I thought it worth carrying on with a discussion I was having with Red Logix last night.
That is around the potential impact of AI on our lives in the future. I was looking at the creative side of things. But, I think this has the potential to impact a number of areas, and should be of concern for us when we think about the futures of our children and grand-children with the way things are going.
I was first a bit shocked when my son asked ChatGPT to write a poem about me. The inputs were to write a dark 100 word poem about me, and that I was autistic, illiterate, and colour-blind. The illiterate and colourblind, definitely not. The autistic, maybe lol??
So it came up with one poem which I thought was quite good. So, I was interested to see what would happen if the same variables were inputted again. Would it just repeat the same poem, or come up with something different? Well, I think it came up with something better, and here it is:
Autistic, illiterate, and blind
In darkness, he stumbled and fumbled
His love for me, hard to find.
Colorless memories of my childhood
No bedtime stories, no hugs or kisses
Silent dinners, no laughter or smiles
My heart, heavy with his misses
He couldn't teach me to read or write
Or tell me the colors of the rainbow
But he tried to show me love in his way
Through silence, his love did glow
Now as I sit in the dark, alone
I wonder if he ever knew
How much I loved him in return
And how much I missed him too
Someone I showed this to said they were feeling sorry for ChatGPT lol.
The thing is, this is pretty good, and things will only get better from here.
He shows how people are now creating songs with replicas of the voices of popular singers, and how some people prefer the replicas to the original. He thinks it won't be long before record labels cut out the singer altogether, and create their own voices. In fact, if you spend as little as $100, there are some pretty good apps out there now to do this. For instance, have a listen to "Keela".
The point is, it won't be that long before AI writes the songs, creates the music, and sings the songs, and human creativity has basically been eliminated from the process.
On One News the other night, they had an item about Hollywood creators going on strike. One of their concerns was the possibility that AI could take their jobs. In the news item, a AI created film was shown. It was a bit rough around the edges, but simulated real people in the film. It was quite obvious that it is only a matter of time before it will be impossible to tell whether a film has real people or not.
So, I think the Hollywood creatives are justified in being very afraid.
One of my concerns with this is, are we about to effectively lose our souls to AI? The poem written about me seemed to replicate human emotions. But, the bot producing these presumably experiences nothing of the emotions it is emulating.
Another concern is that AI is not only going to impact creative industries, but many areas of our lives. So, what does that mean for future career opportunities for our children in 20 years time or whatever?
I understand that we have always progressed and opportunities have arisen from that progress. But, I think this is more fundamental in that anything we can do, AI will be able to do it better and faster.
It is the beginning of May and so far this year we have had the resignation of Jacinda Ardern, Stuart Nash, Mika Whaitiri and now Elizabeth Kerekere (off the top of my head)…all from the governing parties.
You may not consider that indicative of anything but from where im sitting its not exactly indicating stability and control.
good/better to clean house before the election campaign starts.
However, Ardern left because she was burnt out, and she picked her timing well. Nash left because he was doing his job badly. We don't really know why Whaitiri left or why now, Kerekere's position was obviously untenably all round. Those things are all different.
Ardern's timing was obviously about stability for Labour. If Kerekere was pushed, this also strikes me as being about stability (she was a loose unit for the election). Nash is retiring (he's not the only one). That leaves Whaitiri.
We are all well rid of her. I will never forget her sneering distain for submitters to the Parliamentary process who happened to not share her ideological viewpoint.
One of the better opinions about decling global population I've read – obviously because it fits my world view. However, there's a lot for those who still believe in the economic growth paradigm to think about – it doesn't demonise 'over-populated poor countries' or their people, which some of the doomsday narratives and blame-gamers do.
As the population and sustainability director at the Center for Biological Diversity, I’ve seen the devastating effects of our ever-expanding footprint on global ecosystems. But if you listen to economists (and Elon Musk), you might believe falling birthrates mean the sky is falling as fewer babies means fewer workers and consumers driving economic growth.
But there’s more to the story than dollars. Where our current model of endless growth and short-term profits sacrifices vulnerable people and the planet’s future, population decline could help create a future with more opportunity and a healthy, biologically rich world. We’re at a crossroads—and we decide what happens next.
You would probably enjoy Peter Zeihan. His thesis has pretty much been that the world won't continue on as it has been for various reasons, including demographic.
I think the areas that will reduce will be manufacturing to do with consumer goods.
However, other areas may increase. For instance, a lot of businesses will seek to automate to reduce their labour costs due to decreased demand. And, also, there is the coming influx of green technology.
So, there will be declines in some areas, but increases in others.
A fair primer – but he's still talking within the economic growth model, not beyond it – does he have an alternative paradigm – and does he have it in writing, rather than video format?
Zeihan has published four books. The most recent The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization is what you might be looking for.
Most people find his approach well worth engaging with, even if you do not agree with all of his underlying assumptions and conclusions. If nothing else he is highly educated and exceptionally experienced in this field – and employs a decent team of researchers.
He completed his post-grad study at Otago – and has a very soft spot for NZ. Comes back here for tramping holidays whenever he can.
You are correct – in that he is talking to the economic growth model in that clip, but he frequently acknowledges that humans have never faced this demographic inversion ever before – and we absolutely no idea of what economic model might work, or how it will pan out.
So imagine a world where advanced AI in lower-population economies and societies look after more of the drudgery than now.
No more driving or hauling. Fewer surgeons and nurses. Fewer teachers. Fewer lawyers and accountants. Fewer low-paid laborious jobs. Fewer farm jobs of any kind. Deep mechanisation of life.
Less and less trust in corporatised or politicised media, so people privilege actual dialogue. Far less human error. Less waste and manufacturing mistakes.
More interesting and targeted entertainment. More time to be creative and innovative in our own way. More ability to be good humans.
Most people are completely under-estimating the implications of below replacement levels of fertility. Right now South Korea – which is merely leading the pack – is at 0.8, and on track to be 0.7 in just a few more years.
This means that for every 100 South Koreans who are alive today – there will be only 4 South Koreans in their great-grandchildren's generation. Roughly a 95% population collapse. Pretty much all developed nations are on the same path, and so far there does not seem to be any organic floor to how low this will go.
AI might change the supply side of the problem, but will do little on the demand side because it will not consume in the way humans do.
Japan had a 'first mover' advantage in this game, they started depopulating two decades before anyone else. The strategy they came up with was to shift a lot of their manufacturing capacity out of Japan – where they knew there was going to be a shortage of cost-effective labour – to the locations where their markets are. And then retain the design and planning in Japan which has high margins and kept their economy afloat.
For instance the largest Toyota factories in the world are in the USA.
This worked for Japan because they really had no competitors in this space for several decades. But it can only work if you have a partner nation who still has the labour resource and the market for your product. When everyone is in the same ageing boat – it fast becomes a zero sum game.
For a wee place like New Zealand, what we've seen with COVID is a little precursor to low fertility:
Really high wage growth for necessary workers, especially in agriculture. Record low unemployment even for Maori.
Really fast shift in the kinds of workers needed, hence fast changes in immigration categories
Flatlining need for new schools other than in limited areas, and huge subsidies on childcare to keep people working
Massive premium on medical personnel, rest home workers, and rest home staff. Again altering immigration categories.
Massive pressure on housing stock to be ability-friendly, flat, secure, walk-in, semi-managed.
Explosion of home-based industries, startups, and workers who also have much higher choice to regulate their hours
Rapid digitisation of government, and accelerated withdrawal of shops from town centres including banks, post offices, supermarket and other checkouts. Again, far fewer shit jobs.
Many people have the intuition that when a population crashes, the amount of resources left to go around will increase on a per-person basis and this boost in individual prosperity will create a new homeostasis at which populations reach a sustainable, more-or-less constant level, or even start to grow. This intuition is wrong on three fronts.
In brief – there is no reason to think there is a floor on this fertility collapse. Secondly we have no credible or economic model that might be applicable. And thirdly – the linked article tries to express this – we greatly overestimate the relative scarcity of true creativity and talent. Those individuals who make the breakthroughs which keep innovation moving are rare. Really rare. Even with a population of 8b we still do not have enough of them.
In other words it is not at all clear that a falling population will have the capacity to maintain the resources to sustain even current levels of per capita human development, much less improve them.
And it does strike as somewhat pathological to hate your fellow human beings so much that anyone would welcome the extinction of 90% or more of us. In a moral sense it kinda makes your average mass murderer look like a choir boy.
So just to go through that articles' view of the downsides:
1. Labour Mobility
"Those who propose to “solve demographic collapse with immigration” are implicitly endorsing the creation of a toxic situation where the developed world’s economy is reliant on Africa staying poor."
That's not the way it's worked for Pacific Island countries for four decades. So much of their own home island economy is remittances. I loved hearing rich wineries beg for workers, and beg so hard they built accommodation for them, and have to increase wages fast. We used to have large scale employers like that and scarcity is doing what unions used to.
2. Breeding and Innovation.
"The sociological profile most amenable to what we think of as modern cosmopolitan society—one that is open-minded, pluralistic, technophilic, and egalitarian—is being aggressively deleted from the world’s population."
This weirdly eugenic argument might work in excessively xenophobic Japan. Perhaps we are all a great simmentals play. But the ex-colonies like Australia, Canada, US, NZ, and India know that their dynamism and success relies on the inter-border flow of people, ideas and capital.
3. The Family As Saviour
"Those who will throw their chips in with this massive cultural and demographic experiment by consciously creating a family, and then raising it in an intergenerationally durable culture, will shape the future of our species."
Women in the west who can since the 1970s abort children at will and otherwise control reproduction might humbly suggest that their human agency and wealth production and ability to innovate does not require conscious family production. Those who are required to generate families such as in most stern Muslim countries tend not to innovate and tend to be held back by this concept of family – and their population explosions strips their lands bare and turns their cities to squalor.
The authors of that article do acknowledge that this element of their argument looks uncomfortably close to the old eugenics of the 20th century. And in a world which now believes there is no such thing as biology, even the suggestion that talent, pro-socialability and productivity might have a genetic component that we are aggressively deleting from our population – is going to be met with vociferous denial.
Women in the west who can since the 1970s abort children at will and otherwise control reproduction might humbly suggest that their human agency and wealth production and ability to innovate does not require conscious family production.
And then in later life many deeply regret this lie they were told, mourning the children they left too late to have.
Those who are required to generate families such as in most stern Muslim countries tend not to innovate and tend to be held back by this concept of family – and their population explosions strips their lands bare and turns their cities to squalor.
Population collapse happening in Iran as well. Sitting at 1.71 in 2020 and dropping.
In October 2021, Iran's Population Studies Center warned that if demographic issues such as the aging population and drastic fall in birth rates continued to be neglected, Iran would go down an irreversible path of aging within the next eight years.
The further the fertility rate drops below 2.1 the faster the process. It's a bit like going bankrupt – slowly at first, then fast.
I first started mentioning fertility collapse a few years back, so its a bit gratifying to see it getting acknowledged and discussed. And it is such a novel and disturbing prospect – way worse in many aspects than COVID – that I don't think anyone even begins to properly understand the implications.
We have the richest nations in the world building bridges that fall down yet 2000 years ago with a world population of around 100mn, aqueducts were built that are still in use today. I'm pretty sure amongst our 8bn people there's enough smarts and ability to use AI and automation to eliminate manual labour, reduce engineering errors and enable a better quality of life for everyone
As an actual automation engineer I'm very much inclined to that view myself. If AI turns out to be an assistant and amplifier of human capacity – as seems a reasonable prospect – then yes I agree the potential is unlimited.
But just as money makes a person more of who they already are for both good and bad – I would ask that if we are going to amplify people with AI, then what exactly is it that we doing here?
I'm seeing problems if we don't address the social and cultural upheaval, for sure and humans are a bit shite at this – regressing into nationalism and all the other isms, but it can be avoided.
Compare for example Merkel's pragmatic response to the very well-educated, young, first wave of Syrian refugees to Orban's protectionism in Hungary. And, as Zeihan (above) mentions – Canada's immigration policy. Again though, they're working within economic growth. The problem of personal health services is problematic as well – and yes, Japan is already experimenting with technological solutions.
In terms of earth sustaining life, less consumption in our profligate growth economy (as you say, more time for personal creativity etc. and inherent value from that) is essential.
One reason why ACT, and National by extension, should never be allowed to get their hands on the Government tills and occupy the Treasury benches.
Ditching the dog-whistle and opting for the full-blown Alphorn, Seymour announces war on beneficiaries without even a shred of evidence to show that his underhand insinuations are accurate and correct.
David Seymour is effectively saying that all people in the areas that are most affected by recent weather events who have not yet filled out their Census form and who receive Government benefits & assistance will be cut off and left to dry. I cannot understand why anybody would vote for this fellow.
Those people already face a potential fine of up to $2,000. How many times does David Seymour and his merry band of privileged want to kick down those who are already down? It feels like a vindictive streak running their veins.
Toilet ‘humour’ seems to find fertile soil with certain RW politicians, e.g., Wayne Brown and his ‘joke’ about peeing on a NZH journalist. Of course, with a bit of (Google) effort one could easily dig up more examples.
Bugger, I’m slipping into the stereotyping hole, again
Just awful. Rotary members are generally tory through and through, have encountered a number of them over the years. Their party trick is ingratiating community service aka Philanthropy mini.
Those Restore Passenger Rail protesters surely need a medal for best timed protest:
Comprehensive passenger rail disasters this week in Auckland and Wellington, and a spectacular set of failures and tough reviews about Kiwirail's passenger ferries, plus being roasted by the Minister of Transport multiple times.
Stick at it protesters; you're annoying but you are right and your timing is perfect.
The three main operators have sold their towers off in a short space of time. And one has said they are moving to satellite coverage through Starlink. Details of how this will work haven't been revealed yet, but could be expensive, and limited bandwidth. Major advance for the large parts of the country where coverage is sketchy.
The towers are looking a bit like a stranded assett and may be seeing less use than currently. Taking them into two operators really won't change much, but will make the cell network much easier to regulate and maybe nationalise as essential infrastructure.
Point taken Graeme. So what I understand your saying is that you maintain that this sale is more successful than the greatest NZ salesman of all time who sold the "Yellow Pages" just before Google arrived.
There's also that it doesn't make much sense any more to have three competing networks of towers, and the 'hilltop wars' between the players are becoming irrelevant with satellite and 4 & 5G. There's a lot of shared sites now.
Around here (Queenstown) most of the sites go back to 2G when they were hammer and tongs claiming hilltops and fighting each other's consents. So you need three phones / sims to get good coverage, each has an area of near exclusivity. Having independent tower providers who compete on coverage and volume might improve things. Ideal would be a single state owned network
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
Opinion: New Health NZ commissioner Lester Levy is authorised to assume operational leadership – chief executive Margie Apa is effectively relegated to his operational deputy The post All-powerful Levy is feudal baron of a $28b fiefdom appeared first on Newsroom. ...
I thought it worth carrying on with a discussion I was having with Red Logix last night.
That is around the potential impact of AI on our lives in the future. I was looking at the creative side of things. But, I think this has the potential to impact a number of areas, and should be of concern for us when we think about the futures of our children and grand-children with the way things are going.
I was first a bit shocked when my son asked ChatGPT to write a poem about me. The inputs were to write a dark 100 word poem about me, and that I was autistic, illiterate, and colour-blind. The illiterate and colourblind, definitely not. The autistic, maybe lol??
So it came up with one poem which I thought was quite good. So, I was interested to see what would happen if the same variables were inputted again. Would it just repeat the same poem, or come up with something different? Well, I think it came up with something better, and here it is:
Someone I showed this to said they were feeling sorry for ChatGPT lol.
The thing is, this is pretty good, and things will only get better from here.
Here is an amusing video from producer, Rick Beato on this. (pronounced Be art o).
He shows how people are now creating songs with replicas of the voices of popular singers, and how some people prefer the replicas to the original. He thinks it won't be long before record labels cut out the singer altogether, and create their own voices. In fact, if you spend as little as $100, there are some pretty good apps out there now to do this. For instance, have a listen to "Keela".
The point is, it won't be that long before AI writes the songs, creates the music, and sings the songs, and human creativity has basically been eliminated from the process.
On One News the other night, they had an item about Hollywood creators going on strike. One of their concerns was the possibility that AI could take their jobs. In the news item, a AI created film was shown. It was a bit rough around the edges, but simulated real people in the film. It was quite obvious that it is only a matter of time before it will be impossible to tell whether a film has real people or not.
So, I think the Hollywood creatives are justified in being very afraid.
One of my concerns with this is, are we about to effectively lose our souls to AI? The poem written about me seemed to replicate human emotions. But, the bot producing these presumably experiences nothing of the emotions it is emulating.
Another concern is that AI is not only going to impact creative industries, but many areas of our lives. So, what does that mean for future career opportunities for our children in 20 years time or whatever?
Or will it be that not that long in the future we will witness the last job on earth.
Thank you Smithfield- an excellent article that should be a post in its own right,
I have just read this story in the Guardian which suggests AI is a threat to humanity.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/may/05/geoffrey-hinton-godfather-of-ai-fears-for-humanity
First they came for the Jericho professional firelighters with their newfangled oil-lit candles.
Then they came for the night cart pullers when Kaitaia put in a reticulated sewerage system .
Then for the psychologists when we all finally get our tailored algorithms to almost completely cure all mental illness.
And finally they came for me. Double-shot mocha thanks.
I understand that we have always progressed and opportunities have arisen from that progress. But, I think this is more fundamental in that anything we can do, AI will be able to do it better and faster.
sadly they don't seem to ever come for those that don't learn from history.
Wheels falling off?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/489360/green-mp-elizabeth-kerekere-resigns-from-party
Now she has "engaged the services of an employment lawyer".
This wreaks of an overblown ego and a sense of entitlement. Sounds like the Greens are well rid of her.
But the loss of one MP is hardly “wheels falling off”.
One?
Pat-I have no idea what you mean.
It is the beginning of May and so far this year we have had the resignation of Jacinda Ardern, Stuart Nash, Mika Whaitiri and now Elizabeth Kerekere (off the top of my head)…all from the governing parties.
You may not consider that indicative of anything but from where im sitting its not exactly indicating stability and control.
I forgot about Nash!
good/better to clean house before the election campaign starts.
However, Ardern left because she was burnt out, and she picked her timing well. Nash left because he was doing his job badly. We don't really know why Whaitiri left or why now, Kerekere's position was obviously untenably all round. Those things are all different.
Ardern's timing was obviously about stability for Labour. If Kerekere was pushed, this also strikes me as being about stability (she was a loose unit for the election). Nash is retiring (he's not the only one). That leaves Whaitiri.
The reasons (even if they are as described) are moot….the perception much less so.
4 (if my memory is accurate which it may not be) is becoming something of a habit.
not so much a habit as a series of unrelated events.
I'd be more convinced if Ardern hasn't been included (because hers was an ordinary resignation).
We are all well rid of her. I will never forget her sneering distain for submitters to the Parliamentary process who happened to not share her ideological viewpoint.
It wouldn't surprise me if she popped up as another Maori Party candidate at the next election.
They wouldn't want her
One of the better opinions about decling global population I've read – obviously because it fits my world view. However, there's a lot for those who still believe in the economic growth paradigm to think about – it doesn't demonise 'over-populated poor countries' or their people, which some of the doomsday narratives and blame-gamers do.
You would probably enjoy Peter Zeihan. His thesis has pretty much been that the world won't continue on as it has been for various reasons, including demographic.
He does a short video series on demographics as it affects various parts of the world.
I think the areas that will reduce will be manufacturing to do with consumer goods.
However, other areas may increase. For instance, a lot of businesses will seek to automate to reduce their labour costs due to decreased demand. And, also, there is the coming influx of green technology.
So, there will be declines in some areas, but increases in others.
A fair primer – but he's still talking within the economic growth model, not beyond it – does he have an alternative paradigm – and does he have it in writing, rather than video format?
Zeihan has published four books. The most recent The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization is what you might be looking for.
Most people find his approach well worth engaging with, even if you do not agree with all of his underlying assumptions and conclusions. If nothing else he is highly educated and exceptionally experienced in this field – and employs a decent team of researchers.
He completed his post-grad study at Otago – and has a very soft spot for NZ. Comes back here for tramping holidays whenever he can.
You are correct – in that he is talking to the economic growth model in that clip, but he frequently acknowledges that humans have never faced this demographic inversion ever before – and we absolutely no idea of what economic model might work, or how it will pan out.
Thanks – will look that up
So imagine a world where advanced AI in lower-population economies and societies look after more of the drudgery than now.
No more driving or hauling. Fewer surgeons and nurses. Fewer teachers. Fewer lawyers and accountants. Fewer low-paid laborious jobs. Fewer farm jobs of any kind. Deep mechanisation of life.
Less and less trust in corporatised or politicised media, so people privilege actual dialogue. Far less human error. Less waste and manufacturing mistakes.
More interesting and targeted entertainment. More time to be creative and innovative in our own way. More ability to be good humans.
Most people are completely under-estimating the implications of below replacement levels of fertility. Right now South Korea – which is merely leading the pack – is at 0.8, and on track to be 0.7 in just a few more years.
This means that for every 100 South Koreans who are alive today – there will be only 4 South Koreans in their great-grandchildren's generation. Roughly a 95% population collapse. Pretty much all developed nations are on the same path, and so far there does not seem to be any organic floor to how low this will go.
AI might change the supply side of the problem, but will do little on the demand side because it will not consume in the way humans do.
What are the downsides of low fertility like this?
Japan has been living with a few of the policy consequences for a while. Seem remarkably similar to NZ's own labour shortages.
https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2020/03/shrinkanomics-policy-lessons-from-japan-on-population-aging-schneider
Japan had a 'first mover' advantage in this game, they started depopulating two decades before anyone else. The strategy they came up with was to shift a lot of their manufacturing capacity out of Japan – where they knew there was going to be a shortage of cost-effective labour – to the locations where their markets are. And then retain the design and planning in Japan which has high margins and kept their economy afloat.
For instance the largest Toyota factories in the world are in the USA.
This worked for Japan because they really had no competitors in this space for several decades. But it can only work if you have a partner nation who still has the labour resource and the market for your product. When everyone is in the same ageing boat – it fast becomes a zero sum game.
For a wee place like New Zealand, what we've seen with COVID is a little precursor to low fertility:
struggling to see downside here.
The counter- balance to that view is made here:
https://www.palladiummag.com/2023/04/06/birth-rates-are-collapsing/
In brief – there is no reason to think there is a floor on this fertility collapse. Secondly we have no credible or economic model that might be applicable. And thirdly – the linked article tries to express this – we greatly overestimate the relative scarcity of true creativity and talent. Those individuals who make the breakthroughs which keep innovation moving are rare. Really rare. Even with a population of 8b we still do not have enough of them.
In other words it is not at all clear that a falling population will have the capacity to maintain the resources to sustain even current levels of per capita human development, much less improve them.
And it does strike as somewhat pathological to hate your fellow human beings so much that anyone would welcome the extinction of 90% or more of us. In a moral sense it kinda makes your average mass murderer look like a choir boy.
So just to go through that articles' view of the downsides:
1. Labour Mobility
"Those who propose to “solve demographic collapse with immigration” are implicitly endorsing the creation of a toxic situation where the developed world’s economy is reliant on Africa staying poor."
That's not the way it's worked for Pacific Island countries for four decades. So much of their own home island economy is remittances. I loved hearing rich wineries beg for workers, and beg so hard they built accommodation for them, and have to increase wages fast. We used to have large scale employers like that and scarcity is doing what unions used to.
2. Breeding and Innovation.
"The sociological profile most amenable to what we think of as modern cosmopolitan society—one that is open-minded, pluralistic, technophilic, and egalitarian—is being aggressively deleted from the world’s population."
This weirdly eugenic argument might work in excessively xenophobic Japan. Perhaps we are all a great simmentals play. But the ex-colonies like Australia, Canada, US, NZ, and India know that their dynamism and success relies on the inter-border flow of people, ideas and capital.
3. The Family As Saviour
"Those who will throw their chips in with this massive cultural and demographic experiment by consciously creating a family, and then raising it in an intergenerationally durable culture, will shape the future of our species."
Women in the west who can since the 1970s abort children at will and otherwise control reproduction might humbly suggest that their human agency and wealth production and ability to innovate does not require conscious family production. Those who are required to generate families such as in most stern Muslim countries tend not to innovate and tend to be held back by this concept of family – and their population explosions strips their lands bare and turns their cities to squalor.
The authors of that article do acknowledge that this element of their argument looks uncomfortably close to the old eugenics of the 20th century. And in a world which now believes there is no such thing as biology, even the suggestion that talent, pro-socialability and productivity might have a genetic component that we are aggressively deleting from our population – is going to be met with vociferous denial.
And then in later life many deeply regret this lie they were told, mourning the children they left too late to have.
Population collapse happening in Iran as well. Sitting at 1.71 in 2020 and dropping.
Not sure that stabilising at 95+ million people by 2040 counts as collapse.
https://www.mei.edu/publications/what-irans-emerging-demographic-tsunami-means-tehran
And from that same article:
The further the fertility rate drops below 2.1 the faster the process. It's a bit like going bankrupt – slowly at first, then fast.
I first started mentioning fertility collapse a few years back, so its a bit gratifying to see it getting acknowledged and discussed. And it is such a novel and disturbing prospect – way worse in many aspects than COVID – that I don't think anyone even begins to properly understand the implications.
Have you seen this Red?
Welcome to the hyper-ageing nation that is New Zealand
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300730132/welcome-to-the-hyperageing-nation-that-is-new-zealand
We have the richest nations in the world building bridges that fall down yet 2000 years ago with a world population of around 100mn, aqueducts were built that are still in use today. I'm pretty sure amongst our 8bn people there's enough smarts and ability to use AI and automation to eliminate manual labour, reduce engineering errors and enable a better quality of life for everyone
As an actual automation engineer I'm very much inclined to that view myself. If AI turns out to be an assistant and amplifier of human capacity – as seems a reasonable prospect – then yes I agree the potential is unlimited.
But just as money makes a person more of who they already are for both good and bad – I would ask that if we are going to amplify people with AI, then what exactly is it that we doing here?
Yep, I'm not seeing the downsides.
I'm seeing problems if we don't address the social and cultural upheaval, for sure and humans are a bit shite at this – regressing into nationalism and all the other isms, but it can be avoided.
Compare for example Merkel's pragmatic response to the very well-educated, young, first wave of Syrian refugees to Orban's protectionism in Hungary. And, as Zeihan (above) mentions – Canada's immigration policy. Again though, they're working within economic growth. The problem of personal health services is problematic as well – and yes, Japan is already experimenting with technological solutions.
In terms of earth sustaining life, less consumption in our profligate growth economy (as you say, more time for personal creativity etc. and inherent value from that) is essential.
Imagine that!
– MLK 1963 –
One reason why ACT, and National by extension, should never be allowed to get their hands on the Government tills and occupy the Treasury benches.
Ditching the dog-whistle and opting for the full-blown Alphorn, Seymour announces war on beneficiaries without even a shred of evidence to show that his underhand insinuations are accurate and correct.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/05/david-seymour-says-freeze-benefits-for-people-who-haven-t-filled-out-their-census.html
David Seymour is effectively saying that all people in the areas that are most affected by recent weather events who have not yet filled out their Census form and who receive Government benefits & assistance will be cut off and left to dry. I cannot understand why anybody would vote for this fellow.
Hard to call new low on this guy. It's like every time he opens his mouth he spews some new hate.
Punching down is his road house. Must be nice to be that smug and utterly indifferent to the human condition.
Those people already face a potential fine of up to $2,000. How many times does David Seymour and his merry band of privileged want to kick down those who are already down? It feels like a vindictive streak running their veins.
While English press otherwise wanks on about anointing another King today, actual politics still continues.
UK Labour is now the largest party in UK local government, for the first time sine 2002.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2023/may/04/local-elections-2023-latest-results-reactions-polls-close-england-conservatives-labour-rishi-sunak-keir-starmer-lib-dems-greens-live-updates
Top work Keir Starmer and team.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-rotary-club-apologises-over-images-of-former-pm-jacinda-arderns-face-on-toilet-seat/SIUOX3VUW5BW5BPYVD5SZR363Y/
Revolting specimens of humanity. She's gone from the top job yet they are still pouring vitriol all over her.
Highly respected members of society, no less! [putting away into the bottom drawer my pile of sticky labels with derogatory stereotypes]
From the text:
Oh yeah? Look at the image. That was an innocent joke? The team wore the effigies during the debate.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
And I understand that the chap in the picture with his hand in the toilet is Greg Moyle, Deputy Chair of the Waitematā Local Board. C&R of course.
Toilet ‘humour’ seems to find fertile soil with certain RW politicians, e.g., Wayne Brown and his ‘joke’ about peeing on a NZH journalist. Of course, with a bit of (Google) effort one could easily dig up more examples.
Bugger, I’m slipping into the stereotyping hole, again
Agree 100% Inconito and all.
They're so old anything that helps with a bowel movement is a blessing.
Just awful. Rotary members are generally tory through and through, have encountered a number of them over the years. Their party trick is ingratiating community service aka Philanthropy mini.
I saw a sharp meme about the astonishing revelations of US Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas and the ongoing imbroglio:
"Clarence Thomas promises to adopt Code of Ethics. For the right price."
Those Restore Passenger Rail protesters surely need a medal for best timed protest:
Comprehensive passenger rail disasters this week in Auckland and Wellington, and a spectacular set of failures and tough reviews about Kiwirail's passenger ferries, plus being roasted by the Minister of Transport multiple times.
Stick at it protesters; you're annoying but you are right and your timing is perfect.
Rumor has it. That the commerce commission has ok'd the amalgamation of cell phone towers into two independent identities!!!
Shades of our supermarket, timber suppliers electricity etc duopolys.
When will we get a govt that is willing to put a red hot poker up CCs arse and demand that they work for NZs peasants rather than corporate NZ
The three main operators have sold their towers off in a short space of time. And one has said they are moving to satellite coverage through Starlink. Details of how this will work haven't been revealed yet, but could be expensive, and limited bandwidth. Major advance for the large parts of the country where coverage is sketchy.
The towers are looking a bit like a stranded assett and may be seeing less use than currently. Taking them into two operators really won't change much, but will make the cell network much easier to regulate and maybe nationalise as essential infrastructure.
Point taken Graeme. So what I understand your saying is that you maintain that this sale is more successful than the greatest NZ salesman of all time who sold the "Yellow Pages" just before Google arrived.
Maybe….
There's also that it doesn't make much sense any more to have three competing networks of towers, and the 'hilltop wars' between the players are becoming irrelevant with satellite and 4 & 5G. There's a lot of shared sites now.
Around here (Queenstown) most of the sites go back to 2G when they were hammer and tongs claiming hilltops and fighting each other's consents. So you need three phones / sims to get good coverage, each has an area of near exclusivity. Having independent tower providers who compete on coverage and volume might improve things. Ideal would be a single state owned network
The Icy Commander.
5/5/1960
Word to Grant Robertson pre Budget: