Only got as far as the EROI comparison to get to the first dishonesty. Essentially they assume the wind energy can be directly used at every moment it's being generated which is not always true – to the the H2 case where the energy has been stored and can be used when you need it. In other words they've discounted the value of the energy storage to zero and gotten to a stupid answer.
Second dishonest comparison, they take the high price of a new tech, low volume car and use that to inflate the cost of conversion. In any real world scenario the maturity, volumes and costs of H2 vehicles would be considerably better, just as the first EV's were too expensive but became affordable over time. And more importantly would be part of the usual vehicle fleet replacement price which a quick back of envelope calculation already costs us around $5b pa, not an incremental new cost they present it as.
Third dishonest claim is platinum catalyst availability limit – as if this was not well understood and being actively researched. (Far too many links to be bothered posting here.)
Fourth dishonest claim is hydrogen embrittlement in metals is equally blinkered – there are good alternatives to using metals already in production. Nor was there any attempt at qualifying the issue which is not the deal breaker they're pretending it is.
Fifth dishonesty is to go all in on ‘the world’s largest hydroliser at 10MW’ as if this was some kind of limit. It’s not.
Finally their 100MW example is pathetically small compared to the projects underway. All at a GW scale with considerable investment; maybe their engineers know something this pair don't. For example most of this first H2 is not destined to power cars, but other applications like de-carbonising steel and concrete production, or large vehicles where the very low energy density of batteries is a deal breaker. But none of this mentioned.
Summary – hit piece easily pulled apart with a few moments on a search engine. The only upside is I did learn a couple of new things.
That's very interesting. Another rumour I spotted a few weeks back is that FMG are looking at using the Marsden Point infrastructure for some kind of H2 project.
I don't want to oversell H2, it's not a silver bullet, but part of a mix of technologies that we will need to decarbonise. I spent most of last year commissioning at a lithium plant and this year looks like it may be H2 – so I'm not biased. Just diversified
Why do they call it "green" hydrogen? This is greenwash. Complete bollocks.
We don't say I'm going to put green solar panels on my roof to help power my green house or to feed the grid to power my green EV that uses green batteries.
The evidence in the video looks pretty compelling to me. Hydrogen makes no sense at all compared to the far cheaper and more efficient (and getting rapidly more efficient) battery storage model.
The real question is how we generate and distribute electricity in the first place to meet future demand; I have posted before on TS about how wind turbines destroy landscape values, meaning they are only a very limited option IMHO. Solar and offshore wind turbines are the best options.
Green hydrogen is extracted using a method that does not produce GHG emissions. As the name suggests, its production is sustainable and environmentally friendly. Green hydrogen is most commonly produced using a device called an electrolyser. Electrolysers use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The key to this method of producing green hydrogen is that the electricity that powers the electrolyser comes from renewable sources, such as wind, solar, which have no associated GHG emissions. There are also pathways to produce green hydrogen from waste biomass.
Blue hydrogen
Blue hydrogen is produced using a process called ‘steam reforming’, which uses steam to separate hydrogen from natural gas. This process does produce GHGs, but carbon capture and storage technologies capture and store those emissions.
Grey hydrogen
Grey hydrogen is also extracted from natural gas using steam reforming but in this case, relevant technologies don’t capture resulting emissions. Instead, they are released into the atmosphere.
Brown and black hydrogen
Brown hydrogen (made from brown coal) and black hydrogen (made from black coal) are produced via gasification. It’s an established process used in many industries that converts carbon-rich materials into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. As a result, gasification releases those by-products into the atmosphere.
However, if technology ends up storing those emissions, that hydrogen can sometimes be called blue.
There are other colours too
Turquoise hydrogen
Turquoise hydrogen describes hydrogen produced when natural gas is broken down into hydrogen and solid carbon via pyrolysis. This method uses heat to break down a material’s chemical make up. It’s seen as ‘low carbon’ as the hydrogen production process doesn’t emit any GHGs. But there can beemissions associated with the mining and transport of natural gas that is used as the starting product.
Yellow, purple and pink hydrogen
But wait, there’s more! We occasionally see yellow hydrogen describing hydrogen made from direct water splitting, or purple (or pink) for hydrogen derived using nuclear power. There are also murmurings of white hydrogen, which may be extractable from underground.
There is a bit more to it than 'bollocks'
The evidence in the video looks pretty compelling to me.
Ah OK I didn't know that. But it alters little as the description you give says:
As the name suggests, its production is sustainable and environmentally friendly. Green hydrogen is most commonly produced using a device called an electrolyser. Electrolysers use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The key to this method of producing green hydrogen is that the electricity that powers the electrolyser comes from renewable sources, such as wind, solar, which have no associated GHG emissions. There are also pathways to produce green hydrogen from waste biomass.
Again I say this is greenwash-the inefficiencies of needing huge amounts of power (compared with the alternatives) to to make and store hydrogen means it is not green at all.
You've found a use for the crazy pedestrian crossing we have in Wellington. We can update each line by writing in the amount of that type of hydrogen that we are using. Perhaps we can update the numbers every 6 months or so.
It won't be graffiti I will simply be a means of keeping the public up to date. I hope there are enough colours.
No problem with the green hydrogen – provided you look back up the whole supply chain, especially with GHG producing energy sources.
But blue hydrogen can only be described as being useless.
This process does produce GHGs, but carbon capture and storage technologies capture and store those emissions.
As someone who was trained in earth sciences, I have enormous scepticism about getting the kinds of long term storage required. Just as I have about highly radioactive waste.
I don't think that it can be done safely at anything apart from exorbitant cost. If at all. After all we are talking about near to geological time scales required for sequestration. You want a reliable way of storing without environmental leakage for centuries at a bare minimum. In environment where climate change alone creates a major risk.
Basically humans simply don't have any technology that could make that safe. They also don't appear to be developing any that would met a cost/benefit analysis over simply not creating greenhouse gases by changing to known and working technologies.
For instance, the most common delusion, stuffing carbon in any form into expired gas or oil fields is just a deferral for a few years or decades. Those formations leak like crazy after they have been penetrated, partially collapsed or fractured under pressure pushing hydrocarbons out. Even to get them into the ground, they'd have to force out the junk that they stuck in the domes to get the last of the hydrocarbons out. And that is before considering the regular earthquakes.
Same problem for almost every other way that I have ever seen to sequester carbon.
The need for hydrogen power is pretty clear. It is as RL said
For example most of this first H2 is not destined to power cars, but other applications like de-carbonising steel and concrete production, or large vehicles where the very low energy density of batteries is a deal breaker. But none of this mentioned.
Concrete and steel (each about ~8% of emissions) de-carbon are a major climate change targets. Steel has already been demonstrated to be relatively easy to convert to virtually no carbon if there was sufficient H2. Cement a lot less so because you can use it reduce heating costs, but it doesn't help at all with CO2 process emissions driven off the clinker.
With high load vehicles like trucks, ships, aircraft, and most construction equipment. Electric power is pretty useless for really heavy loads and is unlikely to get much better. It'd probably require decades to get the required increases in density steps if there is a possible way to do it and to make them safe enough to use widely.
All of those are industrial level equipment and can afford to install the large levels of protection that storing and transporting large quantities of hydrogen entail. That is several orders of magnitude more of distribution and storage problem than with virtually all of the current hydrocarbons in use.
But shifting hydrogen is also something that is already done on an industrial scale. Just not something that I'd consider as being safe enough to put into a personal vehicle with an average young kiwi driver. Doesn't look that problem is going to be fixed in the coming decades as well – most of the approaches looks like it is decades away from widespread engineering.
For cars, light load vans, light load trucks and buses – EV is already viable and starting to be in widespread use.
The problem there is mostly in the power supply chain – mostly that a lot of generation worldwide isn't green. Plus that electricity grids aren't designed to handle stored electrical power or micro-generated electrical power. To me that looks to be more of an issue about investment and software than basic science or engineering. Lots of lithium storage bunkers dotted around like the traditional ammo bunkers are in your future.
Yes – I'm not much of a fan of CO2 capture and underground reservoir storage. I wasn't promoting it, just pointing out what the various 'hydrogen colours' actually meant.
My rant was more about the issues. but I see that I used the 'you' word in there once – sorry. I'm trying to break myself of that habit.
One of the things that I tend to dislike about a lot of discussion and policy about climate change is the dependence on on unproven GHG reduction or mitigation technologies. That may have been a valid policy use in the 1990s. Now more than 20 years later it really only qualifies as wilful obstruction.
And yet when you look at COP-26 that is mostly what is on the table. Including by our government. The farming community has had the last 20 years to figure out how to decrease methane, yet have managed to increase the total volume of emissions of the most dangerous short term GHG gases of methane by ~8% between 1990 and 2018, and nitrous oxide by more.
Right now we need to concentrate on using technologies that are at least working and dropping emissions as fast as possible. Not exactly what we promised in our largest GHG problem over the next 30 years – agricultural policy was all about tech that neither exists nor shows that much promise based on what has been proven not to work at any scale. We should just start doing back taxes on agriculture backdated to the introduction of the ETS.
As is pointed out by juice media, at this point policies incorporating future tech promises are just bullshit. I must start donating to that crew.
Right now we need to concentrate on using technologies that are at least working and dropping emissions as fast as possible.
I've repeatedly said I've no problem with the Solar/Wind/Battery crowd and I wish them the best. I expect we will push what can be achieved in that mode as far as possible. But equally we don't hear a lot from them around the very real limits of what can be achieved with renewables either. They can definitely play a role now, but they cannot take the whole 8 or 9b of humanity into anything like an acceptable future.
De-carbonising is not going to be a set of 'one off, drop in and done' replacements for our existing modes of production. It will be successive waves of evolution, starting with the SWB mode we're in right now and then over the next decade or so we'll see a host of other technologies that are in the research or development stage now – start to appear in production.
Yes it would be nice if the development of all of this had happened decades ago – but then I have my own views on why that never happened.
De-carbonising is not going to be a set of 'one off, drop in and done' replacements for our existing modes of production.
But planning on future technologies to bridge the gaps 20-30 years down the line (like the aussie and our government) is just a recipe for increasing the total GHG emissions between now and then. It just increases risk and at present those risks are starting to get into the mode of being in the big upswing of a S curve.
It is a classic investment problem. Putting in a relatively shit technology like lithium battery banks next to variable power sources for fats load balancing isn't optimal.
Even with the rapid battery replacement, it is even better than having to fire up a old coal powered power station or installing a new gas powered station with a 30 year investment life span and a need to find a new field, or trying to rush in a SMR without a viable waste disposal plan.
In GHG terms it probably even beats putting in a new dam because those have a very large build carbon footprint.
Yes it would be nice if the development of all of this had happened decades ago – but then I have my own views on why that never happened.
Who doesn't. But mostly I think it is just investors wanting to realise returns from current investments, and not wanting to get taxed for the benefit of the future.
Also I'd point out that very few of the current H2 generation projects are 'Green Hydrogen'. Almost all of them apart from a few bleeding edge projects using brand new tech (ie requiring decades of debugging) have a hydrocarbon feed stock.
The relevant information about sequestration of carbon for these projects that I am aware of could be taken apart by anyone who has studied any earth sciences in minutes. Most of them are simply ways to effectively throw the pollutant costs on to later generations because they rely on shonky and engineering and science that has never been even remotely tested.
They really need to do the equivalent of crash test testing on it.
Rather than using electricity to split water into its constituent parts, heat can do it.
Electricity generated by wind towers or photo electric solar cells is not the only way to split water into Hydrogen and Oxygen to release Green Hydrogen.
Concentrated solar arrays can produce extremely high temperatures where water disasocciates, no electicity or electolysers needed.
Install Ivanpah sized solar collectors in the hot Australian interior feed them with water. Voila.
Summary…they take actual existing real world data for the basis of their assessment and you continue to assume future capabilities that may never occur.
"Hydrogen’s viability as a fuel source — regardless of industry — depends on rapid development of a variety of transport, delivery and storage technologies that are young but fast-evolving. Commercializing these technologies will not be simple, but they are being addressed. Below is a summary of some work being done."
"Industrial gas giant Linde will build and operate what it claims will be the “world’s largest PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolyser” plant to produce green hydrogen once it is operational at the Leuna chemical complex in Germany.'
And how long do you wish to wait for these grand technical advances?….never mind the basic EROI of hydrogen production isnt going to change irrespective.
The calculation of EORI used in that video is the wrong calculation when the source of the energy is solar/wind. The correct term to be using is not the energy produced (which is essentially free), but the energy embedded in the solar panel/wind turbine infrastructure. That's a quite different calculation to the simplistic one presented.
It is a different calculation…and one that makes the EROI even worse, they have been generous by only measuring the operational EROI rather than the embedded and operational energy costs.
They make the very common mistake of including the operational wind/solar energy in the EORI calculation, when for renewables you don't care about that at all. There is nothing 'generous' about this at all – it's simply irrelevant.
Also it wasn't clear to me how their numbers added up, but that could be my fault.
Can i reproduce it?….I imagine so, however i dont need to because the calculation has been reproduced by many and often…it is generally accepted that for every unit of energy from hydrogen produced 4 units of energy are involved in its production…..do you wish to prove otherwise?
It adds up…its not perhaps the way I'd choose to present it but I havnt had the opportunity to ask why it was presented thus….but i see no fundamental flaw.
Again I refer you to the previous chart…an EROI of essentially 0.25.
EROI stands for energy returned on energy invested. It's not the flow of energy through the system.
If the energy flow is essentially free and limitless as sunshine is – then you don't care about it, it's not a cost or investment of any kind. But apparently the calculation in the video includes it in the H2 case – although apparently not in the battery case.
But it's your reference – if you cannot defend it then just say so.
Are you suggesting there is no energy cost to storing hydrogen?….or that it dosnt need to be stored for use?….either way it would seem an odd proposition.
I had a machine with a DuPont SPE PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane). Meant to be one of the best on the market. The problem is PEM filters block up depending on water quality. That can lead to plate wear.
Looks like an epic scam to me – preferred route of manufacture is natural gas – not a renewable. No reticulation infrastructure, and pretty significant issues to overcome with safety – all so people can pretend to drive green vehicles instead of stepping away from them.
There is no 'preferred route' – methane was merely the conventional method of producing H2 for industrial purposes. Then there is the Hazer process that's running at pilot scale and shows another pathway.
Meh – the government is funding it because they see possible export $ – there has been no mature consideration of viable green technologies – it's on a par with Brazilian carbon credits – what governments do instead of rising to meet the challenges (and opportunities) of the 21st century.
What 'viable green technologies'? The left rules them out just as soon as they realise they're not compatible with their wild dreams of reverting to a pre-industrial utopia.
Whatever you like always seems to be broadbrush smears of the left as a whole. What you claim the left believes is not remotely accurate, it's just intellectually lazy provocation. Such wild claims about such a diverse group as an entire wing of the political spectrum aren't useful if we want to have any kind of rational political debate here.
There was your opportunity to make the effort to outline what you meant by 'viable green technologies' – instead you throw a little rant.
I've put in a decent effort today to explain what H2 has to offer and why it has a place in the wider decarbonising scheme. In response there's been nothing but ill-informed negativity and repeated claims that 'it can't be done'.
I didn’t mean anything by ‘viable green technologies’ because I didn’t make that comment, that was Stuart Munro.
What I am objecting to is your unfounded and un-cited claim about the beliefs of the left as a whole. We all should be discouraged from making such ridiculous claims about our political oppenents, it doesn’t make our arguments any stronger nor does it make us seem rational.
Butanol for one – you make it from a cellulose feedstock – ie it soaks up carbon before you burn it – it runs in existing engines and reticulation infrastructure.
But no, it has to be hydrogen. I suppose we're meant to be grateful it's not fusion.
They're green enough – they just struggle against subsidized petrochemicals at present.
The cost of inputs however, is very low, and that means in first principles terms, that given sufficient development this technology will be competitive with fossil fuels.
The big missing factor of your preference, hydrogen, is the energy source. Even given all the multifarious issues of hydrogen were resolved, absent a cheap energy surplus, hydrogen fails. Moreover, if there is a way to use cheap surplus energy without the conversion to hydrogen, that use will invariably be much more efficient, and likely much greener too.
Or maybe, it now seems – after reading RL's contribution above. From his last link:
Despite all the challenges that 2020 has brought, a staggering 50GW of green-hydrogen electrolysis projects have been announced this year, out of a current global total of 80GW, as more and more countries announce ambitious clean-hydrogen strategies to help them decarbonise transport, heating and heavy industry.
Many of these projects are gigawatt-scale, with the hope that their immense size will quickly bring down the cost of green hydrogen through economies of scale — in the same way that the prices of wind and solar power have fallen exponentially over the past decade.
It has been a remarkably rapid development for green hydrogen when you consider that the world’s largest electrolyser currently in operation is only 10MW, and that most of these gigawatt-scale H2 projects will also be among the planet’s largest renewables plants.
I was a bit harsh above. Green H2 is not a magic bean that will solve all our problems, it has to be understood in it's correct context before it makes sense.
Read Reds links and you will see his claims are grossly overstated AND based on expectation rather than existence…..we can all create futures where the improbable occurs
A interesting case unfolds. I don't have enough information to make a judgement. But I think police will need to be 100% confident their actions were justified. I would also like to know who made the complaint. Police have been know in recent times to turn up on certain gun owners doors and ask about their political views.
I agree. If this pastor is found to be in the wrong and a threat, that's fine – one less nutter in society. If the police are found to be wrong, or acted on flimsy information to curtail someone who spouts unpopular views in public, that's not fine. Should that be the case I would expect the media to be onto this like a rabid dog. But they won't. It may not even get a mention.
Personally i have no use for guns generally, but as per the article, he gun was locked away in a safe and that safe was ripped of the wall and then opened with a key that was found elsewhere. Ah, good old terrorism laws that can be used so easily against non criminal law abiding contrarians.
The story reminds me of Rachel Stewart and her merry go round with the Police in regards to her weapons that came courtesy of activists that use the Police to bully 'contrarians' all legally and government sanctioned.
Well per the article they managed to rip it of the wall, but then found a key and opened it. go figure.
His instinct was to check if his gun was still in the safe, he said, but it had been ripped from a wall and opened using a key found in a drawer.
The guy seems to bit of a tosser- but as far as i know we are still allowed to hold believes other then the official puree served by highly paid PR figures. This whole article describes something that I would consider as government sanctioned harassment and intimidation. And if government thinks that the police overstep its boundaries it can check its lazy law making and maybe tighten some screws so that overzealous cops will know when to stop.
That is exactly the point. They should have waited for him to show up, demand entry, ask about the weapons, ask a few general questions to see if he is any danger and in the end simply confiscate said weapon and ammunition on the laws provided.
He was and still is a law abiding citizen.
If this article is correct, that was incredibly stupid on the parts of the police.
He had only recently bought the gun and 500 rounds of ammunition.
He has been showing more extreme views recently obvious to someone within the church or maybe his wife was worried.
[RL: You are still in pre-mod until you acknowledge the requirement to gives cites or references when needed. Please acknowledge this. If not the usual practice is to turn the pre-mod into a ban.]
Appeal rights – if the police have confiscated your gun after deciding you are not a fit and proper person to possess a firearm and ammunition under the Arms Act 1983 (& revoking or suspending your firearms licence, which they haven't done yet) – are:
Right of review of licensing decisions
There are changes to the right of appeal section.
The main change is if a decision is made to refuse a person a firearms licence, or to revoke a person’s firearms licence, that person may first apply to the Commissioner of Police for a review of the decision (s62). They can also appeal the decision to the District Court, provided they have first applied to the Commissioner for a review and received the Commissioner’s decision on that review (s62B(2)).
If they do cancel his firearms licence, I shouldn't imagine he'd have much joy appealing to Police Commissioner Andy Coster. He'd probably have to take it to the District Court.
But the article says police raided his place after they had received information “relating to concerns around an individual’s wellbeing and the likelihood the man was armed” – which suggests to me that they consider he might be mentally unstable.
(I personally find it hard to believe he intends to "go possum shooting at some point". More likely he wants the gun for protection.)
Hope Stuff follows up on this story. It's piqued my interest.
Just because some calls the police to your house claiming you are mentally unstable and should not own any kitchen knifes, or guns, or other sharp objects does not mean that you are mentally unstable. You might just be a contrarian that does not sing to he official tune, and someone might be quite happy to use the Police to harras and intimidate other wise law abiding citizens, such as Rachel Stewart and this Priest.
I would again not be surprised if this is exactly the same. Some disgruntled activist using the Police as their personal private little enforces. Btw, how is the Police doing on Gang Crime, on anti social and dangerous social housing tenants, on drink driving, etc?
Going up against a group of individuals that fight, that are physically aggressive, have numbers, have public relations people, are lawyered up, have political allies
''I personally find it hard to believe he intends to "go possum shooting at some point". More likely he wants the gun for protection.''
Yes, I would say he's received serious threats from people who are more likely to carry out violent acts than he is. The gun is probably for self protection.
As the self defence saying goes: ''It's better to be judged by 12, than carried by 6''
Self defence laws need overhauling, especially for Indian dairy owners who have been threatened in the past with possible prosecution for defending themselves.
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[a] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.
No, I didn't say he was a pastor. Nor was he a Catholic priest ( for balance).
The biblical verses you mention were teachings that Jesus taught to stop the innocent making karmic links with people who were doing them wrong. However, I think his teachings would have had exceptions that haven't been historically recorded for a variety of reasons.
You are welcome to turn the other cheek to someone wanting to harm you or a loved one. I'm not.
As I understand it – at the time & place when Jesus lived, striking backhand a person of a lower class was a means of asserting authority and dominance. If the struck inferior "turned the other cheek," this is therefore seen by some Christians as a challenge. By turning the other cheek, the person struck was showing courage and demanding equality, not being a doormat.
Yes that is one interpretation the concept of non-violent resistance to oppression. So it was a fairly radical idea then, and even now. The subsequent verse of giving your shirt and your coat as well carries the same message. While you may blush in your subsequent nakedness, you also bring shame onto the one who forces you into this situation. The sermon on the Mount (or on the Plain) – depending on whether its Matthew or Luke – contains some pretty radical stuff for its time.
As a general principle, and in cases of minor harms, it seems a good policy to "absorb" the harm and bury it, karmically; revenge, equalising and the escalation that usually follows, is something to be avoided wherever possible, imo.
Agreed. There are methods whereby you absorb the wrong (energy) into your body and transmute it into neutral energy for your advantage.
Taoists and Western Alchemy use such methods. No karma is produced; and the offender is giving you a free boost of energy at his expense, plus still having to carry the karmic load for his wrongs. That's true justice.
Yes and no. Hard to explain. First you must see/feel everything as energy. Remember what Tesla is reputed to have said:
''If you want to find the secrets of the Universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.’''
That's very hard to do because we live in a material world…and toast is toast. Even though it's not.
The next thing is to have the right mindset (very very important). The last thing is to experience the results for yourself. The only part imagination plays is to kick start the process because energy follows thought. Eg,think of crime…do the crime.
At the end of his talk, someone from the audience asked His Holiness Dalai Lama, “Why didn’t you fight back against the Chinese?” His Holiness looked down, swung his feet just a bit, then looked back up at us and said with a gentle smile,
“Well, war is obsolete, you know”. Then, after a few moments, his face grave, he said, “Of course the mind can rationalize fighting back…but the heart, the heart would never understand for it. Then you would be divided in yourself, the heart and the mind, and the war would be inside you.”
— Dalai Lama
SETH: "There are deeply hidden areas of human behavior far below the surface of actions, and these cause the actions. They are psychic exchanges. Before the beginning of any war, subconsciously each individual knows not only that a war will occur, but its precise outcome. Battles like other physical acts exist first in the mental realm. When this realm is peaceful there are no wars. All of your physical activities, from the political to the economic and to the most insignificant individual concerns have their origin in mental existence, and their outcome is known.
To create a harmonious inner existence is a positive act with far-reaching effects, and not an act of isolation. To desire peace strongly is to help achieve it. To accept war helps prolong its physical existence. These are not idle words nor are they meant symbolically."
Seth( I'm assuming the spirit entity that was channelled), has put it succinctly. And so has the Dali Lama. They are right. It's not for nothing South American shamans do their most important work early in the morning before the mass of humanity awakens and their astral and mental angst starts polluting the atmosphere a little more than the day before.
"I would say he's received serious threats from people who are more likely to carry out violent acts than he is" thats about as good as a reckon on zbshoutback . do you know this person personally blade or is this you putting your "mana" on the line again?
Talking of talkback, I believe Heather Du Plessis-Allen is back this afternoon. Good solid Tory commentary. It almost makes reading your comment bearable.
'His .22 rifle had been taken, along with 500 rounds of ammunition.'
Well that can cover everything from a single shot .22 rimfire that you'd teach your kids to shoot rabbits with to a 223 AR that's really only got one purpose and that's not recreational hunting. (Yes you can use them for hunting but for anything other than shooting masses of goats from a chopper there's much better )
If the guy's sitting on an AR and 500 rounds, really what's his lawful purpose.
'Well that can cover everything from a single shot .22 rimfire that you'd teach your kids to shoot rabbits with to a 223 AR that's really only got one purpose and that's not recreational hunting.'
No thats incorrect, let me explain:
A .22LR rimfire round assuming thats what he has and it most likely is because its the most popular ammunition in the world is very different to a .223 (or 5.56) centrefire round
A picture speaks a thousand words so they say so here is a .22LR rimfire and a .223 centrefire side by side
A semi auto .22 rimfire rifle with a ten round magazine is perfectly legal in NZ to own (I should know because I own one)
Semi-auto centrefire rifles are banned for general use in NZ, you can use AR-15s for professional pest control in NZ but I'd imagine there'd be some stringent hoops to jump through.
So if he has an AR-15 then he really is up s**t creek however I don't think it is an AR-15 type rifle because the media love to report on that type of thing
It's illegal if he loses his rag and kills someone or ones.
And the man who has a gun for his own good reasons, which we infer from what he said, does that? The world would go crazy about the cops doing nothing about to stop him.
The Christchurch Mosque murderer legally had a gun. He wasn't a mass murderer until he was. If the police had some reservations about him having a gun and entered his home and taken it?
There are a lot of nutcases around preaching how terrible things are in the country.
Could the hysteria and lunacy see someone who has a gun they've never used and seem to not really know why they've got it, see themselves as some sort of Pastor Rittenhouse and go out to save the world?
So we should allow the police to go into the house of everyone and confiscate every weapon – even those locked in safes and such? Would that also include knifes, axes, saws, needles, pots n pans and such? Cause all that can be used to hurt / harm others. And when can the Police start with the Gangs? Today maybe? Or is that in the too hard and too dangerous category and thus is not ‘helpful’?
Maybe we need a law that allows us a few blunt items – no steak knives though, just hold the steak in your hands and bite of it that should do the trick – to prepare food etc, maybe a "single use allocation" for a saw and other handy tools, like you fill out a form for the intended use, the duration of the use and when done bring it back to he local Mitre 10/Bunnings legally authorized and police certified Saw/Axe/Grinder/Machete lender, to be registered as returned and entered back into stock?
Surely such a law can be quickly passed under urgency to protect the people of currently law abiding citizens who may or may not be tossers, but who openly don't agree with the government on all things?
Depends what he was saying in public and to other people. Having a weapon and ammo isn't unlawful if you have an firearms license. However there are a pile of responsibilities that go with it.
It isn't a right to 'bear arms' in NZ it is a privilege – one that can and should be withdrawn any time that someone shows even a smidgen of a lack of responsibility about their usage or intentions about usage. Read the firearms act.
As PR pointed out above, he can go to a internal judicial review by the head of police – who ultimately has full responsibility for the misuse of firearms, and then to court to resolve. The police making the decision have to present evidence to explain their actions and so does the person that has had their arms licence revoked or constrained.
Personally I'd far prefer that the police are preemptive about firearms rather than (metaphorically) winding up in a ambulance at yet another massacre.
His instinct was to check if his gun was still in the safe, he said, but it had been ripped from a wall and opened using a key found in a drawer.
His .22 rifle had been taken, along with 500 rounds of ammunition.
Bromley said he was given the gun only a few months ago, but wouldn’t say by whom, and said he had bought the ammunition in the last month because “things are going up in price”.
Explaining why he owns a weapon, Bromley said he is not a hunter but may go possum shooting at some point.
Just that of which sounds to me that he is entirely too casual about the responsibility of owning firearms. Doesn't matter if he is a loudmouth as well.
The police are likely to be aware of even moderate ammo purchases. Sellers log purchases against firearms licences because they are required to only sell ammo to firearms licence holders. Police will be checking those often these days.
I also have to wonder if he had had his storage looked at and approved by a firearms officer. It is required for all firearms licence holders. If he hadn't, then the police would be wondering about it.
One of the first questions for someone who wasn't known to have firearms and a reason to use plus who was buying ammo would be:- if he was reselling ammunition so someone who didn't have a firearms licence. Which is unlawful except in a few specified exceptions.
f the police received any complaint about him with some supporting evidence, then a large purchase of a ammunition from someone who (by the sounds of it) hasn't purchased ammunition previously would be of interest.
Overall this guy doesn't read like someone who I'd want living a few suburbs over, apparently untrained, and without any obvious reason to need to use a weapon.
On the face of it and without looking at any other evidence other than the news report, I'd say that the police have a good prima facie reason to search and remove. Also well within their duties with their responsibilities as our arms officers.
While I haven't held a firearms licence in decades, I did pest control on my parents farm, got trained in the army, and recently spent years building training systems for upgrading the skills of soldiers with their use of weapons.
I don't like people being casual around firearms. I know of entirely too many ways that can end badly.
Marginally economical per round. FFS looking at the most popular .22LR at Gun City Penrose
CCI .22LR Stinger 32gr Copper Plated Hollow Point 1640fps
50 rounds = $21.99
500 rounds = $199.00
Nett bulk saving is $20.90 buying 10×50 vs buying 50 rounds or about 4.2c per round.
I suppose he could have gotten a cheap value pack of about 500 subsonic rounds, which usually retail at something like $70-80. Great if you want to learn how to clean the weapon and what drop looks like.
For someone who'd apparently just gotten a 0.22 given to him. It just seems weird when he didn't seem to know what he'd gotten it for. I'd have thought that the message should have penetrated even the thickest of people that having a firearm is fraught with responsibilities, and there are lot of people (including the police) intent on making sure the irresponsible idiots don't play with them.
The day the 'balance' in NZ tips to a point where frontline police and/or the general public don't feel 'safe/safer' unless they carry/own a gun is not a good day, imho – are we there yet? If the answer to a problem is "more guns" then we have a real problem, because guns make it easier to kill people.
Adult gun enthusiasts (law-abiding or not) puzzle me, just as my enthusiasm for more progressive and less rortable taxation systems puzzles some here.
To me, "a gun enthusiast" is a person filled with enthusiasm for (owing/using/viewing) guns. Some, but not necessarily all gun enthusiasts might become ardently absorbed in their gun interests or hobbies, possibly even to the extent of encouraging others of all ages to share in their interests.
Definition of enthusiast : a person filled with enthusiasm: such as
a : one who is ardently attached to a cause, object, or pursuit
// a sports car enthusiast b : one who tends to become ardently absorbed in an interest
Don't think that there is anything intrinsically wrong with enthusiasm for guns (as long as it's a healthy), although the appeal eludes me.
I would be interested in trying to understand the appeal of private gun ownership, which seems to have moderately strong hold on some. After all, we live in a relatively safe society. One way to change that, imho, would be to increase private gun ownership above the current 7 – 8% (350,000 – 400,l000) level, imho.
But for me personally firearms are fun and the combination of human, rifle and round all working in synch to hit the target just appeals to me
First-person shooter video games may appeal for similar reasons – a combination of human, computer and mouse/controller all working in synch to hit a target. Each to their own – can't imagine a situation in my life that would require firearm skills, although I did enjoy firing rubbish into the bin – missing not so much.
Other activities have greater appeal to me – find your own best path.
The puzzle remains (for me) – why might some people find a real rifle in the hand fun and just better than other pastimes. Is there a nuture (environmental) component, or is it mostly down to nature, i.e. you were always going to be attracted to target shooting as a pastime.
I'm all in favour of diversity, and would be concerned if NZ society was moving in directions that gave more people cause to acquire and/or use gun(s), simply because I believe that more guns in private ownership, and normalising gun use, are undesirable trends. Just a personal opinion, based on the possibly erroneous idea that as the number of guns and gun users in a community increases, so does the (admittedly very remote) chance that I will be shot.
Associations between men’s and women’s conformity to masculine role norms and firearm ownership: Contributions beyond, race, gender, and political ideology. [2021, in Psychology of Men & Masculinities] A negative binomial regression revealed that firearm ownership was best explained by a combination of being White, a man, politically conservative, and reporting more conformity to masculine role norms emphasizing violence, risk taking, and power over women, as well as (for women only) less conformity to playboy norms. These results suggest that owning a firearm may be a behavioral manifestation of a broader traditional gender role identity.
Firearm Instrumentality: Do Guns Make Violent Situations More Lethal? [14 Sept 2020] Studies on the lethality of guns, the likelihood of injury by weapon type, offender intent, and firearm availability provide considerable evidence that guns contribute to fatalities that would otherwise have been nonfatal assaults. The increasing lethality of guns, based on size and technology, and identifiable gaps in existing gun control policies mean that new and innovative policy interventions are required to reduce firearm fatalities and to alleviate the substantial economic and social costs associated with gun violence.
"why might some people find a real rifle in the hand fun and just better than other pastimes."
Is it just firearms or any pastime in general?
For instance substitute firearms for stock car racing and would you feel the same.
'Is there a nuture (environmental) component, or is it mostly down to nature, i.e. you were always going to be attracted to target shooting as a pastime.'
Again just speaking for myself but I had virtually no experiences with firearms growing up.
I enlisted in the army more out of having nothing better to do at the time.
Mind you I do love action movies and will happily ramble on about them at a drop of a hat (especially Predator and Aliens)
I do think the nature is a more likely aspect, for me anyway.
I remember playing branding at school (basically tag with tennis balls) so hand eye coordination plus hitting a target
got bored at work so me and my mate throw stones at a target to see who'd win.
Got bored in East Timor so practised free throws (my best was 8/10 after a couple of days)
I think a lot of people like aiming at things and seeing if they can hit them and firearms are a natural extension of that.
"why might some people find a real rifle in the hand fun and just better than other pastimes."
Is it just firearms or any pastime in general?
For instance substitute firearms for stock car racing and would you feel the same.
Might not be understanding your question. If you're asking would I be puzzled about why some people find stock car racing fun and just better than other pastimes, then yes, I am also be puzzled by that.
But I wouldn't really care if stock car racing became a more common pastime – the increased noise and carbon emissions might give me pause, but racing doesn’t give me real concerns for my safety.
And thanks for that explanation of the personal appeal of 'target-related activities' – makes sense. I remember (as a kid) occasionally chucking stones at inanimate targets, typically as part of a group activity, and enjoying that even though I wasn't crash hot. Guess I sorta grew out of it – found other things that were more enjoyable and that I was better at (there’s probably a correlation).
Still can't help feeling uneasy about the possibility of increased 'casual' gun use in NZ. Imho a loaded gun it something to be feared, not fondled, but (as you rightly observe) we're all different.
Many years ago a took a Cop to the IPCA. I too got calls from a private number that I disregarded.
I got a full apology, written and in person from that cops boss – for harrasment, stalking, and just plain unprofessional behaviour, threats of unwarranted legal actions and arrest at my work place. . Just saying. Maybe Cops should not use private numbers when calling people, unless it is now a crime to not answer every call that comes to your phone?
Ripping a save of a wall should count as 'rampage' considering that they could also have shown up personally, knock on the door, and have a chat. And is it illegal to own 500 rounds? Is there a limit to what one can own?
If not, i can see the Police again send someone to offer excuses, and even pay to replace a safe and fix what ever damage was done.
well if it was just recently, would you then also assume that hte police did not do due diligence and missed him going 'troppo'? And if that is the case, you need to get hold of a terrorism law, and break and enter the dwelling of a law abiding citizen, and then break open a safe – because you could not find the weapon anywhere (telling me his a safety conscious gun owner) and then upon finding the gun declare victory?
Sure, he totally could have gone 'troppo' since. maybe after he complaint to the police about threats he received that were responded to with "We are too busy". You did see that part at the end of the article, yes?
Anyone who is not totally buried in the myth of the current – all is well bullshit from the US coming out of the white house and d-shop – knows that the US is a cinder block waiting to explode. Heck the people in the US know it.
Of course, because we are all mature political observers here on TS, we all understand that the 'great divide' in US politics and society is itself fueled just as relentlessly by these same Liberal news outlets who pretend to somehow float above it, as it is by any right wing press….
99% of modern main stream liberal press have no asserted moral high ground over any rightwing press, and deserve none, they are just as divisive, destructive and in case you haven't noticed spew out the same pro war western imperialist lies and propaganda. It should go without saying that without doubt that these liberal news outlets (like The Guardian) are more effective enemies of any serious progressive Left wing movement than the right wing media could have ever have dreamt of being.
I don’t have the time to read all of the first link, but this paragraph seems to sum up the US situation:
The United States today is, once again, headed for civil war, and, once again, it cannot bear to face it. The political problems are both structural and immediate, the crisis both longstanding and accelerating. The American political system has become so overwhelmed by anger that even the most basic tasks of government are increasingly impossible.
A good broad summation. Anyone who has been around on this planet for a good few decades would surely recognise the wisdom of those words. It's been brewing since the start of the Cold War years when US manufactured paranoia saw many thousands of innocent US citizens – and elsewhere – disenfranchised because they dared question the wisdom of their overly-indulged Cold War mentality.
Sadly, its been downhill ever since but, as has been acknowledged, they can't and won't see it.
Very good response Anne. The situation in the US today is pretty dire politically.I don't know where other commentators above get their ideas from that the Democrats are all happy and think everything is sweet. One only has to look at the current plea by Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer to push for the Voting Rights Bill
The next month in the Senate will shape whether Democrats can pass a voting-rights bill before the 2022 midterm elections.
If Republicans block a Democratic-backed elections plan this month, the Senate will debate potential changes to filibuster rules, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
Many Democrats have made voting rights a priority as states push restrictive elections laws and the U.S. approaches the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
To expand Americans’ access to the ballot box and reduce the influence of big money in politics, and for other purposes.
Frankly despite Manchin being a signatory to the Bill I don't hold out much hope for its passing as he could well be the one who sends it to the the dustbin of political history. The result will be a far more repressive regime for voting rights in red wing states enshrining the continuation of government by the minority.
Just how low can the BBC go?…well how about inviting friend of Jeffrey Epstein and accused sex offender Alan Dershowitz on to comment on the Ghislaine Maxwell Verdict FFS….
Here is one from the archives to cleanse the palette a little…though keep in mind this public humiliation of Dershowitz cost Norman Finkelstein his career…
But he only got one massage and he stayed fully clothed. And he is a constitutional lawyer. And he is a teacher at a fancy million dollar 'elite' university. Don't you think it is funny that the only one who will see the inside of a prison for this mess is a non male. Lol. Public entertainment, here have a drink, some chips, get saturated peasants.
Wow great debate nice to see a younger amy goodman and the impromtu kinda studio setup amy,s gestures for example to turn the sound down an dershowitz,s gesture to get a drink of water love it everythings so damn perfect in studios these days an so damn boring !Thanks for that adrian .On the show trial itself the whole thing makes me sick especially the part that millions of americans applaud the putting of a woman in prison for sixty years as if thats gonna change something !
Well. They're probably breathing slightly easier at NATO H.Q. "Funny" how everyone seemed to forget 1990s Belgium and so didn't look for any 'threads' through time….
In the 1990s there was a huge child sex ring scandal in Belgium. Initially, protests brought the country to a standstill. But over time, the victims speaking up were vilified and everything got swept under the carpet.
One of the children (much later) was the subject of a BBC doc that used to be available on youtube. An enlightening watch.
Ok so the test isn't going as well as expected unless you're from Bangladesh then its going not too bad at all, just imagine if one of the premier all rounders playing today were playing (Shakib Al Hasa, 40 with the bat and 31 with the ball)
However I'm going to predict that the Boss will help salvage a draw.
So why is this happening, because Kane isn't playing?
No, of all the decisions Kane not playing has, imho, the least effect on the game.
I'll start with the biggest and that is the retirement of BJ Watling. BJ is not only NZs greatest wicketkeeper/batter (by a country mile) he would also walk into most of other teams of any era
He averages (I'm rounding) overall 38 with the bat but that jumps to 42 (with a high of 205) at the number 6 position and this is the key.
BJ is top six batter, historically wicketkeeper/batters were number 7 or down but because BJ also fulfils a role as a top order batter that means theres an extra space for a a bowler, a batter who bowls a bit, a bowler who bats a bit, a bits and pieces type bowler etc
Or the ability to play 4 medium-fast to fast-medium bowlers
BJs gone and it looks like Blundell is struggling. I don't want the Blackcaps to go back to throwing players on the scrap heap but Blundell looks like (for now) he's too high at 6 and needs to go down the order to 7 or 8
The other issue we have (and this is harder) is that we have no genuine all rounders. Chris Cairns averaged 43 batting at the number 7 position and averaged 29 with the ball. Dan Vettori averaged 40 with the bat at number 8 and averaged 34 with the ball
At the moment we have bowlers who can bat a bit and batters who can bowl a bit but no balance.
Ravindra is a very good, young player and will no doubt become a NZ great in time but to use him as the spin option is to do him a disservice (I do approve batting him down the order though) as his FC bowling stats are nothing to write home about.
So we need to have a spinner in the team, and show faith in that spinner, can anyone think of a spinner thats doing pretty good at the moment..?
But to fit Patel in and because BJs retired one of the big four bowlers would need to be dropped to make way for Patel, first headache.
Second headache is the batting is looking fragile, Blundell needs to go lower in the order whichs means, unfortunately, Ravindra has to go as theres just no place for him, at the moment, plus hes young. So here is, imho, the strongest all round team NZ can put out for the next test.
1. Latham
2. Young
3. Conway
4. Taylor
5. Nicholls
6. Mitchell
7. Blundell
8. Jamieson
9. Wagner
10. Boult
11. Patel
Tim Southee draws the short straw but we also need to rest and rotate our bowlers. I'm still not happy in that I think Jamieson is batting too high
The other thing NZ has to do is start preparing pitches that offer a little to our spinners
What it might do is make the pitches a bit more even, a bit of something for everyone.
It got me thinking during the T20 world cup what a huge, massive advantage winning the toss was and how unfair it is that luck has such a big determining factor in the game.
mod note. I’ll be pushing this to the ban list soon. We’ve been here many times before Tricledrown, you *have to check the Replies to see if there is a moderation.
Yes Puckish all power to the Bangladeshis. I think they will take this test out, though Ravindra was batting well last night.
I'm not sure about Mitchell. More of a one-day player perhaps. He has 1-142 in his test bowling to date.
Agree about BJ-not only was he a fine keeper and batsman, he also got fought to get runs when conditions were tough. People always remember Brendon's 302, but I watched every ball as BJ and Brendon put on 352 to take NZ from a hopeless position at 94-5 to 446-6. (BJ 124).
If it were rugby the main focus would be on chucking the coach out. Respect for the ability of the other team and how they played wouldn't come into it.
Home conditions, home circumstances and not performing anywhere near max against far lower ranked opposition would have had everyone going berserk.
The coaching staff is very, very good. World test champions, well beaten finalist in the T20, unluckily beaten in the 50 over world cup is something that may not be done again for a very long time.
100% Bearded Git. I agree. We won that game. Referee not knowing the rules + stupid rule change (that has since been changed back) to have a super over.
'Huh! I queried bringing Patel in on you last cricket column…..'
I think that unless there extenuating circumstances you should always have a spinner in the time but the NZ bowling attack has been going very well however I'm also man enough to admit when I'm wrong
I'm wrong and Patel should always be in the team unless there is absolutely no chance of any assistance at all in the pitch
'Interesting analysis that the team are missing BJ……makes sense. Could Latham be wicket keeper?'
I'm old school in that, to me, the wicketkeeper should be good, very good.
If catches win matches then I'd rather have a wicketkeeper that takes his chances and maybe doesn't bat as well than a wicketkeeper that bats well but may put down a couple more chances over the entire test.
Captaining, opening and keeping is a pretty big ask for anyone
'I must sayBangladesh do deserve to win this and I would be pleased for them.'
They haven't won yet
'But for me, win or lose, the Black Caps can do no wrong. Love the boys'
The Lord of the Rings is the best trilogy ever put to screen so he deserves everything hes got, although I understand why some might not like the movies.
The Hobbit should have only been one film, maybe two at the very most but even so when the TV series comes out it'll show exactly how impressive The Lord of the Rings really was
Why there was no 20 year anniversary release is beyond me
and like the dude in Norway, this dude should also NOT go to prison.
He may be a truly abhorrent person, but these are his private ideas, his own believes and rather then send complaints the people in attendance of his speech should have simply boo'ed him down, publicly.
Citing a biased media, Trump cancels his planned press conference on the anniversary of the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters. Promising to air his grievances on the result of the 2020 election at a later public rally on the 15th of Jan.
Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America
In light of the total bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media, I am canceling the January 6th Press Conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, and instead will discuss many of those important topics at my rally on Saturday, January 15th, in Arizona……
Classic Trump: "In light of the total bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media…"
His hordes of doting, manipulable clods will remain in awe of the intellectual giant.
In his signature garbled delivery Trump, in his statement announcing the cancellation of his planned January 6 press conference, says the January 6 Select Committee should not investigate his supporters violent storming of the US Capitol. Instead the Select Committee should be investigating, "the Crime of the Century" The 'Crime of the Century', according to Trump, is his oft repeatedly stated, but provenly false accusation, that the 2020 presidential election was stolen by the Democrats.
Trump CANCELS Jan. 6 Presser at Mar-a-Lago
Caleb Howe 12 mins ago
"…..the fraud of the 2020 Presidential Election, not the primary topic of the Unselect Committee’s investigation? This was, indeed, the Crime of the Century.
I look forward to seeing our Great American patriots in Arizona next weekend for a big rally to Save America!
We will have to wait to see, whether the January 15 rally will be a further incitement by Trump of his supporters to attack US democracy.
I often read of prisoners not getting parole because they won't admit guilt for the crime they've been imprisoned for. I wonder about saying you didn't do it for the simple reason that you didn't do it.
I regularly see people opining about the death penalty and the fact it should be used more. I regularly see of cases in the USA similar to one in the news today.
'US man freed from prison 37 years after witness lied and took police bribe of drugs and sex'
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Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
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Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
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 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Green Hydrogen…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=M9AwGLnDI0Q&feature=youtu.be
or not.
Only got as far as the EROI comparison to get to the first dishonesty. Essentially they assume the wind energy can be directly used at every moment it's being generated which is not always true – to the the H2 case where the energy has been stored and can be used when you need it. In other words they've discounted the value of the energy storage to zero and gotten to a stupid answer.
Second dishonest comparison, they take the high price of a new tech, low volume car and use that to inflate the cost of conversion. In any real world scenario the maturity, volumes and costs of H2 vehicles would be considerably better, just as the first EV's were too expensive but became affordable over time. And more importantly would be part of the usual vehicle fleet replacement price which a quick back of envelope calculation already costs us around $5b pa, not an incremental new cost they present it as.
Third dishonest claim is platinum catalyst availability limit – as if this was not well understood and being actively researched. (Far too many links to be bothered posting here.)
Fourth dishonest claim is hydrogen embrittlement in metals is equally blinkered – there are good alternatives to using metals already in production. Nor was there any attempt at qualifying the issue which is not the deal breaker they're pretending it is.
Fifth dishonesty is to go all in on ‘the world’s largest hydroliser at 10MW’ as if this was some kind of limit. It’s not.
Another dishonesty is to pretend their pathway is the only one possible, while there are many other options being actively explored. Or this process that is at pilot scale now. They’re assuming that the process technology will not and cannot be improved.
Finally their 100MW example is pathetically small compared to the projects underway. All at a GW scale with considerable investment; maybe their engineers know something this pair don't. For example most of this first H2 is not destined to power cars, but other applications like de-carbonising steel and concrete production, or large vehicles where the very low energy density of batteries is a deal breaker. But none of this mentioned.
Summary – hit piece easily pulled apart with a few moments on a search engine. The only upside is I did learn a couple of new things.
The Firstgas plan to convert New Zealand's total gas pipeline to hydrogen has plenty of government and industry support.
Everyone's motivated to tell Genesis where to go for the bulk customers.
That's very interesting. Another rumour I spotted a few weeks back is that FMG are looking at using the Marsden Point infrastructure for some kind of H2 project.
I don't want to oversell H2, it's not a silver bullet, but part of a mix of technologies that we will need to decarbonise. I spent most of last year commissioning at a lithium plant and this year looks like it may be H2 – so I'm not biased. Just diversified
No vested interest there….lol.
It's my observation that people who indulge in little but cynicism – deliver nothing useful.
And its my observation that healthy cynicism is an important function of planning…..and not much happens without that.
Why do they call it "green" hydrogen? This is greenwash. Complete bollocks.
We don't say I'm going to put green solar panels on my roof to help power my green house or to feed the grid to power my green EV that uses green batteries.
The evidence in the video looks pretty compelling to me. Hydrogen makes no sense at all compared to the far cheaper and more efficient (and getting rapidly more efficient) battery storage model.
The real question is how we generate and distribute electricity in the first place to meet future demand; I have posted before on TS about how wind turbines destroy landscape values, meaning they are only a very limited option IMHO. Solar and offshore wind turbines are the best options.
Why do they call it "green" hydrogen? This is greenwash. Complete bollocks.
The colours are shorthand descriptions that have a specific technical meaning:
There is a bit more to it than 'bollocks'
The evidence in the video looks pretty compelling to me.
It was meant to be compelling.
Ah OK I didn't know that. But it alters little as the description you give says:
As the name suggests, its production is sustainable and environmentally friendly. Green hydrogen is most commonly produced using a device called an electrolyser. Electrolysers use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The key to this method of producing green hydrogen is that the electricity that powers the electrolyser comes from renewable sources, such as wind, solar, which have no associated GHG emissions. There are also pathways to produce green hydrogen from waste biomass.
Again I say this is greenwash-the inefficiencies of needing huge amounts of power (compared with the alternatives) to to make and store hydrogen means it is not green at all.
You've found a use for the crazy pedestrian crossing we have in Wellington. We can update each line by writing in the amount of that type of hydrogen that we are using. Perhaps we can update the numbers every 6 months or so.
It won't be graffiti I will simply be a means of keeping the public up to date. I hope there are enough colours.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/127422011/new-paint-job-for-wellingtons-rainbow-crossing
No problem with the green hydrogen – provided you look back up the whole supply chain, especially with GHG producing energy sources.
But blue hydrogen can only be described as being useless.
As someone who was trained in earth sciences, I have enormous scepticism about getting the kinds of long term storage required. Just as I have about highly radioactive waste.
I don't think that it can be done safely at anything apart from exorbitant cost. If at all. After all we are talking about near to geological time scales required for sequestration. You want a reliable way of storing without environmental leakage for centuries at a bare minimum. In environment where climate change alone creates a major risk.
Basically humans simply don't have any technology that could make that safe. They also don't appear to be developing any that would met a cost/benefit analysis over simply not creating greenhouse gases by changing to known and working technologies.
For instance, the most common delusion, stuffing carbon in any form into expired gas or oil fields is just a deferral for a few years or decades. Those formations leak like crazy after they have been penetrated, partially collapsed or fractured under pressure pushing hydrocarbons out. Even to get them into the ground, they'd have to force out the junk that they stuck in the domes to get the last of the hydrocarbons out. And that is before considering the regular earthquakes.
Same problem for almost every other way that I have ever seen to sequester carbon.
The need for hydrogen power is pretty clear. It is as RL said
Concrete and steel (each about ~8% of emissions) de-carbon are a major climate change targets. Steel has already been demonstrated to be relatively easy to convert to virtually no carbon if there was sufficient H2. Cement a lot less so because you can use it reduce heating costs, but it doesn't help at all with CO2 process emissions driven off the clinker.
With high load vehicles like trucks, ships, aircraft, and most construction equipment. Electric power is pretty useless for really heavy loads and is unlikely to get much better. It'd probably require decades to get the required increases in density steps if there is a possible way to do it and to make them safe enough to use widely.
All of those are industrial level equipment and can afford to install the large levels of protection that storing and transporting large quantities of hydrogen entail. That is several orders of magnitude more of distribution and storage problem than with virtually all of the current hydrocarbons in use.
But shifting hydrogen is also something that is already done on an industrial scale. Just not something that I'd consider as being safe enough to put into a personal vehicle with an average young kiwi driver. Doesn't look that problem is going to be fixed in the coming decades as well – most of the approaches looks like it is decades away from widespread engineering.
For cars, light load vans, light load trucks and buses – EV is already viable and starting to be in widespread use.
The problem there is mostly in the power supply chain – mostly that a lot of generation worldwide isn't green. Plus that electricity grids aren't designed to handle stored electrical power or micro-generated electrical power. To me that looks to be more of an issue about investment and software than basic science or engineering. Lots of lithium storage bunkers dotted around like the traditional ammo bunkers are in your future.
Yes – I'm not much of a fan of CO2 capture and underground reservoir storage. I wasn't promoting it, just pointing out what the various 'hydrogen colours' actually meant.
My rant was more about the issues. but I see that I used the 'you' word in there once – sorry. I'm trying to break myself of that habit.
One of the things that I tend to dislike about a lot of discussion and policy about climate change is the dependence on on unproven GHG reduction or mitigation technologies. That may have been a valid policy use in the 1990s. Now more than 20 years later it really only qualifies as wilful obstruction.
And yet when you look at COP-26 that is mostly what is on the table. Including by our government. The farming community has had the last 20 years to figure out how to decrease methane, yet have managed to increase the total volume of emissions of the most dangerous short term GHG gases of methane by ~8% between 1990 and 2018, and nitrous oxide by more.
Right now we need to concentrate on using technologies that are at least working and dropping emissions as fast as possible. Not exactly what we promised in our largest GHG problem over the next 30 years – agricultural policy was all about tech that neither exists nor shows that much promise based on what has been proven not to work at any scale. We should just start doing back taxes on agriculture backdated to the introduction of the ETS.
As is pointed out by juice media, at this point policies incorporating future tech promises are just bullshit. I must start donating to that crew.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=173372838258055
Right now we need to concentrate on using technologies that are at least working and dropping emissions as fast as possible.
I've repeatedly said I've no problem with the Solar/Wind/Battery crowd and I wish them the best. I expect we will push what can be achieved in that mode as far as possible. But equally we don't hear a lot from them around the very real limits of what can be achieved with renewables either. They can definitely play a role now, but they cannot take the whole 8 or 9b of humanity into anything like an acceptable future.
De-carbonising is not going to be a set of 'one off, drop in and done' replacements for our existing modes of production. It will be successive waves of evolution, starting with the SWB mode we're in right now and then over the next decade or so we'll see a host of other technologies that are in the research or development stage now – start to appear in production.
Yes it would be nice if the development of all of this had happened decades ago – but then I have my own views on why that never happened.
But planning on future technologies to bridge the gaps 20-30 years down the line (like the aussie and our government) is just a recipe for increasing the total GHG emissions between now and then. It just increases risk and at present those risks are starting to get into the mode of being in the big upswing of a S curve.
It is a classic investment problem. Putting in a relatively shit technology like lithium battery banks next to variable power sources for fats load balancing isn't optimal.
Even with the rapid battery replacement, it is even better than having to fire up a old coal powered power station or installing a new gas powered station with a 30 year investment life span and a need to find a new field, or trying to rush in a SMR without a viable waste disposal plan.
In GHG terms it probably even beats putting in a new dam because those have a very large build carbon footprint.
Who doesn't. But mostly I think it is just investors wanting to realise returns from current investments, and not wanting to get taxed for the benefit of the future.
Yes – but you do know I'm trying not to say the n-word
Also I'd point out that very few of the current H2 generation projects are 'Green Hydrogen'. Almost all of them apart from a few bleeding edge projects using brand new tech (ie requiring decades of debugging) have a hydrocarbon feed stock.
The relevant information about sequestration of carbon for these projects that I am aware of could be taken apart by anyone who has studied any earth sciences in minutes. Most of them are simply ways to effectively throw the pollutant costs on to later generations because they rely on shonky and engineering and science that has never been even remotely tested.
They really need to do the equivalent of crash test testing on it.
Talking about bleeding edge technologies.
Rather than using electricity to split water into its constituent parts, heat can do it.
Electricity generated by wind towers or photo electric solar cells is not the only way to split water into Hydrogen and Oxygen to release Green Hydrogen.
Concentrated solar arrays can produce extremely high temperatures where water disasocciates, no electicity or electolysers needed.
Install Ivanpah sized solar collectors in the hot Australian interior feed them with water. Voila.
https://scitechdaily.com/engineers-develop-water-splitting-solar-thermal-system-to-produce-hydrogen-fuel/
Oh dear….claiming dishonesty with your own.
Summary…they take actual existing real world data for the basis of their assessment and you continue to assume future capabilities that may never occur.
"Hydrogen’s viability as a fuel source — regardless of industry — depends on rapid development of a variety of transport, delivery and storage technologies that are young but fast-evolving. Commercializing these technologies will not be simple, but they are being addressed. Below is a summary of some work being done."
https://www.compositesworld.com/articles/cfrp-pressure-vessels-for-hydrogen
"Industrial gas giant Linde will build and operate what it claims will be the “world’s largest PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolyser” plant to produce green hydrogen once it is operational at the Leuna chemical complex in Germany.'
https://www.rechargenews.com/transition/linde-to-build-world-s-largest-electrolyser-to-produce-green-hydrogen/2-1-944080
Hope is a wonderful thing….delusion not so much.
I've seen this argument before – it rests on the idea that no technical progress ever happens.
And how long do you wish to wait for these grand technical advances?….never mind the basic EROI of hydrogen production isnt going to change irrespective.
The calculation of EORI used in that video is the wrong calculation when the source of the energy is solar/wind. The correct term to be using is not the energy produced (which is essentially free), but the energy embedded in the solar panel/wind turbine infrastructure. That's a quite different calculation to the simplistic one presented.
It is a different calculation…and one that makes the EROI even worse, they have been generous by only measuring the operational EROI rather than the embedded and operational energy costs.
I went back and checked their claims.
They make the very common mistake of including the operational wind/solar energy in the EORI calculation, when for renewables you don't care about that at all. There is nothing 'generous' about this at all – it's simply irrelevant.
Also it wasn't clear to me how their numbers added up, but that could be my fault.
Mistake?…look at the first calculation…essentially an EROI of 0.25….no calculation for energy source….energy in v energy out.
Its a dog….and we dont have energy to spare
Can you reproduce the basis for this calculation?
Time stamped?…i think not, youve linked to the beginning of the video i linked.
Can i reproduce it?….I imagine so, however i dont need to because the calculation has been reproduced by many and often…it is generally accepted that for every unit of energy from hydrogen produced 4 units of energy are involved in its production…..do you wish to prove otherwise?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_economy
I've given you the video link above, timestamped to the relevant moment in the discussion. I'm interested to see how it's done.
"look at the first calculation…essentially an EROI of 0.25….no calculation for energy source….energy in v energy out."
You wish to prove otherwise?…remembering shes a published, peer reviewed engineer of decades standing.
Time stamped?…I think not ..youve provided nothing more
than a re link to the video I attached.
If you think your calculations can show otherwise then by all means present them.
t=6:57
And a student of (i suspect) of Al Bartlett….you have quite some pedigree to contest….go for it.
Doesn't make any sense does it?
It adds up…its not perhaps the way I'd choose to present it but I havnt had the opportunity to ask why it was presented thus….but i see no fundamental flaw.
Again I refer you to the previous chart…an EROI of essentially 0.25.
Woof
EROI stands for energy returned on energy invested. It's not the flow of energy through the system.
If the energy flow is essentially free and limitless as sunshine is – then you don't care about it, it's not a cost or investment of any kind. But apparently the calculation in the video includes it in the H2 case – although apparently not in the battery case.
But it's your reference – if you cannot defend it then just say so.
Are you suggesting there is no energy cost to storing hydrogen?….or that it dosnt need to be stored for use?….either way it would seem an odd proposition.
I had a machine with a DuPont SPE PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane). Meant to be one of the best on the market. The problem is PEM filters block up depending on water quality. That can lead to plate wear.
Looks like an epic scam to me – preferred route of manufacture is natural gas – not a renewable. No reticulation infrastructure, and pretty significant issues to overcome with safety – all so people can pretend to drive green vehicles instead of stepping away from them.
Butanol is a better system.
There is no 'preferred route' – methane was merely the conventional method of producing H2 for industrial purposes. Then there is the Hazer process that's running at pilot scale and shows another pathway.
Or the Australian National Roadmap. There's plenty to chew on in that.
Meh – the government is funding it because they see possible export $ – there has been no mature consideration of viable green technologies – it's on a par with Brazilian carbon credits – what governments do instead of rising to meet the challenges (and opportunities) of the 21st century.
What 'viable green technologies'? The left rules them out just as soon as they realise they're not compatible with their wild dreams of reverting to a pre-industrial utopia.
This canard again. Tilting at straw men.
What "viable green technologies'? You don't explain what you mean – so I get to fill the vacuum with whatever I like.
Whatever you like always seems to be broadbrush smears of the left as a whole. What you claim the left believes is not remotely accurate, it's just intellectually lazy provocation. Such wild claims about such a diverse group as an entire wing of the political spectrum aren't useful if we want to have any kind of rational political debate here.
There was your opportunity to make the effort to outline what you meant by 'viable green technologies' – instead you throw a little rant.
I've put in a decent effort today to explain what H2 has to offer and why it has a place in the wider decarbonising scheme. In response there's been nothing but ill-informed negativity and repeated claims that 'it can't be done'.
You brought nothing.
I didn’t mean anything by ‘viable green technologies’ because I didn’t make that comment, that was Stuart Munro.
What I am objecting to is your unfounded and un-cited claim about the beliefs of the left as a whole. We all should be discouraged from making such ridiculous claims about our political oppenents, it doesn’t make our arguments any stronger nor does it make us seem rational.
OK so you're objecting to my tone.
No, not tone. You made the claim:
This surely requires a citation or the caveat that this is entirely in your imagination.
This entire thread more or less proves my contention.
Where are the wild dreams of reverting to a pre-industrial utopia in this thread? Or in fact anywhere? Cite it or retract it.
lol – I'll retract it.
Butanol for one – you make it from a cellulose feedstock – ie it soaks up carbon before you burn it – it runs in existing engines and reticulation infrastructure.
But no, it has to be hydrogen. I suppose we're meant to be grateful it's not fusion.
I'm skeptical – biomass schemes don't have a sparkly track record to date, why would this one be different?
They're green enough – they just struggle against subsidized petrochemicals at present.
The cost of inputs however, is very low, and that means in first principles terms, that given sufficient development this technology will be competitive with fossil fuels.
The big missing factor of your preference, hydrogen, is the energy source. Even given all the multifarious issues of hydrogen were resolved, absent a cheap energy surplus, hydrogen fails. Moreover, if there is a way to use cheap surplus energy without the conversion to hydrogen, that use will invariably be much more efficient, and likely much greener too.
Not, it seems.
Or maybe, it now seems – after reading RL's contribution above. From his last link:
I was a bit harsh above. Green H2 is not a magic bean that will solve all our problems, it has to be understood in it's correct context before it makes sense.
Nevertheless I take your point their analysis appears does not appear to recognise all the current research and projects underway.
Read Reds links and you will see his claims are grossly overstated AND based on expectation rather than existence…..we can all create futures where the improbable occurs
A interesting case unfolds. I don't have enough information to make a judgement. But I think police will need to be 100% confident their actions were justified. I would also like to know who made the complaint. Police have been know in recent times to turn up on certain gun owners doors and ask about their political views.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/127426117/police-seize-rifle-500-ammunition-rounds-from-controversial-christchurch-pastor-in-new-years-eve-raid
I guess it is much easier ransacking a priests home rather then going after gang members that real havoc rather then just someone who is outspoken.
I agree. If this pastor is found to be in the wrong and a threat, that's fine – one less nutter in society. If the police are found to be wrong, or acted on flimsy information to curtail someone who spouts unpopular views in public, that's not fine. Should that be the case I would expect the media to be onto this like a rabid dog. But they won't. It may not even get a mention.
Personally i have no use for guns generally, but as per the article, he gun was locked away in a safe and that safe was ripped of the wall and then opened with a key that was found elsewhere. Ah, good old terrorism laws that can be used so easily against non criminal law abiding contrarians.
The story reminds me of Rachel Stewart and her merry go round with the Police in regards to her weapons that came courtesy of activists that use the Police to bully 'contrarians' all legally and government sanctioned.
They ripped it off the wall instead of using a key?!?!
To me thats…I'm not sure what you call it but hopefully he takes the police to court for damages or something
Well per the article they managed to rip it of the wall, but then found a key and opened it. go figure.
The guy seems to bit of a tosser- but as far as i know we are still allowed to hold believes other then the official puree served by highly paid PR figures. This whole article describes something that I would consider as government sanctioned harassment and intimidation. And if government thinks that the police overstep its boundaries it can check its lazy law making and maybe tighten some screws so that overzealous cops will know when to stop.
So I'm guessing he wasn't there at the time because if the police want to see whats in my cabinet I'll just open it up for them
That is exactly the point. They should have waited for him to show up, demand entry, ask about the weapons, ask a few general questions to see if he is any danger and in the end simply confiscate said weapon and ammunition on the laws provided.
He was and still is a law abiding citizen.
If this article is correct, that was incredibly stupid on the parts of the police.
Agreed
He had only recently bought the gun and 500 rounds of ammunition.
He has been showing more extreme views recently obvious to someone within the church or maybe his wife was worried.
[RL: You are still in pre-mod until you acknowledge the requirement to gives cites or references when needed. Please acknowledge this. If not the usual practice is to turn the pre-mod into a ban.]
Mod note
Perfectly all right to be anti society and illegally armed, don’t dare be anti government and legally armed with one hunting rifle.
Interesting indeed.
Appeal rights – if the police have confiscated your gun after deciding you are not a fit and proper person to possess a firearm and ammunition under the Arms Act 1983 (& revoking or suspending your firearms licence, which they haven't done yet) – are:
https://www.police.govt.nz/advice-services/firearms-and-safety/new-firearms-laws-and-what-they-mean/24-december-2020/graduated-response
If they do cancel his firearms licence, I shouldn't imagine he'd have much joy appealing to Police Commissioner Andy Coster. He'd probably have to take it to the District Court.
But the article says police raided his place after they had received information “relating to concerns around an individual’s wellbeing and the likelihood the man was armed” – which suggests to me that they consider he might be mentally unstable.
(I personally find it hard to believe he intends to "go possum shooting at some point". More likely he wants the gun for protection.)
Hope Stuff follows up on this story. It's piqued my interest.
And then Rachel Stewart took the police to court and got her weapons back and yes, she is legally totally fit to own her weapons.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2021/08/12/rachel-stewart-gets-her-guns-back/
Just because some calls the police to your house claiming you are mentally unstable and should not own any kitchen knifes, or guns, or other sharp objects does not mean that you are mentally unstable. You might just be a contrarian that does not sing to he official tune, and someone might be quite happy to use the Police to harras and intimidate other wise law abiding citizens, such as Rachel Stewart and this Priest.
I would again not be surprised if this is exactly the same. Some disgruntled activist using the Police as their personal private little enforces. Btw, how is the Police doing on Gang Crime, on anti social and dangerous social housing tenants, on drink driving, etc?
You're onto it.
Going up against a group of individuals that fight, that are physically aggressive, have numbers, have public relations people, are lawyered up, have political allies
or
people like Rachel Stewart
Can you whiners prove the police dont go after gangs.?
Its a fucking ridiculous argument, saying a fringe nutter should keep his guns ,because Gangs!!!
No, its saying the police can do both, at the same time.
best post here bwaghorn. too many on here add one and one and get eleven. outrage is their default setting!
''I personally find it hard to believe he intends to "go possum shooting at some point". More likely he wants the gun for protection.''
Yes, I would say he's received serious threats from people who are more likely to carry out violent acts than he is. The gun is probably for self protection.
As the self defence saying goes: ''It's better to be judged by 12, than carried by 6''
Self defence laws need overhauling, especially for Indian dairy owners who have been threatened in the past with possible prosecution for defending themselves.
And you say he is a Pastor?
No, I didn't say he was a pastor. Nor was he a Catholic priest ( for balance).
The biblical verses you mention were teachings that Jesus taught to stop the innocent making karmic links with people who were doing them wrong. However, I think his teachings would have had exceptions that haven't been historically recorded for a variety of reasons.
You are welcome to turn the other cheek to someone wanting to harm you or a loved one. I'm not.
And yet here
January 2022 at 7:48 am
your link says:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/127426117/police-seize-rifle-500-ammunition-rounds-from-controversial-christchurch-pastor-in-n
Exactly. Including not protecting themselves from physical violence. Just as he behaved when arrested, striped naked, flogged, and crucified.
I was quoting what the article called him. I don't know if he's a pastor or a mechanic.
''Exactly. Including not protecting themselves from physical violence. Just as he behaved when arrested, striped naked, flogged, and crucified.''
You forgot to quote my rider.
''However, I think his teachings would have had exceptions that haven't been historically recorded for a variety of reasons.''
Now, if you are comparing the supposed pastor to the actions of Jesus, I can't argue against someone's interpretations and perceptions.
As I understand it – at the time & place when Jesus lived, striking backhand a person of a lower class was a means of asserting authority and dominance. If the struck inferior "turned the other cheek," this is therefore seen by some Christians as a challenge. By turning the other cheek, the person struck was showing courage and demanding equality, not being a doormat.
Yes that is one interpretation the concept of non-violent resistance to oppression. So it was a fairly radical idea then, and even now. The subsequent verse of giving your shirt and your coat as well carries the same message. While you may blush in your subsequent nakedness, you also bring shame onto the one who forces you into this situation. The sermon on the Mount (or on the Plain) – depending on whether its Matthew or Luke – contains some pretty radical stuff for its time.
"The biblical verses you mention were teachings that Jesus taught to stop the innocent making karmic links with people who were doing them wrong. "
By saying you are not willing to turn the other cheek, are you consenting to "making karmic links" with someone who might be doing you wrong?
Just interested to know.
Yes. However, we are talking degrees of wrongs. And what has, and hasn't, been left out of the bible ( in my opinion).
As a general principle, and in cases of minor harms, it seems a good policy to "absorb" the harm and bury it, karmically; revenge, equalising and the escalation that usually follows, is something to be avoided wherever possible, imo.
Agreed. There are methods whereby you absorb the wrong (energy) into your body and transmute it into neutral energy for your advantage.
Taoists and Western Alchemy use such methods. No karma is produced; and the offender is giving you a free boost of energy at his expense, plus still having to carry the karmic load for his wrongs. That's true justice.
These methods use imagination for their effectiveness?
Yes and no. Hard to explain. First you must see/feel everything as energy. Remember what Tesla is reputed to have said:
''If you want to find the secrets of the Universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.’''
That's very hard to do because we live in a material world…and toast is toast. Even though it's not.
The next thing is to have the right mindset (very very important). The last thing is to experience the results for yourself. The only part imagination plays is to kick start the process because energy follows thought. Eg,think of crime…do the crime.
"
At the end of his talk, someone from the audience asked His Holiness Dalai Lama, “Why didn’t you fight back against the Chinese?” His Holiness looked down, swung his feet just a bit, then looked back up at us and said with a gentle smile,
“Well, war is obsolete, you know”. Then, after a few moments, his face grave, he said, “Of course the mind can rationalize fighting back…but the heart, the heart would never understand for it. Then you would be divided in yourself, the heart and the mind, and the war would be inside you.”
— Dalai Lama
SETH: "There are deeply hidden areas of human behavior far below the surface of actions, and these cause the actions. They are psychic exchanges. Before the beginning of any war, subconsciously each individual knows not only that a war will occur, but its precise outcome. Battles like other physical acts exist first in the mental realm. When this realm is peaceful there are no wars. All of your physical activities, from the political to the economic and to the most insignificant individual concerns have their origin in mental existence, and their outcome is known.
To create a harmonious inner existence is a positive act with far-reaching effects, and not an act of isolation. To desire peace strongly is to help achieve it. To accept war helps prolong its physical existence. These are not idle words nor are they meant symbolically."
—TES8 Session 337 April 26, 1967"
Seth( I'm assuming the spirit entity that was channelled), has put it succinctly. And so has the Dali Lama. They are right. It's not for nothing South American shamans do their most important work early in the morning before the mass of humanity awakens and their astral and mental angst starts polluting the atmosphere a little more than the day before.
The mass of humanity…is asleep when it's morning in South America?
Curious!
this is always a good one to listen too.
TRY JESUS
Tobe Nwigwe
Try Jesus
Not me
'Cause I throw hands
Try Jesus
Please don't try me
Because I fight
I know what He said about getting slapped
But if you touch me or mine
We gon' have to scrap
So
Try Jesus
Please don't try me
Because I fight
I have no problem layin' these hands
Try Jesus
Don't try me
'Cause I throw hands
Try Jesus
Please don't try me
Because I fight
Oh, He said, "Turn the other cheek"
Oh, but that's one part of the Bible, that don't just sit right with me
So try Jesus
Please don't try me
'Cause I fight
I have no problem layin' these hands
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFU0PTsykeU
"I would say he's received serious threats from people who are more likely to carry out violent acts than he is" thats about as good as a reckon on zbshoutback . do you know this person personally blade or is this you putting your "mana" on the line again?
Talking of talkback, I believe Heather Du Plessis-Allen is back this afternoon. Good solid Tory commentary. It almost makes reading your comment bearable.
They'd tried to contact him, and couldn't, what's the odds a angry anti vaxxer would claim hes been ransacked?
500 rounds!! That's alot of ammo.
Best to err on the side of caution imho.
If he proves to not be a dangerous nutter I'm sure hell get his license back,
Its not really that large an amount for a .22
'His .22 rifle had been taken, along with 500 rounds of ammunition.'
https://www.guncity.com/ammunition?facets=0~00003%7CRimfire%7CAmmunition&sort=price1%20desc
Its only $70 or so and cheaper than buying smaller amounts
(No I really don't think hes going out shooting possums either)
'His .22 rifle had been taken, along with 500 rounds of ammunition.'
Well that can cover everything from a single shot .22 rimfire that you'd teach your kids to shoot rabbits with to a 223 AR that's really only got one purpose and that's not recreational hunting. (Yes you can use them for hunting but for anything other than shooting masses of goats from a chopper there's much better )
If the guy's sitting on an AR and 500 rounds, really what's his lawful purpose.
'Well that can cover everything from a single shot .22 rimfire that you'd teach your kids to shoot rabbits with to a 223 AR that's really only got one purpose and that's not recreational hunting.'
No thats incorrect, let me explain:
A .22LR rimfire round assuming thats what he has and it most likely is because its the most popular ammunition in the world is very different to a .223 (or 5.56) centrefire round
A picture speaks a thousand words so they say so here is a .22LR rimfire and a .223 centrefire side by side
https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-5933707761e7ee65c9a26d8e59001429-lq
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-zealand-bans-military-style-semi-automatics-and-assault-rifles
A semi auto .22 rimfire rifle with a ten round magazine is perfectly legal in NZ to own (I should know because I own one)
Semi-auto centrefire rifles are banned for general use in NZ, you can use AR-15s for professional pest control in NZ but I'd imagine there'd be some stringent hoops to jump through.
So if he has an AR-15 then he really is up s**t creek however I don't think it is an AR-15 type rifle because the media love to report on that type of thing
PR That's what I was to advise,bloody hand wringers.
is it illegal to do so?
Of course it's not illegal.
It's illegal if he loses his rag and kills someone or ones.
And the man who has a gun for his own good reasons, which we infer from what he said, does that? The world would go crazy about the cops doing nothing about to stop him.
The Christchurch Mosque murderer legally had a gun. He wasn't a mass murderer until he was. If the police had some reservations about him having a gun and entered his home and taken it?
There are a lot of nutcases around preaching how terrible things are in the country.
Could the hysteria and lunacy see someone who has a gun they've never used and seem to not really know why they've got it, see themselves as some sort of Pastor Rittenhouse and go out to save the world?
Of course.
Its illegal to own a centrefire, semi auto rifle assuming thats what Graeme means by AR
So we should allow the police to go into the house of everyone and confiscate every weapon – even those locked in safes and such? Would that also include knifes, axes, saws, needles, pots n pans and such? Cause all that can be used to hurt / harm others. And when can the Police start with the Gangs? Today maybe? Or is that in the too hard and too dangerous category and thus is not ‘helpful’?
Maybe we need a law that allows us a few blunt items – no steak knives though, just hold the steak in your hands and bite of it that should do the trick – to prepare food etc, maybe a "single use allocation" for a saw and other handy tools, like you fill out a form for the intended use, the duration of the use and when done bring it back to he local Mitre 10/Bunnings legally authorized and police certified Saw/Axe/Grinder/Machete lender, to be registered as returned and entered back into stock?
Surely such a law can be quickly passed under urgency to protect the people of currently law abiding citizens who may or may not be tossers, but who openly don't agree with the government on all things?
Depends what he was saying in public and to other people. Having a weapon and ammo isn't unlawful if you have an firearms license. However there are a pile of responsibilities that go with it.
It isn't a right to 'bear arms' in NZ it is a privilege – one that can and should be withdrawn any time that someone shows even a smidgen of a lack of responsibility about their usage or intentions about usage. Read the firearms act.
As PR pointed out above, he can go to a internal judicial review by the head of police – who ultimately has full responsibility for the misuse of firearms, and then to court to resolve. The police making the decision have to present evidence to explain their actions and so does the person that has had their arms licence revoked or constrained.
Personally I'd far prefer that the police are preemptive about firearms rather than (metaphorically) winding up in a ambulance at yet another massacre.
Just that of which sounds to me that he is entirely too casual about the responsibility of owning firearms. Doesn't matter if he is a loudmouth as well.
The police are likely to be aware of even moderate ammo purchases. Sellers log purchases against firearms licences because they are required to only sell ammo to firearms licence holders. Police will be checking those often these days.
I also have to wonder if he had had his storage looked at and approved by a firearms officer. It is required for all firearms licence holders. If he hadn't, then the police would be wondering about it.
One of the first questions for someone who wasn't known to have firearms and a reason to use plus who was buying ammo would be:- if he was reselling ammunition so someone who didn't have a firearms licence. Which is unlawful except in a few specified exceptions.
f the police received any complaint about him with some supporting evidence, then a large purchase of a ammunition from someone who (by the sounds of it) hasn't purchased ammunition previously would be of interest.
Overall this guy doesn't read like someone who I'd want living a few suburbs over, apparently untrained, and without any obvious reason to need to use a weapon.
On the face of it and without looking at any other evidence other than the news report, I'd say that the police have a good prima facie reason to search and remove. Also well within their duties with their responsibilities as our arms officers.
While I haven't held a firearms licence in decades, I did pest control on my parents farm, got trained in the army, and recently spent years building training systems for upgrading the skills of soldiers with their use of weapons.
I don't like people being casual around firearms. I know of entirely too many ways that can end badly.
Iprent just to be clear,500 rounds otherwise known "as A Brick" is the most econonical way to purchase .22 ammo of this type.
Marginally economical per round. FFS looking at the most popular .22LR at Gun City Penrose
CCI .22LR Stinger 32gr Copper Plated Hollow Point 1640fps
50 rounds = $21.99
500 rounds = $199.00
Nett bulk saving is $20.90 buying 10×50 vs buying 50 rounds or about 4.2c per round.
I suppose he could have gotten a cheap value pack of about 500 subsonic rounds, which usually retail at something like $70-80. Great if you want to learn how to clean the weapon and what drop looks like.
For someone who'd apparently just gotten a 0.22 given to him. It just seems weird when he didn't seem to know what he'd gotten it for. I'd have thought that the message should have penetrated even the thickest of people that having a firearm is fraught with responsibilities, and there are lot of people (including the police) intent on making sure the irresponsible idiots don't play with them.
The day the 'balance' in NZ tips to a point where frontline police and/or the general public don't feel 'safe/safer' unless they carry/own a gun is not a good day, imho – are we there yet? If the answer to a problem is "more guns" then we have a real problem, because guns make it easier to kill people.
Adult gun enthusiasts (law-abiding or not) puzzle me, just as my enthusiasm for more progressive and less rortable taxation systems puzzles some here.
'Adult gun enthusiasts (law-abiding or not) puzzle me'
What, to you, constitutes a gun enthusiast?
To me, "a gun enthusiast" is a person filled with enthusiasm for (owing/using/viewing) guns. Some, but not necessarily all gun enthusiasts might become ardently absorbed in their gun interests or hobbies, possibly even to the extent of encouraging others of all ages to share in their interests.
Don't think that there is anything intrinsically wrong with enthusiasm for guns (as long as it's a healthy), although the appeal eludes me.
I would be interested in trying to understand the appeal of private gun ownership, which seems to have moderately strong hold on some. After all, we live in a relatively safe society. One way to change that, imho, would be to increase private gun ownership above the current 7 – 8% (350,000 – 400,l000) level, imho.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_my_cold,_dead_hands
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_law_in_New_Zealand
While I can appreciate the time and effort (and money) that goes into restoring old cars its not that something that appeals to me
But for me personally firearms are fun and the combination of human, rifle and round all working in synch to hit the target just appeals to me
Target shooting is great fun and can be as cheap (air rifle) or expensive (.50 cal) as you like
I don't own a shotgun (yet) but clay bird shooting is something I do every now and then and seeing the disc shatter is a good feeling.
I like using my .22 down at the range (must rejoin the range), getting it set up and popping off at 50 meters and cheaper than using my 7mm08 rifle
To me its similar to archery, darts, shooting hoops or throwing a stone at a tree
You aim, you shoot, you hit where you aim = fun and entertainment
First-person shooter video games may appeal for similar reasons – a combination of human, computer and mouse/controller all working in synch to hit a target. Each to their own – can't imagine a situation in my life that would require firearm skills, although I did enjoy firing rubbish into the bin – missing not so much.
Other activities have greater appeal to me – find your own best path.
'can't imagine a situation in my life that would require firearm skills'
Sometimes its just fun, doing something because you like it and not because its a skill or anything. Something frivolous.
I also enjoy video games but the only first person shooter I liked was the original Halo game because the story was just so compelling
I'm more of a of Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Saints Row type of guy.
I think because a real rifle in the hand is just better than sprites on a screen
The puzzle remains (for me) – why might some people find a real rifle in the hand fun and just better than other pastimes. Is there a nuture (environmental) component, or is it mostly down to nature, i.e. you were always going to be attracted to target shooting as a pastime.
I'm all in favour of diversity, and would be concerned if NZ society was moving in directions that gave more people cause to acquire and/or use gun(s), simply because I believe that more guns in private ownership, and normalising gun use, are undesirable trends. Just a personal opinion, based on the possibly erroneous idea that as the number of guns and gun users in a community increases, so does the (admittedly very remote) chance that I will be shot.
"why might some people find a real rifle in the hand fun and just better than other pastimes."
Is it just firearms or any pastime in general?
For instance substitute firearms for stock car racing and would you feel the same.
'Is there a nuture (environmental) component, or is it mostly down to nature, i.e. you were always going to be attracted to target shooting as a pastime.'
Again just speaking for myself but I had virtually no experiences with firearms growing up.
I enlisted in the army more out of having nothing better to do at the time.
Mind you I do love action movies and will happily ramble on about them at a drop of a hat (especially Predator and Aliens)
I do think the nature is a more likely aspect, for me anyway.
I remember playing branding at school (basically tag with tennis balls) so hand eye coordination plus hitting a target
got bored at work so me and my mate throw stones at a target to see who'd win.
Got bored in East Timor so practised free throws (my best was 8/10 after a couple of days)
I think a lot of people like aiming at things and seeing if they can hit them and firearms are a natural extension of that.
But thats just me
Might not be understanding your question. If you're asking would I be puzzled about why some people find stock car racing fun and just better than other pastimes, then yes, I am also be puzzled by that.
But I wouldn't really care if stock car racing became a more common pastime – the increased noise and carbon emissions might give me pause, but racing doesn’t give me real concerns for my safety.
And thanks for that explanation of the personal appeal of 'target-related activities' – makes sense. I remember (as a kid) occasionally chucking stones at inanimate targets, typically as part of a group activity, and enjoying that even though I wasn't crash hot. Guess I sorta grew out of it – found other things that were more enjoyable and that I was better at (there’s probably a correlation).
Still can't help feeling uneasy about the possibility of increased 'casual' gun use in NZ. Imho a loaded gun it something to be feared, not fondled, but (as you rightly observe) we're all different.
There's something approximately like a death a day on our roads
You're more likely to be killed while driving
Drunk drivers, inattentive drivers, speeding drivers, untrained and unlicensed drivers
All more likely to kill you than some random person with a firearm
Unlikely – I don't drive, nor do I belong to a minority faith community.
Many years ago a took a Cop to the IPCA. I too got calls from a private number that I disregarded.
I got a full apology, written and in person from that cops boss – for harrasment, stalking, and just plain unprofessional behaviour, threats of unwarranted legal actions and arrest at my work place. . Just saying. Maybe Cops should not use private numbers when calling people, unless it is now a crime to not answer every call that comes to your phone?
Ripping a save of a wall should count as 'rampage' considering that they could also have shown up personally, knock on the door, and have a chat. And is it illegal to own 500 rounds? Is there a limit to what one can own?
If not, i can see the Police again send someone to offer excuses, and even pay to replace a safe and fix what ever damage was done.
Part of the responsibility of being a legal gun owner is being visited by the police.
You would think that happens before you get the lisence.
Because it's not possible that hes gone troppo since he got his license?
well if it was just recently, would you then also assume that hte police did not do due diligence and missed him going 'troppo'? And if that is the case, you need to get hold of a terrorism law, and break and enter the dwelling of a law abiding citizen, and then break open a safe – because you could not find the weapon anywhere (telling me his a safety conscious gun owner) and then upon finding the gun declare victory?
Sure, he totally could have gone 'troppo' since. maybe after he complaint to the police about threats he received that were responded to with "We are too busy". You did see that part at the end of the article, yes?
Popcorn, my internet friend, pass the popcorn.
Nicely said Sabine. All your comments on this thread.
The Rachel Stewart comparison is just to striking to be ignored.
I've got a licence and I was visited by the police but you know what they didn't do?
Break into my house, wreck my cabinet and cause damage to my walls
Well said Puckish, all your above comments.
Frankly this whole issue could have been handled much better.
Not sure what to make of this. Alarmist or a true warning. Taken in conjunction with this Canadian professors opinion, interesting times ahead.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/04/next-us-civil-war-already-here-we-refuse-to-see-it?utm_term=61d4633af17fa0686a776f23c643c31a&utm_campaign=USMorningBriefing&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=usbriefing_email
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/03/us-rightwing-dictatorship-2030-trump-canada
Anyone who is not totally buried in the myth of the current – all is well bullshit from the US coming out of the white house and d-shop – knows that the US is a cinder block waiting to explode. Heck the people in the US know it.
Of course, because we are all mature political observers here on TS, we all understand that the 'great divide' in US politics and society is itself fueled just as relentlessly by these same Liberal news outlets who pretend to somehow float above it, as it is by any right wing press….
99% of modern main stream liberal press have no asserted moral high ground over any rightwing press, and deserve none, they are just as divisive, destructive and in case you haven't noticed spew out the same pro war western imperialist lies and propaganda. It should go without saying that without doubt that these liberal news outlets (like The Guardian) are more effective enemies of any serious progressive Left wing movement than the right wing media could have ever have dreamt of being.
I don’t have the time to read all of the first link, but this paragraph seems to sum up the US situation:
A good broad summation. Anyone who has been around on this planet for a good few decades would surely recognise the wisdom of those words. It's been brewing since the start of the Cold War years when US manufactured paranoia saw many thousands of innocent US citizens – and elsewhere – disenfranchised because they dared question the wisdom of their overly-indulged Cold War mentality.
Sadly, its been downhill ever since but, as has been acknowledged, they can't and won't see it.
Very good response Anne. The situation in the US today is pretty dire politically.I don't know where other commentators above get their ideas from that the Democrats are all happy and think everything is sweet. One only has to look at the current plea by Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer to push for the Voting Rights Bill
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/03/voting-rights-bill-senate-to-consider-filibuster-rule-changes.html
key points of which are:
The Freedom to Vote Act can be read in full here:
https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/s2747/BILLS-117s2747pcs.pdf
It's intended purpose:
Frankly despite Manchin being a signatory to the Bill I don't hold out much hope for its passing as he could well be the one who sends it to the the dustbin of political history. The result will be a far more repressive regime for voting rights in red wing states enshrining the continuation of government by the minority.
Just how low can the BBC go?…well how about inviting friend of Jeffrey Epstein and accused sex offender Alan Dershowitz on to comment on the Ghislaine Maxwell Verdict FFS….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aNbaRB13rw
Here is one from the archives to cleanse the palette a little…though keep in mind this public humiliation of Dershowitz cost Norman Finkelstein his career…
Norman Finkelstein VS Alan Dershowitz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzqTWpPI5Qw
American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein
https://watchdocumentaries.com/american-radical-the-trials-of-norman-finkelstein/
But he only got one massage and he stayed fully clothed. And he is a constitutional lawyer. And he is a teacher at a fancy million dollar 'elite' university. Don't you think it is funny that the only one who will see the inside of a prison for this mess is a non male. Lol. Public entertainment, here have a drink, some chips, get saturated peasants.
Epstein was in prison when he killed himself wasn't he?
Hard to see how Sabine missed that…
Did he jump or was he pushed
Will we ever care?
yeah, funny that ey? Solitary confinement and sleeping guards. Pass the chips bro!
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein were clearly one of those couples that like to finish each others sentences.
Ha!
Wow great debate nice to see a younger amy goodman and the impromtu kinda studio setup amy,s gestures for example to turn the sound down an dershowitz,s gesture to get a drink of water love it everythings so damn perfect in studios these days an so damn boring !Thanks for that adrian .On the show trial itself the whole thing makes me sick especially the part that millions of americans applaud the putting of a woman in prison for sixty years as if thats gonna change something !
as if thats gonna change something !
Well. They're probably breathing slightly easier at NATO H.Q. "Funny" how everyone seemed to forget 1990s Belgium and so didn't look for any 'threads' through time….
No idea what your alluding to there bill but if you feel like elaborating ?
In the 1990s there was a huge child sex ring scandal in Belgium. Initially, protests brought the country to a standstill. But over time, the victims speaking up were vilified and everything got swept under the carpet.
One of the children (much later) was the subject of a BBC doc that used to be available on youtube. An enlightening watch.
Many orgs. located in Belgium, including NATO.
https://i.imgur.com/eFdTNys.gif
Cricket, cricket, cricket!
Ok so the test isn't going as well as expected unless you're from Bangladesh then its going not too bad at all, just imagine if one of the premier all rounders playing today were playing (Shakib Al Hasa, 40 with the bat and 31 with the ball)
However I'm going to predict that the Boss will help salvage a draw.
So why is this happening, because Kane isn't playing?
No, of all the decisions Kane not playing has, imho, the least effect on the game.
I'll start with the biggest and that is the retirement of BJ Watling. BJ is not only NZs greatest wicketkeeper/batter (by a country mile) he would also walk into most of other teams of any era
He averages (I'm rounding) overall 38 with the bat but that jumps to 42 (with a high of 205) at the number 6 position and this is the key.
BJ is top six batter, historically wicketkeeper/batters were number 7 or down but because BJ also fulfils a role as a top order batter that means theres an extra space for a a bowler, a batter who bowls a bit, a bowler who bats a bit, a bits and pieces type bowler etc
Or the ability to play 4 medium-fast to fast-medium bowlers
BJs gone and it looks like Blundell is struggling. I don't want the Blackcaps to go back to throwing players on the scrap heap but Blundell looks like (for now) he's too high at 6 and needs to go down the order to 7 or 8
The other issue we have (and this is harder) is that we have no genuine all rounders. Chris Cairns averaged 43 batting at the number 7 position and averaged 29 with the ball. Dan Vettori averaged 40 with the bat at number 8 and averaged 34 with the ball
At the moment we have bowlers who can bat a bit and batters who can bowl a bit but no balance.
Ravindra is a very good, young player and will no doubt become a NZ great in time but to use him as the spin option is to do him a disservice (I do approve batting him down the order though) as his FC bowling stats are nothing to write home about.
So we need to have a spinner in the team, and show faith in that spinner, can anyone think of a spinner thats doing pretty good at the moment..?
But to fit Patel in and because BJs retired one of the big four bowlers would need to be dropped to make way for Patel, first headache.
Second headache is the batting is looking fragile, Blundell needs to go lower in the order whichs means, unfortunately, Ravindra has to go as theres just no place for him, at the moment, plus hes young. So here is, imho, the strongest all round team NZ can put out for the next test.
1. Latham
2. Young
3. Conway
4. Taylor
5. Nicholls
6. Mitchell
7. Blundell
8. Jamieson
9. Wagner
10. Boult
11. Patel
Tim Southee draws the short straw but we also need to rest and rotate our bowlers. I'm still not happy in that I think Jamieson is batting too high
The other thing NZ has to do is start preparing pitches that offer a little to our spinners
Do they go to morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea? Do they wear well knitted white jumpers? Do people still inspect the pitch?
I wouldn't be wearing a jumper today, its a bit warm but its good to follow traditions…some of them
Things aren't looking good, and we could well get cleaned out quickly and give Bangladesh a token run chase.
But, if we could get 150 ahead, things could get interesting:
Firstly, their opening batsman, Joy, has his arm in a sling with split webbing on his hand, so they are effectively one batsman down already.
Having to re-gig the opening role could make them vulnerable to a collapse.
And, the pitch is getting a lot more variable, so could be difficult for them to bat last.
Test cricket is always number 1 although I would like to see a removal of the toss. The visiting team chooses to bat or field.
That's an interesting idea PR. Visiting team, who are at a disadvantage for all sorts of reasons get to decide whether they bat or bowl first.
Well done Bangladesh! They deserved the win…..
Good bowling at the end from the BCs. Well be back!
What it might do is make the pitches a bit more even, a bit of something for everyone.
It got me thinking during the T20 world cup what a huge, massive advantage winning the toss was and how unfair it is that luck has such a big determining factor in the game.
Yes we will, payback begins in Christchurch!
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[Tricledrown, you’re in premod until you respond to moderation. I’m letting this one through to tell you, but I’ve deleted your content. Please go here and respond https://thestandard.org.nz/bad-covid-takes/#comment-1845599 – weka]
mod note. I’ll be pushing this to the ban list soon. We’ve been here many times before Tricledrown, you *have to check the Replies to see if there is a moderation.
Yes Puckish all power to the Bangladeshis. I think they will take this test out, though Ravindra was batting well last night.
I'm not sure about Mitchell. More of a one-day player perhaps. He has 1-142 in his test bowling to date.
Agree about BJ-not only was he a fine keeper and batsman, he also got fought to get runs when conditions were tough. People always remember Brendon's 302, but I watched every ball as BJ and Brendon put on 352 to take NZ from a hopeless position at 94-5 to 446-6. (BJ 124).
I'm looking at Mitchell as a containing bowler, build the pressure at one end with maidens and let the other bowlers attack and take the wickets.
However in 7 test innings hes got one 100 and two 50s plus hes 30 so been around a bit
Yeah BJ should always been in the frame for best wicketkeeper/batters of all time.
If it were rugby the main focus would be on chucking the coach out. Respect for the ability of the other team and how they played wouldn't come into it.
Home conditions, home circumstances and not performing anywhere near max against far lower ranked opposition would have had everyone going berserk.
The coaching staff is very, very good. World test champions, well beaten finalist in the T20, unluckily beaten in the 50 over world cup is something that may not be done again for a very long time.
But it doesn't mean they're infallible.
I still don't accept NZ was not beaten in the ODI World Cup final.
I'm not going to disagree with you on this one
Have you worked out what that double negative is saying? It means you do think we were whipped doesn't it?
One could almost say – NZ beat NZ in the ODI final.
100% Bearded Git. I agree. We won that game. Referee not knowing the rules + stupid rule change (that has since been changed back) to have a super over.
NZ had bowled England out. Game over
"World test champions"
Yeah, but that was last year. What have you done for us recently?
"If it were rugby the main focus would be on chucking the coach out."
Except that they didn't – he is still there.
'Huh! I queried bringing Patel in on you last cricket column…..'
I think that unless there extenuating circumstances you should always have a spinner in the time but the NZ bowling attack has been going very well however I'm also man enough to admit when I'm wrong
I'm wrong and Patel should always be in the team unless there is absolutely no chance of any assistance at all in the pitch
'Interesting analysis that the team are missing BJ……makes sense. Could Latham be wicket keeper?'
I'm old school in that, to me, the wicketkeeper should be good, very good.
If catches win matches then I'd rather have a wicketkeeper that takes his chances and maybe doesn't bat as well than a wicketkeeper that bats well but may put down a couple more chances over the entire test.
Captaining, opening and keeping is a pretty big ask for anyone
'I must sayBangladesh do deserve to win this and I would be pleased for them.'
They haven't won yet
'But for me, win or lose, the Black Caps can do no wrong. Love the boys'
Agreed!
Always play your best keeper-England have discovered that in the current Ashes tests.
Yeah your keeper might score some runs but if he misses three chances over two innings then how much worse off are you…
Oops
Well one wkt to go lead 31.
Lunch??
Good to see the nz batting coach had a plan for today.!!!!!
And I thought I was a pessimist when I thought they would be all out for 217 in yesterday's daily review.
Well shit…
Forbes anoint Jackson Lord of the Bling.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2021/11/12/bilbo-bags-a-billion-lord-of-the-rings-director-peter-jackson-is-officially-a-billionaire/?sh=53c4539012ca
Good on him.
The Lord of the Rings is the best trilogy ever put to screen so he deserves everything hes got, although I understand why some might not like the movies.
The Hobbit should have only been one film, maybe two at the very most but even so when the TV series comes out it'll show exactly how impressive The Lord of the Rings really was
Why there was no 20 year anniversary release is beyond me
and like the dude in Norway, this dude should also NOT go to prison.
He may be a truly abhorrent person, but these are his private ideas, his own believes and rather then send complaints the people in attendance of his speech should have simply boo'ed him down, publicly.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/belgian-surgeon-sentenced-to-10-months-in-prison-over-sexist-speech/JY2N6MD7YW64NNWKUFAFOLHAK4/
we need to get a grip on this.
Couldn't agree more Sabine (about the surgeon being sent to prison). His views are abhorant to me, but better out in the open than sent underground.
It seems like he expressed these views at a lecture, so a matter for the university or his professional body.
Most people would say what a sexist dick and be done with it. Or fair enough complain to his professional body.
Citing a biased media, Trump cancels his planned press conference on the anniversary of the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters. Promising to air his grievances on the result of the 2020 election at a later public rally on the 15th of Jan.
Classic Trump: "In light of the total bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media…"
His hordes of doting, manipulable clods will remain in awe of the intellectual giant.
In his signature garbled delivery Trump, in his statement announcing the cancellation of his planned January 6 press conference, says the January 6 Select Committee should not investigate his supporters violent storming of the US Capitol. Instead the Select Committee should be investigating, "the Crime of the Century" The 'Crime of the Century', according to Trump, is his oft repeatedly stated, but provenly false accusation, that the 2020 presidential election was stolen by the Democrats.
We will have to wait to see, whether the January 15 rally will be a further incitement by Trump of his supporters to attack US democracy.
I often read of prisoners not getting parole because they won't admit guilt for the crime they've been imprisoned for. I wonder about saying you didn't do it for the simple reason that you didn't do it.
I regularly see people opining about the death penalty and the fact it should be used more. I regularly see of cases in the USA similar to one in the news today.
'US man freed from prison 37 years after witness lied and took police bribe of drugs and sex'
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/us-canada/300490676/us-man-freed-from-prison-37-years-after-witness-lied-and-took-police-bribe-of-drugs-and-sex