Jacinda needs to wake up as this climate change report in September says it all.
How come freight road transport is still rising at an alarming rate of 6% annually while rail freight is still retreating?
Trucks are now coming from al over the central North Island with logs and are still “double handling” before dropping logs to Napier port?
Road transport claimed rail was “not viable because of double handling but trucks are now double handling too?
So our road transport (GHG) ‘Greenhouse gas emissions’ are now rising, while if government switched to using rail freight they would would reduce road freight (GHG) emissions. Jacinda; “Lets do this”
“Climate and Environment
New U.N. climate report: Monumental change already here for world’s oceans and frozen regions
Growing coastal flooding is inevitable, and damage to corals and other marine life has already been unleashed”
Water has been used to transport logs since we've chopped them down. I wonder if a tug with a purpose built net could deliver 100 truckloads to Marsden Point from the Far North in a few days.
Hook the net onto a Chinese ship and they wouldn't need loading. The Chinese ship could be filled with something else, tow the logs home. Float them down a slipway in China, straight into drying racks then saws.
Starting to hurt – I'm sure his pants would spontaneously combust in his wee fireside chat – what a turkey
Donald Trump has insisted he has “done nothing wrong” and does not deserve to be impeached, and made the extraordinary suggestion that he appear on live TV to read the full transcript of his controversial phone call with the Ukrainian president in a “fireside chat”.
How Don the Con locks in his support – he manipulates the situation so those that do get suckered into supporting him don't dare withdraw that support for fear of looking really stupid for ever having supported him in the first place.
As we should have heard from Hillary Clinton also in this way; – as she destroyed quote;"the sensitive government cellphone records" – FBI had ordered Hillary to supply them with before Hilary stopped wiping those records from her phone and covered it up by destroying the 30 000 files.
So why did she do this after being requested by FBI to surrender the files to them?
We know that the FBI/CIA are both historically corrupt.
But is is puzzling why Hillary was so keen on destroying the files instead of being "transparent.
So Donald trump is now challenging all by opening up the debate in public.
This is refreshing as the Democratic party won't do this,
As the impeachment inquiry was done under a "closed door policy" and Trump is opening it up for all to see and this is a positive move by trump..
I apologise if I have missed an earlier thread on this topic but surely this is an issue that is timely and shows again, quite clearly, how we shouldn't trust our economy to a party that still believes in the efficacy of the free market and self regulation. The Nat's will be using every tool at their disposal to discredit the Government over the next ten months and Dirty Politics will raise its head again. The leaky homes scandal goes on and on and it needs to be held up as a placard for all to see.
Dyer arrives at a fix price of 47 billion. It could only ever be a rough estimate. Leaky homes are NZ's housing herpes. I think we're stuck with it for 100 years. Even those builds deemed to be sound, in 50 years when another bedroom is being added on, there will be walls opened up lined in black fur.
As time passes, it looks more and more like the home owner will be responsible for setting it right.
The fiasco deserves to be a segment on 'Great technological disasters of the 20th Century.' at least Twyford just hasn't built many, we whacked up 1000's of these kid's garden forts.
Add to the leaky homes fungus-filled, there will be infrastructure failures because of low quality or too lean reinforcement or poorly fixed structures. That will result in spectacular failures similar to the 2011 CTV (Canterbury Television) building.
We have a history of mismanagement and disasters in NZ, which were entirely preventable by following good and precautionary practices. This morning the Erebus disaster was discussed by Kim in an interesting and poignant recall of that history and the thoughts of a grand-daughter to remember the tragedy of the plane crash and deaths, and the caring of the people doing the recovery and identification work.
"I've got an easy and cheap way to build one of those houses from an exotic location. (where it never rains or quakes)."
I think Erebus is like most of the incidents explored on that 'Mayday' TV show. Aircraft catastrophes so often seem to be 2 or more circumstances lining up in a row that leads to calamity.
Faulty navigational data loaded before take-off, a Captain thinking he was 10 miles to starboard and a white-out blizzard blows in.
With leaky homes, we organised the blizzard.
Now we have a standards regime frightened of getting anything that resembles egg on it's face. Friend of mine had a final inspection done recently. He failed on many points, most of them 'Tough but fair enough, it's in the code'. But an imperfection in the paintwork??
The LBP scheme fails in that it allows the regulatory authority to absolve itself of responsibility. As the only authority for building it should take full responsibility for the standard and compliance of the build. That is why we pay the fees and costs associated with consents. However, the LBP reduces local authority exposure to financial liability for future failures.
Many LBP roles are supervisory or managerial, and I suspect there are multiple signoffs by the registered LBP when they have had very little or nothing to do onsite. There is a whole industry around the consenting process that has work outsourced by local authorities, that contributes very little to design and build quality and nothing in the way of considered planning.
(A friend of mine also failed to get her compliance certificate until the second coat of paint was completed. Her basement toilet – however – was LBP certified, and never worked without backing up and spraying the small room with the result.)
The Wellingtonian met dozens of leaky home owners while researching Rottenomics. Their tales were harrowing.
"If you don't have anywhere else to go, you are trapped inside a house that is making you sick. These homes have made a lot of people sick. You are not just sick, you are demoralised. It's a downward cycle," he said.
Many lacked the money to fix their homes, and were trapped in decaying buildings.
Mental health problems and suicide would result one would think, and their numbers are rising. And it is so dispiriting to live in such a lying society, one that used to say it was classless, and praise itself to the skies, and the 1984 events show that was just propaganda, with no commitment to keep it good for all.
I know of a couple who purchased one of the Orewa leaking apartments while they were living and working overseas. Because the purchase was a rental investment, the IRD effectively reimbursed them a significant part of the remediation build as it acted as a major loss for that particular property, which reduced their overall income on their property portfolio.
It always struck me as a major failure that those who invested in these properties – and had alternative living arrangements – were able to access those financial levers that owner occupiers could not.
It seems to show an inherent bias in the system that looks after people in business making money from something, and those who are just providing for their essential living needs get the run-around. The citizen is not in the picture, and the very small businessman too has to manage without much concern about their welfare.
An interesting interview on Radionz with a deep-sea-cave diver. Clever stuff, and using tech innovations that could be crucial in understanding our seas.
Hopefully you stuck with RNZ @greywarshark for that wot followed (William Dalrymple). We might just be in time to prevent a repeat of it all. It doesn't have to be inevitable
10:05 William Dalrymple – the anarchic rise of the East India Company
Across a 30 year writing career, Scottish historian, broadcaster and critic William Dalrymple has been preoccupied with the history and culture of India.
It's the country he now calls home for half the year, spending summers in his native Scotland. With family connections to India dating back for generations, his latest book The Anarchy traces the 'relentless rise', dazzling heyday, and the sometimes shameful past of the East India Company.
At the peak of its powers, this prototype for the vast multinationals of today exerted as much power and influence as any nation state.
I remember Dalrymple saying that the East India Company had control over much of India and its wealth and industry, from a building in UK of 35? people. It was a fiefdom run for the benefit of scheming, wealthy people, and willing to squeeze the great continent of India dry. It had been going since Shakespeare's time until finally in thmid 1800's the Brits took control after it enabled the Great Bengal Famine, which is a similar stain to the Irish Potato Famine than the Lords and Ladies of Britain found acceptable to bring about.
Dalrymple mentioned Brexit and I think Boorish and to me it is a case of deja vu. The Cons are going all out for wallet weighting. They have managed to screw the people, tighten welfare and bring people to a state of degeneration in England, and I don't know if in the Wales and Scotland kingdoms they have been able to limit the downfall.
He points out that Brit made their loot (a Moghul word?) from stealing from India and from trading in the Carribean with slaves and sugar. So the might of Britain is tainted, and the people running the country are also, and no doubt have gifted their art of cunning thievery with low ethics through their family lines to the present Cons as exemplified in the swingeing swindlers in the UK Government.
I think it might be a good idea to then listen to the interview with Lady Anne Glenconner and her remniscences? of her life and relationship with Princess Margaret. She was married to Lord Colin Tennent who was very rich.
He would be similar to the top people in the East India Company and no doubt the present-day Cons. Lady Anne looks back wryly but fondly and draws a wise summary:
"[At one stage] he took off to Africa .. the whole point was you got in a canoe, went off to look animals. This lady had broken her leg and she couldn't get into the canoe. Colin was absolutely furious, came back and said 'Anne, I've had the most ghastly holiday. I think I've behaved very badly.' I said 'Colin, I really don't want to hear'. It was sort of fairly endearing."
Colin's temper was so bad he was banned for life from British Airways after an incident in California which involved him lying down on the plane kicking and screaming because there wasn't a first-class seat for him – then getting escorted off the flight by police.
Wealth is sometimes the only difference between eccentricity and madness, Anne says.
"If you're eccentric you have to have money, you can't be a poor eccentric. If you're poor then it's mad, if you're very rich then you're eccentric."
Yep, well you can see where the neo-liberal blind faith is taking us. It's now so ingrained into 'the powers that be' that they often don't even realise that it drives them in everything they do. There's a generation that's grown up knowing nothing else.
Dalrymple was a good way to end the week. Lest I offend some on TS, I opted for TDB with this:
You can't if you want certain products or services. But not everything has to be commodified and marketed. Education, knowledge, art, music for example doesn't have to be solely for the purpose of gaining a profit (above what it takes to support people actually providing it with a livable income) .
There's stuff and things that are part of the commons. Water, the air we breath, nature. Neo-libs would privatise and sell it all for a profit and as many ticket clippers as they can get away with if they thought they could keep the natives from getting restless. Especially failed pig farmers and perpetual growth merchants.
As a matter of interest OwT – have you ever written a comment under a post by MB that criticises the tone and content of it? And was yours conspicuous by its absence?
Not that I recall @greywarshark but it's possible. Do you mean – as in things going into a black hole? I've seen one or two people complain about their comments getting lost/censored but I don't think there's anything sinister in it.
IMHO, it's probably been a bit of a septem horribilis for some in Labour.
As Shane 'mis-spoke', Labour seems to have 'mis-calculated', and all of it not that necessary given a little more forethought.
While Ministers and senior public servants were 'inside the tent' pissing out and over each other, they mis-calculated the number 'outside the tent' now wanting to piss in.
In a bicultural/multicultural society where its Anglo-Saxon Toffs (and even some of those lesser Noble Savage types) let it be known to their offspring who is an acceptable partner, and who isn't – under threat of their inheretance; where transactional relationships such as 'fuckbuddies', 'friends with benefits', 'Facebooked hookups', 'open relationships', 'swinging' and Married At First Sight matchmakers are all a bit of humour and acceptable; or even where its just more convenient to just wank oneself silly over a bit of porn (at the taxpayers' expense if possible)…..
somehow the idea of parents and a few aunties and 'cousin sisters' getting together to suggest who might be suitable candidates for marriage is something we can't get our heads around.
Apparenty, the latter should jump on the next plane out of here because the next thing you know, they'll be wanting to bring the whole village with them.
The mis-calculation seems to have been the degree to which offense might be taken – not only from the loyal Labour supporters, but also from the sizable number who don't usually vote despite their eligability. They might even start to rival the Blue Dragons especially if eventually, they managed to get the whole bloody village here.
My suspicions are that there are concessions that could have been negotiated (acceptable to the 3 partners in this marriage), and with egos remaining intact. Things that relate to the growing realisation that the neo-liberal religion is a failure.
And if there weren't any concessions that could have been made, we ( either Labour, Labout/Green, Labour/Green/NZ1 supporters)are potentially in deeper shit than I imagined.
Why Cannabis & Euthanasia should be a referendum and why Abortion should not
I found fault with showing an image of Slavoj Zizek the 'peoples' philosopher but putting a saying attributed to MB beside it.
I found fault with lumping important ethical matters together for a convenient package. Each needs separate consideration as they are about our life, which is special to us, and how we live it and others allow us to live it.
And something else, can't remember. There is one comment shown, not mine which I would like to have seen even if there was no answering comment or a short disagreement.
And interestingly the comment was from a prosaic materialist who seemed more concerned about drugs, police controls, and whether insurance costs could be brought down by having less drug-fuelled accidents.
OK. Actually I vaguely remember reading that now at the time because of TrevS's comment that is still there.
I'm not sure whether the site is as resilient as TS though (having a guru maintaining it). TDB probably has one or two woopsies from time to time.
In both cases (TDB and TS), I just see myself as a guest when commenting with the sites' owners having the prerogative to run them as they see fit. I'm just glad they both exist
True about the sites, but when it comes to censoring, refusing opinions it is interesting how much self-criticism they will apply. It may of course be that they will take notice but not put or leave the comment up. I don't see it as a freedom of expression matter, more a willingness to see a wider spectrum as long as the commenter doesn't go on and too frequent.
Or we could spend our money in constant testing and workshops and committees working out what was needed last year, and five years later implementing part of that. That would be smart if you are one of those who want to provide less and less good service and help to citizens and turn the country eventually to private service, with basics for those who can't afford it. Then wait for those with a humane and ethical sense and some money, to start a charity hospital etc. as the hospital in Christchurch.
The Government’s plan to help older New Zealanders live well, Better Later Life – He Oranga Kaumātua 2019 to 2034, was launched by Seniors Minister Tracey Martin today.
“Better Later Life takes a fresh look at what is required to ensure everyone gets the chance to live well as they get older and help ensure we create opportunities for everyone to participate, contribute and be valued as they age,” Minister Martin says.
How good it would be if there was a Minister for Parents and Young Adults who was devoted to getting the resources they need to help them in their important tasks, so – 'we create opportunities for everyone to participate, contribute and be valued '. We have our ideas arse-about! We lay out deck chairs for the old age pensioners who are to be kept healthy so they can please themselves what they do for the community, of course remembering that taking interest in one’s own family is doing stuff for oneself. Some though may have to pick up their family from the total failure of the government's failure to have a well-run enterprising, sharing, distributive economy of a country that aims for vitality, creativity, well-being and opportunities for all its citizens.
The logic for the encouragement to vaping is to give nicotine addicts an alternative to tobacco (given the tar in tobacco is a carcinogen). Which sort of ignores the existence of nicotine patches and the fact that vaping is also a new means to addict young people to nicotine who have never smoked before.
Then there is the fact that vaping is itself not without risk – so encouraging it is encouraging a product that will harm its users.
For mine, vaping should only be allowed by prescription and only for tobacco addicts.
There is growing evidence that vaping THC is particularly dangerous. And as time goes by the so called extent or degree to which vaping is deemed safer than tobacco is narrowing – as more reports come in of lung damage (and vaping is still fairly recent so this is a salutatory warning).
Edit https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/402337/cockleshell-design-still-part-of-dunedin-council-s-plan
This Dunedin plan fits in with what I see as 20th century thinking. Nice design, grand in line with a Sydney Opera House special look. But those days are over, and more money than we know where to look, is going to be needed to resettle people and establish new transport routes with lots of planning and perhaps innovative engineering when the tide comes in and comes in and stays.. Where do these business people actually go to in their heads at night my lovely? A song coming on!
We have a possible fire starter in the back wings of Nelson city on the Council table, with some ratepayer money and some private, and they have encouraged Ngati Koata to invest also, and a keen lot of councillors all excited about its future for tourism. Where will tourism be in 10-15 years and will they have recovered the $50 mill envisaged when it is to be built over 10 years?
Do people remember the little harnesses that parents put on toddlers to ensure they didn't stray back in the 1960-70s? We need big ones for pollies local and central now.
What do you do when you live next door to people who do everything at the top of the decibel range? I can sympathise with this woman, having had such things happen, separately, and am lucky now that the man next door doesn't fly into many rages outside, telling his phone to fuck off. I can ignore it when it is just a few minutes of loud conversation.
A pet cockatoo at the centre of a bitter neighbourhood dispute because of its screeching has been cleared of wrongdoing, in a case described by an Adelaide judge as "completely unjustified"….
In the claim, she said the family's cockatoo screeches, their dogs bark "day and night", their young children play outside and "often scream as loud as they can" and the man whistles while he mows the lawn…
Investigations by the City of Prospect council disproved the allegations, including a report that found the noise generated by the cockatoo was not excessive and there was no cause for complaint.
The family, however, lodged a counter-claim, alleging the woman harassed them by needlessly calling the police to their property 15 times in five months, including six times because of "loud talking on Christmas Day".
Have guns, will shoot. Civilians or police, guns should be kept to the minimum, and knives etc are practically impossible to control.
A 7 year old girl is out of intensive care in Chicago after being shot in the neck in a gang confrontation.
The girl was one of several people shot in US cities during Halloween night activities. In the San Francisco Bay area community of Orinda, California, police said four people were killed in a shooting at a party. And in the eastern Utah community of Roosevelt, one man was fatally shot and a second man was stabbed to death at a party.
Are inmates still having to share cells. Changing back to single cells would be a significant and practical start. The guy up for violence has probably been threatened as a low-life in the system by the others for attacking a child. Get real government, pull your finger out and fix these blatant, obvious defects.
Building a big credit balance from taking down reasonable welfare measures is loopy and anyone impressed by these savings is a degenerate, even when they look okay on the outside.
Jail could be described as society admitting failure with socialisation. Some should be kept in for life, in some sort of isolation with safe communication with others, and some should be held for a month with the rest of the sentence suspended. There should be no double bunking.
There should be the question – What do you want to do that is positive for you, and will help you to not get back in prison? And for some it will involve going to a different location so they are away from the situation that brought them back to prison.
We could look at things, try things, differently – those things you mention are small-fry to desire compared to the very nasty crimes that have brought these people to be imprisoned, even taking drugs, (I'm not up with the street terms so imagine 'poontang' is some drug). If they can learn self-control, set themselves goals, acquire some idea of empathy for others including for their own inner consciousness, through holding those things in min
This approach would also push for other less materialistic, less immoral or debauched thinking and encouraging more spiritual, naturistic, self-respecting and reflecting thinking. That would possibly be found in the Maori programs, but would encourage both personal growth and then being involved in group experiences, both passive and active as in haka, sports of a non-contact nature where old ways of anger and bullying did not find direct expression in violent acts. Often getting an ex-con to talk to such prisoners and run discussion groups where mindsets shift could be a major step to finding a new way.
New ways have to be found in everything. The old ways have brought us to the brink of ruin.
Here is one from July but the rant is still very fresh and (lacking in) taste, ie tasteless. Spoiler – is not at all PC and contains various abusive language.
And I click da-boom what you refer to. Are you alleging that the sort of people who carry out spying details, are the type that end up in prison with egregious crime lists pinned to their orange jumpsuits?
I hope all countries can attend this vital meeting in Madrid as some with less putea will have bigger problems than wealthier countries hence their voices need to be heard.
Greta Thunberg asks for lift back across Atlantic as climate meeting shifts to Madrid
Swedish teenager needs help getting back to Europe following the COP25 meeting’s move from Chile to Spain.
As delegates to the COP25 climate summit scramble to adjust to a last-minute change of venue from Santiago to Madrid, one of the highest-profile attendees has stuck out a metaphorical thumb on social media to ask for a lift across the Atlantic.
Teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who was speaking in California during a stop on her low-emissions journey from Sweden to Chile, tweeted that she was now in need of a ride to Spain.
Thunberg, who refuses to fly because of the carbon emissions involved, had been travelling by boat, train and electric car when the new venue was announced
“It turns out I’ve travelled half around the world, the wrong way:)…If anyone could help me find transport I would be so grateful,” she tweeted from Los Angeles.
Thunberg arrived in New York for the UN climate summit in August after a 14-day journey across the Atlantic in a sailing boat. Since then she has been travelling via train and an electric car borrowed from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Harjeet Singh, of environmental group ActionAid International, said moving the summit from Chile to Spain with only four weeks’ notice “presents real barriers to participation” for delegates from the southern hemisphere.
“Hotels in Madrid are already full. Last-minute flights are expensive. Visas can be difficult to obtain at short notice. This sudden decision is likely to shift the balance of power towards the wealthier countries of the global north,” he added in a statement.
It is the second time that UN authorities have had to scramble to find a new meeting place. Brazil originally welcomed the gathering then backed out after rightwing president Jair Bolsonaro took office.
Teresa Ribera, Spain’s ecological transition minister, said on Twitter on Saturday: “Dear Greta, it would be great to have you here in Madrid. You’ve made a long journey and help all of us to raise concern, open minds and enhance action. We would love to help you to cross the Atlantic back.”
We can see evedince of Ancient cultures collapseing I always thought that they collapsed because of their environment being compromised and not being able to sustain the population. Now here is the evidence of climate change collapseing society's
SCIENTISTS have stumbled across what could answer the mysterious and sudden collapse of the powerful Mesopotamian Empire some 4,000 years ago.
Mesopotamia was a huge empire that spanned much of the Middle East, including modern day Iraq, Kuwait, eastern Syria, south eastern Turkey and bordering regions. A kingdom settled on fertile lands within the Tigirs-Euphrates, Mesopotamia suddenly collapsed over a relatively short period time, eluding scientists and researchers through the age
Now, however, a study’s findings may point towards a potential answer: that Mesopotamia was caught up in a giant dust storm that the empire couldn’t cope with, resulting in inability to grow crops, famine and mass social upheaval.
Dr Tsuyoshi Watanabe of Hokkaido University, involved in the study, said in a statement: “Although the official mark of the collapse of the Akkadian Empire is the invasion of Mesopotamia by other populations, our fossil samples are windows in time showing that variations in climate significantly contributed to the empire’s decline.
You can not run a country like a business they are totally different business people run country for the wealthiest first and the rest get budget cuts.
That's good the insolvency laws change to protect the small businesses that are owed money for their services.
What amazes is why we are not taking about crime dropping in Aotearoa.
That's cool A containerised education unit to educate tamariki about wool great quality's as we change to a carbon neutral society wool will become very important in our society. A lot of Aotearoa natural export will be sort after as well.
I can remember when the 2 tennis Stars were new to the TV scene's.
Our birds are very important part of our wildlife I like all birds species they can do what humans dream.
Aotearoa has a mild stable environment we should be grateful for the great weather we have.
In Climate Lessons, a scientist explains what their research has taught them about climate change.
We live on a collection of islands that straddle the cool waters of the Southern Ocean and the warmth of the subtropical Pacific – stretching all the way from the warm beaches of Northland to the rugged and windswept beauty of Stewart Island, with large mountains ranges running down the spines of both Te Ika a Maui and Te Wai Pounamu. This stark combination of geography and topography has a significant influence on how we experience the present impacts of climate change, and what we can expect into the future.
It has been my life's work to use climate models to make predictions about New Zealand's future, but even more importantly to try and understand what they are telling us about how the world works. I believe that for us to make important decisions based on model predictions, we need to really understand them, and this matters even more as Artificial Intelligence becomes widespread in our lives.
You see all thing need to be respected and protected our Glacier provid water for billions the stability of local weather and trap carbon more than forest do.
Glacial rivers absorb carbon faster than rainforests, scientists find
‘Total surprise’ discovery overturns conventional understanding of rivers
Seascape: the state of our oceans is supported
In the turbid, frigid waters roaring from the glaciers of Canada’s high Arctic, researchers have made a surprising discovery: for decades, the northern rivers secretly pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at a rate faster than the Amazon rainforest.
The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, flip the conventional understanding of rivers, which are largely viewed as sources of carbon emissions.
It was a total surprise,” said Dr Kyra St Pierre, a biologist at the University of British Columbia and lead researcher on the project. “Given what we know about the rivers though … the findings are intuitive when you think about it. But we were initially very surprised to see what we did.”
The discovery came from time spent collecting meltwater samples on Ellesmere Island, in Canada’s Nunavut territory, where several glaciers flow into Lake Hazen. The team of researchers also gathered samples in the Rocky Mountains and Greenland.
“We have a pretty good understanding of the state of glaciers globally,” said St Pierre. “One thing we don’t know much about is the meltwaters and what happens when it … flows into rivers and downstream lakes.”
In temperate rivers, a bounty of organic material – plant life and fish – results in higher levels of decomposition, meaning the bodies of water emit a far greater amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than they absorb.
But glacial rivers, with their milky appearance and silt-laden composition, are not very hospitable to aquatic life, leading to far less organic decay – and little carbon output
That's awesome that Aotearoa and Australia are going to work together on tangata whenua issues I think Australia has a lot to do to give equality for their Tangata Whenua Aotearoa still has a bit to do to as well .
Its great to see Maori standing for Council seats. But you see Wairoa And Te Tairawhiti had very strong economy's in the 1970s there economy have not been nurtured at all by previous Government hence high unemployment that is not good for tangata.
Cool Shotover adventures is introduceding Maori Culture into their operations.
Ka pai to the 2 Maori playwrights writers winning their prize it will be good to see there mahi.
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
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Jacinda needs to wake up as this climate change report in September says it all.
How come freight road transport is still rising at an alarming rate of 6% annually while rail freight is still retreating?
Trucks are now coming from al over the central North Island with logs and are still “double handling” before dropping logs to Napier port?
Road transport claimed rail was “not viable because of double handling but trucks are now double handling too?
So our road transport (GHG) ‘Greenhouse gas emissions’ are now rising, while if government switched to using rail freight they would would reduce road freight (GHG) emissions. Jacinda; “Lets do this”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/09/25/new-un-climate-report-massive-change-already-here-worlds-oceans-frozen-regions/
“Climate and Environment
New U.N. climate report: Monumental change already here for world’s oceans and frozen regions
Growing coastal flooding is inevitable, and damage to corals and other marine life has already been unleashed”
There is the inconsistency of growing trees for GW mitigation when we transport the logs the way we do.
Water has been used to transport logs since we've chopped them down. I wonder if a tug with a purpose built net could deliver 100 truckloads to Marsden Point from the Far North in a few days.
Hook the net onto a Chinese ship and they wouldn't need loading. The Chinese ship could be filled with something else, tow the logs home. Float them down a slipway in China, straight into drying racks then saws.
Starting to hurt – I'm sure his pants would spontaneously combust in his wee fireside chat – what a turkey
How Don the Con locks in his support – he manipulates the situation so those that do get suckered into supporting him don't dare withdraw that support for fear of looking really stupid for ever having supported him in the first place.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/11/01/the-five-people-who-could-have-stopped-trump-229894
the
full
report
yeah, right. Tui.
Come on EW, rub their fucking noses in it. Katie Hill for VP!
https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1189988232626417664
https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1189988079249035271
Sadly, she's not old enough to become veep. She was born in 1987.
The unemployed ex husband will be sued for damages and thus not receive one penny in the divorce settlement. Stupid as.
'November 2019' – Happy Blade Runner day.
🙂
I look forward to hearing from Don "the accused".
As we should have heard from Hillary Clinton also in this way; – as she destroyed quote;"the sensitive government cellphone records" – FBI had ordered Hillary to supply them with before Hilary stopped wiping those records from her phone and covered it up by destroying the 30 000 files.
So why did she do this after being requested by FBI to surrender the files to them?
We know that the FBI/CIA are both historically corrupt.
But is is puzzling why Hillary was so keen on destroying the files instead of being "transparent.
So Donald trump is now challenging all by opening up the debate in public.
This is refreshing as the Democratic party won't do this,
As the impeachment inquiry was done under a "closed door policy" and Trump is opening it up for all to see and this is a positive move by trump..
But her emails!
Pffft
My local paper recently published a review of Peter Dyer's book "The story of New Zealand's leaky home disaster". I then found this article on Stuff, reviewing the same book, https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/116236850/the-rottenomics-of-the-47-billion-leaky-homes-market-failure?fbclid=IwAR0UC0-Et8k8JJMqfy8dPNx7H2bK23sT84RbCYu94yfYtl5ru_bTd6AxeAY.
I apologise if I have missed an earlier thread on this topic but surely this is an issue that is timely and shows again, quite clearly, how we shouldn't trust our economy to a party that still believes in the efficacy of the free market and self regulation. The Nat's will be using every tool at their disposal to discredit the Government over the next ten months and Dirty Politics will raise its head again. The leaky homes scandal goes on and on and it needs to be held up as a placard for all to see.
Dyer arrives at a fix price of 47 billion. It could only ever be a rough estimate. Leaky homes are NZ's housing herpes. I think we're stuck with it for 100 years. Even those builds deemed to be sound, in 50 years when another bedroom is being added on, there will be walls opened up lined in black fur.
As time passes, it looks more and more like the home owner will be responsible for setting it right.
The fiasco deserves to be a segment on 'Great technological disasters of the 20th Century.' at least Twyford just hasn't built many, we whacked up 1000's of these kid's garden forts.
Add to the leaky homes fungus-filled, there will be infrastructure failures because of low quality or too lean reinforcement or poorly fixed structures. That will result in spectacular failures similar to the 2011 CTV (Canterbury Television) building.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/99420943/why-is-noone-being-prosecuted-for-the-ctv-building-collapse-tragedy (2017)
We have a history of mismanagement and disasters in NZ, which were entirely preventable by following good and precautionary practices. This morning the Erebus disaster was discussed by Kim in an interesting and poignant recall of that history and the thoughts of a grand-daughter to remember the tragedy of the plane crash and deaths, and the caring of the people doing the recovery and identification work.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018720412/granddaughter-of-erebus-victim-on-her-quest-for-the-truth
We fell prey to discount fashion.
"I've got an easy and cheap way to build one of those houses from an exotic location. (where it never rains or quakes)."
I think Erebus is like most of the incidents explored on that 'Mayday' TV show. Aircraft catastrophes so often seem to be 2 or more circumstances lining up in a row that leads to calamity.
Faulty navigational data loaded before take-off, a Captain thinking he was 10 miles to starboard and a white-out blizzard blows in.
With leaky homes, we organised the blizzard.
Now we have a standards regime frightened of getting anything that resembles egg on it's face. Friend of mine had a final inspection done recently. He failed on many points, most of them 'Tough but fair enough, it's in the code'. But an imperfection in the paintwork??
The LBP scheme fails in that it allows the regulatory authority to absolve itself of responsibility. As the only authority for building it should take full responsibility for the standard and compliance of the build. That is why we pay the fees and costs associated with consents. However, the LBP reduces local authority exposure to financial liability for future failures.
Many LBP roles are supervisory or managerial, and I suspect there are multiple signoffs by the registered LBP when they have had very little or nothing to do onsite. There is a whole industry around the consenting process that has work outsourced by local authorities, that contributes very little to design and build quality and nothing in the way of considered planning.
(A friend of mine also failed to get her compliance certificate until the second coat of paint was completed. Her basement toilet – however – was LBP certified, and never worked without backing up and spraying the small room with the result.)
"Builders who could not convince insurers their work was sound would not be able to operate"
Yeah that'll fix it. Let insurance companies be the watchdog.
God stiffen the bloody crows!
From the link in 6.1
The Wellingtonian met dozens of leaky home owners while researching Rottenomics. Their tales were harrowing.
"If you don't have anywhere else to go, you are trapped inside a house that is making you sick. These homes have made a lot of people sick. You are not just sick, you are demoralised. It's a downward cycle," he said.
Many lacked the money to fix their homes, and were trapped in decaying buildings.
Mental health problems and suicide would result one would think, and their numbers are rising. And it is so dispiriting to live in such a lying society, one that used to say it was classless, and praise itself to the skies, and the 1984 events show that was just propaganda, with no commitment to keep it good for all.
I know of a couple who purchased one of the Orewa leaking apartments while they were living and working overseas. Because the purchase was a rental investment, the IRD effectively reimbursed them a significant part of the remediation build as it acted as a major loss for that particular property, which reduced their overall income on their property portfolio.
It always struck me as a major failure that those who invested in these properties – and had alternative living arrangements – were able to access those financial levers that owner occupiers could not.
It seems to show an inherent bias in the system that looks after people in business making money from something, and those who are just providing for their essential living needs get the run-around. The citizen is not in the picture, and the very small businessman too has to manage without much concern about their welfare.
An interesting interview on Radionz with a deep-sea-cave diver. Clever stuff, and using tech innovations that could be crucial in understanding our seas.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018720417/cave-diver-jill-heinerth
Hopefully you stuck with RNZ @greywarshark for that wot followed (William Dalrymple). We might just be in time to prevent a repeat of it all. It doesn't have to be inevitable
OwT I thought that Dalrymple was riveting.
10:05 William Dalrymple – the anarchic rise of the East India Company
Across a 30 year writing career, Scottish historian, broadcaster and critic William Dalrymple has been preoccupied with the history and culture of India.
It's the country he now calls home for half the year, spending summers in his native Scotland. With family connections to India dating back for generations, his latest book The Anarchy traces the 'relentless rise', dazzling heyday, and the sometimes shameful past of the East India Company.
At the peak of its powers, this prototype for the vast multinationals of today exerted as much power and influence as any nation state.
I remember Dalrymple saying that the East India Company had control over much of India and its wealth and industry, from a building in UK of 35? people. It was a fiefdom run for the benefit of scheming, wealthy people, and willing to squeeze the great continent of India dry. It had been going since Shakespeare's time until finally in thmid 1800's the Brits took control after it enabled the Great Bengal Famine, which is a similar stain to the Irish Potato Famine than the Lords and Ladies of Britain found acceptable to bring about.
Dalrymple mentioned Brexit and I think Boorish and to me it is a case of deja vu. The Cons are going all out for wallet weighting. They have managed to screw the people, tighten welfare and bring people to a state of degeneration in England, and I don't know if in the Wales and Scotland kingdoms they have been able to limit the downfall.
He points out that Brit made their loot (a Moghul word?) from stealing from India and from trading in the Carribean with slaves and sugar. So the might of Britain is tainted, and the people running the country are also, and no doubt have gifted their art of cunning thievery with low ethics through their family lines to the present Cons as exemplified in the swingeing swindlers in the UK Government.
I think it might be a good idea to then listen to the interview with Lady Anne Glenconner and her remniscences? of her life and relationship with Princess Margaret. She was married to Lord Colin Tennent who was very rich.
He would be similar to the top people in the East India Company and no doubt the present-day Cons. Lady Anne looks back wryly but fondly and draws a wise summary:
"[At one stage] he took off to Africa .. the whole point was you got in a canoe, went off to look animals. This lady had broken her leg and she couldn't get into the canoe. Colin was absolutely furious, came back and said 'Anne, I've had the most ghastly holiday. I think I've behaved very badly.' I said 'Colin, I really don't want to hear'. It was sort of fairly endearing."
Colin's temper was so bad he was banned for life from British Airways after an incident in California which involved him lying down on the plane kicking and screaming because there wasn't a first-class seat for him – then getting escorted off the flight by police.
Wealth is sometimes the only difference between eccentricity and madness, Anne says.
"If you're eccentric you have to have money, you can't be a poor eccentric. If you're poor then it's mad, if you're very rich then you're eccentric."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018719473/lady-anne-glenconner-i-ve-got-a-hell-of-a-lot-of-very-good-stories
Yep, well you can see where the neo-liberal blind faith is taking us. It's now so ingrained into 'the powers that be' that they often don't even realise that it drives them in everything they do. There's a generation that's grown up knowing nothing else.
Dalrymple was a good way to end the week. Lest I offend some on TS, I opted for TDB with this:
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/11/02/the-daily-blog-open-mic-saturday-2nd-november-2019/
How do I avoid engaging with neo liberals if I want a phone, electricity and a car? It drives everything we all do.
If I want a fishing boat and enough savings to get my kid through Uni I can't see how I can do it without engaging with neo liberal gameplay.
I'm encouraging Xero, Contact energy, Spark, Nissan…aren't we all?
You can't if you want certain products or services. But not everything has to be commodified and marketed. Education, knowledge, art, music for example doesn't have to be solely for the purpose of gaining a profit (above what it takes to support people actually providing it with a livable income) .
There's stuff and things that are part of the commons. Water, the air we breath, nature. Neo-libs would privatise and sell it all for a profit and as many ticket clippers as they can get away with if they thought they could keep the natives from getting restless. Especially failed pig farmers and perpetual growth merchants.
As a matter of interest OwT – have you ever written a comment under a post by MB that criticises the tone and content of it? And was yours conspicuous by its absence?
Not that I recall @greywarshark but it's possible. Do you mean – as in things going into a black hole? I've seen one or two people complain about their comments getting lost/censored but I don't think there's anything sinister in it.
Come on – we are on the left and our job is to find sinister wherever it lurks!
Oh – Do you mean as in https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/11/01/the-daily-blog-open-mic-saturday-2nd-november-2019/ now seems to have disappeared up it's own derriere?
If so – here's the comment:
IMHO, it's probably been a bit of a septem horribilis for some in Labour.
As Shane 'mis-spoke', Labour seems to have 'mis-calculated', and all of it not that necessary given a little more forethought.
While Ministers and senior public servants were 'inside the tent' pissing out and over each other, they mis-calculated the number 'outside the tent' now wanting to piss in.
In a bicultural/multicultural society where its Anglo-Saxon Toffs (and even some of those lesser Noble Savage types) let it be known to their offspring who is an acceptable partner, and who isn't – under threat of their inheretance; where transactional relationships such as 'fuckbuddies', 'friends with benefits', 'Facebooked hookups', 'open relationships', 'swinging' and Married At First Sight matchmakers are all a bit of humour and acceptable; or even where its just more convenient to just wank oneself silly over a bit of porn (at the taxpayers' expense if possible)…..
somehow the idea of parents and a few aunties and 'cousin sisters' getting together to suggest who might be suitable candidates for marriage is something we can't get our heads around.
Apparenty, the latter should jump on the next plane out of here because the next thing you know, they'll be wanting to bring the whole village with them.
The mis-calculation seems to have been the degree to which offense might be taken – not only from the loyal Labour supporters, but also from the sizable number who don't usually vote despite their eligability. They might even start to rival the Blue Dragons especially if eventually, they managed to get the whole bloody village here.
My suspicions are that there are concessions that could have been negotiated (acceptable to the 3 partners in this marriage), and with egos remaining intact. Things that relate to the growing realisation that the neo-liberal religion is a failure.
And if there weren't any concessions that could have been made, we ( either Labour, Labout/Green, Labour/Green/NZ1 supporters)are potentially in deeper shit than I imagined.
Where I noticed that my comment vanished was on this from MB – TDB:
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/10/29/why-cannabis-euthanasia-should-be-a-referendum-and-why-abortion-should-not/
Why Cannabis & Euthanasia should be a referendum and why Abortion should not
I found fault with showing an image of Slavoj Zizek the 'peoples' philosopher but putting a saying attributed to MB beside it.
I found fault with lumping important ethical matters together for a convenient package. Each needs separate consideration as they are about our life, which is special to us, and how we live it and others allow us to live it.
And something else, can't remember. There is one comment shown, not mine which I would like to have seen even if there was no answering comment or a short disagreement.
And interestingly the comment was from a prosaic materialist who seemed more concerned about drugs, police controls, and whether insurance costs could be brought down by having less drug-fuelled accidents.
OK. Actually I vaguely remember reading that now at the time because of TrevS's comment that is still there.
I'm not sure whether the site is as resilient as TS though (having a guru maintaining it). TDB probably has one or two woopsies from time to time.
In both cases (TDB and TS), I just see myself as a guest when commenting with the sites' owners having the prerogative to run them as they see fit. I'm just glad they both exist
True about the sites, but when it comes to censoring, refusing opinions it is interesting how much self-criticism they will apply. It may of course be that they will take notice but not put or leave the comment up. I don't see it as a freedom of expression matter, more a willingness to see a wider spectrum as long as the commenter doesn't go on and too frequent.
Beto drops out.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/beto-orourke-2020-election-drops-out_n_5d52c5fbe4b0cfeed1a39b41
Looking like Kamala Harris won't last much longer either …
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-new-hampshire_n_5dbc8703e4b0fffdb0f698e8
More weasel words from the state.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/117080021/were-committed-to-safe-staffing-levels–tdhb
The DHB has a green, yellow red system to know the levels of 'busyness' in its ED. A system DHBs wanted implemented for exactly this reason.
The notion that they need an enquiry is dishonest, stalling and borderline neglectful.
Mandatory nurse/patient ration of 1 to four. Simple, unambiguous and easy to implement. Just need to open the purse strings.
If we want the health system to never change how it does things, by all means set a fixed ratio across the board.
Or we could spend the same money doing things smarter and keep the staff increases for areas like ED where I agree it is the most sensible answer.
Or we could spend our money in constant testing and workshops and committees working out what was needed last year, and five years later implementing part of that. That would be smart if you are one of those who want to provide less and less good service and help to citizens and turn the country eventually to private service, with basics for those who can't afford it. Then wait for those with a humane and ethical sense and some money, to start a charity hospital etc. as the hospital in Christchurch.
https://charityhospital.org.nz/our-services/
https://charityhospital.org.nz/
I'd say we agree what smart is not.
I was talking in the context of ED when I mentioned the ratio. This is from a 30 year veteran of our local ED.
They have seen many 'smart' initiatives come and go, almost exclusively imposed from above. The beauty of the ratio is that it is simple.
That doesn't mean no other initiatives, but a ratio is an excellent measure of any initiative.
I agree, in ED.
The Government’s plan to help older New Zealanders live well, Better Later Life – He Oranga Kaumātua 2019 to 2034, was launched by Seniors Minister Tracey Martin today.
“Better Later Life takes a fresh look at what is required to ensure everyone gets the chance to live well as they get older and help ensure we create opportunities for everyone to participate, contribute and be valued as they age,” Minister Martin says.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1911/S00007/better-later-life-launched.htm
How good it would be if there was a Minister for Parents and Young Adults who was devoted to getting the resources they need to help them in their important tasks, so – 'we create opportunities for everyone to participate, contribute and be valued '. We have our ideas arse-about! We lay out deck chairs for the old age pensioners who are to be kept healthy so they can please themselves what they do for the community, of course remembering that taking interest in one’s own family is doing stuff for oneself. Some though may have to pick up their family from the total failure of the government's failure to have a well-run enterprising, sharing, distributive economy of a country that aims for vitality, creativity, well-being and opportunities for all its citizens.
The logic for the encouragement to vaping is to give nicotine addicts an alternative to tobacco (given the tar in tobacco is a carcinogen). Which sort of ignores the existence of nicotine patches and the fact that vaping is also a new means to addict young people to nicotine who have never smoked before.
Then there is the fact that vaping is itself not without risk – so encouraging it is encouraging a product that will harm its users.
For mine, vaping should only be allowed by prescription and only for tobacco addicts.
There is growing evidence that vaping THC is particularly dangerous. And as time goes by the so called extent or degree to which vaping is deemed safer than tobacco is narrowing – as more reports come in of lung damage (and vaping is still fairly recent so this is a salutatory warning).
Edit
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/402337/cockleshell-design-still-part-of-dunedin-council-s-plan
This Dunedin plan fits in with what I see as 20th century thinking. Nice design, grand in line with a Sydney Opera House special look. But those days are over, and more money than we know where to look, is going to be needed to resettle people and establish new transport routes with lots of planning and perhaps innovative engineering when the tide comes in and comes in and stays.. Where do these business people actually go to in their heads at night my lovely? A song coming on!
We have a possible fire starter in the back wings of Nelson city on the Council table, with some ratepayer money and some private, and they have encouraged Ngati Koata to invest also, and a keen lot of councillors all excited about its future for tourism. Where will tourism be in 10-15 years and will they have recovered the $50 mill envisaged when it is to be built over 10 years?
Do people remember the little harnesses that parents put on toddlers to ensure they didn't stray back in the 1960-70s? We need big ones for pollies local and central now.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8JOi1q5ugs
What do you do when you live next door to people who do everything at the top of the decibel range? I can sympathise with this woman, having had such things happen, separately, and am lucky now that the man next door doesn't fly into many rages outside, telling his phone to fuck off. I can ignore it when it is just a few minutes of loud conversation.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/pet-cockatoo-centre-adelaide-neighbourhood-dispute-cleared-wrongdoing
A pet cockatoo at the centre of a bitter neighbourhood dispute because of its screeching has been cleared of wrongdoing, in a case described by an Adelaide judge as "completely unjustified"….
In the claim, she said the family's cockatoo screeches, their dogs bark "day and night", their young children play outside and "often scream as loud as they can" and the man whistles while he mows the lawn…
Investigations by the City of Prospect council disproved the allegations, including a report that found the noise generated by the cockatoo was not excessive and there was no cause for complaint.
The family, however, lodged a counter-claim, alleging the woman harassed them by needlessly calling the police to their property 15 times in five months, including six times because of "loud talking on Christmas Day".
Have guns, will shoot. Civilians or police, guns should be kept to the minimum, and knives etc are practically impossible to control.
A 7 year old girl is out of intensive care in Chicago after being shot in the neck in a gang confrontation.
The girl was one of several people shot in US cities during Halloween night activities. In the San Francisco Bay area community of Orinda, California, police said four people were killed in a shooting at a party. And in the eastern Utah community of Roosevelt, one man was fatally shot and a second man was stabbed to death at a party.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/young-girl-shot-in-neck-trick-treating-us
Are inmates still having to share cells. Changing back to single cells would be a significant and practical start. The guy up for violence has probably been threatened as a low-life in the system by the others for attacking a child. Get real government, pull your finger out and fix these blatant, obvious defects.
Building a big credit balance from taking down reasonable welfare measures is loopy and anyone impressed by these savings is a degenerate, even when they look okay on the outside.
Look at this absolute horror story re sharing cells…
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/spotlight/news/article.cfm?c_id=1504095&objectid=12109680
Jail could be described as society admitting failure with socialisation. Some should be kept in for life, in some sort of isolation with safe communication with others, and some should be held for a month with the rest of the sentence suspended. There should be no double bunking.
There should be the question – What do you want to do that is positive for you, and will help you to not get back in prison? And for some it will involve going to a different location so they are away from the situation that brought them back to prison.
What if they reply a Penthouse,a Porsche and some poontang?
We could look at things, try things, differently – those things you mention are small-fry to desire compared to the very nasty crimes that have brought these people to be imprisoned, even taking drugs, (I'm not up with the street terms so imagine 'poontang' is some drug). If they can learn self-control, set themselves goals, acquire some idea of empathy for others including for their own inner consciousness, through holding those things in min
This approach would also push for other less materialistic, less immoral or debauched thinking and encouraging more spiritual, naturistic, self-respecting and reflecting thinking. That would possibly be found in the Maori programs, but would encourage both personal growth and then being involved in group experiences, both passive and active as in haka, sports of a non-contact nature where old ways of anger and bullying did not find direct expression in violent acts. Often getting an ex-con to talk to such prisoners and run discussion groups where mindsets shift could be a major step to finding a new way.
New ways have to be found in everything. The old ways have brought us to the brink of ruin.
Given the other contents of the briefcase, poontang must be a type of pie.
Edit
Pie – good. Jonathan Pie – very good.
Here is one from July but the rant is still very fresh and (lacking in) taste, ie tasteless. Spoiler – is not at all PC and contains various abusive language.
(https://www.facebook.com/JonathanPieReporter/videos/478841486001399/?v=478841486001399
And I click da-boom what you refer to. Are you alleging that the sort of people who carry out spying details, are the type that end up in prison with egregious crime lists pinned to their orange jumpsuits?
'poontang' is 'pussy'….not the feline kind!
ruiner of innocence, you.
Kia Ora Breakfast.
Papatuanuku is a real miracle that humans are literally turning into a nightmare
There were heaps of fireworks getting lit were I was yesterday nite and the night before.
A digger stuck in the mud I can remember someone give a bull CV first day he got the digger stuck.
Early Child Education is a very important mahi.
Ka kite Ano
I hope all countries can attend this vital meeting in Madrid as some with less putea will have bigger problems than wealthier countries hence their voices need to be heard.
Greta Thunberg asks for lift back across Atlantic as climate meeting shifts to Madrid
Swedish teenager needs help getting back to Europe following the COP25 meeting’s move from Chile to Spain.
As delegates to the COP25 climate summit scramble to adjust to a last-minute change of venue from Santiago to Madrid, one of the highest-profile attendees has stuck out a metaphorical thumb on social media to ask for a lift across the Atlantic.
Teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who was speaking in California during a stop on her low-emissions journey from Sweden to Chile, tweeted that she was now in need of a ride to Spain.
Thunberg, who refuses to fly because of the carbon emissions involved, had been travelling by boat, train and electric car when the new venue was announced
“It turns out I’ve travelled half around the world, the wrong way:)…If anyone could help me find transport I would be so grateful,” she tweeted from Los Angeles.
Thunberg arrived in New York for the UN climate summit in August after a 14-day journey across the Atlantic in a sailing boat. Since then she has been travelling via train and an electric car borrowed from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Harjeet Singh, of environmental group ActionAid International, said moving the summit from Chile to Spain with only four weeks’ notice “presents real barriers to participation” for delegates from the southern hemisphere.
“Hotels in Madrid are already full. Last-minute flights are expensive. Visas can be difficult to obtain at short notice. This sudden decision is likely to shift the balance of power towards the wealthier countries of the global north,” he added in a statement.
It is the second time that UN authorities have had to scramble to find a new meeting place. Brazil originally welcomed the gathering then backed out after rightwing president Jair Bolsonaro took office.
Teresa Ribera, Spain’s ecological transition minister, said on Twitter on Saturday: “Dear Greta, it would be great to have you here in Madrid. You’ve made a long journey and help all of us to raise concern, open minds and enhance action. We would love to help you to cross the Atlantic back.”
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/03/greta-thunberg-asks-for-lift-back-across-atlantic-as-climate-meeting-shifts-to-madrid
We can see evedince of Ancient cultures collapseing I always thought that they collapsed because of their environment being compromised and not being able to sustain the population. Now here is the evidence of climate change collapseing society's
SCIENTISTS have stumbled across what could answer the mysterious and sudden collapse of the powerful Mesopotamian Empire some 4,000 years ago.
Mesopotamia was a huge empire that spanned much of the Middle East, including modern day Iraq, Kuwait, eastern Syria, south eastern Turkey and bordering regions. A kingdom settled on fertile lands within the Tigirs-Euphrates, Mesopotamia suddenly collapsed over a relatively short period time, eluding scientists and researchers through the age
Now, however, a study’s findings may point towards a potential answer: that Mesopotamia was caught up in a giant dust storm that the empire couldn’t cope with, resulting in inability to grow crops, famine and mass social upheaval.
Dr Tsuyoshi Watanabe of Hokkaido University, involved in the study, said in a statement: “Although the official mark of the collapse of the Akkadian Empire is the invasion of Mesopotamia by other populations, our fossil samples are windows in time showing that variations in climate significantly contributed to the empire’s decline.
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1198516/ancient-history-latest-news-mesopotamia-iraq-syria-middle-east-dust-storm-archaeology-scie/amp
Kia Ora 1 News.
Smog carbon Air pollution is a big problem in most cities.
We need to stop burning stuff to protect our futures environment.
A new River Queen for Kaiapoi the locals seen quite happy.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
I think that Iwi should be included in the discussion on our Wai Awa and Tangaroa.
Catfish are in our Awa they are a fast breeders.
Good to see someone savings some of the native fresh Wai species of Aotearoa.
Ka pai to Waitaha for getting there Kapa Haka going.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora Breakfast.
You can not run a country like a business they are totally different business people run country for the wealthiest first and the rest get budget cuts.
That's good the insolvency laws change to protect the small businesses that are owed money for their services.
What amazes is why we are not taking about crime dropping in Aotearoa.
That's cool A containerised education unit to educate tamariki about wool great quality's as we change to a carbon neutral society wool will become very important in our society. A lot of Aotearoa natural export will be sort after as well.
I can remember when the 2 tennis Stars were new to the TV scene's.
Our birds are very important part of our wildlife I like all birds species they can do what humans dream.
Ka kite Ano
Aotearoa has a mild stable environment we should be grateful for the great weather we have.
In Climate Lessons, a scientist explains what their research has taught them about climate change.
We live on a collection of islands that straddle the cool waters of the Southern Ocean and the warmth of the subtropical Pacific – stretching all the way from the warm beaches of Northland to the rugged and windswept beauty of Stewart Island, with large mountains ranges running down the spines of both Te Ika a Maui and Te Wai Pounamu. This stark combination of geography and topography has a significant influence on how we experience the present impacts of climate change, and what we can expect into the future.
It has been my life's work to use climate models to make predictions about New Zealand's future, but even more importantly to try and understand what they are telling us about how the world works. I believe that for us to make important decisions based on model predictions, we need to really understand them, and this matters even more as Artificial Intelligence becomes widespread in our lives.
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/117080103/climate-lessons-how-global-warming-affects-new-zealands-wind-and-rain
You see all thing need to be respected and protected our Glacier provid water for billions the stability of local weather and trap carbon more than forest do.
Glacial rivers absorb carbon faster than rainforests, scientists find
‘Total surprise’ discovery overturns conventional understanding of rivers
Seascape: the state of our oceans is supported
In the turbid, frigid waters roaring from the glaciers of Canada’s high Arctic, researchers have made a surprising discovery: for decades, the northern rivers secretly pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at a rate faster than the Amazon rainforest.
The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, flip the conventional understanding of rivers, which are largely viewed as sources of carbon emissions.
It was a total surprise,” said Dr Kyra St Pierre, a biologist at the University of British Columbia and lead researcher on the project. “Given what we know about the rivers though … the findings are intuitive when you think about it. But we were initially very surprised to see what we did.”
The discovery came from time spent collecting meltwater samples on Ellesmere Island, in Canada’s Nunavut territory, where several glaciers flow into Lake Hazen. The team of researchers also gathered samples in the Rocky Mountains and Greenland.
“We have a pretty good understanding of the state of glaciers globally,” said St Pierre. “One thing we don’t know much about is the meltwaters and what happens when it … flows into rivers and downstream lakes.”
In temperate rivers, a bounty of organic material – plant life and fish – results in higher levels of decomposition, meaning the bodies of water emit a far greater amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than they absorb.
But glacial rivers, with their milky appearance and silt-laden composition, are not very hospitable to aquatic life, leading to far less organic decay – and little carbon output
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/25/scientists-glacial-rivers-absorb-carbon-faster-rainforests
Kia 1 NEWS
That's awesome that Aotearoa and Australia are going to work together on tangata whenua issues I think Australia has a lot to do to give equality for their Tangata Whenua Aotearoa still has a bit to do to as well .
Droughts and Global warming are hand in hand.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Its great to see Maori standing for Council seats. But you see Wairoa And Te Tairawhiti had very strong economy's in the 1970s there economy have not been nurtured at all by previous Government hence high unemployment that is not good for tangata.
Cool Shotover adventures is introduceding Maori Culture into their operations.
Ka pai to the 2 Maori playwrights writers winning their prize it will be good to see there mahi.
Ka kite Ano.