Here’s me adopted triplet grandpooklets at 9 am one sunny morning, 8 January 2019.
Little River is up on the blocks. Big Bruv Shadow (born a week before the other two) is doing fine; bold as brass (I reckoned he’s a boy).
But River’s “twin” Summer is already growing bigger & despite my entreaties to the adults to “Feed River, feed River” the little one seems to get ignored at times.
I worried just a tad about the runty one, as ya do, when ya a grandparent. But she did ok in the end. All made it to young adult pukeko.
Your little family of pukeko and the rest have seen you through the lockdowns and given real pleasure, and filming their progress joy.
Opposite us we have a natural park with trees and a stream on its boundary and a wet area which has been protected. It is a designated dog walking park, and we would watch the various breeds joy in running free on the grassy area. The birds would take to the trees and when the visitors were gone, they would all appear again. There is always something happening.
The most rewarding part of it has been gaining the trust of the Whanau Pook pukekos, Patricia. That's been videoed with a 2 megapixel vidcam in an old Sony Ericsson 3G mobile.
I'm right above them, looking down on them leaning the vidcam over the fence.
But with each new "batch" of pooklets, Bluey gets his trustmeter set to zero by Nature. Doesn't matter how long he's known & trusted me, 3 years by then, if I went thru the gate & approached these pooklets, this young he'd attack me.
David Slack from More Than A Feilding <subslack@substack.com>
“It really was quite a dazzling kind of inverted political wizardry to get bike riding cast as an act of smug entitled indulgence, and a driver’s love for their double cab ute as tortured victimhood.”
<<<<From the moment they unveiled the drawing it felt like a Diva’s sweep of the arm: OK you mewling grizzling cyclists, you want a bridge?? Here's a bridge!! Here's the most bridge a bike bridge ever had. How lavish do you eternally moaning guts-achers want it? How about this lavish? Hey, no, don't get up we've got some more lavish to trowel all over youse.
LOL! Now let's see what hard working New Zealanders think of your dopey Greta delusions. Sure would be a shame if this over-the-top bullshit got your dopey climate crisis ideas tanked.>>>>
Once again, even suggesting this bridge was a priority in regards to climate change for Auckland when there are large swathes of non-inner city Aucklanders with abysmal, unaffordable or non-existent transport alternatives after decades of bad town and transport planning is a stretch.
Addressing that transport inequality should be the priority in terms of climate change mitigation. That's a complex issue that's not going to get simpler by being ignored.
Beyond the completion of CRL that is increasingly the case.
No one has ignored climate change as an issue for transport in Auckland and it's just stupid to say that it has been.
The Waitemata Bridge was not on the horizon of projects that people opposed in the actual budget consultation. The big ones that tends of thousands of people opposed in the actual consultation that the Minister was supposed to rely on for his prioritisation were Mill Road and Penlink. Penlink survived and Mill Road didn't.
That the Minister is still stuffing around with the NLTP rather than actually following what was consulted on shows that he just doesn't support cycling. The cycling projects that will be completed in Auckland in the next decade are largely well underway already – and they are in the south of CBD except for New Lynn to Avondale.
Just a cursory look through the RLTP will show you all of this in the detail you so clearly need.
I am on the AT list for consultation and keep track of local projects out south.
The AT consultation process that informs them of support and aids in prioritisation is flawed. The demographics of those responding is unlikely to reflect the access and affordability issues of badly served and lower income households. Non participation is not a fault of AT, but their failure to recognise it and mitigate that bias is.
"More than a third of Aucklanders live within 500 metres of a frequent public transport service, yet the majority of us still choose to use our private motor vehicle for most of our trips" – that's a pitiful amount to justify the following :
"Road pricing (or congestion pricing) is another important area of regulatory change. The current way Aucklanders pay for using their roads does not incentivise them to be used in the most productive way, or support climate change outcomes."
Guess which households will be hit by those congestion or road pricing charges? The ones who have to live in areas poorly served by public transport services because of housing unaffordability, and who have no other option but to use the car for commuting, often over long distances. They are already the ones hit hardest by the Auckland fuel tax, and also those unlikely to have transport costs to work paid for by their employer. The continual financial hits on the lowest income households by the failure to address these connecting policies and effects will continue unless AT recognises them.
I strongly support their walkable neighbourhoods and cycleways initiatives, but consider there should be a recognised difference between recreational community facilities, and those that actually are commuter alternative transport options, that do enable people to get out of cars for essential trips.
In terms of climate change mitigation, AT needs to look at poorly served communities and do their own research, to figure out how to serve them and not rely on consultation to identify those possible projects. Climate action must include climate justice or climate equity.
If AT was serious about climate change then only those commuter centred projects for badly served 2/3 of the Auckland population would be undertaken until equality of access was markedly improved.
That doesn't mean that "recreational" projects are stopped or postponed, just that funding needs to come from existing alternative methods, such as developers or local ratepayer targeted rates. If 75% of local ratepayers support the project, which is likely because it will not only enhance their community, but most likely improve their capital values, then the project can be funded and go ahead.
AT consultation is of course a legal requirement under NLTP. They demonstrate at the front who engaged and why. Disability groups and disadvantaged groups all get a focus and they are assisted in this by the Council.
AT, Council, and Kainga Ora put in extensive engagement into disadvantaged areas outside of that.
AT already did a major access improvement for PT with their implementation of high frequency buses on key routes. They can't have zero fares unless the government funds them to do so, due to the PTOM model which government has chosen not to change.
Gen Zero, Greater Auckland and others with a climate focus all put in detailed submissions, and they usually get a significant chunk of hearing time.
AT already do climate change mitigation projects. Their most recent was jacking up Tamaki Drive by a metre since it's been regularly flooded and cut off. Complementing that of course was the cycling routes under construction all the way from Glen Innes through to the CBD.
Been there, participated in consultation. Friends that I met are still involved, and working on projects.
I see the demographics at the workshops and presentations, and I also know the technique of going to the same identied representatives to gather the views of tangata whenua.
One of my close friends, a vocal and enthusiastic participant in the 'protest' ride over the bridge, also used climate change as a reason for the project. Despite the fact that his use of the bridge – which he would undertake because of the pure enjoyment of the experience – would require a car-ride of 40km each way to get there. He meant for other people of course, including the North Shore woman who stood up in the meeting and said she wanted the bridge crossing because she didn't want to use the ferry to transport her $11,000 e-bike because it might get damaged and she also had no guarantee that a ferry would be available when she got to the wharf so she might have to wait. (Apparently, timetables are not a thing on the Shore).
I also understand that processes may be more efficient in the central city in regards to community consultation and implementation. I live in Franklin, where after a typical AT consultation (where I was able to solicit and provide a large number of household responses) we were successful to be allocated a public transport service in a small community of rapid residential growth. Our local board representative, who represents us, but lives in another community that was unsuccessful due to the low response (and at that time, low growth pattern) publicly said how annoyed he was that our community got transport and his didn't. The consequent service offered – connecting up to the train station in town – started at 10.45am daily and ended at 4.45pm. Not suitable for daily commutes of workers or schoolchildren. What I consider a set up to fail scheme. Unfortunately, the residents of the community utilised it regardless, and I am happy to say it remains.
Those who know how the system works, make it work for them. Fair enough. They then assume that if anyone, anywhere else wants something, all they have to do is the same. But for those underrepresented, it is not knowledge or understanding or lack of wanting improvements, it is often lack of time, resources, experiences of not being heard in other forums.
I also think the focus of many local boards in areas of lower-income households have additional priorities that take precedence: access to healthcare, safety, crime etc. So, even the local board members elected in on three year terms, don't have the time to learn and advocate in transport and planning in the same way as others without those concerns.
But I have never spoken to anyone else who – quite rightly – looks to make improvements in their own neighbourhood and undertakes to consult and eventually present on a project – who takes the time to look around and say, "You know what? There are neighbourhoods that have a greater need for this money. Are we able to get this funding by using targeted rates and/or some other method?".
The system is not set up to address the inequality that already exists.
It functions effectively yes, but my perception is that it continues to contribute to the divided nature of Auckland communities, and the laughable concept of "liveable city" where there are so many deprived neighbourhoods.
(Sorry, moderators, just noticed the error in username – should be Molly)
I saw this in the ODT yesterday, which sparked some thoughts but I was a bit tired from my second jab to string them together. Seeing it this morning; republished on the RNZ website for a wider audience, I feel that I should try express my own counterview:
Ellison said a more commonly used title in the south was Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu, which encompassed both major land masses…
On the wider subject of changing the names of settlements and natural features, he said Ngāi Tahu had their own process to do similar work in the south, which was more gradual than what the Māori Party suggested.
Firstly, a huge caveat that as Ngāpuhi/ Ngāpākehā, my own hapū are outsiders to Te Waipounamu iwi politics ourselves, though there are some commonalities. And if you keep your eyes and ears open, you pick things up.
My initial reaction was mild amusement at the author of the piece using; Ngāi Tahu to describe Ōtākou marae kaumatua Edward Ellison, in an article arguing for listening to Te Waipounamu kōrero. There's a bit of a north/ south gradient on this; where the Ng is replaced by a K (eg Rūnanga becoming Rūnaka). Historical reasons trace back to the invasion of Kāti Māmoe lands by the northern Ngāi Tahu who, over decades of conquest and assimilation largely supplanted the existing political structure, but not exterminating the common people, thus eventually becoming the present day Kāi Tahu. Though I have even heard Kāti Tahu, way up in the southwest of Murihiku, so perhaps Ka'i Tahu would be a better spelling there (though that looks more Samoan than Māori!).
It is far more common to hear; Te ika a Māui, for the northeastern island of the Aotearoan archipelago, than Aotearoa. Sometimes you hear; Te waka a Māui & Te puka a Māui too, for; Te Waipounamu & Rakiura respectively, though it's not very common, especially for everyday usage where you want to be clearly understood. But I am rarely out at Ōtākou marae (last time would have been Puaka/Matariki a couple of years back), so I can not say for sure what the most prevalent terms are there.
But speaking of gradual process for name changing, a lot of takata Kāi Tahu, would argue that the process has been too slow. This was a mere 5 years ago:
Nigger Stream, near Arthur’s Pass, will now officially be named Pūkio Stream after a native grass (Carex Secta) found in the area.
Niggerhead, which is above Lake Sumner, will be called Tawhai Hill after a species of native Beech Tree found in the South Island.
Nigger Hill, to the east of Arthur’s Pass, will be renamed Kānuka Hills after a species of native tea tree that grows in the area.
Anyway, I am getting fairly long here, so I will just link to this Godferey piece from a month back, which covers much of what I would additionally say:
The early European explorers understood the power of naming, hence their international effort to remake the world in the English language.
Māori understand the same imperative, and enough Māori accept Aotearoa as the name for New Zealand that its historic fidelity no longer matters.
Been wondering when Te Waipounamu would come up. How many people in the North Island know what it means?
I liked Ellison’s style. Due given to TPM, pointing gently to the problems, standing in his own people’s power and their process without making a fuss about it.
Kai Tahu I know whakapapa to not only Kai Tahu but variously to iwi and hapu that predate Kai Tahu, the longer history of Te Waipounamu. I will be interested to hear what they have to say.
That the South Island is known by southern Māori as Te Waipounamu, & the North Island as Te Ika-a-Maui (with both having various other Māori names too) has always made me a bit leery about calling the whole country Aotearoa – The Land of The Long White Cloud I always understood was a reference to the North Island only.
When this topic would surface on another blog, I used to say, only half-jokingly, a better option might be to come with a hybrid
Māori+English word for our country.
My preference was for Kiwiland. The main reasons being that’s a combo word of both languages, & New Zealanders overseas, Māori & Pākehā have been collectively called Kiwis for what must be at least a century now.
However, Aotearoa seems to have now been accepted by various governments & by government departments like Internal Affairs, who’ve had this Māori name apearing on our passports for many years now.
Dunno what’s wrong with my broadband connection (to this site & others) this morning. Sites are agonisingly slow to connect & open, & even trying to type in the address & comments field here take an interminable anount of time.
I like Aozearoa as a hybrid word myself; Gezza, though it hasn't caught on at all. You should read Godferey's Guardian piece, he goes into some detail about the history of the use of Aotearoa (you could even argue that is just Northland as Kupe is reputed to have landed there; though accounts, as always, differ between iwi).
The hyphens make Te Ika-a-Māui, fairly cumbersome to write, but Te IkaaMāui just looks wrong. I have recently (in the past few years) heard it being referred to as Te Ikanui, though sometimes that seems to be just Auckland (the Big Fish, as pacific equivalent of the Big Apple?), and others the whole northeastern island. I guess that hybrid word is still evolving. I have also seen variations on simply translating New Zealand into Te Reo as something like; Whenua Hou-moana, which may or may not go anywhere. It is very difficult to predict future language usage.
I will read that Guardian piece now, Forget now. The bb connection was so slow most of this morning I’d given up on the internet.
Seems to be working fine again now.
Funny you should mention the too-long NI name. I feel the same way. I’d have liked them just to be called, colloquially, Te Ika (or Teika) , & Pounamu.
Rakiura is already just Rakiura to me, altho if someone asks “Where?”, I’ll reply “Stewart Island”.
Yes that Guardian article is eminently readable. The writer has a nice, easy & engaging writing style. I did find it interesting & I have come to the same conclusion about Aotearoa being now the most commonly accepted Māori country-name word for the whole of New Zealand.
One of my former hesitations about it was the likliehood that many English-speaking visitors might mispronounce it as Ayo tee ah rower, instead of Ow tear roar.
I was going on long enough already, so I did gloss over the whole Waitaha issue; Weka. Essentially, Kāti Māmoe did the same thing as Ngāi Tahu later did; of settling Te Waipounamu from the north by war and marriage, Before then, there were many iwi, of which Waitaha is the best known with oral histories (fragmented and partially lost now) going back to around 1000 BCE in which they claimed to have discovered the southern islands including; Te Waipounamu, Rakiura, and ngā Moutere Tītī. Though the earliest tales are more legendary than history.
The specific Waitaha iwi (as opposed to Waitaha as a generic term for all pre-Māmoe Te Waipounamu inhabitants) was located primarily around the Waitaki river. To this day, some there will call themselves Kaitaha rather than Kāi Tahu, though not so much around outsiders, especially the Ngāi Tahu descended rangatira. Canterbury Kāi Tahu have also somewhat appropriated the name to refer to their own province (and thus bolster their mana within the iwi) for example; Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha (Canterbury University), is in Ōtautahi, not Oamaru.
It's not easy to compress a thousand years of still debated and controversial poorly documented history/ archeology into a couple of paragraphs, and wasn't entirely on topic – so I left it out. It is interesting though.
But more important is the present politics in Te Tai Tonga electorate, which you best believe that any kaumatua worth the title will be hip deep in. The present TTTonga MP is Labour's Rino Tirakatene following the 1996 campaign-trail death of his father (RT senior) and heir apparent to the Tirakatene political dynasty. RT beat Katene o Te Pāti Māoriin 2011 and has held the TTTonga seat ever since (though not as long as his Grandfather or Aunt yet).
However, in 2020 RT's (still large majority) win in TTTonga found TPR's Tākuta Ferris in second place (Green Party's ex-coleader Turei being 2nd in 2017). With the gap between Tirakatene-Sullivan and RT being over a decade long, the name Tirakatene is no longer quite as synonymous with Southern Māori MP as it used to be. Especially if TTTonga urban Māori voters start seeing a resurgent TPM as being more representative of their needs than the Labour party.
So a bit of quiet knobbling of a campaign generating favourable publicity for TRP by Te Waipounamu marae leaders is not to be taken without a grain of salt.
Something that's perhaps apt to get lost in any likely hullaballoo over the suggestion to rename English cities, towns & place names is that not all those places necessarily had he ingoa Māori (a Māori name)nin the first place.
Just as Māori often named places & prominent landmarks after their ancestors, or a significant characteristic of the area (eg Kaikōura), the English, Irish, Scots & other later settlers did so too.
There were several small Māori settlements & villages in & around what is now Wellington City & its coastal environs when the Pākehā settlers first began arriving.
The main Pākehā settlement was originally called Port Nicholson, from where the area now known as Pōneke has most likely derived as a loan word. None of those original Māori settlements amounted to the sizeable city of Wellington which built and named subsequently.
I would therefore argue that Wellington should remain the name of our capital city. However, I have no problem with accepting the name Te Whanganui-a-Tara (the Great Harbour of Tara) because Tara, a Northern tribes great sailor, explorer & rangatira found it spent some time there.
Repeat of my comment on one of yesterday's threads:
Narcissists never reflect on what they say or write. They have the ability to block off all memory of their failures and misdiagnosis. It enables them to continue to misguide people with their false reckons…
Anyone who has been on the receiving end of a full blown narcissist will know how destructive they are. The police have an obligation to isolate Tamaki before he further undermines the vaccination programme.
Leo Molloy and Brian Tamaki belong to the same bike club? They both organised this and should be called out for not upholding an over riding health order.
The Police have at times not helped the Government by standing back too much. Both men and their committee should have been told 'Do this and you will be fined as you are defying the Director of Health." Now they should be served.
There is a growing meme that we are being locked down to give the Government huge powers. When the Police do not enforce health orders, what hope is there for compliance from those in society who think their freedoms overide all else?
Or folk who believe their version of religion is the one, and the Old Testament verses direct their behaviour through a self appointed Apostle.
Leo Molloy ended up in court previously for ignoring lock down rules, so this was a huge "so there" from him imo.
N.B. Both these men should pay back any Government assistance they have claimed!
We either have health orders or we don't in a pandemic. The police should enforce the rules where it is patently obvious people intend to break them. Those involved in organising this should face fines at the very least, to help pay for any resulting testing and tracing.
Or at least they should be given a serve by all of us doing as I am.. calling them out as selfish ignorant egomaniacs who could not wait one more week.
The Police are trying to keep people reasonable in their behaviours, but that is bound to fail with unreasonable people, and increases the liklihood of further protests.
This has been a big Police failure in my opinion. It has made a mockery of the rules right when we are likely to beat this again. That would not suit some agendas though would it? Poto Williams was also missing in action here.
Brian and Leo.. Pay back any Covid assistance!!!!!
Leo Molloy is a former arsehole racehorse jockey turned former arsehole veterinarian turned arsehole publican and arsehole restaurateur. In other words, the perfect host for the clientele he attracts to his establishment at the Viaduct Basin. I had the misfortune of encountering him a couple of times in his veterinary student days.
If you really want to know more, here's a profile. But trust me, that knowledge won't enrich your life in any way. Possibly the telling of it might, tho.
As I recall, Ardern also said the Raglan case was unvaccinated and that three household contacts who were vaccinated have not yet developed symptoms. Test results not mentioned, probably not back yet. Comforting to hear that vaccination appears to protect close contacts from the delta strain.
I'm impatient for a booster shot and hoping Brian and Leo will have a road to Damascus moment.
Thank you Patricia (4.4). Agree wholeheartedly with your comments.
As far as I'm concerned, the police failed the people of Auckland yesterday, not only once, but twice. Apart from being seen to do nothing at the Tamaki protests, they were absent (apart from two police cars), during a wild motorcycle ride through the main streets of Auckland's CBD yesterday afternoon, with motorbikes not only taking over the main road, going through red traffic lights, but also riding on footpaths, while adults and children waited to cross the road. Some riders were not wearing protective headgear, while others rode on two wheels!
Why isn't the NZ police force protecting this country's citizens? Massive failures on their part in two very public incidences, both in Auckland.
You must understand that the sum total of all the gangs in NZ are probably better armed and organised than police and army combined. For as long as they remain divided you're probably safe.
Perhaps the powers that be are ignoring him. Don't know how useful that will be.
It is interesting that the newly infected in hospital appear to be the unvaccinated, and perhaps they did not want to over shadow that by drawing attention to him, as events have overtaken things with the Raglan and Hamilton East being involved with new cases.
I still feel Robertson would be within his rights to ask for a refund to cover the Policing and any fallout.
Weekly testing is required. Enforcing when unvaccinated no travel out of a level 3 zone would minimise the spread. The reality is that some people will not get vaccinated at all.
Raglan; I think surfing, Huntly; I think coal fired electricity. Do you have any basis for your assumption gangs were involved; Pataua4life? The list of locations of interest outside Auckland just looks like the truckers route to and from Palmerston North. Also:
One case is in Raglan and the other is in Hamilton East…
The Ministry said the Raglan case is currently self-isolating and will be moved to a quarantine facility. They were tested on 1 October after feeling unwell and their infectious period is determined to be from 27 September.
This person has three household contacts who are also isolating.
The second case is a known contact of the Raglan case and was also tested after becoming unwell.
The only times I've been to Hamilton East, I was visiting whanau at the university. It didn't strike me as having a large gang presence. Though that was a while ago now.
You can almost be "100% sure this spread is gang related?"
I can be almost 100% sure that you are taking a wild guess and actually have nothing to go on for the assumption.
I am 100% sure you are simply using the opportunity of covid reaching Hamilton East and Raglan to try to make some pathetic point about the government. Using Mike Hosking's signature ending gives the comment the stamp it deserves.
Bullshit. Raglan's gang population is all Mongrel Mob and they don't tend to get on very well with the dominant gangs in Huntly. I can be 100% sure that Pataua4life is full of shit.
That's one PoV, and it's your right (and privilege) to alter comments and/or moderate accordingly.
I hold a different PoV, and can only speculate as to why our views differ. Regardless of one's PoV, being truly blind to skin colour remains an uncommon form of colour blindness to this day, imho.
Rereading: Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin One day in 1964 John Howard Griffin, a 44-year-old Texan journalist and novelist, was standing by the side of the road in Mississippi with a flat tyre. He saw a group of men approaching him. Griffin assumed the men were heading over to assist him but instead they dragged him away from his car and proceeded to beat him violently with chains before leaving him for dead. It took Griffin five months to recover from the assault.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I moved your comment to OM because it’s off topic, and there’s enough going on that fast thread already. The whiteness thing is a conversation for another place, and perhaps another day, but feel free to continue to explire it in OM.
Thanks weka, all good – imho 'skin colour privilege' is a matter of fact, and it amazes and confuses me that (some) intelligent people feel the need to deny this.
Is 'white privilege' really a divisive term? [28 June 2021] This shows a failure in the proper communication of the meaning of the term “white privilege”. As many have pointed out, it does not mean white people are not disadvantaged, their lives are not hard, or they have not suffered, it just means their skin colour is not an impediment in their lives.
The relevance of ‘white privilege‘ to the “Who are these angry Aucklanders?” post may elude some, but there have been several examples of ‘COVID anger’ directed at Auckland minorities. Admittedly focused more on cultural practices/habits than skin colour, but they can be so devilishly difficult to disentangle.
A look at the issue of natural (by infection) immunity and vaccination immunity.
Some nations with 80% vaccination have effective 90% immunity because of infection (whether past infection or that currently going through their schools).
With lock down going on, it's time to look at support for small business on rent costs.
Last year arbitration was all Winston Peters would agree to, but it's the large businesses that can afford the legal costs.
What about
Level 4 – the tenant pays 25%, the landlord receives 33% – the government provides 8% (4% gratis and 4% as an interest free loan the business pays back).
Level 3 – the tenant pays 33%, the landlord receives 50% – the government provides (8% gratis and 8% as an interest free loan)
Level 2 – the tenant pays 50%, the landlord receives 66% – the government provides 8% gratis and 8% as an interest free loan)
Of course essential businesses that operate at Level 4 not included, nor those "office" staff firms that still earn income by having people work at home.
Apart from limiting government assistance to small businesses only, another way to limit cost on government is to have the total rent paid be 25%, 33% or 50% in the cases of larger commerical landlord firms.
Many owners of commercial properties are stuck in loans. So essentially the government must / should provide legal framework that would allow a landlord to be able to wipe some of the rent without risking his own repayments to the bank.
Another legal framework that will be needed is one that allows people to get out of leases that are kaputt forever. It can't be considered good practice that these people sell their homes to pay a lease for a business that due to no fault of their own can't be run anymore. If they can get out of these leases, they then have a chance to move on and do / start something else more suited to these interesting times we are living in.
Bankruptcy brings a lot of other things with it, so personally would not ever go for it.
The point is that these people who got stuck – say travel agencies – have long leases left. If you lease a business in a busy fringe you don't do that for a year or two, some leases are very long. Also, there is the re-lease, how long will it take for a property to find new takers? So essentially everyone who must drop out will try to buy themselves out of the lease. I.e. offer a certain amount a year or two of full lease and hope it is enough and will be accepted.
Now they did not do anything to deserve to lose their business, a pandemic is a pandemic, what can you do. But they should also not left in limbo, trying to deal with it on their own and without much success.
We must get used to 'for lease' signs when we venture out in the future.
Most smaller leases will have personal guarantees which make company structures or bankruptcy to avoid lease liabilities tricky. Pretty much pay up and the landlord wins.
….allow a landlord to be able to wipe some of the rent without risking his own repayments to the bank.
….the government must / should provide legal framework that would allow a landlord to be able to wipe ALL of the rent without risking his own repayments to the bank.
In 1914 and again in 1931 the government did exactly that.
…..by 1931, it was clear that further intervention was necessary to prevent widespread foreclosures and mortgagee sales…..
….Although mortgage relief was frequently discussed at some length by contemporary commentators, and by some historians in the 1950s and 1960s, it has been relegated to a few lines at most in more recent works.’
…..This Act also extended to lessees [renters] the same protection
that had been granted to mortgagors,
The modification of mortgage conditions was not new in New Zealand. A ‘mortgage moratorium’ had been imposed as a war measure in 1914,
Brian Tamaki has led a protest demanding no more lockdowns. Tamaki is tapping into the hardhship that lockdowns cause.
Only a full mortgage and rent moratorium can ease the hardship that lockdowns cause SMEs and family households.
If past government could do it once, (and in fact did it twice). Why can't the current government?
It is not like the big mostly Australian owned banks who take $3.5 billion out of our economy every year can't afford it.
Why is everyone else's income effectively slashed in lockdown but their's is not?
Under level the 4 lockdown in Auckland, elimination was close to being achieved before it was lifted early before it had finished its job. The lockdown was lifted early before it had done its job, because of the political pressures and the hardships caused at the flax roots of society.
Caving in to the Brian Tamakis of this world and to the National Party and various other right wing lobbies, The Prime Minister has said there will be no return to level 4 lockdown. Right Wing commentators and pundits have celebrated this announcement, as the end of the government's 'elimination strategy'.
The government in reply have denied this. The reality is, until we reach at least 90% vaccination coverage, to save lives and protect our health system from being overwhelmed, Full Level 4 Lockdown which has been our most effective measure to date, must remain part of the tool kit.
If hospitalisations and deaths start to rise, and a return to level 4 becomes necessary. A full mortgage and rental moratorium for the period of the lockdown, is in my opinion, the only way to make another major lockdown stick.
We need to share the pain with those who can most afford it.
I think there are a lot of lessons we can learn from Portugal
With 85% of the population vaccinated, Portugal is running out of people to jab.
And rather than go for booster shots, the surprisingly humane submarine captain, placed in charge of the vaccine roll-out who appears on TV in his military fatigues, is more concerned with getting the vaccine to unvaccinated former Portuguese colonies.
What a Guy.
We need someone like that here. Someone who can see the bigger picture. That it is not just about us, but it is also about that part of the world that we owe a duty of care to. In our case the smaller Pacific nations in our region.
Now that employers have got their demand to lift restrictons on bringing in temporary migrant workers from the Pacific Islands. An outbreak here could be spread back home with devastating results. Especially in countries that don’t have the same level of health infrastructure we have here.
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
For their small fan club.
Here’s me adopted triplet grandpooklets at 9 am one sunny morning, 8 January 2019.
Little River is up on the blocks. Big Bruv Shadow (born a week before the other two) is doing fine; bold as brass (I reckoned he’s a boy).
But River’s “twin” Summer is already growing bigger & despite my entreaties to the adults to “Feed River, feed River” the little one seems to get ignored at times.
I worried just a tad about the runty one, as ya do, when ya a grandparent. But she did ok in the end. All made it to young adult pukeko.
https://i.imgur.com/GMiRUC6.gif
Your little family of pukeko and the rest have seen you through the lockdowns and given real pleasure, and filming their progress joy.
Opposite us we have a natural park with trees and a stream on its boundary and a wet area which has been protected. It is a designated dog walking park, and we would watch the various breeds joy in running free on the grassy area. The birds would take to the trees and when the visitors were gone, they would all appear again. There is always something happening.
The most rewarding part of it has been gaining the trust of the Whanau Pook pukekos, Patricia. That's been videoed with a 2 megapixel vidcam in an old Sony Ericsson 3G mobile.
I'm right above them, looking down on them leaning the vidcam over the fence.
But with each new "batch" of pooklets, Bluey gets his trustmeter set to zero by Nature. Doesn't matter how long he's known & trusted me, 3 years by then, if I went thru the gate & approached these pooklets, this young he'd attack me.
Kia ora Gezza. I'm still a fan of your wildlife videos and I'm glad you've found a new home for them.
😀 Hey, Snowy 👋🏼
Really good to see you. ❤️ ☘ 🐧
David Slack from More Than A Feilding <subslack@substack.com>
“It really was quite a dazzling kind of inverted political wizardry to get bike riding cast as an act of smug entitled indulgence, and a driver’s love for their double cab ute as tortured victimhood.”
<<<<From the moment they unveiled the drawing it felt like a Diva’s sweep of the arm: OK you mewling grizzling cyclists, you want a bridge?? Here's a bridge!! Here's the most bridge a bike bridge ever had. How lavish do you eternally moaning guts-achers want it? How about this lavish? Hey, no, don't get up we've got some more lavish to trowel all over youse.
LOL! Now let's see what hard working New Zealanders think of your dopey Greta delusions. Sure would be a shame if this over-the-top bullshit got your dopey climate crisis ideas tanked.>>>>
Once again, even suggesting this bridge was a priority in regards to climate change for Auckland when there are large swathes of non-inner city Aucklanders with abysmal, unaffordable or non-existent transport alternatives after decades of bad town and transport planning is a stretch.
Addressing that transport inequality should be the priority in terms of climate change mitigation. That's a complex issue that's not going to get simpler by being ignored.
In the RLTP 2021-20131, most the public transport improvements occur in the south.
https://at.govt.nz/media/1986141/final-regional-land-transport-plan-2021-2031-web-version.pdf
Beyond the completion of CRL that is increasingly the case.
No one has ignored climate change as an issue for transport in Auckland and it's just stupid to say that it has been.
The Waitemata Bridge was not on the horizon of projects that people opposed in the actual budget consultation. The big ones that tends of thousands of people opposed in the actual consultation that the Minister was supposed to rely on for his prioritisation were Mill Road and Penlink. Penlink survived and Mill Road didn't.
That the Minister is still stuffing around with the NLTP rather than actually following what was consulted on shows that he just doesn't support cycling. The cycling projects that will be completed in Auckland in the next decade are largely well underway already – and they are in the south of CBD except for New Lynn to Avondale.
Just a cursory look through the RLTP will show you all of this in the detail you so clearly need.
I am on the AT list for consultation and keep track of local projects out south.
The AT consultation process that informs them of support and aids in prioritisation is flawed. The demographics of those responding is unlikely to reflect the access and affordability issues of badly served and lower income households. Non participation is not a fault of AT, but their failure to recognise it and mitigate that bias is.
"More than a third of Aucklanders live within 500 metres of a frequent public transport service, yet the majority of us still choose to use our private motor vehicle for most of our trips" – that's a pitiful amount to justify the following :
Guess which households will be hit by those congestion or road pricing charges? The ones who have to live in areas poorly served by public transport services because of housing unaffordability, and who have no other option but to use the car for commuting, often over long distances. They are already the ones hit hardest by the Auckland fuel tax, and also those unlikely to have transport costs to work paid for by their employer. The continual financial hits on the lowest income households by the failure to address these connecting policies and effects will continue unless AT recognises them.
I strongly support their walkable neighbourhoods and cycleways initiatives, but consider there should be a recognised difference between recreational community facilities, and those that actually are commuter alternative transport options, that do enable people to get out of cars for essential trips.
In terms of climate change mitigation, AT needs to look at poorly served communities and do their own research, to figure out how to serve them and not rely on consultation to identify those possible projects. Climate action must include climate justice or climate equity.
If AT was serious about climate change then only those commuter centred projects for badly served 2/3 of the Auckland population would be undertaken until equality of access was markedly improved.
That doesn't mean that "recreational" projects are stopped or postponed, just that funding needs to come from existing alternative methods, such as developers or local ratepayer targeted rates. If 75% of local ratepayers support the project, which is likely because it will not only enhance their community, but most likely improve their capital values, then the project can be funded and go ahead.
AT consultation is of course a legal requirement under NLTP. They demonstrate at the front who engaged and why. Disability groups and disadvantaged groups all get a focus and they are assisted in this by the Council.
AT, Council, and Kainga Ora put in extensive engagement into disadvantaged areas outside of that.
AT already did a major access improvement for PT with their implementation of high frequency buses on key routes. They can't have zero fares unless the government funds them to do so, due to the PTOM model which government has chosen not to change.
Gen Zero, Greater Auckland and others with a climate focus all put in detailed submissions, and they usually get a significant chunk of hearing time.
AT already do climate change mitigation projects. Their most recent was jacking up Tamaki Drive by a metre since it's been regularly flooded and cut off. Complementing that of course was the cycling routes under construction all the way from Glen Innes through to the CBD.
I know this, Ad.
Been there, participated in consultation. Friends that I met are still involved, and working on projects.
I see the demographics at the workshops and presentations, and I also know the technique of going to the same identied representatives to gather the views of tangata whenua.
One of my close friends, a vocal and enthusiastic participant in the 'protest' ride over the bridge, also used climate change as a reason for the project. Despite the fact that his use of the bridge – which he would undertake because of the pure enjoyment of the experience – would require a car-ride of 40km each way to get there. He meant for other people of course, including the North Shore woman who stood up in the meeting and said she wanted the bridge crossing because she didn't want to use the ferry to transport her $11,000 e-bike because it might get damaged and she also had no guarantee that a ferry would be available when she got to the wharf so she might have to wait. (Apparently, timetables are not a thing on the Shore).
I also understand that processes may be more efficient in the central city in regards to community consultation and implementation. I live in Franklin, where after a typical AT consultation (where I was able to solicit and provide a large number of household responses) we were successful to be allocated a public transport service in a small community of rapid residential growth. Our local board representative, who represents us, but lives in another community that was unsuccessful due to the low response (and at that time, low growth pattern) publicly said how annoyed he was that our community got transport and his didn't. The consequent service offered – connecting up to the train station in town – started at 10.45am daily and ended at 4.45pm. Not suitable for daily commutes of workers or schoolchildren. What I consider a set up to fail scheme. Unfortunately, the residents of the community utilised it regardless, and I am happy to say it remains.
Those who know how the system works, make it work for them. Fair enough. They then assume that if anyone, anywhere else wants something, all they have to do is the same. But for those underrepresented, it is not knowledge or understanding or lack of wanting improvements, it is often lack of time, resources, experiences of not being heard in other forums.
I also think the focus of many local boards in areas of lower-income households have additional priorities that take precedence: access to healthcare, safety, crime etc. So, even the local board members elected in on three year terms, don't have the time to learn and advocate in transport and planning in the same way as others without those concerns.
But I have never spoken to anyone else who – quite rightly – looks to make improvements in their own neighbourhood and undertakes to consult and eventually present on a project – who takes the time to look around and say, "You know what? There are neighbourhoods that have a greater need for this money. Are we able to get this funding by using targeted rates and/or some other method?".
The system is not set up to address the inequality that already exists.
It functions effectively yes, but my perception is that it continues to contribute to the divided nature of Auckland communities, and the laughable concept of "liveable city" where there are so many deprived neighbourhoods.
(Sorry, moderators, just noticed the error in username – should be Molly)
I saw this in the ODT yesterday, which sparked some thoughts but I was a bit tired from my second jab to string them together. Seeing it this morning; republished on the RNZ website for a wider audience, I feel that I should try express my own counterview:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/452781/ngai-tahu-leader-let-s-not-rush-name-change
Firstly, a huge caveat that as Ngāpuhi/ Ngāpākehā, my own hapū are outsiders to Te Waipounamu iwi politics ourselves, though there are some commonalities. And if you keep your eyes and ears open, you pick things up.
My initial reaction was mild amusement at the author of the piece using; Ngāi Tahu to describe Ōtākou marae kaumatua Edward Ellison, in an article arguing for listening to Te Waipounamu kōrero. There's a bit of a north/ south gradient on this; where the Ng is replaced by a K (eg Rūnanga becoming Rūnaka). Historical reasons trace back to the invasion of Kāti Māmoe lands by the northern Ngāi Tahu who, over decades of conquest and assimilation largely supplanted the existing political structure, but not exterminating the common people, thus eventually becoming the present day Kāi Tahu. Though I have even heard Kāti Tahu, way up in the southwest of Murihiku, so perhaps Ka'i Tahu would be a better spelling there (though that looks more Samoan than Māori!).
It is far more common to hear; Te ika a Māui, for the northeastern island of the Aotearoan archipelago, than Aotearoa. Sometimes you hear; Te waka a Māui & Te puka a Māui too, for; Te Waipounamu & Rakiura respectively, though it's not very common, especially for everyday usage where you want to be clearly understood. But I am rarely out at Ōtākou marae (last time would have been Puaka/Matariki a couple of years back), so I can not say for sure what the most prevalent terms are there.
But speaking of gradual process for name changing, a lot of takata Kāi Tahu, would argue that the process has been too slow. This was a mere 5 years ago:
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/decisions-made-north-canterbury-place-names
Anyway, I am getting fairly long here, so I will just link to this Godferey piece from a month back, which covers much of what I would additionally say:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/29/a-neat-trick-critics-aim-to-shift-aotearoa-debate-but-historical-fidelity-no-longer-matters
Interesting and thought provoking, thanks.
Been wondering when Te Waipounamu would come up. How many people in the North Island know what it means?
I liked Ellison’s style. Due given to TPM, pointing gently to the problems, standing in his own people’s power and their process without making a fuss about it.
Kai Tahu I know whakapapa to not only Kai Tahu but variously to iwi and hapu that predate Kai Tahu, the longer history of Te Waipounamu. I will be interested to hear what they have to say.
That the South Island is known by southern Māori as Te Waipounamu, & the North Island as Te Ika-a-Maui (with both having various other Māori names too) has always made me a bit leery about calling the whole country Aotearoa – The Land of The Long White Cloud I always understood was a reference to the North Island only.
When this topic would surface on another blog, I used to say, only half-jokingly, a better option might be to come with a hybrid
Māori+English word for our country.
My preference was for Kiwiland. The main reasons being that’s a combo word of both languages, & New Zealanders overseas, Māori & Pākehā have been collectively called Kiwis for what must be at least a century now.
However, Aotearoa seems to have now been accepted by various governments & by government departments like Internal Affairs, who’ve had this Māori name apearing on our passports for many years now.
Dunno what’s wrong with my broadband connection (to this site & others) this morning. Sites are agonisingly slow to connect & open, & even trying to type in the address & comments field here take an interminable anount of time.
I like Aozearoa as a hybrid word myself; Gezza, though it hasn't caught on at all. You should read Godferey's Guardian piece, he goes into some detail about the history of the use of Aotearoa (you could even argue that is just Northland as Kupe is reputed to have landed there; though accounts, as always, differ between iwi).
The hyphens make Te Ika-a-Māui, fairly cumbersome to write, but Te IkaaMāui just looks wrong. I have recently (in the past few years) heard it being referred to as Te Ikanui, though sometimes that seems to be just Auckland (the Big Fish, as pacific equivalent of the Big Apple?), and others the whole northeastern island. I guess that hybrid word is still evolving. I have also seen variations on simply translating New Zealand into Te Reo as something like; Whenua Hou-moana, which may or may not go anywhere. It is very difficult to predict future language usage.
I will read that Guardian piece now, Forget now. The bb connection was so slow most of this morning I’d given up on the internet.
Seems to be working fine again now.
Funny you should mention the too-long NI name. I feel the same way. I’d have liked them just to be called, colloquially, Te Ika (or Teika) , & Pounamu.
Rakiura is already just Rakiura to me, altho if someone asks “Where?”, I’ll reply “Stewart Island”.
Yes that Guardian article is eminently readable. The writer has a nice, easy & engaging writing style. I did find it interesting & I have come to the same conclusion about Aotearoa being now the most commonly accepted Māori country-name word for the whole of New Zealand.
One of my former hesitations about it was the likliehood that many English-speaking visitors might mispronounce it as Ayo tee ah rower, instead of Ow tear roar.
I was going on long enough already, so I did gloss over the whole Waitaha issue; Weka. Essentially, Kāti Māmoe did the same thing as Ngāi Tahu later did; of settling Te Waipounamu from the north by war and marriage, Before then, there were many iwi, of which Waitaha is the best known with oral histories (fragmented and partially lost now) going back to around 1000 BCE in which they claimed to have discovered the southern islands including; Te Waipounamu, Rakiura, and ngā Moutere Tītī. Though the earliest tales are more legendary than history.
The specific Waitaha iwi (as opposed to Waitaha as a generic term for all pre-Māmoe Te Waipounamu inhabitants) was located primarily around the Waitaki river. To this day, some there will call themselves Kaitaha rather than Kāi Tahu, though not so much around outsiders, especially the Ngāi Tahu descended rangatira. Canterbury Kāi Tahu have also somewhat appropriated the name to refer to their own province (and thus bolster their mana within the iwi) for example; Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha (Canterbury University), is in Ōtautahi, not Oamaru.
It's not easy to compress a thousand years of still debated and controversial poorly documented history/ archeology into a couple of paragraphs, and wasn't entirely on topic – so I left it out. It is interesting though.
But more important is the present politics in Te Tai Tonga electorate, which you best believe that any kaumatua worth the title will be hip deep in. The present TTTonga MP is Labour's Rino Tirakatene following the 1996 campaign-trail death of his father (RT senior) and heir apparent to the Tirakatene political dynasty. RT beat Katene o Te Pāti Māori in 2011 and has held the TTTonga seat ever since (though not as long as his Grandfather or Aunt yet).
However, in 2020 RT's (still large majority) win in TTTonga found TPR's Tākuta Ferris in second place (Green Party's ex-coleader Turei being 2nd in 2017). With the gap between Tirakatene-Sullivan and RT being over a decade long, the name Tirakatene is no longer quite as synonymous with Southern Māori MP as it used to be. Especially if TTTonga urban Māori voters start seeing a resurgent TPM as being more representative of their needs than the Labour party.
https://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2020/electorate-details-71.html
So a bit of quiet knobbling of a campaign generating favourable publicity for TRP by Te Waipounamu marae leaders is not to be taken without a grain of salt.
Something that's perhaps apt to get lost in any likely hullaballoo over the suggestion to rename English cities, towns & place names is that not all those places necessarily had he ingoa Māori (a Māori name)nin the first place.
Just as Māori often named places & prominent landmarks after their ancestors, or a significant characteristic of the area (eg Kaikōura), the English, Irish, Scots & other later settlers did so too.
There were several small Māori settlements & villages in & around what is now Wellington City & its coastal environs when the Pākehā settlers first began arriving.
The main Pākehā settlement was originally called Port Nicholson, from where the area now known as Pōneke has most likely derived as a loan word. None of those original Māori settlements amounted to the sizeable city of Wellington which built and named subsequently.
I would therefore argue that Wellington should remain the name of our capital city. However, I have no problem with accepting the name Te Whanganui-a-Tara (the Great Harbour of Tara) because Tara, a Northern tribes great sailor, explorer & rangatira found it spent some time there.
Brian Tamaki should be arrested immediatly.
What an idiot undoing the hard work of millions of NZers.
He should pay for the damage he has caused if that means stripping all his assets so be it.
The govt and people of NZ have lost 100's of millions to keep covid out undone by a nut job narcissist.
Totally agree, and now he's planning more of the same, we should not be pandering to this nutjob, it's beyond comprehension.
Repeat of my comment on one of yesterday's threads:
Narcissists never reflect on what they say or write. They have the ability to block off all memory of their failures and misdiagnosis. It enables them to continue to misguide people with their false reckons…
Anyone who has been on the receiving end of a full blown narcissist will know how destructive they are. The police have an obligation to isolate Tamaki before he further undermines the vaccination programme.
Perhaps the police should spray them with a dye so they can be recognised in the wild.
And so hospitals can triage them to a tent in the car park if they need treatment
Leo Molloy and Brian Tamaki belong to the same bike club? They both organised this and should be called out for not upholding an over riding health order.
The Police have at times not helped the Government by standing back too much. Both men and their committee should have been told 'Do this and you will be fined as you are defying the Director of Health." Now they should be served.
There is a growing meme that we are being locked down to give the Government huge powers. When the Police do not enforce health orders, what hope is there for compliance from those in society who think their freedoms overide all else?
Or folk who believe their version of religion is the one, and the Old Testament verses direct their behaviour through a self appointed Apostle.
Leo Molloy ended up in court previously for ignoring lock down rules, so this was a huge "so there" from him imo.
N.B. Both these men should pay back any Government assistance they have claimed!
We either have health orders or we don't in a pandemic. The police should enforce the rules where it is patently obvious people intend to break them. Those involved in organising this should face fines at the very least, to help pay for any resulting testing and tracing.
Or at least they should be given a serve by all of us doing as I am.. calling them out as selfish ignorant egomaniacs who could not wait one more week.
The Police are trying to keep people reasonable in their behaviours, but that is bound to fail with unreasonable people, and increases the liklihood of further protests.
This has been a big Police failure in my opinion. It has made a mockery of the rules right when we are likely to beat this again. That would not suit some agendas though would it? Poto Williams was also missing in action here.
Brian and Leo.. Pay back any Covid assistance!!!!!
Damn straight!
Watching that dangerous bloody dkhead Tamaki on One News at 6 I couldn’t believe the police hadn’t arrested the beggar!
Who is Leo Molloy? The name means nothing to me.
Ardern says that it's an operational matter for police, but that the investigation is ongoing:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300421687/live-33-new-community-covid19-cases-32-in-auckland-1-in-waikato
Leo Molloy is a former arsehole racehorse jockey turned former arsehole veterinarian turned arsehole publican and arsehole restaurateur. In other words, the perfect host for the clientele he attracts to his establishment at the Viaduct Basin. I had the misfortune of encountering him a couple of times in his veterinary student days.
If you really want to know more, here's a profile. But trust me, that knowledge won't enrich your life in any way. Possibly the telling of it might, tho.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/lifestyle/2019/06/meet-leo-molloy-the-angriest-man-in-the-viaduct.html
Thanks for that, Tamaki is in his bike group.
As I recall, Ardern also said the Raglan case was unvaccinated and that three household contacts who were vaccinated have not yet developed symptoms. Test results not mentioned, probably not back yet. Comforting to hear that vaccination appears to protect close contacts from the delta strain.
I'm impatient for a booster shot and hoping Brian and Leo will have a road to Damascus moment.
Thank you Patricia (4.4). Agree wholeheartedly with your comments.
As far as I'm concerned, the police failed the people of Auckland yesterday, not only once, but twice. Apart from being seen to do nothing at the Tamaki protests, they were absent (apart from two police cars), during a wild motorcycle ride through the main streets of Auckland's CBD yesterday afternoon, with motorbikes not only taking over the main road, going through red traffic lights, but also riding on footpaths, while adults and children waited to cross the road. Some riders were not wearing protective headgear, while others rode on two wheels!
Why isn't the NZ police force protecting this country's citizens? Massive failures on their part in two very public incidences, both in Auckland.
You must understand that the sum total of all the gangs in NZ are probably better armed and organised than police and army combined. For as long as they remain divided you're probably safe.
The Molloy and Tamaki bike gang members are not well armed.
He's not the only one.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300420894/mourners-at-large-funeral-procession-in-aucklands-henderson-reminded-of-level-3-rules
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/politics/lockdown-breach-more-than-50-seen-lining-auckland-street-for-tangi/
Perhaps the powers that be are ignoring him. Don't know how useful that will be.
It is interesting that the newly infected in hospital appear to be the unvaccinated, and perhaps they did not want to over shadow that by drawing attention to him, as events have overtaken things with the Raglan and Hamilton East being involved with new cases.
I still feel Robertson would be within his rights to ask for a refund to cover the Policing and any fallout.
The truckie that was infectious in Palmie was apparently also unvaccinated.
How the fuck is it still happening that we have a closed internal border to control covid, yet we are allowing unvaccinated people to cross it?
Weekly testing is required. Enforcing when unvaccinated no travel out of a level 3 zone would minimise the spread. The reality is that some people will not get vaccinated at all.
Look at the places of interest in the Waikato.
Raglan, Huntly etc.
Given that the PM has been reluctant to give any details I can almost be 100% sure this spread is gang related.
Give them 2.75 mil, let them keep their guns and what do we get for it. Covid for everyone. Happy days
Raglan; I think surfing, Huntly; I think coal fired electricity. Do you have any basis for your assumption gangs were involved; Pataua4life? The list of locations of interest outside Auckland just looks like the truckers route to and from Palmerston North. Also:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/452806/two-new-covid-19-community-cases-reported-in-waikato
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-health-advice-public/contact-tracing-covid-19/covid-19-contact-tracing-locations-interest
The only times I've been to Hamilton East, I was visiting whanau at the university. It didn't strike me as having a large gang presence. Though that was a while ago now.
Ham East is studentville, Raglan full of yuppies & small farm lifestylers, who knows wtf p4life is on about.
Huntly West has many problems resulting from poverty.
The Raglan area is by no means comparable to Pauanui.
Hamilton East has a few areas of lower socio-economic conditions.
Thirty five years of Rogernomics. Spot the connection.
You can almost be "100% sure this spread is gang related?"
I can be almost 100% sure that you are taking a wild guess and actually have nothing to go on for the assumption.
I am 100% sure you are simply using the opportunity of covid reaching Hamilton East and Raglan to try to make some pathetic point about the government. Using Mike Hosking's signature ending gives the comment the stamp it deserves.
Bullshit. Raglan's gang population is all Mongrel Mob and they don't tend to get on very well with the dominant gangs in Huntly. I can be 100% sure that Pataua4life is full of shit.
That's one PoV, and it's your right (and privilege) to alter comments and/or moderate accordingly.
I hold a different PoV, and can only speculate as to why our views differ. Regardless of one's PoV, being truly blind to skin colour remains an uncommon form of colour blindness to this day, imho.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I moved your comment to OM because it’s off topic, and there’s enough going on that fast thread already. The whiteness thing is a conversation for another place, and perhaps another day, but feel free to continue to explire it in OM.
Thanks weka, all good – imho 'skin colour privilege' is a matter of fact, and it amazes and confuses me that (some) intelligent people feel the need to deny this.
The relevance of ‘white privilege‘ to the “Who are these angry Aucklanders?” post may elude some, but there have been several examples of ‘COVID anger’ directed at Auckland minorities. Admittedly focused more on cultural practices/habits than skin colour, but they can be so devilishly difficult to disentangle.
15 year old dies of COVID in 4 days.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-58772671
A fortnight after recovering from covid an un-vaccinated 20 year old was killed by a sinus infection.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article254580002.html
Anyone done an art auction live?
Webbs is doing their ceramics one at the moment – the tension is still there with it all online.
The Juice Media consider the Australien government AUKUS move.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb5OKrYzZp8
A look at the issue of natural (by infection) immunity and vaccination immunity.
Some nations with 80% vaccination have effective 90% immunity because of infection (whether past infection or that currently going through their schools).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bamaEMftg4&t=836s
With lock down going on, it's time to look at support for small business on rent costs.
Last year arbitration was all Winston Peters would agree to, but it's the large businesses that can afford the legal costs.
What about
Level 4 – the tenant pays 25%, the landlord receives 33% – the government provides 8% (4% gratis and 4% as an interest free loan the business pays back).
Level 3 – the tenant pays 33%, the landlord receives 50% – the government provides (8% gratis and 8% as an interest free loan)
Level 2 – the tenant pays 50%, the landlord receives 66% – the government provides 8% gratis and 8% as an interest free loan)
Of course essential businesses that operate at Level 4 not included, nor those "office" staff firms that still earn income by having people work at home.
Apart from limiting government assistance to small businesses only, another way to limit cost on government is to have the total rent paid be 25%, 33% or 50% in the cases of larger commerical landlord firms.
Maybe look at rent holidays.
Many owners of commercial properties are stuck in loans. So essentially the government must / should provide legal framework that would allow a landlord to be able to wipe some of the rent without risking his own repayments to the bank.
Another legal framework that will be needed is one that allows people to get out of leases that are kaputt forever. It can't be considered good practice that these people sell their homes to pay a lease for a business that due to no fault of their own can't be run anymore. If they can get out of these leases, they then have a chance to move on and do / start something else more suited to these interesting times we are living in.
Last year arbitration was all Winston Peters would agree to,
but it's the large businesses that can afford the legal costs.This covers the basic direction to the arbitration.
https://hobec.co.nz/news-resources/2020/april/update-the-adls-lease-and-epidemics
There were mortgage holidays for residential property owners and their landlords last year.
Is it not possible for a business to declare bankruptcy because it cannot operate and void any future rent liability as per the lease?
Bankruptcy brings a lot of other things with it, so personally would not ever go for it.
The point is that these people who got stuck – say travel agencies – have long leases left. If you lease a business in a busy fringe you don't do that for a year or two, some leases are very long. Also, there is the re-lease, how long will it take for a property to find new takers? So essentially everyone who must drop out will try to buy themselves out of the lease. I.e. offer a certain amount a year or two of full lease and hope it is enough and will be accepted.
Now they did not do anything to deserve to lose their business, a pandemic is a pandemic, what can you do. But they should also not left in limbo, trying to deal with it on their own and without much success.
We must get used to 'for lease' signs when we venture out in the future.
Most smaller leases will have personal guarantees which make company structures or bankruptcy to avoid lease liabilities tricky. Pretty much pay up and the landlord wins.
….the government must / should provide legal framework that would allow a landlord to be able to wipe ALL of the rent without risking his own repayments to the bank.
In 1914 and again in 1931 the government did exactly that.
Brian Tamaki has led a protest demanding no more lockdowns. Tamaki is tapping into the hardhship that lockdowns cause.
Only a full mortgage and rent moratorium can ease the hardship that lockdowns cause SMEs and family households.
If past government could do it once, (and in fact did it twice). Why can't the current government?
It is not like the big mostly Australian owned banks who take $3.5 billion out of our economy every year can't afford it.
Why is everyone else's income effectively slashed in lockdown but their's is not?
Under level the 4 lockdown in Auckland, elimination was close to being achieved before it was lifted early before it had finished its job. The lockdown was lifted early before it had done its job, because of the political pressures and the hardships caused at the flax roots of society.
Caving in to the Brian Tamakis of this world and to the National Party and various other right wing lobbies, The Prime Minister has said there will be no return to level 4 lockdown. Right Wing commentators and pundits have celebrated this announcement, as the end of the government's 'elimination strategy'.
The government in reply have denied this. The reality is, until we reach at least 90% vaccination coverage, to save lives and protect our health system from being overwhelmed, Full Level 4 Lockdown which has been our most effective measure to date, must remain part of the tool kit.
If hospitalisations and deaths start to rise, and a return to level 4 becomes necessary. A full mortgage and rental moratorium for the period of the lockdown, is in my opinion, the only way to make another major lockdown stick.
We need to share the pain with those who can most afford it.
An interesting read:
I think there are a lot of lessons we can learn from Portugal
With 85% of the population vaccinated, Portugal is running out of people to jab.
And rather than go for booster shots, the surprisingly humane submarine captain, placed in charge of the vaccine roll-out who appears on TV in his military fatigues, is more concerned with getting the vaccine to unvaccinated former Portuguese colonies.
What a Guy.
We need someone like that here. Someone who can see the bigger picture. That it is not just about us, but it is also about that part of the world that we owe a duty of care to. In our case the smaller Pacific nations in our region.
Now that employers have got their demand to lift restrictons on bringing in temporary migrant workers from the Pacific Islands. An outbreak here could be spread back home with devastating results. Especially in countries that don’t have the same level of health infrastructure we have here.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300421229/covid19-portugal-is-running-out-of-people-to-vaccinate-so-what-comes-next