee is all about Lee no one else
That does not qualify him as "ultra right", which tends to mean something quite different and altoegther more dubious.
Don't know about "ultra right", but here's Dunedin city councillor and mayoral candidate Lee Vandervis on climate change (in 2013).
People (and the climate) can change. Maybe Cr Vandervis is just misunderstood?
Councillors united against Vandervis
Outspoken councillor costs own council $94,000 – in part down to a $12 parking ticket
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/dunedin-city-councillor-lee-vandervis-walks-out-of-meeting-over-lying-accusation/CSX4S2JB3VGB42B62Q7RJACOO4/
Any links about that?
Sacha Purely annecdotal from a very well connected Dunedinite.
In other words, unsubstantiated innuendo AKA fake news.
I know many hundreds of dunedinites from dunners and the mood has definitely changed.I have been involved in dunedin politics probably longer than you have been a live.
[fixed typo in user name again]
I’ll have to take your word for it and even though yours is a ‘ironclad argument’, it is in dire want and need of factual evidence to replace your anecdotal hearsay.
If you follow the news down here,that is what many folk are thinking.Hawkins is not up too it,may well move into central politics(Green party)with even less affect. As for Lee I think that boat has sailed,to disruptive.Their will be a new mayor and Deputy after next elections.
Give us a link with something more substantial, please. A poll, a survey, something a little more tangible. I have no idea what I should imagine with “many folk”; tens, hundreds, thousands, some, a few?
Google is your friend,their is plenty over the last couple of years,by the way when did a many become a few, do I have to school you about local body politics. But my point is my view and as I have little data per month* I wont be bothering to link,an further to that I'm not good at it,so mute point,sorry.
*.. only cell phone tethering.Oh I'm trying to learn,computers do my head in,so as stated above"sorry"
No , Google is not my friend; I can find whatever I like, based on all the info Google has on me. You didn’t give any helpful hints either to start a search.
I like to draw attention to the fact that stories, messages, memes and what have are started and spread on the internet by people with an agenda and/or personal bias. For this reason, I cannot take personal anecdote from an anonymous commenter seriously and nor should I or anybody else here, for that matter.
If someone wants to spout a personal opinion on Hawkins, they are free to do so, within the rules of this site. However, they cannot speak for or on behalf of others or make unsubstantiated claims about a ‘change of personal opinion’ as if these are facts!
I live in dunners.
Not sure Hawkins popularity has changed much. The water thing was a bit of a hit, but the griping about carparks from VdV and a couple of other councillors isn't making a dent.
I suspect Hawkins will do another term as mayor (to prove it wasn't luck) then go to central government.
Good to hear a personal view from somebody who actually lives in Dunners.
"Good to hear a personal view……..I'm not going to get into an argument with (comment/mod),only too say read what was said and have a look at links already provided by others.
……..from somebody who actually lives in Dunners. Is that right
edit
Exactly right AB. Oh hell, can some authorities really grasp the enormity of problems, and make plans to help the unfortunates to make reasoned withdrawal plans? Some of these people's houses on low lying areas need to be used as rentals now, while the owners seek permanent places on higher ground, and prepare for a loss on their lower house when it must be abandoned.
The local councils could build expertise in helping larger houses be converted to two or three sub-units, build granny flats at rear, subdivide or cross lease larger sections.
But most of all check with Master Builders or other reliable source on your choice of builder. They are dropping out leaving people in deep trauma. I suggest have a small basic plan that allows for built-on rooms side or over, with Council approval so that foundations are secure. Think about privacy from close neighbours too, Council might not care.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/125261794/nelson-builder-disappears-leaving-clients-thousands-of-dollars-in-the-lurch
Apr2016 https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/78954925/christchurch-couple-left-reeling-after-stonewood-mortgage-deal
Council could assist with plans and info. for building sturdy units on steep ground:
https://fraemohs.co.nz/building-on-slope/
https://designeverest.com/blog/hillside-home-projects-their-challenges/
Look at the Finnish designs we were trialling in the 1960s before we ran out of individual initiative.
https://www.designboom.com/architecture/rare-futuro-ufo-house-hits-the-market-new-zealand-11-05-2020/
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/may/10/futuro-ideal-home-wasnt The oil crisis of 1973, which tripled the price of plastic, was the final nail in the coffin. And there went another piece of 1960s utopianism.
For every time there is a purpose under heaven,
What has been is been,what has done is done,there is nothing new under the sun.
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/WR004i005p00909
Hi Poisson, (great name by the way)
It is notable that the Southland floods were preceded by months of drought, a phenomonen, which in the link you provided, is called the 'Noah Effect', but which I suspect will soon become to be called the 'New Normal'.
What will the government do with this piece of hard fact that can't be dithered around?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/443869/marsden-point-closure-could-expose-nz-to-fuel-security-risks-report-says
The government has been warned that closing down the country's only oil refinery could expose New Zealand to fuel security risks.
The Energy Minister said these risks are not significant, but a consultant's report to the government says the opposite.
The risks centre on reconfigured supply chain, meaning the country would hold significantly less fuel because it held no crude awaiting processing.
Let's NOT go for a system based on 'best practice', best efficiency, and without unexpected outcomes not allowed for, and a childish belief that everything will turn out all right if we just rely on our allies, friends and regular friendly business partners. Here is another opportunity to abandon the country's best interests gummint – leave us wide open as you so often do, no probs, we'll manage, the Little Smart Country with a big mouth!?
For us more risk averse older types, jettisoning the capability for local refining is a big step. The refinery will be decommissioned with various cleanups needed and no quick route back to refining crude. I am close to Marsden Pt by geography and personal contacts. Operators knew something was up last year when fresh catalyst vital to the process, and worth millions was not re-ordered.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalytic_reforming
One of Muldoon’s Think Big projects is basically going to be a storage unit with a pipe to Auckland. Marsden B was never fully commissioned, and the last recent Refining NZ CEO buggered off because the Board would not entertain revising B into solar and other green energy.
The retail petrol companies have certainly done well out of Refining NZ–gifted to them by one Roger Douglas and friends.
Can we buy it for $1?
How we deal with roading will also be interesting… where will our bitumen come from?
Personally I believe it's a mistake as is stopping natural gas production.
What we should do is look to ban imports and have very tight nationalized production here with world leading environmental standards at the ability to use price control to reduce usage.
Stopping local production is effectively just 'off shoring' our emissions looks good on paper here globally speaking at absolute best neutral at worst we start importing say coal on a bunker oil burning ship…
Marsden Point's closure fits very well with the Government's climate change policies.
We will be entirely at the mercy of international markets and prices for all kinds of petroleum products from kerosene, aviation fuel, the different petrols, diesel, bunker oil, and all the way to plastics and tar. And TBF that's a good thing: those regular crises will be largely unhedged apart from some overseas reserve contracts – contracts which mean little in a genuine crisis a we've seen from the Covid vaccine distributions.
So every time there's an oil supply crisis or price spike, those combustion engine alternative debates get fresh alerts in neon lights.
We're in a completely different context to Think Big, which was all about increased energy self sufficiency following the oil spikes of the late 1970s.
I hope that the next step isn't to take up Breatharianism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inedia
Our export sectors are already remarkably comparatively efficient in terms of petroleum inputs.
Our cities however are our sinkholes of inefficiency, which is why it's worth all the dreary effort to make private cars less attractive.
Oh can we expect private cars to be treated like tobacco and priced higher and higher and made more difficult to obtain can we?
The entire electrification process is fueled by fossil fuel … without security of supply the process simply cannot be brought to fruition.
No Diesel => no transport => no wind farms => no more hydro capacity built => no more rail network => no more FOOD
Most Tier 1 construction companies are replacing their light truck fleets to prepare for the Climate Commission targets. Won't happen all this year, but they know that if they don't demonstrate they are going Net Zero, they just aren't going to win the next job.
Those are the people that use the trucks to transport those great wind farm components. I'm building one at the moment.
So no, your causal chain doesn't have any bearing on the reality on the ground.
Someone may have noted this but just in case … We may have to deflate the Transtasman bubble.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/443849/victoria-authorities-consider-extending-covid-19-lockdown-over-rapid-virus-spread
The state reported six new locally acquired coronavirus cases on Wednesay taking the outbreak to 60 cases.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said on Tuesday night that the virus was moving "faster than any other strain we've dealt with".
"We're seeing transmissions in settings and circumstances we've never seen before," he said.
His comments came as a new positive case was identified in a Victorian who had travelled to New South Wales and back again, prompting a whole raft of new exposure sites.
For the first time, health officials have seen four or five cases where people were infected by strangers by casual contacts.
Victoria's Covid-19 testing commander Jeroen Weimar said the interactions were "very fleeting contact" and quite different to what Australia is used to seeing…
"What we're seeing now clearly is people who are, they're brushing past each other in a small shop, they're going around a display home, they're looking at phones in a Telstra shop," he said.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/443894/rbnz-to-wear-cost-of-monetary-policies-and-economic-support
So. if money supply tightened then inflation might go up? And might inflation being low be part cause of those without personal debt having a field day and those with debt in 'credit' cards, be most subject to the other inflation rise in housing and food?
It can be important to understand that terms may have different meanings in different contexts. As that piece explains the RBNZ has done a lot of spending to help make the govts deficit spending happen fluidly. This is called a cost, but in practice its only the RBNZ which issues these monies anyway. If you understand the RBNZ spending as the countries house hold chore roster, then that cost here means it has recorded more chores being completed recently. That should also align with the temporary decision to purchase a lot of output in the form of a wage subsidy, while the govt budget is typically mostly focused on buying public goods. The salient point for why this analogy is a better understanding of 'cost' here is that people understand that recording too many items on their chore roster doesn't bankrupt them into being unable to record additional chores.
In terms of inflation its going to be important to understand its a phenomenon of general price increases and not of relative changes in the price of different goods and services. Yes, this makes it contentious how to measure inflation as the aggregate price of which identified bundle of goods.
But it seems reasonable to expect inflation to go up only once the level of spending starts to push on productive capacity to deliver. At that point businesses might increase prices or they might further if wage increases cause a loss of their margins. The salient point being inflation will be caused by something which causes many businesses to decide to put their prices up.
It just doesn't seem that businesses pay much attention to the money supply when adjusting their prices.
Seeing it now, 7-13 % across the board in my industry with reviews in 3-6 months
Its more important to understand that the RBNZs bond purchases dont directly add money to the economy…and that any 'cost' depends upon what happens offshore and the relationship between the NZD and the major tradeable currencies…if and when those actions impact the cost of debt financing in the future are largely out of our hands.
"Its more important to understand that the RBNZs bond purchases dont directly add money to the economy…"
In what sense? These are the transactions,
1) the govt (usually the DMO) sells bonds to primary dealers, removing money from the economy in exchange for a bond and allowing the buyer to specify a price at which they buy.
2) the RBNZ buys these bonds on the secondary market, using its intrinsic spending capacity, and providing that money back to the bond seller. This usually happens at a small capital loss to the RBNZ so the primary dealers get a small profit for acting as intermediaries here.
3) At some similar time the treasury will spend the borrowed funds. If that happened before 1 then potentially the same funds were used for step 1 (in some sense).
But the point is that the RBNZ bond purchase directly put spending ability in the economies hands including a net profit on the DMO's initial borrowing.
Nic theNzer Could the Reserve Bank set up its own system for supplying credits to a government department or agency providing cheap housing loans to specific young adults rather than trying to influence banks in certain ways to do this. It is indirect and not very effectual. As the banks do not find it a good market, there is market failure here, and could the RB step up with a limited amount of capital to start to fill this gap?
Yes absolutely. I believe there are still provisions in the act where the finance minister can demand the RBNZ provides loans to the govt directly, for 6 months time frame. That the govt was not doing this was highlighted by Grant Robertson before QE was initiated.
Further with some changes in legislation the RBNZ could alternatively provide treasury with an unlimited overdraft on its account in the payments system.
But banks and other primary dealers seem quite willing to participate in this given the miniscule risk small profit terms.
Thats in terms of govt spending.
In terms of housing loans, yes, thats basically how student loans work. Though the govt would probably need to look at the credit conditions it lends on a lot closer. As the BNZ bank failure showed there should be an independent regulator somewhere in the mix.
The bond purchases are from institutional investors and increases their collateral but not their spending ability as that collateral remains within the RBNZ reserve accounts…the only spending capacity that leaks into the system is through the minimal commissions to the approved traders and increased private bank lending promoted by the reduced interest rates…assuming the economy can service the additional lending and has a purpose for it and the banks are confident their capital is not at risk.
On the Government side (fiscal) the increased borrowing capacity theoretically will lead to greater government spending into the economy but we know how slow that spending is getting out the door….especially when you have one eye on interest rates and debt serviceability.
And meanwhile you are reducing the spending capacity of savers with the reduced interest earnings on investment
So its in a M3 vs M1 sense. But even in this case those payments all increase spending power. If at step 2 the institution sells for a depositor then there is a credit to their M3 account. If its for the institution then that institution holds more cleared funds eventually if they are not spent that becomes profit to be paid out.
And of course 3 is crediting accounts also raising M3.
Finally M1 is a component of M3 anyway.
So your statement which I quoted is simply incorrect.
M3 includes money NOT in circulation….for the reason outlined above
Sure along with money in circulation. But thats simply irrelevant to your claim. When the RBNZ makes a bond purchase the digital equivalent of cash becomes property of a non-government institution and its spending ability goes up. This refutes your statement.
Except as collateral in the reserve accounts it is not available to inject into the market.
You refute nothing….the RBNZ has bought approximately 50 billion in bonds in just over a year (roughly 15% of GDP) …..where is it? It is not circulating in the economy, it is sitting within the RBNZ reserve accounts….an asset swap, as the RBNZ themselves stated. Collateral.
Your being confused by monetary aggregates not behaving in the economy as expected. The turnover rate of money can and does change. For obvious reasons in the last year savings rates went up significantly and that is where the govt income boost ended up. It turned out in net that the balance was about right and there has only been a small decrease in employment. But knowing how these transactions work its absolutely clear non-govt institutions spending power went up. Just because your idea about how spending works is wrong doesn't mean the aggregates are wrong.
Thanks Nic the NZer. I'll read that a number of times, and pick up different points each time, and finally I won't see through the glass darkly as the saying goes.
If housing Cost's were put back in the CPI inflation would measured at 3 to 4% and the Reserve bank would have to put interest rates up to counter the oversupply of money.But then in an anaemic world economy it would make it harder for NZ to trade as our $ would go up as well. Making exports dearer.
The link covers what is and isn't counted in CPI measures.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.rnz.co.nz/article/9fbc0eaa-f571-46b2-bd19-fd6c1304babe
If its a case of putting back in these items at which time was CPI 'correctly' measured?
While 3-4% would be high if the RBNZ could get inflation inside the 2-3% band it would be meeting its present inflation targets.