This could work so well in Auckland. But the pearl clutching in some of our wealthier suburbs will kill it.
Our local politicians don’t have the courage to force it through.
And it has also been seized upon by a bunch of conspiracy nutters who are telling the gullible that this is all part of a dastardly plot to force us all into high rise apartments.
It will start to happen in Auckland within the next ten years out of sheer necessity. As we move into an era where people simply cannot travel from one side of Auckland to the other due to permanently grid-locked roads, they will start screaming their heads off. Many of them will be the same entitled thick-heads (we've all met them) who oppose such concepts now, but when it starts to seriously affect them will be demanding that "something be done about it".
And that something will surely be along the lines being created in Paris with modifications to suit our geographical location.
I thought the school strike was supposed to be about climate change, so why can I see Palestinian flags in the photo, and a Maaori sovereignty flag in the video?
That's because some youngsters chose to use the occasion to protest about something else, no doubt without the knowledge of the organisers.
Does that mean the school strike should have been called off because a bunch of kids turned up with flags that weren't in keeping with the subject matter of the march?
Either you are the village idiot or you are trying to start a flame war. I suspect the latter.
If someone is a strong supporter of Israel, do you want to convince them that climate change is a serious problem? If so, how did this event help to do that?
Maaori were also probably well aware of Dolomedes III – aka Dolomedes dondalai
"Dolomedes dondalei is a species of large fishing spider endemic to the main islands of New Zealand.
It (this species):
is a nocturnal hunter
grows up to 7 cm across, including legs. Body length is 12–18 mm in males, 18–25 mm in females.
has distinctive features of the male pedipalps and female genitalia
weigh less than a gram and are covered with hydrophobic hairs
lives under rocks
is nocturnal, most active two hours after dusk, and hiding under stones and logs in the daytime
is cannibalistic, opportunistically eating other spiders, and females sometimes eat smaller males after they mate – or lure them to be eaten, even if the female has already mated. Males may possibly mate with newly moulted virgin females to avoid sexual cannibalism.
is attacked by parasitic wasps which paralyses them, sometimes even pursuing them underwater, and drags them to a nest to feed its larva. Their eggsacs are a large part of the diet of nestling fernbirds.
I don't think many people realise how that works. Fucked me off no end to see people across the spectrum praising their mainstream party of choice for raising benefits, when the reality in our bank accounts is much different.
Yes surely it wouldn't be so hard to increase supplements by the same percentage…..also doing it with tax brackets. They could do this easily enough, its not as if they are all working with abacuses to work these things out.
However it does remind me of looking at wage worker determinations when wages were frozen. In those days these groups were a mix of reps from Public Sector employers and union reps. We worked togther well and mostly achieved as much as we could to people on low wages (this was prior to neo-lib and the ‘shock, horror’ regime change about unions & working people) One of the team looking at the determination worked out that the notice had been terribly poorly drafted and did not include allowances.
Cue everyone working out how to achieve an increase by applying the cost of living increases to wages to a typical range of allowances across a huge range of workers covered by the determination (Public Sector employees). Took absolutely ages to do but we a were all pretty pleased to give our wage workers a justified raise and possibly to secretly give the fingers to the mean and measly Govt ('though I couldn't possibly comment") .
I'm not sure it is that simple. Every beneficiary gets an individually calculated amount of accommodation supplement, disability allowance, and temporary additional support. The way those supplementary benefits are calculated (ie the formula they use), is why increase the core benefit can decrease the amount that goes into bank accounts each week. To change that they'd have to change the formula and what would require policy change and IT redesign.
It's possibly just TAS that does it, and that definitely needs an overhaul anyway. Not going to happen under NACTF, and Labour wouldn't touch it. It might be possible to raise the core benefit so much that the TAS formula doesn't become punitive, but I have no idea how much that would be. They need to raise the benefits of people who can't work anyway, so someone should do the mahi on this.
Honestly Weka, there's always going to be some excuse not to do it. "Too complex", "IT", etc etc. The plain fact of the matter is, their system of punishing core benefit increases- and by extension, the relationship rule, the receipt of a one-off modest monetary gift, etc- by finding a way to reduce the entitlements, is nothing more than a way to minimise the welfare bill. Not that you'll ever hear that said out loud.
I didn't say it was too complex to fix. I was letting Shanreagh know that it's not as simple as just upping the supplementaries, because of how the formulas work.
They could up the cap on TAS of course, that probably wouldn't be too hard and would relief a lot of poverty in one go.
They could up the cap on TAS of course, that probably wouldn't be too hard and would relief a lot of poverty in one go.
I think this is the one I was meaning, the comment by Kay that they had taken $4.00 off because another arm of the same dept had increased benefits thus increasing 'income' .
I didn't turn my mind, sorry, to the more individualised supps. These would be more difficult to increase across the board.
Noting also that there is/was much work that Labour, in govt did not do on this, or other reccomendations in the WEAG report on 'Restoring Dignity to Social Security in NZ"
it's not another arm. It's the single WINZ staffer applying the TAS formula, which automatically includes all forms of income, including supplementary benefits, core benefit, earnings, and interest if the person has savings or investments. There will be other things for parents.
When they put all the income and costs into the formula, they end up with an amount that shows how much costs the beneficiary has relative to income. It's meant to help people who don't have enough to live on. But TAS pays 30% not the full amount. That's the cap. They could instead pay the full amount. Bear in mind this is a hardship grant.
TAS caps are enforced poverty. The Clark government did this.
The other arm I was meaning was the policy division of WINZ providing input to Govt on the appropriate levels of increases to benefits.
Then interpreted by your case manager
Am about to get over my WINZ PTSD and go to see if I can apply for the Accom suppl now that my rates/CoL are going sky high. I've put it off until now. What you & Kay have said have made me nervous.
Advocates are really stretched across the country, but good idea to check in with them and see what they can help with.
Accommodation supplement is pretty straight forward, you just need to have any assets other than your home and car under something like $12,000 to be eligible.
Look everything up before you approach WINZ. Use the MAP (manuals and procedures) site in addition to the main site.
And to top off the weirdness, to spread the fungus infected male cicadas sans genitals pretend to be females to lure uninfected males into attempting to mate with them.
.
Trillions of cicadas will emerge across several U.S. states this spring in an event one expert dubbed "cicada-geddon." Not only are more cicadas than usual expected this year, but some of them will be "zombie cicadas" that are infected by a sexually transmitted fungus that makes them hyper-sexual.
[…]
Matthew Kasson, an associate professor of Mycology and Forest Pathology at West Virginia University, says both of these broods can be infected by a fungal pathogen called Massospora cicadina.
Once the cicadas emerge from the ground, they molt into adults, and within a week to 10 days, the fungus causes the backside of their abdomens open up. A chalky, white plug erupts out, taking over their bodies and making their genitals fall off.
"The cicada continues to participate in normal activities, like it would if it was healthy," Kasson told CBS News. "Like it tries to mate, it flies around, it walks on plants. Yet, a third of its body has been replaced by fungus. That's really kind of bizarre."
third horseman of the apocalypse sits back and has a smoke
Bro's are saddled up and ready to roll.
.
This is serious. To find out more in detail I urge you to check out THIS LINK. Meanwhile here is a summary:
Vets are being advised to wear full PPE (personal protection) if seeing a cat with neurological symptoms, after forty cats died on a dairy farm in New Mexico. The virus has proved 100% fatal and cats die within 24-48 hours.
This avian-origin virus has now proved capable of infecting a wide range of species including humans (a Texas dairy farm worker has tested positive). In March, investigators collected samples from several animals in Texas and Kansas. Wild birds, cats, and dairy cows were tested because they showed illness signs. "Further testing of these samples indicated the presence of avian influenza A(H5N1)," the TDSHS said. A press officer from the TDSHS confirmed in an e-mail that sick cats tested positive for the virus.
THIS IS A HIGH-RISK VIRUS. Globally, from 1 January 2003 to 26 February 2024, 887 cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus were reported from 23 countries. Of these 887 cases, 462 were fatal (CFR of 52%) — Source, the W.H.O.
Five Texas dairy herds have now been reported as infected. U.S. officials have identified H5N1 bird flu in roughly a dozen dairy cattle herds across 6 states. The similarity of internal genes from wild bird and cattle sequences suggests direct transmission from wild birds.
Is it safe to consume dairy products? The answer for RAW products is NO. The virus has been detected in unpasteurised milk.
Volkswagon has developed a synthetic fuel for ICE vehicles which they say could be swapped for fossil fuel at service stations.
ICE engines are using it today.
Car magazine UK describes the process
"It’s carbon-neutral fuel made in a lab. The process works like this. Enormous filters suck carbon dioxide out of the air and separate it into its raw elements – carbon and oxygen. At the same time, an electrolysis station (powered by renewable energy, naturally) rips the hydrogen atoms from plain water.
The carbon and hydrogen gathered from these two processes can then be combined in the correct configuration to produce any combustible fuel you want, be it petrol, diesel or even kerosene for the aviation industry. Oxygen is the only waste product from the process and, currently, Porsche simply vents it to atmosphere. In effect, the plant works like a massive artificial tree – and the fuel it creates can be tipped into any compatible combustion vehicle without any modifications to its engine."
@chrisluxonmp now we all know you love a photo op……….. I’m curious why you haven’t posted photos of your Atlas Network Meeting in Wellington the other night? We see you!!
Hi,Two years ago I briefly featured in Justin Pemberton’s Web of Chaos documentary, which touched on things like QAnon during the pandemic.I mostly prattled on about how intertwined conspiracy narratives are with Evangelical Christian thinking, something Webworm’s explored in the past.(The doc is available on TVNZ+, if you’re not in ...
The Government is leaving the entire construction sector and the community housing sector in limbo. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government released the long-awaited Bill English-led review of Kāinga Ora yesterday, but delayed key decisions on its build plan and how to help community housing providers (CHPs) build ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons Farmers who can’t sleep, worrying they’ll lose everything amid increasing drought. Youth struggling with depression over a future that feels hopeless. Indigenous people grief-stricken over devastated ecosystems. For all these people and more, climate change is taking a clear toll ...
New Zealand’s relationship with China is becoming harder to define, and with that comes a worry that a deteriorating political relationship could spill over into the economic relationship. It is about more than whether New Zealand will join Pillar Two of Aukus, though the Chinese Ambassador, more or less, suggested ...
Been hoping we would see something like this from Sir Geoffrey Palmer. This is excellent.The present Bill goes further than the National Development Act 1979 in stripping away procedures designed to ensure that environmental issues are properly considered. The 1979 approach was not acceptable then and this present approach is ...
He’s Got The Moxie: Only Willie Jackson possesses the credentials to meld together a new Labour message that is, at one and the same moment, staunchly working-class, union-friendly, and which speaks to the hundreds-of-thousands of urban Māori untethered to the neo-tribal capitalist elites of the Iwi Leaders Forum.IT’S ONE OF THE ...
Tree-huggers may well accuse the Government of giving them the fingers, after Energy Minister Simeon Brown announced new measures to protect powerlines from trees, rather than measures to protect trees from powerlines. It can be no coincidence, surely, that this has been announced at the same as Fisheries Minister Shane Jones ...
Willie Jackson will participate in the prestigious Oxford Union debate on Thursday, following in David Lange’s footsteps. Coincidentally, Jackson has also followed Lange’s footsteps by living in his old home in South Auckland. And like Lange, Jackson might be the sort of loud-mouth scrapper who could take over the Labour ...
Barrister Gary Judd KC’s complaint to the Regulatory Review Committee has sparked a fierce debate about the place of tikanga Māori – or Māori customs, values and spiritual beliefs – in the law.Judd opposes the New Zealand Council of Legal Education’s plans to make teaching tikanga compulsory in the legal curriculum.AUT ...
Alwyn Poole writes – In New Zealand we have approximately 460 high schools. The gaps between the schools that produce the best results for students and those at the other end of the spectrum are enormous.In terms of the data for their leavers, the top 30 schools have ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand First Cabinet Minister Shane Jones has become the best advertisement against the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill. In selling the radical new resource consenting processes, in which ministers can green light any mine, dam, or other major development, Jones seems to be ...
Brian Eastonwrites – The Fast-Track Approvals Bill enables cabinet ministers to circumvent key environmental planning and protection processes for infrastructure projects. Its difficulties have been well canvassed. This column suggests a different way of thinking about the proposal. I am ...
The split opening up in Israel’s “War Cabinet” is not just between PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his long-term rival Benny Gantz. It is actually a three-way split, set in motion by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. It was Gallant’s open criticism of Netanyahu that finally flushed Gantz out into the open. ...
On Thursday 17 May, the Mayoral Proposal for Auckland’s Long Term Plan 2024-2034 was passed by Auckland Council, 20 to 1. It is set to be formally adopted by the Governing Body at its June 27th meeting. The entire process took 8 hours, with the vast majority of that time ...
Pakanga o muaTukua, ka ngaroPuritia taku ringaNgaro ana te ara ki pae rauThere's a battle aheadMany battles are lostBut you'll never see the end of the roadWhile you're travelling with meLate yesterday morning I headed to Wynyard Quarter to see Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick give their pre-budget State of ...
Maybe the Prime Minister and his Finance Minister expected the worst, so they mounted a stout defence of the Budget tax cuts to their party faithful at a party conference over the weekend. In turn, they were greeted with applause, which, though it may have been less than wildly enthusiastic, ...
A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 12, 2024 thru Sat, May 18, 2024. Story of the week “The legislation I signed today [will] keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks, and ...
TL;DR: Here’s six links that stood out to me in the last day in Aotearoa’s political economy to 6:06am on Sunday, May 19:Aotearoa-NZ is the seventh worst in the OECD’s homelessness rankings, just behind the United States and just ahead of Australia. BlackRock thinks rate hikes actually worsen inflation because ...
Halfway up a historic tower in York, we are neither up nor down. At the top you will have views of a city steeped in antiquity, made and remade by Romans, Normans, Vikings, Tescos. Below, you will find a retired minister happy to tell you all about this most astonishing ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Does breathing contribute to CO2 ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: KiwiRail’s seemingly endless requests for more money is damning. At one point, KiwiRail assured Robertson when he was the Finance Minister that the worst-case scenario would be an extra $300 million before requesting $1.2 billion a few months later. Not what most people ...
No one knows what it's likeTo be the bad manTo be the sad manBehind blue eyesNo one knows what it's likeTo be hatedTo be fatedTo telling only liesHave you ever wondered what life must be like for Mike Hosking? Seeing things in black and white through blue tinted specs? In ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two week’s editions.Share More Than A FeildingBike bling, London Read more ...
Hi,I think we all made it through another week — congratulations. I’ve been digesting the new Arab Strap record, which is astonishing. In other news, I’m going to be doing a Webworm popup in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday July 13. I’ll bring a bunch of merch, and some other ...
The Fast-Track Approvals Bill enables cabinet ministers to circumvent key environmental planning and protection processes for infrastructure projects. Its difficulties have been well canvassed. This column suggests a different way of thinking about the proposal. I am going to explore the Bill from the perspective of its proponents with their ...
New Zealand First Cabinet Minister Shane Jones has become the best advertisement against the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill. In selling the radical new resource consenting processes, in which ministers can green light any mine, dam, or other major development, Jones seems to be shooting the proposal in the foot. ...
Buzz from the Beehive Associate Education Minister David Seymour is urging the PostPrimary Teachers Association to put learning ahead of ideology. He wants the union leaders to call off their teachers meetings around the country where they hope to muster the strength to undo the government’s plans to establish several ...
What are police for? "Fighting crime" is the obvious answer. If there's a burglary, they should show up and investigate. Ditto if there's a murder or sexual assault. Speeding or drunk or dangerous driving is a crime, so obviously they should respond to that. And obviously, they should respond to ...
Michael Reddell writes – I got curious yesterday about how the Australia/New Zealand real exchange rate had changed over the last decade, and so dug out the data on the changes in the two countries’ CPIs. Over the 10 years from March 2014 to March 2024, New Zealand’s ...
Graham Adams writes that 20 years after the land march, judges are quietly awarding a swathe of coastal rights to iwi. Early this month, an hour-long documentary was released by TVNZ to mark the 20th anniversary of the land-rights march to oppose Helen Clark’s Foreshore and Seabed Act. The account ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: Suspended Green MP Darleen Tana has passed an unpleasant milestone: she has now been absent for as many parliamentary sitting days as she has been present for this year. Tana is on full pay while she is suspended, and will benefit from a ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is no coincidence that two Labour should-have-been MPs are making the most noise about public sector cuts. As assistant general secretary of the Public Service Association, Fleur Fitzsimons has been at the forefront of revealing where the next round of state sector job ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a ...
This is one of the (extra) weekly columns on music or movies. Plenty of solid analyses of Possession exist online and most of them – inevitably – contain spoilers. This column is more in the way of a first-timer’s aid to getting your initial bearings. You don’t need to have ...
I am painting in oil, a portrait of a manWho has taken all the heart aches,And all the pain he can stand.I am using all the colors of blue,I have here on my stand.I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man.This has been an interesting week for me. ...
Helen Clark joins the Hoon as a special guest talking whether Aotearoa should join Aukus II, and her views on the fast track legislation and how Luxon and the new Government are performing. File Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts ...
With an election due in less than nine months, Britain’s embattled PM, Rishi Sunak, gave a useful speech earlier this week. He made a substantial case for his government, perhaps as compelling as is possible in the current environment. Quite an achievement. His overall theme was security, first pulling ...
Open access notablesPublicly expressed climate scepticism is greatest in regions with high CO2 emissions, Pearson et al., Climatic Change:We analysed a recently released corpus of climate-related tweets to examine the macro-level factors associated with public declarations of climate change scepticism. Analyses of over 2 million geo-located tweets in the U.S. showed that climate ...
You can be all negative about these charter schools if you want, but I’m here to accentuate the positive. You can get all worked up, if you want to, by the contradiction of Luxon saying We’re going to make sure that every school in the country is teaching exactly the same ...
Losing The Room: One can only speculate about what has persuaded the Coalition Government that it will pay no electoral price for unreasonably pushing ahead with policies that are so clearly against the national interest. They seem quite oblivious to the risk that by doing so they will convince an increasing ...
Name suppression decisions can be tough sometimes. No matter your views on free speech, you have to be hard-hearted not to be torn by the tug of the competing arguments. I think you can feel the Supreme Court wrestling with that in M v The King. The case for ...
The Merchants of Menace: The Coalition Government has convinced itself that the “Brahmins’” emollient functions have become much too irksome and expensive. Those who see themselves as the best hope of rebuilding New Zealand’s ailing capitalist system, appear to have convinced themselves that a little bit of blunt trauma is what their mollycoddled ...
When National first proposed its Muldoonist "fast-track" law, they were warned that it would inevitably lead to corruption. And that is exactly what has happened, with Resources Minister Shane Jones taking secret meetings with potential applicants:On Tuesday, in a Newsroom story, questions were raised about a dinner Jones ...
Buzz from the Beehive One day – hopefully – we will push that Russian rascal, Vladimir Putin, beyond breaking point. Perhaps it will happen today, when he learns that Foreign Minister Winston Peters is again tightening the thumbscrews. Peters announced further sanctions, this time on 28 individuals and 14 entities ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought New Zealand to the brink of economic and cultural chaos.TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition Government’s failure to retain, and build upon, the public ...
“Members of Parliament don’t work for us, they represent us, an entirely different thing. As with so much that has turned out badly, the re-organising of MPs’ responsibilities began with the Fourth Labour Government. That’s when they began to be treated like employees – public servants – whose diaries had ...
It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a third medical school in New Zealand, ...
Time To Choose: Like it or not, the Kiwis are either going into AUKUS’s “Pillar 2” – or they are going to China.HAD ZHENG HE’S FLEET sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks ...
Henry Ergas writes – When in Randall Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution, a college president is accused of being a hypocrite, the novel’s narrator retorts that the description is grossly unfair. After all, the man is still far from the stage of moral development at which the charge ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ reports: The Education Review Office says too many new teachers feel poorly prepared for their jobs. In a report published on Monday, the review office said 60 percent of the principals it interviewed said their new teachers were not ready. ...
New Zealand’s economic performance and the PM’s vision Michael Reddell writes – When I wrote yesterday morning’s post, highlighting how poorly both New Zealand and its Anglo peer countries have been doing in respect of productivity in recent times (ie, in the case of New ...
Hi all,Firstly - thank you! You guys are awesome. The response I’ve received to last night’s mail has been quite overwhelming. It’s a ghastly day outside, but there are no clouds in here.In case you didn’t read my email and are wondering what on earth I’m talking about you can ...
If there was still any doubt as to who is actually running this government – and it isn’t the buffoon from Botany – then this week’s announcement of a huge spend up on charter schools has settled the matter. While jobs and public services continue to be cut in the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gaye Taylor As widespread drought raises expectations for a repeat of last year’s ferocious wildfire season, response teams across Canada are grappling with the rapidly changing face of fire in a warming climate. No longer quenched by winter, nor quelled by the ...
Half of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd’s directors and its chair resigned en masse last night in protest at Christchurch City Council’s demand to front-load dividends File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The chair of Christchurch City Council’s investment company and four of its independent directors resigned in protest last ...
The University of Waikato has reworded an advertisement that begins the tender process for its new $300 million-plus medical school even though the Government still needs to approve it. However, even the reworded ad contains an architect’s visualisations of what the school might look like. ACT leader David Seymour told ...
As a follow-up to the Rings of Power trailer discussion, I thought I needed to add something. There has been some online mockery about the use of the same actor for both the Halbrand and Annatar incarnations of Sauron. The reasoning is that Halbrand with a shave and a new ...
This isn’t quite as dramatic as the title might suggest. I’m not going anywhere, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about.Let’s start with a typical day.Most days I send out a newsletter in the morning. If I’ve written a lot the previous evening it might be ...
Buzz from the Beehive The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the ...
Yesterday de facto Prime Minister David Seymour announced that his glove puppet government would be re-introducing charter schools, throwing $150 million at his pet quacks, donors and cronies and introducing an entire new government agency to oversee them (the existing Education Review Office, which actually knows how to review schools, ...
Seeing that, in order to discredit the figures and achieve moral superiority while attempting to deflect attention away from the military assault on Rafa, Israel supporters in NZ have seized on reports that casualty numbers in Gaza may be inflated … Continue reading → ...
David Farrar writes – Newstalk ZB report: The man responsible for a horror hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked police, “Did I kill someone?” Jason Tuitama injured two women when he ran a red ...
Muriel Newman writes – Former US President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.” The fight for ...
Why Courts should have said Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Karen Chhour Gary Judd writes – In the High Court, Justice Isacs declined to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal to compel Minister for Children, Karen Chhour, to appear before it to be ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the proposed legislation. Twenty-seven thousand submissions have been made to Parliament ...
An average of 166 New Zealand citizens left the country every day during the March quarter, up 54% from a year ago.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy and housing market is sinking into a longer recession through the winter after a slump in business and consumer confidence in ...
The government has made it abundantly clear they’re addicted to the smell of new asphalt. On Tuesday they introduced a new term to the country’s roading lexicon, the Roads of Regional Significance (RoRS), a little brother for the Roads of National (Party) Significance (RoNS). Driving ahead with Roads of Regional ...
School is outAnd I walk the empty hallwaysI walk aloneAlone as alwaysThere's so many lucky penniesLying on the floorBut where the hell are all the lucky peopleI can't see them any moreYesterday morning, I’d just sent out my newsletter on Tama Potaka, and I was struggling to make the coffee. ...
Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
“The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
The Government has yet again failed to do the one thing that needs to happen to ensure houses can be built – commit to ongoing funding, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Treasury officials have outlined many ways in which the Fast Track Approvals Bill is deeply flawed, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking says. ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick used this year's State of the Planet to call on the Government to prioritise people and planet as the delivery of the Budget approaches. A full transcript of their speeches can be found below. ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick have used their State of the Planet speeches to challenge the Government to prioritise people and planet over profit as the delivery of the Budget approaches. ...
The Government’s introduction of legislation that would enable landlords to end tenancies with no reason marks a dark day for the 1.4 million people who rent their home in Aotearoa. ...
The Minister for Mental Health has found the Suicide Prevention Office and mental health support for 111 calls slipping through his fingers, says Labour spokesperson for Mental Health Ingrid Leary. ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
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The Coalition Government will introduce legislation this year that will enable roadside drug testing as part of our commitment to improve road safety and restore law and order, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Alcohol and drugs are the number one contributing factor in fatal road crashes in New Zealand. In ...
The Government has announced a series of immediate actions in response to the independent review of Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “Kāinga Ora is a large and important Crown entity, with assets of $45 billion and over $2.5 billion of expenditure each year. It ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour is pleased that Pseudoephedrine can now be purchased by the general public to protect them from winter illness, after the coalition government worked swiftly to change the law and oversaw a fast approval process by Medsafe. “Pharmacies are now putting the medicines back on their ...
Tēnā koutou katoa. Da jia hao. Good morning everyone. Prime Minister Luxon, your excellency, a great friend of New Zealand and my friend Ambassador Wang, Mayor of what he tells me is the best city in New Zealand, Wayne Brown, the highly respected Fran O’Sullivan, Champion of the Auckland business ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced that the Government will make it easier for lines firms to take action to remove vegetation from obstructing local powerlines. The change will ensure greater security of electricity supply in local communities, particularly during severe weather events. “Trees or parts of trees falling on ...
Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani were the top winners at this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy awards recognising the best in Māori dairy farming. Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced the winners and congratulated runners-up, Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board, at an awards celebration also attended by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister ...
"On the 27th of March, I sought assurances from the Chief Executive, Department of Internal Affairs, that the Department’s correct processes and policies had been followed in regards to a passport application which received media attention,” says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden. “I raised my concerns after being ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges, to replace Judges who have recently retired. Peter James Davey of Auckland has been appointed a District Court Judge with a jury jurisdiction to be based at Whangarei. Mr Davey initially started work as a law clerk/solicitor with ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour is calling on the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put ideology to the side and focus on students’ learning, in reaction to the union holding paid teacher meetings across New Zealand about charter schools. “The PPTA is disrupting schools up and down the ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly today announced the appointment of Craig Stobo as the new chair of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Mr Stobo takes over from Mark Todd, whose term expired at the end of April. Mr Stobo’s appointment is for a five-year term. “The FMA plays ...
Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand will continue to be able to keep people safe in, on, and around the water following a funding boost of $63.644 million over four years, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “Heading to the beach for ...
New Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019. “It is my pleasure ...
New Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...
A year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here in the lead up to my Government’s first Budget. Before I get started can I acknowledge: Simon Bridges – Auckland Business Chamber CEO. Steve Jurkovich – Kiwibank CEO. Kids born ...
New Zealand and Vanuatu will enhance collaboration on issues of mutual interest, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “It is important to return to Port Vila this week with a broad, high-level political delegation which demonstrates our deep commitment to New Zealand’s relationship with Vanuatu,” Mr Peters says. “This ...
Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk will travel to Peru this week to represent New Zealand at a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region on behalf of Trade Minister Todd McClay. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting will be held on 17-18 May ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford will head to the United Kingdom this week to participate in the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the 2024 Education World Forum (EWF). “I am looking forward to sharing this Government’s education priorities, such as introducing a knowledge-rich curriculum, implementing an evidence-based ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford has today thanked outgoing New Zealand Qualifications Authority Chair, Hon Tracey Martin. “Tracey Martin tendered her resignation late last month in order to take up a new role,” Ms Stanford says. Ms Martin will relinquish the role of Chair on 10 May and current Deputy ...
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Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...
The coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...
A high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office. “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a part-time media librarian and superannuitant explains how he spends and saves. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Male Age: 65 Ethnicity: EuropeanRole: Media librarian ...
The Government’s Environmental Select Committee is refusing to engage meaningfully when it matters the most over new fast tracking environmental legislation, says Ngāti Ruanui. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Marsh, Senior Research Fellow in Public Health, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Christoph Soeder/dpa New Zealand’s decision to no longer offer free influenza vaccines for all children under 12 will likely wipe out recent gains in uptake. And it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexis Anja Kallio, Deputy Director (Research), Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University Many young people in contact with the justice system come from backgrounds of extreme poverty, parental abuse or neglect, parental incarceration and disrupted education. These complex traumas often manifest as addictions ...
The agency was found to be underperforming and ‘not financially viable’, explains Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A damning report A government-ordered ...
Asia Pacific Report For more than 76 years, Palestinians have resisted occupation, dispossession and ethnic cleansing, culminating in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. Yet in the midst of this catastrophic seven months of “hell on earth”, it is a paradox that there exists an extraordinary oasis of peace and nature. ...
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Quality teachers back on the front line can only be a good thing. One of the difficult things we teach in senior English classes at secondary school is the development of an idea. This involves deepening your argument, without instead “going sideways” and merely adding examples while repeating the same ...
Opinion: As an indication of the eye-watering sums involved for the mega-prison plans announced two weeks ago by Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell, consider that $932 million has already been spent on a separate facility due to open at Waikeria next year – that’s about $1.5 million for each of the ...
Opinion: People with certain types of health conditions are more likely than others to have their symptoms dismissed, minimised or disbelieved. These conditions are diagnosed based on the patient self-report of symptoms, where there is no definitive diagnostic test that can prove the existence of disease or demonstrate structural or ...
The intensity of it, ironically, can feel like bullying. Social media activism is reaching something of a peak with the war in Gaza, using the hashtag Blockout2024. It started at this year’s MetGala when influencer and model Haley Kalil was caught on video muttering ‘let them eat cake’ – suddenly ...
It’s 2011 and I am 43 years old. My partner, Christine, and I got together when I was 36. We had been friends for about 10 years before that. One of the first things I asked Christine was whether she wanted to have kids. I had just come out of ...
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New Caledonia’s Tontouta International Airport remains closed, and Air New Zealand’s next scheduled flight is on Saturday — although it is not ruling out adding extra services. Air NZ’s Captain David Morgan said on Monday evening flights would only resume when they were assured of the security of the airport ...
Asia Pacific Report As Israel drives the Palestinians deeper into another Nakba in Gaza with its assault on Rafah, the Palestine Youth Aotearoa (PYA) and solidarity supporters in Aotearoa New Zealand tonight commemorated the original Nakba — “the Catastrophe” — of 1948. The 1948 Nakba . . . more than ...
Young people on the streets in New Caledonia are saying they will “never give up” pushing back against France’s hold on the Pacific territory, a Kanak journalist in Nouméa says. Pro-independence Radio Djiido’s Andre Qaeze told RNZ Pacific young people had said that “Paris must respect us” and what had ...
This episode of A View from Afar podcast was recorded live from 12:45pm May 20, 2024 (NZST). Political scientist Paul Buchanan and Selwyn Manning examine: The United States and how the world is engaging with it geopolitically.Specifically, Paul and Selwyn analyse what has changed in this regard in ...
Analysis - Power is not being abused, but it is not being well managed either. New Zealand democracy, unique and currently brittle, should be handled with greater care, Alexander Gillespie writes. ...
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This could work so well in Auckland. But the pearl clutching in some of our wealthier suburbs will kill it.
Our local politicians don’t have the courage to force it through.
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2024/apr/06/why-has-15-minute-city-taken-off-paris-toxic-idea-uk-carlos-moreno?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
And it has also been seized upon by a bunch of conspiracy nutters who are telling the gullible that this is all part of a dastardly plot to force us all into high rise apartments.
It will start to happen in Auckland within the next ten years out of sheer necessity. As we move into an era where people simply cannot travel from one side of Auckland to the other due to permanently grid-locked roads, they will start screaming their heads off. Many of them will be the same entitled thick-heads (we've all met them) who oppose such concepts now, but when it starts to seriously affect them will be demanding that "something be done about it".
And that something will surely be along the lines being created in Paris with modifications to suit our geographical location.
I suspect you’re right, Anne. It was beginning to happen under the unitary plan. Now kicked to the curb by the CoC.
" …. when it starts to seriously affect them will be demanding that 'something be done about it'"
By, of course, that government that they're usually so anxious to banish from their lives.
I thought the school strike was supposed to be about climate change, so why can I see Palestinian flags in the photo, and a Maaori sovereignty flag in the video?
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/04/05/students-hit-the-streets-at-climate-strikes-across-the-country/
Because in Aotearoa – New Zealand the people have such rights protected by BORA.
This is a political blog site for robust and genuine (political) debate, so why do I see RW trolls here?
"This is a political blog site for robust and genuine (political) debate, so why do I see RW trolls here?"
Ha!
Loving that.
That's because some youngsters chose to use the occasion to protest about something else, no doubt without the knowledge of the organisers.
Does that mean the school strike should have been called off because a bunch of kids turned up with flags that weren't in keeping with the subject matter of the march?
Either you are the village idiot or you are trying to start a flame war. I suspect the latter.
Without the knowledge of the organizers?
According to OneNews, "A coalition of Toitū Te Tiriti, the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa, and School Strike 4 Climate are leading the event."
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/04/05/students-hit-the-streets-at-climate-strikes-across-the-country/
So what was the concern again?
The organisers knew, the students took the chance to protest about other things they were concerned about.
Hopefully you were not trying to whip up hysteria about your straw man reckons.
But you wouldn't be doing that would you?
If someone is a strong supporter of Israel, do you want to convince them that climate change is a serious problem? If so, how did this event help to do that?
I tend to agree. This isn't movement building, it's silo building.
The lack of coherent strategy is so depressing
Māori have always been at the forefront of climate action. You are sounding either stupid or racist.
Maaori were also probably well aware of Dolomedes III – aka Dolomedes dondalai
Had a similar thought.
😆
What I would like to know is: what is the name of that (laudable) parasitic wasp?
LOL – if you had checked the wikipedia link I provided, you would have read:
"This species is attacked by parasitic wasps (Cryptocheilus australis and Sphictostethus nitidus, family Pompiliidae) …"
Grumpy old mutt, barks from the porch
I was waiting to see the full effects of the annual Winz April Fools Day joke.
SLP core benefit- a whole $18 increase.
TAS deducted by $4 for having the audacity to increase my income, taking said increase to a whopping $14.
Rent about to go up at least $20/week next month, in other words, yet another year of income going backwards.
Current rent = 54% of total income (core benefit + max 3 supplements)
I don't think many people realise how that works. Fucked me off no end to see people across the spectrum praising their mainstream party of choice for raising benefits, when the reality in our bank accounts is much different.
Yes surely it wouldn't be so hard to increase supplements by the same percentage…..also doing it with tax brackets. They could do this easily enough, its not as if they are all working with abacuses to work these things out.
However it does remind me of looking at wage worker determinations when wages were frozen. In those days these groups were a mix of reps from Public Sector employers and union reps. We worked togther well and mostly achieved as much as we could to people on low wages (this was prior to neo-lib and the ‘shock, horror’ regime change about unions & working people) One of the team looking at the determination worked out that the notice had been terribly poorly drafted and did not include allowances.
Cue everyone working out how to achieve an increase by applying the cost of living increases to wages to a typical range of allowances across a huge range of workers covered by the determination (Public Sector employees). Took absolutely ages to do but we a were all pretty pleased to give our wage workers a justified raise and possibly to secretly give the fingers to the mean and measly Govt ('though I couldn't possibly comment") .
I'm not sure it is that simple. Every beneficiary gets an individually calculated amount of accommodation supplement, disability allowance, and temporary additional support. The way those supplementary benefits are calculated (ie the formula they use), is why increase the core benefit can decrease the amount that goes into bank accounts each week. To change that they'd have to change the formula and what would require policy change and IT redesign.
It's possibly just TAS that does it, and that definitely needs an overhaul anyway. Not going to happen under NACTF, and Labour wouldn't touch it. It might be possible to raise the core benefit so much that the TAS formula doesn't become punitive, but I have no idea how much that would be. They need to raise the benefits of people who can't work anyway, so someone should do the mahi on this.
Honestly Weka, there's always going to be some excuse not to do it. "Too complex", "IT", etc etc. The plain fact of the matter is, their system of punishing core benefit increases- and by extension, the relationship rule, the receipt of a one-off modest monetary gift, etc- by finding a way to reduce the entitlements, is nothing more than a way to minimise the welfare bill. Not that you'll ever hear that said out loud.
I didn't say it was too complex to fix. I was letting Shanreagh know that it's not as simple as just upping the supplementaries, because of how the formulas work.
They could up the cap on TAS of course, that probably wouldn't be too hard and would relief a lot of poverty in one go.
I think this is the one I was meaning, the comment by Kay that they had taken $4.00 off because another arm of the same dept had increased benefits thus increasing 'income' .
I didn't turn my mind, sorry, to the more individualised supps. These would be more difficult to increase across the board.
Noting also that there is/was much work that Labour, in govt did not do on this, or other reccomendations in the WEAG report on 'Restoring Dignity to Social Security in NZ"
https://www.weag.govt.nz/weag-report/
it's not another arm. It's the single WINZ staffer applying the TAS formula, which automatically includes all forms of income, including supplementary benefits, core benefit, earnings, and interest if the person has savings or investments. There will be other things for parents.
When they put all the income and costs into the formula, they end up with an amount that shows how much costs the beneficiary has relative to income. It's meant to help people who don't have enough to live on. But TAS pays 30% not the full amount. That's the cap. They could instead pay the full amount. Bear in mind this is a hardship grant.
TAS caps are enforced poverty. The Clark government did this.
The other arm I was meaning was the policy division of WINZ providing input to Govt on the appropriate levels of increases to benefits.
Then interpreted by your case manager
Am about to get over my WINZ PTSD and go to see if I can apply for the Accom suppl now that my rates/CoL are going sky high. I've put it off until now. What you & Kay have said have made me nervous.
Has anyone ever used an advocate?
if so what were your experiences
Advocates are really stretched across the country, but good idea to check in with them and see what they can help with.
Accommodation supplement is pretty straight forward, you just need to have any assets other than your home and car under something like $12,000 to be eligible.
Look everything up before you approach WINZ. Use the MAP (manuals and procedures) site in addition to the main site.
https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/
ug, the asset test is only $8,600 for a single person.
https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/income-support/extra-help/accommodation-supplement/assets-beneficiaries-01.html
And to top off the weirdness, to spread the fungus infected male cicadas sans genitals pretend to be females to lure uninfected males into attempting to mate with them.
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Trillions of cicadas will emerge across several U.S. states this spring in an event one expert dubbed "cicada-geddon." Not only are more cicadas than usual expected this year, but some of them will be "zombie cicadas" that are infected by a sexually transmitted fungus that makes them hyper-sexual.
[…]
Matthew Kasson, an associate professor of Mycology and Forest Pathology at West Virginia University, says both of these broods can be infected by a fungal pathogen called Massospora cicadina.
Once the cicadas emerge from the ground, they molt into adults, and within a week to 10 days, the fungus causes the backside of their abdomens open up. A chalky, white plug erupts out, taking over their bodies and making their genitals fall off.
"The cicada continues to participate in normal activities, like it would if it was healthy," Kasson told CBS News. "Like it tries to mate, it flies around, it walks on plants. Yet, a third of its body has been replaced by fungus. That's really kind of bizarre."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cicadas-zombies-hyper-sexual-sexually-transmitted-fungus-expected-to-emerge-this-year-massospora-cicadina/
the third horseman of the apocalypse sits back and has a smoke, thinking on his work.
If you aren't aware of it, may I introduce you to Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Book or series is brilliant.
David Tennant and Michael Sheen are gorgeous and Frances McDormand does a great God.
Amazon/Prime Video.
Bro's are saddled up and ready to roll.
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This is serious. To find out more in detail I urge you to check out THIS LINK. Meanwhile here is a summary:
Vets are being advised to wear full PPE (personal protection) if seeing a cat with neurological symptoms, after forty cats died on a dairy farm in New Mexico. The virus has proved 100% fatal and cats die within 24-48 hours.
This avian-origin virus has now proved capable of infecting a wide range of species including humans (a Texas dairy farm worker has tested positive). In March, investigators collected samples from several animals in Texas and Kansas. Wild birds, cats, and dairy cows were tested because they showed illness signs. "Further testing of these samples indicated the presence of avian influenza A(H5N1)," the TDSHS said. A press officer from the TDSHS confirmed in an e-mail that sick cats tested positive for the virus.
THIS IS A HIGH-RISK VIRUS. Globally, from 1 January 2003 to 26 February 2024, 887 cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus were reported from 23 countries. Of these 887 cases, 462 were fatal (CFR of 52%) — Source, the W.H.O.
Five Texas dairy herds have now been reported as infected. U.S. officials have identified H5N1 bird flu in roughly a dozen dairy cattle herds across 6 states. The similarity of internal genes from wild bird and cattle sequences suggests direct transmission from wild birds.
Is it safe to consume dairy products? The answer for RAW products is NO. The virus has been detected in unpasteurised milk.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/4/6/2233826/–H5N1-now-confirmed-in-11-US-farms-Cats-die-within-48-hours?
https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/health-alert-first-case-novel-influenza-h5n1-texas-march-2024
Ethiopia..one of the poorest countries on the planet…announced earlier this year a total ban on ice vehicles entering the country..
New zealand…not one of the poorest countries on the planet..has promised to do this in 2040…
Kinda underwhelming..that 2040..eh..?
Volkswagon has developed a synthetic fuel for ICE vehicles which they say could be swapped for fossil fuel at service stations.
ICE engines are using it today.
Car magazine UK describes the process
"It’s carbon-neutral fuel made in a lab. The process works like this. Enormous filters suck carbon dioxide out of the air and separate it into its raw elements – carbon and oxygen. At the same time, an electrolysis station (powered by renewable energy, naturally) rips the hydrogen atoms from plain water.
The carbon and hydrogen gathered from these two processes can then be combined in the correct configuration to produce any combustible fuel you want, be it petrol, diesel or even kerosene for the aviation industry. Oxygen is the only waste product from the process and, currently, Porsche simply vents it to atmosphere. In effect, the plant works like a massive artificial tree – and the fuel it creates can be tipped into any compatible combustion vehicle without any modifications to its engine."
Yes please…!
Mike king has a mullet..
I have a mullet..
I challenge mike king to a mullet smackdown..
And I would put my money on me..
His is more styled (short-sides)..
But mine has more substance..
(It's my hair-protest against this regime..
the mullet as a badge of protest..)
"Tell me who your friends are, and Ill tell you who you are"
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@CathKakariki
@chrisluxonmp now we all know you love a photo op……….. I’m curious why you haven’t posted photos of your Atlas Network Meeting in Wellington the other night? We see you!!
https://twitter.com/CathKakariki/status/1775964227783807303