"The question all this immediately gives rise to is why does it now take so long to develop critical infrastructure in New Zealand. How was Napier able – 113 years ago – to get a tram service up and running just six months after starting to lay tram tracks, and why, today, in an age of superior technology, is it likely to take several years to lay a not dissimilar length of track, and establish a modern service in Auckland?"
Lots different . Those Napier trams would have been ultra light with short bodies and power lines didnt exist for the streets then.
Modern articulated trams are very heavy and required serious power supply separate from the existing roadside system. All the traffic signals are changed, and no longer safe for passengers to hop on and off in centre of road like it was back in 1905 so pedestrian islands, road layout changes to go with that.
Ive seen in parts of Melbourne where the original tram lines had to be major rebuild as newer and heavier trams came along
Greater Auckland has been very influential in transport issues in recent years, and this has impacted on public discussions on this issue, to the detriment of good solutions. I remember attending a seminar with Patrick Reynolds, proudly answering to a question that he tends to frame posts to identify specific problems and then provide the answer to that framework. From then on, I read the posts with a more critical eye, and saw that this appeared to be true. There was no space for different questions on issues. I only rarely visit that site now, when I was previously a regular reader.
Alongside this, was the closer relationship with AT that has developed, which makes their influence quite alarming given that is is not reflective of actual public consultation but does influence a great number of readers. I read the small print in a recent (last two years) AT Strategy plan that identified that the primary source of determining priority spending was public contact. This can result in a circular pattern that is hard to disrupt with areas in need, but with no high profile or public attention, being ignored while other areas get more and more attention, services and funding.
The justification of light rail and benefits to housing and business only contributes to show how badly some proposals are in terms of cost/benefit analysis.
Im with you on that view . I wish light rail was the answer here but it doesnt seem to be well thought at all for Dominion Rd.
And airports are terrible places to spend vast sums on public transport when they can always create ever bigger carparks which make airports money. When I looked at Sydneys airport rail stations, the on/off boardings is so low to be laughable in the context of Sydneys train system, and the biggest users seem to be passengers transferring between domestic and international terminals. The Traffic numbers are normally buried in the overall suburban line which continues on to the CBD
The so called Westgate light rail might be a better approach
IMHO, NuZull's problem has always been (well at least since No8 wire became dangerous and only to be handled by someone in a flourescent vest) short term thinking.
I'll bet (almost put money on it) that whatever 'loit rail' system is implemented, it'll be different from narrow guage heavy rail. That'll be so that JUST THE POSSIBILITY of existing infrastucture in places won't be possible – such as tramtrains. The reasons it can't be done will already be forming the basis for proposalsn that will be deemed impractical (going forward), and cost-benefit analyses, and consultant's template-driven advice to officials as I write.
Anything using the existing NZTA corridors will be reasonably easy. Beyond that into the suburban network you are into trench warfare – particularly if you are at grade. There are many dead corridor 'improvements' proposed for Dominion Road over the last 20 years that have cost political careers. They will oppose everything that takes away just 1 car park as if their children were being sacrificed to Baal.
Auckland International Airport are deeply motivated to get the NZSuper version underway. The build can integrate with their second runway and integrated terminal. After that they will need to generate a new masterplan.
A tunneled line down Queen Street, after CRL's experience and that of George Street in Sydney, is a whole bunch easier so long as its alignments stays within the public corridor rather than having to buy underground title rights.
Patrick Reynolds is now on the NZTA Board, and as a long time proponent of the AT/NZTA light rail proposal, he will continue to be against the NZSuperFund light rail proposal.
Yes, it appears his self-promotion has been effective. His ability to not consult and consider opinions other than his own probably will remain intact. His social media use after being appointed should not have been required to be monitored or censured.
I do think he has skills to offer, just wary about his being the loudest voice on the board, and also about his influence on decision making. I’m all for less roading, but often Greater Auckland discussed and delivered more for the already served rather than the under-served. I’m concerned that some people are very good at advocating for the sphere that they move in, rather than reflective of the wider community. He strikes me as one of those – unwitting, perhaps – advisors.
Ditto, power generation and supply should be returned to full public ownership.
This particular major privatisation handover, would never have happened if there had not been a massive public infrastructure to prey upon. There is no way the likes of Genesis and the other parasites would have been in a position to build hydro and all the rest of the network.
Dunne really has made an art form of his ability to churn out a so-called political column that has nothing useful to say.
You’d think if he was going to venture an opinion about the delay around the delivery of light rail across the isthmus in Auckland he might have more to say than, well, Napier managed it in short order in 1913 so why not now in Auckland?
You’d hope maybe that he might offer some insights into the complex negotiations between the government and the Super Fund who have stepped in and offered to finance and run the project. And why that might be a very desirable outcome for the government. You’d need to look way back to Labour’s fury at the way the incoming National government in 2008 summarily discontinued contributions to the Cullen Fund and how this and other infrastructure projects could prevent a future National government disrupting the Fund’s funding stream again.
He might have cast an eye over the relationship between the National Party and the National-aligned local politicians and NIMBYs in Mt Eden, Balmoral, Sandringham who are determined to stop light rail along Dominion Road in order to thwart any urban intensification of their lovely, leafy, inner city suburbs. Too bad about anybody else.
He might have paused to wonder why it is that National are so resolutely wedded to the private ICE motor vehicle and what can be done to shift that party’s thinking away from endless road building towards other more sustainable, diverse and resilient transport options for our biggest cities.
Dont let the Super fund step in . Its a rip off private finance play where we pay and pay for decades. They link up with a Tram builder so we pay top dollar for that, plus running costs. And instead of borrowing money as the government can for 2.5% we will pay 9.5% or more to The Super Fund plus their 'partners' costs.
Running a tram service isnt rocket science and itsnt so arcane and difficult that it cant be done ourselves.
This government is spending just under $5 billion to build 3.3 kilometers of rail in Auckland's CBD. That's over $1 billion per kilometer, and they haven't even opened it, or got to the operating costs yet.
Melbourne has the best managed transport system in the southern hemisphere, and the best public transport. Some of it is modern trams, some of it light rail to border suburbs, and some is heavy rail as well to the periphery and outlying towns.
Our mix is different. Auckland public transport usage is now doing just fine with a mix of heavy rail and dedicated busways. Based mostly on buses within dedicated corridors, it's growing in use faster than it ever has.
But don't be fooled into thinking any future government is gong to spend billions more per kilometre on extending heavy rail lines beyond the existing corridors.
No it wont. Far better to have police drug dogs at the entrances to these festivals checking what people are carrying. Too often they catch the drug dealers loaded with their wares
people who take drugs or any harmful substance without knowing what it really is cant offload their lack of care onto others.
I can just laugh at the idea that those pills tested and found to be harmful wont be onsold during the festival to recoup money spent
person gets the drug tested. Drug is safe, or at least contains other drugs so the user can make an informed decision. fine.
The drug is tested and found to be poisonous. So the tester says "we can nix that for you". User takes drug back, supplies it to someone else. Someone else goes to hospital, but there is the possibility that their supplier gets firmly fingered not just as the supplier, but as knowing that the drug was spiked. "Supply" becomes "demonstrable murder".
As opposed to "ooo, supply, but I didn't know the shit was bad".
I would expect so, especially if it was lethal (as opposed to say being cut with a fellow traveller). Especially at gigs it would really get the word out quickly.
Yeah social media would lap up information like this. Been out a lot lately and everything's changed due to everyone having a phone. A venue can be empty then some hipsters turn up take photos and instagram they've arrived next minute the joints hopping. Amazing to see. The information sharing and response today is almost instant.
I filled in the survey in favour of drug testing and I was totally civil with my comment at the end. I'm also of an age which NZ First would consider as voter friendly (I'm not though)
We're well into the realms of fantasy-land now. Trump is calling on China to conduct an investigation into Biden and his son on the grounds they were involved in a corrupt business relationship in China.
He's in the throes of an impeachment process over the Ukraine nonsense and he's doing it again. The mind just boggles:
Mr Trump’s mind anyway–is boggled–in many observers view. Who knows what technical term applies to his behaviour, because no one officially wants to go there!
Republicans/religious zealots enable him because they get the policy they want unhindered. While the rest of us watch uncomfortably, and wonder how the American people could do this to themselves.
Same with the UK. Is it mass hysteria, or early dementia, frontal lobe stuff or whatever? It took off Terry Pratchett, a fine imaginative mind. Perhaps there is a cumulative effect of our polluting effects that have been going into the air and our bodies and mixing for decades.
…The Irish premier said that “all the polls” since Mr Johnson became Prime Minister showed the UK wanted to Remain, but “their political system isn't able to give them that choice”.
The DUP described his comments as “incendiary and outrageous” and said they “exposed the reality” that the Irish government’s true intention was to keep Britain in the EU.
We need to look after our reputation. Now people found we were not 100% Pure environmentally, nor 100% pure in our financial transactions, nor 100% pure in our building methods and materials quality, what will show up next as a stain on the country, and show us to be casual liars?
Radionz have inspected an education outfit advertising on-line since the beginning of the year it seems.
NZQA acting deputy chief executive quality assurance Eve McMahon describes the college as a "purported" provider of education and appears to be taking steps to remove the site.
"NZQA has inquired with the Domain Name Commission and the Department of Internal Affairs regarding this website and will take appropriate action."
The Domain Name Commission has the ability to remove the domain name, effectively removing the site from public access.
Please act quickly gummint. We have rorted enough Indians and other trusting people, let's be quick here and clean up our act. And not give other immigrants the idea that they will be in good company if they run rorts here, or rort us by not paying tax as was the case recently.
"We need to look after our reputation. Now people found we were not 100% Pure environmentally, nor 100% pure in our financial transactions, nor 100% pure in our building methods and materials quality, what will show up next as a stain on the country, and show us to be casual liars?"
I had a look at what the Ozzies are doing about CC. The Mulloon Natural Farming Sequence people are still carrying on spreading their message.
This is about a recent meeting; Australia is systematically being made arid and hot by unwise agricultural and land management practices. Chief among these is tree clearing, which breaks the hydrological link, the link between soil and rain. Rain does notfollow the plough, that's an old myth — it follows the trees.
To cool the planet we must work with the dominant greenhouse gas, water vapour. Water governs 95% of the heat dynamics of our planet. We’ve been ignoring its role in climate control for far too long.
Walter Jehne will explain practical ways to restore the hydrological cooling system AND restore the “soil carbon sponge” AND draw down massive amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere AND regenerate our soils AND enhance agricultural productivity.
About the speaker Walter Jehne:
Walter Jehne is a retired scientist with a specialist background in soil micro-biology and plant ecology. He has worked in Australia and overseas, and retired from the CSIRO some 15 years ago to concentrate on regenerating Australia's landscape and improving its agricultural and pastoral sectors. He is also a member of The Mulloon Institute’s Science Advisory Council.
He is passionate about educating farmers, policymakers and others about the “soil carbon sponge” and its crucial role in reversing and mitigating flooding, drought, wildfires, and searing global temperatures. He shows how we can safely cool the climate and restore essential biodiversity by repairing our disrupted hydrological cycles. We thus return excess carbon to the soils, where it can build a sponge that soaks up water and revives the biosphere.
Later this year he has been invited to India to present at a conference on Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), a promising method of farming which uses no-till, no-chemical methods and only local materials to regenerate the soils.
Mod note above. The general thing is to use your own words to make a point and provide contextual quotes and links. This isn't an absolute, we all like to just cut and paste something we find interesting, but there are limits around length and numbers of links. Formatting matters too.
Yes I just felt it was important to hear all about what is happening there. We have a dearth of factual stuff about wht is happening and such a lot of details about protests. Links are good too. I left them in because we just have to get informed. And Mulloon Farm things are important for Oz and also for us. Please don't start getting too picky about perfection. We get worrying about following exact rules and forget that we are the few who are actually thinking about this. So let us please do it, and bring in our ideas even if they aren't passed by the Central Committee.
Please ban me if you think I am out of order as i spend far too much time here trying to bring matters up and not knowing whether it is read and worthwhile. I get moans about it so if it isn't wanted tell me and I can stop trying with more time to attend to looking after No.1.
links that come with the cut and paste are fine. Links that commenters put into a comment manually need to be part of the comment. Lots of links without a comment aren't necessarily going to get mod attention, but long cut and pastes will. Your comments are ending up in moderation because of the number of links. Probably the ones you are cutting and pasting as much as anything, but it's still something to be aware of.
More of an issue this time was that the formatting was unclear, so I had to use my time to figure out what was going on and it was just easier to delete. This isn't about you, it's about the number of comments like this currently especially from regulars who should know better. It's pretty easy to look at a comment after it's made and then edit it if there's a format issue.
Fwiw, in terms of reading and engagement, I think it's better to make a point in your own words, cut and paste some bits to illustrate what you want to share, and provide a link. This takes more time as a commenter, but there's more reward too in terms of responses. Long walls of text, especially if poorly formatted are less likely to be read.
Water is definitely being undervalued in Climate Change response. No water, no trees. No trees, no water. Earthworks and judicious planting en-masse required!
Hey, Velcro, you stickler! Have a go yourself, at "explaining" to Chloe; I suspect you'd be eviscerated by her and her clarity of thought, but don't be deterred; it'd be great entertainment and a great experience for you; your first in the real world and once you've recovered from your stropping, you might have something worthwhile to add to the conversation!
National school bunk-off day. Tell them please – there is no climate crisis
[weka has already warned you once today about no climate change denial but you seem to wilfully ignore these hints. Perhaps you are angling for a ban, in which case I am happy to oblige – Incognito]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
It's excellent to see this device working cleaning up the Plastic Waste in Our Pacific Ocean. I have been watching the progress on this device it like any idea /invention one doesn't really know how it's going to work until it tried in Te real. Papatuanuku a few tweets here and there a it working Ka Pai it's a passive device so the device will have a low carbon footprint thanks to Boyan and his team for this Great invention
Ocean cleanup device successfully collects plastic for first time
Floating boom finally retains debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, creator says
A huge floating device designed by Dutch scientists to clean up an island of rubbish in the Pacific Ocean that is three times the size of France has successfully picked up plastic from the high seas for the first time.
Boyan Slat, the creator of the Ocean Cleanup project, tweeted that the 600 metre-long (2,000ft) free-floating boom had captured and retained debris from what is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
About 600,000 to 800,000 metric tonnes of fishing gear is abandoned or lost at sea each year. Another 8m tonnes of plastic waste flows in from beaches.
Ocean currents have brought a vast patch of such detritus together halfway between Hawaii and California, where it is kept in rough formation by an ocean gyre, a whirlpool of currents. It is the largest accumulation of plastic in the world’s oceans
We now have a self-contained system in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that is using the natural forces of the ocean to passively catch and concentrate plastics … This now gives us sufficient confidence in the general concept to keep going on this project.”
The plastic gathered so far will be brought to shore in December for recycling. The project believes there may be a premium market for items that have been made using plastic reclaimed from the ocean.
“I think in a few years’ time when we have the full-scale fleet out there, I think it should be possible to cover the operational cost of the cleanup operation using the plastic harvested,” Slat said.
The plan is to now scale up the device and make it more durable so it can retain plastic for up to a year or possibly longer before collection is necessary
Solar paint this technology has the potential to drastically reduce the cost of solar. We could have our planes painted with all our vehicles builting whare.
Our future is bright we just have to change to clean and green everything
How solar paint is shaking up the renewable energy industry
In 2016, the US solar industry contributed more than $150 billion in economic activity. When that kind of serious cash starts flooding an industry, you know new innovation isn't far behind.
And what sounds more innovative than ‘solar paint’? A paint that can generate electricity, but still works as normal paint? The ability to turn not only a roof, but an entire building into a solar-generating surface? If that doesn't scream innovation, then I don't know what does.
So far, the lifeblood of the solar industry has been traditional photovoltaic solar panels. Solar panels are a well-proven technology that save homeowners a ton of money. However, the hassle and expense of rooftop panel installations often deter people from switching to solar energy.
Now imagine a world where we could simply paint our roofs and walls with a type of paint that can generate electricity. Though we're pretty far off from actually implementing this technology, it's still exciting to think about.
So, what is solar paint? The most important thing to know is that it isn’t a single product; currently there are three different technologies that are referred to as 'solar paint'.
The 3 types of solar paint
The idea of using a paint-like substance to generate electricity has been discussed within the scientific community for many years. Only recently have the potential for real-world applications emerged.
There are three separate innovations that are classified as solar paints. Here we explore what they are and what they might mean for the future of solar energy Ka kite Ano link below.
As far as I'm concerned every bit of data that is linked to the Internet can be hacked. Eco Maori data is being stolen every minute of the day and spread around Te Papatuanuku a lot of my facts are manipulated to make me look bad.
State highway 4 got a big slip on it caused by to much rain that's you no what.
There you go the Royals data being hacked by rotten people.
Know Your Stuff is doing A great Mahi drugs need to be tested at all concerts.
Every one knows my opinion on Bernie.
Its cool that the new radiation machine that can focus radiation treatment on a tumor you see what a good government does invested it technology that helps all people not just the wealth like the last lot
I have learned that Te Kooti was a great Tane he was ripped off his whenua and locked up sent to the Chatham Islands. My first opinion was from a story from someone who had a radu with his Iwi so it was bias against him.
Tipene funerals I watched the show many times.
First Nations Dornie yes the Canadian tangata whenua are being treated badly like Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa is being treated badly Kia Kaha to all Indigenous Tangata. I believe it Eco Maori was not Tangata Whenua this BULLSHIT would not be happening to Me thanks for the Fame.
Esports tangata grab it with both hands it can generate heaps of putea they are basing it on culture values.
This is a great read just a couple of points Eco Maori want to make.
One huge forest canopies created their own environment they hold water in the Papatuanuku they don't dry out there environment they draw in rain clouds.
The other ones quite obvious we should plant 10 trees per person trillion of trees in all the correct places will enhance the local environment just like sun sails do during the hot summer days I'm not going to quote one of my favourite TV series The Big Bang theory. Famous line
If Each of Us Planted a Tree, Would It Slow Global Warming?
Ask a physicist: Just how much carbon could 7.5 billion new trees pull out of the atmosphere?
Here are some self-evident truths: Humans need to produce less carbon dioxide—assuming we care a fig about our children’s well-being. But even that’s no longer enough. CO2 levels in the atmosphere have reached 400 parts per million, a huge increase over historical levels of around 300 ppm. The fact is, we also need to figure out how to remove some of the CO2 that’s already out there.
As a short-term solution, intrepid climate activist Greta Thunberg suggests we plant more trees. It’s a lovely idea. Who doesn't like trees? While R&D labs struggle to come up with viable carbon-capture technologies, we already have this “magic machine,” as her video says, that “sucks carbon out of the air, cost very little, and builds itself.” And we don't need to wait for craven politicians to get on board
I really want to believe in this. What if every person on Earth took it upon themself to plant a tree. One treetop per child. Just how much carbon dioxide could we hope to scrub out of the atmosphere? Would it help reverse climate change? Let’s do the math!
trees instead of pine trees— you can click the pencil icon to edit it. Click Play to run the calculation.
trees instead of pine trees— you can click the pencil icon to edit it. Click Play to run the calculation.
Hey, that's not bad! This says that if every one of us took a couple of hours this weekend to plant a tree, it would eventually reduce the carbon dioxide level by around 6 percent from the current level
How about one more quick estimation. If everyone planted a tree, how much land would that require? Let's say they’re planted in a square grid, 5 meters apart, so that each tree takes up an area of 25 square meters. With 7.5 billion trees, that requires 1.8 x 1011square meters of land, or 72,000 square miles. That's roughly the size of North Dakota
I think we could do that. And with all due respect, North Dakota could use some more trees. Oh, for comparison, the Amazon rain forest has an area of 2.1 million square miles. Please don't burn it down.
Egmont Fisheries owner is trying to blame the demise of Our Maui Dolphin on cat urine get off the grass. He would rather see our Maui Dolphin go extinct.
He will still be here if the reservation are put in place to protect our Maui Dolphin. If we don't put in proper protection for Our Maui Dolphin they will not be here they will go into our books of extinct wildlife.
He is also lieing about only catching one dolphin in 9 years YEA RIGHT.
Let's look after our Wildlife Taonga so Our mokopuna can be proud of Aotearoa conservation reputation
All the criminal imports from Australia's are joining the local gangs a recruiting young boys they have a different Levels of criminals in Australia coming Here making Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa look bad they are a small minority of Tangata Whenua.
That's great our government is making the health sector healthier how about making there buildings more environmentaly friendly ie get coal out of the heating system of hospitals.
Niki that's a good yarn to try and cover the Eco Maori effect.
Its excellent that KiwiRail New Zealand is transporting more logs its better for our environment roads and tangata using our road safety.
Its good to see people are supportive of a logical move to save our Rangatahi lives there are many factors to why people end up taking that stuff ie some muppet putting it in someone's drink with out them knowing so it will be nice to know that the stuff is tested.
Hone hows the boys on the Rock. The way I see it they see the big man in front of them then duck for cover next minute yellow card.
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles and that ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
Today marks a tragic milestone for New Zealanders as the Coalition Government side with big tobacco to repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
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Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
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Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
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"The question all this immediately gives rise to is why does it now take so long to develop critical infrastructure in New Zealand. How was Napier able – 113 years ago – to get a tram service up and running just six months after starting to lay tram tracks, and why, today, in an age of superior technology, is it likely to take several years to lay a not dissimilar length of track, and establish a modern service in Auckland?"
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/10/04/840483/stop-bickering-start-building
Why indeed
Lots different . Those Napier trams would have been ultra light with short bodies and power lines didnt exist for the streets then.
Modern articulated trams are very heavy and required serious power supply separate from the existing roadside system. All the traffic signals are changed, and no longer safe for passengers to hop on and off in centre of road like it was back in 1905 so pedestrian islands, road layout changes to go with that.
Ive seen in parts of Melbourne where the original tram lines had to be major rebuild as newer and heavier trams came along
Like the CRL and other recent projects, they also have to shift and rebuild lots of pipes and cable lines at the same time.
I'm actually not in favour of the light rail option, and have a lot of time for Mike Lee who has been involved with looking at transport in Auckland for many years.
Greater Auckland has been very influential in transport issues in recent years, and this has impacted on public discussions on this issue, to the detriment of good solutions. I remember attending a seminar with Patrick Reynolds, proudly answering to a question that he tends to frame posts to identify specific problems and then provide the answer to that framework. From then on, I read the posts with a more critical eye, and saw that this appeared to be true. There was no space for different questions on issues. I only rarely visit that site now, when I was previously a regular reader.
Alongside this, was the closer relationship with AT that has developed, which makes their influence quite alarming given that is is not reflective of actual public consultation but does influence a great number of readers. I read the small print in a recent (last two years) AT Strategy plan that identified that the primary source of determining priority spending was public contact. This can result in a circular pattern that is hard to disrupt with areas in need, but with no high profile or public attention, being ignored while other areas get more and more attention, services and funding.
The justification of light rail and benefits to housing and business only contributes to show how badly some proposals are in terms of cost/benefit analysis.
Im with you on that view . I wish light rail was the answer here but it doesnt seem to be well thought at all for Dominion Rd.
And airports are terrible places to spend vast sums on public transport when they can always create ever bigger carparks which make airports money. When I looked at Sydneys airport rail stations, the on/off boardings is so low to be laughable in the context of Sydneys train system, and the biggest users seem to be passengers transferring between domestic and international terminals. The Traffic numbers are normally buried in the overall suburban line which continues on to the CBD
The so called Westgate light rail might be a better approach
IMHO, NuZull's problem has always been (well at least since No8 wire became dangerous and only to be handled by someone in a flourescent vest) short term thinking.
I'll bet (almost put money on it) that whatever 'loit rail' system is implemented, it'll be different from narrow guage heavy rail. That'll be so that JUST THE POSSIBILITY of existing infrastucture in places won't be possible – such as tramtrains. The reasons it can't be done will already be forming the basis for proposalsn that will be deemed impractical (going forward), and cost-benefit analyses, and consultant's template-driven advice to officials as I write.
Anything using the existing NZTA corridors will be reasonably easy. Beyond that into the suburban network you are into trench warfare – particularly if you are at grade. There are many dead corridor 'improvements' proposed for Dominion Road over the last 20 years that have cost political careers. They will oppose everything that takes away just 1 car park as if their children were being sacrificed to Baal.
Auckland International Airport are deeply motivated to get the NZSuper version underway. The build can integrate with their second runway and integrated terminal. After that they will need to generate a new masterplan.
A tunneled line down Queen Street, after CRL's experience and that of George Street in Sydney, is a whole bunch easier so long as its alignments stays within the public corridor rather than having to buy underground title rights.
Patrick Reynolds is now on the NZTA Board, and as a long time proponent of the AT/NZTA light rail proposal, he will continue to be against the NZSuperFund light rail proposal.
Yes, it appears his self-promotion has been effective. His ability to not consult and consider opinions other than his own probably will remain intact. His social media use after being appointed should not have been required to be monitored or censured.
I do think he has skills to offer, just wary about his being the loudest voice on the board, and also about his influence on decision making. I’m all for less roading, but often Greater Auckland discussed and delivered more for the already served rather than the under-served. I’m concerned that some people are very good at advocating for the sphere that they move in, rather than reflective of the wider community. He strikes me as one of those – unwitting, perhaps – advisors.
As stupid as comparing Riverton to Los Angeles.
is this setting a new benchmark in delayed-reforms/incrementalism..?
we are gouged by the power companies..
(that much is a given – so urgent reform is needed..of this there is no doubt..)
but the minister sez that any reforms wd kick in in a labour 3rd term in gummint…?
you could ask – is she kidding..?
but no…five years it is…
and get this..!…the minister is selling it as a positive…
(why am i suddenly feeling weary…?..)
oh..!..and i nearly forgot – after these reforms..old people/low-users on fixed rates will be the losers..
they will pay more for their power..
isn't neoliberal-incrementalist reform just bloody brilliant…eh..?
personally – i'd re-nationalise the profiteering bastards – and be done with it..
Ditto, power generation and supply should be returned to full public ownership.
This particular major privatisation handover, would never have happened if there had not been a massive public infrastructure to prey upon. There is no way the likes of Genesis and the other parasites would have been in a position to build hydro and all the rest of the network.
to me it is one of the latest examples/iterations of the taking of the commons from us…
and i wd argue that the re-taking back of that commons is going to become one of the issues in the near future..
for aside from putting right that historical/ongoing theft from the rest of us..
any coherent/effective measures against climate-change – must entail the taking back of the commons – by the people…
and re-nationalising electric power is the low-hanging fruit in that process..
so let's do it..!
Never mind there are a pair of “safe hands” about to be available soon as he relinquishes his position on the ANZ bank board?
Johnny Key may need to leave his cushy spot on a rouge ANZ bank.
https://www.odt.co.nz/business/john-key-may-have-relinquish-banking-role
Friday, 4 October 2019
John Key may have to relinquish banking role
Dunne really has made an art form of his ability to churn out a so-called political column that has nothing useful to say.
You’d think if he was going to venture an opinion about the delay around the delivery of light rail across the isthmus in Auckland he might have more to say than, well, Napier managed it in short order in 1913 so why not now in Auckland?
You’d hope maybe that he might offer some insights into the complex negotiations between the government and the Super Fund who have stepped in and offered to finance and run the project. And why that might be a very desirable outcome for the government. You’d need to look way back to Labour’s fury at the way the incoming National government in 2008 summarily discontinued contributions to the Cullen Fund and how this and other infrastructure projects could prevent a future National government disrupting the Fund’s funding stream again.
He might have cast an eye over the relationship between the National Party and the National-aligned local politicians and NIMBYs in Mt Eden, Balmoral, Sandringham who are determined to stop light rail along Dominion Road in order to thwart any urban intensification of their lovely, leafy, inner city suburbs. Too bad about anybody else.
He might have paused to wonder why it is that National are so resolutely wedded to the private ICE motor vehicle and what can be done to shift that party’s thinking away from endless road building towards other more sustainable, diverse and resilient transport options for our biggest cities.
Dont let the Super fund step in . Its a rip off private finance play where we pay and pay for decades. They link up with a Tram builder so we pay top dollar for that, plus running costs. And instead of borrowing money as the government can for 2.5% we will pay 9.5% or more to The Super Fund plus their 'partners' costs.
Running a tram service isnt rocket science and itsnt so arcane and difficult that it cant be done ourselves.
light rail is a con. If it’s not rocket science how Come it hasn’t been done yet?
heavy rail north to south and east to west with full time bus corridors on all major arterial roads.
Light rail makes traffic worse as cars still have to use the same space a la melbourne
This government is spending just under $5 billion to build 3.3 kilometers of rail in Auckland's CBD. That's over $1 billion per kilometer, and they haven't even opened it, or got to the operating costs yet.
Melbourne has the best managed transport system in the southern hemisphere, and the best public transport. Some of it is modern trams, some of it light rail to border suburbs, and some is heavy rail as well to the periphery and outlying towns.
Our mix is different. Auckland public transport usage is now doing just fine with a mix of heavy rail and dedicated busways. Based mostly on buses within dedicated corridors, it's growing in use faster than it ever has.
But don't be fooled into thinking any future government is gong to spend billions more per kilometre on extending heavy rail lines beyond the existing corridors.
https://twitter.com/publicaddress/status/1179822676178653186
if there is one preventable death – it will be on their heads/by their hands…..
and y'know..!..alcohol-sodden old men – who celebrate their sodden-ness..
saying: 'just don't do it..!..and if you do do it..and die..that's yr own fault..!'..to young people..
stretches the boundaries of irony..to breaking point..
(is that 'polite' enough..?..asking for a friend..)
" it will be on their heads/by their hands…."
No it wont. Far better to have police drug dogs at the entrances to these festivals checking what people are carrying. Too often they catch the drug dealers loaded with their wares
people who take drugs or any harmful substance without knowing what it really is cant offload their lack of care onto others.
I can just laugh at the idea that those pills tested and found to be harmful wont be onsold during the festival to recoup money spent
But that's one advantage:
person gets the drug tested. Drug is safe, or at least contains other drugs so the user can make an informed decision. fine.
The drug is tested and found to be poisonous. So the tester says "we can nix that for you". User takes drug back, supplies it to someone else. Someone else goes to hospital, but there is the possibility that their supplier gets firmly fingered not just as the supplier, but as knowing that the drug was spiked. "Supply" becomes "demonstrable murder".
As opposed to "ooo, supply, but I didn't know the shit was bad".
Can the tester also put out the word that there's a bad batch of E or whatever on the site (and what it looks like)?
I would expect so, especially if it was lethal (as opposed to say being cut with a fellow traveller). Especially at gigs it would really get the word out quickly.
Yeah social media would lap up information like this. Been out a lot lately and everything's changed due to everyone having a phone. A venue can be empty then some hipsters turn up take photos and instagram they've arrived next minute the joints hopping. Amazing to see. The information sharing and response today is almost instant.
I filled in the survey in favour of drug testing and I was totally civil with my comment at the end. I'm also of an age which NZ First would consider as voter friendly (I'm not though)
We're well into the realms of fantasy-land now. Trump is calling on China to conduct an investigation into Biden and his son on the grounds they were involved in a corrupt business relationship in China.
He's in the throes of an impeachment process over the Ukraine nonsense and he's doing it again. The mind just boggles:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/03/trump-biden-china-investigation-demand
Mr Trump’s mind anyway–is boggled–in many observers view. Who knows what technical term applies to his behaviour, because no one officially wants to go there!
Republicans/religious zealots enable him because they get the policy they want unhindered. While the rest of us watch uncomfortably, and wonder how the American people could do this to themselves.
a person who i follow on twitter – who worked closely with him on all of his television shows..
sez he has an adderral and a cocaine habit..
we are told he crushes up and snorts the adderall during the day – and moves onto the cocaine in the evening..this is/was his habit/pattern..
(it does help explain the cascades of tweets he does – late into the nite..)
he also sez that the crew on those shows – to a man/woman – loathed the orange ball of pus…
and that he treated them as badly as you may imagine..
TM
Same with the UK. Is it mass hysteria, or early dementia, frontal lobe stuff or whatever? It took off Terry Pratchett, a fine imaginative mind. Perhaps there is a cumulative effect of our polluting effects that have been going into the air and our bodies and mixing for decades.
Something to watch out for at biosecurity at the border. It was found in Australia, so could spread.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/03/brain-shrinking-killer-fungus-cannot-touched-found-australia/?li_source=LI&li_medium=li-recommendation-widget
It will need to move on from Aus pretty fast due to a lack of viable hosts. 🙂
Rainforest dweller! Uh oh.
When will the UK Labour Israel-activists stop their whiteanting?
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/10/03/jeremy-corbyn-urged-intervene-labour-members-table-confidence/
The Irish Premier Leo Varadkar is hitting back at Boris Johnson. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/10/03/brexit-latest-news-brexit-news-latest-deal-boris-johnson-northern/ Leo Varadkar accused of attempting to derail Brexit deal by claiming Britain wants to stay in the EU
…The Irish premier said that “all the polls” since Mr Johnson became Prime Minister showed the UK wanted to Remain, but “their political system isn't able to give them that choice”.
The DUP described his comments as “incendiary and outrageous” and said they “exposed the reality” that the Irish government’s true intention was to keep Britain in the EU.
We need to look after our reputation. Now people found we were not 100% Pure environmentally, nor 100% pure in our financial transactions, nor 100% pure in our building methods and materials quality, what will show up next as a stain on the country, and show us to be casual liars?
Radionz have inspected an education outfit advertising on-line since the beginning of the year it seems.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/400282/the-invisible-college-that-wants-your-cash
NZQA acting deputy chief executive quality assurance Eve McMahon describes the college as a "purported" provider of education and appears to be taking steps to remove the site.
"NZQA has inquired with the Domain Name Commission and the Department of Internal Affairs regarding this website and will take appropriate action."
The Domain Name Commission has the ability to remove the domain name, effectively removing the site from public access.
Please act quickly gummint. We have rorted enough Indians and other trusting people, let's be quick here and clean up our act. And not give other immigrants the idea that they will be in good company if they run rorts here, or rort us by not paying tax as was the case recently.
Well said Greywarshark 100% correct.
"We need to look after our reputation. Now people found we were not 100% Pure environmentally, nor 100% pure in our financial transactions, nor 100% pure in our building methods and materials quality, what will show up next as a stain on the country, and show us to be casual liars?"
I had a look at what the Ozzies are doing about CC. The Mulloon Natural Farming Sequence people are still carrying on spreading their message.
This is about a recent meeting; Australia is systematically being made arid and hot by unwise agricultural and land management practices. Chief among these is tree clearing, which breaks the hydrological link, the link between soil and rain. Rain does notfollow the plough, that's an old myth — it follows the trees.
To cool the planet we must work with the dominant greenhouse gas, water vapour. Water governs 95% of the heat dynamics of our planet. We’ve been ignoring its role in climate control for far too long.
Walter Jehne will explain practical ways to restore the hydrological cooling system AND restore the “soil carbon sponge” AND draw down massive amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere AND regenerate our soils AND enhance agricultural productivity.
About the speaker Walter Jehne:
Walter Jehne is a retired scientist with a specialist background in soil micro-biology and plant ecology. He has worked in Australia and overseas, and retired from the CSIRO some 15 years ago to concentrate on regenerating Australia's landscape and improving its agricultural and pastoral sectors. He is also a member of The Mulloon Institute’s Science Advisory Council.
He is passionate about educating farmers, policymakers and others about the “soil carbon sponge” and its crucial role in reversing and mitigating flooding, drought, wildfires, and searing global temperatures. He shows how we can safely cool the climate and restore essential biodiversity by repairing our disrupted hydrological cycles. We thus return excess carbon to the soils, where it can build a sponge that soaks up water and revives the biosphere.
His ideas are gaining international attention. In 2017 he took part in an invitation-only United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization conference in Paris aimed at bringing soil into the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.
Later this year he has been invited to India to present at a conference on Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), a promising method of farming which uses no-till, no-chemical methods and only local materials to regenerate the soils.
https://themullooninstitute.org/events/2019/9/18/walter-jehne-cooling-the-climate
.
Also some more points and a video available.
https://www.slowfoodcanberra.com/coming-events
Conversations from the edge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD2DXBERTeg
[deleted the bits where it wasn’t clear who had said them or where they were from – weka]
Mod note above. The general thing is to use your own words to make a point and provide contextual quotes and links. This isn't an absolute, we all like to just cut and paste something we find interesting, but there are limits around length and numbers of links. Formatting matters too.
Yes I just felt it was important to hear all about what is happening there. We have a dearth of factual stuff about wht is happening and such a lot of details about protests. Links are good too. I left them in because we just have to get informed. And Mulloon Farm things are important for Oz and also for us. Please don't start getting too picky about perfection. We get worrying about following exact rules and forget that we are the few who are actually thinking about this. So let us please do it, and bring in our ideas even if they aren't passed by the Central Committee.
Please ban me if you think I am out of order as i spend far too much time here trying to bring matters up and not knowing whether it is read and worthwhile. I get moans about it so if it isn't wanted tell me and I can stop trying with more time to attend to looking after No.1.
links that come with the cut and paste are fine. Links that commenters put into a comment manually need to be part of the comment. Lots of links without a comment aren't necessarily going to get mod attention, but long cut and pastes will. Your comments are ending up in moderation because of the number of links. Probably the ones you are cutting and pasting as much as anything, but it's still something to be aware of.
More of an issue this time was that the formatting was unclear, so I had to use my time to figure out what was going on and it was just easier to delete. This isn't about you, it's about the number of comments like this currently especially from regulars who should know better. It's pretty easy to look at a comment after it's made and then edit it if there's a format issue.
Fwiw, in terms of reading and engagement, I think it's better to make a point in your own words, cut and paste some bits to illustrate what you want to share, and provide a link. This takes more time as a commenter, but there's more reward too in terms of responses. Long walls of text, especially if poorly formatted are less likely to be read.
Water is definitely being undervalued in Climate Change response. No water, no trees. No trees, no water. Earthworks and judicious planting en-masse required!
They give good tips in Lebanon. US$16 million!
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/30/world/middleeast/lebanon-hariri-model.html
Will someone please explain to Chloe – THERE IS NO CLIMATE CRISIS
[no climate change denial under my posts – weka]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
mod note for you.
Hey, Velcro, you stickler! Have a go yourself, at "explaining" to Chloe; I suspect you'd be eviscerated by her and her clarity of thought, but don't be deterred; it'd be great entertainment and a great experience for you; your first in the real world and once you've recovered from your stropping, you might have something worthwhile to add to the conversation!
National school bunk-off day. Tell them please – there is no climate crisis
[weka has already warned you once today about no climate change denial but you seem to wilfully ignore these hints. Perhaps you are angling for a ban, in which case I am happy to oblige – Incognito]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
See my Moderation note @ 5:36 PM.
It's excellent to see this device working cleaning up the Plastic Waste in Our Pacific Ocean. I have been watching the progress on this device it like any idea /invention one doesn't really know how it's going to work until it tried in Te real. Papatuanuku a few tweets here and there a it working Ka Pai it's a passive device so the device will have a low carbon footprint thanks to Boyan and his team for this Great invention
Ocean cleanup device successfully collects plastic for first time
Floating boom finally retains debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, creator says
A huge floating device designed by Dutch scientists to clean up an island of rubbish in the Pacific Ocean that is three times the size of France has successfully picked up plastic from the high seas for the first time.
Boyan Slat, the creator of the Ocean Cleanup project, tweeted that the 600 metre-long (2,000ft) free-floating boom had captured and retained debris from what is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
About 600,000 to 800,000 metric tonnes of fishing gear is abandoned or lost at sea each year. Another 8m tonnes of plastic waste flows in from beaches.
Ocean currents have brought a vast patch of such detritus together halfway between Hawaii and California, where it is kept in rough formation by an ocean gyre, a whirlpool of currents. It is the largest accumulation of plastic in the world’s oceans
We now have a self-contained system in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that is using the natural forces of the ocean to passively catch and concentrate plastics … This now gives us sufficient confidence in the general concept to keep going on this project.”
The plastic gathered so far will be brought to shore in December for recycling. The project believes there may be a premium market for items that have been made using plastic reclaimed from the ocean.
“I think in a few years’ time when we have the full-scale fleet out there, I think it should be possible to cover the operational cost of the cleanup operation using the plastic harvested,” Slat said.
The plan is to now scale up the device and make it more durable so it can retain plastic for up to a year or possibly longer before collection is necessary
Ka kite Ano link below below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/03/ocean-cleanup-device-successfully-collects-plastic-for-first-time
Solar paint this technology has the potential to drastically reduce the cost of solar. We could have our planes painted with all our vehicles builting whare.
Our future is bright we just have to change to clean and green everything
How solar paint is shaking up the renewable energy industry
In 2016, the US solar industry contributed more than $150 billion in economic activity. When that kind of serious cash starts flooding an industry, you know new innovation isn't far behind.
Spray-on solar cells. Image source: wonderfulengineering.com
And what sounds more innovative than ‘solar paint’? A paint that can generate electricity, but still works as normal paint? The ability to turn not only a roof, but an entire building into a solar-generating surface? If that doesn't scream innovation, then I don't know what does.
So far, the lifeblood of the solar industry has been traditional photovoltaic solar panels. Solar panels are a well-proven technology that save homeowners a ton of money. However, the hassle and expense of rooftop panel installations often deter people from switching to solar energy.
Now imagine a world where we could simply paint our roofs and walls with a type of paint that can generate electricity. Though we're pretty far off from actually implementing this technology, it's still exciting to think about.
So, what is solar paint? The most important thing to know is that it isn’t a single product; currently there are three different technologies that are referred to as 'solar paint'.
The 3 types of solar paint
The idea of using a paint-like substance to generate electricity has been discussed within the scientific community for many years. Only recently have the potential for real-world applications emerged.
There are three separate innovations that are classified as solar paints. Here we explore what they are and what they might mean for the future of solar energy Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.solar-estimate.org/news/solar-paint-hydrogen-quantum-dot-perovskite-solar-cells
Kia Ora Newshub
As far as I'm concerned every bit of data that is linked to the Internet can be hacked. Eco Maori data is being stolen every minute of the day and spread around Te Papatuanuku a lot of my facts are manipulated to make me look bad.
State highway 4 got a big slip on it caused by to much rain that's you no what.
There you go the Royals data being hacked by rotten people.
Know Your Stuff is doing A great Mahi drugs need to be tested at all concerts.
Every one knows my opinion on Bernie.
Its cool that the new radiation machine that can focus radiation treatment on a tumor you see what a good government does invested it technology that helps all people not just the wealth like the last lot
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
I have learned that Te Kooti was a great Tane he was ripped off his whenua and locked up sent to the Chatham Islands. My first opinion was from a story from someone who had a radu with his Iwi so it was bias against him.
Tipene funerals I watched the show many times.
First Nations Dornie yes the Canadian tangata whenua are being treated badly like Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa is being treated badly Kia Kaha to all Indigenous Tangata. I believe it Eco Maori was not Tangata Whenua this BULLSHIT would not be happening to Me thanks for the Fame.
Esports tangata grab it with both hands it can generate heaps of putea they are basing it on culture values.
Ka kite Ano
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
This is a great read just a couple of points Eco Maori want to make.
One huge forest canopies created their own environment they hold water in the Papatuanuku they don't dry out there environment they draw in rain clouds.
The other ones quite obvious we should plant 10 trees per person trillion of trees in all the correct places will enhance the local environment just like sun sails do during the hot summer days I'm not going to quote one of my favourite TV series The Big Bang theory. Famous line
If Each of Us Planted a Tree, Would It Slow Global Warming?
Ask a physicist: Just how much carbon could 7.5 billion new trees pull out of the atmosphere?
Here are some self-evident truths: Humans need to produce less carbon dioxide—assuming we care a fig about our children’s well-being. But even that’s no longer enough. CO2 levels in the atmosphere have reached 400 parts per million, a huge increase over historical levels of around 300 ppm. The fact is, we also need to figure out how to remove some of the CO2 that’s already out there.
As a short-term solution, intrepid climate activist Greta Thunberg suggests we plant more trees. It’s a lovely idea. Who doesn't like trees? While R&D labs struggle to come up with viable carbon-capture technologies, we already have this “magic machine,” as her video says, that “sucks carbon out of the air, cost very little, and builds itself.” And we don't need to wait for craven politicians to get on board
I really want to believe in this. What if every person on Earth took it upon themself to plant a tree. One treetop per child. Just how much carbon dioxide could we hope to scrub out of the atmosphere? Would it help reverse climate change? Let’s do the math!
trees instead of pine trees— you can click the pencil icon to edit it. Click Play to run the calculation.
trees instead of pine trees— you can click the pencil icon to edit it. Click Play to run the calculation.
Hey, that's not bad! This says that if every one of us took a couple of hours this weekend to plant a tree, it would eventually reduce the carbon dioxide level by around 6 percent from the current level
How about one more quick estimation. If everyone planted a tree, how much land would that require? Let's say they’re planted in a square grid, 5 meters apart, so that each tree takes up an area of 25 square meters. With 7.5 billion trees, that requires 1.8 x 1011square meters of land, or 72,000 square miles. That's roughly the size of North Dakota
I think we could do that. And with all due respect, North Dakota could use some more trees. Oh, for comparison, the Amazon rain forest has an area of 2.1 million square miles. Please don't burn it down.
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.wired.com/story/plant-a-tree-for-climate-change/
North Dakota natural environment is grasslands not forests like you suggest, as its known as a Prairie state.
Egmont Fisheries owner is trying to blame the demise of Our Maui Dolphin on cat urine get off the grass. He would rather see our Maui Dolphin go extinct.
He will still be here if the reservation are put in place to protect our Maui Dolphin. If we don't put in proper protection for Our Maui Dolphin they will not be here they will go into our books of extinct wildlife.
He is also lieing about only catching one dolphin in 9 years YEA RIGHT.
Let's look after our Wildlife Taonga so Our mokopuna can be proud of Aotearoa conservation reputation
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora Newshub.
More Alcohol related problems for our Rangatahi.
I have warned people about going to Countrys that are not a safe as Aotearoa and Australia be careful we you travel.
Was alcohol involved in that shooting in America that's a good reason to restrict people who have guns no guns no-one gets shot.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News
All the criminal imports from Australia's are joining the local gangs a recruiting young boys they have a different Levels of criminals in Australia coming Here making Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa look bad they are a small minority of Tangata Whenua.
That's great our government is making the health sector healthier how about making there buildings more environmentaly friendly ie get coal out of the heating system of hospitals.
Ka kite Ano
Sounds like the sports commentator for the Rugby is selling PEE with all his wize cracks he thinks it's a joke it ain't no joke muppet.
Kia Ora The Am Show.
Niki that's a good yarn to try and cover the Eco Maori effect.
Its excellent that KiwiRail New Zealand is transporting more logs its better for our environment roads and tangata using our road safety.
Its good to see people are supportive of a logical move to save our Rangatahi lives there are many factors to why people end up taking that stuff ie some muppet putting it in someone's drink with out them knowing so it will be nice to know that the stuff is tested.
Hone hows the boys on the Rock. The way I see it they see the big man in front of them then duck for cover next minute yellow card.
Bully
Ka kite Ano