Open mike 06/02/2021

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 6th, 2021 - 29 comments
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29 comments on “Open mike 06/02/2021 ”

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  1. Pat 1
    6 February 2021 at 8:21 am

    "The Government continues to choose to create this environment. It also continues to be rewarded by voters.

    But life for the ‘have nots’ is grim.

    Life for the ‘haves’ could get grim if the ‘have nots’ – many of whom are educated and can mobilise online – have no disposable income left to stimulate the economy, flock to Australia once they can, or find a home in fringe movements that cause civil unrest.

    It would take nerve for Robertson to tell the business audience he’s due to address on Tuesday what he told a similar crowd in April: that we can't allow inequality to take hold in our recovery."

    https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/108922/jen%C3%A9e-tibshraenys-take-revelation-treasury-and-rbnz-year-ago-warned-robertson-he-may

    Excellent summary at Interest.co.nz….and Robertson (or Labour ) havnt provided any evidence of 'nerve' in the past 4 years..

    • Nic the NZer 1.1
      6 February 2021 at 8:57 am

      Unfortunately this whole discussion will lead to a premature austerity narrative, at which point the continuing house price rises will fade into the background relative to more pressing economic problems.

      http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=46649

      From a survey of bond investors,

      "One respondent said:

      While the idea of raising inflation expectations, to help reach the bank’s target of actual inflation, is very popular, it is arguably less clear to what extent central banks can really influence inflation expectations and actual inflation.

      The game is well and truly up!"

      • Pat 1.1.1
        6 February 2021 at 9:09 am

        There is no need for an austerity narrative.

        As has been pointed out by many, a sovereign currency issuer budget does not operate the same way as a household….why then are we propping up our economy with ever expanding PRIVATE debt that must ultimately be defaulted?

        The Government can support investment and employment directly without enriching the banks and investor class…..the risks are then carried equally.

  2. Muttonbird 2
    6 February 2021 at 11:17 am

    This looks pretty epic. A stunning addition to Wellington. RMA bypassed, don't have an issue with it. Pipes probably need fixing first though.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/435893/major-walking-and-cycling-link-between-wellington-and-lower-hutt-gets-go-ahead

    • Treetop 2.1
      6 February 2021 at 1:50 pm

      I raised last night on OM a reply to Greywarshark starting another venture before the water and sewage pipes get fixed was what the WCC do. Easy to see why the immediate pipe work gets delayed until it is an emergency.

      Does anyone know if the sludge from the Happy Valley tip is still being trucked at night to Moa Point?

    • Ad 2.2
      6 February 2021 at 5:55 pm

      This one is an NZUp project.

      It will also help Kiwirail's line to Centreport survive another winter.

      Wellington Water is supposed to be paying for itself.

    • RedLogix 2.3
      6 February 2021 at 8:13 pm

      The 1m main pipeline that runs from Petone into the city is relatively new, should be in good order and is located directly under the motorway. It will not be impacted by this new seawall/cycleway project at all.

      Yes Wellington Water do have some serious problems with their ageing distribution pipelines. However WW is a relatively new entity that was the result of merging water supply assets from the Regional Council (Bulk Water Supply), and distribution assets from the four cities (Wellington, Porirua, Upper and Lower Hutt) sometime in 2014.

      An astute observer will note that virtually all of the recent problems are located in just one of these five prior entities – the Wellington City council asset base. It's well known by anyone with inside experience that the WCC ran it's water infrastructure into the ground for decades, and the people responsible for maintaining and operating that asset were held in low pretty low regard by anyone who had to deal with them.

      Much of this can be sheeted back to a Council that consistently prioritised internal political grandstanding ahead of bread and butter concerns like water supply. Well the chooks have come home to roost.

      • Ad 2.3.1
        6 February 2021 at 11:32 pm

        7 years is reasonable time to form and run a consolidated AMP.

        https://www.wellingtonwater.co.nz/about-us/history-of-wellington-water/

        It's yet another political gift to Minister Mahuta's water governance reforms.

        • RedLogix 2.3.1.1
          6 February 2021 at 11:41 pm

          In most respects yes, but pipeline infrastructure is managed on much longer time horizons than that. Typically the civil and mechanical components of a pumping station will be designed with a 50 yr economic life for example. I'm not certain of the number used on pipelines, but it won't be less.

          Ultimately the entire WCC pipeline infrastructure older than maybe 30 – 40 yrs is going to be have be replaced (especially those using older technology and non HDPE materials), but it's going to take maybe that long to achieve. The newer fusion welded HDPE pipes are remarkably resilient and stable – it's worth making the change.

          But a massive task, and big budgets. Let’s just say I have a fair bit of acquired empathy for the WW staff who have to deal with this mess.

  3. Muttonbird 3
    6 February 2021 at 11:34 am

    Rimmer is delivering a state of the nation speech. Simply a highjacking of Waitangi day in my opinion, the timing and motive of which may have racist and/or white-supremacist undertones.

    Can't bring myself to watch, anyone got a rundown of what he's saying?

    • Herodotus 3.1
      6 February 2021 at 12:49 pm

      You are aware that he is of Ngāpuhi Māori descent?

    • Incognito 3.2
      6 February 2021 at 3:02 pm

      You haven’t missed anything. I yawned throughout and I could swear he mentioned:

      A Trifecta for Better Lawnmaking

      I could hear even the growing grass groan.

      He also reckons that NZ Parliament suffers from lachanophobia.

      A word cloud would be dominated by the word-root “free”. Māori was mentioned only once, in the context of home ownership.

      It was a rambling rant about the best of times and the worst of times here in Aotearoa-New Zealand straight out of ACT’s Manifesto and Election Campaign Handbook.

    • fender 3.3
      6 February 2021 at 3:53 pm

      Considering these ACT ****wits are always saying government should get out of people's lives I propose they all leave parliament immediately.

  4. Anker 4
    6 February 2021 at 12:50 pm
    • Am choosing not to read anything Rimmer says.
    • and in response to Muttonbird, the cycleway is outstanding but yes please can someone come up with a plan, followed by action
  6. Herodotus 6
    6 February 2021 at 1:54 pm

    So in 2012 when Labour accepted there had been a long running housing affordability issue and announced Kiwibuild.

    we have just yesterday our pm comment “Speaking to reporters yesterday, Ardern said the Government was looking into how it could free up more Crown land for housing developments.”what were you doing during the last term and your time in opposition ?

    in 2017 all government land was viewed for its ability to be used into housing, and now we have another review of govts land.
    I remind that the governments policies WITH known consequences of low interest rates and the influx of $$ to the property market.why not admit it that there is no motivation to any real solutions🤫
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/reverse-jesus-act-leader-david-seymour-takes-aim-at-govt-for-declaring-wrong-crisis/V6IPAWB3SYPD2SWIHDCZF34IZQ/

  7. millsy 7
    6 February 2021 at 3:56 pm

    Happy Waitangi Day everyone..

    https://youtu.be/Lltk5zUgXZY

  8. Morrissey 8
    6 February 2021 at 4:18 pm

    Relax: those moral exemplars at YouTube are protecting you.

    No need to trouble yourself thinking when some unaccountable private company does it for you. sad frown no angry

    https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2102/S00029/youtube-financially-deplatforms-swath-of-indie-media-accounts.htm

    • weston 8.1
      6 February 2021 at 6:37 pm

      jimmy dore on his show recently had a couple of guys on one of which said he had been deplatformed for discussing a theory on the kennedy assasination !! the reason given for the deplatforming was that wikipedia said that oswald had done it !! .It truly would be hard to make shit like this up .

    • Incognito 8.2
      6 February 2021 at 7:12 pm

      YT and Google brandishing “political censorship” on behest of “our rulers”, hmmmm.

      This “rogue journalist” who’s based in Australia, apparently, is not capable of joining the dots!?

      How odd …

      https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/2/5/google-launches-australian-news-site-undercutting-content-pay-law [I hope this site is not too ‘woke’ for some here and won’t lead to kneejerk frothing at the mouth reactions]

  9. Sacha 9
    6 February 2021 at 7:02 pm

    Supermarket chain lobbies for less sick pay than proposed https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/124163427/foodstuffs-pushes-back-on-10-days-sick-leave-leaving-union-disappointed

    Supermarket group Foodstuffs has called on MPs to water down a plan to double the legal entitlement to sick leave to 10 days, saying it is worried about the impact on businesses’ costs and profits.

    The company, whose brands include New World, Pak’n, Four Square and Liquorland, said sick leave costs could double and it was “unlikely that businesses will recoup these costs in productivity gains”.

    Or they could I dunno take less profits..

    • Pat 9.1
      6 February 2021 at 7:27 pm

      of all the industries that can afford increased sick leave the supermarkets would have to be number one….not surprising however.

      wait for them to now claim margins will have to increase…bunch of thieves.

  10. georgecom 10
    6 February 2021 at 11:50 pm

    What a difference a year can make. This time 12 months ago Shane Reti was a mid table MP in the National Party caucus. Solid but quite distant from any ambitions toward being party leader. The large cracks in the Bridges leadership were yet to show themselves along with the toxic nature of the National caucus. Several senior and experienced MP's were in the queue to replace Bridges when the time was ripe.

    Now 12 months on he is the Deputy leader and biding his time to replace the current caretaker. Sure, he performance to date have not been stellar. The old joke about the bear and 2 men is applicable here however. The punch line of the joke is "the one guy doesn't have to run faster than the bear, he just has to run faster than the other guy". Similarly, Reti doesn't have to be a spectacular leader, he just needs to be a better prospect than Collins. Thats not such a tall order.

    The flies in his leadership ointment of course lie in (1) Bridges thinking he is good enough for a second shot. And truthfully he cannot have done worse than Collins in 2020. He would have had a shot at above 26% and several experienced MP's would probably still be in the party. (2) Luxon biding his time to have a tilt at the leadership as the promised Golden Boy.

  12. Eco Maori 12
    8 February 2021 at 5:40 pm

    I have been researching renewable energys for a number of years hence the post I am writing now.

    I think the best way to get to a carbon neutral World is to build renewable energy sector with a goal of over supply instead of trying to balance electricity production on supply and demand and a huge back up power storage ie battery/ Pumped hydro /and other electrical storage technologies.
    Sure we will need some storage.

    Why over build Solar and Wind power one reason is electricity will become free or next to free some time then all the technologys of (carbon capture) (desalination) (vertical agricultural growing vegetables in the same place they are consumed) all become viable with low cost energy. We could easily change the way we use electricity to use electricity when there is low cost electricity and not use electricity when electricity supply is low.

    Using this approach will be more cost effective and efficient to build.

    One point low cost energy is what grows a nation there are big examples of this in our history's and on the Papatuanuku stage at the moment.

    Ka kite Ano link below

    https://www.altenergymag.com/article/2020/05/readers-choice-2020-how-solar-and-wind-energy-are-now-cheaper-than-fossil-fuels/33132

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