Today 38 years ago 27 tons of methyl isocyanate leaked from the majority owned Union Carbide plant in Bhopal. An estimated 3,800 people died instantly, and more than 22,000 have died since.
In 1989 the Indian government settled on a payout of $500 per survivor, owners Dow continue to deny responsibility for the disaster and refuse to clean up the site.
The disaster was entirely preventable.
.
The initial effects of exposure were coughing, severe eye irritation and a feeling of suffocation, burning in the respiratory tract, blepharospasm, breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting. People awakened by these symptoms fled from the plant. Those who ran inhaled more than those in vehicles. Owing to their height, children and other residents of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations, as methyl isocyanate gas is approximately twice as dense as air and, therefore, in an open environment has a tendency to fall toward the ground.[29]
Thousands of people had died by the following morning. Primary causes of deaths were choking, reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema. Findings during autopsies revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema, tubular necrosis of the kidneys, fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis.[30][5] The individuals who did not die were exposed to cancers, blindness, loss of livelihood, and financial strain.[31]
The initial effects of exposure were coughing, severe eye irritation and a feeling of suffocation, burning in the respiratory tract, blepharospasm, breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting. People awakened by these symptoms fled from the plant. Those who ran inhaled more than those in vehicles. Owing to their height, children and other residents of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations, as methyl isocyanate gas is approximately twice as dense as air and, therefore, in an open environment has a tendency to fall toward the ground.[29]
Thousands of people had died by the following morning. Primary causes of deaths were choking, reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema. Findings during autopsies revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema, tubular necrosis of the kidneys, fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis.[30][5] The individuals who did not die were exposed to cancers, blindness, loss of livelihood, and financial strain.[31]
A timely reminder joe. All automation engineers who are involved with process safety have encountered the Bhopal story at some stage. It was both a traumatic and transformative moment, and became one of the primary drivers in the safety technology systems revolution that has happened since early 90's. There is a great deal of detailed information on the disaster available online. This paper seems fairly accessible:
The root causes of this disaster lay in a complex chain of events; but the core one that stood out for me was that the plant was scheduled for closure and someone within operations decided to temporarily store more MIC in the critical vessel than it was designed for. That lack of training and insight led to everything else that happened.
Many have argued the plant should never have been built in the first place; and these days even a rudimentary HAZOP analysis would likely come to this same conclusion.
What we can say for certain is in the intervening 38 yrs, the entire approach to process safety has radically improved, invoking far more sophisticated and rigorous training and procedures. Entirely new technology platforms are now routinely applied to processes like this – technologies that simply did not exist when the Bhopal plant was designed in the late 70's.
It also drove a transformation in corporate liability. These days the safety obligations and liabilities of corporate management and directors is clearly spelled out in legislation and case law. And while the cover and effectiveness of this legislation still varies around the world, the chances of a Union Carbide being able to so egregiously evade liability are very much lower in 2022.
Yes – the entire litigation story is a long and complex one. Central to the problem was the sheer number of victims and the fact that Union Carbide simply did not have the funds to cover. There were multiple parties, governments and courts involved – few of whom covered themselves in any glory.
The plant itself was a mistake, it never made money and Union Carbide had already decided to shut it down and dispose of it. That decision in itself was part of the chain of causal events that led to the worst industrial disaster ever.
Everyone accepts that it was a very ugly episode, but it is worth noting that a great deal changed afterward to reduce the risk of something similar happening again.
”How did our politics get so stupid? Political life has become one long, permanent campaign where parties cynically offer up trivial sound bites in staged photo-ops – while kicking the most difficult decisions down the road.”
A disengenuous answer. At no point does she point the finger at her own media industry. We can’t keep blaming Hosking et al. All media trivialise the issues, and go for gotcha sounbites.
Perhaps Andrea could have a chat to other media companies to up their game /sarc
In terms of the meeting of Finnish PM, Sanna Marin with Jacinda Ardern, Vance has this to say:
Only the naive would fail to see that that summit was as much about the optics of two glamorous, progressive leaders sharing a handshake, than boosting two-way trade that already sits firmly in Finland’s favour.
And there is a good example of the snide and cynical attitude of NZ journalists and commentators . It is a partisan attempt to introduce an erroneous interpretation of Ardern's meeting with Marin. Global trade and economic matters plus the war in Ukraine would have been front and centre of that meeting.
She also fails to point out that the trip was part of an Australasian tour and that the Finnish PM is currently there discussing the same topics with Aussie's PM who happens to be male.
It leads nicely into the Q&A Tane interview this morning with Willie Jackson, Minister of Broadcasting. It was the same mode of cynicism and attempt to create a false interpretation of the government's proposed merger of TVNZ and RNZ.
These 40 years and under journos show their ignorance of the history of NZ broadcasting:
We had exactly that set-up for decades and it worked well. The standard and accuracy of reporting and commentary was vastly superior to what we have today. We can thank the neoliberal acolytes for the decline.
I do have some idea what I'm talking about:
I was an NZBC employee working at the sharp end of broadcasting in the 1960s.
Politicians and the media are hand in hand. As bad as each other. Jacinda Arden does show dignity in how she responds to events and does not rush off to buy flowers and get filmed placing them at the site of a tragedy. Luxon and Seymour's recent photo opportunities were awful, on a par with Judith Collins' faux prayers.
Replying to Reality at 3. (Can’t reply on iPhone or iPad??)
And yet on Andrea Vance, in a throwaway line, is the only mainstream journalist to pick up on the hypocrisy of politicians using personal tragedies for political gain.
It’s a pity that they never gave that commitment and perhaps just as well because National has form in breaking its promises on asset sales.
On a related note, Wayne Brown seems to be in the deep pockets of investors.
Any sale would likely be welcomed by other potential investors.
"An asset of that quality will be well received by the many investors in New Zealand and there's certainly enough cash availability for investors to partake," New Zealand Shareholders Association CEO Olver Mander told Newshub.
Years back I proposed a simple test of whether an asset should be in public or private control. All you have to do is ask the question – 'if this enterprise was to encounter commercial or technical difficulties that threatened its continued operations, would there be overwhelming political pressure for the public sector to step in to save it?'
In the case of Auckland Airport I suspect the answer is yes. In which case it should remain in at least a majority public control.
I agree, sort of, but not sure yet about your definition of commercial. I would exclude a drop, demonstrated by a drop in shareholder value, in the definition of 'commercial'. Astute investors will be always looking at the reasons this is happening and using this to guide their (continued) investment strategies .
Would it work if you had 'should be in majority public or private control'?
The test also works when looking at whether the Govt, any Govt, should answer calls for rescue in cases like RAL.
I think my caveat 'that threatened its continued operations' gives some clarity around commercial difficulties. A simple drop in share price alone might not trigger that condition.
It is more a case of risk. As Arnold Nordmeyer once famously pointed out, would anyone want to socialise every corner dairy?
Because while they might provide an important social service (especially in the 50's before supermarkets came along) the failure of a single one would not likely have any political impact. The large majority of enterprises fall into this category and can be sensibly left to the private sector.
By contrast only the state is large enough to absorb the intergenerational risk of large scale infrastructure – and thus should be in appropriate public control.
'Commercial difficulties' seem to me to be a term used to signal a view that a Govt handout/bailout is justified. Continued operations seem to mean that continued present operations. Sometime cutting one's cloth is a better response.
But a good rough rule of thumb and as I said also works when assessing calls for Govt investment once firms face difficulties eg RAL.
Wayne Brown likes writing rambling letters telling Wellington that he doesn’t like them to tell him what to do with his front porch but he doesn’t seem to mind investors taking over a strategic asset in his backyard.
Hasn’t the ship long sailed on majority public control of Auckland Airport?
It wouldn’t surprise me if the share price had been climbing since Brown rode into town.
So yes 'ship long sailed on majority public control of Auckland Airport' in 1998?
The Government was AIAL's majority shareholder, the rest being held by the local councils. In 1998 the Government sold its shareholding, ………
'After amalgamation into the Auckland Council, the local authority now owns a 22.4 per cent stake worth $1.13 billion as of May 2014.
AIAL appears on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX: AIA) and Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: AIA). International shareholders hold around 40 per cent of the shares, domestic approximately 60 per cent'.
On NZ Herald premium content (I cannot access the complete story) headline states Wayne Brown may have talked the share sale price down………
Renationalisation or closer regulatory control. Energy costs form a large part of the costs for many low income families. Low user charges are now gone.
Low user charges was labour policy,as it discriminates against people in the leafy suburbs with big houses and EV'S
There will also be no renationalisation,and regulatory control is very good,and all 3 regulators all tell us that increased costs going forward will be from labour,and/or green policies.
How can you show good faith when you are dealing with a devious group within Labour , who I now note say it was a mistake- really a mistake, not that you goy caught???Will do something so underhanded and yet no one will take ownership in voting in support of the SOP ? Is the PM so disinterested that what was discussed within caucus “discussed, despite her saying on Monday it was “not necessarily something I would be aware of”
and when you are caught out – misdirect, hide, avoid anything to distance from what was such an underhanded attempt. Perhaps the PM Ardern should just retire as imo power has corrupted her into a person I am sure on reflection it is not someone a few years ago she would have thought she would become.
Yes it is a ridiculous comment by Herodotus. Bears no relation to a knowledge of Parliamentary process. It even goes against a close reading of the article they are linking
'She cast doubt on whether Labour MPs knew exactly what was being voted on: "To be fair, the principle of entrenchment has generally attracted a 75% threshold. Everyone in Labour was very aware of that. What would have been happening in real time as you had both an entrenchment position, but a different threshold.”
Similarly, Minister Chris Hipkins, the Leader of the House, also said he did not know it was being voted on. He said he knew the Government had previously sought a 75% entrenchment, but he understood this would have failed as it did not have cross-party support.'
I linked to the lists of SoPs earlier. here it is again
Anyone including opposition MPs can put forward an SoP at any time.
As Solkta says discussion on the floor of Parliament is the least likely place to be able to slip something through with Hansard recorders, The Speaker, house majorities/whips and the ability to have all the drafts in front of the House and able to be read by all & sundry. We also have Parliamentary Counsel.
Bearing mind the position of SoPs being able to be put in place at any time if there was nothing at the Caucus then there was probably not an SoP in place. I am not sure if a Green MP (Sage) would go to a Labour party Caucus but I would think not. As a Minister she will go to Cabinet.
What is the big drama anyway? Legislation matters and the conduct of such through the House are are traditionally under the purview of the Leader of he House. The current Leader of the House is Chris Hipkins.
In the view of whether cockup or conspiracy I think we would come down to the fact in a fast moving Parliamentary environment Hipkins may/maynot have been aware of, but no expectation that the PM would be, as it happened but would be soon after. Hipkins would have control and would be discussing.
Those trying to make a meal of this show very clearly their lack of knowledge of parliamentary process and their partisan approach, and this is par for the course as far as the media is concerned. That the approach has trapped Herodotus is also clear.
To me it is yet another example of the idiotic expectations that the media places on the PM in a bid to achieve a prized ‘gotcha’.
We saw it so often during Covid when there was the expectation that she was solely responsible for full or empty supermarket shelves, loading out delays from warehouses to said supermarkets etc etc
Mahuta spoke in favour of it (the amendment) on the floor – immediately following Sage's introduction of her SOP (which specifically referenced the 60% entrenchment) – so pretty certain that at last some Labour MPs knew about the provision & therefore what they were voting for.
"There is a high constitutional threshold to be reached in order to put such a threshold within legislation, and often it's on constitutional matters—of which this bill is not—and it would be a novel approach to include an entrenchment clause. However, in saying that, I think that the member for the Green Party who has put up, still, and tested the will of the House in relation to having an entrenchment cause is a worthy matter to be considered, because at least the Government and the Greens are very clear about our position on privatisation: we don't want to see it."
Mahuta has also said it was discussed at the Labour caucus immediately prior. Though she hasn't made it clear whether the discussion refrenced the 60% (which was achievable) or the general provision of entrenchment (75%) which was not. But the discussion did specifically talk about entrenchment (in some form) in relation to water. It's not really believable that Hipkins and Ardern could have been totally blindsided.
I don't think anyone is saying either were totally blindsided, the Stuff article says they were prepared for 75% but not being fully aware that there was an SoP floating round with the percentage at 60% and not 75% and that a vote on the lower percentage was imminent.
Incognito linked below to the exact wording – specifically drawing attention to the 60% as it was put to the vote.
Your alternatives are either that they weren't paying attention to the debate in the House (which is, actually, a real possibility, under urgency with multiple SOP being debated). Or that they actually did want to have entrenchment – and are backtracking now that the constitutional implications have become a public issue.
Yeah, right, they were caught with their pants down in the middle of the act and it is all on file:
CHAIRPERSON (Greg O'Connor): Members, we're about to vote on an amendment which is a proposal for entrenchment requiring a 60 percent majority for repeal or amendment of the entrenched provision. Under Standing Order 270, this proposal must be carried by that majority. Therefore, this amendment must be agreed by a 60 percent majority, which would be 72 members. The question is that the Hon Eugenie Sage's amendment to insert new Subpart 4A into Part 6, set out on Supplementary Order Paper 285, be agreed to.
A party vote was called for on the question, That the amendment be agreed to.
When the focus should have been on privatisation of water or rather on keeping it as a public good it sadly became a technicality issue with some screaming that democracy was under attack. Government could have shown more unity and resolve but they looked like a bunch of flustered possums caught in the headlights.
Isn't this now a neat trap for National and Act, agree to the proposal not to sell water assets. Or not, leaving them open to election jibes of wanting to sell.
The other array drives show a spare with an empty partition, and the other drive with a munted file system. My guess is that it powered off while it was resyncing.
No disk errors. Resyncing.
I’d better pop a new drive into the array and shift a spare. Note the hours on SSD 0
SSD 0 = 3992 hours powered on (about 166 days)
SSD 1 = 35474 hours (~4.14 years)
SSD 2 = 759 hours (spare)
lprent@lpws:~$ sudo smartctl -a /dev/sdf
smartctl 7.2 2020-12-30 r5155 [x86_64-linux-5.15.0-43-generic] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-20, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org
=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family: Intel 730 and DC S35x0/3610/3700 Series SSDs
Device Model: INTEL SSDSC2BB120G4
Man this thing is old. the SSD Intel 730 series got sold in NZ from 2015. I suspect that this one was from 2016 or 2017 (I'd have to crack the case to see).
Last year over in Perth I was heading home from work when I was passed by a couple of loons on a motor-scooter, carrying something oversized and weaving wildly over the road. I followed them about a km to a major intersection with a main highway.
Much to my horror they didn't even pretend to slow down, went straight through the red light and missed an Aussie road train at full speed – by less than a metre.
Canadian visual artist/designer Daniel Voshart used 800 images of busts and Artbreader, a machine learning-based art website, to create astonishingly realistic images of 54 Roman emperors.
The Guardian article below reports the problems of longtime Kiwis in Oz with non-permanent resident visas who've lost jobs. They are caught in a poverty trap when they cannot access CentreLink unemployment payments. Sobering reading. This is another unjust legal loophole for poorer Kiwi citizens in Oz, not just the 501 deportees, that the NZ government needs to sort out with their Aussie counterparts.
Sorry but the link icon did not work for me today.
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A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
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Today 38 years ago 27 tons of methyl isocyanate leaked from the majority owned Union Carbide plant in Bhopal. An estimated 3,800 people died instantly, and more than 22,000 have died since.
In 1989 the Indian government settled on a payout of $500 per survivor, owners Dow continue to deny responsibility for the disaster and refuse to clean up the site.
The disaster was entirely preventable.
.
The initial effects of exposure were coughing, severe eye irritation and a feeling of suffocation, burning in the respiratory tract, blepharospasm, breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting. People awakened by these symptoms fled from the plant. Those who ran inhaled more than those in vehicles. Owing to their height, children and other residents of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations, as methyl isocyanate gas is approximately twice as dense as air and, therefore, in an open environment has a tendency to fall toward the ground.[29]
Thousands of people had died by the following morning. Primary causes of deaths were choking, reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema. Findings during autopsies revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema, tubular necrosis of the kidneys, fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis.[30][5] The individuals who did not die were exposed to cancers, blindness, loss of livelihood, and financial strain.[31]
The initial effects of exposure were coughing, severe eye irritation and a feeling of suffocation, burning in the respiratory tract, blepharospasm, breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting. People awakened by these symptoms fled from the plant. Those who ran inhaled more than those in vehicles. Owing to their height, children and other residents of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations, as methyl isocyanate gas is approximately twice as dense as air and, therefore, in an open environment has a tendency to fall toward the ground.[29]
Thousands of people had died by the following morning. Primary causes of deaths were choking, reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema. Findings during autopsies revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema, tubular necrosis of the kidneys, fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis.[30][5] The individuals who did not die were exposed to cancers, blindness, loss of livelihood, and financial strain.[31]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster
GEEZ Dow arse######s
A timely reminder joe. All automation engineers who are involved with process safety have encountered the Bhopal story at some stage. It was both a traumatic and transformative moment, and became one of the primary drivers in the safety technology systems revolution that has happened since early 90's. There is a great deal of detailed information on the disaster available online. This paper seems fairly accessible:
https://www.aiche.org/sites/default/files/cep/20141222_1.pdf
The root causes of this disaster lay in a complex chain of events; but the core one that stood out for me was that the plant was scheduled for closure and someone within operations decided to temporarily store more MIC in the critical vessel than it was designed for. That lack of training and insight led to everything else that happened.
Many have argued the plant should never have been built in the first place; and these days even a rudimentary HAZOP analysis would likely come to this same conclusion.
What we can say for certain is in the intervening 38 yrs, the entire approach to process safety has radically improved, invoking far more sophisticated and rigorous training and procedures. Entirely new technology platforms are now routinely applied to processes like this – technologies that simply did not exist when the Bhopal plant was designed in the late 70's.
https://control.com/textbook/process-safety-and-instrumentation/safety-instrumented-functions-and-systems/
It also drove a transformation in corporate liability. These days the safety obligations and liabilities of corporate management and directors is clearly spelled out in legislation and case law. And while the cover and effectiveness of this legislation still varies around the world, the chances of a Union Carbide being able to so egregiously evade liability are very much lower in 2022.
Yeah but $500 measly dollars for the survivors !!!!
Yes – the entire litigation story is a long and complex one. Central to the problem was the sheer number of victims and the fact that Union Carbide simply did not have the funds to cover. There were multiple parties, governments and courts involved – few of whom covered themselves in any glory.
The plant itself was a mistake, it never made money and Union Carbide had already decided to shut it down and dispose of it. That decision in itself was part of the chain of causal events that led to the worst industrial disaster ever.
Everyone accepts that it was a very ugly episode, but it is worth noting that a great deal changed afterward to reduce the risk of something similar happening again.
Andrea Vance asks how our politics got so stupid.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/130649918/politics-is-now-one-long-campaign-of-trivial-sound-bites-at-staged-photoops
”How did our politics get so stupid? Political life has become one long, permanent campaign where parties cynically offer up trivial sound bites in staged photo-ops – while kicking the most difficult decisions down the road.”
A disengenuous answer. At no point does she point the finger at her own media industry. We can’t keep blaming Hosking et al. All media trivialise the issues, and go for gotcha sounbites.
Perhaps Andrea could have a chat to other media companies to up their game /sarc
Hypocrisy much
Probably being a little unfair on Vance
In terms of the meeting of Finnish PM, Sanna Marin with Jacinda Ardern, Vance has this to say:
And there is a good example of the snide and cynical attitude of NZ journalists and commentators . It is a partisan attempt to introduce an erroneous interpretation of Ardern's meeting with Marin. Global trade and economic matters plus the war in Ukraine would have been front and centre of that meeting.
She also fails to point out that the trip was part of an Australasian tour and that the Finnish PM is currently there discussing the same topics with Aussie's PM who happens to be male.
It leads nicely into the Q&A Tane interview this morning with Willie Jackson, Minister of Broadcasting. It was the same mode of cynicism and attempt to create a false interpretation of the government's proposed merger of TVNZ and RNZ.
These 40 years and under journos show their ignorance of the history of NZ broadcasting:
We had exactly that set-up for decades and it worked well. The standard and accuracy of reporting and commentary was vastly superior to what we have today. We can thank the neoliberal acolytes for the decline.
I do have some idea what I'm talking about:
I was an NZBC employee working at the sharp end of broadcasting in the 1960s.
Yes – there are more than a few of us who lament the destruction of the public service ethos of that era Anne.
That anyone under the age of 50 probably has no idea of what we are talking about is even sadder.
+1000
I always value your input Anne…….and do especially in your comments here.
Thank-you Shanreagh. 🙂
I value yours too. And Patricia.
Politicians and the media are hand in hand. As bad as each other. Jacinda Arden does show dignity in how she responds to events and does not rush off to buy flowers and get filmed placing them at the site of a tragedy. Luxon and Seymour's recent photo opportunities were awful, on a par with Judith Collins' faux prayers.
Replying to Reality at 3. (Can’t reply on iPhone or iPad??)
And yet on Andrea Vance, in a throwaway line, is the only mainstream journalist to pick up on the hypocrisy of politicians using personal tragedies for political gain.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/480046/three-waters-government-announces-it-will-remove-entrenchment-clause-from-legislation
It’s a pity that they never gave that commitment and perhaps just as well because National has form in breaking its promises on asset sales.
On a related note, Wayne Brown seems to be in the deep pockets of investors.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/12/ratepayers-unsure-of-auckland-mayor-wayne-brown-s-proposal-to-sell-auckland-international-airport-shares.html
Years back I proposed a simple test of whether an asset should be in public or private control. All you have to do is ask the question – 'if this enterprise was to encounter commercial or technical difficulties that threatened its continued operations, would there be overwhelming political pressure for the public sector to step in to save it?'
In the case of Auckland Airport I suspect the answer is yes. In which case it should remain in at least a majority public control.
I agree, sort of, but not sure yet about your definition of commercial. I would exclude a drop, demonstrated by a drop in shareholder value, in the definition of 'commercial'. Astute investors will be always looking at the reasons this is happening and using this to guide their (continued) investment strategies .
Would it work if you had 'should be in majority public or private control'?
The test also works when looking at whether the Govt, any Govt, should answer calls for rescue in cases like RAL.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/130637119/ruapehu-alpine-lifts-faces-liquidation-after-govt-reportedly-refuses-extra-funding
Still pondering Canterbury Finance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Canterbury_Finance
Still pondering if large-scale BoD or organisational fraud would be covered in 'commercial' difficulties.
I think my caveat 'that threatened its continued operations' gives some clarity around commercial difficulties. A simple drop in share price alone might not trigger that condition.
On the other hand consider Air New Zealand.
Good rule of thumb that. If something must never go out of business, then it's not a business.
It is more a case of risk. As Arnold Nordmeyer once famously pointed out, would anyone want to socialise every corner dairy?
Because while they might provide an important social service (especially in the 50's before supermarkets came along) the failure of a single one would not likely have any political impact. The large majority of enterprises fall into this category and can be sensibly left to the private sector.
By contrast only the state is large enough to absorb the intergenerational risk of large scale infrastructure – and thus should be in appropriate public control.
Well, as "every corner dairy" seems to be demanding that the taxpayer fund their security costs – we are getting closer to that every day.
'Commercial difficulties' seem to me to be a term used to signal a view that a Govt handout/bailout is justified. Continued operations seem to mean that continued present operations. Sometime cutting one's cloth is a better response.
But a good rough rule of thumb and as I said also works when assessing calls for Govt investment once firms face difficulties eg RAL.
Good point Visubversa.
My response was to RL not you and I must have hit the wrong reply button.
Asset ≠ enterprise
Wayne Brown likes writing rambling letters telling Wellington that he doesn’t like them to tell him what to do with his front porch but he doesn’t seem to mind investors taking over a strategic asset in his backyard.
Hasn’t the ship long sailed on majority public control of Auckland Airport?
It wouldn’t surprise me if the share price had been climbing since Brown rode into town.
Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland_Airport#Shareholders
So yes 'ship long sailed on majority public control of Auckland Airport' in 1998?
The Government was AIAL's majority shareholder, the rest being held by the local councils. In 1998 the Government sold its shareholding, ………
'After amalgamation into the Auckland Council, the local authority now owns a 22.4 per cent stake worth $1.13 billion as of May 2014.
AIAL appears on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX: AIA) and Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: AIA). International shareholders hold around 40 per cent of the shares, domestic approximately 60 per cent'.
On NZ Herald premium content (I cannot access the complete story) headline states Wayne Brown may have talked the share sale price down………
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/market-close-auckland-airport-shares-fall-as-council-proposes-selling-its-stake/ERJSIGO7SJGF7BZ7WQNNKLUQV4/
In a country with the population of Aotearoa, privatisation of public assets makes no sense.
Telecommunications, electricity generation and delivery, transportation networks and infrastructure should all be nationalised.
Agree and especially with the Govt tackling or signalling changes now to the electricity sector as having a huge impact on people.
And what signals and tackles to the electricity industry would that be?
Renationalisation or closer regulatory control. Energy costs form a large part of the costs for many low income families. Low user charges are now gone.
Low user charges was labour policy,as it discriminates against people in the leafy suburbs with big houses and EV'S
There will also be no renationalisation,and regulatory control is very good,and all 3 regulators all tell us that increased costs going forward will be from labour,and/or green policies.
How can you show good faith when you are dealing with a devious group within Labour , who I now note say it was a mistake- really a mistake, not that you goy caught???Will do something so underhanded and yet no one will take ownership in voting in support of the SOP ? Is the PM so disinterested that what was discussed within caucus “discussed, despite her saying on Monday it was “not necessarily something I would be aware of”
and when you are caught out – misdirect, hide, avoid anything to distance from what was such an underhanded attempt. Perhaps the PM Ardern should just retire as imo power has corrupted her into a person I am sure on reflection it is not someone a few years ago she would have thought she would become.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/130623964/jacinda-ardern-attended-labour-caucus-meeting-where-controversial-three-waters-entrenchment-clause-was-discussed
How is it possible to pass a bill through parliament without getting "caught"? Your comment is ridiculous.
Yes it is a ridiculous comment by Herodotus. Bears no relation to a knowledge of Parliamentary process. It even goes against a close reading of the article they are linking
'She cast doubt on whether Labour MPs knew exactly what was being voted on: "To be fair, the principle of entrenchment has generally attracted a 75% threshold. Everyone in Labour was very aware of that. What would have been happening in real time as you had both an entrenchment position, but a different threshold.”
Similarly, Minister Chris Hipkins, the Leader of the House, also said he did not know it was being voted on. He said he knew the Government had previously sought a 75% entrenchment, but he understood this would have failed as it did not have cross-party support.'
I linked to the lists of SoPs earlier. here it is again
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/bills-and-laws/supplementary-order-papers/
Anyone including opposition MPs can put forward an SoP at any time.
As Solkta says discussion on the floor of Parliament is the least likely place to be able to slip something through with Hansard recorders, The Speaker, house majorities/whips and the ability to have all the drafts in front of the House and able to be read by all & sundry. We also have Parliamentary Counsel.
Bearing mind the position of SoPs being able to be put in place at any time if there was nothing at the Caucus then there was probably not an SoP in place. I am not sure if a Green MP (Sage) would go to a Labour party Caucus but I would think not. As a Minister she will go to Cabinet.
What is the big drama anyway? Legislation matters and the conduct of such through the House are are traditionally under the purview of the Leader of he House. The current Leader of the House is Chris Hipkins.
In the view of whether cockup or conspiracy I think we would come down to the fact in a fast moving Parliamentary environment Hipkins may/maynot have been aware of, but no expectation that the PM would be, as it happened but would be soon after. Hipkins would have control and would be discussing.
Those trying to make a meal of this show very clearly their lack of knowledge of parliamentary process and their partisan approach, and this is par for the course as far as the media is concerned. That the approach has trapped Herodotus is also clear.
To me it is yet another example of the idiotic expectations that the media places on the PM in a bid to achieve a prized ‘gotcha’.
We saw it so often during Covid when there was the expectation that she was solely responsible for full or empty supermarket shelves, loading out delays from warehouses to said supermarkets etc etc
Sage is not a minister. The Greens do not have a minister inside of cabinet.
Solkta …… Doh of course…….so even less likelihood of a anyone on the Govt's side knowing of an SoP about lowering the entrenchment %.
Mahuta spoke in favour of it (the amendment) on the floor – immediately following Sage's introduction of her SOP (which specifically referenced the 60% entrenchment) – so pretty certain that at last some Labour MPs knew about the provision & therefore what they were voting for.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansD_20221122_20221123
Mahuta has also said it was discussed at the Labour caucus immediately prior. Though she hasn't made it clear whether the discussion refrenced the 60% (which was achievable) or the general provision of entrenchment (75%) which was not. But the discussion did specifically talk about entrenchment (in some form) in relation to water. It's not really believable that Hipkins and Ardern could have been totally blindsided.
I don't think anyone is saying either were totally blindsided, the Stuff article says they were prepared for 75% but not being fully aware that there was an SoP floating round with the percentage at 60% and not 75% and that a vote on the lower percentage was imminent.
Incognito linked below to the exact wording – specifically drawing attention to the 60% as it was put to the vote.
Your alternatives are either that they weren't paying attention to the debate in the House (which is, actually, a real possibility, under urgency with multiple SOP being debated). Or that they actually did want to have entrenchment – and are backtracking now that the constitutional implications have become a public issue.
Yeah, right, they were caught with their pants down in the middle of the act and it is all on file:
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansD_20221122_20221123
I fail to see what the big drama is. A percentage requirement was dropped. Hipkins has stated he did not think 75% was a go-er.
It is clearly some sort of media beat-up.
When the focus should have been on privatisation of water or rather on keeping it as a public good it sadly became a technicality issue with some screaming that democracy was under attack. Government could have shown more unity and resolve but they looked like a bunch of flustered possums caught in the headlights.
Yes agree with this. I just hope that Labour gets a wriggle on and pushes through the remaining stages quickly.
Isn't this now a neat trap for National and Act, agree to the proposal not to sell water assets. Or not, leaving them open to election jibes of wanting to sell.
Problems for dairy owners.
If they were to stop selling tobacco products, would they be such targets of robberies?
And the ram-raid in Christchurch on the gun shop.
What if all gun-shops were required to moved their premises as close as possible to police stations?
The system will be going down for a reboot shortly.
Shouldn't take too long.
Cheers.
Ok – that was annoying. Something failed on the TS raid during shutdown and it didn’t start up because it kept skipping drives.
The raid is now running on a single SSD. I’ll try adding the other disk and spare back in.
The other array drives show a spare with an empty partition, and the other drive with a munted file system. My guess is that it powered off while it was resyncing.
No disk errors. Resyncing.
I’d better pop a new drive into the array and shift a spare. Note the hours on SSD 0
SSD 0 = 3992 hours powered on (about 166 days)
SSD 1 = 35474 hours (~4.14 years)
SSD 2 = 759 hours (spare)
Can I ask the brand name for SSD 1 please?
lprent@lpws:~$ sudo smartctl -a /dev/sdf
smartctl 7.2 2020-12-30 r5155 [x86_64-linux-5.15.0-43-generic] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-20, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org
=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family: Intel 730 and DC S35x0/3610/3700 Series SSDs
Device Model: INTEL SSDSC2BB120G4
Man this thing is old. the SSD Intel 730 series got sold in NZ from 2015. I suspect that this one was from 2016 or 2017 (I'd have to crack the case to see).
SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 1
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
9 Power_On_Hours 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 35480
12 Power_Cycle_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 294
170 Available_Reservd_Space 0x0033 100 100 010 Pre-fail Always - 0
171 Program_Fail_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
172 Erase_Fail_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
174 Unsafe_Shutdown_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 250
175 Power_Loss_Cap_Test 0x0033 100 100 010 Pre-fail Always - 647 (173 477)
183 SATA_Downshift_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
184 End-to-End_Error 0x0033 100 100 090 Pre-fail Always - 0
187 Reported_Uncorrect 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
190 Temperature_Case 0x0022 062 058 000 Old_age Always - 38 (Min/Max 31/42)
192 Unsafe_Shutdown_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 250
194 Temperature_Internal 0x0022 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 45
197 Current_Pending_Sector 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
199 CRC_Error_Count 0x003e 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
225 Host_Writes_32MiB 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 1783323
226 Workld_Media_Wear_Indic 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 23879
227 Workld_Host_Reads_Perc 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 26
228 Workload_Minutes 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 2127705
232 Available_Reservd_Space 0x0033 100 100 010 Pre-fail Always - 0
233 Media_Wearout_Indicator 0x0032 077 077 000 Old_age Always - 0
234 Thermal_Throttle 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0/0
241 Host_Writes_32MiB 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 1783323
242 Host_Reads_32MiB 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 656517
SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged
Thanks for that.
Boo Hiss
Nope – something is wrong on one of those drives. Fails during startup.
Ummm time to put in a new array and retire these SSDs
You have to feel sorry for the three people injured in the ute.
Motorcyclist dies in crash after fleeing police, hitting ute, in Auckland | Stuff.co.nz
'You have to feel sorry for the three people injured in the ute.'
…and the police and the friends and family of the idiot on the motorcycle.
Last year over in Perth I was heading home from work when I was passed by a couple of loons on a motor-scooter, carrying something oversized and weaving wildly over the road. I followed them about a km to a major intersection with a main highway.
Much to my horror they didn't even pretend to slow down, went straight through the red light and missed an Aussie road train at full speed – by less than a metre.
Canadian visual artist/designer Daniel Voshart used 800 images of busts and Artbreader, a machine learning-based art website, to create astonishingly realistic images of 54 Roman emperors.
https://www.voshart.com/ROMAN-EMPEROR-PROJECT
Great no longer do we have to imagine them with sightless seeming eyes and odd curly hair, when they do have hair.
The Guardian article below reports the problems of longtime Kiwis in Oz with non-permanent resident visas who've lost jobs. They are caught in a poverty trap when they cannot access CentreLink unemployment payments. Sobering reading. This is another unjust legal loophole for poorer Kiwi citizens in Oz, not just the 501 deportees, that the NZ government needs to sort out with their Aussie counterparts.
Sorry but the link icon did not work for me today.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/08/were-screwed-the-new-zealanders-left-stranded-in-australia