Folks may be surprised to hear that Don Brash has become a socialist. Well, he didn’t actually say so, but this morning I saw him telling Duncan Garner that he was advocating “needs-based funding”. That’s about as socialist an economic principle as you will ever be able to find, eh?
They were discussing the idea Shane Jones has for developing Maori land. Apparently much of it is too poor in quality to be viable. I doubt that assumption is valid. Toss a permaculture task force at it and in twenty years you will probably be astonished to discover it has become the most productive land in the region!
Anyway, old Don has been invited to talk to Ngapuhi about how to do economic development. I hope he isn’t too dry for them…
“To each according to their need” is given lipservice by most on the political spectrum – it’s the “from each according to their ability” Brash balks at.
It is also a pity that once again Garner was selective in his news item, as there was no mention of the 140 million in corporate welfare Ardern after being advised against by Treasury is giving to that parasite Jackson. No doubt so he can win the contract for making the Television version of “Bored with The Rings” for that other parasitical tax avoiding outfit called Amazon.
Garner foaming at the mouth about “Our Tax Money” As far as I am aware it is a loan whereas the money to Jackson is like GONE, for good with little if any return to NZ. But of course, it will be argued that it be spent on producing jobs, tourists etc. However, the so-called benefits to NZ are questionable if Amazon is involved and Jacksons pass record of employment plus the added strain additional tourist which we don’t need will have on our infrastructure and the environment.
I wish that Jackson wasn’t the object of so much scorn and detestation. He has been instrumental in doing much for NZ creative industry but he has earned creatives’ hostility for not being welfare oriented. Because he has made something, opened up something for NZ which has to operate on capitalist lines he is a figure to despise?
Corporates are multi-headed and amorphous, it’s hard to focus dislike intensely but Jackson stands at the head of his enterprise and cops it all. The unions did their usual stupid thing, forced the flipper of the Golden Goose so that it swam away from them. They needed to be like ducks, keeping calm and paddling like hell to get the best deal they could.
Then they went all emotional and soggy running to an Australian union expecting solidarity. We know what that was like – Australian ground might look firm but step onto it and it’s either boggy and sucks you in or has potholes that you will fall into. They would look after their own interests first and did no good for us IIRC.
I seriously doubt Don Brash has assessed the land. More likely he thought his own interests would benefit from millions in govt money and got in asap to lay the foundation for the handout.
I know when individual Iwi members want to put houses on it they struggle, as they technically don’t own the land so there is no person/corporate entity to put up against the loan if it all goes tits up.
Hopefully someone with more direct knowledge of the current situation will clarify. But on the strength of your question and a vague memory of reading about problems getting loans due to ownership structures of Maori land, I googled bank lending maori land ownership, and there’s a whole bunch of stuff came up.
The Maori Land Court says the process really shouldn’t be any different to any other loans, whereby everyone with an interest in it needs to agree.
But it seems that in the real world even when one person has sole title to a block of maori land there have still been difficulties. Possibly it’s a case of banks seeing the maori ownership aspect of it and immediately dropping it in the too hard basket.
This is something I did work on the past. The issue is that the security (mortgage) can not be readily realised in the event of default. Who are the potential buyers on a mortgagee sale?
Historically Maori Affairs was the lender on a lot of Te Ture Whenua land, but even then when there were relatively few owners. These days land which say 5 or 6 owners in the 1950’s now has hundreds of owners. There are trust mechanisms to deal with this but it still can be difficult.
Presumably Shane will develop an entity to be the lender.
Wayne, cheers for your valuable opinion, made much sense for me 🙂
There are many properties and businesses on leasehold Maori land around Motueka. So was using that as a comparison. At a guess and judging by their appearance many of these dwellings would have built around the 1950’s, rather than recently.
The way I was looking at it was…. shouldn’t anyone getting a loan for anything have to provide security.
If the banks aren’t playing fair then surely setting up a different lending entity would help people in that situation.
As long as the new lending entity has procedures in place should default occur then surely it shouldn’t be a problem.
Cinny, I’ve come late to this but thought I would mention that the same discussion has been had over on Pete George’s blog so here is the link to the relevant post.
The land ownership issues start about halfway down with a comment by Alan W but forget his and look at Gazza’s reply to him and the ones that follow. similar replies to here but worth a look.
How are those younger “cinnys” ? Back to school yet? And Mum taking some breathes before getting back into work etc? So want to continue to hear their life as OWT would say “going forward”, LOL. Big hugs to you all.
Thank goodness for living 15 mins from gorgeous beaches and a fantastic river 🙂 School holidays would be hard work and rather expensive without such amazing natural resources, it really would. So grateful to live where we do.
Miss 11 is back on Thursday, Miss 14 on Friday 😉
I’ve an extra week after they go back, before returning to work, gives me time to discover my misplaced sanity, am sure it’s round here somewhere…lmao !
Absolutely will continue sharing as they keep going forward.
Lmao the funniest thing this summer was their insistence to take a massive blow up flamingo to the lagoon on a breezy day.
Miss 14 was like, don’t worry mum I won’t let it blow away….
So when it took off down the beach running over rather fancy looking tourist sunbathers, I was too busy rolling around on the ground laughing to help her. Crikey it was funny, never seen that girl move so quick 🙂
Banks have rules about loaning to “Multiple Owners”. You can get a mortgage for two or sometimes three, but more? NO. Reason, it is hard for them to pin down the liable party.
Also early laws favoured any owners above Maori owners, who had to prove title in the then Maori Land court.
” Apparently much of it is too poor in quality to be viable”.
Jones at least has never said any such thing. H claims that it is not developed or utilised properly because of the form of ownership it has.
It could be productive and Jones has said that much of it is in fact quite viable.
Pro growth lobby group ‘greater Auckland’ are gushing about
Growing Auckland without growing traffic
They claim that Seattle has decreased traffic over the years.
Quick look why at reviews…
Things like
SEATTLE
“I’m a big fan of the Link Light Rail! We landed at SeaTac and were able to take the Link directly to the Westlake Station, which is right in the heart of downtown near Pike Place. Tickets were very easy to buy and just $2.50, compared to a $40+ Uber ride. The interior of the Link was very clean and had AC.”
AUCKLAND
NZ last time I checked it was over $200 for a family of four to go one way to the airport from Devonport and actually you couldn’t do it as they trains did not run overnight or early in the morning).
Costs a family of 4 $40 in HOP cards to start the journey and you can’t get a child HOP without a 72 hour process… then you face bewildering journeys which don’t interconnect, are slow and expensive. Putting in the infrastructure will do nothing if, like Kiwibuild, it is overpriced, a hodge podge leaking public money and assets and not what people want or need but what lobbyists want to profit from and ram through.
I would advocate that the bigger issue for Auckland is not airport travel but transport for the residents to get around and to keep quality people here and get productivity up!
SEATTLE
“The system is clean and easy. I bought an ORCA card at the airport and charged it each day with the $8.00 unlimited rides. Works great and considering it’s a more than 15 mile ride from the airport to downtown? Worth it!
The trains are clean and well lit, as are the stations. It’s new but I noticed no graffiti and no litter. Even the underground stations are easy. Everything is completely handicap-accessible.”
AUCKLAND
As far as I am aware not possible to get $8 unlimited rides per day….. it often takes up to 5 times longer if you use buses which is the dominant mode of transport and even with the planned rail links which are taking years to build the transport links barely cover many areas of Auckland and seem very concentrated in a central areas of 1+ million dollar suburbs.
Meanwhile those who have been forced further out of Auckland due to the pro growth/ relaxing zoning which has delivered the promised affordable housing (sarcasm) many workers in Auckland now have hours of commute needed which is not fixed by the new transport advocated as it doesn’t cover all the outer cheaper areas of Auckland. So those commuters are still left with few transport options in spite of paying their petrol taxes and rates, and their options will still be slow, expensive and inflexible now with no relief in many areas planned for decades.
SEATTLE
“As a woman who often travels on her own, my priorities are safety (including security being accessible), cleanliness, and timeliness (when in Seattle, I’m often there to visit a friend… and so I want to feel confident in texting him when I’ll arrive, etc). I’ve never had any moment of feeling unsafe while on the Link Light Rail, and I’m usually arriving or leaving late at night. Definitely a positive aspect of the travel experience.
The Link Light Rail is also an inexpensive and convenient way to get around. The light rail runs often, on a timely schedule, and doesn’t cost much at all to get to/from Downtown or a variety of other stops. Plus? It saves the sanity of myself, my colleagues (we often have meetings in Seattle), or my best friend (who would otherwise probably be talked into driving me to the airport). ;)”
AUCKLAND
In Auckland Britomart has got rid of the conductors so now graffiti and thieves are apparently openly mugging lap tops from the formally well staffed Britomart where you used to be able to get on, pay cash and just enjoy your easy journey which sounds like is no longer in Auckland…
SUM UP
… love how the pro growth lobby always have these wonderful examples of other cities whose experience seem to bare no reality to the NZ options and even with the spend of public transport are not going to work if their customer service, pricing and speed are not up to scratch with clearly with the culture of those involved in AT and the corruption in transport in NZ is high.
Transport in NZ has become about profiteering and lobbying and big tenders and so forth rather than spending on the actual transport and the actual quality of staff once they get the infrastructure built.
Once they get the infrastructure built they have so many over runs to big construction and banks that they then spend all the ratepayers and taxpayers money on middle men, consultants and fat cats and bad IT who advise them to make it up by starving the actual service of quality and overpricing and under delivering it.
That’s what needs to be fixed. The culture and the lobbyists and the one dimensional thinking of profiteering people and those that echo that.
Presumably owning multiple multi million dollar houses around Grey Lynn and Westmere that require little commute gives Patrick and his mates at “Greater Auckland” an insight into commuter woes and poverty… sarcasm… and getting $41k from Auckland Transport in fees is not a conflict of interest nor his approach to get himself an unelected position on the AT board.
“Patrick Reynolds, of the Transport Blog, has applied for an observer role on the board, despite the blog stating it “is not associated in any way with Auckland Transport”.
[lprent: Umm an interesting smear
1. When I checked at Greater Auckland, I saw that Patrick Reynolds blogs there about every month for most of this year. There is nothing that indicates ownership. Like this site there have been a lot of different people contributing posts over the last decade.
2. Your link was for his company and listed an address. Nothing in the link indicated that he owned it. So on the face of your ‘evidence’ that would be a simple lie. It is exactly the same as saying that I own The Standard because I’m listed as the administrative and technical contract for the domain name that we rent. Or that my partners house that is on the domain docs is owned by me – which it isn’t.
3. Had to hunt for the link. He applied to be an observer in 2016. The way you wrote your comment made me assume that this was current.
4. Somehow you failed to mention or quote that:-
Reynolds is seeking a customer focus committee board observer role – a non-voting and unpaid position.
(my italics). Quite how you got to an unpaid position being paid 41k per year says more about your motives than it does for Mr Reynolds. But I’m going to treat that as a direct deliberate lie since you explicitly stated that he was getting paid and then selectively quoted another part of the article.
5. Another part of the article was also informative and not mentioned or quoted by you in what looks like another deliberate omission (bearing in mind that at the time he was only applying for observer status).
Reynolds said if he got a board role “I would likely cease posting on the blog, or only do so with full disclosure and approval of the board. Like all boards there is a confidentiality agreement to adhere to.
. This hardly sounds like any kind of intent to deceive if he got the position. And it is accordance with the stated policy of the site (which seems to have remained constant) – see point 6.
6. So lets look at what is currently on the About at Greater Auckland
We’re not associated in any way with Auckland Transport.
and
Greater Auckland has a policy of only publishing or discussing information that is either:
already available in the public domain, or
willingly provided by agencies or individuals as the owners of the intellectual property, or
supplied to contributors under the provisions of the Official Information Act, or
original research.
and
The opinions expressed in posts are solely the opinions of the individuals writing, at a particular point in time. They are not the opinions of Greater Auckland, or of any other organisations with which the authors are affiliated, or of the employers of the authors.
So I suspect that he wasn’t given observer status. A quick search doesn’t find any. And as a sloppy idiot you didn’t appear to have even bothered to check.
I’d also point out that being interested in an issue like architecture and urban planning (or in my case politics) and wanting to know more about what is going on is hardly an offence against the public. In my case I occasionally attend political conferences for Labour, Greens, Mana and NZ First as ‘media’. I sometimes turn up at court and council meetings. And if I got interested enough in AT, they’d find me knocking on their door as well. This is hardly abnormal. There are a pile of others who also do these kinds of public oversight. But if you want to do it, then you need to learn not to deliberately lie about facts.
What I am concerned about is that you dropped these defamatory false facts here. I can see 6 reasons to ban you for stupidly putting this site at legal risk for the sake of what looks like a deliberate unsubstantiated smear. So one month each as an educational experience. I hope you enjoy that as much as felt giving them to you. See you in July (or not). But I’d suggest that you never put me at legal risk again, or you’ll get a permanent boot for being a stupid arsehole. ]
“2 democratically elected councillors are forced off the board”
– a proposal by the new mayor which a majority of councillors supported (or it could not have happened). Ironically, done to reduce potential conflicts of interest which seem to exercise you so much in others.
“I’m afraid I can’t help pointing out the discrepancy and why Auckland is such a transport basket case and how the money is just frittered away with these idiots.”
I can’t help pointing out that Patrick Reynolds and someone like Simon WIlson should convene a Q+A over a Chardonnay or a decent little red and smashed avocado on toast – perhaps even drop a Jolly Green Giant together (going forward).
Aucklanders really do deserve themsleves sometimes.
The other day I pointed out a link (primarily for @ Gleangreens and others interest on light rail).
Not a gambler, though I’d be prepared to bet a light rail solution will be pushed for on a gauge that’s incompatible with existing infrastructure.
I suppose tho’ there could be a few architecturally- designed ‘hubs’ at various places, and its possible a few homeless (if properly designed) might use them to doss down.
Greater AUckland, or Transport Blog, or however they want to ‘re-image’ from time to time do have some good ideas and proposals that are well reasoned.
Just a shame they’re such wankers really
High time they did. Although if and when they do, I hope it’s not just to enable the egos and muppetry of the smashed avocados who haven’t yet seen fit to ask those that probably elected them what they think and want.
But in any event, I’m sure it’ll all be gorgeous darling, until it goes tits up.
(I did try and reply differently and in tune with a genuine desire for a discussion – oooops ‘conversation’ @ Gabby. Unfortunately, my fingers are somewhat phatter than they once used to be and I suspect it was all lost when a key was hit )
Let’s CELEBRATE small mercies though shall we?
Greater Auckland, or Transport Blog or the Toblerone are really gorgeous aren’t they? and the do spend an enormous amount of work-life-balanced hours contributing to the greater good.
They were better as transport blog, when they rebranded as Greater Auckland, it’s now two central Auckland wankers pontificating, but officials are so dumb in NZ they still think GA have some insights, when in reality their views (like comparing Seattle to Auckland transport) have no bearing on reality and they probably never use public transport to get to work, and live minutes away for their commute from their multimillion dollar abodes (or at least Patrick Reynolds) seems to!
How about they commute daily from Kare Kare like Mike Lee then they can realise there is a problem as their plan doesn’t go there but developers still get to knock down 500 year old Kauri for parking in Titirangi with their relaxed zoning ideas and the masses of cars, pollution, erosion, environmental destruction, unaffordability and flooding follows the council !
In some ways I ‘spose you should count yourself lucky – there’s an entire regional council (aided and abetted by a local one) that got captured.
Seattle/San Francisco figured highly in that scenario too by way of comparisons and justifications for demolishing a perfectly functioning transport system for one that for me (and a shitload of others) is nw unusable. AND I thought it would all be ‘fixed’ by end of year 2018.
I hope some of those responsible have the cheek to stand for re-election again, but really most of it was down to the unelected holding tickets that needed clipping
Personally I really don’t think that we need any more transport types like light rail in the mix.
They already have the heavy rail Onehunga line that gets almost all of the way there. It shouldn’t be that hard to extend it (the bridge would probably be the hardest bit), and there is a hell of a lot of freight to and from the airport industrial area these days.
Trying to retrofit trams into the Auckland road system is just a disaster waiting to happen. You’d have to bump most of the parking in Dominion Road and bowl over a lot of the housing to put in carparks (or just get rid of the shops). And you still have to get over the upper Manakau. And the way that it is being planned seems to be based on having lots of stops to service locals. Which is fine as a feeder line. But totally useless if you actually want to get to the airport. Frankly is you wanted to do the local feeder corridor, then just boot the cars off Dominion Rd and make it buses only. It’d make more sense, you’d get less screaming, and it’d only take a few months.
I (unfortunately) have to do this running too and from the airport a bit too frequently in the last few years. The last thing I’d want after a 30 odd hour trip back from Europe or a 10 hour from Singapore would be to waste another couple of hours getting home. Especially with the kind of luggage I have to carry wit electronics and test equipment. Sure Dominion Road is just half a kilometer up the road. But it is on the other side of Newton Gully, and you can count the number of buses that cross that during a day on one hand (if there are any left that is).
The trip would be to take the slow tram to Britomart, then a bus without luggage capacity to the K Rd end of Ponsonby Rd. It’d be a couple of hours of further pain. It’d be faster
As I’ll get a taxi and get home 15 minutes after leaving the airport. Or a shuttle and get home in 30 minutes without having any more luggage aggravation.
I really do wish that some of the fools commenting on light rail in the inner suburbs would just look at what is involved and stop trying to say that we want it. It would have been good 30 years ago when the traffic was a third of what it is now. These days it will just be another disaster of yet another decade of roadworks.
North Wharf tram is a good example of what it is actually all about.
A cutesy but impractical public transport option, built at public expense, but a good selling point for the customers the developers hope to attract to their gentrification project. When the time comes to flogging off the hastily built apartment buildings and condos. – “Oh look darling a tram, just like San Francisco”.
After a while when everyone has got over the cute retro tram and the developers have moved on, everyone loses interest. Starts running only on weekends and then monthly then not at all. Maybe a few diehard locals try to resurect the tram as a heritage project, but the costs in labour and time and money and compliance are way too high for voluntary amateur tram enthusiasts.
Part of the propaganda for light rail down Dominion Road was that it would be part of a public transport network to the airport. But actually when I pressed the supporters of this project I discovered that their plans only extended to the end of the line stopping at Three Kings where a park and ride would be built
/agreed.
The light-rail to the airport proposal is a very Auckland-centric way of looking at it.
I haven’t been down Dominion Road in over ten years but I imagine it’s a nightmare by now.
It all seems a bit short-sighted to me when we’re thinking about pushing population out to the regions (Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua), and then as you mention – the freight aspect.
It’s as if Auckland International Airport is only for Aucklanders when it’s a regional/national airport.
As you say, extend from Onehunga or Puhinui even. (Haven’t been near there in a while either but I imagine the ‘forward thinking, best practice’ planners have been busy putting obstacles and development in the way of a rail corridor which would once have been pretty easy).
As a Wellingtonian, thank god there are CHC-SIN flights if and when needed
As sniggering non-Aucklander, I have no hope, because none of the current schemes are going to work with roads gridlocked.
Problem: Look at the number of new cars (including 2nd-hand imports) that are going onto our roads every year compared to the smaller number of cars coming off our roads. At the current rate, we are all doomed to Auckland’s gridlock within years.
The car sales industry must be a very powerful lobby group, because nobody has had the courage to point out the obvious: cars are far too cheap, and we truly need fewer of them.
Stem the flood of cheap cars!
Right wing propaganda will be deafening, but we need to cut emissions anyway.
I can’t find the link I thought @ Cleangreen might be interested in from the other day, but I thought there was potential for something like it in Auckland, AND elsewhere (e.g. Tauranga -airport or Papamoa, and on to Te Puke)
Tram-trains was the name I was trying to retrieve from my aging mind: https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=b-JXXOrxNM2_9QP6rpqIAQ&q=tram-train&btnK=Google+Search&oq=tram-train&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l5j0i30l5.573.4479..5092…0.0..0.342.2292.0j7j3j1……0….1..gws-wiz…..0..0i131.az8PNrycWdI
Apparently Manchester or somewhere like that are considering it, but maybe something like Auckland CIty to Puhinui, then across to Auckland Airport – but then I haven’t been along Puhinui Road in over 15 years. From what I can see, it’d be about 5 or 6 kms – surely not beyond the realms of a team of engineers, planners and associated ticket-clippers
I had to visit Uni of New South Wales in Sydney last November, and the street outside the apartment I rented was closed for the construction of a tram station. No on-site parking for the apartment’s guests for the duration. I asked them how long they were stuck with a big construction project right outside my bedroom window, and they shrugged. Been going on for ages, will continue going on for ages. The only certainties are further missed deadlines and cost over-runs. No indeed, certainly isn’t good for business but everyone’s resigned to it. Every local I spoke to had nothing but curses for the project. Can’t for the life of me see why the government is keen to set up its own version of that in Auckland.
If I was looking at doing a light rail project or dedicated bus roads, the very first thing I’d do is to start constructing multi-level parking off the roads. There is nothing quite as unproductive as the cost of main artery roads clogged with parking. If you force the on-street parking off the main roads you usually nearly double the road width. Which makes it easier to build the transport changes.
Cars aren’t going away because you need them as shopping baskets and to go and visit family and friends. The trick is to make sure that there is actually accessible and cheapish parking that doesn’t just chew up public spaces like congested roads.
And cars are often getting used less. We have a 1993 Toyota Corona as our sole car at present (we’re eying up the next one now for maintenance costs). The Corona burns its miles either going to Bethells, Rotorua, the airport and the supermarket (the latter is because it is almost impossible to be at home when deliveries are made and shopping is best done by hand at 9pm Sunday night). It seldom if ever commutes. For that I have a e-bike (worth more than the car and much lower running and maintenance costs) and my partner mainly works at home. We have two parking spaces downstairs here. That is where the car lives and it gets filled about every 5 weeks.
Sure you can dial up a car and then ride 3-4 kilometres down to get it. But often hiring a car in Auckland feels like it is always Queens birthday weekend. Too much paper work, expensive and a lot of work. Not to mention that they don’t have any safe place to park the bike while I head off to Rotorua.
Like so much other transport policy, this has not been communicated properly to the public. Some key points I’ve learned:
– This is much less about the airport than has been made out.
– There is not enough roadspace in the central city to fit many more buses from Dominion Rd or anywhere else.
– Even after the CRL comes into service, the current rail network cannot carry enough trains to add new airport *and* northwest *and* north shore lines. A major reason is that Auckland runs freight and passengers along the same tracks.
– Another high-capacity network must be built over the next few decades, but there is not enough extra land set aside for trains either. However, light rail can fit down existing roads and replace busways like the northern one (which was future-proofed to do that).
“This is much less about the airport than has been made out.”
Seems that way to me too.
It also seems to me that along the rail corridors (looking at google Earth), there is sufficient space for ‘third railing’ in many places as additional capacity is required.
There is funding right now to add a 3rd rail at the main pinchpoint but apparently it would take more than that to support all future freight and passenger movements.
Remember that these are people carrying luggage that really don’t fit well in trams. All of those people need transport somewhere and they add a base load of passengers steadily all day (unlike a commuter pattern).
Trying to sell a tramway as a solution to that is simply stupid.
There is not enough roadspace in the central city to fit many more buses from Dominion Rd or anywhere else.
That is why the CRL is going in. That is the key to opening up the public transport around town. But much of that commuter transport is going to be heavy rail.
There is currently a problem with buses. But really the issue isn’t those. The real problem is having cars taking up half of the road. This is pretty obvious when you look at the speed and capacity of Northern busway.
And trams have problems because they rely on tracks being laid. It is inflexible and a real construction problem to put in on already busy roads. You’re still going to have buses for the cross roads. Wheeled transport is way easier to use outside of the heavy rail routes.
Capacity? FFS…
All of those old tram roads were designed for extra width with two car lanes and (I think) dual tram lines.
Those roads currently have two problems. They have parking on both sides mostly added in after the tramways were removed. And they have cross roads with lights. But they actually have a lot of wasted capacity that mainly requires regulation to use.
Get rid of the parking first. Then get limit or even rid of the cars so that buses can use two lanes each way – or bowl a few shops to put in stations.
They’d better with zero parking, limited car traffic and dedicated bus lanes and bridges rather than lights.
lprent – transport ideas with user background to back them up. Good.
People waffling on about nostalgic ideas that might or might not have worked back in the day…. Bad.
Now is now. Everything is just as hard to carry forward AND implement as it used to be. Then they, whoever, didn’t manage to get their good ideas through. Now it is essential we stick to what is possible, and choose the best, with some additions worth incorporating from the other good but losing plans, and go rolling forward with the most satisfactory allowing for the practical not theoretical.
Theories are what our economic system works on – that is why it doesn’t work for lots of people. Can’t we learn fast and straighten up and fly right!
“getting $41k from Auckland Transport in fees is not a conflict of interest nor his approach to get himself an unelected position on the AT board.”
We have had this exact conversation before. How could being contracted by particular teams in the organisation as a professional photographer help someone get appointed to a board sub-committee or otherwise influence policy? Having relevant background expertise and a history of civic engagement on the matter is a path to appointment.
I agree that declaring the other relationship is the right thing to do.
@lprent – Reynolds does have an unpaid appointed position on that sub-committee as you noted above. He has earned money via unrelated contracts with the agency for photography based on his specialised professional skills and reputation as a recorder of urban form. There is no evidence either fact is related.
Oh and he “teaches at [the] School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland” according to his LinkedIn profile, which might help a person secure a position on a specialist committee.
Reynolds does have an unpaid appointed position on that sub-committee as you noted above
I had a look on the AT site in the few minutes over a late lunch. Couldn’t see anything. AT should really make that more visible.
But good to know – the chance that he did have the position was why I added the other relevant parts of the article and the About at GA. Being an observer doesn’t exactly dip into the nefarious possible collusion region. After all those colluders in the mainstream media do this all of the time for pay (from their employers) and their observer status is both encourages and protected by legislation.
I think that what me annoyed with this particular smear was the sloppiness of what was presented. As soon as I saw the word ‘observer’, I was wondering how that was a paid position. It seemed unlikely to be so. The second irritation was that any such unpaid position was straight voluntary public service because they aren’t involved in the decision making process. And then I looked at the ‘ownership’ evidence presented which was just ridiculous.
Net effect was that I couldn’t stand behind that pile of trash and view it as fair opinion. It was just defamation.
New Zealand must now declare that it will not engages in more trade talks with the UK unless it gives a binding commitment to ensuring there will be full regulatory alignment on the island of Ireland.
Brexit will lead to English soldiers on the streets in Ireland again if the backstop is ignored.
The Good Friday Agreement brought to an end a period which saw 3500 people killed in the UK because of tensions arising from its constitutional make-up. The GFA is underpinned by both parts of Ireland operating within the Single Market and the Customs Union.
The London government thinks it can avoid its responsibilities under this International Agreement which came into effect with referendums on both parts of Ireland on the same day in 1998.
Minister David Parker must publicly make it clear that any post Brexit trade deal with the UK is conditional on the GFA being fully supported by the legally binding terms of the backstop.
Can NZ send another arrogant drunk to negotiate on our behalf like the TPPA that costs jobs, the environment, ignores climate change and sells off our assets for nothing or peanuts while protecting big polluting business? Yes we can be worse negotiators than the Brits.
Why will the lack of a backstop lead to soldiers being deployed?
The UK has zero incentive to do anything on the Irish border. No controls, no checks. To intents an open border. The EU wants Ireland to treat the border as a hard border. They might formally say “yes” to Brussels but in practice actually do nothing.
So what if goods and services go over the border with no impediment. They will basically all stay within the island.
The Tories have no interest in a hard border, sure. Their interest is only in freeing themselves of the EU’s inconvenient (to Tories) environmental and human rights rules, to which a border’s irrelevant. However, a lot of the people who voted Leave did so exactly because they want a hard border with the EU to prevent freedom of movement, and they’re not likely to look kindly on May telling them that actually the government’s leaving an open border with the EU because migration control isn’t a priority.
So, yeah, totally – no-deal Brexit almost certainly means a hard border around the UK’s Irish colony, which in turn means the Good Friday agreement is toast, which in turn means British soldiers back on the streets.
Sometime yesterday, The Daily Blog put up a notice advising they would be publishing an exclusive interview with Jami-Lee Ross this morning at 7am and this is now up on TDB.
“TDB’s mental health blogger, Hadley Grace Robinson-Lewis, sat down with Jami-Lee Ross to discuss mental health, harassment allegations and the politics behind his fight with National”
IMHO this interview gives a fairly raw and detailed perspective from Ross himself about what happened last year in terms of his mental health, the breakdown of his relationships including with Simon Bridges and the National Party, the role of Paula Bennett, Sarah Dowie and the other unnamed women in the Newsroom article, the late night/early morning text, and the pressures leading to his eventual being taken into compulsory mental health care for a short period of time.
This is very much a mental health story told from the perspective of someone who has recently experienced an episode, with also some clarification of the political aspects.
It is not an easy read, repetitive at times, but I am pleased that editing has been left to a minimum as this could well have distorted the content and perspective being conveyed.
[And for those who think this is all just a sex scandal story which should no longer be news or discussed as some of you have, don’t bother reading it. Ditto If you are looking for those aspects as you will be disappointed.]
Thanks Veutoviper for the link. Jamie is telling it from his point of view and naturally puts his own perspective. The interview does have a ring of authenticity though and could be a position anyone could find themselves in.
It is very hard to admit that you need help. You could easily fear that once “weakness” is admitted, then those around as friends or employers, would retreat and never trust/respect you again.
Wonder what will happen to Jamie?
“If we’re going to solve these issues of racism we have to understand it,” Waitangi organiser Rueben Taipari says.
“We may have to confront those issues in order to create a better future for our children. So the best place to understand that discussion is from the man himself.”
Its not often I agree with Maui, but he/she put it well yesterday on OM under the thread at 9:
“Disagree, better to invite the devil in and see what he wants, rather than having him pissing on your tent from the outside. Well played Reuben.”
I did not see the AM show this morning where Brash was interviewed (see Dennis Frank @1 above), but Brash was interviewed by Suzie Ferguson on Morning Report this morning where she challenged him to apply his principles of equal treatment (no special Maori representation on local councils, boards, no separate Maori seats in Parliament etc) to all the other situations of inequality such as the fact that Maori are twice more likely to be imprisoned for crimes than pakeha etc. Worth a listen (8+ minutes)
and as she says, “Hmmm Im not sure I want this Waitangi to focus any time on the kind of words of hate and privilege this man invokes… Pakeha Allies like Waitangi Network Andrew Judd are more deserving of my time.”
maui on this blog I don’t rate at all although like brash they are entitled to their opinion.
But Tino Rangatiratanga supporter Te Ao Pritchard and Dr Brash and Mr Tamaki are coopting the hard work done by Māori to create a safe space for Māori to discuss their concerns.
“We’re saying don’t bring hate speakers. It’s not about understanding their point. It’s about being really clear, like our legacy holders – Whina Cooper said ‘Not one more acre, not one more time are we going to let people trample us and take our whenua.’ Not one more racist. Not one more hate speaker. Not one more person who undermines tino rangatiratanga,” she says.
Fine, but I am more worried about your BP and health – and two beautiful children who need/want their Dad to be around a lot longer. Forget Brash. He is not worth it.
And BTW I also rate Annette very highly. Maui not so, but every now and then …
Re the unruly brits
2are in court, re roofing scam. Don’t seem to Able to get a lawyer ha.
One is on run, hasn’t turned up to a court date.
Apparently as has name suppression so they can publish pic of him.
Seems to me don’t turn up means loss of name suppression.
Also are names picked up by immigration to stop them buggering off.
Time to bring back the stocks so we can see the knaves and knavesses who are playing us for fools.
And for immigrants who transgress, a quick punishment like cleaning up the sludge from the sewage ponds for a day, with a dog to bite them if they stop, but with short breaks each hour to pee and water themselves, and then be deported.
We are relatively kind to everyone except our own poor struggling people, let’s change that and spend money on helping them. For a start don’t use jails as punishment for minor crimes, money wasted that should go on learning skills enabling reparation, and personal goal building.
And don’t let nasty crims from overseas cost us more money by giving them jail time. Short period of work and humiliation with some deprivation of comforts and then send them back to the ratnest that raised them.
“And don’t let nasty crims from overseas cost us more money by giving them jail time. Short period of work and humiliation with some deprivation of comforts and then send them back to the ratnest that raised them.
Now we know who has been advising the Australian Government on their policy of sending NZers resident in Australia back to NZ if they commit crimes there regardless of how tenuous their links to NZ are. LOL
Christian principles? It is inappropriate to bring use that term as virtue signaling into a discussion of how to punish criminals in a different way than the present. It is necessary to try for objectivity to get an overview of what is going on in our society, and the growth of bad attitudes and conditions as times get harder.
Clinging to past approaches and emotional attitudes that didn’t deal with problems and calling them ethical, and then calling out people who recognise the reality, is not going near to devising humane ways of dealing with chronic criminality. I think you are confusing concern about reality with being unChristian while I see it as the opposite. If a situation is bad, what can be done to change present practices is the question; not how can we wring our hands best and wish it all away. How will that help when something bad has happened, and is being repeated?
We always have to be aware of injustices, and it is a shame and a disgrace that in this Year of Our Lord 2019 there is so much venal evil around.
If you hate injustice you will want to give a little to this woman who has not been able to bring her Court-agreed example of disgraceful conduct to Court in the given time. A decent society would rush through a law change enabling an application for extension of time in cases that clearly indicate a requirement for it.
That is one issue among many others relevant to this disturbing case.
That NRT blog post was two weeks ago on 21 Jan however, and I understand a lot has been going on behind the scenes within various parts of govt, NZDF etc since then.
I expect that we will be seeing some changes to various laws over coming months to remove the anomalies that led to the ridiculous judgement that had to be made under existing law. I also doubt that the woman concerned will be required to pay the costs awarded and they will be met by other means. The PM already stepped in earlier in regard to some other much higher costs. More details about the case here in a Herald article also on 21 Jan.
Good question. And second question is why there is not an avenue of redress for this woman or something being done to ensure that there is something going through the political system that can redress wrongs after statutory legal limits have been passed. Like the Ombusdsman,?
What can you say, over someone who is 71 for what ever reason driving a truck ridiculously long hours and tailgating.
There needs to be so much more scrutiny of truck driver industry and reduction of their long hours. This is an industry that has had too many workers bought into NZ dropping the pay rates which has lowered wages for the industry. This driver was 71 years old and maybe poverty was why he was still working long hours, who knows? Someone I knew said that when the truck firms started paying $18p/h then he knew to leave the industry (he was in his 40’s and probably highly experienced) as there was no long term prospects there for him as it became impossible to get a pay rise.
And now there seems to be endless stories around truck accidents and the maintenance of trucks. But the police and AT don’t seem to like that story, so we hear instead accidents are caused by speeding car drivers only. Not the rise in subcontracted trucks and drivers that may have poor/fake maintenance and fake drivers licences and drivers who are working too long hours, not training and retaining people and using workers past retirement age and able to have the dash cam suspiciously stop working a few minutes before a crash….
Tailgating is a habit and a driving practice that is done purposefully. Has to be unlearned with a proper respect for intelligent driving rules that it pays to follow because they have scientific facts like reaction times to back them up.
Australia has addressed this issue, along with others in their COR (Chain of Reponsibility) legislation. Where poor record keeping, (deliberate or not) and the quality of driving and time management is passed up the chain of command. Companies and managers that have unrealistic or unsafe expectations of drivers’ workloads and schedules can be identified and prosecuted.
Christchurch water taking. This story from No Right Turn is a wake-up call. We are on a list of the most open country in the world to start up a business. It sounds like an award for The Most Gullible Country in the World. We are the country of the worm that will slide along the floor and lick your shoes clean if you have money you say you will invest in something.
And most of the other worms just sit around drinking beer (principally water), exporting milk and wine as major industries (made of water), exporting water (the essential of life for us and everything on the planet) for no or hardly any return to us. And me I like listening to ironic humour like The Four Yorkshiremen – ‘oh we had it tough we had to lick the road clean every morning’. Humour has to be sharp to get through our complacent thick hides.
https://norightturn.blogspot.com/2019/02/sucking-us-dryer.html
Sucking us dryer
Cloud Ocean Water is sucking water out of Christchurch’s aquifers for export, without paying a cent for it. Their existing water consents already pose a long-term threat to Christchurch’s water supply. And now they’re planning to take even more: Cloud Ocean …
Time for some serious protest. One of the selling points for setting up business in NZ is that we are so compliant and stable politically. Perhaps clouding our spotless reputation might put off some of this business investment with a net effect that divests and devastates the country’s resources including us – we are a resource to each other and to our environment and vice versa. We stay quiet any longer, and it will be a case of our vice and no versa.
Wow not sure this councillor understands his role lol
The track to Tararua’s iconic tourist spot, the Waihi Falls, is in a bad state of repair, but one district councillor is poo-pooing the suggestion it needs to be closed for repairs.
Instead, councillor Peter Johns said, “If people fall over it’s their fault.”
… “This is ridiculous, next you’ll want wheelchair access,”
… “This is like going to the beach and the sand is too hot. Do you want sprinklers? Ridiculous,”
Todd Muller while supposedly negotiating in good faith with the climate change Minister has again gone to the media to preempt the negotiations. Todd Muller restating National’s Fast Follower doctrine, first promoted by John Key.
As James Shaw and I sat down to negotiate a framework for the establishment of an independent climate commission, I strongly advocated for our National Party principles: allowing science to paint the picture, technology leading the way, pacing ourselves at the pace of our competitors, and being relentlessly honest about the economic implications of the transition.
Todd Muller
Most other countries reflecting on their own domestic commitments are confronted firstly with electricity generation, which is often fossil fuel dominated. That is their challenge……
….with [our] electricity production already at 85 per cent renewable. We can continue to increase this, but as we approach 100 per cent renewable electricity, the last few per cent become very expensive and don’t deliver significant emissions reductions.
Todd Muller
This is another restatement of the Fast Follower Doctrine. Achieving 100% renewable electricity generation would be setting a global precedent, something that Todd Muller and National are vehemently opposed to.
We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that ultimately it will be decisions made in Washington, Beijing, Moscow and New Delhi that determine the level of warming we will see over coming centuries.
Todd Muller
No we, shouldn’t, more reason why should be giving a lead and setting an example.
Twice in two weeks Muller has gone to the media outlining his case in these negotiations.
Meanwhile the Greens have refrained from making any public statement andare keeping radio silence.
The invisibility of the Greens compared to the high profile approach of the Nats shows why the good guys don’t win.
While the Greens play to their self imposed rule of silence which has eliminated their public presence and profile, the Nats are destroying them in public.
As Steve Bannon told MIke Moore. Our side, we go for the head wound.
If this farce continues the Greens silence will see them completely forgotten by the voters.
I think the Nats are looking really bad in public. CC is the news at the moment. Every night a new flood or forest fire or heatwave. With this along with cannabis law reform they stand to go down on the wrong side of history. Leave them to squirm i say.
Kia ora The AM Show cut and pasteing the AM Show on that statement Jacinda made on that % Was not on the topic you pasted her video to.??????.
That’s cool Mark that you don’t mind parting with your money to your bank but what about the people who are struggling to put kai on the table you are still fitting into that category.
Banker do f,all there jobs are the ones that should be taken over by artificial intelligence FIRST not a hard job but they make Billions.
Steve In my view BANKS charging someone fees for a Product they cannot use /don’t need /fees for NO service is THEFT do you know what happens to a poor person who steals to survive jail What’s makes it worse is the banks bankers are filthy Rich and don’t need the money. DON’T try and justify their behaviour on the statement of shareholders pressure on BANKERS is a acceptable reason for their behaviour that’s just white washing things Duncan. In you view it OK for the wealthy to rip people off but the poor person throw the lot in jail. Tova someone is stirring the pot having Don Brash at the Marae there are a lot of people not happy with the way national has treated MAORI. Those % stats quoted on the show do not add up to statement made last year. Mark what you should say is Don Brash deserves to be treated with respect its not his fault he was raised with a superior view on himself.
The Waitangi Treaty the Documents that NZ was founded on its principle should be inprinted into our laws. I no enough about the Treaty to say that move would protect our environment Wild life and all people.
More shit stirring turning the Waitangi grounds into a cricket ground. Some mite think the Waitangi Treaty is not important. But when one looks at it from my view all the promises made by the settlers to Maori have been broken Maori were promise EQUALITY and the FACT show that phenomenon us far from REALITY when we have people under the bridges jails full to bursting point with MAORI.
Times are changing fast as the 21st century comunacations device delivers the truth to the people. My old tipuna new its te tangata te tangata that counts ECO gets that.
Chris that’s correct it would be in the Trillions what the crown has stolen from Maori.
. Ka kite ano P.S I know some of my maths has been out but when I have my computer hacked and its not doing the commands I give it sometimes I don’t get time to edit my work.The morriorie are just the first Maori that arrived in Aotearoa people like duncan just use the story to damage MAORI MANA I have the first Maori blood in my vains that’s a fact
The neanderthals who control the state in NZ the state servents don’t want to share anything hence the suppression of Maoris history. They don’t want there tamariki to know that in reality they stole from maori whenua and mana in any way they could skeem of to steal maori land they gave the land to people of maori decent who did not own the land then these people sold the land to them cheap there many other cheating ways they use to strip maori of mana . Thats a fact
History teachers behind a new petition say the Government should seize a “zeitgeist moment” in Māori-Pakeha relations to “give young people their history”.
The New Zealand History Teachers’ Association (NZHTA) believes too few Kiwis understand what brought the Crown and Māori together in the 1840 Treaty, or how their relationship developed over the decades since – partly because schools are not required to teach it.
Its petition for “coherent teaching” of colonial history is borne out of years of frustration with the Government’s “failure to match actions with words”, a written statement from the association said.
“New Zealand likes to pride itself on being at the forefront of progressive social change, and in many areas it is.
“We have plenty of warnings from overseas of how ignorance of the past allows space for those who wish to create, exploit and exacerbate divisions in society. New Zealand, thankfully, has not chosen this path but this does not mean that there is
nothing to be gained from raising our own veil of ignorance.”
Ball said the ministry’s position was a “cop out”.
“Policy was brought in to give us a highly autonomous curriculum; policy can be brought in to make the coherent teaching of our colonial past part of that.”
He said NZHTA was not advocating for a “national story” to be taught – multiple views, including those of iwi, should be included.
New Zealand was experiencing a “zeitgeist moment”, with more Kiwis willing to engage with te reo and New Zealand’s colonial history, Bell said.
“I think people who have themselves an understanding of our own shared past recognise how important it is.” Ka kite ano links below
Are humans intelligence well not if we let Neanderthals like snott Morrison lead us all into extinction. He backs coal power in a country with one of the driest environment in the papatuanuku world. It is well documented that thermal coal power stations use heaps of water to generate power fool. It’s well documented that solar and wind power use next to no water they don’t produce green house gases with a positive and negative check list like that even a piece of moss could pick the correct answer whats the problem .It’s the carbon barons money is make him make foolish choices and back carbon over his children future
Tasmania is burning. The climate disaster future has arrived while those in power laugh at us
Snott Morrison is trying to scare people about franking credits but seems blithely unaware people are already scared – about climate change
As I write this, fire is 500 metres from the largest King Billy pine forest in the world on Mt Bobs, an ancient forest that dates back to the last Ice Age and has trees over 1,000 years old. Fire has broached the boundaries of Mt Field national park with its glorious alpine vegetation, unlike anything on the planet. Fire laps at the edges of Federation Peak, Australia’s grandest mountain, and around the base of Mt Anne with its exquisite rainforest and alpine gardens. Fire laps at the border of the Walls of Jerusalem national park with its labyrinthine landscapes of tarns and iconic stands of ancient pencil pine and its beautiful alpine landscape, ecosystems described by their most eminent scholar, the ecologist Prof Jamie Kirkpatrick, as “like the vision of a Japanese garden made more complex, and developed in paradise, in amongst this gothic scenery”.
“You have plants that look like rocks – green rocks – and these plants have different colours in complicated mosaics: red-green, blue-green, yellow-green, all together. It’s an overwhelming sensual experience really.”
Tasmanian heritage forests at risk of ‘catastrophic’ bushfires, study finds
Read more
Five years ago I was contacted by a stranger, Prof Peter Davies, an eminent water scientist. He wanted to meet because he had news he thought would interest me. The night we met Davies told me that the south-west of Tasmania – the island’s vast, uninhabited and globally unique wildland, the heart of its world heritage area – was dying. The iconic habitats of rainforest, button grass plains, and heathlands had begun to vanish because of climate Ka kite ano link below.
Kia ora Newshub simon it’s ka pai you make that statement about Maori standing on OUR own 2 feet at Waitangi yes we are very good at that but in this rat race of NZ Western Society everyone else gets a 500 meter headstart over Maori the fact of the stats point that out to be fact or are you going to say we are lazy like that other m8 of yours.
The powerful will always take advantage of the weak the 8 people living in the garage in Tauranga.
You No the old saying you are what you eat rings true
We have a big link to our environment as well as the creatures in our environment with no environmental no humans full stop.?????? ¿?????????do you get it.
ECO Feels sorrow for all the people in the North Queens land Townsville flooding.
People are being held accountable for dumb stupid statements by social media Liam Neeson making that public statement come on we are all human.
Yes I think that Wahine need more care during and after having a baby it’s quite stressful for Wahine and they can easily slip into prenatal depression. I have seen my daughters and partner go through pregnancy enough times to no how the system work.
There you go the banks here will be doing the same as there m8s are doing in Australia the bankers would jump the ditch quite often and be educated by their Australian cousins on ways to rip people off.
Maori high suicide rate in Aotearoa simon is it a fair race I think NOT I seen who gave you that line and he can retire his neolithic views like shonky and bill. Ka kite ano
It gives Eco Maori a sore face to see our old maori tohunga Hek Busby given his rightful honor and be Knighted at Waitangi Ka pai. This will help lift Maori mana all around Papatuanuku like Hek has with his great MAHI and mana.
Hekenukumaingaiwi ‘Uncle Hek’ Puhipi Busby knighted at Waitangi
World renowned carver and celestial navigator Hekenukumaingaiwi Puhipi Busby – or Uncle Hek as he is affectionately known to thousands of waka paddlers – has been knighted today at Waitangi.
The name Busby comes from James Busby who helped draft the Treaty of Waitangi. Hek’s ancestor Teripi Temarua was chief of Te Rarawa. He was baptised by James Busby who became his godfather – and gave the family his name, Busby.
His interest in waka was sparked when a team of paddlers from Hawaii arrived in Aotearoa in 1985 on a Hokule’a, a double-hulled voyaging canoe, which was retracing ancient migration routes.
At Waitangi the Hawaiian group were welcomed by Sir James Henare whose words had a profound impact on Hek.
“When the Hawaiians came over in 1985 he greeted them and welcomed them and I remember the words that he said: ‘this is one of the happiest days of my life’.”
“We are very, very fortunate that we have some of these waka here in New Zealand, have some of his waka under my control,” he said.
“Because there will be a taonga that will be treasured and treasured forever.
Ka kite ano links below
This is what tangata are we are guardians of all the gifts god has given us we do not own them we must take the utmost care of Papatuanuku mother earth and pass her on to the next generation in a pristeen condtion. Not do what the neanderthals the 00.1 % are doing and stripping all the profits from motherearth they cannot think about the next generations our mokopunas future Wake Up people we have the power to make them look after mother earth its the people its the people who have the real power not the 00.1% stand up and let our voices be heard and demarned a better future for the granchildren
You can’t be a kaitiaki from a distance
Mountains to Sea is a new book about New Zealand’s freshwater crisis. It is edited by Mike Joy, an outspoken freshwater scientist and policy researcher, who has brought together kōrero from 10 authors looking at what has gone wrong with te wai o Aotearoa, and how to fix it.
Two chapters, in particular, focus on iwi perspectives on water issues, as Kennedy Warne explains, beginning with Tina Ngata’s view that restoring the environment begins with restoring relationships.
Tina Ngata, a Ngāti Porou environmental advocate, says the ability to be effective water guardians relies on restoring a language of water interactions — te reo o te awa.
Our ability to care for and protect rivers, lakes, and wetlands is based on our ability to hear what they are saying to us — and that’s determined by the quality of our interactions with water.
“Water has intelligence, comprised of its nature and the multitude of life forms within it that respond to various stimuli,” she writes. “Water communicates its needs to us, and our comprehension depends entirely upon the intimacy of our relationship with it.”
In her view, intimacy is at the heart of kaitiakitanga, and kaitiakitanga is inseparable from ahi kaa — and it is only those who live in intimate contact with their waterways who can discern their needs and make appropriate governance responses.
As often as not, this kind of relationship to an awa involves grieving over its decline.
Environmental damage, from a Māori perspective, is “part of a larger story of colonisation, urban migration and the loss of ancestral knowledge around care and communication with nature.” Fulfilling the role of kaitiaki can only occur when those who would speak and act for rivers are living in their rohe.
“Rematriation” is the term she uses — an evocative word that speaks of a physical and spiritual return to Papatūānuku and the restoration of a people to their ancestral lands.
“Rematriation acknowledges,” she writes, “that our ancestors lived in spiritual relationship with our lands for thousands of years, and that we have a sacred duty to maintain that relationship for the benefit of our future generations.
“We must physically be beside our waterways in order to utilise them, to speak with them, to listen to them and what they are saying through their scent, through their sound, through the taste of their kai, through their levels, through the life within them (or lack thereof), in order to realise this sacred relationship.”
You can’t be a kaitiaki from a distance, she writes. Yet this is the condition so many indigenous people find themselves in — trying to fulfil their responsibilities to the land while being physically prevented from participating in the life of the land. Social policies that forced urbanisation on a rurally-dispersed population deprived Māori of their ability to retain kaitiaki relationships and fulfil their roles.
Ka kite ano links below.
Kia ora Newshub let’s hope that the fire in Nelson is brought under control before to much damage is caused.
It was a beautiful day for the celebration of Waitangi day at Waitangi Ka pai.
With the President of America’s state of the Union speach Times are changing Kia kaha.
That’s a good find the skeleton of New penguins species on the Chatham Island there needs to be a lot more money invested into archeology in Aotearoa there will be many more treasure like what was found on the Chatham Island. There needs to be more accurate carbon dating at Old Maori sites to get the correct dates because what’s recorded in the books is way out.
Thing don’t look good in Venezuela but I am keeping my nose out of that as I don’t no enough to comment on there situation at the minute. Ka kite ano
Kia ora Newshub It’ was a beautiful day of celebrations at Waitangi for Waitangi day. The American president state of the Union speach Times are changing Kia kaha.
Hope that the fire in Nelson is brought under control before to much damage is caused.
The find of new species ofpenguin fossils at the Chatham Island was cool. There needs to be more money invested in archaeology around Atoearoa the dates of old Maori sites dates are way out. Thing look bad in Venezuela but I’m keeping my nose out of that as I don’t not enough about Venezuela to comment Ka kite ano P.S the sandflys have been stuffing with my devices one again first post got wiped.
Looks like the sandflys have been stuffing with my divices I couldn’t see the first post I posted last night I checked today and dubble vison.
Ka kite ano
The sandflys have been stuffing with my divices once again I couldn’t find my first post last night and this morning when I checked dubble vison Ka kite ano P.S they love stuffing with my words when I’m on the farm
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TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
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The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
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Folks may be surprised to hear that Don Brash has become a socialist. Well, he didn’t actually say so, but this morning I saw him telling Duncan Garner that he was advocating “needs-based funding”. That’s about as socialist an economic principle as you will ever be able to find, eh?
They were discussing the idea Shane Jones has for developing Maori land. Apparently much of it is too poor in quality to be viable. I doubt that assumption is valid. Toss a permaculture task force at it and in twenty years you will probably be astonished to discover it has become the most productive land in the region!
Anyway, old Don has been invited to talk to Ngapuhi about how to do economic development. I hope he isn’t too dry for them…
“To each according to their need” is given lipservice by most on the political spectrum – it’s the “from each according to their ability” Brash balks at.
It is also a pity that once again Garner was selective in his news item, as there was no mention of the 140 million in corporate welfare Ardern after being advised against by Treasury is giving to that parasite Jackson. No doubt so he can win the contract for making the Television version of “Bored with The Rings” for that other parasitical tax avoiding outfit called Amazon.
Garner foaming at the mouth about “Our Tax Money” As far as I am aware it is a loan whereas the money to Jackson is like GONE, for good with little if any return to NZ. But of course, it will be argued that it be spent on producing jobs, tourists etc. However, the so-called benefits to NZ are questionable if Amazon is involved and Jacksons pass record of employment plus the added strain additional tourist which we don’t need will have on our infrastructure and the environment.
I wish that Jackson wasn’t the object of so much scorn and detestation. He has been instrumental in doing much for NZ creative industry but he has earned creatives’ hostility for not being welfare oriented. Because he has made something, opened up something for NZ which has to operate on capitalist lines he is a figure to despise?
Corporates are multi-headed and amorphous, it’s hard to focus dislike intensely but Jackson stands at the head of his enterprise and cops it all. The unions did their usual stupid thing, forced the flipper of the Golden Goose so that it swam away from them. They needed to be like ducks, keeping calm and paddling like hell to get the best deal they could.
Then they went all emotional and soggy running to an Australian union expecting solidarity. We know what that was like – Australian ground might look firm but step onto it and it’s either boggy and sucks you in or has potholes that you will fall into. They would look after their own interests first and did no good for us IIRC.
I seriously doubt Don Brash has assessed the land. More likely he thought his own interests would benefit from millions in govt money and got in asap to lay the foundation for the handout.
Question please…..
Was on the news that Maori are getting this money because they are struggling to get loans from banks to develop/improve their land.
Does anyone know the reason please why banks are reluctant to lend them money?
I know when individual Iwi members want to put houses on it they struggle, as they technically don’t own the land so there is no person/corporate entity to put up against the loan if it all goes tits up.
Probably the same reason, but not certain.
Hopefully someone with more direct knowledge of the current situation will clarify. But on the strength of your question and a vague memory of reading about problems getting loans due to ownership structures of Maori land, I googled bank lending maori land ownership, and there’s a whole bunch of stuff came up.
The Maori Land Court says the process really shouldn’t be any different to any other loans, whereby everyone with an interest in it needs to agree.
https://www.maorilandcourt.govt.nz/your-maori-land/using-your-maori-land/finance-and-mortgages/
But it seems that in the real world even when one person has sole title to a block of maori land there have still been difficulties. Possibly it’s a case of banks seeing the maori ownership aspect of it and immediately dropping it in the too hard basket.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/wairarapa-times-age/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503410&objectid=11156445
This is something I did work on the past. The issue is that the security (mortgage) can not be readily realised in the event of default. Who are the potential buyers on a mortgagee sale?
Historically Maori Affairs was the lender on a lot of Te Ture Whenua land, but even then when there were relatively few owners. These days land which say 5 or 6 owners in the 1950’s now has hundreds of owners. There are trust mechanisms to deal with this but it still can be difficult.
Presumably Shane will develop an entity to be the lender.
Sorry for the pretty rough grammar on that post, done on an iPhone!
All good Wayne, the value is in the information you provided, worries about any grammatical errors. Thanks again 🙂
I think it is because they won’t put the land itself up as security and even then banks might not consider its market value highly.
https://budgeting.thenest.com/borrow-money-using-land-security-21232.html
Thanks everyone for the links and info.
Wayne, cheers for your valuable opinion, made much sense for me 🙂
There are many properties and businesses on leasehold Maori land around Motueka. So was using that as a comparison. At a guess and judging by their appearance many of these dwellings would have built around the 1950’s, rather than recently.
The way I was looking at it was…. shouldn’t anyone getting a loan for anything have to provide security.
If the banks aren’t playing fair then surely setting up a different lending entity would help people in that situation.
As long as the new lending entity has procedures in place should default occur then surely it shouldn’t be a problem.
Cinny, I’ve come late to this but thought I would mention that the same discussion has been had over on Pete George’s blog so here is the link to the relevant post.
https://yournz.org/2019/02/04/waitangi-inclusion-protest-and-handouts/
The land ownership issues start about halfway down with a comment by Alan W but forget his and look at Gazza’s reply to him and the ones that follow. similar replies to here but worth a look.
Fantastic VV, thanks beautiful lady, will check it out 🙂
How are those younger “cinnys” ? Back to school yet? And Mum taking some breathes before getting back into work etc? So want to continue to hear their life as OWT would say “going forward”, LOL. Big hugs to you all.
Big hugs right back at ya 🙂
Thank goodness for living 15 mins from gorgeous beaches and a fantastic river 🙂 School holidays would be hard work and rather expensive without such amazing natural resources, it really would. So grateful to live where we do.
Miss 11 is back on Thursday, Miss 14 on Friday 😉
I’ve an extra week after they go back, before returning to work, gives me time to discover my misplaced sanity, am sure it’s round here somewhere…lmao !
Absolutely will continue sharing as they keep going forward.
Lmao the funniest thing this summer was their insistence to take a massive blow up flamingo to the lagoon on a breezy day.
Miss 14 was like, don’t worry mum I won’t let it blow away….
So when it took off down the beach running over rather fancy looking tourist sunbathers, I was too busy rolling around on the ground laughing to help her. Crikey it was funny, never seen that girl move so quick 🙂
Big loves to you and yours from me and mine 🙂
Banks have rules about loaning to “Multiple Owners”. You can get a mortgage for two or sometimes three, but more? NO. Reason, it is hard for them to pin down the liable party.
Also early laws favoured any owners above Maori owners, who had to prove title in the then Maori Land court.
So Ngapuhi are more open to ideas than Massey Uni, good for them
” Apparently much of it is too poor in quality to be viable”.
Jones at least has never said any such thing. H claims that it is not developed or utilised properly because of the form of ownership it has.
It could be productive and Jones has said that much of it is in fact quite viable.
Pro growth lobby group ‘greater Auckland’ are gushing about
Growing Auckland without growing traffic
They claim that Seattle has decreased traffic over the years.
Quick look why at reviews…
Things like
SEATTLE
“I’m a big fan of the Link Light Rail! We landed at SeaTac and were able to take the Link directly to the Westlake Station, which is right in the heart of downtown near Pike Place. Tickets were very easy to buy and just $2.50, compared to a $40+ Uber ride. The interior of the Link was very clean and had AC.”
AUCKLAND
NZ last time I checked it was over $200 for a family of four to go one way to the airport from Devonport and actually you couldn’t do it as they trains did not run overnight or early in the morning).
Costs a family of 4 $40 in HOP cards to start the journey and you can’t get a child HOP without a 72 hour process… then you face bewildering journeys which don’t interconnect, are slow and expensive. Putting in the infrastructure will do nothing if, like Kiwibuild, it is overpriced, a hodge podge leaking public money and assets and not what people want or need but what lobbyists want to profit from and ram through.
I would advocate that the bigger issue for Auckland is not airport travel but transport for the residents to get around and to keep quality people here and get productivity up!
SEATTLE
“The system is clean and easy. I bought an ORCA card at the airport and charged it each day with the $8.00 unlimited rides. Works great and considering it’s a more than 15 mile ride from the airport to downtown? Worth it!
The trains are clean and well lit, as are the stations. It’s new but I noticed no graffiti and no litter. Even the underground stations are easy. Everything is completely handicap-accessible.”
AUCKLAND
As far as I am aware not possible to get $8 unlimited rides per day….. it often takes up to 5 times longer if you use buses which is the dominant mode of transport and even with the planned rail links which are taking years to build the transport links barely cover many areas of Auckland and seem very concentrated in a central areas of 1+ million dollar suburbs.
Meanwhile those who have been forced further out of Auckland due to the pro growth/ relaxing zoning which has delivered the promised affordable housing (sarcasm) many workers in Auckland now have hours of commute needed which is not fixed by the new transport advocated as it doesn’t cover all the outer cheaper areas of Auckland. So those commuters are still left with few transport options in spite of paying their petrol taxes and rates, and their options will still be slow, expensive and inflexible now with no relief in many areas planned for decades.
SEATTLE
“As a woman who often travels on her own, my priorities are safety (including security being accessible), cleanliness, and timeliness (when in Seattle, I’m often there to visit a friend… and so I want to feel confident in texting him when I’ll arrive, etc). I’ve never had any moment of feeling unsafe while on the Link Light Rail, and I’m usually arriving or leaving late at night. Definitely a positive aspect of the travel experience.
The Link Light Rail is also an inexpensive and convenient way to get around. The light rail runs often, on a timely schedule, and doesn’t cost much at all to get to/from Downtown or a variety of other stops. Plus? It saves the sanity of myself, my colleagues (we often have meetings in Seattle), or my best friend (who would otherwise probably be talked into driving me to the airport). ;)”
AUCKLAND
In Auckland Britomart has got rid of the conductors so now graffiti and thieves are apparently openly mugging lap tops from the formally well staffed Britomart where you used to be able to get on, pay cash and just enjoy your easy journey which sounds like is no longer in Auckland…
SUM UP
… love how the pro growth lobby always have these wonderful examples of other cities whose experience seem to bare no reality to the NZ options and even with the spend of public transport are not going to work if their customer service, pricing and speed are not up to scratch with clearly with the culture of those involved in AT and the corruption in transport in NZ is high.
Transport in NZ has become about profiteering and lobbying and big tenders and so forth rather than spending on the actual transport and the actual quality of staff once they get the infrastructure built.
Once they get the infrastructure built they have so many over runs to big construction and banks that they then spend all the ratepayers and taxpayers money on middle men, consultants and fat cats and bad IT who advise them to make it up by starving the actual service of quality and overpricing and under delivering it.
That’s what needs to be fixed. The culture and the lobbyists and the one dimensional thinking of profiteering people and those that echo that.
Link for people who want to read it for themselves: https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2019/02/04/growing-auckland-without-growing-traffic/
Be aware that greater Auckland premises seemed to be largely owned by Patrick Reynolds… https://www.businesscheck.co.nz/ltd/9429036736348/
The same guy that put himself forward to be on the Auckland Transport board while 2 democratically elected councillors are forced off the board.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11736212
Presumably owning multiple multi million dollar houses around Grey Lynn and Westmere that require little commute gives Patrick and his mates at “Greater Auckland” an insight into commuter woes and poverty… sarcasm… and getting $41k from Auckland Transport in fees is not a conflict of interest nor his approach to get himself an unelected position on the AT board.
“Patrick Reynolds, of the Transport Blog, has applied for an observer role on the board, despite the blog stating it “is not associated in any way with Auckland Transport”.
[lprent: Umm an interesting smear
1. When I checked at Greater Auckland, I saw that Patrick Reynolds blogs there about every month for most of this year. There is nothing that indicates ownership. Like this site there have been a lot of different people contributing posts over the last decade.
2. Your link was for his company and listed an address. Nothing in the link indicated that he owned it. So on the face of your ‘evidence’ that would be a simple lie. It is exactly the same as saying that I own The Standard because I’m listed as the administrative and technical contract for the domain name that we rent. Or that my partners house that is on the domain docs is owned by me – which it isn’t.
3. Had to hunt for the link. He applied to be an observer in 2016. The way you wrote your comment made me assume that this was current.
4. Somehow you failed to mention or quote that:-
(my italics). Quite how you got to an unpaid position being paid 41k per year says more about your motives than it does for Mr Reynolds. But I’m going to treat that as a direct deliberate lie since you explicitly stated that he was getting paid and then selectively quoted another part of the article.
5. Another part of the article was also informative and not mentioned or quoted by you in what looks like another deliberate omission (bearing in mind that at the time he was only applying for observer status).
. This hardly sounds like any kind of intent to deceive if he got the position. And it is accordance with the stated policy of the site (which seems to have remained constant) – see point 6.
6. So lets look at what is currently on the About at Greater Auckland
and
and
So I suspect that he wasn’t given observer status. A quick search doesn’t find any. And as a sloppy idiot you didn’t appear to have even bothered to check.
I’d also point out that being interested in an issue like architecture and urban planning (or in my case politics) and wanting to know more about what is going on is hardly an offence against the public. In my case I occasionally attend political conferences for Labour, Greens, Mana and NZ First as ‘media’. I sometimes turn up at court and council meetings. And if I got interested enough in AT, they’d find me knocking on their door as well. This is hardly abnormal. There are a pile of others who also do these kinds of public oversight. But if you want to do it, then you need to learn not to deliberately lie about facts.
What I am concerned about is that you dropped these defamatory false facts here. I can see 6 reasons to ban you for stupidly putting this site at legal risk for the sake of what looks like a deliberate unsubstantiated smear. So one month each as an educational experience. I hope you enjoy that as much as felt giving them to you. See you in July (or not). But I’d suggest that you never put me at legal risk again, or you’ll get a permanent boot for being a stupid arsehole. ]
What makes you think that having an official address registered on the companies register means that you own it?
“2 democratically elected councillors are forced off the board”
– a proposal by the new mayor which a majority of councillors supported (or it could not have happened). Ironically, done to reduce potential conflicts of interest which seem to exercise you so much in others.
[deleted]
[lprent: Repeats some deliberate lying defamation. ]
“I’m afraid I can’t help pointing out the discrepancy and why Auckland is such a transport basket case and how the money is just frittered away with these idiots.”
I can’t help pointing out that Patrick Reynolds and someone like Simon WIlson should convene a Q+A over a Chardonnay or a decent little red and smashed avocado on toast – perhaps even drop a Jolly Green Giant together (going forward).
Aucklanders really do deserve themsleves sometimes.
The other day I pointed out a link (primarily for @ Gleangreens and others interest on light rail).
Not a gambler, though I’d be prepared to bet a light rail solution will be pushed for on a gauge that’s incompatible with existing infrastructure.
I suppose tho’ there could be a few architecturally- designed ‘hubs’ at various places, and its possible a few homeless (if properly designed) might use them to doss down.
Greater AUckland, or Transport Blog, or however they want to ‘re-image’ from time to time do have some good ideas and proposals that are well reasoned.
Just a shame they’re such wankers really
Central government would have to come to the party though timbo. Gfoffloffle can’t have ratepayer money being wasted on useful things.
High time they did. Although if and when they do, I hope it’s not just to enable the egos and muppetry of the smashed avocados who haven’t yet seen fit to ask those that probably elected them what they think and want.
But in any event, I’m sure it’ll all be gorgeous darling, until it goes tits up.
(I did try and reply differently and in tune with a genuine desire for a discussion – oooops ‘conversation’ @ Gabby. Unfortunately, my fingers are somewhat phatter than they once used to be and I suspect it was all lost when a key was hit )
Let’s CELEBRATE small mercies though shall we?
Greater Auckland, or Transport Blog or the Toblerone are really gorgeous aren’t they? and the do spend an enormous amount of work-life-balanced hours contributing to the greater good.
They were better as transport blog, when they rebranded as Greater Auckland, it’s now two central Auckland wankers pontificating, but officials are so dumb in NZ they still think GA have some insights, when in reality their views (like comparing Seattle to Auckland transport) have no bearing on reality and they probably never use public transport to get to work, and live minutes away for their commute from their multimillion dollar abodes (or at least Patrick Reynolds) seems to!
How about they commute daily from Kare Kare like Mike Lee then they can realise there is a problem as their plan doesn’t go there but developers still get to knock down 500 year old Kauri for parking in Titirangi with their relaxed zoning ideas and the masses of cars, pollution, erosion, environmental destruction, unaffordability and flooding follows the council !
In some ways I ‘spose you should count yourself lucky – there’s an entire regional council (aided and abetted by a local one) that got captured.
Seattle/San Francisco figured highly in that scenario too by way of comparisons and justifications for demolishing a perfectly functioning transport system for one that for me (and a shitload of others) is nw unusable. AND I thought it would all be ‘fixed’ by end of year 2018.
I hope some of those responsible have the cheek to stand for re-election again, but really most of it was down to the unelected holding tickets that needed clipping
Personally I really don’t think that we need any more transport types like light rail in the mix.
They already have the heavy rail Onehunga line that gets almost all of the way there. It shouldn’t be that hard to extend it (the bridge would probably be the hardest bit), and there is a hell of a lot of freight to and from the airport industrial area these days.
Trying to retrofit trams into the Auckland road system is just a disaster waiting to happen. You’d have to bump most of the parking in Dominion Road and bowl over a lot of the housing to put in carparks (or just get rid of the shops). And you still have to get over the upper Manakau. And the way that it is being planned seems to be based on having lots of stops to service locals. Which is fine as a feeder line. But totally useless if you actually want to get to the airport. Frankly is you wanted to do the local feeder corridor, then just boot the cars off Dominion Rd and make it buses only. It’d make more sense, you’d get less screaming, and it’d only take a few months.
I (unfortunately) have to do this running too and from the airport a bit too frequently in the last few years. The last thing I’d want after a 30 odd hour trip back from Europe or a 10 hour from Singapore would be to waste another couple of hours getting home. Especially with the kind of luggage I have to carry wit electronics and test equipment. Sure Dominion Road is just half a kilometer up the road. But it is on the other side of Newton Gully, and you can count the number of buses that cross that during a day on one hand (if there are any left that is).
The trip would be to take the slow tram to Britomart, then a bus without luggage capacity to the K Rd end of Ponsonby Rd. It’d be a couple of hours of further pain. It’d be faster
As I’ll get a taxi and get home 15 minutes after leaving the airport. Or a shuttle and get home in 30 minutes without having any more luggage aggravation.
I really do wish that some of the fools commenting on light rail in the inner suburbs would just look at what is involved and stop trying to say that we want it. It would have been good 30 years ago when the traffic was a third of what it is now. These days it will just be another disaster of yet another decade of roadworks.
Loud applause. Well said, probably the best summation of the issue I’ve seen.
What I have been saying for months.
I am suspicious of the whole light rail thing.
North Wharf tram is a good example of what it is actually all about.
A cutesy but impractical public transport option, built at public expense, but a good selling point for the customers the developers hope to attract to their gentrification project. When the time comes to flogging off the hastily built apartment buildings and condos. – “Oh look darling a tram, just like San Francisco”.
After a while when everyone has got over the cute retro tram and the developers have moved on, everyone loses interest. Starts running only on weekends and then monthly then not at all. Maybe a few diehard locals try to resurect the tram as a heritage project, but the costs in labour and time and money and compliance are way too high for voluntary amateur tram enthusiasts.
Part of the propaganda for light rail down Dominion Road was that it would be part of a public transport network to the airport. But actually when I pressed the supporters of this project I discovered that their plans only extended to the end of the line stopping at Three Kings where a park and ride would be built
/agreed.
The light-rail to the airport proposal is a very Auckland-centric way of looking at it.
I haven’t been down Dominion Road in over ten years but I imagine it’s a nightmare by now.
It all seems a bit short-sighted to me when we’re thinking about pushing population out to the regions (Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua), and then as you mention – the freight aspect.
It’s as if Auckland International Airport is only for Aucklanders when it’s a regional/national airport.
As you say, extend from Onehunga or Puhinui even. (Haven’t been near there in a while either but I imagine the ‘forward thinking, best practice’ planners have been busy putting obstacles and development in the way of a rail corridor which would once have been pretty easy).
As a Wellingtonian, thank god there are CHC-SIN flights if and when needed
As sniggering non-Aucklander, I have no hope, because none of the current schemes are going to work with roads gridlocked.
Problem: Look at the number of new cars (including 2nd-hand imports) that are going onto our roads every year compared to the smaller number of cars coming off our roads. At the current rate, we are all doomed to Auckland’s gridlock within years.
The car sales industry must be a very powerful lobby group, because nobody has had the courage to point out the obvious: cars are far too cheap, and we truly need fewer of them.
Stem the flood of cheap cars!
Right wing propaganda will be deafening, but we need to cut emissions anyway.
I can’t find the link I thought @ Cleangreen might be interested in from the other day, but I thought there was potential for something like it in Auckland, AND elsewhere (e.g. Tauranga -airport or Papamoa, and on to Te Puke)
Tram-trains was the name I was trying to retrieve from my aging mind:
https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=b-JXXOrxNM2_9QP6rpqIAQ&q=tram-train&btnK=Google+Search&oq=tram-train&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l5j0i30l5.573.4479..5092…0.0..0.342.2292.0j7j3j1……0….1..gws-wiz…..0..0i131.az8PNrycWdI
Apparently Manchester or somewhere like that are considering it, but maybe something like Auckland CIty to Puhinui, then across to Auckland Airport – but then I haven’t been along Puhinui Road in over 15 years. From what I can see, it’d be about 5 or 6 kms – surely not beyond the realms of a team of engineers, planners and associated ticket-clippers
I had to visit Uni of New South Wales in Sydney last November, and the street outside the apartment I rented was closed for the construction of a tram station. No on-site parking for the apartment’s guests for the duration. I asked them how long they were stuck with a big construction project right outside my bedroom window, and they shrugged. Been going on for ages, will continue going on for ages. The only certainties are further missed deadlines and cost over-runs. No indeed, certainly isn’t good for business but everyone’s resigned to it. Every local I spoke to had nothing but curses for the project. Can’t for the life of me see why the government is keen to set up its own version of that in Auckland.
If I was looking at doing a light rail project or dedicated bus roads, the very first thing I’d do is to start constructing multi-level parking off the roads. There is nothing quite as unproductive as the cost of main artery roads clogged with parking. If you force the on-street parking off the main roads you usually nearly double the road width. Which makes it easier to build the transport changes.
Cars aren’t going away because you need them as shopping baskets and to go and visit family and friends. The trick is to make sure that there is actually accessible and cheapish parking that doesn’t just chew up public spaces like congested roads.
And cars are often getting used less. We have a 1993 Toyota Corona as our sole car at present (we’re eying up the next one now for maintenance costs). The Corona burns its miles either going to Bethells, Rotorua, the airport and the supermarket (the latter is because it is almost impossible to be at home when deliveries are made and shopping is best done by hand at 9pm Sunday night). It seldom if ever commutes. For that I have a e-bike (worth more than the car and much lower running and maintenance costs) and my partner mainly works at home. We have two parking spaces downstairs here. That is where the car lives and it gets filled about every 5 weeks.
Sure you can dial up a car and then ride 3-4 kilometres down to get it. But often hiring a car in Auckland feels like it is always Queens birthday weekend. Too much paper work, expensive and a lot of work. Not to mention that they don’t have any safe place to park the bike while I head off to Rotorua.
Like so much other transport policy, this has not been communicated properly to the public. Some key points I’ve learned:
– This is much less about the airport than has been made out.
– There is not enough roadspace in the central city to fit many more buses from Dominion Rd or anywhere else.
– Even after the CRL comes into service, the current rail network cannot carry enough trains to add new airport *and* northwest *and* north shore lines. A major reason is that Auckland runs freight and passengers along the same tracks.
– Another high-capacity network must be built over the next few decades, but there is not enough extra land set aside for trains either. However, light rail can fit down existing roads and replace busways like the northern one (which was future-proofed to do that).
A useful post on the whole thing: https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2018/12/06/a-brief-history-of-the-light-rail-project/
“This is much less about the airport than has been made out.”
Seems that way to me too.
It also seems to me that along the rail corridors (looking at google Earth), there is sufficient space for ‘third railing’ in many places as additional capacity is required.
There is funding right now to add a 3rd rail at the main pinchpoint but apparently it would take more than that to support all future freight and passenger movements.
Sure. Unless you’re looking at an slow and leisurely dawdle while the tram makes innumerable stops. This isn’t hard to figure out.
But that still leaves the problem of transport to and from the airport unanswered. In November that was about 1.8 million passengers in total.
https://corporate.aucklandairport.co.nz/-/media/Files/Corporate/Monthly_Traffic_Reports/2018/AIA-Monthly-Traffic-Update-November-2018.ashx?la=en&hash=3B72E875216A04ADBA80FB353DCEF595FA54656F
Remember that these are people carrying luggage that really don’t fit well in trams. All of those people need transport somewhere and they add a base load of passengers steadily all day (unlike a commuter pattern).
Trying to sell a tramway as a solution to that is simply stupid.
That is why the CRL is going in. That is the key to opening up the public transport around town. But much of that commuter transport is going to be heavy rail.
There is currently a problem with buses. But really the issue isn’t those. The real problem is having cars taking up half of the road. This is pretty obvious when you look at the speed and capacity of Northern busway.
Dominion Road is a 4 lane highway. It was designed that way when it was built for both car and (I think) dual tramway. See the old routes
https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Auckland-Isthmus-tramlines.jpg
And trams have problems because they rely on tracks being laid. It is inflexible and a real construction problem to put in on already busy roads. You’re still going to have buses for the cross roads. Wheeled transport is way easier to use outside of the heavy rail routes.
Capacity? FFS…
All of those old tram roads were designed for extra width with two car lanes and (I think) dual tram lines.
Those roads currently have two problems. They have parking on both sides mostly added in after the tramways were removed. And they have cross roads with lights. But they actually have a lot of wasted capacity that mainly requires regulation to use.
Get rid of the parking first. Then get limit or even rid of the cars so that buses can use two lanes each way – or bowl a few shops to put in stations.
They’d better with zero parking, limited car traffic and dedicated bus lanes and bridges rather than lights.
lprent – transport ideas with user background to back them up. Good.
People waffling on about nostalgic ideas that might or might not have worked back in the day…. Bad.
Now is now. Everything is just as hard to carry forward AND implement as it used to be. Then they, whoever, didn’t manage to get their good ideas through. Now it is essential we stick to what is possible, and choose the best, with some additions worth incorporating from the other good but losing plans, and go rolling forward with the most satisfactory allowing for the practical not theoretical.
Theories are what our economic system works on – that is why it doesn’t work for lots of people. Can’t we learn fast and straighten up and fly right!
“getting $41k from Auckland Transport in fees is not a conflict of interest nor his approach to get himself an unelected position on the AT board.”
We have had this exact conversation before. How could being contracted by particular teams in the organisation as a professional photographer help someone get appointed to a board sub-committee or otherwise influence policy? Having relevant background expertise and a history of civic engagement on the matter is a path to appointment.
I agree that declaring the other relationship is the right thing to do.
I think it was his statement that they have nothing to do with AT on their blog that was this issue.
[lprent: And you can show that he actually got an observer position? The issue is that you are putting this site at risk with your factual lying. ]
@lprent – Reynolds does have an unpaid appointed position on that sub-committee as you noted above. He has earned money via unrelated contracts with the agency for photography based on his specialised professional skills and reputation as a recorder of urban form. There is no evidence either fact is related.
Oh and he “teaches at [the] School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland” according to his LinkedIn profile, which might help a person secure a position on a specialist committee.
I had a look on the AT site in the few minutes over a late lunch. Couldn’t see anything. AT should really make that more visible.
But good to know – the chance that he did have the position was why I added the other relevant parts of the article and the About at GA. Being an observer doesn’t exactly dip into the nefarious possible collusion region. After all those colluders in the mainstream media do this all of the time for pay (from their employers) and their observer status is both encourages and protected by legislation.
I think that what me annoyed with this particular smear was the sloppiness of what was presented. As soon as I saw the word ‘observer’, I was wondering how that was a paid position. It seemed unlikely to be so. The second irritation was that any such unpaid position was straight voluntary public service because they aren’t involved in the decision making process. And then I looked at the ‘ownership’ evidence presented which was just ridiculous.
Net effect was that I couldn’t stand behind that pile of trash and view it as fair opinion. It was just defamation.
New Zealand must now declare that it will not engages in more trade talks with the UK unless it gives a binding commitment to ensuring there will be full regulatory alignment on the island of Ireland.
Brexit will lead to English soldiers on the streets in Ireland again if the backstop is ignored.
The Good Friday Agreement brought to an end a period which saw 3500 people killed in the UK because of tensions arising from its constitutional make-up. The GFA is underpinned by both parts of Ireland operating within the Single Market and the Customs Union.
The London government thinks it can avoid its responsibilities under this International Agreement which came into effect with referendums on both parts of Ireland on the same day in 1998.
Minister David Parker must publicly make it clear that any post Brexit trade deal with the UK is conditional on the GFA being fully supported by the legally binding terms of the backstop.
Foreign Affairs and Trade are calling fore submissions on the trade agreement with the UK. Next week is the deadline.
“Share your views
We want to hear from as many people as possible on a future free trade agreement between the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
Your comments will inform our overall approach to a future agreement. For more information about an agreement, see here.
https://www.haveyoursay.mfat.govt.nz/share-your-views“
MFAT are raring to show that the poms aren’t the most piss useless negotiators ever in history.
Can NZ send another arrogant drunk to negotiate on our behalf like the TPPA that costs jobs, the environment, ignores climate change and sells off our assets for nothing or peanuts while protecting big polluting business? Yes we can be worse negotiators than the Brits.
Why will the lack of a backstop lead to soldiers being deployed?
The UK has zero incentive to do anything on the Irish border. No controls, no checks. To intents an open border. The EU wants Ireland to treat the border as a hard border. They might formally say “yes” to Brussels but in practice actually do nothing.
So what if goods and services go over the border with no impediment. They will basically all stay within the island.
The Tories have no interest in a hard border, sure. Their interest is only in freeing themselves of the EU’s inconvenient (to Tories) environmental and human rights rules, to which a border’s irrelevant. However, a lot of the people who voted Leave did so exactly because they want a hard border with the EU to prevent freedom of movement, and they’re not likely to look kindly on May telling them that actually the government’s leaving an open border with the EU because migration control isn’t a priority.
So, yeah, totally – no-deal Brexit almost certainly means a hard border around the UK’s Irish colony, which in turn means the Good Friday agreement is toast, which in turn means British soldiers back on the streets.
Sometime yesterday, The Daily Blog put up a notice advising they would be publishing an exclusive interview with Jami-Lee Ross this morning at 7am and this is now up on TDB.
“TDB’s mental health blogger, Hadley Grace Robinson-Lewis, sat down with Jami-Lee Ross to discuss mental health, harassment allegations and the politics behind his fight with National”
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/02/04/exclusive-tdb-interview-with-jami-lee-ross/
IMHO this interview gives a fairly raw and detailed perspective from Ross himself about what happened last year in terms of his mental health, the breakdown of his relationships including with Simon Bridges and the National Party, the role of Paula Bennett, Sarah Dowie and the other unnamed women in the Newsroom article, the late night/early morning text, and the pressures leading to his eventual being taken into compulsory mental health care for a short period of time.
This is very much a mental health story told from the perspective of someone who has recently experienced an episode, with also some clarification of the political aspects.
It is not an easy read, repetitive at times, but I am pleased that editing has been left to a minimum as this could well have distorted the content and perspective being conveyed.
[And for those who think this is all just a sex scandal story which should no longer be news or discussed as some of you have, don’t bother reading it. Ditto If you are looking for those aspects as you will be disappointed.]
Thanks Veutoviper for the link. Jamie is telling it from his point of view and naturally puts his own perspective. The interview does have a ring of authenticity though and could be a position anyone could find themselves in.
It is very hard to admit that you need help. You could easily fear that once “weakness” is admitted, then those around as friends or employers, would retreat and never trust/respect you again.
Wonder what will happen to Jamie?
Dunno about anyone else but when I hear the term “beads and blankets” my very first thought is **** you too. Really he needs better advice.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/110349877/simon-bridges-likens-spending-on-maori-land-to-beads-and-blankets
Yeah me too. He has poor political judgment and that’s being complimentary.
Jesus Christ, someone clap a hand over his gob before he starts talking about going to Waitangi to “smokum peace pipe.”
Don’t give this racist a platform ffs
Cool down, e hoa. Its called free speech.
Its not often I agree with Maui, but he/she put it well yesterday on OM under the thread at 9:
“Disagree, better to invite the devil in and see what he wants, rather than having him pissing on your tent from the outside. Well played Reuben.”
I did not see the AM show this morning where Brash was interviewed (see Dennis Frank @1 above), but Brash was interviewed by Suzie Ferguson on Morning Report this morning where she challenged him to apply his principles of equal treatment (no special Maori representation on local councils, boards, no separate Maori seats in Parliament etc) to all the other situations of inequality such as the fact that Maori are twice more likely to be imprisoned for crimes than pakeha etc. Worth a listen (8+ minutes)
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018680956/don-brash-at-waitangi-i-m-going-to-listen
I just hope that he goes, there is no big protest etc, he speaks, and then he is ignored.
No it isn’t free speech at all imo it is hate speech. I’m not interested in the appeasement angle.
Annette Sykes is someone I rate very highly
and as she says, “Hmmm Im not sure I want this Waitangi to focus any time on the kind of words of hate and privilege this man invokes… Pakeha Allies like Waitangi Network Andrew Judd are more deserving of my time.”
maui on this blog I don’t rate at all although like brash they are entitled to their opinion.
Brash summed up.
“But a strongly-held opinion doesn’t always go hand in hand with a depth of knowledge.”
https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/26-12-2018/summer-reissue-how-did-a-77-year-old-white-guy-become-the-go-to-media-voice-on-maori-issues/
Tautoko
https://www.waateanews.com/waateanews/x_news/MjEwMzA/Te-Tii-accused-of-opening-door-to-hate-speech
Fine, but I am more worried about your BP and health – and two beautiful children who need/want their Dad to be around a lot longer. Forget Brash. He is not worth it.
And BTW I also rate Annette very highly. Maui not so, but every now and then …
Sweet you’re concerned but please don’t be, I insist.
Brash has showm is colours over an extended time period…
There is no reason he should be provided any such platform to distract and deflect , which is what he has been doing for decades…
Brash and his ilk are the problem…they can’t ever be part of a solution…
He should be sidelined until time runs out on him…
Re the unruly brits
2are in court, re roofing scam. Don’t seem to Able to get a lawyer ha.
One is on run, hasn’t turned up to a court date.
Apparently as has name suppression so they can publish pic of him.
Seems to me don’t turn up means loss of name suppression.
Also are names picked up by immigration to stop them buggering off.
Time to bring back the stocks so we can see the knaves and knavesses who are playing us for fools.
And for immigrants who transgress, a quick punishment like cleaning up the sludge from the sewage ponds for a day, with a dog to bite them if they stop, but with short breaks each hour to pee and water themselves, and then be deported.
We are relatively kind to everyone except our own poor struggling people, let’s change that and spend money on helping them. For a start don’t use jails as punishment for minor crimes, money wasted that should go on learning skills enabling reparation, and personal goal building.
And don’t let nasty crims from overseas cost us more money by giving them jail time. Short period of work and humiliation with some deprivation of comforts and then send them back to the ratnest that raised them.
“And don’t let nasty crims from overseas cost us more money by giving them jail time. Short period of work and humiliation with some deprivation of comforts and then send them back to the ratnest that raised them.
Now we know who has been advising the Australian Government on their policy of sending NZers resident in Australia back to NZ if they commit crimes there regardless of how tenuous their links to NZ are. LOL
That doesn’t present your thinking in a good light, petty.
That whole comment does not present your thinking in a good light, grey – not just the paragraph I quoted.
Where are you Christian principles when you start calling for stocks, dogs to bite “immigrants’ etc …
Christian principles? It is inappropriate to bring use that term as virtue signaling into a discussion of how to punish criminals in a different way than the present. It is necessary to try for objectivity to get an overview of what is going on in our society, and the growth of bad attitudes and conditions as times get harder.
Clinging to past approaches and emotional attitudes that didn’t deal with problems and calling them ethical, and then calling out people who recognise the reality, is not going near to devising humane ways of dealing with chronic criminality. I think you are confusing concern about reality with being unChristian while I see it as the opposite. If a situation is bad, what can be done to change present practices is the question; not how can we wring our hands best and wish it all away. How will that help when something bad has happened, and is being repeated?
We always have to be aware of injustices, and it is a shame and a disgrace that in this Year of Our Lord 2019 there is so much venal evil around.
If you hate injustice you will want to give a little to this woman who has not been able to bring her Court-agreed example of disgraceful conduct to Court in the given time. A decent society would rush through a law change enabling an application for extension of time in cases that clearly indicate a requirement for it.
No Right Turn has the details.
https://norightturn.blogspot.com/2019/01/this-isnt-justice.html
Whose dumb idea was it to pursue the case, knowing about the time limit?
That is one issue among many others relevant to this disturbing case.
That NRT blog post was two weeks ago on 21 Jan however, and I understand a lot has been going on behind the scenes within various parts of govt, NZDF etc since then.
I expect that we will be seeing some changes to various laws over coming months to remove the anomalies that led to the ridiculous judgement that had to be made under existing law. I also doubt that the woman concerned will be required to pay the costs awarded and they will be met by other means. The PM already stepped in earlier in regard to some other much higher costs. More details about the case here in a Herald article also on 21 Jan.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12193934
Good question. And second question is why there is not an avenue of redress for this woman or something being done to ensure that there is something going through the political system that can redress wrongs after statutory legal limits have been passed. Like the Ombusdsman,?
vv may have that covered.
Heartbreaking story – what a tragedy. You have to feel for the family, losing their two children and also suffering from permanent damage.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12200593
What can you say, over someone who is 71 for what ever reason driving a truck ridiculously long hours and tailgating.
There needs to be so much more scrutiny of truck driver industry and reduction of their long hours. This is an industry that has had too many workers bought into NZ dropping the pay rates which has lowered wages for the industry. This driver was 71 years old and maybe poverty was why he was still working long hours, who knows? Someone I knew said that when the truck firms started paying $18p/h then he knew to leave the industry (he was in his 40’s and probably highly experienced) as there was no long term prospects there for him as it became impossible to get a pay rise.
And now there seems to be endless stories around truck accidents and the maintenance of trucks. But the police and AT don’t seem to like that story, so we hear instead accidents are caused by speeding car drivers only. Not the rise in subcontracted trucks and drivers that may have poor/fake maintenance and fake drivers licences and drivers who are working too long hours, not training and retaining people and using workers past retirement age and able to have the dash cam suspiciously stop working a few minutes before a crash….
Tailgating is a habit and a driving practice that is done purposefully. Has to be unlearned with a proper respect for intelligent driving rules that it pays to follow because they have scientific facts like reaction times to back them up.
Australia has addressed this issue, along with others in their COR (Chain of Reponsibility) legislation. Where poor record keeping, (deliberate or not) and the quality of driving and time management is passed up the chain of command. Companies and managers that have unrealistic or unsafe expectations of drivers’ workloads and schedules can be identified and prosecuted.
It came into force October last year.
Christchurch water taking. This story from No Right Turn is a wake-up call. We are on a list of the most open country in the world to start up a business. It sounds like an award for The Most Gullible Country in the World. We are the country of the worm that will slide along the floor and lick your shoes clean if you have money you say you will invest in something.
And most of the other worms just sit around drinking beer (principally water), exporting milk and wine as major industries (made of water), exporting water (the essential of life for us and everything on the planet) for no or hardly any return to us. And me I like listening to ironic humour like The Four Yorkshiremen – ‘oh we had it tough we had to lick the road clean every morning’. Humour has to be sharp to get through our complacent thick hides.
https://norightturn.blogspot.com/2019/02/sucking-us-dryer.html
Sucking us dryer
Cloud Ocean Water is sucking water out of Christchurch’s aquifers for export, without paying a cent for it. Their existing water consents already pose a long-term threat to Christchurch’s water supply. And now they’re planning to take even more: Cloud Ocean …
Time for some serious protest. One of the selling points for setting up business in NZ is that we are so compliant and stable politically. Perhaps clouding our spotless reputation might put off some of this business investment with a net effect that divests and devastates the country’s resources including us – we are a resource to each other and to our environment and vice versa. We stay quiet any longer, and it will be a case of our vice and no versa.
Wow not sure this councillor understands his role lol
No body does bad faith bargaining like the National Party.
Todd Muller again makes his case for doing nothing about climate change.
The anti-leadership leader.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12200162
Todd Muller while supposedly negotiating in good faith with the climate change Minister has again gone to the media to preempt the negotiations. Todd Muller restating National’s Fast Follower doctrine, first promoted by John Key.
This is another restatement of the Fast Follower Doctrine. Achieving 100% renewable electricity generation would be setting a global precedent, something that Todd Muller and National are vehemently opposed to.
No we, shouldn’t, more reason why should be giving a lead and setting an example.
Good faith eh? Mr Muller needs a shake up but of course he will be following instruction from up on high.
Twice in two weeks Muller has gone to the media outlining his case in these negotiations.
Meanwhile the Greens have refrained from making any public statement andare keeping radio silence.
The invisibility of the Greens compared to the high profile approach of the Nats shows why the good guys don’t win.
While the Greens play to their self imposed rule of silence which has eliminated their public presence and profile, the Nats are destroying them in public.
As Steve Bannon told MIke Moore. Our side, we go for the head wound.
If this farce continues the Greens silence will see them completely forgotten by the voters.
I think the Nats are looking really bad in public. CC is the news at the moment. Every night a new flood or forest fire or heatwave. With this along with cannabis law reform they stand to go down on the wrong side of history. Leave them to squirm i say.
Kia ora The AM Show cut and pasteing the AM Show on that statement Jacinda made on that % Was not on the topic you pasted her video to.??????.
That’s cool Mark that you don’t mind parting with your money to your bank but what about the people who are struggling to put kai on the table you are still fitting into that category.
Banker do f,all there jobs are the ones that should be taken over by artificial intelligence FIRST not a hard job but they make Billions.
Steve In my view BANKS charging someone fees for a Product they cannot use /don’t need /fees for NO service is THEFT do you know what happens to a poor person who steals to survive jail What’s makes it worse is the banks bankers are filthy Rich and don’t need the money. DON’T try and justify their behaviour on the statement of shareholders pressure on BANKERS is a acceptable reason for their behaviour that’s just white washing things Duncan. In you view it OK for the wealthy to rip people off but the poor person throw the lot in jail. Tova someone is stirring the pot having Don Brash at the Marae there are a lot of people not happy with the way national has treated MAORI. Those % stats quoted on the show do not add up to statement made last year. Mark what you should say is Don Brash deserves to be treated with respect its not his fault he was raised with a superior view on himself.
The Waitangi Treaty the Documents that NZ was founded on its principle should be inprinted into our laws. I no enough about the Treaty to say that move would protect our environment Wild life and all people.
More shit stirring turning the Waitangi grounds into a cricket ground. Some mite think the Waitangi Treaty is not important. But when one looks at it from my view all the promises made by the settlers to Maori have been broken Maori were promise EQUALITY and the FACT show that phenomenon us far from REALITY when we have people under the bridges jails full to bursting point with MAORI.
Times are changing fast as the 21st century comunacations device delivers the truth to the people. My old tipuna new its te tangata te tangata that counts ECO gets that.
Chris that’s correct it would be in the Trillions what the crown has stolen from Maori.
. Ka kite ano P.S I know some of my maths has been out but when I have my computer hacked and its not doing the commands I give it sometimes I don’t get time to edit my work.The morriorie are just the first Maori that arrived in Aotearoa people like duncan just use the story to damage MAORI MANA I have the first Maori blood in my vains that’s a fact
Here you go Maori history being swept under the carpet by the state systems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-HhfbCk2oU
Actually all the Pacific peoples history is being swept under the carpet
Another vide from Eco Maori showing our history swept under the carpet.
The neanderthals who control the state in NZ the state servents don’t want to share anything hence the suppression of Maoris history. They don’t want there tamariki to know that in reality they stole from maori whenua and mana in any way they could skeem of to steal maori land they gave the land to people of maori decent who did not own the land then these people sold the land to them cheap there many other cheating ways they use to strip maori of mana . Thats a fact
History teachers behind a new petition say the Government should seize a “zeitgeist moment” in Māori-Pakeha relations to “give young people their history”.
The New Zealand History Teachers’ Association (NZHTA) believes too few Kiwis understand what brought the Crown and Māori together in the 1840 Treaty, or how their relationship developed over the decades since – partly because schools are not required to teach it.
Its petition for “coherent teaching” of colonial history is borne out of years of frustration with the Government’s “failure to match actions with words”, a written statement from the association said.
“New Zealand likes to pride itself on being at the forefront of progressive social change, and in many areas it is.
“We have plenty of warnings from overseas of how ignorance of the past allows space for those who wish to create, exploit and exacerbate divisions in society. New Zealand, thankfully, has not chosen this path but this does not mean that there is
nothing to be gained from raising our own veil of ignorance.”
Ball said the ministry’s position was a “cop out”.
“Policy was brought in to give us a highly autonomous curriculum; policy can be brought in to make the coherent teaching of our colonial past part of that.”
He said NZHTA was not advocating for a “national story” to be taught – multiple views, including those of iwi, should be included.
New Zealand was experiencing a “zeitgeist moment”, with more Kiwis willing to engage with te reo and New Zealand’s colonial history, Bell said.
“I think people who have themselves an understanding of our own shared past recognise how important it is.” Ka kite ano links below
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/110346303/petition-reignites-debate-over-teaching-new-zealands-colonial-history-in-schools
Are humans intelligence well not if we let Neanderthals like snott Morrison lead us all into extinction. He backs coal power in a country with one of the driest environment in the papatuanuku world. It is well documented that thermal coal power stations use heaps of water to generate power fool. It’s well documented that solar and wind power use next to no water they don’t produce green house gases with a positive and negative check list like that even a piece of moss could pick the correct answer whats the problem .It’s the carbon barons money is make him make foolish choices and back carbon over his children future
Tasmania is burning. The climate disaster future has arrived while those in power laugh at us
Snott Morrison is trying to scare people about franking credits but seems blithely unaware people are already scared – about climate change
As I write this, fire is 500 metres from the largest King Billy pine forest in the world on Mt Bobs, an ancient forest that dates back to the last Ice Age and has trees over 1,000 years old. Fire has broached the boundaries of Mt Field national park with its glorious alpine vegetation, unlike anything on the planet. Fire laps at the edges of Federation Peak, Australia’s grandest mountain, and around the base of Mt Anne with its exquisite rainforest and alpine gardens. Fire laps at the border of the Walls of Jerusalem national park with its labyrinthine landscapes of tarns and iconic stands of ancient pencil pine and its beautiful alpine landscape, ecosystems described by their most eminent scholar, the ecologist Prof Jamie Kirkpatrick, as “like the vision of a Japanese garden made more complex, and developed in paradise, in amongst this gothic scenery”.
“You have plants that look like rocks – green rocks – and these plants have different colours in complicated mosaics: red-green, blue-green, yellow-green, all together. It’s an overwhelming sensual experience really.”
Tasmanian heritage forests at risk of ‘catastrophic’ bushfires, study finds
Read more
Five years ago I was contacted by a stranger, Prof Peter Davies, an eminent water scientist. He wanted to meet because he had news he thought would interest me. The night we met Davies told me that the south-west of Tasmania – the island’s vast, uninhabited and globally unique wildland, the heart of its world heritage area – was dying. The iconic habitats of rainforest, button grass plains, and heathlands had begun to vanish because of climate Ka kite ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/05/tasmania-is-burning-the-climate-disaster-future-has-arrived-while-those-in-power-laugh-at-us
Kia ora Newshub simon it’s ka pai you make that statement about Maori standing on OUR own 2 feet at Waitangi yes we are very good at that but in this rat race of NZ Western Society everyone else gets a 500 meter headstart over Maori the fact of the stats point that out to be fact or are you going to say we are lazy like that other m8 of yours.
The powerful will always take advantage of the weak the 8 people living in the garage in Tauranga.
You No the old saying you are what you eat rings true
We have a big link to our environment as well as the creatures in our environment with no environmental no humans full stop.?????? ¿?????????do you get it.
ECO Feels sorrow for all the people in the North Queens land Townsville flooding.
People are being held accountable for dumb stupid statements by social media Liam Neeson making that public statement come on we are all human.
Yes I think that Wahine need more care during and after having a baby it’s quite stressful for Wahine and they can easily slip into prenatal depression. I have seen my daughters and partner go through pregnancy enough times to no how the system work.
There you go the banks here will be doing the same as there m8s are doing in Australia the bankers would jump the ditch quite often and be educated by their Australian cousins on ways to rip people off.
Maori high suicide rate in Aotearoa simon is it a fair race I think NOT I seen who gave you that line and he can retire his neolithic views like shonky and bill. Ka kite ano
It gives Eco Maori a sore face to see our old maori tohunga Hek Busby given his rightful honor and be Knighted at Waitangi Ka pai. This will help lift Maori mana all around Papatuanuku like Hek has with his great MAHI and mana.
Hekenukumaingaiwi ‘Uncle Hek’ Puhipi Busby knighted at Waitangi
World renowned carver and celestial navigator Hekenukumaingaiwi Puhipi Busby – or Uncle Hek as he is affectionately known to thousands of waka paddlers – has been knighted today at Waitangi.
The name Busby comes from James Busby who helped draft the Treaty of Waitangi. Hek’s ancestor Teripi Temarua was chief of Te Rarawa. He was baptised by James Busby who became his godfather – and gave the family his name, Busby.
His interest in waka was sparked when a team of paddlers from Hawaii arrived in Aotearoa in 1985 on a Hokule’a, a double-hulled voyaging canoe, which was retracing ancient migration routes.
At Waitangi the Hawaiian group were welcomed by Sir James Henare whose words had a profound impact on Hek.
“When the Hawaiians came over in 1985 he greeted them and welcomed them and I remember the words that he said: ‘this is one of the happiest days of my life’.”
“We are very, very fortunate that we have some of these waka here in New Zealand, have some of his waka under my control,” he said.
“Because there will be a taonga that will be treasured and treasured forever.
Ka kite ano links below
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/381677/carver-and-celestial-navigator-hekenukumaingaiwi-uncle-hek-puhipi-busby-knighted-at-waitangi
This is what tangata are we are guardians of all the gifts god has given us we do not own them we must take the utmost care of Papatuanuku mother earth and pass her on to the next generation in a pristeen condtion. Not do what the neanderthals the 00.1 % are doing and stripping all the profits from motherearth they cannot think about the next generations our mokopunas future Wake Up people we have the power to make them look after mother earth its the people its the people who have the real power not the 00.1% stand up and let our voices be heard and demarned a better future for the granchildren
You can’t be a kaitiaki from a distance
Mountains to Sea is a new book about New Zealand’s freshwater crisis. It is edited by Mike Joy, an outspoken freshwater scientist and policy researcher, who has brought together kōrero from 10 authors looking at what has gone wrong with te wai o Aotearoa, and how to fix it.
Two chapters, in particular, focus on iwi perspectives on water issues, as Kennedy Warne explains, beginning with Tina Ngata’s view that restoring the environment begins with restoring relationships.
Tina Ngata, a Ngāti Porou environmental advocate, says the ability to be effective water guardians relies on restoring a language of water interactions — te reo o te awa.
Our ability to care for and protect rivers, lakes, and wetlands is based on our ability to hear what they are saying to us — and that’s determined by the quality of our interactions with water.
“Water has intelligence, comprised of its nature and the multitude of life forms within it that respond to various stimuli,” she writes. “Water communicates its needs to us, and our comprehension depends entirely upon the intimacy of our relationship with it.”
In her view, intimacy is at the heart of kaitiakitanga, and kaitiakitanga is inseparable from ahi kaa — and it is only those who live in intimate contact with their waterways who can discern their needs and make appropriate governance responses.
As often as not, this kind of relationship to an awa involves grieving over its decline.
Environmental damage, from a Māori perspective, is “part of a larger story of colonisation, urban migration and the loss of ancestral knowledge around care and communication with nature.” Fulfilling the role of kaitiaki can only occur when those who would speak and act for rivers are living in their rohe.
“Rematriation” is the term she uses — an evocative word that speaks of a physical and spiritual return to Papatūānuku and the restoration of a people to their ancestral lands.
“Rematriation acknowledges,” she writes, “that our ancestors lived in spiritual relationship with our lands for thousands of years, and that we have a sacred duty to maintain that relationship for the benefit of our future generations.
“We must physically be beside our waterways in order to utilise them, to speak with them, to listen to them and what they are saying through their scent, through their sound, through the taste of their kai, through their levels, through the life within them (or lack thereof), in order to realise this sacred relationship.”
You can’t be a kaitiaki from a distance, she writes. Yet this is the condition so many indigenous people find themselves in — trying to fulfil their responsibilities to the land while being physically prevented from participating in the life of the land. Social policies that forced urbanisation on a rurally-dispersed population deprived Māori of their ability to retain kaitiaki relationships and fulfil their roles.
Ka kite ano links below.
https://e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-analysis/you-cant-be-a-kaitiaki-from-a-distance/
The late show are going to have fun tonight In America what a joke Ana to kai
Kia ora Newshub let’s hope that the fire in Nelson is brought under control before to much damage is caused.
It was a beautiful day for the celebration of Waitangi day at Waitangi Ka pai.
With the President of America’s state of the Union speach Times are changing Kia kaha.
That’s a good find the skeleton of New penguins species on the Chatham Island there needs to be a lot more money invested into archeology in Aotearoa there will be many more treasure like what was found on the Chatham Island. There needs to be more accurate carbon dating at Old Maori sites to get the correct dates because what’s recorded in the books is way out.
Thing don’t look good in Venezuela but I am keeping my nose out of that as I don’t no enough to comment on there situation at the minute. Ka kite ano
Kia ora Newshub It’ was a beautiful day of celebrations at Waitangi for Waitangi day. The American president state of the Union speach Times are changing Kia kaha.
Hope that the fire in Nelson is brought under control before to much damage is caused.
The find of new species ofpenguin fossils at the Chatham Island was cool. There needs to be more money invested in archaeology around Atoearoa the dates of old Maori sites dates are way out. Thing look bad in Venezuela but I’m keeping my nose out of that as I don’t not enough about Venezuela to comment Ka kite ano P.S the sandflys have been stuffing with my devices one again first post got wiped.
Looks like the sandflys have been stuffing with my divices I couldn’t see the first post I posted last night I checked today and dubble vison.
Ka kite ano
The sandflys have been stuffing with my divices once again I couldn’t find my first post last night and this morning when I checked dubble vison Ka kite ano P.S they love stuffing with my words when I’m on the farm