I'm coming to the suspicion that Waka Kotahi really really don't want anything other than cars, trucks and buses going over the Harbour Bridge, for institutional culture and ideology reasons. So as support grows for providing some kind of walking and cycling access, it appears to me they are resorting to blowing out the projected cost by ever increasing the size and cost of the proposal in hopes of killing the idea.
Consider the original proposed Skypath, pushed mostly by Bevan Woodward. This was to be a lightweight composite tube underneath the clip-on lanes on the east side. IIRC the east side is preferred because on average trucks travelling south are less loaded, so the structure has a bit more reserve capacity. Projected costs were well under $100 million, even with generous allowance for the cost increases that inevitably happen on infrastructure projects.
The engineering and costings were done by entirely credible people and organisations. Including Gurit (link to Google's cached html version of a pdf found by searching Skypath costing), a major international supplier of materials and engineering expertise for composites infrastructure, and Core Builders Composites in Warkworth, who started out as Oracle's America's Cup boatbuilder and diversified into a wide range of complex innovative composites projects.
Evidently, that didn't result in killing the project, so there's been another round of revisions resulting in what we now have, a proposal resulting in the best part of a billion dollars to be spent, or dedicating an existing lane to cyclists and walkers (with the resulting massive increase in traffic problems).
Looks to me like Waka Kotahi are desperately trying to refine their shit sandwich recipe to try to get to a 'uhh, we guess that's a no' from government and council.
Anyone want to try to allay my suspicions?
It also seems time to go back to the original concept. And if road traffic changes are needed to make it work for structural load reasons, then simply restrict heavy vehicles from using the left lane(s) southbound, perhaps coupled with more speed restrictions between the bridge and Fanshawe St, to ease the lane changes that heavy vehicles might need to make in that short distance.
It looks to me like that's just another step in the effort to increase the political unpalatability of the proposals by ever increasing the cost, in hopes of killing the idea of pedestrians and cyclists crossing the harbour at the bridge location.
edit: if you want to see the thoughts of a bunch of other people with apparently similar suspicions, have a rummage around on the http://www.getacross.org.nz website.
Oh, and as far as the existing bridge approaching its use by date, well it appears it is and it isn't.
It seems whenever there's a bit of a push on for something like a new crossing, or there's a proposal Waka Kotahi doesn't want, the bridge is on its last legs.
But whenever the issue is something like expanding the network that 50 tonne trucks are allowed to use, it seems the bridge has plenty of life and capacity.
I think that the painting of the bridge would have to go on pretty well continuously. As Sacha says, salt air is going to make a mess of it whether it is used or not.
I did some work on road surfaces many years ago for the old MOW. Not engineering but trying to find ways of predicting when roads would need repair. If I remember correctly the life of a bitumen surface depended mostly upon its age, rather than the loads the road carried, unless the substrate was very inadequate for the axle loads. Cracks and holes in the bitumen are probably going to have more effect on bicycles than on car or truck tires. Specialised off-road bikes may not be affected but they aren't that common among commuter cyclists are they? I don't know many cyclists who are happy to ride a normal road bike on an unsealed surface and there are always comments about stones and rubbish on the existing cycle lane to Petone making it unusable. I'm not a cyclist these days so I might be quite wrong of course. Any Tour de France competitors out there to comment?
That document was from 2009 was it?. The amount of money quoted didn't seem very much and I did wonder how old it was.
Thanks, but that didn’t really answer the question. You seem to have a tendency to wander off topic and lose focus easily. I tend to do this too in verbal convos, which is why I prefer written communication.
unfortunatley this often happens. a simple, relatively cheap idea is taken over by high priced consultants and costs blow out. sometimes these consultants get a percentage of the final cost so are very keen to push price up. sometimes, these consultants have very little real world engineering expertise , so have no idea of how to save money. and as you say, sometimes there are dirty deeds done to kill off entire projects. in this case??? pity the politician who has to wade through screeds of bullshit to find the truth.
I've seen it happen even entirely within a company.
It's really easy to do, just tweak an assumption here and an estimate there. A lot of times, people doing it aren't even aware they're doing it. They're just responding to their internal confirmation biases. With that last sentence in mind, hell, I've probably done it myself while being blithely unaware of it.
It’s a particularly powerful effect when the end result conforms with institutional biases and culture.
What about citizens putting forward fully engineered projects after agreement with the government, and guidelines, with some funding for the initial plans and specs, and if feasible then more funding, and bypassing the consultants. Just getting the technical aspects checked? Participatory government not this top-down bullshit.
Yes a lot of diversity there unless you break it down into; the cream, the bone, the white, the off-white, the ivory or the beige than a Richie Benaud wardrope. I am sure all who live in Manukau will appreciate all this money being spent for those who can afford a $4m house ( and who have made a cool $1m profit since June 2019) to live in and take time for a wee bike ride across their vanity project.
Surely you can see that the use of 'lycra' in this case is as an all-encompasing potent middle-class descriptor..?
(kinda like 'boomer'..and so many other examples of the genre..)
and let's not forget that lycra is the crocs of clothing..dunno about you but the sight of trevor mallard in lycra is an image I for one can never erase..
and yes..it is an accurate use of the english language/the word..
Well, well, well, Alwyn reckons he and everybody else here on TS is a pleb with one notable exception: Dr Mapp QSO – you like titles, Alwyn? When it comes to noblesse oblige, I can think of several examples here on TS who would qualify. Sadly, you’re missing off my list. Surely, there are other blogs that are more, shall we say, suited to you?
You’re reading way too much into the contributions here unless you’re a mind reader, but even you wouldn’t be so conceited, would you?
Oh dear. I have hurt Incognito's feelings. He clearly thinks he is one of the chosen Aristocrats who are here to rule us.
I suggest you remember what happened in 1793 when La Terreur began in France. Aristocrats like the class to which you aspire went to the guillotine.
In the meantime just remember that the great figures in the Labour movement such as Michael Savage and Peter Fraser in New Zealand would have gloried in being described as a working man.
The current lot not so much but of course they aren't as competent at their work as the early trade union pioneers are they?
The current lot not so much but of course they aren't as competent at their work as the early trade union pioneers are they?
Some of the 'current lot' of NZ Government MPs seem at least moderately competent, if a little less principled than Savage and Fraser. Regarding NZ's 'loyal' opposition MPs, however, even ‘moderately competent‘ would be a bit of a stretch.
Imho our current Government is moving in a good direction more often than not. While their speed is pragmatically slow (and nowhere near fast enough for me), the overall result may be more sustainable than the “radical remedies” I’d prefer. What chance that the Green’s party vote will get get above 10% while they advocate the introduction of a wealth tax? It’s just one of the reasons that I party vote Green, and likely one of the reasons that many people don’t.
The Leveller Inequality, in Piketty’s view, drives human history, and calls for radical remedies.
Of course, the people who are most likely to hear—and heed—Piketty’s call to action, whether or not they scythe their way through his book, are all of the Brahmin left. Throughout the book, Piketty heaps praise on Sanders, Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the British Labour Party. Corbyn recently campaigned on perhaps the most unabashedly redistributionist manifesto in the Party’s history (it called for transferring control of ten per cent of big companies to workers, nationalizing other companies, and instituting a four-day workweek) and then suffered catastrophic losses in working-class Labour strongholds. Perhaps that’s because Corbyn simply wasn’t bold enough. But if a candidate were to go the full Piketty—by proposing enormous taxes on the rich and taking steps toward surrendering sovereignty to a transnational socialistic union—do we really think that nativism and nationalism would retreat, rather than redouble? Would erstwhile supporters of Nigel Farage, Marine Le Pen, Donald Trump, and Geert Wilders evolve beyond their fears of Muslim migration and accept the new utopia?
The challenge for the existing political order in affluent countries is to show that it can effectively address problems like poverty and precarity. In America, poverty is increasingly concentrated and thus more corrosive, while absolute economic mobility looks to be at a low point. So what might reform that falls short of revolution look like? Creating a universal child allowance of three hundred dollars a month may sound like a boring technocratic fix, and, at an annual cost of a hundred billion dollars (or less than half of what’s budgeted for Veterans Affairs), it certainly wouldn’t require expropriating the fortunes of the top one per cent. Yet it would halve child poverty all on its own. Tripling federal funding for poor schools—which would go a long way to improving mobility and reducing the inheritability of misfortune—would raise costs by a relatively paltry thirty billion a year. Reforming housing assistance so that adults who receive rent subsidies are no longer crammed into ghettos is another measure that’s very much within reach, and would substantially improve the lives of their children.
Imagine a congregation of economists a hundred years in the future. Maybe we’re on the moon; maybe we’re on Mars. Either way, the scene isn’t hard to sketch—it will probably still be in a large, windowless room. Inequality at the top end of the income distribution could very well look even more lopsided than it does now. But whether inequality is the topic of the keynote address may depend more on the progress against poverty and middle-class stagnation than on the number of newly minted trillionaires.
For the cultists she never went out of fashion. Maybe you should mix up your social circle, you know, fewer Denver cultists and more Olive ones. It’ll do you good to broaden your horizons somewhat beyond that dull stereotypical thinking of yours.
personally i have biked all my life overseas in Europe – Germany and Holland – and i would go so far to say that i probably biked more in my life as a commuter then many here have done so in a leisurly way.
I biked in Auckland 20 odd years ago, when no one did it. I biked because i never owned a car. I also use public transport such as busses, trams, trains, and yes the airplane, why ? Because i never saw the reason to have a car.
And i have biked in winter gear, summer gear, bathing suits etc. And the lycra crowd are the funniest to observe. There is a certain je ne sais quoi about people in tight fluo colors and a fancy pair of bike shoes.
And I cycle toured extensively in NZ and big bits of the ME in the late 70's. Also did club racing in my 20's. The great thing about cycling is that there are so many different ways people do it and they're all good. You get to dress however you like – or not at all.
But honestly – for long distances and sports cycling, tight fitting 'lycra' (it wasn't called that back then) offers both a lower wind resistance and is lot more comfortable. Smirk all you want – lyrcra works for me if I'm doing anything more than a short commute or leisure ride.
The lycra brigade is notably different from any other rider that i have met anywhere.
Be that Germany, Holland, Italy, France or NZ.
They tend to be male for the most part (again this might be changing), they tend to ride peloton style – irrespective of the road, or size of the road, need honking horns or insults to go into single file to let people pass and as observed a few times, fall of their bikes when coming to a full stop cause the shoes got stuck.
This of course is different if one is a solitary rider, but in groups that particular subgroup of riders generally is a pain in the proverbial.
That is really quite particular to them. Just my 2 cnts.
There is an interesting difference between English and Dutch when it comes to cycling.
The 4-min video clip is for all those commenters here with lycra hang-ups – lycra is very common in the Netherlands – and gives a great snapshot of how cycling is fully integrated in Dutch culture and society – and infrastructure – and used by all walks of life; so many bridges, tunnels and cycle paths!
Yes Incognito, i know that the dutch are quite different. I lived in Holland for a few years, and i commuted by bike. Just to clarify my stand on Lycra and fietsen.
Sports riders do quite frequently ride in peletons – in every country I've ever seen them in. It used to be largely confined to club events, often on controlled roads either closed or with limited traffic.
What's changed is the advent of the internet and the ability to organise weekend rides with 50 or more riders who have no club alliegence and have no alternative other than t use the open road. And on narrow sections of road they do indeed hold up traffic momentarily. Usually it incurs about a 30 – 90 sec delay at most, and if it happens to you more than once or twice a month you have to be a pretty unlucky motorist.
And all experienced cyclists quickly learn that at ”choke points’ it pays to ‘own the lane’ to prevent motorists from squeezing past at speed. As it happens in 2013 my sister-in-law was killed in exactly this circumstance on a group ride that was trying to do the right thing by riding single file and keeping well to the left. So there is that.
Being clipped in can take a bit of getting used to, but falling off at the lights is pretty rare – and I can't recall ever doing it or seeing anyone else for that matter.
That just leaves the fact that it's mostly men who enjoy group rides like this. Can't help you with that.
I am talking about early morning sunday riders in their fifties / sixties on teh way to the coffee shop, riding in a group of 6 often next to each other.
But to be fair i expect them to drive their big fat mon – fri suv wit the same courtesy.
And that is the main issue imho in traffic in NZ (can't speak for OZ never really stopped there) is the lack of courtesy to all users of the traffic network.
Throw out a suggestion or two here and see whether it catches anything? It can be hard to see options and opportunities when you work your arse off each and every day and life feels like Groundhog Day.
Sometimes it is better to let someone have a rant and not come down from your tree. 'Better out than in' they say. Have a nice evening grey – there I've said it for you.
I'm glad you're still with us bwaghorn. Do you have a caravan? Could you find a less self satisfied pair to work for? Trouble is there is a lot of it around. The fact that overseas or local rich people or ambitious anyway can buy houses, and don't do much physical work to earn it is part of our strangely different society. And people think they are so smart selling houses.
I find that hardly anyone I know actually looks to the future and measures the present and finds it wanting. They are deep in their own existence and I am sort of hanging five on it. But try to find some others who enjoy old time or folk music and a beer for relaxation, search it out. Folk music generally is about people making good, better than heavy metal say which just blots out everything, or rap which is clever and cutting generally rather than enjoyable. Is there an Irish band around your area? Learn to play the guitar, switch your mind frequenttly to a different channel, it's the only way to survive.
Cheers .its not a complete disaster the main reason I'm trapped in the job I'm in is the positive things (people mainly ) have rooted me to the spot and job opportunities are slim here ,that's why I loath my employers because they know I'm going no where so chose to shaft me for it . No unions for farm boys.
I envy you if you are in the quiet country. My neighbour is driving me out of my home and there is no plan B which isn't ugly. I hate not having a good plan B. For now I will just go a day at a time.
edit
You and Swordfish could get together Treetop and make a complaint to ? perhaps both local and central government about the lack of ability for people to have a peaceful enjoyment of your homes. You could point out that many are prevented from a life worth living because of the mental condition of people in the community.
I see that Ruth Dyson got an accolade this year. I think she was driving the policy of emptying the buildings and land put aside for the mentally damaged saying they should be living a sweeter life in the community (though probably NIHBY). Then the buildings and land got sold and the money went into the government accounts.
What should have been done was improvement, change of staff and different methods for treating those who weren't in violent or destructive episodes. And special places for the criminals. But no, dump the problems back into the community that struggles to cope with the decimation of society through ill-conceived policy shafting by the Gang of Four?
And now with alzheimers increasing in leaps and bounds, you can have the problem of policing loony parents and other loved ones at home, with the neighbours regularly involved also. The person affected can be distressed when they are halfway gone and have lucid moments and realise their minds are going and be engulfed in sorrow. Next they leave a pot on the stove going at full bore or are out of their beds in the middle of the night, wandering off to where they used to go to play when they were young.
It's a great life if you don't weaken I think they used to say in the UK in the war. I am increasingly having this feeling in the midst of this country that has such good financial measures and is near the top in world standards of everything!
I've pulled the nuclear option this morning,significant pay rise or else , meeting next week, have decided the stress of management needs proper wages or it's not worth it
Resentment can build up. Eventually a decision is made because of being treated unfairly. I have a rule, when something is impacting on me due to a person's shitty behaviour it is my business.
Personally i agree, give them a lane for a few month and see how much the usage would actually be. Traffic in Auckland is already f'ed up beyond believe, so really why not?
don't actually care. Give them the trial period, see how the usage is, run some reports on what a new bridge would need, and then go from there. IF they are serious about commuting they will do so wind, rain and shine, if they are Sunday cyclers or fair weather riders only it might shine a new light on the needs vs the wants theory.
Seriously, the council could consider a bike Sunday for example. Free two lanes on Sundays – weather permitting – not when high winds etc . Auckland traffic should manage on a Sunday. Even if you do it just for a few hours. Why not?
Depends on what you want to measure. Even a commute trial as such over three months would give a limited representation of what could be if/when implemented on a more permanent basis, for fairly obvious reasons. For example, with Te Huia travellers/commuters only have to not use a car for the journey and just buy a ticket. It is on a five-year trial! How does that compare to a measly few hours on a sunny not-too-windy Sunday?
Good opinion piece on TDB by Christine Rose on the cycling issue. I agree with what she says which is basically pro bike user and pro more safe cycling infrastructure. I have used bikes most of my life, for commuting, fun, travel, to do the shopping, never worn lycra and think cycling is cheap and healthy but becoming bloody dangerous anywhere on the public highway system (especially in NZ). Unfortunately, NZ, Oz, the U.S., Canada etc. have been built around the ownership and use of cars and now the serious prospect of changing all that around because of the need to combat climate change is really hard. Dont blame bike riders for the pain!
Koff I would imagine that your bike riding has been mostly done on the road. Now it has been pushed on to the footpath for safety, it endangers the simple basic transport option that is natural to us – walking. Plus all the other man-made contraptions that are too fast for comfort to walkers who want to relieve stress, get somewhere at their own pace, and enjoy the neighbourhood and perhaps stroll and chat with a friend.
And you are right the transport system is around vehicles. Dealers have made much money out of selling vehicles. The lots are full of hummer type vehicles that signal in metal, make way for me coming through, move over for my fat-bottomed wide vehicle encroaching on every space.
Yet our local council runs buses which often have one or two people in them. They could set up an arrangement with a taxi service for less cost, and help to use resources effectively and provide a better income for the often retired men and new citizens who drive them.
Ways to reduce vehicle purchase, such as extra tax on people movers, and encouragement for the smaller vehicle, for moving to EVs, for hybrids etc. would be helpful. But public transport that is tailored to what people need and that regular travellers can buy into with season tickets that bring the price down to what allows suppliers to make a good living, would be a good way of PPP.
\A set route of local season ticket holders could be picked up and dropped off each morning and night after work connecting to the bus route is one idea I have found. Also taxis that will serve an area within a set time once two people have called and who share the price. A person might call hopefully early in the morning, and if no-one else calls, then use other transport, but once the system got going enough people would be using and finding the system beneficial.
I like to point out that it is unlawful in any other country to ride a bicycle on a motorway/highway. It should be quite logical as to why.
Here in NZ it seems that there is an understanding that riding a bike is a free for all but this is not true. There are also rules that equally apply to motorized and non motorized cycling. I see many riders who completely ignore just basics: lighting – see and be seen (200 meters min), high vis clothing, using hand signs and speeding, crossing red lights, cutting across other vehicles, completely obliviend of the way a truck driver can or not see you when overtaking etc. etc. etc. There are bicycle riders that endanger others road users of all stripes and colors and I for one are for one would advocate for a driver licence to be compulsory.
A lisence could be simply a free but mandatory road rules test at the AA. In fact, you could start teaching basic road rules from kindergarten on so as to ease children in to using bikes, mopeds, scooters, car.
Even we as kids had a 'test' with a police man during school hours. They set up a low skill test area and you ride around, stop and go, red /green light etc. We got a batch. 🙂
Just make it free and begin in kindergarten. By the time the kid is 10 – 12 they can navigate the traffic in their area fairly well. And this will make passing the drivers test easier in the future.
that used to happen. we had visits from ?? with pedal cars and layout streets with ped x and roundabouts etc. there is film from then at national film unit.
I remember that happening once at my primary school. There were not enough bikes and pedal cars for all the kids so those who missed out performed pedestrian duties.
I was mightily pissed off at the pathetic tokenism of the whole charade and I was only 9.
perhaps I have a closer relationship with reality. you are the one who wanted ALL pushbike riders to be licensed. I dont have a problem with increased junior road education, but licenses for 6 yr olds!?. talk to yr local cop about that idea and watch for the eyeroll.
A sweet song from John Denver with thoughts that most of us will have as we are older. Unfortunately for some of us who are older we cannot relax and play our fiddles while Rome burns.
Poems Prayers and Promises https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv6sRsVsn3g
"Quite prickly" but mostly harmless as cultists go; fairly ‘soft‘ targets even.
Denver had his flaws, but who doesn't, eh Phil? Each to their own, imho.
In the mid-1970s, Denver became outspoken in politics. He expressed his ecologic interests in the epic 1975 song "Calypso", an ode to the eponymous exploration ship used by environmental activist Jacques Cousteau. In 1976, he campaigned for Carter, who became a close friend and ally. Denver was a supporter of the Democratic Party and of a number of charitable causes for the environmental movement, the homeless, the poor, the hungry, and the African AIDS crisis. He founded the charitable Windstar Foundation in 1976 to promote sustainable living. His dismay at the Chernobyl disaster led to precedent-setting concerts in parts of communist Asia and Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Denver#Political_activism
I seem to recall an interview with Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys, who had been battling the PMRC over their album art, saying John Denver's testimony was game-changing.
Laughable they can't find landscapers – have they tried their local Polytech? They usually have courses turning out entry level folk. Mind, I've replied to a few rural ads over the last while – happy enough to move but the accommodation is the clincher – got to live somewhere, and if the wage won't let you save there's not much point.
I can understand them wanting people with enough experience to hit the ground running. Whole wage/price structure needs to adjust to our post-migrant-topup mentality.
The biggest impact has not been wages, in my view, but employment culture. The low wage migrant is obliged to endure some pretty nasty crap, and may not even get a legal wage. Kiwi workers won't get out of bed for ratbag employers like that – nor should they.
Offer decent pay and conditions and you'll have to fight off workers with a stick – the way big projects like the Clyde dam had to. We're not seeing any of that.
I just shake my head… many kiwis wont last longer than a week when it dawns on them that they actually have to work consistently and keep focus for more than a computer game time slot. Every day, not just once. There is a belief that they are owed a living because they have been hard done by, by the world, the parents, the school, the neighbor, the whatever. And the ones who have gone to high school, maybe sat a paper or two at Uni think that the work is beneath them. And then you have youngsters who are willing but their skill base is so low that they need 24/7 supervision that no one can provide. This is the reality out there, on the ground where no one is willing to look and ask the hard questions.
What it really is is that there will always be a minority of mallingerers, and grumpy old fuckers ,usually right wingers like to latch on to those few so they can run down all youngins.
Saw a funny thing a while back which suggested that the reason right wingers are so worried about malingerers on a humane dole is because they'd do it given half the chance, when actually most people want to actually work or contribute to society in some way.
It's the politics of envy, lol. The only motive tories can comprehend to do anything is money – if you gave them enough money to be happy, they'd do nothing.
But then (like all true addicts) the problem for some tories is that no amount is ever enough.
Even if this is true, it's still a case of chickens and eggs. If as SM suggested above, you offer decent pay and conditions so that workers really want these jobs, they'll know that a decent performance is needed to get and keep them.
But this is just a bit too hard. It's easier to politically capture governments and get them to break labour markets in ways that advantage you – such as easy access to foreign labour.
I think that many kids should spend time doing work and then do block courses at school. And all should have experience of doing physical work. The education system is training students to suit the tech people with heads filled with equations. But the old problem exists, they make very thin soup. A spell in the fields and workshop would break the spell of the screen; it trains many to be voyeurs of real life, has anyone thought of that. No wonder people are always going on overseas holidays – they have never realised that there is a different world out there away from the city or their small town.
That is the biggest issue is it not, that if you wanted to move and work there, without housing that is a no go. And it has been like that for ever. I doubt that many who work and live in the big city are saving that much of their wages. Kiwi safer maybe.
When I moved to Korea I took about a 40% pay cut on paper – but cost of living was so low I could save 60% of my pay without scrimping.
A few baselines need to be worked out here really – the neolib economy presently rewards the crook, the speculator, and the chair-polishing bureaucrat, not the worker.
unless there is some sort of rental cap, or a reform on how rent – i.e. the usage of a space is charged, nothing will change. At the moment people are paying the mortgage, rates and the boat in their rents. And the government could not increase the min. wage enough and fast enough to change that. Rent control, a rental mirror etc is what is needed.
Plenty a people are living in their cars and motels under Labour too. Heck, most of Rotorua Moteliers are earning themselves a golden toilet seat by renting to homeless at full prices cause the government has a big purse and is happy spending the money.
I prefer having a mil paid each week on social housing, given to those who need it and in time they can rent to own. Imagine how many houses we could have for those in need within only one year. I recon the property market is a ruse and some of the parliamentarians just look away.
It is a form of social housing, i.e. a temporary patch. Do you want to kick those people out of the motels and tell them to sleep in their cars and under bridges? Your suggestion makes no sense to me.
If we use the money to buy social housing – homes with bridging finance before going to the next stage, meaning moving the family in, it would be cheaper and more desirable to house those who live right now in temporary accommodation. A hotel/motel room is NOT a home. Especially for kids.
If I could jump the shadow of my manners and it would be acceptable, I would spit on the floor in front of the housing minister(s). The self interest of those in power makes me vomit.
ideally the government pays full rent for a house that is a proper rental – with all the stability that comes with it, rather then pay 400 NZD per night to house someone for a week or two and then they are back to where they were before.
The warehousing of homeless people in this country in rundown motels – the better ones try to get actual customers (less gang, less drugs, less violence, less police, etc) is shameful, and fwiw, it was shameful under Paula Benefit and it is shameful under Carmel (see nothing, hear nothing do nothing) Sepuloni. Shameful. Nothing more nothing less. That we have a few thousand kids in this country living in motels and hotels, is the failure of Labour and National – both parties and all of their highly paid, extremely well fed, and certainly expensively heeled members.
I've been looking at a variation on it – but Nash's laws on campervans are a bit discouraging – push that option mostly out of reach. Not that I'm being offered any work anyway – the worker drought is rhetorical from where I'm sitting.
Thats because although somewhat lowly regarded it actually requires a very diverse skill set, read plans, set out, carpentry, concrete, paving, drainlaying, horticulture etc etc and then you need to be happy working in all weathers.
Not many stick at it….
As an aside the polytech courses are garbage can get the same certification (in name) in a 1 year polytech course that took me 8000 hours of apprenticeship.
I know a small landscape business owner who couldn't compete with the bigger landscaping companies that were able to bring in migrant workers under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.
To save his business he started hiring beneficiaries and paying them under the table. That is, until the tax department caught up with him.
The article cited refers to the situation in Blenheim, a town I know a little of. 🙂 The employment rate in Marlborough is 2.5% against the national average of 4,7%. So, it is harder to find workers.
Marlborough has 1% of the country's population, with no unversity, and a small campus of the NMIT in Blenheim.
Housing is hard to find in Blenheim. Houses sell fast and there is a shortage of social housing. Anecdotally, we hear of jobs not taken as accommodation was not accessible.
Food prices are high here. The average wage is the second lowest in the country. The median age is one of the highest in the country, with a much larger 65+ age group, which has one corollary of fewer workers available per head of population. That demographic anomaly also determines in part the average wage/income in Marlborough, and also the amount of money available for circulation.
One of the business owners mentioned is decent as I know him and I know that he is determined to do his bit for training apprentices.
I don't know what wages are being offered, so I can't offer advice on that. But small town NZ as typified in Blenheim can struggle with the advent of large shopping chains.
Marlborough also suffers from what I call 'third world' status. 80% of Mrlborough wineries/vineyards are owned outside the province. Profits therefore go out of the province as do some of the highest paid jobs in the industry go outside Marlborough to the head offices etc.
So, knowing some of the local circumstances does help to understand some of the local difficulties; but also remembering we have our share of worker-unfriendly enterprises in timber, fishing and farming as well.
The commitment to apprenticing was admirable, yes, but it should not really fall on the shoulders of individual businesses or customers. Prices need to increase but so do incomes.
Those broader processes will take some effort to sort out – including somehow resourcing provincial economies enough to counteract extractive arrangements like you describe.
Plenty of trades do hire and train their own apprentices and are very happy to do so….
A good apprentice is hard to find these days usually they're someone that proactively approaches tbh also of course need suitably qualified staff to train them and have the time, very small sub contractor based business do struggle in this regard.
Its actually a problem with neoliberalism and that so many tradies are now sub contractors…
Businesses should train and pay their people but they are not in a position to engineer social acceptance of higher prices. That takes broader leadership and a just transition to a high-wage economy.
very good post mac1 those same conditions happen in a few rural locations around nz . as you say ,often outside owners who take the cream away from the locals. but propped up by local hardarses.
Getting social housing providers, employers and government to work together is also difficult in some areas. The politics got in the way.
We rented real hovels in Blenheim when young and hubby was a "manager" of a store belonging to a chain. We paid upfront to move our belongings by rail, from one appointment to the next. Eleven homes, always looking for better, in 4 moves before we threw out the anchor and built with a 30 year Housing Corporation Loan, in Rotorua.
For the first time in years, we see general building and social building happening, not just in the top end of the town.
As for these "Slum motels" we have driven around on different days looking for those??? The quality of homes here is poorer than those of some areas of Europe and until recently, Australia, motels follow a pattern world wide, built for short stays, but slums?? I question that?
We lived in a motel in Blenheim paid for by the employer as we had a child and no suitable housing. Not many employers do that now, and Councils do not see that as part of their brief, and until this Government social Housing was touted as short term accommodation!! Remember?
TBH I think local gummint got directive from central g in Douglas or RRichardsons time to heave ho a lot of things that they did in housing and other things. (Thanks you old people -haters in central gummint. You would be more use being fed to the lions, except they probably wouldn't like the taste and spit you out.)
Marlborough has some 180 Council units. They are still in favour as we in Grey Power told them to keep them and they were so willing they invited GP participation in their Housing Committee. Govt is building another 100+ units in Nelson/Marlborough. Grape workers accommodation is vastly improved with purpose-built complexes. There is real hope and cooperation here but not enough builders, tradies, and some blockage by local developers to release enough land for new housing. Some but never enough, to keep the prices up?
Meanwhile, 10% of Marlborough housing is not occupied…..
What about the provincial growth fund, is there no access to establish apprenticeships and support accommodation. Or shall I say, provide living support to those who sign up? If you can get support for doing nothing, surely there must be some for doing something. Provided our employment minister is proactive…
Sir Grahame Sydney about how and why he started and kept drawing and painting from the age of 5. Following the lead of his words could well be the means by which a generation of NZs could positively turn around and pull together.
"I've got an infamous blue suitcase which is full with stuff Mum kept from every sort of waking day of my life. I used to draw as a young child and always loved it and always thought it was magical and I just kept going … mainly because people used to praise me and it was a wonderful way of thinking you were okay."
The race is on in US Intelligence between finding ET and the Killer Bat that escaped from the lab cave – I can feel it in my big toe that we’re close – and they’ll know it when they see it, as they did with WMDs, because it is in their job title. My money is on Emo Musk meeting Ewoks on Mars. The modern day version of bread & circuses AKA dead cat bounce on the table. I’ll be ready to take selfies next time an oblong object flies past Earth at great speed in the opposite direction to where it came from.
Luckily, the US Intelligence is much more forthcoming than the NZ one; even NZ Government is shrouded in secrecy behind the OIA security wall. Put all DHB IT systems behind the OIA wall and no hacker will ever get in, let alone out, unredacted. That said, I thought I saw an UFO the other night, but it turned out to be the Emo Musk Satellite Express, no bells or flashing lights !
FWIW, I believe in alien life, but not life as we know it. It would be such a cosmic waste of resources if we were the only bugs in the Universe; it goes against my utilitarian values and beliefs.
I'm kinda meh on whether there are aliens or not. Unless they're orbiting one of the dozen or so closest stars, there isn't going to be any kind of back-and-forth communication within any human lifetime.
Then from a simple physics viewpoint, just contemplating the sheer amount of energy that would be needed for any kind of interstellar travel means I reckon I've got a better chance of winning Powerball than of earth ever getting visited by aliens in flying saucers.
Don’t let inconvenient traditional physics get in the way of good-old imagination.
We already struggle with migrants, can’t even get on top of a pandemic, make a real mess of online communication and free speech, and shit in our own nest, so the alien invasion visiting hour will have to wait for a little bit longer and I’m sure they’ll understand.
When you’re trying too hard you put strain on the brain. Sit back, relax and don’t fall asleep. Even better, go for a bike ride or walk across the bridge.
Or ski in your togs,which has shown great success.
Vladimir Igorevich had an unusual creative method which he inherited from his teacher Andrey Kolmogorov. Whenever he got stuck on a problem, he would grabbed his skis and ski 40 kilometers or more wearing nothing but his swim-trunks. His colleagues often met him dressed like this in the piercing wind. According to him, this practice would always lead him to a new idea. He also made it a rule for himself to go swimming whenever he encountered open water. A frequent bather in wintertime, he has convinced many of his students to do the same
I once biked thirty km in -20 weather. It did not lead to any insight beyond what would have been blindingly obvious before the exercise. Maybe I should have joined my colleague that did the ride a couple of weeks later at -38, setting a new company record.
I hope you didn't decide that because the gravitational force is so very, very much weaker that the other three forces you would be quite safe jumping off a high bridge?
That has quite a high percentage of cases where it does not end well.
if aliens visit nz will they have to do the two week quarantine, and will they be allowed to sleep in their spaceships and freedom camp? are they already here and members of the national party and living on the nth shore?. will an alien be worth two chinese(on the s bridges scale)?. will they qualify for nz benefits, and if they turn out to be bad eggs, where and how do we deport them?
There may be a joke of some kind in the future around the smell of minute living organisms from space that have come on one of his space fleet. We'll look at anything smelly and unwanted and say 'It has the Smell of Musk'. We already cart death dealing bugs and microbes round the world and deposit them to destroy crops and people in other earth countries, so next we will be doing it from space. We who have nothing better to do than wreck the physical and dream up fun and nirvanas for our pleasure and all without taking drugs. The mind is amazing.
I hear you. Panspermia is no longer a theory. If (!) we are attacked by alien monsters with tentacles in a few hundred years, at least we’ll know where they came from.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A NASA scientist reports detecting tiny fossilized bacteria on three meteorites, and maintains these microscopic life forms are not native to Earth.7/03/2011 Strange life signs found on meteorites: NASA scientist | Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/us-meteorites-life-idUSTRE7252KQ20110307
All those dirty secrets and another pile of shit laid before the feet of the catholic church .215 kids or their remains found in a secret grave in the grounds of a so called Residential School in BC.Just like many of us here in nz were unaware of abuses in state care were as bad or as prevalent as our recent enquiry revealed them to be most people in canada had no idea of the damage done to native children forcibly "educated "in special schools run by state funded churches from 1876 to 1996.Sounds like beatings rape and sodomy were common and a daily reality for many .In canada when i guess enough of the dirty secrets had made it to the surface authorities took six years to investigate the claims of abuse and finally had a fully blown truth and reconciliation hearing and this is old news now but they found the bodies last week .Now i guess they,ll have to search the grounds of all these schools .Seems incredible that so called "christians"could treat children in such a cruel manner could it be that rather than man supposedly being" made in the image of his maker "that its the other way around ?
Redline has produced this amazing article that recounts various happenings and statements that have aroused so much attention that it is stating that the contents of the article are the basis of all the wokeness that is going on about racism. It is about a woman who was born on Cloud 9 and without coming down from there considers she speaks for and understands the vast majority of women and men who are at the lower income levels of society.
She came, she saw, she conquered saying, 'I'm going to buy that theory and make it mine'!
Like the "Boomer" Millennial divide. Another way of distracting all of us from the real culprits, the wealthy and powerful, while they run off with our wealth.
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
I'm coming to the suspicion that Waka Kotahi really really don't want anything other than cars, trucks and buses going over the Harbour Bridge, for institutional culture and ideology reasons. So as support grows for providing some kind of walking and cycling access, it appears to me they are resorting to blowing out the projected cost by ever increasing the size and cost of the proposal in hopes of killing the idea.
Consider the original proposed Skypath, pushed mostly by Bevan Woodward. This was to be a lightweight composite tube underneath the clip-on lanes on the east side. IIRC the east side is preferred because on average trucks travelling south are less loaded, so the structure has a bit more reserve capacity. Projected costs were well under $100 million, even with generous allowance for the cost increases that inevitably happen on infrastructure projects.
The engineering and costings were done by entirely credible people and organisations. Including Gurit (link to Google's cached html version of a pdf found by searching Skypath costing), a major international supplier of materials and engineering expertise for composites infrastructure, and Core Builders Composites in Warkworth, who started out as Oracle's America's Cup boatbuilder and diversified into a wide range of complex innovative composites projects.
Then, once it appeared that Auckland Council and the government were on board with the idea and Waka Kotahi were given somewhat more of a ‘make it happen’ directive, the design radically changed with a new estimated cost of $240 million.
Evidently, that didn't result in killing the project, so there's been another round of revisions resulting in what we now have, a proposal resulting in the best part of a billion dollars to be spent, or dedicating an existing lane to cyclists and walkers (with the resulting massive increase in traffic problems).
Looks to me like Waka Kotahi are desperately trying to refine their shit sandwich recipe to try to get to a 'uhh, we guess that's a no' from government and council.
Anyone want to try to allay my suspicions?
It also seems time to go back to the original concept. And if road traffic changes are needed to make it work for structural load reasons, then simply restrict heavy vehicles from using the left lane(s) southbound, perhaps coupled with more speed restrictions between the bridge and Fanshawe St, to ease the lane changes that heavy vehicles might need to make in that short distance.
Have you missed the bit about cyclists getting their own bridge?
The old bridge is rapidly approaching its use by I suspect.
By doing a pedestrian/cycle bridge it clears the way for a multi use tunnel for cars and trains apparently .
Yeah, I'm aware of the separate bridge proposal.
It looks to me like that's just another step in the effort to increase the political unpalatability of the proposals by ever increasing the cost, in hopes of killing the idea of pedestrians and cyclists crossing the harbour at the bridge location.
edit: if you want to see the thoughts of a bunch of other people with apparently similar suspicions, have a rummage around on the http://www.getacross.org.nz website.
All the transport interventions needed to provide transport choice away from cars are huge.
Witness the damage to local businesses of City Rail Link.
Light rail beyond the Ak SH20corridor will be even more disruptive.
At 46% of our greenhouse gases, we are just glimpsing the scale of our addiction and the costs of withdrawal.
Oh, and as far as the existing bridge approaching its use by date, well it appears it is and it isn't.
It seems whenever there's a bit of a push on for something like a new crossing, or there's a proposal Waka Kotahi doesn't want, the bridge is on its last legs.
But whenever the issue is something like expanding the network that 50 tonne trucks are allowed to use, it seems the bridge has plenty of life and capacity.
It's a dog. It is subject to stress fatigue, needs continuous re-painting, the road needs relaying every two years, the gradient is too steep and wastes fuel, it is vulnerable to damage by users.
Build a new one for the 22nd century next to it, then knock it down for scrap.
Inability to fund the Auckland Harbour bridge resulted in a very poor product. Let’s not make the same mistake again.
every major road bridge close to salt water suffers these same problems. building a new bridge wont stop these.
"Build a new one for the 22nd century next to it, then knock it down for scrap"
The old bridge in Frankton works splendidly as a walking/biking bridge now.
@ b.g..
that is a reasonable idea..
+1
I don't know hold old this fact sheet is but it says.
"NZTA spends up to $4m on maintenance and resealing each year."
That would still have to paid if you keep the bridge there, whatever it might be used for.
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/site-resources/content/about/docs/auckland-harbour-bridge-factsheet.pdf
Date of document is 21 Dec 2009.
Why would you need to fork the same amount of money for R & M if the use changes majorly?
Salt air is pretty unforgiving, but there's no way the road reseal or engineering load-related work would be needed as frequently.
I think that the painting of the bridge would have to go on pretty well continuously. As Sacha says, salt air is going to make a mess of it whether it is used or not.
I did some work on road surfaces many years ago for the old MOW. Not engineering but trying to find ways of predicting when roads would need repair. If I remember correctly the life of a bitumen surface depended mostly upon its age, rather than the loads the road carried, unless the substrate was very inadequate for the axle loads. Cracks and holes in the bitumen are probably going to have more effect on bicycles than on car or truck tires. Specialised off-road bikes may not be affected but they aren't that common among commuter cyclists are they? I don't know many cyclists who are happy to ride a normal road bike on an unsealed surface and there are always comments about stones and rubbish on the existing cycle lane to Petone making it unusable. I'm not a cyclist these days so I might be quite wrong of course. Any Tour de France competitors out there to comment?
That document was from 2009 was it?. The amount of money quoted didn't seem very much and I did wonder how old it was.
Thanks, but that didn’t really answer the question. You seem to have a tendency to wander off topic and lose focus easily. I tend to do this too in verbal convos, which is why I prefer written communication.
Not an unreasonable suspicion.
The CycleAuckland engineers have a lot of back-and-forh on this.
Waka Kotahi are always going to be hit, since the stream of commuters taken off by cycling will be replaced over double with more cars imported.
So car traffic will never improve even with light rail, cycling, heavy rail combined.
It will make it less worse than it could have been.
Thst means NZTA exist in a melancholic counterfactual.
Which the left should understand well.
unfortunatley this often happens. a simple, relatively cheap idea is taken over by high priced consultants and costs blow out. sometimes these consultants get a percentage of the final cost so are very keen to push price up. sometimes, these consultants have very little real world engineering expertise , so have no idea of how to save money. and as you say, sometimes there are dirty deeds done to kill off entire projects. in this case??? pity the politician who has to wade through screeds of bullshit to find the truth.
I've seen it happen even entirely within a company.
It's really easy to do, just tweak an assumption here and an estimate there. A lot of times, people doing it aren't even aware they're doing it. They're just responding to their internal confirmation biases. With that last sentence in mind, hell, I've probably done it myself while being blithely unaware of it.
It’s a particularly powerful effect when the end result conforms with institutional biases and culture.
What about citizens putting forward fully engineered projects after agreement with the government, and guidelines, with some funding for the initial plans and specs, and if feasible then more funding, and bypassing the consultants. Just getting the technical aspects checked? Participatory government not this top-down bullshit.
That is exactly how Skypath came to be, before NZTA got their claws into it.
(should-have-been headline..)
'the middle-class flex their lycra-clad muscles..and get all hot and sweaty..'
‘The poor take to using cycles due to the cost of rent.’
and they do so without needing lycra too.
It is the old adage of wants vs needs.
And the sad thing is, we have so many many needs.
Please go and look at photos of the actual people riding bikes on the bridge. Then stop throwing 'lycra' around as a cheap shot.
Yes a lot of diversity there unless you break it down into; the cream, the bone, the white, the off-white, the ivory or the beige than a Richie Benaud wardrope. I am sure all who live in Manukau will appreciate all this money being spent for those who can afford a $4m house ( and who have made a cool $1m profit since June 2019) to live in and take time for a wee bike ride across their vanity project.
Far from diverse, sure. Please do read the post I've linked to below.
@ sacha..
Surely you can see that the use of 'lycra' in this case is as an all-encompasing potent middle-class descriptor..?
(kinda like 'boomer'..and so many other examples of the genre..)
and let's not forget that lycra is the crocs of clothing..dunno about you but the sight of trevor mallard in lycra is an image I for one can never erase..
and yes..it is an accurate use of the english language/the word..
'you say 'lycra'..we see middle-class..'
Say middle class then.
@ sacha..
you are ignoring the beauty of the english language..and the potency of word-built images ..
(have you heard that song by olivia newton john..?..you might like it ..
it goes..
'let's get literal..literal..'..)
olivia newton john is the ugg boots of music..
That will be Dame Olivia Newton John to plebs like us.
After all, if the call has to be "Bring Back Sir Buck" in the future she should be entitled to her proper title as well.
You self-identify as “plebs?? Strike me down with a feather!
Anyway, Olive has enough titles already.
As a singer-actress, she’s a metaphorical ugg boot, IMO.
A "pleb"?
Reading the contributions to this blog I would say it is a fair descriptor for almost every one, including you and I.
The only exception would perhaps be Wayne Mapp, when he graces us with his presence.
Surely you don't consider yourself to be a patrician? Heaven forbid that you are really so conceited.
Well, well, well, Alwyn reckons he and everybody else here on TS is a pleb with one notable exception: Dr Mapp QSO – you like titles, Alwyn? When it comes to noblesse oblige, I can think of several examples here on TS who would qualify. Sadly, you’re missing off my list. Surely, there are other blogs that are more, shall we say, suited to you?
You’re reading way too much into the contributions here unless you’re a mind reader, but even you wouldn’t be so conceited, would you?
I am with alwyn on this..
we are a nation of plebs..
the country was colonised by plebs..
with a scattering of poor patricians..sent to rule over us..
little has changed..
Alwyn and Phil Ure are like peas in a pod.
@incog..
no…more like plebs in a pod…
Oh dear. I have hurt Incognito's feelings. He clearly thinks he is one of the chosen Aristocrats who are here to rule us.
I suggest you remember what happened in 1793 when La Terreur began in France. Aristocrats like the class to which you aspire went to the guillotine.
In the meantime just remember that the great figures in the Labour movement such as Michael Savage and Peter Fraser in New Zealand would have gloried in being described as a working man.
The current lot not so much but of course they aren't as competent at their work as the early trade union pioneers are they?
Just as well you can remember for us, alwyn – how old are you?!
I admire Savage and Fraser for their socialist principles.
Some of the 'current lot' of NZ Government MPs seem at least moderately competent, if a little less principled than Savage and Fraser. Regarding NZ's 'loyal' opposition MPs, however, even ‘moderately competent‘ would be a bit of a stretch.
@ drowsy..
just 'cos national are going down the crapper..
galloping towards irrelevancy..
doesn't excuse labour for doing nowhere near enough..
to fix what ails us..
it is just incrementalism heaped upon incrementalism..
their recent drip-fed/gratification-delayed increases to the pittance that is welfare..is a potent example of not doing enough..
I mean..when you have the bosses spokesperson (hope) saying it wasn't enough..
it clearly shows that labour have jumped that particular shark..
Imho our current Government is moving in a good direction more often than not. While their speed is pragmatically slow (and nowhere near fast enough for me), the overall result may be more sustainable than the “radical remedies” I’d prefer. What chance that the Green’s party vote will get get above 10% while they advocate the introduction of a wealth tax? It’s just one of the reasons that I party vote Green, and likely one of the reasons that many people don’t.
@ incognito..
is she also back in fashion again..?
For the cultists she never went out of fashion. Maybe you should mix up your social circle, you know, fewer Denver cultists and more Olive ones. It’ll do you good to broaden your horizons somewhat beyond that dull stereotypical thinking of yours.
All further entries to today's irony contest are now closed lol
the ones in lycra are the funniest tho, honestly.
personally i have biked all my life overseas in Europe – Germany and Holland – and i would go so far to say that i probably biked more in my life as a commuter then many here have done so in a leisurly way.
I biked in Auckland 20 odd years ago, when no one did it. I biked because i never owned a car. I also use public transport such as busses, trams, trains, and yes the airplane, why ? Because i never saw the reason to have a car.
And i have biked in winter gear, summer gear, bathing suits etc. And the lycra crowd are the funniest to observe. There is a certain je ne sais quoi about people in tight fluo colors and a fancy pair of bike shoes.
And I cycle toured extensively in NZ and big bits of the ME in the late 70's. Also did club racing in my 20's. The great thing about cycling is that there are so many different ways people do it and they're all good. You get to dress however you like – or not at all.
But honestly – for long distances and sports cycling, tight fitting 'lycra' (it wasn't called that back then) offers both a lower wind resistance and is lot more comfortable. Smirk all you want – lyrcra works for me if I'm doing anything more than a short commute or leisure ride.
The lycra brigade is notably different from any other rider that i have met anywhere.
Be that Germany, Holland, Italy, France or NZ.
They tend to be male for the most part (again this might be changing), they tend to ride peloton style – irrespective of the road, or size of the road, need honking horns or insults to go into single file to let people pass and as observed a few times, fall of their bikes when coming to a full stop cause the shoes got stuck.
This of course is different if one is a solitary rider, but in groups that particular subgroup of riders generally is a pain in the proverbial.
That is really quite particular to them. Just my 2 cnts.
https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2012/05/28/lycra-on-the-streets-of-the-netherlands/
?
The clue is in the first sentence:
The 4-min video clip is for all those commenters here with lycra hang-ups – lycra is very common in the Netherlands – and gives a great snapshot of how cycling is fully integrated in Dutch culture and society – and infrastructure – and used by all walks of life; so many bridges, tunnels and cycle paths!
Just for your general edification, really.
'lycra is very common in the Netherlands..'
I would submit it is 'very common' everywhere/anywhere….
My mind is too small for that.
Yes Incognito, i know that the dutch are quite different. I lived in Holland for a few years, and i commuted by bike. Just to clarify my stand on Lycra and fietsen.
Of course, clarify away.
Sports riders do quite frequently ride in peletons – in every country I've ever seen them in. It used to be largely confined to club events, often on controlled roads either closed or with limited traffic.
What's changed is the advent of the internet and the ability to organise weekend rides with 50 or more riders who have no club alliegence and have no alternative other than t use the open road. And on narrow sections of road they do indeed hold up traffic momentarily. Usually it incurs about a 30 – 90 sec delay at most, and if it happens to you more than once or twice a month you have to be a pretty unlucky motorist.
And all experienced cyclists quickly learn that at ”choke points’ it pays to ‘own the lane’ to prevent motorists from squeezing past at speed. As it happens in 2013 my sister-in-law was killed in exactly this circumstance on a group ride that was trying to do the right thing by riding single file and keeping well to the left. So there is that.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/8438533/Notorious-road-claims-cyclist
Being clipped in can take a bit of getting used to, but falling off at the lights is pretty rare – and I can't recall ever doing it or seeing anyone else for that matter.
That just leaves the fact that it's mostly men who enjoy group rides like this. Can't help you with that.
I am not talking about organised events.
I am talking about early morning sunday riders in their fifties / sixties on teh way to the coffee shop, riding in a group of 6 often next to each other.
But to be fair i expect them to drive their big fat mon – fri suv wit the same courtesy.
And that is the main issue imho in traffic in NZ (can't speak for OZ never really stopped there) is the lack of courtesy to all users of the traffic network.
agree sabine – that word 'courtesy'. That would save a lot of stress.
I think male lycra-wearers are just men who harbour a secret desire to wear womens' underwear..
why don't they just go ahead and do that..?
and spare us all the sight of their crushed genitalia..?
Dr Phil
Yoga pants!
In reply to treetop
If they did itll solve the obesity epidemic!!!
O fuck did I say that out loud?
Yes you did.
I'm fucking 50 soon and I've decided it's time to let it all hang out,take no shit and no prisoners.
Aaahhh, the midlife crisis
Property less, earning fuck all working for a had life handed to them on plate pair of cunts, and cant find a plan b, crisis what crisis, . 🥺🥺🤪
Throw out a suggestion or two here and see whether it catches anything? It can be hard to see options and opportunities when you work your arse off each and every day and life feels like Groundhog Day.
Have a nice evening.
Sometimes it is better to let someone have a rant and not come down from your tree. 'Better out than in' they say. Have a nice evening grey – there I've said it for you.
I'm glad you're still with us bwaghorn. Do you have a caravan? Could you find a less self satisfied pair to work for? Trouble is there is a lot of it around. The fact that overseas or local rich people or ambitious anyway can buy houses, and don't do much physical work to earn it is part of our strangely different society. And people think they are so smart selling houses.
I find that hardly anyone I know actually looks to the future and measures the present and finds it wanting. They are deep in their own existence and I am sort of hanging five on it. But try to find some others who enjoy old time or folk music and a beer for relaxation, search it out. Folk music generally is about people making good, better than heavy metal say which just blots out everything, or rap which is clever and cutting generally rather than enjoyable. Is there an Irish band around your area? Learn to play the guitar, switch your mind frequenttly to a different channel, it's the only way to survive.
No need for you to say it for me Grey. I can manage it.
Cheers .its not a complete disaster the main reason I'm trapped in the job I'm in is the positive things (people mainly ) have rooted me to the spot and job opportunities are slim here ,that's why I loath my employers because they know I'm going no where so chose to shaft me for it . No unions for farm boys.
I envy you if you are in the quiet country. My neighbour is driving me out of my home and there is no plan B which isn't ugly. I hate not having a good plan B. For now I will just go a day at a time.
edit
You and Swordfish could get together Treetop and make a complaint to ? perhaps both local and central government about the lack of ability for people to have a peaceful enjoyment of your homes. You could point out that many are prevented from a life worth living because of the mental condition of people in the community.
I see that Ruth Dyson got an accolade this year. I think she was driving the policy of emptying the buildings and land put aside for the mentally damaged saying they should be living a sweeter life in the community (though probably NIHBY). Then the buildings and land got sold and the money went into the government accounts.
What should have been done was improvement, change of staff and different methods for treating those who weren't in violent or destructive episodes. And special places for the criminals. But no, dump the problems back into the community that struggles to cope with the decimation of society through ill-conceived policy shafting by the Gang of Four?
And now with alzheimers increasing in leaps and bounds, you can have the problem of policing loony parents and other loved ones at home, with the neighbours regularly involved also. The person affected can be distressed when they are halfway gone and have lucid moments and realise their minds are going and be engulfed in sorrow. Next they leave a pot on the stove going at full bore or are out of their beds in the middle of the night, wandering off to where they used to go to play when they were young.
It's a great life if you don't weaken I think they used to say in the UK in the war. I am increasingly having this feeling in the midst of this country that has such good financial measures and is near the top in world standards of everything!
It is going to blow up any day. I am considering a sleep out in the back yard.
I've pulled the nuclear option this morning,significant pay rise or else , meeting next week, have decided the stress of management needs proper wages or it's not worth it
Good luck with the neighbour.
Resentment can build up. Eventually a decision is made because of being treated unfairly. I have a rule, when something is impacting on me due to a person's shitty behaviour it is my business.
Considerate article by a Kainga Ora sustainability manager and on-the-ground cycling advocate:
https://twitter.com/AlecTang_/status/1401639134112849920
Personally i agree, give them a lane for a few month and see how much the usage would actually be. Traffic in Auckland is already f'ed up beyond believe, so really why not?
Three months from Dec until March or June until Sep?
I suggest June until September 2023. Do you think the Government would dare to do that?
Is it up to Government to decide?
don't actually care. Give them the trial period, see how the usage is, run some reports on what a new bridge would need, and then go from there. IF they are serious about commuting they will do so wind, rain and shine, if they are Sunday cyclers or fair weather riders only it might shine a new light on the needs vs the wants theory.
\shrug
Seriously, the council could consider a bike Sunday for example. Free two lanes on Sundays – weather permitting – not when high winds etc . Auckland traffic should manage on a Sunday. Even if you do it just for a few hours. Why not?
Depends on what you want to measure. Even a commute trial as such over three months would give a limited representation of what could be if/when implemented on a more permanent basis, for fairly obvious reasons. For example, with Te Huia travellers/commuters only have to not use a car for the journey and just buy a ticket. It is on a five-year trial! How does that compare to a measly few hours on a sunny not-too-windy Sunday?
Might be entertaining if a race and sponsorship for a good cause.
The prize could be an original cycle lycra.
Yes let's start trialling some things.
On such a crap day weather wise all round, reasons to be Cheerful part 3. For those who appreciate greatness and to celebrate the Queens best
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIMNXogXnvE
Good opinion piece on TDB by Christine Rose on the cycling issue. I agree with what she says which is basically pro bike user and pro more safe cycling infrastructure. I have used bikes most of my life, for commuting, fun, travel, to do the shopping, never worn lycra and think cycling is cheap and healthy but becoming bloody dangerous anywhere on the public highway system (especially in NZ). Unfortunately, NZ, Oz, the U.S., Canada etc. have been built around the ownership and use of cars and now the serious prospect of changing all that around because of the need to combat climate change is really hard. Dont blame bike riders for the pain!
Koff I would imagine that your bike riding has been mostly done on the road. Now it has been pushed on to the footpath for safety, it endangers the simple basic transport option that is natural to us – walking. Plus all the other man-made contraptions that are too fast for comfort to walkers who want to relieve stress, get somewhere at their own pace, and enjoy the neighbourhood and perhaps stroll and chat with a friend.
And you are right the transport system is around vehicles. Dealers have made much money out of selling vehicles. The lots are full of hummer type vehicles that signal in metal, make way for me coming through, move over for my fat-bottomed wide vehicle encroaching on every space.
Yet our local council runs buses which often have one or two people in them. They could set up an arrangement with a taxi service for less cost, and help to use resources effectively and provide a better income for the often retired men and new citizens who drive them.
Ways to reduce vehicle purchase, such as extra tax on people movers, and encouragement for the smaller vehicle, for moving to EVs, for hybrids etc. would be helpful. But public transport that is tailored to what people need and that regular travellers can buy into with season tickets that bring the price down to what allows suppliers to make a good living, would be a good way of PPP.
\A set route of local season ticket holders could be picked up and dropped off each morning and night after work connecting to the bus route is one idea I have found. Also taxis that will serve an area within a set time once two people have called and who share the price. A person might call hopefully early in the morning, and if no-one else calls, then use other transport, but once the system got going enough people would be using and finding the system beneficial.
I like to point out that it is unlawful in any other country to ride a bicycle on a motorway/highway. It should be quite logical as to why.
Here in NZ it seems that there is an understanding that riding a bike is a free for all but this is not true. There are also rules that equally apply to motorized and non motorized cycling. I see many riders who completely ignore just basics: lighting – see and be seen (200 meters min), high vis clothing, using hand signs and speeding, crossing red lights, cutting across other vehicles, completely obliviend of the way a truck driver can or not see you when overtaking etc. etc. etc. There are bicycle riders that endanger others road users of all stripes and colors and I for one are for one would advocate for a driver licence to be compulsory.
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/roadcode/code-for-cycling/
so, you have just forced all under 15 yr old off bicycles. not a good idea.
A lisence could be simply a free but mandatory road rules test at the AA. In fact, you could start teaching basic road rules from kindergarten on so as to ease children in to using bikes, mopeds, scooters, car.
sadly this page is only in german, but it is done there, https://www.adac.de/verkehr/verkehrssicherheit/kindersicherheit/verkehrserziehung/mobil-sicher-radfahrer/
Even we as kids had a 'test' with a police man during school hours. They set up a low skill test area and you ride around, stop and go, red /green light etc. We got a batch. 🙂
Just make it free and begin in kindergarten. By the time the kid is 10 – 12 they can navigate the traffic in their area fairly well. And this will make passing the drivers test easier in the future.
that used to happen. we had visits from ?? with pedal cars and layout streets with ped x and roundabouts etc. there is film from then at national film unit.
I remember that happening once at my primary school. There were not enough bikes and pedal cars for all the kids so those who missed out performed pedestrian duties.
I was mightily pissed off at the pathetic tokenism of the whole charade and I was only 9.
woodart – You are kidding right? I mean do you want to get a point across regardless of any risk to the kids? Really?
perhaps I have a closer relationship with reality. you are the one who wanted ALL pushbike riders to be licensed. I dont have a problem with increased junior road education, but licenses for 6 yr olds!?. talk to yr local cop about that idea and watch for the eyeroll.
A sweet song from John Denver with thoughts that most of us will have as we are older. Unfortunately for some of us who are older we cannot relax and play our fiddles while Rome burns.
Poems Prayers and Promises
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv6sRsVsn3g
john denver is the crocs of music..
a rocky mountain high
as in reviled by most…loved by a few..
and essentially soft and comfortable..
Some soft and comfortable is good, unlike much of your comment PU.
aaww..!!
and denver-cultists are quite prickly..I've noticed..if their guru is slighted in any way..
and funny story..they self-identity as 'johns'..
and tend towards overstuffed/fussy furnishings in their home environment..(think doilies..and the like..)
is this you grey..?
"Quite prickly" but mostly harmless as cultists go; fairly ‘soft‘ targets even.
Denver had his flaws, but who doesn't, eh Phil? Each to their own, imho.
Say what you like about his music, his stance against Tipper Gore and her ilk was brave and influential.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgSjjD6rRu4
I seem to recall an interview with Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys, who had been battling the PMRC over their album art, saying John Denver's testimony was game-changing.
yes..his politics were good..
especially when compared with 'cool' musos..like morrissy..van morrison..and that notorious racist..eric clapton..
I like the music from all of those three..(some of that music examples of transcendental-beauty…c.f…astral weeks..)
but as human beings/ their personal politics..they all really are pieces of shit..
Some exploiters of migrant workers happily discussing proposed law changes. https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/125101418/employers-openly-talk-about-charging-migrant-meat-more-for-residency
And provincial employers complaining they can't get staff (without paying enough): https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300324465/got-workwant-work-small-businesses-cant-fill-jobs-as-there-is-nobody-around
Laughable they can't find landscapers – have they tried their local Polytech? They usually have courses turning out entry level folk. Mind, I've replied to a few rural ads over the last while – happy enough to move but the accommodation is the clincher – got to live somewhere, and if the wage won't let you save there's not much point.
I can understand them wanting people with enough experience to hit the ground running. Whole wage/price structure needs to adjust to our post-migrant-topup mentality.
The biggest impact has not been wages, in my view, but employment culture. The low wage migrant is obliged to endure some pretty nasty crap, and may not even get a legal wage. Kiwi workers won't get out of bed for ratbag employers like that – nor should they.
Offer decent pay and conditions and you'll have to fight off workers with a stick – the way big projects like the Clyde dam had to. We're not seeing any of that.
I just shake my head… many kiwis wont last longer than a week when it dawns on them that they actually have to work consistently and keep focus for more than a computer game time slot. Every day, not just once. There is a belief that they are owed a living because they have been hard done by, by the world, the parents, the school, the neighbor, the whatever. And the ones who have gone to high school, maybe sat a paper or two at Uni think that the work is beneath them. And then you have youngsters who are willing but their skill base is so low that they need 24/7 supervision that no one can provide. This is the reality out there, on the ground where no one is willing to look and ask the hard questions.
Spoken like a true Kiwi!
Forty years of slave workers and union busting in the fishing industry – and they wonder what happened to the work ethic.
When you're scum like that, anyone with any get up and go, will.
Cry me no boss tears – they made this bed – best they lie on it.
To me, it looks more like 30 years of trades training policy and shite wages has come to bite us in the arse.
What it really is is that there will always be a minority of mallingerers, and grumpy old fuckers ,usually right wingers like to latch on to those few so they can run down all youngins.
Saw a funny thing a while back which suggested that the reason right wingers are so worried about malingerers on a humane dole is because they'd do it given half the chance, when actually most people want to actually work or contribute to society in some way.
It's the politics of envy, lol. The only motive tories can comprehend to do anything is money – if you gave them enough money to be happy, they'd do nothing.
But then (like all true addicts) the problem for some tories is that no amount is ever enough.
Even if this is true, it's still a case of chickens and eggs. If as SM suggested above, you offer decent pay and conditions so that workers really want these jobs, they'll know that a decent performance is needed to get and keep them.
But this is just a bit too hard. It's easier to politically capture governments and get them to break labour markets in ways that advantage you – such as easy access to foreign labour.
Foreign Waka
I think that many kids should spend time doing work and then do block courses at school. And all should have experience of doing physical work. The education system is training students to suit the tech people with heads filled with equations. But the old problem exists, they make very thin soup. A spell in the fields and workshop would break the spell of the screen; it trains many to be voyeurs of real life, has anyone thought of that. No wonder people are always going on overseas holidays – they have never realised that there is a different world out there away from the city or their small town.
@waka..
socrates had similar thoughts on the perfidies/failings of the young.
they have always been a problem for the old..the young..
little changes..over time..eh..?
That is the biggest issue is it not, that if you wanted to move and work there, without housing that is a no go. And it has been like that for ever. I doubt that many who work and live in the big city are saving that much of their wages. Kiwi safer maybe.
When I moved to Korea I took about a 40% pay cut on paper – but cost of living was so low I could save 60% of my pay without scrimping.
A few baselines need to be worked out here really – the neolib economy presently rewards the crook, the speculator, and the chair-polishing bureaucrat, not the worker.
unless there is some sort of rental cap, or a reform on how rent – i.e. the usage of a space is charged, nothing will change. At the moment people are paying the mortgage, rates and the boat in their rents. And the government could not increase the min. wage enough and fast enough to change that. Rent control, a rental mirror etc is what is needed.
live in your car , thats the nat party solution to non existant housing crisis.
Plenty a people are living in their cars and motels under Labour too. Heck, most of Rotorua Moteliers are earning themselves a golden toilet seat by renting to homeless at full prices cause the government has a big purse and is happy spending the money.
So you could say the issue is bipartisan.
Well, not much has changed. They are now in substandard motels costing the taxpayer 1 Mill a week.
Plenty of bridges in NZ.
I prefer having a mil paid each week on social housing, given to those who need it and in time they can rent to own. Imagine how many houses we could have for those in need within only one year. I recon the property market is a ruse and some of the parliamentarians just look away.
It is a form of social housing, i.e. a temporary patch. Do you want to kick those people out of the motels and tell them to sleep in their cars and under bridges? Your suggestion makes no sense to me.
????? you have read what I wrote right?
If we use the money to buy social housing – homes with bridging finance before going to the next stage, meaning moving the family in, it would be cheaper and more desirable to house those who live right now in temporary accommodation. A hotel/motel room is NOT a home. Especially for kids.
If I could jump the shadow of my manners and it would be acceptable, I would spit on the floor in front of the housing minister(s). The self interest of those in power makes me vomit.
Already happening.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/kiwis-cant-outbid-kainga-ora-government-grilled-over-750-million-house-buying-bill/5C2LMNP7F5ZTSJMDF6BL3P2SG4/
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/04/government-buys-hundreds-of-houses-in-direct-competition-with-first-home-buyers.html
Emotions get in the way of clear thinking and this won’t help anyone.
ideally the government pays full rent for a house that is a proper rental – with all the stability that comes with it, rather then pay 400 NZD per night to house someone for a week or two and then they are back to where they were before.
The warehousing of homeless people in this country in rundown motels – the better ones try to get actual customers (less gang, less drugs, less violence, less police, etc) is shameful, and fwiw, it was shameful under Paula Benefit and it is shameful under Carmel (see nothing, hear nothing do nothing) Sepuloni. Shameful. Nothing more nothing less. That we have a few thousand kids in this country living in motels and hotels, is the failure of Labour and National – both parties and all of their highly paid, extremely well fed, and certainly expensively heeled members.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018784185/housing-crisis-more-than-4-000-nz-children-living-in-motels
I've been looking at a variation on it – but Nash's laws on campervans are a bit discouraging – push that option mostly out of reach. Not that I'm being offered any work anyway – the worker drought is rhetorical from where I'm sitting.
Thats because although somewhat lowly regarded it actually requires a very diverse skill set, read plans, set out, carpentry, concrete, paving, drainlaying, horticulture etc etc and then you need to be happy working in all weathers.
Not many stick at it….
As an aside the polytech courses are garbage can get the same certification (in name) in a 1 year polytech course that took me 8000 hours of apprenticeship.
Polytech short courses are the band aid for the semi illiterate. Employers know it.
I know a small landscape business owner who couldn't compete with the bigger landscaping companies that were able to bring in migrant workers under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.
To save his business he started hiring beneficiaries and paying them under the table. That is, until the tax department caught up with him.
The article cited refers to the situation in Blenheim, a town I know a little of. 🙂 The employment rate in Marlborough is 2.5% against the national average of 4,7%. So, it is harder to find workers.
Marlborough has 1% of the country's population, with no unversity, and a small campus of the NMIT in Blenheim.
Housing is hard to find in Blenheim. Houses sell fast and there is a shortage of social housing. Anecdotally, we hear of jobs not taken as accommodation was not accessible.
Food prices are high here. The average wage is the second lowest in the country. The median age is one of the highest in the country, with a much larger 65+ age group, which has one corollary of fewer workers available per head of population. That demographic anomaly also determines in part the average wage/income in Marlborough, and also the amount of money available for circulation.
One of the business owners mentioned is decent as I know him and I know that he is determined to do his bit for training apprentices.
I don't know what wages are being offered, so I can't offer advice on that. But small town NZ as typified in Blenheim can struggle with the advent of large shopping chains.
Marlborough also suffers from what I call 'third world' status. 80% of Mrlborough wineries/vineyards are owned outside the province. Profits therefore go out of the province as do some of the highest paid jobs in the industry go outside Marlborough to the head offices etc.
So, knowing some of the local circumstances does help to understand some of the local difficulties; but also remembering we have our share of worker-unfriendly enterprises in timber, fishing and farming as well.
The commitment to apprenticing was admirable, yes, but it should not really fall on the shoulders of individual businesses or customers. Prices need to increase but so do incomes.
Those broader processes will take some effort to sort out – including somehow resourcing provincial economies enough to counteract extractive arrangements like you describe.
Why shouldn't businesses pay for training? Otherwise they are just passing their business costs onto employees and tax payers.
What happened to Capitalism. A business which cannot pay all its costs, etc.
Plenty of trades do hire and train their own apprentices and are very happy to do so….
A good apprentice is hard to find these days usually they're someone that proactively approaches tbh also of course need suitably qualified staff to train them and have the time, very small sub contractor based business do struggle in this regard.
Its actually a problem with neoliberalism and that so many tradies are now sub contractors…
Businesses should train and pay their people but they are not in a position to engineer social acceptance of higher prices. That takes broader leadership and a just transition to a high-wage economy.
very good post mac1 those same conditions happen in a few rural locations around nz . as you say ,often outside owners who take the cream away from the locals. but propped up by local hardarses.
Getting social housing providers, employers and government to work together is also difficult in some areas. The politics got in the way.
We rented real hovels in Blenheim when young and hubby was a "manager" of a store belonging to a chain. We paid upfront to move our belongings by rail, from one appointment to the next. Eleven homes, always looking for better, in 4 moves before we threw out the anchor and built with a 30 year Housing Corporation Loan, in Rotorua.
For the first time in years, we see general building and social building happening, not just in the top end of the town.
As for these "Slum motels" we have driven around on different days looking for those??? The quality of homes here is poorer than those of some areas of Europe and until recently, Australia, motels follow a pattern world wide, built for short stays, but slums?? I question that?
We lived in a motel in Blenheim paid for by the employer as we had a child and no suitable housing. Not many employers do that now, and Councils do not see that as part of their brief, and until this Government social Housing was touted as short term accommodation!! Remember?
TBH I think local gummint got directive from central g in Douglas or RRichardsons time to heave ho a lot of things that they did in housing and other things. (Thanks you old people -haters in central gummint. You would be more use being fed to the lions, except they probably wouldn't like the taste and spit you out.)
Talking about lions eating – great piece from Stanley Holloway sending up the common people in the lion that ate Albert.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaw-savyK0s
Marlborough has some 180 Council units. They are still in favour as we in Grey Power told them to keep them and they were so willing they invited GP participation in their Housing Committee. Govt is building another 100+ units in Nelson/Marlborough. Grape workers accommodation is vastly improved with purpose-built complexes. There is real hope and cooperation here but not enough builders, tradies, and some blockage by local developers to release enough land for new housing. Some but never enough, to keep the prices up?
Meanwhile, 10% of Marlborough housing is not occupied…..
Mac1 that is really a complete change then. Why are 10% empty?
Mostly holiday homes, of course. The census gives the information….. but in the midst of the homeless we have this rather stark anomaly.
What about the provincial growth fund, is there no access to establish apprenticeships and support accommodation. Or shall I say, provide living support to those who sign up? If you can get support for doing nothing, surely there must be some for doing something. Provided our employment minister is proactive…
Sir Grahame Sydney about how and why he started and kept drawing and painting from the age of 5. Following the lead of his words could well be the means by which a generation of NZs could positively turn around and pull together.
"I've got an infamous blue suitcase which is full with stuff Mum kept from every sort of waking day of my life. I used to draw as a young child and always loved it and always thought it was magical and I just kept going … mainly because people used to praise me and it was a wonderful way of thinking you were okay."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/444199/landscape-artist-grahame-sydney-made-a-knight
By the way praise for weka and incognito and other mods for keeping on, keeping us reasonably seemly and effectively managed.
Grahame Sydney one of the best artists I have seen who are active in modern times. His paintings are breath taking and he deserves the honor.
The race is on in US Intelligence between finding ET and the Killer Bat that escaped from the
labcave – I can feel it in my big toe that we’re close – and they’ll know it when they see it, as they did with WMDs, because it is in their job title. My money is on Emo Musk meeting Ewoks on Mars. The modern day version of bread & circuses AKA dead cat bounce on the table. I’ll be ready to take selfies next time an oblong object flies past Earth at great speed in the opposite direction to where it came from.https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/300326712/scientists-sense-they-are-getting-closer-to-discovering-aliens
As always, xkcd is relevant:
https://xkcd.com/1235/
https://xkcd.com/718/
https://xkcd.com/638/
… and my first reaction whenever there's any UFO news is to see what's being said on Metabunk.
https://www.metabunk.org/whats-new/
Luckily, the US Intelligence is much more forthcoming than the NZ one; even NZ Government is shrouded in secrecy behind the OIA security wall. Put all DHB IT systems behind the OIA wall and no hacker will ever get in, let alone out, unredacted. That said, I thought I saw an UFO the other night, but it turned out to be the Emo Musk Satellite Express, no bells or flashing lights !
FWIW, I believe in alien life, but not life as we know it. It would be such a cosmic waste of resources if we were the only bugs in the Universe; it goes against my utilitarian values and beliefs.
I'm kinda meh on whether there are aliens or not. Unless they're orbiting one of the dozen or so closest stars, there isn't going to be any kind of back-and-forth communication within any human lifetime.
Then from a simple physics viewpoint, just contemplating the sheer amount of energy that would be needed for any kind of interstellar travel means I reckon I've got a better chance of winning Powerball than of earth ever getting visited by aliens in flying saucers.
Why would they go to all the trouble and then just buzz a few locals?
For shits and giggles. They only buzz believers, which is why I refuse to believe this nonsense. Usians are more gullible, I believe.
You reminded me of a wonderful bbc one-off from 1980 that agreed with you – the buzzing was just bored rich kids from the future.
https://youtu.be/JRwg8YbbaTE
For a number of reasons I more than thoroughly enjoyed that, thank you.
Don’t let inconvenient traditional physics get in the way of good-old imagination.
We already struggle with migrants, can’t even get on top of a pandemic, make a real mess of online communication and free speech, and shit in our own nest, so the alien
invasionvisiting hour will have to wait for a little bit longer and I’m sure they’ll understand.Every time I've tried to imagine my way outside of traditional physics it's ended in a lot of pain, sometimes tears, sometimes a visit to the doctor …
When you’re trying too hard you put strain on the brain. Sit back, relax and don’t fall asleep. Even better, go for a bike ride or walk across the bridge.
Or ski in your togs,which has shown great success.
http://www.ams.org/publicoutreach/in-memory/arnold-2010.pdf
[link added]
I once biked thirty km in -20 weather. It did not lead to any insight beyond what would have been blindingly obvious before the exercise. Maybe I should have joined my colleague that did the ride a couple of weeks later at -38, setting a new company record.
Brilliant! What is normal anyway?
I’ve added the link, because it’s worth reading the whole story.
Errm, riding a bike, and bridges have featured prominently in episodes of me trying to imagine outside of traditional physics that did not end well.
I see, accident prone. Pub crawling sounds more like your thing then
That also did not end well.
But you had a good time, didn’t you?
Indeed I did. Many times. I don't think I'm really accident prone, just a slow learner.
I relate, recognise and sympathise!!
I hope you didn't decide that because the gravitational force is so very, very much weaker that the other three forces you would be quite safe jumping off a high bridge?
That has quite a high percentage of cases where it does not end well.
A kayak was also involved.
Up the river without a paddle?
if aliens visit nz will they have to do the two week quarantine, and will they be allowed to sleep in their spaceships and freedom camp? are they already here and members of the national party and living on the nth shore?. will an alien be worth two chinese(on the s bridges scale)?. will they qualify for nz benefits, and if they turn out to be bad eggs, where and how do we deport them?
Rocket Lab for deportation back into space.
There may be a joke of some kind in the future around the smell of minute living organisms from space that have come on one of his space fleet. We'll look at anything smelly and unwanted and say 'It has the Smell of Musk'. We already cart death dealing bugs and microbes round the world and deposit them to destroy crops and people in other earth countries, so next we will be doing it from space. We who have nothing better to do than wreck the physical and dream up fun and nirvanas for our pleasure and all without taking drugs. The mind is amazing.
I hear you. Panspermia is no longer a theory. If (!) we are attacked by alien monsters with tentacles in a few hundred years, at least we’ll know where they came from.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/300325044/spacex-launches-more-than-100-tiny-squid-into-space
Don’t get me started on space junk and EM pollution; I need to upgrade my tinfoil helmet.
And
May 2021 https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/300307616/where-do-meteorites-come-from-we-tracked-hundreds-of-fireballs-streaking-through-the-sky-to-find-out
We searched through six years’ worth of records from the Desert Fireball Network, which scans the Australian outback for flaming meteors streaking through the sky. None of what we found came from comets…
We now know most of these come from the main asteroid belt – a region between Mars and Jupiter.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/earth-extraterrestrial-space-dust-weight-meteorite
.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A NASA scientist reports detecting tiny fossilized bacteria on three meteorites, and maintains these microscopic life forms are not native to Earth.7/03/2011
Strange life signs found on meteorites: NASA scientist | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-meteorites-life-idUSTRE7252KQ20110307
(Is the rock really those exciting colours?)
[link fixed]
Mars Attack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMdC45S79uQ
No wonder I have to vacuum clean so often with all that space dust and I was blaming the blimmin cat.
It seems as if you left something out of your comment. I fixed the last link.
Not sure what “exciting colours” you’re referring to!?
Thanks for link fix. Dunno what I didn't do. Pic was from I thought, detail in link.
All those dirty secrets and another pile of shit laid before the feet of the catholic church .215 kids or their remains found in a secret grave in the grounds of a so called Residential School in BC.Just like many of us here in nz were unaware of abuses in state care were as bad or as prevalent as our recent enquiry revealed them to be most people in canada had no idea of the damage done to native children forcibly "educated "in special schools run by state funded churches from 1876 to 1996.Sounds like beatings rape and sodomy were common and a daily reality for many .In canada when i guess enough of the dirty secrets had made it to the surface authorities took six years to investigate the claims of abuse and finally had a fully blown truth and reconciliation hearing and this is old news now but they found the bodies last week .Now i guess they,ll have to search the grounds of all these schools .Seems incredible that so called "christians"could treat children in such a cruel manner could it be that rather than man supposedly being" made in the image of his maker "that its the other way around ?
I think all organised religions have bloody hands and dirty secrets.all in the name of their various gods
Attitudes of white Canadians to indigenous people is not as good as projected. This about a young woman:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/45-year-anniversary-of-helen-betty-osborne-s-murder-shows-work-is-never-done-1.3849427
Creation of First Human-Monkey Embryos Sparks Concern
Called chimeras, these lab-grown creations have been hailed as a major scientific breakthrough. But some ethics experts see reason for worry
Creation of First Human-Monkey Embryos Sparks Concern
I think they should just let things happen naturally! The series of images of us developing from knuckle dragging apes is already in reverse anyway.
It is a hugely complex ethical issue where to draw a line; chimeric antibodies have been in use as highly effective anti-cancer drugs for years.
Has no-one read I am Legend???
Redline has produced this amazing article that recounts various happenings and statements that have aroused so much attention that it is stating that the contents of the article are the basis of all the wokeness that is going on about racism. It is about a woman who was born on Cloud 9 and without coming down from there considers she speaks for and understands the vast majority of women and men who are at the lower income levels of society.
She came, she saw, she conquered saying, 'I'm going to buy that theory and make it mine'!
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2021/06/06/unpacking-peggy-mcintoshs-knapsack/
Like the "Boomer" Millennial divide. Another way of distracting all of us from the real culprits, the wealthy and powerful, while they run off with our wealth.