I don't know, maybe I am being negative but when there are not enough homes and waiting lists for urgent life saving hospital treatments Couldn't 760 million could be better used somewhere else?
You noticed the $800m duplicate road to Whangaparaoa in the same package? Or the $1500m duplicate road to Levin. Unlike nursing salaries, they come from the same budget.
NZTA are likely to be playing silly buggers anyway by proposing a built solution that is way over 20x the original price, with a #LiberateTheLane trial coming soon.
Or we could take the opportunity to build much needed pollution reducing infrastructure, for the future, giving an economic stimulus, while interest rates are low.
Pedestrian and biking infrastructure, public transport, rail links and coastal shipping.
And use the extra taxes generated to give overdue pay rises. To cleaners, orderlies and Teacher aides as well as those who make the most noise.
Now that's an idea! Or they could put some platforms underneath so people could sleep under it. /sarc
Just what are the priorities of this Govt? A bridge for a few thousand entitled people or looking after the 40 thousand homeless and rough sleepers?
Running 12 ferries carrying 100 @ 10 minute intervals from 3 different sites would be far less expensive, and more convenient for walkers and cyclists. The HMNZS Tui used batteries for propulsion when minesweeping in WW2. So the ferries could also be similarly powered.
You are absolutely right Macro, I just googled it, there are already battery powered ferries operating around the world. Some of them are huge. And could easily get thousands of bicycle riders across the harbour.
But that is not what this is about, outspoken cycling enthusiast Emma McInnes exposes her motive for the new bridge.
"I think we're underestimating the fact that people will use it just for the joy of being able to walk over the water, to stop in the middle of the bridge, take photos, to go over on a jog in the morning, walk their dog, take their kids over… I think people are underestimating how popular a bridge like that would be."
"I think we're underestimating the fact that people will use it just for the joy of being able to walk over the water, to stop in the middle of the bridge, take photos, to go over on a jog in the morning, walk their dog, take their kids over… I think people are underestimating how popular a bridge like that would be."
Cyclist and urban designer Emma McInnes
What Jenny quoted above is a fine example of the thoughts of the movers and shakers in society from the middle class. From shared pathways where they can ride their expensive bikes on footpaths where people want to walk. Where they have sufficient money to enjoy life, and presumably have friends and family also, and perhaps weekends and regular work for them to have a personal life, they have no real consideration for anything but themselves and their class. Shops with stylish furniture and expensive jeans that come already slashed – they are needs not wants and all their group are wearing them!
Don't anyone say that class is defunct; those without money and options for the future are truly declasse'!
From the most pleasant and expensive suburbs to the slightly less expensive but no less pleasant suburbs, a place to ride expensive bikes in pleasant weather
" And could easily get thousands of bicycle riders across the harbour."
That might be a bit difficult to do. Where are you going to get the thousands of cyclists from?
According to a recent report in the Herald Fullers carried 12,000 cycles on a total of 2,600 ferry trips in a 4 week period. That works our at an average of 4 or 5 per trip, and more significantly an average of about 430/day. Assuming that these are generally return trips that is only about 215 individuals who used the service each day.
I'm not from Auckland so there might be other ferry operators but I don't know of any significant operations except the Fuller ones. Are there any which might affect my calculations to any degree?
Where are the thousands of cyclists going to come from?
An unfortunate additional calculation is that it would seem our all knowing Government is planning to spend about $3 million per regular cyclist who currently takes their bike across from the North Shore to Auckland. I wonder if the ones who go from Devonport would actually cycle all the way around to the bridge if one was built? Should we assume $4 million? Or perhaps $5 million? That's for the ones who might actually use the bridge.
Perhaps some of them could be those who are presently dissuaded from using their bike because they can never be sure if they'll actually be allowed to travel with their bike!
That's what that article on Stuff (not the Herald) you linked to is actually about.
Sure it was. However when you read it you discover that there were 53 out of 12,000 who had to wait for the next ferry. Like NZ cyclists everywhere they complained bitterly and at length.
Well tough luck. They would have missed that ferry anyway if they had had a puncture wouldn't they? There is no form of transport I am aware of that guarantees that everyone who turns up, unbooked, for a particular trip is 100% sure to get on. I remember one occasion in Wellington when the local Green Party members, about 200 of them from memory, were going to hold a weekend conference in the Wairarapa. They all turned up at the Wellington Railway Station to board the train. This they did, as soon as the train was at the platform.
They were not at all popular with the regular passengers who had to stand for the whole trip. The Greens of course hadn't considered the fact that they could have warned the Railways that there would be a lot of extra people and that more carriages could be provided to cater for them.
"Like NZ cyclists everywhere they complained bitterly and at length."
My observation, especially after last Sunday on the Harbour Bridge, is that it's motorists that complain bitterly and at length.
There's an interesting contradiction in your comment above where firstly you say
"There is no form of transport I am aware of that guarantees that everyone who turns up, unbooked, for a particular trip is 100% sure to get on."
and then regarding the possibly apocryphal story about the Wairarapa line you say
"They were not at all popular with the regular passengers who had to stand for the whole trip."
At least they weren't left to wait for the next trip, which you regard as perfectly acceptable. Or is this just you 'complaining bitterly and at length' about not only cyclists but also Green Party members?
" And could easily get thousands of bicycle riders across the harbour."
That might be a bit difficult to do. Where are you going to get the thousands of cyclists from?…..
We won't get them.
Despite those that think cycling is a serious alternative way of commuting for the 20,000 commuters displaced by the cycle lane.
Of course this is not really about crossing the harbour at all, but more about indulging the leisure activity of bike enthusiasts who want the experience of crossing the Harbour Bridge
I was just trying to show these diehards that there are alternatives at much less cost, that is if they really want to take the bicycle to Takapuna beach.
Ferries account for nearly 7 per cent of Auckland’s public transport journeys, but their large diesel engines produce 20.5 per cent of all public transport emissions in the city.
For transporting people, sea transport actually seems to end up being quite energy inefficient and emissions intensive. Every instance I've looked at previously has turned out that way.
I'll take a guess that the inefficiency and high emissions is because for ferries, passenger ships etc, the actual cargo (humans) is a tiny tiny portion of the mass getting moved around. Whereas for any kind of non-human cargo, the payload is a decent fraction of the total mass getting moved, so the efficiency is much higher for shipping non-human cargo.
I also very strongly suspect that the passenger km per litre for Auckland's current bus fleet probably isn't that great compared to passenger km per litre for private car transport. It wasn't in the 80's when I saw some actual numbers as part of engineering coursework, and it wasn't when I managed to find actual numbers for some US bus public transport systems. (It's probably going to be very hard to get numbers for Orcland's current bus transport system, because it's done by private operators and commercial sensitivity). This inefficiency and high emissions is largely due to a lot of bus movements happening with very few or zero passengers.
The only emissions standout for public transport is when it's electrified, like Orcland's trains. Or electrified bus fleets that are happening elsewhere (shamefully not NZ).
None of this is an argument against public transport. There's the strong social good which makes a good public transport system a necessity for a reasonably livable city. Vehicle efficiency is also only a small part of overall efficiency, there's also the demands on public infrastructure to consider. That's where public transport tends to do much better, and overcomes its usually poor energy efficiency and emissions performance.
Well Auckland is a tale of two types of ferries, where higher speed Waiheke boats are a category all their own.
I presume they will be going only after the smaller cross harbour ferries for electrification.
'Heavy problem' is going to be a lot worse if they bring in batteries, and like planes the drag is greater from weight alone, so they need more power and bigger batteries….
As well I would question the 20% emissions claim made by a self interested party. Are they talking about kg of CO2 per unit volume of diesel engines…which wouldnt change for diesel used in buses or ferries or other emissions from by product of combustion.
Then theres is the hype over something that is always just around the corner
It's more exciting watching jugs heating up than watching Toyota for technical developments. Toyota tend to keep technical developments very close to their chest until they're pretty much at the point of releasing them.
So Toyota may yet surprise us, but they haven't yet demonstrated in-house battery prowess. Their supplies come from the usual suspects – Panasonic, CATL etc.
So I'm finding it really hard to form an opinion on whether the mutterings about Toyota solid-state batteries are something real, or a dead-end like their hydrogen efforts.
Power densities for batteries arent increasing as much as many like to think from lab results. However the process still requires a large number of individual cells within their own 'package' to scale up to something usable. What looks to be a larger battery for the new Ford F150 electric ute even requires an internal liquid cooling system.
A further note on Auckland ferries, the half moon bay run for cars and trucks uses 3 quite large ferries ( large compared to the very small one that goes to the CBD). Not many passengers who arent in cars or trucks for that service but it would consume a lot of diesel, this service is essential for Waihekes supplies – on one run they had such heavy trucks carrying road asphalt that water was around the cars and trucks tires!. A freight service also runs to Great Barrier
It is both extraordinary luck and good management that this Wednesday the Climate Commission plan comes out just as central government is remaking our public service and our economy.
Optimum moment to achieve good policy changes.
Very much the transformational moment to engage through.
Yep, too much for the bus passengers – that Stuff article says it was pushy pedestrians who tried to lend a hand. When will do-gooders learn?
A group of pedestrians decided to try and push start the bus, but were not able to do so, the spokeswoman said.
One of my earliest (hazy) memories (as a very young bus passenger) was of an (electric) trolleybus driver (in Auckland) scrambling to re-attach power couplings to overhead lines using some kind of (presumably well-insulated?) stick. They didn't, and still don't pay bus drivers enough, imho.
The trolleys had long cords at the back of the bus which the driver which use to raise and lower the power poles. No risk to them from that. Trams had previously the same system for their poles
It's a ‘memory of a memory’ from my preschool years (~1960) – I had/have the impression that the 'powerpoles' had accidentally detached (dewired) from the overhead powerlines, that the driver appeared to be using a stick-like implement to help reattach (guide/push) them back into place, and that it was taking him longer than he expected/wanted.
Thinking on it, I can't imagine how I might have had a good view of this incident from inside the trolleybus (presumably I was in the company of a parent or grandparent), but as I said it's a hazy recollection, and Auckland is only the most likely location. Still, whatever I saw it certainly made a lasting impression.
Whoops! During a test run on Friday afternoon, No. 3 spectacularly dewired near the Heritage Park office. Society Editor Alastair was despatched to repole, but even though he was able to unsnarl the trolley ropes, Alan still had to get out and teach Alastair not only how to reset the two trolley retrievers, but also to correct his attempts to put one of the poles on the wire. Alastair hadn’t been anywhere near the wire—he had the pole somewhere between the two and was raising it higher in the hopes that it was near where it should be. Oh dear! http://ferrymeadtramway.org.nz/downloads/tracts_oct17.pdf
For what it's worth the Russians discovered a very long time ago that by strongly tapering the trolley poles and keeping the effective tip mass to a minimum they could virtually eliminate de-lining as was so common in the fleet we were operating.
I noticed this when I was working there and asked about it at the time. In the city I was in trolley busses were very common and I never once saw a de-lining.
but in saying that it would be smart use of space and i doubt that the new class of architects would even be able to bend their mind around 'smart use of space'.
Dammit you are right, middle class protesters instead of demanding a cycleway on the Harbour Bridge, should be demanding that one lane of the Harbour Bridge be given over to housing. Maybe we could have a three month trial of that?
And after three months if the houses on the Bridge are not successful in easing traffic congestion just throw them over the side.
hahahahah, indeed. and in three hundred years there would be something to look at for tourists. In saying that, some of these bridges are just quite brilliant.
It certainly wouldn't be a new idea would it. In about 1600 the "Old" London Bridge was covered in dwellings in which, apparently, about 500 people lived.
In a speech to the President's Club in 1999, Bruce Herschensohn, former deputy special assistant to President Richard Nixon, alleged that he was executed 14 days later; other sources alleged he was executed by firing squad a few months after the Tiananmen Square protests.
Can someone explain why it's going to take a year to phase in welfare increases? The govt said on budget day that increasing benefits creates an economic stimulation because beneficiaries spend and spend locally, what I don't understand is why wait a year to phase in needed economic stimulation when people need the help now and businesses who will benefit from increased spending need the stimulation now , some won't survive a year.
Is it because our Bureaucrats are unable to work fast, or because the govt wants to ensure the increases won't be clawed back by deductions from other top up benefits of is it because the govt doesn't wanna increase payments while the winter energy payment is in effect (heaven forbid people had a few bucks extra)
An economic stimulus works only if they get the cash out quickly. This is not quick.
I also don't understand the $30-50 , why isn't everyone getting the much needed $50 ESPECIALLY people on disability benefits.
Phasing in $20 in July then waiting till next year seems …. Pathetic and unlikely to increase spending and stimulate the economy as much as giving everyone on welfare $50 next month.
Surely it's not that hard to legislate that msd can't deduct from other payments…. Surely it doesn't take a bloody year
A group of anti-poverty campaigners has called on the Government to implement its Budget benefit plans on 1 July, rather than staggering increases across 1 July 2021 and 1 April 2022, as announced last week.
The Government announced, as part of Budget 2021, that core benefit levels would increase by $20 per week on 1 July, with additional increases to bring it up to $55 in total on 1 April 2022.
But the Government has given no reason why these increases have been staggered.
“People are suffering unnecessarily. We are just one of many groups who have been calling for significant and urgent increases to benefit levels for years now,” said Caitlin Neuwelt-Kearns, Researcher at the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). CPAG is part of the Fairer Future collaboration of groups, which is calling for liveable incomes for all.
The orginization Fairer Futures' website has a Key Information page which clearly outlines the history of social support in New Zealand and reminds those who would forget that we have gone from providing decent support up to the 1980s to being the third worst in the OECD just prior to Te Virus.
Drip feeding is just cruel, but I guess some folk just like to see others beg.
The environmental and reproductive epidemiologist predicts most couples might need assisted reproduction by 2045. ..
In 2017, Swan and her team of researchers completed a major study that found over the past four decades sperm levels among men in Western countries had dropped by more than 50 percent. The study involved examining 185 studies involving close to 45,000 healthy men.,,
"Sperm concentration was close to 100 million per millilitre, but now it's dropped to 47," Swan said…
Lifestyle factors affecting sperm health and fertility include exposure to smoking, excessive drinking, lack of exercise, poor diet, and stress. Adopting a healthier lifestyle could improve sperm health, Swan said.
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which impact on our bodies' hormones, and other chemicals found in the environment were also taking a toll on sperm health, she said…
Swan has studied phthalates, which make plastics soft and flexible, act as fragrances in personal care products, and are found in foods. "What they can do is lower testosterone. This has been shown in the laboratory."…
The rise of gender fluidity and increasing numbers of transgender people could also be related to chemicals impacting on human hormones. Swan said when a breeding animal was exposed to phthalates, their male offspring sometimes had "incomplete genitals". The same could occur in human children, with risks of phthalate exposure highest in early pregnancy, she said.
"How those boys are born with those smaller genitals, that is a lifetime effect and it actually is linked to them having lower sperm count."
Phthalates were found around the planet and also impacted on the fertility of wildlife, Swan said.
“Many studies have linked exposure to these chemicals to declines in litter size and endangerment of multiple species.”
Watch out men (and women). Maybe you should stop drenching yourselves in nice smellies and go back to the 'sweet summer sweat' that they sing about in Hotel California.
They have had this before. They know it happens after prolonged drought. In an organised farming community they would be super-vigilant because of past records about these outbreaks, and how to prevent them. Dont we learn – whats the use of education?
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 ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
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Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
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Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
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TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
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“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
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Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
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Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
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I don't know, maybe I am being negative but when there are not enough homes and waiting lists for urgent life saving hospital treatments Couldn't 760 million could be better used somewhere else?
Howsabout giving the Nurses their pay rise?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/125130360/dhb-nurses-vote-to-strike-over-pay-horrific-and-unsafe-staffing.
You noticed the $800m duplicate road to Whangaparaoa in the same package? Or the $1500m duplicate road to Levin. Unlike nursing salaries, they come from the same budget.
NZTA are likely to be playing silly buggers anyway by proposing a built solution that is way over 20x the original price, with a #LiberateTheLane trial coming soon.
https://twitter.com/CriticalMassAKL/status/1400551137174978562
"Howsabout giving the Nurses their pay rise?"
Those on $80-90k are doing Ok, its the ones down $50-60K who should be looked after and would be.
Sheeesh the sense of entitlement from highly paid people
Or we could take the opportunity to build much needed pollution reducing infrastructure, for the future, giving an economic stimulus, while interest rates are low.
Pedestrian and biking infrastructure, public transport, rail links and coastal shipping.
And use the extra taxes generated to give overdue pay rises. To cleaners, orderlies and Teacher aides as well as those who make the most noise.
Maybe the new bridge could solve the cycling crisis and the housing crisis.
circa-1800-a-watercolour-by-j-varley-after-a-print-of-1787-of-london-picture-id3271422 (1024×523) (gettyimages.com)
Now that's an idea! Or they could put some platforms underneath so people could sleep under it. /sarc
Just what are the priorities of this Govt? A bridge for a few thousand entitled people or looking after the 40 thousand homeless and rough sleepers?
Running 12 ferries carrying 100 @ 10 minute intervals from 3 different sites would be far less expensive, and more convenient for walkers and cyclists. The HMNZS Tui used batteries for propulsion when minesweeping in WW2. So the ferries could also be similarly powered.
You are absolutely right Macro, I just googled it, there are already battery powered ferries operating around the world. Some of them are huge. And could easily get thousands of bicycle riders across the harbour.
But that is not what this is about, outspoken cycling enthusiast Emma McInnes exposes her motive for the new bridge.
Danfoss powers up the world’s strongest electric ferry Ellen – YouTube
Sure it would be popular for those that are near it, and can access it, but would it be good spending?
Who cares, in the end our overlords will spend the public dime any which way they like.
"I think we're underestimating the fact that people will use it just for the joy of being able to walk over the water, to stop in the middle of the bridge, take photos, to go over on a jog in the morning, walk their dog, take their kids over… I think people are underestimating how popular a bridge like that would be."
Cyclist and urban designer Emma McInnes
What Jenny quoted above is a fine example of the thoughts of the movers and shakers in society from the middle class. From shared pathways where they can ride their expensive bikes on footpaths where people want to walk. Where they have sufficient money to enjoy life, and presumably have friends and family also, and perhaps weekends and regular work for them to have a personal life, they have no real consideration for anything but themselves and their class. Shops with stylish furniture and expensive jeans that come already slashed – they are needs not wants and all their group are wearing them!
Don't anyone say that class is defunct; those without money and options for the future are truly declasse'!
From the most pleasant and expensive suburbs to the slightly less expensive but no less pleasant suburbs, a place to ride expensive bikes in pleasant weather
" And could easily get thousands of bicycle riders across the harbour."
That might be a bit difficult to do. Where are you going to get the thousands of cyclists from?
According to a recent report in the Herald Fullers carried 12,000 cycles on a total of 2,600 ferry trips in a 4 week period. That works our at an average of 4 or 5 per trip, and more significantly an average of about 430/day. Assuming that these are generally return trips that is only about 215 individuals who used the service each day.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300316440/full-auckland-ferries-turn-away-53-cyclists-in-four-weeks#:~:text=Data%20from%20Fullers%20showed%20there,over%20the%20past%20four%20weeks.
I'm not from Auckland so there might be other ferry operators but I don't know of any significant operations except the Fuller ones. Are there any which might affect my calculations to any degree?
Where are the thousands of cyclists going to come from?
An unfortunate additional calculation is that it would seem our all knowing Government is planning to spend about $3 million per regular cyclist who currently takes their bike across from the North Shore to Auckland. I wonder if the ones who go from Devonport would actually cycle all the way around to the bridge if one was built? Should we assume $4 million? Or perhaps $5 million? That's for the ones who might actually use the bridge.
Perhaps some of them could be those who are presently dissuaded from using their bike because they can never be sure if they'll actually be allowed to travel with their bike!
That's what that article on Stuff (not the Herald) you linked to is actually about.
Sure it was. However when you read it you discover that there were 53 out of 12,000 who had to wait for the next ferry. Like NZ cyclists everywhere they complained bitterly and at length.
Well tough luck. They would have missed that ferry anyway if they had had a puncture wouldn't they? There is no form of transport I am aware of that guarantees that everyone who turns up, unbooked, for a particular trip is 100% sure to get on. I remember one occasion in Wellington when the local Green Party members, about 200 of them from memory, were going to hold a weekend conference in the Wairarapa. They all turned up at the Wellington Railway Station to board the train. This they did, as soon as the train was at the platform.
They were not at all popular with the regular passengers who had to stand for the whole trip. The Greens of course hadn't considered the fact that they could have warned the Railways that there would be a lot of extra people and that more carriages could be provided to cater for them.
"Like NZ cyclists everywhere they complained bitterly and at length."
My observation, especially after last Sunday on the Harbour Bridge, is that it's motorists that complain bitterly and at length.
There's an interesting contradiction in your comment above where firstly you say
"There is no form of transport I am aware of that guarantees that everyone who turns up, unbooked, for a particular trip is 100% sure to get on."
and then regarding the possibly apocryphal story about the Wairarapa line you say
"They were not at all popular with the regular passengers who had to stand for the whole trip."
At least they weren't left to wait for the next trip, which you regard as perfectly acceptable. Or is this just you 'complaining bitterly and at length' about not only cyclists but also Green Party members?
We won't get them.
Despite those that think cycling is a serious alternative way of commuting for the 20,000 commuters displaced by the cycle lane.
Of course this is not really about crossing the harbour at all, but more about indulging the leisure activity of bike enthusiasts who want the experience of crossing the Harbour Bridge
I was just trying to show these diehards that there are alternatives at much less cost, that is if they really want to take the bicycle to Takapuna beach.
I'm sorry. Yes you were doing exactly that and I misinterpreted your comment. I should have read what you said more carefully before responding.
EV Maritime are already advanced in design for construction for fully electric 200 passenger ferries for Auckland.
That would bring down the carbon production from public transport by 20%.
It's just one of the post-combustion projects this government has underway.
Any sort of public transport is more efficient than cars and rail and shipping is even better again, by a huge amount.
Doing electric ferries first is about the worst idea around.
For transporting people, sea transport actually seems to end up being quite energy inefficient and emissions intensive. Every instance I've looked at previously has turned out that way.
eg https://thestandard.org.nz/maybe-we-shouldnt-take-the-plane/#comment-1644247
and https://thestandard.org.nz/maybe-we-shouldnt-take-the-plane/#comment-1644247
I'll take a guess that the inefficiency and high emissions is because for ferries, passenger ships etc, the actual cargo (humans) is a tiny tiny portion of the mass getting moved around. Whereas for any kind of non-human cargo, the payload is a decent fraction of the total mass getting moved, so the efficiency is much higher for shipping non-human cargo.
I also very strongly suspect that the passenger km per litre for Auckland's current bus fleet probably isn't that great compared to passenger km per litre for private car transport. It wasn't in the 80's when I saw some actual numbers as part of engineering coursework, and it wasn't when I managed to find actual numbers for some US bus public transport systems. (It's probably going to be very hard to get numbers for Orcland's current bus transport system, because it's done by private operators and commercial sensitivity). This inefficiency and high emissions is largely due to a lot of bus movements happening with very few or zero passengers.
The only emissions standout for public transport is when it's electrified, like Orcland's trains. Or electrified bus fleets that are happening elsewhere (shamefully not NZ).
None of this is an argument against public transport. There's the strong social good which makes a good public transport system a necessity for a reasonably livable city. Vehicle efficiency is also only a small part of overall efficiency, there's also the demands on public infrastructure to consider. That's where public transport tends to do much better, and overcomes its usually poor energy efficiency and emissions performance.
Make that second link back to comments here on TS https://thestandard.org.nz/maybe-we-shouldnt-take-the-plane/#comment-1644274
Well Auckland is a tale of two types of ferries, where higher speed Waiheke boats are a category all their own.
I presume they will be going only after the smaller cross harbour ferries for electrification.
'Heavy problem' is going to be a lot worse if they bring in batteries, and like planes the drag is greater from weight alone, so they need more power and bigger batteries….
As well I would question the 20% emissions claim made by a self interested party. Are they talking about kg of CO2 per unit volume of diesel engines…which wouldnt change for diesel used in buses or ferries or other emissions from by product of combustion.
Then theres is the hype over something that is always just around the corner
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/111751235/auckland-could-have-electric-ferries-in-time-for-2021-americas-cup
Wellington was supposed to have electric buses without wires to replace the trolleys…just around the corner.
Energy per battery gram is increasing density annually, and thankfully the electric car tech is quickly transferring to marine.
Toyota is the one to watch re Solid State.
Our convergence of policy goals with international post-combistion tech is fortuitous.
Next to watch is whole corporate and rental vehicle fleets transforming, driving the secondary market.
It's more exciting watching jugs heating up than watching Toyota for technical developments. Toyota tend to keep technical developments very close to their chest until they're pretty much at the point of releasing them.
So Toyota may yet surprise us, but they haven't yet demonstrated in-house battery prowess. Their supplies come from the usual suspects – Panasonic, CATL etc.
So I'm finding it really hard to form an opinion on whether the mutterings about Toyota solid-state batteries are something real, or a dead-end like their hydrogen efforts.
Power densities for batteries arent increasing as much as many like to think from lab results. However the process still requires a large number of individual cells within their own 'package' to scale up to something usable. What looks to be a larger battery for the new Ford F150 electric ute even requires an internal liquid cooling system.
A further note on Auckland ferries, the half moon bay run for cars and trucks uses 3 quite large ferries ( large compared to the very small one that goes to the CBD). Not many passengers who arent in cars or trucks for that service but it would consume a lot of diesel, this service is essential for Waihekes supplies – on one run they had such heavy trucks carrying road asphalt that water was around the cars and trucks tires!. A freight service also runs to Great Barrier
It is both extraordinary luck and good management that this Wednesday the Climate Commission plan comes out just as central government is remaking our public service and our economy.
Optimum moment to achieve good policy changes.
Very much the transformational moment to engage through.
All transport off our settled islands is public.
If Auckland can require carbon-free ferries, so can Wellington, Stewart Island, Abel Tasman sea shuttles, Kawau, and the rest.
And just like fake meat, fake cheese, organic vegetables and almond milk, yup again its the remaining midle class leading the way.
Accelerated electric bus fleet replacement is also budgeted for and underway through AT.
They reversed it in Wellington.
The passengers thought that having to push the bus was a little fetch.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/109249341/passengers-push-start-bus-after-it-gets-stuck-in-central-wellington
Yep, too much for the bus passengers – that Stuff article says it was pushy pedestrians who tried to lend a hand. When will do-gooders learn?
One of my earliest (hazy) memories (as a very young bus passenger) was of an (electric) trolleybus driver (in Auckland) scrambling to re-attach power couplings to overhead lines using some kind of (presumably well-insulated?) stick. They didn't, and still don't pay bus drivers enough, imho.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybuses_in_Auckland
Stick ?
The trolleys had long cords at the back of the bus which the driver which use to raise and lower the power poles. No risk to them from that. Trams had previously the same system for their poles
Thanks for that.
It's a ‘memory of a memory’ from my preschool years (~1960) – I had/have the impression that the 'powerpoles' had accidentally detached (dewired) from the overhead powerlines, that the driver appeared to be using a stick-like implement to help reattach (guide/push) them back into place, and that it was taking him longer than he expected/wanted.
Thinking on it, I can't imagine how I might have had a good view of this incident from inside the trolleybus (presumably I was in the company of a parent or grandparent), but as I said it's a hazy recollection, and Auckland is only the most likely location. Still, whatever I saw it certainly made a lasting impression.
For what it's worth the Russians discovered a very long time ago that by strongly tapering the trolley poles and keeping the effective tip mass to a minimum they could virtually eliminate de-lining as was so common in the fleet we were operating.
I noticed this when I was working there and asked about it at the time. In the city I was in trolley busses were very common and I never once saw a de-lining.
This has been done all over europe and still exists and is in use.
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/05/shopping-over-water-bridges-that-carry.html
but in saying that it would be smart use of space and i doubt that the new class of architects would even be able to bend their mind around 'smart use of space'.
Dammit you are right, middle class protesters instead of demanding a cycleway on the Harbour Bridge, should be demanding that one lane of the Harbour Bridge be given over to housing. Maybe we could have a three month trial of that?
And after three months if the houses on the Bridge are not successful in easing traffic congestion just throw them over the side.
hahahahah, indeed. and in three hundred years there would be something to look at for tourists. In saying that, some of these bridges are just quite brilliant.
It certainly wouldn't be a new idea would it. In about 1600 the "Old" London Bridge was covered in dwellings in which, apparently, about 500 people lived.
https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/living-thames-history-london-bridge-one-celebrated-lost-landmarks-205294
You can't read the full story but this is what it looked like.
A sky pool and poor doors and they'll be in business.
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/feb/02/penthouses-poor-doors-nine-elms-battersea-london-luxury-housing-development
Sounds all right. Can you get some government funding and call for volunteers with skills to help. We might get something done then.
Thirty two years ago.
That really makes me feel old. It does seem just like yesterday.
I wonder whatever happened to the man who stopped the tanks?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeFzeNAHEhU
There's a film or two about it:
The Tank Man (full film) | FRONTLINE – YouTube
Official Trailer (imdb.com)
From a google search
In a speech to the President's Club in 1999, Bruce Herschensohn, former deputy special assistant to President Richard Nixon, alleged that he was executed 14 days later; other sources alleged he was executed by firing squad a few months after the Tiananmen Square protests.
But maybe,
I am reminded of a comment in an Alistair Cooke Letter from America when Duke Ellington died. Cooke finished it with something like.
"Duke Ellington died last week, but I don't have to believe it if I don't want to"
You are probably quite right and he is dead. I don't want to believe it though. I'll believe the last two words. "But maybe".
Can someone explain why it's going to take a year to phase in welfare increases? The govt said on budget day that increasing benefits creates an economic stimulation because beneficiaries spend and spend locally, what I don't understand is why wait a year to phase in needed economic stimulation when people need the help now and businesses who will benefit from increased spending need the stimulation now , some won't survive a year.
Is it because our Bureaucrats are unable to work fast, or because the govt wants to ensure the increases won't be clawed back by deductions from other top up benefits of is it because the govt doesn't wanna increase payments while the winter energy payment is in effect (heaven forbid people had a few bucks extra)
An economic stimulus works only if they get the cash out quickly. This is not quick.
I also don't understand the $30-50 , why isn't everyone getting the much needed $50 ESPECIALLY people on disability benefits.
Phasing in $20 in July then waiting till next year seems …. Pathetic and unlikely to increase spending and stimulate the economy as much as giving everyone on welfare $50 next month.
Surely it's not that hard to legislate that msd can't deduct from other payments…. Surely it doesn't take a bloody year
There was an earlier rise in April 1 of 3%…have you forgotten already ?
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/main-benefits-increase-line-wages
Politically they know that people quickly forget like you have, and stretch it for those reasons
Coupled with the Winter energy payment, every bit helps. Budget announcements generally kick in the following year, on April 1st.
coreyjhumm…take heart mate, you are not alone in your frustration.
https://www.cpag.org.nz/news/
A group of anti-poverty campaigners has called on the Government to implement its Budget benefit plans on 1 July, rather than staggering increases across 1 July 2021 and 1 April 2022, as announced last week.
The Government announced, as part of Budget 2021, that core benefit levels would increase by $20 per week on 1 July, with additional increases to bring it up to $55 in total on 1 April 2022.
But the Government has given no reason why these increases have been staggered.
“People are suffering unnecessarily. We are just one of many groups who have been calling for significant and urgent increases to benefit levels for years now,” said Caitlin Neuwelt-Kearns, Researcher at the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). CPAG is part of the Fairer Future collaboration of groups, which is calling for liveable incomes for all.
The orginization Fairer Futures' website has a Key Information page which clearly outlines the history of social support in New Zealand and reminds those who would forget that we have gone from providing decent support up to the 1980s to being the third worst in the OECD just prior to Te Virus.
Drip feeding is just cruel, but I guess some folk just like to see others beg.
edit
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018798565/prof-shanna-swan-how-our-modern-world-is-threatening-sperm-counts
The environmental and reproductive epidemiologist predicts most couples might need assisted reproduction by 2045. ..
In 2017, Swan and her team of researchers completed a major study that found over the past four decades sperm levels among men in Western countries had dropped by more than 50 percent. The study involved examining 185 studies involving close to 45,000 healthy men.,,
"Sperm concentration was close to 100 million per millilitre, but now it's dropped to 47," Swan said…
Lifestyle factors affecting sperm health and fertility include exposure to smoking, excessive drinking, lack of exercise, poor diet, and stress. Adopting a healthier lifestyle could improve sperm health, Swan said.
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which impact on our bodies' hormones, and other chemicals found in the environment were also taking a toll on sperm health, she said…
Swan has studied phthalates, which make plastics soft and flexible, act as fragrances in personal care products, and are found in foods.
"What they can do is lower testosterone. This has been shown in the laboratory."…
The rise of gender fluidity and increasing numbers of transgender people could also be related to chemicals impacting on human hormones.
Swan said when a breeding animal was exposed to phthalates, their male offspring sometimes had "incomplete genitals". The same could occur in human children, with risks of phthalate exposure highest in early pregnancy, she said.
"How those boys are born with those smaller genitals, that is a lifetime effect and it actually is linked to them having lower sperm count."
Phthalates were found around the planet and also impacted on the fertility of wildlife, Swan said.
“Many studies have linked exposure to these chemicals to declines in litter size and endangerment of multiple species.”
Watch out men (and women). Maybe you should stop drenching yourselves in nice smellies and go back to the 'sweet summer sweat' that they sing about in Hotel California.
Then there is this: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/444119/hui-tackles-decline-of-sea-life-off-coromandel-peninsula
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018798465/nsw-mouse-plague-spreads-to-waterways-around-the-state
They have had this before. They know it happens after prolonged drought. In an organised farming community they would be super-vigilant because of past records about these outbreaks, and how to prevent them. Dont we learn – whats the use of education?