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?
Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
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To be precise, the term “anti- Zionism” refers to (a) criticism of the political movement that created a modern Jewish state on the historical land of Israel, and to (b)the subjugation of Palestinians by the Israeli state. By contrast, the term “anti-Semitism” means bigotry and racism directed at Jewish people, ...
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And it's a pleasure that I have knownAnd it's a treasure that I have gainedAotearoa’s coalition government is fragile. It’s held together by the obsequious sycophancy of Christopher Luxon, who willingly contorts his party into the fringe positions of his junior coalition partners and is unwilling to contradict them. The ...
The Select Committee hearing submissions on the fast-track consenting legislation is starting to become a beat-up of regional councils. The inflexibility and slow workings of the Councils were prominent in two submissions yesterday. One, from the Coromandel Marine Farmers Association, simply said that the Waikato Regional Council’s planning decisions were ...
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Earlier this year, the Herald ran a series of articles amounting to a sustained campaign against raised pedestrian crossings, by reporter Bernard Orsman. A key part of that campaign concerned the raised crossings being installed as part of the Pt Chevalier to Westmere project, with at least 10 articles over ...
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Hi,Thanks to all the beautiful Worms who came to the LA Webworm popup on Saturday.It was a way to celebrate the online store we launched last week — and it was super special.As I talk about a lot, I really value our community here — and it was a BLAST ...
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Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
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 ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
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 ...
“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 political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
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. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
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. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
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. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
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 ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...
The coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...
A high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office. “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
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. ...
What happens when cash is king – and then your bank leaves. A businessman in a town that hasn’t had a bank for three years says the Reserve Bank’s plans to put more cash in the hands of its people and introduce digital cash could save hours of time. John ...
The people have spoken, in their hundreds. Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton has been overwhelmingly voted the favourite New Zealand book of 2023 as nominated by ReadingRoom readers. The vote can informally be regarded as the People’s Choice award – ahead of tonight’s Ockham book awards, where Catton’s novel is competing ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Garrow, Editorial Web Developer The government has handed down its budget for 2024–25. It’s delivered a $9.3 billion surplus for the financial year just about to finish but is forecasting a $28.3 billion deficit for next year. Here’s the key points: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Jim Chalmers has produced a benign third budget aimed at soothing hard-pressed voters agitated about their high cost of living and punishing interest rates. At the same time he has walked a tightrope, trying ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND A $300 energy rebate for all households from July 1 and a 10% increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance are key measures in a budget targeting cost-of-living relief that put ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised an “inflation-fighting and future-making budget” and he has delivered by introducing measures aimed at directly bringing down inflation. Combined, his A$300-per-household energy rebate and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised an “inflation-fighting and future-making budget” and he has delivered by introducing measures aimed at directly bringing down inflation. Combined, his A$300-per-household energy rebate and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been bitten by the giveaway bug. This budget contains not only the well-foreshadowed tax cuts for all taxpayers, but a range of new spending measures in health, education, infrastructure, aged ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews French authorities have imposed a curfew on New Caledonia’s capital Nouméa and banned public gatherings after supporters of the Pacific territory’s independence movement blocked roads, set fire to buildings and clashed with security forces. Tensions in New Caledonia have been inflamed by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Greste, Professor of Journalism and Communications, Macquarie University Governments and their agencies wield awesome power. At times, it is quite literally the power over life and death. That is why in any functioning democracy, we have robust checks and balances designed ...
As the world commemorates the 71st Everest Day, it's not just a celebration of human achievement but also a reflection of the enduring bond between New Zealand and Nepal. This day marks the historic feat of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa ...
Individuals in Wellington, led by City Councillor Nīkau Wi Neera, are working to use the ‘hecklers veto’ to shut down Inflection Point , a gender-critical event to be held at a Te Papa venue this weekend featuring speakers such as Bob McCoskrie ...
The transgender community, whānau & allies will rally outside Tākina/Wellington Convention Centre against anti-trans confederation “Inflection Point NZ,” who are hosting a conference to encourage parliamentarians to restrict trans people’s ...
A strategic asset for Auckland that has been fought over for years as either sacrosanct or a sacred cow looks certain to be sold and the proceeds of around $1.3 billion put in a new investment fund. A year after bitter political struggle ended in a compromise in which Auckland ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – the Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the ...
RNZ Pacific New Caledonians lined up in long queues outside shopping centres to buy supplies in the capital Nouméa today amid political unrest in the French territory Demonstrations, marches and clashes with security forces erupted yesterday and French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told the public broadcaster he had called ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Chalmers, Senior Lecturer in Human Movement, University of South Australia The tragic death of Manly rugby league player Keith Titmuss in 2020 due to exertional heat stroke is a reminder of the life-threatening nature of the condition. Titmuss died after ...
Internet Governance Project founder Milton Mueller asked “is the Christchurch Call accomplishing anything?” Increasingly it seems the only thing it hopes to achieve is killing off free expression. ...
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has cancelled his visit to New Caledonia due to pro-independence unrest throughout the French Pacific territory. Peters and a delegation of other ministers was due to visit the capital Nouméa later this week. Nouméa’s La Tontouta International Airport is expected to remain closed ...
Audition by Pip Adam and Lioness by Emily Perkins are both shortlisted for the fiction award at the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Here the authors discuss awards, writing, Selling Sunset, review culture, Zoolander and more.Pip Adam: Whenever I think about writers and our ambitions, I can’t help ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Broomhall, Director, Gender and Women’s History Research Centre, Australian Catholic University Andrea Mantegna, Minerva (Athena) expelling Vices from the Garden of Virtue, from the Studiolo of Isabella d’Este, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua (c. 1499–1502).Louvre Museum/Wikimedia Commons Wartime has often presented opportunities ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images The stories Aotearoa New Zealand tells itself about the history of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi have evolved considerably over time. For many decades, starting with the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Carter, Associate Professor, RMIT University Aurora visible from Cope Cope, Victoria on May 11 2024.cafuego/Flickr, CC BY-SA On Saturday evening before Mother’s Day, Australians witnessed a rare celestial spectacle: a breathtaking display of aurora australis, also known as the southern ...
Tara Ward watches as TVNZ’s long-running current affairs show bows out with humility and grace.We have just 12 days left to view the final episode of Sunday on TVNZ+. In just over a week, there will be no more evidence of the award-winning current affairs show on the digital ...
To celebrate New Zealand Music Month, Sophie Ricketts wears a different band T-shirt every day. Here she picks her top 20. I love music. I love listening to it, I love seeing it live, and I love buying a T-shirt from the band or artist I’ve enjoyed. Every year, during ...
Research from AA Insurance reveals more and more people are taking pride in their garage. Meet three New Zealanders using their space in creative ways.If you think of a garage, you might picture a dark room with a parked car. There might be some tools on the wall, or ...
Government spending cuts have forced Scion, the dedicated Crown research institute charged with growing forestry exports, to propose shedding a significant number of scientists. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yasir Arafat, Senior Research Associate, Edith Cowan University asharkyu, Shutterstock As electric vehicle (EV) demand accelerates, so does the need for lithium batteries. But these batteries contain valuable critical minerals, as well as toxic materials, so they should not be treated ...
NZDF personnel will support the New Zealand National Commemorative Service at the Cassino War Cemetery and a New Zealand Service of Remembrance at the Cassino Railway Station, next week. ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a masseuse tells us how much she earns and where she spends it. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 33 Ethnicity: NZ EuropeanRole: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liam Byrne, Honorary Fellow, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne For many reasons, the 2024 US presidential election will be like no other. Republican nominee Donald Trump’s campaign is unprecedented. Never before has a former president who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meru Sheel, Associate Professor and Epidemiologist, Infectious Diseases, Immunisation and Emergencies Group, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney We know vaccines have been a miracle for public health. Now, new research led by the World Health Organization has found vaccines ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chrissy Severinsen, Associate Professor in Public Health, Massey University Getty Images Becoming a mother is a significant identity shift, and many new mums struggle. Up to 18% of New Zealand mothers experience depression and anxiety after giving birth. The first ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron Teo, Lecturer in Curriculum and Pedagogy, University of Southern Queensland ABC Much has been written and produced about white men’s fetishisation of Asian women (crudely nicknamed “yellow fever”). The ABC’s comedy series White Fever breaks new ground by exploring an ...
The children’s minister could have been legally brought before the tribunal after all, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. The end of ...
Seen comments on social media about eating bugs? Byron Clark explains the short history of our latest conspiracy. “No, Bill Gates nor Klaus Schwab has not funded the research done here,” reads an August 2023 Facebook post from Otago Locusts, the first farm in Aotearoa rearing insects for human consumption. ...
Rural post is essential but expensive, and residents are worried about its future. It’s 9.30am on a Monday morning in rural Manawatū, and farmer Mairi Whittle is on an all-terrain vehicle with her two young sons. After moving sheep from one slope to another, she swings by the letterbox. Opening ...
Remediating Mt Ruapehu if things go pear-shaped could cost more than $80m – and the new operators aren’t on the hook for any of it The post DoC responsible for $87.5m Ruapehu remediation appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: Unfortunately, the term ‘woke’ is back in the news and for the most stupid of reasons: Act leader David Seymour is now designating certain types of food as ‘woke’ or not. As the Government makes cuts to school lunches, let us consider what ‘woke’ might mean here. ...
Analysis: The Government’s decision to return to a mega-style prison seems to be missing a clear business case The post Mega-prison’s missing business case appeared first on Newsroom. ...
New Zealand authors hate houseplants. They are frightened of them, have nightmares about them, regard them as bad omens; they are afraid, too, of the responsibility of caring for them, and think of them as an alien species that will take over the selfish planet of their interior lives. There ...
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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?
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?