Firstly, it gives justification for the Russians to appear to be moving their forces back to Russia should the Ukrainian counter offensive be effective. The idea being that Russia needs its troops to protect the homeland, not that they are getting their teeth kicked in.
Secondly, and most likely I think, is that apparently the Mayday parade has a part where family members who have lost family members in armed conflicts can march with a photo of their loved ones. However, this could be problematic for the Russians this time around if a lot of those who have lost loved ones in the Ukrainian conflict decided to march.
So, the "security threat" gives a logical reason to cancel or limit the scope of the event.
And as someone senior in the Ukrainian govt explained yesterday (sorry forgotten where I spotted it) – 'we know exactly where Putin is at all times and he wasn't in the Kremlin last night'. Or words to that effect.
Agreed, It wasn't a useful military or even political target. It would have been against one of the best defended air zones in the world and have a very limited probability of success.
It also simply wasn't related to the logistic targets of the upcoming Ukrainian offensive. That appears to have been the focus of Ukrainian 'not-confirmed-or-denied' attacks against Russian and Russian occupied targets in recent months. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65475333
"National MP Simon Watts pushed further and asked whether Hawkesby could confirm that the 25% of loans stress tested in 2020-21 are now outside of their stress testing limits.
So the question is, why did NATO behave in such a strangely performative ignorant way? If they had photographic proof of Russian activity around the pipeline last September why didn't they just say so?
The only reason I can come up with something similar to why the Allies didn't act on obvious Enigma decrptys in WW2 – they didn't want to reveal they knew who did it until they could plausibly say they knew it from sources other than the super secret one they knew it from. But that is a bit James Bondy, so I am a bit perplexed right now about it.
With New Zealand electric etc vehicles going from 8% to 20% of sales in just one year, this has to be one of the most successful policies of this government.
It is so good that Tesla will soon use it over their own 4680 battery.
You may have never heard of BYD, but this Warren Buffett-backed EV manufacturer is dominating the EV market in China and outselling every other brand. Now, BYD wants to expand its reach to the rest of the world. One way they are doing this is by selling their astonishing Blade Battery to other manufacturers (including Toyota and Tesla) and, in the process, changing the EV landscape forever with their unparalleled battery.
Can a politician with not one ounce of diplomacy be of use in a democracy is more my thoughts on this,
I'm sure that Charlie hasn't committed any way crimes, but Maori have long memories and hold grudges tightly, so is Charlie liable for his ancestors actions?
Charlie the person – not really. King Charles III as the current Sovereign and personification of the Crown – probably some level of responsibility for past actions of the Crown in the sense of obligation to put them right.
Under those criteria – so are the leaders of every iwi in NZ today.
There is zero doubt that the atrocities committed during the Musket wars would be counted as war cimes today.
The Maori party seem intent on making sure the electorate gets to have a referendum on which set of unserious clowns they find the more repellent. You've got ACT on one side and the MP on the other.
Probably because you cannot find any way to rebut their policies. No party has ever made me "want to vomit", probably because once I've figured out what is wrong with a party's policies I get a feeling of righteous indignation. Toxic nice guy anti-politics etc. exists only in the eye of the beholder.
And sometimes not even skin colour. But rather a trace of genetics going back a few generations.
My son's partner told me she has Maori ancestory in her past.(She had to tell me, so nothing to do with skin colour.) I am not sure if it is recent enough for her to qualify for benefits from her historical Iwi. But who knows. And she certainly doesn't need any help, nor is asking for any.
But there are similarities too – if we go up a level and get more general for a moment. They both want to privatise everything based on their preferred hierarchies of worthiness. For ACT, people who have been successful in the market and become wealthy have deserved this success and deserve to keep increasing it by owning more stuff. For TMP, those with Maori ancestry are inherently more worthy through indigeneity.
We must oppose all hierarchies of worthiness – recognising that while hierarchies of talent and knowledge and beauty do exist, they do not confer additional human worthiness. This is the starting point of a moral vision.
recognising that while hierarchies of talent and knowledge and beauty do exist
Yes they do. And in a lot of ways they are of a lot more value.
Unfortunately, they don't always make much money.
For example, someone can be average accountant and make a living. But it is a very small percentage of the most talented and/or lucky who will every make a living out of song-writing or art.
But it is a very small percentage of the most talented and/or lucky who will every make a living out of song-writing or art.
Yes. This is the unsolved problem of all domains of creative enterprise, when extended across multiple trades. Put simply, success creates opportunity, which in turn creates more success.
It does not matter whether we it is art, science, commerce, or sports you look at. It happens regardless of the economic model, although the more successful the model is in generating total wealth, the more amplified will be the unequal outcomes. (It being a trivial exercise to make everyone equal if everyone is dirt poor.)
No-one has been able to demonstrate a convincing solution to this problem. Yet it is real; we know that once the inequality gradient exceeds some threshold, all the primary social indicators turn slowly to shit.
All of which is made worse by the gradual dissolution of the family unit, which in my view is the primary means by which we buffer ourselves from a wider world, largely uncaring of the disadvantages and insults we all encounter. But the very notion of family entails responsibility, duty and sacrifice – and in a world in which institutions such as church and faith have been replaced by atomising ideologies such as neo-liberalism, neo-marxism and narcissistic hedonism, we find ourselves unmoored as adults.
That isolation makes us feel our inadequacies and vulnerabilities, our apparently lowly spot on the economic ladder all the more keenly.
I do not know that I can usefully articulate an answer, but this is the core problem that has occupied my political thought since I arrived here. I may have expressed it in different terms over time, but the question it poses still motivates me more than any other. The only thing I have to offer is that maybe the reason we struggle with inequality is that we frame the problem in purely materialistic measures – when in reality that is not the domain it truly exists in.
And the advent of Chat GPT. My son uses it in his job. He asked it to write a dark 100 word poem about me. The other inputs were: That I am autistic, illiterate, and colour blind (LOL).
The first verse was:
My dad is a puzzle, hard to solve,
Autistic, illiterate, color blind and flawed
He sees the world through a different lens,
A broken filter, a twisted sense
I was interested to see if it would churn out the same thing if he put the identical inputs back in. The second poem was a doozey.
Autistic, illiterate, and blind
In darkness, he stumbled and fumbled
His love for me, hard to find.
Colorless memories of my childhood
No bedtime stories, no hugs or kisses
Silent dinners, no laughter or smiles
My heart, heavy with his misses
He couldn't teach me to read or write
Or tell me the colors of the rainbow
But he tried to show me love in his way
Through silence, his love did glow
Now as I sit in the dark, alone
I wonder if he ever knew
How much I loved him in return
And how much I missed him too
I showed someone this who said they were feeling sorry for ChatGPT lol.
Well, my son said the second poem was nearly accurate lol.
But a bit worrying for me given that I pride myself on my ability to communicate in writing. Because, I am not sure I could write something better than that.
And it felt a bit weird, because this thing that (supposedly) has no appreciation or knowledge of the feelings it is trying to communicate was able to do so in such an emotive way.
Perhaps in the future, the creative side will be how to frame inputs to get the best response out of ChatGPT and its iterations. Because I have seen some outputs from what people have queried ChatGpt for, and it has been fairly average.
I look back and realise that as a generation we found parenthood a confusing role to play. The Silent generation of fathers before us left many of us wanting nothing more than to be different than them, yet mapping out a fresh course – often with little guidance or support – was a bumpy ride.
Especially given the radical distractions and messages of the sexual revolution and feminism we were surrounded by.
Just project this forward five or ten years. Will we all be sitting back being entertained by music written, produced, and sung by AI?
I dabble in a bit of this sort of stuff myself from the point of view of producing a bit of music as a hobby. I am producing a thing at the moment where I use the AI voices from this program for backing vocals.
Quite interesting. I wouldn't under-estimate AI's ability to create.
But, so long as there are humans controlling the inputs we are probably safe as we will have to have creativity at some level, even if it is creativity in designing the inputs to the AI.
But, if it gets to the point where AI is producing music to entertain itself, and gets on quite well without us, then we probably should be worried.
Campbell alright, and he is right. I am travelling on a Northern Explorer train to Wellington for a family event soon, so that I can spend some extended leisurely time with “my people” rather than airports and traffic.
It is a good question though. I think it is partly because of the same anglosphere exceptionalism that leads us to shun townhouses and apartments, demand cheap flights everywhere and want to drive giant SUVs.
I reckon it is because we hate our marketised existences and hate the way it requires us to live and work. So we try to live in a way that is a permanent state of semi-escape from it – suburbs, cars, frequent travel – the illusion of autonomy and freedom. And maybe the Anglosphere had the most extreme and crushing neoliberal revolution – and most of us want to get out of it somehow.
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Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
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Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
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Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
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Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
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Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
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Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
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The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
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David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
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Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
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This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
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 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Corderoy, Medical doctor and PhD candidate studying involuntary psychiatric treatment, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney shop_py/Shutterstock Picture two people, both suffering from a serious mental illness requiring hospital admission. One was born in Australia, the other in Asia. Hopefully, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Treby, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RMIT University P.j.Hickox, Shutterstock Peatlands store more carbon per square metre than any other ecosystem on Earth. These waterlogged, mossy bogs beat even dense rainforests for their ability to act as carbon reservoirs. Under the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
New Zealand's largest electricity distributor is warning the country to hurry up with controls around charging electric vehicles or face unnecessary bills running into the billions. ...
New Zealanders have been asked to conserve energy this morning to combat a possible electricity shortfall, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A call to conserve power New Zealand is facing a possible electricity shortfall, with people up ...
Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams?The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...
Wellington City Council should keep its 34% ownership share in Wellington International Airport, argue Unions Wellington spokespeople Finn Cordwell and Ashok Jacob. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Wellington City Council (WCC) is yet again proposing to dispose ...
New Zealand’s largest book publisher has undergone drastic changes this week, leaving its future role in local publishing uncertain. Two of the most recognisable local publishers in New Zealand are among those restructured out of Penguin Random House, it was announced this week. Head of publishing Claire Murdoch will leave ...
In 2021 the Public Interest Journalism Fund launched the Te Rito Journalism project, a $2.4 million initiative to boost diversity in New Zealand’s newsrooms. The initiative was in response to the decades-long shortage of Māori and Pacific journalists in the media industry. It was billed as New Zealand’s ...
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Here is a good argument for why the drone attack was a false flag by the Russians.
Firstly, it gives justification for the Russians to appear to be moving their forces back to Russia should the Ukrainian counter offensive be effective. The idea being that Russia needs its troops to protect the homeland, not that they are getting their teeth kicked in.
Secondly, and most likely I think, is that apparently the Mayday parade has a part where family members who have lost family members in armed conflicts can march with a photo of their loved ones. However, this could be problematic for the Russians this time around if a lot of those who have lost loved ones in the Ukrainian conflict decided to march.
So, the "security threat" gives a logical reason to cancel or limit the scope of the event.
Surely if the Ukrainians where out to kill poots in his bed they'd know they might need something a bit bigger than a couple of little drones.
I'd imagine poots is sleeping somewhere heavily fortified.
And as someone senior in the Ukrainian govt explained yesterday (sorry forgotten where I spotted it) – 'we know exactly where Putin is at all times and he wasn't in the Kremlin last night'. Or words to that effect.
Ooohh nice bit of head fuckery, aimed at poots, hope he heard it.
I suspect they tried to knock "poots" off in 2015, when they thought he was traveling back to Russia on MH17.
Bit of an own goal then?
The criminal investigation by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) | MH17 plane crash | Public Prosecution Service
Agreed, It wasn't a useful military or even political target. It would have been against one of the best defended air zones in the world and have a very limited probability of success.
It also simply wasn't related to the logistic targets of the upcoming Ukrainian offensive. That appears to have been the focus of Ukrainian 'not-confirmed-or-denied' attacks against Russian and Russian occupied targets in recent months. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65475333
It is as unlikely to be Ukrainian based as was the relatively recent bomb attack against the authority critical mil blogger in St Petersburg, the sabotage against the non-operational Nordstream 1 and 2 pipelines (the allied downside for Ukraine would have been intense), and quite a lot of mysterious falls from windows and similar odd deaths of Russians critical of the Kremlin.
This just feels like a expression of yet another RussFed internal issue rather than something likely to be of importance for Ukrainian forces.
And another musing by anti Russian Dan Sabbagh
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/04/kremlin-drones-certainly-dont-look-like-a-cunning-plan-by-moscow
"National MP Simon Watts pushed further and asked whether Hawkesby could confirm that the 25% of loans stress tested in 2020-21 are now outside of their stress testing limits.
Hawkesby said: "That’s what the data shows, yes."
https://www.interest.co.nz/personal-finance/121055/reserve-bank-concedes-about-25-outstanding-mortgages-were-stress-tested
Ouch
Funny that there was no visible damage to the dome after such a "lethal" attack from a drone sent all the way across Russian territory?
Yes, this is more like the aftermath of a Ukrainian drone attack.
All very peculiar, although it may be a very long time before we know the truth.
For example, it seems NATO was aware all along that the Russians were the chief suspects for who blew up the Nordstream pipeline (I hope someone is ready to catch Seymour Hersh's rusk when it drops it in shock at the realisaation he was catfished).
So the question is, why did NATO behave in such a strangely performative ignorant way? If they had photographic proof of Russian activity around the pipeline last September why didn't they just say so?
The only reason I can come up with something similar to why the Allies didn't act on obvious Enigma decrptys in WW2 – they didn't want to reveal they knew who did it until they could plausibly say they knew it from sources other than the super secret one they knew it from. But that is a bit James Bondy, so I am a bit perplexed right now about it.
The only thing "perculiar " imo sanct is yr degree of cognitive dissonance !!
Biden said in public right before the invasion " I promise you we will bring an end to it " ' it ' being NS
Perhaps you have a rusk stuck firmly in each of your ears !!
Sometimes it is smartest to just say what you really need to say. Anything beyond this tends to weaken your position.
With New Zealand electric etc vehicles going from 8% to 20% of sales in just one year, this has to be one of the most successful policies of this government.
https://www.transport.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Comparison-of-Electric-Vehicle-and-Plug-In-Hybrid-marketshares-in-key-global-markets-2010-to-2022.pdf
Now if they could just get Polestar to match the battery life of the new Tesla, I'd go for it.
Best get a crack on. Anyone else noticed the number of large crude oil tankers getting into trouble lately?
The 2024 Polestar 2 has extended its range a good whack (at least theoretically).
So odd to see a Swedish car that isn't a "SAAB xxxx"
Or a Chinese chillybin with indicators.
Actual lol.
And very kiwi – in Aus it would be 'chinese esky' – and that doesn't quite work the same.
You mean this "chillybin"?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/131243654/nz-car-of-the-year-award-goes-to-surprise-electric-suv
BTW
Maybe when the BYD Seal arrives. But pretty expensive.
Volvo?
Cars you didn't know that are manufactured in China
Just on te 1 news.
Rawiri Waititi just called the royal family war criminals!!!
If the current royal family are war criminals on the basis of their history, then most Australians are criminals as well.
Can a politician with not one ounce of diplomacy be of use in a democracy is more my thoughts on this,
I'm sure that Charlie hasn't committed any way crimes, but Maori have long memories and hold grudges tightly, so is Charlie liable for his ancestors actions?
Charlie the person – not really. King Charles III as the current Sovereign and personification of the Crown – probably some level of responsibility for past actions of the Crown in the sense of obligation to put them right.
Under those criteria – so are the leaders of every iwi in NZ today.
There is zero doubt that the atrocities committed during the Musket wars would be counted as war cimes today.
The Maori party seem intent on making sure the electorate gets to have a referendum on which set of unserious clowns they find the more repellent. You've got ACT on one side and the MP on the other.
It's a shame top never got off the ground! !
She's rock and a hard place for voters at the mo
I can't stand TOP. Their brand of toxic nice guy anti-politics married to a smarty pants smugness and tarted up neoliberalism makes me want to vomit.
Nicely put, TOP are public self pleasurers of the first order.
Well we need something new because the ones we got ain't achieving much other than slow the speed we're circling the bowl
I can't stand TOP.
Probably because you cannot find any way to rebut their policies. No party has ever made me "want to vomit", probably because once I've figured out what is wrong with a party's policies I get a feeling of righteous indignation. Toxic nice guy anti-politics etc. exists only in the eye of the beholder.
Should have guessed you'd have a shrine to St. Jude in your living room.
The big difference between ACT and MP is that at least ACT doesn't want to privatise everything on the basis of skin colour.
And sometimes not even skin colour. But rather a trace of genetics going back a few generations.
My son's partner told me she has Maori ancestory in her past.(She had to tell me, so nothing to do with skin colour.) I am not sure if it is recent enough for her to qualify for benefits from her historical Iwi. But who knows. And she certainly doesn't need any help, nor is asking for any.
True that and funny.
But there are similarities too – if we go up a level and get more general for a moment. They both want to privatise everything based on their preferred hierarchies of worthiness. For ACT, people who have been successful in the market and become wealthy have deserved this success and deserve to keep increasing it by owning more stuff. For TMP, those with Maori ancestry are inherently more worthy through indigeneity.
We must oppose all hierarchies of worthiness – recognising that while hierarchies of talent and knowledge and beauty do exist, they do not confer additional human worthiness. This is the starting point of a moral vision.
Yes they do. And in a lot of ways they are of a lot more value.
Unfortunately, they don't always make much money.
For example, someone can be average accountant and make a living. But it is a very small percentage of the most talented and/or lucky who will every make a living out of song-writing or art.
Yes. This is the unsolved problem of all domains of creative enterprise, when extended across multiple trades. Put simply, success creates opportunity, which in turn creates more success.
It does not matter whether we it is art, science, commerce, or sports you look at. It happens regardless of the economic model, although the more successful the model is in generating total wealth, the more amplified will be the unequal outcomes. (It being a trivial exercise to make everyone equal if everyone is dirt poor.)
No-one has been able to demonstrate a convincing solution to this problem. Yet it is real; we know that once the inequality gradient exceeds some threshold, all the primary social indicators turn slowly to shit.
All of which is made worse by the gradual dissolution of the family unit, which in my view is the primary means by which we buffer ourselves from a wider world, largely uncaring of the disadvantages and insults we all encounter. But the very notion of family entails responsibility, duty and sacrifice – and in a world in which institutions such as church and faith have been replaced by atomising ideologies such as neo-liberalism, neo-marxism and narcissistic hedonism, we find ourselves unmoored as adults.
That isolation makes us feel our inadequacies and vulnerabilities, our apparently lowly spot on the economic ladder all the more keenly.
I do not know that I can usefully articulate an answer, but this is the core problem that has occupied my political thought since I arrived here. I may have expressed it in different terms over time, but the question it poses still motivates me more than any other. The only thing I have to offer is that maybe the reason we struggle with inequality is that we frame the problem in purely materialistic measures – when in reality that is not the domain it truly exists in.
And the advent of Chat GPT. My son uses it in his job. He asked it to write a dark 100 word poem about me. The other inputs were: That I am autistic, illiterate, and colour blind (LOL).
The first verse was:
I was interested to see if it would churn out the same thing if he put the identical inputs back in. The second poem was a doozey.
Autistic, illiterate, and blind
In darkness, he stumbled and fumbled
His love for me, hard to find.
Colorless memories of my childhood
No bedtime stories, no hugs or kisses
Silent dinners, no laughter or smiles
My heart, heavy with his misses
He couldn't teach me to read or write
Or tell me the colors of the rainbow
But he tried to show me love in his way
Through silence, his love did glow
Now as I sit in the dark, alone
I wonder if he ever knew
How much I loved him in return
And how much I missed him too
I showed someone this who said they were feeling sorry for ChatGPT lol.
Hah … how did that make you feel?
Well, my son said the second poem was nearly accurate lol.
But a bit worrying for me given that I pride myself on my ability to communicate in writing. Because, I am not sure I could write something better than that.
And it felt a bit weird, because this thing that (supposedly) has no appreciation or knowledge of the feelings it is trying to communicate was able to do so in such an emotive way.
Perhaps in the future, the creative side will be how to frame inputs to get the best response out of ChatGPT and its iterations. Because I have seen some outputs from what people have queried ChatGpt for, and it has been fairly average.
I look back and realise that as a generation we found parenthood a confusing role to play. The Silent generation of fathers before us left many of us wanting nothing more than to be different than them, yet mapping out a fresh course – often with little guidance or support – was a bumpy ride.
Especially given the radical distractions and messages of the sexual revolution and feminism we were surrounded by.
What worries me is looking forward 20 years. For anyone who has young children now, or as I do, 2 year old twin grand children.
If Chat GPT is able to produce stuff at that level now, then what future is there for kids as they grow up?
Unfortunately due modern technology those few talented singers etc are vastly over paid, given they are just the entertainment.
You can chuck sports stars in there too
Yes, I don't criticise modern music because it just makes me sound like the boomer that I am. I think there is good music in any generation.
But, yeah, auto-tune certainly takes away the need to sing in key.
There is hope.
I hope so. But AI is even able to sing now. And it can sing without autotune, because, it is, well, autotune.
Just project this forward five or ten years. Will we all be sitting back being entertained by music written, produced, and sung by AI?
I dabble in a bit of this sort of stuff myself from the point of view of producing a bit of music as a hobby. I am producing a thing at the moment where I use the AI voices from this program for backing vocals.
I've gotten fond of Kaleo. Some smarty pants wrote in one of the comment threads "JJ's voice is stronger than most relationships these days".
AI can copy this, it can re-shuffle and simulate, it may even prove very useful – but I think ultimately it will prove a failed dream.
It cannot create.
This guy is a music producer who has done a couple of videos on AI and the music industry.
Quite interesting. I wouldn't under-estimate AI's ability to create.
But, so long as there are humans controlling the inputs we are probably safe as we will have to have creativity at some level, even if it is creativity in designing the inputs to the AI.
But, if it gets to the point where AI is producing music to entertain itself, and gets on quite well without us, then we probably should be worried.
It cannot create.
Yes. To create it would need to be able to decide, unassisted, to create something, and also be able decide what to create.
I can’t find any ACT policy re. Arts and the corresponding Portfolio page is missing. Enough said.
For those who love rail and lament its demise, an elegant, elegiac longish piece from John Campbell.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/05/04/john-campbell-why-wont-we-invest-in-the-rail-services-we-need/
Campbell alright, and he is right. I am travelling on a Northern Explorer train to Wellington for a family event soon, so that I can spend some extended leisurely time with “my people” rather than airports and traffic.
It is a good question though. I think it is partly because of the same anglosphere exceptionalism that leads us to shun townhouses and apartments, demand cheap flights everywhere and want to drive giant SUVs.
I reckon it is because we hate our marketised existences and hate the way it requires us to live and work. So we try to live in a way that is a permanent state of semi-escape from it – suburbs, cars, frequent travel – the illusion of autonomy and freedom. And maybe the Anglosphere had the most extreme and crushing neoliberal revolution – and most of us want to get out of it somehow.
I thought white was a skin colour, or is that just Rich White.
NZ European adults in poverty greatly outnumber the total of Maori.
As a percentage of the population the proportion is greater for Maori.
The best set of graphs I can see the breaks it down is here:
https://www.mcguinnessinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/20180306-Working-Paper-2017%EF%80%A203-FINAL.pdf
No, white isn't rich. It's just your cheap prejudice.
Kerekere has done a Sharma. Sounds like she used much the same recipe too.
Yes. And trying to drag down the Greens with her. She won't succeed just like Sharma didn't. We never hear a peep out of him now.